This is really not mechanical ascension
Chapter 555 - 291 Trench Warfare - The Terrifying Oppression of the United Fleet_2

Chapter 555: Chapter 291 Trench Warfare - The Terrifying Oppression of the United Fleet_2

Li Ming suddenly nodded in realization as the adjustments to the main ship ended quickly and it approached the target location swiftly, delving deeper and deeper into the increasingly harsh cosmic environment.

The peculiar gravity and matter jets around caused deadly Star Stream Dark Tides everywhere, and slight carelessness could lead to the destruction of the ship and loss of life.

Five days later, the main ship abruptly exited from the warp channel, and everyone gathered in the command center.

"Two more days’ journey and we will reach the designated coordinates, but to be cautious, it’s best not to get too close," Ulrich, acting as the brain trust, suggested, "Let’s send out several reconnaissance ships first to probe and see."

"Okay," Li Ming nodded. Their main ship, naturally, could not compete with the United Fleet, so prudence is essential.

The main ship was hidden within a "Star Stream Light Band," which appeared as an irregular floating ribbon near the Red River Star Stream.

Not only was this phenomenon undetectable for any energy response, but anything that entered it also disappeared without a trace.

Several miniature reconnaissance spacecraft flew out of the hangar and disappeared quickly.

After waiting two more days, on the large screen of the command center, there appeared the massive United Fleet, forming a square array around the peculiar "Ring Star Crown Guard."

This fleet scene was produced using reconnaissance ships and probes with optical eyepieces and intelligent data simulations, and some areas were very blurry as they dared not conduct regular detection.

"The United Fleet..." Li Ming’s eyes flickered, recognizing it as the enormous fleet comprising the elite fleets of most civilizations in the Silver Star Cluster.

Hundreds of main ships of various designs were arrayed and ready for command, and the vast escort fleet was arrayed around in an obvious state of alert.

Even through the screen, one could feel a breath-stopping sense of oppression.

Which is stronger, individual might or collective combat capability?

This has been one of the perennially discussed topics in interstellar society, but as a level-A life form, one might not even qualify to participate in the core discussions.

To take on ordinary A-level life forms, a fully staffed fleet with a main ship could defeat them as long as the commander was competent.

But what Li Ming was currently considering were those thick main ship energy cannons, which together might number in the hundreds.

So big, so many, so desirable.

"Central part." Benny suddenly said, instructing the staff to continually zoom in on the central area of the United Fleet.

Because the observation was purely optical, when it was magnified to the limit, it was extremely blurry, but one could still see the continually flickering special scene.

It looked like a bright blue diamond-shaped body.

"The Core Relics utilize spatial interlayers and information state encapsulation technology; to enter it, it first has to appear in the mainstream universe," Benny explained, "by the looks of it, it might still take some time."

"Is it turning into a tug-of-war battle?" Li Ming couldn’t help but mutter.

This way, anyone who wanted to enter the Core Relics would have to bypass Asimara’s defense line.

"We’re not planning on forcing our way through, are we?" Sandro carefully asked.

Li Ming’s eyes were inscrutable as he suddenly asked, "Do you know where the Judger Civilization’s fleet is?"

"The news from a day ago; they were still searching for the Combat Joint Fleet’s traces," someone responded.

"I remember, they seem to have offered five hundred million Star Coins for the whereabouts of the United Fleet," Li Ming pondered, "It’s free money if we don’t take it."

"Huh?" The command room fell silent.

"Are we going to give them the coordinates?" Sandro asked, baffled.

"Let’s use the Judgers to test the waters first," Li Ming’s eyes twinkled.

He figured that even if he didn’t provide the coordinates, someone else would, and it was better if he claimed the reward himself.

...

Four days later, Li Ming, who had been working on developing the Genetic Seed, came out of his room. Ulrich was already waiting at the door, quickly reporting:

"Half a day ago, the first fleet of the Judges had already warped near the coordinates and seemed to have negotiated with the United Fleet."

"We don’t know the exact details of the discussions, but the United Fleet has entered combat mode, and the fleets of the Judges are continuously arriving, looking like a situation on the verge of explosion."

Ulrich explained the current situation to him as they made their way to the command room.

Everyone stood up as Li Ming walked straight towards the large screen.

In the backdrop of red-hued starfield, nearly a hundred huge Judger main ships had already gathered, along with the massive escort fleets brought by these main ships.

According to the intelligence held by the Torch Organization, those pale golden warships, almost as massive as the Koneil, are the "Judge Main Ships" of the Judger Civilization, shaped like trident blades.

A fleet consisting of a hundred main ships is the renowned "Judger Fleet" of the Judger Civilization.

But when the last batch of the Judger Fleet slowly appeared.

Suddenly, a blinding stream of energy shot out from the nearby Star Stream Ribbon.

Seeming several times brighter than the nearby bright cloud clusters, as if it would make the Red River Star Stream appear dimmer in comparison.

"Ambush!" Everyone’s breath hitched as they watched the Star Stream Ribbon being torn apart by the energy torrent, hiding a large array of fleets.

The energy torrent was from the main guns of bombardment ships, specifically used for firepower strikes, and the main gun level was not inferior to regular main ships.

This means, if any of them were thrown into this energy torrent, the only outcome would be to turn into ashes.

Then, the ejection bays of these heavy bombardment ships opened, and one by one, missiles wrapped in purple light were slowly launched, their tails emitting fierce fireworks, increasing speed by geometric multiples.

"Physical missiles." Li Ming was quite surprised; he had never truly experienced an interstellar great war, those previous skirmishes involving a handful or even hundreds of warships were nothing in comparison.

Energy weapons are highly developed, possessing various superior traits.

Most physical missiles had been abandoned due to their terrifying cost, unlike energy weapons, which can serve for decades once constructed.

However, physical missiles that still appear in interstellar wars must possess extremely terrifying destructive power.

The giant missiles launched by the heavy bombardment ships were locked on, with trails of light reaching the target first.

Missing the target could possibly lead to premature detonation, which is a drawback of physical missiles.

The regular Judger army, after all, was not for show; they quickly counterattacked, when the energy attack came, a purple shield rose on the surface, blocking it.

Because the attack by the United Fleet was sudden and swift, there were many medium-sized ships originally on the outskirts of the Judger Fleet.

These ships carried joint shield generators, acting as nodes to construct a super large energy shield.

The first wave of energy bombardment was blocked by this joint shield, quite a significant portion resisted.

But a salvo from the main guns had already caused this seemingly thick shield to flash intensely.

Almost simultaneously, the physical missiles that struck caused a brilliant explosion to emerge, the fierce energy reaction was alarming.

The strength of the zone drastically dropped, even tearing, creating a defensive vacuum zone.

When the vacuum zone appeared, the warships originally protected by the joint shield also had to expose themselves to the following energy torrents.

The other half of the heavy bombardment ships followed closely, launching the second batch of "ammunition."

This time it seemed not to be ordinary bombs, as they didn’t explode but released intense shock waves.

And the last batch of Judges that were about to materialize started to distort, deform, tearing and crumbling under the chaotic gravitational waves.

The last fragments of these warships were thrown into the central positions of the Judger Fleet, followed by a series of massive explosions.

"Gravitational wave interference missiles, aimed at destructively striking targets mid-warp," Ulrich whispered, his eyes alarmed.

At the top of the Ring Star Crown Guard, Asimara wearing a combat suit, her expression cold and her eyes filled with murderous intent, oversaw the brilliant starfield: "The third round of attack, begin!"

More gunfire and more physical warheads began to pour out, bombing the Judgers who had just reacted frenziedly.

Caught in the ambush, the Judger Fleet lost the advantage, could only fight and retreat, leaving behind a field of wreckage and fragments.

Inside the command room of the Coyle, the witnesses of this ambush battle remained silent.