After firing three beams, Anruida slowed his pace, allowing Ruien to rush ahead, using his scatter laser to take down enemies while launching three more shoulder cannon shots. Then came the next.
Grey, without his power armor, couldn't join in the cannon fire for now. But within four seconds, the wall had already melted open, forming a gaping hole wide enough to pass through, creating a firepower gap right in front of the five Sentinels.
Yet, the breach was of little consequence, as Grey's target lay elsewhere.
The five Sentinels stormed into the Koi Wall, pressing forward relentlessly toward the fortress.
Perhaps to guard against any forces teleporting directly inside the Koi Wall, the firepower within and around the fortress was even more intense than on the outer walls.
Regardless of how dense the explosive bolts, lumber guns, or laser rifles were, they proved futile. Even the smoke from the attacks couldn't obscure vision, nor could the acrid gunpowder affect the Sentinels in their armor.
But the enemy had faced the power of Sentinel armor before.
A psychic perched at a narrow firing slit on the second floor of the fortress glanced down at Grey and his team. Halfway across the two-kilometer distance between the wall and the fortress, they had already covered half the ground.
The psychic turned swiftly, releasing his power as he ran.
Due to the distance exceeding the anti-psychic device's range, Grey and the others couldn't immediately counter him. They could only bombard the second floor with beams and scatter lasers.
Most of the attacks were intercepted by the outer walls of the fortress, and the psychic's own assault followed soon after.
The gravity shields of the Sentinel armor seemed to warp slightly, as though distorted by an unseen force. Though the anti-psychic devices weakened the incoming psionic wave, it was enough to disable the shields.
At that moment, Ruien spotted four enemies rushing toward him with hellguns, intent on exploiting the brief malfunction in the gravity shields.
Yaon hadn't known what a hellgun was, but after Qin Mo's explanation, he understood the damage it could inflict.
Yet, no one had to prepare, for the gravity shields rebooted swiftly.
The four enemies, along with their hellguns, were crushed by gravity in an instant.
The psychic at the fortress observed through the firing slit once more, his face twisted in rage and disbelief as he prepared to unleash another wave of psychic energy.
Two seconds later, Grey heard a scream.
"My head... my head! Aah! Aah! I'm going to—"
The psychic's power spiraled out of control.
Bang!
A dull explosion echoed from the second floor of the fortress, followed by a spray of blood and debris from the firing slit. The advancing Sentinels stepped over the scattered remains without hesitation.
Shoulder cannons blasted open four gaping holes in the fortress wall, and the Sentinels charged inside, unleashing a slaughter.
Each took a floor, clearing the entire fortress of enemies within three seconds.
Outside, the remaining forces could only race toward the fortress, watching helplessly as occasional beams of light pierced through it.
Grey, without his power armor, wasn't idle either. After clearing the few enemies on the top floor, he quickly descended to the fourth floor.
"Watch out!" Anruida's shout rang out.
In the next instant, Grey saw Anruida blur past him with incredible speed, leaving only a shadow trailing behind.
By the time Grey's gaze caught up, Anruida had already obliterated the last unaccounted-for enemy with his scatter laser.
"Works like a charm," Anruida grinned at Grey. "Our spine."
Grey had no interest in discussing spinal implants or bullet-time reflexes. He got straight to the point: "How's your mission going?"
"I've planted plenty of teleport beacons on the left side of the upper hive, but I haven't started on the right side yet," Anruida gestured with his hand, tracing a line. "The left is the side of the parade avenue, the right is the right side."
"You don't need to explain," Grey said, lowering his head in brief contemplation.
Anruida waited quietly for him to decide.
Soon, Grey lifted his head. "Forget it. We'll strike now, while their command center is destroyed and they haven't had time to regroup."
"Understood." Anruida readied for teleportation.
"Prepare for teleportation," Grey ordered the others.
Once the Sentinels were ready, they all instantly transitioned from the battlefield to a tranquil location—the heart of New Kato.
"Damn. Where did this bastard come from?" Yaon complained suddenly, and as the others turned, they saw him holding a severed arm with an unnaturally smooth cut.
It had apparently teleported along with them.
The arm was irrelevant, though. Grey immediately opened communications with Qin Mo, who was deep in research, and relayed the current situation, proposing his idea to launch an attack before the enemy could regroup.
Qin Mo responded with just two words.
"Commence war."
…
"Everyone, get the hell up!"
"The war order from the legion commander has been issued across the entire legion. We're attacking those bastards in the upper hive!"
"In the name of the legion commander, I command you all to get up!"
In the barracks, sergeants stormed through the corridors, shouting to awaken their soldiers.
To Creed, the soldiers of the First Legion seemed notoriously lax. Even the white-shielded recruits from the Cadian Shock Troops viewed them more as militia than true soldiers. Yet, Creed and his men had to admit one thing about the First Legion—they had only two types of soldiers: those who had survived near-suicidal battles, and the militia who fought brutal urban warfare in the underhive of Kato.
As for the newly recruited soldiers still in training, they wouldn't be thrown into combat just yet.
When the critical moment came, these men reacted with remarkable speed, well-accustomed to being roused for battle in the dead of night.
Throughout the camps, soldiers awakened, lined up, and made their way to the armories to don power armor, retrieve laser rifles, equip dimensional teleport protection, and check their gear.
Leman Russ tanks rolled onto the fields, and officers of company level and higher climbed into them.
As infantry and tanks converged, racing toward the teleportation fields, drones had already gathered in advance.
Artillery lined up in formation, while gravity-shield drones took their positions near their respective battalions.
Once preparations were almost complete, Grey's voice rang out across the legion's communication channels.
"Twelve battalions will be teleported first, forming a frontline to push forward. In the west, where we've planted many teleport beacons, other battalions will be transported behind enemy lines. But in the east, where there are fewer beacons, we'll have to slog our way through."
"The commander once said: 'I don't trust in genius tactics or strategies. I don't gamble with the enemy in war. I trust only in the strongest weapons, the fiercest firepower, and the sturdiest armor.'"
"The Sentinels have already conducted a brief but essential operation, and we will participate in the next phase of the battle, targeting the most heavily defended enemy positions."
"The commander is watching us. We will crush the enemy!"
Cheers echoed across the channels, and every soldier felt the weight of Qin Mo's gaze upon them from above.
And indeed, it was so.
As he watched the army's preparations through drones, Qin Mo immediately initiated mass dimensional teleportation.