Light Speed ​​War

Chapter 46: Full-Scale Preparations for War

Both the Alpha Fleet and the 7th Fleet simultaneously detected the massive interstellar fleet, which consisted of an unbelievable 60 million ships! To the two Earth-based human fleets, what appeared to be an object the size of the moon traveling at near-light speed was a sight to behold.

"Brother, is it the Osmetic Empire fleet?" Wei Shan asked Zhou Yuan.

"Very likely."

"Sixty million warships? This Osme Empire is indeed formidable. Is it really necessary to make such a fuss over a single space pirate?"

"They're big spenders, they just have a lot of warships, there's nothing you can do about it," Zhou Yuan joked.

"It seems this matter is indeed complicated."

"Shanmei, I have to meet with the two commanders soon, please enjoy your meal."

"Okay, big brother."

Zhou Yuan finished eating quickly and was soon teleported to the Alpha Fleet command center.

Just as Reibu's three-dimensional holographic virtual body sat down, George was already waiting.

After exchanging greetings, the three got straight to the point.

"Based on the 7th Fleet's interception of communications signals from Tab, this massive fleet indeed belongs to the Osme Empire." Commander Reb was the first to confirm the fleet's affiliation.

"The Earth Empire Fleet Headquarters has replied, advising us to exercise restraint and avoid a full-scale war with a key member of the Galactic Alliance. However, for the glory of Earth and to rescue our fellow Earthlings, the Imperial Fleet Headquarters has dispatched nineteen additional fleets here at once, which will arrive in a day. The Earth Empire has launched a full-scale war mobilization, and more fleets will be sent here. Commander Reibu and I have already ordered the secret assembly of ten extra-large and large teleportation gates near this sun to facilitate the rapid passage of subsequent fleets; even the moon will be teleported here immediately."

Zhou Yuan was secretly surprised. Was the Imperial Fleet Headquarters preparing for a protracted war or a full-scale war?

"How's the mass production of superphoton quark cryogenic insulation materials going on Earth?" Zhou Yuan asked.

"More than a dozen fleets have already been equipped with them; our two fleets have only been equipped with a portion of the warships."

“Commanders, I feel that if we really clash with the Osme Empire, we will probably face the entire military challenge of the Galactic Alliance.”

"Yes, that's why the Imperial Fleet Headquarters sent so many fleets here. It seems the Imperial Fleet Headquarters has made the worst-case scenario plan."

"Commenders, I suggest that we set up more than a dozen extra-large teleportation portals in this area where the sun is relatively far away."

"why?"

"Just to be on the safe side, Commanders, please contact the Imperial Fleet Headquarters as soon as possible and have them order some fleets sailing in other star systems to prepare to transfer a dozen or so stars over, preferably several high-mass stars. I have a feeling that if this war breaks out, it will be a large-scale conflict. Therefore, we also need to have the Earth Empire prepare for the defense of its own star system, to prevent the enemy from taking the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on our home planet base. We also need to prepare multiple stars near each Earth. In short, we must prepare for the worst. Once the war escalates, we must be ready to use stars as superweapons. This needs to be done as soon as possible."

The two commanders hadn't expected Zhou Yuan's ideas to be even more advanced than the fleet headquarters'. However, they said nothing and quickly submitted Zhou Yuan's suggestions to the Imperial Fleet. Simultaneously, dozens of warships departed this space-time sun, determining the teleportation locations of new stars in different locations and setting up massive teleportation gates. The Imperial Fleet headquarters replied three hours later, expressing great gratitude for Academician Zhou Yuan's thorough consideration. The order to teleport stars had been issued to fleets traveling through the star system; relevant friendly ships could teleport stars to this space at any time. The three Earths had also mobilized their fleets to nearby stars, preparing to teleport these stars to the vicinity of the three Earths. The Earth Empire had also made arrangements for long-range reconnaissance and homeworld protection. The Earth Empire's warship manufacturing speed was accelerating, and the mass production of superphoton quark cryogenic insulation materials was being expedited. Everything was in preparation for all-out war.

A day later, nineteen additional fleets dispatched by the Imperial Fleet Headquarters arrived simultaneously in this star system. Iron Curtain, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Fleet, personally came to take command.

The Iron Curtain convened a meeting of the commanders of 21 fleets.

"Thank you all for your hard work. I'd like to know, does the Osme Empire fleet even know of our fleet's existence? Is it really necessary to send so many warships for 200,000 space pirates?"

"Although we have all activated anti-gravity fields to conceal ourselves, it is difficult to determine whether the Osmetic Empire has other methods to detect us," said Commander Parsons of the 55th Fleet.

Everyone nodded in agreement. After all, a highly advanced civilization would likely possess very sophisticated detection methods.

"Academician Zhou, what do you think of this matter?" Tie Mu asked Zhou Yuan, casting his gaze upon him.

"Gentlemen, I think there are a few possibilities. One is that they are really rich, and they have a lot of warships." But no one could laugh. Just thinking about it was terrifying. If they used 60 million warships just to deal with a group of space pirates, how many warships would they need for a fleet even larger than the space pirates?

"The second possibility, which I've only recently come to think of, is that dark energy exists everywhere in our universe, even between stars. The presence of our fleet in this space disturbs this dark energy. Although we have activated the anti-gravity field, a faint energy disturbance will remain. We are unaware of this faint disturbance, but the Osme Empire fleet might be able to detect it."

"So, the technology of the Osmetic Empire is much more advanced than ours? We haven't made any major progress in our research on dark energy yet," asked Qin Shaojun, commander of the 76th Fleet.

"That's not necessarily true. The Osmei Empire might be more advanced than us in dark energy research, but weaker in other areas. I think our intelligent energy beams are quite powerful. It's hard to say who's more advanced until we witness their full combat capabilities. I urgently hope the Imperial Academy of Sciences can figure out dark matter and dark energy as soon as possible. I have a feeling that if we understand dark matter and dark energy, our civilization will advance to a much higher level." Everyone nodded. In fact, the scientists at the Academy of Sciences had worked very hard, but it seemed they had hit a bottleneck. It wasn't that hard work would immediately yield good results.

"How about we take the initiative to send a long-range message to the other side?" Commander of the 78th Fleet, Hodor, suggested.

“That doesn’t seem right either. We’d better stay invisible until we’re sure they’ve discovered us.” Iron Curtain immediately rejected the idea.

"Gentlemen, in that case, we can first send a few dozen large warships to the vicinity of that cave in stealth. This can test whether the enemy has the detection capability. If they do, they will definitely increase their speed. Regardless of whether the enemy has the detection capability, once a conflict occurs, our stealth warships deployed earlier will be able to quickly rescue our companions and cargo ships." George was, after all, very experienced.

"That's a good idea, killing two birds with one stone."

"Okay, let's do it."

Then, the more than 20 commanders held a detailed discussion on the operational deployment, speculating on and countering the possible weapons that the enemy warships might possess. Coordinated combat plans among the various fleets and logistical support plans were all carefully considered. Zhou Yuan, an expert in weapon systems, offered many good ideas.

Nearly a day after the thirty stealth warships of the Earth Empire arrived at the cave, the human fleet base detected that the Osmerian Empire fleet had not accelerated and was still sailing at its original speed. Everyone concluded that this was not indicative of anything, and everything was proceeding according to plan.

With the arrival time of the Osme fleet drawing ever closer, the Earth's human fleet is deeply hidden near this star, and everything is ready.

The massive fleet of the Osme Empire, comprising over 60 million ships, finally arrived near the planet Tab. Most of the warships were about 12 kilometers long. Among them, one warship stood out, reaching a length of 80 kilometers; this was likely the fleet's flagship. These warships almost completely blocked out the sunlight shining on Tab, and the surface of Tab was covered with the silhouettes of enormous warships.

The skies above Tab were bustling with activity as the Tab leader led numerous warships to welcome the marshal of the suzerain fleet.

"Dersu, congratulations on intercepting five cargo ships carrying hydrogen ore. The Emperor is very pleased."

"Your Majesty Shemonger, thank you, Marshal, for speaking well of me to the Emperor."

“We’re all familiar with each other, so there’s no need to be so polite. Those space pirates are really rampant, daring to set their sights on our Osme Empire. It’s a pity the journey is so long, otherwise I would lead a large army to wipe them out in one fell swoop.”

"The Empire is mighty. Marshal, these pirates are quite strong. If you hadn't arrived in time, we probably wouldn't have been able to hold them off."

"Yes, that's right."

"Were those pirates also targeting hydrogen ore?"

"Yes."

"How is the interrogation of the crew members going?"

“These people are made of iron. No matter what torture we use, they won’t say a word. They say they’ll only talk when the official representative of the Osmetic Empire arrives.”

"Oh, let's go take a look."

"Yes." Delsu bowed.

The group then boarded a luxurious small warship, and under the escort of nearly eighty warships, quickly arrived at the cave.

Looking at the metal door of the cave, Delsu couldn't help but sigh, "Marshal, the creations of the 'Metal Civilization' are truly extraordinary. Those pirate warships bombarded this door for several hours without causing a single scratch."

"Hmph, those metal guys are only good at this."

"Yes, the Empire is mighty." Delsu felt a little uneasy.

"By the way, those pirate warships have already gone far away, there's no need to chase them anymore. You should know that this hydrogen mine is of great significance to us, so the Emperor attaches great importance to it and sent me here to make sure we get those hydrogen mines, even at any cost."

“I understand, so I intercepted them so you could pry information out of them. These guys are really stubborn. I think with your prestige and wisdom, you will surely succeed.” Filch was very satisfied with Delsu’s performance, and a satisfied expression appeared on his face.

“Dersu, I will certainly put in a good word for this with the Emperor. However, I must tell you, don’t use the old methods again. Force might work on some people, but you have to use your brain to deal with people like them.”

"Yes, you are foolish, little one."

"I'd like to see what kind of people these are," Filch muttered to himself.