Chapter 572 - 266: Cleaning Up, Updating Equipment, No. 2 Machine Debuts

Chapter 572: Chapter 266: Cleaning Up, Updating Equipment, No. 2 Machine Debuts

So, killing a hundred thousand or so of the Low-tier Zerg Swarm was far from a crippling blow to the Multi-Emperor Alliance as a whole.

Deep beneath the ruins of this city, a Swarm of nearly half a million was still hidden, continuously excavating rubble to clear a path to the Yunxia Ridge Underground Hive.

Time was running out for the Salvation Army.

If they delayed any longer, the situation would surely favor the Zerg Race. Their only option would be to retreat to the main incubation hive in the Northwest, conceding the Yunxia Ridge bridgehead to the Mother Empress.

Lin Feng’s eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the Warriors, one after another, joyfully harvesting the Life Energy they needed for advancement after killing the dying members of the Tier Two Zerg Race...

Once all two hundred Warriors had advanced, the Salvation Army’s greatest shortage would no longer be high-tier combat power, but rather the weaponry and firepower to match.

So, after a nod, Lin Feng spoke to Liu Yi, Shen Jie, and the others beside him.

"Our firepower still isn’t strong enough, especially our Electromagnetic Cannons, which have less destructive power but greater lethality..."

"Later, I’ll use the Pulse Tail Cannons from the dozens of Pulse War Scorpions we killed in the last interception battle, as well as our haul from this time, to build more Electromagnetic Cannons."

"This will help us deal with the complex structure of the Hive."

The destructive power of the Electromagnetic Cannon is actually quite low. Being a pure form of energy, it lacks the explosive effect of gunpowder. Even a direct hit from its ball lightning-like projectile would, at most, create a charred, fused crater three to four meters in diameter.

But its true power lies in its high-voltage electric shock—an intangible, lethal force against organic Life Forms.

This was precisely why Lin Feng always equipped his subordinates with Electromagnetic Cannons when fighting Underground.

But as useful as the Electromagnetic Cannon was, its greatest drawback was its scarce ammunition—a mere fifty shots. In addition, its Fire Rate was slow, requiring a tedious sequence of aiming, charging, firing, and repositioning.

In the past, a dozen or so Electromagnetic Cannons were enough to suppress a Tier Two Swarm of several hundred within a single hive.

But the Zerg Race they now faced was a collective of six Mother Empresses, with a Tier Two Swarm numbering in the tens of thousands.

Forget a dozen or so Electromagnetic Cannons; even twenty or thirty wouldn’t be enough.

Their weak firepower would struggle to break through the defensive line at the Wormhole, which the Tier Two Zerg Race was plugging with their own bodies.

This was one of the reasons Shen Jie initially had trouble leading his thirty-five Genetic Warriors to storm the Underground Hive.

The deeper they advanced into the Underground Hive, the more spread out their forces would become. Facing stronger resistance from the Swarm, their progress would become incredibly difficult.

Coupled with the Mother Empress’s mental assaults, they ultimately had to make a reluctant retreat to avoid casualties.

To breach the Hive deep underground, get close to the Zerg Race’s Mother Empress, and create an opportunity to slay her, they not only needed to Upgrade their current equipment but also required an indispensable number of high-tier fighters at the Tier Two Late Stage and Perfection levels.

Now, the strength of the Salvation Army’s members had increased.

The only thing lacking was an upgrade to their equipment.

’With this in mind,’ Lin Feng continued speaking to Liu Yi.

"What’s the progress since our negotiations with the Federation’s top brass two days ago? When do they plan on sending the materials for our trade?"

Since the members of the Guard Battle Group were all pure-blooded humans, Lin Feng had arranged for Liu Yi to act as the liaison with General Chen from the Federation. The two had exchanged radio communication codes to facilitate remote contact.

Liu Yi did a quick mental calculation.

"According to the schedule we were given, they should arrive this afternoon. In addition to the promised steel, they’re bringing two Small Hydrogen Bombs, each with a yield of three hundred thousand tons of TNT."

"They’re powerful enough to destroy any Tier One or Tier Two Life Form within a ten-kilometer diameter. Even a High-tier Mother Empress couldn’t survive the ten-thousand-degree temperatures within one kilometer of the epicenter!"

Lin Feng nodded, very satisfied. But more than the power of the Nuclear Bombs, he cared about the other item: the Fine Steel Material that could be used to synthesize Replicas.

"Tell them to bring extra Fine Steel. With more and more of our people becoming Tier Two Awakeners, our demand for weapons is constantly increasing."

Liu Yi acknowledged the order and immediately had one of the nearby Warriors head back to the main camp to relay the message to General Chen.

He then glanced out at Yunxia Ridge, where corpses littered the landscape.

"Should we have Qin Hu and his men come clean this up? After all, this Low-tier Zerg Swarm of a hundred thousand is a considerable fortune for ordinary Awakeners."

"Besides, if we leave them here, the whole place will reek and be an eyesore in less than two days. It’ll affect the troops defending the line."

Lin Feng grunted in agreement. It was only early September, and the monsoons blowing inland from the sea would carry the stench of the corpses up the mountain, which would severely affect the soldiers’ morale.

"Just have them send over some regular soldiers. The pressure on their defensive line is also immense. Our two forces are supporting each other now; neither side can afford to collapse."

After discussing the subsequent arrangements with Liu Yi...

An hour passed.

The deep blue of dawn gradually gave way to gentle, rosy hues and golden light as the sun began to rise.

Lin Feng slowly rose to his feet and looked toward Shen Jie.

Shen Jie nodded, understanding that their leader had finished his rest.

Lin Feng then gave the order for all rested Tier Two members to prepare. They would follow the two Tier Three Powerhouses deep into the Underground Hive for a reconnaissance mission.

This was just the first, preliminary attempt.

Without the support of numerous Armor-Piercing Cannons, Electromagnetic Cannons, and high-yield Hydrogen Bombs, trying to break the united front of multiple Mother Empresses with only two Tier Three Awakeners was a complete pipe dream.

Even though Lin Feng now had thirty-four Tier Two Peak Genetic Warriors who had mastered Realm Power, this only gave them the confidence to face a Mother Empress directly. They were still a long way from being able to fight and defeat the High-tier Zerg Race.