At this moment, the pit was teeming with Sawtooth Bugs, as if a faucet had been turned on, releasing a black torrent that continuously emerged from the ground.
The four Qianji mechas reacted swiftly, unleashing a barrage of firepower that instantly created four streams of bullets. Green bug blood splattered everywhere as a large number of Sawtooth Bugs were mowed down like wheat.
QJ3-05 (Commander): "Control the distribution of firepower, everyone cover each other! How much longer for number 12?"
QJ3-12: "3 minutes and 27 seconds."
QJ3-05 (Commander): "There's no time! Number 27, go! Remove the data storage hard drive and take it with you, everyone else cover!"
The four Qianji Mk III mechas crossed their fire, eliminating most of the bugs at the entrance. QJ3-27 manipulated the tactical support unit to dismantle the storage hard drive, while the other two mechanical arms continued firing, knocking down bugs charging at him.
In the surrounding pits, Sawtooth Bugs kept crawling out, biting at the mechas. The cumbersome Engineering Heavy Mechs quickly found themselves in a bitter struggle.
In the pit before Qin Zheng, two Sawtooth Bugs leapt up simultaneously, only to be met by the sweeping Ship-Cleaving Blade!
Third Form of Five Tigers Gate-Severing Saber: Tiger's Roar Summons the Wind!
After the sweep, Qin Zheng didn't stop. With a deft twist of the mechanical wrist of the PS-01, he reversed his grip on the Ship-Cleaving Blade and plunged it into the pit before him, burying it up to the hilt!
Qin Zheng controlled the PS-01 to grip the hilt tightly and stirred it fiercely in the pit before pulling the blade out. Green bug blood pooled into a small green puddle in the pit.
Engineering Heavy Mech QB-04: Help me! Quick, help me! Qianji! Bedrock! Sabertooth Tiger! Are you just going to watch? Help me!
The channel was flooded with distress messages, the silent subtitles seemingly carrying a desperate wail.
Qin Zheng glanced in the direction of Engineering Heavy Mech QB-04. On its left leg, from which the steel plate had been removed, three to five Sawtooth Bugs were biting firmly, their sharp teeth penetrating the steel plate and digging into the mecha's interior, causing short-circuit sparks to burst within.
On the other side, the Sabertooth Tiger HS2-02 moved like an agile orange cat, continuously leaping and pouncing, using its massive weight and armor advantage to crush the Sawtooth Bugs into green pulp.
Of course, the most formidable was the modified Qianji QJ-05, with four out of its eight attack units already in automatic target-seeking attack mode. With the aid of the auxiliary shooting system, the intersecting trajectories formed a barrage, frantically harvesting Sawtooth Bugs.
Qianji QJ-05 (Commander): "Number 27! Not done yet!?"
QJ3-27: "Almost! Almost... done! Captain!"
Qianji QJ-05 (Commander): "You two, follow me, retreat in a triangular formation, maintain fire, number 35, cover us!"
QJ3-35: "Roger, moving to your position."
Qin Zheng controlled the PS-01, always staying on the edge of the battlefield, the Ship-Cleaving Blade dancing up and down, cutting down the surrounding Sawtooth Bugs.
The seemingly heavy Ship-Cleaving Blade, under Qin Zheng's Five Tigers Gate-Severing Saber technique, was like a whirlwind, sweeping away the surrounding bugs!
The other cannon fodder mechas watched enviously, moving towards him, but not daring to get too close for fear of being accidentally struck by his Ship-Cleaving Blade.
Qin Zheng frowned as he surveyed the situation. There were about a dozen pits around, with Sawtooth Bugs continuously crawling out.
In the pit where the aircraft had crashed, there were the most holes, about ten. Three Qianji Mk III mechas were slowly retreating from it, their machine guns sweeping back and forth without pause, suppressing a large number of bugs within the pit's range.
The situation hadn't reached its worst yet. Qin Zheng and the other cannon fodder mechas could only hold their ground. Leaving without orders would not only mean mission failure but also being hunted down as deserters.
Qianji QJ-05 (Commander): "Everyone, converge on me, prepare to break through, Bedrock and Sabertooth Tiger, come and clear a path for me!"
Called out, Qin Zheng and Zhu Fugui had no choice but to brace themselves and charge forward.
Fortunately, the two of them had always been on the edge of the battlefield. Moving towards the four converging Qianji mechas, although there were many Sawtooth Bugs in between, there was only one pit, which they could handle.
Most of the Sawtooth Bugs and pits were on the other side of the Qianji mechas, suppressed near the large pit by the powerful firepower of the four Qianji mechas.
Qianji QJ-05 (Commander): "Keep moving forward! Prepare for detonation!"
A small black launch unit extended from the back of Qianji QJ-05, a bowl-thick launch tube pointing upward, as a GZ-005 Rock Falcon Bunker-Buster Missile shot out!
In Qin Zheng's view, he saw the missile launch into the air, then change direction, accelerating towards the ground, and directly burrow into the pit below!
Damn!
Ignoring the Sawtooth Bugs still emerging from the ground, Qin Zheng controlled the PS-01's center of gravity, exerted force with his feet, and after a three-step run-up, leaped high into the air!
Ordinary mechas, due to their weight, couldn't jump, and even if they could, pilots usually wouldn't attempt it, as it was easy to lose balance.
But at this moment, Qin Zheng couldn't care less. Just as he completed the run-up and successfully leapt into the air, the ground suddenly shook.
The ground of the pit bulged upward, followed by another violent tremor, as a hemispherical shockwave, centered on the spot where the GZ-005 Rock Falcon Bunker-Buster Missile entered the ground, sent a cloud of dust spreading in all directions!
"Boom!"
The deafening explosion came half a beat later, now echoing from underground, mixed with a torrent of rubble and dust, sweeping outward.
The entire area began to sink, most mechas unable to maintain their footing, toppled over by the shockwave.
Fortunately, the Sawtooth Bugs fared worse, those nearby were directly shattered into bloody pieces, while those further away fell to the ground, seemingly unable to get up for a while.
Only the four Qianji Mk III mechas and Qin Zheng, who had prepared in advance, escaped unscathed.
The Sabertooth Tiger HS2-02 rolled a few times nearby, finally ending up belly-up, motionless.
The power of this strike was astonishing. Qin Zheng saw the entire pit area leveled, the pits from which bugs continuously emerged also blasted flat.
Qianji QJ-05 (Commander): "Everyone, retreat quickly! The transport ship takes off in 3 hours, it won't wait!"
As the words fell, the four Qianji Mk III mechas adjusted their leg modules, switching from stable tracks to the faster six-legged mode, and darted away in a flash!
Worker Ant WY-01: Damn! Just leaving like that!
Engineering Heavy Mech QB-02: Run!
Engineering Heavy Mech QB-04: My left leg's drive shaft is broken, I can't reach the airfield in 3 hours... Commander, please give me a little more time...
Worker Ant WY-02: Every man for himself...
Sabertooth Tiger HS2-02: Can a kind brother give me a hand, I can't flip over.
Qin Zheng paused mid-step, turning to look at the HS2-02 lying sprawled out not far away, its four legs flailing, repeatedly trying to roll over but failing each time.
The other mechas were racing towards the airfield, with the two Worker Ants leading the charge.
The remaining four Engineering Heavy Mechs were all damaged to varying degrees. Engineering mechs were slow to begin with, and now they were scrambling towards the airfield, unable to spare a thought for the Sabertooth Tiger HS2-02 on the ground.