Him and their stars.

Chapter 2060 Brother Suo has rebelled?
Feifei translated, "He's telling you that those densely populated star systems in the Wanfan Star Region are too difficult to conquer, so it's better to go straight through Emperor's Avenue and head straight for the Celestial Domain."

"You're just translating nonsense, aren't you?" Yu Lianheng glanced at Feifei, thinking to himself that he had been an enemy of the emperor for over sixty years, and no one understood the imperial bureaucracy better than him. They didn't play games... well, okay, in certain situations, the imperial bureaucracy would follow the basic human logic of risk aversion.

In that massive civil war, there were quite a few local power factions that chose neutrality to avoid danger or even blockade the borders.

These guys certainly faced some repercussions after the war, but they did avoid the worst possible outcome. Isn't that a kind of survival wisdom?

Yu Lian fell into a brief silence, then heard Fei Fei continue, "The closer we get to the Heavenly Realm, the more people will have thoughts they shouldn't have. Isn't that your purpose? The rule of the Galactic Empire has never been as secure as they imagine. You and Mr. Qi proved this to us through the five volumes of 'The Origin,' and now, aren't you personally crafting your own arguments?"

At that moment, another short video came from the other side.

"Even if we lose the Heavenly Domain's orders, we will resist to the very end. We will use our fragile skulls to meet your dragon's breath! The spirit of the Wanfan people will bloom into the most magnificent spark in the entire universe!"

"...A real change has occurred in the Heavenly Realm." Fei Fei translated again.

Yu Lian did not express any doubts this time. He also felt that the next key task for the intelligence department was to figure out the dynamics of Tianyu.

However, all the intelligence stations in the Heavenly Realm have been destroyed.

At this moment, the small and medium-sized warships belonging to the sector's garrison fleet, as well as armed merchant ships, have all withdrawn from this fierce melee. Apart from the arsenal ships and frigates that are still struggling, at least 70% of the warships have already left the battlefield.

If they flee with the same decisiveness as they attack, the outcome is still uncertain.

Since these local fleets had already adopted this attitude, Yu Lian saw no need to pursue them to the bitter end, so he sent a signal to Xia Li that there was no need to pursue them.

Five seconds later, Yu Lian received a response from Xia Li on the mental network. She seemed somewhat dissatisfied, and her voice became quite loud during the mental exchange:
"I've won. Well, at least I'm on the way to victory!"

"I saw it. You devised a perfect boarding tactic based on the characteristics of the Zerg swarm, and your grasp of the opportunity was also very precise. If you joined the Strategic Research Department, you would at least get a Tiger Seal. Shirley, you're such a great girl! Shirley is really amazing after unlocking the special skill of military strategy!"

Although Shirley felt there was something off about what was said, it was still a compliment, so she smugly hummed in response.

Then, half a minute later, her face—the face of a JK girl—appeared again on the terminal screen of the Silent One. This was probably the Overmind of the Swarm showing respect to its allies.

She glanced around at everyone on the bridge and gave a haughty, perfunctory nod. To Shirley, that was, of course, a display of high emotional intelligence.

"Soon, these twenty-odd large ships will be my prisoners. In just two hours at most, they will be my spoils," she declared proudly, then added using the Zerg swarm network:
"Even you rarely manage to capture this much in one go, right?" Just from this point alone, it's clear that Shirley's emotional intelligence has indeed made remarkable progress!
"It's not that there were very few, it's that there were none at all." Yu Lian captured quite a few enemy ships, but he was indeed unable to achieve such a feat in a single battle.

"Moreover, my battle damage is negligible."

"Yes, almost negligible. Moreover, considering the reorganization effect of biological units, it's even debatable whether it can be considered combat losses."

"And then, you actually want me to cease hostilities now? You want me to cease hostilities right now?" she shouted into the Zerg network, but on the screen she said seriously, "I am confident that in another ten hours, I can leave more than 70% of the enemy ships here."

Yu Lian said, "However, there is some truth to the saying 'don't pursue a desperate enemy.' Besides, the main fleet of the Empire will arrive soon."

“I know. According to the real-time star map I just hacked, the main force of the Imperial Guard First Fleet has already arrived in the Emperor's Road T899 system, and it will be there in as little as ten hours. It includes one Titan and two Dreadnoughts. Another Titan and three Dreadnoughts will arrive within forty-eight hours.” Shirley’s answer sounded quite clear-headed.

The fact that such a large fleet can maintain such maneuverability is clearly a result of maxed-out fleet formation skills. This alone fully demonstrates the quality of the Imperial Guard soldiers.

"Isn't he still quite energetic?" Yu Lian thought.

"The Silent One can fight against more than two Titans, but once it is surrounded and attacked, it is unknown how long it can last."

Shirley said, "That's why I'm trying my best to collect spoils. My parasitic brain worm will soon be able to infect their terminals and control their ships."

"Can brain worms also parasitize terminals?" Fei Fei asked curiously.

"Are brain worms such inconvenient things?" Shirley said smugly, hands on her hips. "You humans can hack into terminals with your hands, so why can't our brain worms?"

This should have been a rather terrifying scene, but Xia Li, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl wearing a white dress, standing tall with her hands on her hips and looking smug, looked like a lovely and proud young lady, which diluted all the sense of horror.

People might just think that since the Dominator is so honest, she must be a very reliable ally.

Shirley added, "After I started mind-controlling these Imperial warships, I obviously couldn't make them act the same way as before, but they could still perform basic maneuvers."

"You mean... um, you're planning a sneak attack? Using these ships as bait?" Yu Lian immediately guessed what the other party was thinking.

Shirley gave a slightly dissatisfied snort and explained in detail, "After taking control of the ship's central control, I'll trap a small number of enemy soldiers in a compartment, leaving them a way out, and even leaving them communication equipment. That way, when the Imperial main force arrives and receives the distress signal, they'll definitely come to reinforce us. Once they get close, we can unleash a salvo. Hahaha, that's a close-range salvo from twelve arsenal ships! If we're lucky, we might even severely damage the Titan."

At this point, she raised her head, looking like she was saying, "I'm not pretending anymore, I have the air of a military genius."

That's right. This is the kind of tactical skill that insects should have. Besides being moved, Yu Lian had no other thoughts.

This is certainly not a particularly ingenious conspiracy, but it's not exactly a far-fetched, amateurish stunt either. Since there's little cost, why not give it a try?

"Just leave behind the basic maneuvering energy and about one salvo of artillery shells and missiles. I'll digest the rest. The weapons and energy units inside these giant ships can be dismantled and converted into biogas, which can become the energy reserve for our entire race. I can't handle the antimatter warheads yet, but the thermonuclear and proton warheads are very useful, like the taste of chicken. The reactors of various mass-energy engines are also good. No matter what principle they use, as long as they can be detonated, we can collect them."

Therefore, Yu Liancai truly believed that the insect swarm that evolved along this timeline would be perfectly capable of harmoniously surviving in this universe simply by engaging in planetary terraforming and industrial pollution control.

Shirley hesitated for a moment, then spoke through the Zerg network: "However, you're right. With the Zerg's current strength, even with you added, they can't withstand the Empire's main force's siege. So, let's split our forces here. I guessed you'd abandon the Emperor's Road, take the Chamaejima Gorge, and sneak into the Shengyuan Sector by attacking the Chamaejima Gate, right?"

Yu Lian smiled without saying a word, which was tantamount to acquiescence. "Then what do we do? We can't just attack Chenxiao Fortress directly, can we?"

Yu Lian continued to smile without saying a word. He was simply filled with nostalgia for these names.

“Although I don’t know anything, I can feel your confidence.” The Little Overlord grinned and gave a thumbs-up on the screen, revealing a confident smile: “After leaving the bait, I will directly follow these guard fleets into the Wanfan Star Sector.”

“You have an entire fleet ahead of you, two Titans and four Dreadnoughts,” Yu Lian said.

“I’m very confident in my stealth abilities. How about we make a bet? Even if the Empire brings all the remaining Titans and Dreadnoughts, and even deploys all the Astral Knights and Dragonships, they still won’t be able to catch me,” Shirley said.

These words sounded so convincing that Yu Lian had no way to refute them; he was even more confident than the other party.

“The Wanfan Star Sector may have really mobilized. Every densely populated star system now has a million armed militiamen,” Yu Lian added.

“But every star system has warm air, water and fungi. If I drop a spore on any planet, I can hold off an Imperial division for two months.”

After thinking for a moment, Shirley said solemnly, "I've thought about it. My children can help the Imperial farmers plow the fields and massage the livestock. They can dig tunnels to help slaves escape, loosen the soil for miners, and even raid the Imperial tax stations and overseers. If they can do these things, they might be able to attract two or three divisions."

"Humans, the swarm of people?"

“I’m still a member of the Imperial Original Color Rebels,” Shirley said proudly, hands on her hips.

“Yes, you are a one-man army, invincible.” Although Yu Lian’s tone was somewhat strange and playful, it was quite clear.

Although he always felt that the scene of springtails mining for their fellow workers, hydralisks herding livestock for shepherds, and worker bees tilling the fields for villagers was so beautiful that he didn't know which eye to use to see it, deep down he still looked forward to that scene.

As for the Zerg swarm, having an additional branch base, an additional overlord, or even an additional cerebrate central core would mean having an additional overlord clone, which is certainly excellent.

“Then, as I said before, let’s meet in the Heavenly Realm,” Yu Lian said.

The young lady snorted coldly: "You better not be late. If I enter the Heavenly Realm and kill the Emperor before you, I'm prepared to laugh at you for a hundred years."

"If that's the case, what's wrong with me bowing down and calling you 'Big Sister Shirley'?"

The Overlord's eyes gleamed with an aura of dominance: "Excellent, wonderful! I've been waiting for this day. Hahahaha! I'll show you that even if the Zerg Swarm has two Overlords, I'll still be on top!"

Her last words were, of course, posted on the Zerg network, which thankfully prevented any misunderstanding.

As the remaining Earth warships passed through the gravity well one after another, the boarding battle between the Zerg swarm and the Imperial forces finally came to an end.

Apart from a few large ships that ultimately succumbed and were destroyed on the spot, the eleven arsenal ships, nine frigates, and six other ships of various sizes also became one-time spoils of war for the Zerg swarm.

These spoils were so abundant that Yu Lian couldn't help but wonder if General Anmans had deliberately sent them.

These controlled warships are staggering and crawling towards the asteroid belt opposite. A considerable number of camel worms and dragon worms will still be "relentlessly pursuing" them, which is naturally an essential part of making the show a complete success.

However, at this time, the main force of the Zerg fleet led by Shirley had already swaggered through the Gravity Well and entered the Thousand Sails Sector.

This densely populated star sector has both shipping lanes and room for her to maneuver and maneuver.

Yu Lian immediately connected with Eleanor Bonaparte and Horatio Wayne: "Deploy fighters and destroyers for the final sweep operation. Except for those marked with green tags, leave no Imperial fighters, military facilities, or surveillance equipment still active in this system. Ignore those that have already fled out of this system. You only have six hours."

Wayne nodded slightly and said without hesitation, "That's enough."

"After the sweep is complete, immediately rejoin the main ship. We will take Gravity Well No. 4 and then the Starsail Trail to enter the Mist Wing Star Gorge. Yes, everyone, we will have to take a detour again."

The senior student chuckled, "We have ample resources to detour. However, Commander, would you like the General Staff to begin developing an attack plan for Xiamen Fortress ahead of schedule?"

“Xiamen Fortress has structural weaknesses. What we want is not to capture it, but to attack and break through it. I will send you all a detailed explanation.” Yu Lian shifted to a more comfortable sitting position: “You can handle this. I have many things to do, and I need to focus my energy on attacking Chenxiao Fortress.”

Those watching from behind the screen exchanged bewildered glances. After a long while, they finally realized, belatedly, that the Commander was not joking.

"He also needs to focus his energy on figuring out how to kill the emperor," Fei Fei added.

"This is a realm beyond the reach of us mere mortals. Aside from cheering you on, there's nothing else we can do," the senior student sighed, seemingly somewhat resentful.

“But your encouragement is also a source of our strength and courage. This is not just comfort, it’s a fact,” Fifi said.

The report stated, "The Imperial fleet in the direction of Mumen has made new moves."

"It's a bit late to start now," Yu Lian laughed. "While they do need the Privy Council's orders, it also makes Brother Sobek seem rather unenthusiastic!"

"It's about General Jaeger Sobek. The intelligence department just gathered information that the Inquisition appears to be conducting loyalty checks on the Imperial Army's high command. And our detectors at Twilight Gate also sent back images from an hour ago, showing commotion in the Imperial fleet there. The Hare even confronted the Libra."

Yu Lian couldn't help but grin, but he managed to pull it back at the last moment before he could actually laugh.

He suppressed his smile, revealing a puzzled expression, and shook his head vigorously, baring his teeth: "A rebellion? With just a mere Jaeger Sobek? I find it hard to believe."