“What on earth is this...”
Watching the scene before him, Lin Miao fell silent.
After the massive holy power explosion subsided, only countless casualties remained, struggling on the ground. The impact of this explosion was as intense as a super-large missile, but because it was an explosion of holy power rather than gunpowder, the damage to the ground and terrain was almost negligible. It was a unique weapon.
He had known that enemies from a high-level civilization would be strong, but he hadn't expected them to be powerful in this specific way.
“This is truly unexpected.”
The Goddess of Light Association was undoubtedly a high-level civilization that had incorporated multiple planets into its sphere of influence. This meant their technology and strength were sufficient to compete with other divine forces and establish such a powerful presence. Currently, all the information they possessed came from fragments of intelligence on the Divine Net forum; therefore, any attempt to predict or arbitrarily judge how their power would manifest was undoubtedly foolish.
“If they had those weapons from the beginning...”
Celia and the hive mind’s egos were also shocked.
“It’s dangerous even now. If something like that landed accurately here, could we block it?”
Hearing Celia’s trembling voice, Lisette, who was standing beside her, stole a glance at Gaia behind them.
The Heavenly Thunderbolt was one of several weapons transported from their home planet through the Stargate after an emergency request for support was received. Fortunately, the Pioneering Zone hadn't possessed this weapon initially; otherwise, if they had such high-level weaponry from the start, the Great Devourer’s invasion would not have proceeded as smoothly as it had.
“Blocking it head-on is impossible at our current level.”
Elise quickly finished her calculations. If a Heavenly Thunderbolt landed directly on them, they had no way to block that massive holy power explosion with their current abilities. Unless they could intercept it or cause it to deviate, there was simply no way to mobilize enough energy to withstand an impact of that magnitude.
“How many of those weapons do they have now?”
“I... I’m not entirely sure. But the Heavenly Thunderbolt requires the Goddess herself to assist in manufacturing the holy core, so while it’s powerful, it’s a very precious weapon. Of course, there are even more powerful weapons on the home planet, but those are difficult to transport off-world.”
“Then, what other weapons of that caliber have flowed into this Pioneering Zone?”
By interrogating Kane, Celia obtained detailed specifications such as the estimated stockpile, range, and firing principles of the Heavenly Thunderbolt, as well as information on weapons comparable to it.
Kane, who had been captured by the Great Devourer at the very start of the war and had lost his connection with the Goddess, didn't have exact intelligence, but at least one thing was certain. The Heavenly Thunderbolt was an extremely rare weapon; regardless of the circumstances, it was impossible for them to possess many of them.
“A mere few rounds won't be enough.”
Kerrigan snorted upon hearing this. Even if the holy power missiles were powerful, the Great Devourer had already expanded its invasion across a vast area large enough to contain several nations. This meant that simply sitting in place and firing a few missiles would not be enough to stop them.
Even if the colony suffered some losses, as long as they forced the enemy to expend all their Heavenly Thunderbolts in such a manner, the Goddess of Light Association forces—whose supplies would eventually be cut off—could only be pushed back by the constantly eroding and multiplying Great Devourer.
Furthermore, Gaia’s physical location—the Stargate base, which the Great Devourer had already occupied and turned into a fortified nest—was beyond the range of the Heavenly Thunderbolt. As long as they could protect this most vital area, they were confident they could recover quickly, no matter how much bombardment they suffered.
【Elise believes it is too early to be at ease.】
Kerrigan was right, but Elise was already considering other factors. She didn't believe the enemy would rely solely on a single weapon like the Heavenly Thunderbolt.
...
“Vice Commander, let’s fire a few Heavenly Thunderbolts at the areas currently under attack!”
“No. Using precious weapons that are already in short supply on such meaningless locations will only weaken our own strength.”
In fact, Elise’s suspicion was correct. The Goddess of Light Association forces had used the Heavenly Thunderbolt to temporarily calm the fires of war and were now formulating their next operational plan, centered around Yuno. During this process, Yuno rejected Governor Delta’s suggestion to provide Heavenly Thunderbolt support to the crisis zones.
“They are bugs. If you don't destroy their nests, you can never kill them all, no matter how many you slay.”
Yuno advocated for attacking the Great Devourer’s nest—the old Stargate base where Gaia’s body was growing. The Great Devourer had completely fortified that location, and they were producing a massive number of production units, decomposers, heart-fusing worms, and more. They were preparing to produce troops endlessly, utilizing not only the nutrients gathered from all directions but also the planetary energy Gaia extracted and provided.
“But the Heavenly Thunderbolt’s range cannot reach that far. That entire region has become the territory of those things, and we don't even know what's inside.”
“If it can't reach, then we simply have to move until it can.”
Delta felt a surge of panic, remembering that their current temporary headquarters was thousands of kilometers away from the old Stargate base. However, Yuno remained unshaken.
If the range was insufficient, they would move within range. That was correct in theory, but it didn't apply to their current situation. Yordles infected by Cordyceps were rampaging everywhere, making it difficult even to step outside their defensive lines. In such circumstances, attempting to cross the land on foot with a large amount of supplies was nothing short of suicide.
“In that case, we simply won't travel by land.”
As if she had already considered this point, Yuno looked up at the sky. Before Delta could guess what Yuno was talking about, he saw something slowly flying in from the western sky, and his eyes widened involuntarily.
“Vice Commander! According to your instructions, I have requisitioned a suitable piece of land from the nearest location!”
The Chief Tech’s voice echoed from the communication orb.
The massive object currently flying through the sky was a giant piece of land that looked as if it had been torn straight out of the earth. Several massive cores glowed with a golden light, supporting the heavy landmass. The Sky Island, which suspended an island in the air, was one of the technologies the Goddess of Light Association commonly used on their home planet.
Yuno intended to use this artificially constructed Sky Island as an aerial carrier to transport troops and weaponry.
“It is time to bring judgment upon those disgusting bugs.”
Yuno watched the slowly descending Sky Island with a sharp glint in her eyes as the island prepared to take on troops and supplies. Her plan was to use the Sky Island to destroy all the central nests built by the Great Devourer while the established defensive lines held firm.
Rate on N.U.
