"Take care of your own back!" said one of the 22nd team members as more of the locals of this planet is approaching them. His rifle was firing indiscriminately at the locals coming for them.
Unfortunately, his shots hardly do shit for him due to his terrible accuracy. But that was not the worst. Although the alien lifeform has no capability of using tools, they're not as primitive as they thought.
In this battle between humanity as an invader and the local alien lifeform known as Luminescents, both sides continuously learned to stay an advantage over their opponents.
While humanity has the advantages of advanced weaponry, their body was not as durable as the alien lifeform. Even with the protection of their jumpsuit and the protective gear, all it takes was two to three bone spikes from the alien lifeform to destroy their armor.
Worst of all, the atmosphere in this Planet Lucent has a dense concentration of acidic gases in the air. Accidentally taking a whiff of this stale air would definitely cause a burning sensation to the internal organs. If the skin were exposed to the air for over five minutes, inflammation and damage to the skin would undoubtedly happen.
This is why they're provided with a custom jumpsuit suitable for this environment. Both the jumpsuit material and armor were made from a material that can sustain itself indefinitely, as long it was given some time.
Or, to skip the waiting process, one can also choose to "loot" from their dead companion for a quick regeneration over their protective suit. Of course, the material came with a safe setting to ensure the soldier doesn't fight amongst themselves over their own selfishness to staying alive.
The material can only be "looted" when no more vital readings are coming from the wearer. This indicates that the individual is Killed-In-Action.
"FUCK!" one of the spikes struck this unlucky member from the 22nd team. The attack got his rifle by surprise. Right now, he's left with only a pistol to fight the alien lifeform. And a melee weapon, if he prefers to go face to face against them.
The battle only went on for less than 30 minutes, but a quarter of them already died under the bone spikes fired by the alien lifeform.
These things seem to have unlimited ammunition within their body. Even after firing their bone spikes for a while, they seem to be still going strong.
"Don't they get tired from swinging their tentacles all the time, firing spikes here and there?" the unlucky member asked. The pistol in his hand had more accuracy than when he's using the rifle. Still, it was pointless because the power from a gun hardly gets past the alien lifeform's sturdy hide.
*Bang!*
A gunshot came from about ten meters away from the unlucky member before he was forced to go with melee. This shot also saved him from getting sneak attacked by the alien lifeform coming from his back.
*Bang!*
*Whoosh!*
The second shot went through another alien lifeform's head. It seems that the vital point of this alien lifeform is located on their head.
'What the hell? Taking down two aliens from two shots? Who is that?' the unlucky member of the 22nd team asked.
"Come back and get your rifle replaced. I'll provide cover while you're on your way," said Li-Xin. He was taking cover behind some supply boxes dropped on this battlefield while sniping at the alien lifeform from a careful distance.
"It's you?" the member was shocked after he found out who was the one providing support to him.
"Yes. It's me. What are you waiting for? Quickly come over here before the alien lifeform gets close." Li-Xin said.
"Alright! Cover me!" the member tossed the rifle away after he took the magazine with half of the bullets remaining. Although his action looked stupid, it was actually quite a wise move. With 80 more minutes remaining before their next pick-up, only the strong, the smart, and the fools will try to stay alive without reserving some ammunition on them.
As for the rifles, as long it was not damaged, they're literally everywhere on this battlefield.
*Bang!*
Another shot was fired while this unlucky member from the 22nd team is running towards Li-Xin. Running blindly without knowing where his teammate is is hiding was horrifying, but getting chased by a few alien lifeforms is more than terrifying.
"I got a replacement!" the unlucky guy quickly took cover on one of the supply boxes around the landing zone. He immediately replaces the existing magazine with the one in his hand before he was ready to take on the alien lifeform again.
"Bring it on!" with a working rifle in hand, this unlucky member started to yell again. Using the same tactic as before, he fired indiscriminately at the incoming alien lifeform. The close distance between him and the crowd increases the accuracy of his shots.
A few alien lifeforms quickly stop on their track after getting shot by the member, allowing Li-Xin to take advantage and deliver a killing blow.
"Brother, you'll have to share the reward with me when we're back later!" the unlucky member said. Although the reward was eventually up to the company's discretion, it was not wrong to talk about this to lighten the mood a little.
And his casual talk came at the wrong time.
As Li-Xin getting ready to reply to him, the supply boxes near him fell and revealed a taller alien lifeform with two bone spikes protruding out of that tentacle's mouth.
"Fuck!" Li-Xin cursed. Forced to toss his rifle aside, he pulled the baton from his belt and give it a heavy swing to activates the hidden mechanism.
The baton instantly deployed into a double edge sword as Li-Xin took the fight to a melee battle. Using the advantages of his proficiency with a blade, Li-Xin immediately engaged with the alien lifeform to protect himself.
It was different from fighting against a fellow soldier. He was lacking in Height, fighting pattern, and strength when it comes to a melee battle. Were it not because he's much more agile in comparison to the alien lifeform, he would be taken down within minutes from all the unexpected attacks.
The alien lifeform's tentacle could cover more than two-thirds of its surrounding. Worst of all, the attack power from that simple-looking tentacle is enormous. But that was not the worst.
What was even more worrying was the durability of the bone spikes.