Luck and Strength Combined
The silver-black blade flashed across the sky with unstoppable force, causing the space to tremble slightly.
Countless high-rise buildings and fortifications were all cut in two.
The Silver Mutual Aid Society's resistance squad was ultimately powerless to resist and died under Lister's blade.
"Sir! Apart from miners, there are no other life forms on this planet, only rare tantalum ore resources."
After a brief search, Lieutenant Zahn quickly returned to Lister and reported on the general situation of the planet.
"Leave me a portion of the mined metal resources; have Lieutenant Mila bring her men to collect the rest."
"Inform Minister Gwent and tell him that the repair costs for the training room can be offset by these tantalum ore metals."
Tantalum is one of the materials used to make the Shadowless Sword. It has extremely strong energy conduction and ductility, and is of considerable value in the Galactic Federation, belonging to the category of strategic resources.
Unfortunately, it is not very hard on its own, and it can only be truly suitable for forging equipment after being melted into various alloys.
"Yes, sir!"
Lieutenant Zahn gave a fervent salute, then deftly directed his men to get to work.
This old lieutenant in the department is gradually coming into his view. Compared to Reck, who is currently obsessed with love, Lister has gradually handed over many of his assistant tasks to Zahn.
The other side did not disappoint him; at least their command and arrangement of soldiers was much more experienced than that of Reck.
Meanwhile, on the medium-sized cruiser S27.
Lieutenant Colonel Weiss, on the main line of operations, had just destroyed an enemy medium-sized warship and eliminated a crucial coordinate point.
He was resting in the warship's command center at the moment, and asked Major Kaya about it with curiosity.
How are the missions of the other warships progressing?
Which route is progressing the fastest?
Line 3.
Upon first hearing this, Lieutenant Colonel Weiss didn't take it seriously, focusing instead on the route of Line 3 on the holographic star map in front of him.
"Where have they advanced to... um...? Line 3!?"
Halfway through the question, Lieutenant Colonel Weiss's expression suddenly changed.
He was extremely surprised and asked Major Kaya, one of the vice commanders of the conscription mission and also one of his vice captains, about the matter again.
"A warship of the Arcane Civilization Army? Then... that warship called A...73 is in charge of the advance route?"
"That's right."
Major Kaya nodded firmly, though a hint of embarrassment crept onto his face.
At that moment, he could understand Lieutenant Colonel Weiss's feelings.
Although I hate to admit it, the facts, including the coordinates of the other side's warships, cannot be faked!
Their Central Army's offensive speed was truly no match for the advance speed of the opposing Civilization Army.
"How is that possible? Aren't they just ordinary small cruisers?"
"That Hegemon Lister alone? Can he advance faster than several of our medium-sized warships?"
"Sir, A73 has eliminated all the outer coordinates of the mission and is about to enter the middle zone."
"As for this efficiency, it's probably because... their line situation is a bit strange right now!"
"What's strange?"
Lieutenant Colonel Weiss was filled with curiosity; he just wanted to know how A73 could advance so quickly.
This was one of the main routes, and he had originally posed a difficult problem for the A73. Now he was being told that the A73 was even more formidable than their Central Army's warships?
"Sir, according to our intelligence agents..."
"It seems that only the Civilization Army knew about the No. 3 attack route, so they redeployed some personnel from the outer areas of that route, and many strategic defensive resources were also redeployed to reinforce our other Central Army routes."
"This includes the other routes taken by the Civilization Army as well."
"How many people did the Silver Mutual Aid Society evacuate? Could A73 have managed to dismantle the entire perimeter?"
Lieutenant Colonel Weiss was somewhat comforted after hearing the specific reasons, but he was still speechless inside.
So all the pressure was put on the Central Army? Meanwhile, the Civilization Army gained a lot of advantages along the way?
I somewhat regret canceling the Belt and Road Initiative policy.
Even if some of their personnel have withdrawn, it's impossible for them to simply let you in.
The A73 warship cleared nine locations in three days. Even if we consider the opponent's luck, its strength is still undeniable!
They are absolutely comparable to the small warships of their Central Army.
"Sir, about one-third have been evacuated."
"The main reason is that the Hegemon henchman on Ship A73 is indeed very fierce in ground combat! The mission reports are almost entirely about him going down and advancing single-handedly."
"The enemy's current extra military merit points have already exceeded one thousand."
"According to our intelligence personnel, the enemy doesn't seem to have anticipated the Ship A73's formidable strength. They've already reinforced their defenses in the mid-section area, and reinforcements are on their way."
Lieutenant Colonel Weiss grew increasingly frustrated as he listened, silently shaking his head.
This A73 is really lucky; even their opponents underestimated and misjudged them.
"Now that we've reached the middle section, let's prepare for a new strategy."
"If the other side really encounters a strong opponent, you should coordinate and lend them a hand if you can."
"Sir! The SA199 cruiser has a temporary mission that requires the cooperation of A73... Should we...?"
"Is it Major Qi? Just approve it for him! It'll be fine with him protecting him!"
Lieutenant Colonel Weiss has now changed his attitude towards the A73 warship; ultimately, strength commands more respect.
Lister returned to his warship after receiving the tantalum metal.
Following the successful start of the first mission, this is the ninth coordinate point to be captured in four days.
It's also the first coordinate point in the middle section of Route Three. I thought it would be quite difficult, but it seems the opposing team doesn't have many defenders.
Furthermore, since the first outer coordinate point, none of the planets so far have had any energy shields for defense.
With the neutron cannons that A73 typically used to clear the way, combined with Lister's sweeping landings, the efficiency of the advance far exceeded that of ordinary units.
Now, with this unstoppable offensive, all the previous pessimism has been swept away.
Furthermore, once they advance three more mid-section coordinate points, the subsequent tasks will no longer require such a rapid advance, and will be taken over by other Central Army units.
"Minister Lister! Captain Boren is looking for you; he has an urgent mission!"
As soon as I returned to the ship, a lieutenant rushed over.
When he entered the control room, all officers of ministerial rank and above were already present.
Captain Boren was on a call with someone else, and the person on the virtual projection screen was none other than Lister's old acquaintance— Major Siegfried.
By the time he sat down, the control room door had been closed from the outside.
The projection screen, which was originally only facing Captain Boren, instantly replaced the central WA Star Sector hologram and faced everyone.
"Fellow soldiers of the Arcane Civilization Army, I am Lieutenant Commander Siegfried, captain of the small cruiser SA199."
"There is a temporary mission that requires the cooperation of your Ship A73, and this mission has been approved by Lieutenant Colonel Weiss of the S27 warship."
"Now I will announce the specific mission: A small cruiser that was reinforcing from the rebel headquarters has escaped while reaching our attack route and has already sailed into your area."
"The enemy's exact combat strength is unknown, but you must defend against and intercept them!"
"My ship has proceeded to your operational area. If a target is spotted, please send its accurate coordinates immediately. My main force will be responsible for its elimination."
"This mission is a temporary special mission. The military merit points have been approved by Lieutenant Colonel Weiss, totaling 76,000 points, with your army receiving 35%."
After saying that, the video was cut off.
Not long after, Major Siegfried 'Lister contact request appeared on Lister's profile.
After giving a brief greeting to Captain Boren, he left the control room first.
In any ship-to-ship combat, the main force is not Lister.
Unless conditions for an anti-ship landing are created, it makes little difference whether he's in the control room or not.
Inside his own room, Major Siegfried's camera feed had been connected.
His expression was no longer as serious as when he was announcing the mission in the control room; he seemed much more casual during the call.
"Lister, it's been a long time."
"Fortunately, we have a cooperative mission. I've spoken with Lieutenant Colonel Weiss, and even if the temporary mission ends, our two ships will maintain communication signals."
"If you encounter any tough problems on board, feel free to contact me anytime!"
Considering that each ship might be controlled by the enemy if it attacks independently, and that information disruption could disrupt the overall mission plan.
Therefore, each ship's signal is individually shielded, and communication is only maintained with the S27 medium cruiser, which is Lieutenant Colonel Weiss's warship.
In retrospect, this temporary mission seems to have been merely a pretext devised by Major Siegfried, and was more of a pretext to help their ship.
"Major Qi! Shouldn't you be in recruit training camp? Why the sudden conscription order?"
"The three-year training camp is mainly for assessing candidates for special resource allocation; the actual special period only lasts six months."
"Whether the appointed battalion commander is in there or not is irrelevant for the remaining two and a half years."
"I was quite dedicated; I stayed an extra six months. Most of the officers transferred from the Central Army had already left after receiving their special resources."