Mother Strike Failed
Inside the conference room on the B3 level, Lister was remotely connected to the control room and the operational screens of various departments.
Notification: Access to the A61 destroyer's signal channel is imminent.
"Connected."
"Truman, how's the target finding going?"
Captain Boren's familiar husky voice was urging him on.
Two warships hovered high above this planet overrun by Zerg civilization.
Although the enemy was in control of the battle, the overall battle strategy remained the same old three-pronged approach.
This involves long-range strikes against the mothership, followed by amphibious landings to eliminate the threat.
The captain of the destroyer next door was from the Arcane Civilization; his inscribed robes made him instantly recognizable.
He appeared in the projection with a serious expression, his gaze towards Captain Boren carrying a hint of resentment.
There's no way around it; nobody would be happy to have tens of thousands of military merits taken away from them for no reason.
"Captain Boren, please hurry up."
"If all else fails, we can complete this task ourselves!"
He started urging us on as soon as he came up. The captain opposite him pulled down his hood, revealing a hint of impatience in his pale, middle-aged face.
Even small destroyers are equipped with neutron cannons in terms of their own construction.
Of course, the overall strength will be slightly weaker, and the requirements for Class Holder who control the neutron cannon will also be reduced considerably.
The strike intensity is at level 14, which is sufficient firepower to strike the mothership, given the estimated strength of the target in this mission.
"Alright! Captain Kade, since you're in charge of the mission anyway, we'll be ready to cooperate with your commands at any time."
"We can watch from the sidelines and cheer you on, as long as your military achievements remain the same!"
Captain Boren was well aware of the other party's dissatisfaction, and at the moment, he was willing to agree to any other condition except for not agreeing to military merits.
Faced with this explanation, Captain Kade immediately realized that the other party was not someone who couldn't stand being provoked or who cared about saving face.
He glared at Captain Boren with displeasure, then fell silent, realizing he had wasted his breath.
"Captain Kade, I understand this is a promotion mission for your ship, and we will definitely cooperate."
"After all, the neutron cannons on our cruisers are indeed more powerful than those on your destroyers, so it's like adding an extra layer of protection for your mission!"
"What if this mother body is a level 15 entity? Are you really planning to personally lead a team to attack its lair?"
Lister only then realized that this mission was actually an upgrade mission for the entire enemy ship.
No wonder the other side was able to receive such a high-ranking mission despite both being small warships; this is the reason.
As soon as Captain Boren finished speaking, Captain Kade's expression suddenly changed. His displeasure vanished instantly, and he became serious again.
At the same moment, all officers of ministerial rank and above on both ships subconsciously frowned.
Nothing more!
I don't know whether to say Captain Boren's words were a jinx or just a coincidence.
In the particle imaging recently completed by Secretary Truman himself, the parent body is located less than a thousand kilometers from the core of this giant planet.
Meanwhile, based on the estimation of equal quantity and rank, the opponent's rank is indeed 15, and the initial estimate of combat power is above A-level.
Of course, the combat power of the Zerg's main body cannot be considered as A-level; this is the combat power enhanced by the reproduction of its offspring.
Whether the other party actually has any means of attack remains unknown.
"Captain Boren! I was indeed too hasty just now!"
"Please have your fleet unleash its full power in a moment!"
After a moment of silence, Captain Kade, despite feeling extremely annoyed, immediately softened his attitude and his tone became much more friendly.
"Captain Kata, rest assured! Our crew will do everything in our power!"
This should have been a great opportunity to retaliate, but even Captain Boren wasn't entirely confident in dealing with this Tier 15 Mother, so he naturally had no time to dwell on such matters.
The A73 destroyer's neutron cannon does indeed have a strike power of level 15, but it still struggles to kill life forms of the same level.
In other words, the mother structure of this type of Zerg civilization is not easily moved, and it is relatively safe if it can be attacked at will.
If it truly is a level 15 high-combat-power alien beast, relying solely on long-range neutron cannon attacks might not be enough to eliminate it.
"But... Captain Kata, you also need to be prepared to report back and provide support..."
"No!"
Before Captain Boren could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Captain Kade.
Under Captain Boren's puzzled look, Captain Kade slowly explained with a hint of embarrassment.
"This... this is already our ship's second promotion mission!"
"I implore... Captain Boren, and everyone on A73, to give it your all."
"If all else fails, you guys provide cover, and I'll personally lead the team in to wipe them out."
"Well... alright...! But if absolutely necessary, I'll still report it to my superiors."
After some hesitation, Captain Boren ultimately decided to be understanding.
As a fellow captain of a small ship, I know how rare promotion opportunities are.
If you fail to get promoted once, you almost never get a second chance.
Not to mention that this is the other party's second promotion, which must have come at a huge cost.
If you fail this time or lack the ability to lead and complete the task, you can forget about any future promotion opportunities.
"Boom!"
The giant purple beam of light from the neutron cannon blasted straight toward the location of the mother body.
The area illuminated by the beam of light was instantly annihilated, along with the dust and crust, pointing straight to the mother body deep within.
"Squeak~!"
A powerful roar suddenly erupted, like a mental shockwave, causing the already sparse vegetation on the ground to wither and Wither.
[Target Found: Evil Shadow Eye Monster Mother]
[Level: LV149]
[Occupation: Shadow (Other)]
[Health Points: 973313/1093313]
[Strength: 489811/489811]
[Attributes: Strength 149, Stamina 209 (Base 149, Bonus 60), Intelligence 239 (Base 149, Bonus 90), Agility 140]
[Skill: Evil Shadow Breeding (S-rank): Breeds a large number of Evil Shadow Eye Monsters with very few resources. (Note: Currently, 27 types of offspring can be bred, starting at rank 7 and with a maximum growth rank of rank 14.)]
Supply Berserk (S-rank): Consumes a large amount of resources and one's own stamina to grant the offspring a 50% bonus to health and stamina, a 30% bonus to attack damage, attack speed, movement speed, defense, and other attributes for a period of time.
Evil Shadow Manipulation (S-rank):???...
Evil Shadow Revival (S-rank),???...]
[Overall Rating: Grade A]
It was indeed a mid-to-high level battle, and it was a special mother life form with only A-level combat power and over a million health points.
Even when facing an opponent far exceeding his own level, there are still several skills that Lister cannot fully acquire.
"Oh no! Truman, quickly take control and intercept!"
Just as Captain Boren was issuing his warning, the adjacent destroyer had already begun firing its electromagnetic pulse cannon.
The target of the attack was not the mother body, but the Evil Shadow Eye Monsters that kept gathering around it.
In particular, a type of Evil Shadow Eye Monster, tall in stature with its back fully extended in black armor, is currently pouring into the beam of the neutron cannon.
Tens of thousands of these eye monsters actually slowed down the neutron cannon's attack by using their own bodies.
It was like a tug-of-war. Although the Eye Monster's body was constantly being annihilated by the neutron cannon, it managed to buy the Mother a moment of respite by sacrificing its own life.
The next moment, with a new roar, an invisible aura swept across all the surrounding eye monsters.
The Evil Shadow Eye Monster's health and defense immediately increased significantly, and the rate at which it was killed and annihilated by the beam was greatly slowed down.
For a moment, the beam of light from the neutron cannon was actually blocked.
Fortunately, the electromagnetic pulse cannon has now interrupted the gathering of black-armored monsters, freezing them in place.
Without the convergence of new life forms, it's only a matter of time before the neutron cannon strikes the mother body again.
"Oni, are you alright?"
On the projected screen, the crew of the Shipboard Artillery Department were operating two massive neutron cannons.
They attacked simultaneously, their attacks overlapping and converging.
Oni's face began to flush red, and energy kept surging into it as he answered with difficulty.
"Captain! I can hold on for another two minutes!"
"Hold on!"
With perfect teamwork, and without any new Eyes appearing, the existing Evil Shadow Eye Monster were quickly wiped out.
As expected, the neutron cannon bombarded the mother structure again, and the life force continued to weaken.
[Remaining Health: 553313]
When the mother's health dropped below 50%, she suddenly experienced an energy surge.
The mother's body contracted into a ball on its own, and her breath fell completely silent, as if she had entered a state of hibernation.
At the same time, countless dark shadows suddenly emerged from the nest deep within the mother's body.
Like the shadows of the Black-Armored Monster that had just been annihilated, they once again continuously blocked the neutron cannon attacks.
Under prolonged and continuous attacks, the cruiser's neutron cannon eventually went silent, while the mother ship's health remained at around 40% and was steadily recovering.
"Captain, I can't take it anymore! I need to rest!"
Oni was completely exhausted and, along with the many lieutenants around him, was receiving injections to recover as quickly as possible.