Chapter 456: Crossover Tactic
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The 10 thousand Collision mechs were like neatly and tightly arranged nails, flying at over Mach 20 with an astonishing power of destruction. No mech or starship could be left untouched by an attack of this kind of force.
Among all the viewers of their imminent clash, no one would believe that anything could be unscathed from a crash like this! Each of the mechs were only 25 meters apart in their formation. This was an almost negligible distance in the scale of the universe.
What was more unbelievable was the fact that the thousands of Collision mechs that emerged from the purple gas cloud were flying straight into the companies without slowing down. Had they gone mad? Both sides were flying at over Mach 20 - collisions at this speed would break even the strongest material used to build the mechs.
Were they planning to die? Was this a suicidal attack?
Just when everyone was puzzled by their strategy, the smaller swarm of Collision mechs changed formation again. They regrouped, repositioned themselves and adjusted their distances, all in just five seconds, without any signs of delay.
In those five seconds, the messy swarm of Collision mechs that came out of the purple gas cloud reformed into dozens of combat squad units. All of this achieved while travelling at over Mach 20.
The comms channel was silent. No one said a word. Only the occasional heavy breathing was heard. In these precious five seconds, Sang Pu did not give any orders. He believed that every Sang Tribe member would understand his intention. Sang Tribe members were all excellent warriors, and to be chosen as frontline soldiers meant that they were the cream of the crop. They were all raised to trust in each other.
Five seconds! This was a suspenseful five seconds, and an unforgettable moment. What extraordinary sight would appear when tens of thousands of mechs crashed into each other? Everyone looked at the holographic screen without blinking, holding their breaths. Be it in the bars, public squares or schools, or in individual homes, as long as the holographic screen was on, these five seconds were filled with deafening silence.
Even the wordy frontline reporter had kept his mouth shut as he watched in silent awe.
Just what kind of people were they?
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Sang Pu's eyes were fixed on his holographic screen. Right now, he was no different than any other member of the Sang Tribe. He would have to use his own strength and skills to fight for his own fate.
After bursting out of the purple gas cloud, the holographic scanning systems on the Collision mechs had begun to function again.
The huge presence of the 1st to 10th Companies registered clearly on the holographic screen. This was not his first time doing this, but he could already feel the electric jolt of excitement shot through his veins. He could even hear his own breathing grow shorter!
Getting close now … Closer still … The huge wave of Collisions mechs rushed towards him on the holographic screen. In that moment, Sang Pu felt like a withered leaf, riding the massive waves of a tsunami - he could die at any moment! Sang Pu did not know who was piloting the mech that would go right past him, but that did not matter. The point was, if he really crashed into that mech, both their mechs would disintegrate into pieces, and his own body would explode into a thousand pieces, just like his mech! The mech showed no signs of avoiding him as it flew straight ahead towards him. The mech occupied almost two thirds of his holographic screen - they were very close to each other now! He could even see the patterns on the Collision mech, unique to their skeleton material.
Roar! His blood sang with exhilaration. Sang Pu felt a rush of excitement like never before.
Now!
His dilated pupils shone with battlelust, and his hands moved the mech's control lever.
To the side, then push forward. His hands moved the lever steadily without delay, just a smooth gesture on the controls.
Sang Pu's Collision mech wriggled to the side, smooth as a fish, and flew right past the other mech that was coming towards him! There was no time to think. At over Mach 20, Sang Pu flew his mech through the 25 meter gap between the mechs in front of him, and continued his trajectory.
There were no signs of collision! Sang Pu did not need to check to know that he was safe. His tension finally released, and he felt the fatigue of the war overwhelming him.
Every Sang Tribe member knew about Collision mechs like the back of their hands. Unlike He Yue Galaxy's mech pilots, the Collision mechs were their only choice of weapons, for they had no other options. They could only think hard about new ways to fight with the Collision mechs. They did not think about upgrading their mechs, or changing the weapons installed, or buy newer models, since Collision mechs were practically their companions, their trusted weapon in the face of battle. That was why every Sang Tribe member who had their own Collision mech would take very good care of them, and knew every tiny detail of their mechs!
That was why Sang Pu did not need to check to know that his mech did not come into contact with the other mechs.
However, now was not the time to rest. Sang Pu shook himself awake, suppressing his joy of having survived the stunt, and forced himself to calm down as soon as possible. He understood his duties as commander of the entire Sang Tribe. He was not just an average soldier. Soldiers could perform outstanding feats through their excitement. A commander, however, would benefit more from staying calm. Only calmness can help him make the right decision.
Sang Pu was not aware that his mech's skeleton wings and that of the mech that flew past him were separated by less than 10 centimeters back then. At a speed of over Mach 20, any minor contact would be have its implications amplified. If he had steered five centimeters more to the side, his ending would have been different.
Sang Pu quickly calmed down, and began to assess his surroundings. The mechs that came out of the purple gas cloud with him had all survived the flight. Sang Pu had not anticipated Sang Tie's arrival, and had only planned to lure the unknown lifeforms out of the purple gas cloud. This would considerably strengthen their position. With the comms system online, they would be able to coordinate attacks more effectively. The lack of numbers can be overcome with better strategizing. Besides, outside the purple gas cloud, their holographic scanning systems would allow them to see better, and get a better sense of the overall situation.
He was surprised to find Sang Tie and the readily assembled battalion. An idea came to him, and Sang Pu was reminded of a combat technique that they had often practiced in the Sang Family Village - crossover flying. This was something they came up with themselves. It consisted of two mech squads flying through each other, through the gaps between the mechs in each squad. This was a very dangerous strategy, and would require highly skilled mech pilots. After all, if both sides were flying at high speed, the mech pilot would have little time to react when flying through the gaps. Failing this would cause them to suffer casualties from both squads due to the impact. This strategy was designed to use against enemies in tight pursuit, and Sang Pu thought this was just the right scenario for it.
However, Sang Pu also knew that, despite their familiarity with this technique, they had never done it on such a large scale, with tens of thousands of mechs involved. Besides, they had not used this technique in practice before, and practices never involved flying at such a high speed. He could not be certain that every Collision mech would survive this. Nevertheless, it seemed that they did far better than he expected. Only a few mechs had collided with each other.
Sang Pu knew that it was time to turn the tide of the war.