Him and their stars.

Chapter 1917 Prey and Hunter

It turned out that the navigator's guidance was completely correct. When the Holy Sword Karagan emerged from the gravity well and arrived at the next star system, the powerful psychic immediately pointed out that the existence had indeed been in this star system and had just left for no more than four hours.

The battleship soon found several high-ore asteroids that had been corroded by acid in the asteroid belt. The ugly appearance of the planets with pits and holes was like a rotten apple that had been gnawed by a pig.

Well, actually all asteroids look irregular, but this is a normal change.

Of course, without the guidance of a navigator, trying to find a specific asteroid that has been corroded by the swarm in such a large galaxy is like finding a reef in the ocean that has been blew on by a killer whale.

The navigator proved herself right.

"Keep the current speed!" Major General Magus did not hesitate any longer: "Have the damage control team ready for repairs at any time, and start preheating the backup engine."

In fact, even for these newly built warships, it is still a heavy burden on the hull to keep them cruising at a high speed close to that of a charge.

With this kind of work, they will definitely set the record for the shortest service life of an Imperial battleship, right?

However, in this situation, no one would question the commander and the mysterious navigator's decision. They decided to put their minds at ease and play the role of this promising tool.

"Sublight speed gravitational residual analysis completed, target trajectory confirmed to move in the direction of gravity well No. 3."

"This ship's jump drive begins readings. Ion pipeline No. 3 exceeds critical point, and the backup protocol for sublight drive needs to be activated."

"Approved! Also, where are the cobalt armor-piercing shells? Are the railguns filled with cobalt armor-piercing shells? Also, order the equipment chiefs of each ship to count the weapons immediately."

"Stormtroopers, keep your armor on. It's not time for you to rest yet."

Although this powerful, elite and fast imperial fleet showed signs of fatigue at this moment, it still maintained its rapid advance mode, like a group of lions rushing towards its prey.

It took them less than two hours to cross the asteroid belt, pass through most of the galaxy, and reach the entrance of the gravity well on the other side of the galaxy - if it was a normal voyage, it would take at least twice as long.

The extreme forced march certainly has a cost, but it certainly also reaps rewards.

"Gravitational remnants have been discovered and the mass values ​​are disordered." The intelligence officer reported in a flat tone.

No one seemed surprised at all. The gravitational agitation of those pupa-shaped flying objects during navigation seemed to use another model, so that no one could determine their exact mass until now. The only thing that was certain was that they should be much smaller than mainstream warships.

This probably also means that even the super-large "pupa" can pass through narrow branch channels.

The intelligence officer pondered while reading the images flashing on the terminal and made a clearer report.

"Projection profile confirmed. Biomass reading peak matches XB01 unit signature, but is over three times longer."

XB01 is the code name of the nest ship captured by the Imperial Army.

"That's it!" Major General Magus stood up from his seat.

"That's it." The navigator remained calm, but there was a hint of excitement in her voice.

Major General Magus looked at the navigator and knew that she was probably here with a mission from her master. If extended, it might even involve the fight between the dragon kings.

Of course, as a professional soldier, he didn't want to listen, didn't want to care, and even didn't want to know.

Just as the fleet was preparing to pass through the space channel formed by the gravity well, communication from the direction of the Sumoe star sector also reached the Holy Sword Karagon. It was a letter sent by Olivia Rowentour, the head of the war zone.

The reason for reporting afterwards instead of calling immediately was because of the influence of nebula dust, which caused a five to ten minute delay in the communication of the source wave.

This should not be a problem with the source wave itself, but a problem with the receiving device.

However, this is not important. For the generals, the content of the letter is important.

In the holographic projection, Vice Admiral Olivia Rowentour saluted and said straight to the point: "Vice Admiral Jaeger Sobek's fleet has arrived at the Iron Felt-21 system. It will take at most hours to enter the Diamond Nebula."

This guy came so fast! He is indeed the Wolf of Dawn!

As a typical general from a noble family, Major General Magus was naturally disgusted with this lucky guy, but as a professional soldier, he had to admit the other party's ability deep down.

Because of this, his disgust was even more intuitive.

But, what did he want to do after coming so quickly? To steal the credit? Or did he want me to obey his orders and help him? You, the Suliuka royal family, have no manners at all, right?

Major General Magus's face immediately turned gloomy.

Fortunately, Lieutenant General Olivia Rowentour did not give any more detailed instructions. It seemed that she just explained the matter, left a sentence to "cooperate", and naturally interrupted the message.

"This probably tells us that a powerful friendly force has blocked the route in another part of the nebula. His subsequent actions will have a much higher margin of error, right?"

"Yes, yes, that is exactly what I mean."

"Now, whatever is hiding here, it's just a rat in the bellows!"

"This is the great Galactic Empire's dragnet! Once it's launched, the enemy will have no chance of escape."

"Isn't that right? That guy is the Wolf of Dawn! Even that... that dragon who must not be named, considers him his mortal enemy, doesn't he?"

The officers and soldiers were talking to each other, and their morale was getting higher. Their commander might have some disagreements with the two generals of the Su Wang faction, but these were matters of great importance.

They were just ordinary soldiers, workers who earned their pay by killing enemies. Of course they could be happy about the arrival of friendly forces.

The only person who was unhappy was Major General Magus himself. He had a gloomy face, but before he could scold, the communications officer came again to report: "Reconnaissance ship Snow Owl 1224 received active wide-area gravitational wave communication in the DC-f-899 system of the Diamond Nebula, confirming that it was the remnants of the Earthlings' commerce-breaking fleet."

Major General Magus was stunned for a moment, and then he found the exact information of this fleet from a groove in his cerebral cortex with great difficulty.

That small guerrilla fleet had entered the Empire through the Far Shore Nebula at the beginning of this year. Their size was limited, and the tactical damage they caused was naturally limited, but their strategic significance was by no means limited.

This was the first time that the Earthling fleet had entered the Empire's homeland since the war began.

In order to destroy this small fleet of only more than 20 warships, the Empire even deployed dozens of battle cruisers to chase and intercept it. The four star regions on the border were also passively put into full combat readiness.

The chief of staff couldn't help but sigh: "I thought they had been destroyed long ago, but there are still remnants, hiding here? What a group of tenacious warriors!" "Indeed, they are all true warriors. Although we have different positions, I really want to witness their end." Major General Magus was also slightly moved. Although he was an evil imperial general, he still liked his attitude towards himself.

"Then, we..."

Just as Major General Magus was about to say something, the navigator's voice rang in his mind: "Don't make things complicated. Our target is always him."

Although the major general was not a psychic, he knew that it was a skill called "telepathy". Although his expression was relatively calm, his heart was naturally boiling.

Is this King Weilun's goal? Humph, are you telling me what to do? I am the commander!

Although the major general wanted to do this, he said, "It's just a trick. I won't be fooled by such a lowly trick. Don't pay attention to it."

His smile was forced, but his mood was very low. The top floor of the bridge, with him as the center, suddenly fell into silence, with only the low-frequency vibration of the gravity stabilizer circulating in the cabin.

This was the ship entering jump mode. As a result, the starlight outside the porthole was stretched into a line, and then turned from the line into a gorgeous starry sky again.

"Gravity residue has been discovered. It can be confirmed that it will be within... 100 minutes." The subordinate immediately presented the latest news.

"Confirm the overlapping reflection of the track. It's right here!" The navigator's voice returned to its usual calmness, like a terminal AI without a mechanism.

However, even if it is an AI, it is probably the most advanced AI. Before the navigation terminal on the ship gives suggestions on the direction to go, the navigator's psychic power has directly "manually" drawn a track on the three-dimensional model of the star system.

"All fleets maintain speed! Cosmic point BI57, GV211, HT985."

"Begin to analyze the ecliptic angle error."

"At 7 o'clock, Chiwei is 38 degrees 47 minutes 97."

Professional tactical instructions were circulating in the communication channels of each ship. Without waiting for the commander's order, the captain and the chief helmsmen had already completed the course correction.

Major General Magus nodded with satisfaction and looked at the gunnery team who were busy at the operating table on the second floor of the bridge.

Their knuckles drummed on the tactical platform, and the charging command was uploaded to the flagship host through the sensor interface. The two lance main guns on the bow began to charge.

This is the weapon with the longest range on the two Yushi-class battlecruisers. Under the guidance of top navigators, it can also ensure the accuracy of ultra-long-range artillery fire.

Yes, for a perception-type psychic, the difference between guiding artillery fire and guiding navigation should not be that big.

First, use high-precision light spear cannons to carry out long-range attacks to complete the first round of killing and disrupt the rhythm of the enemy fleet. When the distance is shortened, dense cobalt armor-piercing shells and sub-light-speed missiles can be used to fill the face.

This is the standard tactical manual of the Empire. Of course, it is also the most effective artillery tactic.

"Found it," the navigator whispered. Her voice was almost like a moan, full of satisfaction, and she seemed alive for the first time.

However, Major General Magus only felt it was weird. He said that he had actually dealt with psychics a lot, including Star Knights, Inquisitors, and even Riddler's Star Seer, but this was the first time he had seen such a weird creature. If possible, he hoped that this would be the first and last time they would work together.

Of course, weirdness is one thing, and ability is another.

Under her guidance, the fleet indeed found their target in this remote nebula.

It was a monster hidden in the gravitational shadow of the giant planets in our galaxy. Without the guidance of the psychics, even the fleet's sensors would have probably ignored its existence.

But now, after the Holy Sword's deep-space sensors had made six rounds of projection, the vague outline of the pupa finally appeared in the middle of the ship's screen on the tactical terminal.

Major General Magus touched the commander's assistant on his left hand, which contained a hidden compartment containing a bottle of Saint Wine. He always felt that pouring a glass of nourishing wine on the eve of victory, with the amber wine in the crystal glass reflecting the flames tearing through the enemy, would surely make him a famous general who would be passed down to future generations.

However, after much hesitation, he temporarily gave up this tempting idea.

"Start firing once you are within range, don't wait for my order." He gave a very uncreative order. After thinking carefully, he said, "Let the assault boats start warming up. Are the boys of the stormtroopers ready?"

"The mecha has been equipped with an anti-biological spore module."

"Very good. The scientific team's instruments must also be prepared." He was very satisfied with everyone's initiative. Just as he was about to show off a few words, he heard the captain report: "A high-energy reaction was discovered. It is spitting acidic spores. It has actively launched an attack on us."

"This distance? This is beyond the light spear cannon." Major General Magus was a little surprised.

The Chief of Staff said: "It can be roughly understood as a super-long-range sub-light speed missile. In other words, a rail artillery shell that automatically searches for the enemy."

"Interesting, but meaningless." The captain laughed.

The Imperial Fleet made evasive moves while still approaching at high speed. At the same time, the escorting destroyer fleet also accelerated and cruised to the side of the battleship, blocking the spore cloud.

They were preparing to launch sublight-speed missiles at the ugly spore cloud, using the heat from the antimatter explosion to incinerate the strange biological mass.

Although this strange Leviathan had strange abilities, it was by no means unmanageable. As long as the glorious imperial soldiers were well prepared, there would be absolutely nothing to fear.

Therefore, when the sudden alarm suddenly exploded in the fleet channel, the emotions of all the imperial officers and soldiers were still very stable.

"Unknown energy fluctuations? At 3 o'clock? Enemy sneak attack?" The captain of the Grey Sparrow 233 destroyer glanced at the sensor with a confused expression.

The second-in-command looked even more confused: "But, there's nothing there. And this energy reading... uh, a blaster cannon on a single-seat fighter? What's there to be afraid of..."

The tail end of his voice was chopped off by the purple-black arc of electricity that suddenly flashed outside the porthole.

That light is alive.

All the crew members of the Grey Sparrow destroyer were scattered in the starry sky. And she would certainly not be the first victim.

When the electric arc beam with a diameter of more than 2,000 kilometers pierced the void, the destroyer fleet that had already formed a battle formation was sacrificed. Half of the destroyers were either shattered on the spot like the Grey Sparrow, or seriously injured and lost their combat effectiveness. The interiors of the remaining destroyers also produced fierce explosions. Although the ships did not lose control, the crew really began to doubt their lives.

All the imperial officers looking at this scene seemed to see the giant python in the mythical world baring its fangs.

They certainly would not notice that in the more distant starry sky, a towering giant ship was quietly approaching these imperial people who were supposed to be hunters, like a great white shark lurking in the deep sea.

In the dark forest of the universe, prey and hunter often change roles at any time.