Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 533 Flames Burning
The roar of its engines echoed across the battlefield as the Night Raven charged in like the Grim Reaper, raising its cannons to attack the oncoming horde of beasts. With the sound of gunfire, wild animals howled and fell to the ground.

At the same time, a young voice came through the radio.

"I am Li Wei, the Knight of Thistles. From this moment on, I will take command of the front lines."

"It's Sir Levi!"

Upon hearing this voice, the co-pilot immediately shouted excitedly, after all, this person was quite famous in the Empire. Putting everything else aside, the feat of slaying a dragon alone was enough to excite the others.

"Ground mech units, provide crossfire defense; everyone else, retreat to the riverbank at five o'clock."

At the same time, Li Wei also issued an order.

Upon hearing this order, the commander frowned. As the commander of the 8th Armored Division, he naturally knew that the riverbank was low-lying and very flat, making it completely unsuitable for defense.

Why did Sir Levi issue this order?

Although the commander was puzzled, he quickly turned on the radio.

"This is Eddie Malone, commander of the 8th Armored Division. Execute orders immediately."

"Sir, are we really going to retreat towards the riverbank? Shouldn't we be heading up the mountain?"

At this moment, the passenger in the passenger seat asked in confusion, since generally speaking, in the face of this situation, one should try to occupy a high and precipitous position for defense, there is no reason to do the opposite.

"Shut up. Sir Levi is the commander at the front now. As soldiers, we just need to do what he says."

Eddie glared fiercely at the passenger seat.

"You're so powerful, why don't you go slay a dragon?"

"Hey hey..."

Hearing their superior's angry outburst, the co-pilot dared not utter a word and hurriedly cooperated with the commander, piloting the knight mech in a rapid retreat. Simultaneously, the soldiers on the ground also began a swift withdrawal in their mobile artillery turrets. Countless mutated beasts emerged from the forest, launching wave after wave of attacks on the Imperial positions.

The bullets mercilessly turned all the animals into corpses, piling up mountains of flesh and blood in front of the position. But these twisted and deformed monsters showed no sign of stopping. At this moment, they reminded Li Wei of a swarm of insects in a game that were unafraid of death.

Although these are not insects.

"Air bombing formation, prepare."

Li Wei wiped out another group of mutated wolves that rushed towards him, and then calmly gave the order.

"Launch incendiary bombs directly in front of the target and burn this entire forest to the ground!"

That's right, Li Wei didn't intend to get entangled with the other party here. After all, this was a large forest, and fighting mutated beasts here would be asking for trouble.

But once the forest is set ablaze, Li Wei won't need to worry about the rest.

"Let the flames purify everything!" With Li Wei's command, several airships flew in from behind. They arrived above the forest, opened their hatches, and then incendiary bombs fell to the ground. In a short while, a series of flames rose into the air and began to burn fiercely in the forest.

That's it!

Seeing this, Commander Eddie suddenly understood. He had been wondering what Levi was up to, but now he finally got it. Clearly, if they went to defend the area above now, the flames and smoke from the burning forest would be enough to kill them.

But now, they are on the riverbank below, sheltered from the smoke and flames above, and surrounded by streams, so they don't have to worry about the flames spreading.

However… Sir Levi’s move was truly extravagant; most people would never have thought of doing something like this.

Looking at the dense forest before him, Eddie gasped. He could imagine how terrifying the wildfire would be if the entire forest were set ablaze.

If he were in charge, even if he had thought of it, he would never dare to do it this way.

But Eddie had to admit that this tactic was indeed effective; once a wildfire started, it was almost impossible to stop. All living things in the entire forest would be burned to death.

As for Li Wei, he really had no other choice.

The alien creature's strength far exceeded Li Wei's expectations. When he flew over in the Eye of the Sky, all he saw was vast expanses of green aura. In other words, the animals in this forest were basically beyond saving, so Li Wei decided to burn the entire forest to the ground.

Right now, in Li Wei's field of vision, he could indeed see those green auras being swallowed by flames and then disappearing.

Fire really is useful.

However, it's not a panacea.

Li Wei narrowed his gaze, looked to the side, and then quickly issued an order.

"Everyone be careful, three o'clock!"

Before Li Wei could finish speaking, the hillside on the side of the riverbank suddenly began to collapse inward. Then, an insect that looked as big as a subway car roared and crawled out of the hole, rushing towards the Eighth Armored Division in front of them!
"What the hell is this thing?!"

Everyone was shocked to see this giant insect. It wasn't that they hadn't seen Krant's burrowing beasts before, but back then they clearly looked like pangolins or groundhogs. This thing was a giant insect!
"Attack! Attack immediately! Block it!"

Eddie quickly turned his gun around and gave the order. Soon, the 8th Armored Division turned and launched a fierce attack on the giant insect. However, their bullets had almost no effect on the giant insect's hard scales, only producing sparks and bouncing off.

"Sir, this thing is impossible to break!"

As the co-pilot reloaded his ammunition, he complained loudly, while Commander Eddie frowned as he watched the worm emerge from the hole and writhe its long body like a snake as it charged toward him.

The fog around them could hardly do any harm to the monster—when did Krant have something so ferocious?

Just as Commander Eddie was considering whether to request a retreat or air support, he saw a dark shadow suddenly fall from the sky and crash into the insect's head. Then, white steam burst from the Night Raven, like a cannonball being fired.

"boom!"

The next moment, the insect's head was pierced directly by the Night Raven, and it collapsed to the ground.

As the smoke cleared, the Night Raven had already taken to the air again, and at the same time, Commander Eddie received another message from Levi.

"You must immediately withdraw from the front line and re-establish a defensive line on the riverbank in the rear. Pay attention to the main roads and do not let these mutated monsters pass through."

"Yes, sir!"

Upon receiving Eddie's reply, the Night Raven soared into the air once more, while the co-pilot stared blankly at the scene, muttering to himself.

"Indeed, it's more appropriate to bring a melee weapon, sir?"

"Um……………"

This time, Eddie didn't smash his head directly like before, but instead started thinking.

Perhaps... this is indeed a good idea?
At this moment, the 8th Armored Division had successfully withdrawn from the battle, but for Li Wei, the battle was not over—the monster army on the ground was blocked by flames and had lost its threat, but this did not mean that they could not attack from the air.

A massive, dark formation of firebirds swarmed towards the airship formation, resembling a swarm of locusts. Under the influence of the alien creature, even these once glossy firebirds had become hideous; their feathers had all fallen out, and their wings were now covered in thin membranes, making them look like grotesque, deformed bats. "Bombardment formation, withdraw! Air mobile squadron, prepare for battle!"

Li Wei watched as a large flock of mutated birds flew in and quickly gave the order. Soon, the reconnaissance airships turned around, and then their rear hatches slowly opened, from which mechs, also equipped with jet engines, shot out and lined up behind Li Wei.

"Alright, everyone, you are all elites, so I don't need to say anything more."

Li Wei glanced around at the flying mechs—these were all Knight-class mechs modified with jet engines, not specially made like his own Night Raven. But at least they could fly, and their combat capabilities… should be guaranteed.

After all, the pilots here are the elite of the elite in the Imperial Mech Force.

"Everyone, battle formation!"

The mechs quickly sprang into action, forming triangular formations of three men each. Meanwhile, Li Wei, piloting the Night Raven, raised his gun and aimed at the thousands of mutated birds before him.

"attack!"

The bullets flew out.

Bullets fired from the mech's guns, heading towards the flock of mutated birds. Soon, flashes of light and explosions appeared intermittently within the dark mass of birds, vanishing in an instant. But the mutated birds didn't scatter; instead, as if provoked, they screeched and continued charging forward!

"spread!"

As the flock of mutated birds charged forward, the aerial mech formation quickly dispersed and flew forward. The mutated birds, showing no weakness, rapidly separated and regrouped, rushing towards their prey. From a distance, it looked as if a black tentacle had split into hundreds of finer branches.

"Bang bang bang bang bang!!"

Li Wei piloted the Night Raven through the air, his machine gun pointed straight behind him, firing bullets incessantly and blasting the mutated birds that relentlessly followed him.

However, these mutated birds relentlessly pursued them.

While their speed certainly can't match that of a jet engine at full power, it's definitely not slow either. Not to mention, these creatures split into several flocks to pursue and intercept you, instead of simply following behind, making them even more troublesome. Just like now…

"Gaa ...

A flock of mutated birds screech as they swooped down from the side, blocking Li Wei's path. Seeing this, Li Wei raised an eyebrow. The two machine guns atop the Night Raven instantly turned and opened fire!
"Da da da da da!!!"

With a series of gunshots, the flock of birds blocking Li Wei's path was instantly engulfed in flames. At the same moment, Night Raven suddenly opened its right arm, a long sword springing from its center, and swung it forward with tremendous force!

"Whoosh—Boom!"

With a flash of light, the flock of birds was instantly engulfed in flames. The next moment, Night Raven flew out of the flames and raised its gun again to aim behind it.

The earth has been scorched by flames, and now the sky has become the main battlefield.

Li Wei rushed through the smoke and looked ahead, then his eyes narrowed slightly.

Behind them, a huge black shadow emerged—it looked like a giant whale swimming in the sea of ​​clouds, with an enormous body and tentacles floating around it.

At the same time, Lieutenant Horn's voice rang in Levi's ear.

"Sir! A Leviathan-class monster has been detected! Should we open fire?"

"Do not."

Li Wei shook his head. When he wasn't on the Sky Eye, it was just an ordinary enhanced reconnaissance airship, and even if it opened fire, it would be difficult to destroy the target in a short time.

Moreover, once discovered, the situation will only get worse.

Not to mention...

"Our reinforcements have arrived."

As Li Wei spoke, he turned to look in the direction of Deburg behind him.

There, two airships roared out of the clouds, gradually turning their course and aiming the gun turrets on their sides at the Leviathan-class monster in the distance.

Then, the sound of cannons rang out.

"Boom boom boom—!"

One after another, cannonballs were fired, flying towards the distant aerial behemoth. Perhaps startled, the flock of mutated birds circling the behemoth suddenly scattered, then let out piercing screams and flew towards them!

Compared to before, this was the first major battle the Empire had truly participated in. At this moment, the ground and forests were completely scorched and engulfed by flames, burning fiercely and turning the surroundings crimson.

Above the burning forest, the battle between mechs and monsters continued, with bursts of fire and crashing mechs visible from time to time. Mechs flew through the sky, using their guns to annihilate flocks of mutated birds, while the birds would shriek and fly over, crashing into the mechs and turning them into piles of scrap metal.

At the same time, the airship's gun turrets were also constantly pouring ammunition, tearing the approaching flocks of birds to shreds.

"Boom boom boom!"

However, for airships, dealing with targets also in the air was perhaps too troublesome. They had already fired two rounds of shells, but had not hit the aerial monsters at all.

"Sure enough, this thing with naval guns is only suitable for ground bombardment."

Seeing this, Li Wei couldn't help but complain: the two sides are so far apart, trying to fight an air battle like a naval battle... isn't that doomed?
Just as Li Wei was complaining, an unexpected scene unfolded.

Li Wei saw that the giant monster in the distance was gradually emitting a dazzling blue light, which seemed to gather together and become even brighter…

Wait a minute, something's not right!

Seeing this, Li Wei's hair stood on end. Having watched countless sci-fi monster movies, he knew that when a monster glows, it's definitely not a good thing!
"Azure Heart! Sky-Piercing Sword! Evasion maneuver! Immediately!"

Upon hearing Li Wei's order, the two airships quickly began to turn, attempting to evade.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

"—————————!"

A beam of blue electric current shot out from the giant in the sky, traversing the entire battlefield and striking the tail of the Azure Heart airship, which had no time to dodge. Instantly, with a huge explosion, the Azure Heart lost power and crashed to the ground in flames.

Where the beam of light passed, the mechs that couldn't dodge in time exploded, turning into bursts of sparks.

Good grief, even this piece of junk has been upgraded, huh?

Li Wei frowned, speechless. It seemed the Empire had made a mistake in developing air-to-air warships and going for the turret-based strategy; they should have gone for missiles—but it was too late now.

Forget it, I'll do it myself!
With that thought in mind, Li Wei quickly pulled himself back to reality.

"Sword of the Sky, withdraw from the battlefield immediately! Everyone else, stay alert and take cover! I'm going to take down that piece of junk!"

(End of this chapter)