CH 119

"From what we saw, it will be extremely difficult to actually enter the shell-breaker. The drones have formed a perfect defensive perimeter around it," said Keji in a disheartened manner.

"Don't lose your heart. Think. There must be a way," encouraged Baron Sisse.

"The drones are all around the shell-breaker, but they seem to have left the top wide open. How should we enter from the top? We can't fly," said Keji.

"I request to join the squad," a familiar voice rang out. It was Dondon.

"No, no. This little fellow is a pet. How can he fight a war?" Keji refused.

"He can fly. He meets your requirements," said Domo.

"He can fly?" Keji was astonished.

"Yes. This fellow's suit is equipped with air fission hover technology. Unlike propulsion-based systems where energy is burned to maintain flight, he can fly over soundlessly. None of the drones will notice his approach," said Domo.

While we spoke, a loud rumble rang out as the shell-breaker started working on the gate. It collided against the shield, and the force behind the impact was intense. The shield managed to block the drill's advance, but we could clearly see that the shield was being rapidly drained of energy.

"We're running out of time. We need to move immediately. This little fellow will fly to the top, insert the password, and remove the shell-breaker's personal shield. Have all soldiers open fire at the drones to distract them. The mayor had deployed two soldiers to me. The five of us will take advantage of the chaos to rush to the belly of the shell-breaker," said Baron Sisse.

"I'll be waiting for your good news!" said Mayor Andi encouragingly.

"Shorty, take this. Cover yourself before flying over. Try to keep yourself hidden," said Domo as he tossed the cloak of invisibility to Dondon. At the same time, Keji also handed Dondon the code to access the shell-breaker's system.

Dondon nodded with gratitude before accepting the cloak and leaving. The suicide squad followed Dondon and arrived at the defensive perimeter behind the second gate. Team Leader Dasille was truly worthy of being a professional serviceman. In a short time period, he had established a new defensive line. 

The remaining equipment and soldiers had all been assigned to their respective bunkers and defensive positions as they awaited the arrival of the battle. Sounds of the shell-breaker colliding against the gate rang out again and again. Fear could be clearly seen on the faces of the defenders.

"We need to leave for a suicide mission. How should we leave?" Baron Sisse asked Dasille.

"There is a tunnel under the gate. You can go through it, and the exit leads to the outside. I will collapse the tunnel after you pass through," said Dasille.

"Move," Baron Sisse commanded resolutely.

The suicide squad and Dondon entered the tunnel and prepared to go out and carry out the mission.

"Canyue, are you and Dondon joining the mission to blow up the shell-breaker?" asked Zhang Bao'er from my communicator.

"Yes. If we don't deal with that big fellow, we won't be able to last three days," I replied.

"Be careful and come back alive," said Zhang Bao'er.

"Of course!" I replied firmly.

The suicide squad rapidly moved through the tunnel. At the other end, Keji pushed the lid open. Immediately after, we shot out several explosive shells.

"Dondon, move immediately. Everyone else, get out of the tunnel and charge. Team Leader Dasille, have everyone open fire and cover us," commanded Baron Sisse.

Dondon immediately put on the cloak and turned on his fission system before flying out. We all rushed out behind him. It was absolute chaos outside the tunnel. The defenders and the attackers were fiercely exchanging fire, creating numerous multicolored sparks as the shields of both sides were struck continuously.

Oddly, we discovered that the distant foot soldiers and fighter drones were merely observing the exchange silently. They showed no intention of participating in the battle and were acting as though victory was within their grasp.

Right after we rushed out, Team Leader Dasille blasted the tunnel and caused it to collapse, severing our road of return. There were about 50 drones protecting the shell-breaker while the shell-breaker was ramming into the second gate with its sharp and thick drill.

"Rush the shell-breaker's belly to attract firepower and provide cover for Dondon," ordered Baron Sisse.

The exit of the tunnel was less than 50 meters away from the shell-breaker.

"Dondon, please be successful," I prayed inwardly.

With a red flash, the body of one of the suicide squad members was pierced.

"This is bad. The Akko shield is not strong enough to withstand the attack from the drones." An ominous feeling rose in my heart.

The attacks from those behind the second gate had occupied the attention of around 80 percent of the drones, but there were still about 10 of them that had noticed us.

"Charge with everything you have. Don't even bother hitting back!" I roared.

Everyone ran frantically, but surprisingly, the 10 drones actually flew toward us and blocked our advance. To prevent more casualties, I shared my shield with the other three surviving members in the suicide squad. The 10 drones opened fire on us right in front of our faces. Only then did I notice that I had less than 10 hours remaining on my energy supply.

"Dondon, are you done? We're almost there," I asked through the communicator.

No reply came from the communicator. However, we weren't in a situation where we could stop and think. We could only continue rushing forward. With great difficulty, we pushed ahead. When we were only 10 meters away from our target, a drone actually charged toward me.

I fired a cluster bomb at the drone, resulting in a blinding explosion. Surprisingly, the drone wasn't protected by a shield and was struck down. I instantly realized something.

"Shoot these drones down! They are without protection after extending their shields to cover the shell-breaker!" I yelled.

Keji and Baron Sisse immediately aimed and shot at the drones with their rayguns. Due to how close the drones were, the rayguns that were notorious for their poor accuracy were able to deal massive damage to the drones. We were able to destroy all 10 drones that had come to stop us. With the destruction of these drones, I saw an opening appear on the red outer shield around the drones protecting the shell-breaker.

"Take this chance! Go! Go! Go!" I roared.

We lowered our guns and made the final sprint to our target.

"Dondon, please be successful!" I prayed.

A few seconds later, we charged through the defensive line formed by the drones and arrived below the shell-breaker.

"That little fellow succeeded!" Baron Sisse exclaimed in excitement.

"Where is the entrance? Take us in!" I said urgently to Keji.

I glanced at the distant enemies. Oddly, they continued watching on, not intending to assist the shell-breaker.

"The entrance is here!" pointed Keji excitedly.

There was a small opening at the belly of the shell-breaker. Keji pried out a small keyboard from behind the opening and entered a password. A ladder then dropped down.

As it came down, Dondon's voice sounded, "Canyue, I'm in the control room. There is no one in here and a bunch of equipment. Come quickly."

The team rushed through the entrance. After we entered, the ladder withdrew and the opening closed behind us. Meanwhile, the drones were still busy exchanging fire with the city defense. They had not noticed our arrival. We followed Keji through the body of the shell-breaker and soon reached the control room. Dondon was already there taking records of the machine.

There was a massive window in the control room providing a panoramic view around the shell-breaker. We could see that the massive drill had already pierced through the shield and was now ramming the second gate itself.

"Baron, our communication seems to be cut in here. I can't contact Team Leader Dasille to stop firing," reported Keji.

"Nothing we can do about it. Look for the nuclear reactor first. We'll think of our next plan after destroying this big guy," said Baron Sisse.

With yet another rumble, a small corner of the gate collapsed.

"We're running out of time. Keji, have you found the reactor?" asked Baron Sisse.

"Found it! Here!" Keji replied.

I ran over and saw him opening a shut door. Beneath the door was a room filled with heavy water.

"This must be it," I said and threw two high-energy cluster bombs into the room.

Keji immediately shut the door, and we all took cover in a corner of the control room. With another loud rumble, one-third of the second gap collapsed.

"Shit! We don't have enough time. The gate will fall with one more ram," said Baron Sisse.

Once again, the shell-breaker's drill pulled back before it began to swing toward the gate. Immediately, the control room shook violently. The cluster bombs had exploded, creating chaos in the reactor. The shell-breaker suddenly lost its energy supply. In fact, the explosion shook the massive drill out of its path. The shell-breaker went still with its energy supply, stopping just before the opening it had created in the gate.

"We did it!" Keji roared in excitement.

I collapsed weakly onto the ground. Our series of actions had been too intense and was extremely draining mentally. Baron Sisse also lay on the ground beside me. He was gasping for breath and was probably as nervous as I was.

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"Baron, the enemy ground forces are making a move," said a different member of the suicide squad.

I struggled back up and looked out the window. Sure enough, the imperial foot soldiers and tanks were starting to approach the broken shell-breaker.

"Retreat now, or we'll be surrounded!" I said.

Everyone ran back along the same path we had entered. We followed Keji through the winding tunnels in the shell-breaker, but for some reason, we did not reach the exit even after a long while.

"What's going on? We only took a minute when we came in," I asked.

"Seems like the internal structure has changed due to the explosion at the reactor. The exit has disappeared. We're trapped here," said Keji.

"Shit. We're trapped without any means to send a message out. We have basically locked ourselves in a metal cage," said Baron Sisse anxiously.

"I finally understand why the other imperial soldiers had not done anything earlier. This entire thing is bait waiting for us," I said.

"Are you saying that they had deliberately let us enter the shell-breaker?" asked Baron Sisse.

"Yes. We won't be able to leave after entering," I said.

"I did not expect the Eternals to be so treacherous!" cursed Keji.

"But what I don't understand is what they hope to accomplish with this. Trapping the few of us here won't help them at all. We're not worth the siege machine they sacrificed to catch us," I muttered.

"Little fellow, where did you enter from earlier?" asked Keji.

"I used your code and found an entrance at the top. However, that exit had also vanished," said Dondon.

While we spoke, we suddenly felt our surroundings shake. It was as though the shell-breaker was suddenly moving backward.