Chapter 1004
They are eating each other's own kind
In a brief lull in the artillery fire, a terrifying tearing sound suddenly drowned out the roar of gunpowder. A Gazot, its fin-like arm severed by a howitzer shell, dragged its bleeding body toward its panting brethren beside it. Its sharp claws, like scimitars, pierced the brethren's chest cavity, tearing through the tough skin with a "ripping" sound. Mucus mixed with dark brown fluid dripped from between its fingers, splattering onto the scorched earth and creating eerie bubbles.
The bitten Gazort let out a sharp scream, but its futile attempts to lash out with its severed limbs were futile. Instead, the attacker bit its neck—the mouth, filled with sharp teeth, tore at it frantically, the crisp sound of cartilage shattering clearly audible, and half a tentacle, covered in blood and flesh, was flung away. Even more horrifying, several dying Gazorts simultaneously pounced on the same carcass, fighting over and tearing at its internal organs, the piled-up bodies revealing only swaying claws and flowing fluids.
"Heavens..." In the cockpit of Flying Swallow II, Lina suddenly covered her mouth, her fingertips turning white, and her stomach churned. She had firmly believed that all life could coexist, but the scene before her was like a red-hot iron, shattering her last shred of illusion.
Daigo's hand gripping the joystick bulged with veins, and the recording equipment Cui Ming had shown flashed before his eyes, bringing those screams to life: "They have no reason at all... In their eyes, 'friends' are just a synonym for food."
Megumi Kijima's voice on the command channel was icy: "Execute the 'Eagle Strike Tactics'! Flying Swallow No. 1 provides pinpoint support, while No. 2 carries a high-frequency cannon for precision strikes!"
The instant the command was given, the Flying Swallow No. 1 suddenly switched to cruise mode and accelerated its dive, launching a barrage of anti-monster missiles from under its wings, creating a screen of bullets among the Gazorts and forcing them to temporarily stop cannibalizing each other. Taking advantage of this gap, the Flying Swallow No. 2 flew low over the enemy, and its belly-mounted high-frequency cannon suddenly fired, the blue beam accurately hitting the head of a Gazort that was tearing apart one of its kind.
"Boom!" The Gazort's head exploded instantly, and its corpse crashed to the ground, only to be immediately devoured by the other Gazorts. The GUTS members no longer hesitated; the Flying Swallows provided alternating cover fire, and the Sharp Cannons and missiles intertwined to form a fire net, each shot aimed at these monsters that had long since become ferocious beasts.
In the instant the artillery fire tore through the smoke, Gazort's roar abruptly changed. One of its kind, its left wing severed by the Soul-Suppressing Cannon, dragged its mangled body towards its brethren, its fin-like claws digging deep into the chest cavity, tearing through the tough skin with a "ripping" sound. A mouth filled with sharp teeth lashed out, blackish-brown fluid mixed with viscera gushing forth. The screams of the bitten creature were punctuated by eerie swallowing sounds—it was actually turning the tables and gnawing at the attacker's severed limbs in its agony, as if trying to squeeze the last vestiges of life from its own flesh. Even more horrifying, three dying individuals simultaneously pounced on a single carcass, their tentacles intertwined, only their trembling claws visible, the slime congealing into dark red scabs on the scorched earth.
This scene struck the GUTS team like a hammer blow. Professor Mizuno had once lamented, while studying ionospheric data, that "all life should have the right to coexist," and Horii had even modified a translator overnight, hoping to build a bridge of communication using the word "friend." But now they understood that in the survival rules evolved by the Lightning People over millions of years, "kindred spirits" were merely provisions for times of scarcity, and the word "friend" was equivalent to "food" in their understanding. Those benevolent peace plans were fragile and vulnerable before the fangs of those who devoured their own kind.
“So… it was wrong from the very beginning.” Horii’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the control panel, recalling the communication plan his mentor was revising on his deathbed. Lina turned her face away, her voice trembling: “What we thought was civilization was just a joke in their eyes.” Megumi gazed at the monsters devouring each other on the screen, her fingertips tracing the communicator: “This isn’t a chasm that communication can bridge; it’s a clash of two survival logics.”
As the cannons roared again, Gazot's tearing and biting continued unabated. The gap between civilizations is never a language barrier, but a cruel reality where one side upholds "coexistence" as its belief, while the other has "nibbling away" etched into its genes.
The roar of artillery fire shook the pebbles on the wasteland, and the air was thick with the stench of gunpowder emanating from the Gazorts. A smaller Gazort had just been grazed in the side by a Titan's Soul-Suppressing Cannon; a deep, bone-revealing wound tore open in its gray skin, and dark brown fluid gushed from it. It staggered to the ground, struggling to get up, but before it could regain its footing, a larger Gazort beside it suddenly lowered its body and pounced on it like a ravenous beast.
The massive Gazort's jaws gaped open, its countless sharp teeth gleaming coldly, as it bit down hard on its wounded comrade's neck. A sharp crack echoed, the sound of bones breaking particularly jarring amidst the lull in the gunfire. The wounded Gazort let out a shrill scream, its long tentacles thrashing wildly at the ground, trying to break free. But the massive Gazort's forelimbs held its body firmly, and with a powerful tug of its head, it tore its throat apart. Warm entrails mixed with blood were ripped out, and the massive Gazort swallowed them without hesitation, bits of flesh and slime still clinging to its lips. Its crimson eyes were filled with greed, completely disregarding the human troops nearby.
Not far away, beneath the clouds, a dozen or so unmutated lightning beings hovered, their bodies shimmering with a pale blue light, their slender tentacles swaying restlessly in the air. Seeing the cannibalism, a few of the bolder lightning beings hesitated before approaching, their tentacles emitting faint, high-frequency vibrations, seemingly trying to persuade Gazort to put aside their infighting and unite against the humans. But their "persuasion" had barely reached Gazort's ears when one of them, having just devoured its companion, suddenly whirled around, its crimson eyes instantly locking onto the lightning being at the forefront.
Before the Lightning Man could react, Gazort swung its head violently, its massive body lunging forward with momentum, its jaws snapping shut and swallowing the Lightning Man whole. A pale blue light flashed across Gazort's throat before extinguishing completely, and a few severed tentacles slid from its mouth, still twitching slightly. The remaining Lightning Man instantly bristled, its pale blue body trembling violently, and it turned to scatter and flee. But Gazort wouldn't give them the chance. Three Gazorts pounced simultaneously, their massive jaws opening and closing repeatedly, each bite accompanied by the Lightning Man's screams of agony. The pale blue body was torn to shreds, fragments scattered across the ground, quickly covered by smoke and dust.
On the human side, the battle proceeded in an orderly fashion. A Balias armored vehicle, sensing that a Titan tank was being locked onto by a Gazoat's electromagnetic beam, immediately turned and positioned itself in front of the Titan tank. With a "sizzle," the electromagnetic beam struck the armored vehicle's armor plate, emitting blinding sparks and leaving a charred mark on the armor plating, but it was not penetrated. "Titan III, we'll handle the Gazoat on the left. You focus on attacking the cluster on the right!" The Balias commander's voice came through the communicator. Then, the armored vehicle's 140mm high-pressure howitzer aimed at the Gazoat that fired the electromagnetic beam. A flash of muzzle flash, and the shell whistled out, accurately hitting the Gazoat's abdominal wound.
"Boom!" A gaping hole was blasted through Gazort's abdomen, its internal organs flying everywhere. It roared in agony as it collapsed to the ground. Simultaneously, the Flying Swallow 1 and Flying Swallow 2 coordinated perfectly in the air. Daigo piloted Flying Swallow 1 to fire a laser beam, precisely severing one of Gazort's tentacles—a crucial part of its electromagnetic field. The moment the tentacle severed, Gazort's movements noticeably slowed. Rena seized the opportunity, piloting Flying Swallow 2 to launch two missiles, accurately striking its head. With a deafening roar, Gazort's skull shattered, and its massive body crashed to the ground.
On the ground, the EDF soldiers were also busy. They operated portable anti-tank missiles, aiming at Gazot's leg joints, and each shot hit its mark precisely. Several Gazots who tried to approach the armored vehicle were hit in the knee by missiles after only taking a few steps, staggered to the ground, and were then crushed by the tracks of the armored vehicle that arrived at the scene, making a teeth-grinding cracking sound.
On one side, there was cannibalism and savage greed without any moral compass; on the other, there was a steadfast defense with clear division of labor and coordinated operations. The two presented a stark contrast. Gazort's cruel nature was laid bare in the artillery fire, making every shell and every attack by the human forces seem exceptionally justified—facing such a group of irrational monsters who knew only killing and devouring, any compromise or retreat would be cruel to oneself. Cui Ming stood atop the command vehicle, his eyes cold and hard as he surveyed the scene before him, and once again ordered into the communicator: "Increase the firepower! Don't give them any chance to breathe! We must completely wipe these monsters out today!" (End of Chapter)