The seasoned generals of the four families had seen large-scale space jumps before. They themselves were often traveling in the four-dimensional storms, spluttering the glamorous space ripples.
However, a short-distance space jump and a super-long-distance space jump, especially the 'super jump' from the edge of the cosmos to the center of the cosmos, were two entirely different concepts.
It was like the higher a stone was, the further it was thrown into a lake, the easier it would be to raise splendid splashes.
At this moment, there was a tiny angle between the star of the Jade Tripod Sector and the No. 4 planet. Most of the light had been taken away by the brilliance of the space gate. At first glance, it seemed that the space gate had opened a bloody gate and swallowed more than half of the star, leaving only a hazy gold ring.
With the glamorous sky that looked like a "solar eclipse" as the background, countless golden "raindrops" exploded in space, raising bright gold, silver, and colorful ripples. When every ripple blossomed to the maximum, at least a hundred glittering spots of light would be born in the previously empty darkness, like ferocious beasts that were both exhausted and hungry after a long journey opening their glittering eyes.
They were the surging flames of spiritual energy that were triggered when the spiritual shields and the power units of the starships were boosted to the highest efficiency.
Thousands of light spots and thousands of starships had arrived at the center of the cosmos!
What was even more dreadful was that they were not the first batch of starships that had jumped from the edge of the cosmos.
Around the star gate, three dense square arrays of light spots had been gathered. The distance between each light spot was uniform, like a precise cube. In the silence, they revealed an awe-inspiring aura.
Every array represented a branch fleet that had been gathered and prepared for battle and was ready for battle at any moment. The enormous space gate had been fully functioning since at least a day and a night ago, guiding batch after batch of uninvited guests to this place. With the cover of the shadow of the No. 4 planet, it had completed … the fatal jump and gathering!
It was about the time when Lei Chenghu was caught in chaos and began to 'collapse'.
"How, how is this possible? Why couldn't we detect such a huge Gate of Stars so close to the Jade Tripod Star?!"
Countless noble generals were sobbing in pain. They were looking for a scapegoat that they could shift the blame to rather than trying to figure out the reason.
The enemy had only played a minor trick. They had asked a batch of unimportant ancillary starships and the captured starships to jump near the No. 4 planet, pretending that they were fleeing in a hurry. In the meantime, they disrupted the space ripples nearby, confusing the defenders.
It was not a brilliant trap. As long as the defenders and the commanders of the Return Fleet had been patient enough to send scouts to investigate the back of the No. 4 planet, they would not have been fooled so easily.
Even if they could not stop the enemy from jumping, they could at least establish a battle formation with the help of the Jade Tripod Planet.
It was a pity that the "bait" that was Lei Chenghu's flagship was so tempting that all the nobles lost their rationality and wariness, to the extent that they neglected the most fundamental tactical reconnaissance.
The "highest joint command meeting" that had been heated a moment ago was as quiet as a graveyard that had been desolate for a hundred years. All the directors, ministers, chairmen, and chairmen were lost for words. They could only stare at the ever-changing light beam angrily, especially the jumping and increasing data on the light beam.
It was — it was the estimated total mass of the enemy's crazily expanding fleet.
Judging from the space ripples that the enemy splashed out brutally, the total mass of all the enemy's starships was close to the scale of the Return Fleet if not higher.
That was not counting the fleets of Lei Chenghu and Bai Xingjian.
Although the mass of a starship was not equal to its combat ability, generally speaking, the greater the mass, the greater the power, the thicker the plate armor, the more turrets, the battleship units, and the Crystal Suit.
The total mass of the enemy's fleet easily exceeded that of the Return Fleet. Also, there was no sign of stopping the jump at all. Countless starships were still jumping over incessantly and joining the fourth shining array that was about to take shape. For the Return Fleet, which was under attack from both the front and the rear, it was no different from a catastrophe.
Before the nobles made any effective response, the highly-dangerous uninvited guests had already taken action.
Bai Xingjian's saber was the first to be charged. The destroyer and the assault warship sprinted at full speed, leaving long, narrow flames of light that were hundreds of thousands of kilometers long. They were truly like the blurred shadows left in the wind when the saber was waved at the highest speed.
Three glittering cubes that were ready to be launched smashed toward the Heaven Returning Fleet from different directions like three fierce war hammers.
At first, Bai Xingjian's elites tore apart the battle formation of the Return Fleet brutally. Then, the three hammers carried out a destructive strike. It was a very simple, if not unreasonable, tactic.
The Heaven Returning Fleet was instantly thrown into chaos.
Before the two parties reached each other, the flames of war of the nobles had already been extinguished by the tides that surged out of the space gate.
"How is it possible? Why did the enemy send such an enormous fleet from the sky?"
"Isn't the main force of the reformists the Lei Chenghu, Bai Xingjian, and the outdated Imperial Guards? Those guys are definitely not the Imperial Guards. The Imperial Guards are still resisting the Holy League in the capital! Who are they? Who are they exactly? "
"The enemy's mass. The enemy's total mass is still increasing. Good heavens. How many starships are going to jump out of the goddamn space gate? Have — have we been tricked?"
With everything coming to this point, countless confused nobles were still struggling with meaningless questions, as if they could cast spells and curse the enemy to death as long as they knew the enemy's identity.
However, as if to satisfy their 'wish', before the high-energy particles, the powerful radiation, and the crystal armor-piercing bullets arrived, countless communication waves that contained information crashed into the starships of the Return Fleet at the speed of light.
"We've received the enemy's clear message. What are those bold traitors trying to say? Hehe. It's — it's useless to say anything now. They — they're just bluffing. They will fail for sure! "
The nobles said the bulls * it that they did not believe in in their shivering voices while they opened the message that the enemy sent.
Although the communication frequency of the two parties was not the same, and the severe interference on the battlefield had seriously distorted the information, because the enemy had transmitted the same simple message through dozens of different channels, the scorching message was still slowly unfolding on countless light beams of the Sky Returning Fleet.
The enemy's message was just a pattern. To be more exact, it was a battle emblem.
The lower half of the battle emblem was a golden ball that was embedded with nine stars and represented the entire sea of stars.
But a raging dragon was hovering above the golden dragon. Every scale on the dragon was emitting bloody brilliance. Illuminated by the bloody brilliance, it seemed to be soaring into the sky.
It was —
The Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars emblem.
The Xing Yao Federation!
…
"Is this the legendary center of the sea of stars?"
Bai Kaixin, the Chief of the General Staff of the Union Army, stood on the bridge of Burning Prairie and stared at the Return Fleet that was slightly shaking on his opposite side through the panoramic light beam. His face that had been frowning all the time was even more troubled and helpless. "This is — this is too reckless!"
He had long felt that, under the leadership of Ding Ling Dong, the 'unprecedented and unconventional' Speaker, the Xing Yao Federation was gradually developing toward a certain direction of 'reckless and barbaric growth'. But it never occurred to him that the entire parliament and even the entire country would be as crazy as Ding Ling Dong and make the decision to devote all the mobile troops to the center of the cosmos.
Not just the Kunlun Fleet that had been planned, the Burning Prairie Fleet, the main force of the Federation, as well as a lot of old starships that were not suitable for a super long-distance space jump or had not been maintained, upgraded, or strengthened yet, were all armed in the shortest amount of time and joined the most unbelievable military adventure in the history of the Xing Yao Federation.
As the Chief of the General Staff of the Union Army, Bai Kaixin was duty-bound to remind Ding Ling Dong. "Speaker Ding, this is too risky. This is — this is a fantasy! It is impossible for us to complete the general mobilization and the assembly of the fleet of the highest level in only a couple of days. A lot of starships are still lying in the docks! Also, we are seriously short of soldiers and bottom-level officers, too. Many of the young men who have just graduated from military school have never seen blood before. How can they fight a war? "
Ding Ling Dong, however, was not bothered at all. "Gather as many as you can. Ten more people can jump over, not one less! The most important thing right now is speed, speed, and speed! It doesn't matter even if the starships are not fully modified or lack ammunition and fuel. Our target is the Jade Tripod Sector, which is a famous resource and heavy industrial base at the center of the cosmos. After the Jade Tripod Sector is completely occupied, we will use the place as a forward base for local maintenance and supplies! "
"This is too reckless!"
Bai Kaixin still insisted on his opinion. "It is a taboo for any military to go on a long expedition, not to mention such a hasty one. One moment of carelessness, and the Union Army will be annihilated!"
"Chief of Staff Bai, you still haven't figured it out. Right now, it is not a matter of whether or not the Union Army will be annihilated; it is a matter of whether or not the Xing Yao Federation will survive!"
Ding Ling Dong's' stubbornness' was ten times more stubborn than Bai Kaixin's' persistence '. "This is not an' expedition 'but a war to defend our homeland. Are you still concerned about whether or not the troops and the people are ready when the enemy is already at our doorstep?
"This is a real national war. The outcome of the battle at the center of the cosmos will decide the life and death of the Xing Yao Federation and the civilization of Cultivators. Are we going to leave our fate to the Immortal Cultivators and the puppets of the deities?
"The gap in overall capability between the Federation, the Imperium, and the Holy League is obvious. If the enemy attacks all the way to our doorstep, however well-prepared your Union Army is, and however tough your starships are, it will be useless. We can only take advantage of the only opportunity in the chaos to gamble with all our belongings and the glory of the entire Federation in order to have a slim chance of winning back what is precious to us!
"Enough talk. This is not my personal opinion but a joint decision of parliament and the citizens of the Federation. So, just carry out the order.
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