Him and their stars.

Chapter 2120 Rescuing the Independent Ship

When this "comrade" stood there expressionless, he was a completely artificial being with the uncanny valley effect. But once he spoke, his cold, insect-like eyes suddenly gained a touch of liveliness. Even when he spoke in a monotone, emotionless voice, the whole "person" suddenly seemed much more alive.

"What kind of divine beast is this?" Hachiman gasped, taking a small step back. His gaze behind his glasses shifted from sharp to scrutinizing, then to curiosity.

His thoughts raced through several realms in an instant, from the empire's expressionless psychic master and mystical heroic spirit creations to Commander Yu's nanobots and even some strange illusory creatures, before finally landing on a piece of information hidden deep within his cerebral cortex.

Is this what is known as a swarm of insects?
Hachiman looked at the other's compound eyes, then at the keratinous "hair," or rather, the tentacles, before nodding slightly with some skepticism: "A swarm?"

"The swarm." Yang Xiyi's voice remained calm, and he even raised his hand to signal Hachiman to relax.

"So this is the 'comrade-in-arms' you just mentioned, the one for whom we need to create opportunities?" Akinayama Hachiman looked at his superior again, his expression slightly stiff.

This reaction is actually understandable. Although he had known about the existence of these strange creatures for a long time, and even roughly knew that they were cooperating with his side, he never thought that one day he would have the opportunity to deal with them.

He adjusted his glasses and sighed, "I see. I understand now."

"What have you come to understand now?" Yang Xiyi couldn't help but ask. He always felt that his student's sigh contained three parts sorrow, three parts helplessness, three parts resignation, and seven or eight parts accusation against fate and talent. Of course, all of these emotions were still carefully hidden.

"I just think that the reason I haven't become a psionicist is indeed because I lack imagination!"

Akina Hachiman, whose dreams have been shattered once again, hides his sorrowful gaze behind his glasses, watching the inhuman being on the screen with great interest: "I'm ready to revolutionize my imagination."

The Swarm Lord tilted its head slightly, its compound eyes focusing on Hachiman, and once again uttered a flat, emotionless voice: "Pheromone identification: Akina Mountain Hachiman. Lieutenant Colonel of the Blue Star Community Defense Force Space Fleet, Chief of Operations Staff of Yang Xiyi's Fleet. Assessment: High-value intelligence node. Individual strength: No threat."

"Do you guys like to give assessments in front of the parties involved?" Akinayama Hachiman asked curiously.

"This is a way to prove we mean no harm," the swarm lord numbered 1234 continued in a monotone voice. "No need to fear, this is a single lord's anthropomorphic communication port. It is harmless to humans and animals as well."

"Harmless to humans and animals?" Yang Xiyi and Hachiman's gazes simultaneously fell on the insect-like limbs that protruded from behind her, resembling a giant guillotine, and they thought, "I believe it."

"In addition, to ensure smooth communication, our communication interface uses an image that best suits human aesthetics." The lord seemed to step back slightly, moving himself a little further away from the screen, and gave Yang Xiyi a military salute.

It certainly conforms to human aesthetics, but because it's too perfect, it appears too stiff, rigid, and lacking any liveliness. Of course, this only applies when she's not speaking.

Now, although she uses a monotone, emotionless pronunciation, her meticulous manner makes her seem reliable, and she doesn't seem fake at all.

“Our units are already on standby in the asteroid belt at G82 of the Rutian Passage, and have witnessed the main force of the Imperial fleet pass right in front of us. Once they are a little further away, we will be able to move towards you immediately,” she explained in detail.

The Lumina Channel is actually a branch channel between the Lumina and New Tennessee systems. Before Lumina was developed thanks to someone, it didn't even have a formal name. Of course, with the outbreak of war, this channel quickly returned to its deserted state as it had been five years ago.

However, the end of this route does intersect with the main Luna route used by the Empire for troop deployment, forming an interstellar crossroads, which is quite suitable for close reconnaissance.

"How stupid of me. Why didn't I think of setting up a deep space exploration station on G82?" Lieutenant Colonel Hachiman Akinayama, the chief of operations staff, began to reflect.

“Even if you set up something, it will be discovered. Don’t underestimate the importance the Empire attaches to its rear surveillance, and don’t underestimate their reconnaissance capabilities,” Yang Xiyi said.

"Reconnaissance units are adept at stealth. We are living organisms, and we don't even have heat," Lord1234 explained with a stick-like pronunciation, describing an extremely unscientific concept.

“It sounds like a zombie,” Hachiman said.

"Zombies can evade almost all technological detectors, so they should also be able to evade the spiritual senses of psionicists," Yang Xiyi said. "Is that right?"

Hachiman nodded with a sorrowful expression. His theoretical foundation in psychic abilities had never been lacking.

"Our unit is a Tier 3 mothership, whose internal chambers have been adjusted to be perfectly suited for the survival of most carbon-based upright organisms, including humans. The bio-batteries have also been tested and can power mechs and general individual weapons."

Akinayama Hachiman had seen the Zerg mothership in his own intelligence database a long time ago. It was hard to imagine that such a giant, pupa-like monster could have such a function, but what surprised him even more was the other party's purpose.

It sounded more like they were there to recruit people than to provide reinforcements. "Our elite troops are on standby here and ready to depart at any time," Yang Xiyi said.

The excellent operations chief, Lieutenant Colonel Hachiman Akina, quickly reviewed his mental list of the friendly marines waiting in Jiayuguan. The 1st Tiger Division, the Lumina Guard, the New Shenzhou Guard—all these heroic units that had made great contributions in the Battle of Said had been withdrawn intact and were now being deployed here.

That invincible, ruthless young lady, whose Taoist name is "Tai'a," is also here.

Was this also part of your and Commander Yu's plan? Akinayama Hachiman pushed up his glasses, his expression somewhat resentful as he looked at the commander: "I had no idea our cooperation had progressed this far."

As a member of the 830th Tiger Talisman Group, Akina Mountain Hachiman was already left behind by his teammates and unable to participate in the legendary expedition. But here, as an operations staff officer in the New Shenzhou Fleet, he was also excluded from the decision-making process by his superiors.

He felt his pride was hurt.

Yang Xiyi immediately comforted him, saying, "Time is tight, the task is heavy, and the situation is urgent. There is no time to hold a staff meeting. I haven't even informed Mr. Qi. Besides, this is the Commander-in-Chief's order."

Since it was Yu Lian's order, Hachiman couldn't say anything more, nor could he continue to complain. He even selectively ignored the sarcastic tone in Yang Xiyi's words.

Lord 1234 added, “According to the covenant between the Overlord and the Venerable One, we should participate in this battle and make a positive contribution to the great cause of resisting the tyranny of the Empire. Of course, due to the limited size of our clan’s existing units and communities, we cannot rashly participate in direct combat outside the Empire’s homeland; we can only undertake transportation work. This is also an agreement reached between the Overlord and the Venerable One.”

So, your main force is directly engaged in combat on the Empire's homeland? That's truly fascinating!
These titles, "Sovereign" and "Supreme," are really... really, wow, so satisfying!

Just as Hachiman was about to say something nice, he heard Yang Xiyi beside him say in a pained tone, "This is truly anti-civilization."

His tone was as if he had seen the ruins of the Palace of Wisdom in a museum, burned to the ground by barbarians, or as if he had witnessed a brilliant culture being swallowed up by the smell of blood and smoke.

Fortunately, the Swarm Lord didn't seem offended at all. She even seemed not to have heard her at all and continued, "As previously agreed, once you force the Imperial fleet to retreat, our hive ships will arrive in the Jiayuguan system to transport reinforcements."

Where are the reinforcements going to be sent?

“New Shuntian, New Tennessee, Seville, Lumina, and even the rest of the planets in the community that are still resisting.” Yang Xiyi looked at Hachiman: “They need trained veterans to serve as instructors and the core of the team. From now on, New Shenzhou will be the headquarters of all resistance movements. Our warships and transport ships will have difficulty penetrating the Empire’s detection network, but they can.”

“There are certain risks, but cosmic stealth is indeed one of our strengths,” Lord 1234 said. “This is a joint decision by the Overlord and the Venerable One, so we will carry it out.”

Her expression was like that of a meticulous robot who only knew how to execute all policies to the end.

Indeed, with the establishment of the Empire's monitoring network across various sea lanes, the increase in patrol fleets, and even the Alliance's support for the occupied territories decreasing, not to mention the new Shenzhou, which was blocked behind the mountain and sea sea lanes.

However, if there is a swarm of insects, at least there is a backup option.

Hachiman still raised a question: "But you just said that the policies implemented by the Empire in the community are slowly weakening the will to resist of the people in the occupied areas."

In fact, after Marshal Parris's sacrifice, although the resistance forces in various regions remained in hiding, the frequency of their direct combat with the Imperial occupying forces did decrease. As security was being restored in various regions, some "extreme" policies were continued.

To be fair, the more abnormal the social environment, the less resistance some "extreme" reform policies will encounter.

Yang Xiyi shook his head slightly, his expression showing some helplessness and distress: "So these are nothing more than idle moves. King Suliuka has already left Earth, and her policies may be changed by those who come after her, or the Empire may revert to its old ways, but it is all about hoping that one's opponent will make a fool of themselves, which is rather passive. Before the situation becomes clear, I even hope that all resistance organizations will lie low as much as possible, prioritizing the preservation of their own strength."

"This is very politically incorrect," Hachiman pointed out incisively.

Yang Xiyi took off his military cap with some distress and scratched his head: "Indeed, most of the resistance forces disagree with me. They think that I am only the commander of the New World Theater, and the commander of the Far Coast Theater is only acting, so I am not qualified to give them orders. I must admit that they are also legally reasonable. Fortunately, the Far Coast side and the Earth side have at least given a positive response and promised that I will try my best to go infiltrate."

This is a good thing! Hachiman thought. Of course, the resistance forces on the distant shore are all the commander-in-chief's cronies, and on Earth, they are directly led by the masters of the Spirit Research Association, but that's not the point.

However, if these are just casual moves, then what are the real, actual moves?

Lord1234 explained, "Our main objective is to send a group of elite troops to Femo to assist your forces in carrying out the next phase of operations."

This was certainly an operation that Hachiman Akina hadn't anticipated. However, after a few seconds of shock, he quickly fell into thought. Being an exceptionally intelligent individual, his brain rapidly activated. He soon realized that if his side had any troops in Femo, it could only be the Independence.