RoleplayNovel Chapter 1112 Fall and Retreat
Chapter 1112 Fall and Retreat
The cold, lifeless void was completely torn apart by the violent energy.
On the vast land in front of Fortresses 1-35, two completely different forces belonging to level fifteen beings are engaged in a devastating collision.
The Law of Crystal and the Mourning Mother Insect.
The Crystal Law, this traitorous apocalypse, floats in the air, surrounded by countless crystals that are crystal clear and have sharp edges.
Her fighting style is elegant yet deadly, an ultimate expression of pure rules and energy.
The crystal was in control; with a thought, the floating crystal instantly transformed into a weapon.
Some of the crystals spun and combined rapidly, forming a huge, shimmering diamond-shaped shield with regular patterns.
The crystal unfolded to form a shield, precisely blocking the insect queen's claw attacks that tore through space.
She was able to find her own power even in the fragile space, and her true form disappeared without warning, as if merging into the light.
The next moment, they appeared on the side or behind the massive body of the insect queen, the crystal flashing, suddenly appearing beside her.
Without chanting any incantations, with a slight thought, the suspended crystal suddenly lit up.
Furthermore, Crystal Herald is undoubtedly a mage-type character.
Fiery lava rays, frigid beams that freeze everything, energy pulses that tear through space, holy light that purifies impurities...
Elemental rays of various properties rained down on the insect queen like a torrential downpour.
Crystals can emit various energy rays and elemental rays.
Even worse, some crystals were either struck by the Queen of Insects or detonated on their own, releasing annihilating energy shockwaves that vaporized large swaths of soil along with the surging low-level void creatures.
The Zerg Overmind, who is suffering endless pain due to the loss of the Mother Nest link, is the embodiment of berserk melee combat.
As the battle continued and her inner madness intensified, her form underwent a terrifying transformation.
Before being corrupted by the Void, the Zerg swarm will naturally change itself based on the enemy it is facing.
As a level 15 insect queen, she naturally possesses the power of transformation, and her body can evolve and change to launch targeted attacks.
The insect's originally large and bloated body, covered with a chitinous exoskeleton, began to shrink, twist, and reconstruct.
The carapace became sharper and thicker, with sharp bone spurs extending from the joints.
The most noticeable change is in her lower body.
Countless wriggling limbs aggregate, harden, and deform, eventually transforming into structures resembling giant, ferocious locusts or giant mosquitoes.
This structure gave her unimaginable, terrifying speed.
Its body shape becomes more ferocious, full of combat structure, and its insect-repelling body transforms into a flying insect with extremely high speed.
The transformed insect queen's speed soared, turning into a streak of purplish-black light that tore through space.
She no longer relies on long-range energy, but instead on terrifying physical strength, claws and mandibles capable of tearing through divine steel, and corrosive acid and energy spikes sprayed from her tail.
They launched a relentless, close-range assault on the Crystal Law, like a raging storm.
Even a blink might not be enough to dodge her speed.
Similarly, the blinking attack allows it to quickly dodge.
Each claw strike was accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through space, and each collision caused a violent tremor in space.
Pure, violent tearing, a direct and complete exploitation of the power of the void.
The level of their battle was too high; each collision was like the explosion of a small star.
The aftershocks of the energy transformed into a devastating hurricane, plowing the land within a radius of tens of kilometers again and again.
The space was repeatedly torn apart and barely mended, leaving behind hideous, black cracks that could not be healed for a long time.
Some ice and snow turned into steam, and the earth turned into lava pits, which were then frozen in the next moment.
Low-level void creatures were merely affected and instantly turned to ashes.
The power of the Crystal Laws and the pure destructive power of the Queen of Insects clashed, creating a death zone where even light was distorted.
The two sides fought back and forth, putting enormous pressure on the surrounding environment.
However, the fortress's defenders had no time to appreciate or fear this devastating level 15 battle.
Because even as the Crystal Law successfully intercepted the Queen's main body, the Queen's highly organized Void Legion, which she personally commanded, did not stop its advance.
Like a destructive torrent with its own independent will, they ruthlessly and efficiently bypassed the main battlefield, and with a tight formation, like the most sophisticated war machines, they crashed into fortresses 1-35.
It possesses an absolute quantity of void, yet also a tight order.
This is by no means a disorganized rabble.
The massive, armored behemoths, resembling mobile fortresses, stood at the forefront, withstanding the fortress's dense artillery fire and magical attacks, clearing a path for the troops behind them with their bodies.
There were also a large number of uncontrolled void creatures surging up like a tide, constantly spreading the firepower and creating enormous pressure.
The sky was shrouded in a dense mass of flying anomalies, which resembled a bomber squadron, swooping down to drop corrosive spore bombs or launch energy beams.
The quantity is too large, clearly indicating that it was deliberately selected.
For a time, the air defense capabilities were simply insufficient.
Further back, special units with bizarre shapes, capable of unleashing powerful energy shocks or mental interference, provide remote support and battlefield control.
They worked in perfect harmony, with a clear attack rhythm and a well-defined objective—to tear apart the fortress's defensive nodes and create a breach.
This brought immense pressure and devastating casualties.
The fortress's defense system was already under immense pressure from ordinary void waves, and now, facing this elite legion directly commanded by Apocalypse, it instantly became precarious.
The alchemical turret was precisely targeted and destroyed, while the magic shield flickered under the concentrated fire.
The city walls trembled violently under the impact of the behemoths and the energy bombardment from the special units, and cracks spread rapidly.
The defensive line composed of Night's Watch warriors and soldiers of various races was repeatedly breached and torn apart.
Heavy armored warriors were corroded by acid and crushed by giant claws; rangers were swooped down from the air by flying creatures; and engineers were vaporized by energy beams while repairing critical facilities.
"Hold on, you damn bugs!"
They never expected to encounter such a void force.
And there are never-ending waves.
Intertwined and coordinated.
It was too fatal; for a node, it was under immense pressure that they hadn't anticipated.
The piercing alarms, desperate roars, the clanging of clashing weapons, the deafening roar of energy explosions, and the agonizing screams of the dying were all intertwined.
This horrific scene forms an extremely cruel picture of hell.
With the already immense pressure from the vast void, the arrival of a fully-organized army further exacerbated the situation, leading to increased casualties at the fortress node.
The casualty figures were climbing at an alarming rate, and the fortress's defenses were visibly weakened.
The fortress commander's eyes were bloodshot as he watched the real-time battle damage reports and warnings of defensive node collapses.
Hearing the urgent cries for help coming from all over the communication channels, he slammed his clenched fist against the wall.
But to no avail.
He knew full well that under the relentless onslaught of the Mother of the Zerg Legion and the continuous pressure of more ordinary void waves, the fall of the fortress was only a matter of time, and that time would be very short.
Every second of perseverance means the sacrifice of more heroic soldiers. Emergency communications are sent directly to the joint command center on the mainland.
Ariel, along with tactical masters and various staff members, quickly compiled and analyzed the information that had arrived from the heart.
The conclusion is clear and cold.
Abandon nodes 1-35.
The reasons are sufficient.
The Crystal Law's restraint was successful.
The mother insect's main body was firmly held back by the Crystal Law.
Given the intensity of their battles at level 15 and the mutual restraint they exert, this battle is likely to be protracted, possibly even continuing until the entire Devouring Boundary advances and the campaign transitions.
The battle between the two sides is likely to continue and drag on until the end of this apocalyptic war.
This is what the Law of Crystal wants to achieve.
When two players of the same level are desperately trying to hold off the other, the player being held back has no way to move freely.
The troops had reached their limit at this point.
Without the direct command of the Queen and the close-range "halo" of support, this elite Void Legion, though powerful, has limited offensive range and sustained combat capability.
The void creatures that are attracted will eventually need to be commanded.
Once the fortresses are abandoned, they either scatter due to the loss of a clear objective.
They can either stay put or continue attacking the next node, but by then, freed from the direct influence of the queen, their threat level will drop significantly.
Moreover, the design incorporates redundant defenses.
The core of Aegira's node mesh defense system lies in its redundancy and resilience; the mesh defense structure has ample redundancy.
Nodes 1-35 have completed their mission, holding out for the crucial few days.
Before the Queen began her operation, this node had been guarded for several days, greatly consuming the Void's forces and time.
Its fall, though regrettable, was still within the margin of error of the overall defense strategy.
Everything is within a redundant structure, so there's no need to worry.
Adjacent nodes will quickly adjust their defense focus to fill the gaps.
Not to mention the other regions that follow.
It's impossible to expect every node to withstand the test of time perfectly.
This is unrealistic.
Giving up now will allow us to preserve more of our strength.
Rather than letting the remaining defenders and valuable Night Watchmen and technical troops perish here, it would be better to withdraw them and replenish their ranks on other fronts or allow them to rest and regroup before engaging in subsequent battles.
The lives and experience of the soldiers are Aegira's most valuable war potential.
If this organized Zerg force can really move around at will, then we can simply pay a certain price to eliminate it first.
After confirmation.
The order has been issued.
"Iron Curtain Protocol activated! All units, evacuate nodes 1-35 according to the predetermined sequence! Repeat, activate Iron Curtain Protocol, orderly evacuation!"
The retreat of the fortress, like the reverse operation of a precision instrument, showcased the iron discipline of the Aegir army and the profound foundation of their alchemical civilization amidst the background noise of gunfire and death.
At the heart of the fortress, the power of the massive "attraction node" device was rapidly reduced.
The energy field that had been powerfully attracting the surrounding void creatures like a vortex rapidly weakened and shrank in size.
First, the power of the attraction nodes at the core is reduced, decreasing the number of void waves attracted.
The torrent of void creatures surging into the fortress paused abruptly, the pressure decreasing sharply, buying precious time and space for subsequent steps.
Then we need to stabilize the space and open up pathways.
The "spatial stabilizing anchors" pre-embedded throughout the fortress were activated simultaneously.
A powerful spatial stabilizing force field spread out, forcefully smoothing out the fragile and chaotic spatial folds caused by the level 15 battle and the void erosion.
In the core evacuation zone of the fortress, several enormous alchemical doorframes, engraved with intricate spatial runes, shone with blinding light. Space was forcibly torn open to create a stable passage, connecting to safe order nodes or transit areas behind.
Once all of this is done, the evacuation of personnel will begin.
"Hurry, hurry, get moving! We don't have much time. Every second we delay means our soldiers have to endure another second of damage."
According to the priority sequence.
Seriously wounded personnel, non-combat technicians such as engineers, mage tower operators, data network node maintainers, and key alchemical equipment and data cores were the first to rush into the portal, escorted by elite Night Watch squads.
Subsequently, the combat units withdrew in stages.
The troops on the city wall fought and retreated, shrinking towards the core teleportation area layer by layer and zone by zone under the cover of pre-set barricades and internal defensive fortifications.
Long-range firepower provided final coverage fire to suppress the pursuing enemy.
Finally, a person is needed to cover the rear.
A rearguard force, composed of the most elite heavily armored warriors, alchemists skilled in area control and self-destruct devices, and a small number of veteran Night's Watch soldiers who volunteered to stay behind, firmly guarded the last few lines of defense leading to the teleportation zone.
They stood like rocks, enduring the most frenzied attacks of the Zerg army, using their lives and steel to buy every second for their comrades to evacuate.
As the last batch of combat units retreated into the portal, the rearguard received their final orders.
"Your turn, warriors, let's begin."
They detonated alchemical bombs that had been pre-positioned at key support points and energy nodes throughout the area.
The violent explosion was not intended to kill the enemy, but to execute the final procedure.
Amidst deafening roars and towering flames and smoke, the massive steel fortress began to collapse inward in an unbelievable manner.
The thick alloy walls, towering towers, and sturdy fortifications were rapidly compressed and deformed as if being kneaded by an invisible giant hand, accompanied by a tooth-grinding metallic twisting sound.
In just a few breaths, the massive, mountain-like fortress had transformed into a dense metal sphere, only tens of meters in diameter, with a surface flowing with a dark red, high-temperature molten metallic luster.
At the core of this metal sphere is a temporary shelter made of high-strength divine steel and space-stabilizing materials.
In the final moments before the fortress collapsed, all members of the rearguard were instantly pulled into the core chamber by the powerful alchemical field.
Almost at the same instant the metal sphere took shape, the last small teleportation array reserved inside the core compartment was activated.
A powerful spatial energy enveloped the entire metal sphere, creating a violent ripple in the void like a stone thrown into water before vanishing without a trace.
All that remained was a huge crater, steaming with scorching heat and residual void energy, and a swarm of void insects that had rushed in but found nothing, now momentarily bewildered.
Let alone people.
They even had to take the materials for building the fortress with them.
In any case, the space in the area eroded by the void is extremely unstable. As long as the teleportation is successful this time, once it stabilizes, it doesn't matter how big the gate is afterward.
It won't consume much energy.
On the icy plains, only the earth-shattering battle between the Crystal Law and the Mourning Queen continues, and the Queen Legion, having lost its target, begins to turn around, searching for its next prey.
Nodes 1-35 have fallen, but after a brief fluctuation, Aigela's defensive network tightens again, awaiting the next, even more brutal assault. (End of Chapter)