Boom! Boom boom!
A cluster of beams wrapped in arcs of electricity streaked across the starry sky, grazing past the hull of the Taiyi.
They directly shattered countless asteroids behind the Taiyi.
Dozens of starships forced their way forward from different directions through the dense barrage of electric arc beams.
Dazzling beams and rays struck one after another, their fierce firepower driving hundreds of disc-shaped Mecha warships in the distance steadily into retreat!
The shields of several Mecha warships at the very front rapidly shattered before they exploded under the Eternal Fleet's bombardment.
"This is the fourth Moro Metal production zone. Once we finish this, we're done," Qingyang said casually.
Facts proved that Qingyang's guess had been correct. The Mecha fleet that had ambushed the Eternal Fleet was the garrison force of the nearby "mines."
Crushed by the Alliance Army's battle-star firepower, the defensive forces at the nearby Moro mines had indeed been greatly reduced.
After successfully seizing over two hundred units of Moro Metal from the third mine, Qingyang immediately rushed to the fourth mining zone.
This was also the last marked Moro mining zone within tens of thousands of light-years.
Going any farther would mean entering Star Lake's depths, or simply reaching the other side of Qian Sen Star Lake. Thus, Qingyang intended to stop after raiding this mining zone.
Qian Sen Star Lake was currently far too high-level a map for the Eternal Fleet. At most, they could wander around its outer edges.
Qingyang had only come here to broaden his horizons, yet he had unexpectedly run into so many events.
Blue-violet electric arc beams rained down upon the Taiyi's shields, splashing up countless violent Energy Particles.
Dozens of ripples surged across every part of the shields.
With the Taiyi drawing the frontal firepower, two Chichen Battleships suddenly accelerated from both flanks and charged toward the wings of the Mecha fleet.
The Chichen Battleships and Radiant Moon Battleships abruptly accelerated, quickly breaking through the Mecha fleet's fire coverage and charging directly toward the weakly defended artillery positions on both sides.
The remaining cruisers followed behind the three capital ships, firing at full force. Their cannons fired at high frequency, suppressing the already crumbling Mecha fleet.
Screech!
The Yuan Sha Main Cannon fired fiercely, its crimson beam forcibly piercing through dozens of Mecha ships in a single line!
To maintain their firepower against the Taiyi, the surrounding Mecha ships abandoned their original positions and converged on the Taiyi, unleashing a massive barrage of electric arc beams at it!
Clearly, the Mecha had not calculated that the Eternal Fleet's shields were linked.
Dispersed attacks and concentrated fire made no difference to the Eternal Fleet. In fact, focusing fire on the Taiyi drastically reduced the pressure on the Chichen Battleships.
In the end, they charged brazenly into the Mecha fleet's formation alongside several cruisers!
The powerful, dense cannon fire of high-end starships poured out wildly, throwing the entire Mecha fleet into disarray.
Faced with this situation, the Mecha's control modules, as always, chose close-range dogfighting.
Exactly what Qingyang wanted.
The scales of victory began to tip.
As the last medium Mecha ship exploded in a martyr detonation, the fourth mining zone fell completely into Qingyang's hands.
After quickly collecting the Moro Metal mined by the Mecha, the Eternal Fleet showed no intention of lingering and directly entered subspace to depart.
Although the scale and numbers of Lost Mecha in Qian Sen Star Lake were far inferior to those outside, they were still Mecha after all!
A fleet of tens of thousands of Mecha warships was merely the garrison force of the nearby mines. Their total numbers certainly exceeded tens of thousands of warships.
If they were caught again by a Mecha fleet equipped with a War Fortress, they would have no choice but to warp away.
Qingyang looked with satisfaction at the more than one thousand units of Moro Metal, then turned to face the dreamlike Star Lake scenery beyond the bridge.
His expression was contemplative.
This renowned Star Lake had fulfilled most of his fantasies about the word "wondrous" in relation to the universe.
But it was time to leave!
Qingyang did not intend to waste too much time in Qian Sen Star Lake. Although it was rich in treasures and rare resources, none of them were something a mere T8 Fleet could access.
The most spectacular places all lay in Qian Sen Star Lake's inner region!
With a diameter of hundreds of millions of light-years, Qian Sen Star Lake had presented the Eternal Fleet with numerous unmanageable crises after they had only ventured several thousand light-years inside.
That distance did not even count as the outer region. It could only be considered the edge, let alone true exploration of Qian Sen Star Lake.
None of the crew had any objections.
The frontier remained Qingyang's most crucial goal at the moment.
Tianling, who was studying up on basic Alliance knowledge, raised her little face, her heart filled with curiosity about the outside world.
Even from the fragments of information revealed in passing, Tianling could still deduce that the Alliance's power far surpassed that of the Tianqu Civilization.
Changxi's gentle voice rang through the Taiyi's control room. "The route has been adjusted. The Alliance has constructed a batch of new stellar Starports near the frontier. We are expected to arrive two months earlier than originally planned."
Oh?
Qingyang withdrew his gaze from outside the ship and looked toward the star map in pleasant surprise. "That's great."
On the side of the frontier facing inward toward Alliance territory, the Alliance Army had cleared an area spanning over one hundred million light-years.
Aside from the military's various industrial star regions, armament systems, supply systems, and production systems, only the bases of some major Alliance powers remained.
Stargates and Star Ring Channels were not as densely distributed as they were within Alliance territory.
Heading to the frontier would greatly accelerate the rate at which they earned military merit. By then, fighting to sustain themselves would quickly bring them to a T7 Fleet.
Within Alliance territory, aside from some Star Lakes and Dimensional Worlds, it was difficult for commanders without the backing of a faction to improve quickly.
Of course, that was not the most important thing to Qingyang. What mattered were the endless and countless forms of cosmic civilizations!
As well as innumerable grand and dangerous cosmic regions and wonders.
Because the Alliance had the Star Network and the rules of civilization suppressing it from within, aside from ordinary celestial activity, most dangerous cosmic regions and wonders could not form.
In short, unless he needed to rest or had something important to do, Qingyang planned to remain at the frontier until the Eternal Fleet became a T5 Fleet.
Leaving was far easier than entering.
This time, the Eternal Fleet spent only two or three days sailing out of the Star Lake's range.
The fleet slowly docked at an orbital Starport attached to a Star Fortress.
After delivering the Moro Metal collection mission, Qingyang stretched lazily. "Rest for a day. We'll set out again tomorrow."
"Want to play cards?" Guxing suggested.
In the blink of an eye, only Guxing and Qingyang remained in the control room.
Along with a mechanical girl desperately cramming common knowledge.
"Don't look at me. I've got something to do too. Uh... I'll go see whether the Alliance Army rewards have arrived." Facing Guxing's gaze, Qingyang's expression changed slightly.
He had been careless. Those guys had run off so quickly.
"..."
Forget it. He could just find someone in the virtual world to play with.
Watching Guxing's departing back, Qingyang immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
He noticed Tianling looking at him with a cool expression, slight confusion on her somewhat childish face.
"Anyway, if that guy asks you to play cards in the future, just don't go." Qingyang rubbed Tianling's head before stepping into the lounge.
Tianling tilted her head, then withdrew her gaze and continued cramming common knowledge.
After logging into the Star Network, Qingyang appeared at Magic Sea Academy.
Rather than going to observe the virtual simulations, Qingyang simply strolled along a pedestrian path on a nearby ecological island.
He watched the bustling commanders and related students within Magic Sea Academy.
Commander Academy did not only have commanders. It also offered courses teaching extraordinary individuals.
There were even departments specifically established for Star Adjuncts!
Come to think of it, should he find a way to send Valen and the other one to the academy for a period of study?
The two of them were not yet capable of helping the Eternal Fleet. Besides, until they reached the frontier, the fleet would soon advance to T7.
Relying solely on improvised teaching could not bring out a Star Adjunct's abilities.
Whether for the Eternal Fleet or for Valen and the other one, leaving them to develop on their own was not a good thing.
Qingyang's gaze went unfocused as he seriously considered the matter.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, Qingyang was knocked down by a dark figure.
He instinctively looked at the figure in front of him rubbing their head, and his expression turned strange.
Could virtual Star Network mode actually cause pain?
"Huh? It doesn't hurt at all."
The figure reacted a beat late and raised their head somewhat awkwardly.
Qingyang's gaze froze. Looking at the person before him, he could not help but feel surprised.
[Star Adjunct Department Student]
Ahh, please keep reading. My traffic has been terrible lately, and the smart recommendations are gone for now too. Sob sob sob.
I'll put the group number in the description before release, so it'll be easier to borrow your ideas, hehehe.
Before you continue