As more and more Owl Dragon interstellar hive-race swarms poured in,
trouble of many kinds began to break out at the Devourer Civilization's forward base as well.
"Report: so far the enemy's interstellar hive-race total over 300 million, and they're still increasing!" a subordinate reported to the Troll Monarch.
The Troll Monarch's face was dark.
Had they been ordinary interstellar hive-race, even 300 million would have seemed nothing to him.
But by now it could be seen plainly that the Owl Dragon interstellar hive-race opposite were far stronger than the common kind of interstellar hive-race.
He looked out the viewport.
At this very moment even his own ship, this Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship, T6 in name but in fact already quasi-T7, had joined the fighting.
The main and secondary guns packed close all over its hull were firing.
He had meant to use it to clear away those interstellar stealth bombers of the Owl Dragon Empire's, but now it was almost wholly attacking the Owl Dragon hive-race swarms that kept surging in.
It had destroyed a good many Owl Dragon Hive Motherships, true.
But it could be seen that these Owl Dragon Hive Motherships' aim was to tie down this Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship, so that it could not affect the other interstellar warships.
So this situation was one the Owl Dragon side could accept.
And one the Troll Monarch himself could not.
But what could he do now?
The Troll Monarch's corpulent body was trembling; he said in a deep voice, "If the enemy's Hive Motherships keep growing in number, can we still swallow their starships on our side?"
The subordinate officer paused, then said, "To be honest, as things stand, it's very likely that before we destroy these Owl Dragon interstellar warships, they'll use the universe-space fold-jump points to go back to the Owl Dragon Empire's universe. And in the end, never mind wiping them out or mauling them badly; even destroying sixty or seventy percent may be very hard. After all…… we have fewer than 10 million interstellar warships on our side here now; that's more than enough to deal with that Shadow Hunter ace fleet group. But to deal with these Owl Dragon interstellar hive-race swarms that keep on growing will take some time and effort."
The Troll Monarch's face was terrible.
He had lowered his demands again and again, but he had never imagined it would come to such a pass now.
If he truly let the chief culprits, the Owl Dragon Empire's Shadow Hunter ace fleet group, escape back to the Owl Dragon Empire under his very nose, this Sovereign truly would have nowhere to hide his face.
"Find a way to get orders to our legion fleets on the Owl Dragon Empire's battlefields on the other side. Their attacks can slow down, but the one demand is that they plug these openings and stop these Owl Dragon interstellar warships from fleeing back, whatever it takes. At the same time, give orders to the interstellar legion fleets under my command: draw five more legion fleet groups over here for me!" The Troll Monarch paused, and went on, "The Troll Monarch Legion fleet is to attack that universe-space fold-jump point the enemy controls. At any cost, plug that opening in the shortest possible time!"
"Yes!" The subordinate officer at once began passing on the order.
As things stood now, the only way was to plug, by any means, these openings the Owl Dragon interstellar hive-race swarms were surging through.
The Troll Monarch frowned at the holographic image of the interstellar holo-table before him; before coming here he had never in the world imagined that this Owl Dragon Empire would have so many tricks.
In his heart he had already admitted the Owl Dragon Empire's strength.
He hoped only that this situation would not get out of control.
……
The Owl Dragon Empire's universe
The T6 Dragon Emperor Interstellar Command Ship
"According to the latest news sent back, Marshal Zhao Waner's side has moved on to the third stage of the whole plan. The Owl Dragon hive-race fleet led by the Hive Princess has gone through the universe-space fold-jump point we control into the Devourer Civilization's interstellar universe, and has set up worm-way jump points, so it can support every part of the Shadow Hunter ace fleet group under Zhao Waner scattered across the other battlefields." Lilith reported the latest news to Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen looked at a brand-new interstellar holo-table before him, holding battlefield information about another universe.
It was not synchronized in real time, but something was better than nothing.
"Wonderful. I never thought there would come a day when we could counterattack the Devourer Civilization's home universe!" The Flame Elf Queen's hologram beside them could not hide the excitement on her face.
"But we're still far from the step of success; it's too early to celebrate now," Charlotte said coolly beside them.
Zhao Chen nodded; he said thoughtfully, "Then the next part of the plan is that step, isn't it?"
Charlotte nodded, staring at the interstellar holo-table of the Devourer Civilization's universe. "So long as this step succeeds, not only will this battle plan of ours succeed, it will also mean the pressure on our Owl Dragon Empire drops sharply from here on. We may even maul the Devourer Civilization badly, and win our Owl Dragon Empire more time to grow!"
"If it really goes as your plan says, it truly will be a great victory," the Flame Elf Queen said excitedly.
Lilith glanced at the Flame Elf Queen and said, as if in passing, "Then if things really turn out that well, I wonder whether the Sacred Elf Empire will still be as timid as it is now?"
The Flame Elf Queen caught the meaning in Lilith's words.
Her face grave, she said in a deep voice, "If it truly comes to that, I'll find a way, whatever it takes, to persuade the High Council to go to all-out war with the Devourer Civilization. With so good a chance for battle laid before them, if they still ignore it, that lot would be too foolish!"
Lilith had meant to snap back, Have you been foolish in few enough places already?
But Zhao Chen cut her off.
There was no need to expose a thing like that; a word of hint was enough, and the other side knew it well in their heart.
"Hasn't the Troll Monarch's side made any response to the appearance of our Owl Dragon interstellar hive-race?" Zhao Chen asked.
Charlotte said beside him, "They have responded, but because the Hive Princess's Owl Dragon interstellar hive-race swarms are so numerous, and fight far better than ordinary interstellar hive-race besides, they caught the enemy off guard, and the openings weren't plugged in time. So the worm-way jump points have all been set up now. If the enemy wants to stop the Owl Dragon interstellar hive-race now, the only way is to take the universe-space fold-jump point on the Luoyang System No. 11 battlefield. But that's where the Hive Princess's Owl Dragon hive-race fleet is most numerous. That Troll Monarch won't find that hard bone easy to gnaw."
"That's also because we hold the advantage in intelligence. We owe it to the Flame Elf Queen for giving us the technical information on this universe-space fold-jump point technology the Devourer Civilization uses." Zhao Chen looked at the Flame Elf Queen beside him.
"It was no trouble at all," the Flame Elf Queen said with a smile.
As for this universe-space fold-jump point the Devourer Civilization used,
it had been mentioned before: it was a piece of black technology the Devourer Civilization had mastered, called T6 technology but in fact quasi-T7-grade technology.
It could stay in existence for some time,
a month, three months, half a year, say.
And it allowed two-way passage; apart from a limit on how many interstellar warships could use it at once, it had no other limits.
But it had one drawback too.
That was that it was "indiscriminate."
That is to say, there was no control over it at all; once opened, anyone's interstellar warships could pass freely.
And to close it, there was nothing for it but to destroy it, or use certain equipment to make it dissipate quickly.
It was this flaw, too, that had given their interstellar warships an opening, letting them slip quietly over to the other universe without alarming the other side at all, and made this surprise attack go so smoothly.
The Flame Elf Queen looked at Zhao Chen. "The interstellar hive-race that has submitted to you deserves great credit in this too. In our intelligence and the Devourer Civilization's, we did know that some powerful interstellar races have the special T5-grade unit called the interstellar web-way worm. But the data and intelligence in our databases all show that this interstellar web-way worm takes some time to set up a worm-way jump point. But this Owl Dragon interstellar hive-race of yours has this……"
"The interstellar web-way king-worm," Zhao Chen said.
"Yes. This interstellar web-way king-worm can set up worm-way jump points in an extremely short time; it caught the other side wholly off guard, and that's what led to the situation now." The Flame Elf Queen's eyes were full of admiration.
Zhao Chen nodded with a smile.
The interstellar web-way king-worm was an upgraded interstellar web-way worm, bred and raised by the Hive Princess, of T6 grade.
It had greater abilities than the T5 interstellar web-way worm.
And the Flame Elf Queen knew only some of its surface features.
According to what the Hive Princess had told Zhao Chen before,
the T6 interstellar web-way king-worm not only set up worm-way jump points far more efficiently, but also let Hive Motherships pass through dozens of times more efficiently.
That was what let those Owl Dragon interstellar hive-race swarms support the other battlefields in the shortest possible time.
But it had its drawbacks too.
How efficiently it set up worm-way jump points depended on the distance between them; the farther apart, the more time it took to build.
As for the detailed figures on this, Zhao Chen naturally could not tell the Flame Elf Queen.
"But I'm a little worried. If I were that Troll Monarch opposite, I expect I'd use his flagship, that T6 Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship, and his own guard legion fleet to storm that universe-space jump point by now. Can the interstellar hive-race alone hold it?" Lilith asked anxiously.
"The interstellar hive-race of before, perhaps not. But the Hive Princess's interstellar hive-race now are completely different from before," Zhao Chen said with a light smile.
"If I didn't see wrong before, that Hive Princess commander's own ship should be a quasi-T7-grade Hive Mothership, shouldn't it?" the Flame Elf Queen said beside them.
Zhao Chen looked at the Flame Elf Queen in some surprise; he had not thought her eye so sharp, but then again, it made sense.
The interstellar hive-race was something known to many universes; it was an enormous threat, even called a natural calamity.
Naturally there was a wealth of every kind of intelligence on it.
"That's right." Zhao Chen did not deny it.
She had seen it already; better to be frank.
"Such a pity I can't be there in person now. Otherwise a duel between two quasi-T7 interstellar warships really would be something to look forward to. And two biological interstellar warships at that," the Flame Elf Queen said with feeling.
Lilith was somewhat startled. "That Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship is a biological interstellar warship?"
"You didn't know?" The Flame Elf Queen looked at Lilith.
Lilith stuck out her tongue. "There's too much to do on the Empire's logistics side; I only skimmed some of the front-line battlefield files."
"Our Sacred Elf Empire should have shared a copy of these files with you. In truth it's no secret either," the Flame Elf Queen explained again. "Why can that Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship be called a quasi-T7 interstellar warship? In truth it has to do with its core technology. Strictly speaking, it can't be called a wholly biological interstellar warship. For it's an interstellar fortress ship built on the body of a giant interstellar creature."
As she said it, the Flame Elf Queen raised her hand, and a hologram appeared.
It was a very strange creature, like an octopus, but where its head was it had eyes like those of a humanoid being.
"This is a creature called the Star-Sea Behemoth; it's about the size of an asteroid. It has nine hearts. And these nine hearts can produce enormous energy. And it can spray an extremely corrosive black fluid; even the hull armor of a T6-grade interstellar warship can be eaten away in the shortest time. At the same time it moves extremely fast, and usually roams the edge space of star systems. So it's very hard to find, and harder still to catch. But I don't know what means the Troll Monarch got from Order; he truly did manage to catch one. Then he enslaved it, and used this Star-Sea Behemoth's body as the interstellar warship's 'keel' and core energy source, and built this Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship. If it only has to sail, this Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship can stay out of port forever. The nine hearts inside it can supply this giant interstellar ship with energy without end," the Flame Elf Queen said in assessment.
Having heard the origin of this T6 Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship,
Lilith frowned; it could be seen that she found such conduct repugnant.
She knew very well that, from a practical standpoint, it was a formidable weapon.
But gaining power for oneself by enslaving another creature
she found repugnant from the bottom of her heart.
That had to do with her birth in the succubus race, too, and with what she had been through before she met Zhao Chen.
"This duel really is something to look forward to. But it isn't the heart of this operation," Charlotte said beside them.
Zhao Chen glanced at the time and asked, "Barring accidents, when will the next step of the plan start?"
"Once everything is ready, another fifteen minutes. That's about thirty minutes from now." Charlotte gave the time she had worked out.
Thirty minutes.
Zhao Chen murmured to himself.
In thirty minutes the great gift he had prepared for the Devourer Civilization would make its grand entrance!