Analysis
"Let's slowly wear them down, there's no rush."
Under Rowan's will, although the Swarm's Ancient Class insects only numbered less than 5,000, less than 20% of the total deployed forces, they were already eager to move and flew towards the Riken Star System.
The Swarm's movements were immediately noticed by the Riken Race. After all, the two sides had been locked in a standoff for so many years, and the Swarm "warships" were just floating there openly without any cover.
The Riken Race went from being cautious at the beginning to making a big show of it later, almost to the point of getting close to the Swarm fleet to study it.
Although the Riken Race didn't produce many finished products from the Ancient Spaceship, they accumulated a wealth of theoretical knowledge. Combined with their research on the Swarm spaceships, they actually managed to create some things.
A detection instrument based on gravitational wave technology has been developed.
The Ancient Class, with a size exceeding 500 meters, emits considerable gravitational fluctuations. This new instrument can detect these gravitational fluctuations, thereby revealing the location of the Ancient Class.
This instrument is very effective at detecting large units, but its effectiveness is not ideal for detecting small units because the gravitational fluctuations of small units are weaker.
But this is already a huge improvement; at least we don't have to worry about Ancient Class enemies coming at us head-on.
Rowan was pleased with this achievement.
After all, from another perspective, this also helps the Swarm identify its own shortcomings.
The Riken Race's fighting strength is just so-so; they can't possibly surpass the Swarm, and their own ranks have been infiltrated by the Swarm. Having such an opponent to help them identify and address their weaknesses is a rare opportunity, and they must make the most of it.
Moreover, the possibility of Ancient Class being overpowered, which the Riken Race were worried about, is basically impossible. The Ancient Class's stealth system only works perfectly when it is in a silent state, but in this state, it has virtually no ability to move except by relying on inertia.
However, once the Ancient Class moves, its engine system will need to be activated, and the energy fluctuations it emits will be easily detected.
Furthermore, the Riken Race are the first intelligent civilization the Swarm encounters, making them excellent training targets; they cannot be wiped out in one fell swoop.
The Swarm forces were not attacked in the asteroid belt on the outer edge of the galaxy; the Riken Race had long since withdrawn from the area, leaving only monitoring equipment behind.
The Swarm then crossed the orbit of the tenth moon of the Riken Star System, which should have some Riken Race defenses, but because it had just turned to the other side of the star, the Swarm did not encounter it.
It took another hundred days for the Ancient Class cluster to slowly drift to the orbit of the ninth planet in the Riken Star System. This planet was named Laze Planet by the Riken Race. It is said that a Riken Race Laze was the first to discover this planet and then named it after him.
Because it would take another ten days or so for Laze Planet to arrive, the Riken Race sent a portion of their fleet to intercept the Swarm forces, hoping to hold Swarm back for a while until Laze Planet arrived, at which point they could coordinate with its ground defense system to annihilate this Ancient Class swarm.
After the Riken Race set sail from their Expedition Fleet, the construction of warships never stopped, although they were not so warlike. Over the past twenty years, they have built more than a hundred warships here and there.
Later, upon receiving news of the expeditionary force's defeat, the Riken Race, facing the threat to their race's survival, invested far more in warships than they had in building the expeditionary force.
In nearly forty years, the number of buildings such as space smelters and space docks has increased more than fivefold.
The expansion of basic infrastructure has significantly increased the construction speed of warships, resulting in the construction of as many as 2,000 warships to date.
This is because an even greater number of defensive facilities need to be built; otherwise, the number of warships would have to be several times greater.
Therefore, over a period of sixty years, the Riken Race built more than 2,100 warships. Including those that returned from the expeditionary force after repairs, the Riken Race currently have nearly 2,400 warships. They also have more than 1,000 other large auxiliary vessels.
These warships were divided into three legions, each with approximately 800 ships.
The First Legion was responsible for intercepting the Swarm forces, but that was only on the surface. In reality, according to information from within the Riken Race, the Second and Third Legions were hiding in stationary orbits on the back of Laze Planet, using the planet as cover to approach the battlefield.
The Riken Race had differing opinions regarding this interception battle.
According to the message relayed by Grandpa Chloe, the situation was as follows.
"I still don't think we should snipe the Zerg on Laze Planet. You can't even imagine how terrifying they are," General Masai said.
Although Masai was relieved of his military command after his defeat in the Proxima Star System and his return to the Riken Race, he remains the only high-ranking general who has commanded the war against the Zerg, so he still holds an honorary rank and serves as a senior staff officer.
The name "Zerg" was initially given to the primitive races on planet T853. However, after the discovery of Space Octopus, it was felt that the name "Zerg" was more suitable for them, so the name was given to the intelligent race hidden on T855.
Even now, they still don't know the connection between the two species, T855 and T853.
"Hmph, I think you're just scared out of your wits!" a high-ranking military officer snapped. His name was Arther, the current commander of the Third Legion, a lieutenant general, and a hot-tempered pro-war figure.
"Who are you talking about! If you were there, the expeditionary force might have been wiped out!" Although Masai had no military power, he was not intimidated at all. He was now almost universally hated by the Riken Race and was considered the culprit for the current situation. He had been holding back a lot of resentment and was looking for a place to vent it. Besides, given the current situation, what did he really have to be afraid of?
"What a joke! If it were me, I might have already conquered the T85 Star System." Arther retorted angrily. He had also joined the expeditionary force and thought he could become the expeditionary commander, but he never expected that Masai would snatch the position from him.
Yes, even now he believes that Masai used underhanded means to steal his position. So, in a fit of anger, he claimed illness and went home. Considering the conflict between him and Masai, the Riken Race leadership tacitly approved his withdrawal from the expeditionary force.
It was by a twist of fate that he escaped a terrible ordeal.
But he never thought so, and even always felt that if he were in command, he would definitely teach the Zerg a painful lesson. Therefore, he now particularly despises Masai. Coupled with past grudges, he seizes every opportunity to mock him.
"Anyone can talk big. You have no idea how cunning your opponent is."
"Yes, I used to think you were quite cunning, but now I think you're incredibly stupid."
"Damn it, wanna fight!?"
"Come on, who's afraid of who!"
"Alright, alright, Masai has fought before and has more experience, so there must be a reason why he's not optimistic." Seeing the two about to fight, a big shot tried to smooth things over.
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