Him and their stars.

Chapter 2021 What brings you to Babaru?
Judging from the composition of the warships, it is clear that this is a high-speed strike fleet specially assembled by the Empire to pursue its escaped Titan.

Furthermore, this fleet was likely assembled by temporarily drawing upon existing forces. If the Empire had been given more time, it wouldn't have consisted solely of battlecruisers; the Barbarossa-class dreadnoughts, also renowned for their high speed and high attack capabilities, would certainly have joined the fray, and perhaps even the Dawn Angel-class, capable of racing cruisers, would have joined the hunt.

Rozes and Belmont were glad they broke out in time, giving the Empire more time to reorganize.

Even so, the appearance of this Imperial high-speed fleet on the edge of the galactic center still sent chills down their spines. As for the timid raiders following the Imperial fleet, they represented an even more ominous sign.

You warrior races of the Silverheart, free-spirited cosmic nomads, untamed Voidkin, have actually become the Empire's dogs? How can the spirit of Great Khan Tomiteri rest in peace?

Rozes, Krell, and all the high-ranking officers on the Independence all agreed that the raiders who stayed in the Heart of the Galaxy and didn't participate in the expedition were truly pathetic! They didn't have the spirit to wreak havoc on the galaxy at all.

Despite the insults and the commotion, life must go on, and so must the struggle.

And so, in the barren lands of the Galactic Heart, another fierce battle between capital ships took place. To be fair, the last time a fleet battle of this scale occurred in the Galactic Heart was during the reign of Empress Iwenya on her expedition, which was five hundred years ago.

To reiterate, in terms of sheer size and combat power, even the most advanced battlecruisers are like spotted hyenas before a lion compared to the oldest Titan-class battleships. However, hyenas often display remarkable courage when facing a wounded and lonely lion.

This was the fiercest battle the Independence encountered after embarking on its escape journey.

The first to launch the attack were not the Silver Knight-class ships, but rather the Titanium Blade and Purple Lightning Dragon Type 2 fighters launched from the aircraft carriers. The Imperial fighters had not yet completed reverse engineering of the light wing structure, but they at least understood the concept of powerful, brick-like aircraft.

Leaving aside the reinforced structure of the Purple Lightning Dragon 2, the three combined engines of the Titanium Blade fighter truly propelled this triangular-shaped aircraft into an arrow piercing the starry sky, exuding an aura of domineering power and tragic grandeur.

At first glance, it looks like they're here to play kamikaze.

However, even the Galactic Empire couldn't design a kamikaze fighter that could fuel a rice ball. These state-of-the-art triangular titanium blades were each equipped with at least two space bubble fish, clearly designed for lightning strikes.

As the war entered its second year, the Galactic Empire finally began to evolve from its unchanging reliance on giant swords and cannons to a nascent form of a carrier-based empire.

What a joy!
If Independence didn't have 1500 pilots and over 400 fighter jets stolen from hangars across Mars, this lightning strike would probably have been enough to send them all packing.

Even so, Rozes only had time to take away 300 Ghosts of various types and over 100 White Devils. As for the more advanced Red Ghosts, they were all produced in New China; there were no production lines on Earth itself.

Rozes searched the entire solar system but only managed to take away 12 prototypes.

Thus, this was perhaps the most brutal air combat since the start of the war. The difference lay not in the scale, but in the ratio of casualties to the number of enemy units on both sides.

From encountering the enemy to breaking out, the Independence lost a total of 127 aircraft, more than a third of its fleet. The Reich, on the other side, naturally suffered similar losses.

The Independence's precise and fierce bombardment still took down a battlecruiser, an aircraft carrier, and two light cruisers. If the air raids had continued, perhaps more carriers would have been lost. Therefore, the Imperial fleet had no choice but to temporarily create distance.

As a lone "lion" that fought bloody battles, the Independence successfully broke through the encirclement once again, but at a considerable cost.

During the one hour and thirty-seven-minute battle, the Titan was hit twelve times, three of which exceeded its shields' tolerance, causing severe damage. However, given the Independence's armor thickness, these hits were merely a sliver of health.

The real damage was that one Titanium Blade fighter managed to break through their own interception and land a space bubble torpedo on the bow of the giant ship.

The space bubble neutralized the shields and armor, and the explosion of the antimatter bomb destroyed the No. 3 orbital main gun turret on the left, and also took out the B-7 to B-12 sections, as well as more than 400 crew members.

"Will future space warfare truly become the era of aircraft carriers?" Amid the explosion, Krell gripped the cold, hard armrests of the command chair tightly, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force, but he still asked with feigned composure.

"At least it proves that with new weapons, fighter jets can indeed threaten even the most imposing warships. You can't only enjoy carrier battles when you're launching air strikes," Rosesh said, spreading his hands.
"However, warships are not necessarily going to disappear from the historical stage. They might even start to become smaller. That's at least what my superior thinks."

"Once miniaturized, wouldn't the construction technology for the super-large warships possessed by the Empire and the Alliance become meaningless?"

“This is no longer a military issue, General Belmont, nor even a technological one; it’s a political one,” Rosetz replied in the other’s tone. “I’m just an ordinary soldier, sir.”

In any case, after a fierce battle, the Independence successfully broke through the enemy fleet after inflicting heavy damage. However, in the Galactic Heart, the danger to ships comes not only from artillery fire, but also from the universe itself.

The Independence had barely crossed the battlefield—a relatively stable system on the edge of the Galactic Center—when it suddenly spotted the black hole hanging far in the sky. It tumbled at the edge of its field of vision, like the entrance to an abyss that devoured all light and matter.

The chaotic and violent gravitational tides, like invisible predators, tore at the battered behemoth.

The old wounds on the armor belts, which were just very minor scratches from the battle, were torn apart by the gravitational tides, instantly revealing even more shocking wounds.

Several trembling flashes appeared within the gaping hole from the explosion at the bow, and the entire cabin collapsed and deformed amidst an eerie roar.

Immediately afterwards, the entire warship trembled violently. Accompanied by the ear-piercing sound of metal breaking, the three secondary gun turrets at the stern were completely twisted and deformed under stress. The emergency airlock immediately sealed off the damaged areas, but the air pressure inside the ship continued to slowly decrease.

Even the ship's keel emitted a dull rumble, like a dying beast gasping for breath.

If Rozes hadn't ordered the isolation chambers to be lowered, the unbalanced air pressure inside the ship would likely have claimed the lives of the wounded.

Subsequently, Belmont personally led the damage control team to carry out emergency repairs, focusing on ensuring the smooth operation of the engine area, bridge passage, and protective devices.

He even took advantage of his psionic abilities, wearing his emblem machine, and went outside the ship to restart two shield generators.

"He truly deserves to be called a model worker," Luo Zeshi praised.

"I've said it before, I love that period of my career."

"Thank you for setting a good example for everyone."

This refers to the psionicist's recent action of personally exiting the pod to repair the shield. Influenced by Belmont, the young psionicists of the Blue Guard also joined the work team, helping the damage control team with many dangerous tasks. Two of them even went outside the pod and successfully assisted on one occasion.

“I just did what I learned at the Tulon shipyard. People, most of the time, yearn for the light.” Belmont shifted his gaze somewhat sheepishly. “We haven’t heard from Xinyumen or Tulon for a while now. If possible, I really wanted to take this warship to the New World to help my fellow workers… but now, we can only hope everything goes well for them.” Whether things are going well at the Tulon shipyard is something the crew on the Independence can’t observe for now, but at least they can be certain that the Titan ship is doing well.

Thanks to everyone's efforts, the Independence broke free from the black hole's maul, traversed the dangerous passage at the edge of the galactic center, and finally arrived once again in a stable cluster of young, healthy stars.

It was now 835. More than four months had passed since the crew of the Independence embarked on their expedition.

The navigation star map then indicated that they had arrived at the Femo Nebula.

The good news is that they are currently in the Loda T98 system on the border of Femo, a place not controlled by any particular power and some distance from the main shipping lanes. The inner sea of ​​the system still contains a dense asteroid belt, so they can temporarily find a seemingly safe dwarf planet to hide on.

The bad news is that, if I remember correctly, there are at least 2000 Imperial warships, including four Titans, active along the long route from Wanwang Pass to Canchuan and in the vast expanse of space.

This was the largest military force mobilized by the Galactic Empire in this war.

For the rulers of the Heavenly Realm Empire, even if they were slapped hard by tiny Earthlings, they would still use all their power to keep an eye on their strongest, and only, opponent.

And most of this "long flight path" and "vast starry sky" refers, of course, to the unclaimed Femoe Nebula.

Hiding on the dwarf planet, everyone felt as if they had just escaped a pack of wolves only to stumble into a demon king's castle. Although they hadn't yet seen any other people or warships, it seemed as if every flickering glimmer in this vast expanse of space concealed a horde of ravenous demons ready to devour their prey.

So, during their rest period on the dwarf planet, Captain Rozes took the time to address the entire ship: "Fellow comrades! We have indeed experienced many difficulties during this period, even what can be described as an arduous and protracted struggle. But I want to say that we have not only not been intimidated by these difficulties, but have instead strengthened our ranks, tempered our will, and forged our determination in the struggle! When we broke out from Earth, half of the crew had never even experienced actual combat. But now, we are a team that has withstood the test! A team that can fight tough battles and dares to fight tough battles!"

"Comrades, hold your heads high! The fighting spirit to resist imperial tyranny and aggression is glorious and great. But the road to glory is never smooth. Do not lose heart or be discouraged. Every step we take now is laying the foundation for future victory."

This was the first time most people had heard such encouragement, and their morale improved considerably.

However, Krell felt that his temporary partner had a hidden meaning in his words: "You are an excellent speaker, but it feels like you are telling everyone that we are about to enter a new phase."

Of course, Rosesh would not hide anything: "Yes, if necessary, we can actually abandon this giant ship and break up into smaller units. We can find a city-state in the Nebula that the Empire cannot control for the time being and let everyone disembark. Our 30,000 men here are all heroes; they can continue to fight even without warships."

Krell's gaze swept across the bridge, watching the soldiers busily at work. They were far from collapsing. In fact, thanks to Captain Luo's mobilization, their morale seemed quite high.

However, deep within all of them lay a sense of bewilderment that seemed to have solidified.

Krell knew where this confusion came from.

In this nebula, with its well-connected transportation networks and intertwined power structures, the Independence has far less maneuverability than it would have in the Galactic Center.

Faced with overwhelming numbers and firepower, all maneuvering and guerrilla tactics are like struggles, and so-called resistance is just a pale slogan.

In comparison, abandoning the Titans actually opened up a world of possibilities.

"I remember when we broke through, you said you would never allow the Empire to take back the warships."

Rozes nodded: "Yes, I'll blow it up before I leave."

“It’s not time yet.” Krell was still full of anticipation for the giant ship from the Empire. He really wanted to bring her back home.

So, after a brief moment of thought, he proposed a new route.

“Actually, we’ve also invested resources in Femoro and have mastered some secret routes.” He opened the star map in front of everyone and began marking it, truly like a promising and qualified navigator.

“There’s a gravity well here. We just need to get through the pull of a red giant to reach the Delt system. We can find help there. If all goes well, it will only take about five jumps.”

"Red Giant Star..."

"It's better than a black hole."

"Indeed. There's no other choice anyway."

That being said, as Independence stumbled and bumped its way through this unnamed red giant, the peculiar magnetic field and powerful gravity created an unfathomable, turbulent wave in the galaxy, constantly pounding against Independence's body.

The wound that had just been repaired started flaring up again, and even the main ship's bearing structure was groaning under the strain.

"Was it the same when you came last time?" Rose asked his navigator with great interest.

“I didn’t experience it this deeply last time I came here.” The alliance’s advisor gave a wry smile: “Back then, I was on the Qingqiu ship.”

So research vessels are more stable than Titans?
Although Rozes wanted to make such a comment, he had to let it go considering that the ship was Princess Rainbow Rose's flagship and might be hiding some advanced technology.

Just as they began to silently estimate that the number of warp jumps on the ship was decreasing again, the communications officer Anna's voice suddenly rose, piercing the dull silence of the bridge: "Received, received active source mass wave signal, it's coming from next door... uh, frequency 7867CV."

This signal frequency completely dispelled all of Rozes's doubts and astonishment, and his face beamed with unbelievable joy: "Connect immediately."

Krell glanced at the captain, lowered his head slightly, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The moment the communication signal connected, a blinding, unstable burst of static erupted on the main bridge screen. After a suffocating few seconds of waiting, a blurry holographic image painstakingly coalesced.

Perhaps due to radiation interference, it could only barely outline the silhouette of a tall creature.

It has an oval-shaped head, an extremely robust body compared to its head, and four thick, powerful arms.

"Oh? It's all familiar faces!" the creature exclaimed cheerfully. "Colonel Rozes, Brigadier General Belmont, I'm Babaru. Long time no see."