The gunfire gradually dwindled. Through the electronic surveillance cameras, the Earth Federation soldiers holding the fortress could clearly see—on the screens, dozens of Pan-Union armored vehicles surrounding each intersection were turning around, and six twin-rotor transport helicopters were gathering infantry on the open ground. As for the direct-fire cannons positioned at the main passage chokepoints, all operators had already withdrawn.

　　“What are they trying to do?”

　　“The Union forces are retreating?”

　　“Reinforcements! Our reinforcements must have arrived—”

　　Cheers, suspicion, unease... all sorts of unconfirmed speculations quickly spread among the survivors. Because the Union’s long-range communication barrier was still in effect, the remnants had so far been unable to contact Earth Federation headquarters. Whether the enemy attacked or retreated, their only response was to stay here and hold the line.

　　Those who survived were not just the soldiers who fought to the death without retreating. In addition to a team of experts sent by the Federation Academy of Sciences—who had entered the mining fortress two weeks earlier to conduct resource surveys and equipment production assessments—there were also several military family members who had taken refuge in the fortress from the residential area. Among them was the wife of the division commander who had already died in battle.

　　She was nine months pregnant and could give birth at any moment.

　　……

　　At the top of the central building in the mining area, a light helicopter loaded with passengers had already lifted off. A middle-aged colonel sat by the open cabin door, gazing with a complex expression at the majestic structure in the distance, which merged with the mountains.

　　To capture S12, the Pan-Union’s assault force had completely disregarded their flanks. Abandoning logistics entirely, they charged forward with ferocity, launching a fierce attack on the mine with overwhelming air support. As the core of this joint operation, all units assembled around the area simultaneously attacked the Earth Federation defenders, engaging them from all sides. After seventy-six hours of intense assault, with over thirty thousand soldiers killed or wounded, they finally cleared all armed outposts on the outskirts of the S12 fortress, driving the spearhead of their attack directly into its interior. Unfortunately, the Pan-Union troops who broke through layer after layer of obstacles were stopped before the fortress’s solid core.

　　As a fortress integrating both combat and production, S12 was indeed astonishingly strong and solid. Even precision bunker-buster bombs carried by heavy bombers could not penetrate the underground defenses made of stacked titanium steel and reinforced concrete. After suffering nearly thirty percent casualties, the 63rd Armored Division of the Pan-Union, which led the main assault, finally broke into the mine’s interior. Yet at that very moment, the Earth Federation’s vanguard support troops had already reached the outskirts of S12 and engaged the defending 197th Infantry Division. With no other choice, Colonel Krummer, who led the special forces in a desperate assault, was forced to order a withdrawal.

　　Even in retreat, they had to leave the Earth Federation a “gift.”

　　At this thought, Colonel Krummer pressed his lips together, staring coldly and unwillingly at the “pin”-shaped building—riddled with shell holes and bullet marks, shrinking in his view—that was the iconic structure of the S12 fortress. Then, he slowly lowered his head to glance at his wristwatch. The moment the second hand, rotating along the dial, finally overlapped with the “12” at the top, he put on the goggles slanted in his breast pocket, brought his right hand’s middle and index fingers together, raised them high to his forehead in a gesture, and released.

　　“What we can’t have, you will never possess either. Hmph…”

　　With a final, hate-filled snort, a blazing ball of light, brighter than the sun, suddenly erupted from the direction of the S12 fortress. In an instant, the blast wave swept across dozens of kilometers. Everything was completely enveloped by the circularly expanding energy field. After nearly half a minute, a powerful shockwave burst forth. Beneath the dark goggles, flames of red and black mixed together, forming bizarrely colored clouds of smoke that crowded and twisted upward into the sky. Eventually, they evolved into a dazzling and terrifying small mushroom cloud.

　　The backup plan was to detonate the tactical nuclear bombs pre-installed at every entrance, ventilation duct, mining shaft, and production workshop of the S12 fortress.

　　To ensure the intended effect, the Pan-Union demolition teams hadn’t even spared the abandoned mine shafts. Whether or not this massive explosion could destroy the fortress, the area within a hundred kilometers would be contaminated by radiation. No one would be able to enter or leave, let alone use it as a backup base to support the war.

　　From the distant blast center came a rumbling sound like muffled thunder. The main mountain forming S12, under the force of the massive destructive energy, began to collapse southward. Minutes later, all that remained in the Colonel’s view was a sky-darkening cloud of thick dust, and that pillar-shaped cloud still hanging over the mine, like a giant exclamation mark, refusing to dissipate.

　　At the same time, deep underground where Colonel Krummer’s eyes could not reach, a woman in labor lay in the corridor outside the core control room, screaming inhumanly as several soldiers frantically tried to help her.