The year is 2070. January. The enemy, comprised of twelve alien warships and over three hundred asteroids, relentlessly pressed closer. Humanity's world felt like a taut bowstring, an atmosphere of palpable tension pervading everywhere.
Six repulsion ships completed their final resupply and charged resolutely towards the enemy. However, before they could even approach the asteroids, the enemy vessels deployed a vast number of space fighters to intercept them.
Facing a formidable foe, the repulsion ships did not retreat. Instead, they launched twelve aero-space fighters, splitting into two groups to flank the enemy's rear.
The enemy fighters, though inferior in quality, were overwhelming in number. A brief, albeit not particularly fierce, engagement ensued. In the endless void, the six repulsion ships and their twelve fighters were transformed into eternity.
This first contact concluded in human defeat.
Over the next two months, humanity remained silent. Yet, the highly tense global situation grew increasingly severe. Each day, citizens with wavering resolve succumbed to the immense pressure, their mental states collapsing. The global suicide rate surged like a rocket.
On March 11th, with twelve days left on the countdown, the Joint Command issued the First Mobilization Order. A vanguard fleet, consisting of thirty-six human warships, crossed Earth's orbit to launch an offensive against the enemy, intending to repel them a million kilometers away!
The vanguard fleet's tactics were straightforward: thirty-six warships divided into three groups. The first twelve ships would tie down the enemy vessels; the second twelve would follow closely as reserves; the final twelve would do their utmost to interfere with the asteroids.
The command's order was crystal clear: spare no effort, prioritize the destruction of the asteroids!
The remaining forty-seven warships were tasked with defending Earth. A total of eighty-three warships – this was all the space-faring power humanity could scrape together.
The brutal battle was about to begin, and everyone understood the implications of failure.
On March 16th, the vanguard fleet arrived in the designated airspace, sounding the battle alarm.
Twelve warships advanced in formation, presenting a posture of frontal assault. The remaining twenty-four ships maintained their formation, continuously firing at the asteroids.
The distance from Earth was too short; the asteroids needed to be struck with sufficient force to compel them to alter their orbits away from Earth.
It was no exaggeration to say that every member of the vanguard fleet was prepared to sacrifice themselves.
However, to everyone's surprise, just as the enemy ships were about to enter firing range, at the critical moment when battle was about to commence, the enemy vessels abandoned the asteroids and actively maneuvered away, disengaging from the battlefield.
Witnessing this, everyone felt utterly devastated, as if they had been utterly betrayed.
It was clear that the aliens never intended to destroy Earth. They were merely exploiting humanity's fear, using the asteroids to disperse humanity's military strength.
While the alien warships might not have been able to do much to Earth, a single asteroid could destroy it. Regardless of their internal anger or conflict, the command could only issue the order to prioritize the destruction of the asteroids.
The alien fleet seized the opportunity, passing through the fighter screen and continuing their advance toward Earth.
A full thirty-seven hours later, the vanguard fleet had finally managed to push all the asteroids out of Earth's orbit. However, they were now a day and a half behind the enemy. Even with their utmost effort, they would be unable to return to Earth ahead of the enemy.
At noon on March 21st, Beijing time, with eighteen hours and six minutes remaining on the countdown, the enemy main force, consisting of eleven alien warships, passed through the Moon's orbit from the far side of Earth.
At this moment, the Moon had moved to the front of Earth. The various weapons deployed on the Moon's surface were rendered useless. By the time the Moon rotated to the other side, the enemy had already moved beyond the effective range of lunar bombardment.
Although it was understood beforehand that the aliens would be difficult to deal with, the successive defeats cast a shadow over everyone's hearts.
One enemy ship remained outside the Moon's orbit, decelerating and hovering above the Moon, watching with predatory intent.
All of humanity's weapons on the Moon were positioned on the front, rendering them incapable of dealing with the enemy ship on the far side. The base felt choked, utterly helpless.
However, at this critical moment that would decide humanity's fate, Luojian Mountain did not sit idly by. It exerted all its might to contribute to the resistance against the aliens.
The senior leadership of the base, led by Gong Yiding, spent nearly twenty-four hours a day in the industrial district, constantly monitoring the heavy-duty 3D printers.
At this moment, the last few war modules were undergoing intense printing. If all went smoothly, in another dozen hours, a new warship would ascend.
A single warship could not alter the balance of power between the two sides, but an additional force meant an additional glimmer of hope.
Around 13:00 on the afternoon of March 21st, the Joint Command issued the Second Mobilization Order. The fleet was ordered to advance and await the enemy in geostationary orbit, 36,000 kilometers away.
Humanity had made every possible preparation, but the enemy held the high ground, able to attack or retreat at will. The situation was not optimistic.
However, the alien fleet once again acted unexpectedly. They did not immediately launch an attack. Instead, they reduced their speed and maintained their position in orbit at an altitude of seventy thousand kilometers.
At this altitude, they could reach Earth's outer perimeter with a single dive, posing a significant threat to humanity and Earth, yet remaining beyond the range of human fleet weapons.
What was even more troublesome was that the enemy, positioned at seventy thousand kilometers, could afford to travel slightly slower than the human fleet.
The enemy could attack at any moment, and the battle was on the verge of breaking out. Both on the ground and in the sky, everyone's nerves were taut, the atmosphere reaching an extreme level of tension.
For several hours, the enemy made no move, seemingly waiting for something.
The very few who were aware of the situation immediately thought of the mysterious countdown.
Late at night on March 21st, with seven hours and fifty-two minutes remaining on the countdown, the alien fleet suddenly lowered its orbit and charged towards Earth. An alarm sounded across the globe, its mournful wail echoing through the deserted cities.
The previous period of inactivity had left everyone hanging in suspense. Now that the enemy was attacking, it felt as if a heavy stone had finally landed.
To meet the onslaught, humanity could only give its all to strive for victory.
As for the final outcome, no one dared to contemplate it.
However, before the warships could engage, a warning signal was first received from the ground. Large numbers of sea monsters and swift dogs appeared in various locations worldwide. Hundreds of anti-aircraft positions were attacked by packs of dogs. Major coastal cities, as well as some inland cities, were engaged in fierce firefights with the monsters.
Fortunately, the ground forces had not relaxed their vigilance. Troops in all regions fought with all their might, repelling the monster attacks.
The robotic dogs proved exceptionally effective in combat, not only serving as potent weapons against the swift dogs but also as vanguards against the sea monsters!
Devoid of thought and fear, they immediately charged at the sea monsters, even climbing onto them to fire at weak points like their eyes. Even when incapacitated by a sea monster's attack, they would self-destruct, taking nearby targets with them.
It was no exaggeration to say that the robotic dogs significantly reduced the combat strain on the defensive forces, earning unanimous praise from the participating troops.
Those who had returned their robotic dogs were filled with regret, but unfortunately, there were no miracle cures for regret in this world.
Compared to other regions, China's coastline was remarkably calm, with very few battles.
This was not because the alien species had abandoned this direction, but because the military had secretly deployed robotic fish. The vast majority of sea monsters were annihilated in the sea before they could even reach the land.
Concurrently, the Luojian Mountain base also sounded the battle alarm. Everyone retreated into the base as quickly as possible. To mitigate risk, Gong Yiding even evacuated some personnel into the broken ships.
Gazing at the just-completed warship modules, Gong Yiding gritted his teeth and ordered the engineering personnel to continue with the launch preparations.
This was the battle that would decide humanity's fate. If Earth were lost, what purpose would Luojian Mountain serve alone?
The entire base, from top to bottom, had prepared for the worst. Rather than hesitating, it was better to go all out and fight.
A few minutes later, Gong Yiding received a report: enemy ships approached the Moon, circled it for half a revolution, and then split into three. The front section ascended and disengaged, while the rear section split into two halves and skimmed low across the surface, their trajectory aimed directly at Luojian Mountain!
Gong Yiding immediately realized this was a cruise missile attack pattern. However, he said nothing, merely awaiting news from the command.
As the director of research, he was not versed in military matters or command. Xie Yu was the military commander.
According to regulations, once the battle alarm was sounded, command authority over the base automatically transferred to Xie Yu.
Having also received the news, Xie Yu immediately ordered the activation of the defense systems. Eight missiles shot into the sky, four directly targeting the enemy ships and four intercepting the modules.
At the same time, turrets on the mountainside activated, and two laser cannons locked onto the enemy vessels.
However, the situation once again defied expectations. The enemy ships immediately changed course, evading the laser cannons' firing range. Then, a faint shimmer appeared beneath the enemy ships, destroying the incoming missiles.
When the missiles below were destroyed, they were mere moments away from hitting their targets. The rapidly moving modules, cutting through the rising flames, appeared within Luojian Mountain's direct line of sight.
Just as the railguns were about to fire, the modules suddenly lowered their altitude, decelerated, and then disintegrated in mid-air. The dispersing fragments, trailing and falling, scattered over an area exceeding one hundred square kilometers!
The fragments were remarkably intact, and they dispersed actively. This was deeply perplexing.
Xie Yu's brow furrowed deeply, his mind repeatedly trying to decipher the aliens' intentions.
The answer was soon revealed. The fragments that landed opened up, and hundreds of swift dogs swarmed out!
No, they were not swift dogs, but alien creatures with a very similar appearance, yet far more ferocious.
These creatures were covered in extensive bone armor, resembling those in games even more closely. Their movements were incredibly swift, disregarding the harsh lunar environment as they charged towards Luojian Mountain at high speed.
Furthermore, some of the modules disgorged a batch of larger, even more ferocious-looking monsters. At first glance, they resembled Hydralisks, but upon closer inspection, they seemed like a hybrid of Zerglings and Aliens, a combination of two species.
These two types of giant insects converged into a surging tide of bugs, swarming in groups, covering the mountainside. The insect swarms from movies and games were only at this level.
Seeing this scene, everyone was stunned. Gong Yiding murmured, "Zerglings, these are real Zerglings!"
Xie Yu paid no mind to what was charging at them. With a single command, the dozen or so firing positions deployed on the mountain and at its base opened fire in unison. The volleys of bullets, artillery shells, and lasers formed a massive firepower net. Countless bugs fell during their charge, their shattered corpses piling up like mountains.
However, the frontline of the bug swarm pressed forward with unwavering resolve. The laser cannon arrays deployed near the base were overwhelmed by the swarm, their formations scattered.
Luojian Mountain had always emphasized its anti-air capabilities. While it possessed ground-based firepower, it could not compare in quantity or quality to its anti-air weaponry. If some of its artillery had not been dual-purpose for both air and ground fire, the base would likely have been overrun by the bug swarm.
As the bug swarm drew closer, Ou Zhanpeng suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Old Xie, the robotic dogs!"
Xie Yu's eyes lit up: "Base Commander—"
"I understand!" Gong Yiding responded, immediately contacting the arsenal.
Below ground, several massive warehouses opened. Tens of thousands of robotic dogs, receiving activation commands, rushed out.
Outside the mountain, the frontline of the bug swarm had already reached the foot of the mountain. The few remaining firing positions were like a drop in the bucket, on the verge of being destroyed by the swarm.
At this critical juncture, several airlocks opened on the mountainside below. Countless robotic dogs leaped out, like a cascading torrent of metal, crashing fiercely into the invading bug swarm.
Ou Zhanpeng couldn't help but exclaim, "What a coincidence!"
Luojian Mountain had never planned to equip itself with robotic dogs. These little fellows were intended for the expeditionary fleet, numbering a hundred thousand!
Due to the necessity of concentrating forces to deal with the impending crisis, Expeditionary Force Four had never departed. These robotic dogs had remained in the base's warehouses, finding their use today.
Fortunately, they were the self-powered wireless transmission versions. If they had been battery-powered, it would have been a disaster.
However, in the heat of the moment, the robotic dogs had no ammunition. They could only pounce fiercely, biting and tearing at the bugs.
White robotic dogs and grey-brown swift dogs collided like churning waves, instantly unleashing a storm of flesh and shattered steel. The advancing frontline halted at the foot of Luojian Mountain.
The Zerglings within the bug swarm shone brightly. Like in the game, they spat acid. With a mouthful of phlegm, they sprayed, and the swift dogs immediately dissolved into flesh and blood, while the robotic dogs melted and collapsed.
The scales of victory were tipping towards the bug swarm.
At the critical moment, a group of fully armed assault team members appeared on the mountainside. Xie Yu gave the order, and they all opened fire simultaneously.
The dense bullets swept into the bug swarm, creating barely a ripple, but the soldiers also carried grenade launchers and individual rockets!
Whether grenades or rockets, upon entering the bug swarm, they exploded immediately, flipping over clusters of giant insects.
The Zerg-like Hydralisks received special attention from the assault team, falling one by one to enemy fire.
Within the mountain, non-combat personnel rushed out of safe shelters. They stormed into the industrial district, opened the armories, loaded various weapons onto trains, and delivered them at maximum speed into the mountain's interior.
The non-combat personnel waiting there unloaded the vehicles at the fastest possible speed, transporting the various equipment outside the mountain.
The assault team members were limited in number and could not manage so many weapons. The technicians from the arsenal simply remained on top, operating various weapons to bombard the bug swarm.
Finally, even the wireless plasma cannons were brought out. A single shot was fired down the mountain, and any bug that came within its vicinity was rapidly vaporized by the intense heat, leaving no trace behind.
This weapon was a close-in defense system intended for warships, and its power was naturally considerable.
Luojian Mountain, possessing its own arsenal, never lacked weaponry and equipment.
The base's warehouses also held multi-barreled close-in defense cannons intended for warships, firing over ten thousand rounds per minute, their firepower immensely strong. If not for the time required for deployment, they would certainly have dragged that thing up to deal with the bug swarm.