Chapter 16: The Night Assault

In the deep of the night, Sky awoke to the girl's uneasy movements in his arms. His eyes immediately sought Arachne.

She was drenched in cold sweat, her clothes clinging to her shaking body, clearly trapped in a terrifying nightmare. Suddenly, she screamed, waking up in terror, gasping for air.

Raimondo, awakened by the disturbance, sat up in confusion: "What's happening?"

"Arachne, what's wrong? Were you having a nightmare?" Sky asked, his voice filled with concern.

Arachne's eyes brimmed with an unprecedented level of fear. She stuttered, "They're here... they've come..."

"Who's here?" Sky inquired, bewildered.

After several deep breaths, Arachne attempted to compose herself: "I can feel them... those chilling, mighty presences. They're close, almost upon us."

As Sky started putting the pieces together, she cried out again, "They're right beneath us!"

Suddenly, an unsettling vibration came from below the base, growing stronger rapidly.

Raimondo called out from the window, "Sky, you need to see this!"

Sky hurried to the window, where he was greeted by a startling sight. The nearby ground was shaking violently, with cracks appearing from nowhere, sprawling across the terrain.

The metal walls of an indoor training area screeched in protest, warping, and then collapsing with a deafening crash.

The base was immediately filled with the piercing sound of alarms. As the alarms blared, swarms of genetic warriors, mostly still in their nightwear, streamed out of the dormitories. The commanding voice of an officer boomed over the base's PA system: "Enemy attack! Enemy attack! All genetic warriors, gear up and head to the armory, prepare for combat!"

From the fissure in the ground, a deep, menacing growl echoed, as if the legendary abyssal hell was just below, and its dreadful inhabitants were about to break free. With a thunderous roar, an enormous creature surged forth from the earth.

It was a fearsome, mutated sandworm, its body sheathed in a shell as hard as steel. Composed of segments, each segment resembled an independent combat unit, bristling with lethal spikes. The head was a vision of horror: a massive circular mouth lined with rows of razor-sharp teeth, ready to shred any obstacle in its path.

The creature's speed was surprisingly rapid; despite its immense bulk, it emerged entirely from the ground within tens of seconds. It was at this moment that its true form was revealed: a mutated sandworm, stretching over 20 meters in length and two meters in width. As it surged from beneath the earth, it evoked the awe and fear akin to a prehistoric leviathan returning to the modern world.

The sandworm wriggled its head, as if adjusting to the new surroundings, before unleashing a massive, menacing roar. Its mouth, lined with jagged mandibles, swung open to expel a stream of acrid, stench-filled acid. This liquid splashed against the metallic walls of a nearby training facility, instantly sizzling and dissolving the metal.

Simultaneously, its tail whipped around, striking a corner of the dormitory building where Sky and his companions were. The half of the building farthest from Sky's room shattered, sending debris scattering in all directions.

Sky, jolted from his shock, exclaimed, "Quick, run!" He swiftly picked up Arachne and, with Raimondo following, dashed out of the room.

At that moment, Emily and Luca burst through the door, their faces marked with panic. Relieved to see Sky unharmed, Emily urgently beckoned, "Hurry, follow us! To the armory – we need our battle suits for protection and to establish contact with our fellow warriors."

Within the base, the monstrous sandworm maintained its destructive onslaught. The 7th Genetic Warrior Combat Team, assigned the night watch, had already arrived at the scene. The base's automated defense systems sprang into action, unleashing a furious salvo upon the massive creature. Despite its enormous size and tough exterior, it was relentlessly bombarded, its howls of agony resounding.

But then, from the massive hole left by the sandworm, came a series of unsettling, continuous scraping noises, foreboding further calamity. Two insectoid limbs appeared at the mouth of the hole, followed by a forceful leap of a dark figure. Shortly thereafter, countless giant mutated ants emerged from the underground cavern. Their bodies, clad in thick black carapaces resembling coarse stones, were beyond ordinary scale – each over a meter long, their wide mandibles like lethal shears, clicking ominously.

As more and more giant ants appeared, the entire base descended further into chaos. The defense system pivoted its barrels, firing wildly towards the hole.

Receiving new orders, several genetic warriors halted their assault on the sandworm and redirected their charge towards the hole. As they ran, they activated the micro-missile launchers on their shoulders. The missiles, trailing blazing tails, soared into the hole, causing the ground to erupt in a series of thunderous blasts, forming a towering mound of earth.

The mutated sandworm emitted a furious roar, swiftly crawling towards the entrance of the cave and coiling its lengthy body, forming a barricade at the mouth. Shortly thereafter, a surge of mutant giant ants, fierce and swift, poured out from behind it. These ants displayed ferocious speed and an extraordinary ability to leap, their shells so hard that bullets could barely penetrate them, even when the soldiers managed to land a hit.

At the same time, from the direction of the bandit troops outside the city, a barrage of heavy artillery thundered, with innumerable shells screeching as they relentlessly pounded the alloy city gates, sending up a blaze that reached skyward.

Sky, closely following Emily, urgently placed Arachne down and shouted to the breathless Raimondo, "You take care of Arachne; I need to get into my battle armor!" Raimondo, panting heavily, replied, "Alright, it's in my hands!"

Sky cast a brief look at the girl, then turned and sprinted towards the battle armor, calling out to Emily, "Prepare a set for me as well!" Around Sky, several gene soldiers, already clad in their battle armor, were fine-tuning their weapons and equipment. Sky estimated that there were about 50 gene soldiers in the armory, either assembling or already suited up. He remembered that the 14th satellite city was equipped with 10 fully-staffed combat squads of gene soldiers, each squad comprising 12 members, totaling 120 soldiers.

This meant that after the sudden raid, almost half of the gene soldiers had yet to reach the armory. Given the gene soldiers' renowned speed and agility, those who were absent were likely either injured or had perished.

The gene soldiers, being the linchpin of the city's defense forces, meant that the military's strength was diminished by at least 30% due to this ruthless attack. The enemy's strike was both brutally effective and precisely targeted.

In the deepest part of the armory, a solitary warehouse housed a lone battle suit, linked to numerous lines and devices. A group of quartermasters and technicians were swiftly tuning it for the impending battle. Colonel Reynolds, who had just arrived, was inside the suit. His expression stern, he communicated via a special channel with Colonel Carter, the overall commander of the city defense army, and two other Awakened in the 14th satellite city.

Colonel Carter, seething with frustration, declared, "We've been outwitted by the enemy this time. They've never resorted to such a tactic against Satellite Cities 15 and 16. It's surprising that they have mutant awakeners who can command insect swarms to tunnel in! Still, no need for panic. We've been fully combat-ready and can retaliate promptly. Their attack won't break through our defenses. Lieutenant Colonel James Harold, how much longer to integrate with the defense system?"

Lieutenant Colonel James Harold, a controller of formidable powers, responded over the comm channel, "I'm in the central control room, fitting into the connection gear. Need about five more minutes for adjustments."

"Great, you're in charge of the city's defenses. I'll coordinate our troops to support you," Colonel Carter responded, his voice now steady. "Lieutenant Colonel Marcus, quickly clear out those underground pests. Lieutenant Colonel Alison Jones, ascend to survey the battlefield and be ready for immediate support."

Lieutenant Colonel Reynolds, with a tone cold as steel, announced, "My area's been heavily hit. I'm going out now to utterly annihilate those damned bugs." He inhaled deeply, seeking composure, then instructed, "Lieutenant Colonel Alison Jones, monitor my zone from above. The one controlling the bugs might be hiding among them. Once spotted, we'll join forces to eliminate him."

"Affirmative," Lieutenant Colonel Alison Jones, a master of wind manipulation, crisply replied.

The armor signaled its readiness, disconnecting from its support systems. Lieutenant Colonel Reynolds, radiating a primal ferocity, gripped his battle-tested, intimidating alloy battle axe, and marched forward.

In the mech bay, Sky, armored with Emily's assistance, eyed the assembling gene warriors, keen to join them. Emily and Luca, however, intercepted him.

"Our mission is to ensure your safety, Sky," Emily stated firmly. "Recognize the importance of your role. We'll find the earliest opportunity to extract you from this conflict."

Sky paused, glancing at Arachne and Raimondo, who were nearby, then nodded in agreement. "Understood, but they must come too," he insisted, pointing to the girl and his brother.

Emily, after a moment of hesitation, agreed, "Alright."

At that moment, a deep mechanical rumble echoed in the armory. Sky turned to see the alloy doors of a secluded vault slowly opening.