Chapter 608.1: Get Up.

“The Heart of Steel is in danger?!”

In the Enterprise’s Embassy in the New Alliance.

Yi Chuan shot to his feet, palms braced on the table, jaw dropping as he stared at the blank face of Eclipse in the holo-window.

His imagination failed him.

What in the world could threaten that flying fortress?

Eclipse, standing amidst pale blue particles, only nodded slightly, drew a line in the air with one finger, and sent him Heart of Steel’s radar feed.

The screen filled with a dense swarm of red dots, and Yi Chuan’s scalp prickled.

Seeing him speechless, Eclipse continued.

“The Torch Church has mobilized over 10,000 bioengineered troops. Their specific form are those of humanoid mutants with flight capability, suspected to be Mutant Human derivatives. Their attack mode consists of a swarm assault. Based on comprehensive battlefield analysis, probability of breaking through the fire net is 83%. The Heart of Steel is preparing for close combat on the deck. The New Alliance administrator requests we honor the treaty and dispatch reinforcements immediately.”

Yi Chuan stared at the flickering hologram, torn between panic and doubt.

If things were that dire, why hadn’t Chu Guang evacuated?

That man knew what he meant to the New Alliance. He wouldn’t risk everything just for pride, would he?

But that wasn’t the time to dwell.

If he waited to think it through, the man might already be dead!

Yi Chuan locked eyes with Eclipse. “Can you reach Chu Guang?”

Eclipse shook its head. “He is commanding the troops in battle. I cannot reach him.”

Yi Chuan cursed inwardly. Helpless, he took a deep breath. “Fine. I understand.”

He cut the line, tapped the table with one finger, then quickly placed a call to the Enterprise’s northern airbase in the New Alliance.

The moment the connection opened, before the officer could greet him, Yi Chuan spoke. “Our ally is in trouble. I’m requesting the 26th Assault Team deploy to the Brocade River Province for an emergency response.”

The base commander frowned. “The Highest Council has not authorized military action in the Brocade River Province. That motion is still under debate. Your request is out of procedure.”

Yi Chuan wasn’t surprised by the refusal. He steadied himself and pressed on. “Per security ordinance clauses and interpretive provisions, in crises that threaten the survival of allied governance, emergency protocols may bypass Highest Council approval. I’ll submit a report afterward to justify the necessity of the response.”

He dumped Eclipse’s images and the battle assessment into the holo-feed.

The commander’s frown only deepened.

He knew the clause, but the reports the day before had said the frontline was advancing smoothly.

How had things turned desperate overnight?

“I see the situation... But does it meet that threshold? After all, only the Heart of Steel is at risk.”

Yi Chuan’s tone hardened. “But the New Alliance’s administrator is on that ship! You know what he means to the New Alliance, even to the River Valley Province. We cannot lose this ally. This is no time for hesitation. I need your men airborne, now!”

At that, the officer’s expression changed. He straightened and nodded solemnly. “... Understood.”

Yi Chuan sank back into his chair with a sigh of relief. “Good.”

Almost as soon as he hung up, alarms blared across the Enterprise’s airbase on the southern bank of the Heavenly Water River.

The base roared to life like a wound-up gear train.

Two Orca transport planes lit their engines. Troopers in exoframes and exoskeletons quickly boarded.

Alongside them went ground fire support platforms, including Hellhound drones and assorted gadgets sent from Ideal City.

The 26th Assault Team boarded. Engines roared as blue plasma plumes lifted them into the dark sky.

Inside one cabin, Su Ming glanced at Captain Yun Song with a puzzled look. “Do those people really need our help?”

He had seen those lunatics fight in the Great Desert. If even they were in trouble, what good could one assault team do?

Eyes on his tablet, reading the briefing, Yun Song only muttered, “That’s not our concern.”

But he, too, felt a nagging doubt.

800 kilometers...

Even at full speed, by the time they arrived it might all be over. It was hard to imagine that man just sitting there, calmly waiting for them.

...

Outside the Heart of Steel.

The cold wind wasn’t the only thing howling. Mutant Humans with organic-wings and fanged maws swarmed the sky.

They were like gargoyles of the legends of old,

War3’s

bat riders without the riders. Fibrous chest muscles and keratinous armor shrugged off rifle rounds. Their heads were their weak points, but their skulls were hard as stone.

Well, other than their eyes...

Night Ten hadn’t expected the knife he threw on instinct to hit a critical strike, piercing the socket and into the brain.

With the strength of an exoskeleton behind his throw, the blade hit like a steel nail.

He watched the shadow fall into the clouds, then dragged himself back into the shaking cabin.

He wanted to gripe at a certain D-class Researcher, but her pale, terrified face shut him up.

From another angle... If he had only one life, he would be scared too.

She was just a student who was bullied around by her mentors.

Same status, different fate.

For the first time, Night Ten felt sympathy for her. “You okay?”

Jiang Xuezhou bit her white lips, about to answer, when a shriek tore in from the side hatch.

They both turned reflexively. Terror flashed in her eyes, but this time she screamed it out loud. “To your left!”

Even as she shouted, Night Ten had already swung his rifle in the right direction.

Ratatatata...

Shell casings rained as muzzle fire flashed.

The winged Mutant Human took the burst full on. Blood sprayed from chest to skull as its claws slackened and it tumbled into the clouds.

However, there were more.

Once they caught a Viper, the winged freaks weren’t letting go. They swarmed the hull, some clawing at hatches, others battering the plasma engines.

Gunfire rattled inside.

The pilot’s pale face dripped with sweat. He yanked the stick, spinning to shake them off, but claws hooked into the hull like anchors. Even if some were flung off, they fluttered back instantly.

Night Ten staggered in the swaying cabin, barely saving himself by clipping the hook of his exoskeleton to an anti-slip rail. Without it, he would have been long gone.

“Goddammit!” He cursed, trying to rise, when the plane jolted violently, tossing him off his seat.

Across from him, Jiang Xuezhou clutched her straps, shoulders dented deep, voice trembling. “We’re... falling.”

At that same moment, the pilot roared from the cockpit, “Engines lost power!”

Night Ten grabbed a seat with one hand, rifle with the other, shouting, “What happened?!”

The sweating pilot yelled back, “Something is blocking our plasma vents!”

Night Ten’s gut dropped. “Can you fix it?!”

The pilot was more desperate, eyes on the flickering gauges.

The belly engines were fragile, damage like that wasn’t repairable midair.

“Acceleration coils fried! It needs replacing! It’s no use, we’re done!”

“Fuck!” Watching the deck vanish above, Night Ten gritted his teeth and made a choice. He tossed his rifle at Jiang Xuezhou. “Catch!”

She fumbled it to her chest with a grunt, gasping as she saw Night Ten scrambling for the hatch. “What are you doing?!”

He didn’t answer, just gripped the hatch, stuck his head out, one boot braced on the edge. “... Can’t just wait to die.”

He didn’t fear death.

It was only three days’ wait.

But... The pilot couldn’t revive. He probably had family in Boulder Town.

And the Researcher. She fought her way into the Academy. To die there was too cruel for her.