172: Chapter 171 The Battle of Arashiyama Star 3

Over the next ten days, the Lux Aliens pushed the main battlefield from planetary orbit into deep space.

The fleet under Xia Xingchen's command and the alien fleet engaged in several fierce battles one after another.

The reason was that the Lux Aliens fleet had created a batch of special suicide vessels.

First, the Lux engineers used an escort craft as the main body of the suicide vessel, splicing together a massive hull from scattered ship parts. They stripped away all weapon systems, piling all the tonnage into armor protection.

The only purpose of these ships was to ram into space stations at full speed, using their own explosion to completely tear apart the entire orbital space station.

Tested in actual combat, these heavily armored suicide craft could even withstand several volleys from light cruiser main guns.

Whenever the alien fleet pressed toward the orbital defense line, Xia Xingchen had to send his fleet to engage them head-on, holding back their offensive at all costs and never allowing the suicide craft to approach the core range of the planetary defense platforms.

After confirming that his defense was solid, the Lux engineers immediately found a meteorite to test the explosive power of the prototype.

Under the witness of the three princes, a massive meteorite was struck and reduced to dust.

It was ready for deployment.

The Lux Aliens had built a total of five suicide craft, four of which were destroyed prematurely in space skirmishes with the human fleet.

But the aliens' scheme went far beyond that:

Using suicide ships to ram space stations and paralyze the air defense system was only one part;

The deeper purpose was to use the suicide ships to force Xia Xingchen's fleet into a head-on battle, gradually wearing down the human fleet's effective strength.

The logic was simple:

If Xia Xingchen's fleet stayed holed up, the Lux Aliens fleet would spare no cost to send the suicide craft straight at the space station.

Even if orbital defense fire could destroy a few at close range, the shockwave from the explosion would cause severe damage to the Iron Drill defense platforms.

Moreover, they weren't coming one at a time, but in swarms; there would always be a moment when the defense line leaked.

Although the Iron Drill aliens' first objective was not achieved.

The second objective, however, was highly effective, and the fleet under Xia Xingchen's command had suffered heavy losses.

After this month of high-intensity fighting, the only warships Xia Xingchen had left that were combat-ready were the battlecruiser dream star and two standard Lunar-class Cruisers.

The light cruisers and escort craft had been completely wiped out in the days of slaughter, all of them destroyed.

The Lux Aliens' losses were equally severe, with combat damage nearly double that of Xia Xingchen's forces.

In all fairness, the Lux shipbuilding craft was simply not up to par compared to humanity's. No one knew what methods they used to fuse flesh and steel, but apart from their troublesome self-healing ability, their warships were almost entirely flawed:

Both their firepower and armor were weak; even the cannon fire from escort craft could chew through their cruisers.

The only advantage they had was that the flesh tissues on the hull could consume wreckage to self-repair, providing extreme endurance.

Now, only the last suicide craft remained in the alien fleet.

It wasn't that they didn't want to build more, but that resource consumption had reached its limit.

This expeditionary fleet had no stable supply line; once things were used up, they were truly gone. Ammunition and ship materials were diminishing with every use.

The aliens looked at this last suicide craft in the fleet, all aware that if even it failed to ram through the Iron Drill defense system, they would have to rely on the soldiers' flesh and blood to gnaw through the defense line.

Just as Lux IV was staring at the suicide craft in contemplation, Prince Lux V walked to his side and lowered his voice, saying:

"Everything is ready. As you ordered, the replacement is ready to be launched at any time."

Lux IV nodded upon hearing this:

"This time, it must be foolproof. We must conquer this planet."

Prince Lux V hesitated after hearing this, but ultimately voiced the concerns in his heart:

"Fourth Brother, I need to confirm with you again. If we really do this, I cannot guarantee that it won't charge past the entire orbital defense platform and eventually smash straight onto the planet's surface."

Upon hearing this, Lux IV looked at his brother's timid appearance and felt nothing but frustration at his lack of ambition.

"Look at the current situation.

In just one month, over a hundred warships and hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been lost in this star sector, and you are still talking to me about the safety of the planet?

I tell you, only by taking this planet do we have the qualification to discuss anything else.

Otherwise, think about whether our heads will be chopped off by Her Majesty personally if we fail to take the Origin Star System!"

A Lux general clad in black carapace walked up to Lux IV and reported in a deep voice:

"Your Highness, Lux IV, the warships are all prepared, and the landing troops are ready to go. As soon as you give the order, we can launch the total offensive immediately."

"What is the scale of the configuration this time?" Lux IV asked.

The general raised a hand and pointed outside the ship's window:

"In addition to the suicide craft, there is a battleship escorting it, accompanied by two cruisers, three destroyers, and thirty escort craft."

Lux IV nodded in satisfaction after hearing this.

This time, he would definitely smash open this hard shell of the third planet.

Lux IV's voice was not loud, but it spread through the communication channels to the entire fleet:

"Lux warriors, charge! For the Queen, for the Lux Civilization! Our sacrifice is full of value, incomparably noble; the Queen will remember us, and the entire civilization will remember us!"

Hearing this mobilization, all the Lux Aliens erupted into fanatical roars, as if victory was already in their grasp.

With a sharp horn blast echoing through the communication channels, the entire alien fleet poured out at once, lunging fiercely toward the planetary defense line.

The auspex on the space station instantly lit up with swaths of red dots, detecting a large number of enemy ships approaching the orbital defense platforms at full speed.

Without a moment's hesitation, the orbital defense platforms immediately activated full-fire mode, pouring overwhelming cannon fire toward the alien fleet in deep space.

The Lux Aliens arranged their escort craft in the front to form a shield wall, taking damage for the suicide craft and battleship behind them.

But under the fierce fire of the orbital defense platforms, this defense line was disintegrating layer by layer, with escort craft constantly exploding into fireballs.

The Commander of the space station looked at the enemy ships pressing in, blotting out the sky, and after a moment of silence, immediately made a decision:

The main gun must be activated. If the main gun wasn't activated now, by the time the enemy charged close, the defenders would have to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the aliens on the orbital platform.

"Exterminator Cannon, prepare to charge!"

When the Exterminator Cannon finished charging, a blood-red main gun beam fired with a roar, like a thousand-foot-long rift torn through the pitch-black universe, forcibly splitting the entire array of attacking enemy ships in two.

Just when everyone thought this was just another routine charge, the alien fleet suddenly split open to both sides.

The giant suicide craft slowly sailed out from behind the array, exposing itself to everyone's view.