356: Chapter 357 The Surprise Attack is Underway

"Xiao Wan," Lin Muyang spoke, his tone inquiring:

"Can your Nether Eye and Netherworld Perception penetrate the chaotic energy background of this star sector to reverse-track the Zerg's command stream and locate their true command center? I suspect that thing might not be inside the swarm, but hidden in a more concealed corner, conducting remote control."

Hearing this, Gui Wanwan's slender eyebrows twitched slightly. She released a strand of black hair wrapped around her fingertip, letting it fall onto her shoulder. Her cold gaze met Lin Muyang's, and the corners of her mouth curled into a faint, knowing smile:

"Master, the Zerg's hive mind is usually accompanied by powerful mental barriers and void energy interference. Relying solely on my current strength to accurately filter out that most hidden command line from the chaotic mental ripples of billions of insects and trace it back to its source... the difficulty is quite high."

She paused, her tone tinged with playfulness: "Unless you are willing to lend me more power, Master. Among your miraculous Auras, there should be many that can strengthen perception, penetrate barriers, or amplify mental power effects, right?"

Lin Muyang didn't respond, but with a slight thought, several invisible ripples of power quietly spread out from him, accurately enveloping Gui Wanwan.

God-Tier Aura: Keen Insight (Greatly increases perception precision and detail capture capability)

God-Tier Aura: Mind Net (Strengthens mental connection and thought transmission, improving the efficiency of analyzing collective consciousness)

God-Tier Aura: Void Vision (Enhances the ability to detect spatial anomalies, energy turbulence, and hidden existences)

God-Tier Aura: Mental Fortress (Provides powerful mental protection against potential reverse mental shocks and contamination)

God-Tier Aura: Energy Penetration (Gives energy perception stronger penetrability, allowing it to ignore some low-tier energy barriers)

Several God-Tier Aura effects related to perception, spirit, and energy detection were instantly activated, adjusted, and stacked upon Gui Wanwan alone.

She could clearly feel her perception becoming sharper than ever, like a blade repeatedly tempered in a furnace. The sounds of the surrounding world became noisy yet clear.

The wailing of the warship's metal, the suppressed breathing of the angel warriors in the distance, the hum of unstable energy pipelines, and even the cosmic radiation in the background of the starry sky, so faint it was almost imperceptible... Countless pieces of information flooded in like a tide.

Even more wonderful was that she developed a new vision of the floating Zerg corpses in the distance and the faint agitation of the swarm further away. She saw clusters of mental light and energy vortices of varying colors, brightness, and fluctuation frequencies.

Among them, the vast majority of the light clusters were dim and chaotic, following simple instincts of devouring and killing. But vaguely, there seemed to be extremely weak yet highly regular command ripples, like ripples caused by a stone thrown into a pond, spreading from a distant and fixed direction with an imperceptible rhythm, influencing the gathering, dispersal, and attack tendencies of these light clusters.

The playful smile on Gui Wanwan's lips vanished, replaced by a focus and seriousness immersed in a new dimension of perception. She nodded slightly, her cold voice carrying a certainty of completing the task: "The power is sufficient. Now, there's no problem at all."

In the next moment, centered on Gui Wanwan, a cold, obscure, yet incredibly pure Nether power quietly diffused.

The command room was silent, save for the faint sounds of Engineer Karyer operating the equipment and the rhythmic tapping of Lin Muyang's fingers on the window sill. Everyone held their breath, waiting for Gui Wanwan's investigation results.

A few minutes later, Gui Wanwan's long, thick eyelashes fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes. Those eyes, which always held a hint of depth and detachment, were now as sharp as an unsheathed Nether blade, locking onto a simplified star map automatically generated on the monitoring screen. She extended a fair finger and tapped a certain area on the virtual star map, instantly enlarging a highlighted point of light.

"Found it. The movement trajectories of these insects seem disorganized and widespread, but the command activation points and energy coordination nodes of all major attack waves, when traced back across time and space dimensions, all point to the same source."

Gui Wanwan's voice was calm and clear as her finger traced a vague range around the light point. "Their command center, or rather the brain core releasing the unified commands, is not inside the swarm, nor near the holy radiance, but hidden in this direction, on a small companion satellite about ten minutes' standard flight away from us."

"A satellite?" Lin Muyang's brow furrowed imperceptibly, his gaze focusing on the dim light point marked. It was a grayish-brown satellite orbiting an inconspicuous gas giant, small in size and unremarkable on the star map. "Specific coordinates and environment?"

Gui Wanwan's fingers slid quickly, calling up the rough scan data of that satellite left by the passive detection array and projecting it into the air.

The image was somewhat blurred and full of noise, but enough to see the general idea: the satellite's surface was rugged, covered with craters and rifts, and the atmosphere was extremely thin, almost negligible.

However, on the heat source and bio-energy reaction layers of the scanned image, the entire satellite appeared in an abnormal, mottled dark red and deep purple! Especially at the bottom of several huge craters and deep within the crustal fissures, the energy reactions were particularly concentrated and intense, pulsating regularly like a slowly beating heart.

"It's right here." Gui Wanwan pointed to one of the crater areas where the energy reactions were most dense, almost merging together.

"The core emission source of the command ripples is here. Moreover, judging by the energy signatures, the quantity and quality of Zerg units gathered there far exceed any swarm we've encountered on the warship before. It's safe to imagine that the surface and even the interior of that satellite are likely covered with hives and defensive fortifications. Getting close and breaking through will definitely not be easy."

Lin Muyang stared at the dead world marked as the Hive Satellite on the star map, his eyes flashing as he quickly performed risk assessments and tactical deductions. Directly attacking the Zerg command center was undoubtedly a decapitation strike—high risk, but with the greatest reward.

If successful, the swarms besieging this star sector would likely fall into chaos or even disperse, gaining precious breathing and reorganization time for the Angel race and fundamentally resolving the crisis.

"There's no time for slow planning." Lin Muyang quickly made a decision, turning his gaze toward Mu Yao and Feng Ling. Dealing with the Zerg was most effective with their ice and fire attributes.

"This decapitation strike requires the cooperation of you two. Mu Yao, your task is to create a large-scale extreme cold domain when we break through the Zerg's outer defensive lines. This will delay, freeze, and weaken the Zerg defenders on the satellite's surface to the greatest extent, clearing a relatively safe assault path for us and interfering with possible ground anti-aircraft fire."

"Understood, leave it to me." Battle intent rose in Shen Muyao's ice-blue eyes, and she answered without hesitation. Having experienced the previous battles, she had more confidence in her own surging power and the enhancement of Lin Muyang's Auras.

"Feng Ling, you need to provide aerial fire cover and purification support throughout. Use your Nirvana Fire to sweep away Zerg flying units attacking from the air and suppress any heavy Zerg biological batteries that may exist on the satellite's surface. When approaching the core area, I need your flames to lead the way, incinerating all obstructing hive tissue and defensive fortifications."

Feng Ling's molten gold eyes narrowed slightly: "Don't worry, Master. I'll give these disgusting bugs a real taste of it, ensuring they're burned until not even ashes remain."

"Very well." Lin Muyang nodded, then looked at Gui Wanwan, Lilia, Jialiya, Seraphina, Elabess, and the others. "You follow me to form the core assault team. Wanwan is responsible for reconnaissance and anti-stealth, discovering traps and ambushes in advance; Lilia provides enhancements; Jialiya uses the undead to scout and create chaos; Seraphina and Elabess are responsible for clearing any approaching elite Zerg..."

"Understood!" the women responded in unison, quickly entering pre-battle status.

Lin Muyang finally turned to the Angel Captain, Remiel, who had been waiting nearby with a complex expression: "Captain Remiel, after we leave, I'll leave this place to you. Use the time we gain to do everything possible to repair the warship's critical systems, especially the power and thrusters. If we succeed, the swarm will likely fall into chaos, which will be the best time for you to break out or organize a counterattack."

He didn't continue, but the meaning was self-evident.

Remiel took a deep breath, pounded his chest heavily again, and gave a solemn Angel military salute. His voice was raspy but firm: "Excellency Lin Muyang, regardless of success or failure, the 7th Guard Regiment of the Angel race's holy radiance will be forever grateful! We will hold out until the last moment! May the Holy Light be with you!"

Lin Muyang said no more and waved his hand: "Set out!"

Everyone quickly left the command room and headed through the internal passages to the large hangar they had cleared earlier. There, they chose an Angel-style, sleek silver-white light assault shuttle. This shuttle was small, only capable of holding about ten people, but its speed and maneuverability were excellent. It was equipped with basic energy shields and two light pulse cannons, perfect for such a high-speed raid mission.

Inside the hangar, several surviving Angel ground crew members were performing final checks on the shuttle. Lin Muyang unceremoniously sat in the pilot's seat, while Gui Wanwan took the co-pilot's navigation and detection seat. Shen Muyao, Feng Ling, Lilia, Jialiya, Seraphina, and Elabess entered the rear cabin one by one, each checking their equipment and adjusting their state. Ye Meinaizi and her group of four boarded another smaller reconnaissance craft nearby to provide support.

"Life Skill, God-Tier Piloting Aura, activate." Lin Muyang muttered in his heart. A vast flow of knowledge and instinct regarding interstellar navigation, ship control, and tactical evasion instantly filled his mind, combining with his own powerful attributes. His hands grasped the slightly unfamiliar control stick and touch panel, yet they felt like an extension of his own arms.

The shuttle's engines emitted a low and powerful hum, and pale blue ion streams poured from the tail nozzles. Under Lin Muyang's precise control, the small silver-white ship glided out of the hangar gate like an arrow from a bow, vanishing into the cold cosmic void outside the warship.

"Course set, target satellite, full speed ahead." Lin Muyang's voice sounded in the cabin communication channel, calm and steady.

Gui Wanwan stared intently at the complex holographic navigation interface and passive detection screen in front of her, her fingers clicking rapidly to mark the best route, potential threat areas, and the latest swarm movement data sent from the holy radiance. "Route planned, evading three small swarm patrol zones. Estimated arrival time: nine minutes and forty-seven seconds. But when we get within a thousand kilometers of the satellite, we will definitely be discovered by the Zerg's deep-space sentries."

"Then prepare for battle." Lin Muyang's gaze locked onto the grayish-brown celestial body growing larger in his field of vision, his eyes sharp as a hawk's. "Shen Muyao, Feng Ling, get into combat positions. Once we enter the satellite's low orbit and the Zerg anti-aircraft forces activate, act according to the plan."

"Copy that." "Understood." Two crisp responses came from the rear cabin.

The shuttle tore through the silent starry sky, racing toward the dead satellite occupied by the Zerg. The ten-minute journey felt exceptionally short in the tense atmosphere of preparation.

Soon, the outline of the satellite rapidly enlarged in their vision, its surface craters and rifts clearly visible. Simultaneously, on the detection screen, red dots representing Zerg units began to emerge from the satellite's surface, low orbit, and even the surrounding cosmic dust like a disturbed swarm of bees, densely converging toward the shuttle!

The first to appear were thousands of "Void Locusts," shaped like giant moths with hideous mouthparts. They were fast and maneuverable, like a black tide of death, pouncing on the small shuttle from all directions.

"Zerg sentry swarm, numbering over three thousand, entering attack range!" Gui Wanwan reported quickly.

"Shen Muyao, suppress them!" Lin Muyang ordered calmly, while his hands performed a subtle side-slip roll on the control stick, the shuttle passing through the gaps of several emerald-green energy beams like a swimming fish.

"Cold Tide: Frozen Shackles!" In the rear cabin, Shen Muyao's cold voice rang out. She didn't leave her seat, but simply pressed her hands onto specific energy conduction nodes on the cabin wall. Boundless frost magic was amplified and guided through the shuttle's energy system, turning into an invisible yet substantial extreme cold field that erupted forward from the shuttle toward the pouncing locust swarm!

"Crack... crack..."

The hundreds of Void Locusts in the lead suddenly became incredibly sluggish, their bodies rapidly condensing thick frost, their wings stiffening like insects trapped in amber. The following locusts crashed into the "ice sculptures" in front, causing chain chaos. Although this extreme cold field couldn't instantly freeze and kill all the locusts, it greatly delayed their collective charge, clearing a relatively clean airspace for the shuttle.

"Feng Ling, clear the field!" Lin Muyang maneuvered the shuttle in a rapid climb, soaring over the frozen locust swarm.

"Got it~" Feng Ling's smiling voice came through. She didn't even leave her seat, just lazily blew a breath toward a certain direction outside the cabin.

"Whoosh—!"

A wisp of golden-red, seemingly faint spark drifted from her lips into the cosmic vacuum. In the next moment, this spark seemed to ignite invisible fuel, booming and exploding! It transformed into a rain of Phoenix fire sweeping across a range of several kilometers!

Countless fist-sized golden-red fireballs, possessing purification and destruction power as if they had an auto-targeting function, accurately smashed into those locusts that were delayed or trying to flank from other directions! Every fireball that touched an insect's body would instantly ignite it, turning it into a brief and shrill flash of fire before it was annihilated.

Under Lin Muyang's piloting, the shuttle danced on the tip of a deadly blade, flexibly weaving through the temporary passage woven from ice and fire, quickly breaking through the locust swarm's interception and diving toward the crater area on the satellite's surface with the strongest energy reaction.

Below, on the grayish-brown satellite surface, more and more hideous Zerg figures were emerging from hives and pits, raising their biological cannon muzzles flashing with eerie light and opening their giant mouths filled with sharp teeth...

The true raid had only just begun.