Developing Superpowers in Another World

Chapter 292 – The Combined Beast Horde

 

The third wave of alien beasts was finally wiped out. Ye Hongci wiped the blood off her blade, kicked aside the mutilated corpse of an alien beast in front of her, and sheathed her shiny new sword.

“Rest for half an hour. We’ll set off again in half an hour.”

Upon hearing the order, everyone let out a long sigh of relief, stepping carefully over the uneven bodies of the alien beasts as they made their way out.

They were in a rocky forest with jagged stones. Everyone moved away from the carcasses of the alien beasts and found a clean spot to rest against the stone walls.

The battle had lasted nearly two hours without any rest, and everyone was exhausted.

Once they sat down, they began replenishing their energy inside their respective mecha cabins.

Before setting out, each person’s mecha cabin was stocked with ample food and water.

Due to the limited space inside the mecha cabins, the food and water were compressed to take up as little space as possible.

The food was something similar to chocolate—small, square blocks, neatly packed in a transparent box. It melted in the mouth, was not too sweet, but was packed with energy.

This small block was packed with pure essence.

Tu Ran ate two pieces to quiet the growling of her stomach, then drank two bottles of water to quench her thirst. She leaned back, resting in the mecha cabin.

Ye Hongci, however, couldn’t afford to rest. After hastily eating something, she buried her head in the footage transmitted by various drones, searching for the next target for their assault.

Tu Ran shook her head, watching Ye Hongci’s back. As expected, the commander had to work harder than ordinary people.

Suddenly, Ye Hongci seemed to spot something in the footage from the drones. She froze for a moment, then jumped up and shouted to everyone, “Be on alert!”

Although no one knew what had happened, they could tell that whatever had caused Ye Hongci to lose her composure was something major. Without hesitation, they all stood up.

Could it be… that some of the veterans who had been with Ye Hongci for many years sensed something, and their faces turned pale?

“The beast horde is coming!”

The audience in the live stream went crazy in an instant.

[Beast horde?! Did I hear that right? Is it what I think it is?]

[It’s the beast horde! The alien beasts have united!]

[We’re doomed! This is exactly what we feared! On the first day, and already a beast horde appears. It’s like we’re doomed no matter what.]

[What should we do? What should we do? Last time Ye Hongci encountered a beast horde, she nearly perished in it. This time, the teleportation device hasn’t been repaired, there’s no way out—what will Ye Hongci do?]

[I’m logging off, guys. I can’t watch this. Twenty years ago, when the beast horde appeared on Rose Star, I barely escaped with my life. I’ve had a trauma from that. Goodbye, I’ll come back tomorrow.]

[Tomorrow? The live stream might be shut down any minute. Watch while you can.]

…

“What is a beast horde?” Young Master Qi couldn’t help but ask the nearby guard while watching the live stream.

The two-meter-tall guard had already been annoyed by Qi Tongda throughout the entire live stream. Especially now, when his attention was on Ye Hongci, he had to explain things to Qi Tongda. He responded impatiently, “It’s when different species of alien beasts unite to attack humans in an organized, planned way.”

Qi Tongda nodded in realization. Just as the guard thought he might finally get a moment of peace, Qi Tongda asked again, “When they unite, do they become stronger?”

“Why would they unite if they’re not stronger?” the guard replied gruffly.

With someone like him, could he really learn to pilot a mecha? It’d be easier for a sow to climb a tree!

“You make a good point,” Qi Tongda nodded thoughtfully. “But when they unite, who’s in charge?”

Guard: “…I don’t know!”

…

4344 Star.

Tu Ran knew what a beast horde was. When she read the memories of the Mobilization Department Minister, she saw the battlefield where the alien beasts attacked humanity on Rose Star.

All kinds of alien beasts participated—flying in the sky, burrowing in the ground, crawling on the earth, swimming in the water—each one large enough to block out the sun. Facing them, humanity had no power to resist. The civilization humans had built was immediately shattered.

After Rose Star, even though humanity created mechas, whenever they encountered a beast horde, the human mecha teams were utterly defeated. This was also the reason why Wasteland Star 2 and Wasteland Star 3 fell after Rose Star.

The united beast horde was too powerful. The different species complemented each other’s strengths, and the weaknesses humans had exploited in the past were rendered insignificant once the beasts united.

Moreover, the united alien beasts were more purposeful. They were no longer a disorganized mob. Even former natural enemies could join forces. Their target was humanity, and they would not allow any distractions from their own kind. They would only disperse and return to their territories once humanity had been completely wiped out.

As for why the alien beasts only formed alliances when facing humans, and how they came together, scientists in the Haenden Star System had not yet provided a definitive answer.

The most convincing theory so far was that the alien beasts’ genes were inherently hostile towards one another, and this antagonism was especially strong when interacting with human genes.

In an experiment, after three years of being well-fed and taken care of in a laboratory, an alien beast was offered three types of meat: one was human tissue cultivated from genetic material, one was poultry meat, and the other was the meat of its natural enemy—another type of alien beast.

When offered the enemy’s meat, the alien beast devoured it without hesitation, and enjoyed it thoroughly. It smelled the poultry meat first, confirmed its safety, and then ate it. But when faced with human meat, it became inexplicably agitated. It would roar at the meat, stomp on it, and grind it underfoot repeatedly until it turned into mush before finally eating it.

There were many possible explanations for this behavior. After years of experiments, the scientists concluded that the most plausible reason seemed to be genetic incompatibility.

Alien beasts were naturally hostile towards humans.

The news of the united beast horde had already reached the other four teams.

Ye Hongci ordered the other two teams responsible for eliminating alien beasts to return along the same route. One team was to protect the transmission device still under construction, while the other was to quickly support her side. The two teams would work together to draw the beast horde away.

Ye Hongci assigned Tang Ying to protect the transmission device, as its construction was crucial. She trusted Tang Ying to guard it, but unfortunately, Tang Ying insisted on staying to protect her. Ye Hongci had no choice but to agree, as the situation was urgent and time could not be wasted.

During the time when Tang Ying’s team was on their way, Ye Hongci led the entire team in the direction away from the transmission device, running at full speed.

They decided to first draw the alien beasts away.

As soon as they changed direction, the beast horde immediately noticed and quickly shifted their course to follow them.

The sky and ground were completely overtaken by the dark mass of alien beasts, all moving towards their direction.

That was the last scene they saw.

After that, the footage became unstable, spinning rapidly, descending quickly, and then instantly turning black.

The drone was struck down by the alien beasts and crushed underfoot.

Ye Hongci did not send any more drones to scout the situation. No matter how many drones were sent, they wouldn’t last long in the horde. The alien beasts were already drawing closer, and their positions were visible without the need for drones.

Tu Ran was piloting a light mecha, fast and ahead of the group. She could already feel the ground trembling and hear the various cries coming from all directions.

It seemed as though they were surrounded by the beast horde.

Tu Ran looked up and indeed saw a dark, indistinct mass approaching rapidly from the horizon.

She immediately stopped, pointing ahead, “The front is blocked.”

Ye Hongci heard this, glanced ahead, her expression darkened, and she quickly changed direction again.

But it didn’t take long before the beast horde appeared ahead as well, and the team had to halt immediately.

Tu Ran scanned their surroundings—there was no open ground left. They were surrounded by alien beasts. Flying beasts spread their wings, darkening the sky, while ground-dwelling beasts covered the ground in layers, leaving no gaps. Humans were trapped in the center, the entire scene resembling the end of the world.

“Prepare for battle!” Ye Hongci’s voice was firm and loud.

Before she could finish her sentence, a winged alien beast charged towards them.

The flapping beast was like a speeding arrow, even faster than an arrow, diving towards the crowd. Its claws, as sharp as steel, effortlessly grabbed hold of a mech.

The mecha pilot didn’t react in time and was swiftly lifted off the ground, flying towards the horde of beasts.

The pilot’s fate was either to be thrown from the sky and crash to their death or be trampled by the alien beasts, falling into their jaws.

Ye Hongci reacted quickly, but the distance was too far. Even using all her strength to rush forward, she couldn’t reach in time.

The beast had already carried the mecha to a height where the ground mechas couldn’t reach. At this critical moment, the flying mecha was just beginning to stretch its wings, but by the time they took off, it would already be too late.

Tu Ran made a decisive move, raising her right arm and firing a bomb at the beast’s wing.

The beast’s body was knocked off course, tilting to the side and losing altitude.

Tu Ran rushed forward in a few steps, grabbing both legs of the mecha and pulling downward with all her strength.

 

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