Chapter 440: a.s.sistance
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Don’t worry,” said a rea.s.suring voice.
Chen Jin continued, “I’ll settle that small Selain fleet for you. Just deal with the main one according to your initial arrangements and stick with the original plan.”
“But…” Mu Yunhua was anxious and unsure. Although no longer fl.u.s.tered, she still had doubts. “Will things really work out if we don’t make any adjustments?” What she was actually implying was, Jin, can I place all my trust in you?
After all, based on the supervision of various types of detectors, no third force had been detected near the warning zone for the Walf Galaxy. If Jin wanted to help her, shouldn’t his fleet already have appeared by then? But they had spotted nothing. The lives of more than a billion human beings hung on whether Jin would provide a.s.sistance. The life and death of a civilization was pinned on a guy who was much the same as a “netizen.”
Anyone’s heart would probably be full of doubts and unsure whether or not they could believe him.
“Yunhua, we have known each other for more than 30 years, right?” Chen Jin asked; he wanted to know what she was thinking.
“Yes, indeed.”
“Do you not know what kind of person I am, and what qualities I have?”
“I am aware of those things.” He was wacky, l.u.s.tful, and occasionally provided her with some advanced technical information—that was it.
“I said I’ll solve the problem for you. Please just believe in this one thing.”
“I believe you—but can you tell me, plainly, how you intend to help me? Will your fleet be arriving soon? I’ll feel more rea.s.sured if I can see it for myself.” Seeing was believing. She would only be willing to trust him completely when she could see the reinforcements with her very own eyes.
“If I let you see them directly, won’t I become less mysterious? Why would a hero show himself before the very last moment? How can there be no climax to the performance on such a great stage?”
Mu Yunhua couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Similar situations had arisen too many times. Every time she encountered a tricky problem and, badly battered, asked for help from the other side, he always acted this way: he fooled around, teased her, and provided aid only at the very last minute. Of course, she still considered Jin reliable. He had basically fulfilled every promise he had ever made.
This may have been the biggest crisis yet, but, aside from Jin, Mu Yunhua couldn’t think of anyone who could help her. One could say that her habitual-dependence-sickness was terminal.
“Okay, okay, quit it with your unrealistic, utopian fantasy,” Chen Jin said. “Just believe me and do everything according to the original plan. I will straighten out the unexpected for you. You just have to convince the delegates to follow your arrangements and do their best in destroying the 500 main Selain battles.h.i.+ps.” His tone was serious. He was doing his best to lessen Mu Yunhua’s worries, to sound adequately convincing, and to make Mu Yunhua believe that he was the 100%-reliable ‘Jin the faithful.’
“A—…alright, I’ll listen to you,” Mu Yunhua said with difficulty. After all, her only choice was to trust him.
However, her subsequent efforts to convince the executive representatives to ignore the threat of the Selain sub-fleet and to continue to follow the original plan encountered quite some resistance.
There were a few representatives who lost their calm.
“Ignore the Selain sub-fleet? What if we can’t hold them back once they come close to planet Walf?”
“Forget 50 battles.h.i.+ps—even five can destroy this entire planet, on which more than a billion human remnants live.”
“Chief, you said you have a way to hold off that sub-fleet, so why aren’t you telling us how exactly you’ll do it? How can you expect us to believe in you?”
But Mu Yunhua still maintained the position that she would keep it a secret until the end, refusing to utter even half a word.
“We are already under the Selain’s strict surveillance. If cla.s.sified information is leaked, it will be impossible for us to win the war. We can talk about it after we are victorious.”
This sentence of hers dispelled the questions in the minds of most representatives. Just as things had gone more than 30 years ago, secrets that only a few knew would become the main factor in their triumph.
Absolute—or, rather, blind—trust allowed Mu Yunhua to implement her strategy smoothly.
…
In borderless s.p.a.ce.
An aggressive fleet was crawling towards their destination, like a devil baring its fangs and brandis.h.i.+ng its claws.
Inside the ma.s.sive flags.h.i.+p at the core of the fleet.
On the wide deck of the bridge.
The chief commander, staff officer, liaison officer, and other personnel of the Selain Fleet stood before the console’s line of screens. Their agate-colored, vertical pupils were gazing straight ahead, and, from time to time, shrank, expanded, and emitted a chilling glare.
“Although we only lost ten sub-wars.h.i.+ps, the disgrace of the Selains lingers on in this galaxy,” The Selain commander muttered. “That tiny ambush should definitely be made a cla.s.sic, and should be included in the teaching materials of the Selain Central Military Academy, so that our young reserve officers can see what kind of astonis.h.i.+ng wisdom can arise from a weak civilization that is driven to desperation.
“We who were conceited on account of our wisdom, flexibility, and conspiratorial skill relaxed our vigilance and celebrated that our two spies had led a low-level civilization into self-annihilation, so that only a few hundred thousand were left. Through 50 years of forbearance, the humans taught us a profound lesson.
“We must not underestimate even a weak civilization. We cannot simmer down, even if we have a 99% chance of winning.”
The Selain commander sighed. Across his face flashed slight admiration, respect, and… the determination to annihilate them!
His advisor, who stood next to him, felt somewhat dissatisfied. “My Lord, those so-called humans are only clever in terms of petty tricks. We, meanwhile, were unfortunately left with the short end of the stick. However, we are still the greater ones. They can never make us falter!
“Yes, indeed, my Lord. They were just lucky the last time. This time, however, their good fortune has come to an end! You are the great admiral of the Republic’s frontiers. You, my Lord, are unparalleled in wisdom and resourcefulness and are ever-victorious. With you in the ring, the one thing that’s certain is the humans’ inevitable demise.
“Moreover, our forces have been split into two, and we will be attacking them from both sides! No matter what plots or traps they have in place, it will be impossible for them to take care of things simultaneously at both ends. In a few days, those humans will wriggle no more.
“Our plan is basically foolproof. Our mission this time is to eradicate the humans from the root, and none of them shall be left alive! It has proven to be best for us to arrange the follow-up work in advance so that we omit nothing. Every single cell containing human genetic material must be completely destroyed, as the rules of a true compet.i.tion between civilizations demand,” he said in a chilling voice.
The Selain commander nodded. “This universe is dangerous. We respect all intelligent civilizations; it is the rules that are cruel. Through our monitors, we have witnessed five intellectual civilizations that were decimated after their defeat, without a single exception! There are a few legends where kind and irresolute conquerors left behind the seeds of future trouble and were ultimately defeated by the weak. Hence, civilization is destined to be a brutal elimination-race.
“I am commanding this s.h.i.+p to eradicate the remnants of humanity.
“In the future, I will destroy more civilizations, crush more hopes, and, possibly… run into some very difficult enemies. But the Selain people will not fail. We are a race of G.o.ds. The advantages we have are unparalleled. In the end, we will become the masters of this universe!” said the Selian commander in an arrogant tone.
After all, in the Selain civilization, which was in a period of rapid expansion from top to bottom, almost everyone was swelling with pride. Only their arrogance and self-confidence, their egos and their pride, could match their “wisdom.”
It would take a setback that was like waking up from a dream to make them tone things down a little.
…
One month later.
The Selain main fleet, which had entered their circle of surveillance, was less than 50 astronomical units away from the central main sequence.
More than half of the 500 powerful wars.h.i.+ps had already arrived at their defensive circle.
The intruders were getting closer and closer.
“Attack!”
“Full speed ahead!”
“Blast those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!”
The fleet deployed from planet Walf switched off their stealth mode, seizing the opportunity to open fire.
Boom, boom, boom…
Bam, bam, bam, bam!
They discharged a myriad of missiles and torpedoes, leaving a fiery tail behind them.
Countless laser beams fired maniacally.
Manned and unmanned interstellar fighters and Docking Mechs were all rus.h.i.+ng towards their colossal targets.
It could easily be said that the human fleet’s strikes were as dense as rain.
However, even in the face of such an attack, not the slightest hint of a riot emerged among the Selains’ main fleet. They maintained their neat formation as if this all were entirely within their expectations.
In truth, the military actions on Mu Yunhua’s side—the maneuvers of each and every one of her s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps—could never have been concealed from the monitors that the Selains had sent out. They had expected everything, including the precise ambush locations. Nevertheless, they had still barged in with a swagger and activated their force field. It withstood almost all of the energy attacks, which sent ripples all across it.
Mu Yunhua’s side was taken aback.
“Force field s.h.i.+elds? From the previous intel we’d received, the Selains did not seem to have mastered this technology yet. Even on their main battles.h.i.+ps, there were no signs that force s.h.i.+eld s.h.i.+elds had been installed.”
“Something’s not right. The few Selain wars.h.i.+ps in the front line have their s.h.i.+elds activated, but they have not yet fired back at us. The main battles.h.i.+ps behind them have not deployed their s.h.i.+elds, but they have released a lot of fighters. This must mean that the Selains had developed exclusive ‘Guard s.h.i.+ps’ with high defense but low attack to soak up our a.s.saults. The battles.h.i.+ps which are their main source of firepower should, then, have a lower level of defense.”
“In that case, we will change targets! Let the first and second-cla.s.s G.o.ddess’ Honor fighters go behind the enemy and prioritize their attacks on those with lower defense!”
However, following this adjustment, anomalies arose in the original ambush circle. A special situation never simulated by their computers had occurred on the battlefield. Moreover, the Selain fleet, which had its highly-defensive s.h.i.+ps leading in front, did not alter the speed of its advance. It seemed like they intended to cut right through the orchestrated interception and go straight for planet Walf.
Hence, in order to intercept these enemies, the ambush fleet had to alter their plan and undertake a maniacal suicidal attack with the aim of impairing the enemy from behind. By doing so, however, they fell into the Selain commander’s calculation. How could fighters so focused on a suicidal charge have any form of flexibility? They were just targets that were flying around at high speeds.
The campaign damage rate for Mu Yunhua’s fleet was proving to be a whole 50% greater than that in the computer simulation.
This combat style of maneuvering and attrition had led to a war of quick deaths.
The enemy’s calculations and shrewdness greatly exceeded Mu Yunhua’s expectations.
However…
Although the loss was larger than she had expected, the Selain main fleet was, likewise, gradually becoming more and more surprised. The number of small wars.h.i.+ps that came at them like an army of locusts was far beyond what they had imagined. Among them, the first-cla.s.s G.o.ddess’ Honor contained at least 100,000 units. The second-cla.s.s G.o.ddess’ Honor was also around 10,000 in number. During their 30-year preparation for war, in order to build these “fodder” s.h.i.+ps, the resources that the humans had exhausted were equivalent to an entire planet.
Facing this many “fodder” wars.h.i.+ps, the Selains were gradually using up their missiles and slowly depleting their s.p.a.ce fighters; even their supply of laser energy couldn’t keep up.
When a fleet of a mere 500 battles.h.i.+ps, facing an insane onslaught by a force 200 or 300 times their number, became drilled through and exposed, it marked the beginning of their tragic end.
Boom, boom, boom…
“Ah!”
“Our battles.h.i.+p is damaged!”
The first main battles.h.i.+p of the Selains suffered a heavy blow. And, subsequently, the same thing happened to the second, the third, the fourth… when the 100th main Selain battles.h.i.+p transformed into a fireball as it exploded, the Selain fleet, which had exhausted almost all of its ammunition and was left with the energy attack system, saw a linear rise in their campaign damage rate.
The 200th wars.h.i.+p was destroyed… the 300th… the 400th…
At the very end.
It had been seven days since war broke out.
The Selain main fleet was less than 500 kilometers away from planet Walf.
Due to their lack of fuel, all the G.o.ddess’ Honor fighters had helplessly given up on their pursuit—small wars.h.i.+ps had limited fuel and propulsive media—and were drifting aimlessly in the vacuum like s.p.a.ce garbage. The Selain main fleet, on the other hand, still had five s.h.i.+eld s.h.i.+ps and their most powerful flags.h.i.+p, which had the highest combat power.
A total of six wars.h.i.+ps!
They were carrying enough nuclear bombs to destroy planet Walf.
“Ward them off! They must be stopped!”
“They must not get close to our planet!”
“To h.e.l.l with them!”
Around planet Walf, hundreds of old wars.h.i.+ps and thousands of s.p.a.ce fighters took flight. Pledging to defend their homeland, they became the planet’s last line of defense and dogged their enemy’s footsteps.
“They… They have actually marred my fleet to this extent.”
His eyes bloodshot, the Selain commander was feeling sheer disbelief. “Just a little bit more damage and I would have fought a losing war, and would have turned from a G.o.d of War into a humiliating laughingstock.”
Although the current situation was similar to failure, this was, fortunately, still a victory—a Pyrrhic victory that was in spitting distance of a total loss. As long as they broke through the last line of defense, this blooming and green planet and the more than one billion human remnants that lived on it would meet their ultimate demise.
Thinking about this, a s.a.d.i.s.tic grin slipped out at the corner of his mouth.
…
Planet Walf. The military command hall.
Many people’s faces were shrouded in despair.
This included Mu Yunhua. She had not expected the enemy forces coming from the front to be this strong. Their line of defense, formed by more than 100 thousand wars.h.i.+ps, had actually been breached, and six s.h.i.+ps that would bring oppressive terror upon them had barged through in perfectly good condition.
“Hey, I’m done with the small fleet coming from behind. It took me about ten minutes to turn them all into s.p.a.ce junk. Eh—what’s going on here? Is there still some trouble left?”
Hearing this voice in her ear all of a sudden, Mu Yunhua started, as if a life-saving line had appeared before her.
“Jin, help us! We still have a few enemies left!”