A huge form came voyaging slowly out from the pitch-black cosmos.
Had one not looked closely, one would likely have taken it for merely a strangely shaped planet.
Zhao Chen gazed at this image; had the T3 Silver-Rat-class Light Interstellar Stealth-Recon Ship not been at a considerable distance, the imaging lens likely couldn't have held this terrifying behemoth at all.
Though neither the Galactic Alliance's nor the Starlight Empire's records held any record of a T5 Hive Mothership's existence.
Because before this, the highest grade ever to appear had been the tier-4 cosmic bug-nest and the T4 Hive Mothership.
But seeing so huge a bulk and so ferocious a visage, a sense of pressure welling from within, the first thing Zhao Chen thought of was a T5 Hive Mothership.
Only this station was worthy of the behemoth before him.
Its enormous body — the fore half like a giant whale-crocodile, the aft half like a squid.
Upon the enormous body were no few "caverns," within which one could see a great mass of hive-race units living — a moving hive-race world!
Even upon its spine and belly clung a great many Hive Motherships, the great majority T1- and T2-grade.
At its top was an oily-green nozzle — this should be its main attack weapon, the bio-plasma cannon!
That powerful attack just now should have been what it loosed.
"Commander-in-Chief, because no T5 Hive Mothership has ever appeared in the Galactic Alliance's history, there's no intelligence record whatever. No name either," Lilith said from the side, a touch worried.
"Wait… have the scout-ship enlarge these zones." Zhao Chen keenly caught certain details, pointing at some of the images.
Lilith relayed the Commander-in-Chief's meaning.
Soon, the zones Zhao Chen wanted were shown in detailed image.
Zhao Chen saw great swaths of wounded zones, and mutilated zones — the feeling was… the feeling was… like a ruin of broken walls.
"Not right! This can't be called a T5 Hive Mothership; I've looked at its bio-fluctuation intensity — though it surpasses a T4 Leviathan-class Hive Mothership's, were it truly T5-grade, this value shouldn't be only this!"
Zhao Chen raised his doubt.
Though he'd never seen a T5 Hive Mothership, he held a T5 interstellar warship in hand; measured against its performance, this T5 Hive Mothership before him was far from reaching the level of T5 bio-technology.
"But this huge a form — how do you explain that?" Lilith raised the question.
Fortunately, in the zones Zhao Chen had spotted, he found the answer.
"This Hive Mothership should already have been dead before it was controlled — time of death unknown. But because of death, no few of its biological performances have shrunk greatly. These clues can be found on the T1 and T2 Hive Motherships we captured. Some had 'Steel Spiders' implanted while alive, some had 'Steel Spiders' implanted after death, and the bio-energy of the two differs greatly. Qin Xiaotian has the ability to develop this control method, and perhaps can even make cosmic bug-nests, but I don't believe he could truly control a living T5 Hive Mothership; were that so— —he'd have had no need to endure in silence to now. So this one before us is merely a quasi-T5 Hive Mothership!" Zhao Chen made his judgment.
Lilith nodded in understanding; just then, more research data was laid before them too.
"By the data we've observed, this T5… quasi-T5 Hive Mothership gives off a kind of magnetic field; it's this magnetic field that interferes with long-range quantum communication, though short-range communication can still be carried out," Lilith said.
With that, it made sense why the Blue-Crystal star system had been "blockaded" in communications.
It wasn't that Qin Xiaotian had some black-tech — it was wholly this quasi-T5 Hive Mothership's innate ability.
"By the look of it, this is the grand gift Qin Xiaotian prepared for us. First lure us in with the Blue-Crystal Star-Port, then wear us down with a great mass of Hive Motherships, and when the time was about right— —use this final doomsday-weapon to wipe us out at a stroke." Zhao Chen analyzed.
Lilith recalled what had just happened, and let out a long breath: "Fortunate this isn't a T5 Hive Mothership; were it a T5 Hive Mothership, our interstellar missile ships might already have been hit, and that loss…"
Lilith couldn't imagine it; the chain reaction after would surely have plunged the Owl Dragon Legion into a hopeless plight.
"We must thank the captain of that Paladin No.022 too; but for that captain's act, we'd have lost at least a third of our interstellar missile ships," Zhao Chen added.
Lilith nodded.
"Relay the order — ready to attack this quasi-T5 Hive Mothership; if we don't wipe it out and let it go on attacking from long range— —however many Paladins we have, we can't defend against it all!" Zhao Chen said in a low, heavy voice.
By the data just observed, this quasi-T5 Hive Mothership's bio-super-plasma-cannon had super-long range, exceeding their interstellar missile ships' range.
But if this quasi-T5 Hive Mothership wasn't wiped out, it was a sharp sword hung over the Owl Dragon First Legion's head, cutting away the Owl Dragon First Legion's flesh and blood bit by bit.
"Yes! Drawing up the combat plan now, arranging the assault fleet, arranging interstellar-missile firepower support…" Lilith set the staff department to producing a workable action plan in the shortest time.
But truth be told, every plan would pay an enormous cost and loss.
Zhao Chen looked at plan after plan drawn up, and knit his brows.
The best plan would still lose at least 1,000 interstellar warships — a third of them…
This might be the best choice, but the question was: with the remaining interstellar warships, could Zhao Chen fend off the other hive-race fleets' assault?
That was another problem.
"Commander-in-Chief, Captain Huang Xiaoting of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon No.02 requests to carry out this operation against the Leviathan-Monarch-class Hive Mothership!" Lilith said.
Leviathan-Monarch-class Hive Mothership was the name-code Zhao Chen had given that quasi-T5 Hive Mothership.
It was also one of the code-nicknames the Galactic Alliance had prepared in advance for anticipated targets; Zhao Chen had chosen the most fitting one.
Zhao Chen clenched his fist.
The merciful cannot command an army!
At the necessary moment, one must make the sacrifice.
"Relay my command — carry out this No.3 combat plan; the attack plan is Huang Xiaoting's charge, we'll assist from range. At the same time, contact the Blue-Crystal Star-Port; we're going to prepare a forced breakout — have them ready themselves!" Zhao Chen said gravely.
He hadn't originally meant to break out by force — that would surely bear an enormous consumption; but for that Leviathan-Monarch-class Hive Mothership, he'd had a way to lift this crisis at the smallest cost.
But now, the Leviathan-Monarch-class Hive Mothership's appearance had shattered all that balance.
"Understood." Lilith made to carry out the command.
But the next moment, Zhao Chen suddenly called a halt: "Wait!"
Lilith froze; she saw Zhao Chen staring at the image the Silver-Rat-class Light Interstellar Stealth-Recon Ship sent back.
In that image, the Leviathan-Monarch-class Hive Mothership was under attack!
Dense firepower attacks, from scattered points of firelight at first, turned into sheet upon sheet of exploding flame.
At the same time, a squad of interstellar warships came slaying out of the dark!
They were T3 Phantom Assassin-class Light Interstellar Stealth-Bombers — look at the hull-numbers!
The Owl Dragon Second Legion.