The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

Chapter 2664 The Mysterious Swarm

2664. The Mysterious Swarm of Insects
Severance-Tan frowned. These Kilik insectoids were actually using a feint attack? And they clearly sensed Abathur's presence, while also feeling that he posed a greater threat.

Such flexible tactics made it seem as if she was not facing an insect that had degenerated into a primitive species, but a high-ranking general who had been trained and educated in a proper military academy!
"Have the high-speed assault formation first cover a Marine landing!" Severance Tann said, turning around.

"Roger!"

Transport ships immediately began to emerge from behind the Dawn Kingdom fleet formation, carrying tens of thousands of marines and flying at high speed toward the Nogu satellite.

This infected Kilik swarm fleet wasn't particularly strong; the most threatening units were only the two Imperial-class Star Destroyers. The Dawn Kingdom's light cruiser squadron immediately pounced!
The Dawn Kingdom's fleet is currently equipped with the Undertaker-class, Osprey-class, and Tyrant-class light cruisers, along with a small number of Steadfast-class cruisers. These are all second-generation light cruisers, and their overall performance surpasses that of the Galactic Empire's current mainstay light cruiser, the Arquitenth-class. Against these infected civilian ships, it's a one-sided massacre!

However, the infected civilian ships also slowed down the Dawn Kingdom's light cruiser fleet. After the remaining ships abandoned the Kilik swarms they were carrying, they regrouped and turned to attack.

Formation?

This fleet, infected by the Kilik swarm, surprisingly reorganized into an attack formation and turned to engage the Dawn Kingdom's light cruiser fleet.

Not only that, they also launched fighter jets!

This situation is very strange.

In the direction of the rear satellite, Eiris-Tan had reorganized 20 capital ships and begun to attack the Kilik swarm formation.

However, at this moment, something strange happened!

All that could be seen were the fighter jets taking off from the Kilik swarm, mixed among tens of thousands of flying insects, and directly charging into the Dawn Kingdom's light cruiser fleet.

Not long after the battle began, only one Steadfast-class cruiser was seen to be under attack! The cruiser's rear engine was hit by a proton torpedo and exploded instantly. A pale blue proton cloud collapsed in the engine section, triggering a powerful annihilation reaction. As the proton cloud disappeared, the matter that had begun to collapse instantly began to expand again, generating a huge energy burst in the process!
Almost instantly, the Steadfast-class cruiser began to wobble and tilt, trailing a long plume of black smoke.

Not long after, another Steadfast-class cruiser was also attacked, and its engine was hit within minutes, rendering it combat ineffective.

Severance Tann was alarmed. "Provide a battlefield analysis report immediately! What happened?! The enemy is likely targeting the Steadfast-class cruisers! Adjust formation immediately and launch 3D bombs!"

The light cruiser squadron began to adjust its formation, and at the same time, energy pulses exploded around these warships, instantly killing most of the approaching Kilik flying insect swarm.

But these insects continued their relentless, frenzied attack. Taking advantage of the lulls in the explosions of the 3D bombs, they charged forward like madmen, spewing large amounts of acid, plasma spheres, and other attacks at the Dawn Kingdom's warships.

What's frustrating is that many of these bugs' attack methods don't trigger the deflection shield. Although they can only cause minimal damage, their sheer numbers are quite annoying.

Fortunately, the warships of the Dawn Kingdom generally had thick armor, so they remained relatively unscathed in the face of such an attack.

But... those fighter jets are different!

Proton torpedoes launched by fighter jets from the vulnerable rear of a warship are always the most deadly threat to a warship!
With the third Steadfast-class cruiser destroyed, Severance Tann finally received the results from the combat analysis report.

fighter!
To be precise, it was three TIE advanced X-1 fighter jets.

This is currently the most advanced and common model among the Galactic Empire's mass-produced fighter jets, and its combat performance is relatively guaranteed. However, the problem is that these three fighter jets are different!
They blended seamlessly into the swarm of flying insects, moving at incredible speed and impervious to anti-aircraft fire! They effortlessly outmaneuvered the Dawn Kingdom's fighters, dodged anti-aircraft barrages, and then precisely fired proton torpedoes into the warship's engine bay!
Seeing this familiar scene, Severance Tann's expression changed. "Jedi Knights? This swarm not only has Galactic Empire warships, but also Jedi Knights? What on earth happened here?"

At this point, the fourth Steadfast-class cruiser was also sunk. Clearly, the three Jedi Knights were targeting the most valuable warships in the light cruiser squadron. The 575-meter-long Steadfast-class heavy cruiser was their ideal target.

Moreover, since the Steadfast-class cruisers are equipped with a single axial gun, they are long-range fire support ships. Therefore, their own anti-aircraft firepower is completely ineffective against Jedi attacks!
The three fighter jets had obviously run out of proton torpedoes and immediately turned around to flee to the other side of the battlefield, catching up with Severance Tann.

Meanwhile, on the Nogu satellite, the ground battle reached its most intense stage.

The infected fleet dropped tens of thousands of Kilik swarms. Most of these insects resembled a hybrid of mantises and ants, and their four arms were remarkably agile. Clearly, these were the Kilik swarm's main combat units.

Moreover, most of these insects are armed! They are mostly equipped with E-11 blast rifles, which are currently widely used by the Galactic Empire to its stormtroopers, and are obviously captured from the Imperial fleet.

Of course, many insects don't have weapons, but they can still spray acid or fight with their claws.

Abathur's situation is now precarious. The Torggart swarm he created is far less evolved than this Kilik swarm. Once the Torggart swarm rushes in, it will be torn to pieces in no time.

Moreover, all the kilik swarms of insects have shells of unknown material. These shells provide extremely strong protection against shots from blast rifles, and only the C-10 Gauss rifle can inflict effective damage.

The problem is that Abathur is currently establishing his own nest on the Nogu satellite, while also clearing out the Kilik swarms hiding underground. Therefore, he only has a large number of combat robots and Torgate swarms with him. The Scorpion Annihilator robot he previously owned had also been dragged back for cleaning and maintenance because it got stuck in quicksand and sand got into its transmission.

Furthermore, many of the combat robots were deep in the underground tunnels and were not with Abathur.

So when tens of thousands of ferocious and terrifying Kilik swarms descended from the sky, Abathur only had a few thousand guards around him!
With no other option, Abathur could only run towards the underground pit, while trying to buy time for the combat robots and the Torgart swarm to wait for rescue.

Thousands of B-1 combat robots raised their E-5 blast rifles and unleashed a furious barrage of fire at the vast, ocean-like swarm of Kilik worms. In front of them, the significantly smaller Torgart worm units wielded their clawed scythes to hold off the swarm's attack, while the acid-spitting units followed behind, unleashing a devastating barrage of fire alongside the combat robots.

However, lacking heavy firepower, they were quickly overwhelmed by the Kilik swarm, and the Torgate swarm blocking their way was instantly torn to shreds! The B-1 combat robot's rudimentary structure was also dismantled by the Kilik swarm in a single encounter. In this critical moment, dozens of transport ships swooped down from the sky, opened their hatches, and began airdropping supplies.

Dozens of Scorpion tanks descended from the airdrop platform with parachutes. As they approached the ground, the platform's retro-rockets were activated to slow them down and allow the tanks to land safely.

Immediately after landing, the Scorpion Tank's 90mm rapid-fire electrothermal cannon opened fire, creating fireballs amidst the Kilik swarm.

A large number of armored vehicles were airdropped, and siege tanks also joined the battle. After landing, these tanks deployed their supports on the spot and launched a devastating bombardment towards the Kilik swarm.

Dawn Kingdom Marines, clad in CMC-300 power armor, disembarked from the transport ship. They quickly formed combat squads of 12 men and began entering the battlefield.

Boom! Boom! Boom!! The siege tanks roared, blasting countless swarms of insects to smithereens. Even the armor that could withstand the fire of blaster rifles met the same fate under the bombardment of the siege tanks – being reduced to fragments.

After reinforcements arrived, the ground battle finally gained a complete advantage, and it was only a matter of time before the swarms of insects were wiped out.

The battle in outer space had also come to an end. When Severance Tann's capital fleet arrived on the battlefield, the ragtag infected fleet, consisting of two Imperial-class star destroyers and hundreds of various small and medium-sized warships, was quickly and completely wiped out.

However, Severance Tann was not happy.

The Kilik swarm here is so bizarre!
Among them were even Jedi Knights! What does this mean? It means these Jedi Knights have definitely been assimilated and become participants. It also means that even Jedi Knights cannot resist the assimilation of the Zerg swarm!
So, how many Jedi Knights did they assimilate? And how many Imperial warships did they capture? Furthermore, after assimilating the Jedi Knights, what terrible mutations might occur when the Kilik swarm comes into contact with the Force?

For example... a psionic swarm!
Severance Tann waved her hand and ordered the tactical robot, "Continue the attack and completely wipe out these satellites on Jorib Planet! Also, report the situation here to Dawn Planet and request as many high-yield bunker-buster nuclear bombs as possible from the rear! And I need Valkyrie-class missile frigates!"

"Roger!"

At that moment, the communications officer on the other side suddenly shouted, "General! Urgent report! An infected fleet has appeared on the border of the Qis territory! Planet Ginnar is under threat!!"

"Are they stalling for time here? What is their real purpose, or is it to threaten the homeland of Qis?" Severance-Tann's expression was solemn; she had now completely abandoned any sense of contempt.

The enemy has Jedi Knights. Whether or not they have fallen to the dark side, these people who have experienced the Clone Wars, coupled with the foresight of the Force, are absolutely the most terrifying opponents on the battlefield!

The Kilik swarm, whose fleet is insignificant in direct combat, could have dire consequences if they continued to harass the homeland of the Chiss Territory and expanded their scale as much as possible!

The rise of the Kilik swarm this time may be hiding even more conspiracies!

The communicator rang again, and Severance Tann picked up her encrypted communicator and pressed the button.

A kind-faced, holy, and noble beautiful woman appeared in the holographic projection.

It was none other than Anita, the Pope of the Holy Advent Church!

“Holy Advent Church, what brings you to me?” Severance Tann asked.

“I heard that the Kilik swarm is harassing the border, so I came to inquire, hoping to contribute to repelling the invaders,” Anita said.

"Contribution? How many fleets do you have?" Severance Tann retorted coldly, she didn't particularly like these charlatans.

"Our Church of Holy Advent's mission is to enlighten people, guide the lost to the path of unity, and explore the origin of the universe." Anita glanced at Tann with her narrow eyes, then changed the subject, saying, "In order to protect those believers who are in danger, we have built a few warships."

"how many?"

“200 frigates, 100 light cruisers, and 10 heavy cruisers,” Anita answered directly.

Severance Tann paused, then blurted out, "Your sect teaches people through physical means, doesn't it?"

Anita smiled compassionately, her brows radiating a holy light. She bowed slightly and said, "Our psionic link can pinpoint the direction of the Kilik swarm's movements. I hope the general can make good use of this power and eliminate those bloodthirsty swarms as soon as possible."

Severance Tann nodded and said, “We can’t drag this out any longer. The battle just now has shown that there are at least three Jedi Knights in the Kilik swarm. This is a huge threat to us.”

Anita smiled and said, "Cardinal Adela has already led the fleet and will arrive on Hisla tomorrow."

……

While war rages in the North and the Kingdom of Chiss faces invasion, the Galactic Empire is also engulfed in internal strife.

Faced with the uprising that broke out on the southern planet Uzio, the Galactic Empire responded with its most resolute action. Darth Vader led the Death Fleet from the defenses of Dron, a massive force of 200 capital ships, and swiftly arrived on Uzio within three days.

After quickly gaining control of the space surrounding the planet, Darth Vader personally led his most elite forces—the Fist of Vader, the 501st Legion—into the battlefield!

The soldiers of the 501st Legion, clad in blue-painted armor, were all battle-hardened veterans, each one a top-tier and elite warrior. Once they entered the battlefield, the rebel army was swiftly routed!