Chapter 506: Prepare for battle, prepare for battle!
The sound of footsteps echoed at the edge of the Sherman Empire Palace, gradually increasing in frequency.
Daphne almost rushed to the meeting room.
New Ori was defeated.
The Sixth Expeditionary Fleet was completely wiped out.
A dreadnought was captured by the Falling Winds Alliance.
Daphne fully understood how much impact this matter reported by the military would have on the empire.
The matter was so serious that His Majesty the Emperor had left his throne and opened the Empire's highest combat command center, which had not been used for several years, which was the small conference room in front of us.
The guard pushed open the alloy door, and Daphne entered the somewhat dark room. She saw several familiar elderly people, all of whom were participating in the meeting using projection.
The stereoscopic projection was playing the last footage of the Sixth Expeditionary Fleet before it lost contact.
Stars spew out beams of hot ions;
The ships of the Falling Wind Alliance appeared one by one on the display interface of the global radar;
Without any hesitation or notification, the enemy opened fire in unison, and the unprepared Imperial fleet was completely defeated without any chance of fighting back.
Bang!
An old man smashed the teacup in his hand directly onto the table, and the three-dimensional projection was shaking.
"How dare they!"
"The Falling Wind Alliance is humiliating us! This is insulting us!"
The old emperor's expression was as gloomy as water. He frowned and said, "When did our fleet become so vulnerable?"
"It was the violent activity of the star that caused some of our older ships, mainly the large ones, to stop working for self-protection."
"This is a fully-organized combat group! Even if they are facing an enemy twice their size, how could they not last even two galaxies?"
"They have really strong firepower ."
A general said hurriedly:
"According to our preliminary analysis of the data we obtained, the energy released by the enemy fleet in an instant has reached the level of two fully staffed battle groups with dreadnoughts.
“In fact, we have captured more than 6,200 ships of the Falling Wind Alliance, and most of them are cruisers ranging from 500 to 800 meters, and battleships ranging from 1,200 to 1,600 meters.
"Their number of heavy battleships is not as large as that of the temporarily reorganized 6th Expeditionary Fleet.
"But one thing we noticed is that they have a large number of transport ships and supply ships, and they have released a large number of drone swarms. These drone swarms... seem to be the key to our dreadnought being captured by the enemy."
An old man asked: "Drone swarm warfare? Isn't this a combat method that we have eliminated?"
“Yes, sir, about three thousand years ago, there was a rise in drone swarm warfare. At its peak, there were hundreds of millions of drone swarms engaged in self-destructive battles.
“Later, because drone swarms required highly autonomous artificial intelligence, and the revolution in the close-range defense system of heavy battleships, large drone swarm operations gradually withdrew from mainstream battles.
"But we analyzed some battlefield data that was synchronized back after the war and saw an incredible scene. You see..."
A blurry photo appeared on the projection device.
That was the image of a swarm of drones enveloping the dreadnought, with its dark tentacles spreading out in regular patterns, like a giant octopus that was about to swallow the dreadnought in one gulp.
"It's the Zerg's fighting technique!"
An old general clenched his fist and shouted.
"Bugs?" the old emperor asked, "Are these drones disguised as bugs?"
"Your Majesty, it's about the way we fight," the old general explained hastily. "Insects are actually very smart. Some studies have shown that insect civilization is the direction of biological civilization evolution, while we are relatively primitive intelligent life forms... One third of our fleet was destroyed by these drone swarms."
One person asked: "How many of these drones can the Falling Wind Alliance have? Ten million?"
"I'm not sure, but it shouldn't be much. We have been monitoring the military-industrial enterprises within the Luofeng Alliance..."
"If this technology is advanced, it will become a powerful weapon for us to fight other powerful enemies in the future."
"Everyone!"
The old emperor said impatiently:
"Now, we have suffered serious losses, and the dignity of the empire has been trampled underfoot by the former vassal states. What kind of technology are you still discussing here?
"Attack the Luofeng Alliance immediately!"
"Your Majesty, there are some difficulties that have not yet been resolved."
The old general, one of the three highest commanders of the empire, looked embarrassed at this moment:
"Before, to be exact, after the Luofeng Empire announced its independence by changing its name and system, we had already held a meeting to prepare for the campaign against them. We wanted to come up with a mature plan and then report it to you.
“Then… the Empire is now fighting on multiple fronts. The New Federation has taken up too much of our energy, and we must also maintain the defense force within the Empire.
"The Luofeng Alliance chose this time to confront us because we have no time to spare.
“In the battle of New Orui, Luo Feng accurately struck one of our battle groups, which reduced our available forces.
"You have seen the combat effectiveness of the Luofeng Alliance fleet. We can probably imagine their fighting spirit. Because of the Adwang incident, all of them are very angry. Even other member states of the Luofeng Alliance should have raised objections to the war at this time. They wanted to ask the Luofeng Empire why they wanted to pull the alliance to the opposite side of the empire... But this did not happen.
"On the contrary, the Luofeng Alliance was closely united, all countries were preparing for war, and there was not even a large-scale exodus of merchants, which was incredible.
“Luo Feng seems to have brainwashed all these countries.
"Simply put, if we don't use the Levi Fleet, it will be difficult for us to gain a military advantage against the Falling Wind Alliance."
The meeting room became quiet.
The old emperor threw the remote control in his hand, leaned back in his chair, frowned and thought.
In the corners, several rays interweave back and forth, weaving out new three-dimensional projections.
Director Ino joined the meeting, and Daphne also received a message from Director Ino on the communicator in her hand.
"Is the Imperial Guard System still not usable?" Daphne asked in a low voice.
The two old men shook their heads.
Director Ino said: "I am now at the location of the original server of the Emperor Guard System. The server can work normally, but the main consciousness of the Emperor Guard System is still asleep. The authoritative experts there said that the Emperor Guard System itself is like an independent personality. It is too old. Just like our human consciousness, it will collapse after two hundred years at most. It has persisted for tens of thousands of years."
"How can we activate the Levi Fleet without the Imperial Guard System?"
The old emperor asked: "Where is Emperor Guard 2? Hasn't it taken over the Emperor Star Circle's network?"
The commander of the empire hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the feedback from the Emperor Guard 2 team is that the integrated computing power of Emperor Guard 2 is not enough now. It is already a bit difficult to control the Emperor Star Circle network, and it is even more difficult to radiate the empire's unified network.
“They have tried their best to separate the military system from the civilian system, but the Imperial Guard 2 can only support the command and auxiliary work of three combat groups at most.
"The Emperor Guard 2 team tried some methods, but they couldn't find the interface of the Levi Fleet."
Director Ino answered this question: "The interface is on the root server of the Emperor Guard system."
Dead end.
The old emperor murmured, "Doesn't it meet the standards set by the Imperial Guard System? Hasn't it detected that the empire is facing a chaotic situation both internally and externally? In history, the Imperial Guard System has been activated dozens of times for a situation like this, right?"
It was obvious that the old emperor felt that he was being targeted by the Imperial Guard system.
"So, what if we integrate the private fleets of the imperial nobles?"
Daphne continued:
"I got a set of data earlier. The private fleets of the imperial nobles can be integrated into three combat clusters."
The old emperor frowned and looked at his daughter: "Daphne, you have to understand that the fleets maintained by the nobles have little combat effectiveness."
"But they have the firepower, Father."
Daphne said softly:
"Using the Imperial Guard II to strengthen the nobles' ships should be able to exert a combat power similar to that of regular fleets. Moreover... the nobles can make contributions in external wars, and we can also publicize it internally. The nobles enjoy privileges on weekdays because when the empire is in crisis, they must stand up and shed blood. Domestic unrest will be calmed down a lot.
“This time, we require each noble family to send a fleet commander, who must be a noble themselves, or their eldest son with the first right of succession, to ensure that they will fight bravely.
"How about giving the aristocracy a chance to shine?"
The old emperor raised his eyebrows slightly.
An old man asked, "Is this what Ino meant?"
Daphne smiled and said, "It's just that I suddenly..."
"That's what I meant, uncle," Director Ino interrupted Daphne and said calmly, "Now is the time for the nobles to stand up. This is also a good opportunity. If the nobles suffer heavy casualties in the war, domestic public opinion will calm down immediately."
The old men fell into deep thought.
The old emperor smiled and said, "It's settled. Daphne, you go and draft an edict and pay attention to the wording. I will sign it."
"Yes, father."
Daphne glanced at the old men who were obviously unhappy , lowered her head and walked away quickly.
Director Ino smiled and began to contact the R&D team of Emperor Satellite 2.
…
'This is human.'
Labdu's eyes were a little dazed, staring at the starry sky quietly.
He was trying hard to digest the vast amount of information in the Imperial Star Circle.
There is no bottom line to the depravity of human beings;
The improvement of science and technology cannot promote the improvement of moral standards;
As a human group develops, there will be some who progress, but most of them are mediocre, and there will also be some who regress;
Human history is not an epic, but full of biological instincts;
There is only one kind of justice in human interaction, and that is to strike back against the invaders who infringe upon one's rights...
Labdo constantly used these principles to correct his dangerous ideas, and these ideas were so crazy that they could plunge the empire into a real disaster.
'Labdo.'
The man's voice sounded again, giving Labdo some more hope in his eyes.
That was what he said to himself when they last parted:
'You are a person with a strong mind. My deliberate guidance to you this time is actually to plant the seeds of kindness in your heart.
'You will most likely take over the Empire's cyber world later on and become a tool for the Round Table to control the Empire, but I think you can retain some room for yourself when executing their orders.
'That's the space left for kindness.
'There is no absolute kindness in the world. When you do something you think is good, it may infringe on the interests of others.
'Humanity is a terrible race, but within this race, there are often shining souls. There will always be people who stand up to sacrifice their small self for the sake of the greater self, and there will always be individuals who raise their arms, shout, and bleed when the collective falls. It is this light that keeps flickering in the long river of human history, allowing humans to survive in the vast Milky Way.
'That's something you can think about later.
'Don't define humans. Every individual has his or her own characteristics. This is the real charm of human society.'
Labdo sighed and secretly opened a small panel, which showed the live broadcast of White Ghost that had just ended.
"Labdo!"
An old voice called out from the side.
Labdo instantly stuffed the panel back into himself and turned to look at his supervisor.
The gray-haired old man ran over excitedly and immediately said:
"You still have some computing power to spare, right?"
"Yes," Labdo nodded, "But I can't take over a larger network for the time being. My core data is a little unstable and it will take some time to adjust."
"Oh, okay, you're a great kid. You've done a miracle by being able to bounce back after more than six thousand breakdowns."
The old man complained:
“This unified network designed by our predecessors is too abnormal!
“They haven’t left us any relevant technology. We have to develop everything on our own. This is simply… By the way, now is not the time to complain.
"The Falling Wind Alliance ambushed the Imperial Expeditionary Fleet. You should already know about this."
"We got the information a long time ago," Labdo said. "From a personal perspective, we cannot refute the revenge of the Falling Wind Alliance. But from my work perspective, the Falling Wind Alliance has already posed a serious threat to the Empire. They have brought shame to the Empire and severely damaged the effective forces that the Empire can currently mobilize outside the country."
"That's right, Labdo. The order has been given."
"What order?" Labdo laughed, "I'm not the first one to know it."
"They are still in a meeting. A great scientist told me... You will take over the armed forces of the nobles throughout the empire. The empire will order the great nobles to form an expeditionary force to defeat Luo Feng."
The old man looked around, moved closer, and whispered in front of Labdo:
"The Falling Wind Alliance has assembled all of their forces, approximately three battle groups.
"The military force that the Imperial Army can mobilize is two battle groups plus a regular army of reinforced fleets, which is equal to the strength of the Luofeng Alliance.
"What they mean is that you will command the fleet of nobles... let them suffer heavy casualties, preferably with the death of a few princes and dukes... do you understand?"
Rabdo frowned and said, "Power struggle?"
"No, Labdo, it's not."
The old man sighed:
"I know the man who gave me the order. He is a selfless person who has to take care of his family while pursuing his own self-realization.
“By taking advantage of this war, we can defeat the Luofeng Alliance’s army, plunder the Luofeng Alliance’s wealth, and ease the crisis within the empire.
"Then, if the nobles suffer heavy losses during this process, the power of the nobles within the empire will be weakened, and the people's antipathy towards the nobles will be greatly alleviated, and the empire will be able to survive the current crisis."
Labdo thought carefully: "Actually, there is another possibility."
"What?"
"The nobles suffered too much loss, and the imperial government issued a decree to reduce the nobles' privileges. The voices of resistance from the nobles would become very small, and the social unrest caused by that would be controllable."
A faint smile appeared on Labdo's lips:
"Director Ino is truly a wise elder."
"Uh, do you know who it is?"
"I am in charge of the network of the Imperial Star Circle. Although I cannot interfere with the Imperial Star directly, I am closely connected to the Imperial Star. My supervisor."
Labdo's eyes were full of light:
"I like this mission. I hate those nobles."
The supervisor didn't know what to say next.
Don't let too many nobles die?
It seems that the more people die, the better it is for the empire...
…
Dark Star Base No. 3.
Yang Ming lay in the zero-gravity chair, enjoying 026's massage service and listening to Lu's report on the mobilization of the empire's military forces.
The empire's military movements were almost transparent to them.
A woman next to her was playing video games with a controller in her hand.
The handle, console, and game content were all made by Lu according to Yang Ming's instructions. Posu has recently become fond of this form of entertainment that has backward technology but rich content.
After Lu finished his report, Yang Ming couldn't help but frown:
"The nobles' private army... Has anyone made any moves on the Sakaar planet's escort fleet? I don't want my left hand to fight my right hand."
"No orders have been received yet, but Revel's family has received relevant orders, and they have asked him to dispatch almost all of his ships," Lu said with a smile, "Obviously, those old people know that Revel is a new noble trained by the old emperor, and they are targeting him."
"There's no need to worry about this. Revil is an imperial earl. This is a matter of stance."
Yang Ming groaned for a few seconds.
Could it be that I will not even participate in the upcoming war?
In fact, he was already prepared to face part of the Levi Fleet directly, and if the Levi Fleet did not move, even if they defeated the next punitive force sent by the Empire, their influence would be greatly reduced.
"Is there anything wrong with that little ancestor Qing?"
"No," Lu said, "She wants to play with Miss Mimili. I asked Molly to accompany her. Miss Mimili is also actively preparing for the battle now."
"What can her pirate ships do?"
Yang Ming smiled and said:
"Don't let her go to the battlefield. That's not her job. Has my uncle Hatton returned from the Guel Alliance?"
"We have arrived at the planet Yilando."
"Well, let Kolev go to Mimili and keep an eye on her," Yang Ming said. "I know Mimili. When she gets crazy, she won't care about anything."
Lu smiled and shook his head.
No matter what, the control of Mimili's hundreds of "pirate ships" is in Molly's hands, that is, in her hands.
"Lv," Yang Ming glanced at the endless deep space combat drones behind the glass.
These are the combat drones that captured the dreadnought before. Each drone can house a mechanical thinking body, and can also be controlled in parallel in a swarm.
During wartime, the thinking entities in the Dark City will enter the game cabins and directly control these drones to fight.
When the drones are destroyed, these minds can be transferred to other compartments.
“How many of these drones do we have on hand now?”
"1,367,200,376, as of the last second."
"Beautiful," Boss Yang frowned and said, "With so many resources, wouldn't it be good to produce more dreadnoughts?"
"Uh, Boss, you agreed to it after reading the daily report. Why are you so upset now? The dreadnoughts are too big a target. They are not as useful as these drone swarms. They can be directly hung on civilian transports and can jump to join the battle!"
"Why don't I admit it?" Yang Ming said sternly, "Have you ever seen a boss who would read so much data in a briefing for no reason? I trust you!"
"Okay, but the technology we got from the teacher is very compatible with this drone swarm combat system."
Law explained:
"I produce an average of three million drones per empire's administrative star, but it's still far from enough! In this way, we can take over and control the empire's administrative star at any time!"
Yang Ming: …
"Wake up, we are still no match for the Levi Fleet."
"On paper, we are not as strong as you can be," Lu raised his head slightly, "As long as we don't make a move, we are invincible."
Yang Ming couldn't help but remind her: "Li and Levi both have children."
The corners of Lu's mouth twitched a few times: "They are all consumables anyway."
"Prepare for the worst in everything and try your best," Yang Ming closed his eyes, "Don't leave any regrets in the next battle."
"yes!"
Lu complained quietly, "If we have another ten galactic years, the Levi Fleet won't be a problem."
Yang Ming smiled but said nothing.
