In 100 hours?
The Swarm Surge!
Of this belated quarterly mission Zhao Chen had had an ill presentiment before.
And now that the mission had appeared, it proved that presentiment out.
Zhao Chen opened the mission's particulars.
Quarterly mission: the Swarm Surge
Task: in 100 hours, hold off the swarm fleets pouring out of the permanent Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest.
The degree of completion will be judged at the last by the result of the war, and the mission reward issued accordingly.
Time to the mission's opening: 99 hours 59 minutes
That permanent Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest within the Holy Radiance Empire, quiet so long a while, was making mischief at last.
Since the System said the task would open in 100 hours.
Then it would likely be no error.
Roughly: in 100 hours a vast hive fleet would pour out of it!
And it was highly likely there would be T5 Hive Motherships besides!
As to how dangerous it might be, the System offered no explanation.
As to when this Swarm Surge task would end.
The System offered no explanation either.
Which left Zhao Chen very uneasy — far too much of the information was unknown.
And at present the Owl Dragon Legion had but now come through a hard battle; to say nothing of the military stores spent and the interstellar warships lost.
The mere repairing of the Owl Dragon Legion's damaged interstellar warships would want no small time.
A hundred hours was four days and a little more.
Curse it!
The task came at a fine time indeed.
Resting on the Owl Dragon Legion fleets in their present state, and on those home fleets garrisoning the Holy Radiance Empire, it would be very hard to hold off such a disaster.
That a thing could be set as a belated quarterly mission left Zhao Chen daring to entertain no thought of good luck.
Though should this quarterly mission fail, there would be no punishment.
Yet the Holy Radiance Empire might very well be seized in this disaster by the interstellar hive-race, and made their nest in this universe, from which to launch attacks upon other star regions.
And so this disaster would spread in the shortest time to every corner of this stretch of the universe.
Neither the Starlight Empire nor the Owl Dragon could escape.
Mission or no mission, Zhao Chen would not permit such a thing.
He wanted a helping hand!
And a hand strong enough to stand against the interstellar hive-race.
Zhao Chen could not help looking at the angel Tilia, still talking across from him.
Was there not a hand ready made right here!
Four hundred thousand angel interstellar warships!
Through the campaign before, these 400,000 angel interstellar fleets had lost, all told, under 30,000 hulls!
Their strength was in the main scarcely weakened.
For they had joined the campaign only when the demon legion fleet group was already broken.
And so had held a vast advantage.
"My lords, one moment, if you please. There is an important matter here I must see to." Zhao Chen rose of a sudden, with a show of urgency, and walked out of the conference room.
Leaving the three high-order angels utterly at a loss.
How was it this Commander felt somewhat strange today?
A dozen minutes and more passed.
The conference room's doors were pushed open.
Zhao Chen came in again — but set against before, his expression now was heavy, as though he were anxious about something.
The angel Tilia marked Zhao Chen's expression too, and inquired, sounding him out. "My lord of the Owl Dragon, might I ask… whether you have met with something?"
It was that very sentence he had been waiting for.
Zhao Chen drew a deep breath and looked gravely at the three high-order angels across from him. "I have. I have just had word back from the real-time watch post we set at that permanent Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest in the Holy Radiance Empire. We suspect that in about four or five days a great quantity of the interstellar hive-race will pour out of that permanent Grade-5 nest and fall upon the Holy Radiance Empire."
Zhao Chen let out a long sigh, propped his forehead with one hand, and put on a look of anxiety. "In ordinary times I should have the confidence to hold off an invading interstellar hive-race. But as things are now, you all know how my Owl Dragon Legion stands. A loss rate above 20 percent, military stores all but spent, and a great quantity of interstellar warships wanting repair and supply besides. In so short a time I simply cannot move my elite fleets to hold off this disaster that comes. If… if the interstellar hive-race were truly let pour into the Holy Radiance Empire's borders and slaughter at will, then the consequence… you gentlefolk should know it well enough. It is this business that troubles me."
At Zhao Chen's words the faces of all three high-order angels changed.
"The interstellar hive-race?" The high-order angel Berkeley's brows drew tight, and he asked at once, "Can the scale of the interstellar hive-race's coming be known?"
Zhao Chen shook his head. "My research institute can detect only the energy fluctuation across the way, and infer the time of their coming. Of the particular scale we are not clear. But I infer there should be T5 Hive Motherships. And more than one."
At hearing that it was more than one T5 Hive Mothership.
The angel Tilia drew a cold breath.
For an Angel Race that possessed T5-grade interstellar warships, one or two T5 Hive Motherships were in fact no very thorny problem.
But!
Where one T5 Hive Mothership appears, they knew very well that a vast hive fleet comes with it!
And with it those unit types of the hive-race past all counting.
The Angel Race had met with attacks of the interstellar hive-race before, and knew well how terrible this thing from another universe was.
The trouble was!
That this was besides a permanent Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest, and none could say how many of the interstellar hive-race might pour out of it.
In this moment the three high-order angels exchanged a glance; the case went somewhat beyond what they had looked for.
They had thought this support was to aid the Owl Dragon Legion against the Demon Race, and nothing more.
Who could have thought some interstellar hive-race would come slaughtering out midway.
"I know that by our original agreement. This support answers only for helping us deal with the Demon Race. You are under no obligation to help us against the interstellar hive-race. Nor shall I force you to it. The three months first fixed may be canceled now; you may leave here whenever you please."
The three high-order angels looked at Commander Zhao Chen in astonishment; they had supposed he would take the occasion to require their help against the interstellar hive-race.
They never thought he would rather give them leave to go.
"Though… I dare not guarantee whether my Owl Dragon power can help this stretch of the universe survive this disaster of the hive-race. And so, as to those military purchase contracts and agreements between us. I cannot guarantee their fulfillment either. I am exceedingly sorry." Zhao Chen wore a heavy expression.
At this the three high-order angels were the more dumbfounded.
What had they come a thousand miles to help the Owl Dragon for?
Was it not to help the Owl Dragon hold off the demon legion fleets, so that the Owl Dragon might go on existing, and by their starship manufacturing industry supply the Angel Race with the interstellar warships their front-line fields wanted?
If the interstellar hive-race destroyed this place, then all that had been spent before came to nothing.