The Leader remained silent as he took out two sidearms and meticulously cleaned them. He then retrieved a combat uniform from a cabinet.
After putting it on, he carefully smoothed out any wrinkles in the fabric before holstering the two sidearms at his belt.
With everything in order, the Leader walked out. He paused briefly by a table, his gaze soft as he looked at the framed photograph on its surface.
Click!
He gently placed the photo face down on the table and left the living quarters, quickly arriving at the central control room, also known as the command hall.
Hundreds of officers were already in position, their gazes sharp as they looked towards the Leader entering, their eyes seemingly burning with fierce flames.
Standing on the high platform, the Leader surveyed everyone before finally speaking.
At the same time, tens of millions of people, who had already received the news, simultaneously stopped their work.
"Three years, just three years, and the Chaka Civilization destroyed my people. Trillions perished due to the enemy's ship cannons, their blood staining planet after planet!
The Chaka Race even treated my people as food, herding us like livestock within their territory. Only we, outside the Chaka Civilization, continued to flee. Yet, after fleeing for months, we could not escape the enemy's pursuit.
Perhaps, after generations, those herded people will forget everything, forget the glory of our race, and lose their will for freedom!
But now, the brilliance of our race's wisdom still shines upon us! The will for freedom has not yet been extinguished!
If we cannot escape, then we will not run. Let the enemy see what true freedom looks like!"
"Yes!!"
"We will live and die with our race!"
Tens of millions showed no fear. They were the most elite of the civilization, the most spirited people of the Stan Civilization.
Compared to being herded like livestock, death was more acceptable.
The Leader watched this, then slowly turned. "Fleet, warp to the star system ahead. That will be the final resting place for Stan!"
"Yes!"
The hundreds of warships did not hide this time, their warp engines operating at full power.
Hundreds of warships quickly entered warp.
Meanwhile, dozens of light-years away, a fleet of over three hundred four-cornered starships began to glow. Inside the largest, a ten-thousand-meter warship.
A group of creatures with wriggling tentacles, no facial features, and only a swirling vortex for a mouth became agitated.
"Warp signal! They're not planning to escape?"
"The fleeing fleet of the Stan Civilization!"
"The brains of the most elite beings of a Level 3 Civilization must be delicious!"
"Gaga gaga!"
The more than three hundred warships immediately entered warp, heading directly towards the Stan fleeing fleet.
Their speed was several times faster than the Stan fleet.
Upon arriving at the target star system, the Stan fleet did not pause. A large number of nuclear fusion mines were deployed throughout the star system.
Several engineering ships were urgently assembling orbital weapons, deploying them into the orbits of various planets.
Every weapon that could be used was deployed. Inside the massive Seed Ship, a portion of the tens of millions of people, partially equipped, entered various warships to stand by.
The rest, armed with less advanced weapons and equipment, began setting up various combat obstacles and traps within the ship.
Based on the Chaka Civilization's behavior, they would not easily destroy the fleet.
Instead, they would toy with the fleet and send troops to board the warships to capture them. After all, the difference in civilization level was too great, and the Chaka Civilization would not suffer any casualties doing so.
In the past, the Stan Civilization had millions of space marines on a single planet, but the Chaka Race had annihilated them with just a few thousand mechs.
The Leader sat quietly in his command hall chair, staring at the central screen, his eyes showing no emotion.
Behind him, hundreds of officers stood rigidly, also gazing at the screen.
Various obstacles had already been successfully established outside the command hall, and even within the command hall itself, there were numerous small fortresses.
If nothing unexpected happened, this would be the main area of attack once the Chaka Civilization boarded the ships.
Many heavy mechs, hover tanks, and soldiers were already converging on this location.
Time ticked by.
Suddenly, a piercing alarm echoed throughout the entire fleet.
Hundreds of signal sources suddenly appeared on the screen, heading directly for this star system without any attempt at concealment.
"They're here!"
In the Chaka fleet, the Chaka leader, about three to four meters tall, opened his large mouth.
"Don't use the main cannons! Peel open these toys' shields and capture all the Stan inside!"
"Delicious brains! Gaga gaga gaga!"
Boom boom boom!
The Stan warships launched the first attack, with countless beams and rays sweeping towards the Chaka fleet.
The explosion and energy wave instantly engulfed the Chaka fleet.
However, these seemingly ferocious attacks did not cause significant damage to the Chaka Civilization warships.
Only a few warships' shields dimmed slightly.
The Chaka fleet launched an attack, with hundreds of dark red beams, whose power could be controlled, shooting out and immediately hitting the Stan Civilization's warships.
The warships trembled violently.
[Shields down 37%]
"Maneuver! Hit-and-run tactics!"
"Continue attacking! If necessary, land on the planet's surface and fight them on the ground!"
"Fusion mine triggered!"
Facing the fusion mines that the Stan Civilization's fleeing fleet had recently poured all their efforts into creating, the shields of over a dozen Chaka Civilization warships almost shattered.
Just almost.
Having survived the stellar fireball caused by the nuclear explosion without losses, the Chaka fleet rapidly closed in on the Stan fleet.
At the same time, those dark red beams continued to bombard them.
The Stan warships' shields vibrated continuously, eventually dissipating completely.
Only their armor, with an average defense coefficient, remained to support them.
One warship was completely blown up, and tens of thousands of lives were immediately lost.
"Gaga! Idiots! That's food! Disable the Stan warships' weapons and board them!"
The Chaka leader roared in anger.
The dark red beams continued to bombard them. The orbital weapons, which had been prepared for a long time, were destroyed in mere moments.
Three hundred Chaka warships slowly surrounded the Stan fleet, continuously using ray weapons to clear the weapons on the Stan warships.
The Seed Ship's main cannon was destroyed after firing only once, and the Chaka warships hit by the main cannon only had their shields shattered.
This was the Stan Civilization's strongest main cannon.
Hundreds of thousands of Chaka creatures within the Chaka fleet were filled with excitement. Watching the Stan warships, whose weapons were gradually being destroyed and whose armor was being torn open, was like watching a fruit about to be peeled.
Everyone in the command hall fell silent.
The gap in civilization levels was like a chasm. Even the Stan Civilization, which was top-tier among Level 3 Civilizations.
They were utterly powerless against a common Level 4 Civilization like the Chaka.
The fleet engagement was completely lost within an hour, with almost no damage inflicted on the enemy.
The Leader stood up and picked up a rifle.
"Enough, prepare for the final battle."
"Yes!"
Boom! Boom!
As the armor and hull were breached, the Chaka Race's war machines immediately entered the Stan Seed Ship.
They were mechs resembling floating octopuses, twenty meters tall, with twelve mechanical tentacles each capable of firing rays.
"Kill!!"
"Hold them back! Our army is the first line of defense; don't let them enter the residential areas before we fall!"
Hovering battle tanks roared, and tens of thousands of soldiers fired wildly with their weapons. Dense laser weapons and rays concentrated fire on the hundreds of octopus mechs.
The next moment, hundreds of dark red rays swept across the entire defense line.
Scorching explosions spread along the defense line. Thousands of soldiers died, and most of the tanks and mechs were destroyed.
The octopus mechs, equipped with individual shields, continued at an unhurried pace.
Dozens of octopus mechs appeared outside the command hall. The Leader inside took a deep breath.
Raising his rifle, he, along with hundreds of officers and escort soldiers, aimed at the door.
Outside the Stan fleet, the Chaka leader laughed heartily.
Huh?
Suddenly, a sense of death enveloped the leader.
Before the Chaka leader could react, a white-hot beam traversed countless distances, instantly piercing seven or eight Chaka warships.
Silent explosions spread through space.
"Evasive! Evasive! E..."
Dozens of beams struck again, this time all concentrated on the Chaka fleet's flagship!
The shields shattered like glass, and a large portion of the hull was directly sliced off.
The panicked Chaka leader turned his eyeless face towards the screen.
Nine magnificent, slender warships appeared at the edge of the star system at some unknown time. Their terrifying energy levels caused the Chaka warships' alarms to blare shrilly.
[This is--the Star Sea Human Alliance, belonging to the Starship Fleet.]
[The Eternal Truth Fleet]
[To the barbarian fleet ahead, cease your attacks on the pan-human civilization immediately.]
[Otherwise. Uh. Never mind, we'll annihilate these ugly things.]