The Attack
Seeing Hamis deep in thought, seemingly talking to himself, Novaru considered for a moment and then replied, "I should record it and then send it back."
"So what's the next step?" Hamis continued to ask.
Novaru also thought about this for a long time, "I hadn't paid much attention to these things before, but I imagine this problem will be sent to the Scientific Research Department, where they will make improvements to the defects. If they achieve results, they will pass the solutions on to places like spaceship factories. These things will be reflected in the warships they produce later."
"And what about the warships before that?"
"That depends on the size of the defect. If it's a minor problem, our engineers on board might be able to fix it. But if it's a structural flaw, it'll probably need to be sent back to the shipyard for upgrades and repairs," Novaru said, shrugging. He already understood what Hamis meant.
"So, do they consider the stealth coating on the Smart Mine a major flaw or a minor one?"
"I don't know about that." Novaru shook his head.
"Our intelligence indicates that the Zerg forces we are about to face were deployed here more than twenty years ago. In other words, these forces have spent most of their time wandering in the void. And there couldn't possibly be Zerg shipyard there," Hamis said after a moment's thought.
"But their previous unit couldn't detect the Smart Mine, while this unit can now ignore the stealth camouflage. This means that either the enemy sees this as a minor flaw, but that's unlikely—radar upgrades are extremely complicated and couldn't be completed so silently. So the remaining possibility is..."
"The remaining possibility is that they were putting on an act last time. They could have detected the Smart Mine from the beginning, but pretended not to see them to lower our guard. They then used our trap to their advantage and entered Laze Planet. All of this matches their actions. It's just that they probably didn't expect us to detonate so many new Nuclear Bomb." Novaru picked up where Hamis left off, stating what Hamis was trying to say.
The commanders of the three fleets, even the irritable and short-tempered Arther, are not people whose intelligence has dropped to zero. Their current positions cannot be obtained through trickery.
"That's certainly possible, but the enemy is so cunning, and their nuclear weapons aren't technologically advanced. They couldn't have been unaware of these variables. Would you rashly sacrifice a large number of troops under these circumstances?" Hamis asked, frowning.
Novaru thought about it seriously for a while, "It depends on what we can gain. If the gains are big enough, I might choose to take the risk. Is Laze Planet worth such a risk? Even if we don't use nuclear weapons, Laze Planet is our territory. How long can the other side hold out in isolation?"
As they talked, Novaru also had many questions.
"Yes, that's what I can't understand. The risk and the reward are disproportionate, yet they did it anyway. Assuming they're not stupid, then it means they must have a reason for doing this..." As he spoke, Hamis's voice gradually faded, and he seemed to be deep in thought again.
"Isn't their target Laze Planet?" Novaru asked, somewhat confused after thinking it over.
"I don't understand it either, but there must be something we don't know about. Why did the enemy choose this moment to act? I'm deeply worried about this." Hamis said gravely.
"Perhaps they have already achieved their true goal. If this speculation is true, we don't even know what their goal was, which is not good news for us." Novaru also frowned, his expression grave.
"Hopefully we're overthinking it. But let's still pass these speculations on to Arther and tell him to be extra careful up ahead. At the same time, we need to increase our vigilance, especially on Laze Planet, in case anything goes wrong there."
Novaru nodded in agreement. "I will let you know."
The Third Fleet's efforts to slow down the Swarm forces were almost entirely ineffective, given the failure of the Smart Mine and the fleet's reluctance to get too close.
In this situation, there's no point in continuing to wander around there. It would be better to return to the Laze Planet defense base for repairs, maintain optimal condition, and await the arrival of the Swarm.
The Swarm's flight path has been calculated.
Their objective was very clear and completely undisguised. The Swarm had the opportunity to bypass the defenses of Laze Planet, but they did not. Instead, they deliberately took a detour, and when they reached Laze Planet's orbit, Laze Planet arrived just in time.
"Their target remains Laze Planet that attracts them?"
"Perhaps they simply want to establish a forward position." Novaru shook his head, even he himself found this explanation somewhat hard to believe.
Laze Planet is only the ninth planet in the Riken Star System. There is a tenth planet further out. Although it is a bit small, it should still be a viable foothold. Moreover, the Riken Race have almost no defensive structures there, making it very easy to occupy.
But the other party's obsession with Laze Planet must have some other purpose in mind.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Hamis murmured.
--
On the other side, Sarah looked at the Riken Race standing ready ahead. Here, there were not only three fleets and the ground defense system of Laze Planet, but also a newly built Orbital Defense Perimeter.
It was equipped with a large number of Orbital Cannon, and along some of the paths that led to the impact on Laze Planet, it was also filled with Smart Mine.
"They're really going all out, huh? But this planet is ours now, let's drive them away!"
At a command, tens of thousands of Ancient Class tanks charged forward. Amidst flashes of Electric Arc, tens of thousands of Electromagnetic Artillery roared to life, taking advantage of their range to launch the first attack.
Aside from a faint sound and light effect upon leaving the barrel, Electromagnetic Projectile are silent during flight. However, with the current technological level of the Riken Race, they can be detected the moment they leave the barrel, and various parameters can be incorporated to calculate their trajectory.
If guerrilla warfare is being waged in open areas, these projectiles are relatively easy to dodge.
However, in positional warfare at this time, the power of Electromagnetic Cannon would be amplified many times over. Orbital Cannon and Ground-Based Artillery on the planet's surface do not have the same agile evasive capabilities as warships.
Fortunately, the Riken Race had anticipated this situation and concealed their Orbital Cannon behind Laze Planet and its satellites beforehand, waiting for the Swarm forces to reach their range before moving them out to defend.
Therefore, in the first round of attacks, the Laze Planet defense facilities, which were originally located at the rear of the defensive line, were the first to be attacked.