The aliens struck, and the sea defense line collapsed at the touch.
Duke Baili saw through the lookout tower, a square monster towering over a hundred meters tall coming from the coast with large strides. It was followed by three slightly smaller aliens, but they were still thirty meters tall.
They did not make the ground rumble with their steps but arrived silently, giving a strong sense of surrealism.
The four aliens approached, and the humans inside Shell City immediately fell into panic.
They ran and hid throughout the city, but nowhere was safe, and eventually, they all fled towards the city gates away from the aliens. However, since the city had long been sealed off, they were coldly dispersed by the soldiers with weapons, and could only scurry around like headless flies within the city, crying and screaming.
As the enemy continued to close in, the invading aliens' appearance became clearer.
The leading giant alien, "Jade City," was covered with dense square holes that were sealed with a layer of transparent glass, appearing dark and deep.
It seemed like a piece of its skull at the top had been blown away, and from there grew some stacked square structures, looking like an exposed brain.
Extraordinarily fierce and grim.
The Second Generation Aliens following behind Jade City were only a third of its height, but they lacked the clumsiness and daze of young spawns, their pace was tidy and uniform, well-trained.
The distance between both sides further narrowed.
The shadows of the aliens had already touched the bottom of Shell City's gates.
The scout soldier beside him was sweating profusely, having some difficulty breathing, "My lord, aren't we attacking now? The enemy is too close..."
Duke Baili remained calm, "Wait a little longer."
It still wasn't enough.
The distance was still not enough.
The long shadow of Jade City finally cast over the city walls. And as the Sun's rays shifted, the glass within the alien's body reflected a dazzling brightness, looking like eyes sizing up everything inside the city.
The soldiers on the walls huddled behind the battlements to avoid the terrifying gaze of the monsters.
Jade City continued to advance.
Duke Baili abruptly ordered, "All troops, fire at will at the aliens!"
As the messenger rang the alarm bell, the illusion fish were the first to counterattack.
These long-range heavy firepower warriors bulged their air bladders, rising like broad-edged balloons on the walls, firing glowing Death Bubbles towards Jade City.
The Sea Horse Shooters also raised their heads on the walls, pointing their long snouts towards the enemy.
Every two human soldiers assisted a Sea Horse Shooter, equipping their long snouts with Long-range Shooters resembling long-tubed horns, then fixing them with metal tripods.
Though the Long-range Shooters could extend their range to some extent, their accuracy was poor, and they were prone to overload. The assisting soldiers needed to change the overheated extension tubes and cool them down in time, or else they could explode and cause injury. Thus, they were usually used for city or frontline defenses.
With the aid of Long-range Shooters, the supporting Sea Horse Shooters spit out oval light bullets at the enemy, forming a dense crossfire.
The Death Bubbles hit the aliens, initially causing localized continuous explosions and burning, but the enemy immediately counteracted. Jade City extended numerous metal tentacles from its body, catching the incoming bubbles and directly absorbing and neutralizing them.
The light bullets from the Sea Horse Shooters hit the aliens, only causing some light patterns to tremble, barely breaking through their defense.
But all this was just a diversion to cover for the key feint.
The Thorny Bird Suicide Squad had taken advantage of the chaos to reach the battlefield.
They rapidly air-dropped Light-blocking Oil onto Jade City and the other four aliens. The clay pots shattered on the aliens, spilling out the specially made Light Amber, which quickly adhered to their surfaces. Even though the first batch of thorny birds was quickly killed by the Hunters, they had achieved their key objective.
Duke Baili observed the situation on the battlefield.
The blockade strategy was successful.
Light-blocking Oil was a weapon specifically designed against the aliens, severely affecting the operation of Light Imprint Structures and increasing the energy consumption in the covered area or even causing localized blockages.
Even in its complete state, Jade City would still be restrained by this mechanism.
If we could just hold it here, we would have a chance to win, Duke Baili silently thought.
You may be strong, but I am not weak... With complacency comes a price to pay.
However, samurai crabs then emerged on Jade City, using shovels to quickly clear the black Light-blocking Oil, their movements very efficient.
Duke Baili's heart sank.
He hadn't expected that Zhou Yi could train samurai crabs to become a multifunctional unit.
We could wait no longer.
Duke Baili ordered, "Explosive tactics."
The bell suddenly changed, becoming urgent and loud.
Then two more batches of thorny birds flew out, continuing their suicide Light-blocking Oil drops on the Jade City gang.
The Hunters escorting the aliens released high-energy Death Light, destroying the thorny birds one by one.
But at the same time, sea warriors who had been hidden and ambushed underground by Death Light devices also burrowed out. They opened their robust claws, firmly pouncing on the leading Jade City, wrapping iron chains around its surface.
Under the weakening effect of Light-blocking Oil, if the large Light Blockers could take effect, the aliens could be pinned in place.
However, the next second, Jade City extended its metal tentacles and grabbed a sea warrior on each side, hurling them into the Death Bubbles in the air. Upon contact, there was an immediate explosion, triggering a thunderous blaze.
The charred sea warrior crashed onto the city walls, causing a moment of chaos in the defensive formation.
Jade City continued to fight off those sea warriors who were recklessly assaulting them,
and more sea warriors attempting to charge were blocked by the smaller aliens. Wielding their metallic arms, they grasped a sea warrior and relentlessly pounded them with steel fists, crushing the scales of these elite fighters... In fact, most of the sea warriors met their end at their hands.
The intense and gruesome fight eventually overwhelmed the fierceness of the Guangna Species with the fear of death, and after suffering heavy casualties, the remaining soldiers could no longer bear it and fled in all directions.
Defeat was like a collapsing mountain.
Duke Baili knew it was time to retreat.
He had already devised a new tactic, to first reassemble his forces with those from Steel Refining City. There was no chance for a direct confrontation; he had to attack the heartland of the Sand Port Region to force them to withdraw.
By now, the four large aliens had encircled the city, their metallic arms seizing the city walls. Thousands of monstrous eyes looking down on Shell City caused the inhabitants to curl up in corners, shivering in fear.
An arrogant voice came from the enemy's side.
"No one is unaware or ignorant of Duke Baili's atrocities; the sins he has committed are too numerous to document."
"Wasteland Development Company suffered heavy losses due to his attacks, and this time, we have come to seek justice for the victims. It's an eye for an eye."
"We have come only to punish the chief culprit, Duke Baili, and it has nothing to do with anyone else."
"Duke Baili, if you have the guts, come out and face me one-on-one!"
"Duke Baili, get out here."
The voice kept repeating.
Duke Baili's face turned unsightly upon hearing it.
The messengers in the lookout tower couldn't help but sneak glances at him.
Duke Baili's gaze was icy cold, prompting the messenger to quickly lower his head.
Duke Baili continued to observe every move of the enemy.
Although the enemy continued to taunt the city, Jade City seemed not ready to immediately step into the city, showing a lot of caution.
The enemy also had concerns; they seemed to suspect an ambush inside the city.
Duke Baili let out a slight sigh of relief.
To some extent, thank goodness the opponent seemed experienced. Had it been a greenhorn, they might have already rolled over the walls and marched in, becoming an even greater threat to him. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on NoveIꜰire.net
In fact, Duke Baili had no spare capacity to plan further.
The three smaller aliens moved slowly near the city wall, pacing back and forth as if giants were sizing up ants in their nest.
Duke Baili felt bitter inside.
When had he ever suffered such humiliation?
But there was nothing he could do.
The strength of the four aliens was beyond his limits.
Before long, the adult body of Jade City suddenly turned and walked towards the southern port outside the city.
A twinge of pain surged in Duke Baili's heart.
The shellfish farms under the Dead Sea were no longer defendable.
The reason why Shell City could produce a large quantity of high-quality shellfish was that Duke Baili had excavated this piece of electromechanical life in the Dead Sea. Without it, there would be no Shell City.
Now, he had no choice but to abandon it.
Duke Baili tried not to pay attention to Jade City salvaging the farm ships, but his heart was still bleeding.
He had spent many Light Seeds to repair and upgrade that ship, and it took a total of 20 years to explore its uses and functions.
Duke Baili adjusted his mindset.
As dusk fell, reinforcements from the north and south were still nowhere to be seen.
The aliens had cleared the surroundings and no longer found anything else of value.
The luminescence bursts from the cavities on the bodies of the four great aliens suddenly radiated strong light, dominating from their high vantage points in the dark, seemingly unstoppable.
The voice changed to a different argument.
"Residents of the city, given that Duke Baili refuses to answer our challenge, we will proceed to destroy this city in retaliation for the massive losses he has inflicted on us."
"In the next hour, all inhabitants should evacuate this place, or bear the consequences themselves."
"If you wish, you can also to evacuate this war-torn area and move to a safe zone. We will do our utmost to ensure your safety."
With the ultimatum given, order in the city could no longer be maintained. A great number of residents climbed over the city walls, fleeing for their lives. A small number of residents even went out to kneel incessantly before the aliens, expressing submission and willingness to follow.
Duke Baili watched, his eyes bulging with rage.
Destroy my city, and steal my people and slaves!
How could this be endured!
Duke Baili's anger surged to his head.
He quickly left the lookout tower, glaring fiercely at the towering, ferocious enemy, and then fled in the opposite direction without looking back.