Section 429: Fighting with One's Back to the River
Ye Zhong now spent the vast majority of his days sitting inside the cosmic vessel, watching battle after battle outside through the holographic screen. In the Free Star Zone, there weren't many situations requiring the use of mechas or cosmic vessels, so the stockpile of energy cartridges wasn't large. Ye Pang had already brought all the energy cartridges from the Lisir reserve planet, so all they could do now was watch the battles.
The fighting was intense enough to make one's heart tremble!
The entrance to the Free Passage was extremely narrow, a natural strategic defensive point. It was precisely by relying on this entrance that they had managed to hold on bitterly until now.
Small groups of unidentified creatures continuously flew out from this narrow entrance. Although the numbers each time weren't large, they seemed endless. From the beginning until now, the number and frequency of the unidentified creatures emerging from the entrance hadn't decreased in the slightest, showing no signs of weakening. This placed enormous pressure on everyone, casting a shadow over each person's heart.
Meanwhile, their own forces were being constantly depleted. Every time they eliminated the emerging unidentified creatures, they suffered considerable losses. Yet, no one dared to take a single step back. Everyone understood clearly that if it weren't for this natural defensive stronghold, they would likely all have been buried in the stomachs of these unidentified creatures by now.
There were no other options left; they could only grit their teeth and hold on desperately. Ye Yin's face was terrifyingly gloomy; he too was powerless to do anything about the current situation.
Ye Zhenni looked heartbrokenly at Ye Yin's clouded face beneath his long hair and couldn't help but comfort him softly: "Look at you, your face is so dark it's almost dripping ink. Don't be too anxious, alright? Here, drink this." She handed the insulated container in her hand to Ye Yin.
Seeing it was Ye Zhenni, a trace of tenderness flashed in Ye Yin's eyes. He grunted in acknowledgment, took the container from her, and drank every last drop of the soup inside.
Ye Zhenni gazed mesmerized at Ye Yin's focused expression as he drank the soup, her heart aching immensely. The man she loved carried too many burdens he never wanted! Under that handsome yet stern face, his heart was actually no different from an ordinary person's.
"What are you thinking about?" Ye Yin suddenly spoke, staring at her after finishing the soup.
Ye Zhenni's face flushed slightly. She snatched the insulated container from Ye Yin's hand and said nonchalantly, "Nothing at all. A-Yin, don't put too much pressure on yourself! Just do your best, no one will blame you."
Ye Yin didn't speak, silently looking at Ye Zhenni.
"What's wrong?" Seeing Ye Yin's somewhat dazed expression, Ye Zhenni waved her small hand in front of his eyes and chided, "What are you thinking about? You're spacing out even when talking to me!"
"Hmm, I was thinking, I will definitely get you out of here! Definitely!" Ye Yin stated resolutely.
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Anyone could see that the war was becoming increasingly unfavorable for the Ye Family. Their combat strength was continuously depleting, and almost every sortie resulted in casualties. Seeing their clansmen die one by one before their eyes dealt a fatal blow to morale. In the middle of the night, soft weeping could often be heard; morale had now hit rock bottom.
But a very realistic problem lay before everyone: Energy Cartridges! The Free Star Zone had no production base for energy cartridges. Now, the cartridges they had on hand would decrease with every use. Once the energy cartridges were completely exhausted, all the mechas and cosmic vessels would become immobile lumps of metal, and this war would be over.
Dozens more unidentified creatures flew out from the entrance.
The mechas waiting on standby immediately pounced.
Thirty mechas formed a standard combat squad. Five mechas suddenly accelerated, spreading out their formation and charging towards these unidentified creatures. Just as they were about to make contact, they suddenly changed direction, the five mechas flying off towards five different directions.
The dozens of unidentified creatures immediately charged towards these five mechas as if seeing a delicious meal, splitting into five groups. The mechas responsible for luring were all piloted by outstanding pilots. In the starry sky, five elegant arcs were drawn, like the slender stamens of a flower. Then, they crisscrossed with five other mechas flying towards them, and the unidentified creatures plunged headlong into the encirclement formed by these five mechas.
Fierce close-quarters combat immediately erupted!
The powerful close-combat capabilities of the Ye Family pilots were displayed most vividly at this moment. Both sides charged at each other like ancient knights. But precisely at the moment of collision, the Ye Family pilots always managed to execute the correct evasion and deliver a fatal blow to these unidentified creatures.
However, the ferocity of the counterattacks from these unidentified creatures, even after watching countless times, still made Ye Zhong's heart tremble. Their heads were very flexible, coupled with extremely developed mandibles. If bitten just once, the mecha's surface would inevitably be left with deep bite marks.
These creatures, known as Carapace Mandible Insects, had extremely hard shells. Their black-purple carapaces gleamed with a strong metallic luster. They had six pairs of wings, their bodies were stout, flat, about three meters long, their heads were very flexible, and their primary mandibles were extremely developed, capable of easily biting through some metals. They showed an extremely strong craving for metal. According to test results, the metal content within their carapaces was extremely high, which also resulted in their shells having极高 hardness and excellent protective properties. Their shells could also mutate, even evolve, based on the different metals they consumed.
The flight speed of the Carapace Mandible Insects was about 12 He, roughly on par with the flight speed of the Ye Family's main combat mechas. Combined with their agile flight, they were extremely troublesome to deal with.
Now, almost all the creatures emerging from the passage entrance were of this type. The kind of creature Ye Zhong and the others had encountered last time had not been seen again.
The Ye Family's mechas lacked effective long-range attack methods, which forced them to engage these Carapace Mandible Insects in close combat.
Ye Zhong pondered that among the three great families, the Xue Lai Clan probably dealt with these Carapace Mandible Insects most effectively.
Rui Bing sat quietly beside Ye Zhong. She accompanied him every day, watching the battles on the holographic screen. She didn't speak, just sat quietly. Her snow-white training clothes were still as elegant as ever, and the young girl's eyes held a faint determination.
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"What? The three families are preparing to unite?" Ye Pang exclaimed, losing his composure.
Ye Luo nodded in reply, "Yes. I just received the news. The other two families have reportedly also suffered heavy losses, so they hope to form an alliance. Oh, and by the way, Ye Yin has agreed."
Ye Pang stroked his chin, pondering, "An alliance of the three families... that's not a bad idea. To think that after being adversaries for so many years, we three families would now join forces to overcome this crisis. Heh, that's interesting." Suddenly, he thought of a problem: "Then what about this place?"
"Block the entrance. Ye Yin has decided to seal this entrance," Ye Luo replied.
The space around the Free Passage was very unstable, filled with pale yellow nebula. The density of various electromagnetic rays within the nebula was extremely high, and its magnetic field was constantly changing, making it full of danger. Even these formidable creatures were very afraid of the space near the passage.
Three hundred energy cartridges, bundled together, floated at the passage entrance.
All of the Ye Family's spacecraft had already moved far away.
Everyone aboard the Dawell watched the holographic screen.
Dozens of Carapace Mandible Insects flew out from the passage entrance, full of ferocity. They naturally spotted the energy cartridges and happily pounced towards them.
At that moment, a beam of red light accurately struck the energy cartridges!
Everyone's eyes suddenly ached, the holographic screen dazzlingly bright. By the time everyone's vision returned to normal, the passage entrance on the holographic screen had disappeared, replaced by a vast, boundless expanse of pale yellow nebula.
The massive fleet, carrying everyone's hope for survival, flew at full speed towards the passage entrance where the Xue Lai Clan was located.
Looking at the dense cluster of cosmic vessels outside the window, Ye Pang smiled and said, "Such a sight is probably hard to come by again. Truly spectacular!" After converging, the warships of the three great families were mixed together. Right next to the Dawell was a cosmic vessel from the Xi Feng Tribe.
"I need to rejoin my unit," Feng Su stared at Ye Zhong, enunciating each word clearly. Now, every bit of combat strength was extremely precious.
Ye Zhong thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "Alright."
Glancing around at everyone, Feng Su nodded: "Good luck, everyone! Farewell!" Everyone watched silently as Feng Su left. Under such circumstances, past personal grievances were completely insignificant, especially since Ye Zhong and she had no real enmity between them.
The top experts of the three great families gathered together.
"Heh, fate is truly wonderful, isn't it? That we would have a day fighting side by side," Huang Ji Ming said with a gentle smile.
Ye Yin ignored him and spoke directly to Fan Yun: "Brief us on the situation."
In the operations room, two people and one mecha – the scene was peculiarly bizarre.
Fan Yun's electronic eye flashed: "Our initial operations were successful. The Carapace Mandible Insects did not pose a threat to us. However, after we entered the passage, we suffered heavy losses."
An image appeared on the operations room's holographic screen. The behemoth in this picture made the other two involuntarily gasp.
"This is a newly appeared type of unidentified creature. We have designated it the Soft-bodied Spined Caterpillar. Its body length is between forty to sixty meters, with a diameter of about six meters. Its entire body is covered in spines. According to observations, Carapace Mandible Insects normally hang inverted on these spines."
The image was magnified, allowing Ye Yin and Huang Ji Ming to see the appearance of the Soft-bodied Spined Caterpillar clearly. They looked like enlarged versions of green caterpillars, the only difference being their bodies were covered in spines. Each spine was about seven to eight meters long, covered with hanging Carapace Mandible Insects.
Fan Yun's electronic voice echoed in the operations room: "The most notable characteristic of the Soft-bodied Spined Caterpillar is its ability to absorb energy-based attacks. The mechanism is unknown. Its speed is slow, with a maximum of 6 He. Its entire body is covered with pores that can emit a bluish-gray smoke. This smoke has been proven to have a loosening effect on metals. According to calculations, the collective entity in this image is composed of approximately sixty-five hundred Soft-bodied Spined Caterpillars."
This number once again caused Ye Yin and Huang Ji Ming's expressions to change. Over sixty-five hundred Soft-bodied Spined Caterpillars, their colors varying in shade, gathered together into a magnificent, colossal dragon, a truly terrifying sight.
"We have confirmed that within the entire passage, there are only these sixty-five hundred plus Soft-bodied Spined Caterpillars. We have already eliminated a considerable portion of the Carapace Mandible Insects. We have the capability to deal with the remaining Carapace Mandible Insects. What the two of you are responsible for are these Soft-bodied Spined Caterpillars. Additionally, the energy we have left is only sufficient for one attack!"
Fan Yun's cold electronic voice held not a trace of wavering.