Chapter 248: Sacrifice
The Dongfeng has already maximized its maneuverability.
Due to continuous jumps and sub-light-speed maneuvers, the spacecraft's main and auxiliary engines have reached their pressure limits.
The firepower of this gunboat is indeed very strong, but due to its large mass, its maneuverability is still somewhat inferior to that of the original Feinan.
In the medical cabin, Yang Ming was trying hard to adjust his condition.
His physical strength had recovered, but his head still hurt. It seemed that the continuous use of the red shock wave had put a heavy strain on his spirit.
consciousness, thinking, spiritual power;
Yang Ming did not study these in depth, and the best advice Xiao Lu could give was to install a mechanical auxiliary brain.
The ancient gods’ powerful strength actually comes from their own consciousness?
Yang Ming only had a vague understanding of this, and there was no authoritative explanation. To explore the power of the ancient gods, he must first get rid of Posha and absorb Posha's power.
"We expect to reach Sakaar's synchronous orbit in nineteen minutes, but a new problem has arisen."
"speak."
"A temporary fleet group that gathered the defense forces of several administrative planets near Sakaar engaged in direct combat with the Zerg. Their equipment was too old, and the performance of their ships was greatly reduced due to lack of maintenance. The Zerg they faced was also one of the most powerful ones... The front of the defense fleet group was defeated, and the Zerg split into two groups. A small number of them continued to encircle and suppress these ships, while the majority rushed to the human gathering place on Sakaar.
"According to our calculations, when we arrived, we would just be able to see the swarm rushing into the city. After the swarm formed into battleships, their movement speed was astonishing."
Yang Ming: …
Lu continued, "Under the current circumstances, it has been determined that Sakaar will inevitably fall. Without sufficient external firepower support and containment, it is not realistic for the Dongfeng to enter the battlefield. If you force a charge, you will be under twice the pressure of the last battle. In addition, this swarm has a large number of fifth-order adult insects, which is very risky."
"Is there no outer fleet that can provide nearby support?"
"The insect plague has fully erupted in the empire. More than 40 administrative planets are under threat. The main fleet of the empire has been dispatched to support other regions in batches. In order to maintain the advantage when fighting against the fourth-order insect swarm, each batch of the empire's fleet must maintain a sufficient number of formations and cannot be divided too much.
“The Empire has deployed six dreadnoughts, but since they are unable to lock onto the Queen and the Zerg is relatively dispersed, they are also unable to directly inflict a devastating blow to the Zerg.
“The dreadnought is more complicated to deploy, not only does it require a large number of ships for escort, but its own maneuverability is relatively poor.
“It will take some time to mobilize the local defense forces in the more distant areas. The only ones who could possibly support Sakaar are the private fleets of some great nobles.
“But most of these noble fleets choose to follow the Empire’s main fleet to gain merit. As long as their fiefdoms are not attacked by the Zerg, they will not be willing to let their ships be damaged.
"Moreover, most of the nobles' armed forces have been mobilized by the military in batches, and are all heading to the nearest battlefield to provide support."
Lu groaned for a few seconds:
"Boss, wherever we go to provide support is support, and saving that planet is saving the lives of dying humans.
“If the conditions for launching an attack on Sakaar are not ripe, we can choose other planets.
"However, it is true that the situation on Sakaar is the most serious. If we can defeat the Zerg swarm, it will be a timely help. Other places are just icing on the cake."
"Okay, let me think about it."
Yang Ming closed his eyes and his breathing gradually became even.
"Boss, Godoy sent a greeting message to Hui Saka... He automatically replied that everything is fine."
"Send me other planets that need support as options."
"Yes, boss."
…
Deputy Sheriff Murg stared at the planet below him.
The dark clouds created by the pollution obscured much of the city’s surface.
Outside the hollowed-out mountains, various types of surface suspension vehicles formed long lines like ants taking emergency action before a storm, and rushed to several abandoned military bases or shelters.
The only thing to be thankful for is that this planet has lost a lot of population.
Unfortunately, the small population is also the core reason why support will not arrive here first.
Sheriff Merge has already received the news that the fastest fleet that can arrive for support will be three hours later, and will come from the distant Imperial Star Circle.
Just half an hour ago, bad news came from the front.
The fleet that gathered the defense forces of several nearby administrative stars has been defeated head-on by the powerful Zerg.
Millions of space Zergs are rushing towards Sakaar at high speed and will rush into the atmosphere in a dozen minutes.
They are the last line of defense.
Before the fleet engaged in battle with the Zerg, all the ships on the surface of Sakaar that could take off had gathered here to form the last line of defense.
Deputy Sheriff Merger was standing on the wrapped deck of the police patrol boat, with a small-caliber laser cannon in front of him.
According to the data, this level of firepower can effectively kill fourth-order insects, but the killing power is limited and it tests the accuracy of shooting.
Merger lit up the e-cigarette recommended by his old partner and slowly exhaled a cloud of mist.
The young police officer nearby was praying to a spirit that appeared out of nowhere.
The rest of the twenty or so men and women on the patrol boat remained silent, gazing at the starry sky in silence.
Murg suddenly thought of Hui Saka, that magical guy.
It was wise for him to leave Sakaar.
When such a disaster occurs, administrative planets like Saka, which have lost much value and population, can easily be abandoned by the empire.
Several stars on the edge of the sky began to twinkle continuously.
Murg didn't realize what it was at first, and continued to think absentmindedly.
Will a fleet suddenly jump in front of me?
That's unlikely. The gravity of the planet will form an interference field. According to those scientists, only some more advanced ships can directly jump to the synchronous orbit of the planet.
"Sheriff," the police officer holding a laser rifle asked tremblingly, "Will we die?"
Merge reached out and grabbed the police officer's neck, pulling hard twice through the thin space suit.
"Cheer up, don't worry about whether you live or die."
Merger's voice sounded on several communication channels at the same time.
He thought about it and based on the information he had read before, he now had to boost the spirits of the 'warriors'.
But……
Merg looked to the right.
Among these more than 100 ships, the ones with the strongest firepower are the police patrol boats, followed by the merchant ships' close-in defense guns and the scattered laser cannons that were temporarily brought up.
Their combined firepower is not as good as that of a kilometer-class battleship.
"Our main task later on will be to fire at full speed to attract the swarm's attention, and then lead them to an area as far away from the main city as possible."
“Boss!”
A trembling voice came from the cockpit:
"In front! Above... the bugs are coming! They're everywhere on the radar!"
Murg's hand trembled, and he threw the e-cigarette directly onto the deck, looking diagonally upward through the transparent deck cover.
His pupils suddenly contracted.
Space suddenly became darker.
A dark cloud!
A dark cloud that seemed to be able to wrap up the planet was pressing down on their heads!
Swarm!
A swarm of fourth-order insects numbering nearly tens of millions!
In front of this dark cloud, these more than one hundred ships are like paper boats in the hands of children, fragile, thin and vulnerable!
It was as if the space suit had stopped supplying oxygen, and Merg's breathing became extremely heavy.
"A ship escaped!"
“This bunch of rubbish!”
Murg grabbed the laser cannon in front of him, pointed the barrel diagonally upward, took a deep breath, and didn't care that he was not the highest-ranking officer in the command system.
He pressed the launch button, and a series of light bullets rushed into space, and he shouted at the top of his voice:
"Fire! Fire quickly! Lead them to the sea surface!"
Sporadic light bullets rushed towards the swarm.
The space suddenly lit up, and countless light bullets filled Merg's sight.
The finger that pulled the trigger trembled slightly, and he immediately squeezed the trigger tightly, shaking the handle of the laser cannon like a madman.
Without any additional command, this temporary fleet went at full speed and fled desperately towards the atmosphere.
People on the ground looked up and saw only a curtain of light in the sky. This curtain of light gradually dispersed and quickly filled the entire sky, filling people's vision.
Behind the light curtain, a swarm of insects attacks.
The half-deployed Zerg vanguard gathered into hundreds of Zerg warships.
The outermost adult uses all its energy to support a protective shield, relying on this shield and its own outer shell to block the heat waves generated by high-speed friction.
The bugs didn't pay much attention to the more than one hundred warships falling into the sea.
The bugs rushed straight to the areas where the most biological energy gathered on the ground, locking onto the human cities on the surface.
Destroy the enemy races!
Kill hostile individuals.
…
Lieutenant General Thomas was beyond furious.
The powerful fleet he commands is currently exterminating the most powerful Zerg swarm.
Lieutenant General Thomas calmly gave orders one after another, but his clenched hands and the bulging veins on his neck and forehead showed that he was now a powder keg that was about to explode.
These damn bastards!
The unscrupulous New Federation!
An imperial parasite who is just sitting in his position doing nothing!
Those old guys on the Imperial Star are immersed in the dream of the most powerful empire in the Milky Way every day, but they refuse to face up to the threats from challengers, and finally brewed today's natural disasters and man-made disasters!
Just now, Lieutenant General Thomas received the latest intelligence.
Most of the Zerg swarms have been sniped, and 70% of the battlefields are confident that they can destroy the Zerg swarms they have targeted without paying a heavy price;
Guerrilla warfare is needed on a small part of the battlefield to delay time and preserve manpower.
The military has made the greatest effort in the shortest time.
They not only have to eliminate the large number of Zerg swarms activated by the New Federation, but also have to ensure that the Empire's military strength does not suffer too much damage to avoid greater troubles later.
This is the wisest choice.
Thomas and other senior military officials reached a consensus in a very short time.
The price of doing this is that six administrative stars will face the Zerg directly.
Although the administrative planets chosen as sacrifices have been calculated and selected as those with no development potential and relatively the smallest population, it is conservatively estimated that they will still have to bear the heavy loss of hundreds of millions of people.
The instigators of all this, those bastards from the New Federation, actually had the nerve to claim that they could send reinforcements to support the Empire at any time!
war!
Lieutenant General Thomas now only desires a real war. He wants to tear the first star of the New Federation into pieces!
"General! The queen has been injured, and the current swarm of insects has begun to retreat!"
Lieutenant General Thomas responded immediately: "Don't let them escape. Six or seven formations will attack the Queen. Focus all firepower on the side and kill the Queen as soon as possible!"
"yes!"
"The three formations that have just been replaced to replenish their energy will head to the nearest battlefield for flank support after corrections are completed, and report the results of the battle to the commander-in-chief!"
"yes!"
Lieutenant General Thomas finally breathed a sigh of relief. With gray hair on his temples, his hawk-like eyes were filled with sharpness.
The remaining six administrative stars...
Lieutenant General Thomas suddenly thought of that incredible guy.
He joined the poorly equipped local defense forces with a gunboat, and launched a surprise attack on millions of space Zerg with one man and one mecha. He successfully killed the queen, solved the insect plague, and saved the empire from huge losses.
"Where is the White Ghost? "
"General, White Ghost has sent a message saying that he will support Sakaar in five minutes."
The signalman's report made Thomas frown.
Hasn't Saka been abandoned?
If a White Ghost ship passes by, isn't it destined to be trapped inside?
Thomas carefully observed the battle situation in front of him, and after confirming that there was no risk, he asked the communications soldier to turn on a new projection screen, on which appeared the images of Sakaar collected by the military.
The entire flagship bridge suddenly became quiet.
The sergeants with stronger psychological qualities continued to lower their heads and do the work at hand;
Some officers and soldiers with weaker psychological qualities couldn't help but look at that hell on earth a few more times, and then instinctively made some reactions such as covering their mouths and clenching their fists.
The swarm of insects descended like a wave from the sky, extinguishing the fire of civilization on the surface of the earth.
The second largest city on Sakaar is suffering from a direct attack by a swarm of insects. Old buildings are collapsing in large numbers. In front of these terrifying insects, humans are reduced to ants that can be crushed at will.
Before the insect swarm attacked, people could be seen fleeing in panic everywhere on the streets.
After the swarm of insects wreaked havoc, all that was left on the street were pools of dark red blood.
There was a loud buzzing sound coming from the sky; the second batch of adult insects had arrived on the surface. They took this city as their landing point and quickly swept across a large area.
In outer space, another group of bugs moved at high speed against the direction of the planet's rotation, trying to attack the city cluster on the other side of Sakaar.
"General," a middle-aged officer reminded, "I just checked. The nearest fleet that can rush to support will need to arrive at Sakaar in an hour. The Zerg uses a diffuse attack, and it is difficult to save Sakaar."
"General, this swarm is not only threatening Sakaar, their destruction speed is alarming, and they deliberately ignore a small number of sparsely populated areas and only attack large cities. It is very likely that they will continue to attack other administrative planets."
"This is a racial war," Thomas said in a deep voice, "Do your job well, don't be distracted, and eliminate the swarm of insects in front of you as quickly as possible."
"yes!"
The bridge became busy again.
Thomas frowned as he looked at the projection screen and couldn't help but sigh softly.
In such a short period of time, tens of millions of people were killed or injured, and the semi-abandoned metropolis was completely destroyed...
This is the second plague, this is the completely enraged swarm of insects.
A communications soldier suddenly shouted: "General! The White Ghost's ship appeared in the synchronous orbit of Sakaar!"
Thomas was stunned when he heard this, and the projection screen quickly switched to images taken by external satellites.
The 500-meter-class gunboat, with an exaggerated shape that looked like a giant open mouth, was positioned above the dense swarm of insects, with its gun muzzle aimed at the most densely populated area of the swarm.
What is he going to do?
This young man finally chose to act on his emotions. He...
Thomas' eyelids jumped violently, and hundreds of ion beams suddenly burst out from the depths of the starry sky, covering and shooting at the areas where the insect swarms were densely populated!
The ion beam lit up a large area of 'light ball', which was the fusion reaction caused by the ion beam releasing energy!
Thomas immediately concluded that these ion beams should have come from the Empire's old warships of the 100-meter to 600-meter class!
Just at this moment!
The White Ghost's gunboat's main gun opened fire!
A deep purple elliptical ion beam lights up the sky of Sakaar!
After this somewhat exaggerated ion beam, the fiery red ghost mecha attacked again, and the giant light blade was lit!
Most of the Zerg's forces have now entered the surface, and the Ghost Mecha can more easily tear open the Zerg's last line of defense.
"Where is the fleet outside coming from?"
"They are some of the ships that were previously besieged by the Zerg. They are the local defense forces that gathered outside Saka. They sacrificed most of their remaining ships, and the main battleships chose to force their way out to support our planet... There are also dozens of ships, which are the private armies of several earls!"
Thomas raised his eyebrows slightly, but he turned off the unnecessary projection screen.
It's just that an administrative star received untimely support, there's nothing to be happy about.
Outside Sakaar.
In the flagship of the temporary fleet.
A young man in a tuxedo stood on the command platform of the bridge, staring at the white ghost battleship on the projection screen in front of him with a bit of fanaticism in his eyes.
On another screen, Viscount Godoy Saka's eyes were red as he was saying something...
"Thank you. I don't know how to express my gratitude to me, my family, and the people of Sakaar..."
"Oh, Uncle Godoy, you don't have to express such heavy gratitude."
The young man shook his head slightly and said seriously:
“Noble inheritance is not just about passing on titles, it is also about passing on responsibilities, emotions and human relationships.
“Our Lasoga family’s ancestors were deeply cared for by Count Saka. In the face of a natural disaster, it is only natural for us to respond to your request and come to support you.
"After today's battle, if I survive, I hope you can introduce Hui Saka to me formally. This is my only personal request."
"No problem, of course."
"Everyone keep firing! Support Mr. White Ghost!"
The young earl from the Lasoga family raised the metal sword in his hand.
"How can the glory of the Imperial Star be tainted by a mere Zerg?"
