The Cost of Attrition

"I have a feeling we've done something wrong," Hamis murmured.

"This scene seems familiar; I think I now understand how the stars in the T81 Star System dimmed."

"Chuyun Planet is far more important than we realize."

"Don't even think about it. Even if we had known in advance, there's nothing we could have done."

"That's right. The environment on Chuyun Planet simply doesn't allow for the deployment of many defensive systems. Our fleet alone is no match for the attack of 8,000 500-Meter Class Octopus Monster."

"So, do we now have a chance to eliminate the Zerg near Chuyun Planet?"

"The chances are slim. Our previous deployment did eliminate many Octopus Monster under 100 meters in length. However, the losses to the 500-meter-long behemoths were not significant. We can only deploy around 2,000 warships now, which is insufficient to defeat them."

"Looking at the latest reconnaissance footage, it seems many of those 500-meter-long Octopus Monster are in dire straits. The Zerg's actual situation might be worse than we imagined. I think we should give it a try."

"I don't agree with Arther's view. We still don't understand what they are. Is it possible that they are deliberately behaving this way to lure us forward? Or have they actually set a trap?"

"That makes sense, but are we just supposed to watch?"

There really isn't a good solution.

"There's no need to discuss this. Even if we remove the 500-Meter Class Octopus Monster that are in bad shape, there are still over 4,000 left. With that number, our fleet can fight a war against them, but we don't have the ability to drive them away. In that case, even if we can eliminate some of the Octopus Monster, it will be meaningless to the overall battle, and deploying warships is too risky and not worth the trouble," Antonio concluded.

"Then we can only defend from now on. It seems the Zerg won't launch an attack anytime soon."

"Gentlemen, it's up to you now. Please feel free to ask if you need anything."

Upon hearing Antonio's words, the generals pondered for a moment. A major general then spoke up, "If the Laser Defense Array could be miniaturized and deployed on warships, our combat effectiveness would definitely increase significantly."

"Yes, I agree. If this is resolved, it will indeed greatly enhance our combat effectiveness."

"Okay, I will urge the Scientific Research Department to concentrate its manpower and resources to prioritize solving this problem."

Somewhat unexpectedly for the Riken Race, the Swarm did not have much time to rest.

The Ancient Class, having replenished its metal elements, absorbed energy in its orbit around Chuyun Planet while simultaneously setting up its Electromagnetic Cannon and firing at the Binary Star Defense Line.

The area between Chuyun Planet and the Binary Star Defense Line has almost no obstacles. Even the few obstacles that exist were blasted away by several rounds of Electromagnetic Cannon. These neutral units have no ability to dodge, and their lead time is very easy to calculate.

The advantages of kinetic energy weapons are evident at this moment. In a near-vacuum environment, as long as there is nothing to obstruct or gravitational interference, Electromagnetic Projectile can fly almost an infinite distance.

The Electromagnetic Cannon projectiles launched from Chuyun Planet's orbit would take at least several days to reach the binary star's defense perimeter, making them ineffective against fleets, and even slow-moving units like Orbital Cannon would struggle to hit them. However, they would be perfectly capable of engaging stationary targets such as Laser Defense Array on planetary surfaces and Ground-Based Artillery.

Through observation with optical devices, after several rounds of test firings and adjustments, and with the addition of other relevant parameters, the Electromagnetic Cannon's hit rate has reached a fairly good level.

If it weren't for the Laser Defense Array, those immovable ground facilities would probably have been slowly worn down by the Swarm.

Although it cannot effectively damage the Riken Race facilities at present, it still has other uses. Firing the Electromagnetic Cannon is not too burdensome for the Space Octopus, except for consuming some energy and metal elements, and causing some damage to its body tissues.

But the advantages of biotechnology are evident at this point: those aging and severely worn cells will be quickly metabolized, and new cells will regrow, allowing the Electromagnetic Cannon to maintain a certain firing frequency and fire continuously.

On the other hand, the Riken Race were extremely annoyed by the harassing fire from the Swarm, with an average of about 10,000 Electromagnetic Projectile hitting their defenses every 10 minutes.

This means their defense and interception systems must be constantly operational. Although the number of Electromagnetic Projectile is still relatively small, and not many Laser Defense Array can be activated simultaneously, don't forget that the Swarm's attacks never stop.

Although the Riken Race allowed the Laser Defense Array to rest and be inspected in rotation to prevent damage from high-intensity use, even so, this frequency of use still caused many delicate components to age rapidly, requiring frequent repairs and replacements.

Moreover, the Ancient Class- Swarm is constantly increasing. The Ancient Class that are constantly reinforcing from the Proxima Star System will replenish Chuyun Planet after a brief rest on Laze Planet.

Meanwhile, the previously lying-down Ancient Class are recovering rapidly next to the giant charger. Those with relatively minor injuries will have their Electromagnetic Cannon restored first and join the attack, since they don't need to move now and their propulsion systems can be left to recover slowly later.

Some of the Mature Form will also grow rapidly and join the ranks of the Ancient Class. Moreover, as the surface of the satellite is gradually stained purple-gray, some Electromagnetic Cannon Component are also gradually taking shape. Although they are equivalent to Ground-Based Artillery, they can also achieve long-range strikes because the satellite has no atmosphere to obstruct them.

With the addition of many other resources, the number of units that the Swarm could provide strike services increased significantly. Just one year later, the number of Electromagnetic Projectile flying towards the Binary Star Defense Line every 10 minutes doubled to 20,000.

This made matters worse for the Riken Race defense line.

"According to statistics, 8% of the parts in our Laser Defense Array need to be replaced every three days, 14% need to be replaced every seven days, and the remaining 78% are mostly large cast-in-place components. Although they do not need to be replaced so frequently, they will still wear out and age, posing even greater risks. If we want to avoid these risks, we should replace them at least once a year, which is equivalent to building another defense array." Major General Ricken reported the data.

"These large cast-in-place components are easy to manufacture; our space factories can produce them readily, simply by towing the asteroids with the raw materials. The problem lies with the frequently replaced parts, which have complex manufacturing processes. Only our Mother Planet and Colony Two have the production capabilities, and coupled with the difficulties in transportation, they consume a great deal of our resources," another Ricken officer added.

He frowned.