Global Crossing: Empire of Stars

The "Tengshe" weaved back and forth in space, lightly dodging the dense barrage of projectiles. This effortless evasion immediately alerted the enemy fleet. The advancing fleet finally stopped, opening fire towards the target star sector.

The dense barrage instantly engulfed a large area of space. This was the attack of an entire fleet; unless they had heaven-defying luck, even a Space Fighter pilot wouldn't be sure if they could survive such indiscriminate bombardment.

But for the "Tengshe," such an attack was not fatal. With a Sublight Assault and a few sharp turns, it broke free from the deadly net of fire.

At this moment, the "Tengshe" finally approached the unknown fleet. Through radar comparison, it quickly ascertained the fleet's background: "All standard warships, are these Rebels?"

In the Dark Galaxy, unless preparing for a large-scale invasion, even the Federation's fleet 017 would only guard important Hyperspace Lanes and wouldn't openly enter like this, to avoid provoking NPC factions.

Lin Zhichen frowned slightly, a hint of surprise in his expression. Dakan I was previously a pirate base, now cleared out by the Meteor Mercenary Group. If they were seeking revenge or reconnaissance, it should have been a pirate fleet. Why had a Rebel fleet appeared instead?

After clarifying the fleet's background, the "Tengshe" suddenly accelerated, flying towards deep space, disappearing in an instant.

More than ten minutes later, it returned to Dakan I. In the holographic projector, Wu Tianyi asked, "Big Brother, how's the situation?"

"It's a Rebel fleet of over a thousand ships," Lin Zhichen replied.

"Ha, easy peasy, we can handle that," Wei Peng said, relieved. He had witnessed the previous battle where a massive fleet of two thousand ships was dealt with. Now that their own fleet had grown stronger, dealing with the enemy would be even simpler.

"It's not that simple," Wu Tianyi frowned. "We attacked a pirate base, why are the Rebels here?"

"Perhaps the Rebel fleet was already planning to attack the pirate base? And we just happened to get there first?" Link guessed.

"To attack Dakan I with a thousand warships?" Wei Peng also reacted at this point, shaking his head repeatedly. "They look like a decoy. Their main fleet is still behind, or perhaps it's a search fleet, looking for something."

"It doesn't look like a decoy. I scouted the surrounding space with the Tengshe, and there's no second fleet within dozens of light-seconds," Lin Zhichen shook his head.

"However, the idea of them looking for something is plausible."

"What could they be looking for? The two factions have been fighting for years. Wouldn't the Rebels know that Dakan I is pirate territory?" Wu Tianyi was puzzled.

"A Rebel fleet suddenly appearing here is unusual, no matter how you look at it."

"There's a distinct Psionic energy signature from that Rebel fleet," Lin Zhichen mused. "According to my senses, there are at least 3 NPC Psionicists among them. This is very unusual."

The few men exchanged glances. This was indeed very unusual. While NPCs spawned in large numbers, most were "blank slates" with little value, and those with special talents were extremely rare. If one were to calculate the number of NPC Psionicists alone, it would be even more disheartening.

Of course, this didn't mean they didn't exist at all. In fact, because Psionicists had longer lifespans and higher survival rates, accumulating over generations, each Dark Galaxy had a considerable number of Psionicists.

The appearance of NPC Psionicists wasn't surprising; what was strange was that in a small fleet of only about a thousand ships, there were three. That was indeed rare.

"Big Brother, let's take down this fleet!" Hearing this news, Wei Peng was a little restless.

NPC Psionicists were extremely rare; normally, it was difficult to encounter even one. Now there were three. Capturing and converting them all would be beneficial. Otherwise, if they wanted to form a Psionicist army, who knew how many years it would take.

"No rush, let's see their objective first," Lin Zhichen said.

"Big Brother, I have a guess," Wu Tianyi said, immediately drawing everyone's attention. "When we attached the Ship Spirit, the newly awakened Psionic Warship caused quite a stir in the Psionic Domain."

Lin Zhichen's eyes moved. "That's right. Anyone with eyes could sense that surge of Psionic energy. And the fleet's current location is indeed the star sector where we were before."

At this point, the men fell silent. None of them had expected that an unintentional action would lead to such consequences. The defensive system of their underground base wasn't even complete yet. If this area attracted the enemy's attention, it would lead to a series of repercussions.

"Big Brother, speaking of which, this might not be entirely bad. At least we have another source for obtaining NPC Psionicists. You know, this isn't the only Dark Galaxy with Psionicists. If we plan carefully, we can lie in wait!" Link said, trying to comfort them as he saw the somber atmosphere.

"Ake is right! Since awakening our Psionic Warship in the Dakan System attracted NPC Psionicists, we can set up ambushes in other star systems as well, specifically targeting those Psionicists," Wu Tianyi's eyes lit up.

"This is much faster than spending a lot of time, effort, and Energy Coins to slowly cultivate NPCs. At least until we can mass-produce Psionicists, we can use this method to acquire a large number of NPC Psionicists!"

"You're right!" Lin Zhichen nodded, feeling a bit more relaxed. Regardless, this unconfirmed discovery could provide wings for the mercenary group's rise. The current difficulties seemed insignificant in comparison.

Instead of directly destroying the enemy fleet, the base radar on Planet Dakan I, more than twenty light-seconds away, silently scanned the uninvited Rebel fleet.

While the enemy was unaware, they monitored every move of the Rebel fleet.

Wu Tianyi's guess was not wrong. The Rebel fleet kept hovering in the area about twenty light-seconds away – the very area where the three Psionic Warships had awakened. Undoubtedly, they were alerted by the disturbance of the Psionic awakening and had come specifically to investigate.

"Since we've confirmed their objective, let's keep them all here," Lin Zhichen commanded the Meteor fleet, forming ranks and slowly advancing towards the Rebel fleet.

This time, they were fighting on their doorstep. With the support of the base radar, the fleet's vision was unprecedentedly vast. At a distance of more than twenty light-seconds, they could already detect every movement of the enemy fleet.

At such a long distance, a deviation of one millimeter meant a difference of several kilometers or even more. Even a Grandmaster gunner's accuracy would drop to a dismal level due to the penalty for extremely long-range shots.

The silent Meteor fleet gradually approached. When they were 6.5 light-seconds apart, they finally scanned the exact position of the enemy fleet on their ship radar. Only then did they fire the cannons they had been preparing.

"Zzzzt~"

Streaks of crimson meteors flashed and disappeared instantly as they flew at sublight speeds through space.

From launch to impact, 6.5 light-seconds required nearly a minute. During this time, the small turrets on the entire fleet could fire more than ten rounds!

Don't underestimate these small turrets; with the boost from NPC gunners' skills and the AllSpark, their power was close to that of large turrets. Even the weakest Frigate could now threaten a Battleship.

With the Mind Resonance buff, the entire fleet became a single entity. Ship Cannons fired round after round, launching a fierce bombardment at the bewildered and unaware Rebel fleet.

This was the Meteor Mercenary Group's first engagement with the Rebels. As standard troops, the Rebel fleet's equipment was far more advanced than the pirate fleet's. When the incoming Electromagnetic Projectiles entered radar range, they quickly alerted the enemies who were still searching in space.

Immediately, orders were relayed. The Rebel fleet's reaction to the surprise attack was better than the pirates'. The searching fleet gradually dispersed according to orders, intending to weaken the unknown enemy's attack.

But it was too late. Turning a behemoth like a starship took several minutes. The dispersing starship formation was immediately hit fiercely. Suddenly, a warship exploded in flames.

It was a Frigate. After being hit by 5 Electromagnetic Projectiles, the warship, having reached its limit, exploded.

Then came the second, the third. In just one minute, after enduring more than ten volleys, the Rebel fleet commander suddenly realized that before they had even seen the enemy's shadow, they had already lost over twenty warships, including an unlucky Cruiser.

To change the unfavorable battle situation, he ordered the fleet to charge directly towards the direction of the incoming shells, gradually dispersing during the charge to weaken the enemy's firepower density.

Receiving precise orders, the Rebel Army fleet immediately took action, abandoning evasive maneuvers and advancing head-on into the barrage. Since the warships were designed by Humanity, their hulls were generally rectangular. When charging, the exposed surface area of the hull was minimized, resulting in the lowest chance of being hit by artillery.

The two sides advanced towards each other and soon closed to within 6 light-seconds.

At this point, they had reached the maximum effective range of the Particle Light Spear. Lin Zhichen ordered without hesitation, and the long-accumulated energy erupted. Brilliant beams of light appeared in space and, with the swing of the battleships, carved great arcs of light through the void.

The highly condensed high-energy beams swept across, and the affected Rebel Army fleet was immediately heavily damaged. Even at the end of its range, the Particle Light Spear's power was still more than a frigate or even a destroyer could withstand.

Under Lin Zhichen's precise command, the Particle Light Spears of the five Pirate Butcher warships carved mysterious trajectories through space. Any warship caught in the path had its shields instantly torn apart and was reduced to scrap metal on the spot.

One notable incident was that a battleship was also caught in the beam. At such a long distance, the energy condensed by the Particle Light Spear was insufficient to destroy this large warship.

However, it was simultaneously hit by five beams—in space, five "brushes" converged at one point, and the concentrated fire caused the battleship to explode into a fireball.

By the time this wave of attacks ended, a large portion of the once dense Rebel Army fleet was gone. The Rebel commander, receiving a report, learned that in just the past dozen seconds, over two hundred frigates and destroyers had been destroyed!

The precise trajectories of the Particle Light Spears ensured that the maximum number of starships were affected, fully utilizing the value of battleships in fleet battles, and demonstrating the power of the Particle Light Spear.

"Distance approximately 5 light-seconds!" Upon seeing the Particle Light Spears, the Rebel Army fleet commander immediately analyzed the enemy fleet's location.

But he didn't know that with the enhancement of various skills and the AllSpark, the main cannons' power had reached a new level.

"Fire main cannons!" This passive combat, where they could only take hits and not retaliate, caused the morale of the entire fleet to plummet. Even to boost morale, he had to order a counterattack.

"Evasive maneuvers!" With Mind Resonance, the entire fleet acted as one. Following Lin Zhichen's instructions, they scattered in different directions. This was the optimal evasion route he had determined based on the psionic energy readings.

This Rebel Army fleet had over 50 battleships. Brilliant beams of light appeared in space, sweeping across continuously.

Without radar, relying only on guesswork, their sweeping fire was futile. Already having lost most of its power beyond 5 light-seconds, the fleet's evasive maneuvers dodged the last remnants of the blast.

When the light beams dissipated, the Meteor fleet regrouped. Within a few breaths, they had reformed into a single unit, almost entirely unscathed.

At this moment, the two fleets were only 5.5 light-seconds apart. The radar range of a battleship was 5 light-seconds, meaning they were practically face-to-face.

Having no intention of engaging the enemy head-on, under Mind Resonance, the entire fleet moved as one, rapidly changing formation in space. They disengaged just before contact and headed towards Dakan I.

At this moment, detecting the enemy fleet's movements at the edge of the radar range, the Rebel commander was enraged and led his fleet in pursuit.

Losing so much without even engaging, this wasn't how even Cannon Fodder should be wasted!

He didn't know yet that this was merely a feint by the Meteor Corps, preparing to use the charging acceleration effect from the nearby star to annihilate the enemy.

Above Dakan I, seven Vajra turrets circled along the orbital path. They had completed their charging, their muzzles pointed at space, where the Rebel Army fleet was.

Soon, with the boost from NPC pilots and the AllSpark, the Meteor fleet, moving far faster than the Rebel Army, took up defensive positions above Dakan I. Among them, five Pirate Butchers immediately rotated their hulls, drawing energy from the star to accelerate their charging.

Behind them, the pursuing Rebel Army fleet grew suspicious. Following the direction, that area was where Dakan I was currently located. Could the ambush just now have been by a pirate fleet?

As they closed the distance, Dakan I appeared in the distance.

But at this moment, twelve brilliant beams of light attacked from the depths of space, again tracing strange trajectories.

This time, more Particle Light Spears were fired simultaneously, bringing more changes. Supported by Mind Resonance, explosions of fire erupted continuously in the sky. By the time the beams extinguished a dozen seconds later, nearly two hundred warships had been destroyed.

After firing the Particle Light Spears, the Vajra Fortress, suspended in space, quickly rotated. Its main cannon muzzle turned towards the star, activating Blazing Star Radiance. A line of fire flew back from the star and entered the cannon's muzzle.

Rapid Charging activated!

While the main cannon was charging, the Vajra Fortress did not cease fire. Depending on their respective evolutionary levels, at least 3 and up to 5 smaller turrets rotated on the fortress, targeting the Rebel Army fleet and launching wave after wave of bombardment alongside the Meteor fleet.

At this point, the Rebel commander finally felt a sense of unease. In the last wave of attacks, seven or eight battleships had been destroyed, and the entire fleet, under continuous bombardment, had already lost nearly half its strength!

Before he could hesitate further, dense barrages of fire arrived. Even at a distance of 6.4 light-seconds, with the enhancement of Mind Resonance, the shells' hit rate remained as high as twenty percent. Warships exploded one after another, and visibly, the Rebel Army fleet was continuously being weakened.

Just one minute later, twelve Particle Light Spears were fired again, thoroughly awakening the Rebel commander. The remaining 500-plus pirate fleet, after suffering another round of attacks, lost another third of its warships.

Such precise shooting completely extinguished the Rebel Army's desire for revenge, and they hastily scattered, evading into the depths of the starry sky.

But it was too late. Entering the Meteor fleet's range, under successive volleys, Rebel warships were destroyed one by one, and the battle gradually entered its final stages.

Meanwhile, handing over command to Wu Tianyi, Lin Zhichen set his sights on an escaping battleship—within his psionic senses, this warship contained as many as four psionic fluctuations.