NOVEL NEXT Chapter 573 - 374: Total Annihilation_1
Chapter 573: Chapter 374: Total Annihilation_1
Whoosh!
Harrison Clark incredibly started to change direction in zigzag patterns during his pseudo-curvature motion at one-third the speed of light!
It shouldn’t have been possible, in theory.
The pressure from such drastic changes in direction would instantly crush him, but the overloaded pseudo-curvature space layer protected him.
The essence of pseudo-curvature motion is movement in space while the person remains still.
The compressed space layer and composite force field membrane structure on the surface of the body work together to isolate the internal space from the external one.
In high-speed maneuvers and changes of direction, what’s under pressure isn’t the armor structure and operator within the internal space, but the composite membrane structure covering the exterior.
This may seem similar to a person sitting in a car while it changes direction, but it’s actually quite different.
If a car hits a tree stump and the person isn’t wearing a seatbelt, they would still fly out of the vehicle.
That’s because the person and the exterior space of the car are not essentially separated; countless connections still exist between them, as well as gravity.
The human body still has inertia.
The core of pseudo-curvature motion is to use the membrane structure to completely isolate the internal and external spaces, forming a new subspace.
If this technology is developed to the extreme, the word “pseudo” in “pseudo-curvature motion” should be removed, and the term should be renamed “curvature motion.”
During curvature motion, the connection between subspace and external space is completely severed, and they become independent from each other.
No matter how drastic the change in direction, the matter inside the internal space won’t be affected by inertia at all.
Even if the speed drops from the speed of light to an absolute standstill instantaneously, both the armor structure and human body inside the internal space would still remain static, feeling nothing.
Naturally, the current study of the Grand Unified Force by humans hasn’t yet reached its peak, so the unified force field isn’t perfect and can’t create a complete composite membrane structure, or a true curvature bubble. Subtle connections between the internal and external spaces still exist.
As the level of technology continues to improve, the connections between the internal and external spaces are severed more and more thoroughly, and the engine’s performance grows stronger, but humans are still far from perfect.
Furthermore, individual weapons are different from battleships. Close combat must be considered, and the shape of the membrane structure often changes. A standard curvature bubble cannot be produced, so Newton’s first law doesn’t completely lose its effectiveness.
During the maneuvers and changes in direction, both the main body of the battle armor and the operator will experience some inertia.
Now that other soldiers cannot perform the same “zigzag” maneuver as Harrison Clark, it doesn’t mean their physical endurance is much weaker than his.
After everyone’s awakening level exceeds 35%, Harrison Clark’s advantage in physical strength has become minute.
Others can’t do it because, when they make sudden changes in direction during high-speed pseudo-curvature motion, the fluctuations in G-force are too intense, and the equipment isn’t stable enough. A small mistake can easily trigger a chain reaction, leading to loss of control and ultimately flattening the user before they even get to change direction.
Harrison Clark’s control skills are high, his pseudo-curvature engine is more powerful, and the protection of the membrane structure is better. He can accurately grasp the limits of his own performance and that of his equipment, so he can dance on the edge of the blade.
His “zigzag” maneuver isn’t a true zigzag but a curve. It just appears like a broken line from far away because he suppresses the radius of the curvature, making it extremely short.
In short, he stays right on the critical point of his own endurance, controlling the acceleration within his tolerable range, and thereby achieving miraculous control.
In the blink of an eye, Harrison Clark rapidly decelerated and appeared at a certain point in the void.
His deceleration could be observed, indicating that his endurance was still far less than that of the Blade Mantis.
But that didn’t matter. As soon as he started his maneuver, the auxiliary brain formed by a part of Starry Sky’s computing power had already planned his route for him and sent him to the predicted point on time.
Right in front of him, another Blade Mantis appeared.
The prediction was spot on!
The back of the Blade Mantis reflected the brilliant light of distant explosions.
Harrison Clark’s battle armor roared into action, launching fifty rounds of physical toxin projectiles.
The Blade Mantis suddenly turned around.
It dodged Harrison Clark’s fifty consecutive shots by moving horizontally in the air.
But then, another energy beam with a diameter of only 3.3 meters hit the Blade Mantis right in the chest, piercing through it!
Explosion!
Death!
Only eleven Blade Mantises remained!
Harrison Clark looked in the distance.
Indeed, this was the support firepower he had called for earlier. He hadn’t expected to see such a perfectly condensed shot.
In front of the Starry Sky Giant Cannon array over there, a giant lens-shaped structure with a diameter of over ten kilometers floated.
Martha Owen’s voice came through Harrison Clark’s communicator, “How’s my new focusing lens?”
“Impressive.”
“It’s for killing these goddamn bugs.”
Harrison Clark gave her a thumbs-up from afar, “Great job. But you shouldn’t swear.”
“Pfft!”
“Keep it up.”
Harrison Clark managed to behead two Blade Mantises without resorting to desperate tactics. Instead, he genuinely forced them into a trap and then brutally killed them.
He predicted the Blade Mantises’ leap positions twice in a row with complete accuracy, not with blind luck but because he had a solid grasp of the situation!
With that, the morale of the human soldiers soared.
Commander Nora Camp couldn’t help but clench her right fist and exclaim, “Nice!”At this moment, Kid’s Mom clenched her teeth, her cheeks puffed up, pupils dilated, and her emotions somewhat uncontrollable due to intense excitement.
Some people might have been puzzled by her reluctance to deploy Harrison Clark’s most potent force earlier, thinking she might be showing favoritism.
Even though no one questioned her, everyone hoped that Harrison Clark, the genius who refused to acknowledge himself as such, would live till the end. However, there was still a lingering regret.
Would fewer lives have been lost if he had stepped forward earlier?
Even Harrison Clark might have been unsure, having been itching to take action several times.
Now she had proven with facts that it was the correct choice to let the strongest force gather information first and act after planning.
If Harrison Clark had gone up from the beginning, he might have been able to kill a few Blade Mantises. But had he been defeated or killed on the spot by several Blade Mantises working together, what then?
What could they have done?
Whom could they have relied on?
After devouring top-level fighters like Needham Brown and Bainesta, the remaining Blade Mantises would have been able to slowly consume all human military strength.
Now, the situation was completely different with only eleven of them left, and Harrison Clark’s chances were much higher.
The dawn of victory was in sight.
Nora Camp immediately made adjustments, assembling more reserve forces to reinforce the battlefield.
Wave after wave of mass-produced level three fighters roared into the meat grinder battlefield, in an attempt to share the pressure on the remaining 11 million Gene-Modified Warriors and Harrison Clark.
On the other side of the battlefield, the Spherical Battleship’s performance greatly improved after using specialized energy, seemingly having an inexhaustible supply. Its hull had completely repaired, thicker than before.
Although the continuous destruction from the Starry Sky Giant Cannon and the Battleship Cannon’s combined fire after prism focusing could still be damaging, it couldn’t outpace the ship’s repair speed.
Dragonfly Fighters and Eight-legged Beetles continued to pour out, seemingly impossible to erase.
The Particle-interference Bomb and Black Hole Bomb could not be deployed due to the obstruction by a multitude of resources, such as the White Light Beam.
The Compound-Eyed Observer civilization, with abundant campaign experience, couldn’t be easily trapped twice.
The Spherical Battleship seemed to have spotted the Stellar Giant Cannon charging in the distance. Its frantic dodging and evasive maneuver was its response strategy.
To suppress the Spherical Battleship, the casualty rate on the fleet side was even worse than before the Blade Mantis assault.
Minutes passed, almost all Gene-Modified Warriors had fallen. Despite enormous sacrifices, the final Blade Mantis was ultimately obliterated.
Harrison Clark remained in the void, examining the situation through battlefield projections.
Nearly twenty Nanwind Energy Armors and Northwind Emergency Repair Armors gathered around him, along with medical armors operated by top medical personnel from the Life and Medical Institutes.
These auxiliary forces were urgently helping him recuperate and receive treatment.
Another phase of the battle had been won, but Harrison Clark couldn’t celebrate, as the Spherical Battleship on the other side of the battlefield had gone berserk.
Only the thirteen Compound-Eyed Observers still inside knew what they were thinking, but they must have sensed doom approaching.
Though the humans had suffered greatly, the Compound-Eyed Observers had it worse in terms of casualties. Fifty-three of them were dead, leaving only thirteen, a fatality rate of 75.47%.
Indeed, it was tragic.
They had placed their trump card, but humanity had pierced through it.
Humans had proven themselves to not be soft targets that could easily be crushed.
Nora Camp contacted Harrison Clark.
“Harrison Clark.”
“Here.”
“The backup fleets’ speed and firepower aren’t enough to suppress the Spherical Battleship. Once you’ve recovered, find a way to carry the last three million Particle-interference Bombs and four Black Hole Bombs over and detonate them, okay?”
Harrison Clark said, “You’re the commander, just give the order, and I’ll execute it. Don’t ask if it’s possible.”
“I should have waited a bit longer. In another five minutes, the Stellar Giant Cannon would have been ready to fire.”
Harrison Clark shook his head, “Don’t rely too much on the Stellar Giant Cannon. Judging by the way this thing is frantically dodging and escaping, the Stellar Giant Cannon’s barrage might only graze it.”
“Right.”
“So I need you to take a risk.”
Harrison Clark gave a forced grin, “It wasn’t easy for me to defeat the hardest Blade Mantises; why should I fear a battleship? I’ve even been inside it before. But I’m never blindly optimistic, or I would have already declared victory…”
His words were cut off as a sudden change occurred on the other side.
The Spherical Battleship suddenly accelerated, charging into a reserve fleet formation and wreaking havoc before heading straight for another location.
Unbeknownst to the human forces, the Spherical Battleship had stealthily deployed a vast array of small-scale forces on this side, causing massive losses and weakening defenses.
Nora Camp hurriedly ordered more firepower for suppression and reinforcements from the other side of the battlefield.
But the Spherical Battleship shifted again, initiating an even more intense assault to break free.
Kid’s Mom no longer spoke to him, revealing the immense pressure she was under.
Harrison Clark’s brows furrowed, an ominous feeling surged in his heart.
For some reason, he was very restless.
Despite annihilating all the Blade Mantises, his uneasiness had not diminished, but grown stronger.