Tempest of the Battlefield
chapter-458

Chapter 458: Fighting Back

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

The rumor reminded the two of their first run-ins with the hybrid monster at the tournament. The thought that the Zergs were secretly preparing for a sweeping attack from inside the human world gave Li Shiming the jitters.

Whether the rumor was true or not, losing Patroclus was not good news for the Ark commander.

"Look at him, the old fox is wiggling his tail to make those pig heads think that they are really so special. Haha." Lie Jian whispered to Li Shiming.

"It's good to have a united front when the real danger comes." Li Shiming said calmly.

"What do you think is gonna happen next?" Lie Jian asked. If not for his affection for Li Ruoer, Lie Jian would never talk to Li Shiming. However, having met tailwind in his pursuit, so he decided to cozy up to Li Ruoer's brother first.

"I have a feeling that we are not going to turn back. We will keep sailing." Li Shiming said slowly.

"Oh? I thought the old fox would cave in and return home..." Lie Jian stopped, thinking that it was better to keep his opinion to himself.

After the near escape and having their communication cut off from the base, returning to the solar system seemed to be the most sensible course of action. However, judging based on Kaost's first reaction after the incidence, nothing seemed to matter more than the life of Patroclus.

Although the safety of Patroclus was indeed crucial to the captain's future promotion, as an experienced commander and an avid politician, Kaost should not have overlooked the danger and sent Patroclus right into the mouth of Zergs. Kaost's conviction in his action could only mean one thing: the confederation knew about everything all the while.

Lie Jian nodded as he marveled at Li Shiming's keen observation.

Suddenly, the alarm went off.

"Attention, attention. Unknown fleet approaching. Ready your arms."

"What's going on, Samantha?" Kaost stormed into the commander's office and asked. Bright dots flickered on the radar screen indicating a mass of incoming fleet.

"Captain, that is a human fleet. Some of the ships had pirate flags on them." Samantha replied; her voice was steely.

"Prepare for battle. Let's destroy these sons of b*tches!" Kaost gave the order without much thought. He wagered that the fleets were already under Zerg's control, since even the space city had fallen victim to the Zerg, much less a band of disorganized pirates.

The incoming fleet released swarms of round objects: these were a particular breed of Zergs with robust and filed teeth that could shred any metal apart in seconds. Although they were vulnerable against concentrated fire, they excelled in numbers.

Behind the dark clouds of swarming bugs were ranks upon ranks of larger flying Space Zergs.

"Artillery Ready… FIRE!"

The two supercharge cannons at the head of the ship fired at the swarm. Two blinding rays of light pierced the darkness and shredded anything in their path into pieces. However, the first shot was not able to eliminate all bugs, and the enemy ships also fired back to keep the pressure on the hulking Ark.

The battle had finally begun!

"Ready your Space METAL!"

Like all organic matter, the swarming bugs were able to penetrate through the Ark's shield. Although the artillery was able to clear away some of the bugs, Space Fighters would have to kill off the rest before they started to damage the ship.

Third and Big O stood at the front of their squad, ready to kill some bugs.

Inside the firing room, rows of experienced gunners sat behind the breach of the canons, adjusting their aims and passing commands to the operator. Their accuracy rate could be ten times better than auto-aiming. However, manual aiming required a significant amount of soul energy. So, in order to ensure accuracy, the shooters rotated shifts every ten minutes or so.

Karl was waiting impatiently for his turn. All his training and exercising was for this moment. He felt that his blood was boiling.

"Captain, the enemy has flanked us from both sides."

Kaost thought for a second and asked, "Which side is closer to us?"

"Left. They are ten minutes away from entering the rang of our artillery."

"Come left to ninety-three degree."

"Aye, sir!"

Samantha started to notice that some of the shooters began to show sign of exhaustion.

"Bring on the reserve!"

"They are students."

"Follow my orders, soldier," Samantha shouted, her voice seeming to even cut apart the hearts.

After a while, Karl finally got his hands on the scope.

"Thank you, Principal. You are the best! Ah-Ha! You little b*stards! Taste my balls! "

As soon as the gunners retired from their post, they started to recuperate their soul energy. They knew that these kids were the best of the best in their school, so they shouldn't be worse than auto-aiming.

Amidst the chaos, Samantha suddenly realized that this would probably be the new normal should Ark continue its course. Although she couldn't figure out the confederation's real motive, she knew she had to prepare the ship for long-term struggles.

"Confederation—F*CK YAY!" Karl shouted as he shot down one Zerg after another. Although this was his first time holding a real gun, his accuracy was a whopping ninety three percent. Even Samantha was taken aback by the result: this was the best number she had ever seen.

The rest of the students didn't fall behind too far from Karl. Some of them, such as Zhou Sisi, Flash, and Bisu, performed even better than the veterans.

The students' calm execution and unwavering mettle had won the hearts of the veterans. Other than Karl, who appeared to be on some kind of chemical, the students held a deadly calm on their face.

As profanity mixed with spit spilled out of Karl's mouth, the operated suddenly had the urge to kick him out of his chair. But considering his incredible accuracy, the operator kept his silence as Karl's spit rained on him with equal accuracy as his aim.

The students' help had alleviated much pressure from the firing team. After a brief period of recuperation, the firing team returned to their post.

By then, the battle outside of the ship had become the key to the victory.

"Captain, should we let the students join the space battle? They had done a good job helping the firing team."

Kaost shook his head and said, "Not yet. We won't call in the students unless we are desperate."

Kaost had already lost Patroclus, and he didn't want to lose any other kids.