Chapter 43 "We're Sitting Ducks, Kid"

"Bang! Bang!"

"Boom! Boom!"

Not just the 20mm machine guns, but also the 40mm cannons and 105mm howitzers, along with even larger calibers, resounded throughout the entire war zone.

Pandora's wildlife indeed included many large and fierce beasts with tough hides that could resist rifle and machine gun bullets. However, as long as they were carbon-based life forms, there was no heat weapon they couldn't overcome. Even beings capable of withstanding nuclear and hydrogen bombs, like the Supe soldiers, couldn't defy this law; it was merely a matter of magnitude. They all had their limits.

The Supe soldiers were particularly difficult to deal with because of their supersonic flight capabilities, making them a bit tricky. Currently, there were no strategies to quickly eliminate them without causing massive urban destruction or large-scale innocent casualties.

However, the beasts and fierce creatures of Pandora clearly didn't fall into the "tricky" category.

The beasts that had posed a severe threat to the RDA ground forces were blown to pieces by various calibers of artillery fire.

Such dense artillery fire indicated that a ground artillery position had been pre-deployed here.

Swish! Swish!

Dozens of air-to-ground missiles, trailing white tails, streaked quickly over the RDA flight formation, scattering straight into the midst of the beasts and the Na'vi army.

Boom!

In an instant, a "lotus flower" made of soil and debris, created by the blast wave and overpressure effects of the explosions, rose together in the rainforest.

The situation reversed in a moment.

The Na'vi, who had been cheering triumphantly, including the self-exiled Jake Sully, were utterly stunned, frozen in place, not knowing what to do.

"Fuck yeah!"

"Awesome! Awesome!"

"Whoo-hoo! Counterattack, brothers!"

On the other hand, the RDA ground forces, whose morale had almost collapsed, were instantly invigorated upon seeing the beast threat eliminated. They quickly restructured their firepower net and continued suppressing towards the Tree of Souls and the sanctuary.

At this moment.

Inside the cockpit of the Dragon Assault Ship.

The sudden questioning, along with the distant artillery and missile bombardment support, left the pilots and gunners a bit stunned. They hadn't expected reinforcements.

Seeing this, Quaritch quickly ran to the pilot's side, looking up through the porthole.

Sure enough, he spotted two "black dots" circling several thousand meters above. He also happened to see several aircraft flying overhead.

"Sir," reported the observer, still maintaining his working status, "an unknown force has sent a video communication request. Should we respond?"

Upon hearing this, Quaritch moved to the observer at the rear of the cockpit, left hand resting on a chair, then bent down to closely watch the holographic screen, saying, "Of course, it would be impolite to ignore it."

"Yes, sir."

Following the instructions, the observer operated the controls, completing the video communication link.

Immediately, the communication initiator on the holographic screen appeared in the cabin of some aerial transport vehicle, dressed in a black combat suit, sporting a beard, and puffing on a cigar.

Though puzzled by the attire, Quaritch restrained his previously arrogant attitude and introduced himself first, "Former Marine Corps, now RDA Hell's Gate base security commander Colonel Miles Quaritch. We appreciate your fire support, preventing our formation from collapsing. But excuse me, Major Morgan, could you explain where you come from? As far as I know, only we, the RDA, are conducting mining activities on Pandora."

"You're welcome, we're all humans here," responded Arthur Morgan, the communication initiator, who first acknowledged the thanks. He then took a puff of his cigar, replying nonchalantly, "It's a long story where Atlas comes from, so I suggest we first cooperate to eliminate the Na'vi threat, and then sit down for a chat. What do you think, Colonel Quaritch? Our ground troops are about to arrive."

Quaritch, hearing this, furrowed his brows tightly. He knew there was a trap but was helpless, given the opponent had aerial and ground artillery support. So, he could only nod and agree, "Major, you're right. The primary threat now is the Na'vi."

Saying this, Quaritch opened internal communication, issuing an order to the RDA, "All personnel, attention, this is Dragon Daddy. Allied troops are about to arrive. Watch for friendly fire. Watch for friendly fire."

"Team A, roger that."

"Team B, understood."

With the orders issued, various unit commanders responded promptly.

"Thanks for understanding. See you later, Colonel," Arthur smiled and then voluntarily ended the video communication.

"Sir, the other side is clearly hiding something. Shouldn't we prepare in advance?" questioned the observer, who had been listening to the entire exchange.

"Prepare? Kid, the oxygen content on Pandora is similar to Earth, but there are many gases toxic to humans," Quaritch explained, pointing upwards, "This means they can easily adjust to use combat and attack aircraft adapted to Pandora's atmosphere, and they indeed have dispatched these military units.

They also detected magnetic interference in the war zone, adopting long-range artillery strikes to avoid fire control system failures. So, what do you think we look like to them?"

"Sitting ducks… sir."

"Our situation is dire, kid. So, we can only act as they expect."

Finishing these words, Quaritch's expression became extremely grim. He looked through the porthole, seeing another wave of helicopter formations.

Leaving the Dragon Assault Ship.

Above the war zone, another fleet of primarily large transport helicopters was approaching rapidly from the northeast.

These transport helicopters, similar to the V-22 Osprey in appearance, were about three times larger and had an additional pair of tilting wings and engines.

The RDA personnel were unfamiliar, but for Atlas, these were well-known, as the transport helicopter was the UDF's standard model - the BBQT-V-44 Quad Tiltrotor Transport, also known as "Red Eagle."

In Universe Zero-One, the UDF used the Red Eagle to transport their mechanized infantry units.

Additionally, there were Comanche and Apache hybrid helicopters, designated and known as BBRH-66 "Swallow" attack helicopters, escorting the entire flight formation.

However, the prominent red "Λ" markings on the aircraft indicated these former UDF military vehicles were now Atlas property.

In no time, this flight formation reached the RDA ground forces' position, then hovered in mid-air.

As the Red Eagles opened their bottom hatches, nearly a thousand ARS infantry equipped with UDF model, bulky mechanical exoskeletons, swiftly rappelled and completed the airdrop in one go.

Simultaneously, the RDA's Valkyrie transports began their air assault on the Na'vi sanctuary.

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