Several hive-race fleets had appeared at the Owl Dragon System's border.
These hive-race fleets were plainly, one and all, bound for the important strategic sites.
For instance, one hive-race fleet came racing straight at the planet where Zhao Chen had settled the dwarf race; as for the other planets it passed, it had no great designs on them — at most it dropped some hive-race spores, then left without so much as a backward glance.
But Shen Bing could not, of course, truly let this hive-race fleet threaten the safety of the dwarf planet — for those who dwelt there were all Zhao Chen's most important interstellar artisans!
The Owl Dragon System, developed to this point, had near enough over 90% of the interstellar dwarf race working at the various industrial facilities under the Owl Dragon Legion.
Female dwarves with qualifying ability would board the interstellar industrial ships.
The rest of the dwarves would be arranged in the industrial zones on the planets, in charge of producing related industrial goods, or some not-very-important components for the starships.
"Target hive-race fleet spotted — number, 1,000! No T4 Hive Mothership; no direct attack on the surrounding planets, only the dropping of some hive-race spores or low-grade hive-race combat units." a subordinate reported to Shen Bing.
"End the fight as soon as you can, but don't take it lightly; though we have only 300 interstellar warships, I'll not permit the loss of a single one of our interstellar warships. Understood! Carry out the third combat plan against the hive-race!" Shen Bing handed down the combat order.
The interstellar warships she led spread into a combat posture.
300 Owl Dragon interstellar warships facing 1,000 hive-race fleet — seemingly at a numerical disadvantage, but in truth, in the head-on shape of the battle, Shen Bing's side held the initiative.
After all, these 300 were all T3-grade interstellar warships!
And on some nearby inhabited planets, combat-state had now been entered too.
The streets within the cities were near enough empty of any figure, hollow as dead cities.
And tens of meters beneath the cities, dozens of shelters had been built.
"All persons, by the number you've been issued, proceed to your designated rest zone; don't wander about, don't create disorder, obey orders. The emergency shelter policy is now in effect; anyone who violates the related policies may, at the highest penalty, be expelled from the Owl Dragon System. ……"
The broadcast voice played over and over in the long, narrow passages.
The residents, in neat, orderly queues, advanced toward their assigned placements.
Those placements were, in fact, so many large communal bunks.
Communal bunks though they were, the environment was still decent; when one wished to sleep, one could draw a curtain besides.
As for bathing and eating, arrangements lay within a five-minute walk — though one had to go bathe or eat within a designated time.
For there were too many people in the shelters; without these rules, there was no telling what chaos it would descend into.
Though the living conditions might be inferior to being aboveground, at the least the basic guarantees of life were no problem at all.
Boom.
Suddenly, a huge tremor came from overhead, and dust even sifted down from above.
This frightened some of the children into crying.
"It's all right, all right. His Lordship will protect us!" a mother held her weeping child, comforting it without cease.
What that explosion meant, everyone in fact knew well.
Fighting was underway on the surface!
Bringing the view to the city above the shelter, one could see a tall building had collapsed.
And above the city, dense hive-race spores were plunging down, so many they were like falling rain.
At the same time, the surface defensive equipment kept firing without cease, a sky-filling barrage sealing the great majority of the hive-race spores in the air, like fireworks blanketing the heavens.
But, inevitably, some hive-race spores still fell to the ground, even fell within the city.
One huge spore was falling squarely on the site of that collapsed building.
"Black Knight N991, what's the matter with you! That's the defense-sector you're in charge of, and you actually failed to intercept that bug-spore!"
A scolding voice came through the comm channel; a T2 Black-Knight-class Light Interstellar Combat Mecha was at this moment taking aim at that hive-race spore atop the collapsed building.
The hive-race spore burst open, and out of it emerged a giant beast three to five stories tall, along with no small number of ant-form bug-creatures.
The intact city walls all around extended defense auto-cannons one after another, taking aim at those ant-bugs, firing without cease and wiping them out to the last.
But these city cannons plainly posed no great threat to that giant beast-bug; its biological shell blocked the cannons' attacks.
Hearing the captain's rebuke, this Black Knight's pilot hurriedly explained: "Captain, just now there were several right over my head—"
"Don't give me any of your guff! Failing to protect the city is your responsibility. The task the higher-ups assigned our squad is to protect the main city district; if the other squads got wind of this, wouldn't they laugh at us for grabbing this plum job when we hadn't the ability! I'm telling you — the loss of this building comes out of your wages! And if there's another loss, you can just wait to get the sack from me, boy!"
The captain's scolding voice cut off abruptly.
The Black Knight's pilot wore a bitter-gourd face; he knew his captain was a sharp tongue over a bean-curd heart, and couldn't truly mean to punish him as he'd said — at most it'd be his whole wage halved for the next half-year, and a few more rounds of training put on him.
But at the thought that his squad had lost face before the other mecha squads on his account, a knot of irritation welled up in his belly.
Watching that giant beast-bug across the way charge at him besides.
Along the path it took, it trampled and wrecked no few public facilities and transit devices on the ground.
"Screw you — did your mother never teach you to take care of public facilities!" the Black Knight's pilot hefted the mecha's auto-cannon and let the giant beast-bug have a good round of fire.
At the same time, five missiles loosed from atop the mecha struck the giant beast-bug's body squarely.
The giant beast-bug's head was blown into a great hole; losing its life, its huge body began to topple toward a park beside it.
Seeing this, the Black Knight's pilot rushed over in fright, blocked the toppling giant beast-bug, and carefully laid it down on the roadway.
Only on seeing the park intact and unharmed did he count himself able to let out a breath.
Looking at those "meteors" still plunging overhead, he dared not take it lightly again.
Though they could not join the Owl Dragon Legion and become mecha pilots, at the least they could, upon the planet, guard the cities they lived in and depended on.
Situations of this sort were playing out in the cities of the various planets affected by the hive-race.
Combat mecha, ground defensive firepower, city defensive firepower, interstellar fighters, and the rest — all had been sent into action.
Fortunately, no Hive Mothership had come to grace these planets; against merely these low-grade hive-race units, they could still cope!