Xyrin Empire
Chapter 573: Trap

Chapter 573: Chapter 573: Trap

Planet-level protective shields, a high-end product of shield technology, are also an important criterion for whether a civilization can reach the extragalactic colonization level. Being able to establish such a system indicates that the civilization has preliminarily mastered the technology needed to change an entire planet and create a primitive planet fortress. Don’t assume that a planet-level shield is just larger than a warship shield. It’s like the difference between heating by burning a pile of firewood and creating an air conditioner, two entirely different concepts. Implementing a shield for a spaceship and creating a planet shield are two completely different technologies. Initially in the Magic Prohibition World, to protect Earth, we had to use the Ghost Energy Field resonance of the entire Imperial Fleet’s spaceships to barely establish a star shield, which shows how difficult this thing is to create.

And now, in front of us, the equator of this planet is encircled by a huge artificial star ring, which with its ultra-high energy readings indicates that it is a specialized shield generator. What does this imply?

A highly advanced civilization and technology acknowledged by the Empire.

But something is not quite right.

I glanced out of the corner of my eye at the Jie En Army, those piecemeal spaceships definitely didn’t match this level of technology, some even had outdated hulls equipped with nuclear fusion engines as primitive propulsion systems to ensure thrust in non-jump states... Wait, even more out of place here is, not to mention where that star ring came from, a civilization capable of producing jump engines, why would they still use fusion engines? How is this different from removing an air conditioner’s compressor and replacing it with a coal stove? A performance art by the scientific community?

Full of doubts but of course, no one there to help answer them. Our meeting with Major General Jie En was just a fleeting encounter, we couldn’t even be sure if the native civilizations were friends yet, but my personal curiosity about them was growing stronger.

However, my silence didn’t mean that others were silent. Someone who had obviously forgotten that they had a mysterious creature by their side whose brainstem always worked more efficiently than its brain finally spoke up. Qianqian, leaning on the railing and watching the large projection for a long time, suddenly exclaimed, "Wow! Ah Jun, Ah Jun! That ring is huge! That person, Jie En, right? What is that ring for?"

I thought it was a military secret, but the answer came anyway, "It has no name, we just call it the Star Ring, and because of the name of this planet, you can also call it the Jetas Star Ring—it’s a miraculous creation. To this day, no one knows the principles it operates on, but this ancient device provides us with an endless supply of energy. It has turned Jetas from a barren land into the most prosperous frontier planet in the Free Kingdom in just thirteen years. I suggest that you do not approach this star ring without our permission, of course, this is just a necessary precaution..."

Jie En’s answer, bearing a hint of pride and the rigidity of a military man, made Big Sister and me look at each other inadvertently.

This star ring was not made by them!

And these naïve people even treated a planet-level shield generator with infinite potential as a national power grid. It suddenly reminded me of the time Qianqian and I sneaked off to an internet café, and that girl ended up playing solitaire for two hours—by the way, me watching her play for two hours is pretty bizarre in retrospect.

"Huh? You didn’t make this?" Sure enough, Qianqian’s mind was faster than I expected, or rather, it had slipped the leash again, acting as casually as asking someone how much their new phone cost, she blurted out, "So big, just a solar power station huh... Where did you find this?"

As expected, this time Jie En’s answer was a bit more like an official statement, "Regrettably, this is a military secret of the Free Kingdom. I can only tell you that the Star Ring is ancient... wait a moment!"

The communication was suddenly cut off, not only did the screen on the communicator instantly turn to static, but the sound was also replaced by a jumble of clattering noises, as if the person on the other side was frantically fumbling with something. Vaguely, some hurried, low-pitched voices could still be heard from the communicator.

Big Sister and I looked at each other, while Qianqian began to furiously kick the unlucky communicator lying in front of her at a 45-degree angle—girl, this thing isn’t broken yet, but it will be after you’re done kicking it!

"Attention, the fleet ahead is slowing down. Target weapon systems detected starting up, Federation Army entering Level Three alert status, reducing speed, stopping thrust... Communication with the fleet ahead is being restored, transferring now."

The main system aboard the Light of El quickly analyzed the possible scenarios. Fortunately, communications were restored before any misunderstandings occurred between the two alien race armies meeting for the first time.

"General Jie En, what happened?"

I straightened my expression to one of solemnity and asked, having just sidestepped a stumbling Qianqian who barreled past me after not stopping in time.

"I am very sorry, but please do not misunderstand," the middle-aged handsome General Jie En assisted the shaking camera as he hurriedly spoke with a serious expression like iron, "there might be a situation in Jetas. Our docking request has vanished into thin air, the output power of the Jetas Star Ring is also decreasing, and my people have received a strange frequency signal from the surface of the planet..."

"Just tell us what happened."

Reynolds interrupted him impatiently, while the Command Hall had already started shifting into combat readiness.

"We have detected a large number of unfamiliar signals. They have occupied all the colonial points in Jetas... Our planet might be occupied!"

The tragic middle-aged hunk trembled with anger, and our view trembled along with his shaking.

"It seems we really are a bunch of trouble vacuum cleaners," I shrugged at Reynolds, "Wherever we go, trouble follows, and whatever we see gets ruined."

Reynolds immediately turned his face away, meaning ’don’t talk to me about this, the person plagued by troubles is you, the tragic emperor.’

"Scan the planet’s surface for anything, if a battle starts, we must prioritize protecting that star ring, I am very interested in it," I grabbed Pandora and Visca who were trying to sneak away, "General Jie En, maybe we can help you, but do you know who has occupied this colony?"

The middle-aged handsome man’s expression got a bit weird: "Honestly, it’s hard to say. This place is on the border, and the recent stable period just passed. The enemy could be the Angel Army, or the Roland Gale Consortium, or even the Gusta Church Monastery, or perhaps the nearby Caputlan Free Light Cavalry—they’ve recently grown stronger and desperately need territory. It’s not impossible that they brazenly attacked a kingdom’s remote colonial star. I’m just curious about how such a solid fortress planet could..."

I hadn’t even waited for him to finish speaking before I nearly burst a blood vessel and finally roared, "By the god Dingdang! What kind of bizarre state are your Free Kingdom’s foreign relations in? These multi-lateral relations of yours are too perplexing, aren’t they?"

You make it sound like you’re at war with the entire universe! Your colony got taken over and you can’t even count on one hand who might have done it?

"You know nothing of this universe," General Jie En looked unable to save face, but anger predominated his expression, "In this world, aside from your own country, everyone is an enemy. You must be ready to go to war at any time with any potential adversary... Anyway, the newcomers will soon understand the cruelty here. Your corps seem very powerful, but in this everyone-is-an-enemy universe, even the strongest corps fighting alone can only become remnants in the Great Nebula—oh, now is not the time for these words. I should be trying to reclaim this planet, it’s been the longest-standing unoccupied place on the kingdom’s border... Damn, they have already begun... Defense forces, activate the shields, prioritize protecting the flagship! Sorry, my friends, this is certainly not a pleasant welcoming ceremony, but I hope you..."

"I understand, it seems no one can stay out of it today; keep the communication lines open," I nodded to Jie En and turned my gaze to Zeratul, "Prepare for battle; it looks like the people on the planet below have underestimated us."

At the other end of the communicator, Jie En, upon receiving my assurance, immediately showed a pleased expression and shouted toward the other end, "Singer! Hurry over and help me hold the camera; I need to direct the battle!"

We: "..."

So you have a Deputy Officer, huh? What has this Deputy Officer been doing all this past hour?

And to think such an incompetent Deputy Officer could still be retained, do I dare say the Free Kingdom in this universe was specifically tasked with being adorable?

At the same time, the now occupied Jetas Planet finally initiated an attack. As countless bright spots beneath the clouds shimmered simultaneously, blinding laser beams pierced through the thick atmosphere of Jetas’ surface. The first wave targeted Jie En’s fleet—an ironically conventional planetary space attack fire system evidently meant as a defense mechanism for Jetas’ colonization star itself, now used to strike the very fleet they were meant to protect. However, Jie En had no leisure to ruminate on this irony. The planet defense cannons, specially designed to counter space fleets, were naturally something Major General Jie En did not want to endure passively. The fleet, although appearing chaotic but surprisingly disciplined, promptly executed a counterattack. The ground lasers rippled on the warship shields, and the latter responded with an even fiercer barrage; yet as soon as the battle began, I noticed one thing: Jie En’s forces were too restrained in the fight.

You’d think the same if you saw a mother ship equipped with a ten-meter main cannon, sparking with electricity and trembling, dropping only two beams of light only slightly thicker than a thigh.

It’s a colonization star, crammed just last night with their own people, even now filled with their own families—who would dare strike it ruthlessly?

"Alert, spatial curvature anomaly detected, space-time curvature shifting, jump engine interference—clearing interference, interference cleared, jump engine operating efficiency reduced to thirty percent, large energy reaction detected on target planet, enemy lock computing activated."

The Light of El’s artificial intelligence suddenly began reporting dangerous information. On the warship’s radar, countless blinking red dots suddenly broke free from the planetary surface constraints, speedily entering outer space—they were the warships parked on Jetas’ surface. After using the planet’s anti-aircraft artillery to disrupt Jie En’s army, they finally dispatched the main force!

It was a trap, something anyone with an IQ over two digits would understand by now. Jie En’s forces were evidently Jetas’ garrison, and the current occupants of the colonization star might have seized the opportunity while the garrison went to eliminate pirates. They controlled all the military facilities of the colonization star, then pulled energy from the Jetas Star Ring to construct a (simple in our eyes) space-time locking force field, walking Jie En’s returning forces into a trap. They then exploited the inability of the latter to launch a devastating strike on the entire colonization star, unabashedly using the planetary anti-aircraft artillery to disrupt the returning space fleet... the entire process was as messy as a Hollywood disaster.

But at the same time, the whole process was filled with bewildering elements.

Could a planet’s garrison really lose control of the planet by stepping out to eliminate two batches of minor pirates? How could a colonization star established only a decade or so ago be the "place on the border that has withstood conquest the longest"? From the sound of it, Jie En seemed to suggest that such incidents were already so common in this universe that everyone regarded them as daily occurrences?

Who the hell came up with this world’s setup?

"Target fleet entering warning defense distance, has engaged with allied forces, three hundred medium warships entering from the 3 o’clock position moving closer, Great Harmony Cannon in position, attack begins!"

The unknown army occupying Jetas clearly had not anticipated that Jie En would bring back such a massively equipped (this part truly needs emphasis!) fleet. I couldn’t help but maliciously wonder what their commander’s expression was now, but with the arrow drawn, they had no choice but to launch, just like intercepting someone else’s protection racket—only to discover upon their return, they inadvertently inherited over two hundred Marine Corps. Even if it was a moment of intense pain, they still had to face it with grit. However, the enemy merely sent out several hundred medium warships to test the waters; was that not an underestimation of the fierce and formidable?

The Federation Army’s giant ships and cannons were already hungry for action, but clearly, the thirstiest weren’t the Great Harmony Cannons or the Focusing Prisms. When the triple-barreled revolving Great Harmony Cannons unleashed their limitless DPS and threw the enemy’s probing three hundred warships into disarray, I knocked on the heads of two Little Lolis who had almost climbed onto my shoulders and loudly declared, "All warships retreat two hundred kilometers, battlecruisers activate shields in full to protect the flagship, I’m about to release Pandora and Visca!"

Reynolds shivered immediately, while Zeratul, sounding a bit muffled, said, "Alright, I’ll get the warriors ready to clear the battlefield."

The Great Harmony Cannon’s high-energy plasma jets swept through the incoming three hundred enemy ships like a storm, causing a series of explosions among them. However, this attack did not significantly damage the enemy; no one would be foolish enough to arrange their warships in tight formation in a space battle (unless it was to activate a joint shield), and the cannon’s attack only destroyed a dozen of the enemy’s vanguard ships. What followed was a diverse assault from the enemy ships—laser missiles, force field shockwaves, and whatnot. Although the ships were medium-class, they maintained a characteristic of armies in this universe: put together haphazardly with severe individual customization, hardly showing any unified design style or main structure. Yet, despite being assembled hastily, these warships were not weak in combat prowess, their varied attacks instantly critically damaged thirteen battlecruisers from the leading Delta.

Even though the Federation Army’s Ghost Energy Shields could not compare with the Imperial Fleet’s, they were genuinely Ghost Energy Shields, and yet they were breached?

"Pandora and Visca have entered the launch channel, all warships retreat! Make room for our general to fight!"

After the battlecruisers and the disorganized enemy commenced firing, the two little ones finally entered the battlefield, and immediately... well, it might have been my imagination, but it seemed like the entire battlefield quieted down for a few seconds.

I could imagine when the sentence "Pandora and Visca are about to be unleashed, please prepare all warships for the shock" resounded through the public channel of the Federation Army and Jie En’s troops, how much anticipation, curiosity, and attention the latter had, keen to see what ultimate weapon we could deploy. Amidst this focused attention, two Shortys standing 1.2 meters tall each charged eagerly to the center of the firing line between the two fleets, carrying pillar-like heavy cannons...

It was as pathetic as Miss Tohsaka of the Tohsaka family preparing ten years for a war only to have the final spoils swapped by some emperor with plastic cups costing three and a half each.

In that moment, even the enemy ships fell silent for three seconds.

Then they were silent forever.

The longer Pandora and Visca had contained their power, the more devastating their unleashed force became. After a month without combat, these two little ones’ combat strength swept through city management; of the two hundred eighty-three enemy ships that managed to react, they were no longer facing two Shortys, but three thousand six hundred Floating Cannons pushing forward like a curtain wall.

"These two little ones really do love their Floating Cannons."

Watching over three thousand Floating Cannons forming a wall on the screen, and the two little ones leading this massive multi-turret curtain wall charging forward jubilantly, I sincerely said to Qianqian. Before my words ended, the "curtain wall" had already unleashed a torrent of laser light that engulfed the enemy’s fleet.

"Curved Light Ship fully charged, target at six o’clock, free dispersal."

The Light of El’s AI didn’t know to appreciate the Shorty’s combat effectiveness, meticulously reporting the battle situation instead. I connected to the public communication with Jie En, and his expression at that moment was as thrilling as witnessing Hawking personally fly to kick Schwarzenegger: "General Jie En, the flank attack has been cleared, hoping your fleet can make some room for our photon jet..."

(To be continued. For more Chapters, please visit www.qidian.com, support the author, and enjoy the genuine reading experience!)