Chapter 2

Although that was the case, Yu Lian had neither the atomic light spear stolen from a Star Knight Commander of the Empire, nor the prototype storm blaster gun taken from the Alliance's Future Star Laboratory, nor the psychic sword capable of slicing through the scales of a star dragon and the armor of a Titan warship, which he had obtained from the ruins of the Enlighteners.

Now, he was just a half-paralyzed man, with only a sergeant major, who might be a future celebrity, and a group of seemingly unreliable security guards, commonly known as "security fish" or "odd jobs," by his side.

They were indeed not very reliable. A group of people lined up, standing in place with rifles, without a skirmish line, without crossfire, and without a layered and progressive firepower position. One might mistake them for a line of battleships.

Really, how could a bunch of gentlemen think they were battleships? It was so ridiculous!

Yu Lian also knew that this couldn't be blamed on them. The entire galaxy had received the gifts of their predecessors too early, and the technology trees were indeed a bit skewed. Not to mention the feeble Commonwealth Earthlings, even the two major powers that now divided the galaxy, the Empire and the Alliance, had infantry tactics that were no better.

However, a team of more than ten people, without heavy support weapons, without vehicles, and with only four sets of exoskeletons, commonly known as mechs—of which one was worn by himself and was already broken—was simply unbearable. If it were the Empire, even the guards of the inland lords wouldn't make such a mistake.

The feebleness of the Commonwealth Earthlings indeed had a legacy! Yu Lian compared the two memories and was suddenly enlightened.

Fortunately, although their team was not very reliable, the enemies on the other side were not a vast sea of brave clawed insects or those Leviathan-class giant beasts that could hard-charge warships, but the most ordinary jumpers and hydralisks. In Yu Lian's time, they were just cannon fodder and support in the swarm, good for terror attacks behind enemy lines and occasionally serving as emergency rations, but if they appeared on the main battlefield, they would just be delivering themselves to the well-equipped regular army.

The security guards indeed lacked tactical skills, but the electromagnetic rifles in their hands, capable of firing a thousand rounds per minute, still formed a dense barrage. Although the monsters had evolved shells that could withstand bullets, they still had their limits. In Yu Lian's view, only a few out of a hundred actually reached the group, and all of them were injured.

"Baka!" Sergeant Major Monterson shouted.

"Bean!" The most robust man in the squad immediately let out a roar that a normal person couldn't possibly make, took a step forward, and picked up the power axe on his waist.

His power axe was more than a circle larger than a normal soldier's, and when the blade was extended, it was clearly a wheel. However, the sergeant major wielded it with ease, moving it like thunder, exuding a dominant aura.

The first jumper that broke through the fire net was smashed on the head by the large axe, instantly shattered into pieces. This was not the end; the corpse of the jumper flew back like a large baseball, hitting a hydralisk.

The hydralisk had already extended its shell to prepare for a strike, but was knocked back into the barrage, instantly turning into a sieve.

"For the Commonwealth!" The lieutenant, also a robust man, shouted and leaped behind the sergeant major, back to back with him, holding a chainsword that emitted a sharp "buzzing" sound. With a single swipe, he split another jumper in half. The timing of his sword lift was so perfect, as if the jumper had met the blade head-on.

It was clear that he was a master swordsman. He was using the "Imperial Assault Trooper Combat Swordsmanship Type 1," also known as the "Beast Type," which was specifically designed to deal with large beasts. Although developed by the Empire's psychic nobles, it was a common skill that any soldier in the Imperial Army could learn, and it had spread throughout the galaxy.

Truly, they were two valiant heroes! One with innate strength, the other with superb swordsmanship. If it were the age of cold weapons, they could have left their names in history or even established their own domains.

He felt he had to do something and tried to move his body again. This time, the excruciating pain came from his lower body, but at least his upper body had regained sensation.

Yu Lian's upper body was only in a combat uniform, while his lower body was still wrapped in the exoskeleton, or rather, the remaining lower half of the exoskeleton.

"Is there any weapon, any weapon at all?" Yu Lian felt around and actually found the handle of a rifle on the side of the power stretcher. He checked it briefly; the magazine was full, and the battery was more than half full, enough for use.

... Alright, there's a weapon. But now there's a technical issue: he couldn't even lift his upper body, let alone aim and shoot.

Yu Lian tried to move his lower body again, but it didn't budge, and the pain made him break out in a cold sweat.

The steel alloy armor provided him with three times his strength, allowed him to run at a hundred-meter sprint for half an hour, and could carry two thousand rounds of ammunition, ten grenades, and a power axe or chainsword that a normal person couldn't wield. But now, it had become a shackle that restricted his basic movements.

What a weak body.

Also, where exactly am I injured? Yu Lian couldn't help but mutter.

"Your waist was severely injured." The answer came from Sergeant Major Shilika, the beautiful girl who might be a future celebrity. She was fully focused on shooting.

Unlike the others who fired in a spread, she was always using a three-round burst, each shot precisely hitting the jumpers that broke through the barrage, always killing them. She perfectly supported the two fierce teammates who were engaged in close combat.

Now, Yu Lian was at least 80% sure that she was the person he thought.

"Sorry... Although you pulled Xiao Qiao out of the insect's mouth and were severely injured, we couldn't save him." This time, it was the other female in the team, a plain-looking, average-built, and average-tempered girl. The red snake staff emblem on her uniform indicated her role as a medic.

However, why didn't the female medic have a special exoskeleton? Do the security guards not value technical talent?

Yu Lian thought this, but the medic girl had already picked up a thick syringe and injected it into his waist without a word.

The initial pain was intense, but it was quickly followed by a cool sensation, and the pain subsided. His stamina seemed to have recovered somewhat. At least, Yu Lian could barely prop himself up, and his field of vision was wider.

"Lieutenant, you need to rest! Don't worry, we can definitely repel..." The medic was startled by Yu Lian's movement and hurriedly tried to dissuade him, but he loudly said, "Ina, shoot the hydralisks!"

Ina Shilika, the sergeant major of the New Jade Gate Defense Security Team of the Blue Star Commonwealth, was startled. She thought, "You've only been here for less than three days, when did we become so familiar?" But what came out of her mouth was, "What are hydralisks?"

Of course, the sergeant major didn't know the "military name" that would be recognized by the galaxy in a few years.

"They are the large cobras! When they extend their shells, they are about to spray. Aim for the chest cavity under their shells!"

When hydralisks spray, they are at their strongest. In the future, the evolved hydralisk soldiers could spray their spines up to a thousand meters high, still capable of piercing 2 cm of alloy armor.

However, this was also their weakest moment. When the shell opens, it means the central nervous system and muscles in the chest cavity are completely exposed.

Of course, capturing this moment of opportunity on a smoky battlefield was a test of the soldiers' marksmanship. This was not the future where every mobile infantryman was equipped with a personal targeting radar—after all, even space warships still had a lot of hand-cranked anti-aircraft guns.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Sergeant Major Ina Shilika started shooting, still using the classic three-round burst. She did not disappoint Yu Lian, perfectly demonstrating the marksmanship of a potential future celebrity. Each three-round burst inevitably caused a hydralisk to flip over, its chest cavity torn open, and it died with a scream.

Thus, for a full minute, not a single hydralisk completed its spray.

However, perhaps due to the loss of Ina's precise shots, more jumpers broke through the barrage. One even bypassed the swordsman lieutenant and the robust sergeant major, pouncing on a soldier.

The private was completely stunned. Wearing only a regular combat uniform and a bulletproof vest, he could not withstand the sharp mouth and blades of the jumper, and was about to be killed in one strike.

Yu Lian raised his rifle and fired. He was grateful that, despite his weak and possibly disabled body, he still had some shooting instinct, and the shooting experience ingrained in his memory allowed him to precisely send the bullets into the jumper's mouth, then blow its head off.

However, the fact that he, a disabled person, had to join the battle meant only one thing: they were being overwhelmed.