Him and their stars.

Chapter 2015 Brilliant Sand and Blood
The sandstorm pounded against the bulletproof glass of the temporary command post, making a fine crackling sound, like thousands of bullets simultaneously striking this small building hidden deep in the sands of Xinyumen.

As the knocking intensified and the soldiers inside the command post breathed heavily, the atmosphere inside the command post became visibly tense and heated.

However, this certainly did not affect Summers, who was sitting in the main seat.

The cyborg was staring intently at the screen of the terminal in front of him. Data was constantly being refreshed on his right eye, which was flashing with electronic light, but he didn't know whether it was the arithmetic calculation in his head or the reflection of the terminal.

He was watching the data changes on his terminal, but his soldiers were watching him. No one spoke until a calm, electronic female voice suddenly echoed through the command post: "Twelve hits, five out of twelve! Another hit on the enemy battlecruiser USS White Owl! Repeat! Twelve hits, five out of twelve..."

"Automatic lunar observation post No. 2 confirms: Fire breaks out in midsection hatch of the USS White Owl; Bridge explodes! Battlecruiser USS White Owl is confirmed to be heavily damaged!"

A small cheer immediately rang out in the command center.

Many people felt a sense of satisfaction at successfully avenging their ally, and even a sense of accomplishment at having defeated their own side.

Yes, the friendly forces in the neighboring Yaochi (across thousands of light-years) were also blocked on the surface by the enemy, making it difficult to attack and causing the enemy to suffer heavy losses. But after all, they had never sunk an enemy ship of the battlecruiser class.

That said, looking back at the history of galactic wars, the last time a capital ship was sunk by surface anti-aircraft fire was during the last galactic war, right?
They all selectively ignored the fact that the Imperial battlecruiser was only badly damaged. The record-breaking victory would strengthen their resolve and fighting spirit, and that was enough.

Wearing a Marine Corps field uniform without rank insignia, Luo Ming gave a high five to the two observers next to him before quickly walking over to Samos.

"The Empire reacted quickly; armored grenadiers have already been deployed."

The engineer turned around: "I know. But since they've already deployed psionicists, there's no point in continuing to hide. We might as well stand guard until the very end."

Luo Ming opened his mouth slightly as if to refute, but in the end he sighed: "Okay, at least in terms of the exchange ratio, we have gained a lot."

"That's it."

Summers answered while rapidly typing data onto the keyboard. With a final flick of his wrist, which gleamed with the luster of steel, the last set of activation codes materialized as a blue dot within the terminal.

Luo Ming could already feel the vibrations coming from the ground behind him, like the beating of war drums and the tolling of a majestic bell.

At that moment, the sandstorm that had been battering the portholes stopped, and the view outside suddenly became clear. Luo Ming suddenly felt that the smell of rusty metal in the command post had become much stronger. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, so he simply tugged at his collar and strode over to the window.

He clearly saw the towering figure rise from behind the swirling sea of ​​sand. That massive body stood majestically, obscuring the two moons, one red and one white, in the vast white sky.

That enormous, heavy shadow silently covered the entire sea of ​​sand, and also the command post hidden within it.

Then, the sand poured down from the machine's body, as if turning into a golden waterfall, flowing on the sand and making a smooth and moist friction sound, which also masked the mechanical vibrations of the joints.

This colossal object, which has slumbered beneath the sands for countless years, produces a creaking sound from its mechanisms that is even more soothing and fluid than the ordinary flow of startled sand.

Under the silken caress of the sand, the ancient mechanical creation finally revealed its mysterious and majestic outline. It was not humanoid, but perched on the solid sand, its massive legs like the gnarled roots of an ancient tree, its body like a layered fortress. It gazed at the distant horizon, watching the direction from which enemies might approach, like a ferocious beast poised to charge and tear its prey apart.

Even though this towering steel behemoth had absolutely no human or animal features, nor any parts like a head that were meaningless to a combat machine, Luo Ming could still sense that it was watching the Imperial Armored Grenadiers and was ready for battle.

"The frontal projection is thirteen or fourteen meters high. It's okay to hide in the desert and use optical camouflage to shoot from the side, but can it really be used in frontal combat?" Luo Ming couldn't help but ask.

In reality, the armored vehicles currently used in land warfare, such as ATATs, armored infantry fighting vehicles, and mobile fortresses, have a frontal projection area that is larger and more imposing than the last, as if they want to intimidate the enemy into surrendering just by their appearance from several kilometers away.

However, in someone's "Theory of the Omnipotence of Defense", this kind of land combat vehicle with a huge frontal projection has already been thoroughly criticized.

This book has already been proven in the Battle of Onotia and the Battle of the Ring of Miracles.

And how could someone as loyal as Luo Ming not have read this book?

“However, the Empire still has a large number of ATATs and armored vehicles. The main striking force is still the five-meter-tall Centurion tank,” Summers said.

"Probably because there wasn't time to change clothes. For an empire of this size, it's inevitable that people are a bit rough around the edges."

“What you say makes sense.” Summers had barely spoken when the colossus outside the porthole changed again.

The fortress-like superstructure suddenly collapsed like a toppled tower onto the loose sand, but there was almost no ripple upon impact.

Immediately afterwards, with a barely audible silky friction sound, the giant feet, resembling ancient trees, transformed into pulleys and rails, while the fortress-like body formed a flat vehicle body.

Most of the vehicle's structure was submerged in the sand again, with only a two- or three-meter-high section visible above the sand.

Luo Ming watched as the giant chariot, unearthed from the underground palace, moved silently through the sea of ​​sand, almost stealthily. It made almost no sound, yet resembled a valiant warrior launching a desperate charge against a densely packed enemy formation.

"Is it... angry?"

Summers said, "Although it is an intelligent weapon, it shouldn't have such emotions."

"It's hard to say," Luo Ming said. "Who knows about the things of the Enlightened Ones?"

“Well, you have a point.” Summers’ right eye flickered with a mottled light, a complex halo formed by the fusion of the divine light of the soul and the electric light of the machine.

"However, it's such a pity. After all, it is a relic of the Enlightener."

"Weapons are weapons after all. I have recorded all their structure, control and maneuver principles and sent them to the new China."

"Can the People's Federation and the Association rebuild this weapon?"

"I've detailed the information to this extent. Even if it's not possible now, it will definitely be possible within twenty years. As for us, of course, we'll let the weapons return to their professional fields. They will take away more enemies, but they won't leave a single screw for the Imperial devils."

Luo Ming quietly observed the cyborg engineer and the actual military commander of this planet, remaining silent for nearly half a minute before finally saying, "Toby, don't think of yourself as a weapon." Summers paused slightly, the electromagnetic glint in his eyes fading, revealing a natural smile devoid of any mechanical quality: "What are you talking about? I'm a legitimate scientist, the next leader of the Engineers' Guild and the Brotherhood of Omnics. Besides fighting, I have a lot of work to do! All very productive work, much more meaningful than war. Hahaha, if nothing unexpected happens, I'm the one most likely to witness the final chapter of the future created by that person!"

After fluctuating between red and green, Luo Ming could only grit his teeth and say, "...Damn it, a prosthetic body."

"As long as cyborgs can adapt to their artificial organs, they can indeed live longer than most psychics. What, you disagree?"

Just as the old friends from their student days were venting to each other, the command center's notification sound rang out again.

"Imperial armored airships detected approaching! Imperial armored airships detected approaching! Prepare for air defense!"

"Enemy armored grenadiers are approaching! They will be within engagement range of the 1st Brigade in five minutes!"

The old classmates exchanged a glance, wishing each other well with their eyes. Afterwards, Luo Ming returned to his seat, while Summers, who looked much thinner than his classmate, had already walked to the side of the command vehicle and casually opened the door.

The cells on his body seemed to transform into active metal, completely covering his thin and frail frame, turning him into a resolute body of steel.

The combat force of the Omnic Brotherhood has finally launched its first charge.

……

The dazzling ion energy projectiles, set against the pale sky, formed a series of bright yet elegant ethereal blue streaks, creating a spectacular sight on this sand-sea planet with two moons suspended in the air.

Such a sky and such scenery would be even more magnificent if depicted with several airships bursting into flames.

In short, the morale of the community warriors who were lying in ambush in the foothills rose even higher as they looked at the fireball in the distant sky.

"See? I told you so. This kind of thin-skinned, big-fleshed thing that can only fly low is a sitting duck. 'Captain' said that in his book several years ago. Why won't these Imperial devils believe it?" A Lumina warrior shook his head in exasperation: "In the end, the Imperial devils suffer from a lack of culture!"

His words naturally elicited a burst of laughter from the audience.

In the context of these Lumina veterans, "captain" is a proper noun. They can pronounce it with a clef in their Lumina accent without worrying about getting confused with others.

"Excellent! We are the most advanced army in the entire universe! We will teach those imperial devils to read!"

The old hunter Mao Lin, who was further ahead of the position, also heard his comrades laughing through his earpiece. He couldn't help but grin as well, and his mouth immediately filled with a large clump of still-warm quicksand.

For humans, sand that gets into their mouths can choke them and even cause suffocation in severe cases. However, the special dura mater in the throat of sand people can protect their vocal and respiratory systems, allowing them to lurk in pools or sand like crocodiles.

For a seasoned hunter like Mawk, having a mouthful of sand in his mouth actually filled him with a sense of security, as if he were already one with the ancestral spirits of his home planet.

At this moment, more than 1000 hunters, including Old Mauk, along with their swift dragons, were hidden in the sea of ​​sand. Their bodies and the scales of their mounts were pressed together, their pulses rising and falling slowly, searching for the slaughter on the other side.

At this moment, the sandstorm continues, and visibility has dropped to three meters. But for the sand people who have grown up in this world, the changes in airflow they feel are always more reliable than their eyes.

Or rather, compared to the fertile land and vast rocky soil surrounding the inland sea on the northern slopes of the Hengduan Mountains, the boundless sea of ​​sand on the southern slopes is their true home ground!
He saw the thunder flash across the sky.

That was the Imperial Army beginning its retaliatory artillery barrage. However, he himself had no idea what direction or who the enemy was attacking.

All the troops still engaged in combat had long since dispersed into smaller units. Every inch of land in Xinyumen, every foothill, every pool of water, and even every underground cave was a potential battleground for them.

Old Maoke's four sons, who had joined the army with him, were now scattered across the country. Old Maoke didn't know which unit they had been assigned to or where they were now, but he knew from his staff officer that one of his sons had been killed in battle.

However, whether he was sad or angry, it was only right after he received the news. None of that affected his calmness at this moment.

The old Sandman hunter counted his mount's heartbeats, and when the thirty-second clap of thunder flashed across the sky above, his personal terminal beeped.

He slowly placed his hands on the power javelin behind his back, as if he could feel the crystal core begin to hum.

Of course, this is just an illusion.

The crystal attached to the javelin is the famous "Yu Dashuai's Old Baijiu," and it's about to start buzzing; the explosion is less than a second away.

“They’re here.” A young, deep voice came through the old hunter’s earpiece. It was his staff officer, a young Earth officer, a cultured man, and supposedly a member of the YMCA, yet he would burrow into the sand with them, these old sand hunters. He was a comrade-in-arms worthy of respect and trust.

Old Mauk looked into the distance, but could only see flashing lights deep within the sandstorm. Although he couldn't see them clearly, he knew that those lights were the outlines of the Imperial ATAT walkers' navigation lights.

"Wait." The old hunter used a walkie-talkie hidden under the Hundred-Eyed Hunter mech to transmit the order to his subordinates.

Another ten seconds or so passed, and the imposing steel behemoth finally revealed its faint outline in the sand and dust, like a group of demons crawling out of the abyss.

On the Galactic homeland, and in the three new continental colonies controlled by the Empire, whenever the Galactic Empire's war colossus entered the battlefield during any act of suppressing an uprising, all it did was indiscriminately slaughter its inhabitants.

In fact, the rebel soldiers were already terrified before the four cannons on their "foreheads" even started spewing fire; those who managed to run away with their heads in their hands were considered very brave.

However, this wasn't the first time the soldiers of Xinyumen had clashed with these behemoths. In the eyes of the veteran hunter, these creatures simply looked clumsy and ridiculous.

“Wait,” Mauk ordered again.

He had certainly sensed it; his mount had entered battle mode, its dorsal fins, which had been lurking in the sand, spread out and transformed into sharp fan shapes.

However, he remained silent and did not move.

Amidst the boiling sandbags, the outlines of the war machines finally became clear, while the bright lights seemed to blur. At that moment, when the Sand People warriors could clearly see the abdominal armor paint of the first ATAT with their naked eyes, they finally heard the old hunter's next command:
"It's now!"

(End of this chapter)