17: Chapter 17: Small Bandit Groups Attack! The Fleet Easily Crushes Them! A Warning to Others!

The lights of the Star River Interstellar Main City illuminated the crimson long night of Grey Fire Planet.

The underground star essence crystal vein was being mined at full capacity, with a terrifying resource output of 820,000 units per hour flowing into the national treasury like a golden torrent; total resource reserves had long since broken the 130 million mark. The fully automated warship production lines roared without stop. With dual rails fully operational, Blade-class Frigates were launched at a frantic speed of one per hour. Mech workshops had long queues of mass-production lines, global defense towers entered a state of star essence reinforcement, and an integrated air-space combat system had already taken shape.

Administrative Director Guo Shouyi was fully committed to expanding the urban area, accepting refugees, and perfecting the ecological supply system. In just three days, the base population surged from 326 to 741. More and more exiles, refugees, and stragglers struggling to survive in the No. 7 Dead Zone, having heard of the fame of the Star River Empire, came one after another with their families to seek refuge. The orderly and prosperous Star River Main City had already become the only beacon of hope in the desperate Dead Zone.

Fleet First Adjutant Major Hu Feng devoted himself entirely to the reorganization of new ships and tactical training. Six refitted frigates combined with the nine newly mass-produced Blade-class Frigates formed the First Star River Assault Fleet. Fifteen warships lined up in orbit, and with the addition of the mothership and twelve combat mechs, this force had long since surpassed the former Black Crow Fleet several times over, making it the undisputed hegemon of the No. 7 Dead Zone.

On the top floor of the War Command Tower, Emperor Chen Fan stood with his hands behind his back in front of the panoramic window. His aura as a Tier 1 Gene Warrior was restrained like an abyss, his gaze piercing through the starry sky as he overlooked the iron empire he had built with his own hands.

Invincible in space, absolute control over land, infinite resources, surging population, united hearts, and skyrocketing military power.

The foundation of the Star River Empire had become unshakably solid.

"Host, global data synchronized and refreshed!"

"Star River Fleet scale: 1 operational mothership, 15 Blade-class Frigates, 12 standard mechs"

"Resource production capacity: 820,000/hour, total reserves: 136 million"

"Main City population: 741, daily growth exceeding 200"

"Global surveillance: No alien beasts, no internal threats, 100% surface control"

"Deep space radar: No. 7 Dead Zone navigation routes clear, no large-scale hostile movements in the vicinity"

Zero's notification sound faded steadily. Major Hu Feng, wearing his fleet commander uniform, walked into the command center and stood at attention to salute Emperor Chen Fan:

"Report to the Sovereign! The fifteenth Blade-class Frigate has finished entering service. The fleet is patrolling around the clock normally. Within three million kilometers of Grey Fire Planet, it is absolutely safe!"

Administrative Director Guo Shouyi followed closely behind, his expression spirited: "My Lord, the ecological granaries have yielded a full harvest, and the expansion of the residential modules is complete. We can accept thousands of refugees for settlement at any time. The operational efficiency of the Main City has reached its peak!"

Emperor Chen Fan nodded slightly, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Steady development, frantic troop expansion, absorbing population, and solidifying the foundation—this was exactly the rhythm he wanted.

But he knew very well that in the dog-eat-dog No. 7 Dead Zone, peace was always temporary.

When your light is too bright, your resources are overflowing, and your foundation is growing solid by the day, there will always be reckless wolves eyeing this piece of fat meat.

Just at this moment—

Beep—Beep, beep—!!!

A sharp, piercing red alarm suddenly tore through the peace of the command center!

Global warning lights flashed frantically, and the deep space radar panel instantly erupted with a large area of blinding red dots!

"Warning! Warning! Large-scale unidentified fleet invasion detected!"

"Location: Asteroid belt outside Grey Fire Planet, only 18 million kilometers from the mothership!"

"Quantity: 27 warships! All are refitted assault ships, armed transport ships, and pirate speedboats!"

"Identification: Remnants of bandits, stray pirates, and small faction groups from the No. 7 Dead Zone, a total of 11 factions attacking in a group!"

"Commanders: Blood Wolf Bandit Chief, Vulture Gang Leader, remnants of the Black Crow Fleet, a three-party alliance!"

"Enemy Intent: Seize the star essence mineral vein, sack the Star River Main City, and destroy the Star River Fleet!"

The command center went silent for a moment.

Major Hu Feng was stunned at first, then laughed in extreme anger: "A bunch of rabble, daring to come together to stroke the tiger's whiskers?"

Administrative Director Guo Shouyi frowned: "My Lord, it must be that our movements in absorbing refugees and expanding the fleet were too large, attracting the attention of these bandits. They think we are still a small faction that just established itself and want to take advantage of the chaos to rob us!"

Emperor Chen Fan's eyes were indifferent, without a ripple, instead revealing a hint of coldness.

He had been wanting to establish authority, wanting to shock the Dead Zone, wanting to tell the entire star region—who was the true master.

These bandits had delivered themselves to his doorstep.

They were simply heaven-sent live targets.

"Bring up the enemy communications." Emperor Chen Fan said faintly.

The next second, a burst of arrogant, crude, and greedy wild laughter exploded on the public channel. The leader, the Blood Wolf Bandit Chief, had a harsh voice full of self-righteous arrogance:

"Kid Chen Fan! Listen up! We know you wiped out the Black Crow Fleet and have some assets!"

"But don't think the Dead Zone is yours! If you're sensible, open your shields immediately, hand over the mothership, offer up the mineral vein, and get out of Grey Fire Planet!"

"Otherwise, we will all 27 ships rush in together, flatten your Main City, and rob all your women, food, and warships!"

"Let me tell you, this is the will of all the small factions in the Dead Zone! You are too strong, you must die!"

The Vulture Gang Leader also shouted along: "Surrender obediently and we'll leave your corpse intact! Dare to resist, and we'll leave nothing behind!"

The commander of the Black Crow Fleet remnants roared even more venomously: "Was it you who killed Lord Mad Shark? Today we are going to avenge him and trample your Star River Base!"

These bandits had not investigated the true strength of the Star River Empire at all.

In their eyes, Emperor Chen Fan was just an upstart who had luckily wiped out the Black Crow Fleet. There couldn't be many warships, the defenses must be weak, and as long as they swarmed together, they would definitely be able to eat this piece of fat meat.

They did not know that the Star River Fleet had 15 standard frigates alone, not to mention the mothership, mechs, star essence defense towers, global surveillance...

What they were facing was not a fat sheep, but a fully armed war behemoth.

Major Hu Feng was so angry his face turned livid: "This bunch of scum, simply not knowing life from death! My Lord, let me fight! Ten minutes, and I will wipe them all out!"

Administrative Director Guo Shouyi also said in a deep voice: "We must hit them hard! Kill the chicken to scare the monkey, so that all factions in the Dead Zone will never dare to have designs on us again!"

Emperor Chen Fan nodded slowly, his eyes cold as knives, and issued the order to attack:

"Granted."

"Major Hu Feng, lead the First Star River Assault Fleet to attack with full force. The mothership will remain in orbit, and the mech regiment will cooperate."

"Remember, I don't want a bitter battle, I don't want a stalemate, I don't want any casualties."

"I want—crushing."

"Complete crushing, so they don't even have a chance to resist."

"After the battle, broadcast the battlefield wreckage, the surrendered prisoners, and the victory footage to every corner of the No. 7 Dead Zone."

"I want all factions to see clearly the consequences of provoking the Star River Empire."

Kill the chicken to scare the monkey, establish authority in the Dead Zone!

"Understood, My Lord!" Major Hu Feng responded with a roar, turned and rushed to the command console, his voice clanging powerfully, resounding through the entire fleet channel:

"All units of the Star River Fleet, listen to my orders! The first assault squadron will move forward to lure the enemy, the second squadron will flank from both sides, the mech regiment will circle around to cut off the rear, and the mothership will provide long-range fire support! Target: Annihilate the invading bandits!"

Boom—!!!

In the synchronous orbit of Grey Fire Planet, fifteen Blade-class Frigates ignited their engines simultaneously, the ghost-blue flames tearing through the darkness, forming an iron torrent that sped toward the asteroid belt at full throttle!

Twelve Star River-01 combat mechs followed closely, turning into twelve silver lightning bolts, stealthily entering the ambush position in the asteroid belt!

The main gun of the Star River mothership slowly charged, the light of the star essence reinforced particle cannon piercing the starry sky, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment!

All 68 star essence defense towers on the ground locked onto the enemy's position, with their fire coverage extending to twenty million kilometers!

An integrated air-ground, fully encircling, crushing combat formation, complete!

The enemy bandit fleet was still advancing slowly, drinking and partying while shouting about slaughtering the city and grabbing treasure, completely unaware that a net of death had already quietly enveloped them.

"Boss, only a dozen little broken ships came out from the opposite side, looks like they're scared silly!"

"Hahaha! Easy pickings! After grabbing the warships, we'll grab the mineral vein, we're going to be rich!"

"Charge! Trample Grey Fire Planet!"

27 bandit warships accelerated and charged in a disorderly manner, with rotten formations, no coordination, weak shields, and backward firepower—they were completely a mob.

The distance closed to 5 million kilometers.

Major Hu Feng shouted coldly: "Fire!"

"Command confirmed! Full fleet volley!"

Boom—!!!

Fifteen Blade-class Frigates fired simultaneously!

Twin medium particle cannons, missile matrices, and close-in defense cannons instantly intertwined into a destructive web of fire!

Dense beams and missiles smashed into the bandit fleet like a meteor shower, and the firelight instantly illuminated the entire starry sky!

The first wave of volleys.

Seven bandit assault ships exploded into fragments on the spot!

"What?!"

"How can this firepower be so strong?!"

"Run! It's the regular army!"

The bandits were instantly scared out of their wits. Their previous arrogance vanished, leaving only fear and despair. They wanted to turn around and flee, but discovered that their retreat had long been blocked by the mech regiment, their flanks were flanked by frigates, and in front was terrifying firepower suppression—they were completely trapped in an inescapable ambush!

"Mech regiment, attack!"

Whoosh—Whoosh—Whoosh—!!!

Twelve mechs killed their way out of the asteroid belt, particle blades sweeping, energy guns sniping, alloy heavy fists smashing, tearing through the armor of the bandit warships as easily as cutting tofu!

One mech collided head-on with a pirate speedboat, directly smashing it in two!

Four mechs surrounded an armed transport ship, and with a swipe of their particle blades, the ship was cut in two on the spot!

Space became a battlefield of one-sided slaughter.

The Star River Fleet, with Zero casualties, Zero damage, and Zero pressure, easily harvested the enemy.

Bandit warships exploded one after another, wreckage and fragments sprinkled across the starry sky, and cries, pleas for mercy, and screams filled the communication channel.

"I surrender! I won't fight anymore!"

"Spare me! We won't dare again!"

"Spare us, Lord Chen Fan! We were coerced!"

The Blood Wolf Bandit Chief was scared out of his wits and wanted to pilot his flagship to escape, but was locked onto by Major Hu Feng personally.

"Want to run? Too late."

Major Hu Feng sat in the Star River flagship and pressed the main gun button with his fingertip:

"Star essence particle cannon, fire!"

An extremely thick blue beam traversed the starry sky and instantly hit the Blood Wolf Bandit flagship!

Without any suspense, the flagship was vaporized on the spot, without even leaving any residue!

The three major bandit leaders were all killed!

The bandits, having lost their command, completely collapsed, and the remaining warships all raised white flags, surrendering obediently.

The entire battle, from start to finish, only took 11 minutes.

"Battle over! Enemy completely annihilated!"

"Destroyed 24 bandit warships, captured 3, killed 3 bandit leaders, captured 417 bandits!"

"Star River Fleet: Zero casualties, Zero damage, Zero excessive consumption!"

"Captured resources: 2.13 million units, waste ship parts, one map of Dead Zone faction distribution!"

A complete victory!

A crushing, complete victory!

A perfect battle to kill the chicken to scare the monkey!

Major Hu Feng led the fleet to triumph, escorting the prisoners and towing the enemy ship wreckage, returning to the orbit of Grey Fire Planet in formation. The fifteen Blade-class Frigates flashed with silver light, majestic and imposing, like a true interstellar king's army.

Inside the Main City, all residents watched the entire battle through the global live broadcast, and the cheers broke through the clouds!

"Too strong! Our fleet is too strong!"

"A bunch of bandits daring to come and provoke us, simply seeking their own death!"

"Following the Lord, we will always be safe!"

"Star River is invincible! The Empire is invincible!"

Emperor Chen Fan stood at the top of the command tower, looking at the triumphant fleet, and ordered faintly:

"Zero, broadcast the entire footage of this battle, the enemy wreckage, the prisoner lineup, and the victory declaration to every radar, every communication channel, and every faction stronghold in the No. 7 Dead Zone!"

"Command confirmed! Global broadcast initiated!"

The next moment, all surviving factions, pirates, refugees, and stragglers in the No. 7 Dead Zone heard and saw that shocking scene—

15 standard frigates swept through 27 bandit warships, 12 mechs entered no-man's land, annihilating the invading enemy in 11 minutes, a complete victory with Zero casualties!

The footage finally froze on Emperor Chen Fan's indifferent and majestic face, and his voice spread to every corner of the Dead Zone:

"I, Emperor Chen Fan, Sovereign of the Star River Empire."

"Grey Fire Planet is my territory; the No. 7 Dead Zone is my domain."

"Those who submit to me will live in peace and share in the prosperity."

"Those who oppose me and come to invade as a group, this is the end."

"From now on, within the Dead Zone, private fighting, looting, and coveting the Star River territory are prohibited."

"Those who do not obey will be executed without mercy."

Silence.

The entire No. 7 Dead Zone fell into an unprecedented silence.

All surviving factions were trembling with fear, never daring to have any disloyal thoughts again.

They finally understood that the Black Crow Fleet's bad luck wasn't the reason, but that they were truly vulnerable;

They finally understood that the Star River Empire was not an upstart, but the true hegemon of the Dead Zone;

They finally understood that from now on, the No. 7 Dead Zone belonged to Chen!

Killing the chicken to scare the monkey, establishing authority over the entire region.

From then on, no faction dared to covet Grey Fire Planet, and no bandits dared to provoke the Star River Fleet.

Major Hu Feng returned with the prisoners and saluted Emperor Chen Fan solemnly:

"Report to the Sovereign! A total victory in battle! The entire Dead Zone has been shocked into submission! No one dares to disobey anymore!"

Administrative Director Guo Shouyi also stepped forward quickly: "My Lord, after the broadcast was sent out, the speed of refugees coming to seek refuge has soared. It is expected that the population will exceed 3,000 within three days!"

Emperor Chen Fan looked at the starry sky, his eyes calm and deep.

The attack by a small band of bandits was nothing but a speck of dust on the road of his empire.

Crushing them easily and killing the chicken to scare the monkey was just for smoother expansion in the future.

"Dismiss the troops."

"Incorporate the prisoners into the engineering team to mine the veins and expand the Main City."

"The fleet will continue to patrol, and the warship production line will not stop."

"Next, what we need to do is build an interstellar spaceport, accept a million refugees, and unify the entire No. 7 Dead Zone!"

Under the starry sky, the Star River Fleet lined up like a rainbow, the lights of Star River Main City were brilliant, and the star essence veins flowed endlessly.

A true Interstellar Empire was moving toward a more glorious future with an invincible posture.