237: Chapter 237 Fleet Assembles! North Heavenly Gate, Attack!
There are thirty hours left before the three Scavenger vanguard units reach their attack positions.
Ark City, Spaceport Number Zero.
This was the most massive space structure ever built by humanity. It was not a warship, nor a platform, but a gargantuan steel city floating in synchronous orbit—a staging and maintenance base specifically designed for the main force of the human aerospace fleet.
At this moment, this steel city was slowly spreading its "wings."
It was a spectacular sight composed of hundreds of mechanical arms, thousands of docking ports, and tens of thousands of flashing indicator lights, resembling a blooming metallic flower. A warship was quietly moored at every mechanical arm.
The "soaring heavens."
It was no longer the wrecked vessel that had once been heavily damaged by the Underworld and had perished along with the enemy under Long Zhantian's command. It was a brand-new, reconstructed flagship that inherited that immortal name and the heroic spirits of all who had sacrificed themselves.
Its hull was larger and more slender than before. On its silver-gray keystone-1 type alloy shell, a faint, seemingly living shimmer flowed—this was the latest bio-metal composite armor provided by the pegasus project, capable of self-repair during combat and even actively changing local forms to adapt to different battlefield environments.
At its bow, that judgement-class heavy particle main cannon, powerful enough to make planets tremble, was currently charging slowly. Deep within the barrel, a ghostly blue light breathed like a sleeping behemoth; every flicker caused the surrounding void to vibrate slightly.
Surrounding it was a dense cluster of warships, all equally ready for battle.
Twelve Guang Han - Destroyer Class ships, centered around the soaring heavens, formed a standard diamond escort formation. On their hulls, every weld, every armor plate, and every cannon muzzle shimmered with the cold light unique to the eve of battle.
Thirty-six Black Bird-class aerospace fighters circled the outer perimeter like a Bee Swarm. They did not need to moor; their maneuverability was sufficient for them to adjust their positions at any time during combat to deliver a fatal blow.
Eight thunder department-ii class orbital batteries were slowly detaching from the flanks of Spaceport Number Zero. They would sortie along with the fleet, deploying in advance at the designated battlefield to form a long-range fire support network.
There were also countless supply ships, repair vessels, and electronic warfare platforms... the entire fleet, like a war machine of ultimate precision, was completing its final startup checks.
General Xu Rushan stood on the bridge of the soaring heavens, looking down at it all through the massive viewing window.
Behind him stood the new captain of the soaring heavens—a young general only thirty-two years old who had already proven himself in the defense of the Moon, named Lu Chuan.
"Captain Lu," General Xu Rushan's voice was low and calm, "are you nervous?"
Lu Chuan was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Nervous. So nervous my hands are shaking."
General Xu Rushan did not look back, merely nodding slightly. "That’s only right. Anyone who isn't nervous is either a fool or a corpse."
He turned around, looking into Lu Chuan's young but firm eyes. "When General Long was here, his favorite saying was—fighting a war isn't about not being afraid. It's about fighting even when you are afraid."
Lu Chuan took a deep breath and nodded hard. "I'll remember that."
General Xu Rushan patted his shoulder and walked toward the command seat in the center of the bridge.
His voice, transmitted through the quantum network, entered the bridge of every warship, every battery, and every fighter:
"All North Heaven Gate fleet units, hear my command."
Instantly, all the busyness, all the noise, and all the sounds fell silent.
Only his voice echoed in the deathly silence of the void:
"In thirty hours, three Scavenger units will reach their attack positions. Their targets are our Moon Base, our home, and our command center. They want us to collapse in fear and perish in despair."
"But today, we will not let them have their way."
His gaze swept across the three red dots frantically approaching on the star map, across the warships ready for departure, and across the young, determined faces:
"Today, we take the initiative to attack. We go to Jupiter's orbit, to the designated battlefield, to intercept them before they reach the inner Solar System."
"This is not a battle we are certain to win. But it is a battle that must be fought."
"For those who have already died, for the children still in their swaddling clothes, and for this damned yet lovely civilization—"
He raised his hand, pointing deep into the star map toward the direction of the three red dots:
"North Heaven Gate fleet, attack!"
The soaring heavens was the first to start up.
The massive hull, under the combined action of countless thrusters, slowly detached from the docking port of Spaceport Number Zero. Behind it, the twelve Guang Han - Destroyer Class ships started up in sequence, following closely like loyal guards.
Thirty-six Black Bird-class aerospace fighters converged from all directions, forming a dense escort network around the fleet.
The eight thunder department-ii class orbital batteries followed at the rear at a slightly slower speed, their muzzles already calibrated and ready for combat at any moment.
The entire fleet, like an awakened steel dragon, slowly swam out of the Earth-Moon orbit, heading toward the infinite, dark depths of space.
The Moon, Guanghan Palace base.
Wang Lei stood at the highest point of the base's dome, looking through the transparent protective layer at the fleet as it moved away.
Behind him stood all the officers and soldiers of the garrison who could still stand. No one spoke; everyone was offering a solemn military salute.
The fleet grew further and smaller, finally disappearing into that eternal starry sky.
Wang Lei slowly lowered his saluting hand and turned to face the officers and soldiers who had also lowered theirs.
"They're gone," he said, his voice raspy. "To block the sharpest blades for us. And we, too, have our mission."
His gaze swept over those resolute faces: "Guard this base well. So that when they return, they still have a place to land."
No one answered.
But everyone nodded firmly.
Mars, Lovo Base, Kelson's laboratory.
Kelson stood before the window, looking at the massive holographic screen in the distance. The screen was broadcasting the spectacular scene of the North Heaven Gate fleet setting out.
Behind him, the wreckage of that avengers had been dismantled into a mess by him. Countless tiny parts, chips, and circuits were sorted and laid out on his workbench.
In his hand, he held a chip just extracted from the wreckage that was still glowing slightly—it was a fragment of the core logic module of the nemesis AI.
He looked at the chip, then at the fleet moving away on the screen, and murmured to himself:
"You go fight the war. I'll stay here and help you dig a little deeper into the enemy's secrets."
He turned and threw himself back into that pile of cold metal fragments.
Earth, in all the underground shelters.
On the massive holographic screens, the scene of the North Heaven Gate fleet setting out was being broadcast. That steel dragon was slowly moving away in the starry sky, growing smaller and more distant.
No one spoke.
Old John sat in a corner holding Little Amelia. The little girl's eyes were fixed on the fleet on the screen, staring at the largest flagship named soaring heavens.
"Grandpa," she suddenly asked softly, "will they come back?"
Old John was silent for a few seconds. He looked down into his granddaughter's clear eyes.
"Yes," he said, his voice raspy yet firm. "Because they promised they would come back."
Little Amelia nodded and buried her face in her grandfather's chest.
What Grandpa said was true.
Because Grandpa never lied to her.
In the starry sky, the North Heaven Gate fleet was advancing at full speed.
Jupiter's orbit was approximately six hundred million kilometers from Earth. At the fleet's current speed, it would take about twenty-two hours.
In twenty-two hours, they would reach the designated battlefield.
In twenty-two hours, they would come face-to-face with those three Scavenger vanguards that represented absolute destruction.
General Xu Rushan stood on the bridge of the soaring heavens, looking at the dark and deep starry sky drawing closer ahead.
Behind him, Lu Chuan was performing a final check on all combat systems. Every gun, every shield, and every engine was emitting a steady hum.
"Report," Lu Chuan's voice rang out, "final self-check for all combat systems complete. All systems normal."
General Xu Rushan nodded without looking back.
He just stared at that starry sky, at those three red dots frantically closing in.
Twenty-two hours.
Everything would be decided then.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the Solar System, the Kuiper Belt.
Those three massive, constantly shape-shifting figures were still advancing at high speed.
They did not know what fear was, they did not know what hesitation was, they did not know what "home" was.
They only knew one command—purify.
But in their "perception," a new variable appeared at this moment.
That fleet departing from Earth-Moon orbit and heading straight for them.
Their core processors completed an assessment of this variable within 0.000001 seconds.
Assessment result: Threat level—Medium.
Countermeasure: Continue advance. Annihilate at the designated engagement point.
They continued to rush toward that small blue planet silently, coldly, and unwaveringly.
In the starry sky, two forces were accelerating toward each other.
One was the human fleet—fighting to protect, capable of fear, capable of hesitation, and willing to sacrifice for others.
One was the mechanical reapers—coming to purify, incapable of fear, incapable of hesitation, and knowing only destruction.
In twenty-two hours, they would meet.
In twenty-two hours, everything would be decided.
North Heaven Gate fleet, attack.