From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 565 Shine at my position!

As the saying goes, the first bird to stick its head out gets shot, and this is especially true on the battlefield.

When two fleets engage in battle and fall into a "shooting stalemate", the ACEs and meritorious ships on the battlefield - especially the units that are not afraid of death and show their "extremely strong combat power" on the battlefield - are often marked as "high-risk units" in purple frames by the enemy's battlefield information control officers.

Because a large number of battle examples in history have told the participants that these "elite monsters" will evolve into "hero units" according to fate at any time after performing operations such as "single-ship assault", "burning the boats", and "taking off the helmets".

And this kind of "hero unit" often has the ability to break the deadlock - especially when there is such a thing as "psychic power" in this world.

In classic battles where "hero units" influence or even directly change the situation, those abstract terms such as "possibility", "prayer", "belief is magic", etc., will eventually reveal traces of psychic power after further investigation.
So in the early days when psykers were trained and intervened in wars, they did have the ability to change the situation on the front battlefield.

However, as the combat troops became more and more proficient in following the combat rules of 'prioritize fire on high-risk units', all 'elite monsters' including psychics were targeted.

As long as the tactical information control officer marks a "high-risk unit", the friendly forces nearby will follow the principle of "better to kill a thousand by mistake than to let one go" and immediately focus their fire or directly use AOE to cover the fire.

So when Johnny Riding and the team he commanded successfully became the "stars" of the left-wing combat domain, they were immediately targeted by the nearby federal fleet.

The moment the nearby federal fleet discovered this purple 'high-risk unit', an overwhelming attack poured down like a rainstorm.

The high-energy laser beam was like a dense light net. The anti-HCP missiles that entered the practical attack range passed by like meteors. The light of the heavy particle cannon illuminated this dark corner.

Although the HCP pilots of Johnny Riding's squadron tried their best to dodge and fight back, they were still hit continuously under such fierce attack.

The flames of the explosions bloomed brilliantly in the universe, like the final song of life. Every explosion made the captain Johnny Riding's heart tighten suddenly.

Although relying on the strong survivability of the "Holy Shield" series and the configuration of primary and secondary double shields, these "explosions" were more of a "special effect" when the machine was hit, and only two machines were directly destroyed. But the remaining machines in the squadron, except for Johnny Ridden, were also injured.

"Damn it! Their firepower is too strong!"

"Fuck, I found out that we are being targeted by four light cruisers!"

"Have they maxed out the anti-aircraft weapons group's attack priority? Why is their anti-aircraft firepower so strong?"

"Fuck! I'm E'd! I'm E'd!"

"Shit, my deflection field is going to overload"

On the communication channel, the squadron members' voices were filled with fear and confusion.

They had not been trained for long in piloting HCP for space combat, and now they were faced with a 'high-end game', which really made them panic and overwhelmed. They could only deal with it through instinct and muscle memory acquired through training.

"Don't panic! Maintain your formation and look for opportunities to counterattack!"

Johnny Riding's voice became calm and firm at this time, because he knew that at this time, any panic might lead to the annihilation of the entire army.

But deep down in his heart, he was actually full of worry and anxiety. Seeing the members of his squadron falling into danger one by one, he was actually more anxious than anyone else.

We are all trainees selected by the Renaissance Alliance. We came to the Atlas Group to receive training and participate in battles for the ideal of "liberating Rubion". There is no such thing as one being nobler than the other.

He was promoted to the commander of the HCP squadron only because he had some talent in HCP driving and some prestige among the trainee pilots of the Renaissance Alliance.

In fact, after becoming the squadron leader and chatting with Major Murat one day, Johnny Riding's personality has become much more restrained, and he pays more and more attention to his teammates in battle, instead of simply continuing to engage in personal heroism.
But even though he was trying to find ways to reduce his squadron's losses, the cruelty of the battlefield was beyond his imagination.

Mandela, who had just taken over Johnny Riding's direct squad and was in charge of the vanguard, lost two aircraft in a short period of time, and the remaining two "Holy Shields" were also caught in a fight and were in danger.

Johnny Riding, who has been called "True Red Lightning" by more and more teammates, naturally cannot watch his teammates die.

"Mandela team, retreat in my direction! Mobila team! Don't save ammunition, fire at full force to suppress the enemy. After this wave, go back for supplies!"

Then, Johnny Riding rushed forward in his red 'Full Equipment Holy Shield' and ordered in the team channel:

"No. 2, No. 3, follow me to charge, but keep your distance and don't get into close combat! Provide me with long-range fire support, and keep an eye on my back!"

After saying that, Johnny Riding controlled the HCP and rushed towards the Mandela team's position.

It wasn't that he wanted to be heroic, but the 'squad member status monitoring' in the command system showed that two of his teammates were in a bad state both physically and mentally.

Let them go up and fight with the professional pilots of the Federal Navy at this time?

That can only allow the opponent to spray two more kill marks on the shield.

The Mobila team, who were responsible for supporting on the flank, could not go up to mince meat. Johnny Riding originally let the members of this team stay far away to support because their shooting ability was seriously biased and their fighting ability was not even as good as that of "man-machine".
In the distance, the two HCPs of Mandela Team, having received the order, also knew that they could not continue the fight.

The two pilots quickly raised the robotic arm and fired all the 'visible light jammers' in the multi-function launcher on the robotic arm, then quickly retreated under the cover of this moment.

Johnny Riding, who saw his teammates' actions, quickly used preset commands to control the weapons container behind him and changed the ammunition box of the electromagnetic machine gun temporarily stored in it from conventional piercing rods to AHEAD bullets.

As a green light lit up on the interface representing the weapons container, Johnny Riding also changed the weapon held by the right robotic arm to an electromagnetic machine gun for HCP on the firearms control interface.

When a crosshair representing the firing direction of the electromagnetic machine gun appeared in the fire control HUD integrated into the panel of Johnny Riding's helmet, his pupils immediately scanned the six HCPs in front of him that were being interfered by the 'visible light jammer'.

The fire control system of the "Aegis" immediately locked onto the six targets, and after Johnny Riding pulled the virtual trigger, it automatically controlled the electromagnetic machine gun to fire from left to right until the magazine of 70 AHEAD bullets was emptied.

Under the action of electromagnetic force, these "silver gadgets" immediately fly towards the target at a speed of hundreds of kilometers per second after being ejected from the barrel, and then explode quickly after approaching their respective targets, bombarding the directional fragmentation warheads at the enemy HCP.

Generally speaking, the AHEAD bullets from the electromagnetic machine guns in the hands of HCPs are difficult to cause direct damage to HCPs, so this type of bullet is more often used for sneak attacks, air defense, or miscellaneous tasks.

However, Johnny Riding had no intention of using this round of attack to destroy the enemy. He just wanted to use these densely packed directional prefabricated fragments to continue to interfere with the opponent and take the opportunity to "clean up" the debris on the outside of the opponent's body.

This move was taught to him by Major Murat during a sparring match.

But according to Major Murat, this move was actually taught to him by Atlas's 'Big Boss', Mr. Amber, who is the real master.
At this moment, Johnny Riding's ears were also echoing with Murat's "earnest teachings". "AHEAD bullets are usually hard to work from the front, but occasionally they can work wonders. When you have the opportunity to use AHEAD bullets on the enemy, don't be stingy, just shoot until the ammunition box is empty!"

"Don't be too obsessed with using AHEAD bullets to hit weak points. Just fire when you have the chance and wait for the prize! The main viewfinder on the head, the external sensor, the electromagnetic joint, the auxiliary mechanical arm, the heat dissipation device. If you hit these parts, you will win~"

Soon, Johnny Riding saw that among the six enemy planes locked by the fire control system, two of them were emitting conspicuous flames.

Although he didn't know which part of the opponent he hit, he knew that now was a perfect time to attack, so without any hesitation, he used his left mechanical arm to pull out the already powered plasma heavy sword.

Then, without putting away his gun, he rushed to the first target with a posture of "machine gun in right hand and heavy sword in left hand" and fired the plasma rocket mounted on his leg.

The pilot of the Federal HCP in front had just waited for the all-white full-circle screen to return to normal when he was hit in the face by a plasma rocket.

After receiving the laser warning signal, the pilot had only time to use the muscle memory engraved in his bones to control the nozzle to push back a distance, but he still couldn't avoid Johnny Ridden's heavy sword.

The light blue plasma blade, with the help of the high-speed impact of the machine, easily cut through the cockpit armor and titanium alloy frame, vaporizing the pilot and melting the subcritical reactor and plasma propulsion array at the rear.

When the two sides crossed each other for a distance, the plasma fireball produced by the explosion lit up from behind Johnny Ridden's body.

More than ten seconds later, the second and third stars lit up.

However, Johnny Riding, who rushed into the enemy camp at lightning speed, was eventually entangled by the remaining three HCPs. Judging from the opponent's tacit cooperation, they were most likely an experienced elite team.

The other side obviously knew that Johnny Riding was not easy to deal with, so they simply didn't fight with swords, but simply used long-range weapons to contain and control the distance. Then they called on four nearby light cruisers to use a large number of anti-aircraft weapons to greet this "outsider".

The rest of the squadron tried to rush up to rescue Johnny Riding, but they were entangled by more federal HCPs who rushed to the area, and in an instant they were in a situation where they were about to be wiped out.
However, just when the squadron was in dire straits, the nearby 'Avenger' squadron and its heavy cruisers rushed to support as if gods had descended from heaven.

Although there is a huge wound on the left side of the bow of the "Space Rider" heavy cruiser that allows direct view into the cabin, its huge body relative to the HCP still makes it like an indestructible mobile fortress.

The anti-aircraft weapon units and secondary guns on the ship spewed out angry flames, providing powerful firepower support for the HCP squadron while also beginning to harvest the four light cruisers in the distance.

After all, for a light cruiser that is "thin-skinned but big-stuffed" and focuses on being "multi-functional" and "all-rounder", a heavy cruiser, one of the main output ships of the fleet, can be defeated by its secondary guns alone.
Led by Captain Stark, the HCPs of the Avengers quickly joined the battle and worked with Johnny Riding's squadron to resist attacks from nearby federal units.

Their arrival, like a ray of light in the darkness, saved the "genius pilot" of the Renaissance Alliance and the entire squadron from despair.
However, their heroic actions also made them the main target of the federal fleet.

In the burning universe, the HCPs of both sides shuttled and maneuvered like meteors, and their HCP thrusters sprayed out blue flames, pushing them to draw brilliant and cruel trajectories in the darkness.

"Area A2 in the left hemisphere, prepare for charged particle cannon salvo!"

"Lock the target and fire!"

The shouts and commands of the team members echoed in the communication channel. The HCPs flexibly dodged the enemy's attacks while constantly looking for opportunities to counterattack.

The beams of directed energy weapons crisscrossed in the darkness. Plasma rockets and dogfight missiles streaked past with long tails of flame. Every shot and every dodge by the HCP was a test of life and death for the pilots on both sides.

As both sides deployed more and more troops in this small area of ​​the universe, both Atlas and the Federal Navy had become bloodthirsty.

Although the Federation's HCP troops had suffered heavy damage in the previous battle, they charged forward with the resolute determination to perish together with the 'Space Rider' heavy cruiser.

In the launch bay behind one of the HCPs with low-visibility paint, there were several tactical nuclear bombs loaded.

"They're getting close to detonate the nuclear bomb!" shouted a member of the 'Avenger' squadron.

But Captain Stark, who saw this scene, shook his head.
"No, they want to get inside the Space Rider and detonate a nuclear bomb."

The captain of the Space Rider immediately realized the seriousness of the danger and decisively ordered: "Air Defense Weapons Group, all HCP squadrons, intercept with all your strength!"

Even if the captain had not issued this order, the HCPs of the 'Avenger' squadron would have rushed forward without hesitation and used their bodies to block the crazy charge of the Federation HCPs.

They knew very well that if these anti-ship nuclear bombs exploded at zero distance or even inside the ship, and the Space Rider heavy cruiser sank, the crew would not survive.
At this moment, there was no fear in the eyes of these Atlas HCP pilots, only firm belief and fearless courage.

Atlas' high pension mechanism allows them to have no worries and only think about protecting their mothership and their comrades.

In the fierce battle, the HCP of the 'Avenger' squadron was constantly hit and explosions occurred one after another.

Every explosion meant the death of a life, but they did not retreat at all and stubbornly held their defense line. They had only one belief in their hearts, that is, the nuclear bomb must not be allowed to explode.

But there are so many HCPs in the Federation that everyone, including Johnny Riding, feels desperate.

In the end, with almost all of his troops annihilated, the captain of the Avengers, who had already emptied all of his ammunition and whose plasma heavy sword had long been broken, did not hesitate to tightly hold onto the last HCP carrying a nuclear bomb, and used the last power of the plasma propulsion array to fight against the enemy.

"'Space Rider'! Shine at my position!" The squadron leader's voice rang out over the communication channel, unusually firm.

Johnny Riding's heart suddenly shook, and he immediately thought of the previous actual combat confrontation, where the opponent rushed up and hugged him without hesitation.

At that time, this 'genius young man' did not believe that the other party would do the same in an actual combat with only one life, but today he finally saw it.

But this price is not something he can accept.
"Fire!"

The captain of the Space Rider gritted his teeth and gave the order, his voice full of pain and helplessness, but he also knew that this was the only option.

Because at this time Stark and the enemy were less than 400 kilometers away from the battleship, for the high-speed maneuvering HCP, that was just a few breaths of time.

The fire control system on the heavy cruiser instantly aimed at the squadron leader and the federal HCP, and several charged particle beams were fired, instantly covering their position.

Then, the light illuminated the entire universe.

(End of this chapter)