novelODS Chapter 58: You are trying to isolate yourself from the God of all things!
Chapter 58: You are trying to isolate yourself from the God of all things!
Mars's orbit.
On the bridge of the Akasora, in front of the main tactical command seat.
Zhang Qiming stood in the center of the holographic Mars map, with the war zone cursor constantly jumping at his feet and the real-time situation of the near-orbit fleet, orbital port, ground forces, and player legions above his head.
Each time a player captures a stronghold, a red wedge-shaped marker appears on the map. When the battle line is pushed back by the Covenant forces, the red marker is pushed back by the platinum fire circle.
He only glanced at the casualty data on the Gaia system to know how intense the war was.
[Sacrificed SkyDrive player: 74612]
Global war progress: 11%
Of the 100,000 Sky Chaser players, nearly 70% perished on the front lines during the first wave of attacks.
Most ordinary players, having been hastily introduced to the global war mode, haven't yet adjusted to the gameplay mechanics in their minds.
The main force responsible for pushing the battle lines forward now consists mostly of professional guilds like Little Pony Express, which have scheduling, logistics, and a fixed command chain, as well as player backbones like Pound Sterling who can temporarily set up combined arms companies.
Little Pony Express has captured the first key stronghold in the Kandor supply ring. Meanwhile, the Ruby Company of the British Pound has also seized the armory in the Third Garrison District.
The British pound and the ragdoll had already worked together in the Bloodstained Wetness instance, and both had their own ways of contacting each other. After leading their troops to conquer the war zone, the two began to communicate with each other without prior arrangement.
After a brief exchange, the two hit it off immediately and connected the tactical channels of their two player bases together, starting to report enemy positions to each other and provide mutual support to Skydrive players in nearby battle zones.
The biggest problem with the Fourth Calamity right now is actually the scheduling of solo players.
In small-scale stronghold battles, they can rely on resurrection, enthusiasm, and sheer numbers to overwhelm their forces; but once they encounter medium-to-high intensity battlefields with regular armies, and face armored brigades, artillery positions, unmanned firepower platforms, and SA suppression, scattered units lacking unified command will quickly be cut up.
Without a commander to direct them, they would repeatedly die on the same street.
Without scouts reporting enemy positions, they simply cannot locate enemy artillery and drone nodes.
There is no unified respawn point. After respawning, players can only travel in scattered groups. As soon as they enter the battlefield, they are mowed down by regular army artillery and chain guns. Their equipment is destroyed and their supplies are depleted. Twelve respawn opportunities a week are not enough to fill the firepower of an armored brigade.
Fortunately, players were quick to spot the problem.
The Homeworld forum quickly formed the "Mars Global War Strategy Group".
The number of posts in this strategy guide group skyrocketed as soon as it was created.
[Mars Global War: Mariner Valley War Zone Strategy Guide Main Building]
[The minimum requirements for a player's combined arms company: Rifle squad, fire support squad, shield guard squad, repair squad, and communications/reconnaissance team are all indispensable!]
Comrades, stop blindly charging armored brigades—first take out small outposts, then surround major nodes, using small outposts to encircle the big cities!
[Commander player roster statistics for each region; it is recommended to first select one player from each region who can communicate effectively to unify the chat channel.]
[Little Pony Express's Retaliation (Shared by the President): How the Breakthrough Point in the Kandor Supply Ring Was Created!]
[Ruby Company Third Garrison Area Armory Capture Process Summary {Expand+}]
It's not just players currently battling on Mars who are discussing this.
Terra storyline players, players from other civilization starting points, and even many casual players who haven't yet entered the Homeworld storyline all flocked to the forum to act as online strategists.
Some people helped draw maps, some analyzed the organization of the Covenant, some studied the cooldown time of orbital support, and others compiled a table showing the relationship between player resurrection mechanisms, equipment loss, and warzone liberation.
Soon, a rough but effective strategy was trending on social media.
First, take over small battle zones, then surround large nodes. Once multiple small strongholds are connected, guild players and temporary player commanders will organize multiple battalions of thousands of soldiers to coordinate with orbital reconnaissance, communication jamming, and short-range orbital strikes to gradually take down the Covenant's armored brigades, artillery positions, and SA support units.
Looking at the trending posts on the forum, Zhang Qiming's lips curled into a slight smile, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly:
"The Fourth Calamity's adaptability is truly terrifying."
Nearly 70% of the 100,000 Sky Chaser players died in the first wave of attacks. For any normal army, such a casualty rate would be enough to cause the front line to collapse.
But players won't think that way. They'll just think: I didn't play well this time, I was careless and didn't dodge, I just made a mistake, I need to try again!
At the current pace of progress, Mariner Valley and the Arctic Ice Sheet will be the first areas to be controlled by the players, and the outer defenses of the Tharsis Highlands will be gradually stripped away under the high-altitude suppression of the Royal Guard Fleet.
Afterwards, once players, guild legions, defected Covenant grassroots units, and Skyward underground organizations connect the small outposts into a network, even if the Holy Cardinals still have a large ground force, their communication, supply, and command chains will be cut off.
Of course, this is only the initial stage objective of the Martian liberation war.
There are still a lot of things to do on Mars, including counterinsurgency, clearing out the remaining armed forces, taking over the military and political system, and reorganizing local garrisons. However, the most important task now is to overthrow the Holy Cardinals' regime.
Zhang Qiming looked up at the high-altitude orbital situation map; the Guards Fleet had been fully deployed.
As the command ship of the aircraft carrier, the Crimson Corona is playing a pivotal role in the entire war.
Sixteen patrol gunboats dispersed along the key waterway, blocking the Cardinal's orbital transfer route and preemptively surrounding all possible escape routes.
The two Saint-class heavy cruisers continuously provided heavy firepower support. Any large-scale armored formation that appeared would be marked immediately and then cleared out by the heavy cruisers' artillery fire.
The four crossbow-class destroyers took turns entering the attack window in the directions of Mariner Valley, Arctic Ice Sheet, and Tharsis, supporting the player's advance with short-range precision railgun fire.
Four carrier-based SA strike groups continuously suppressed Covenant ground armored brigades and heavy firepower nodes.
Players were originally most afraid of the heavy firepower of regular troops.
Now, as long as they can mark the target coordinates and upload the enemy armored brigade, artillery positions, SA parking points, and command vehicles to the war support system, the Guards Fleet can respond within minutes.
Zhang Qiming watched with satisfaction as the red area on the war zone map continued to expand, then turned his attention to the other side—the Olympia mountain area, the core refuge of the Holy Cardinals.
That was the coordinate that Ares and Chisei had just dug out from the old, closed network; several underground vaults, emergency command posts, and high-rise escape facilities were marked with consecutive red dots.
Representatives of the main faction of the Holy Cardinals are there attempting to rebuild the chain of command and mobilize the ground guard and the remaining communication channels of the Fourth Fleet.
Zhang Qiming raised his hand to zoom in on that area; the Guards Fleet's fire control lines had already been locked in advance.
"South China Sea, the task of arresting them is entrusted to you."
Zhang Nanhai's signal was quickly connected.
"I understand... I've always wanted to do that too."
At this moment, the Corona had arrived above the designated strike airspace, and the red guide lights on the catapult track on the aircraft carrier's belly were lit.
Zhang Nanhai had already sat in the cockpit of the Skydrive Type I. His black pilot suit was connected to the psycho-sensing frame, and the aircraft was pushed into the launch position by the ejection arm. The propulsion unit at the back was preheating in stages.
[Sky Chaser Type I SA | Catapult preparation complete]
[Target Area: Olympia Mountain Block - Underground Sacred Repository Complex]
[Mission Objective: Arrest core members of the College of Cardinals]
The next second, the launch track suddenly lit up.
The SkyDrive Type I burst out from the belly of the Crimson Corona, leaving a black afterimage along the edge of near-orbit, before heading straight for the Olympia mountain block along its descending trajectory.
……
……
At the same time, another golden-white machine took off from the direction of the Martian mainland.
It was a sleek, custom-designed SA with shoulder armor resembling folded white battle flags, two sets of high-mobility wing-shaped thrusters hanging on its back, and the platinum emblem of Saint Sophia engraved on its chest armor.
This machine is naturally Saint Sophia's exclusive SA - [Jeanne d'Arc].
As Zhang Qiming watched the two mechs, one black and one white, simultaneously press towards Olympia, he couldn't help but stroke his chin and chuckle:
"Saint Sophia has also entered the game; it seems she can't wait to see those old Deng's pathetic state."
To facilitate the subsequent arrest operation, Zhang Qiming directly deployed two [Sacred Edge-class heavy cruisers] into the low-orbit strike window.
The two heavy cruisers opened a total of 192 vertical missile cells in sequence, and the hull armor plates slid open to the sides, with dozens of bunker buster bombs, anti-radiation bombs, and precision-guided missiles trailing white light as they fell toward the outside of Mount Olympia.
The College of Cardinals naturally deployed an air defense system, with phased array radar, close-in weapon systems, missile countermeasure vehicles, and several hidden point-protection laser towers surrounding the underground vault.
However, air defense is ultimately ineffective. Faced with the massive firepower coverage from the high ground of the Guards Fleet, several air defense nodes were bombarded as soon as they were activated.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom—!!!
A series of explosions ripped out along the outer edge of Mount Olympia, overturning air defense positions and penetrating armored garages with bunker buster bombs.
After the artillery barrage ravaged the land, only a small portion of the Holy Cardinals' ground guard remained, still struggling.
Several old SAs rushed out of the mountain hangar, but before they could form a formation, they were cut off from the flank by Jeanne.
The gold and white mech spread its arms, and two beam blades drew intersecting arcs in the propulsion beams. The first SA was severed from its right arm, and then it spun sideways and directly cleaved the cockpit.
Then, before the second SA could react, she used her beam blade to pierce through its propulsion backpack, and with a roar, the second SA exploded on the spot.
The third unit had just raised its beam rifle when it was pressed down from above by the Skydrive Type I, which slammed into the mountain platform, and its cockpit was pierced directly by a solid longsword.
In this way, the Sky Destroyer Type I and Jeanne d'Arc advanced alternately on the mountain platform, while the Guard Fleet continued to suppress the outer fire points from orbit.
The Sky Chaser commando team landed in heavy landing craft at the breach on the outside of the mountain. Squads of armed personnel in black and silver tactical armor rushed into the underground passages along the smoke and dust, forcibly taking control of the temporary command rooms.
Those high-ranking individuals who usually only appeared as projections at the Conclave Holy Church were now being dragged out one by one from the underground vault, the emergency meeting room, and the refuge pods.
The alternate cardinals, review advisors, faction clerks, military liaison officers, and the core members of the more than two hundred members of the Holy Cardinals who remained on the Martian mainland were all taken into custody in batches by the armed personnel of the Skyward Organization.
When the Supreme Arbitrator Alexander Borja was arrested, he was still wearing the black and gold robes of the Chief Cardinal. He stood before the central icon in the underground treasury, his face ashen, yet he still tried to maintain his last shred of dignity.
He looked at the Skyward soldiers rushing into the Holy Treasury, raised his hand adorned with an authority ring, and spoke in a hoarse, cold voice:
"In accordance with the Martian Covenant Charter and the supreme arbitral authority of the College of Cardinals, I demand an immediate cessation of illegal military operations—all armed personnel must lay down their weapons, submit their unit numbers and authorization documents, and await review by the Covenant Inquisition."
The two Sky Destroyer soldiers weren't going to tolerate him.
One of them stepped forward, grabbed the Supreme Arbitrator's wrist, forcibly pried open his fingers, and removed the black and gold ring that symbolized the chief's authority.
The other man raised his hand and threw a punch, the tactical gauntlet slamming into his right eye socket, causing the supreme arbiter of the old Martian order to stagger backward, his forehead hitting the edge of the statue base, blood flowing down his brow bone.
"You...you..."
The chief arbitrator covered his right eye, his voice finally betraying his embarrassment.
Representatives of the four major factions were also taken into custody one by one, and Sky Drive soldiers escorted them out of the Holy Treasury one by one, while two third-generation SA mechs were stationed on the mountain platform.
The black Sky Drive Type I leans on a solid longsword, while the golden-white Jeanne d'Arc hangs in front of the hangar breach.
At this point, the remaining guards in the underground sacred vault had completely given up resistance.
……
Temporary interrogation lights were turned on, casting a white light on the faces of the chief arbitrator and representatives of the four major factions.
The Skydrive officer stood before them, unfurling an arrest warrant, his voice amplified throughout the entire underground vault via a speaker.
"In accordance with the special control order jointly issued by the Supreme Commander of the Skyward Command and the Truth Investigation Committee, wartime detention is now being carried out on the core members of the Holy Cardinals."
"You are suspected of organizing, approving or protecting the wetware network slavery program, illegally deploying the Covenant Army's armed forces, obstructing Martian technological innovation for a long time, abusing religious authority to interfere in the military and political system, and instigating armed resistance during the special takeover, which has caused serious harm to Martian public safety, military and political order and the basic rights of the people."
"From the moment this order is read, all relevant personnel are suspended from their positions in the College of Cardinals, and all church authority, military and political command authority, technical review authority, and personal encrypted assets are frozen."
"The individuals involved will be escorted by Skydrive armed personnel to a provisional court for public investigation, wartime trial, and subsequent verdict."
"During the escort, any act of disobeying orders, escaping, destroying evidence, or inciting armed resistance will be dealt with immediately in accordance with wartime regulations."
The Supreme Arbitrator abruptly looked up, blood still trickling from the edges of his eyes, his black and gold robes stained with dust. He stared at the black and silver tactical armor around him and almost roared:
"Do you know what you're doing? You're destroying order on Mars and pushing the entire planet into civil war!"
The soldier did not answer, but simply tightened the restraints and pushed him toward the escort team.
On the other side, as the representatives of the four factions were being escorted across the mountain platform, they saw Joan of Arc hovering in front of them.
The gold-white SA had its head sensors lowered, like a holy statue holding a sword, and the platinum emblem on its breastplate was particularly dazzling in the firelight.
The Templar Knight representative was the first to lose control; he struggled to raise his head and roared in Joan of Arc's direction:
"Saint Sophia! You traitor who has betrayed the Church!"
"The College of Cardinals nurtured you, granted you authority, allowed you access to Ares, and permitted you to stand high in the heavens, yet you turn around and arrest your own colleagues!"
"Is this how you repay the church's kindness to you?!"
"Saint Sophia! Your actions will surely incur the wrath of the God of Machines! You have personally severed yourself from the presence of the God of Machines, and from the people of Mars..."
Click—!
The shoulder armor of the Sky Chaser Type I suddenly popped open, and the built-in Vulcan cannon flipped out from under the black shoulder armor, with the six-barreled cannon rotating at high speed.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom—!!!
The mountain platform was riddled with a series of dense craters from the shells, and the Iron Templar Knight representative was killed on the spot, his body parts scattered all over the ground.
The scene fell silent instantly. Blood was still streaming down the face of the Supreme Arbitrator, while the representatives of the other three factions had their faces covered in the scraps of their colleagues, and a hint of genuine fear appeared in their eyes at that moment.
Inside Joan of Arc's cockpit, Saint Sophia was briefly stunned as she watched the representative of the Steel Templar Knights being instantly blasted to death by the Sky Drive Type I.
Zhang Nanhai's voice was then amplified through the Tianqu Type I external amplifier.
"Giuliano de la Rovere, a former representative of the Knights Templar, openly incited armed resistance at the scene of wartime detention and threatened the personnel carrying out the special takeover operation."
"In accordance with the special control order and wartime treatment provisions, it was determined that he committed on-site insubordination, counter-revolutionary incitement, and obstruction of the Mars liberation operation."
"Wartime measures are now in effect. Result: Shoot on the spot!"