267: Chapter 265 "Come Here" (Shield Tunneling's Superb Bubble Sound)

Siren Constellation V09.66, at a channel node outside the Kuiper Belt,

the 1st to 4th Mobile Fleets of the Guardian Angel Legion are anchored here.

At this moment, within the fleet, on a "new constantine the great-class" battlecruiser, the bell signaling Level 1 combat readiness echoed through the hull—

"Ring ring ring—"

"Beep— Beep—"

"Area A damage control in position!"

"A-44 secondary battery team in position!"

"Engine room in position!"

"Shipboard hangar in position!"

On the Bridge, loud reports rang out continuously through the communicators until the last area on the screen turned green, and the shipboard ai announced:

"The entire ship is fully in position, entering combat status!"

"A total of 43.28 seconds," on the Bridge, a man in a black uniform glanced at the timer in his hand and whispered,

this was the time required for the giant ship beneath his feet to transition from cruising status to full combat status.

Hearing the Captain's murmur, the man standing beside him, who seemed to be the First Officer, chimed in:

"It's more than six minutes faster than when we first refitted this Warship; the progress is very obvious."

"Yes, to call it rapid progress wouldn't be an exaggeration," the Captain nodded in agreement,

"It seems we've become familiar with this giant ship..."

As he spoke, he turned his gaze toward the pitch-black deep space outside the Bridge,

it was an expanse of black—a boundless black, like a bottomless abyss, threatening to swallow people whole,

yet, a few stars faintly shimmered against the pitch-black backdrop.

Seeming to be mesmerized, it was a while before the Captain continued slowly,

"Keep the record, and stand down from alert in five minutes,"

"After this exercise ends, we can reduce the frequency of emergency drills—"

"after all, according to the intelligence, those rude fellows are about to arrive..."

However, he was only halfway through when the communications officer on the Bridge suddenly interrupted him loudly:

"Report! Assembly order from Legion Headquarters!"

"Enemy fleet signal captured! Scale of fifty thousand, coordinates (7756663, 52777549, 12485765)! Expected to enter the planned area in half a standard day!"

"It's the enemy vanguard fleet!"

"Headquarters requires us to enter the designated ambush location and stand by within thirty minutes!"

Hearing the communications officer's words, the Captain's body jolted, not caring that his speech had been interrupted,

he felt a surge of excitement rise from his feet, rushing straight to the crown of his head—

They're here?

They're here!!!

The bloated and massive enemies they had been waiting for here for so long had finally arrived!

Suppressing the boiling blood in his heart, he shouted to the communications officer:

"Orders changed! The entire fleet maintain Level 2 combat readiness! Enter combat positions immediately!"

"Conduct a final pre-battle inspection and mobilization!"

"Distribute the operational plan to the junior officers!"

"Set out!"

"Yes!"

...

Twelve hours later.

A massive and magnificent fleet slowly sailed into Siren Constellation V09.66—into the dragnet formed by the Legion's four fleet groups,

without a doubt, this was the main fleet of the Xila Republic within the coalition, led by Gaius.

They were divided into two formations: one was the main fleet where the flagship was located, and the other—

"Beep beep beep beep beep!!!"

"vanguard fleet reporting to the Coral Sea, current position (7756643, 52777539, 12485225)"

"No anomalies in the planned channel, no non-allied space combat forces detected."

"Planned rest area secured, please advise flagship."

...

That's right, the other formation was the vanguard fleet composed of a large number of light Warships,

they had emerged from the Void Channel thirty minutes earlier, maintaining a certain distance from the main fleet, continuously sending reconnaissance reports to the main force along the way, confirming the safety of the channel with their own presence.

"Coral Sea received, continue scouting ahead."

The communications officer on the Coral Sea had just finished the routine reply when he saw General Gaius from the command seat walking toward him, his gaze fixed on his face,

he didn't know what the Commander wanted, but he knew what he had to do,

so, he stood up abruptly and saluted:

"Reporting to Commander! The vanguard fleet has begun crossing the Kuiper Belt, everything is normal in the planned channel!"

Gaius nodded, signaled for him to sit down, and then said slowly:

"No need to be so nervous, I won't persecute civilians, especially since in a sense you are still my retainers."

"Yes, I will remember your mercy, General."

The communications officer saluted forcefully again before sitting down properly.

"Order the vanguard fleet to tighten their formation, reduce speed, and prepare to rendezvous with the main fleet."

After saying this, he paused, as if thinking about something,

then, he added:

"Also, notify the entire fleet to raise the threat level to three, all personnel enter combat stations and stand by, start preheating the Shield, and load all weapons with live ammunition!"

"Yes!"

After giving the orders, Gaius stood there, looking at the large screen on the Bridge—it displayed the star map provided by the coalition command unit,

at this moment, his fleet was steadily advancing toward its target,

and at this moment, he already felt victory was within his grasp—

According to the intelligence he had exchanged with Char of the Democratic Alliance, these rebelling, or rather, uprising Slave Laborers, had seized control of certain Warships and space combat platforms,

but from the moment the fleet left the void, to deploying the formation, then to resuming the alert and beginning to sail, he hadn't seen a single enemy Warship,

not even a scout, let alone a Warship.

In other words, those fellows must have deployed all the precious space combat platforms in their hands into so-called "defensive positions"—turning mobile combat forces into fixed firing points with quite limited utility,

this kind of warfare was exactly what he feared least.

In his conception, the gap in numbers, the gap in training, and the gap in command experience were like three heavenly chasms lying between the rebel army and the regular army under his command,

facing those ridiculous defensive lines, he only needed to concentrate his forces and crush them directly.

"Heh," thinking of this, he couldn't help but sneer,

"Low-borns are just low-borns, expendables are just expendables—"

"They can't even figure out how to fight a war?"

Thinking this, he picked up the microphone nearby, tuned the channel to fleet-wide communication, and then spoke loudly:

"We are almost there!"

"Listen up! Ahead of us is a group of crazed thugs and villains!"

"They have overthrown civilization and order, killed and plundered their masters!"

"In this battle, there is no mercy, and no forgiveness!"

"Our orders are clear: to purge all thugs who dare to challenge civilization and order, and send them back to the bottom of the ecological chain!"

"main fleet, accelerate! Rendezvous quickly with the vanguard fleet!"

"Tear through their defensive lines with heavy cannons and torpedoes, dismantle their will with steel and engines,"

"Forward!"

After finishing, he tossed the microphone aside and muttered disdainfully to himself,

"Mere slaves think they can master their own destiny?"

"In their dreams!"

However, high-end hunters often appear in the form of prey,

and foolish prey always think they are the hunters until the moment they die.

The tail flames of the engines flickered in the starry sky, and the giant steel Warships in the boundless emptiness were like pieces of driftwood in a sea current, small and fragile.

History would remember this day, because on this day, a massive and bloated fleet plunged headlong into the dragnet that had been waiting for them for a long time.

And because on this day, a war symbolizing the watershed between two eras slowly began.

...