T5 Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought · bridge.
"Report from the Owl Dragon forward base. The Warhammer side's coalition is withdrawing from the field; Sixth Legion commander Medusa asks whether pursuit and encirclement are required." A bridge communications officer reported it.
"The Warhammer coalition has withdrawn too?" Zhao Chen was somewhat surprised.
Before this he had known of the Holy Radiance expeditionary force's withdrawal, which had not exceeded his expectation.
Presumably it was the T5 Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought's showing that had made that Consul choose to pull his army out.
But the Warhammer coalition's withdrawal was beyond what Zhao Chen had anticipated.
Could the Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought's power to overawe be so great as that?
Suddenly a video window appeared before Zhao Chen; it was his secretary Lilith.
Though Lilith was not at Zhao Chen's side at present, being needed to take charge of the Owl Dragon Legion's logistical scheduling and management, most matters she would still handle.
To contact him directly now, there must be some important reason.
"Commander-in-Chief, something serious has happened." Lilith raised the atmosphere the moment she began.
Zhao Chen knit his brows. "What has happened?"
Beep beep beep beep.
And just at this moment Zhao Chen's handheld terminal flashed, showing that Charlotte was contacting him.
Zhao Chen opened it, and another video window sprang open.
"Commander-in-Chief, this is bad! Something serious has happened in the Warhammer!" Charlotte said with some tension.
Zhao Chen looked at the two of them in surprise. "The matters you two speak of — can they be the same one?"
Charlotte at this point saw Lilith within the video window opposite as well.
But Lilith shook her head and said, "What I speak of is the Holy Radiance Empire."
Which left Zhao Chen more puzzled still. How should the Holy Radiance Empire and the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth have serious matters arise at the same moment?
By the looks on Lilith's and Charlotte's faces, these matters were no small ones besides.
"First come, first served. Lilith, you speak first," Zhao Chen said.
Lilith thereupon let fall a great piece of news. "In the Holy Radiance Empire's Central Star Region, a Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest has appeared — and a permanent one!"
A permanent Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest?
A Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest — such a thing had never appeared in the Galactic Alliance's whole history.
And a permanent one besides!
For it must be understood that the permanent Grade-4 cosmic bug-nest produced in the Snow-Swallow Star Region during the Starlight Empire's civil war had directly obliged the Starlight Empire to keep troops garrisoned there long-term, and to clear away at fixed intervals the hive-race fleets welling out of it.
Were it not that the Northern Goose Group under the Owl Dragon's name supplied the Starlight Empire those interstellar warships, this would assuredly be work of the most crushing pressure.
And in the Holy Radiance Empire, and in the Central Star Region at that.
A permanent Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest had appeared?
Even Charlotte on the other side was astonished by this news.
"How has this come about? How should the Holy Radiance Empire suddenly produce a permanent Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest?" Zhao Chen found it past all imagining; how had this sprung up out of nothing?
Unless…
"By the intelligence we have obtained, 'bug-eggs' have appeared in the Holy Radiance Empire's center." Lilith let fall another great piece of news. "They should be precisely those nine bug-eggs whose whereabouts we have all along been investigating."
Zhao Chen's expression shifted between light and shadow.
Earlier, in that last conversation with Qin Longcheng, the man had told him of that mysterious Doctor, and of the so-called 'bug-egg' technology.
By what Qin Longcheng said at the time, owing to limited materials, that mysterious Doctor had built only 10 'bug-eggs.'
One had been detonated in the Snow-Swallow Star Region's Second Star System; and thereafter the remaining nine 'bug-eggs' had been a time bomb in Zhao Chen's heart.
Even in the midst of this military operation against the Warhammer.
Zhao Chen had ordered the Starlight Empire's side to go on investigating those nine missing 'bug-eggs.'
For that permanent Grade-4 cosmic bug-nest in the Snow-Swallow Star Region had been caused by a single 'bug-egg.'
Were the remaining nine 'bug-eggs' to be suddenly activated, that would bring the Starlight Empire enormous trouble.
But who could have thought that these nine vanished 'bug-eggs' should appear in the Holy Radiance Empire's Central Star Region.
"Is there detailed intelligence!" Zhao Chen pressed.
"The particulars we do not yet know. But putting together the rough thread of the intelligence. I judge the matter should stand thus. That mysterious Doctor took the nine 'bug-eggs' and went to the Holy Radiance Empire; and in the course of it there was in all likelihood some person or power cooperating — who, we do not know, though our conjecture is that it was someone on the Holy Radiance Empire's side. Because by one piece of intelligence, the central zone of this Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest is an interstellar science research institute! And this mysterious Doctor may well have developed the relevant technology within that institute. By another piece of intelligence, nine cosmic bug-nests appeared at once in that stretch of the heavens at the time, and these nine cosmic bug-nests fused together. Which at the last formed the present permanent Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest. That should be the new technology that mysterious Doctor developed!" Lilith set out the intelligence as she had pieced it together.
Zhao Chen narrowed his eyes. This could roughly be made to hold together.
The one question was just why that mysterious Doctor should be making these things.
From the Prince of Northern Yan, Qin Xiaotian, to the Holy Radiance Empire.
What in the world was this fellow playing at?
"And the Holy Radiance Empire's side? Have they made any move?" Zhao Chen asked. He guessed that the Holy Radiance Empire's side must be in utter disorder now.
That Grade-4 cosmic bug-nest in the Snow-Swallow Star Region had been eased and brought under control only with Zhao Chen's help.
And a permanent Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest — one may imagine how great an effect it would produce.
The crucial difference between Grade-4 and Grade-5 is this.
Against a T4 Hive Mothership, each empire has at least its own T4 interstellar warships.
But a Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest will produce T5 Hive Motherships.
Zhao Chen had spent no small effort earlier settling a quasi-T5 Hive Mothership under artificial control; and were a genuine T5 Hive Mothership to come, the Zhao Chen and the Owl Dragon Legion of former days would presumably have had no way to deal with it.
And there is a further problem: that Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest stands permanently open.
No one knows how many T5 Hive Motherships may come welling out of it.
And even without the threat of T5 Hive Motherships, the vast numbers of T4 Hive Motherships and other hive-race fleets alone would suffice to throw the Holy Radiance Empire into utter chaos.
At this situation.
Zhao Chen had not the least happy feeling at this hour, but on the contrary was troubled.
By rights, seeing the Holy Radiance Empire suffer and come to grief, ought Zhao Chen not to rejoice at their calamity?
Under other circumstances Zhao Chen might have rejoiced at their calamity, and eaten a little hot pot to celebrate.
But as to the threat of the interstellar hive-race.
Zhao Chen understood clearly that this was the common enemy of every interstellar race at present.
Were the Holy Radiance Empire to fall, then it would be the Starlight Empire's turn, and no one would escape.
This situation threw every one of Zhao Chen's present operational plans into disorder.
"Charlotte, what is your news?" Zhao Chen rubbed at his temples and looked to Charlotte.
There should surely be nothing on Charlotte's side more urgent than the Holy Radiance Empire.
"The Dragon-folk tribe's chieftain, the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth's present sovereign, the Dragon Emperor — has fallen in battle."