The Creators: From Night City

Page 311

The situation had completely slipped out of his control, contrary to his predictions.

"I smell war." Mann listened to the distant roar of missiles and felt as if time had turned back.

He had heard such loud noises many times on the battlefield.

The days he spent fighting for the Lazarus Group were the last thing he wanted to talk about; the naked taking of everything from others was a pain he, a man with a conscience, was unwilling to bear.

But after retiring, he discovered during his life in Night City that even ordinary days were a war without gunpowder, and the structural oppression from the whole society was slowly taking away and killing him, everything he cherished.

Every day in this world is a long and chaotic war, and your opponent is everyone except you.

Until the emergence of reverse entropy.

Mann involuntarily looked toward the key figure of [Anti-Entropy], only to see his boss start 'Void Playing' again.

“I am Hansen, the hounds of Dogtown. Military technology just blew up the gates of Dogtown with missiles. That bitch Rosalind Miles sent out a whole armored squadron, determined to raze Dogtown to the ground.”

"But don't worry, we also have reinforcements. All Netherhounds, take note: reinforcements will be joining the battlefield from the southeast. The relevant friendly force identification bands have been uploaded to the communication channel. Pay attention to friendly force identification and be careful of friendly fire."

"Attention, I'll repeat it again, the Ghost Hounds also have reinforcements. Keep an eye on your command panels, pay attention to friendly fire identification, and be careful of friendly fire."

"Finally, I, Colonel Hansen, hereby declare that since I was able to lead you to escape from the New America once, I can lead you to escape a second time. Ghost Hound, do not give up the fight, fight on!"

At this point, Jiang Bing had completed all the tasks he had planned and achieved the ultimate goal behind it all—to have a legitimate reason for his actions.

No further tedious formalities are needed; the factors determining Dogtown's future have collapsed to one of the most fundamental logics of worldly rules.

violence.

The real war broke out at this moment.

No one can simultaneously possess youth and the feeling of youth, but everyone can simultaneously experience war and the feeling of war.

No matter how politicians embellish war with grand gestures, it is still nothing more than sacrificing one life for another, using death to threaten the other side's death.

Therefore, Jiang Bing never glossed over the true nature of the war, and the 'Black King's Apostles' were equally aware of this, yet they gladly went.

The strategic maneuvering before a war may be complex and multifaceted, but once the war actually begins, it becomes incredibly straightforward.

The southern wall of Dogtown forms the Dogtown cemetery, where those who were unable or did not have the money to be buried in the North Oaks urn are interred.

However, what many mourners don't know is that there's a smuggling route hidden here that leads to the outside of Dogtown.

Hanz followed the Edgewalker squad that was escorting him, hiding and dodging along the way. They finally arrived near the passage, but before they could remove the camouflage attached to the entrance of the passage, the ground suddenly shook.

"An earthquake?" A sizzling female traveler with dyed yellow hair, a nose piercing, and a daring style of dress that revealed the edge of her cleavage asked her teammate.

However, before they could even begin their discussion, the Dogtown wall, not far away, suddenly collapsed.

Thump! Thump!

With each step the [Slayer] heavy armor took, its massive weight caused the ground to tremble, let alone when six armors were lined up in a row.

In front of him stood the [Arbitrator] heavy armor, which was as tall as its shoulders but equally imposing.

The wall was smashed down by the group of them, who lined up in a row, using their shields together.

In the darkness, the marginal travelers couldn't make out the exact appearance of the army, but their well-trained formation, unparalleled momentum, the sheer force of their heavy powered armor, and their sheer numbers created a silent, oppressive atmosphere that choked all the marginal travelers, rendering them speechless.

No one dared to make a move at this moment. Even the most unruly and rebellious outlaws would become as weak as a puppy in the face of this steel torrent.

Fortunately, this army had no interest in the group of 'pedestrians' by the roadside. They simply advanced silently toward the armored units equipped with military technology toward the area where the fighting was most intense.

"What an incredibly unlucky day!" The woman with the nose piercing, a marginal walker, didn't dare to let out a long sigh of relief until all the troops had passed by.

Chapter 627 Overwhelming and Minor Problems

"Mr. Hanz, let's hurry up and leave. Dogtown is probably not going to be peaceful anymore, and it's even uncertain whether it will exist." The leading edgewalker, with a great sense of the big picture, advised his benefactor.

Hanz, however, had a gloomy and uncertain expression. He recalled the figure surrounded by this seemingly intimidating Full Metal Frenzy, and his thoughts were in turmoil.

Although the night was dark, the lousy streetlights in Dogtown still provided some light.

Hanz clearly saw the familiar figure surrounded by people; it was none other than his old supplier, Sabur from [Anti-Entropy].

No, it's the esteemed Mr. Sabur Lehrer!

This former executive of Peizhuo Petrochemical made a quick decision. He was the kind of person who understood the principle of "be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful" very well. So he realized that this might be an opportunity that he would regret for the rest of his life if he missed it.

“No, we’re going back,” he said to the bewildered Edgewalkers.

War doesn't involve fancy tactics, and it naturally doesn't have as many plans and steps as the FIA ​​operations. War is all about caliber and firepower.

Fortunately, the weapons produced by [Anti-Entropy] are known for their large caliber and formidable firepower.

In addition, the armor is known for its toughness, and the soldiers are known for their resilience.

The 'Black King Apostles' possess robust physiques and equipped with power armor, allowing these guns, which can be considered cannons, to achieve the accuracy and suppressive power of automatic rifles in their hands.

The six squads of 'Black King Apostles' cooperated with six 'Slayers' and 'Punishers'. These super soldiers, to whom Jiang Bing had invested a great deal of energy, resources, time, and even his lifeblood, made their first appearance on a regular battlefield and displayed combat power consistent with Jiang Bing's previous investments.

The moment they entered the battlefield, four or five hundred heavy explosive shells, armor-piercing grenades, and high-explosive grenades bypassed the remnants of the Ghost Hounds and formed a barrage of artillery fire that rained down from the sky.

What rose up afterward could no longer be called firelight, but rather a wall of fire.

This attack directly plowed a wide zone of death across the enemy's battlefield.

Meanwhile, more than two hundred auxiliary troops dressed in the combat uniforms of "Heavenly Soldiers" and "Heavenly Generals" also displayed overwhelming combat power against the soldiers of New America.

This wasn't due to their superior tactical skills, but simply because their firepower was far superior to the enemy's.

For example, the drone swarm that had previously inflicted serious damage on the Netherhound soldiers was completely helpless against the barrage of steel balls swept out by the soldiers wearing the [Heavenly General] combat armor using 'Annihilation'.

Large numbers of drones, controlled by their built-in combat systems, frantically evaded and maneuvered in the air, but still could not find a safe place to hide among the hundreds of tiny steel balls per square meter. They could only be blown up in vain and crash.

Of course, the 'Black King's Apostles' did suffer casualties.

In order to seize the initiative, the entire 'Black King Apostle' legion adopted a line formation similar to that of the era of firing squads when they rushed into the battlefield.

While this allows for maximizing one's own firepower in open spaces, it also gives the opponent an opportunity to attack.

Four Lizard IV heavy armored tanks, equipped with large-caliber electromagnetic cannons that could be considered "can openers" of heavy firepower, were originally positioned at the rear of the enemy camp. The drivers cleverly used their agile maneuverability to slip out from behind the building cover during the firing gaps and launch a surprise attack on the advancing "Black King Apostles".

Their first round of fire directly hit two 'Black King Apostles' who couldn't dodge in time. The electromagnetic cannonballs, carrying terrifying kinetic energy, blasted the men and their armor into a bloody mess.

Despite their best efforts to dodge, the two 'Black King Apostles' were still blown to pieces and fell to the ground.

Their comrades immediately pulled them back. Inside the shattered armor, their flesh and blood began to boil wildly. The bleeding stopped in just a few seconds, and the wounds were sealed with rapidly growing connective tissue.

But that's all the solar staircase can do.

After all, they cannot recreate flesh and organs out of thin air.

The other two bullets flew toward the [Slayer] armor that was unleashing terrifying firepower. Unfortunately, one shell was blocked by the [Judge] who was prepared and used his shield. Although the other shell hit the target, it only tore off a large chunk of the thick and hard breastplate and did not affect the overall performance of the armor.

"We need to work on the shield's energy and armor materials science." Jiang Bing observed the real-time situation on the battlefield, recording the combat performance of his work and thinking about the next steps for improvement.

Of course, he wasn't idle either.

Under Jiang Bing's orders, the fallen 'Black King Apostle' was dragged to his side by his companions. Golden flames were born from the void and then rose from the two 'Black King Apostles'.

As his ether reserves were continuously depleted and the armor shattered into pieces, the [Heat Death Type II] armor, which was essentially destroyed, was restored to its original state as if time had reversed and the flames continued to emanate.

As for the 'Black King Apostle' whose armor was also torn apart, the 'Upgrade and Modification' made them so resilient that they were still not completely dead.

As long as the soul has not dissipated, it is not difficult for the [Ether Furnace] to forge some physical bodies.

Moreover, Jiang Bing doesn't need to start from scratch; he only needs to make some repairs.

Furthermore, given that both the personnel and the armor were his own creations, and he knew all the structures inside and out, the repair work was a familiar and thorough procedure.

So, after only two breaths, the two 'Black King Apostles' who had almost died on the spot were rescued.

The battle continues, and has even intensified.

The large rotary-wing drones in the sky flew directly to the front of their own positions and emptied all the missiles in their pods in one go, bombarding the [Anti-Entropy] positions like a shower of flowers.

Even though the formation had been dispersed as much as possible, the bombing still resulted in several members of [Anti-Entropy] being seriously injured.

Of course, they were all auxiliary troops.

Ironically, the intense missile bombardment did not cause any casualties among these well-trained auxiliary troops. However, a building that was being used as a shelter was directly caused to collapse slightly by the missile attack. Several auxiliary troops who were unable to dodge in time were buried under the rubble, resulting in the first serious casualties among the auxiliary troops since the start of the war.

This is the consequence of a lack of practical experience.

After all, even after a long period of training, the group had not fought many battles of this intensity in direct confrontation.

Staff reductions are a perfectly normal occurrence.

Fortunately, although the person was taking in very little air and exhaling more, there was still some way to save them.

Chapter 628 Patriot Anti-Missile Array

The Palico emergency medical team, acting as battlefield medics, emerged from the quietly opening spatial rift. All of them were dressed in the [Revival] series of defensive armor that Jiang Bing had custom-made for the Palicoes. They used both hands and feet to sneak out from behind the battle lines as if flying, and ran wildly towards the direction of the wounded under enemy fire.

Compared to auxiliary troops, their individual soldier quality is much higher.

Even if a few bullets managed to hit them, they would be easily deflected by the defensive armor on their bodies. In addition, with the Palicoes' carting skills honed through constant battles with monsters, they managed to pull the wounded out of the collapsed building despite the second round of missile bombardment from the drones.

"Transport this cat first."

Thanks to the RIG protective suit technology from the Dead Space, the combat uniforms of [Anti-Entropy] are all integrated with vital sign monitoring functions. With just a glance, Tiger Stripe, wearing goggles, first locked onto a wounded person whose body reflection light was red (near death) and instructed his teammates to save the person first.

As for those injured with yellowish skin, they were assigned to the second group.

Although the enemy's counterattack was fierce, the casualties were basically limited to that point.

By the time the second round of bombardment was launched, only two of the four Demon Lizard IV heavy armored tanks remained. The other two were hit by dozens of heavy machine guns from the Slayers during the intervals between firing, and were destroyed on the spot.

After all, modern armored units are practically glass cannons, incredibly fragile.

The two surviving vehicles, sensing the danger, used their agility to quickly hide behind cover, thus temporarily saving their lives.

However, their attack can also be considered their final, resounding act.

The Arbiters have entered the battlefield with unparalleled force.

Artillery shells don't curve, but powered armor does.

Using both swords and shields, the four Arbiters darted through the complex buildings with the agility of deer running through the forest, making their way directly to the two armored tanks behind cover.

Before the opposing driver could retreat, their plasma hand-and-swords were aimed at the enemy's turret for the first strike.

The opposing pilot retaliated by firing several loitering munitions from the two side chambers.

However, the power of these missiles used for ground clearing was still a bit lacking against the thick shield held up in front of the [Judge]. In addition, these tough guys who dared to engage in close combat in the hail of bullets were all equipped with S.A.S.S.S.s ...

So the remaining two Lizards were quickly dismantled and destroyed.

By this point, the enemy's morale had essentially collapsed.

After all, in their view, the battlefield dominance demonstrated by nearly a hundred powered armor units was indeed overwhelmingly strong.

But that doesn't mean Rosalind Miles lost.

Winning positional warfare is nothing special, after all, modern warfare is not lacking in weapons for directly attacking cities and capturing strongholds.

Therefore, within Jiang Bing's expansive 'field of vision,' several cruise missiles, each over ten meters long, took off from the distant sea and attacked their 'position.'

On the sea are the battleships of the new United States, the absolute confidence that allows the new US President Miles to personally rule Night City.

If these cruise missiles hit their targets, the area within a few hundred meters of the impact point will be wiped off the map instantly, just like the gates of Dogtown. With each missile carrying nearly half a ton of explosives, virtually nothing will survive the bombardment.

Of course, Jiang Bing is an exception.

The advantage that the 'Black King Apostle' had gained before will be overturned in an instant.

This is the limitation of individual soldier armament in the current warfare model.

A small number of people cannot break through the opponent's defense, while a large number of people will immediately attract the opponent's heavy firepower.

This undoubtedly exposes the current military weakness of [Anti-Entropy], namely, that it focuses too much on developing individual soldier strength and has not explored enough heavy vehicles and equipment that can directly influence the course of battle, such as warships and cannons.

If [Reverse Entropy] also had a battleship or aircraft carrier docked at sea at this moment, the situation would certainly be different.

Of course, this situation is quite normal, after all, [Reverse Entropy] has only been developing for a little over half a year, and most of the progress has relied on Jiang Bing personally.

The short time frame, coupled with the fact that the great power was concentrated in one's own hands, naturally led to an abnormal development of power.

Fortunately, this model is not without its advantages.

As Jiang Bing himself is on the battlefield, it is essentially equivalent to 90% of the combat power of [Anti-Entropy] being present, which is something that the traditional country of New America cannot do.

Therefore, the task of responding to the enemy's missile attack fell to Jiang Bing.