Chapter 600 - 583: A Mutual Hunt
Chapter 600: Chapter 583: A Mutual Hunt
Ripples frequently appeared across the Plane Crystal Wall high above the Sky Vault. Every few hours, a commercial Floating Ship would pass through the Defense Array and land at a berth in the spaceport.
Standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Wesren Building, Colin furrowed his brows as he watched the bustling scene below.
"Is this the last batch?" he asked.
"All the merchant fleets on the Gray Channel have withdrawn," Vera said, flipping through the data terminal in her hands without looking up. "The twelve low-value-added routes have been completely suspended, evaporating a daily cash flow of 4.5 million Low-Level Magic Stones. The inventory at our three low-to-mid-tier Golem Manufacturing plants has piled up all the way out the doors."
Colin sighed, shifting his gaze to the other side of the plaza.
Unlike the bleakness of the spaceport, the Star Gate continued to shimmer brightly. Crates of high-purity Secret Silver Ingots, stamped with the seal of Wesren Heavy Industry, were continuously fed into the Star Gate in exchange for massive quantities of Magic Stone Crystals.
"The low-end dumping has been cut off, but high-end trade hasn’t been affected."
Vera pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses. "The Star Gate uses point-to-point teleportation, so those Black Wizards can’t intercept anything in the Sea of Magical Power. The risk resistance of the boss’s economic system is stronger than we imagined.
"Channel trade currently accounts for sixty-one percent of Wesren Heavy Industry’s G-771 branch revenue. Star Gate trade makes up thirty-four percent, and the remaining five percent comes from domestic consumption within the Plane. The channel is cut; it hurts, but it’s not fatal. The true lifeline..." Her fingertip tapped on the words "Star Gate." "...is still in our own hands."
Colin remained silent for a moment.
He looked toward the Cybertron Fortress in the distance. The colossal black metallic city was shrouded in a visible surge of Magic Power. The overflow of energy, generated by all the Magic Furnaces running at full capacity, coalesced into a pale blue pillar of light that shot into the sky above the fortress, exceptionally glaring against the gloomy canopy.
"Allocate all the profits from the Star Gate to fill the deficit from the channels," Colin said, his eyelids twitching. "The boss is truly enraged this time. Prepare the coin purses; war is a game of burning money."
Vera closed her terminal, a cold, sharp smirk curling on her lips.
"Of all the people they could have provoked, they just had to anger an Alchemy Wizard who always feels he lacks enough firepower."
***
The commercial transport ship North Wind had been sailing alone in the dreary Sea of Magical Power for three days.
This two-hundred-meter-long cargo vessel looked completely unremarkable. Its hull bore the standard commercial paint job of Wesren Heavy Industry, making it indistinguishable from the hundreds of other trading vessels on the Gray Channel.
Only when it needed to adjust its tracking distance did the engine—heavily modified by Allen—exert a brief burst of power. Every acceleration was extremely restrained, never exceeding the signal range expected of an ordinary commercial ship.
The interior of the cargo hold was pitch black. Only a dark red indicator light flickered at an incredibly low frequency.
PX-5 "Xiong Er" and PX-5 "Xiong San" maintained a half-crouching posture. An Abyssal Lead coating covered their Silent Extinction Silver Armor, suppressing the Magic Power fluctuations of the two Golems to a nearly indistinguishable level.
Of the three Dawn Star Level engines housed within each of their chests, only one currently operated at minimum power, supplying energy to their passive sensors and Control Cores.
For three days, the system had faithfully recorded every trace of fluctuation in the surrounding Sea of Magical Power: the engine signals of occasionally passing merchant ships in the distance, the natural pulsations of the deep Magic Flow, and some drifting battleship wreckage. Xiong Er’s sensor array maintained its minimum-power, passive reception state.
Suddenly, a dense cluster of red dots leaped into the detection range without warning, advancing at a steady speed toward the D25 channel segment.
Its data processing core completed a preliminary analysis within three seconds.
Seventeen moving "mountain ranges" appeared in its field of vision.
They were seventeen massive Bone Dragons, each over three hundred meters long. They spread their tattered, skeletal wings, their hollow eye sockets burning with ghostly green Necromancer’s Fire. Their massive bodies stirred up continuous ripples in the Sea of Magical Power.
In the center of the Bone Dragon formation was a terrifying flagship two thousand meters in length, constructed from the spinal column of some ancient Giant Beast. It exuded an oppressive aura that made the soul tremble.
[Target Group: 17 ultra-large biological signals, 7 medium artificial construct signals, 1 ultra-large artificial construct signal.]
[Formation Characteristics: Escort formation. Ultra-large biological signals form the outer barrier, artificial construct signals are positioned in the middle, and the ultra-large artificial construct signal is at the core.]
[Heading: The coordinate deviation from the G-771 Plane is continuously shrinking. Speed: Approximately...]
The detection data was compressed and transmitted via a directional ultra-long-range communication module.
The brief encrypted pulses blended into the natural fluctuations of the Sea of Magical Power and were quickly received by the Cybertron communication array in the G-771 Plane.
In the central control room, Allen paused his movements.
The raw data stream sent back by Xiong Er flooded into his consciousness. The next moment, he had completely taken over Xiong Er’s sensors.
"Is this the White Bone Throne...?"
[Target confirmed.] Jarvis provided the analysis report immediately.
[Target: Skeleton Duke. Dawn Star Level Black Wizard, master of the dual Laws of "Necromancy" and "Boneification," and the most powerful Star Thief Leader in segments D-20 to D-26 of the Gray Channel.]
[Escort Forces: 17 Undead Bone Dragons, estimated individual combat strength ranging from Level 2 Peak to Dawn Star Level, speculated to be long-range firepower units. 7 Floating Battleships, comprehensive firepower assessment mid-to-low, additionally...]
Jarvis paused.
[Deviation angle between the fleet’s current heading and the coordinates of the G-771 Plane: 0.3 degrees.]
[Probability of the target passing through the G-771 Plane: 89 percent.]
Leaning against the control console, Allen remained silent for a moment before his lips twitched into a smile. He had already been preparing to clean up the Gray Channel. Now, the most valuable group of targets on it was actively approaching his predetermined battlefield.
Whether or not the enemy was specifically aiming for G-771 was no longer important. There was no reason to let such an opportunity slip by.
"Jarvis."
[Here.]
"Based on the enemy fleet’s current coordinates and the cruising speed of the Bone Dragon formation, calculate the time window for their arrival at the periphery of the G-771 Plane Crystal Wall."
[Calculation complete. Based on their current speed, the enemy fleet will arrive at the periphery of the Plane Crystal Wall in four days.]
Four days. Allen nodded.
"That’s enough time."
His gaze fell upon the slowly moving cluster of red dots on the holographic sandbox. He then looked at the interior of the G-771 Plane, where the blue dots of forty standard legions had densely congregated around the Cybertron Fortress, like a gradually tightening fist.
"Issue a command to the North Wind."
[Awaiting instructions.]
"Do not approach. Maintain the maximum passive detection distance from the Skeleton Duke Fleet and track them in complete Silence. Xiong Er and Xiong San are to remain in hibernation, keeping only their passive sensors active. The weapon systems must not come online, and they are not allowed to expose any signal characteristics exceeding those of a standard merchant ship."
This Trojan Horse disguised as a cargo ship might become a surprise weapon at a critical moment.
"Fighting in our own home will result in too much collateral damage," Allen said, looking at the prosperous scene of the G-771 Plane on the holographic sandbox. "We must set the battlefield outside.
"Jarvis, reorganize the space combat formations."
[Command confirmed. Commencing optimization of the combat sequence.]
"The current configuration of a standard Golem Legion is: 1,000 Spider-Killer Type IIs, 30 Purgatories, 50 Demon Eye Type II Air Fortresses, 300 Peacekeeper PX-3s, 5 Magic Eye Type Vs, 10 Storm Falcons, and 3 Hive Mother Ships."
Allen’s finger lightly swiped across the sandbox.
"Spider Slayers and Purgatories are ground units. Remove them.
"Magic Eye Type IIs are low-altitude firepower support platforms with insufficient mobility. Remove them.
"Magic Eye Type Vs are battlefield monitoring and electronic warfare units. In the Sea of Magical Power, their hull protection is practically nonexistent. Leave them behind as well; assign reconnaissance tasks to the Storm Falcons and the shipborne arrays of the Hive Mother Ships.
"Our core combat force will be the Peacekeeper PX-3s." Allen’s gaze locked onto the models of the three hundred Heavy Armored Golems on the sandbox. "What is the production progress for the ’Dragon Cavalry’ dual-purpose Floating Cannon accessories dedicated to the PX-3?"
[Reporting to the Commander: the ’Dragon Cavalry’ system production line is running at overcapacity. Currently, 9,720 sets have been completed, and it is estimated that the production of all 12,000 sets will be finished within 14 hours. Refitting and debugging will require 24 hours.]
"Excellent."
By then, these steel Giant Beasts, which could previously only rampage across the ground, would grow wings and transform into ferocious space tigers.
"Reorganize the formations. We will deploy forty Space Combat Corps, each configured as follows:" Allen’s voice was calm and clear. "300 modified Peacekeeper PX-3s equipped with the ’Dragon Cavalry’ system.
"10 Storm Falcon fighter jets, responsible for dogfighting and escorting.
"3 Hive Mother Ships, responsible for unleashing a sea of machines.
"Additionally, all five directly affiliated Flying Squadrons will be deployed, each consisting of 24 Storm Falcons, 6 Freedoms, and 1 Gabriel.
"Finally, Thanatos, No. 18, PX-5 Xiong Da, and Xiong Si—our four Dawn Star Level combat forces—will all enter the Ten Thousand Miles of Sunshine and stand by."
Allen’s plan had taken shape.
He would personally pilot the Ten Thousand Miles of Sunshine into battle and have a "chance encounter" with the enemy in the Sea of Magical Power.
Then, just when the enemy thought it was merely a lone battleship they could easily devour, he would activate the Cybertron Space Anchor Point inside the ship.
Forty legions, comprising over twelve thousand space-combat Golems, would swarm out of the Space Gate like dumplings dropping into a boiling pot. Meanwhile, Thanatos, No. 18, Xiong Da, and Xiong Si—the four Dawn Star Level Golems—would shoot forth like four bullets directly toward the enemy flagship, giving the Skeleton Duke an unforgettable "surprise."
At the same time, behind the enemy fleet, the slumbering Xiong Er and Xiong San in the cargo hold of the North Wind would be awakened. The two PX-5s would burst out of the seemingly harmless commercial vessel to cut off the enemy’s retreat.
A pincer attack, a frontal crush, and surprise troops sealing the rear.
Perfect!
[All combat unit modification and assembly tasks have been issued,] Jarvis’s voice echoed. [Estimated total time required: 71 hours.]
"Relay my orders," Allen said, standing up and walking to the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows. He looked down at the brightly lit Cybertron Fortress, which had already entered a state of war. "In seventy-two hours, the Ten Thousand Miles of Sunshine will depart from the port.
"We’re going to welcome our guests who have traveled from afar."