The plunder of the heavens begins with the Spirit Cage.

Countless shattered armor plates, leaking coolant, and corpses were scattered in all directions by the shockwave of the explosion, leaving a gaping hole in the entire forward line.

Ur'Warren was furious and immediately ordered the entire fleet to counterattack.

Hundreds of Covenant warships opened fire simultaneously with their main guns, and thousands of plasma torpedoes, trailing long, dark blue flames, rained down on the opposing fleet.

The opposing fleet had already deployed a full-coverage energy shield. The pale purple shield light curtain stretched as far as the eye could see, and most of the plasma torpedoes that hit the shield only created a faint ripple, failing to penetrate it at all.

Only three destroyers that rushed too far forward had their shields breached in succession, with half-meter-wide gashes torn in their side armor, before the Covenant could expand their gains.

The three destroyers had already retreated, with the repair ships following behind to provide backup, giving the Covenant no opportunity to take advantage.

As the hangars of the two heavy aircraft carriers opened, thousands of light unmanned combat aircraft rushed out along the catapult tracks.

They spread out in a fan shape and rushed into the Covenant fleet's formation, engaging in fierce combat with the Covenant's space interceptors.

The starry sky was instantly filled with crisscrossing flashes of machine gun fire and missile explosions, and fighter jets were constantly being hit and exploded into small fireballs.

Fragments mixed with the pilot's remains were scattered in the vacuum, and the entire battlefield was plunged into a frenzy.

In just twenty minutes of fighting, the Covenant had already lost forty-six warships.

The originally neat three-way encirclement formation was broken into pieces, and many squadrons had lost contact with the flagship.

Ulvoren's own flagship, the Unyielding Sacrifice, was also grazed on the side by a particle beam.

The side armor was blasted open with a hole nearly 20 meters wide, and the shield energy dropped to less than 30%. The entire ship's damage control team was extremely busy.

Urvoren leaned against the command console, panting heavily, and quickly contacted the remaining fleet commanders he could reach.

"The prophet has given a death order: I don't care what method you use, you must bring the item back!"

"Send out twelve of the most advanced high-speed frigates and, using the energy turbulence generated by the current firefight as cover, break through the blind spot on the left flank of the enemy formation!"

remember!

We have only one goal: to rush to the Autumn Wind's Mound and retrieve the data!

"As long as we get the data, even if our entire fleet is wiped out, we can still report back to the Prophet and claim the glory we deserve."

The order was issued quickly, and the twelve Covenant stealth frigates, coated with cloaking material and shielded from engine signals, immediately broke away from the main force.

Taking advantage of the energy turbulence generated by the explosions and the cover of the main fleet's artillery fire, they silently made their way towards the blind spot on the left flank of the blockade line.

The massive energy clutter generated by the firefight perfectly masked the frigate's weak signals.

The intercepting destroyers did not initially detect the small, rapidly advancing target. By the time the first four frigates had passed the outer interception line and were detected by the long-range early warning radar with a faint signal signature, it was already too late.

The intercepting frigate immediately adjusted its main guns and opened fire on the four Covenant frigates charging towards it.

Three particle beams struck the target instantly, and the three Covenant frigates were blown to pieces on the spot, their fragments scattered in the vacuum.

Only one extremely lucky frigate managed to evade all attacks by taking advantage of a dense meteorite, and managed to break through the second layer of interception.

Immediately afterwards, the second and third waves of frigates rushed over, and the intercepting fire hit them one after another. In the end, seven of the twelve frigates were sunk.

The remaining five escort ships, carrying the complete landing force, successfully broke through all the blockade lines and headed straight for the Autumn Wind Pillar not far away.

At this point, the five escort ships were less than two thousand kilometers away from the Autumn Wind Pillar.

It was too late for the fleet to organize an effective interception. In the second before the explosion, hundreds of attack pods had already crashed into different sections of the Autumn Wind Pillar.

The Autumn Wind Pillar had already had most of its outer air defense system damaged in the previous battles, and its shields had less than 20% of their power remaining.

There was simply no way to stop so many landing pods that were simultaneously penetrating the defenses. The anti-aircraft guns opened fire in succession, destroying forty-six landing pods.

The remaining landing craft successfully evaded anti-aircraft fire, forcefully passing through the damaged outer shield, and crashed into the cargo hold, engine room, mid-level living area, and hangar deck of the Autumn Wind Pillar.

Each landing pod carried eight to ten Covenant soldiers, and the sixty-two landing pods carried a total of over five hundred Covenant combatants.

Among them were 120 Sanhri elites equipped with plasma rifles, 210 Jackal snipers and Grunt grenadiers, and 12 giant hunters over four meters tall.

After they rushed into the Pillar of Autumn, they immediately dispersed according to the pre-arranged plan, advancing towards the bridge and the core data module where Cortana was located.

Many lone UNSC sailors had been killed along the way, and the gunfire and shouts could be heard almost all the way from the lower decks to the bridge.

As Case looked at the more than sixty constantly moving red intruding dots on the radar screen, his face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

He suddenly turned to look at Lu Qianwei, who was standing next to the control panel, and was about to question him.

Lu Qianwei stared at the light spot on the screen, his expression remaining calm.

He glanced at the battlefield outside, where explosions were still occurring, and said calmly, "It's alright. The main force of the Star Alliance outside will be able to take care of things in ten minutes. These defecting bugs can't cause any trouble."

Even a sergeant major could break through the Covenant's encirclement and escape.

There are still six Spartan warriors on board whose fates were changed, making the Covenant campaign a breeze.

Therefore, Lu Qianwei paid no attention to the commotion outside and continued to calmly watch the battle on the star battlefield.

Just as the gunfire on the Autumn Wind Pillar ceased, the naval gun battle in space was also nearing its end.

The Covenant's main fleet has been completely destroyed, and the remaining hundred-plus warships have been cut off and surrounded by the Covenant Fleet.

Ship after ship was blown up, the white light of the explosions coming one after another, turning the entire starry sky bright white.

Chapter 252 Halo 4

The Covenant fleet was not completely wiped out, but at this point, defeat was inevitable.

At this moment, the remaining 112 ships, bearing varying degrees of damage, were surrounded by the global fleet in a fixed airspace.

The main gun's power was forcibly locked, the shield's power was reduced to below the warning line, and even the conventional propulsion engine was firmly restricted by the enemy's long-range signals, completely cutting off all possibilities of breaking out, self-destruction, or warp escape.

Inside the bridge of the Covenant flagship, the Unyielding Sacrifice, the fleet's supreme commander, Ulwaren, gripped his claws, which were covered in hard armor, tightly, his chest heaving violently.

We were doomed from the start!

One second you clearly see a human warship explode, and the next second it's back to normal!

This is no longer a physical crushing defeat, but a dimensional suppression!

As a highly experienced high-ranking fleet commander of the Sanhli fleet.

He devoted his life to the prophet's pronouncements and conquered countless star systems, never imagining that he would suffer such a complete defeat in this nameless star system on the outskirts of Reach!

Outside the porthole, the battlecruisers of the World Fleet loomed ahead like cold, steel walls.

The particle cannon's muzzle still gleamed with a menacing orange-red aura; if he dared to issue any order to resist, the entire flagship would be blasted into cosmic debris in an instant.

After much struggle and deliberation, Urwaren finally came to terms with reality.

A direct confrontation would only result in the deaths of all his warriors, and would also mean losing the opportunity to relay information about the defeat to the higher-ups of the Covenant.

He pressed the global communication channel and sent out a global surrender signal, a feature rarely used by the Covenant fleet.

The outer walls of the surviving warships lit up with pale purple warning lights, signifying surrender.

With all weapon systems offline and engines idling, the aircraft obediently entered the controlled airspace designated by the Global Fleet and officially began the takeover process.

The global fleet carried out zonal takeover according to the predetermined operational plan.

Sixteen heavy destroyers were grouped in pairs and positioned close to the docking hatches of each surrendering starship, with landing forces carrying Star Armor pouring into the ships in organized formations.

The moment the hatch opened, the Covenant prisoners of war of different races displayed completely different expressions.

Even in defeat, the proud Sanghli elites still stood tall, unwillingly placing their lightsabers and plasma rifles in the designated storage area. Their golden vertical pupils stared intently at the unfamiliar soldier before them, filled with the humiliation of defeat.

The hordes of Gru were already trembling with fear, clinging tightly to their oxygen supply devices on their backs and huddled in the corners of the cabin, not daring to even look up at each other.

The jackal warrior retracted his protective energy shield, reluctantly surrendering his long-range sniper weapon under the threat of the gun barrel, remaining on guard throughout but daring not to make any rash moves.

The technical team simultaneously accessed the main control cores of all starships.

Remotely lock the warp coordinates, weapons production lines, and shipboard databases, and copy one by one the Covenant star system routes, border defense deployment maps, religious texts, and operational files from previous UNSC raids stored on the ship.

Each ship was repainted with a temporary control number, divided into formations, and assigned to dedicated personnel from the Global Fleet. All shipborne aircraft, ghost vehicles, and plasma turrets were sealed and registered on site.

Ur Warren was the supreme commander of this Covenant fleet.

Two fully armed armored squads escorted them directly away from the Unyielding Sacrifice and transported them to the flagship command center where Lu Qianwei was located via a dedicated shuttle ship.

As he passed through the interiors of the Covenant ships that had been taken over, and saw the once-mighty fleet reduced to prisoners, Commander Sanhri's expression grew increasingly grim.

He knew that if he were defeated and captured, he would most likely face the Prophet's judgment and severe punishment upon returning to the Covenant.

But now, his life and the fate of his thousands of soldiers were all in the hands of this foreign fleet.

Inside the flagship hall, a huge star map projection covered the walls, constantly updating the fleet takeover progress.

One hundred and twelve warships were successively put into service, with personnel disarmed, systems locked, and supplies inventoried. From frigates to the damaged CAS-class heavy aircraft carrier, all were incorporated into the global fleet's organizational structure.

The captured Covenant soldiers were divided into different detention areas and placed according to their race. At the same time, all their personal tactical terminals were confiscated to prevent the possibility of private intelligence transmission.

Some elite soldiers who attempted to launch a surprise attack and resist were immediately subdued and suppressed by armored forces. This act served as a deterrent to the remaining prisoners of war, allowing the takeover process to proceed smoothly.

Urvor was led to the center of the hall, facing Lu Qianwei who was standing in front of the star map.

Commander Sangheli suppressed his anger and, maintaining the last vestige of dignity for his warrior, scrutinized Lu Qianwei.

"Based on the information I have gathered... your current level of technology is not what you humans should be at."

"Who said that?" Lu Qianwei laughed. "If we go back to more than 100,000 years ago, our human technology would have shown much more than what we have shown so far."

"Haven't you always been believers in us?"

Ulvoren's golden vertical pupils narrowed slightly. "What do you mean by that?"

“Of course, it means exactly what it says.” Lu Qianwei met his gaze and said leisurely, “At your level, you should understand the meaning of the words ‘pioneer’!”

"But the three prophets strictly controlled you and forbade you from revealing any suspicious details about the 'pilgrimage' to the outside world."

Once someone discovers that a human is a Returnee, they will be secretly executed or placed under house arrest…

Ulwollen was alarmed that this person knew about their internal problems.

Pioneer civilization...

He did indeed learn from the highest-level sealed ancient books of the Star Alliance and the fragmentary murals of the Forerunner ruins that a powerful and intelligent civilization once existed in the galaxy hundreds of thousands of years ago.

“I know a little about the Galactic Era from hundreds of thousands of years ago,” Ulvoren said in a deep voice, “but what does that have to do with you?”

"I don't believe you're a pioneer right now!"

"They're just lucky ones who got their hands on their technology."

Lu Qianwei chuckled and shook his head upon hearing this, "Whether it is or not is not up to you to decide."