T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser · bridge.
Zhao Chen watched the first batch of 1,000 Owl Dragon First Legion interstellar warships complete their interstellar jump.
Half a minute later.
Zhao Chen looked to Lilith: "No reply at all?"
"None." Lilith shook her head gravely.
The first batch of 1,000 warships that had gone over was for all the world like a stone sunk into the sea.
"Commander-in-Chief, perhaps you and your flagship had best stay here first. The situation now is too eerie; if your flagship goes over… and if by any chance…" Lilith looked at Zhao Chen in worry.
"No! My eldest sister is over there, and both the Owl Dragon First Legion and the Owl Dragon Second Legion are going. And for the coming campaign, I must get clear just what trump card Qin Xiaotian holds in hand. Otherwise, we'll be terribly passive. Carry out the original plan — proceed with the following two batches' interstellar jumps!" Zhao Chen said gravely.
He knew such conduct of his was very risky, but in the present situation, he had no other choice.
Lilith drew a deep breath, and stressed once more over the intelligent channel that, upon completing the interstellar jump, they were to enter combat state at the first instant, and that, whatever the situation met, safeguarding the Commander-in-Chief's flagship was the first priority.
"Owl Dragon First Legion second batch of interstellar warships, prepare to make the interstellar jump. Jump coordinates confirmed… commencing interstellar jump!" Lilith reported the present steps.
As a T4 Lucent-class Interstellar Jump-Ship shone with light, these thousand interstellar warships vanished too.
Whsh.
The first instant Zhao Chen felt his consciousness return to his body, he at once commanded: "All interstellar warships, hold combat formation. The moment any threatening enemy is found, you may attack of your own accord! Launch the interstellar drone-scouts, radar-scan the surrounding space! Contact the other batches of interstellar warships at once, and the Owl Dragon Second Legion, and the Blue-Crystal Star-Port, and Qin Xiaolei and Governor Chu!"
Command after command was relayed out.
The thousand interstellar warships, centered on Zhao Chen's flagship and the interstellar missile ships and carrier starships and the related auxiliary-type interstellar warships, formed a combat square.
"Report — no energy-bodies detected around the fleet square!"
"Report — interstellar drone-scouts launched; no suspicious targets found for now!"
"Report — the starship comm-network is suffering interference from an unknown magnetic field, and cannot conduct long-range quantum communication! Attempt to contact the Imperial Princess Fleet-Group failed. Attempt to contact the Owl Dragon System failed. Attempt to contact the Chu River Star Region failed. Attempt to contact the Owl Dragon Second Legion failed. ……"
Listening to the news the bridge comm department reported.
Zhao Chen's brows knit gradually tighter.
Quantum communication under interference?
Was this the reason eldest sister couldn't contact the outside?
Zhao Chen knew some technological means could blockade quantum communication, but the range was tiny — at most the range of a single planet.
And by the look of it now, here, centered on the Blue-Crystal Star-Port, the whole Blue-Crystal star system was under a communications blockade!
To blockade a whole star system's quantum communication — with Zhao Chen's present ability, even he couldn't do it!
Qin Xiaotian?
He had this black-tech?
"Report — using mid-and-short-range comms, we've raised a few signals!" Suddenly, the head of the comm department reported a piece of news.
"Raised whom?" Zhao Chen asked at once: "Route the comm signal straight through to me!"
The comm channels received came to three.
But all were in a very blurred, indistinct state; one of them, though, could faintly, brokenly be made out.
"This… is… Owl Dragon First Legion first echelon… we are under attack… hive-race… it's… it's the hive-race!"
This message played on repeat without cease.
"It's the first echelon!" Zhao Chen looked to Lilith.
Before setting out, Zhao Chen had guessed at many situations, and so had arranged multiple contingencies.
One of them was that, in the event of being unable to make contact, they were to keep sending messages across every comm channel.
Zhao Chen opened the interstellar holo-table, enlarged it to the range of the Blue-Crystal star system, then looked at the several zones he'd marked on it.
Those zones were the interstellar-jump positions Zhao Chen had assigned the Owl Dragon First Legion and the Owl Dragon Second Legion.
"The first echelon's position is about 20 minutes' voyage from us at regular cruise speed! Relay the order — bear toward the first echelon's coordinate position, and at the same time put out word of our movement, and get in contact with the third echelon as best we can!" Zhao Chen handed down the command.
"Yes!" Lilith set to carrying out the command.
Zhao Chen sat in the captain's chair, turning over that message from just now.
Under attack?
The hive-race?
There was a hive-race fleet here?
But why would a hive-race fleet appear here!
At this moment, Zhao Chen felt as though there were a bank of fog before him.
He'd thought it some means of Qin Xiaotian's, yet now, of all things, the hive-race was drawn into it.
Zhao Chen's interstellar fleet set out, beginning to advance toward the position from which the first echelon had sent its message.
15 minutes later, the interstellar drone-scouts up ahead were first to send word back.
"Report — by the images sent back, judging it out. The Owl Dragon first echelon is under the encircling assault of what seems to be a hive-race fleet." a crewman reported.
Zhao Chen enlarged several key images.
One could see the Owl Dragon first echelon had formed a defensive formation, the carrier starships, interstellar missile ships, and auxiliary-type interstellar warships in the center.
Relying on this defensive formation, though the enemy units around them were many, they still fought in good order.
"By our radar scan, the count of hive-race star-ships in this zone is suspected to be 3,000!" Lilith answered.
"3,000?" Zhao Chen knit his brows; a hive-race fleet so vast was equivalent to the number that would surge out of a tier-4 cosmic bug-nest.
"But… the composition is a bit strange." Lilith pointed at the intelligence: "Of these 3,000 hive-race star-ships, 2,500 are T1 Hive Motherships! 500 are T2 Hive Motherships, 50 are T3 Hive Motherships. No trace of any T4 Hive Mothership has been found. By the past records on the interstellar hive-race, Hive Motherships on such a scale would, however you cut it, have one to three T4 Hive Motherships or so. This point is strange."
"No T4 Hive Mothership?" Zhao Chen too sensed something amiss.
The hive-race fleet was of that tiered-management sort; a hive-race fleet so vast had to have one or several T4 Hive Motherships in control, or internal strife would break out.
The situation before them was quite contrary to common sense.
"Never mind these for now — relay the order. Ready for battle; wipe out these Hive Motherships before us and link up with the first echelon. This battle, be sparing with the interstellar missiles. The situation is still unclear; we must prepare for the worst!" Zhao Chen cautioned.
"Yes!"
The first echelon's interstellar warships too sensed the appearance of friendly ships, and began to break out toward this direction, trying to link up with Zhao Chen.
Once linked up, they could bring to bear a stronger combat power!