The difficulty of annihilating these hive-race fleets was not great.
After all, Zhao Chen had crossed swords with hive-race fleets several times before, and back then the Owl Dragon Legion had not had many interstellar warships at all.
Now.
What Zhao Chen held in hand were uniformly T3 interstellar warships, with a considerable number of T4-grade ones besides.
This was not the past!
The combat units the Hive Motherships loosed — T1 flying-bugs, T2 Thorny Serpents, T3 self-detonating beetles, T3 Corrupted Wyverns, and the like—
—could be wholly wiped out by the close-defense firepower net formed of the T3 Triceratops-class Interstellar Heavy-Assault Escorts and the T4 Paladin-class Heavy Interstellar Missile-Escorts, unable to draw near the Owl Dragon fleet at all.
Against Hive Motherships that entered firepower range, the other T3 interstellar warships, seizing the chance, could destroy them too.
As for those farther off, that was left to the T3 Judicator-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ships for long-range firepower strikes.
At times, the T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser could even charge into the bug-swarm single-handed a few times.
Under an offensive of this sort, these 3,000 Hive Motherships were soon wiped out to the last.
And Zhao Chen had discovered the place where these Hive Motherships weren't right.
In the hangar.
Several shuttle-craft dragged a huge T1 Hive Mothership head-corpse into the hangar.
Zhao Chen stood in a corridor several meters off the ground, looking down at the head-corpse fragment of the Hive Mothership in the bay.
Though several meters off, Zhao Chen could still smell a sour, rotten stench.
Below, several female researchers in protective suits were already slowly approaching with instruments and equipment of every kind.
First, one female researcher, holding something like a drill-bit, began drilling a hole in the Hive Mothership's head.
Green juice sprayed out, and that sour, rotten smell grew heavier still.
Beep, beep, beep, beep.
A detection instrument in another female researcher's hand suddenly gave off a piercing alarm.
Zhao Chen's gaze fixed.
Suddenly, a pitch-black something bored out of the hole the female researcher had drilled — somewhat spider-like in form, but with a great many tentacle-like structures on its body, coated besides with a mucus most "appetite-whetting."
The instant this strange "steel spider" crawled out, it was subdued by the two weapon-bearing female researchers around it.
One first loosed an electric charge, leaving the "steel spider" unable to stir; the other at once bound its body fast, so it could not move.
"What is this thing?" Lilith, at his side, covered her nose and mouth, and said in shock.
"This should be the reason a hive-race fleet appeared here. By the look of it, that Prince Yan truly does hide a great secret!" Zhao Chen narrowed his eyes: "As for just what this thing is — I trust we'll know very soon. Relay to the fleet — rest and refit for five minutes, then, while contacting the other Owl Dragon fleets, voyage toward the Blue-Crystal Star-Port."
Lilith relayed the Commander-in-Chief's command.
Half an hour later.
Zhao Chen and Lilith came to the biological laboratory set up within the T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser.
Though this was a combat-type interstellar warship, its interior was nonetheless fully appointed; not to say especially advanced, but the basic research and experiments could still be carried out.
Zhao Chen and Lilith looked at that bound "steel spider" on the far side of the glass window.
A female researcher walked out and, seeing Zhao Chen, at once made a salute: "Commander-in-Chief."
"Tell me straight — just what is this thing?" Zhao Chen asked.
The female researcher called up the related data: "Because time and equipment are limited, we can't grasp this thing's structure and operating principle in detail. But we can roughly surmise what its function is. It amounts to an artificial 'brain,' used to control a target organism."
Though he'd had a premonition of it within, Zhao Chen still wore a look of surprise.
"Control a target organism? Isn't that… as good as the thought-control technology in science-fiction novels?" Lilith said, somewhat aghast.
The female researcher shook her head: "It's not so terrible; by our preliminary understanding, it should have several limitations at present. First is size — its volume can't yet be made too small, which means it can't enter organisms of too small a size. At the same time, it can't control high-intelligence organisms — for instance us, the human race; if it forcibly intervenes, it'll overload its own core, or to put it simply, it'll crash. And by the build-materials we've made out so far, no few are scarce raw materials; the build requirements should be very high, so it can't be mass-produced on a large scale. Its technological level, though, has already reached the late T4 grade."
Hearing this analysis, Lilith let out a long breath of relief.
Were there such a thing, boring into one's own head and controlling one's thoughts — the mere thought bred terror!
And by the present situation, it seemed the only ones that met this technology's requirements were large organisms of the Hive Mothership sort.
Control the individual that is the Hive Mothership first, and the combat units aboard it would naturally be controlled too!
"Which is to say — these Hive Motherships are all under control!" Lilith exclaimed.
"So it should be." Zhao Chen nodded.
"Qin Xiaotian? He has this capability?" Lilith found it a touch hard to believe.
So heaven-defying a technology — how could a mere prince within the Starlight Empire possibly command it!
Zhao Chen too harbored doubt.
If Qin Xiaotian had long held this technology, he could have rebelled and taken the throne himself long ago.
Which meant Qin Xiaotian, too, had gotten hold of this technology only lately — it might even be not yet very mature, or not very great in quantity, or some such reason.
But however it be, this bit of black-tech was terrifying!
"But… how did Qin Xiaotian come by these Hive Motherships?" Zhao Chen knit his brows.
The interstellar hive-race were no natives of this universe, but came from some unknown other-world.
They'd surge out as hive-race fleets only when an unstable cosmic wormhole appeared.
Recalling the cosmic wormholes that had cropped up, one after another and abnormally, within the Starlight Empire earlier.
This gave rise, despite himself, to a thought in Zhao Chen.
Could it be… those were all Qin Xiaotian working his mischief?
To be able to control the appearance of a cosmic bug-nest.
This was another terrifying bit of black-tech.
Qin Xiaotian.
This fellow carried no few secrets on him.
"Collect more of these intact 'steel spiders'; once we've brought them back to the Owl Dragon System, arrange for research personnel to study them in detail." Zhao Chen instructed.
The most important thing at present was still to first settle the Blue-Crystal Star-Port.
Another half-hour's voyage followed, during which Zhao Chen met the Owl Dragon First Legion's third echelon, which had likewise met a hive-race fleet's attack, but of no small number, and taken near enough no losses.
With that, the Owl Dragon First Legion counted as safely mustered and complete.
And the Blue-Crystal Star-Port, too, appeared before Zhao Chen's eyes.