Chapter 421: War of Civilizations
Chapter 421: Chapter 421: War of Civilizations
Hopka’s face darkened at Chen Hong’s words, but he forced himself to endure it. After all, he needed to convince these few troublemakers to agree to his plan.
Just then, he noticed Long Ming standing silently to the side and asked in a low voice.
"Red Ghost, what do you think of my proposal?"
"Your proposal isn’t entirely out of the question."
Long Ming’s eyes flickered as he replied in a hoarse voice.
"You agree?"
Hopka was stunned. He hadn’t expected this guy to not object.
Chen Hong and Antilo’s expressions, however, sank.
"I don’t agree. I just think what you’re saying isn’t without reason. Since we can’t find it here, and the ship couldn’t have just vanished into thin air, then the most likely possibility is..."
Long Ming trailed off, stopping mid-sentence.
"Is what? Can you just spit it out!"
Hopka said, annoyed.
"Bring up the star chart!"
Long Ming said to Colonel Hopka.
His face dark, Colonel Hopka raised his hand and tapped the virtual control screen, displaying the entire star chart.
Long Ming reached out and pointed at the chart.
"Look. The Ocean was breaking through a blockade, so it was pursued the entire way. It could only fly laterally. But at that exact time, the Insect Race was attacking the Guangxiao Star Sea, so there were enemies in every direction."
"So, based on what you’re saying, the Ocean was doomed to be destroyed?"
Woperi asked with a frown.
The mood of the group instantly sank.
"No, because there wasn’t a single piece of debris at the scene. Therefore, I suspect the Ocean burned its bridges and flew straight into the heart of Insect Race territory."
Long Ming laid out the worst-case scenario.
After all, the Ocean’s position at the time was awkward—right behind the main Insect Race army.
"Then what are we waiting for? If we follow that direction, we might find them."
Hopka’s eyes lit up as he spoke.
"No. That’s just a guess. If you’re wrong, we’d be risking our lives by entering Insect Race territory for nothing."
Antilo said grimly.
"Do you have a better idea? Or are you just scared?"
Long Ming looked at Antilo and Chen Hong.
"That’s ridiculous. Why would we be scared?"
Chen Hong replied with disdain.
"If that’s the case, then we’ll search along this route."
Hopka made the final decision.
"Yes, sir!"
Woperi and the others immediately began maneuvering the Azure Blue, changing its course.
...
「One day later.」
The Level 4 battleship, the Azure Blue, passed through the Guangxiao Star Sea and forged ahead toward the unknown expanse of space.
BEEP BEEP~
Red warning boxes popped up one after another.
"Warning: Type II Elite Insect Race—Corrosive Flying Insect—detected."
...
The scanner’s radar was covered in red dots.
Hopka sat in the command chair, his eyes glued to the scanner.
"Captain, we’ve entered the territory occupied by the Insect Race. There are flying insects everywhere."
Woperi reported, his expression tense.
"Everyone, stay sharp. Avoid those damn bugs as much as possible."
Colonel Hopka warned Woperi and the others.
"Yes, sir!"
Everyone responded in unison.
After the Azure Blue had been traveling for some time, a piercing alarm suddenly blared.
"What’s happening?"
Hopka asked, his face paling slightly.
"Scanners have detected a large number of wormholes. Displaying optical imaging now."
The operator immediately took action.
SWOOSH~
A holographic image appeared.
In the blackness of space, a dense field of distorted wormholes was visible. A constant stream of flying insects poured out of them.
"Damn it, those bastards from the Insect Race are up to no good. Opening so many wormholes here... they’re clearly planning a counterattack!"
Hopka couldn’t help but curse as he looked at the wormholes.
Hearing this, Long Ming’s eyes glinted as he asked.
"Hopka, what’s the current situation with the Star Alliance?"
"What situation? You don’t know?"
"I don’t."
"Hmph. I forgot, you’re from a Little Civilization."
"I’m from a Little Civilization, and you still lost to me, didn’t you?"
"Damn it, can you stop bringing up the fact that I lost to you every time you open your mouth?"
Hopka was about to die from anger, but he couldn’t refute it. After all, a loss was a loss!
"Fine. We’ll see."
"I... Forget it. I’m not going to argue with you. The Star Alliance began its strategic deployment six months ago, after the red countdown ended. We launched a grand expedition."
"And your matched opponent was the Insect Race?"
"I don’t know."
"You don’t know?"
Long Ming started to suspect Hopka was messing with him.
"What’s so strange about not knowing? It’s possible we were matched with more than one race."
"Wait, it’s not one-on-one?"
"Who ever told you it was one-on-one? Back in the day, the Star Alliance was matched against multiple races. It took a massive effort to wipe them all out!"
’I see!’
"But so far, the only race we’ve discovered is the Insect Race. They aren’t just disgusting; they can reproduce at an insane speed, and they have some intelligence! By the time we found them, those bastards had already occupied the Guangxiao Star Sea, the Guangying Star Sea, and other regions."
"The Star Alliance can’t wipe them out?"
"Wipe them out? How? We still haven’t found their nest, so we can’t even estimate the Insect Race’s true strength! A war between civilizations isn’t a brawl between brutes. Even if you have the power to destroy them now, you have to consider how much strength you’ll lose in the process. If your losses are too great, you’re finished later on even if you win! What we need to do is seize and exploit resource-rich star seas like the Guangxiao Star Sea to build up our own strength as much as possible."
Colonel Hopka explained to Long Ming.
"I thought you were just a brute, but you’re actually quite smart."
Long Ming actually agreed with Hopka. Back then, the Three Cities had suffered immense losses while exterminating the Blood Breath Beasts. They failed to properly absorb their technology and resources, which led to a crushing defeat when they were matched with the next civilization.
"Of course. Wait, who are you calling a brute?"
Hopka shot back, his face darkening.
"That’s not important. You should focus on finding that ship. I’m sure that if this mission fails, we’ll all be punished, but your punishment will definitely be the most severe!"
Long Ming cut Hopka off.
Hopka was so angry he could only grit his teeth, but there was nothing he could do. He could only continue to observe the space ahead.
...
「Seven hours later.」
The Azure Blue continued its stealth transit, moving deeper into Insect Race territory.
Flying insects could be seen flitting through the surrounding space from time to time.
The nerves of Long Ming and the others were stretched taut.
The deeper the ship went, the more dangerous their situation became. If they were exposed, all hell would break loose.
But Hopka hadn’t been bluffing. The stealth capabilities of the Azure Blue were truly impressive; at least, they hadn’t been discovered by the enemy so far.
"Woperi, any signal?"
Hopka asked Woperi again and again.