The Plane War Begins from Wandering Earth

Chapter 281 280. The truth about war?
The plasma worm troops are of great strategic significance to the Arazi Zerg home planet.

Similarly, for the expeditionary force, these Zerg strategic forces that can threaten the starship forces are also the first batch of targets that need to be eliminated.

On the Zerg home planet, after tens of thousands of years of operation and construction, the Zerg have built a dense network of tunnels beneath the surface of the planet Clandaf.

This is also why the Zerg army can appear out of nowhere and show up in unexpected places of various expeditionary forces.

The only strategic strike force of the Arazi Zerg, the plasma worm swarm force.

It was by relying on the extensive underground tunnels that they launched a "guerrilla war" against the starship forces stationed in outer space of Clandaff.

By the time the starship forces detected the attack of a large-scale concentrated energy group, the brain worms, and even the higher-level command worms, who had mastered the rules and summarized the lessons learned in the battles with the expeditionary force, had already transferred the plasma worm troops to a safe underground place.

This kind of "guerrilla-style raid" operation of shooting and moving from one place to another has kept the starship forces in a state of high alert for a long time.

There is simply not enough energy to support the battle on the planet's surface.

The expeditionary force headquarters dreamed of getting rid of the plasma worm troops.

That is why, after discovering the war zone where the Redemption Army was located, which had assembled nearly 30% of the plasma worm troops on the star Klandaf, they immediately mobilized all the expeditionary forces in the surrounding thousands of square kilometers.

Trying to completely wipe out this Zerg strategic force.

The emphasis placed by both human and insect command forces on the plasma insect troops made the war zone where the Redemption Army was located the war zone with the largest number of troops deployed by both sides, the shortest average survival time of units, and the highest intensity of combat in the Second Battle of Clandaff.

Both sides, who originally wanted to end the war quickly, relied on the "add fuel to the fire" tactic of constantly stacking troops, turning this war zone into the most brutal war of attrition and meat-mincing war in the history of the "Human-Insect War".

The battle lasted for nearly ten hours, and the human expeditionary force was exhausted.

More than 90% of the troops in this war zone and the supporting troops from thousands of square kilometers have been exhausted.

The horde of insects pouring out of the underground tunnel was endless, with almost no end in sight.

The senior commanders of the expeditionary force headquarters watched as the light spots representing their own troops on the tactical screen flashed (entering combat status) and then quickly went out (no interaction or response with the superior troops).

Everyone felt a sense of powerlessness.

There are too many of them. There are simply too many bugs on the Arazi Zerg’s home planet.

The number of expeditionary forces and local colonial galaxy armed forces exceeding 100 million made the expeditionary command make bold statements before the war.

Clear all the bugs on the surface of the planet Clandaff within a week.

Within a month, the planet Clandaff will be completely "insect-free".

But the war had only entered its third day when various difficult situations had already silenced the senior officials of the command.

"Marshal, perhaps we should consider using the 'Planet Destroyer' strategic weapon?"

A staff officer asked this question tentatively.

However, his words made the atmosphere in the strategic command room of the headquarters even more suffocating.

The expeditionary force's supreme commander immediately rejected the proposal.

In fact, as a soldier, everyone present knew that using Q-bombs to completely destroy the planet Clandaf was the most cost-effective war plan.

But obviously, the factors that determine the direction of a war are not just military considerations.

Marshal Meru would never agree to use Q-bombs, because the reason she was able to take office, in addition to the support of the military-industrial monopoly financial tycoons behind her, the most important thing was the "nibbling plan" and "leapfrog tactics" against the Arachi Zerg.

It proved that under her leadership, the Human Earth Federation could achieve military results far exceeding those of the previous Star Marshal.

If you use the Planet Destroyer bullet, it will destroy everything.

In addition, the monopoly military-industrial tycoons who made a fortune from the expeditionary force's national defense military orders would never allow the use of Q-bombs.

Without bugs, what excuse does the federal government have to maintain such high military spending?
Without the expeditionary force fighting in the front, their military factories, which are now running around the clock, will have to stop production immediately.

The dead soldiers can ease the increasing pressure on citizens' high welfare.

Injured soldiers can also provide a large number of orders for the medical and health industries within the federal government.

All walks of life within the area controlled by the federal government can more or less reap the benefits of war through this human-insect war.

Once the wheel of war starts turning, it is not easy to stop it.

The expeditionary force's supreme commander understood this deeply.

Therefore, the most cost-effective option to end this battle was ruled out without hesitation.

"How are the various legions doing in their pursuit of the plasma worm troops deep underground?"

The losses on the surface battlefield were so horrific that the supreme commander could only turn his attention to the underground battlefield.

“Your Excellency Marshal, the situation is not optimistic.

Currently, only the Redemption Army has successfully caught up with the plasma worm swarm in their area.

The remaining troops were still chasing the plasma worm troops in their respective areas of responsibility in the underground tunnels.

Intelligence analysis shows that the number of insects hiding in the underground tunnels within the war zone is likely to reach hundreds of millions.

Our troops are in a limited area of ​​underground space, and the use of heavy firepower is limited. It is difficult for each unit to confirm whether they can successfully kill the fleeing plasma worms..."

The expeditionary force's supreme commander had a serious expression on his face.

Given the current rate of casualties, the price paid to kill these 30% of the plasma worm troops can only be described as a tragic victory.

If we cannot deal with these 30% of the plasma worm troops, the problem will be even worse, and it will be an epic defeat comparable to the "Clandaff Rout".

The expeditionary force's supreme commander had a gloomy look on his face.

This pot is too big to bear, and he doesn't want to die with this shame, amidst the curses of the people of the Earth Federation.

"Order the various troops currently pursuing underground to confirm the specific coordinates and underground depth of the plasma worm troops in the area.

At the same time, the air force units were assembled in the atmosphere, ready to calibrate the coordinates provided by each unit and replace them with ground-penetrating armor-piercing bombs.

We must eliminate all the plasma worm troops in the war zone!"

The order from the expeditionary force's supreme commander shocked all the senior military officers present.

It is an indiscriminate attack and a large-scale bombing raid that requires one's own troops to independently provide "death coordinates".

Obviously, the supreme commander has tried every possible means to solve the biggest threat: the Zerg strategic forces.

You know, there are still hundreds of millions of expeditionary troops fighting in the war zone.

The number of federal government troops and local colonial galaxy armed forces is almost half and half.

The newly appointed supreme commander of the expeditionary force has always been considered one of the few "moderates" in the federal government's army.

But when the direction of the war infringes upon his vital interests, even the most "gentle" commander will make the choice that best suits his own interests.

Twenty-three minutes later, tens of thousands of expeditionary force air force units in the atmosphere began to carry out targeted bombing according to the coordinates reported by various units.

The expeditionary soldiers who were fighting a desperate battle with the Zerg army in the underground tunnel, trying desperately to kill the plasma worm troops, did not notice that they had personally reported their "death warrant" to the expeditionary command.

The earth-penetrating bombs equipped with small-yield nuclear weapons blasting devices broke through the brittle and hardened clay layers the moment they came into contact with the surface rock of the planet Clandaf. They then rushed all the way underground until they were more than 200 meters underground, where they finally ran out of energy.

The small nuclear bomb with delayed detonation was also launched at this time.

In a confined underground space, the explosive power of ordinary chemical gunpowder bombs will be multiplied.

What’s more, it is a small-yield nuclear bomb.

Severe earthquakes occurred in the war zone.

Under the horrified eyes of the ground expeditionary forces, thousands and tens of thousands of huge pits appeared in the war zone.

Thick smoke, flames, shock waves from explosions, and various high-energy radiation began to rage in the war zone.

The worst-hit ones were the many expeditionary soldiers who entered the underground tunnels and fought desperately for the federal government and the Zerg.

The limited space underground was like a stuffy tank, and the precisely located and detonated bunker-penetrating bombs made it impossible for them to survive.

The doomsday-like scene made the surviving troops on the surface disheartened.

The Redemption Army, which was chasing the plasma worm troops in the underground tunnel, also felt this huge noise comparable to a magnitude 9 earthquake.

Fortunately, no bunker-buster bombs exploded near the Redemption Army area.

This is not because the expeditionary force command showed mercy.

But the Redemption Army never expected that the expeditionary force could provide any support two or three hundred meters underground.

So the instruction to provide precise coordinates was ignored.

After a series of underground explosions, most of the underground passages leading to the surface collapsed and were damaged.

The Redemption Army's retreat was cut off for a while.

After dealing with the plasma worms that were also affected by the "underground vibration" and trapped in the passage, Knight Commander Siegel ordered the engineering dreadnoughts accompanying the army to continue digging deep into the underground passage.

The further down you go, the thinner the oxygen content in the air in the passage.

The number of insect swarms has also been greatly reduced.

The Star Legion soldiers, who had two hearts and three lungs and possessed superhuman fighting will and physical fitness, were not affected at all.

The soldiers of the United Government Army who have received the [Blessing of Democratic Election] also have strong resistance to the hot, humid, and oxygen-deficient environment underground.

Just as Knight Commander Siegel was about to adjust his direction, give up going downwards, and break out towards the surface.

The pathfinder robot responsible for reconnaissance ahead sent intelligence that it had discovered traces of a large number of Arachi worker insects.

A special insect that looked like an octopus spider, four or five meters tall, and had never been seen by the Redemption Army before appeared in front of everyone.

Out of distrust of the federal government, the Redemption Army did not take the initiative to connect to the Expeditionary Force's communications network.

In addition, as they were deep underground, they were unable to communicate with the expeditionary force in time and find out the details of this strange-looking "elite bug".

In fact, Knight Commander Siegel even suspected that no one in the expeditionary force had ever seen this special insect.

What is even more surprising is that this "spider worm" seems to be familiar with human technology and is aware of the mechanical equipment that is exploring the way.

Surrounded by many Arachi worker insects, it slowly moved towards the direction of the Redemption Army.

Knight Commander Siegel quickly realized that the other party was also a highly intelligent insect.

Not long after, the two sides met in a not very spacious underground corridor.

On the Zerg side, except for this "spider worm", there are only a few worker insects with no fighting ability.

But even so, Knight Commander Siegel still ordered all his subordinates to be fully armed, wearing their strongest defensive equipment, and be ready for battle.

The group of worker insects behind the "spider insect" squirmed, and soon a human was transferred to the vicinity of the "spider insect" by the worker insects like a conveyor belt.

Is this a threat using human hostages?

Knight Commander Siegel looked at the opponent's actions with confusion.

Judging from the uniform worn by this adult female, she is a senior officer in the position of "deputy captain" of a second-class battleship in the star fleet.

He is about 30 years old and can become a senior officer at the level of "deputy captain".

They are either war heroes who have made great contributions, or they are "second-generation" people with strong backgrounds.

The battleship he was on was attacked by a swarm of plasma worm troops and crashed. After an emergency landing, he was captured by the Zerg troops on the ground.

The dying female captain looked towards Knight Commander Siegel and others with eyes full of desire for life.

But she had no idea that under his helmet, Knight Commander Siegel had a rather cold expression.

She is just a female officer of the federal government and has no right to interfere with him.

Immediately afterwards, the "spider-worm" unexpectedly extended a tentacle from its chest and abdomen, quickly and accurately piercing the back of the female officer's head.

The female officer's body was shaking and twitching, and her eyes were turning white.

As she was lifted into the air, her body finally calmed down.

"Invaders, you win."

The female officer was unexpectedly treated as a "simultaneous interpretation" tool by the other party, and began to be used as the "Spider-worm's" voice tool with an expressionless face.

According to the Zerg side, the Arazi Zerg has never actively invaded human forces.

On the contrary, it was humans who first discovered the Arazi Zerg and launched a war attack on the Zerg without any communication.

The Arach Zerg have always played the role of victims.

Even though the two sides later launched a full-scale war, it was a forced action.

This "spider worm" is a "queen" level unit of the Arazi Zerg, and is a Zerg commander of a higher level than the brain worm.

Responsible for the command and mobilization of the Zerg on an entire planet.

And according to what the other party said, above the brain worm and the queen, there is another existence translated as "worm god".

The queen's proactive appearance was an attempt to use communication and negotiation, which had never happened before between the two sides, to end this war between humans and insects.

As the most ferocious and most brilliant force in the war zone, the Redemption Army was chosen by the Zerg Queen as the negotiating partner.

Knight Commander Siegel was thinking about how much advantage these explosive inside information could bring to the United Government in dealing with the Human Federal Government.

He was startled by the adjutant's whisper behind him.

"Commander, a psychic in the legion has just issued a warning.

The Zerg Queen across from us is interfering with our minds..."

(End of this chapter)