Heroic Death System [BL]

Arc 6: A+A (III)

The Queen could not be killed. The moment it was killed, all the arthropods would rebel and humanity's defensive line would likely not last an hour. However, the reason Shang Ke had people find the Queen was not to kill it, but to "kidnap" it.

The build of the Queen was smaller than the variants, its black shell would have a dark purple shine and a special device must be used to locate it. During the arthropod attack, the arthropod sandstorm had damaged a lot of the equipment in Via City, so their readings were static and they could not find the Queen's position. Now that it was found, it cannot hide from their readings anymore.

As long as they bring the Queen to the human's defensive area, the arthropod army will also shift accordingly. The only difficult point was that outside of Via City the arthropod sandstorm was going full bore. Getting a five-mile distance from the arthropods was impossible. With the arthropod's speed, they would be forced to double back in less than ten minutes.

Shang Ke would have to take the Queen into the arthropod sandstorm, however far he could. But any means of transportation capable of taking them into the arthropod sandstorm was unavailable, so they would have to do so on foot. With the storm in addition to the weight of the protective gear and equipment, even with an alpha's strong body, they likely wouldn't make it far. What's more, the protective gear did not promise that one would not be affected by the radiation—the original Filmore was a testament to that, even though the reason he had been affected was because his protective gear has been damaged during his escape.

However, it was their best option.

At that moment, the arthropods restarted their attack. The soldiers all dragged their beaten bodies to fight, running purely on willpower. It would be another three days until the storm ends, but the defensive line of Via City was already on the brink of collapse.

Shang Ke knew that he couldn't drag this out any further. He donned a set of protective gear and leaned on the back of a fighter aircraft.

The soldiers who were still fighting fiercely did not pay attention to Shang Ke, who was wearing protective gear and lying on a fighter aircraft and rushing into the sea of bugs, alongside two other aircraft, all heading straight for the Queen.

"What is he trying to do?" Several hundred meters outside of the war zone, Lin Jie watched Shang Ke on the screen.

"Capturing the Queen and drawing away the arthropod army." Rhine wore a grave expression and his tone was incomparably calm.

"The arthropod sandstorm is five miles out from them. It is simply impossible for him to draw the arthropods away that far. He would be throwing away his life in vain." Lin Jie pursed his lips.

"I think," Rhine calmly spoke, "his main purpose is to stall for time."

Lin Jie fell quiet, but his eyes held admiration as he watched Shang Ke. No one expected this novice, second lieutenant to show such remarkable and courageous qualities when brushing so close to death. He was fully aware that he wouldn't succeed in his mission, but still put every effort into trying. Even if only death lay ahead, he would walk forward without hesitation.

"How are the readings of the arthropod sandstorm? When will it end?" Rhine asked.

Lin Jie answered, "The latest reading said four days. The storm will gradually start shrinking in two days and the radiation intensity will be reduced,"

Rhine's eyes turn a shade darker, "Too long, they have at most two days. Have the first and second battle squads prepare for a rescue."

Within the sea of bugs, two aircraft fighters were in charge of acting as screens while one was in charge of capturing the Queen. A dozen minutes later, the four of them had grabbed the Queen and, before being buried by the swarm, rushed full throttle out of the arthropod's encirclement, heading in the opposite direction of Via City.