As the third squadron of the soaring eagles was about to commence a massacre, the sight before them once again shocked everyone.
Gu Ya stared ahead in disbelief. He had never encountered a scene like this!
All the enemy aircraft that had been on standby within the Black Star formation suddenly erupted with energy.
The first to ascend were the light-class combat mechs, their ascent speed incredibly fast.
From east to south, across hundreds of kilometers of sea, all light-class combat mechs lifted off, gradually climbing to an altitude of thirty thousand meters.
Following them were the medium-class combat mechs positioned in the core of the formation. As the main battle mechs, their numbers were double that of the light-class combat mech squadrons.
Li Fang exclaimed, trembling, "Holy crap... what are they doing? Are they coming for us!?"
Besides Li Fang, everyone else remained silent, their scalps tingling with shock.
Even more astonishing, the heavy and super-heavy mechs positioned around the enemy formation also slowly began to ascend.
The entire enemy formation, except for the mechs maintaining guard around the Black Star flagship mech, all rose to thirty thousand meters.
The deafening roar of the mechs assaulted the eardrums of everyone in the soaring eagles' third squadron.
From horizon to horizon, spanning hundreds of kilometers, countless enemy mechs were gradually approaching the soaring eagles' third squadron!
Gu Ya suddenly sensed an ill omen. He opened the communication channel to the General Command and shouted, "Soaring Eagles Third Squadron Captain Gu Ya reporting!"
"Outside the Yonggu Zhi Lan War Zone, Black Star enemy forces have all ascended!!"
"Estimated number is around one hundred thousand..."
Gu Ya's communication exploded like thunder in the hall of the General Command, and everyone gasped in alarm.
"Confirm the battle situation immediately!!!" a deputy commander shouted nervously.
Within half a minute, the commanders operating the holographic systems and directing the battle all stood up, facing the command consoles behind them, and exclaimed, "Situation confirmed!"
"The Black Star army has only left forces to protect their flagship mechs; all other forces are slowly approaching the battlefield!"
"Enemy aircraft count confirmed, one hundred thirteen thousand eight hundred twenty units!!!"
Including war zone staff officers, political commissars, and commanders, the hundreds of people in the command hall all stood up, their gazes fixed on one person.
The Commander of the Yonggu Zhi Lan War Zone, Sun Qihua, sat upright, his hands cupped before his mouth, his eyes calm and his expression resolute.
They were all waiting for the Commander.
In this situation, only the Commander-in-Chief could possibly stabilize everyone.
"How many troops do we have left?" Sun Qihua asked calmly. He already knew the answer, but in this situation, he had to speak to steady everyone's nerves.
"Reporting, Commander, all mechs combined total thirty-eight thousand three hundred thirty units, among which, combat mechs... combat..." a commander stammered nervously.
Sun Qihua said calmly, "Speak!"
"Combat mechs, sixteen thousand eight hundred twenty-three units!" the commander shouted, eyes shut, unable to face the reality.
"Ten times the enemy's numbers!" the deputy commander exclaimed in awe.
Sun Qihua nodded and said faintly, "Good!"
Then, he slowly stood up, his posture erect and his expression incredibly composed. In the calmest tone, he stated, "The entire army will retreat from the battlefield in an orderly fashion to the near sea, within the firing range of the coastal defense forces. All mechs capable of ascending will engage, commencing a final decisive battle with the enemy!"
"This battle, we succeed or we perish!"
The deputy commander quickly whispered, "Commander, under the current circumstances, we can only retreat inland to ensure effective follow-up counterattack forces! Ground combat would be advantageous for us!"
Sun Qihua narrowed his eyes and looked at the deputy commander, calmly stating, "Do you want the citizens of Wu He City to confront the enemy's steel army? Ten million enemy mechs, each capable of destroying Wu He City with a single missile! Wu He City's defenses can only withstand small incursions!"
The deputy commander broke out in a cold sweat, lowered his head, and nodded, "Commander is right. If Wu He City falls, the enemy can use it as a base to continuously produce mechs and gradually encroach upon the inland cities."
Sun Qihua patted the deputy commander's shoulder and smiled warmly, "Old Wu, don't forget how many desperate situations we've faced before. Haven't our Xian Xia people survived precisely from desperation?"
The deputy commander's eyes became firm, ignited by Sun Qihua's words.
Sun Qihua faced everyone and said in a steady tone, "Everyone, including myself, will not retreat a single step. We will coexist with the war zone until death!!!"
At this moment, the soaring eagles' third squadron, situated on the battlefield, had ascended even higher.
"Captain! What do we do! I'm ready to die, even if they send ten more times the enemy force, Li Fang won't be afraid! Although I'm verbose and annoying, I'm not afraid of battle!" Li Fang shouted with all his might.
"Gu Ya, you'd better come up with a way to hold them back, or I'll take Rui Zi and charge at them! Hahaha! I, Qiao Wei Wei, am not afraid of any hundred thousand enemy mechs!" Qiao Wei Wei laughed.
Rui Zi coldly added, "I'm not afraid either."
Tao Na, being the most composed among them, reminded Gu Ya, "Captain, what was that method you mentioned earlier for annihilating a hundred thousand enemy mechs in one blow?"
Liu Feng, having narrowly escaped death once and awakened to the correct combat belief, still felt a tremor of fear at the sight. He asked Gu Ya with a slight tremble, "Brother, what should we do?"
In this moment of crisis, everyone looked towards Gu Ya's mech.
They were all waiting for the captain's command.
Indeed, after a few days of interaction, Gu Ya's calm, steady, and principled demeanor had deeply impressed every member of the soaring eagles' third squadron.
They knew that Gu Ya was absolutely ruthless towards enemies, yet incredibly gentle towards comrades.
Even though he had forced Li Fang to shut up and punished Qiao Wei Wei by making her hand-copy military regulations, no one resented Gu Ya.
At this moment, Gu Ya looked behind him at the countless floating mech wreckage on the sea surface, and the orderly retreating defenders. He calmly said, "I am a mech pilot, and also a battlefield mech mechanic. Currently, pure mech combat cannot stop the enemy. We can only eliminate the enemy using knowledge from a battlefield mech mechanic."
"Full squad, retreat. Follow my orders!"
Qiao Wei Wei said angrily and disdainfully, "What's this, Gu Ya! With the enemy at our doorstep, you're retreating! I, Qiao Wei Wei, despise cowardly and weak people the most! Rui Zi, let's go!!!"
Tao Na suddenly stopped her, "Qiao Wei Wei!! With the enemy upon us, we must unite! I believe in the captain, and we should all believe in him!"
"Believe him? His shoddy piloting skills, and that incomprehensible battlefield mech mechanic knowledge, it's utter nonsense! Trash! I'm not afraid of death if he is!!!"
Just then, Gu Ya suddenly said calmly, "Qiao Wei Wei, I need you! The soaring eagles' third squadron needs you!"
Qiao Wei Wei was stunned. What was this? Why was he suddenly saying such mushy words? Need me? No one had ever said that to her before!
From a young age, she had been used to ordering servants around. After her parents passed away, her relatives had cheated her out of all her property and left her to wander on the streets.
Fortunately, she met Master Hong Yan, who discovered her talent as a mech pilot.
In the years she had followed her master, she had been scolded countless times. Her verbal sparring skills were something ordinary people couldn't endure!
Up until now, no one had ever said "I need you" to her!
Her relatives wished she would die so they could openly seize her family's assets, and her master wished she would be cursed three times a day! All along, she had been disliked by others!
What was this "I need you" nonsense!
Rui Zi whispered, "Wei Wei, I heard it, the captain said he needs you. Let's help the captain."
The enemy's hundred thousand strong army was still advancing slowly, and they were only tens of kilometers away from encountering the soaring eagles' third squadron.
Everyone was waiting for Qiao Wei Wei's reaction.
Gu Ya could not abandon her and lead the team away. The soaring eagles' third squadron was a whole; it couldn't do without one member!
"Hehe..." Qiao Wei Wei chuckled, her voice trembling slightly. "Gu Ya, you are the first person to ever say you need me... even Rui Zi has never said such disgusting words."
Gu Ya could hear the slight tremble of tears in her laughter.
"Then this young lady will fulfill your wish, Hahahahahaha!" Qiao Wei Wei regained her proud and arrogant demeanor, like a young lady, and burst into unrestrained laughter.
Everyone, including Gu Ya, laughed.
"Soaring Eagles Third Squadron, set sail!"