Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 693

Chapter 691, Insect Saint Bio-Titan, Battle of Rheaduches (VI)

Leroy understood that Gu Hang’s deployment of such a force wasn’t simply a matter of defending his base.

It wasn’t even simply about expanding it.

While achieving this was a success, it was clearly disappointing.

Leroy himself wouldn’t even consider it a success.

His chosen target was a Zerg nest, discovered through reconnaissance, approximately 80 kilometers from the base.

Human defenses were never about deadlock. While trenches and bunkers had been dug and rapidly constructed along the borders of the base, some passages were also left open. If the Zerg attempted to charge in through the flat areas of these passages, they would be courting death. The remaining passages were areas of critical concern, requiring crossfire coverage. After several attempts and countless casualties, the Zerg settled back into their pursuit of each firepower point.

Conversely, the humans frequently used these passages to launch outward assaults.

Armored units launched strikes to destroy Zerg bio-artillery positions; elite units took advantage of lulls in the fighting to conduct special operations. Missions ranged from sabotage and decapitation of high-value targets to intelligence gathering.

Intelligence reconnaissance was particularly prevalent.

Reconnaissance spearhead companies from various units, stormtroopers, and Space Marines… all carried out various intelligence gathering missions of varying value.

Among them was the place Leroy had chosen as his target.

It wasn’t just an anti-aircraft hive, but also a massive hatchery. It likely wasn’t this large in the past, but after the human base was established, it seemed to have been chosen by the Queen or some other high-level node creature as one of the Zerg’s core bases. Its

hatchery and arsenal functions were significantly strengthened. Numerous biomass pipelines connected to it, and as if that weren’t enough, massive land transport creatures, bred by numerous soldier worms and specialized hatcheries, arrived at the hive carrying vast quantities of biomass.

Furthermore, the large number of Zerg creatures hatched in this hive became a significant factor in the military pressure against the human positions.

According to the alien handling experts of the Anti-Foreign Order, this hive could hatch approximately 100,000 to 200,000 larvae per day, placing considerable pressure on the human base.

Its destruction would not only destroy a large anti-aircraft hive but also cut off the enemy’s direct and rapid means of replenishing troops on the front lines. Furthermore, the large amount of biomass remaining within could be considered a potential enemy. Destroying it while still biomass would surely be much easier than destroying it after it hatches into larvae.

It’s even possible that this biomass was originally digested and transported from Zerg troops and workers deep within the Zerg’s controlled territory.

The Zerg are known for this kind of operation, as long as the entire digestion-transport-re-hatching process is quicker and less intensive than the Zerg troops themselves would require.

Clearly, transporting troops from across the world and rehatching them is far more economical than simply sending the Zerg troops on a lengthy journey.

This, however, also provides humanity with room for a breakthrough.

At dawn one day, the human army moved out.

Dozens of Lion King tanks led the way, followed by more than ten times that number of Lion tanks. Even more armored vehicles, carrying infantry, set off.

Human artillery within the positions quickly fired tens of thousands of rounds, blanketing the armored forces’ path.

The Zerg reacted immediately.

They had also noticed the previous successful large-scale airborne landing and could analyze that the humans were likely to launch a subsequent offensive.

Yet, they were still unable to stop the advance.

Their vaunted numerical advantage was unfulfilled. Under intense bombardment, no Zerg could emerge. Following the instructions of their superior node organisms, they hid in tunnels and burrows, or at least lay half-prone on the ground to avoid the bombardment.

They were fearless, but as long as the node organisms were alive, they could distinguish between necessary sacrifices and wasted lives.

Only after the bombardment subsided did the remaining Zerg emerge and attempt to block the armored advance.

But they were mercilessly crushed by the torrent of steel.

They could only clear the road and attempt to flank the attacking armored convoy.

But this was futile, and after sacrificing countless units, they were ultimately defeated.

The human armored forces took about a day to break through the 80-kilometer route. Numerous battles, both large and small, occurred during this period, but almost all ended in victory for the humans.

By nightfall, the advance had largely ceased, though a significant number of infantry continued to operate. Using engineering machinery, trenches were quickly dug, and the escorted self-propelled artillery, including armored guns and simpler truck-mounted guns, all moved into position.

During the night, the Zerg, despite heavy losses, launched several attacks, inflicting some damage. A particularly dangerous attack occurred when a group of snake worms, burrowing underground and accompanied by a group of assassin worms, suddenly entered.

However, Leroy personally led a force of hundreds of Black Crusaders to eliminate these elite Zerg invading units. The Executioner Tyrant, a node creature, was also personally eliminated by Leroy.

The next morning, after preparing for the attack, the human forces launched a fierce assault on the Zerg lair.

The well-rested Titan Legion also launched its forces.

This battle was arguably the most dramatic of the surface campaigns on Rheaduches.

Throughout the day, the Zerg, sensing the threat, mobilized their forces furiously. The brooding nests themselves also exerted their utmost strength to build a massive force, forming layers of resistance within the Zerg lair, repeatedly hindering the human advance.

By the afternoon, they still hadn’t broken through, and had lost two Warhound Titans.

In the evening, a large Zerg army finally arrived to support them.

Among them, the most eye-catching were several Zerg creatures that looked even larger than the Warlord-class Titans!

The Zerg Saint Bio-Titans!

They had four long legs to support their huge bodies; a long gun barrel extended from their mouthparts, which could shatter a Lion King tank with a single shot from a distance; the varying number of appendages extending from their bodies were the most terrifying melee weapons. It

wasn’t just the Zerg Saint Titans that came. There were also some that were smaller than the Zerg Saints, but also reached a size similar to the Warhound class. Two thick, recurved legs supported the body, and the forelimbs were two huge bio-symbiotic cannons. The mouthparts were so large that they could almost bite through the upper body of the Titan.

The Zerg Bio-Titans appeared.

(End of this chapter)