Chapter 194 - 137: Lin Feng’s Strength, Responsibility, and a Visit from the Thirteenth Division
Chapter 194: Chapter 137: Lin Feng’s Strength, Responsibility, and a Visit from the Thirteenth Division
Led by the Land Patrol Battleship, the fleet stopped beside the entrance to the Wormhole to welcome back the Sergeant Major.
Faced with the battleship-like vehicle, over twenty meters long and six to seven meters wide, Qin Hu and his men were so shocked they couldn’t speak, left standing frozen in place.
And on the flame-like patterns on both sides of its hull were several 200mm caliber cannons. Even the firing ports of the other eight tanks were equipped with many cannons of the same caliber, as well as countless heavy machine guns.
A rough estimate: forty to fifty grenade cannons, over a hundred heavy machine guns. Such firepower was comparable to an artillery battalion and an infantry regiment.
But in Qin Hu’s eyes, the most important thing was the extremely powerful mobility of this convoy—or rather, this land fleet.
’Judging from the speed they arrived at, it must have been at least a hundred miles per hour—faster than the maximum burst speed of a Tier Two Tiger Spine Zerg. This meant Lin Feng’s fleet could fight on the move, take the initiative, and annihilate any and all Zerg from a distance.’
’And this was in the middle of a ruined city. On the open plains of the suburbs, its mobility would be even greater.’
’As long as they had enough ammunition to maintain that immense firepower...’
’With just these hundred or so men under Lin Feng, they could completely halt the Zerg Race’s expansion and invasion beyond the second defensive line.’
At this thought, Qin Hu finally realized that the ruined city before him, this smoke-filled Zerg forbidden zone, wasn’t the result of a massive human-Zerg war. It was all the work of the fleet before him, the work of just a hundred men.
’It seems I don’t need to worry about their weapons and ammunition.’
’No wonder Lin Feng dared to venture deep into the Underground Zerg Nest with just one other person. And no wonder they hadn’t encountered any resistance on their way back.’
’It turned out the Black Spine Zergs and Tiger Spine Zergs had been completely suppressed by the fierce surface firepower, forced to hide trembling in the Hive.’
’The underground Mother Empress had likely let them go so easily because she was overwhelmed by the situation on the surface.’
’And that was just surface suppression. With Lin Feng and his companion back, the fleet could open fire on the underground Wormhole, sealing and burying the entire Zerg Race underground.’
’Without air circulation and with the soil packed in, the Red-Armored Beetles wouldn’t be able to dig far, let alone deep.’
’Ultimately, their only choice would be to return to the surface and fight Lin Feng’s fleet to the death.’
While Qin Hu was considering how to maximize the effectiveness of this fleet, Lin Feng had already sent men to load the Biological Material they had hauled to the surface into the Battleship’s open front hatch, securing it in the storage compartment.
As for the intact Zerg corpse Qin Hu wanted to take back, Lin Feng had the rear tanks secure it to their roofs for transport back to the defensive line.
The seven- or eight-kilometer journey was over quickly.
Along the way, Qin Hu and his wounded boarded the tank Li Ran was in. There, he saw many of his old subordinates who had survived the rout at the first defensive line. Most of them had been listed as missing or killed in action; he never expected to see them again here with Lin Feng.
After some pleasantries, Qin Hu relayed the bad news to Li Ran, telling him everything he had seen and heard in the Underground Zerg Nest and how the Wu City defensive line would be difficult to hold.
Li Ran had once been his personal guard. Now, he served as a Commander under Lin Feng. Qin Hu needed to share this new information with him so he could make preparations in advance.
After all, the future of the entire Southern Region would depend on the forces under Lin Feng’s command.
To Qin Hu’s relief, Li Ran’s reply confirmed that Lin Feng intended to stay in Wu City to block any further Zerg Race incursions.
He wasn’t holding a grudge over the friendly fire incident caused by the spy, Cheng Zhan, from the Thirteenth Division.
With such a powerful fleet present, it would undoubtedly reduce a great deal of the defensive pressure on the troops within the second defensive line.
Seeing the high-walled fortress appear in the distance, Qin Hu’s eyes narrowed. He told Li Ran to inform Lin Feng they could stop here; they would cover the last few hundred meters on their own.
Having received the request, Lin Feng immediately ordered the convoy to halt.
He leaped down from the Battleship and approached Qin Hu and his men, who had already retrieved the Zerg corpse and were preparing to leave.
If nothing unexpected happened, this would be the last time the two of them would meet for the foreseeable future, and very possibly, the last time ever.
After all, in the battle to defend the Federal Capital, not even Lin Feng could guarantee victory. Even escaping the encirclement would come down to luck and praying they didn’t run into a Mother Empress Swarm.
But Lin Feng knew that Qin Hu’s mind was made up. A few more words of persuasion wouldn’t be enough to deter him from this "suicide mission."
The Federal Capital had to be defended. To flee without a fight was tantamount to surrender. If it lost its legitimacy, the Federation would exist in name only.
Even if the defense ultimately failed, it would slow the advance of the Zerg Race on the entire northern front, buying time for the heavy industries in the states behind them to relocate and retreat.
With the fall of Wu City’s first defensive line, the eyes of all survivors were now fixed on the Federal Capital, hoping it would be the site of humanity’s first successful defense.
However, the Capital, with its population of tens of millions, was a far greater prize than Wu City. It would naturally attract more Zerg Race Mother Empresses, who would surround it from all directions.
Just as Taihu Lake, now situated between Jin City and Wu City, had become a contested prize for the many Mother Empresses near Jiangnan, all rushing to fight over it for a quick Upgrade.
And so, as he waved goodbye to Qin Hu, Lin Feng made a point to add a word of warning:
"A Tier Three Mother Empress is not the final stage of Zerg evolution. They have their eyes on the Capital, and their targets are the millions of survivors and Awakeners who haven’t been evacuated yet."
"Just by breaking through the first defensive line, the Hai City Mother Empress leaped to the Tier Three Middle Stage. Now it can incubate new Tier Two Zerg Race and control even more Tiger Spine Zergs..."