“The situation in the Barbarian Star System is looking grim. The enemy fleet has shown an unusually high level of organization and combat fervor. I’ve discovered something very important, their fleet practically doesn’t need rest. Their military force seems to possess inexhaustible energy.” In the capital star system of the Molian Civilization, inside the highest-level conference room, the Minister of Military Affairs spoke with grave seriousness. “This is forcing our soldiers into constant battle. Many of them are becoming exhausted, and repeated operational mistakes caused by fatigue have brought us enormous losses.”
“This meeting is not for you to complain.” the Supreme Leader said flatly. “Star System Number Five must be held.”
The Minister of Military Affairs was silent for a moment before saying, “Give me another 400,000 ships.”
“Fine. I approve.” the Supreme Leader replied without hesitation.
“No, I do not approve.” another minister stood up and said loudly. “If we redeploy another 400,000 ships, what happens to our rear defenses? Don’t forget, we’ve already committed nearly half of our military force to Star System Number Five. The rear is now exposed. What if the enemy sends another fleet? How are we supposed to respond?”
“Right now, the battle for Star System Number Five is at its most critical juncture. I believe, if the enemy had any remaining hidden forces, they would’ve already deployed them. The fact that no reinforcements have arrived proves one thing, they’ve committed everything they have. That’s why I approved the Minister of Military Affairs’ proposal. Mm… redeploy 50,000 ships from the capital star system, and 350,000 from the other bases. Send them all to Star System Number Five.”
“The fate of our civilization, of our race, depends on this battle. If we fail, all of us will be nailed to the pillar of shame for eternity, with no hope of redemption.” The Supreme Leader’s eagle-sharp gaze slowly swept across the faces of the ministers. His voice was like ice, “In one month’s time, Minister of Industry, I want 100,000 warships built, no matter what. If you can’t deliver, you’ll be spending time in prison. Minister of Civil Affairs, if our people experience large-scale unrest during this time, you can go to prison too.”
“That’s all. Dismissed.” The Supreme Leader threw out this line and left first.
Aboard the Heaven’s Kingdom, in the meeting room, upon hearing Xiao Yu’s order to launch a surprise attack on the Molian Civilization’s capital star system, the members of the Military Committee and Luka Two were all visibly excited.
“We have sufficient evidence to prove that our 500,000 warships have not yet been detected by the enemy. In other words, we are an unexpected military force, outside of their preparations. I believe these 500,000 ships will play a critical role. Even if we can’t capture the capital star system, we’ll still inflict enormous pressure, preventing them from waging war in peace. This will also be hugely beneficial for the battle in Star System Number Five.” Luka Two said.“That’s right.” Xiao Yu nodded slightly. “Everything is for the sake of acquiring the Level 5 Civilization’s technology tree. All our wars are waged for this purpose. I will stop at nothing to obtain it. If these 500,000 ships manage to secure that prize, then abandoning Star System Number Five, even letting the Molian Civilization go, would mean nothing at all. Everyone must remember this, don’t lose sight of our true objective.”
“Understood, Master.” All members of the Military Committee and Luka Two stood up together and responded solemnly.
“Finally, we get to join the fight! All that training wasn’t for nothing!”
“Haha! I’ve been waiting for this! I’ve dreamed every night about clashing with the enemy!”
“Little Wes, weren’t you the one always unconvinced? Saying training is training and combat is combat, and the two can’t be compared? Then let’s see who destroys more enemy ships in this battle! Hmph, this time I’ll make sure you’re completely convinced!”
After the latest battle orders were issued, hundreds of millions of soldiers were instantly fired up with excitement. Over a decade of long training and countless simulated battles had already filled them with boundless anticipation for real combat. Now that they knew their wish was about to be fulfilled, how could they not be thrilled?
Large-scale pre-battle preparations began. With the help of intelligent systems, the soldiers conducted final checks on every component of their ships, fine-tuned all ammunition and combat weapons to optimal condition, and eagerly awaited the start of battle.
At this moment, the five hundred thousand ships were less than one light-year away from the capital star system. Over the past period of time, these five hundred thousand ships had taken a lengthy detour, carefully avoiding all Molian Civilization detection along the way, and had finally arrived here unnoticed.
“A fleet of five hundred thousand ships is simply too large. There’s no way we can remain hidden forever.” Luka Two said. “It will take us a full month to cover the remaining light-year. According to our projections, we’ll be discovered once we’re within half a light-year. That means we’ll only leave them with half a month to react.”
“Half a month may sound like a lot, but it’s only just enough time for them to shuffle ships around within the star system. They won’t have time to summon reinforcements from other systems. That’s an advantage for us, we need to make good use of it.”
“Yes, maybe we can split off a few small detachments to harass the surrounding areas of the capital star system, creating a sense of panic so they can’t figure out how many ships we really have…”
“Before the main fleet arrives, we can dispatch special operations troops to infiltrate. Special ops are harder to detect and have a good chance of sneaking in. Once inside the Molian capital planet, they can sabotage, gather intel, and if lucky, even carry out assassinations…”
In the conference room, the energized committee members were each sharing their ideas, enthusiastically discussing various battle strategies.
Xiao Yu, however, remained silent with a bit of a headache, thinking to himself, “Looks like forming a biological army really was necessary. Managing the defenses of four star systems, the ongoing campaign in Star System Number Five, all the logistics, transport, protection, sneak attacks, harassment, construction tasks, repair missions, and on top of that commanding so many ships, it’s already pushed my computational capacity to the danger zone. I don’t have the mental bandwidth to manage those five hundred thousand ships too. Let them handle things on their own. My primary focus still has to be here in Star System Number Five.”
The battle in Star System Number Five remained brutal. The ship attrition rate on the battlefield had reached terrifying levels. The combat here was so intense that damaged ships couldn’t even retreat from the battlefield for repairs. This applied equally to both the Molian Civilization and Xiao Yu’s forces.
Once a ship was damaged and its performance began to drop, it would inevitably suffer more serious damage in the ongoing battle, and the only outcome would be explosion and disintegration. In this situation, Xiao Yu had even begun categorizing ships on the battlefield into just two types, intact or destroyed. There was no such thing as ‘damaged.’ Once a ship was damaged, destruction was inevitably close behind.
Amid the endless fighting, Xiao Yu’s side was gradually gaining the upper hand. The Molian Nation-Class ship that had been entangled with the China ship had already been driven back. The disparity in strength left it unable to challenge the China again. Instead, it began roaming the battlefield, serving as a firefighting unit. However, it wasn’t performing that role very well, because the China ship closely trailed it wherever it went. Often, just as the Molian ship arrived to destroy some of Xiao Yu’s vessels and turn the tide, the China would immediately follow, eliminating those same enemy ships and restoring the advantage to Xiao Yu’s side.
In battles this intense and large-scale, only Nation-Class ships had the power to operate this way. Currently, there were nearly twenty Nation-Class ships active on the battlefield, eleven on Xiao Yu’s side and nine on the Molian side. Since the start of the battle in Star System Number Five, no Nation-Class ship had yet been destroyed.
Once the outer situation had slightly stabilized, Xiao Yu began pushing deeper into the inner star systems, attempting to insert a fleet to directly attack the planetary homeland. But at present, success still seemed difficult.
“No matter. My advantage is gradually expanding. Those 400,000 reinforcement ships still need three months to arrive, and in just one month, this five hundred thousand-strong biological army will strike the Molian Civilization’s capital star system. At that point, whether those 400,000 ships choose to return or continue onward will remain uncertain. Star System Number Five, I’m taking it. And the Level 5 Civilization Technology Tree, I’m taking that too.” Xiao Yu thought with complete confidence.
“Mm. The biological army has arrived at the designated location, 0.3 light-years from the Molian capital star system. We can confirm we’ve been detected. The reaction time we’ve left the Molian Civilization is not fifteen days, but nine. Small skirmishes have already broken out on the front line. The Molian capital system is now on high alert. Small-scale harassment units have been dispatched. Special operations infiltration squads have already been deployed. Everything is proceeding smoothly.”
“Very good. Let’s give the Molian Civilization a lesson.” Xiao Yu said. “I’ve noticed those 400,000 ships that were already dispatched to reinforce Star System Number Five are starting to hesitate. Clearly, they’re now considering whether to return or press on. I’ll keep a close eye on their movements and provide you with intel support…”