Below the bridge, the command hall was a mess. The commanders and operators of the various departments were trying their best to decipher the strange signals. The sound of commands and system alarms blared together.
"Unknown signals are still being released. The intensity is below the warning level. The Empire's warship information jamming system is still unable to intercept them … Attention, all units are to increase the level of authorization. From now on, we will not respond to any messages with authorization lower than F. Mainframe, report your situation."
"Mainframe has completed self-examination. Unidentifiable signals are still residing in the thinking core. Mainframe is in good condition. Logic functions are intact. The signal has not affected the mainframe's functions … Mainframe's security level has been raised. Direct processing to Schilling Mainframe. Requesting CLN-135 Schilling Mainframe to take over the calculation task."
"Intelligence officer, what's going on?!"
I came to the edge of the military officer's platform and asked loudly. The commander of the intelligence system in the command hall immediately transferred a bunch of information to the holographic projection on the military officer's platform. "Your Majesty, the Angel army's First Division is releasing a low-energy signal. This signal has broken through all the Apostles' information jamming system. We are currently searching for the source of the signal and a way to block it."
"What is this? A mere lowly race actually created a weapon specially designed to fight against the Empire!" Visca jumped out. Her cat eyes were sparkling and her hair was about to explode like a real cat's fur. "Damn it … Even my logic module is filled with those strange signals … Mass bombing! No matter which spaceship the source of the signal is, kill their entire army! The signals will naturally disappear! "
"Girl, are you alright?"
I immediately held down the furious Visca.
"Big Brother … I'm fine. These signals can't affect us at all. But I actually have no way to expel these things …"
"Warning! Warning! A large-scale gravitational collapse has occurred at the edge of the solar system. Detecting a Class-B psionic engine reaction. The Third Bordership-class battleship echelon has been locked onto by a strong signal. Unidentifiable Empire battleship is approaching. Expected target of attack is the left wing of the Imperial Army. Attention! The left wing of the Imperial Army is in danger."
"Alert! Alert! Warp strike detected. The flagship has been locked on. Generating a space deflection force field. The flagship has entered reverse phasing countdown. Three, two, one … the warp strike has arrived!"
Two consecutive high level alarms resounded throughout the bridge of the Empire Admiral. Right after that, a blinding white light pierced through the ship's phase-shifted hull, surging towards us like a flood. For a full ten seconds, all we could see was a vast expanse of whiteness.
Fortunately, anti-phasing allowed the Empire Admiral and its escort fleet to be in a state of invincibility. This swift and violent attack didn't cause any damage to us, but we also had to face the fact that the spatial deflection field didn't have any effect on this attack.
"Wow, looks like he's really here this time."
Liliana's expression was rather dazed, but she continued to mutter stubbornly. Then, with a crunch, she crushed the orange in her hand.
Visca swiftly brought up the radar view. Instantly, a large patch of flashing red shadows appeared at the edge of the solar system. They were behind our main forces. That was the gravitational interference caused by the fleets that had yet to complete their teleportation. Just from the range of the red shadows, the enemy's scale was almost half of the Empire's main forces. It was obvious that there would be reinforcements behind them.
Luring the snake out of its hole had gone too far. Even the damned Bai Suzhen had appeared?
"Liliana, you didn't say that an enemy of this scale would appear after the angel army was attacked, did you?"
In the command hall, the officers were anxiously arranging combat missions. I pulled on a certain priestess' ear. "There are at least several hundred Eternal-class motherships gathering there, lass!"
"That's not right!" Lina slapped my hand away and leaned against the radar screen in disbelief. "I've dealt with the Angel Army's pirates more than once. Even if we destroyed a colony planet, it would at most attract a few dozen rebel motherships. Why are there so many of them this time? Could it be that they're really having their period and are in a state of irritation?"
Can we not talk about menstruation? My sister, the First Bishop!
"It's that signal!" Big Sister suddenly stood up. "They must have been summoned by that signal!"
Big Sister's urgent judgment stunned everyone. Then, we realized that the possibility was too high!
I quickly walked to the edge of the officer's platform. "Think of a way to freeze the Angel army's spaceships. The signal they are releasing might be summoning the rebel army. No matter what, we have to capture a sample carrying the signal — Vega!"
"Yes, Sir!"
"Bring your elite scorpions over and think of a way to infiltrate the Angel army's battleships. Find their signal transmission device and shut it down! If possible, capture the operator of the device alive. Hurry up, before we are drowned by the rebel army, remember, we have to capture an intact sample! "
At that moment, the super-large-scale fleet at the edge of the solar system was nearing the end of its warp. Three minutes. In just three minutes, a huge fleet accurately warped from a large nebula to our rear. The enemy's technology level was on par with ours.
At the rear of the Imperial Army's base, twelve hundred round Borderland-class fortress ships had finally completed their redeployment. They formed a special super heavy defense line. These escort troops had the strongest hybrid shields and sturdiest armor, instantly increasing the defensive capabilities of the entire interstellar fleet to more than double their original capabilities. Then, they began to release oval-shaped balls of light that were about two meters long.
These balls of light appeared to be in a semi-physical state and possessed an independent force that human technology could not explain. After they were released, they rapidly charged towards the gravitational collapse point tens of millions of kilometers away. In the last third of the journey, they rapidly accelerated to ninety-nine percent of the speed of light.
That happened in an instant. The balls of light fell at the gravitational collapse point of the rebel army's jump at nearly the speed of light. Due to the speed of light, their mass was close to infinity. Over a thousand balls of light disintegrated in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a strong gravitational disturbance.
The thousand expeditionary battleships of the rebel army had already completed their jump and activated their spatial anchors in time to resist the attack. However, the other thousand expeditionary battleships that were materializing behind them were disrupted. The chaos in the teleportation coordinates led to a strange and terrifying outcome. The follow-up troops were randomly teleported to every gravitational point near their predetermined target. For example, inside the bodies of other battleships.
Large groups of battleships were piled up like clumsy building blocks. The second wave of the rebel army and the first wave of teleportation points overlapped, giving them all sorts of strange "combinations." Some battleships had the engines of their allies embedded in their heads. Some battleships were stacked in a crisscross pattern. Some battleships were even teleported to each other precisely, overlapping each other. In the blink of an eye, the explosion spread hundreds of thousands of kilometers.
But at that moment, the Borderland-class battleships' gravitational interference bombs ended their operation. The restless gravitational waves calmed down. The follow-up troops of the rebel army accurately avoided the physical bodies near their target and began to appear in front of us in batches.
"The enemy is approaching our firing range. Fire freely with the Eternal-class main cannons. All expeditionary battleships dive into the spatial folds and circle behind the rebel army to set up Dark Space Mines! Borderland-class battleships, maintain the defense line. Stop all weapons and focus on strengthening the shields! "
Xi Weis loudly issued orders from his second-in-command seat. The corresponding subordinate commanders quickly spread the order through the chain of command to the entire army, using mind control to carry it out.
Hundreds of huge white torrents shot out from the Empire General's flanks. Against the warship's most powerful main cannons, the galaxy of light swept across the rebel army's vanguard, only to be met with an equally fierce counterattack. This time, we couldn't use super cannons to crush the enemy. The enemy's combined psionic shield could completely block a few volleys of the Imperial Army's barrage.
Eight hundred and ninety-six Eternal-class battleships, including various modified models, were our main DPS. These gigantic super battleships were complex in structure and extremely difficult to build. They couldn't be compared to the large spaceships of normal races that were called motherships but had no other advantages apart from their size and cargo space. We had built a dozen large spaceports at the Red Giant Base and worked overtime to recruit soldiers. Including the main forces we brought this time, we could only build so many Eternal-class battleships. Of course, the number of the Borderland-class and expeditionary battleships that were a level simpler were much more impressive.
Still, we should be content. Back when our production technology was locked, we couldn't even build a single Eternal-class battleship. In just three years, the army under our command had actually reached such a level. Just thinking about it made me feel like I was being too militaristic.
The enemy's first wave of battleships was inferior to ours in terms of numbers. Their Eternal-class battleships should be less than three hundred, and their vanguard of several thousand expeditionary battleships had already been mostly destroyed by our Gravity Strike. The only advantage they had was their surprise attack. While most of the Imperial Army's battleships were still focused on searching the depths of the Solar System, the rebel army suddenly rushed up behind us. Fortunately, I remembered Sandora's words, "Eternal-class battleships aren't the only deciding factor in victory. Having more troops working together is the correct way to go." That was why I had arranged a large number of Borderland-class battleships behind the frontlines. Now, the enemy's cannons were being blocked by these thick-skinned battleships, and the Imperial Army's main force's formation was also rapidly changing. The enemy's advantage of surprise attack was slowly being reversed.
The light of short-distance spatial jumps kept flashing in the Imperial Army's main force's formation, which was several hundred kilometers long. The entire fleet's formation was swiftly adjusted. Just doing a spatial jump for the sake of adjusting the formation would probably consume enough energy for any ordinary species to complete a long-distance attack that would travel several light years. But for the Shiring Apostles, there were two things in the world that they didn't care about the least: energy and moral integrity.
Uh, could you cut off that part just now?
Blinding energy beams were still clashing fiercely. When a gap appeared in both sides' shields, battleships began to be destroyed and explode into huge balls of fire, including the enemy and us. But since we had the advantage in numbers, we could always replace the frontline battleships whose shields were about to be destroyed with the reserves. Meanwhile, those Borderlands-level battleships with ridiculously thick armor and inconceivably high energy resistances were monsters that could still fight even after their shields were destroyed — of course, that was unless they were being focused on.
In addition, the two generals, who had charged out in high spirits since the beginning of the battle and were now standing on the short arms of the Imperial Admiral and roaring like lions, as well as the crazy high-ranking commanders under them launched continuous sweeping attacks from the flanks, the rebel army finally began to suffer a rapid decrease in numbers.
"Glorious Assault!"
Sives's clear voice rang out once more. Every member of the Imperial Army who had already received several buffs received another shot of adrenaline. The entire army's attack power was increased, their accuracy was increased, they were immune to damage from overload, and their speed was increased … The Storm Commander wasn't just for show.
This was another advantage we had. We had a high-ranked Apostle who could be the deciding factor.
In the Xiling Empire's army, although the battleships and cannons were the main force, individual combat strength was incredibly high. Not only that, but high-ranked Apostles who had all sorts of strengthening skills were also factors that could turn the tide of a battle. Pandora and Visca were both capable of taking on a small fleet of battleships. Just Sives alone was enough for one of our soldiers to take on two of them at a time without any losses … that was all.
Although the rebel army had battleships of the same level as us, they didn't have a high-ranked Apostle as their commander. This meant that even if they had more troops than us, it would still be impossible for them to win. This was the best example of the famous Red Cliffs Arson Incident, where the Sun and Liu allied armies had Zhuge Liang and Cao Cao's 800,000 troops.
Not to mention, the enemy didn't even have as many people as we did. And so, with all sorts of decisive advantages, the scales of victory were already tipping in our favor …
"Warning, a large-scale gravitational collapse has been detected at the edge of the Solar System. A large number of troops are approaching. Please prepare for battle."
… I felt that there was definitely a bastard going against me thirty thousand kilometers above us.
"The gravitational trap is ineffective, and so are other interference methods," Sives reported to us. "The enemy might have built an enhanced spatial projection channel in the Nebula that can ignore the gravitational barrier."
"Get the main force to restore their shields as soon as possible. Assault ships, destroy the remaining enemies. Where is Vega now?"
The rebel army was still appearing, which meant that the signal was still being sent out continuously. Vega and her warriors had already set off for half an hour. To the Armored Scorpions who were extremely proficient in infiltration, half an hour was more than enough for them to take over any simple spaceship like the Angel Corps. Could she have met with an accident?
"Sir, this is Vega. We have found the three spaceships that sent out the signal. I am in one of them now." Sister Scorpion's voice resounded through the communication link. At the same time, her image appeared in the holographic projection before us. The Armored Scorpion was in full combat mode, surrounded by a faint blood mist. It was obvious that she had just completed a battle, and the blood on her body was evaporating under the high temperature of the machinery in her body. In the background of the image, a large pile of steel fragments and corpses were scattered all over the ground. It was obviously the masterpiece of the Armored Scorpions with astounding combat power. They must have charged all the way after breaking into the enemy spaceship, piercing through the alloy cabin walls to reach the cabin where the transmitter was located.
"This is the transmitter, or at least its antenna."
Vega turned around and pointed the longsword in her hand at a crystal-metal composite floating behind her. The thing looked to be about two meters tall and was roughly diamond-shaped. It was made up of sky-blue crystal and pitch-black metal. As it rotated slowly, the top of the device constantly emitted a faint halo. Below the platform where it was located, an Angel Corps soldier with a very heavy taste laid evenly on the ground.
"This human is trying to destroy the transmitter. The situation on the other two spaceships is the same. Their operators are tasked with the mission of destroying the transmitter under extreme circumstances. In fact, one of the transmitters has already been destroyed. I'm sorry, Sir, but the mission that you gave me is to capture them alive …"
Vega wiped off the blood stains on her face, looking rather dispirited.
"It's okay, we can crack it ourselves." I knew Vega's personality. Her mission was more important than anything else. She didn't need anyone to blame her. Not being able to execute her mission perfectly was enough to make her feel bad for half a month. "Now, shut that thing down."
After two or three seconds of silence, Vega looked even more dispirited. "I'm very sorry, Sir. We … don't understand how this thing works. Dozens of Armored Scorpions have been studying it for a long time, but they realized that this thing can't be controlled without the correct operation method. Also, it doesn't work even if we put it into the dimensional pocket. There will still be a signal leakage."
I could imagine a bunch of well-developed but simple-minded Armored Scorpions forming a circle to study high-tech products. Vega, you and your soldiers are really not suited for this. If I had known earlier, I would have asked her to bring Tawil's mass projection over.
The second wave of the enemy had been lured over by the transmitter. Their silhouettes could already be seen at the edge of the star system. With the military power of the Imperial Army, it wouldn't be much more difficult to annihilate this batch of enemies than to annihilate the first wave of rebels. However, without a doubt, if the transmitter was still working, we would have to face more than just two waves of rebels.
How could a mere 'low-level civilization' come up with such a thing?
"Vega, mark the two spaceships and retreat." I made a decision after some thought. "Let the Empire Admiral drag the two spaceships into the space fold. I don't believe that we can't block them!"
"Yes, Sir … Please hurry. The enemy has discovered that the two spaceships have been occupied. The enemy ships nearby are mobilizing their cannons in an attempt to destroy this place!" Vega reported hurriedly and hung up.
At that moment, the fleet of expeditionary battleships had already exchanged fire with the second wave of enemies. Flashes of light shone in space from all directions. The flank of the Angel army that had been completely annihilated, the first wave of rebels that was about to be completely annihilated, the fleet of expeditionary battleships and the second wave of rebels that were engaged in an intense battle, and the Angel army's First Army that was struggling at death's door due to our hesitation to attack the rat that was in danger of breaking the vases. In just a few short hours, the entire star system had been set ablaze by the flames of war. The situation was a mess.
Fortunately, the overall situation was still in our hands.
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