Him and their stars.

Chapter 2016 Who is the prey?

The first thing to reveal its formidable power was, of course, the twelve javelins strapped with crystal bombs. These traditional weapons, seemingly from ancient times, suddenly soared into the air like missiles, piercing the ATAT's weakest point, its abdominal armor.

The ultrasonic waves of a specific frequency resonated at the seams of the armor, causing the restless crystal bombs to unleash their deadly and violent power as if venting their frustration.

The violent explosion that erupted from its abdomen momentarily paralyzed this terrifying war behemoth. Whether it was a javelin equipped with a power spiral or a crystal bomb, both were indeed capable of penetrating the armor of this heavily forged war machine, even its weakest point: its abdomen.

However, the violent explosion caused the connection between its "body" and the four tough sections to become misaligned.

The steel body of the Imperial war machine, like an elephant that had sprained its ankle, staggered, tilted, and even began to lean.

The same thing happened under the belly of almost every ATAT at the scene.

And so, two wobbly armored vehicles, like two drunkards, collided with each other, and after a deafening crash, both slammed to the ground.

However, before that, the Sand People warriors who had made a successful attack had already poured out from under the belly of the staggering steel colossus, like a pack of wolves switching from stealth to hunting mode, accurately passing through the Empire's chaotic mechanical iron legs and rushing towards the armored grenadiers behind them.

At this moment, whether it was the flamboyant ATAT's strides, the boiling sandstorm and dust, or the explosions that came one after another, they all provided natural cover for the Sand People riders.

A warning rang in Old Maoke's ears, but this time it wasn't from his chief of staff, but from an electronic prompt: "Left flank engagement! It's an Aitmu Type 2."

Although it's an emotionless electronic alert tone, it still gives veteran hunters a sense of security.

Before the warning had even faded, he had already drawn his spare javelin, tapping the shaft of the javelin with a rhythmic flick of his fingers, and the crystal bomb suddenly glowed a bright red light.

His swift dragon suddenly spun around, causing the experienced hunter to turn sharply as well. Using the momentum, the hunter hurled his javelin with all his might.

The crystal bomb, which had entered the pre-explosion phase, rubbed against each other in space, as if drawing a line of fire.

At the end of their charge, an Imperial tank emerged from the desert, but before it could capture the Sandman Knights' charge trajectory, exploding javelins obliterated its frontal optical sights.

The raging wind from the explosion seemed to heat up the dust and debris in the sandstorm, but the old sand hunter standing in the wind remained unyielding, as if he were an extension of his mount. He even calmly lifted the AK ion cannon hanging on the exoskeleton of his mount with one hand and slowly unleashed a series of bursts into the pitch-black sea of ​​sand.

At least five Imperial soldiers were shot down.

This experienced Sandman knight even had time to observe his chief of staff's movements. The young human officer's movements on the swift dragon's back were indeed a bit clumsy, but it didn't stop him from focusing intently on firing at the enemy.

All of the above happened in a mere half-minute.

The old hunter placed his hand on his chin and emitted a high-pitched shout.

Humans couldn't hear the sound, but the mounts could. They twisted their long, powerful necks, turning their slender bodies and heading further down the mountainside.

These swift dragons resemble a hybrid of crocodiles and lizards, but their four legs are exceptionally long and powerful, with membranous organs on the soles of their feet that resemble pumice. When deployed, these organs form a kind of air cushion, allowing them to tread on soft sand as if it were flat ground. In such an extreme sandstorm environment, they actually managed to outrun the bewildered Imperial army using only their physical strength.

Immediately afterwards, fierce fire from the distant mountains also fell into the Empire's army formation.

This scene unfolded almost simultaneously on three battlefields surrounding Oasis City.

Two hundred and sixty kilometers from Oasis City, a massive armored train was waiting outside a completed light rail, barely stopping outside the sandstorm's reach.

The fan-shaped detector on the vehicle's roof spun incessantly in response to the surrounding sandstorm, like a hyperactive child in a state of agitation. Even the flashing iridescent light on the detector conveyed a sense of confusion and collapse.

This is the Fang MK9 land combat command vehicle used by the Empire for field command of its land forces. It carries high-powered detectors, advanced data processors and control terminals, as well as a complete command system. It is said that once its detectors are fully operational, even the slightest buzzing of a mosquito within a 1000-kilometer radius will not escape its notice, and it will send the latest information to every soldier's terminal in real time.

In fact, the Imperial grenadiers who were attacking were indeed caught off guard, and the screams of their own soldiers were constantly echoing through the communication terminals.

"What's going on? How did we get so close to these native guerrillas? Can anyone give me a definite answer?" General Dydomif roared from inside the command vehicle. He genuinely felt a surge of impotent rage, but he had no other options.

He was indeed the supreme commander of this operation, and theoretically, even the fleet acting as decoys in orbit was within his jurisdiction. However, as a proper commander, he couldn't very well issue orders to the frontline companies, could he? Finding the exact reason why his side was ambushed was far more realistic.

That being said, when he looked at the screen of his command terminal and saw his own mechs swaying and rocking back and forth like they'd had too much moon sugar, and the tanks and armored grenadiers tangled up in the sandstorm like a swarm of wasps whose nest had been disturbed, he was quite taken aback.

General Daldomif gritted his teeth and finally brought the microphone to his lips: "Vehicle No. 6, G Company, 877th Mech Regiment! Your vehicle has deviated five meters from the formation. Reverse immediately, reverse immediately..."

His order was cut off halfway through, and the screen opposite him began to display alarming static. As a result, the chaotic formation of his own troops appeared even more blurred on the screen.

"Communication interference!" The general's staff officer then told him, "Our deep-penetration was also interfered with. Those native lizard cavalrymen have been hiding in the sand dunes, but we haven't even found a basic heat source. General, is there some special source of interference?"

General Dedomif laughed instead of getting angry: "Very good! That means we have indeed found the right target! Tell the soldiers not to be afraid of sacrifice! Mobile Firepower X has indeed been firmly surrounded in this sea of ​​sand, and our victory is only a matter of time."

"Notify Brigadier General Dakwal in the sky that we have encountered wide-area communication interference on the surface. I need them to provide us with precise location information from planetary orbit, as well as more direct fire support. We..."

The subordinate reported, "General, a call came from friendly forces in orbit. The battlecruiser White Owl is heavily damaged and is disintegrating. Our communication with Brigadier General Dakwal has been cut off."

General Dedomif was stunned for almost half a minute. He subconsciously wanted to curse "useless", but in the end he didn't say it.

After all, the person may already be gone, so we should still show some basic compassion for the deceased. This is a fundamental aspect of social etiquette for a mature adult.

"Send a letter to Sir Craig and Inquisitor Sand, asking them to come and meet me immediately," the general instructed.

The Imperial psionic forces in the New Jade Gate war zone included a four-man Astral Knight team and an Investigator Inquisitor who planned to establish an observation post there. Of course, the Commonwealth Resistance in New Jade Gate did not have any exceptionally skilled psionic fighters capable of taking on a thousand men, so their intervention was unnecessary.

In most cases, these noble psionicists reside in Turon, the only city on the planet with a somewhat modern feel, and behave in the manners of elegant nobility.

In addition, being psionicists, they occasionally became engrossed in exploring the massive Enlightener's Palace ruins located 1000 kilometers south of the city.

Humans have practically turned this massive Enlightened One's Underground Palace into a museum. To be fair, it's quite a magnificent structure. If it weren't for the war, it would probably already be open to the public, and might even become a landmark of the planet.

The Galactic Empire also considered this nearly completed museum as their spoils of war.

Although it is wartime, the psionicists are still on the lowest level of that museum, supposedly because the inquisitors with exceptional perception have discovered some mysterious disturbances in the soul, perhaps indicating a hidden world.

For these noble psychics, ancient discoveries made by the Enlightened Ones, even if they are just ordinary clues, must be far more important than these sand-eating natives.

In the past, General Dydomif would have agreed with this point. But times have changed, and as a competent general, his intuition had already sensed a hint of danger.

However, by then it was too late to worry.

Before any of the Imperial troops could react, a beam of energy descended from the sky, tearing apart the light trails on the ground and igniting one escorting chariot after another, eventually overturning the entire command vehicle into the scorching sand.

When General Dedomif was rescued from the overturned command vehicle by his surviving guards, the last thing he saw was a humanoid mech stretching its body in the sky a hundred meters above.

His body was only two meters tall, but the three pairs of steel wings on his back were even more powerful and robust than his body. A surging array of energy flowed automatically across the steel wingspan, looking down over the ravaged Imperial army command post.

Now, they are the prey.

Just as the general was in a daze, a rapid electronic notification sound suddenly rang in his ears again.

"General! Sir Craig reports that they were attacked on the lowest level of the museum! It was...it was a combat machine unlike anything we've ever seen before! A huge swarm of combat machines that looked like scorpions! He said, 'Hold on tight, and we'll find a way.'"

Yes, they are the prey.

(End of this chapter)