Faced with this colossus before them, its bulk already a match for a small T1 ship—
—everyone had the feeling of Mount Tai bearing down upon them.[1]
"Advisory: Black-Knight mecha Second Squad, Number Three's pilot has lost consciousness." the comm-assist combat-system's advisory tone came at his ear.
Zhao Chen threw a glance at that Thunder-Beast giant bug; first he ran toward the T2 Black-Knight-class Light Interstellar Combat-Mecha whose pilot had passed out after the attack, and tried to open the hatch — but it wouldn't open no matter what.
"That heavy blow just now must have deformed the hatch and jammed it!" Chu Xuan's voice came from beside him; at some point she'd run over to Zhao Chen's side too.
And at this moment, that Thunder-Beast was bearing down on this spot — by the look of it, it had taken this mecha for its own quarry.
"Black-Knight mecha Second Squad, support at once!" The T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser's bridge, watching the ground situation without pause, at once gave the order to Mecha Second Squad.
At this moment the Black-Knight First and Third Squads were both facing great bug-swarms; shift them even slightly, and those swarming bugs might not be held down.
But as ill luck would have it, just then, in the direction Black-Knight Mecha Second Squad had charge of, dozens of T2 Bug-Spiders came down at the same time.
On the bridge Charlotte knit her brows; these bugs were simply too many — as though they could never be killed off.
But the T3 Blizzard's ship-weapons couldn't fire straight at the ground; the power was too great, and the least misstep, in killing the bugs, might also strike Zhao Chen and the others by mistake.
Everything must put the commander's safety first; and just as Charlotte was about to order the Black-Knight mecha squads to protect the commander as first priority—
—Zhao Chen's voice sounded over the comm channel.
"Leave this Thunder-Beast to me; you all go on with your own combat tasks." No sooner had Zhao Chen said this than his hand pressed again to that T2 Black-Knight's hatch.
Only this time he wasn't trying to open it — his fingers strained to pry the hatch apart.
Crunch, crunch…
Chu Xuan looked in astonishment at the mecha hatch, deforming and twisting bit by bit, and at Zhao Chen with the veins standing out on his neck.
Just what monstrous strength was this.
To pry a mecha open by hand, no less?
This mecha might be of a model she'd never seen, but at a glance one could tell it was a T2 mecha!
Bang.
A piece of the hatch flew off, driving like a dagger straight into the body of a distant bug; the bug struggled a few times, then went still.
"Whew, whew, whew…" Zhao Chen panted in great gulps — this mecha hatch really wasn't easy to pry.
With the mecha hatch pried open now, one could see the woman crew member unconscious in the pilot's seat, blood seeping from her head — by the look of it, her head had taken the blow, which was why she'd fainted.
Luckily her life was in no danger.
Zhao Chen lifted this woman crew member out and handed her to Chu Xuan beside him. "She's yours!"
"Ah… and you?" Chu Xuan caught that Zhao Chen seemed to have some notion; the next moment Zhao Chen bored into this T2 Black-Knight.
Luckily the cockpit space was large enough; in his personal exoskeleton combat armor he could just fit in — a touch uncomfortable, but it held.
Zhao Chen started the mecha up again.
The mecha began its self-check.
Apart from some grave damage to the mecha's armor, and the loss of the back armor, all else was normal.
It could still fight on.
"Good thing I learned a bit of mecha-piloting technique before." Zhao Chen wore a near-mad expression, looking at the Thunder-Beast now very close at hand.
He at once worked the Black-Knight to loose all its remaining small missiles.
Boom boom boom.
The small missiles burst on the Thunder-Beast's surface, blasting bloody holes one after another; but plainly this Thunder-Beast's defense was strong — these few small missiles alone couldn't finish it.
The Thunder-Beast was, if anything, enraged; roaring and bellowing, it charged at Zhao Chen's mecha, each step of it like an earthquake.
Zhao Chen raised the laser autocannons.
Bang bang bang bang.
The fire-spitting barrage landed on the Thunder-Beast's body, but that Thunder-Beast's stout bug-armor left the laser autocannons' attack of little avail.
The Thunder-Beast was near enough charging up before him.
Zhao Chen simply cast off both laser autocannons and engaged the T2 Black-Knight's one and only close-combat weapon.
The Black-Knight Light-Sword!
An obsidian-black light-sword sprang out from the arm-armor of the T2 Black-Knight.
Zhao Chen worked the T2 Black-Knight to race swiftly at the Thunder-Beast.
Like a warrior running to meet a wild beast!
Behind him the two academies' teachers and students, seeing this, all grew tense.
Su Lan clenched her hands, biting her lip, worrying for a man for the first time.
Half a minute later!
There sounded only the crash of a heavy object hitting the ground.
The Thunder-Beast's head fell to the earth, its remaining body slumping feebly to the side.
And that pitch-black interstellar mecha, its whole body covered in green juice, walked slowly back within the line.
Not a few steps on, it toppled straight to the ground, kicking up a great spray of sand and dust.
"Cough, cough, cough…" Zhao Chen crawled out from that great hole he'd torn open in its back.
This T2 Black-Knight, gravely damaged at last, could fight no more.
"Commander — the second batch of shuttles is ready to land; please prepare to withdraw at once!"
At this, Zhao Chen received a piece of good news.
The six shuttles that had returned landed again from the air.
"Senior Su Lan, hurry and get people out!" Zhao Chen called.
Su Lan, who'd been gazing dazedly at Zhao Chen's figure, came to herself at his call and at once set about arranging the second batch's withdrawal.
Soon the six shuttles were near enough all packed with people, but on the ground there were still some 50 or 60 left.
It happened they'd need one more shuttle landing and lift-off.
"Chu Xuan, Senior Su Lan — you two board first!" Zhao Chen had Chu Xuan and Su Lan board first.
But both Chu Xuan and Su Lan shook their heads, resolute.
Su Lan said firmly, "I'll go with the last batch!"
Chu Xuan lifted her head and said with confidence, "I'm an imperial soldier; with the teachers and students not yet fully withdrawn, how could I go?"
Seeing them so stubborn, Zhao Chen said no more.
"Black-Knight mecha squads, draw in your defensive range. Hold out three minutes more, and we can withdraw!" Zhao Chen called over the comm channel.
"Commander, sir — there are too many bugs around. The big bugs we can still handle, but the little bugs get in everywhere; they're a real nuisance," the mecha squad captain said.
"Leave the little bugs to me; you just handle the big ones," Zhao Chen said, and glanced around — as it happened, he spotted a thick steel pipe in the wrecked ship, walked over, and pulled it straight out.
To tear a T3 ship apart by hand — Zhao Chen was likely the first ever.
"You all hide in this spot, understood!" Zhao Chen had Chu Xuan and Su Lan and the last batch of two academies' teachers and students hide in a corner.
This corner backed onto the ship wreck, with only one mouth of approach — easy to defend, hard to attack.
Zhao Chen stood alone at the "mouth," shouldering that steel pipe.
He threw a glance at his C-rank task.
Bugs killed: 829
Task time remaining: 3 min 11 sec
Still a way to go before 1,000.
"Come a few more, little darlings — I haven't had my fill of playing yet." A trace of bloodthirsty madness showed in Zhao Chen's eyes.