Chapter 968: Out Of The Way
The plan was actually a very simple one. They would charge the enemy lines and blitz them from the side before they realized what was going on.
Using high explosives from the Mass Drivers, they could tear apart the bulwarks at the trenches, dismantle the bunkers and dig out the enemy before they had time to mount a proper defence.
"Alright, here is the deployment plan. I think it's about simple enough. It will be a straight blitz with aerial bombardment using the Mass Drivers. We will have the Android unit take the flying position, as it will attract more attention and be the first to fire. While they are up, we will charge the lines and clear them out.
If we start taking fire from the defenders, back off and order the Androids to cease fire.
They should learn quickly enough that we're not going to help them if they shoot at us."
That was enough for Nico, and she immediately began clarifying the deployment orders to the Androids so that they would stay in the air and disengage at the proper time instead of targeting the new threat if the locals attacked them.
The Mecha used their thrusters to fly along just over the ground once they got a kilometre away from the shuttle, not particularly concerned about being detected early, as they would be attacking in under a minute, and the enemy was already in combat.
The tactical mistake bothered Max a bit, as he was inclined to make it a stealth mission, but there really wasn't a benefit to startling the defenders, and the attack was sure to take out the blood-soaked attackers.
The thrusters were nearly silent as the force glided through the scattered trees of the grasslands toward the enemy trenches. Even if they were spotted, it didn't change anything in the ongoing battle.
The laser blasts still traced lines between the two forces, while Plasma balls flew through the sky and large numbers of solid projectiles slammed into the walls in front of the defenders.
The rounds weren't on par with the Mass Drivers, but they were far beyond any other handheld solid projectile weapons that Max or Nico had seen in this life.
There were some in his memory, rocket-propelled grenades that caused this level of massive damage, but they were so obscure that he hadn't immediately recognized them when he saw them in use here.
[Oh, there are good things here. The plasma isn't anything special, but those rocket grenades look fun. Hopefully, at least one of them survives this.] Nico cheered when they were close enough to properly inspect the enemy's wargear.
[We're not holding back so you can find a new toy.] Max warned her.
[I wouldn't dream of asking. Besides, I can reassemble one from pieces, and I can likely replicate it even without any parts now that I've seen it in action and measured its abilities.]
[Android unit in position. Commencing bombardment.] The squad leader informed them a moment later, milliseconds before the first explosions of the Mass Driver rounds began in the trenches.
[Charge!] Nico cheered as she pushed her Mecha toward the front lines.
In the remains of their fortifications, the huge warriors were doing their best to weather the bombardment under makeshift shields or charging out of the trenches to challenge one of the two forces that were suppressing them.
Those were the best options that they were left with, and most of them didn't seem to mind that they were charging into near-certain death as their commanders ordered them toward the smaller aliens' lines, assuming that Max's force was reinforcements for them.
The defenders began to panic as the warriors closed with them, but the enemy numbers were falling fast as the Mecha bombarded the trenches.
[Faster, stupid Mecha, the battle is going to end before we get there.] Nico was thinking to herself as she raced across the field at over eight hundred kilometres an hour.
She hit the first warrior so hard that his armour cracked without her even using a weapon, and Nico's energy barrier flared to life as the impact brought her to a stop within the melee range of the warriors.
Her Fusion Flamer flared to life, and the trench line turned to an inferno, filled with screams and the sound of armour popping as the warriors inside boiled and exploded.
[The armour plating is exceptionally resistant to fire, but it seems that the ones which aren't properly sealed don't regulate temperature.] Nico noted as the inferno continued.
Max could sense the horror of the smaller aliens, and it wasn't for the enemy that was now reaching their lines. They were taking heavy casualties due to the warriors' far superior combat skills, but even then, the horrors of a trench line engulfed in Mass Driver explosions and Fusion Flames were enough that the deaths of their comrades seemed trivial.
[Halt the aerial bombardment of the trenches. Let's clear them out from up close.] Max ordered.
[The bombardment didn't collapse their bunkers.] Nico noted as Max's thermal scans detected a large heat spot from her targeting one with the Fusion Flamer.]
[Understood. We will dig them out of their holes.] Khan agreed.
Max ducked into one of the bunkers, finding it empty but well-constructed with some sort of advanced concrete. They had only been here a few hours, but the walls were solid and durable. They must have had some sort of advanced construction technology, but Max wasn't sure if it would survive the assault.
The sound of movement behind him made Max twirl just in time to catch the edge of a viciously serrated axe with his shield, nearly losing it from the force of the blow.
The warrior screamed a guttural battle cry as it advanced on Max in the tight confines of the bunker, but Max wasn't feeling like an honourable duel today and decided to hit it with the Disintegrators.
That turned out to be the wrong answer, as the warrior's armour was cleansed of blood and paint, but the armour itself held strong, and the warrior's attacks didn't slow.
"Fine, we will do this the hard way," Max muttered as he sensed the warrior's pleasure at its resilience against what it viewed as witchcraft.