"..."
The shouts erupted, and everyone’s fighting spirit had reached unprecedented heights.
Su Changqing looked at the enthusiastic crowd and nodded quietly to himself.
His expression was calm, giving the impression that everything was under control.
But in truth, only he knew in his heart how uncertain he felt right now.
He could say words to boost morale, but no matter how eloquent, such as speaking with a golden tongue, it was useless, because the disparity in strength between the two sides was too drastic. This couldn’t be compensated solely by morale.
Therefore, even though Su Changqing said aloud they must fight to defend this line, he knew very well inside it was absolutely impossible.
If the insect swarm truly became unstoppable, then he could only apologize to the people of Karon Star.
He was willing to help the people of Karon Star evacuate from a strategic perspective, but if the Star Alliance’s cost here became too exorbitant, he could only choose to abandon it.
The Star Alliance’s first through third fleet were all here; these were the backbone fleets of the Star Alliance. Su Changqing was absolutely committed to ensuring that they wouldn’t be destroyed here.
These thoughts were naturally not to be shared with outsiders. He would only issue the retreat order when necessary; they would take with them as many people as possible.
According to the intelligence from the reconnaissance units, the insect swarm had entered the void turbulence area, but due to environmental limitations, it was unknown exactly where they had moved. It was estimated that the swarm would reach their current position within no more than two days.
This was the benefit of the natural barriers; the void turbulence region could even interfere with wormhole coordinate positioning, preventing the insect race from directly opening wormholes to jump over, forcing them to spend a lot of time traversing the turbulence.
Seeing this, everyone instinctively breathed a sigh of relief, hoping the insects could be delayed, or better yet trapped forever in the void turbulence.
Their terror within was well known; if not for the Star Alliance investing a lot of time in establishing a stable transmission channel, support to the Phantom Spirit Star System front wouldn’t have been so easy.
However, such days didn’t last long, for by the third Star Alliance day, the Desolate Insect Swarm had finally broken through the turbulence and reached the defense line region established by the Star Alliance.
"Hive Battle Division, full line strike!"
Su Changqing didn’t wait for the enemy to arrive but instead sent the Hive Battle Division ahead into the void turbulence for interception, deploying a hundred drone clusters in full force. Two God Slayer level drone warships followed behind, launching a deadly strike against the advancing insect swarm.
The battle lasted for two days and nights. Few knew the details. When the Hive Battle Division returned, only five drone clusters remained, with one God Slayer left behind.
Out of the fifty-something Control Masters in the Hive Battle Division, fewer than twenty survived; their casualty rate was relatively low, considering their profession was similar to that of Summoners, requiring little personal frontline combat but rather relying on drone control.
"Inspector, sorry, we did our best..."
Li Zixuan was severely injured, and so were the others. Most bore tremendous spiritual power burdens; encountering insects skilled in spiritual attacks could lead to direct spiritual collapse.
After speaking, he passed out immediately, and Su Changqing stepped forward to stabilize his injuries using his healing abilities. After a careful check, he said:
"His injuries are mostly on the spiritual level. I see others are the same. Xiao Shun, contact Spirit Star to seek her help for treatment. She’s the only one who can heal such wounds."
Su Changqing assigned these individuals to Xiao Shun, who then contacted Pei Lingsu for treatment. Xiao Shun was the Minister of the Star Alliance Medical Department, responsible for all medical affairs.
"Everyone pay attention, the target is about to enter the alert zone. All warships switch to fire mode, ready to attack! The evacuation of West Karon Star is in its final stage; we only need to hold out for one more day! Don’t waste the opportunity created by the Hive Battle Division comrades!"
At this moment, the Star Alliance fleet entered full combat mode, and the arrays surrounding the edges started operating at full speed, forming a small spiritual tide in this area.
The strength of the Star Alliance fleet was formidable, even among the entire Dark Star Alliance ranking as top-tier, thanks to Yang Yangyang and Ji Xiaoqi’s decades of tireless trade efforts. They maintained cooperative relationships with various families in the Dark Star Alliance, gathering resources to enhance their side’s power.
With the support of advanced equipment, the combat power of the Star Alliance fleet had become incomparable to its initial formation; the only disadvantage was its insufficient numbers. If they could form an effective group combat force like ancient clans, they wouldn’t have to abandon the Karon Star front due to a few sixth-level insect swarms.
"Insects have appeared! Open fire!"
Finally, the Commander issued the order, and all the warships fired simultaneously at that moment. The Desolate Insect’s side had no chance to react to what was happening when the front-line vanguard suffered a devastating blow.
Driven by the Dark Spirit Engine, the ships’ attacks inflicted solid Dark Spiritual Power damage, a damage form against which the insect race had weak resistance. Their adaptive evolution towards physical attacks was ineffective in face of this kind of Dark Spirit attack.
Only mid-high order insect races, having evolved their spiritual carapace at the cost of large amounts of Essence, could provide protection against such damage.
"Great! That’s it! Keep this status! Our logistical supplies are sufficient! Don’t worry! Everyone hit hard!!"
Seeing the insect swarm subdued, the warriors showed joyous expressions while the commanders continually boosted morale, swiftly arranging subsequent energy supply.
The firepower of the Star Alliance proved exceedingly strong; anyone who underestimated it wouldn’t meet a favorable end.
"Be careful! New enemies are coming!"
The insect race quickly responded; several gigantic beetles, comparable in size to stars, appeared, blocking the front of the insect swarm.
These insects served as the defensive force within the swarm, known as Black Scale Armor Guards. Usually, they served as the Insect Queen’s guardians; now they stepped forward proactively to absorb damage.
These three Black Scale Armor Guards were already high-level forms, far superior to the armor guards seen in smaller swarms.
The Star Alliance fleet’s attacks were completely blocked by those three Black Scale Armor Guards. Though they were rattled, they wouldn’t fall easily.
In seizing this brief opportunity, the insect swarm quickly launched a counterattack.
Space warped in waves, and a thousand eerie figures flickered and vanished, reappearing within the Star Alliance front line.
"Be careful! It’s Void Rippers!"
"Boom, boom, boom!!"
In an instant, hundreds of warships erupted with sparks; their Defense Shields were of no use, as the Void Rippers attacked directly by tearing open space with astonishing destructive power.
"Not good! They’re attacking our formation!"
Someone realized the insects’ intention; the ships they destroyed were key nodes of the formation, and the damage to these locations caused the Star Alliance’s setup to shake immediately.
The negative effects brought by the formation’s shaking weren’t merely as simple as weakened attack and defense. The most worrisome aspect was in stability; if the insect race formed a sufficient scale, an insect domain would emerge, and without corresponding formation protection, these warships would soon turn into scrap metal.