Fleet

Although the Overseer integrates multiple observation organs, its small size limits its capabilities, and it failed to detect Overseer fleet approaching from the side and front.

However, as the fleet passed by, the blue light from their engines was too conspicuous, and the Overseer immediately sounded an alarm upon noticing the anomaly.

Subsequently, the Overseer at the front of the fleet focused their cameras on the scene, monitoring the entire process.

Rowan, who could see all of this through the Overseer's vision, had a bunch of question marks popping up on his forehead.

What is this?

A massive fleet.

It comes from the direction of M37, which is the Riken Star System.

Has the person been changed?

Were the Riken Race conquered by other civilizations?

Several questions arose in Rowan's mind.

However, a few details that were subsequently discovered only added to Rowan's doubts.

As the fleet advanced, more and more Overseer appeared along the way, and clearer images were transmitted back to the Swarm Network.

The markings painted on those warships were exactly the same as those on the Cat's Eye spaceship.

"Is Regi messing with me?" That was Rowan's first thought.

He then dismissed the idea; Regi couldn't possibly be lying to him. But is this the result of such rapid technological advancement? They've even changed the entire technological system!

Interstellar travel, which originally relied primarily on Light Sail for propulsion, has been switched to engine propulsion in just a century?

Furthermore, what's going on with this speed? According to calculations by the Intellect, it has reached one-fifth of the speed of light.

Is this kind of rapid progress even possible?

Is this cheating?

At this rate, they will reach Proxima Star System in about ten years.

Looking at those steel behemoths, which are estimated to be mostly around a kilometer in length, with their densely packed turrets and hidden firing ports, their firepower must be extremely fierce.

Most importantly, how did the other party achieve this level? That's a big question.

The Intellect analyzed that it was impossible for the other side to reach this level in a hundred years by simply building its own technological system based on verified theoretical knowledge and developing steadily. The two most likely possibilities are that the other side received technological assistance from an advanced civilization or acquired the legacy of an advanced civilization.

If it's just a legacy, that's fine. Even if the enemy fleet is powerful, the characteristics of the Swarm mean they can still put up a fight. But if the enemy is a complete advanced civilization, Rowan now needs to figure out how to escape without leaving a trace.

Rowan needs to think carefully about how to deal with this.

Time flies, and twelve years have passed in the blink of an eye. The massive Riken Race fleet has reached the outer reaches of the Proxima Star System.

All personnel were gradually awakened over the previous week.

"Commander, what should we do next?"

Standing before the astrolabe was a Riken Person, tall and robust, in his prime, with a resolute expression on his blue face. Even in his light protective suit, he was already two and a half meters tall. If he wore combat gear, he would probably be two and a half meters tall.

He was none other than General Masai, the commander-in-chief of this expedition.

"Issue the order: the fleet will disperse, with transport ships inside and warships on the outside. Stay alert. We still don't know the exact strength of the alien race here. If you want to get home alive, be on your guard! Also, inform all captains that there will be a video conference in ten minutes!"

"Yes, General."

Ten minutes passed quickly.

"General, I believe that in the face of uncertainty, we should proceed cautiously, building our defenses step by step and advancing steadily." One of the suggestions came from a Conservative Faction Riken captain on the large screen in front of General Masai, which was divided into hundreds of small sections.

The general had never fought against alien forces before, and like his subordinates, he was completely clueless in this area.

We are about to enter the enemy star system. This expedition will surely be recorded in the history of the Riken Race. If the command is good and the results are outstanding, he will naturally be remembered for generations. On the contrary, if there is a failure, he will probably be infamous for eternity.

Under these circumstances, General Masai did not dare to act unilaterally. He thought of pooling everyone's wisdom and efforts to come up with a solution that everyone could agree on. Even if it failed, everyone would share the blame.

"Captain Cleo, your proposal is too conservative. With our invincible fleet, speed is of the essence. We should strike at their stronghold and annihilate them in one fell swoop!" A Riken captain loudly objected, revealing himself to be a Radical Faction.

"I support Captain Kenny," another Radical Faction captain chimed in.

"But do you even know where their base is? We don't even have a target, how can we act swiftly and strike directly at their base?" A captain voiced his objection; he was a neutral, rational person.

"According to the last information transmitted back by the Cat Ear Spaceship, they were attacked after heading to T855, which may be the enemy's lair."

"T855 isn't an Ecological Star, how could it be their lair? I've analyzed it carefully, they must have been hiding on T853, waiting for the Cat Ear Spaceship to leave before following and attacking it."

"That's possible, but T855 is currently on the other side of the star. If we want to get there, we'll have to take a huge detour. Besides, the universe is so vast that there might be races that can survive directly in space."

"How could such a creature exist? Do you think it's possible?"

Why is it impossible?

Just as the two captains were about to start arguing, General Masai cleared his throat twice, interrupting their quarrel, and said, "We're not just here to fight aliens this time; we're here to completely occupy this place. Moreover, striking directly at their lair and establishing a base are not mutually exclusive."

He glanced at the star map beside him and continued, "Currently, both T854 and T853 are on our route. We can establish a temporary base at T854 first, and then send troops to scout out the situation of T853."

"The general is right..."

"As expected of General Masai, he found a compromise right away."

After a barrage of compliments, the plan gained everyone's approval and was successfully approved.

With the current level of technology of the Riken Race, even if the spaceship slows down after entering the star system, it will only take a few minutes to pick up the speed again.

Therefore, it only took them a little over ten days to reach T854 from the edge of the star system.

The Riken Race attached great importance to this expedition. If it failed, given their Riken Race situation, they would not be able to organize another expedition of this scale in a short period of time.

Therefore, they were quite well prepared, with a large number of modular components on the transport ships.

Large metal parts were pulled from the transport ship by small engineering spacecraft, assembled in the orbit of T854, and eventually transformed into space factories.

A large number of engineering equipment and soldiers were airdropped onto planet T854 to conduct reconnaissance and establish excavation sites and factories.

These are all unmanned factories, controlled by intelligent programs. They continuously extract the raw materials collected by engineering machinery and then transport them to the space factory by transport spacecraft.

They actually planned to build new warships right here to bolster their fighting force.

However, some of these factories also produce their own metal components, mostly replacement parts for weapons.

With logistics arranged, the two warships stepped out from the crowd and headed for T853, also known as the Big Origin Star.

Their mission was to deploy a large number of satellites into the geosynchronous orbit of the Big Origin Star.

At the same time, a large number of unmanned reconnaissance aircraft will be deployed into the planet for close-range reconnaissance.

A few days later, they reached the synchronous orbit of the Big Origin Star.

"Look, what's that?"