MTLNOVEL Chapter 365: Feigning and Deceptive Tactics
Lu Yuan boarded the Sky Fortress, which was packed with several hundred war-specialized insects.
The remaining insects were mainly in charge of logistics, with not much combat power and not very clever, staying to guard the Green Mountain...
He didn't even bring the Tree of Life!
In case something unexpected happened to the human headquarters, it would be good to be able to commit suicide and return to the city immediately.
Thus, the Sky Fortress entered optical invisibility, flying higher and higher, followed by a faint "boom" from below as the floating Sky City experienced another slight tremor!
This was due to fluctuations in buoyancy caused by the disruption of the anti-gravity system.
The enemy had landed!
The voices from the opium poppy earphones were incessant and agitating.
Old Cat had concentrated most of the troops near the energy system and the Central Shelter.
"Activate the city's Solid Engravings!"
"All personnel, enter the underground military corridor!"
Several submarines finally emerged from the water, with missiles streaking across the sky and bombing!
At this moment, the dawn's sun was just rising, and this floating island was filled with a fierce intent to kill. Many civilians in the sanctuaries, upon hearing the bombing and feeling the city tremble, were chilled to the bone, silently praying and waiting.
This really was a battle to decide the fate of their path... If it really came to a critical moment, they'd all pick up a gun and go to the battlefield.
"Outside is all hypnotic gas, the Civilian Corps must all put on gas masks!" an officer shouted in the shelter.
"Don't be afraid of those Ant Robots, if you see them, crush them with Extraordinary Spark."
"Don't worry about the city, our Sky City will definitely not sink!"
Having experienced the volcano's toxic gas disaster, there were enough gas masks in the shelter, which was the only good news.
Missiles soared through the sky and bombed for over half an hour, deliberately avoiding the core areas such as industrial factories and aiming at the barracks instead.
This suggests that the swarming "Ant Robots" may still have limited ability to transmit information, as the human soldiers had long moved to several core areas, ready to fight them in street battles.
After the bombing, a large wave of armed, variously shaped Merman soldiers landed in the city.
They looked at everything with an expressionless face, as if they were robots with no emotional fluctuations.
"Fire!"
A few faces peered out from the trenches, firing rocket launchers fiercely.
After some sporadic shooting, a peculiar result emerged: some of the South Island Civilization's weapons were just ordinary firearms and cannons, with mediocre power, just typical hot weapons.
But a small portion of their weapons were at the level of the Sky Dwellers, unbelievably strong!
That pistol-shaped weapon could fire a series of light waves that immediately paralyzed even a Level Four Master on the spot. Level 5 Masters were also paralyzed, their ability to move greatly reduced!
Of course, if you wore protective gear with higher capability, you could resist it for a long time.
"Damn, if the War Puppets could be used, we wouldn't need to put up with this crap!" some of the officers cursed.
Old Cat calmly said, "Pay attention, the enemy's main goal is to capture us alive, to plunder our Spirit, Divine Skills, and all the property of Sky City. So they won't kill indiscriminately."
"In an unfavorable situation, we just need to fight a protracted street battle with them and wait for news from Lu Yuan."
"It's like the previous Painted Skin War... Our most important goal is to hold on, not get captured alive."
"Lu Yuan will definitely win, don't worry!"
Colonel Jin Dongliang dragged several wounded into the underground military corridor, drew a long sword, and said fiercely, "Hold on... Yes, we must hold on!"
But the enemies this time were different from the "Painted Skins," they possessed intelligence, and they had high technology.
Although their firepower couldn't destroy the entire city directly, they had all methods such as fire-breathing, poisoning, and more.
Even more fatally, these Merman soldiers were not afraid of death at all, each with a cold gaze, even if a few were killed, they showed no sign of fear or agitation.
The Mermen soon discovered the enormous opium poppy in the city center, swaying as if drunk, and even if they appeared calm, the hidden mastermind was somewhat unsettled.
An anomaly of the "Demon" level had really prospered!
Though the tree seemed to be severely damaged, even with root damage that was difficult to recover from, its value remained immeasurable.
Lu Yuan, standing in the "Sky Fortress," saw the Merman army surrounding the Yingyu tree and felt immense anxiety. Through the Yingyu tree earpiece, he said, "Miss Conch, control the Yingyu tree, don't rashly launch an attack!"
"Otherwise, this big tree will be killed by heavy firepower."
"Hmm... I know! I'll try to make the Opium poppy tree more gentle! The order is well maintained in the Sanctuary right now, be careful on your end." Miss Conch hid within the Sanctuary, this time she did not follow Lu Yuan.
These Mermen are indeed insatiable in their greed. After a simple study, they definitely wouldn't want to attack the Opium poppy tree.
They directly assumed that this big tree was their future spoils of war.
The leading Merman, larger than the rest, suddenly began speaking through a megaphone: "Human Civilization!"
"Your industrial systems and high-tech weapons have been paralyzed, and your Sanctuaries are surrounded by our troops!"
"If you are willing to offer up materials worth ten thousand Spirit Essence, and this big tree, our army will leave."
"We have no intention of exterminating any civilization; to reduce unnecessary losses, just agree to our demands and surrender the materials, and we will withdraw our troops. Otherwise, we will use chemical and biological weapons to annihilate you."
This speech enraged the many soldiers and officers, who could hardly wait to charge out and fight!
Even though the high-tech weapons had failed, relying on their equipment and higher individual fighting strength, there might still be a chance for victory.
"Old Cat, fight them!! I, Mr. Turtle, will take the lead, drawing their fire! Follow me," the Undying Giant Turtle roared angrily, mouth agape, "Don't blame me for eating Mermen."
"Big Golden, use the Mirage Space to transport a few heavy firepower units in! Big Golden, where's Big Golden?"
"The Little Mirage Dragon was taken by Mr. Lu."
The Undying Giant Turtle growled in resentment, and the officers below also roared in unison.
However, the most stable Old Cat stopped the angered officers, his whiskers trembling: "Wait, if they're speaking like this, could it be to undermine our morale?"
"Materials worth ten thousand Spirit Essence are indeed within our means to provide..."
"They seem to not realize yet that we've already understood their nature, this is simply not a situation where surrender is possible..."
"They also don't know that Lu Yuan has already embarked on his mission..."
Everyone was stunned. The Sky Fortress was optically invisible, and it had taken off before the submarine even landed, so there might indeed be a chance to fool them...
And humanity would absolutely never surrender to the South Island Civilization!
To surrender would mean even their descendants would be controlled by chips; it would be a hell on Earth far worse than death.
Jin Dongliang said, "Do you mean, to feign compliance with them for a while?"
"Exactly, wait until a battle breaks out on Lu Yuan's side, and then we resist! Prepare the Spirit Runes without worrying about waste; we'll hit them hard."
After a discussion, the human side sent a translation expert who shouted through a megaphone: "We can give you materials worth ten thousand Spirit Essence, but this tree, you can't take it away!"
"It's very fragile already, if you move it, it will die on the spot!"
The Opium poppy tree, in order to deceive Lu Yuan's energy, often pretended to be withering. With Lady Conch's deliberate manipulation, it looked even weaker, as if it could die at any moment.
The Mermen, initially eager to strip the tree's bark, also stopped what they were doing.
They were even taken aback for a moment, hadn't expected the humans to actually submit. Could this race be so fragile and naive, ready to give in under slight pressure?
"Since you want to keep this tree, ten thousand Spirit Essence is not enough; at least materials worth fifteen thousand Spirit Essence, and then we'll leave the tree to you!"
"Then, we will leave."
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The human side was truly fuming with anger, but it should be understood that anger is the normal emotion in such situations.
Old Cat's black pupils whirled around twice: "It's fine, carry that anger with you as you drag out the negotiations, make it believable. Pretend to give in if you must in the end."
"Tell them the location of the National Treasury, where there are just over ten thousand materials, including Dragon Egg Shells, adding up to exactly fifteen thousand Spirit Essence."
Everyone was practically about to explode with anger, faces flushed red; those were the ores they had worked hard to mine near the volcano!
For the Alien Race to just take them away in an instant, was fueling a towering rage.
Old Cat's voice lowered: "Don't be hasty, we haven't played all our cards prepared for war over the years. We have the Spirit Runes, the Opium poppy tree can also launch attacks, and the Source Fire Cannon is being urgently repaired... all these need time."
"But the opponent has landed 100,000 troops... there might be some other strange things, they're not weak either. If we want to minimize casualties, we have to be more cunning."
"Of course, we can't rule out that they might also be stalling for time... Everyone follow my command, you must follow orders now... and we've got to do our reconnaissance work."
Silence, oh silence, one must either erupt in silence or perish within it.
Although everyone knew that if they won the war, they could take back everything, the rage burning in their chests grew stronger and stronger, only redeemable through bloodshed.
...