218: Chapter 218 The Showdown on Rails: "Lingxiao" VS "Mingfu"
The cold aftershocks of the "Purification Protocol" had not yet fully dissipated within the GDC, and the dark clouds over "Guanghan Palace" were suddenly ignited by three dark red trails tearing through the void. Three "Scavenger-Type 7" main units, having finished their long maneuvers and calibrations, charged toward the Moon in a final, desperate assault like sharks scenting blood. The energy wakes they dragged behind them burned brightly against the deep space background, like three whip scars dealt by the God of Death.
The "Yumen Pass" defensive line between Earth and the Moon had now become the most scorching focal point of the entire Solar System.
The massive hull of the "soaring heavens" stood across the front line like a silent mountain. Inside the bridge, the lights were dimmed to the deep blue required for combat, with only the holographic tactical star map and countless streams of jumping data emitting a cold, hard glow. Long Zhantian stood at the command station like a cast-iron statue, his military uniform crisp, and the general's stars on his epaulets still striking in the dim light. His gaze was locked tightly onto the three rapidly approaching red light points on the star map, as well as the two other units still cruising further behind them.
"All units, report status!" His voice echoed like a tolling bell in the silent bridge.
"'Taishan Ship' in position, shields at full power, main cannon fully charged."
"First Assault Fleet deployment complete, Lightning Strike Array ready."
"The Lunar 'Guanghan Palace' Garrison Fleet has finished assembling, forming an inner fire net relying on the base's defense systems."
"The 'Thunder Department' orbital battery long-range support sequence has locked onto the enemy's estimated entry orbit."
Each report was concise and powerful, carrying the murderous intent of an impending great war. Thanks to the "Purification Protocol's" lightning-fast sweep at the final moment, the command link was exceptionally smooth, with none of the subtle lag from before. The price was fifty-one people being controlled and nearly twenty system nodes being isolated, but the return was an absolute control that felt like an extension of one's own arm.
"Very good." Long Zhantian nodded slightly, a sharp light flashing in his eyes. "According to the 'Candle Dragon' contingency plan, Phase One: Firepower interception to delay their advance and disrupt their formation. 'Thunder Department' batteries, hear my command: target the lead unit, three rapid-fire rounds at 0.5-second intervals!"
The command reached Earth's orbit instantly via the quantum network. Dozens of giant orbital batteries deployed at geostationary orbit and Lagrange points adjusted their angles simultaneously, and heart-stopping energy condensed within their thick barrels. In the next second, dozens of thick, dazzling energy beams tore through the void like thunder spears thrown by gods, slamming almost simultaneously into the leading "Scavenger" unit!
A violent energy explosion bloomed against the pitch-black background, and the dark red light point was instantly swallowed by a blinding white light. As the light faded, the target was not destroyed, but its trajectory showed a clear deviation and delay, and the energy radiance flowing over its surface had noticeably dimmed, its shields clearly having suffered heavy damage.
"It's effective! But the defensive strength exceeds expectations!" the fire control officer shouted. "A conventional orbital battery volley cannot deliver a killing blow!"
"As expected." Long Zhantian remained unfazed. "The goal was just to slow it down! 'soaring heavens', 'Taishan Ship', move forward! Main cannons lock onto the target, close-range fire! Assault fleets, scatter and harass the other two units—don't let them provide support easily!"
The massive "North Heaven Gate"-class carrier began to accelerate, charging toward the enemy like a mobile steel fortress. The "judgement"-class heavy particle main cannon at the bow, capable of making planets tremble, began to emit a low energy hum, its muzzle glowing brighter and brighter.
At this critical moment of the decisive battle, a sudden change occurred!
It didn't come from the "Scavenger," but from the direction of Earth—a corner almost forgotten by everyone: a coordinate point on Earth's geostationary orbit originally labeled as "Abandoned Deep Space Communication Relay Station - Explorer 7."
It should have been a silent piece of space junk. But now, its "abandoned" shell, covered in solar panels and camouflage armor, suddenly peeled and shattered like a molting insect! The sinister and rugged metal structure hidden inside was exposed, and countless previously dim indicator lights lit up in sequence, emitting an ominous dark red glow!
A massive, ugly space weapon platform, covered in irregular protrusions and exposed energy conduits, tore off its decades-long disguise and revealed itself! At its core, a device resembling a giant distorted lens began to frantically draw energy from the surrounding space, so much so that the platform itself vibrated slightly, letting out a groan as if under unbearable strain.
"Warning! High-intensity gravitational distortion source detected! Location: Geostationary orbit, Area S-7! Energy signature... matches the old-era 'Underworld' platform archives!" The system's alarm and the monitor's exclamation rang out almost simultaneously.
"Underworld?!" Long Zhantian's pupils shrank. "Craig's legacy?! It wasn't completely destroyed?!"
In the command hall of the Ark city, Lin Mo looked at the massive and ugly red marker that suddenly appeared on the rear star map, his gaze instantly turning cold to the extreme. He understood in an instant—the "Freedom Day" declaration was just a smokescreen, the "stardust" and the internal harassment were just appetizers. The real killing move of McCarthy's group was this highly unstable "Underworld" card that had been hidden until now! They chose this most critical moment, when the "Scavenger" main force was attacking the Moon, the human fleet had moved forward to intercept, and the rear was relatively empty, to show their fangs!
"Hahaha!" Deep beneath Texas, McCarthy watched the ugly behemoth on geostationary orbit slowly "awaken" through the remaining observation equipment and let out a manic laugh. "The time has come! Lin Mo! Long Zhantian! You puppets bewitched by an alien system, go play your civilization game with those 'Scavengers'! True power belongs to the free will that does not fear destruction! 'Underworld', target locked—'soaring heavens'! Gravitational Tide Ripper, maximum power, fire!!!"
Almost at the moment the command was given, the distorted lens-like device in the center of the "Underworld" platform suddenly erupted with an indescribable, dark light that made space itself groan and warp! It wasn't an energy beam, but a distorted, ever-changing, eerie wave that seemed to crumple space itself before projecting it! It was silent, yet it carried a soul-shivering pressure, crossing tens of thousands of kilometers to strike directly at the advancing "soaring heavens"!
"'Underworld' attack! It's a gravitational weapon! Evade!" The "Nuwa" AI's warning exploded on the bridge of the "soaring heavens," but it was already too late! The speed of that spatial distortion wave far exceeded conventional energy weapons, arriving almost as soon as it was fired!
The "soaring heavens'" proud, newly upgraded composite energy shields showed extreme incompatibility when facing an attack so different from an energy impact. The shield's light flickered violently and erratically. In the area of contact with the distortion wave, space seemed to turn into a funhouse mirror, and the shield's own structure was forcibly twisted and torn by that arrogant gravitational turbulence!
Inside the hull, ear-piercing alarms blared in unison. The gravity simulation system failed instantly, unfastened items flew everywhere, and the structural keel let out a tooth-aching creak, as if the entire giant ship could be crushed by an invisible giant hand at any moment!
"Shield strength dropping sharply! 67%... 42%... 19%! Structural stress warning! Cracks appearing in Sections B and C!" The damage reports sounded like a death knell.
"Hold steady! Activate the Anti-gravity Stabilization Field! All-ship emergency evasive maneuvers!" Long Zhantian gripped the command console tightly, roaring hoarsely amidst the violent shaking. He could feel the deck beneath his feet twisting, and the sound of metal mourning was incessant.
The Nuwa AI did its best to maneuver the "soaring heavens" through irregular rolls and yaws, while simultaneously activating the "Anti-gravity Stabilization Field" that had been urgently installed based on early results from the "shadow catcher" project. A pale gold, somewhat thin energy field emerged on the hull's surface, struggling to counter the pervasive gravitational tearing. As the two made contact, silent sparks of energy annihilation erupted.
The sneak attack from the "Underworld" caught the "soaring heavens" off guard, nearly crippling it in a single strike!
McCarthy laughed incessantly in the underground command center. Davis and Kelson stared tensely at the data; they knew the "Underworld" was extremely unstable, and every full-power shot was a gamble with their lives.
Just as the "soaring heavens'" shields were on the verge of collapse and its hull was damaged in multiple places, a terrifyingly sharp light erupted in Long Zhantian's eyes.
"I see... unstable, requires a long charge time, and its own structure is fragile..." He stared at the "Underworld" platform's wildly fluctuating energy readings and unstable trajectory on the tactical star map, instantly seeing through its hollow nature.
"All functional gun positions, hear my command!" Long Zhantian spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva (the vibration just now had caused him to bite his tongue), his voice roaring like a wounded tiger. "Abandon the original targets! All-ship firepower, aim at that damned 'Underworld' platform! Don't worry about shield neutralization—give me saturated cover fire! Blow that layer of scrap metal on the outside and that unstable core inside to smithereens!"
"But General! The 'Scavenger'..." the adjutant said urgently.
"Leave the 'Scavenger' to the 'Taishan Ship' and the lunar garrison to delay! Kill the backstabber first!" Long Zhantian said decisively. "Execute the order!"
Instantly, all of the "soaring heavens'" functional secondary guns, missile silos, and close-in weapon systems—even including the main cannon that had just partially finished charging—turned their direction. They poured their furious fire like a metal storm toward the distant, ugly platform that was struggling to charge for a second shot and was covered in electrical sparks!
"No!!!" In the underground command center, McCarthy's manic laugh froze on his face, turning into a scream of terror.
The "Underworld" platform's defenses were as fragile as paper before the "soaring heavens'" desperate counterattack. Thick energy beams pierced its exposed armor, and missiles exploded one after another on its energy conduits and support structures. The core of that unstable "Gravitational Tide Ripper" finally reached its limit under the dual pressure of external attacks and internal energy backlash.
A dark light, more dazzling than the one before but filled with an aura of destruction, erupted from within the "Underworld" platform. It didn't fire at the enemy; instead, it contracted inward, and then...
A silent, yet terrifying explosion that seemed to echo in the depths of everyone's soul occurred.
The space where the "Underworld" platform was located seemed to be violently kneaded by an invisible giant hand and then exploded! The platform itself was instantly torn apart and vaporized, with not even many large fragments remaining. A violent, brief gravitational turbulence spread out from the center of the explosion, tearing several truly innocent abandoned satellites nearby into pieces and even causing the "soaring heavens," tens of thousands of kilometers away, to jolt violently once more before slowly calming down.
The "Underworld" platform, the "final trump card" McCarthy and the others had placed high hopes on, finished its short and frantic life after its first combat appearance—which had achieved startling results—due to its inherent fatal flaws and the "soaring heavens'" fearless, desperate counterattack. It turned into a rapidly expanding cloud of metal dust in Earth's geostationary orbit.
The first duel in orbit ended with the "soaring heavens" heavily damaged and the "Underworld" platform completely destroyed.
In the Ark city, Lin Mo looked at the "Underworld" signal disappearing from the star map and the "soaring heavens'" marker, which, though dimmed, remained steadfast. He slowly let out a breath. The first stab in the back had been barely blocked by trading injury for a life.
But the "soaring heavens" was already heavily damaged, and a gap had appeared in the lunar defense line. Meanwhile, the three "Scavenger" main units, having weathered the initial orbital battery volleys, had already closed in to a distance sufficient to pose a fatal threat to the Moon.
The real test was only now descending, along with the dust of the "Underworld."