War and Reunion
Xia Fei set the warships to orbit around the insectoid capital.
Setting the warship to orbit around the insectoid imperial capital, Xia Fei took out several silver metal spheres from his spatial ring. These were the worker insectoids he had exchanged from the Holy Realm. Unlike the armor repair insectoids that specialized in repairing warships, these little things could automatically determine the breakdown of precision machinery and repair it, just like the best maintenance workers.
The metal spheres were about the size of soybeans. Xia Fei pressed a button, and the sphere suddenly extended eight hair-like mechanical feelers, turning into a small spider.
The little spider circled around the Black Bat radar system a few times and discovered that the gap in the radar system was very small. Though it was only the size of a soybean, it was still very difficult for it to get into the core of the system and repair it.
* Snap! *
The little spider suddenly shattered and turned into thousands of microscopic machines that could only be seen with a microscope. They quickly crawled in through the gaps in the radar system and carefully repaired any damaged parts.
In less than five seconds, the red indicator light of the Black Bat radar system turned green. The self-diagnostic system indicated that the radar system had been completely repaired! Xia Fei had no idea how they did it!
After some thought, Xia Fei dialed a number.
…
The Westwind Defense Line, the last line of defense for the Pan-human Alliance, was currently being surrounded by more than one thousand and five hundred insectoid fleets.
The Pan-human Alliance's fleet was only half that of the insectoids, and they had far fewer capital ships.
Relying on the protection of the more than one thousand fortresses at the Westwind Defense Line, the Alliance was prepared to fight to the death. These fortresses were constructed from hollowed out planets, supported by sturdy alloy frames and equipped with giant cannons. They were like immobile warships, guarding the line of defense between the humans and the Na 'vi. Today, however, they had no choice but to turn their cannons to deal with the insectoid fleets attacking from within.
Tai deployed his fleet at the back of the line, using the sturdy fortresses as cover as he quietly waited for the first wave of attack to arrive.
The flagship, Freedom, the Alliance's command center.
"We've already been surrounded. No matter which direction we go from the Westwind Defense Line, we'll encounter the insectoid fleets in thirty minutes at most." Williams received the report from the reconnaissance team and sternly said, "It seems that the insectoids are planning on wiping out our last remaining forces in one fell swoop."
Tai nodded with a deep look in his eyes. "Did they send anyone to pursue the civilian fleets?"
"No. The insectoids don't seem too interested in the civilians. Their main target is the army."
Tai heaved a sigh of relief and said, "It's fine as long as the civilians can successfully leave."
Williams smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I'm afraid it won't be that simple. There are too many commoners, and it will take some time before the transfer can be completed. The Na 'vi will only allow the wealthy upper-class to stay, while the commoners without any influence will be driven out of their territory."
Tai fell silent. The relationship between the Na 'vi and humans could not be considered to be very close. The reason why they allowed the human refugees to enter was probably because of their wealth and technology. The wealthy merchants and elites of the Alliance could naturally stay in the Na' vi territory to seek refuge and become second-class citizens. As long as they handed over their wealth and technology, they would be able to keep their lives.
But in this way, the commoners had to suffer. They eagerly yearned for the protection of the Na'vi clans, but what they got in return was the weight of wealth. If they wished to stay, they had to hand over their assets.
These commoners didn't have much family property to begin with, and now that they were homeless because of the war, even food and clothing had become a problem for them, how could they have any wealth to hand over?
However, the Na 'vi did not care about the sufferings of these commoners. The commoners without wealth or influence were all forced to leave by their warships, and if they were unwilling to leave, they would be bombarded with cannons without a second thought.
Tai clenched his fists tightly and said in a deep voice, "Only when the commoners leave can the army be at ease and fight boldly. The existence of the military is not for the sake of war but to protect everyone. Since we can't chase the invaders out of our territory, we must do our best to ensure that everyone can evacuate."
Covering his face with his hands, Tai laughed self-deprecatingly. "I might be the greatest failure of a Marshal in the history of the Alliance. I've retreated so far in defeat that the entire Alliance territory has been abandoned by me."
The honest Layton frowned and said loudly, "Tai, you're not! Even though you've lost the war, you're still a hero! "
"Back then, when the robot army swept through the ancient human civilization, the army was too eager to fight and failed to protect the commoners, which nearly led to the extinction of the entire human race. We all know very well that your starting point from the start of the war was to protect the commoners and not blindly fight them. Under your command, one-third of the human population was successfully evacuated. That's a great achievement!"
Williams added, "Since ancient times, there has only been a single example of a battle where the enemy outnumbered the enemy. The insectoid army far outnumbers us, and their capital ships are several dozen times larger than ours. In such a situation, no one has the confidence to emerge victorious.
"Avoiding war and focusing all of your energy on how to protect the commoners is undoubtedly a failure from a military perspective, but from the perspective of the commoners, billions of people will be grateful to you for this. You're the one who used the fewest troops to protect the most commoners, leaving a precious seed for humanity's revival. If the army had clashed with the enemy right from the start, it would have been impossible for so many commoners to successfully evacuate. In the future, these commoners who managed to escape will be grateful to you even when they reach the universe.
"Grateful that I allowed the Pan-human Alliance's territory to fall under the insectoids' iron hooves?"
Williams shook his head. "You've underestimated the tenacity of humanity. As long as the seed remains, there's hope for revival. If you had clashed with the enemy right from the start, not only would the army have been defeated, but the commoners would have also been slaughtered. At the very least, you've managed to protect one of them, and that's trillions of lives."
All of a sudden! The flashing red signal light forced the three heads to stop their discussion. The insectoids had finally arrived!
"Our scouts have reported that three hundred insectoid combined fleets are attempting to approach the left flank of the Westwind Defense Line. They're advancing very quickly, and they'll probably enter combat range in another twenty-five minutes," the communications officer hurriedly reported.
"This is a feint. Have Admiral Incor, who's in charge of the left flank, hold his ground. Don't launch a large-scale attack," Tai sternly ordered.
Turning his gaze to Layton, Tai loudly said, "Admiral Layton, I order you to lead thirty fleets and coordinate with the Alliance's only supercapital fleet, the Freedom Cavalry, to act as a mobile force. The moment you discover the enemy's main force, you're to take them on! You're not allowed to take a single step back! "
"Yes, sir!" Layton gave Tai a standard military salute and strode out of the command room, his eyes filled with unwavering determination.
Williams tossed two maple candies into his mouth, chewing as he said, "Tai, you're finally going to move against the Freedom Cavalry."
Tai nodded slightly, not saying anything. The Alliance no longer had a path of retreat, and the commoners had already been evacuated as much as possible. Today, they could finally fight the insectoids without holding back!
…
Starlink Corporation's First Fleet, Amarrian Corporation's Hell's Angel, Horizon.
Avril had just woken up and was currently dressing herself in front of a mirror. Just like before, Avril did not put on any makeup, merely applying some natural skin care lotion to her face. With her beauty, she did not need any makeup at all, and any modification to her face would be a blasphemy against the word beauty.
A beauty was made by nature, and even the slightest change would cause her beauty to pale.
It was just that Avril was getting thinner and thinner, and everyone who saw her couldn't help but feel pity for her. She wasn't living in a luxurious suite, but a small, ordinary room. She was squeezed in with three maids who used to work at Half Moon Villa. All the space in the room had to be used to accommodate more commoners, and Avril's suite was the same.
Yesterday, during the negotiations with the Na 'vi, these fellows had agreed to let the Jian family and the senior staff of Starlink Corporation take refuge in their territory, but they had refused to protect the commoners on board.
Of course, Avril would not abandon these poor people to enjoy a better life. Under her insistence, Starlink Corporation's First Fleet set sail once more, heading out into the vast and unknown universe.
The commoner fleet was massive, with thousands upon thousands of spaceships of all kinds grouped together to blot out the stars, but this massive fleet of commoners only had Starlink Corporation's First Fleet to escort them. The warships of the other corporations and the wealthy had all chosen to abandon the commoners, seeking a moment of peace in the Na 'vi territory. The pressure of escorting them was unimaginable.
Suddenly, Pang Xing stumbled into the room, and Avril hurriedly pressed down on the corner of her pajamas as she looked at him in confusion.
"Miss! Miss! It's Xia Fei! Xia Fei's still alive! "Pang Xing gasped for breath.
He hurriedly turned on the satellite communicator, which was connected to the warship's Black Bat radar system.
The screen turned on, and Avril saw Xia Fei, who was biting his lip. The two did not say anything. After experiencing so much together, neither of them knew what to say.
Exchanging glances was enough! Was there any language in this world that could compare to the affectionate gazes between lovers?
* Pa! Pa! Pa! *
The second hand on the electronic timer kept ticking, and the room was silent. One second, two seconds, three seconds …
Pang Xing tactfully closed the door and stood in the hallway, silently crying. It was as if he was even more emotional than Avril at this reunion.
They stared at each other for several minutes. Xia Fei could read Avril's pain from her thinness, and Avril could also read from Xia Fei's eyes, which were more determined than ever, that he had been through a thrilling battle.
It was a very strange feeling. The two of them clearly did not say anything, yet they understood each other at the same time. Perhaps this was what the ancients meant when they said that their hearts were connected.
The corner of Avril's lips curled up slightly. Afraid that Xia Fei would be heartbroken to see her thinness, she tried her best to make herself look happier.
Xia Fei was smiling, too, for he did not want Avril to know about those difficult experiences and those soul-stirring life-and-death struggles.
Neither of them had had it easy, but both of them wanted to keep their dark side to themselves, sharing a smile and sunshine with each other. This was probably the legendary love.
"Are you alright?" Xia Fei softly asked.
He was clearly a talkative person, using his jokes to make Avrils laugh out loud countless times, but at this moment, Xia Fei was extremely clumsy with his words, and all he could manage to say was a simple sentence after a long while.
Avril nodded. "I'm fine. What about you?"
"I'm fine, too."
There was no touching declaration of love, nor was there any tearful confession. The long-awaited conversation began just like that.
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