Him and their stars.

Chapter 2096 Whose Territory Is This?

The pilgrimage's charge sent a violent tremor through all the cabins and passageways around the port, as if it were an earthquake.

Fortunately, the well-trained assault team members were prepared and continued to operate even during the earthquake, quickly arriving near the port area from all directions.

In the twenty minutes since the Pilgrimage entered the fortress, they have amassed over 20,000 assault troops and an equal number of combat robots outside the port, gathering at the collapsed gate of the fortress, ready to attack.

However, embarrassingly, the dragon boat's specially enhanced prow, which had undergone alchemical reinforcement, had become like a fierce battering ram, destroying most of the vast harbor and even smashing down the gate.

As a result, the entrance to this passage, which could easily accommodate more than twenty large tanks and transport ships passing side by side, had long been completely blocked by collapsed metal structures.

General Yelik quickly received reports from the front and could only send engineering vehicles. Of course, the troops also had to hurry and attack from other routes.

"As far as I know, there are eight passageways between us and Dock No. 2," Admiral Yelik said. "You can launch an attack from any of them."

"There are actually twenty main roads and side roads. If you include all the ventilation and maintenance ducts, there are at least a hundred," the frontline commander reported, but couldn't hide the bitterness in his eyes. "We are searching for a way to attack."

"Act simultaneously, strike from multiple points," General Yelik said. "We have an overwhelming numerical advantage!"

"Understood, spread out in multiple locations." The frontline commander stood at attention and said, "Actually, I have already divided the grenadiers who have arrived at the scene into fifty squads, and now ten squads have been dispatched at once."

It sounds like adding fuel to the fire, but since we've already started taking action, it must be a good thing.

Just as General Yelik was about to offer a few words of praise, his subordinate said, "However, preliminary investigations indicate that a large number of passageways have been destroyed."

"Destroyed? By Earthlings? How is that possible?"

"This is something I truly find hard to understand, but there is no other explanation. Such efficiency could only be achieved by psionicists or robots."

"A psionicist came specifically to cut the tubes?"

"So, that's a robot? Didn't I hear that Earthlings have a new type of nanorobot?" The frontline commander on the screen cautiously responded.

"With such intelligence... tsk, using robots as the main force! How cowardly, how blasphemous!"

"Yes! It's a complete desecration of a warrior's glory!"

That being said, both of them knew that if they had such advanced combat robots, they would use them to the fullest extent of the law, as long as they could ensure safety and not violate the "Fully Automated Combat Prohibition".

The two of them sighed simultaneously across the screen.

At this moment, the frontline commander suddenly heard something through his earpiece. He pressed the device on his ear with a look of astonishment, and his face immediately turned ashen: "Just now, we received news from the front that the 189th Company of the 15th Grenadier Division was ambushed while trying to secretly infiltrate through the fertilizer transport channel of the botanical garden on the 8th floor of the fortress."

“Ambush…” General Yelik repeated the word that was making him feel quite out of place. For a moment, he couldn’t even recognize the two characters.

"Yes, an ambush. Thirty men have already died."

This is our fortress, right? It should be our fortress, shouldn't it?

General Yelik, his face dark, looked at the combat footage from the front lines that his commander had sent him.

The low, winding metal pipes, filled with an unidentified substance, could only accommodate two people walking side by side. Visibility inside was extremely low; the only light source was the tactical spotlight on the helmet, flickering in the stench of decaying plants and chemicals—it looked more like an anglerfish's headlamp than anything else.

General Yelik was not a psionicist, so of course he couldn't smell the atmosphere on the scene through the screen, but it's not uncommon for him to make such assumptions.

The environment was just like a scene from a horror movie; it would be a waste of the atmosphere if we didn't get ambushed.

The general had barely entertained this absurd thought when he saw the vanguard at the front freeze without warning. His body was instantly pierced by several suddenly bright, scorching rays, and his body, clad in a composite protective suit, floated several meters away like a kite with a broken string before collapsing with a thud.

A dense hail of bullets, like a scorching downpour, poured out from several maintenance openings in front of and to the sides of the pipe, leaving the narrow space with nowhere to hide.

In order to infiltrate secretly, the Imperial soldiers did not wear mechs, but only protective suits made of composite materials, which were completely flimsy at such close range.

The screams of those hit and the whirring of the electromagnetic rifles were deafening in the confined space.

The marching column immediately descended into chaos. Some tried to find cover, only to discover smooth, sticky pipe walls all around; others tried to retreat, but were blocked by their unsuspecting teammates. Of course, there were also some fierce warriors who charged forward with shouts, only to disappear without a trace, their breaths fading away silently.

A young soldier, his abdomen burned through by radiation, slid to the ground against the stench-filled pipe wall, revealing a grim smile to the still-working recorder camera.

As a well-trained grenadier, he probably wanted to shout some inspiring and courageous slogans. However, the instinct for survival and the humiliation of dying ultimately overwhelmed his last bit of pride like an avalanche.

The soldier, facing the flashing red camera, let out his final wail: "I'm going to die in the cesspool! The Imperial Dragon Banner is soaking in the cesspool! I hate it so much~~~~ Waaah! Hiccup!"

The final shot, of course, is of him rolling his eyes and dying.

General Yelik stood there for a full half minute before saying, "If possible, let's take the proper route."

"My subordinate understands."

"At the very least, we must follow the right path that allows our soldiers to don their armor."

"I have already made the arrangements. In short, Your Excellency, the enemy seems to be very familiar with the structure of our fortress, even more so than we are. Your Excellency, this place is filled with an eerie atmosphere; there must be something fishy going on!"

General Yelik was also full of doubt, and even subconsciously looked in the direction of the Supreme Commander King Werent, only then remembering that the Elector had received a psionic warning from the fortress five minutes earlier and had left with the old Knight Commander.

So, where did this warning come from? Weren't the enemies all on that ship that just forced their way onto the shore?
The experienced fortress commander suppressed his unease, his face stern and unyielding, and coldly declared, "No matter what, there are a million people in this fortress! I will not allow any enemy to enter! I also need to hear more positive news within two hours!"

As the fortress's defensive commander, it is his duty to remain fearless in the face of danger, and equally duty to instill in his men a fearlessness in the face of death. He must ensure that every soldier experiences the fear instilled by their superior; this is what fuels their fighting spirit and sense of honor!

Sure enough, the frontline commander, steeling himself, saluted and declared in a solemn voice, "We are launching a general offensive immediately! Not a single step back! Advance, no retreat!"

His voice was loud, but it didn't seem very confident.

At the end of the main passage on the fifth level of the fortress, on the main road leading to Dock No. 2, five engineering vehicles were working tirelessly in front of the piled-up ruins. The enormous impacts and terrifying noises of tearing metal, even through the sound filters of the deck and mechs, sent shivers down the spines of every Imperial soldier.

Inside the tunnel, alarms blared, red lights spun wildly, and broken pipes spewed out coolant and unidentified gas, the sound like the groans of a dying beast.

The automated machinery lying in the ruins was clearly broken, but suddenly it trembled and emitted a few electronic sounds, spitting out a string of electric sparks, as if it had come back to life.

The Imperial stormtroopers felt as if they were in hell. Yet, this was their home ground, and they clearly had an overwhelming numerical advantage.

The morale of the team was truly indescribable.

Or rather, when Ghost led the Earth fleet into the battlefield at the very beginning, the morale of everyone in Chenxiao Fortress and the fleet was simply not high.

"At the current pace, it will take at least another half hour to open a passage. That's assuming the Earthlings at the opposite dock don't attack," the frontline officers concluded.

"What about the passageways to the 6th and 7th floors?" the frontline commander asked.

"Half of the six-story passageway has also collapsed. The enemy has already built fortifications in the narrow passageway."

"Fortifications?"

A major, still bandaged from the front lines, quickly reported: "The gap in the passageway on the 6th floor can only accommodate five or six people side by side. The enemy has built a parapet there and laid spider mines beforehand. Our first attack failed, and 21 people were killed." "Oh, that's alright," the commander said subconsciously. The scale of the battle in the passageway on the 6th floor should have been much larger than in the fertilizer passageway, yet the number of casualties was less; this must be due to the presence of armored personnel.

Indeed, one should always walk the right path.

He then realized he had misspoke.
"But where would they find the time to build the fortifications?"

The frontline commander, of course, received no response. The officers present also expressed their confusion; they didn't even know how many enemies were in the dock.

"We should be prepared for the worst. If we make use of the Dragon's Nest, the Dragon Ship can hold two or three divisions of marines and all their heavy equipment."

"Even so, we still have an absolute advantage in troop strength."

"So, how come the fortifications were built so quickly?"

Still, no one answered. Everyone, like the commander, felt that the place was filled with demonic energy.

However, since ordinary people cannot break through, they must seek help from superhumans; this has become the Galactic Empire's habitual way of thinking.

"Where are the knights?"

"They said it was His Highness and the Knight Elder who summoned them. They must prioritize their mission over there."

"The mission over there... I have a very bad feeling about it." The commander sighed. "What about the 7th floor? The 7th floor has an internal cargo light rail corridor."

"The passage is still there, but the gates are tightly shut! We are also attacking the city."

"A siege is great! Whether it's attacking the city or breaching the gates, it's always easier than clearing away a pile of construction debris!"

Looking at the mountains of metal components at the end of the passage, and at their own troops hesitant to advance, everyone agreed that this statement made sense. By this point, they had essentially given up on attacking through this main passage.

But then they encountered other bad news.

At the end of the light track passage on the 7th floor, a disintegration field enveloped a giant drill bit, which kept ramming against the armored door covered by a protective shield in front of it, even producing a series of teeth-grinding friction and squeezing sounds.

However, to the relief of the imperial soldiers, after such operations, they were finally able to create a noticeable dent and crack in the door that looked like it could be used as armor plating for a warship.

Everyone could see the dawn of victory! The four tanks in the front row had even raised their cannons, just waiting for the gate to open a little wider so they could unleash a righteous volley.

An even more terrifying and chilling aura erupted from the middle of the ship.

"boom!"

The six-layer armor plate was blasted open from the inside by a pure force, and a figure wreathed in golden and crimson flames roared out like a world-destroying beast breaking free of its cage!

That was a Flamewing Dragon that had gone into a berserk state!
This colossal creature, exceeding sixty meters in length, was enveloped in a pulsating aura of psionic energy, resembling armor formed from burning flames. Sharp, ferocious light emanated from its golden dragon eyes, as if coalescing into molten rays capable of tearing everything apart.

"Roar!" The dragon roared, its voice filled with bloodlust and a strange sense of satisfaction.

Indeed, for such a behemoth capable of traversing space, making sounds in the universe is meaningless, but the oxygen-rich environment gives it a rare sense of satisfaction. It relishes the sight of its enemies fleeing in terror at its roars.

Its body shape was clearly more suited to flight, but its pace was extremely fast as it crawled through the passage, displaying a feline agility and menacing presence.

The true heat rays spewed from the dragon's throat, forming an entire fan-shaped field of absolute combustion.

This is not a flame, but an energy flow that can continue to exist even in a vacuum, with temperatures easily reaching over 10,000 degrees Celsius.

The grenadiers clad in mechs, the support robots with their guns and cannons, and even the tanks and mobile artillery emplacements in the rear were all completely melted in the instantaneous spread of the high-temperature fan.

In just a moment, two fully equipped grenadier companies were wiped out.

Even more terrifying is that it was not alone; four or five equally enormous shadows followed closely behind it.

The morale of the Imperial army collapsed. Faced with such an opponent, without heavy weapons or psionicists, it was difficult for ordinary soldiers to remain calm in the face of such creatures.

"Dragon, dragon?"

"Aren't they the empire's guardian beasts? Why are they harming us?"

"Stop them! Stop them now!"

"Quickly, quickly, retreat immediately! Get out and assemble at F6-2 Plaza."

"Yes, there are heavy artillery pieces on standby there!"

Are we just going to leave this passageway alone?

Two different orders were circulating on the scene, but the Imperial soldiers had already made their choice with their own two legs, turning around and running towards the plaza at the exit of the passage.

Plaza 2, located on the sixth floor of the fortress, is one of the fortress's internal transportation hubs, large enough to accommodate a town. In addition to the domed structure on the ceiling, there are internal flying vehicles and rail elevators that can quickly reach any floor of the fortress.

In short, a large number of reinforcements are gathering here, along with various heavy weapons.

While Star Dragons are powerful cosmic beings, they are not invincible. Leaving aside their mobility and mysterious, almost spiritual abilities, their health is at best somewhere between that of a destroyer and a light cruiser.

This is inside the fortress, so there shouldn't be any mobility here.

The commanders made a rational judgment.

Meanwhile, the Imperial stormtroopers waiting in the square had recovered from their shock. Despite their cold hands and feet and their hearts pounding, their rigorous training and the glory of the Empire compelled them to form a battle line and skillfully deploy their firepower.

Twelve ion cannons, enough to attack warships, were already aimed at the entrance to the passage.

The panicked allied troops fled from there like a flock of sheep in disarray. The shadow of the behemoth revealed its ferocious and majestic outline after the billowing smoke.

The Imperial soldiers waited, trembling, for the order to fire. If necessary, they would even bury the behemoths and their fleeing soldiers together.

In this era, the tactic of supervising troops has been successfully used. This is a characteristic of the military technology of this generation of civilization, and any normal person will surely learn to understand and accept it.

At this point, they could even see the figure riding on the neck of the lead Flame Wyvern.

That must be the dragon, right? Can our weapons even hurt it?

At this moment, the elite Imperial grenadiers overcame their biological fear, which felt like facing their natural enemy head-on. Their defensive line remained intact, and their giant cannons were gathering power to unleash their energy.

It wasn't until they could clearly see the figure riding on the dragon.

"Your Highness, Your Highness?"

"Your Highness King Slein?"

(End of this chapter)