Because it must establish the network of the worm-way jump points already laid out, the T5 Leviathan-Shaman-class Hive Mothership could not move.
So that, however great an effect those 15 interstellar warships killing their way in beside it might work, it seemed to mind them not at all.
And this Leviathan-Shaman had judged by its own powers of calculation that these 15 T5-grade interstellar warships could not break through the hive fleets it had set.
Above 2 million hive hulls were enough to drown 15 starships by the sea-of-bugs tactic.
And at the same time good news came without cease from the other three fields.
First, the network of worm-way jump points it had built had by now above 50 in working; and through them more and more hive fleets would appear straight in the rear of the enemy's fleets.
To fall upon those fleets — and before long even to threaten the nearest planets, starports, star gates and other places of strategic weight.
Which had brought the hive fleets' advance upon the frontal field from no progress whatever to a very great harvest.
The enemy's defensive fleets were falling back step by step.
And the enemy's other two forces attacking of their own accord.
The former was small in number, under 10,000 hulls; though it was still entangled with its own hive fleets at present, it had in the main fallen to the worse of it, and its annihilation was only a matter of time.
The latter, an attacking group of three fleet columns, was likewise stopped by the hive fleets under two Leviathan-Sovereigns, and stood at present in deadlock.
But under the present state of the whole board, such a deadlock was to their hive-race's advantage; the longer it dragged, the less chance those three columns had, and they could not change the fate of being swallowed by the swarm at the last.
The coming of these 15 T5s it had somewhat not looked for; but happily the whole of it was still within its grasp.
This stretch of the universe would at the last be washed clean by their great existence.
Hm?
At this time, among the hive fleets guarding it, several hive units of a sudden seemed to be struck by something, and were dashed outright into pulp upon the empty air.
At first such a thing drew no notice from the low-intelligence Hive Motherships.
But as more and more of it happened, and above all after a T1 Hive Mothership was struck dead by something unseen, the T5 Leviathan-Shaman marked the anomaly too.
It sent out an order to its own swarm.
A body of hive fleets began to close upon that stretch of space where the strangeness was happening.
"Whole fleet, out of stealth. Assault at full speed!" Zhao Wan'er's order sounded upon every bridge of her Owl Dragon interstellar stealth bomber special fleet.
One starship after another shut down its stealth system and threw all its energy to the weapon systems and the sailing systems!
In that instant, 3,000 interstellar warships appeared out of thin air!
And in the shortest time destroyed the hive combat units about them that told upon their advance, and covered the fleet's charge onward.
And bore down upon the T5 Leviathan-Shaman for the final attack.
In truth that Leviathan-Shaman lay already within their range of attack; but to make sure of it.
Zhao Wan'er meant to open her attack at the nearest compass she could, and so reach the single killing stroke she wanted.
The Owl Dragon interstellar stealth bomber special fleet, 3,000 hulls.
Within the Owl Dragon Legion, of the two special fleets, it was not the wolf-girl Baixue's missile fleet alone that had been expanded.
This special fleet of Zhao Wan'er's had been expanded in scale yet further.
Three thousand hulls: 3,000 T3 Phantom-Thorn-class Light Interstellar Stealth Bombers and 30 T4 Shadow-Demon-class Light Interstellar Stealth Bombers!
This was a dagger held hidden.
And this was the special fleet's first showing since its expansion was complete.
And the first quarry Zhao Chen had chosen for them was the T5 Leviathan-Shaman-class Hive Mothership!
As this 3,000-hull special fleet came nearer and nearer, the Leviathan-Shaman was plainly thrown into alarm as well.
The hive fleets about it — and even those that had been sent to surround Xue Xiaoxiao's 15 ships — were all called back.
To try to stop and destroy these 3,000 starships that had come killing out of nowhere.
Zhao Wan'er clenched her fist; her teeth were set upon her lip, and somewhere along the way she had bitten it through, so that blood ran down at the corner of her mouth.
Within her there was but one thought now.
Nearer!
A little nearer!
Let me get a little nearer!
It was as though some small figure within Zhao Wan'er were roaring it in hysteria.
And the hive fleets swarming thicker and thicker about them were left to the T3 Phantom-Thorns to hold off — or simply borne upon the star-shields.
At the last, at a compass exceedingly near the T5 Leviathan-Shaman.
Zhao Wan'er cried out with very nearly all the strength in her, "Every interstellar bomber of the fleet, hear the order. Take aim at the target; saturating firepower strike! Strike for me — every shell of them you have, throw at this creature!"
Zhao Wan'er's eyes were shot with blood; she left her fleet no way back whatever, and fired off every weapon that could be fired.
She had but one thought: that Leviathan-Shaman across from her must die!
Each T3 Phantom-Thorn-class Light Interstellar Stealth Bomber carried as its main weapons 20 short-range heavy anti-ship missiles, 20 short-range heavy cluster bombs, and 200 heavy short-range particle torpedoes.
Each T4 Shadow-Demon-class Light Interstellar Stealth Bomber carried 6,000 heavy short-range particle torpedoes, 500 short-range heavy anti-ship missiles, and 500 short-range heavy cluster bombs.
These missiles and torpedoes have each their several uses upon a field.
But now they had one duty only.
To blow that giant beast across from them to death!
Because a T5 Leviathan-Shaman-class Hive Mothership possesses no star-shield defense, and in the main no strong capacity of firepower output — only a few hive combat units living parasitic upon it can give something like close-in gunfire.
So that, save for a few torpedoes, missiles and bombs intercepted.
The rest all fell upon one side of this Leviathan-Shaman's body.
From the first flower that bloomed, to hundreds and thousands, and then to tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of points of light blooming upon this giant beast's body.
At this moment even Xue Xiaoxiao, hemmed within the swarm, had her ship's radar detect a high-density reaction of explosions across a whole district ahead.
She had not seen it, but she knew what had happened there.
And now they needed only wait upon a result!