For several minutes, everyone waited. As expected, thousands of spacecraft from the base all rose into the sky, pursuing the enemy southward.
"Let's go, let's go, mix into the fleet and join the fun,"
Everyone was excited. Dàdá pushed the joystick of the spacecraft, and the Feiyu, like an arrow loosed from a bow, rapidly left the base and followed the army's pace.
Now, Dàdá was the pilot of the Feiyu. During the six-month war in the Black and White Forbidden Zone, it was Dàdá who had been operating the ship's weapons to fight the enemy. The same was true for the subsequent battle in the Sea of Bitterness; Dàdá had piloted it alone.
His familiarity with piloting the Feiyu and its weapons now even surpassed that of its owner, Xià Yǔbīng.
Dàdá was steady, honest, and skilled, so everyone confidently let him pilot the spacecraft.
"Accelerate, accelerate, rush to the front of the fleet. We won't be able to fight many demons if we just follow behind,"
Under Wàn Lěi's repeated urgings, Dàdá piloted the spacecraft, overtaking others, and soon reached the leading position.
However, he dared not push too far forward, as it would surely displease the commander and he might even be focused-fired by the demons ahead.
After reaching the same leading position as the flagship, Dàdá slowed down. Their spacecraft was a top-tier model, far exceeding the speed of the regular military-issue spacecraft.
The commander, Yá, inside the flagship, suddenly caught sight of a spacecraft appearing beside his flagship out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw Wàn Lěi peering at him through the window.
Yá's expression instantly turned cold. He did not recall ordering the adventurer team to join the pursuit of the demons.
Therefore, Yá gave Wàn Lěi a deep look, as a warning.
Wàn Lěi mistook Yá's look as encouragement. He grinned, revealing two neat rows of white teeth, and gave a thumbs-up, signifying he wouldn't disappoint.
The exchange of glances failed. Yá, angered, turned his head away and stopped looking at Wàn Lěi.
Soon, they caught up with the demon army, reaching a distance within their firing range. Yá immediately ordered the entire army to open fire.
Countless ship-mounted weapons on the spacecraft roared towards the demons ahead. The Feiyu, piloted by Wàn Lěi, also unleashed a fierce barrage without sparing ammunition.
With the base army's firepower covering the area, the demons' retreat speed was severely hampered. Subsequently, the base spacecraft, while attacking the enemy, began to spread out, encircling these demons.
"The commander wants to annihilate these demon troops entirely, haha. They attacked us and now they want to run? How can we not make them all die here, to honor the fallen soldiers?"
Xià Yǔbīng was full of excitement, operating the Profound Yellow main cannon on the side and firing madly at the demons who were now surrounded like dumplings.
"This is what war should be like, with back-and-forth fighting. If they dare to attack us, they must be prepared to pay the price. Why should they be able to come and go as they please at our prime plane base? Let's beat them!"
"Beat the demons until they hurt, and then counter-attack the demons!"
"Bào Bào will fight ten Iron Flying Fish!"
The four little ones were extremely excited and attacked ferociously. Tiān Suànzi maintained a calm and masterly demeanor. The three sisters of Huǒ Fèng were each busy with their tasks. Wàn Liúchuān and Liú Yùxīn silently crouched by the cabin's launch ports, using their long-range weapons to attack the enemy.
They hadn't used technology weapons much. After arriving in the Immortal Realm, they had focused on cultivation. Even after entering the Five Elements Hall, it was still cultivation. This was even their first time participating in a major battle.
Although they were not very proficient with these weapons, Liú Yùxīn's small face showed no signs of awkwardness. Instead, it was filled with stubbornness. She pursed her small lips, replaced the Dao rhyme energy core with a mini laser cannon, and attacked the demons non-stop.
Come on Xin'er, Xin'er is the best, Xin'er doesn't want to be looked down upon, Xin'er wants to be the strongest, Xin'er is not a transparent person!
The surrounded demon army was constantly dying. Their counter-attacks also broke the shields of many spacecraft. Many demons, fearless of death, charged towards the spacecraft, even resorting to mass self-destruction to destroy the spacecraft.
The battle was once very fierce.
Soon, Yá ordered that all soldiers inside the spacecraft, except for those piloting them, should disembark to reinforce the firepower and compress the formation, striving to annihilate the enemy completely.
A spacecraft could carry up to tens of thousands of people. Piloting the spacecraft and weapons required only a few dozen people. The rest were brought along for combat.
The army of over ten million formed a pincer movement against the enemy, and the terrifying firepower instantly covered them. The demons could no longer break through, and the defensive perimeter shrank with every passing moment.
Just as everyone thought the battle was nearing its end, Wàn Qiānxìn, who had been observing the battlefield, suddenly sensed something was amiss.
"Something's not right."
Wàn Qiānxìn stopped attacking and suspiciously surveyed the defeated demons opposite them.
"What's wrong?"
"Initially, there were tens of millions of demons surrounding our base. Even after fighting for two days and losing millions, the main force should still be here. Not many would die during their retreat.
But when we caught up with this retreating army, their numbers were estimated to be around two million. They were powerless against our attack. Where is the rest of the demon army?"
As Wàn Qiānxìn was speaking, his and Wàn Lěi's expressions changed drastically at the same time, and they both exclaimed,
"This is a trap!"
"Yes, it must be a trap. These demon armies first pretended to retreat, luring out our main defending forces, then left behind two million as bait for our army to consume, and then completed a counter-encirclement on the outside!"
"This must be it. No, we must quickly warn the commander."
"No need to warn."
Dàdá, at the pilot's seat, suddenly pointed to the screen in front of him.
"The image captured by the rear camera shows the main demon force has already surrounded us. I presume the commander already knows."
"These demons are truly ruthless. They abandoned two million troops just to encircle us?"
Xià Yǔbīng said fiercely.
"Sacrificing two million troops to annihilate over ten million defenders is a profitable deal no matter how you calculate it. The defenders, relying on their fortifications within the base, were simply unable to be taken down.
Only by luring us out and annihilating us outside would the base's defense forces become very weak, making it easier to attack. What a cunning plan by the demons."
"What should we do now? We're surrounded, let's break through."
Bào Bào shouted in a panic.
"No, let's fight first, and then wait for the commander's orders. We cannot abandon our comrades and flee alone. Moreover, if the entire army doesn't break through, with just our single spacecraft, the countless demon armies behind us could drown us with one spit each. Individual strength is very weak against a legion."
"In this situation, if I were the commander, I would order the rear guard to turn around and form a defensive line to first eliminate the demon army that has encircled us from within, and then focus on dealing with the demons outside, to avoid fighting on two fronts."