Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 208 System Warfare in the New Era
Good news, the strange bird can't fly.

The bad news is, it's not a strange bird that can fly.

In reality, fifth-tier superhumans can already fly, and even if aliens are slightly weaker, they will still learn to fly by the time they reach the sixth tier.

Their so-called 'whether they can fly' depends on whether the opponent is more accustomed to air combat or more adept at ground combat.

Just like this strange bird now, its wings formed a giant shield with no blind spots, protecting itself firmly. After being attacked by Yin Danyi, it was completely slammed to the ground like a pot lid.

This is the fighting style of those who excel at ground combat. At first, they fell into a misconception, subconsciously thinking that this bird species might be more accustomed to fighting in the air, while the three-headed rat should be more accustomed to fighting on the ground.

But now the situation has reversed, and whether they can accept it or not, they should now find a way to resolve it.

More intense attacks rained down on the giant rat. Although it was flying in the air, its speed was not fast at all, and it attracted artillery fire from all directions. No matter how hard it tried to dodge, its body, which was over a thousand meters long, was really difficult to avoid the artillery fire.

But then again, what kind of immense pressure would a giant object thousands of meters long flying in the sky exert?

At this current distance, there are some howitzers with higher firing angles that can attack it. Once it gets closer or flies higher, the only weapons that can hit it will be the various anti-aircraft guns, which are relatively few in number in the military.

Xu Zhao was the first to react. He said seriously, "Let's go and hunt that bird again, so that Platoon Leader Yin can free up his hands to come up in the sky and restrain that three-headed rat!"

If the other party is just an ordinary mutated beast, then letting it fly away is not an unacceptable option.

After all, the current population is basically concentrated within the high walls of each base city, and the base cities themselves have strong defensive firepower. Outside the base cities, there is a vast uninhabited area.

If they were ordinary mutant beasts, even if they were hostile to humans, they would most likely wander in uninhabited areas for a short period of time.

Transportation routes and small groups venturing into dangerous areas may be at risk, but overall the situation is manageable.

However, the alien species are different. They regard the secret realm as their nest, and these beings, who have grown up in a high spiritual energy environment, have a deep dependence on this place.

The reason this three-headed rat is flying so slowly in the sky is largely because there isn't enough spiritual energy in the real world to support its body.

They will not leave this place, and the secret realm is a resource that humans cannot give up. If they can communicate, given the usual practice in the East, perhaps co-developing with these giant beasts would be an option.

Unfortunately, these naturally disordered and confused beings have no possibility of communication, so the only option between them is to fight to the death.

Many superhumans rushed to the battlefield. Xu Zhao stared at the giant object flying higher and higher in the sky, and turned to Xiao Zhenru and said, "You should also go and help Platoon Leader Yin. Let him take you up. If this alien flies to the top of the position, even if we can kill it, its corpse will crush many people."

"We must not let it get close!"

Admittedly, the current human positions are actually quite dispersed. This is a result of the battlefield environment in which humans are exchanging fire with each other. There is often a considerable safe distance between artillery pieces and between units.

However, due to the current communication environment, which has been greatly reduced, and the limitations in logistics and supply, even if the troops are spread out, there is a limit. If this behemoth, which is thousands of meters long and does not include its tail, were to fall from the sky onto the battlefield, even if the losses are not significant, it would still disrupt the rhythm of the battlefield.

With an additional mountain in the battleground, many artillery positions need to be redeployed. In this race against time, this is unacceptable and could very well become a breakthrough point.

Xiao Zhenru did not object and immediately changed direction. In fact, the opponent was not flying very high for the time being. She was now fully armed, with eight dart-shaped floating cannons following behind her. As long as she could penetrate deep into the battlefield, she could inflict damage on the opponent without flying into the air. Doing so was actually quite risky. Not to mention the risk of approaching a sixth-tier being, artillery fire from behind could also easily injure her by mistake.

She nimbly navigated through the craters, and a launcher no bigger than a palm automatically flew out from her body, hovering beside her. Then, with a bang, a green signal flare was launched into the air.

This is how her location is indicated. Observation posts distributed across the battlefield will lock onto her and report her location to the artillery command. Under the command's planning, friendly fire will avoid the area where she is located as much as possible.

This is also one of the achievements of the summit's military reforms.

This world is not a game. Friendly fire will still cause injuries to the body. In the future battlefield, the combat method of high-level superhumans cooperating with long-range firepower will become the mainstream. How to prevent friendly fire and how to maximize the power of this cooperation are things that commanders need to study carefully.

There was relevant research before the Cataclysm, but with the change in the battlefield environment, many things needed to be developed from scratch—at least the flexibility of high-level superhumans was incomparable to that of infantry and armored vehicles in the civilized era.

In fact, isn't this also a kind of systematic warfare?

When many people talk about systematization, they think of an overwhelming force of steel, saturation attacks, cluster operations, and an invincible output of powerful firepower.

However, this is actually a misconception. While the firepower output of system-of-systems warfare is indeed terrifying, it is based on coordination. What truly matters is the ability to coordinate firepower down to the level of each ballistic trajectory.

System warfare can actually be considered a concept, a combat approach that fully utilizes combat power based on existing conditions, emphasizing multi-service coordination and leveraging strengths while avoiding weaknesses.

In other words, the battlefield is a giant roguelike game. By combining certain elements that can trigger a qualitative change, one can unleash tremendous power.

For troops in the civilized era, these elements might be powerful radar detection capabilities, long-range precision-guided missiles, and battlefield-dominating electronic warfare capabilities. With the cooperation of these three, the enemy can be defeated from 320 miles away.

In short, the final, decisive artillery fire was merely the visible manifestation of the battle; the moment the shell left the barrel, the battle was already over.

Before the cataclysm, system-of-systems warfare was based on information and intelligence, and on battlefield communication capabilities. This was its foundation, but this foundation may not remain unchanged forever. It will be adjusted with technological development and environmental changes.

As is the case now, in the aftermath of the cataclysm, the research direction of the new system is to better utilize the power of superhumans in the war, and to connect and coordinate the superhumans on the front lines with the long-range firepower in the rear.

At this moment, Xiao Zhenru entered the battlefield at an astonishing speed. In her direction of advance, several third and fourth-tier alien creatures fell one after another, and the troops behind her launched an extraordinary version of infantry-artillery coordination.

After arriving at their battle positions, Xu Zhaolin and the others on the other side had already arrived at the giant bird's side with their weapons, allowing Yin Danyi to leave the battlefield and head over here.

Xiao Zhenru waited in place for a while. She was not directly below the three-headed rat, but she was quite close. She had not yet made a move, so the rat did not notice her, who was smaller than an ant in its eyes.

One kilometer may not seem like a large scale on a battlefield, but if it's a moving living being, it certainly creates a terrifying sense of oppression.

As Yin Danyi approached, the floating cannons on Xiao Zhenru's back slowly adjusted their positions, with their muzzles glowing faintly, indicating that they were ready for preheating.

But at that moment, in the center of the encirclement, beneath that fog of confusion, another signal flare suddenly rose, also green.

Xiao Zhenru was taken aback, then a surge of joy welled up in her heart.

(End of this chapter)