Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

Bai E, who performed exceptionally well in training, undoubtedly became the absolute core of this small-scale mech pilot squad. Naturally, he also carried a heavy responsibility.

Facing the inquiries from the higher-ups, Bai E responded in a deep voice, "No problem, sir!"

The troops rumbled forward, causing the ground to tremble.

Drones flew high in the sky, circling and somewhat replacing the global satellite functionality long gone from this era, bringing the troops environmental intelligence from beyond their immediate vicinity.

Occasionally, as they swept past the mechas, it seemed as if one could reach out and grab these tiny things, which by comparison, were like mosquitoes.

The towering, ten-meter-tall mechas provided Bai E with a clear view far into the distance, as the ground extended endlessly beyond the transparent glass windows.

As the warm white sun in the sky gradually made its way westward, the horizon within sight began to reveal some indistinctly visible fierce alien creatures.

Seemingly sensing the commotion coming from afar, those little things paused for a moment before quickly changing their previous trajectory of movement.

The densely packed black bodies, like a living carpet, rapidly shifted over the ground, sending chills down the spine of the onlooker.

However, the mid-level officers inside the command vehicle, who saw this scene through the drone footage, all breathed an invisible sigh of relief.

Over time, having dealt extensively with the Bug Race, humanity's understanding of these creatures had gradually deepened—

Unless caught by surprise or forced to, the Bug Race never engaged in combat away from their hive nodes network. Aside from the mysterious "Overseer" and the "Brain Bugs" deep within the hives, the range and the number of bugs that the mantis-like node creatures could influence were strictly limited.

Thus, the experienced frontline officers could often roughly estimate the number of "node creatures" controlling them by observing the scale of the worker and bee bugs.

It was only a moment later in the monitor of the command vehicle that a portion of the cannon bugs, stationed and ready for orders, turned their gaze towards the screen.

These bugs, carrying the massive bio-cannon tubes on their backs, instantly allocated their tasks through a network linking all wills, and after a brief aiming, the bio-cannons, contracting through muscle power, shot out a kind of smaller, more precise spore mine.

"Zzzzzzzz~"

Instantly, the monitor erupted in static noise, and the image consecutively blurred significantly.

"Pop, pop, pop, pop!"

A certain distance from the sea of bugs, human remote-controlled drones began to crash one after another.

Indeed, human small-scale drones could carry some minor weapons for remote aerial support, just like the drone swarm that controlled the battlefield during the initial recruit trials.

However, on the frontline, the small-scale drones, with neither impressive flight speed nor agility, were of little practical use against the Bug Race army equipped with long-range units like the cannon bugs. Furthermore, the limited size of these drones meant the weapons they could carry were naturally less powerful.

Deploying them on the frontlines was not cost-effective compared to the expense of producing these aircraft, so they were generally only used as simple reconnaissance drones for observing the battle situation and gathering information, rarely participating directly in combat.

Nevertheless, the short-lived visual information provided by the crashing drones was still enough for human officers to make combat arrangements.

"Advance the front line, suppress with firepower!"

"Advance the tank battalion, and synchronize with the first, third, and seventh infantry regiments!"

"Cover the advance of the front line, artillery battalion to fire three rounds!"

Orders from different levels and units were rapidly relayed to each fundamental combat unit, and the engines of the tanks that had been moving slowly roared to life, accelerating fiercely. Discover more stories at My Virtual Library Empire

In the rear of the marching troops, the V3 rocket trucks carrying large-scale lethal weapons began to "look up" slowly as their missiles rose on the launching rails.

"Sss~"

"Sss~"

"Sss~"

Billows of white smoke cleared, and a volley of snow-white missiles, propelled by their thrusters, streaked toward the sky above the Bug Race's swarm, which was aware of the human army's approach but had yet to disperse completely.

The trajectory of the missiles, as seen through the large mecha windows, seemed slow but was actually urgent. It looked as if one could easily pilot the mecha to evade them, passing over the grayish-yellow earth and the interwoven blue-and-white sky before landing far away on the slimy ground covered in viscous fluids.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Clusters of small mushroom clouds rose in an instant, green and brown bodily fluids mixed with severed limbs and joints shooting outward from the force of the explosions.

"Buzz~"

The V3 rocket launcher's thrusters once again set up the next snow-white rocket, preparing for another round of bombardment.

Positioned at the rear, Bai E's high vantage point in the mecha allowed him to take in everything at once, an entirely different combat perspective from before, enabling him to focus his attention more comprehensively.

Humans were not without long-range weapon support; what they had encountered as infantry charging into the fray last time was the aftermath of human missile bombardments.

The sheer number of bugs was a terrifying despair, yet brave warriors never knew the meaning of retreat.

"Spread out! Spread out!"

The Bug Race's artillery bugs began to counterattack.

Human's rocket launchers needed time to reload and refuel.

The artillery bugs also needed their organic responses and bodily functions to adjust.

Swiveling their cannon muzzles, the artillery bugs hunkered down, and their biological cannons on their backs began to condense different attacks—

Bio-Plasma Cannons and spore bombs.

One targeted armor, the other targeted infantry.

The bugs didn't need to diversify into too many types, as the same bugs could evolve different utilities depending on the situation they needed to face.

"Target... position..."

Familiar battlefield commands flowed through Bai E's mind, but the overly rapid response and firing speed left him no chance to voice a warning.

He could respond when facing it himself, issue a warning through wireless voice communication for his teammates to react, but, clearly, everything was too late.

However, the Military Department didn't know about Bai E's abilities and didn't need his reminders.

Having dealt with the bug race for years, they had their own countermeasures for all known Bug Race tactics—

Sheer resistance.

Light blue crystal bombs traced their remnants in the field of vision, with spore bombs bursting into clouds of green toxic mist.

The tanks, their energy storage devices destroyed amidst the electrical tumult, burst into fierce flames and exploded instantly on the spot.

Soldiers screamed in agony under the assault of invisible bio-pests, striving to cover the last meter toward the direction of the bug swarm.

"Target... position..."

Watching everything silently, Bai E's heart suddenly raced as a deeper, more resonant voice echoed from far behind the Bug Race swarm, accompanied by a nearly palpable murderous intent.

Bai E's gaze sharpened as he looked toward the distant horizon, a vast expanse of land that was nearly imperceptible.

The mecha formation he was in was situated at the very rear of the entire allied forces. The artillery bugs' attacks couldn't reach this far.

So… what was it!?