CHAPTER 74: CHAPTER 73: ALL-OUT CROSSFIRE

However, the middle-aged man still held onto him tightly, and the middle-aged woman did the same, clinging to him, crying and refusing to let go.

Similar situations were happening in many parts of this neighborhood.

But just at that moment, a huge rumbling sound came from the horizon, and an enormous object cast a shadow over the city.

"What’s that?"

"A spaceship!"

"It’s a transport spaceship borrowed from our interstellar allies!"

"How do we get on? I have money! Whatever it costs!"

"Stop whining; money’s useless at times like this!"

"Children and military families have priority to board the spaceship. The broadcast is calling; children and military families have priority to board!"

"Let’s go, let’s enlist!"

"Stop holding me back! I’m not afraid!"

"..."

The appearance of the spaceship evidently caused quite a stir.

Especially with text messages, broadcasts, and short videos all continuously promoting it, soldiers and staff were shouting with loudspeakers.

The young man finally made up his mind.

"I must go! You all can board the spaceship, but I don’t want to keep running away either!" he said, forcefully breaking free from his parents’ arms, running straight to the recruitment site.

Halfway there, he suddenly stopped, turned around, knelt down on the ground, his eyes red as he bowed deeply to his parents before getting up to continue running.

All that was left behind were the anguished cries of his parents.

This act of kneeling evidently spread to many others, as more and more people were making up their minds, kneeling down to bid their parents farewell in neighborhoods, streets, and various parts of the city, while many determined middle-aged individuals crowded the enlistment registration site, creating striking scenes.

Their families could indeed receive some benefits from this.

Just after registering, as they stood in the line of new recruits, their family members, once the information was uploaded into the system, could immediately get in line for the spaceship using identification cards or other proof.

Thanks to the technological support of the Interstellar Civilization, Human Civilization was now far stronger in handling network information than before.

Management became more precise.

This was happening in cities everywhere, with more and more vehicles coming from further back.

And eighty-four spaceships were all under the control of AI, endlessly shuttling through the cities.

In these final moments, evacuate as many people as possible!

No one could guarantee when or if the monsters would break through the defenses and enter the city, so they had to do everything they could to stop them.

As the new recruits were filled with anxiety, further away, the veterans were already making final preparations for battle.

A soldier, just twenty-four years old, carefully buried a trigger-activated landmine five or six meters underground with his comrade, when he heard a voice coming through his earpiece.

"Assemble! Assemble! Stop what you’re doing immediately!"

"Yes!" The young soldier immediately stopped what he was doing and sprang up, rushing over.

He was wearing full-body power armor, not very thick but extremely efficient.

Even after excavating a very deep hole, he wasn’t tired at all, feeling as if he could leap into the air, with various weapons mounted on his armor making him feel like a superhero!

Despite knowing the monsters’ terrifying nature, his heart felt no fear.

Until everyone gathered, as warriors on the front lines, each wearing power armor, came together, giving an unprecedented sense of pressure.

Their commander, wearing the same armor, stood at the forefront.

"The enemy’s positions, including battlefield reconnaissance, have all been transmitted to you, visible on your armor’s screen. If you don’t understand something, ask the built-in AI - understood?"

"Understood!" Everyone could see the screen’s display.

It was three-dimensional, with dense green waves surging toward them from the ground not far away, with explosions already audible in the distance.

Some of these were the explosives they had just buried a short while ago.

Some areas emitted massive bursts of light from nukes buried underground.

Yet, even so, the monsters continued coming at them!

The young soldier instinctively tightened his grip on the long gun, a specialized weapon capable of firing incendiary bullets.

"Folks, how cool is our battle armor?" the commander’s voice came again.

"Cool!" everyone shouted together!

"How strong?"

"Strong!"

"With such cool and powerful equipment, are you excited?"

"Excited!"

"You should be excited; we are the first troops in the army to wear this armor. What does that mean? It means we are elite, the strongest soldiers! But being elite means living up to the duty of being a soldier! Look back, everyone, do you see? That’s our city, our people! Protecting them is our duty!"

"..."

No one spoke, everyone turned in unison, in the field of vision, rows of buildings stood tall and, through their armored lenses, seemed to magnify, as if drawing closer to them.

They also saw a long convoy, which was the evacuating citizens.

Meanwhile, rows of missiles streaked across the sky, fighter jets circled high, explosions booming continuously in the distance.

Those were earth-penetrating missiles rapidly purchased from the Interstellar Civilization, even if a few centuries old, they were far deeper and more destructive than current Human Civilization’s earth-penetrating missiles.

All the warriors could see, on the map, the endless waves forming gap after gap.

Although they were constantly being repaired, compared to the beginning, there was a significant slowdown!

Monsters were strong, but not invincible!

"Everyone!" the commander’s voice turned into a roar, "Defend your country, achieve glory, now is the moment!"

As the words fell, green vines suddenly burst from the ground ahead, charging at them in large numbers!

The sound of explosions seemed to drown out all other noise at this moment.

The previously planted landmines were continuously roaring.

The young warrior felt his blood boiling inside him.

The massive vines, growing and twisting wildly, didn’t seem that terrifying at the moment!

"Open fire!"

Unsure who shouted, everyone lifted their guns and fired frantically!

The roar was incessant, and in just an instant, the area ahead turned into a sea of flames!

The monsters twisted in the sea of fire.

But suddenly, vines burst from the ground beside them, tossing soldiers around frantically.

"Keep moving, don’t stay in one place!" the voice came through the earpiece.

Before he could even react, the young warrior already started running, the power armor granting him greater speed than before, and thick vines surging from his side, with the sound of his own heart beating violently in his ears.

The automated weapons mounted on his armor were fully deployed.

Inflammable bullets were fired madly, flames surrounded him on all sides, and blades extended from his back, elbows, and knees, automatically slicing through any vine around him!

Burning vines fell continuously, and new ones kept emerging.

Complete chaos broke out!

At this moment, at the command center, a group of commanders was staring intensely at the screens.

They were not looking at just one battlefield, but various battlefronts.

The front lines had troops equipped with interstellar equipment, fully engaging with the monsters!

"It’s chaotic, too chaotic!" someone couldn’t help but say, "No coordination."

"But our previous training never had such enemies."

"Chaos is inevitable, soldiers can’t stay in one place, or they’ll be surrounded, they must keep running, dodging as they fight."