The army’s ascent, from the moment the march began until the final supporting troops reached the summit, resulted in over eight hundred fatalities, with more than three hundred wounded. This grim toll was achieved despite the combined efforts of Chu Xuan and the other two, alongside Zhan Lan’s mental scanning results; otherwise, the casualties would have easily doubled.

“This is actually a good outcome, certainly better than the numbers I anticipated. It seems these soldiers’ training is quite rigorous, though their procedural steps had issues, and they severely lacked practical combat experience. I predict that every surviving soldier here will become a backbone of the future Federal Army. They are the only troops to have endured live combat since the Third World War…”

Chu Xuan sat on a boulder atop the peak, speaking quietly to the few people around him.

The entire military contingent had successfully moved from the base to the summit. Observing the massive swarm of insects trailing behind them, Chu Xuan decisively ordered the deployment of micro-nuclear warheads. These shoulder-fired missiles had a range of about five thousand meters, representing one type of weapon the Earth Federation government had never abandoned—miniaturized nuclear arms—and they were practically the only heavy ordinance available.

The summit environment was far from hospitable. Firstly, the wind speed on Planet K’lunda was fierce, and the temperature hovered about ten degrees lower than Earth’s. Snow was already present on this mountain peak, hundreds of meters high. Moreover, the sharp, biting winds caused everyone to involuntarily shiver.

Yet, in areas other than armaments and military operations, the Earth Federation government had done things quite well. Take the soldiers' uniforms, for instance. Although standard issue, each uniform functioned as a compact, portable air conditioner, capable of self-regulating temperature to maintain optimal human comfort. This ensured the soldiers could continue fighting and surviving on the frigid summit.

The mountaintop was entirely composed of a black, hard rock, whose sheer density rivaled granite. Knowing that the entire ground was made of this material and that only a single, narrow path led upward, many soldiers in the army began to cheer. Under the direction of non-commissioned officers, the soldiers, who had been fighting for most of the day, could finally sit or lie down to rest. Under the cook fires of their field stoves, lukewarm military rations and fresh water were heated, and a wave of aroma drifted across the summit. The five hundred soldiers guarding the narrow entry point kept looking back, their mouths practically watering, but their rigorous training held them fast. Chu Xuan’s orders were clear: each rotation would hold the post for twenty minutes, followed by an hour and a half of rest. This pattern would continue, meaning they only had twenty more minutes of vigilance. Hot food and palatable water awaited them.

“Rest well for now. The immediate priority is to lift the army’s morale as quickly as possible. So far, the effect seems decent; at least everyone has a hope of surviving. Coupled with proper rest and rations, this should restore about eighty percent of the combat effectiveness for all uninjured personnel. But it’s still not enough. Merely doing this won't see us through the next six hours or so…” Chu Xuan continuously made marks on a piece of paper while speaking to those around him.

Zheng Zha frowned slightly and asked, “Are there still problems? The wind speed here is so intense that the flying insects can’t possibly ascend from the base. And there’s only one path up. Surrounded by sheer cliffs, plus this black, hard rock covering the ground—we should be quite safe here, right?”

Before Chu Xuan could reply, Ba Wang and Wang Xia both let out wry smiles. Wang Xia said, “Zheng Zha, although your continuous immersion in life-or-death situations has honed your grasp of dynamics—especially in small team combat where your timing is incredibly sharp and prompt—the military context is far more complicated… We are running low on ammunition.”

“Ammunition?”

Chu Xuan looked up. The paper was covered in numbers and arithmetic formulas. He murmured, “Precisely. Our ammunition reserves are critically low. The most secure arrangement for that bottleneck originally called for a thousand troops on defense, which would have kept even the fire-spitting bugs from approaching the perimeter. But we have no choice; the ammo count is insufficient. We have forty-two micro-nuclear missiles left, shared across the entire army, and about thirteen thousand magazines—the total count for everyone. That averages out to two or three magazines per soldier. Relying on this amount of ammunition to defend that choke point for six hours requires the insect waves to be very small, or very few in number, but…”

Zheng Zha fell silent. According to the mental scan data sent by Zhan Lan, the entire mountain base was swarming with insects. That dense mass extended for dozens of miles on the surface alone. Countless more insects were tunneling beneath the earth, surely numbering in the millions. Besides the fire-spitters, there was another type: tank-like bugs covered in thick carapaces, with forelimbs resembling massive pincers. These were rare, even fewer than the fire-spitters, and they were not among the species mentioned by the ‘Main God.’ This implied they were extremely threatening, belonging to a class of hidden, high-level threats.

Zheng Zha said with a bitter smile, “Correct. With that terrifying number of insects, a simple sustained charge within these six hours could drown us. It’s a small mercy that visibility on this planet is poor; otherwise, if the soldiers up here confirmed that many insects, they might instantly lose all will to survive…”

Ba Wang and Wang Xia sighed along with him. Ba Wang suddenly suggested, “Then why not just bring out our weapons? If only my weapon could be used, an infinite-ammo tubular pulse ejector in this environment—wouldn’t that wipe out all those bugs? Haha. I just wonder if their gun barrels could handle the heat generated when firing…”

“No!”

Zheng Zha and Chu Xuan exclaimed simultaneously. They exchanged a glance, and Chu Xuan continued coolly, “We cannot reveal our weapons. Even if the opposing team knew of the four of us, with several others still concealed, they wouldn’t dare move against us directly. But if the existence of our high-tech weaponry leaks, then we face the entire Earth Federation government. When pitted against vested interests, the State Apparatus is the most merciless entity. Remember, this horror movie world is a high-difficulty, wartime scenario, set in a cosmic and alien battlefield. Our chances of successfully opposing the government are… zero!”

Ba Wang sighed heavily. “Are we just supposed to sit here and wait for death? How is that any different from dying alone out there?”

Chu Xuan, however, looked toward the distant soldiers surrounding them. He smirked, “It is different, of course. At least here… we have so many people accompanying us to death. Naturally, that only becomes a danger to us once they are all dead. Now, back to the point… The ammunition will likely last about four hours, perhaps a little over. With five hundred soldiers firing intensely, those ten thousand-plus magazines won’t sustain the expenditure. In the subsequent hour or so, we must employ alternative defense methods. First, rocks. The path from the base to the summit has a sufficient gradient. If irregular, spherical rocks, about one to two meters in diameter, are rolled down, the force generated is enough to kill all the insects along the route. In terms of destructive power, it’s even greater than bullets. If thousands of people continually excavate and launch these stones, they can hold the line for tens of minutes. But this rock assault has a huge drawback: against large-volume bugs, like the fire-spitters and the massive tank-like pincers, these stones pose no real threat. This is where the forty-two micro-nuclear warheads can be used…”

Zheng Zha, Ba Wang, and Wang Xia listened to Chu Xuan’s detailed explanation, each of them mentally mapping out their potential combat positions. Only after hearing everything did Zheng Zha nod. “Then let’s assign the upcoming battle roles as follows: Ba Wang, you continue at the entry point to instruct those men on conserving ammunition and maximizing its impact; stop the random, aimless firing. Wang Xia, go gather all the grenades the army possesses. See if you can manually modify them; I need to increase their destructive yield. Size is not a consideration; I only require increased power. Chu Xuan, you remain here to coordinate the entire army’s efforts. I will remain stationed at the bottleneck. If any high-powered bug breaks the line, I will be responsible for eliminating it… Zero, your consciousness is linked with mine, correct? Your mission is to use the army’s high-magnification rifles for long-range sniping. Target the eyes of those massive, high-threat insects—only their eyes are truly vulnerable. I know the military rifles lack sufficient power and range, but this task must fall to you…”

“Zhan Lan, continue coordinating the consciousness links between us and the mental scans, especially focusing on the sheer cliff faces surrounding us. Although steep, we must be ready to meet any threat. And Luo Gandao… you absolutely must protect Zhan Lan with your life. She is more vital to our team than even I am. So, if danger arises, you must escort Zhan Lan away from the threat as quickly as possible. If necessary… sigh, that’s the arrangement. Everyone handle their assigned sector. We must hold on; six hours left…”