Chapter 6

Kō is a city by the sea, and on the other side of the sea lies the territory of the kingdom. During the first two wars, this place, as a military port city, was a key target for the kingdom's fleet and was once reduced to rubble by relentless bombardment from powerful artillery and carrier-based aircraft. Despite this, Kō City ultimately persevered and, after reconstruction, once again flourished.

Just as the Federation fears the Empire's armored forces, the Empire is equally troubled by the kingdom's vast fleet that almost covers the entire sea. Although the war has ended and the world has entered a period of peaceful development, the Empire has continuously strengthened its military presence in Kō City to prevent this important coastal gateway from being destroyed again in the event of another war. A carrier fleet is stationed in the military port, an armored division is nearby, and many artillery and missile systems are deployed. They even built a military airport, which is packed with various types of fighter jets.

Unless it's a nuclear war, the kingdom's fleet would have to carefully consider any attempt to launch an amphibious assault here.

With so many troops stationed near the city, it's not uncommon to see a line of tanks on the highway from time to time—however, what if these tanks are followed by several trucks, and the trucks are full of heavily armed soldiers?

Are they going to participate in a drill?

Before I could recover from my shock, the sight of the troops following the vanguard instantly left me in a daze.

The Empire's mass-produced mechs, the Heavy Hammer.

The mechs were a groundbreaking weapon designed by the Federation with Nafuka's help before she gained self-awareness, targeting the Empire's tanks. Although their performance isn't as bug-like as in热血机器人动画 (hot-blooded robot anime), they are very practical. These mechs, which are at most two stories tall, are equipped with high-power air cushion devices on their feet and jet thrusters on their backs, allowing them to slide quickly on the ground and perform many dazzling maneuvers, leaving traditional armored vehicles in the dust. Their modular weapon systems can adapt to various tasks, such as air defense, anti-tank, anti-infantry, fire support, and long-range sniping, making them versatile on the battlefield.

Of course, the mechs have obvious drawbacks: they are as expensive as fighter jets, require complex maintenance, and are easy targets for enemy missiles.

The Empire never deploys mechs in drills; all the training for their pilots is done in simulators and the game "Frontline." In other words, if the Empire deploys its precious mechs, it means they are truly going to war.

"Brother," Mengyun, seemingly sensing the immense and无形的魄力 (intangible presence) emanating from the army, buried her head in my chest, "What's going on?"

Sis, I'm just as confused and want to find someone to explain this to me too!

A humming sound came from behind, and a squadron of Bald Eagle combat helicopters roared past at low altitude, the strong air currents they generated lifting countless dry leaves, flyers, and plastic bags, showering us with them.

Of course, it also lifted the skirt of the girl in front of me, who was screaming and trying to hold it down... Well, now isn't the time to appreciate the view! Although that pink, bear-patterned panties did look quite cute.

Regardless, this is not a place to linger. I immediately grabbed Mengyun's hand and said seriously, "We need to leave here, as quickly as possible!"

A loud explosion interrupted me. I turned around in shock to see the leading Bald Eagle, which was flying towards the sea, explode mid-air, its burning debris scattering and creating a white water column on the sea surface.

The attacked helicopters immediately scattered to search for the enemy. Before they could take any other action, a second wave of attacks came.

It was... many emerald green beams shooting out from under the sea!?

Even with the help of supercomputers, the Federation has not been able to develop the laser weapons that are commonplace in science fiction. Now, the enemy, presumably the kingdom's forces, has already mastered them?

It turned out that I had underestimated the situation.

A lush, gigantic island emerged from the sea, accompanied by a large amount of splashing water. Its size was so vast that the proud aircraft carriers of humanity looked like toys in comparison. The island was covered with all sorts of strange green plants, and if I wasn't seeing things, some of them were even moving like animals. At the edge of the island, many plants, too far to see clearly, twisted their stems and then shot out many emerald green beams, forming a dense barrage that almost made the retinas cramp, enveloping the helicopters that were confused by the second attack.

Indeed, whether in games or in reality, the luck of helicopters is on par with that of spear soldiers, isn't it!?

Bursts of death and destruction continuously bloomed in the sky over the sea, while the ground forces on the highway stopped their advance with a synchronized screech of brakes and began to deploy. A large number of soldiers, urged by their superiors, jumped out of the trucks and rushed down the stairs towards the beach.

Couples who were on a date on the beach and had not yet recovered from their shock were roughly pulled or pushed onto the highway by some soldiers, their eyes finally regaining their luster as they hurriedly ran towards us, their pants wet with fear.

In the next moment, I heard nothing. My vision swayed slightly, and my brain felt as if it was filled with tens of thousands of flies, almost making me faint. Mengyun, in my arms, covered her ears and seemed to be screaming, while the people nearby were doing the same, their faces contorted in pain.

A line of White Tiger tanks fired in unison, and their target was undoubtedly that mysterious island.

The massive boom caused a brief blank in my consciousness, missing the best time to escape. If I had been like the guy with headphones listening to music, who was not affected much and decisively ran into the alley behind the station, the following events would not have happened.

The shells exploded on the island, and the plants responded immediately: many dark green spheres were launched high into the air, drawing perfect arcs as they fell towards the beach.

They were indeed "falling" because those spheres were larger than an average adult!

Since they are plants, these seed-like objects are definitely more dangerous than roadside bombs. Indeed, they split open within a second of landing, and yellow-green monsters crawled out.

I can confirm that these monsters are essentially plants. But even if Nafuka searched her entire database, she would not find a plant similar to them.

Their oval bodies had no eyes but had a mouth full of yellow fangs. Sharp vines with countless thorns grew around their bodies, more flexible than an octopus's tentacles, supporting them as they stood up. These monsters, which could appear directly in science fiction or fantasy films without any makeup, were already very unfriendly in appearance, and they immediately received a warm welcome of gunfire.

Fortunately, these plants are not invincible to traditional weapons, as only magical girls who have signed contracts with QB can defeat them while being cute and dancing. Rifle bullets tore through their flesh, splattering dark green liquid, and they finally collapsed.

However, more plants used the time gained from their comrades' deaths to jump into the air and land directly among the people. Their sharp vines were filled with immense power, easily piercing through the soldiers' protective gear, and before anyone could react, several casualties appeared!

More plants were jumping to even farther places, their flexible vines swinging wildly. Just being hit by them would cause someone to spurt blood and fly far away, losing their combat ability.

The formation immediately fell into chaos.

Many plants also descended onto the highway, and worse, the island continued to launch spheres, seemingly determined to capture the beach in one go.

Tanks, armored vehicles, and mechs were not something the plants could bite through. Some of them broke free from the army's entanglement and targeted the fleeing civilians, baring their fangs and claws.

Regardless of what these plants are, staying here is definitely not a good idea. I swallowed my wildly beating heart and tightly gripped Mengyun's hand, turning to run into the alley behind us, hoping to leave this cursed place as soon as possible.

I have never heard of such terrifying plants in the world, and they would never appear even in the most absurd dreams. These creatures, which blur the line between animals and plants, are like monsters from another world, yet they bear the shadow of native plants, almost driving one mad.

Could it be... Liu Tao's prophecy is true? My heart sank, and I shook my head to focus, preparing to use all my strength to escape the battlefield with my sister.

After turning the corner of the alley, I immediately regretted it.

The guy who had been listening to music and escaped earlier was now a pile of red-liquid-soaked pixels, and standing less than five meters from the alley's exit was a plant with blood-stained vines.

And it had already noticed us.