Chapter 222: Hello, Xenos, Your Scourge Has Arrived (Part 2)
Darkness was often accompanied by cold, which reminded Ou of winter on the Mekanic homeworld.
Its caretaker would always take it to see the thin white frost that formed on the metallic earth, the delicate frost glittering on smooth metal surfaces.
Its caretaker would hold its hand, and each of their steps would leave a mark upon the ground.
All of that is gone now.
In the icy void of space, there would never be a second homeworld.
Sometimes, Ou would go to the ship's edges, to those places where life was not required.
There, the frigid void would lay down a thick layer of frost, and that was the only thing that could give Ou a faint sense of comfort, it reminded it of that tiny point that was left behind, long since consumed by the flames of war.
'How wonderful it would be if the world was at peace,' Ou thought.
Unfortunately, every species in this universe seemed to be fanatically in love with war.
A sprinkling of white drifted down, frost and snow falling onto Ou's body.
It did not move; it remained on alert, for that was its duty.
This planet, closest to the Mandeville Point and furthest from the star, is empty, cold, and at dusk, it would snow.
Ou had more than once thought of transforming this planet into a new homeland, but the land here was filled with rough, dry, yellow sand, a texture it did not like.
High in the deep sky, tiny white lights flickered briefly before vanishing.
Ou knew those were its own fleet intercepting the enemy.
In a star system sealed off from the rest of space, those small, fragile human ships were nothing more than gnats dancing by a riverbank—annoying, insignificant.
Yet it was those seemingly insignificant human individuals who had forced the Mekanic to leave their homes behind. Ou had faced the human garrisons stationed on this planet before. As individuals, they were more like cells parasitic between metal and machinery: incredibly fragile, yet burning with fierce, greedy emotions.
The soft snow kept piling on Ou's body.
The Mekanic were four-legged beasts clad in metal shells, and frost spread across Ou's metallic armor. That brought it a momentary, dreamlike sense of solace —
A scream, the air raid sirens shrieked at full volume, and a sudden, unbearable tension flooded the air.
'What was happening!?' Ou quickly sounded an alert and looked in the direction indicated by the air defense alarms.
The sky began to tremble.
Fragments of ships howled across the sky, disintegrating in fiery explosions. Twisted Mekanic dots fell from the chunks of wreckage, screaming as they stepped into death.
Trailing behind the scattered debris, swarms of green-and-bone-colored aircraft cast shadows from the heavy clouds, diving straight toward Ou's temporary base.
"Defend! Defend!"
Ou raised the alarm. The ground in front of it exploded the next instant, but it dodged nimbly aside and looked back up to the sky. Alien bombers were locked in a dogfight with their air-defense systems, and every so often, a bomber would fall.
The aerial battle had fully erupted.
It wasn't over yet. A meteor shower fell upon the land—Ou quickly realized they were enemy drop pods.
They had used their bombers to carve open a path through the skies and now were deploying their soldiers.
The Mekanic forces immediately began to regroup and reorganize.
Their opponent's target was to seize and occupy what had once been the Mechanicum's planetary air-defense bases.
The matters of the skies would be left to the aerial forces; now their job was to defend this land. The clanging of steel echoed, the sound of war drums.
The Mekanic, each as large as half a tank, soon recovered their fighting spirit. Their towering bodies reflected a cold glimmer under the night sky. Even though they had been caught off guard by the sudden attack, they had already annihilated half of a human star system—they had confidence in their strength.
Ou shook its head, joining up with the assembled forces, ready to charge.
The Mekanic were highly mobile creatures, clad in metal shells and armed with specially forged blades.
Their enemies would only be torn to pieces by the howling winds of their assault; unless they struck critical points, their bullets were worthless.
The enemy's landing zone was confirmed, which is not far from here.
The enemy was moving straight toward them, which was exactly what the Mekanic wanted.
They were ready to sprint.
"Warriors! Keep your speed! For Mekanic! For the future of our species!"
At the general's command, the horns of the charge sounded. The ground trembled beneath their feet. Ou drew its sharp blade, still crusted with the bright red blood of humans.
Ou could smell the scent unique to humans hanging in the air.
They would soon realize their bullets were useless against the Mekanic. Ou would grant them as painless a death as possible—or, if they chose to surrender, Ou would accept it.
The next instant, the enemy's side unleashed a skyful of artillery fire, tracing streaks of light through the swirling snow.
Useless—their air defense systems would intercept those shells.
Ou kept increasing its speed —
Above the Mekanic, brilliant fireworks suddenly exploded, and under each blossom of fire, vivid green tassels dropped straight to the ground, rapidly reaching the battlefield.
?!
This was—liquid?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
'Due to the high pressure, the gases are compressed into liquid form. And when they are released from the barrel…'
'I think they will enjoy this bit of air from Barbarus. I specially improved the formula for them.'
The gasses were more suitable for enemies with metal shells, like the Mekanic.
These xenos were still too naive.
The Mekanic had powerful physical abilities, but when it came to the art of war, their strategic wisdom was not superior.
Hades nodded silently.
'They are still too young.'
Only thousands upon thousands of wars and oceans of blood could truly mature a species. The Mekanic had clearly lost that opportunity.
Green liquid splashed to the ground, instantly rising into thick clouds of vapor. The bombardment continued; the enemy possessed an uncountable supply of specialized shells. Very quickly, an enormous green barrier stretched across the entire wasteland.
Cunning, savage—the enemy's cruelty went beyond Ou's imagination.
Was this the kind of humanity capable of wrestling with Rangda? Even with their fragile bodies, they would employ such vicious tactics?
Its senses began to corrode. Its breathing became difficult. A searing, unbearable pain crawled along its body. Ou clutched at its breathing ports, trying to force its way through the fog. It could hear the screams and curses of its comrades. The general bellowed for them to keep advancing, but that roar soon turned to choking.
"My Death Guard, begin the attack."
"Bury them in this fog."
Ou's speed was dropping, but it still staggered forward, nearly breaking out of the fog. A third of its comrades were gone—Ou could only hope they had simply fallen behind.
The thick green turned to a lighter green—it was almost through. Ou breathed a sigh of relief, inhaling deeply. Then a faint slicing sound broke the air, and the massive four-legged alien abruptly halted —
A sharp scythe's blade barely grazed its neck, a burst of sparks appeared due to the metal striking another metal. Ou even saw the chilling green glow dancing on its edge, death gently brushing past its throat.
The mist flowed like a gentle wave, wrapping around cold armor. A dull scythe glimmered in its midst. The black cannon of a Hadeshound tracked their every move. The Death Guard stepped silently onto their killing ground, hollow visor-lenses reflecting Ou's figure.
Snow still drifted down, falling on Ou, and on the Death Guard as well.
Fear climbed up its spine.
Ou's final thought was of that frosty field it once walked upon.
After leaving home, it had never seen it again.
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