Capítulo 98: Chapter 98: The Battle of Wu City's Defense!
Late on the third night, Lin Feng drove the Lv19 Flying Wing Vehicle into the outpost, parking it in the central area of the fortress where supplies were stored. The open-top design of the structure allowed for easy crane operation and material savings, with the entire outpost featuring a concentric hollow design.
The 15-meter-high area was divided into two levels, with the first level at 10 meters and another above it. Due to limited space inside the fortress, nearly 60% of the supplies were stacked in the central open area.
Four cranes were left to transport weapons and ammunition to the two fortress layers, much faster than manual labor. The hollow structure also enabled Lin Feng to leverage the vehicle's anti-air capabilities. Although the shooting angles were limited, the ten heavy machine guns with infinite firepower and three Lv19 autocannons could effectively suppress aerial assaults.
In addition to Lin Feng's vehicle, four supply-loaded troop transports were tightly encircling the Flying Wing Vehicle. These were prepared by Li Ran as a contingency plan. If the outpost's supplies were exhausted or the insect assault became too fierce, retreat would be the best option.
After all, they were initially considered expendable, with no high expectations for their impact. The recruits understood this well.
However, under Lin Feng's training, over half of them had become awakeners, with the rest in the late stages of enhancement. They only needed to kill a few more Red Beetles to achieve superpower awakening.
Among the newly awakened fifty were mostly physical enhancement abilities, with one exception: a recruit whose power greatly boosted leg explosiveness, a rare agility-enhancing ability within the physical category.
Nicknamed "Fast Runner," Liu Hao was a former track athlete from Wu City University. With no special skills, he chose to remain on the front lines.
Based on Shen Jie's early observations and suggestions, Lin Feng assigned Liu Hao to lead a squad for temporary support along the battle line. The main direction of the insect assault was unpredictable, sometimes intensifying on one side, requiring a mobile team to reinforce defenses.
For the specific defensive arrangements, Lin Feng entrusted the experienced Li Ran. Despite knowing Lin Feng's immense power, Li Ran was astounded by his ability to transform nearly half of the recruits into awakeners in just two days.
Had he known, he would have urged Qin Hu to allocate more troops for Lin Feng's training, quickly forming a low-tier awakener team to rival the Thirteenth Division's camp, gaining more influence in battle decisions.
Even if it ultimately served Lin Feng's ambitions, Li Ran, sharing Qin Hu's vision of inflicting greater damage on the insects and preserving humanity's hope, didn't mind using his power for personal gain.
His principles were more flexible than his old captain's, understanding that in this chaotic world, strength dictated leadership.
But the situation was set, beyond reversal.
Outside the fortress, insect figures were emerging within a kilometer radius. Mounds marking their burrows appeared, increasing in number and proximity.
As Li Ran completed the defensive layout of the outpost, after a long night...
At dawn, countless dark swarms began to surge towards the sprawling Wu City defensive line.
These were the hundreds and thousands of Black Spinal Bug armies.
They erupted from nearby burrows, launching their initial assault under the cover of the dim morning light, when human vigilance was low.
The insects' goal was always clear: to annihilate humanity and expand their territory.
But the sound of explosions quickly alerted the soldiers guarding the line.
Mines planted along their path the previous day served as the perfect alarm system.
The Black Spinal Bugs' sharp limbs exerted immense pressure at their tips, sufficient to trigger anti-tank mines.
Only anti-tank mines could effectively damage the Black Spinal Bug swarms, especially as their underbelly armor was not as robust, a rare weakness they shared with the Red Beetles.
As fields of mines detonated, the violent explosions decimated the frontline Black Spinal Bugs, impeding their advance.
Wu City's first line of defense, stretching twenty kilometers, boasted a hundred fortified bunkers, each manned by over 150 soldiers in reinforced platoons.
Heavy weapons included five autocannons and dozens of heavy machine guns, with the remaining soldiers equipped with large-caliber rifles and grenade launchers. This firepower coverage could defend a 500-meter stretch, with each bunker spaced every 200 meters.
The interlocking firepower formed a dense artillery net, mercilessly halting the insects' assault.
Even if the Black Spinal Bugs charged from 400-500 meters out, they fell at the steel and concrete line.
Explosive flames bloomed like yellow flowers, accompanied by the shattering limbs of Black Spinal Bugs, thwarting their initial attack.
Some Black Spinal Bugs, using their speed and agility, breached the fire net, reaching the line but were unable to breach the walls with their mandibles, ultimately defeated.
Leaving only a few deep gouges, they were swiftly dispatched by soldiers with grenade launchers and bullets.
At 5:10 AM on the fourth day, Bunkers 48 to 50 in the center of Wu City's defense line faced the insects' first probing assault.
After half an hour, all 800 Black Spinal Bugs were slain by gunfire.
An hour later, the Red Beetles dragged the bodies back into the burrows.
This seemingly mundane act...
Was humanity's greatest impending challenge.
Insects killed from afar, hundreds of meters away, couldn't have their energy harvested. These fresh Black Spinal Bug corpses could be recycled and recreated...
At just one-tenth the cost of normal hatching, the queen could repair and revive them in hours.
This biomass factory feature enabled the queen to continually wear down human defenses.
With ten times the human forces, and at a fraction of the cost, the insects required a hundred times more ammunition output from humans to withstand their waves.
For humanity, this was unsustainable.
No country would stockpile over a hundred times the normal ammunition reserves, even during the cold war.
It would bankrupt a nation and its economy.
This was the true terror of the insects.
If they could recover the bodies and win, they'd never lose.
The swarm's numbers were endless, growing richer with each battle.
True war machines.
In the mixed battalions on Wu City's defense line, many new recruits felt triumphant, but the commanding officers remained vigilant.
These were veterans from the Haicheng battle, now at least squad leaders after multiple recruitment waves.
With only makeshift trenches before, forced into close combat with Red and Black Spinal Bugs, they knew the insects' terror.
Daytime was just a trial; real danger came from underground and at night. Even with mine alerts and concrete protection, constant harassment left them anxious and exhausted.
Humans needed rest, but the insects' low-tier units, sacrificing intelligence, functioned like well-tuned machines, executing the queen's orders 24/7 with sufficient energy...
The grueling siege had just begun.
South of the line, in an outpost bunker beside the highway service area, the recruits watched the front line tensely.
In the distance, green vegetation fell, consumed by Red Beetles excavating burrows.
As mounds and burrows formed, Black Spinal Bugs moved underground.
The outpost bunker lacked additional weapons and mines...
Relying solely on rotating patrols, constantly watching the distant mounds for any movement to report.
At noon, when humans were most tense, needing food and rest...
The queen launched her first probe against the outpost bunker!
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