Only, the crimson "bug-tide" over here on the T3 Phoenix-class Heavy Carrier Starship's side, set against the true swarm-sea of the enemy opposite, was quite simply a small splash of water being compared to a heaven-drowning tidal wave.
In this bare span of a moment, the hive-race units deployed out from those Hive ships, in a vast, sky-blotting array, were for all the world like a black sandstorm within the cosmos!
Over on Zhao Chen's side, the T3 Phoenix's ship radar already displayed dense, teeming bugs-unit energy signals. And it was, happily, thanks to this T3 Phoenix's ship radar and its system algorithms being strong enough — otherwise, with data on so vast a scale, by all estimates the system itself would have sounded the alarm.
Zhao Chen stared at the data panel before him.
The count of the Hive fleet showed no change. But the other things were climbing at an astonishing speed. The count of the T1 Flying-Bugs above all — from the several tens of thousands of the outset, in the space of a single blink, it became several hundred thousand! And this figure kept increasing without cease. In a bare span of a single minute, it climbed to 10 million! Even at this point it was still rising, though the rate of increase had plainly slowed. Still, these T1 Flying-Bugs were the cannon-fodder among the cannon-fodder.
The Hive fleet's chief combat units were still the T2 Thorny Serpents, and the count of the T2 Thorny Serpents was likewise increasing without cease. From several hundred… to several thousand… to several tens of thousands…
Zhao Chen stared at these leaping figures; in truth, as for the numbers of these hive-race units, Zhao Chen had long since made his conjecture. The T1 Flying-Bugs, in all likelihood, would come to 15 million; and the count of the T2 Thorny Serpents would break past 100,000. Of the rest, the T3 Corrupted Wyverns too numbered close to 5,000, and the T3 Self-Detonating Beetles close to 1,000!
Over 10 million hive-race units!
That scene genuinely made one's scalp go numb and prickle at the mere watching of it!
The Hive Motherships that had deployed these bugs flying-units still used the same unchanging tactic — leaving only a very small portion of bugs to guard their own motherships. The rest of the hive-race units, all in one seething swarm, charged straight at the Owl Dragon Fleet blocking their path!
But for the Owl Dragon Fleet, this battle was unlike those of days past. The T3 Phoenix-class Heavy Carrier Starship's fighter and drone swarms did not go to seize by force the aerospace supremacy above the enemy fleet. For to contest a Hive fleet for its aerospace supremacy — how great a capability would that take? Even Zhao Chen's T3 Phoenix couldn't bear so vast a consumption. So, in a change from the tactics of past days, the 300 T3 Phoenix-class fighters and 3,000 T3 Black Phoenix-class medium drones aboard the T3 Phoenix chiefly carried out fleet defensive-counterattack combat — around the Owl Dragon Fleet, working together with the T2 Black Rhinos to annihilate all the hive-race units that came to attack!
And the T3 Fire Phoenix-class heavy interstellar stealth bombers, too, did not drive deep into the enemy swarm to take the flagships' heads. Instead, they locked onto the approximate positions where the T3 Corrupted Wyverns and T3 Self-Detonating Beetles lay, and dropped interstellar bombs. The interstellar bombs were area attacks — which not only could kill these T3 Corrupted Wyverns and T3 Self-Detonating Beetles, but could also deal enormous damage to the surrounding hive-race units, slowing the hive-race units' assault.
"T3 Phantom Assassin squad and T2 Lion King squad — carry out your combat tasks!" Zhao Chen said.
T3 Phantom Assassin-class Light Interstellar Stealth Bomber No.1 · bridge.
Not long ago, Zhao Wan'er had refused her big brother Zhao Chen's arrangement of a T3 Blizzard as her flagship, and resolutely demanded to go on serving as a T3 Phantom Assassin captain. Just now, having received her big brother's order — she who had, poised and ready, stared for so long at the dozens of Hive Motherships right before her eyes — gave the order she'd awaited so long.
"Phantom Assassin squad! Act!"
At the same time—
T2 Lion King-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ship No.1 · bridge.
The wolf-girl Baixue, who'd been awaiting Commander Zhao Chen's order, had long since been restless past bearing; she undid several buttons of her uniform tunic. At the very first moment she heard the Commander's order, she gave the command, all but "howling like a wolf": "Lion King squad! Fire! Fire! Fire!"
All the interstellar missiles of the five T2 Lion Kings.
That's right!
Every last interstellar missile.
Because the swarm came on ferociously, dense and vast in number, there was simply no room to maneuver. Better, then, to come out fierce from the very start. The five T2 Lion Kings, 2,500 Lion King-class interstellar missiles all told, began firing at this point without a break. One interstellar missile after another went screaming out, trailing tail-flame. In a bare span of three minutes, the five T2 Lion Kings had fired out all 2,500 Lion King-class interstellar missiles. In a battle of this kind, the T2 Lion King was often the first to launch its attack, and at the same time the fastest to finish and withdraw from the field. Fast, and fierce — that was its byword!
The wolf-girl Baixue, her eyes shot through with blood, stared at the display window of the imagery captured by the deep-space telescope; her breathing, in this moment, seemed as though it had stopped. As a "sea of red flowers" bloomed out within the picture, her whole face was flushed, her ears standing up, the tail behind her swaying without cease, and at the corner of her mouth a trace of an entranced smile. This picture… was far too beautiful! And beneath this exquisite picture were tens of thousands upon tens of thousands of hive-race units, swallowed up by the terrifying explosions!
At the same time, the five T3 Phantom Assassins, too, bared the fangs they'd kept in hiding. Short-range heavy anti-ship missiles! Short-range heavy cluster bombs! Heavy short-range particle torpedoes! All fired out, racing toward the prey they'd long since locked onto. Four T3 Hive Motherships, and a number of T2 Hive Motherships.
These Hive Motherships perhaps hadn't imagined that, at a position this close to them, five interstellar warships would spring up out of thin air; they at once began to defend, sending the hive-race flying-units escorting them to strike at these warships and ward off the incoming attacks. But in so hurried a span of time, there was simply no getting to it in time. The four T3 Hive Motherships were covered by dense explosive firepower almost in an instant; and even the strongest bio-armor, at so close a range, taking an attack of this kind, was past all saving!
Zhao Chen, up on the T3 Phoenix's bridge, didn't even need to look at the battlefield. He needed only to look at his own System page. Watching the number climb, one by one, on the task option for killing T3 Hive Motherships, he knew the result.
The words "19 ships" gave a jump and became "20."
Another jump, and it went straight from "20" to "22."
Thereupon it froze fast at "23."
The corner of Zhao Chen's mouth curved up. This was precisely the heaven-defying wonder of the T3 Phantom Assassin — in a mere span of under five minutes of firepower output, it had taken down the Hive fleet's strongest four T3 Hive Motherships!
"Phantom Assassin squad has completed its combat task; requesting withdrawal from the battlefield." Zhao Wan'er's voice sounded by Zhao Chen's ear.
"Withdrawal permitted." Zhao Chen looked to the team responsible for the "clearing of the field" that came next.
The 20 T3 Blizzards led by Charlotte!
"Charge!" Charlotte, aboard T3 Blizzard No.1, gave the order to sortie.
The slaughter began!