158 Die, Invaders

Inside the main control room of the Hongxian Federation flagship, an absolute silence prevailed. Everyone had stopped what they were doing—everything that could be done had already been done, and now, all that remained was to wait.

As the distance to that egg-shaped spacecraft gradually closed, everyone was waiting for the moment it entered firing range. The air grew so tense it felt as though it might solidify.

Amidst this almost suffocating atmosphere, second by second ticked away...

Aboard the Mars, Zhong Yun watched the sluggishly creeping energy bar of the main cannon, his palms slick with sweat, feeling a mixture of tension and excitement. The energy bar was about to reach maximum capacity, and the pursuers closing in from behind were getting closer by the moment.

The crews of the two Davor warships trailing behind were also extremely anxious, straining every nerve in pursuit. Unfortunately, no matter how hard they drove their ships, once propulsion reached its absolute maximum limit, it could increase no further. They could only watch helplessly as the two opposing parties flew further and further ahead.

"Locked on—"

The deathly still main control room was abruptly shattered by a trembling voice, laden with an immensely suppressed thrill.

The commander-in-chief did not look at the flustered young staff officer. His hand resting on the armrest trembled slightly. Though he still maintained a calm expression on his face, the intense murderous intent gleaming in his eyes betrayed his true emotions.

"Main cannon is ready," an operator reported to him, anticipation shining in his eyes.

Everyone in the main control room looked expectantly toward the commander-in-chief on the command dais.

He remained seated, unmoved. "Commander..." Unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere any longer, the executive officer finally spoke up.

The commander-in-chief kept his gaze locked dead on the main screen. Another minute passed. This was an excruciatingly long minute. Everyone in the room, including the chief of staff, felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety. Yet none dared to speak out to interrupt him.

Finally, the pupils of the commander-in-chief's eyes constricted. He spoke. "Release the first layer of the main cannon port's blast shield."

The taut heartstrings of everyone in the room finally relaxed slightly as they busied themselves once more at their posts. The staff officers fully grasped the commander's intent. The main cannon port had a total of three blast shields. Relative to the entire hull, the cannon port was relatively fragile, which was why three protective shields had been installed.

Dropping the first shield was meant to counter that extraordinarily eerie deep-blue beam cannon of the enemy. The commander-in-chief surmised that the loss of control over their own main cannon's energy earlier had most likely been caused by that very deep-blue beam.

"Target: enemy ship's stern. Prepare—fire."

At his command, the main cannons of the two warships fired. The shield in front of them was as fragile as a sheet of paper, instantly pierced right through. Two massive, pale-yellow beam cannons, each trailing a long tail of energy, hurtled toward the Mars.

"Finally couldn't help it?" Zhong Yun smiled faintly and shouted, "Evasive turn."

In truth, this command was redundant. The very microsecond the enemy's main cannons fired, the Mars had already bolted into motion. With its propulsion driven to maximum, it truly showcased its heaven-defying maneuverability.

Inside the Hongxian Federation flagship's main control room, the commanding officers and staff who had been staring fixedly at the main screen abruptly turned deathly pale. Shock and disbelief were etched across every face.

The Mars pulled upward at an unimaginable speed, and the two main cannons with their long tails grazed right past the tips of the Mars's wings, vanishing into the boundless depths of the universe.

It actually dodged them?

A surreal, dreamlike disorientation washed over everyone. Was this an illusion?

The massive gun muzzles of the Mars—which had now turned back around, with glowing blue energy rings rapidly condensing within them—told them with brutal clarity that what they had just witnessed was no illusion.

"Evasive action—" The commander-in-chief had already lost all color in his face. Overwhelming terror distorted his voice entirely.

As it turned out, this entire sequence had been a trap meticulously laid by the enemy. Blinded by his eagerness for revenge, he had foolishly leaped right into it, dragging the Federation's most elite fleet down to destruction along with him.

The enemy clearly possessed an acceleration capability far superior to their own warcraft, yet had deliberately maintained a speed slightly slower than theirs, dangling just out of reach the entire time, solely to buy enough time to fully charge their main cannon.

And he had naively believed that the enemy simply dared not engage them in direct combat. He had merely wanted to secure victory with minimal cost.

Regrettably, he had realized the truth far too late. In this final moment, he was consumed by bottomless remorse: *I am a sinner to my country.*

These were the final thoughts of his life.

"Die, invaders," Zhong Yun murmured softly, his eyes devoid of any pity.

The twin main cannons fired simultaneously, instantly bridging a distance of over a thousand kilometers to pierce clean through the two colossal warships.

Out in the cosmos, two dazzling, brilliant blossoms of light erupted once more, as poignant and breathtaking as magnificent fireworks in the night sky.

The military personnel aboard the two surviving Davor warships stared at those two massive "fireworks," struck entirely speechless.

Just moments ago, they had believed that spacecraft was in mortal peril. Yet in the blink of an eye, it had reversed course, and with just two energy beams, obliterated the two enemy vessels that had hunted them down like desperate prey—all as effortlessly as swatting a fly.

This sudden, earth-shattering reversal scrambled their thoughts, resilient though their nerves were. In the space of a single heartbeat, the arrogant, omnipotent hunters had become mere game in the hands of another. It was a severe test of their psychological endurance.

"What are you standing there gawking for? Hurry up and clear the battlefield!" Zhang Hao坤 was the first to snap back to reality, his booming voice shocking everyone else back to their senses.

The so-called clearing of the battlefield referred to the enemy's surviving fighter craft and mechas. Deprived of the fire support of their mother ship, they were nothing more than a flock of lambs waiting for the slaughter.

Naturally, Zhong Yun had no intention of muddying those particular waters. Without the protection of mechas and fighter craft, if he went down there to join the fray and by some mishap allowed even a single enemy mecha to breach the interior of the Mars, things would get very interesting indeed.

Furthermore, having fired the main cannons six times in succession, the Mars had depleted nearly a quarter of its total energy reserves. Zhong Yun's heart ached just thinking about it. Doing a quick mental calculation, the meager funds left in Xiaoling's account were only enough to fully recharge the Mars one more time.

He needed to find a lucrative revenue stream; otherwise, the sheer cost of recharging energy alone would drive him to distraction.

Zhong Yun rubbed the back of his head vigorously. Upon returning, he would have to hunt down every single "Black Datura" over a century old and refine them into Suixuan Pearls. That way, not only could he pay back the two hundred billion owed to the Omi National Management Company next year, but whatever was left over would be more than enough to cover countless recharges, with plenty of funds left to spare to help his father.

He had been so preoccupied with romance previously that he had completely slipped his mind. Zhong Yun felt thoroughly exasperated with himself.

While he was pondering ways to make money, the battle outside was also drawing to its conclusion. Realizing perhaps that they had no hope of survival, the remaining mechas and fighter armors of the Hongxian Federation cast aside all fear of death in their despair, launching suicidal assaults that caused immense trouble for the Davor military.

Yet this was ultimately nothing more than a fleeting flash in the pan. The Hongxian Federation forces were far too few in number and had lost the shelter of their mother ship. The Davor military quickly adapted to their tactics, and with the fire support of their warship cannons, swiftly scattered and segmented the enemy formation.

When the very last mecha was finally blasted to pieces, thunderous cheers erupted from within the Davor warships. All the warriors screamed, jumped, and wept unrestrainedly...

Here, they had annihilated nearly two hundred thousand enemies.

Here, they had sacrificed nearly fifty thousand outstanding warriors.

They had every reason to cheer. They had every reason to weep.

*(Note: Feeling a bit dizzy, barely managed to knock out two thousand words. That's all for today, apologies!)*