83: Chapter 83 For Humanity!! All-Out Attack

Adjusting a fleet's formation is like asking someone jogging to suddenly start a 100-meter dash—while putting on a full suit of armor mid-sprint.

"All units, attention. 'Iron Wall' protocol initiated. Formation conversion, countdown begins."

When Major General Zhao Yu's voice sounded over the command network, Li Yuan was trying to comprehend the actual scale of the two "buzhou mountain" and "Kunlun Hill" outside the observation window.

What does a diameter of one hundred thousand kilometers even mean?

To put it this way: if you threw this thing onto Earth from Li Yuan's previous life, it would be Jupiter.

At this moment, the two metallic planets were slowly adjusting their postures. Countless hexagonal armor plates on their surfaces opened and closed like breathing, revealing deeper layers of energy arrays and weapon platforms beneath.

In the previous cruising formation, the entire fleet of over fifty thousand warships huddled like chicks protected by a hen, nestled within the curvature distortion fields generated by the two Sovereign-class vessels. It was a cozy and energy-efficient scene.

Now, they had to switch to a combat-ready formation?

"All xihe-class battlecruisers, advance to the second firepower array! Maintain a five-thousand-kilometer interval! Diamond formation, don't crowd too close! Ensure maneuvering space!"

"Cruiser squadrons, deploy on the left flank! Deploy! You are cruisers! What's the idea of bunching up like that?"

"Destroyer groups, intersperse into the gaps between the cruisers—hey, that destroyer, you're about to collide! You think this is a parking lot scramble for spots?!"

The public channel was a cacophony of cheerful noise. Although every order was being swiftly executed, it was clear the ship captains had no intention of holding back their commentary.

Li Yuan saw a battlecruiser, visually estimated at eight hundred kilometers long, performing an awe-inspiringly precise maneuver as it slowly shifted its position between two cruiser squadrons.

The captain's voice came over the public channel:

"Excuse me, excuse me, everyone, make way, please."

The captain of the cruiser being squeezed out responded gloomily, "Big brother, with your size, we could make way and you still wouldn't fit."

"Don't worry, if a real fight breaks out, I'll tank the damage for you!"

"...I thank you for that!"

Laya pressed her whole face against the observation window, her breath fogging a small patch on the glass. "Brother Li Yuan, they seem to be... lining up?"

"Lining up in a queue that could fill a star system." The corner of Li Yuan's mouth twitched.

Elia stood to the side with her arms crossed, her ice-blue eyes reflecting the steel river of stars rearranging itself outside the window.

She suddenly said softly, "During the formation conversion, the overall curvature field is being restructured. The fleet's overall speed is increasing."

"Correct." Chu Xinghe had somehow wandered over at some point, holding a datapad densely packed with star charts and parameters.

"The cruising formation prioritizes stability; the combat-ready formation prioritizes speed. Now, the two Sovereign-class ships are concentrating the curvature field that originally covered the entire fleet to provide traction acceleration for the assault units—the fleet has shifted from a 'collective autumn outing' to 'vanguard charges, main force follows up, logistics brings up the rear.'"

Chen Yao peeked over from the side. "Senior Chu, could your analogy be a little more... scientific?"

"Science is tiring." Chu Xinghe shrugged. "And didn't you notice I described it very vividly? Look, we're about to accelerate."

As his words fell, the scene outside the window changed abruptly.

Led by the "purple subtlety," the dijiang-class star cruising battleships, along with fifteen five-hundred-kilometer-class xihe-class battlecruisers, saw the surrounding space begin to violently distort. This wasn't a simple light effect; it was the spatial structure being forcibly stretched and folded.

Then, this vanguard unit transformed into over a dozen streams of light stretched to infinity, vanishing instantly from view—entering directly into a state of ultra-high-speed curvature travel.

Meanwhile, the remaining fleet—including the two one-hundred-thousand-kilometer-class Sovereign-class ships, thousands of cruisers and destroyers, tens of thousands of frigates, and various auxiliary vessels—maintained a relatively compact formation, its overall speed suddenly surging.

"Curvature cooperative traction." Chen Jingyi had, at some point, called up a schematic diagram of the principle. "The spatial folds generated by the vanguard fleet's high-intensity jump can be leveraged by the larger fleet behind. It's 37% more efficient than independent jumps."

Looking at the fluid dynamics simulations and curvature equations on her screen, Li Yuan silently swallowed back the thought, "I don't understand, but I'm thoroughly impressed."

A countdown popped up on Chu Xinghe's terminal. "The original day-and-a-half journey... now about fifteen hours."

He looked up, revealing a somewhat unsettling smile. "Surprise, surprise, you bug bastards?"

---

Fifteen hours later.

When the fleet dropped out of curvature travel at the predetermined coordinates, Li Yuan truly understood the scale implied by the words "interstellar warfare."

This designated battlefield spanned dozens of light-minutes—meaning, even traveling at light speed, it would take tens of minutes to go from one end to the other.

In this vast, despair-inducing region of space, the Blazing Dragon Federation's escort fleet began what could only be described as frenzied battlefield construction.

"Star Mine Sequences One through One Hundred, full volley launch! Three hundred billion units, saturate the forward sector!"

"Satellite cannon arrays, deploy! Ten thousand ultra-large orbital cannon platforms as targets! One hundred million small turrets as targets! Engineering teams, move faster!"

"Anti-air arrays, activate! Honeycomb dense array, begin charging! Point-defense cannon arrays—synchronize and go online! All fire control systems, connect to the tactical network!"

If the earlier formation change was lining up, then this defensive deployment operation was constructing a fully armed, three-dimensional defensive line out of thin air in the void.

Li Yuan saw hundreds of billions of metal cubes ejected from the launch bays of various ships. These "star mines" varied in size, from a few meters cubed to dozens of meters cubed. After being projected into the vast expanse millions of kilometers ahead of the fleet, they automatically deployed, anchored themselves, and began charging.

Some unfolded into polyhedral turrets, extending dense clusters of gun barrels; others transformed into missile launch pods, housing hundreds of smart interceptor missiles.

And the deployment scene of the "satellite cannon arrays" was simply breathtaking.

Ten thousand ultra-large orbital cannon platforms—each several kilometers long, with barrels over a kilometer in diameter—were slowly towed out of the docking bays of the two Sovereign-class ships by heavy tugboats.

They resembled a flock of metallic giant birds slowly spreading their wings, anchoring in predetermined orbits, extending their barrels, and beginning to charge.

The energy halos gathering at their muzzles distorted the surrounding starlight.

Even more exaggerated were the one hundred million small turrets. They were only a few hundred meters in size, but their numbers were like scattered sesame seeds, evenly distributed throughout the defensive line. Each one performed self-checks, their muzzles flickering with readiness indicators.

As for the "anti-air arrays"...

Hundred-billion-level honeycomb dense arrays. Trillion-level point-defense cannon arrays.

These numbers had exceeded Li Yuan's capacity for intuitive understanding. He could only see the space at the fleet's outermost perimeter densely packed with turrets of varying sizes—from several-kilometer-class large anti-air platforms to small automated turrets only a few dozen meters across. Linked by data networks, their barrels rotated slowly, forming a three-dimensional web of fire with almost no blind spots.

The entire deployment process lasted half a day. When the final batch of turrets completed their charging tests, the starscape ahead of the fleet had completely transformed—

It was a death zone millions of kilometers deep, composed of star mines, turrets, and orbital cannons. Anything trying to charge through would first face an infinite baptism of fire.

"This scale..." Sai Wei had somehow arrived by the observation window. His eyes, beneath golden hair, reflected that steel forest. "The Zerg aren't coming to fight; they're coming to die."

Luo Lan stood beside him with crossed arms, adding calmly, "That depends on how many they send."

"Report!" a shout came from the communications station. "Detecting 'light feather class' vessel signals! Approaching!"

Major General Zhao Yu's voice sounded calmly. "Let it through. Maintain vigilance, guard against infiltration."

A few minutes later, that pristine, elegant "work of art" appeared in their field of view.

Then, under everyone's gaze, it *whooshed* past the fleet's flank.

It didn't slow down, didn't communicate, didn't even flash a signal light.

It just disappeared into the starscape behind without a backward glance.

The bridge was silent for three seconds.

"...How polite." an operator muttered quietly.

"The gift may be light, but the sentiment is deep." an old-timer shrugged. "At least it didn't lead the Zerg right to our faces."

Chu Xinghe, who had somehow produced another pack of snacks, said while chewing, "Good, saves trouble."

Major General Zhao Yu was unperturbed. "Record the passing parameters, file them with the military department. Now—" his voice lowered, "Zerg vanguard swarm, entering the warning perimeter."

On the main screen, red signal points began to erupt madly.

Two hundred and forty-seven leviathan motherships.

Each one resembled a mobile mountain of flesh covered in bone spurs and compound eyes, generally ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of kilometers in length—larger than ordinary planets. And around them...

"Zerg unit numbers... increasing exponentially." The sensor officer's voice was a bit dry. "Preliminary estimate, individual Leviathan combat unit load approximately... three to five billion. Total..."

He didn't finish.

But everyone understood the rapidly spreading red ocean on the main screen, almost covering the entire sensor range.

That could no longer be described as a "tide."

It was a violent quantity threatening to stain the entire starscape red.

"Finally here." Major General Zhao Yu stood up, straightening his uniform. "Order to the entire fleet: Condition One. All weapon systems, safeties off."

He paused. "Send a message to that light feather class vessel. Just one sentence—'You're welcome.'"

The communications officer stifled a laugh. "Yes, sir!"

Just then, Chu Xinghe's personal terminal chimed. He glanced at it, and his expression instantly switched to "devil instructor" mode.

"Alright, rookies, showtime's over." He clapped his hands. "Mission assignments, listen up—"

"Luo Lan, you're with me to the fighter bay. Your 'Heavenly Drive' aptitude suits fighter combat. We'll provide escort for the capital ships."

Luo Lan nodded. "Understood."

"Chen Jingyi, Chen Yao." Chu Xinghe looked at the sisters. "You two, take positions at the 'purple subtlety's' main tactical control stations. Chen Jingyi, Chen Yao, use your aptitudes to interface with the fleet's drone network—we brought over a hundred billion various types of drones this time. I need you to assist the fire control system with intelligent allocation."

Chen Jingyi nodded calmly. "Acceptable."

Chen Yao rubbed her hands excitedly. "A hundred billion! Now we can have some real fun!"

"The rest of you—" Chu Xinghe scanned the remaining students. "Report to various battle stations on the bridge. Learn practical operations from the veterans. From radar monitoring to firepower allocation, from energy management to damage control, learn as much as you can. Remember, this is live combat. Mistakes can be fatal—so, try not to make any."

The students chorused, "Yes, sir!"

Li Yuan suddenly raised his hand. "Senior, count me in for external combat."

"My Light Guardian can pilot fighters too."