272: Chapter 270 The Insect: Watch Me Play Sweet and Sneak At Him

While the Legion units lying in wait at Siren Constellation V09.66 were pummeling every incoming enemy, Xi Hai was not idle either at the 'Xinhuo' space station cluster (see Chapter 260) located at Tianjin Seat V89.05.

He was currently planning how to realize that wild and bold idea in his mind.

As for what that idea was?

Without a doubt, it was the goal he proposed after deciding to get involved in this uprising—founding a nation.

First was the matter of his armed forces; the Legion system he currently operated was too chaotic.

Command was independent, designations were confused, and the massive Guardian Angel Legion made up almost all of his armed forces.

It reached the point where a single Legion Headquarters often doubled as the General Headquarters.

Right now, with only one Legion, this system didn't seem to have any major issues. However, as the operation grew larger, continuing this way would inevitably lead to trouble.

Even if he didn't have other Legions yet, he had to establish a Ministry of National Defense capable of governing all future Legions.

"Beep beep beep beep!!!"

Just as Xi Hai was still deep in thought, a sudden, piercing ringtone sounded, instantly snapping him out of his reverie—

It was the channel he had specifically set up to receive frontline information.

Clicking open the pop-up window and watching the interface load, Xi Hai raised an eyebrow.

The battle reports were back? Did they win?

To be honest, Xi Hai could guess whether he had won without even looking at the reports—

With one-sided information transparency, a total crushing advantage in technology and quality, and an ambush prepared at leisure against a tired enemy,

Even a god could be backstabbed, let alone a ragtag group put together by a bunch of savages.

If they hadn't won this, he might as well give up on the uprising, take night lamp, and flee to become a hermit, or just slit his own throat and be done with it.

Sure enough, after the loading icon spun three times, the text that jumped out was concise and clear, perfectly matching Xi Hai's expectations:

In the four battle reports at the top, the words "Total Annihilation of Incoming Enemy Forces" were highlighted right at the very top.

Indeed, the coalition forces that had carelessly split their troops were harvested like easy prey—

Except for the Empire...

Wait, except for the Empire?

Seeing the fifth battle report, a large question mark appeared on Xi Hai's face.

The garrison in the Siren Constellation V66.17 region, which the Lacray Empire was responsible for attacking, clearly stated that they had not encountered any enemy attacks—they hadn't even seen a single enemy ship.

Where was the Empire's fleet?

Disappeared?

Wait, disappeared!

Without any hesitation, Xi Hai immediately summoned night lamp and asked:

"night lamp, can you still link to the electronic devices of the Empire's portion of the fleet within the coalition? Can you confirm their location?"

night lamp: "...Querying IP addresses..."

night lamp: "Pathfinder, the other party may have physically shut down their electronic systems. I cannot connect to the network of any of their Warships."

Hearing night lamp say this, Xi Hai felt his heart tighten.

Crap, a miscalculation!

The Empire didn't follow the predicted route?

Meaning, a fleet numbering over a hundred thousand had entered the territory he had just begun to take over and build up, and not a single piece of information had leaked?

Thinking of this, Xi Hai suddenly felt his body go damp.

Sweat?

No, how could a battle of wits at this level make him sweat? Facing such a situation, the staff department had provided backup plans.

It must be an illusion.

He immediately dialed Julius's comms and shouted,

"Julius! The Imperial portion of the coalition fleet did not act according to Plan A! Activate the contingency plan immediately!"

"I'm coming to Legion Headquarters now. Mobilize all reserve and reconnaissance forces; prepare to search the area where the Imperial fleet was last seen!"

In less than half a second, a loud "Yes!" came from the other side. Xi Hai nodded; it was as reassuring as ever.

Then, he straightened his collar and strode out of his office.

Now, he had to personally confirm where those missing Imperial ships were before he could truly set his mind at ease.

Fifteen minutes later.

Just as Xi Hai reached the entrance of the Joint Legion Headquarters, his communicator "beeped" again. He clicked to load the message while pushing open the door to the headquarters.

Inside was a scene of intense activity.

"Correct, the First and Second Mobile fleets are to be deployed immediately according to Contingency Plan 11 and conduct a full-scale search of their assigned sectors."

"Battle report received. Reinforcements are on the way."

"..."

A massive electronic star chart was projected in the center. A large number of high-ranking Legion officers surrounded the chart, providing real-time command to their respective formations.

Behind the star chart, staff officers were engaged in non-stop discussions regarding intelligence brought in by signal corps and subsequent action plans.

When Xi Hai entered, only a few high-ranking officers paused their discussions to give him a military salute.

Xi Hai returned the salute slightly, then looked at Julius, who was standing in the very center, and asked directly,

"How is it? Have you found the missing Imperial fleet?"

Julius shook his head and replied with a troubled expression,

"Reporting to the Supreme Director, we are currently deploying according to the plans provided by Offices 7, 12, and 13. The relevant staff offices have already moved their operations to Legion Headquarters."

"Other headquarters staff departments are also continuously following up."

Xi Hai nodded and continued asking,

"What is the current progress?"

Julius checked his real-time communication terminal, pulled up a screen, handed it to Xi Hai, and explained:

"We have currently narrowed down the general area. We should be able to achieve precise positioning within 14 standard hours at the latest."

"Good. Then—I'll just wait right here."

Xi Hai glanced at the terminal, then found a place to sit down, handing the device back to Julius.

Julius saluted again and immediately ran back to his post. Meanwhile, Xi Hai opened his own terminal to look over the detailed battle reports from the other ambush points.

In the report from Siren Constellation V09.66, he saw something rather interesting.

What did they mean by capturing a Kagerou-class Battleship, the Yukikaze?

And what was this about planning to use it to escort the transport fleet?

Xi Hai thought about this for a long time and couldn't understand how anyone could dare put the names 'Yukikaze' and 'escort' together.

Whatever, it's just a ship; believe it or not.

He shook his head and continued reading the other reports.

At this moment, where exactly was the Imperial fleet that was causing the entire Guardian Angel Legion such a headache?

The Imperial officers leading the fleet, especially General Roy, expressed that they themselves had no idea where they were!

After all—

Nobody ever said there would be so many ridiculously overpowered bugs blocking their path!!!

Who the hell decided not to wipe these things out all at once!

And who! Let these damn bugs loose!!!

Dammit!!!

...

There are a total of 820,259,593 large units in the Swarm surrounding the Imperial fleet.

(Mysterious little slogan)