Chapter 1543: We will be alone
The only difference between piloting an interplanetary drone swarm and piloting an interplanetary fighter is the requirement for neural pathways.
Although some improvements can be made in the development and utilization of this area later on.
But more than anything, it relies on some innate talent.
Therefore, the selection process alone will eliminate many people.
Further training would be quite costly.
Select individuals with this talent directly from among active-duty interstellar fighter pilots, and then provide them with additional training in operating interstellar drone swarms.
They can then be assigned to control swarms of interstellar drones in combat, which is a very cost-effective approach.
Moreover, this is a position on a Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnought, which is a near-T7 level interstellar warship. Most interstellar fighter pilots would not refuse this selection!
............
At this moment, on the battlefield of interstellar space combat.
When the two sides' flying units collided, the T7 Ghost-class medium starfighters initially made some noise.
However, as the number of bronze scarab-like drones around them increased, a situation gradually emerged where the majority of the forces were overwhelming the minority.
After all, one side only has 10,000 interstellar fighters, while the other side has two Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts with a total of six million interstellar drones.
This means that a near-T7 Ghost-class medium-sized starfighter would need to deal with six hundred Bronze Scarab-type star drones simultaneously.
There was absolutely no chance of fighting back.
Soon, in the realm of interstellar air combat, interstellar air superiority was completely controlled by the Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts.
Even those bronze scarab-type interstellar drone swarms have begun attacking the star shields of the Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interstellar destroyer!
This puts even greater pressure on the Star Shield defense of the Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interplanetary destroyer!
"Report! The enemy's interstellar drone swarm is far too powerful."
"Our starfighters are completely outmatched in their battles," the subordinate reported to the Drought Demon King.
The drought demon king clenched his fists.
He now felt as if this Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnought was covered in thorns, with nowhere to bite.
How could there be such an interstellar warship?
Or rather... why does this Xiaolong Interstellar Empire possess such interstellar warships!
The Drought Demon King took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Order all our T6-class interstellar warships, if they can escape..."
"Withdraw immediately and intercept these two Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts at all costs!"
At this moment, the Drought Demon King's primary concern was ensuring the safety of his Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interstellar destroyer.
Although such an order could very likely lead to the collapse of the outer defenses.
This would result in even greater losses for the entire Drought Demon King's fleet.
But at least, it can ensure the safety of the Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interplanetary destroyer.
That's enough.
As long as the Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interplanetary destroyer survives, it will be able to wait for the Troll King's Legion fleet to arrive as support.
And the Troll King's flagship, the Troll King Star Fortress, arrived to support the battlefield.
That would make the opposing JF-17 fleet pay the price for everything they've done!
"Report: The number of enemy interstellar warships around us is increasing."
Furthermore, several enemy T6-class interstellar warships are closing in on our direction.
"The enemy is likely trying to use these interstellar warships to delay us," the vice-captain reported to Captain Huo Feifei.
Captain Huo Feifei looked at the Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interstellar destroyer in the video and smiled disdainfully: "How much capability do you think this so-called near-T7 level interstellar warship can have?"
That's all there is to it.
Now that they can't beat them, they start calling for help.
They thought that this would hold us back.
Pass on my order: ignore the enemy's T5-level starships. If you spot an enemy T6-level starship, dedicate some firepower to destroy it.
If necessary, interstellar missiles can be used.
"Yes," the vice-captain replied.
The threat posed by a T5-class interstellar warship to a near-T7 Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnought is still within a manageable range.
However, if the enemy's T6-level interstellar warships are allowed to continue their attacks, even a near-T7 level Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnought might not be able to withstand it.
That's why Huo Feifei has made the arrangements she has now.
Very quickly, in less than five minutes.
Then we saw that the first star shield field of the Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interplanetary destroyer was blocked.
The next attack will directly target the second star shield field of the Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interplanetary destroyer.
At the same time, the attack from the outer perimeter of the Xiaolong interstellar warships intensified.
The starships of the Imperial Guard Fleet launched their fiercest attack.
Xiong Xiangxiang was well aware of the pressure that the two near-T7 Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts were under as they charged into the enemy ranks, but she had no way to directly rescue them.
The only thing we can do is to put more pressure on the enemy on the front lines, thereby preventing them from transferring more interstellar warships to threaten those two Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts.
These measures have indeed had some effect.
After all, the Emperor's Royal Guard fleet has nearly a hundred T6-class interstellar warships, and the Drought Demon King's Legion fleet will inevitably need to mobilize a certain number of T6-class interstellar warships on this front.
Otherwise, the front line on the main battlefield will collapse in the shortest possible time.
"Go for it!" Xiong Xiangxiang looked at the battlefield in the distance, where top-tier starships were clashing amidst the enemy ranks.
This is all she can do now.
Golden Scarab-class Heavy Starship Dreadnought - Fifth Ship Bridge
"Report! Thirty enemy T6-class interstellar warships have appeared on our side," the vice-captain reported nervously.
Major General Mu Baiqing said solemnly, "They're coming for us."
Do everything in our power to destroy these thirty T6-class starships as quickly as possible!
"To destroy these thirty T6-class interstellar warships in a short period of time."
"Our staff concluded that the best solution is to use our interstellar missiles in conjunction with the interstellar interceptor," the vice-captain said.
"Then let's do it your way," Major General Mu Baiqing said.
"yes."
On the hull of the fifth Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnought, missile silos appeared, and inside the silos were interstellar missiles ready to be fired.
These interstellar missiles quickly locked onto their targets, and then one after another, they were launched with plumes of fire.
"Report: The first batch of three thousand interstellar missiles, locked onto thirty targets, have all been launched."
The department controlling the launch of the interplanetary missile reported.
Three thousand interstellar missiles, distributed among thirty targets, would mean that each enemy interstellar warship would be subjected to an attack of approximately one hundred interstellar missiles.
This number may not seem like much, but these are all near-T7 level interstellar warships.
This is a completely different concept from ordinary T6-class interplanetary missiles.
Following behind these three thousand interstellar missiles were three hundred Silver Scarab-class unmanned interstellar medium interceptors, which were almost T7 level!
The thirty T6-class interstellar warships of the Drought Demon King's fleet naturally also discovered the three thousand interstellar missiles en route.
They immediately deployed their defensive firepower in an attempt to intercept these interstellar missiles.
But outside these interstellar missiles, star shield fields appeared one after another!
That's right, each of these interstellar missiles has a small star shield on it to protect them from interception.
Boom boom boom boom
One after another, fireballs exploded on the surface of the star shields of those interstellar warships. These were only T6-level interstellar warships, not the near-T7 Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interstellar destroyers.
Therefore, under the barrage of these near-T7 level interstellar missiles, these interstellar warships either had holes blasted through their star shields.
Or perhaps the entire Star Shield has been completely depleted.
The former situation occurred because the power of the explosion in a localized area of StarShield exceeded StarShield's energy balance capacity, which led to a breach in StarShield.
However, StarShield's repair program cannot immediately fix this gap in a short period of time.
It takes about ten seconds.
Those ten-odd seconds are when those near-T7 Silver Scarab-class unmanned interplanetary medium interceptors come into play.
Relying on their astonishing speed, they plunged one by one into these star shields, launching an attack on the T6-class interstellar warships of the Drought Demon King's fleet.
The hull armor of these T6-class interstellar warships directly faces the threat.
Naturally, each of them was also firing at full close range.
In this life-or-death struggle, one after another, T7-class Silver Scarab-class unmanned interplanetary medium interceptors were destroyed and turned into fireballs.
However, when these Silver Scarab-class unmanned interstellar medium interceptors were hit and rendered combat ineffective, their passive programs caused them to launch suicidal ramming attacks directly at their previously locked targets.
Make your ship the last shell fired at the enemy.
This, of course, resulted in the destruction of one enemy T6-class interstellar warship after another.
In just a few minutes, these T6-class starships were destroyed one after another.
"Report: All thirty enemy T6-class interstellar warships have been destroyed by us."
"We've used up three thousand interstellar missiles and lost nearly one hundred Silver Scarab-class unmanned interstellar medium interceptors," the vice-captain reported.
Major General Mu Baiqing already had a good idea of this data.
Although the Silver Scarab-class unmanned interstellar medium interceptor is a near-T7 level interstellar warship, it is more in terms of combat capability that it is near-T7 level.
In terms of defense and sustained combat capability, it does not reach the near-T7 level.
If it were a gradual and deliberate battle against the enemy, there wouldn't be so many casualties.
However, in the current battle, the goal is to destroy the enemy ships in the shortest possible time, which will inevitably result in more casualties.
"Warning! Warning! Warning! The second layer of Star Shield defense has 3% energy remaining and is about to be exhausted."
"Warning! Warning! Warning! The second layer of Star Shield defense has 2% energy remaining and is about to run out."
"Warning! Warning! Warning! The second layer of Star Shield defense energy is at 1% remaining and is about to be exhausted!"
The drought demon king stared at the blackened frame before him.
He knew that the second line of defense of the Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interplanetary destroyer had also been breached.
Now, this Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interplanetary destroyer only has its last line of star shield defense left.
Damn it!
Are these two Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts really courting death?
"That Emperor Xiaolong, could he be trying to trade these two Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts for my flagship?!" the Drought Demon King muttered to himself.
To be honest, if he were the opposing Dragon Emperor, would he have such an opportunity?
He would definitely make such an arrangement if he could exchange his two starships for an enemy monarch and a flagship.
Unfortunately, this was the drought demon king's own idea; in his heart, he believed he was worth that much.
Little did he know that, to the opposing Emperor and Commander of the Dragon King, he was far less important than the Golden Scarab-class Heavy Starship.
The reason why these two Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts adopted such an aggressive attack posture is...
They believed that, despite being deep behind enemy lines, these two Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts were fully capable of protecting themselves and posed no risk whatsoever.
At least that's how it is for now.
It can only be said that the drought demon king overestimated his own worth.
"Damn it, why haven't we broken through the star shields of these two enemy starships yet?"
Their star shield energy can't possibly be inexhaustible, can it?
It was under attack from our Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interstellar destroyer and a host of other interstellar warships.
"Why are their star shields still intact!" The Drought Demon King pointed at the two Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts opposite him that were still protected by star shields.
This is something it simply cannot understand.
At this point, none of the staff officers could provide an answer.
Because they had anticipated the Star Shield energy of these two Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts.
Five hundred million units of Star Shield?
Or is it 600 million units of Star Shield?
Although they couldn't determine the strength of the star shield of this Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnought, they could calculate the approximate amount of damage inflicted by the attacks that landed on it.
As time and location progressed, their predicted data gradually exceeded their original calculations.
Until the Star Shield had exceeded one billion units.
"You can't possibly tell me that this Golden Scarab-class Heavy Star Dreadnought on the other side has more than a billion units of Star Shield energy, can you?!"
"Our Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interstellar destroyer has a three-layered star shield defense, but the defense strength of a single layer is only about 500 million units of star shield!" the Drought Demon King loudly questioned.
At this moment, a staff officer seemed to have thought of something, and he pulled up some data from past battles.
And all of these combat data are related to the Dragon Emperor interstellar command ship.
"Reporting to Your Excellency."
This... all of this might be related to the Dragon Emperor interstellar command ship.
This enemy superflagship had rarely appeared on the front lines before.
Therefore, we had previously speculated that this might be a battlefield support interstellar warship with functions such as commanding battles and large-scale anti-stealth operations.
Meanwhile, all the fleets of our legion that fought against the Dragon Emperor Starship and the Dragon Legion fleet led by this starship had the same assessment.
That is, in any battle where the Dragon Emperor interstellar command ship is present, the enemy's Dragon series interstellar warships are stronger, not only in terms of sustained combat capability but also in terms of defense.
Especially the star shields of enemy interstellar warships.
Therefore, I have reason to be suspicious.
The enemy's Dragon Emperor interstellar command ship is capable of providing long-range support to the Star Shield energy of friendly interstellar warships.
This is why the Star Shield energy of these two Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts seems inexhaustible! The staff officer stated his thoughts.
This idea was quickly endorsed by the other staff officers.
This is currently the only plausible explanation.
The Drought Demon King's face was gloomy as he pointed at the Dragon Emperor interstellar command ship: "That means we have to destroy the enemy's Dragon Emperor interstellar command ship first."
Otherwise, would these two Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts be invincible?
The staff officer shook his head and said, "No, that wasn't mentioned in the previous battle reports."
Even with the Dragon Emperor interstellar command ship present, we can still destroy the enemy's interstellar warships, it just will require more attack time and firepower.
Based on this, we can make a judgment.
The Dragon Emperor interstellar command ship has the function of transmitting Star Shield energy, but the amount transmitted is fixed and may not be very large.
"As long as we continue our attack, the star shields of these two Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts will inevitably be breached eventually."
Upon hearing the advisor's words, the drought demon king's expression did not soften at all. He gritted his teeth and said, "Then can you tell me now how much longer we need to fight?"
Only then could these two Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts be destroyed.
Faced with this question, no one present could give an answer.
Because they don't know either.
Seeing his subordinates' silence, the Drought Demon King felt as if he had punched a piece of cotton.
He had anger but nowhere to vent it.
"Damn it!" The Drought Demon King could only curse under his breath. He then asked, "When will the reinforcements from the Troll King's side arrive?"
"Report, as required by the deadline."
It is estimated that there will be about fifteen minutes left.
"Within fifteen minutes, the 40,000 interstellar warships of the Troll King will arrive on the battlefield," the subordinate replied.
Fifteen minutes left.
The drought demon king had never felt this way before; even those short fifteen minutes felt incredibly long.
The Drought Demon King took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "It seems that I can only place my hopes on the arrival of the 40,000 interstellar warships of the Troll King's fleet."
That will relieve our stress.
The staff officers all agreed with this.
This is their only chance to break the deadlock.
Until then, they could only continue their current battle to ensure that their Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interplanetary destroyer could hold out.
"In any case, the Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interplanetary destroyer must hold its ground."
I simply don't believe that those two Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts on the other side can really push my flagship to the brink of destruction.
Mobilize more interstellar warships to support us, and be sure to put more pressure on these two Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts!
I'd like to see how long their turtle shells can last!
"yes!"
The battle between the three super starships continues.
Golden Scarab-class Heavy Starship Dreadnought, Second Ship Bridge
"Report: We have destroyed the second layer of star shield of the target starship, the Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interplanetary destroyer."
We are now launching an attack on the last line of defense, the Star Shield.
"Based on previous calculations, we expect to break through this third layer of star shield defense in no more than five minutes," the vice-captain reported to Captain Huo Feifei.
If someone pays attention, they will notice that this time has increased slightly.
There was no other way, because some of the firepower of the Golden Scarab-class heavy interstellar dreadnoughts was tied down by the interstellar warships of the Drought Demon King's fleet that had surrounded them.
Naturally, this also reduced some of the pressure on the opposing Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interplanetary destroyer.
"How much Star Shield energy do we have left?"
"How long can we hold out?" Captain Huo Feifei asked.
"To date, the Dragon Emperor interstellar command ship has been continuously supplying us with Star Shield energy remotely."
But the enemy's attacks were even more ferocious.
If things continue as they are, our second ship's Star Shield can only hold out for about five more minutes at most.
Basically, it was the same time that we breached the Star Shield of the enemy's Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interplanetary destroyer.
But then, we'll face even more pressure.
"After all, we're surrounded by enemy interstellar warships that are eyeing us covetously," the vice-captain said solemnly.
Captain Huo Feifei naturally understood what her first mate meant.
The vice-captain reminded us again: "There are also four or five minutes that Marshal Zhao Wan'er gave us."
It coincides perfectly with these five minutes.
In other words, if we breach the final layer of star shield defense of the Drought Demon King-class heavy strategic interplanetary destroyer in the next five minutes...
It just so happens that Marshal Zhao Wan'er gave us fifteen minutes of combat time, as agreed.
The starships of the Shadow Hunter ace fleet, which were maintaining our retreat route, will then withdraw.
"If we continue fighting here at that point, we'll truly be isolated and helpless."