Long-term salvation

These mass-produced Nikkis have different looks and builds, but they're all equally adorable. Slightly different from the storyline, these redeemed Nikkis now carry in-game weapons and equipment, appearing to be a purely offensive team consisting of two each of "Product 12," "Product 23," "Soldier EG," "Soldier OW," and "iDoll Sun."

Like other Nikki and Kivotos' students, Mass-Production Nikki can be revived, albeit with significantly fewer points. Furthermore, they also have the ability to grow into stronger Nikki, just like Nikki Guren progressed from a melee Mass-Production to a Goddess.

Rhode was looking forward to them growing into the backbone of the Army Without Borders in the future. With the mass-produced Nikki available for exchange, they could gradually organize a "Forbidden Army" unit that would obey his orders.

In the future, some members of the Army Without Borders would definitely withdraw, or even worse, defect. Rhodes was confident that there would be no organized rebellion or fear of the enemy. If an incident occurred, those people would not be able to take even a single guard with them, but there would always be people whose psychological defenses would be breached.

For example, torture, family, power, more money and other means, exploring the weaknesses in the human heart is not just the patent of monsters in the other world!

Humans themselves are equally good at it.

Another important reason is that there are many forces that make up the Army Without Borders... such as Atlas Corporation, Aperture Technology, NATO and Warsaw Pact soldiers, various intelligence agencies, civilian cooperation organizations and personnel, and there will be more personnel in the future.

Although things are going well for now, as the business grows, internal chaos and conflict are inevitable, so we need to prepare in advance:

Let the absolutely loyal personnel become "supervisors", "prosecutors", or even "military supervisors" to sweep out the pests and lazy people in the Army Without Borders - it can be regarded as an "All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for the Suppression of Counter-Revolution and Sabotage" to a certain extent... Anyway, Nikki and others are absolutely loyal to Rod, so there is no need to worry about possible loss of control in the future.

Because of this, the expensive but powerful and loyal mass-produced Nikki formed Rhode's direct imperial guard. Internally, they were sharp swords that balanced the power of various factions within the Borderless Army and reduced internal friction. Externally, they were sharp lances that advanced fearlessly on the battlefields of the inner world.

"...In other words, you're not limited to using these weapons, but you've also been pre-programmed with knowledge about combat techniques and general vehicle driving, right?"

Rhode stroked his chin and looked across at the Nikkis sitting in rows on the chairs like elementary school students. They exchanged glances, and the mass-produced Nikki sitting in the front row spoke cautiously:

"Yes, that's right, Commander."

"Okay, I see. What's your name?"

"We only have code names at the moment, and we have no memories before today. We must obey your orders. This is the highest priority we have been told. You are waging a great war to save human civilization, and Nikki will be loyal to you."

The petite, mass-produced Nikki carefully considered her words, appearing even more cautious than Marian was when she first met Rhodes. She pursed her lips and added:

"You can just call us by our codename... 1st Tactical Team 6, model number Soldier OW. You can just call me 6O!"

Rhodes: “…”

What was this sudden wave of exhaustion and chills? It felt like I'd reached a consensus with some distant, great being...

Rhode looked at No. 6... No. 6 suspiciously, and after seeing the other person's hair all over his body, he took a half step back and said:

"In any case, you all need to come up with your own names, especially you, Number 6! To me, you are all my soldiers, or to put it another way—my guards—and just like any other human soldier, I have no intention of throwing you away or intentionally losing you. That goes against my beliefs."

After hearing Rhode's solemn assurance and the title of "Royal Guards," the mass-produced Nikkis smiled brightly. With anticipation glittering in their eyes, they stood up and responded in high voices:

"Yes, as you wish, Commander Rhodes!"

Rhodes: "...Come on, I have some PTSD about this sentence structure."

Having said that, the mass-produced Nikkis were still looking at Rhodes with reverence. This look made him feel familiar, and he had even become accustomed to it... This feeling was not bad.

Throwing those messy thoughts behind him, Rhodes spread out the naval port map sent by Caesar and hung it on the whiteboard, explaining his ideas and the tasks that needed to be carried out in detail to the mass-produced Nikkis.

Just as they were discussing how to infiltrate the Alicorn and seize the battleship, Rhode suddenly remembered something important. He turned to look at the Nikkis, who were all looking back at him, and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Do you have the nerve to shoot and kill humans?"

"Eh? If that's your request... your [Order] is absolute," 6O muttered. "I thought our job was to fight those monsters, like repel... eh... what were we supposed to fight in the first place..."

"There's no need to dwell on that," Rhode said calmly. He reached out and patted the mass-produced Nikki on the head, causing her to wince. He then said gently, "Don't worry about the past. What's important is moving towards the future. So—for my sake, are you prepared to shoot at humans?"

"If this is your order, we will obey."

A very firm answer, the same as every mass-produced Nikki.

"very good."

Rhodes took out a photo from the file bag on the desk and pasted it on the whiteboard with the map hanging on it. Pointing at the gloomy face of the man in the photo, Rhodes frowned and said:

"Captain Matías Torres of the Alicorn and his crew are complete extremists. There is absolutely no chance of pardon. Their only fate is execution. No need to show mercy; simply kill them. Furthermore, be careful not to damage the ship's equipment. Quickly seize the bridge to prevent these men from sinking themselves."

"This is especially important. I can't pull you out from the bottom of the ocean thousands of meters deep right now."

At this point, Rhode sighed and pulled out ten silenced M9 pistols from his storage space, each loaded with a magazine of Frigga bullets. He looked at the system interface, which showed only 900 points of contamination in the other world, and with a pained expression, he distributed the pistols to the others, admonishing them:

"If you can operate stealthily, do so. Quietly tranquilizing and knocking them down one by one is also fine. A violent attack is a last resort... What I just said was to let you be flexible in combat, not to force you to do anything. Use your wisdom and be flexible. Do you understand?"

"understand!"

+++++++++++

Night falls.

The port of Aldiliu maintains a minimum level of lighting to prevent possible attacks from the Ossian army. In that wide harbor, the Alicorn submarine carrier sleeps like a giant whale in the deep ocean, and the madman who controls it is waiting for the opportunity to be released.

At this moment, dozens of fully armed men are descending from the shadows.

Chapter 283 Attacking the Military Port (1/3·3K)

Port of Ardiliu, the Ergia naval base.

Today is a sunny and nice day, suitable for attacking the naval port.

The scorching sun melted the clouds into thin cotton wool, and the gray fuselages of nine F/S-15 fighter jets pierced through them like sharp arrows. They gradually descended in altitude and flew over the Ossia Navy warships waiting outside the reconnaissance range of the military port, filling the communication channel with angry accusations.

"Tsk, these guys are just waiting to pick peaches and yet they're talking so much nonsense," Killer-1 curled her lips in disdain. She tilted her head and saw the witch cat logo on the vertical tail of the fighter at the front of the formation. "Boss, I still don't understand... Do we need a second strike? After carrying JDAMs, we don't have many air-to-air missiles."

"During combat, you must address me by codename, Killer-1."

Pixy's calm voice rang out, instantly leaving only a hint of electrical noise in the communication channel. Compared to the passionate young man decades ago, he had become calm and resolute, and his every move was filled with the authority of an instructor.

"You scared them, Pixy."

Rhode smiled and glanced down at the naval base map on his lap, which showed dozens of important locations. Keeping these targets in mind, Rhode slowly spoke into the communication channel:

"According to previous estimates, the Osean Army was about to begin clearing out the Army Without Borders. Even if we hadn't carried out the Alicorn capture plan, they would have moved forward after the combat mission at the naval port was completed. This would be a good opportunity to hunt down the noble and annihilate the mercenaries, and do it with the hands of the Ergians. After the deed is accomplished, we could even claim the commission and fill the coffers of a certain high-ranking official."

The communication channel was suddenly filled with curses, and even the flight formation became a little distorted.

"That's why I demand that you quickly complete the strike mission and evacuate, regardless of the outcome," Rhodes said, glancing at the navigation interface before casually adding, "When you leave, head to designated marker point three. Our refueling aircraft will be waiting there. After refueling, proceed to the evacuation base marked on the map."

"Understood." / "Understood." / "Then...what about you, Your Excellency?"

"I'll head to another base after the battle. If that doesn't work, I'll just find a suitable place to parachute out. Your instructor and I can run out of the forest for a few days. Besides, I might be taken directly into custody by the Alicorn, and you'll have to run to reunite with me. In fact, if my fighter jets weren't unable to carry hundreds of missiles, I wouldn't even plan to let you participate in this battle."

"How could there be a fighter jet carrying hundreds of missiles?! Are you playing a game?!"

"It's hard to say, you know..."

Before he finished speaking, Rhode heard the warning sound of being illuminated by the radar. He put away his lighthearted smile and said seriously:

"Putting everything else aside for now... Army Without Borders, deploy your battle formations and enter the attack route!"

Through the cracks in the clouds, the outline of the naval port, like an unfolded circuit board, with a complex yet regular beauty, was exposed unreservedly in front of the nine fighter jets. On the long steel arm of the pier extending into the deep water, the warship originally anchored there had just sailed away with the help of a tugboat, and the phased array radar was rotating at a constant speed. In the next second, several anti-aircraft missiles shot up into the sky from the front deck of the destroyer!

The milky white smoke trail of the anti-aircraft missile drew a sharp curve at low altitude, but was easily avoided by the fighter jet that swooped down like an eagle.

Rhodes flew his F/S-15 fighter close to the sea, swaying the fuselage slightly from side to side, and rising before the dense golden fire line swung like a whip - several machine gun shells had already smashed the destroyer's bridge, turning the flesh and machinery inside into fragments, evenly smearing them on the broken high-strength glass - without confirming the results of the battle, the fighter continued to fly into the military port and dropped the first JDAM at the fuel depot.

Flames suddenly rose and thick smoke billowed!

The spherical storage tanks at the port's oil depot had already expanded into orange-red fireballs in the first wave of air raids. Five thousand tons of fuel transformed into blue-white clouds of fire that rose vertically, staining the bottom of the white cumulus clouds with sickly purple spots.

"Enemy aircraft are approaching. They are MiG-29s! Six of them!"

"Hold steady," Rhodes gripped the joystick tightly. He could hear the howling of the metal fuselage. "After dropping the bombs, retreat. The main focus is to eliminate the enemy's air defense units' ability to return fire. The Sword in the Stone team will take over later."

"Wilco!"xN

Listening to the echo in the channel, Rhodes tilted his fuselage and looked up to observe the situation in the naval port:

At this moment, the fragments of the oil pipeline blown up by the explosion fell into the naval port anchorage like a meteorite shower, igniting the diesel leaked from a patrol boat, causing the fire on the sea surface to meander along the tide line, constantly leaving charred lines on the concrete slope of the breakwater.

The gantry crane that was overturned by the shock wave of the explosion was lying horizontally at berth No. 3, and the hanging steel cables whipped the base of the Phalanx close-in defense system of a frigate - the six-barreled gun muzzle that was firing at the rear of the warship had not yet stopped rotating before it tore the aluminum tank of the fuel supply vehicle dozens of meters away into a honeycomb shape - a new explosion occurred immediately, and the mud and smoke carried by the shock wave almost materialized it, and evaporated the flesh and blood along the way!

The scale of the naval fleet of the Kingdom of Ergia was obviously not comparable to that of Ossia. After eliminating the counterattack capability of the warships in the naval port, it was only a matter of time before the remaining air defense facilities were destroyed. Moreover, the Sword in the Stone team also began to launch attacks from the land direction, making the killing even more chaotic.

After taking a look at the remaining fuel, Rhodes turned the fuselage sideways and glanced at the black behemoth that was about to leave the port. The waves generated by the latter's sailing were surging around, pushing away the flames and corpses floating on the sea, and rushing into the depths of the ocean with a resolute spirit.

It seems that Captain Torres has fallen out with the Kingdom of Ergia and is now preparing to flee... This is good. I hope that he and his crew can maintain this courage when facing the assault of the mass-produced Nikkis.

Now, we need to prepare to deal with the remaining MiG-29s. Three of them have been shot down by the mercenaries of the Army Without Borders. Two white parachutes have already bloomed in the sky, but the one being pursued by Pixy is in trouble:

The cockpit of the fighter plane was blown up by a machine gun in mid-air, and the entire fuselage broke into two pieces in the explosion. It fell into the sea below, trailing a long line of black smoke and splashing a few turbid waves.

After rechecking the fuel level and anti-aircraft loadout, Rod pushed the throttle, causing the fighter to climb in a steeper arc, darting from the side and rear into the fiercely engaged skies. Two MiG-29s were still chasing Pixy's F/S-15, but the latter easily deflected the enemy's attack with a simple roll, as if performing a joyful flamenco dance.

"Pixy, watch your missile count, there will definitely be new enemies coming."

Rhode said in the communication channel. He could hear his breathing like a muffled drum squeezed out from between his teeth:

"Attention all units of the Army Without Borders, prepare to withdraw from the battlefield. I repeat, prepare to withdraw from the battlefield!"

An F/S-15 fighter jet burst out from the thin clouds, and the sunlight hit Rhodes' retina like a heavy hammer, causing him to squint instinctively. Amid the stinging pain of his pupils contracting, the fuselage of a MiG-29 appeared in his field of vision. The latter was flying between the ocean and the sky, and the bright afterburner tail flame was clearly visible in the rising black smoke.

There are still four air-to-air missiles left, and there are still many machine gun shells.

"Pixy, I'm joining the battle from your five o'clock position."

"I understand... Actually, you don't have to come," Pxiy's voice was thick and slightly painful, and every breath was like swallowing melted asphalt. "The remaining two are just ordinary pilots, professional, but not good enough."

"Then give them a chance to escape."

"Ha, that depends on whether they can catch it."

As Pixy spoke, he gripped the joystick and twisted the fuselage suddenly. Amidst the roar of the engine, the F/S-15 fighter drew a nearly perfect arc in the air, dodging the missiles of the MiG fighter behind it. At the moment of intersection with the second MiG fighter, he pressed the cannon button - a bright line of fire flashed through the air, biting off the latter's wing. The MiG-29 fighter immediately went into a tailspin, and eventually became another insignificant record in the record of the Winged Fairy.

The only remaining MiG-29 fighter did not evacuate, but chose to continue fighting. Its wingtips trembled slightly due to the high-speed flight, drawing two milky white vortices in the cloud shadows, like scissors cutting silk.

A heroic act, but it meant nothing.

The F/S-15 fighter's powerful maneuverability easily dodged the enemy missiles, not even firing any extra chaff. In just a breath of time, both sides were within range of the machine guns.

The trajectories of the 20mm and 30mm shells carved fleeting, fiery red tunnels through the thin cloud. The strange smell of the bullets rubbing against the air clashed violently with the toxic gases produced by the burning military port below. Soon, a new smell appeared in the air:

The fighter's fuel tank was pierced, and flames spread along the pipes to ignite the entire fuselage, emitting a burning smell. However, this smell was quickly dissipated by the shock wave caused by the explosion, leaving only a parachute flower slowly falling with a helpless sigh.

"The next wave of enemy aircraft will probably take another ten minutes to arrive, so we can still take a leisurely stroll," Pxiy said, his breathing sounding much calmer. "Those Belkans provided really good augmented suits. They're quite skilled at tinkering with technology."

"It's hard to say."

"Well, what are you... talking about... disturbing..."

Accompanied by strong radio interference, two Su47 fighter jets are approaching rapidly.

Amidst the disturbing electrical noise, Rhode heard a steady voice and a frantic voice saying:

"Monarch spotted, attack initiated."

"Hahahaha, I'm going to use my 23-round machine gun to completely destroy your plane!!!"

Chapter 284: Assassinating the King (2/3·3K)

The new enemy is the highly maneuverable Su-47, but it is far more than that - the two fighters of the Mimic Squadron with black and white stripes are equipped with ECM devices to disrupt the enemy's electronic equipment and make it difficult to lock on. The pilots are siblings hired by the Osean Federation, Scream (sister, No. 2) and Rage (brother, No. 1).

Two fighters darted in from the edge of the chaotic battlefield, ignoring the nearly disabled Ergia naval base below, and charged straight at Rhode and Pixy. This arrogant behavior caused the naval base's still functioning anti-aircraft guns to fire repeatedly at them, but they were easily dodged.

The siblings' piloting skills were okay, but for Rhodes, he would rather get a few Su-47s to see how far the material science on Planet S had developed... But for now, he still "must focus on the military."

The sunlight filtered through the cracks in the clouds, cutting a sharp line of light and dark on the gray skin of the F/S-15, and creating some light golden ripples on the anti-glare coating of the canopy, like liquid metal flowing on the glass surface, beautiful and dazzling.

But for Rhodes, this was by no means a good experience - above was the scorching midday sun, below was the sparkling sea, and every wave crest was reflecting needle-like silver light - the enemy fighter's paint scheme was quite deceptive, making it difficult to detect in battle.

Enduring the discomfort of the stinging pain in front of his eyes, Rhodes and Pxiy distanced themselves and separated to the left and right in tacit understanding. However, the two Su-47s seemed to have no interest in the latter and instead chased straight after Rhodes... In two minutes, they would regret this decision.

Turning his head slightly to glance at the rearview mirror in the cockpit, Rhode vaguely saw a small black dot following closely. He was in the enemy's firing envelope, practically handing his neck to the guillotine. He took a deep breath, letting his instincts control his fingers, and his body moved to resist the negative G-force.

The F/S-15 fighter jet immediately lowered its altitude and dropped chaff, then performed a roll defense maneuver. The next second, the enemy machine gun's tracer ballistics passed by the side of the wing, like the Grim Reaper's scythe swinging in the air.

The shrieking of engines and the piercing sirens of air defense intertwined into a web beneath the sky. Rhode, breathing lightly, flew his fighter plane over the tumbling steel and flames of the naval port. After dodging the near-fatal blow, he quickly scanned any direction where the enemy might appear and spotted the two enemy planes among the higher clouds.

"You damn monkey!!! I'm going to skin you alive!"

Hearing the angry female scream coming from the communication channel, Rhode's mouth curled up slightly. He listened carefully to Pixy's intermittent voice, then turned on the public channel and said provocatively:

"Then I can only say that your knife is not sharp enough, ma'am. Or do you need your brother's help in everything you do?"

"What?! I just...how do you know he is..."