Chapter 145: Decisive Battle! Decisive Battle! (2)

Words : 1471 Updated : Sep 23rd, 2025

In the dense primordial jungle, a massive and brutal war was underway. Across this vast area spanning several million square kilometers, there were Swarm shadows, land combat robots, flames, and explosions everywhere. A ten-thousand-strong unit of land combat robots had been surrounded for two hours by a Swarm force numbering in the millions. In these two hours of fierce combat, seven thousand robots on the front line had already eliminated over one hundred thousand Swarm. The corpses of the fallen Swarm piled into thick layers around the front line. The dark green fluid they exuded had even formed puddles on the ground, turning the terrain into a muddy quagmire. The star of this system, Aquila Three, was slowly sinking below the horizon. Darkness engulfed the land—night had fallen. This planet had two moons, meaning there were two natural satellites. But tonight, it seemed the skies were overcast. Thick clouds blanketed the heavens. There was no moonlight, not even a single star in the night sky. Here, it was pitch black. Xiao Yu had long anticipated this situation. All of the land combat robots were equipped with infrared night vision, and the micro-cameras attached to the trees also had infrared imaging capabilities, so this darkness posed minimal hindrance to Xiao Yu. In the boundless darkness, the fierce battle did not cease in the slightest. Countless chaotic noises gathered above the forest canopy. Countless black figures darted through the woods like fleeting specters. This Swarm force of over one million, after losing more than one hundred thousand lives, still fought ferociously without retreating in the slightest. Over seven thousand land combat robots on the front line held their positions as well, refusing to take even one step back. This line of engagement between the two armies had become a literal meat grinder, constantly grinding down tens of thousands of lives. “Twang!” With a sound like a bowstring being drawn, a massive Swarm creature suddenly leapt forward, pouncing at one of the land combat robots. This robot immediately gathered all data on it and relayed the information into Xiao Yu’s mind. “Hmm... three more bugs to the left. This robot has sustained some damage—its mobility and offensive power are both degraded. If it dodges this bug’s attack, it will be struck by the other two. Comprehensive analysis suggests... the optimal strategy is to—before this bug completes its pounce—go all-out to eliminate the other wounded ones!” Processing this information took Xiao Yu only a fraction of a second. Upon receiving Xiao Yu’s command, the robot ignored the pouncing Swarm, turned instead, unleashed its full firepower, and used all its weapons to instantly eliminate the other three bugs. Just as the three fell, the fourth bug landed directly on the robot. Its razor-sharp forelimbs slashed deeply into the machine’s body. The micro-shield protecting the land combat robot flickered briefly, then vanished. Not only that, after breaking through the shield, the Swarm’s claws left a deep gash in the robot’s chassis, causing sparks to erupt. The onboard diagnostic system instantly relayed the damage report to Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu made a swift decision: “Robot 30485, fall back immediately. Robot 52181, move up to fill the gap. Repair Robot 783, commence immediate repairs.” These three orders were sent to three different robots. At once, the damaged robot unleashed a volley of fire to force back the attacking Swarm, then rushed to the rear. At the same time, a fully functional robot moved up to replace it. The damaged robot met up with the repair unit at a predetermined location. Since all damage data had already been collected by Xiao Yu, the repair robot acted without hesitation. It didn’t even need to run diagnostics before starting immediate repairs. The repair robot carried a variety of spare parts—some brought from the base, others salvaged from robots too damaged to repair. Using intact components, it swiftly replaced the broken parts on the damaged robot and then refueled it with fusion energy. The entire repair process took less than fifteen minutes to complete. Restored to full function, Robot 30485 immediately got up and ran to another position, replacing a different damaged unit, while the repair robot rushed in another direction to begin repairs on the next robot... Under Xiao Yu’s unified control, the coordination within this ten-thousand-strong unit could only be described as seamless. Not a second was wasted between movement, combat, and repair. This was the benefit brought by massive computing power. It was also why Xiao Yu had delayed developing artificial intelligent programs. Ultimately, Xiao Yu was unwilling to let his machines gain too much autonomy. Allowing them autonomy might reduce his own computational burden, but it would also mean diminished coordination in group tactics. Just imagine—if each robot had its own independent intelligence, how could they possibly perform in such perfect harmony? After weighing the pros and cons, Xiao Yu still decided to prioritize developing his own computing power and temporarily forgo artificial intelligent programs. With this seamless coordination among the ten thousand combat robots, the number of Swarm steadily declined... Suddenly, the pitch-black sky lit up—a bolt of lightning tore through the heavens. A few seconds later, a rumbling thunder echoed across the land. “It’s going to rain,” Xiao Yu muttered. “This thunderstorm covers roughly seven hundred square kilometers. Within it, there are three ten-thousand-strong units and five bases...” “Lightning and rain will severely interfere with my infrared night vision systems. Under these circumstances, visible light detection will be more effective. Then... deploy the flares.” Xiao Yu made the decision. The bases had ample reserves of illumination flares. Following his order, several robots retrieved flares from storage and loaded them into launch tubes. With a booming sound, the first flare was launched from a cannon, trailing a long red tail as it shot hundreds of meters into the sky and exploded. That was just the first. Then came the second, the third... Over fifty flares were launched into the air. Immediately, at each explosion point, a bright sphere of light appeared. Xiao Yu’s flares were powered by nuclear fusion. Each flare could remain aloft for around thirty minutes, providing continuous illumination without descending. Not even fierce wind or heavy rain could interfere with them. These fifty-odd high-powered flares became fifty miniature suns, illuminating the entire seven-hundred-square-kilometer storm area. Under the light of these flares, the forest was filled with flickering shadows of swaying leaves. The jungle was no longer dark—it was bright once more. At that moment, accompanied by another flash of lightning and roar of thunder, a torrential downpour came crashing down. But no matter how heavy the rain, it could not wash away the thick scent of blood in this region. This ten-thousand-strong unit had been in continuous combat for over ten hours. During this time, they had eliminated nearly five hundred thousand Swarm, reducing the enemy force by half. Inside the defensive perimeter, damaged and broken land combat robots were everywhere. However, the repair robots no longer had enough supplies to fix them. Thus, they had to dismantle the most heavily damaged robots to salvage usable parts for patching up the others. At this point, Xiao Yu’s ten-thousand-strong unit had lost nearly two thousand land combat robots. But eighty percent of these were dismantled by Xiao Yu himself. In other words, in this ten-hour battle that annihilated nearly five hundred thousand Swarm, only around four hundred robots were actually destroyed by enemy forces. Achieving over a thousand times the result with only twenty times the combat strength—this outcome was proof of the effectiveness of Xiao Yu’s combat strategy. “It’s time to return for full repairs. All right, break out.” Xiao Yu issued the command. At once, the land combat robots changed formation—from a circular defensive stance to a wedge-shaped assault formation, slicing through the endless Swarm like a heated knife through butter. The average combat power of a land combat robot was twenty times that of a Swarm creature. So breaking out was not a difficult task. Still, Xiao Yu paid a certain price during the process. First, all damaged, irreparable parts and broken robot bodies were discarded. Next, five hundred repair robots were also abandoned. Having exhausted their spare parts and fuel, they were no longer worth the effort to protect. After the ten-thousand-strong unit moved out, those abandoned units would soon be torn to pieces by the enraged Swarm. In the wedge formation, the fewer than eight thousand remaining robots advanced rapidly. The flanking units took on defensive duties—any damaged ones were immediately replaced by the inner units. Robots with damage to their propulsion and no mobility were immediately discarded. The nearest supply base was only thirty-seven kilometers away. At their current speed, they would arrive in roughly forty minutes and receive full repairs.

Chapter 145: Decisive Battle! Decisive Battle! (2)

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