168: Chapter 167 Lak IV

However, it was clear that Xia Xingchen had been a bit too optimistic.

The moment Leovitos and Talia met, they didn't get along.

When it came to their respective technical philosophies, the two were on completely different paths.

Talia also recognized Leovitos as the heretic of the Adeptus Mechanicus who had previously been exiled.

"Magos Leovitos."

Talia's mechanical voice reached everyone's ears.

"I didn't expect your luck to be so good that you managed to find someone willing to take you in."

There was a distinct hint of hostility in Talia's tone; it was clear she had no fondness for Leovitos.

Seeing this, Xia Xingchen was completely bewildered. They were all on the same side, yet they were acting like enemies.

Leovitos was not one to be outdone.

"So what? I can do the research I enjoy here. Unlike you—isn't research what you love most? How did you end up as a factory manager? It seems the Adeptus Mechanicus doesn't know how to make the best use of talent after all!"

Seeing this, Xia Xingchen knew he couldn't let them continue and had to interrupt them.

Xia Xingchen took the initiative to ask, "You two, do you know each other?"

Hearing Xia Xingchen's words, Leovitos and Talia turned their heads simultaneously and nodded.

"Leovitos spent time on the Sanzhufaer Forge World."

According to Leovitos's explanation, it went something like this: after leaving Mars, Leovitos traveled to the Ultima Segmentum.

Subsequently, he stayed on the Sanzhufaer Forge World for a period of time.

Because the Sanzhufaer Forge World was also at odds with Mars, they were willing to take Leovitos in.

Shortly after, conflicts arose between Leovitos's philosophy and that of the Sanzhufaer Forge World. In essence, the Sanzhufaer Forge World was just a copy of Mars; they were only hostile toward Mars due to an unequal distribution of power, but their core philosophies remained identical to those of Mars.

Consequently, Leovitos could only stay for a short time before departing.

"So you are acquaintances; then you should speak nicely to each other when you meet."

As Xia Xingchen said this, he diverted their attention. He then signaled for Talia to come over and took the initiative to introduce her to Hua Ke, another key figure in Xia Xingchen's technical manufacturing core.

When Talia looked at Hua Ke, a hint of surprise appeared in her eyes.

Hua Ke, standing before her, was practically a small mechanical mountain. During his time with Xia Xingchen, Hua Ke had modified himself again, adding a complete set of mechanical cores and computing centers behind his base.

As he looked now, Hua Ke was indistinguishable from the Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Hua Ke had once admitted to Xia Xingchen that his body was essentially a small fortress; if he were to go to the battlefield, he could single-handedly block the assault of an entire army.

Talia chatted with Hua Ke for a few moments and quickly realized that Hua Ke was not as rigid as Leovitos.

Although Hua Ke did not agree with certain views of the Adeptus Mechanicus, he would not openly refute their opinions when speaking with them; instead, he adopted an attitude of seeking common ground while reserving differences.

"You can state your ideas, but whether I choose to implement them in the future depends on my own decision."

Clearly, Talia was quite pleased after chatting with Hua Ke.

As for the remaining Sella and the Blacksmith, their attitude toward Talia was more one of respect for a senior.

They did not discuss their own philosophies, as they had not reached the level of Magos Leovitos.

Regardless, Xia Xingchen was pleased to see that although there were some minor issues along the way, the outcome was quite satisfactory.

After settling in the Skitarii, Cassandra and Hecuba quickly handed an urgent piece of intelligence to Xia Xingchen.

Xia Xingchen opened it and was surprised to find that the content was about the Nova Chapter.

Xia Xingchen thought back; he had once sent a distress signal to the Nova Chapter.

Of course, Xia Xingchen had been unsure about whether he could count on the Astartes to intervene. Although he had fought side-by-side with the Nova Chapter before, the Astartes would not mobilize so easily.

However, it was clear that the response far exceeded Xia Xingchen's expectations.

To his surprise, the Nova Chapter had agreed to Xia Xingchen's request for aid; they would dispatch an entire company to arrive at Lanshan Planet to assist Xia Xingchen in battle.

Looking at the information on the screen, Xia Xingchen felt immense excitement. Clearly, his chances of victory had increased significantly.

Meanwhile, in space, Xia Xingchen soon discovered that the vanguard of the Lux Civilization had begun to approach the perimeter of the Daxia Star System.

The picket ships on the outskirts of the star system quickly detected the traces of the Lux Aliens and, without any hesitation, immediately relayed all the detailed information to the center.

The Department of Military Affairs immediately sent a message to the reconnaissance ships: "Withdraw immediately after completing the reconnaissance and return to the star system."

Following this, the reconnaissance ships quickly withdrew to evade.

The command center immediately sounded a Level 1 alert.

Everyone quickly began returning to their posts.

Leading this vanguard to attack were Lux IV, Lux V, and Lux VI.

The fleet they commanded numbered over 500 ships, with a staggering force of approximately one hundred billion.

Among their warships were many battleships, each reaching a length of eight kilometers.

Among them, the most numerous were escort ships; nearly four hundred of the ships in the entire fleet were escort ships. Of the remaining fifty-plus warships, destroyers were the most numerous, followed by ten light cruisers and ten cruisers.

They were currently only a few days' travel away from Xia Xingchen's Daxia Star System and were expected to enter the Daxia Star System within a week.

The commander-in-chief of this fleet was Lux IV.

Lux IV was also an existence created personally by the Queen, and his entire body was covered in golden scales.

Compared to Lux V and Lux VI beside him, Lux IV was taller, standing at an astonishing height of about 2.7 meters.

The remaining Lux V and Lux VI also stood at a height close to two meters.

Pointing to the star map in front of him, Lux IV said to his two younger brothers and the officers before him, "From the outside in, the Origin Star System consists of Planet 5, Planet 4, Planet 3, Planet 2, and Planet 1, plus a star. Only Planet 2 and Planet 3 have value to us; the remaining planets have extremely harsh environments that are unsuitable for us to inhabit."

Lux IV explained the situation of the Origin Star System to everyone and immediately followed up by stating his objective.

"My goal is exceptionally clear: to seize Planet 2 and Planet 3."

Just then, a high-ranking Lux Aliens under his command took the initiative to ask, "Then, Your Highness, what is the nature of the human defensive forces on these planets?"

Upon hearing this, Lux IV shook his head.

The Lux Civilization's external intelligence gathering was extremely poor; often, they did not know the true situation of hostile star systems.

"We have no intelligence on the human military forces on these planets, but their numbers are definitely fewer than ours. We only need to concentrate our forces and steamroll them."

Lux IV spoke with extreme arrogance, as if he had already seen victory beckoning to him.

Listening to the words of Lux IV, the remaining two princes and the other generals felt as if they had been given a dose of reassurance.