Z3 Heights
The mess soldier who had been carried back was gravely wounded. The giant beetle's forelimb had pierced through his chest and abdomen, and blood was gushing from his mouth. A faint greenish fluid had already begun to ooze from his wounds.
It was the giant beetle's venom—an extremely potent neurotoxin. Without immediate medical attention, survival beyond thirty minutes was nearly impossible. The agony of death from this toxin was excruciating—Ryan had witnessed too many comrades perish this way.
"Rest in peace, brother." Without hesitation, Ryan drew his pistol and fired a shot straight into the mess soldier's forehead.
Bang!
With the gunshot, the mess soldier closed his eyes as if finally relieved.
"You're insane! Old Four was still alive! Why did you kill him?" another mess soldier roared in fury. He had been close to the deceased and couldn't comprehend why his comrade had just been executed by a fellow soldier.
"If you were in his place, suffering from wounds beyond treatment, I'd do the same for you. And if it were me, I'd want you to do the same," Ryan replied coldly, then turned and continued his charge toward Z3 Heights without looking back.
"What do we do now?" The remaining rookies exchanged uncertain glances, unsure whether following this cold-blooded veteran was a blessing or a curse.
"Old Four…" Several mess soldiers gathered around the fallen soldier, attempting to carry his body away.
Screeeech!
A shrill screech echoed through the battlefield as another squad of giant beetles charged toward them!
"Run!"
The first to react were the rookies. Though they lacked real combat experience, their training had instilled in them enough battlefield awareness to understand their dire situation. Without Ryan, they knew they had no chance against even a single beetle, let alone an entire squad.
Without hesitation, the rookies sprinted after Ryan, and the remaining mess soldiers quickly followed. However, three mess soldiers—Old Four's closest comrades—stayed behind, determined to carry his corpse with them.
But dragging a corpse significantly slowed them down. Worse still, Old Four's fresh blood was an irresistible lure to the giant beetles. The creatures immediately shifted their focus to the stragglers.
"Aahh!"
One of the mess soldiers let out a terrified scream as he twisted his ankle and stumbled to the ground.
"Useless baggage!" Ryan, who had already gained considerable distance, turned back. His rational mind told him these mess soldiers were dead weight, but he wasn't a heartless war machine. He had spent enough time with them to not simply abandon them to their fate.
Tat-tat-tat!
Ryan's electromagnetic rifle spat fire, sending a precise line of suppressive rounds toward the advancing beetles. Though the bullets couldn't kill them outright, the sheer impact and pain momentarily halted their charge.
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
The rookies who had initially fled now turned back as well, their rifles blazing. The battlefield had a way of igniting camaraderie—seeing Ryan risk his life to save his comrades, the rookies instinctively followed suit.
"You! Move!" Ryan barked at the mess soldiers.
"Y-yes!"
The three men hoisted Old Four's corpse and staggered forward as quickly as they could.
"Covering fire!" Ryan shouted, then sprinted ahead. After gaining a safe distance, he turned and resumed firing at the pursuing beetles.
A retreat without cover was a slaughter waiting to happen. Two-legged humans could never outrun six-legged monsters. But leaving someone behind as a rear guard was a death sentence. The only viable tactic was leapfrog cover fire.
The rookies, though inexperienced in war, had undergone proper military training. As Ryan opened fire, they ceased shooting and repositioned. Once they reached a safe distance, they resumed their attack while Ryan fell back.
Through this coordinated maneuver, Ryan and the rookies steadily fought their way toward Z3 Heights. The mess soldiers, struggling under their burden, finally reached the high ground with Old Four's body.
"You little punks actually made it up here alive?"
A towering man, built like a bear, barked in surprise. This was Ralph, the second company commander. He had reached Z3 Heights ahead of them, but his unit had not been as lucky.
Out of the more than one hundred soldiers in the second company, fewer than fifty had made it to the rally point. Even considering those still en route, their landing casualties exceeded thirty percent.
A combat unit that lost over thirty percent of its troops was typically pulled back to recuperate. According to the Federation's regulations, a unit with fifty percent losses was considered combat ineffective.
But this was a beachhead assault.
It didn't matter how many made it—anyone still breathing had to push forward. The brutal nature of this battle meant that all units suffered heavy losses. So when Ralph saw that Ryan's mess squad had reached the heights intact—though Old Four had perished, his body had also made it—he was genuinely surprised.
"You rookies, fall in!" Ralph barked, gesturing to the rookies. They were combat personnel, after all, while Ryan and the mess soldiers were not.
"What about us?" one of the mess soldiers hesitantly asked.
"Find a corner and stay out of my goddamn way!" Ralph snapped before marching off to regroup his troops. To him, the mess soldiers were barely worth acknowledging—except when it was time to eat.
BOOM!
A thunderous crash echoed through the battlefield as a Gauss cannon was airdropped onto Z3 Heights.
One by one, more heavy weapons followed. The 106th Mechanized Infantry Division began fortifying their defensive positions, securing the frontline.
"Contact! Twelve o'clock!"
A piercing cry rang out as a massive swarm of bugs emerged from the northern perimeter of Z3 Heights.
Among them were not just the standard giant beetles—but plasma bugs!
BOOM!
A plasma bug in the distance turned its back toward the high ground. Its massive, glowing blue abdomen contracted violently before unleashing a searing bolt of plasma straight toward the defenders.