Chapter 293 – Breaking Out
The beast was immediately yanked to the side, one of its wings crashing into Tu Ran’s mecha, producing a harsh, metallic scraping sound as they collided.
The beast flapped its wings, rising into the sky to shake off Tu Ran.
Tu Ran felt herself being dragged up by it.
She quickly bent her knees into a half-squat, lowering her center of gravity, and clung tightly to the mecha’s legs, refusing to let go.
All of this happened in a single second. Finally, the others reacted to the sudden turn of events, rushing to assist Tu Ran and pulling the suspended mecha downward. With the combined strength of the group, the beast was left defenseless.
It was ready to release and abandon its prey.
Ye Hongci leaped into action.
Drawing her sword, a blinding flash of white light appeared, and in the next instant, the beast’s head rolled onto the ground.
Its body lost all power and came crashing down.
Seeing the danger, Tu Ran quickly stepped aside, but the others weren’t as fast and were knocked down in a heap by the beast’s corpse.
The mecha that narrowly escaped death climbed up from the ground in disarray, its body showing deep white scratch marks where the beast had clawed, leaving dents in the metal.
The mecha pilot approached Tu Ran gratefully. “Thank you. Without you, I’d probably be inside that beast’s stomach by now.”
Tu Ran continued staring into the distance. The alien beast horde was approaching, and she could already see the dense red barrier.
“Save your thanks for later—the beast horde is here,” Tu Ran replied without turning.
Raising the mecha’s arm, she began firing at the oncoming beasts.
[Mental Power +888]
[Mental Power +699]
[Mental Power +1688] …
All the mechas formed a circle, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, initiating a long-range attack and striking down the first line of beasts.
One layer of beasts fell, but those behind surged forward, stretching endlessly as far as the eye could see.
The flight-class mechas took off first, spreading their wings and soaring into the sky to confront the beasts hovering in the air head-on, their massive frames matching those of the beasts, easing the pressure on the ground mechas.
On the ground, the mechas engaged in close combat with the beasts.
Tu Ran drew her blade and charged into the horde, grappling with the alien beasts. She moved like an unsheathed blade, each strike deadly and precise, cutting into the beasts with expert accuracy.
With her skill, an ordinary blade in her hands felt as if it were forged from precious metals, often taking down a beast in a single strike; for those twice the size of her mecha, two strikes were all she needed.
Wherever she passed, beast limbs flew, and cries of agony filled the air.
Compared to her effortless movement through the alien beasts, the others were struggling, surrounded and forced to fend off attacks from all sides. Many were hit, with their mechas sustaining varying levels of damage.
Even Ye Hongci, a seasoned warrior, couldn’t escape unscathed in this horde.
She was ambushed from behind by a burrowing beast.
These beasts could move in and out of the ground with ease, and their claws were razor-sharp. Known for their ambushes, they would suddenly burst from the ground in the middle of a fight, catching most people off guard.
Ye Hongci’s black-gold mecha, crafted with heavy reinforcements, now bore two deep gashes across its back, revealing glimpses of the internal cockpit.
Once a mecha was damaged, its combat abilities dropped significantly, and without timely repairs, it couldn’t hold up for long.
Among all the mechas present, only Tu Ran’s remained intact. The rest had sustained damage. Meanwhile, the beast horde showed no sign of diminishing. Their numbers stretched endlessly, their ferocity only growing, determined to devour the humans before them.
It seemed like a hopeless, certain-death situation.
Against the tide of beasts, human strength was still far too weak.
Even if Tang Ying’s team arrived now, what impact could they really make? At most, they’d kill a few more beasts. But the sheer number of beasts was overwhelming—almost all of the creatures on Star 4344 seemed to have gathered for this beast tide. Killing hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands wouldn’t make a noticeable difference.
Everyone present was acutely aware of this.
Despair hung over them all.
This was the second time in over a decade of fighting under Ye Hongci that they had faced a beast horde. The first time, they had barely survived, with over half their comrades lost. Now, facing it again, they knew they were likely doomed, yet couldn’t help but hope for a miracle.
All the viewers watching the live broadcast felt their hearts clench.
[When will Secretary Tang arrive? If she doesn’t hurry, it’ll be too late!]
[Even if she comes, what good will it do? This beast tide is likely three times bigger than the last.]
[I remember we had way more people last time—several times more than we do now. This time, there are so few I can barely spot our people on screen.]
Because of the vast number of beasts, drones didn’t dare get close, capturing the scene from thousands of meters away. From the broadcast, only a few scattered mechas were visible within the beast horde; most of the mechas had been engulfed by the swarm, making it impossible to tell what was happening.
However, the life detection signals from each mecha indicated that no one had died—yet.
“What should we do? Are we just going to keep holding out like this?” Tu Ran asked, slicing off half a beast’s head and kicking its body away. She linked her comms to Ye Hongci’s mecha and voiced her question.
If they continued fighting like this, it was as good as waiting for death.
Ye Hongci’s face looked a bit pale. The mental power needed to control a damaged mecha was higher than usual, and it seemed like the alien beasts sensed she was the leader, as they all charged at her. Her mecha had sustained several more gashes.
“There are too many beasts; we can’t get out,” Ye Hongci replied to Tu Ran during a brief pause between kills.
From the aerial footage sent back by the flying mechas, it was clear that the beasts covered the area for nearly twenty kilometers in every direction. More beasts were continuously flooding in, surrounding them with no gaps to escape.
Tu Ran’s expression grew serious as she looked around. “Which direction is Tang Ying coming from?”
In the urgency of the situation, she instinctively called her by her full name, but no one noticed.
Ye Hongci didn’t respond directly but instead sent her a real-time map with the direction of Tang Ying’s advancing team marked.
Tang Ying’s team was accelerating, and they were estimated to arrive within half an hour.
Tu Ran located the direction they’d be coming from and gazed over there.
All she could see were hideous, snarling beasts filling the horizon.
“This way. Tell them to follow me,” she said.
“What are you planning?” Ye Hongci asked in surprise.
Tu Ran flexed her wrists, sore from the relentless combat. “I’m getting you all out of here.”
Ye Hongci opened her mouth, about to voice her doubts, but ultimately swallowed them. Given the situation, there was nothing worse that could happen. Trusting Tu Ran just this once wouldn’t hurt.
“All units! Rally to Tu Ran and follow her—we’re breaking out together!”
