mynovelonline Chapter 78: Stellar Attack
Chapter 78: Stellar Attack
"Lefia, stop fooling around."
"Brother, why are you here too?"
"It's because I'm worried about you."
"Then why are you keeping me trapped on Sva?"
"If I don't keep you trapped on Sva, how much trouble will your subordinates cause me?"
"The universe is so vast, why bother with just one galaxy? Look at our nearby Milky Way galaxy, it's many times larger than ours."
"Hey, Princess, why are you saying the Milky Way? Why not the Andromeda Galaxy?!" Zhou Yuan couldn't help but interject.
“Lefia, who is this man? He’s not a Roman, nor is he one of those lackeys.”
"Brother, isn't he handsome? I've fallen for him, but he's already with Sister Shan. What am I supposed to do?"
"Simple, I'll kill that woman! This kid is yours."
"Hey, Lydam, are you looking for a beating?" Wei Shan was furious.
"Hey, Princess, you must be joking. Your brother seems to be serious."
"Kid, scared now? I'm serious." Lefia turned around, facing Zhou Yuan with her eyes fixed on him.
Zhou Yuan ignored her, took Wei Shan's hand, and left the communications room.
"Brother, you're really something, you scared that kid away."
"Lefia, I know the outside world is vast, and the universe is enormous, but you should know that danger lurks everywhere. I only want to reign supreme in this galaxy. This is my kingdom."
"Fine, I can't argue with you. Bro, I've decided, I'm going to go see the Milky Way with this kid."
"Alright, everyone has their own ambitions, I won't force you. You've loved gazing at the stars since you were little, staring blankly at that giant spiral galaxy above us at night. Maybe the Milky Way is truly your best home."
"Thank you, brother." Lefia seemed to choke up.
"Good sister, don't be sad, just remember to come back and visit me." Lydam seemed to be moved as well, and her voice became low.
Zhou Yuan and Wei Shan, who were listening to the siblings' conversation from next door, were also deeply moved upon hearing this, and they tightened their grip on each other's hands. Wei Shan's opinion of the two had changed, especially of Princess Lefia. She had dreams and aspirations, and dared to love and hate. Although she was sharp-tongued, she seemed to be very fragile inside beneath her strong exterior. Wei Shan couldn't help but feel an urge to protect Lefia.
"Big brother, what do you think of Lefia?"
"Princess? I don't know. How should I put it, she's somewhat similar to Aya in personality."
"Ah."
"Why do you ask this suddenly?"
"nothing."
Just as the two were whispering to each other, the warship's artificial intelligence suddenly issued a piercing alarm: "Red alert! Red alert! Twelve stars have been detected attacking at faster-than-light speed. They will arrive at the interstellar fortress in twenty-five minutes!"
"Lefia, quickly inform your brother and tell them to leave the interstellar fortress area at light speed!" Zhou Yuan couldn't help but shout.
Lefia was stunned when she heard the alarm. Lydam seemed to have heard it too, and upon hearing "stellar attack," he was terrified. When he heard Zhou Yuan's urgent shout, Lydam hurriedly said goodbye to Lefia, quickly turned off the video, and immediately ordered all warships to set sail at light speed, scattering away from the sealed space before jumping into warp drive space and far away from the area.
The Roman Empire fleets confronting the Lydam fleet were unaware of what had happened. They were puzzled by the Star Luo fleet's sudden and hasty departure, speculating about internal turmoil within the Star Luo Empire—had a mutiny occurred? Regardless, the swarm of Star Luo warships had finally vanished, leaving no one behind, and the Romans cheered. The Roman fleet began to retreat towards the inner circle of the interstellar fortress.
Just as the Romans were gathering their warships around the outer edge of the former interstellar fortress, twelve dazzling stars suddenly descended from the sky. Their impact was devastating; many Roman warships and space-based weapons were pulled and torn apart by the stars' gravity, crashing into their atmospheres. Even Sva couldn't escape the fate of being destroyed upon impact. These twelve stars, as if launched by a powerful slingshot, precisely occupied the positions of the twelve Earth-like planets within the former interstellar fortress, according to their respective orbits! Exactly twelve stars.
The remaining warships of the Roman Empire instantly accelerated to the speed of light and fled outwards.
The Alpha Fleet and the remaining nineteen Earth Empire fleets had long since moved away from the interstellar fortress area and were observing and tracking the emission locations of these twelve stars in the Klein space.
The tracking results from all fleets showed that these twelve stars actually came from the Large Magellanic Cloud! Zhou Yuan and the others couldn't help but recall something: ten years ago, the Lunar Empire discovered, through the "Gemini Eye" in the Triangular Galaxy, the phenomenon of many stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud disappearing and reappearing in interstellar space.
Commander George of the Alpha Fleet immediately used the "Morse-tron Modulation Matrix" to contact the Earth Empire's fleet headquarters in the Milky Way and the Lunar Empire's New Home 1, inquiring whether humanity had been attacked by stars. He reported the characteristics of the star attack on the Canis Major dwarf star system launched from the Large Magellanic Cloud and transmitted video information showing twelve stars suddenly appearing and occupying the space of the interstellar fortress. Then all of humanity waited quietly for replies from the Earth Empire and the Lunar Empire, as well as further instructions from the Earth Empire's fleet headquarters.
Lefia pestered Zhou Yuan, asking him to help her reconnect with Lydam.
After confirming that the communication was secure and there were no further anomalies in the space, Lefia and Lydam had a video call.
"Brother, are you alright? That was terrifying! Twelve suns striking! I now realize I was wrong; this universe is indeed very dangerous."
"Lefia, I'm alright. If it weren't for your timely reminder, we probably would have suffered heavy casualties. It's a pity that those Roman planets and fleets have all escaped and disappeared without a trace."
"Brother, let's escape this galaxy and go to the Milky Way. It's vast, and we can hide there."
"No, if we go to the Milky Way, even the fleet you're in right now could probably crush me. You know, they can even predict solar strikes!"
"Lydam, we're not that great. Launching the sun is really impressive." Zhou Yuan seized the opportunity to show his face, speaking seriously to the holographic screen.
"Anyway, I can't afford to offend any of you."
"Okay, we need you."
"We don't want to be cannon fodder."
"How short-sighted!" Zhou Yuan said helplessly.
"I firmly believe in one truth: if you don't have the strength, don't try to be a hero."
"Hmm, that makes a lot of sense. It seems we'll have to make the trip to the Large Magellanic Cloud ourselves."
"What? You're going to go to war with them?"
"If we don't strike them, our Milky Way galaxy will probably suffer the same stellar attack."
"Hmm, maybe. To nip them in the bud?"
"Absolutely right!"
"Alright, I'll focus all my efforts on dealing with the Romans and their lackeys."
"Brother, take care."
"Okay, take care. Hey, you guys better take good care of Lefia. Otherwise, no matter how powerful you are, I'll hunt you down."
"Brother, stop talking nonsense, don't worry. Brother Zhou and Sister Shan treat me very well."
Zhou Yuan and Wei Shan exchanged a glance. This spoiled princess really changed her mind quickly.
"Okay. Goodbye, and remember to come back and see me."
"Definitely. Goodbye."
The signal was then cut off, and it seemed that a tear was clinging to the corner of Lefia's eye. Wei Shan quickly wiped it away for her.
Led by the Alpha Fleet, the Earth Empire's Allied Fleet conducted a Klein bottle space flip long-distance voyage, leaving the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy and arriving at the Milky Way in less than a day.
As Lefia saw them approaching the Milky Way, she was incredibly excited, constantly asking Zhou Yuan and Wei Shan about the situation and "stories" happening in the galaxy. She was like a child who had been confined in a small house for a long time and had finally arrived at a large manor; everything was so new and intriguing.
At Lefia's request and with her help, the Earth Empire's Allied Fleet broadcast a long-distance Star Luo language radio and video message across the entire galaxy while crossing it. The gist of the message was that Lefia ordered her Star Luo subordinates who were still hiding in the galaxy to abandon their harassment of the Earth Empire and meet her near the rotating binary black hole system a month later to accept her renewed leadership.
The Earth Empire's Allied Fleet flew directly to its headquarters. When the fleet arrived, Lefia was astonished, finally understanding the feeling her brother Leidam had described—that she would be crushed if she were in the Milky Way. Even more surprising was Wei Shan's explanation that this was just one planet within the Earth Empire. Zhou Yuan and Wei Shan hadn't even told her about the Moon Empire in the Triangular Galaxy yet.
When Lefia appeared at the joint meeting of the three major organizations of the Earth Empire, humanity marveled at her beauty. Lefia, at this moment, restrained herself and delivered a passionate speech expressing curiosity, admiration, deep apology, and a desire for cooperation. Her curiosity and admiration indicated that the Earth Empire greatly attracted her; she and her subordinates were willing to submit to its leadership. She apologized on behalf of her subordinates for harassing the Earth Empire's fleet, and as a token of her remorse, she offered to personally lead her fleet to fight alongside the Earth Empire's fleet in the Large Magellanic Cloud. When Lefia spoke of how she often gazed at the stars as a child, longing to see the Milky Way, the expression on her beautiful face captivated all humanity, including Thomas, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Fleet.
Commander George of the Alpha Fleet reported on the situation in the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy. When the holographic video of the twelve stars striking the Roman Empire's interstellar fortress was broadcast, all of humanity on Earth was once again shocked. This was probably the least confident we had ever felt since humanity broke free of the "light speed barrier" of the solar system.
"According to observations of other dwarf galaxies from the Milky Way and the Triangulum Galaxy, it seems that such a large-scale attack of stars has never occurred before. Previously, we only observed the instantaneous disappearance and reappearance of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, but even then, it wasn't in swarms. Judging from the stellar attack in the Canis Major Galaxy, it seems that the attackers have only recently mastered the ability to launch stars at faster-than-light speeds. Fortunately, their range isn't very far yet. As for this technology of precise long-distance star launches, the Imperial Academy of Sciences has listed it as the most urgent and important task among all current missions. We believe that we will soon be able to achieve the precision launch of neutron stars over long distances. Currently, we have a sufficient stockpile of neutron stars."
Thomas, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Fleet, stated, "To prevent the Milky Way from also being attacked by stars, the Earth Empire will send 50 fleets, and the Lunar Empire will send 30 fleets to provide support. With the support of Princess Lefia's fleet from the Star Luo Empire, three months later, when the Lunar Empire fleet from the Triangle Galaxy arrives at its fleet headquarters, we will jointly conquer the Large Magellanic System! For safety reasons, the Earth Empire and the Lunar Empire's respective interstellar voyages and exploration fleets will cease all external activities and return to their respective planets to avoid being attacked by other civilizations' fleets. Returning to their planets will also allow them to replenish the expeditionary warships in the Large Magellanic System at any time."
This was the first time Lefia had heard of the Triangular Galaxy, the Lunar Empire, and the Neutron War Star. Thinking about it, a chill ran down her spine.