Chapter 157: Chapter 157: Return Journey
At this moment, in the central region of the battlefield, the energy shields of numerous escort ships had been shattered. Bio-plasma cannons were now threatening the external armor of the ships, and as time went on, the situation worsened. Although the Federation fleets were pressing hard against the swarm of broodships on both the front and rear fronts, they were not without casualties.
Of course, the flagships and some specialized starships remained unharmed for now, but some quasi-T5 battleships and destroyers were starting to falter.
Fortunately, the Hurricane had been staying close to the Yunshan, avoiding any attacks. Its quasi-T5 annihilation cannon and twenty-two primary and secondary cannons occasionally provided covering fire. Ordinary T4 and T3 broodships couldn't survive an assault from the Hurricane.
As time passed and the two forces continued to clash, the Federation suffered significant losses in starships, but the achievements were remarkable. On average, each quasi-T5 starship could take down at least three enemy broodships, and each T5 starship could eliminate ten enemy broodships.
Feng Mo could clearly feel that the swarm they were facing had thinned considerably. But just then, an alarm sounded in the main control rooms of the fleets.
"Alert! Radar has detected a large number of broodships. Scanning complete. Detected: one quasi-T6 brood mother star, 3,000 T5 broodships, T4 broodships..."
Another report followed. Feng Mo caught the key term: brood mother star!
He had originally thought that broodships were born from the mother nest, and Gu Jun had often mentioned the mother nest. He had always wondered what the mother nest looked like—a massive broodship? Or perhaps a spherical hive full of tunnels? Now, he realized that the so-called mother nest was actually an insectoid planet!
The enormous brood mother star before them lacked any bright colors; its surface was covered with honeycomb-like tunnels. Feng Mo could even clearly see broodships emerging from these passages.
This was essentially a battle planet, known as a war star—a mobile planet. However, unlike a war star, the brood mother star lacked offensive capabilities, but it possessed a powerful bio-field capable of withstanding three simultaneous hits from T5-class cluster annihilation cannons.
Moreover, the appearance of the brood mother star in battle signified that they were nearing a decisive conflict with the species. At this point, the fleet commanders were considering retreat, and Feng Mo felt the same; if they didn't withdraw now, they might not be able to leave at all.
Besides, their mission had been successful. They had destroyed tens of thousands of broodships, including over a thousand T5 broodships—a significant loss for the insectoids. Otherwise, the brood mother star wouldn't have appeared.
"Let's give them a parting gift before we leave. When the Federation develops T6-class weapons, we'll come back and settle the score," Gu Jun said calmly.
The fleet commanders nodded in agreement. The flagships of the thirteen fleets began to glow brilliantly, along with the four T5-class cluster annihilation cannons of the T5 annihilation ship.
Seventeen T5-class cluster annihilation cannons simultaneously emitted brown beams, sweeping across the battlefield. Any broodship touched by the beams, regardless of its level, exploded instantly. The beams continued advancing until they reached the front of the brood mother star before dissipating.
They didn't push further because their energy reserves were depleted. After those seventeen shots, over a thousand broodships were destroyed, consuming an enormous amount of energy.
"That was a decent farewell gift. Gentlemen, it's not polite to overstay our welcome. Let's head back home and celebrate!" Gu Jun declared.
The united fleets began their orderly retreat, fighting as they withdrew. They used tractor beams to recover all the destroyed starships, striving not to leave a single one behind.
Some of these ships were merely immobilized; there might still be survivors on board. Training crew members capable of operating T5 starships required significant resources, and they wouldn't be abandoned lightly—not to mention the camaraderie among them.
As they retreated, Gu Jun looked at the brood mother star displayed on the radar, sighing, "Xiao Mo, the next time we come, it'll be to completely eliminate this species. Did you know that this brood mother star can evolve on its own?
"Fortunately, its evolution is exceedingly slow. Over a thousand years ago, when the Federation first discovered it, it was just a T5-class brood mother star. Now, after more than a millennium, it has only just evolved into a quasi-T6 level. Who knows how long it will take to reach a true T6 level?
"Just wait. Once the Federation's technology advances further, we'll be able to completely eradicate this insectoid species from the universe."
From Gu Jun's words, Feng Mo gleaned multiple layers of meaning. He learned about the origins of the brood mother star and that this wasn't the only insectoid species in the universe.
He also gathered insights into the Federation's technological level, a subtle reminder not to become complacent, and an indication that the Federation was already making headway toward T6 technology.
Feng Mo nodded obediently, indicating his understanding. Participating in this battle had truly been an eye-opening experience. The power of T5 starships, the special starships he had never seen before, the brood mother star—all of these had broadened his horizons.
These experiences gave Feng Mo a deeper understanding of the Starsea Human Federation. Previously, he had thought that having a few T5 fleets under his command would allow him to traverse the stars freely. In reality, the Federation's technology was already on the verge of entering the T6 era.
The Federation was waging wars on three fronts and could still mount such a significant operation against the insectoids. Feng Mo was certain that the Federation's two fleets must have quasi-T6 starships.
Otherwise, he couldn't believe they would dare to fight a three-front war while simultaneously assembling thirteen T5 fleets for a massive battle without having quasi-T6 starships. In fact, his intuition was correct. During the return journey, Gu Jun sent him a video.
The video showed a 10-kilometer-long, crimson interstellar battleship cruising through the cold depths of space. Only two black emblems were painted on its bow—the emblems of the Starsea Human Federation and the Starship Design Department.
This was a quasi-T6 interstellar battleship. In front of it gathered numerous mechanical starships of the interstellar mechanical race. In the video, the battleship's bow cannon was charging continuously, gathering near-brown energy, with faint arcs of electricity visible.
Feng Mo watched intently. When the cannon was fully charged, a light brown beam instantly pierced through three T5-class warships of the mechanical race.
The video ended there. After watching it, Feng Mo calmly forwarded the video to Ai Er, Alisa, and Chu Yunjian, one copy for each. Of course, these small actions didn't escape Gu Jun's notice, but he didn't mind—it wasn't a big secret.
News of the birth of the quasi-T6 starship had already spread among the upper echelons of the Federation. The starship's performance, whether in hull data,
weaponry, speed, or external armor, far surpassed T5 starships.
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