95: Chapter 95 A Thrilling Standoff
"Communications technician, patch into the public channel. Send the standard diplomatic identification codes and a copy of the official visit documents."
Major General Zhao Yu stood in the center of the bridge of the purple subtlety, his voice as steady as if he were ordering a dinner menu.
The technician's fingers tapped on the console a few times and soon looked up: "General, we've accessed the Holy Alliance's 'Violet Defense Zone' general public communication frequency. The standard greetings and Blazing Dragon Federation diplomatic mission identity information have been sent, along with a scanned copy of the official authorization for the Academy Visit Season."
The bridge fell silent.
Everyone stared at the communication status indicator on the main screen—it was currently blinking with a soft yellow light, representing 'Signal Delivered, Awaiting Reply'.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
Thirty seconds.
Chu Xinghe let out a yawn and whispered to Luo Lan beside him, "Are those religious fanatics from the Holy Alliance doing some 'morning prayer' or 'holy light meditation' again? Should we send an 'Amitabha' over to show our respect?"
Luo Lan was expressionless. "Senior Brother, we are an atheist military."
"I know," Chu Xinghe said with an innocent face. "That's why I said 'too.' It's called cultural exchange."
Just as the two were bickering, the communication indicator turned green with a 'beep'.
The reply had arrived.
The technician quickly decoded it and projected the text onto the main screen:
[Sender: Holy Alliance · Violet Defense Zone · 3rd Patrol Detachment Command]
[Recipient: Blazing Dragon Federation · Unknown Fleet]
[Content: Upon verification, the 'Academy Visit Season' matters mentioned by your side are authentic. However, our defense zone has recently monitored an abnormal increase in Zerg activity in the Ruin Star Sector. The border defense level has been raised to 'Amber' grade. All prior transit permits are automatically voided. Please resubmit your entry application or wait for the defense zone alert to be lifted before contacting us again.]
[Issued by: Major General Asterion St. Morian, Commander of the 3rd Patrol Detachment, Violet Defense Zone]
The bridge was silent for two seconds.
Then Chu Xinghe burst out laughing with a 'pfft'. "Amber grade? That alert level name is quite artistic. So are we 'unwelcome amber specimens' now?"
Sai Wei snorted coldly from the side. "What 'Zerg abnormality'? It's just an excuse. Based on the scale and position of their fleet, they're clearly blocking us according to the flight charts we reported earlier."
He was right.
On the sensor screen, the scale of the so-called 'Patrol Detachment' was nearly equal to the Watcher Escort Fleet—three Holy Judgment-class Star Fortresses, over five Caesar-class Radiant Battleships, and the number of Minerva-class Glimmer Cruisers exceeded three hundred, not to mention the densely packed escort vessels and auxiliary units.
How was this a patrol detachment?
This was clearly a main battle group out for a 'stroll'.
Major General Zhao Yu stared at the reply, a cold smile slowly curling at the corners of his mouth.
"Asterion St. Morian..." He softly murmured the name as if recalling something. "Oh, I remember now. We crossed paths during a border friction three years ago. The youngest son of the St. Morian family's direct line. He relied on family connections to scramble into the rank of Major General, but his actual command level... Tsk."
He didn't finish, but the wealth of information contained in that 'tsk' made the surrounding officers wear expressions of mutual understanding.
"So," the adjutant asked tentatively, "General, they are..."
"A show of strength," Zhao Yu summarized concisely. "An old trick—whenever an important mission from another civilization visits, especially one like ours with a main fleet escort, they always have to put on airs at the border and flex their muscles to prove that 'my front door isn't somewhere you can just enter whenever you want'."
He paused and added, "According to their usual procedure: we take a tough stance, they take a tough stance, both sides launch drones for a few rounds of exhibition matches to test each other's firepower configurations and tactical styles. Then some high-ranking official who 'just happened to be passing by' will 'suddenly discover the misunderstanding,' send a new letter, and everyone will take the opportunity to back down, shake hands, and make peace in a jovial atmosphere."
Chu Xinghe raised his hand. "Then are we still following the procedure this time?"
"Of course, why wouldn't we?" Zhao Yu waved his hand. "They've set the stage; if we don't go up and sing a few lines, how disrespectful would that be? Inform the entire fleet—"
His voice suddenly turned cold:
"Detection systems to full power, main cannons enter standby charging state, release the drone arrays."
"Remember, we can't actually fight. But—"
Zhao Yu scanned the bridge, his gaze sweeping across every face:
"The imposing aura must be fully displayed."
The moment the order was given, the entire Watcher Fleet 'came alive'.
Over fifty thousand warships, from the dijiang-class star cruising battleships to the smallest escort boats, had the energy patterns on their hulls light up simultaneously with a faint blue glow. The protective covers of the main cannons slowly slid open, revealing the launch arrays ready for action beneath.
Even more spectacular were the drones.
The launch bay gates on the bellies of each ship opened in unison, and countless drones of varying sizes and forms poured out like a metallic swarm. Within a few short minutes, the void between the two fleets was filled by billions of drones, divided into two distinct camps.
On the human side, the drones were primarily silver-gray with sharp, angular designs, full of industrialized simplicity and a sense of power.
On the Holy Alliance side, the drones were mostly pure white with pale gold energy patterns flowing across their surfaces. Some even had bionic streamlined shapes, looking more like works of art than weapons.
"Holy cow," Chu Xinghe leaned against the observation window, his eyes shining. "How much would tickets for this drone trade fair cost?"
Luo Lan calmly criticized, "Senior Brother, is your focus a bit skewed?"
"What do you mean skewed? This is strategic observation!" Chu Xinghe said righteously.
"Look at that butterfly-shaped drone on the opposite side. Its wingspan is over fifty meters, and the energy patterns on the surface are in a hexagram array... Tsk, a typical 'Holy Light Barrier' defense model. It has extremely high resistance to energy weapons. I wonder if I can pick one up as a souvenir when we clean up the battlefield later."
"I have to say, their aesthetics are much better than ours. They even put things like curved light arrays on drones. Not like our drones—clunky, black, thick, and nothing but cannons. They aren't even as expensive as one of their light beams!"
Before he could finish, the battle had already begun.
There was no formal declaration of war, no warning shots.
It was just that at a certain moment, the drone swarms on the front lines of both sides seemed to receive some silent command simultaneously and pounced toward each other in unison.
Then, there was light.
Densely packed energy beams crisscrossed, collided, and exploded in the void. The firelight from the exploding drones formed a seamless carpet of flashes, illuminating the five-light-minute battlefield space as bright as day.
Initially, the battle was still considered 'friendly'.
Both sides maintained an exhibition match rhythm with great tacit understanding: you shoot down a hundred of mine, I shoot down a hundred and one of yours; you send a high-speed squadron to harass my flank, I put up defensive drones to wear you down; you play with a fancy formation, I'll counter with a tactical penetration.
The scene was intense, but the casualty data always maintained a delicate balance where 'everyone saved face'.
But don't forget, Chen Jingyi was currently interning at the control station, and her talent had already reached the battlefield level.