Planet of Sand and Oasis of Iron

Chapter 238 237. It doesn’t even need to chew when eating! (rd update)
The transformation agency will stop the countdown with a sound that is too sharp for human ears to hear, and throw it in front of the corporate mercenaries who have been prepared.

As soon as the sound ends, the special resonance emitted by the bait will immediately attract the [worm] to break out of the ground. At this stage, the mercenaries only need to find a way to attract its attention.

Because one of the behavioral logics of the worm is to protect its own mining rights. If it is attacked, it will fight back with all its might and eliminate the threat.

If it... hadn't changed its logic midway, it would have done so.

To be honest, if it was a few thousand meters away and moving in front of him, Seifer felt that if he hadn't been working as a corporate mercenary for a long time, he would probably run away immediately.

At least the independent mercenaries would definitely run away - during the scan, the mercenaries who had originally planned to follow along and take advantage of the situation were really tempted after seeing the information about this thing.

Not a single one is left.

With a countdown of ten seconds, Cypher closed the cooling grille of the machine and entered combat mode. At the same time, the corporate mercenaries who were providing fire protection were already on standby in front of him.

A huge and open sandy area with many temporary buildings used as 'bait'. To be honest, this kind of place is easy to run in, but hard to hide.

The countdown reached zero, and the sandstorm had not yet stopped. However, in front of everyone's eyes, an object with dazzling colorful light suddenly rose into the air, making a loud noise.

The ground shook suddenly, and countless sand and stones rolled down, but in the desert with various scattered lights, everyone was very patient.

Until—a roar erupted from underground, and the [Worm], whose frontal serrations alone were enough to devour all the organisms in the area in one gulp, burst straight out from the ground!

The sand and dust scattered with a blue glow, and the [worm] went straight up. The first, second, and third sections emerged from the sand sea one after another. When the fourth section emerged, there was a burst of intensive artillery fire.

As Seifer saw, the machines of the Phantom Mist Group were moving forward in groups of three, with their weapons firing at full power. The entire area covered by sand and dust was like countless meteors rising from the ground, continuously smashing into the [Worm] that was still trying to stretch upwards.

Amidst the successive bombardments, the worm's body seemed to be covered with layers of exploding flowers, but its movements were not affected at all.

Even because of being attacked, the thing suddenly stopped chasing, turned down at an incredible speed and angle, and aimed the front of countless excavators at Sefer.

Inside the high-speed rotating drill, the crimson core flickered like breathing. Amidst the continuous artillery fire, it stood still, not afraid of being breached.

However, being attacked triggers its counterattack phase!
It dived into the sand, and its huge body had an incomprehensible softness, just like an earthworm burrowing into the soil. In just a moment, it had completely drilled into the sand, leaving only the last few sections of its tail.

Its 'tail' was the same as the front. Under the siege of various forces, the last section of the tail suddenly separated. Seifer saw a shocking scene. Under the armor that fell to the ground with a bang, there were densely packed holes.

These nest holes ejected truck-sized autonomous flying drones with a "bang bang bang" sound. All of the drones carried special ammunition that was enough to penetrate armored vehicles, and they attacked all around in a blanket of darkness.

The other side of the armor at the rear end had firing holes opened one after another, and the firepower pouring out from the shooting holes instantly covered the area where the mercenaries of I/O Enterprise were located!
A swarm of drones rushed towards the support team of the Phantom Mist Group. They immediately adjusted themselves. One person shot down the nearest drone in the front, one person attracted the attention of the subsequent attack from the side, and the last person stayed behind to support the left or right.

With constantly changing assists and assistance, the team of Phantom Mist Group immediately dispersed and began to deal with the huge group of drones.

However, if the [Worm] was just like this, it would have been defeated long ago - next to it, Abian's corporate mercenaries had charged their weapons and opened fire without hesitation!
The electromagnetic projectiles fired weren't simple lumps of metal; their warheads were filled with a variety of explosives. To counter this composite metal armor, each one was effectively an armor-piercing rocket, unable to turn. The clang of metal echoed from the drone nests at the Worm's rear end, followed by a series of explosions. They'd thought this would inflict damage, but they weren't aware of the emptiness inside, and even the billowing smoke was meaningless.

After the worm's firepower covered the area, this section of its 'box' broke off directly, and the main body instantly sank into the ground. Amidst the continuous vibrations, the mercenaries who had just completed the encirclement immediately fell into chaos.

The drone hasn't been dealt with yet, and the box that fell to the ground is still firing artillery, as brilliant as fireworks. The ground under my feet... the ground under my feet is not safe!

The I/O Enterprise mercenaries had just finished dealing with the intense barrage of artillery fire and were about to rally when they heard a warning and everyone dispersed on the spot.

As soon as they left, the sand under their feet suddenly sank, and then a surge of shining sand and gravel shot up into the sky.

In the pit in the middle, a pile of debris from the bait building had just emerged from the sand when it was completely disappeared among the countless crushing drill bits.

Then the [Worm] moved across the sand like a train, its massive body remaining unchanged by all the bombardments, and even this time it failed to blow open the cover – starting from the fourth section, the heavy armor plate opened directly.

Then it slowly dived under the sand, and with the roar of a waterfall rushing over rocks, the drone in the drone launch nest hole at the beginning of the fourth quarter took off into the air.

Its computing system has completed the calculation of the current situation and first suppresses it in terms of quantity.

Densely packed drones were ejected from every section and every launch nest hole. The [Worm] controlled the rhythm of their launch just right, just when this section of the body could dive into the sand, and ejected them all.

To be honest, just looking at it can make your scalp tingle.

Even though some of them were destroyed by the mercenaries' firepower as soon as they were ejected, the slight damage was not a big deal at all. The battle scene soon became chaotic because those drones... were numerous and not weak!

[Worm] even had the time and leisure to sink into the sand, as calm as a hunter, its computing system controlling the dense clouds that continuously launched drones that could damage or even penetrate the body's defenses.

At the same time, it is waiting for an opportunity and may suddenly emerge from the ground at any time, swallowing the combat team whole with its heavy firepower and its terrifying mouth.

Whether they will turn into drones or into shells hitting their own people depends on the luck of the remaining people.

In this situation, Cypher kept things running, following the escort team and asking the commander: "Is there a second plan? Is there a third plan?"

"Don't you have any means to intervene with so many drones? Do something!"

The commander could only ask those present to stabilize the situation. At the same time, Tien said happily that she had prepared the "pirate's copycat missile". Are you interested in using it?

If the drones were using a unique anti-interference frequency band, it might be possible... but Cypher's base was too far away, and any support would be lost by then.

(End of this chapter)