Chapter 985 - 501: Thunderhammer_2

However, it did not completely fail; most targets’ energy index showed a decrease.

Among them, one Black Rock Ant had its energy reduced by nearly half, indicating it was severely injured.

Gong Shicheng issued a second order: "All units retreat, fire sixty rockets in ten seconds, with twelve replaced by Thunder Hammer sound wave bombs."

Due to the immense payload capacity of the Canglan Eagles, it carried a wide variety of weapons.

"Yes!"

This command from Gong Shicheng contained a bit of trickery.

"Retreat" was intended to display weakness to the enemy and lure the Black Rock Ants into chasing and lowering their guard.

"Twelve replaced by Thunder Hammer" was a trick to mix fish with pearls.

The unsuspecting Black Rock Ant swarm might mistake it for another wave of rockets and be caught off guard.

Ten seconds later.

The third wave of rockets launched on time.

The six Canglan Eagles retreated even faster, seemingly ready to escape.

The Black Rock Ant swarm pursued more fiercely while dispersing to avoid.

Then.

The Thunder Hammer exploded.

"Boom! Boom!"

The sound wasn’t loud, yet it conveyed an unusual feeling that penetrated the soul.

Even two kilometers away, with specially designed noise-canceling devices, the soldiers felt slightly dizzy.

"Boom... Boom..." The sound echoed like waves in their souls, seemingly endless.

The performance of the Black Rock Ants was even worse.

They stumbled like drunkards; their running speed dropped by ninety percent, and their paths became erratic.

This indicated the Thunder Hammer’s supernatural sound waves severely affected their movement abilities.

A satisfied smile curled Gong Shicheng’s lips: "It succeeded!"

He shouted without hesitation: "Hit these bastards with a few ’Little Fatties’."

The so-called ’Little Fatty’ was a nickname coined by the soldiers, officially known as a heavy flamethrower bomb.

The jets it released had an astonishing range of one kilometer, with over ten thousand streams, each twenty times more energetic.

Due to its two-ton weight, each Canglan Eagle carried only one Little Fatty.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Accompanied by a few thunderous roars, massive fireworks bloomed on the ground.

The intelligent data chain provided optimal drop points to maximize the kill effect.

Hundreds of weak jets even reached near the formation but were blocked by the Energy Copper shield.

Kong Bo shouted with delight: "Colonel, sixty-two targets’ spectra have completely disappeared, and the energy index of others has dropped significantly."

"Spectra disappearance" meant they were killed.

"Severe drop in energy index" indicated heavy injuries.

Gong Shicheng joyfully issued the fourth order: "Eliminate the remaining Black Rock Ants."

"Yes!"

Ten minutes later.

The battle ended.

Only twenty or so Black Rock Ants escaped, the rest were all killed.

Gong Shicheng gazed over the battlefield, feeling a bit disappointed as well as relieved.

Disappointment stemmed from the intelligent decision system’s prompt about the warrior Black Rock Ant, which still hadn’t appeared.

He had an uncanny intuition that the warrior Black Rock Ant lay hidden somewhere, silently observing the formation.

It was likely a calm and dangerous creature.

Relief came from the fact that the formation didn’t have to deal with the warrior Black Rock Ant, greatly enhancing safety.

Gong Shicheng ordered: "Deploy the ’Locust’!"

The so-called ’Locust’ was a mid-sized drone employing plenty of black technology.

Weighing merely 300 kilograms, including the Super Crystal Battery, its payload capacity remarkably reached 2.8 tons, impressively powerful.

The Locust possessed six mechanical arms, useful for battlefield rescue and gathering ground items, eliminating the need for Canglan Eagles to land, tremendously enhancing safety.

Each Canglan Eagle deployed a Locust drone.

They roamed the battlefield deftly, first using mechanical arms to grab trophies, then netting them, spraying them with anti-corrosion gel, wrapping them with special films, and finally placing them in the rear cargo hold of the Canglan Eagles.

Fully automated, requiring only target information input, the Locusts could accomplish tasks on their own.

Before long.

The trophies were collected.

Due to the abundance of body remains, the cargo hold couldn’t accommodate them all; some were hung on hooks beneath the aircraft body, resembling dried chickens hanging under farm eaves.

Gong Shicheng issued the final order: "Return!"

The Canglan Eagle fleet quickly flew to the exit of the Space Island, vanishing as ripples spread widely.

Another ten minutes passed.

The formation successfully landed at a temporarily established base.

Gong Shicheng soon received a report, his good mood vanished instantly: "Of the ten formations involved in this mission, totaling sixty Canglan Eagles, five were lost, another eleven damaged; fifty-two soldiers killed, twenty-two injured."

The ferocity of the Black Sand Sea Poison Ants was evident from this.

His superior, General Zhang, sighed: "There’s no alternative. To accumulate experience fighting Primordial Monsters, we must pay the price of blood.

"All civilizations sacrificed many people during their growth, Canglan Civilization is no exception, so now it’s time for our military to step forward."

Gong Shicheng suddenly saluted: "General, I apply to participate in the next mission."

General Zhang smiled: "Young Gong, you were the best-performing commander among the ten formations. It’s no surprise you cooperated with Mr. Spirit Crows."

Gong Shicheng’s mouth twitched upon hearing this.

"Pop!"

General Zhang patted his shoulder and continued: "But we desperately need you to teach the other commanders your experience because it can help more people survive, so you cannot go to the battlefield for now."

Gong Shicheng sighed: "Alright."

The colonel thought for a moment and asked: "Are Mr. Spirit Crows and Mr. Ghost participating in this North Island war?"

If top powerhouses from their side were involved, the military casualties would undoubtedly decrease.

General Zhang replied: "Participating! However, those two lords’ main battlefield isn’t the Space Maze; instead, it’s the extremely hazardous Black Sand Sea. Spirit Crow Lord has gathered a flock of Spirit Crows, which will soon enter the battlefield."

He gently nudged Gong Shicheng’s back: "Young Gong, go rest now."

*

Sea of Death Black Sand.

Yang Fan, transformed into Mr. Ghost, piloted the mighty Overlord Legion swiftly beneath the sand layers.

To date.

The Centipede Overlord Battle Spirit controlled by the Holy Artifact Legion Tiger Talisman had swelled to an astounding 160 in number.

A force daunting enough to make Knight Powerhouses tremble.

At this point, the sacred artifact’s capacity for War Spirits had exceeded ninety percent.

Yang Fan didn’t plan to recover more Centipede Overlords, intending to reserve the remaining space for a Knight Level Battle Spirit.

Though the difficulty is very high, he still wanted to try.

Half an hour later.

In a mental command, twelve Centipede Overlords collectively unleashed a wave of pressure.

Nearly fifty square kilometers of sand surface above, many poison ants started fleeing frantically.

Although during the Age of Calamity, various poison ants wandered around as if possessed, encountering truly dreadful predators, they would immediately avoid.

In the sky.

The Iron Fist Civilization’s Guardian watched as scores of poison ants fled in packs, a metallic gleam of envy flashing in his eyes.

As a Knight Powerhouse, he tried using equal-rank pressure to dispel the poison ant swarms.

But the effect was counterproductive; the swarms seemed to discern the foreign presence and grew more frenzied.

A few seconds later.

Yang Fan, standing atop a Centipede Overlord, emerged slowly from beneath the sand layers.

The Guardian descended, first to greet: "Canglan Ghost Lord!"

In the same rank, the weaker greets the stronger first; it’s the rule.

Yang Fan nodded: "Lord Guardian."

The Guardian reported a critical piece of information: "Iron Fist World and Black Sand Sea have undergone dimension merging, with two regions engulfed into the Black Sand Sea, causing many deaths."

Yang Fan expressed surprise immediately.

Dimension merging was typically a small probability event; for two civilizations to experience this simultaneously was undoubtedly not coincidental.