The sovereign hub of this world was a small man-made star system. Since it was man-made, it naturally did not conform to the norm. This star system did not have a star. It consisted of a pair of dark twin stars and a large number of space fortresses that were deployed around the twin stars in a complex orbit. Not counting the fortresses that might be hidden in the folds of space, ready to launch sneak attacks, there were already thousands of large defense stations. These large space facilities that looked like stacked Frisbees were one size larger than an Eternal-class mothership. They relied on a large number of drones and heavy fortress missile launchers for combat. They operated in the high orbit of the sovereign hub. The firepower of each space fortress directly crossed with at least five other fortresses. Even without the use of extra-dimensional firepower, there was no gap to penetrate. These behemoths were the sovereign hub's own defense system. They were sturdy and powerful. Their drone swarms could effectively deal with rapid invasion forces like assault ships, while the heavy fortress missiles could cause considerable damage to Eternal-class motherships. At the same time, there were some special types of scanning towers hidden in the force fields of these space fortresses. The stealth bombers that we sent out almost suffered heavy losses because of this.
The Fallen Apostle's mobility forces cooperated with these sturdy space fortresses to form an additional line of defense for the sovereign hub. It was equivalent to three entire armies of enemy fleets gathered in the low orbit of the twin stars. The coarse and sturdy space fortresses intercepted almost all of the Imperial Army's assault ships. Thus, the enemy fleets could withdraw behind the line of defense and use their main cannons to fire at us.
The glaring beams of the Galactic Main Cannons illuminated the deep and dark space. The Empire's fleet was more than 1.2 million kilometers away from the sovereign hub, confronting the enemy's line of defense. I think I have to announce some bad news.
I underestimated the defensive capabilities of the Fallen Apostle's space fortresses. These seemingly stupid space facilities were as hard as Elson's golden tortoise shell! Moreover, the Fallen Apostle had also set up a large number of shield push towers and amplifiers around each of the space fortresses. These amplifiers had no other function but to continuously create mothership-level shields. They surrounded each other and produced a similar effect to a combined shield. It was as if each of the space fortresses was protected by a combined shield. Even the Galactic Main Cannons could not shake them. Only the fleet's volley could overload these fortresses and destroy them.
However, the enemy had arranged several thousand of these fortresses above their sovereign hub, so even if the Imperial Army could wipe them out one after another, the Fallen Apostle's goal of stalling for time should have already been achieved.
What's more, their main fleet was now holed up behind the defense line formed by the fortresses. Once we wiped out the fortresses in the high orbit, we would still have to deal with those guys. By that time, the Imperial Army's advantage in numbers would be negligible.
Our initial battle plan was like this: We would charge into the Abyss with sufficient elite troops, and then conquer a world as quickly as possible. Once the battlefield had stabilized, we would teleport the Astral System Fleet and Sandora's Vengeance Fleet over from within the Empire's borders. With the Astral System Fleet as the frontline, we would begin expanding the battlefront. This last point was the most important. Otherwise, how could we possibly sweep through the Abyss with our current forces?
If they couldn't destroy the Sovereign Hub of this world as soon as possible, then the entire plan would be stuck.
"Looks like we've picked a tough bone. What bad luck," Sandora said softly with a frown. "This universe should be a fortress world. It must be an important node at the border of the Fallen Apostles. It might even be the defense headquarters of other universes."
"Think on the bright side. If we take down this place, we can open up a bigger gap." I wanted to comfort Sandora. "Look at the insane number of space fortresses. The Sovereign Hub below is definitely an important node. It might even have the key to other universes. It's just like the key worlds that directly lead to the capital. As long as we take down this place, we can save a lot of effort …"
Before I could finish my sentence, I saw a dazzling light flash on the holographic projection in the center of the command hall. Then, there was a tremor under my feet.
"What happened just now?" Sandora immediately asked. Bubble's voice answered through the ship's broadcast, "One-third of the enemy's fortresses fired a volley of heavy missiles at us. Fortunately, the Joint Shield is strong. Only some of the nodes were overloaded. It's not a big deal."
"Are those fortresses a special model?" Sandora looked at the space structures on the holographic projection doubtfully. "Such an intense exchange of fire, and yet they could still conserve their firepower and secretly prepare for a volley …"
"Attention! The droid swarm is approaching!" The warning radar sounded again. I looked up and saw a swarm of small flying machines swarming out of the enemy's space fortresses. These flying machines were slightly smaller than individual fighter jets and looked like a football with four pairs of swept-back wings. They swarmed out from the upper layers of the space fortresses like a swarm of bees ready to go out for a party. They kept accelerating with short-distance hyperdrive, and in the blink of an eye, they were right in front of the Empire fleet. Then, they began to bombard our Joint Shield in a suicidal manner.
The space fortresses had high-speed processing plants that could produce a batch of these suicide droids every ten minutes. The suicide droids were not equipped with any weapons. All they had was a set of shockingly efficient propulsion systems and a stomach full of unstable psionic crystals. These cheap and annoying little devils were extremely fragile, and basically any type of anti-air firepower would be able to kill them. However, their huge numbers and the rate at which they were produced gave us a headache.
Moreover, their self-destruction on the Joint Shield was not weak at all.
The Borderland-class fortress ships outside the fleet deployed their anti-air armor belts, and concentrated anti-air cannons began to fire wildly at the little devils. The expeditionary class ships deployed a large number of warning turrets on their flanks to intercept the endless stream of suicide droids. At the same time, the various motherships also opened their hangars, and assault ships and individual fighter jets began to rush out in groups to wipe out the dangerous suicide droids. These small explosions that blanketed the sky and earth stirred up thousands of waves on the Joint Shield, so much so that the external monitors became blurry under the strong interference. However, although the suicide droids were annoying, they were too fragile. Coupled with the abundant anti-air firepower of the Imperial Army, this wave of attack did not cause much damage to us in the end.
However, by the time this batch of suicide droids was cleared out, the space fortresses had already produced a second batch of suicide droids. And so, the cycle began again, endlessly.
Along with the second batch of suicide droids, there was also a second batch of heavy fortress missiles.
"This is not the way to go." I did not expect the Imperial Army, who had the numerical advantage, to be held back by the Fallen Apostle's tower defense tactics. My brows furrowed like a China knot. "Even if we can destroy their fortresses one by one, their reinforcements should have already arrived by then. We still have a few fleets in the Empire area waiting to be teleported here. If we can't even take down the bridgehead, how are we supposed to do it?"
"We have to find a way to take those fortresses offline. The Fallen Apostles are relying on those things the most." Sandora also frowned. She looked at the space fortresses and quickly searched for something on her MDT. Then, she suddenly contacted the Sixth Fleet. "Vincent, do you know what the weaknesses of those fortresses are?"
When the Sixth Fleet was first established, it was an "expert force" that specialized in fighting against the Fallen Apostles. A considerable number of its senior commanders and combat advisors were former Fallen Apostles. Vincent Carlo was naturally among them.
"This type of fortress was personally designed by the original chief technician, Ockham. They are very different from the models of the old Empire. After Ockham died, these fortresses were improved many times by his successors, so we do not know what aspects they have evolved in." Vincent's face appeared on the communicator. "However, their general framework should not have changed much. Compared to the models of the old Empire, the most obvious change is that all the psionic cannons have been removed. The empty gun mounts have been changed into heavy missile silos. In addition, Ockham has also redesigned their internal structure. The extra effective space is used to install the new drone production line and missile assembly line."
"Missile assembly line?" Sandora raised her eyebrows. "Even the heavy missiles it fires are processed on the spot in the fortress?"
"Yes," Vincent nodded. "It has two sets of ammunition supply methods. One is the conventional hyperspace ammunition chain, which transports ammunition from the ammunition warehouse through time and space. The second is the production facility, which continuously assembles the missiles on the spot at a lower speed. So even if their hyperspace supply is blocked, these fortresses will always have ammunition available. It's just that the firing efficiency will be a little lower."
"No wonder they can still accumulate the firepower of a salvo of missiles in the midst of a fierce battle. More launchers, more ammunition supply, the elimination of the cannon design, and the overall enhancement of the missile power … That Ockham really doesn't give us peace." The corner of Sandora's mouth twitched slightly. "There must be a loophole. There is no such thing as a perfect weapon in this world … Vincent, you said these fortresses don't have cannons. Does that mean their attack speed and close-range defense are very low?"
"Attack speed is indeed affected. Without high-speed turrets, it is difficult to rely on heavy missile launchers to attack quickly." Vincent nodded. "But their close-range defense has not decreased much. Ockham has used a large number of drones to make up for the lack of high-speed turrets. These drones are also very strong in defense. Now those fortresses are using drones to attack, but if the Imperial Army sends assault troops near those fortresses, these drones will instantly switch to defense mode. They are no weaker than the anti-aircraft cannons. We have already tried this once, and the assault troops can't even get close to the space fortresses. "
"Those drones require a ten-minute production cycle." Sandora raised her eyebrows. "As long as we can clear out all the drones within ten minutes, those fortresses will have a defensive gap."
"It's' close-range defense gap ', Your Majesty," Vincent corrected her seriously. Vincent corrected them seriously. Surely everyone remembered that the Carlo brothers had OCD when it came to language.
"Okay, close-range defense gap." Sandora waved her hand indifferently. "Now we have found a breakthrough point. Vincent, tell me your suggestion. If we can break through the fortress' close-range defense circle, how can we temporarily disable these big guys?"
Vincent thought seriously for a while before he raised his head. "Your Majesty, we can consider temporarily taking these fortresses offline. These planetary defense facilities are automatic and controlled by the fortress mainframe. These mainframes use a distributed network. Each fortress mainframe can be regarded as the mainframe of the planetary defense circle. At the same time, they are all terminals. All the fortress mainframes are of the same level in the entire defense system. In other words, they are all mainframes without the highest command. This design was originally designed to improve the survivability of the planetary defense circle. Because there is no highest command mainframe, the destruction of the control center will not cause all the fortresses to lose control. No matter how many distributed mainframes we destroy, the remaining computing capacity will always be able to ensure the planetary defense circle runs smoothly. However, this distributed network has a flaw. Although it has removed the highest command mainframe, it still needs a 'source' that can issue the highest command. This' source 'can be contaminated. "
Sandora looked interested. "This' source 'doesn't actually exist, right?"
"Yes, it's something similar to a protocol package. It's widely used in the entire planet's defense system network." Vincent nodded. "Every fortress host is installed with this protocol. When the fortress group needs to fight outside, they will use a random host as the highest command source and rely on a series of complex forwarding methods to achieve the coordination of the entire network. When the fortress where the random host is located is destroyed, the network will immediately generate a new host to fill the gap. This process was also designed by Ockham. In theory, it is foolproof. "
"In theory," Sandora smiled. "Theoretically, most things can be broken. So, you are saying that you have a way to stop these fortresses from forwarding their attack plans to each other?"
Vincent pointed at his chest. "As a senior general of Her Majesty Halland, and Her Majesty Halland used to be one of the great warlords of the Abyss, we used to have many of these fortresses and know their stop keys."
I was surprised. "These things even have a brake?"
"Not a brake, but a stop key," Vincent corrected me solemnly. "Every weapon should have a safety. This kind of automatic and powerful defensive fortress is definitely necessary. The stop key can cause all the mainframes of the fortress to shut down. It can be used to repair the system or upgrade the network protocol."
At this moment, another violent tremor came from beneath our feet. The enemy's fortress had once again bombarded the Imperial Army's joint shield with a heavy missile. It was the same situation as before. The enemy's attack was still unable to break through the Imperial Army's defense. Conversely, it was also difficult for us to destroy the sovereign hub in a short period of time. This tremor made everyone realize that the seesaw situation had to be broken. Sandora glanced at Vincent on the communicator. "There is one last question. You have already left the Fallen Apostle camp for a long time. How do you ensure that the stop key is still usable? If I were the Chief Defense Officer of the Fallen Apostles, the first thing I would do once a key officer like you falls into the enemy's hands would definitely be to reset all the mainframe passwords on the defensive line. "
Vincent smiled confidently. "Of course they will reset the stop key, but I am confident that I can crack it. I have worked with Ockham for many years and was responsible for managing these space fortresses. I know how to crack the stop key. Cracking the stop key isn't the most difficult part. The most difficult part is knowing which part of the defense system this stop key works on. I know that very well. "
"The difficult part isn't making the right key, but finding the keyhole …" Sandora nodded. "You have to infiltrate those fortresses to hack them, right?"
"There is no other way," Vincent replied. "We have lost the ability to control the equipment in the abyss through the mental network. The only feasible solution is to infiltrate those space fortresses. We only need to crack one, and the distributed network will take care of the rest. "
"Good, this plan is feasible." Sandora stood up, then frowned at the space fortresses that had begun to release drone swarms again. "The problem is those drones … The big spaceships can't withstand the fortress missiles, and the small spaceships can't withstand the drone swarms. We have to eliminate all the drones within ten minutes to find an opening to send people in. Vincent, if you force your way in, I'm afraid your people won't be able to get through. "
I had been listening on the side until now. I couldn't find a chance to interrupt the professional stuff before, but now that it was finally time to go all out, I knew it was time for me to step in. Didn't the Great Void Race have such a motto: When something happens, either you start a big fight, or you send a tower to the enemy … Now this should count as sending a tower to the enemy, right?
Oh, that doesn't sound very auspicious …
"I will escort the expert over." I stepped forward and patted Sandora's shoulder. "You won't be able to find a bodyguard who can take a beating better than me. In the first few minutes, you will try your best to eliminate the drones. When the number of those gadgets is about the same, I will personally escort Vincent's people over. With such a huge battlefield and such a huge space, I don't believe it will be difficult to send people over. "
Sandora glanced at me, as if she wanted to persuade me otherwise. However, she quickly recalled my habit of doing things on my own. In the end, she didn't say anything and just squeezed my hand tightly. "Be careful. If you can't break through, retreat immediately. It's not like we can't break through this line of defense using conventional methods … It's just that it will take more time. I don't want you to make me go back and be a widow for tens of thousands of years waiting for you to revive … "
I chuckled and patted Sandora's hand. "Don't worry, I am a man who creates miracles. Leave this place to me. I will definitely come back alive. After this battle, we will …"
Before I could finish my sentence, Xiaoxue jumped over and covered my mouth with her hand. She jumped up and down and said, "Dad, you can't ruin your character like that! Even void creatures can't court death … "
"…"
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