Time to the Swarm Surge's beginning: 10 minutes
The company of petty officers and crew upon the T5 Dragon Emperor Interstellar Command Ship's bridge held to a state of high alert still.
They knew only that a swarm tide would come out of that cosmic bug-nest, but not how much time there was.
And Zhao Chen, the one man who knew, had not spoken that time either.
For from the interstellar hive-race's appearing out of the bug-nest to the nearest defensive position wanted at the least five hours' passage.
In the course of which the Owl Dragon's side could find them out early.
Still more when several T4 Banshee-class Light Interstellar Stealth Scouts, hidden within, were even now sending back the video their stealth reconnaissance craft took.
Charlotte and the rest were still pre-playing without cease upon the war sand table; they must make certain every arrangement was fine to the last particular, and had contingency plans ready besides for every mischance any deployment might meet.
At present alone, the main lines of the war's development they had conceived came to 29 — and that without counting the branch developments of low probability.
Zhao Chen did not disturb them, but looked quietly at one video window after another beside him.
Those were the images sent back by a T4 Banshee-class Light Interstellar Stealth Scout lying hidden near the cosmic bug-nest.
In fact the distance between them was very great still.
And within the picture Zhao Chen could see a vast stretch of black region, which felt for all the world like a screen gone dark.
But it was not.
That was the cosmic bug-nest!
The largest cosmic bug-nest in the universe as it is now known.
"It seems to have grown somewhat larger again since we last observed it." Zhao Chen called up the earlier observation data.
This permanent Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest had not been so large before, but through these several months its compass had widened without cease.
In the course of observation alone, some tens of stellar bodies had been seen swallowed by this pitch-black cosmic bug-nest.
Had it not been without any active pull, one might have taken it in error for some giant black hole.
For which reason Zhao Chen had also had men observe that cosmic bug-nest in the Starlight Empire's Xueyan Star Region — and that one had not changed in size at all.
Which was very strange.
Could it be that these two cosmic bug-nests had some difference besides their grade?
To that Zhao Chen had no answer either.
Time passed, moment by moment.
Of a sudden a voice sounded within Zhao Chen's mind.
Ding · The quarterly mission "Swarm Surge" has opened.
Zhao Chen looked at once to the observation window, and saw a thread of outline appear within the blackness.
About those outlines clung some black mist besides, as though carried out with them from that pitch-black bug-nest.
Observing this, no one yet took any heed.
For out of this cosmic bug-nest some Hive Motherships came pouring very nearly every day, only that the number was relatively small and all within a compass that could be controlled.
But this time was plainly unlike before.
More and more outlines came out of the black mist, in a dense array whose number gave one a crawling of the skin merely to look at.
The scene set the hidden scouts at the front to sounding the alarm on the instant!
"Reporting — our No. 3 observation point observes a great quantity of Hive Motherships appearing, on a scale above 10 times the same period! And the number rises without cease still!" A message was passed straight to the Dragon Emperor's bridge.
Which brought Charlotte, Lilith and the rest up sharply.
The eyes of all of them went to the watching pictures.
"Reporting — No. 2 observation point finds a great quantity of Hive Motherships pouring forth, and has found besides one… one T5 Hive Mothership!"
Word yet more startling came.
A T5 Hive Mothership!
"Enlarge No. 2 observation point's transmission!" Charlotte ordered outright.
The operator enlarged the video at once.
Because the stealth scout that took it lay at some distance, perhaps, the picture was somewhat blurred.
But for all that, one could still see a figure exceedingly vast.
Like some pitch-black giant beast.
"This… this is larger in the body even than that T5 Leviathan-Sovereign-class Hive Mothership the Holy Radiance Empire recorded before!" Lilith covered her mouth in astonishment.
"By the battle record made of the T5 Leviathan-Sovereign-class Hive Mothership numbered One in the Holy Radiance Empire's first battle. That No. 1 T5 Leviathan-Sovereign-class Hive Mothership was only 700 kilometers in length. But this one's length assuredly passes 1,000 kilometers!" Charlotte, by eye alone, inferred this T5 Leviathan-Sovereign-class Hive Mothership's length.
A thousand kilometers long — set against the other Hive Motherships, this was a thing like a vast mountain.
Even the largest interstellar warship in the Owl Dragon Legion's present service, the T5 Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought at 118 kilometers, was a small witch beside a great one.
"Reporting — No. 3 observation point too shows a T5 Leviathan-Sovereign-class Hive Mothership!"
"Reporting — No. 1 observation point finds two T5 Leviathan-Sovereign-class Hive Motherships!"
Ill news came one upon another.
Which meant that the swarm-tide disaster the Commander Zhao Chen had foretold had truly come!
Zhao Chen sat in the captain's chair and said nothing.
This was but the beginning, and even he did not know how terrible the scale of this swarm tide would be.
"Pass word to the highest commanders of every legion fleet. Tell them the cruelest war has begun." Zhao Chen stroked his own lip lightly with a finger and said it levelly.
"Yes."
The T5 Dragon Emperor, first to have the word, began to pass it out.
The highest commanders of the several legion fleets received it one after another.
"What? Four T5 Hive Motherships already! And the largest above 1,000 kilometers in length?" The Empress Saint Cana rose straight out of her captain's chair in her shock.
In her eyes was a terror she could not cover over.
As the Holy Radiance Empire is the only power in this stretch of the universe to have fought a T5 Hive Mothership — though she had not taken part in that lost campaign herself.
Yet the summary report made after it had recorded that bloody and cruel campaign in detail, and what showed between its lines was nothing but an air of despair.
Several hundred thousand Holy Radiance Empire interstellar warships had been thrown in, and five of the most elite Holy Light legions.
It had ended in the loss of 100,000 Holy Radiance interstellar warships, two Holy Light legions annihilated to the last ship, and one Holy Light legion fought to above 90 percent loss, existing thereafter in name only.
The remaining two Holy Light legions had suffered grievously as well.
And in such a case, that T5 Leviathan-Sovereign-class Hive Mothership had still not been killed!
And now, at a stroke, four had appeared!
"The Dragon Emperor's side says… this is but the present data, and hereafter there may be… may be…
"Latest word — two observation points have found two more T5 Leviathan-Sovereign-class Hive Motherships! Numbered Six and Seven severally…" The adjutant was but halfway through when the word updated.
There was terror in her eyes as she looked toward her Empress.
This case was truly as a nightmare.
It left them as though fallen into a pit of ice.