Infiltration

Before the second round of bombardment, the Riken Race had learned their lesson and made minor adjustments to their detection equipment, focusing their attention on the more than one hundred Ancient Class Space Octopus at the rear of the second wave of attacks.

Therefore, when they gathered their energy, the entire fleet received an evasive maneuver order.

However, in the first round of shelling, several severely damaged warships were either rendered immobile or rendered unable to move, moving very slowly.

Wars between civilizations show no mercy.

It's better to cut off one finger than to injure all ten. The Overlord has said this principle to the Blade more than once.

As a result, these warships received special attention during the second round of shelling.

A warship that was already severely damaged was directly destroyed, its internal energy reactor exploded, and the entire hull was blown to pieces. The debris scattered in all directions, hitting nearby warships, and some ships that were carrying out rescue operations were also affected. The fate of the Riken Race who were drifting in space was unknown.

The scene was quite tragic for a moment.

More smaller vessels were dispatched to join the rescue efforts, but before they could even leave their respective warships, the third round of shelling had already begun...

The somewhat bewildered Riken Race had already reacted, turning the main cannon around and aiming it at the more than 100 Ancient Class octopuses in the distance. These creatures were too far away; only the main cannon had such a long range.

However, the loss of the main gun's firepower made it easier for the other Ancient Class octopuses to pass through the fire net. Their enormous size allowed them to withstand several or even a dozen shots from the secondary guns.

The third wave of space torpedoes was also much sparser than before, because unlike energy weapons, which were launched in too many waves in the previous attack, many launchers now need to be reloaded.

Meanwhile, the fourth line of fighter defenses is still entangled with the first wave of Space Octopus.

When the four hundred Ancient Class Space Octopus passed through the fourth line of defense, dozens of them were still capable of movement, there were hundreds of Mature Form, and even more Larval Form, totaling more than five thousand.

The second wave of attacking Mature Form were mostly equipped with Electromagnetic Cannon. As they closed the distance, they moved while aiming their cannons at the main and secondary cannons to attack.

Lava Larval Form, lacking ranged attack capabilities, continued their charge towards the fleet while also serving to obstruct the fleet's line of sight.

The Riken Race's Fire Control System dedicates most of its firepower to sniping the larger Ancient Class and Mature Forms. These Larval Form are allocated very little firepower, and given that they are generally only about 10 meters long, they are too small targets in space, and their rapid and agile movements make them extremely difficult to lock onto.

In this situation, they rushed to the vicinity of the Riken Race fleet with almost no effort.

This is true close-quarters combat.

At this time, the Riken Race's fifth line of defense was also officially activated.

Many multi-barreled Close-In Weapon System had just been deployed on the exterior of the warship. They employ a special firing mechanism and can achieve a rate of fire of tens of thousands of rounds per minute.

However, its disadvantages are a shorter attack range and weaker attack power, but it is just right for dealing with Swarm Larval Form.

Once activated, the Close-In Weapon System created a curtain of light across the sky, and for the first time since the Swarm entered the war, some units were killed.

Some Larval Form, unable to dodge in time, were swept across the light barrier and torn into mincemeat. They were already small and contained few Strain, so there was no chance of repair.

However, their broken limbs can still be absorbed as energy by other Space Octopus, accelerating their growth or recovery.

The Close-In Weapon System) attacks by calculating the target's flight trajectory using the ship's main engine, then unleashing a barrage of fire in front of it. This method is quite effective against less agile mechanical units.

After losing some of their Larval Form, they quickly discovered this characteristic of the Close-In Weapon System. They dispersed, darting left and right in flight, becoming unpredictable.

The Larval Form, flexible and quick to act, saw their casualties drop dramatically after changing their combat strategy.

Although the Close-In Weapon System never stopped firing, it had achieved very little result.

The Larval Form searched for blind spots in the artillery fire, made several maneuvers, and finally managed to break through the barrage and land on the warship.

However, their simple weapons were insufficient to penetrate the thick armor of the warship. But this did not mean they were useless. After observing for a while, some of the Larval Form rushed towards the various turrets exposed outside the warship.

Small turrets like attack arrays are destroyed by brute force, while large-caliber, heavily armored attack units like main and secondary guns are destroyed by the Larval Form by crawling directly into the barrels.

They are molluscs, so basic operations like drilling holes are easy for them.

Because the cannon barrel was blocked, energy exploded inside it. Although the Larval Form blocking the barrel had little chance of survival, the Swarm definitely didn't lose out by doing this.

The Riken Race immediately noticed this situation, General Masai urgently ordered all Close-In Weapon System) to prioritize defense against all types of artillery emplacements. The armor of the main and secondary guns was basically immune to Close-In Weapon System attacks, so they were not worried about friendly fire.

However, this makes it easier to break through the fire network formed by Close-In Weapon System.

Moreover, while the safety of the main and secondary guns has been improved, the defense of the Close-In Weapon System itself is more worrying. Their external armor is not immune to attacks from their own kind, and their weaker armor allows even larger Larval Form to damage them with brute force.

There's no need to tear them apart; these sophisticated mechanical creations can sometimes become useless if just a few parts are damaged.

The Larval Form discovered that destroying their rotating base was the easiest way.

They only need to pull on the Close-In Weapon System's barrel and exert force in the opposite direction to the rotating base. After several rounds of this struggle, the intricate mechanical gears will malfunction.

Close-In Weapon System) that cannot adjust their firing angle, while still functional, have lost their threatening capabilities.

Meanwhile, some of the Larval Form were even more direct. They rushed into the wreckage of the destroyed warships, mingling with the rescue vessels, attempting to infiltrate the warships themselves.

Although the Riken Race discovered their intentions and urgently closed the hangar doors, some Space Octopus Larval Form managed to rush inside before the doors could be shut. These Larval Form were small in space, but once inside the warship, they became behemoths.

These guys are capable of bending Close-In Weapon System; such power is utterly ineffective against the flesh and blood of the Riken Race.

The hangar was mostly filled with crew members carrying various maintenance tools. They never imagined that what was originally a logistics area would suddenly become the front line of the battlefield.

After several of their companions were crushed to death, the Riken Race finally came to their senses and ran away from the hangar screaming in terror, only to run right into armed soldiers who had come to their aid.

The scene became extremely chaotic.

Thank you to the Book Guest Good Brother and the Eternal Insect Mother for the 100 Qidian coins reward.