34: Offensive and defensive battles

August, Star Era 3999.

"Warning, large numbers of powerful unknown lifeforms detected approaching, please prepare for combat immediately..."

"Warning..."

Amidst piercing sounds and flashing red lights.

An endless, boundless cloud drifted slowly from the vast starry sky.

Looking from afar, it was like a closing curtain, ending all light and shadow.

"It's finally here."

Imperial Mining Zone, East Sector 3.

Zhang Huaiyuan and several high-ranking members of "Dark Annihilation" gazed at the densely packed Galaxy Beasts that completely obscured the starlight, unable to help but feel secretly alarmed.

"Damn it... I must be sick in the head to risk my life fighting these monsters."

Even the usually cold Qin Mie couldn't help but curse at this moment.

He had killed at least eight thousand Galaxy Beasts, if not ten thousand, but he had never even heard of a scale like this, let alone seen it.

"This is what it truly means to blot out the sky and sun."

Zhang Huaiyuan also couldn't help but sigh.

If it were when he had just transmigrated, his legs would probably have turned to jelly by now.

"Stop sighing. At this scale, the Starry Sky Orbital Defense System won't hold for long, and we'll need to step in soon. Zhang Huaiyuan, you don't have frontal combat capabilities, so stay hidden in the command center later."

An Yu had changed into her combat suit at some point, reminding him in a seemingly indifferent tone.

"Uh... I know."

Zhang Huaiyuan smiled helplessly, put on his tactical helmet, and connected to the temporary war network.

At this moment, the vanguard of the Galaxy Beast swarm had already closed in within twenty thousand kilometers.

From beetles as small as half a meter to giant pythons over a thousand meters long, they rushed forward in a scramble, their ferocious roars echoing through the void.

The automatic turrets orbiting Blackstone Star in an orderly fashion suddenly lit up, their barrels moving in unison to quickly lock onto a certain direction.

This was the Imperial Mining Zone's Starry Sky Orbital Defense System.

It was composed of 697,800 TR3-Class automatic turrets, each equipped with fixed-point railguns with a range exceeding ten thousand li and medium-to-short-range high-power laser cannons.

With sufficient energy, the interwoven artillery fire could form an impenetrable defensive line; even an A-Class Transcendent would undoubtedly die if they entered its range.

Eighteen thousand kilometers... Fifteen thousand kilometers...

The Galaxy Beast swarm approached rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye; through the deployed detection satellites, one could even clearly see the ferocious barbs on their sharp claws.

Twelve thousand kilometers... Ten thousand kilometers...

"Fire!"

In the mining zone command room, Viscount Kane slammed the attack button.

In an instant, hundreds of thousands of tons of crystals refined from Star Stone ore were converted into pure energy and fed into every turret.

Dazzling firelight bloomed at the same time.

Countless missiles streaked through the void.

This type of HM-2 directional missile, which traveled at a hundred times the speed of sound, was not only astonishingly powerful but also equipped with a biological identification system capable of automatically seeking targets within a certain range.

Looking from afar through the detector's field of vision, this river-like dense swarm of missiles, the moment they approached the monsters, suddenly spread out like an opened umbrella, diverting to lock onto their respective targets.

At this moment, the crystallization of intelligent civilization and the art of explosion born from scientific collision displayed its majesty.

A B-Class giant centipede-like monster charging at the very front didn't even have time to roar and announce its arrival before a missile slammed into its midsection.

After a brief silence, it suddenly exploded!

Boom, boom, boom!

The terrifying energy instantly melted the thick scales, and the vector shockwave generated by the explosion made every inch of the monster's body feel as if it had been struck by a ten-thousand-ton train, shattering it into debris; not a single one of its dense tentacles remained intact, all annihilated in the firelight.

This was not an isolated case.

For a time, the entire starry sky bloomed with countless brilliant sparks.

Hundreds of thousands of Galaxy Beasts fell right then and there.

However, they did not give up, rushing in frantically during the missile's reload gap.

Yet, they were met by an impenetrable net of destruction composed of countless lasers.

Almost the moment they touched it, all the monsters were vaporized.

Only Galaxy Beasts above B-Class could struggle slightly, but at most, they only survived for a dozen more seconds.

"Has the power of the Empire's weapons reached such a terrifying degree?"

"My God... the power of just this one automatic turret is almost comparable to the secondary cannons of my flagship..."

"But the energy consumption of this fighting style is too terrifying, can it hold up?"

"Are you kidding? This is the Blackstone Star Mining Zone; I recall there's a large Star Stone ore vein underneath. As long as the gun barrels can hold up, it won't be a problem even if we fight for a year."

"That's good, that's good..."

This scene of overwhelming destruction injected a shot of adrenaline into the anxious mercenary group members.

Everyone felt a bit more settled, and even their hands controlling the mechs became much steadier.

If this layer of defense were breached, they would have to rely on Ion Shields to engage in close-quarters combat with these monsters, and casualties would be inevitable.

So naturally, they didn't want that to happen too soon.

Meanwhile, in the mining zone command center, things were not so optimistic.

Viscount Kane stared fixedly at the countless red dots displayed on the detector.

Among them, three light spots, far larger than the others, were approaching from the rear at an astonishing speed; they would reach the artillery coverage area in at most five minutes.

"Warning! S-Class energy fluctuations detected!"

"Warning! Detected..."

The incessantly sounding alarms had already proven their identities—S-Class mutated Galaxy Beasts.

"Damn it, these wretched scum, they cannot be allowed to get close to the orbital defense system!"

Viscount Kane opened his eyes wide with ferocity, his teeth clenched involuntarily.

S-Class, this was a huge watershed, capable of triggering the second mutation of Transcendent abilities, ten or a hundred times more powerful than A-Class.

Likewise, S-Class Galaxy Beasts simply could not be harmed by these conventional technological weapons alone.

Except for some special supply weapons from the Imperial Research Institute, only Transcendent weapons could be effective.

They could completely withstand the artillery fire and rush in front of the automatic turrets, destroying them all.

"Mr. Leios, I'm afraid I have to ask for your help. I will send a fleet to cover you. Please, you must stop these three monsters."

Viscount Kane turned around, speaking with a hint of respect.

In the entire Imperial Mining Zone, the only one with the confidence to move freely within a beast swarm of this scale was this sole S-Class Transcendent.

"I will do my best."

Leios nodded slightly and walked out of the command room; he stomped his right foot, and a black combat suit instantly covered his entire body.

The next moment, the power of thunder surrounded him, wrapping him up as he soared into the sky, quickly leaving the atmosphere and entering the starry sky.

At the same time, an elite small fleet set sail simultaneously, following closely behind him.

And the continuously firing turrets, under the action of the identification system, automatically turned their directions, quickly forming a safe zone for them to advance.

"Roar—!"

Seemingly sensing a powerful aura, the three S-Class Galaxy Beasts let out provocative roars from afar.

"A bunch of damn beasts, I didn't have my equipment last time and let you escape, yet you dare to come here to die."

Leios snorted coldly, grasped the void with his right hand, and a lightning-shaped Transcendent weapon about half a meter long appeared in his hand.

The immense power of thunder began to surge.