After conquering enemy territory, retrieving the enemy's data storage devices was a common thing. In the past, every time we fought against the Fallen Apostles, we would always drag a pile of the enemy's ship wreckage back for analysis. The Warlord naturally protected the World Hub's database because of this common sense. So, looking at Sandora's expression, I could not help but be curious. "Isn't it good to find the database?"
"It is indeed a good thing, but how did it go so smoothly?" Sandora furrowed her brows. "In the past, it was extremely difficult to find the data storage devices that the Fallen Apostles did not destroy in time. You know, normal soldiers would blow up those things when their position was about to fall. We were already very lucky to find a complete database in the previous universe. Why did the Fallen Apostles make the same mistake in this world?"
I smacked my lips. "I also think that it was too smooth … But I'm used to being tossed around, so I'm not used to the feeling of things going smoothly once in a while. By the way, do you think that this is a trap left by the Fallen Apostles? "
"Mainly because I can't see the purpose of this trap." Sandora shook her head. "Luring the Imperial Army to invade deep alone? The problem is that any slightly more cautious commander would not make such a mistake. The warp channels between the Imperial Army's fleets and the evacuation route to the Empire's territory are always open, and it is difficult to build something like an encirclement in the void in a short period of time. And to be honest, if this is a trap … Ah Jun, don't you think the price is a little too high? "
I thought about it and agreed with him. Just look at how the Empire's army burned, looted, and bombed the four enemy worlds in the blink of an eye. Not only that, they were still at war with the Gods on the other side, and the Abyss was also a complete mess. If they could set up a trap just like that, then the person who came up with the plan had to be really stupid. Not even someone who would sacrifice their children to trap a wolf would have the courage to do so.
With that thought, I instantly felt relieved. At that moment, the Warlord also reported that the database had been partially decoded. As he had grasped some of the rules when he analyzed the previous database, the analysis of the second database was exceptionally smooth.
Sandora got the Overseer to send her a copy of the information that had been analyzed. The moment she saw the information, her expression changed. "Sives, inform the troops to stop advancing and prepare to retreat."
I was bewildered and hurried to check the situation. "Wait a minute, wait a minute. What's going on?"
"It's the fleet passage records and the detailed information of the World Gate nodes again." Sandora pointed at the holographic image in front of her. "It's so detailed that it's abnormal, and it matches perfectly with the 'map' we obtained earlier. It's pieced together the teleportation coordinates and respective defense forces of nearly a hundred universes in this area …"
Before Sandora could finish, the communication device beside us lit up and Odemsius' face appeared on the hologram, "Your Majesty! This is the Seventh Fleet. We have successfully taken over the target universe and retrieved a complete database from the enemy's sovereign hub. The database has … "
"Let me think. A list of the teleportation coordinates, the fleet passage records for the past few months, the size of each World Gate and the military power of the universe they are in." Sandora looked at Odemsius. "What else is there?"
Odemsius seemed to have realized that something was amiss. "Your Majesty, on your side …"
"Yes. Similarly, if it happened once or twice, it could be said that the enemy's border guards made mistakes due to internal strife in the Abyss. But if it happens the third time, then it's hard to believe that this isn't a conspiracy." Sandora placed her hand on the table and stood up. "Have you encountered any abnormalities on your side?"
"No abnormalities, and the previous battle was very normal. The enemy's counterattack was very tenacious, and before we blew up the sovereign hub, they had been sending reinforcements to this universe. It doesn't look like they were deliberately letting the enemy in. If this is a trap … then the price is too high. They have already lost their sovereignty over three universes … "
"There are four now." Sandora suddenly connected to another channel. "First Fleet, report on your situation."
The First Fleet had just sent a routine communication request, but because Sandora was talking to Odemsius, it was temporarily suspended. Now, the image of the First Fleet's commander-in-chief appeared on the communication device. "Your Majesty, the First Fleet has successfully taken over the target universe. We have retrieved a database from the enemy's sovereign hub. The database is basically complete, and there is …"
Sandora and I said in unison, "There's a map, right?"
The commander-in-chief of the First Fleet was stunned for two seconds. "Is it the same on your side?"
"In short, all troops, pay attention. Stop advancing and temporarily wait in the worlds that you have taken over. Build a temporary world gate and be ready to rendezvous at any time. Also, throw out all your void disruptors to prevent the enemy from counterattacking." Sandora ordered, then connected to the Celestial System Fleet's channel. "Have you discovered anything abnormal at the headquarters?"
The commander-in-chief of the Celestial System Fleet was a tall and skinny man with eyes as sharp as an eagle's. I remembered that he was a sharp and calm officer. His figure appeared in the holographic image, and he bowed to me and Sandora. "Your Majesty, everything is normal at the headquarters. The frontline fortress has been fully deployed, and we can defend against the enemy's powerful counterattack."
Knowing that the headquarters had been stabilized, Sandora and I could finally relax a little. Sandora nodded. "How are the enemy's movements?"
The Celestial System Fleet was equipped with far more powerful void scanning equipment than the other fleets, and those behemoths could carry fixed fortress level telemetry radars on their bodies as shipboard equipment, so they were the current frontline telemetry stations of the Imperial Army. The Celestial System Fleet monitored the situation at the border of the Abyss to prevent the enemy's army from counterattacking. Although their main force was still pinned down by the Protoss on another front, there was no harm in being more careful.
"Multiple scans have confirmed that the enemy has about four armies gathering at the frontline, but we have already demolished their sovereign facilities, so these fleets can't directly jump over."
"Fortify all the defensive lines before they arrive." Sandora waved her hand. "Also, be on high alert. If there is any large-scale military movement in the Abyss, immediately warn us."
Then, she hung up and looked into my eyes. "Four armies … That's a very normal number of reinforcements. It's about the same as what we expected. If there really was a trap here, the enemy should have sent more reinforcements. Ah Jun, I don't understand. "
The current situation was very unsettling: we had attacked four worlds in a row, and the local fallen apostle guards had made the same mistake: not destroying the hidden military secrets when their positions were breached, so there was definitely something wrong with the situation. However, it was also a fact that the enemy's defenders were fighting tenaciously throughout the battle, and judging from the current situation, we couldn't see any traps. That was why even a veteran like Shadora was in a dilemma.
"Xiaoxue," I looked at the brat king who was happily spinning in circles on the floating chair next to me. "Do some divination."
This time, Xiaoxue didn't joke around, which was rare. Instead, she gave me a hint. "First, put together the information collected by the various fleets."
Including what we had salvaged from the fortress space, the Imperial Army now had a total of four sovereign data centers in their hands, which stored four sets of detailed data on the World Gate and the distribution of military power at the border. Under Xiaoxue's hint, the four sets of information were quickly put together, and a detailed road map was presented in front of everyone.
The only thing missing was the words "Welcome".
Regardless of whether we understood it or not, we all gathered together. Sandora pointed at the teleportation network displayed on the holographic projection. "This is our current location, a rather remote node. This is the main node, which is also the first fortress world that the Imperial Army conquered. The other two were conquered by the First and Seventh Fleets. This network map is very detailed … there are no gaps, and the four sets of information on the teleportation nodes have many overlaps, which is an obvious backup. I suspect that even if we were to attack another world this time, we would be able to piece together this distribution map very quickly. This looks like it was specially prepared for the Imperial Army. "
I looked at the 'map' thoughtfully. I knew that I wasn't an expert in this field, but I could still understand the visual diagram. It was like a detailed map of a spider's web, and all the lines at the edges of the spider's web were clearly displayed in front of us. As I looked at it, I realized that this teleportation network seemed to have something that caught my attention. "Look at this … this world seems a little special."
Shallow Shallow scratched her head and looked for a while. "Is the serial number of this world especially long?"
Me: "…"
"This world is the only one that has been repeatedly 'marked' four times. If the coordinates of the world mentioned in the travel logs are seen as a 'mark' used to guide the Imperial Army, then this world has obviously been marked intentionally. " Sandora also saw the gist of it. On the network map that was pieced together from four sets of information, there was a footnote for every teleportation node. The footnote indicated how many times the teleportation node was mentioned in the four sets of information. The footnote was used by the operator in charge of integrating the information to help identify the source of each piece of data, but now it clearly indicated a coordinate point for us: a place that looked like the hub of the network.
"Could it be a coincidence?" The elder sister rubbed her chin and said uncertainly. "All four databases have records of teleportation to this world. Maybe it's just a transportation hub. If you copy the dispatch records of all the main railway lines in China, I'm sure more than half of them will see the Zhengzhou Railway Station …"
Sandora did not say a word. She just quickly operated the MDT in front of her. She disassembled the 'coordinate map' that was pieced together from four sets of information and looked like an irregular grid several times. She used various methods to simulate the possibility of the map overlapping due to coincidence. Finally, she shook her head and said, "It shouldn't be a coincidence. Except for this world, all the nodes only appear twice at most, as if specifically to highlight it. Also, look at the last route map. This jump route doesn't seem to make sense. There should be a better jump route from this border world labeled ES-35D65 to the inland. But in order to mark this special world more clearly, the records show that a fleet took a detour to pass through it. This is obviously a detour. The fleet did not perform any mission, it just kept jumping in this world and left this route map. "
"Also, here's a list of material delivery." Xiaoxue flipped through the information other than the route map. She sent what she found to the holographic projection in front of everyone. "It's written here: Delivery record, inland to the border, midway jump station is KN-22D (which is the world that caught our attention. The Fallen Apostle's code for it is KN-22D). List of materials delivered: stones."
Everyone looked at each other. Stones!
"The border world doesn't need any stones." Sandora leaned back on the chair. "Any military outpost doesn't need stones. This' freight train 'is not for delivery at all. It's to pass through KN-22D. Ah Jun, you're right. There's definitely something wrong with this world. "
"Why do I feel like this is a secret signal?" Icetis looked at me and then at Sandora. "By frequently transferring troops, they left key locations in the traffic records. Although it took a lot of effort, as long as we could see this information, we would immediately discover KN-22D."
Although Sister Bing usually looked careless, her thoughts were actually as meticulous as Sandora's. Both of them had started saving the world billions of years ago. How could she not see through such a simple thing? Icetis's explanation of the "secret signal" received nods from everyone. Then, I thought about how the databases of the four worlds were "miraculously" preserved. Even the local Fallen Apostle garrison did not follow the rules and blow up these databases when their base was breached. I was even more convinced that they were "road signs" left behind by someone for the Imperial Army.
The identity of this "someone" was obvious.
"Could it be left behind by Abyssal Schilling?" Sister Bing had the same thought as me. She spoke first. "Maybe these strange things at the border aren't traps. Abyssal Schilling is just a road sign for us."
"Uh-huh. I'd rather believe that even a road sign is a trap." Sandora humphed coldly. "We've seen Abyssal Schilling's cunning many times. Even if this thing is really just a road sign, I don't believe that KN-22D is a good place."
"That's easy." I chuckled and stood up. "Let's just go and take a look."
Icetis was supporting her chin with her hand and pretending to be full of schemes. She immediately hid under the table when I said that. Sandora looked at me with a strange expression. "You really intend to go to such a strange place?"
"What else can I do?" I spread my hands at Sandora. "We're not guests in the Abyss. Even if we don't see the road map, we'll hit KN-22D sooner or later. Plus, it's so obvious. If there's an ambush … Abyssal Schilling is too stupid."
Sandora thought for a while and finally nodded. She seemed to think that I made sense. "Alright, we can go to that world to take a look. However, we have to be fully prepared. It'd be best if we bring a 'big guy' there. Something that can fight against the end of the world."
Then, all of us looked at the holographic projection in the middle of the command center. The Warsong was happily circling a dim brown dwarf star.
Perhaps the ship's AI had a sixth sense, Madman Two immediately shouted in the public channel, "I think someone is peeping at me!"
I connected to the Vengeance Fleet. "Warlord, the Vengeance Fleet has a new mission. The next target is KN-22D. Madman Two, stop spinning. Your speed is obviously not in line with common sense. Is there a sub-light speed revolution? You're about to tear the star apart! "
"I think there's going to be a war!" Madman Two instantly became excited. "What's a KN-22D? Are we going to blow it up? "
There's not much peace in the Abyss. "Sandora waved her hand. Then, she assigned tasks." Leave half of the Royal Fleet here to set up defenses. The Celestial System Fleet will teleport another ten planetary battleships here to build a base to prevent the enemy from counterattacking. The fortress ships and the Seventh Fleet of the second echelon will continue to stand guard. The rest of the high-mobility troops will follow the Royal Fleet. There's no telling what KN-22D has, so it's always useful to bring more people. "
Every time the Empire's fleet attacked a new world, the first thing they did was to build a temporary World Gate. While they gained initial control over the world, it also made it easier for the troops to move around. Hence, the new fleet deployment was completed quickly. The Vengeance Fleet, half of the Royal Fleet, and a large number of high-mobility expeditionary battleships formed a powerful new army, advancing towards KN-22D.
Some of you should have noticed by now. This Alliance Fleet focused on fast reaction and high attack power. Apart from the necessary ones, we had left most of the fortress ships behind to fortify their positions. Sandora's meaning was clear: KN-22D was not an important military node. Even if we occupied it, it would not meet her requirements for 'marking'. Hence, the fleet was only there to check out the situation and eliminate the enemy's forces. There might be a huge battle, but we had no intention of occupying that world for a long time.
The fleet quickly arrived at the border of KN-22D and stopped at the edge of the physical world. The commander of the vanguard was shocked to report the situation of the world barrier. "Your Majesty! The world barrier is not encrypted! "
"Is this a welcome?" My sister couldn't help but laugh. "Are we just going to jump in?"
"Jump!" Sandora did not hesitate. "We're already here anyway. All departments, be on high alert. Send a batch of drones in first. Grand Warlord, leave some special service ships on standby at the world barrier to prevent the enemy from suddenly locking down the universe. The rest of the troops will follow the Royal Fleet and enter the physical world! "
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