From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 433: Fortress Breakout

"Report! The flagship of the Enterprise Combined Fleet, the Hood, has been sunk!"

"So fast?!"

The news reported by the tactical information coordinator really surprised Major General Mueller. He had originally thought that the fleets of these military-industrial complexes could hold out for a while longer, giving their two fleets a better chance to break in.

As a result, not long after that, the fleet's flagship was destroyed by Atlas.
"The Corporate Combined Fleet is really going to collapse now. Once this news spreads, I don't think they will be able to continue the fight with their limited organization."

The voice of Barak, commander of the 23rd Fleet, rang in Muller's ears, and the latter nodded in agreement after hearing it.

"We definitely can't fight any further, which means we don't have much time left, so we have to hurry up and break in."

"Is the commando team ready?"

"Yes, the doctor has also boarded the assault boat. When we reach the predetermined distance, the HCP squadron on board will be dispatched together with the assault boat squadron. At the same time, we will each send out a group of commandos to break into the fortress simultaneously, so that Atlas cannot quickly locate the doctor and his men."

"Understood, then let's act according to the plan."

While Mueller and Barak confirmed that they would continue to carry out the breakthrough mission according to the combat plan, Amber also discovered something unusual.

To be precise, it was Guterres who first discovered that the two newly-appeared federal fleets did not go to support the fleet of the military-industrial complex, but rushed directly towards the asteroid fortress where he was. So he immediately informed Amber who was in the battle of this situation.

Amber, who had received the news, was now supporting Murat and others who had killed the Deep Space Mining flagship, and was shuttling and attacking among these disjointed corporate fleets. The record in a single battle had reached an unprecedented level of 1 heavy cruiser, 3 light cruisers, 6 destroyers, and 28 carrier-based HCPs.
He had originally planned to use up the remaining 20% ​​of his ammunition, then find an opportunity to go to the 'automatic supply point' hidden in the asteroid rubble belt to replenish his ammunition and energy.

But after hearing the news from Guterres, he almost immediately guessed the true intentions of the two federal naval fleets.

"Lilith, they are coming for you."

"Me? The Federation already knows that I escaped from the institute?" Lilith asked curiously. She thought that she had hidden her whereabouts in cyberspace quite well and never thought that she would be discovered by the Federation.

"They should have 'guessed' rather than 'known'. I think they had their suspicions long ago, and the incident with the unmanned fleet may have directly confirmed their suspicions."

Amber calmed herself down and spoke, giving up the idea of ​​resupply and planning a trajectory that would orbit outside the battle zone to support the A.Bava.Ku asteroid fortress.

"Murat, Louis, Jacob, continue to attack the Enterprise fleet. If the enemy wants to escape, there is no need to intercept them by force. Just try to kill as many of their manpower as possible.

There may be some problems at the fortress, I will go over there to provide support first, you guys should return to the fortress to provide support when the battle here is almost over!"

"Yes, Boss!" ×3
As the three responded, Amber used a heavy anti-ship penetrator that had just been loaded into the electromagnetic reconnection gun to penetrate the top deck of a light cruiser from top to bottom and penetrate the embedded combat bridge.

While sinking four light cruisers, the machine switched to cruise mode and directed all propulsion arrays to the rear. Then, in a burst of dazzling blue light, it rushed towards the asteroid fortress like a meteor with a long tail.

Although the fixed anti-load device and the suspended driving seat have absorbed most of the G-force, the pilot's comfort has never been a high priority due to the original design intention of the "Giant" to pursue extreme performance.

Or maybe it just ensures that the pilot will not faint during high-speed propulsion, but he will still feel uncomfortable.
However, Amber didn't care about driving comfort at the moment. Relying on his physical fitness that was far superior to that of ordinary people, he pushed the throttle to the bottom, and the instantaneous acceleration of the machine directly rushed to the red line.

After all, Lilith is too important to him and Atlas, and he can't let this strong artificial intelligence go wrong.

What's more, after spending such a long time with Lilith, although he was still a little wary because of his experiences in his past life, he had long regarded her as a real living being and a true partner in every sense of the word.

So after realizing that the real target of the federal fleet was most likely Lilith, he suddenly became anxious.

After Lilith learned about the current situation and noticed Amber's condition, the first thing she felt was not worry or fear, but a burst of joy in her heart. No, it should be ecstasy.

This was the first time that this strong artificial intelligence discovered that Amber actually cared about him so much. "Master, you don't have to be so anxious. A large number of defense forces have been deployed in the fortress in advance, and the internal structure is relatively complex under the construction of George and others. Even if the Federation breaks into the fortress, it will not be easy to find the server array."

Lilith's voice rang in Amber's mind, and her tone sounded a little shy and embarrassed.

"No, you're a shy bubble teapot! Since the Federation has personally come out to attack the fortress, they must have made full preparations. I suspect they even have some secret weapons to deal with you. This is no joke!"

"I know about this, Master, don't worry, I have my own secret weapon in the fortress~"

"No, what did you do behind my back again?"
-
As Amber was rushing towards the A.Bava.Ku Fortress, Van Fleet looked at the federal fleet that was forcing its way forward against the fortress's defensive firepower and was getting closer and closer. He sighed lightly and turned to walk towards the door of the core command room.

His actions immediately attracted the attention of Guterres, who looked at his back and asked, "What are you doing now?"

Van Vleet stopped for a moment, then continued walking forward, leaving only one sentence that floated into Guterres' ears.

"I can't help much with space battles and fleet battles, but fortress defense operations are somewhat related to land warfare, so I can help a little. Regardless of his position and identity, Atlas saved my life and the lives of my family. I can't just stand by and watch at this time."

Van Fleet's figure quickly disappeared outside the gate. Guterres was silent for a while, then turned his attention back to the battle near the fortress and continued to command the defensive operations of the small fortress garrison fleet.

"Attention, garrison fleet. The enemy fleet's goal is to get as close to the fortress as possible to cover the advancing troops. No matter what they want to do, we will focus our fire on the assault boats they release first! As long as the enemy's tactical goals cannot be achieved, the initiative will be back in our hands!"

On the other side, Van Fleet quickly came to a deployment bay near the periphery through the elevator inside the fortress. This place belongs to the outer area and has a ready-made external passage, so it is also one of the assault troops' priority attack targets.

At this moment, the fortress defense forces that received the order have begun to build temporary positions here, preparing to stop the assault troops here.

Since the defense forces inside the fortress were also temporarily transferred, there was no formal organization. The person in charge of command was Osana, who came with these Roma defense forces.

The cat girl, who had recently earned the nickname "Valkyrie," quickly noticed Van Fleet, who was wearing a combat exoskeleton and carrying an electromagnetic rifle. At the moment, he was guiding a platoon of Roma to build their positions more rationally.

Osana was also a little surprised after seeing this former lieutenant general of the Federal Army.

After all, no one thought that Mr. Van Fleet would really join in the defensive battle. Amber arranged for him and Guterres to assist in the battle, which was more of a "courtesy".

But after seeing the general actually come to the front line of defense with a rifle, Osana's opinion of him changed a little, and she was happy to have this experienced land warfare commander to assist her.

She quickly went up to him and took the initiative to greet the Army Lieutenant General.

"Mr. Van Fleet? Actually, you don't have to come to the front line. After all, it won't be safe here soon."

"Thank you, ma'am, but under the circumstances, I can't stay in the back and wait for the results in a safe place. Although I know that what Mr. Amber said before was just polite words, I really want to do something to help you."

Van Vleet said this with some embarrassment. This kind of tone and emotion was extremely rare in him.

"Since you've said so, I'll obey your orders. Besides, we really need the assistance of an experienced commander right now."

Osana looked up and down at Van Vliet's equipment, then a smirk appeared on her face beneath the tactical visor.

"Speaking of commanding operations, I think there is another set of armor in the warehouse that is more suitable for you to use, but this power armor has not been tested in actual combat~"

"Yes, I have seen and believe in your Atlas technology."

Van Fleet said without hesitation, and at the same time, he recalled many of the Atlas weapons and equipment he had seen before, especially the heavy vehicle-mounted electromagnetic cannon that pierced his heart.
"That's good~"

(End of this chapter)