Proactive

The front thrusters of the Yuntu Clan warships shut down one by one, the rear thrusters started working, and the energy system began to operate at full capacity, with weapons beginning to preheat and recharge.

The energy converged, and the energy fluctuations generated by fifty million warships were astonishing. Not to mention the current Swarm, even Swarm from hundreds of years ago could sense the impending danger.

Therefore, the Swarm also began to change along with the changes in the Yuntu Clan. The bio-lights on the Ancient Class were originally somewhat dim, but they became bright again, with occasional flashes of Electric Arc, and the movement of their tentacles became more frequent.

The battle was initiated by the Yuntu Clan, as they had no reinforcements and every bit of time they delayed was disadvantageous to them. Relying on their advanced energy system and longer main gun range, they fired the first volley.

However, the ever-vigilant Swarm was prepared, and the troops positioned in front of the cannons made some minor adjustments to their formation. The Ancient Class brachiopods swung, converging towards each other in a straight line, forming long, linear ranks.

This reduced the area exposed to enemy fire, while the front-line Ancient Class could also act as shields for their teammates behind them. After a round of bombardment, the first dozen or so Ancient Class destroyers at the very front of each long column were penetrated and destroyed. But the Ancient Class behind them used their cover to charge towards the Yuntu Clan fleet.

Before the Yuntu Warship could fire their second round of main guns, aside from the Ancient Class ships that were drawing fire from the front, some of the Ancient Class ships from other directions had already entered firing range, and countless red energy beams flew toward the Yuntu Fleet. Since the Yuntu Fleet was surrounded and faced attacks from all sides, they did not have much room to maneuver or dodge, and could only rely on their thick Reactive Armor to withstand the attacks.

Tech trees typically advance in an overall direction. The Yuntu Clan, which leads in energy, engines, and weaponry, also possesses considerable expertise in materials science. The Swarm's first salvo only managed to scratch the outer Yuntu Warship; fewer than a thousand were actually destroyed or exploded.

Although this is partly due to the limited Ancient Class reaching their firing range and the fact that their firepower was not at its peak, it still demonstrates the formidable defensive capabilities of the Yuntu Clan warships.

After enduring a round of fire, the Yuntu Warship immediately retreated inward from the gaps in their formation, and a large number of Engineering Robot flew out of the ship's cabins to carry out emergency repairs on the damaged parts.

The new, Yuntu Warship filled the previous gaps, serving as a new round of human shields.

"Release the Drone!" shouted the commander-in-chief of the Yuntu Fleet.

The side hatches of the Yuntu Warship opened, and Drone gleaming with metallic luster were ejected, then ignited and took off. They formed formations, some dispersing and circling around the perimeter of the fleet, attempting to absorb and block some of the Swarm's firepower, while others charged directly at the Swarm, launching a counterattack against the Ancient Class.

In previous battles, the Coalition Army's Drone generally played a defensive role, blocking artillery fire and intercepting Mature Form and Larval Form Swarm. The Yuntu Clan is the first to launch Drone to charge the Swarm right at the start of the war.

The commanders of the Yuntu Clan fleet clearly understood that they were now surrounded by the Zerg. They had to position the battlefield as far out as possible to prevent the encirclement from shrinking and eventually losing all room to maneuver.

The Ancient Class ships largely ignored the ranged attacks of these aggressively charging Unified Map Drone. These Drone were also deployed on the ten Yuntu Warship previously captured by the Swarm.

Although the Yuntu Clan's technology is quite good, they are not capable of configuring advanced energy systems and Dark Energy long-range strike weapons on such a small combat platform. Therefore, these Drone still use the old-fashioned Energy Cannon system, only with parameters that are higher than those of other civilizations.

However, due to its size limitations, even with high parameters, this small-caliber Energy Cannon cannot cause serious damage to the upgraded Ancient Class Biological Armor without undergoing a qualitative change.

The Yuntu Clan understood this as well, so they pre-installed Dark Energy mines on some of their Drone. These weapons, originally deployed along waterways, combined with the Drone, formed a kind of suicide tracking missile.

This tactic wasn't something we came up with on the spur of the moment. Many weapons from advanced civilizations have strong compatibility. These Drone were even manufactured with mine-laying clips, specifically for this situation.

The small-caliber Energy Cannon of Drone can be ignored, but the power of Dark Energy mines should still be respected. The Ancient Class itself only has long-range strike weapons and close-range combat skills, and its ability to strike at medium range is very weak.

It's impossible to take down these Drone with the Ancient Class main cannon, and these things that explode at the slightest touch are the bane of close combat. Fortunately, to fill the gap in mid-range attacks, each Ancient Class drone carries some Mature Form and Larval Form in its Storage Sac. Now is the time for them to come into play.

At this moment, some of the fastest-flying Ancient Class collided with the Drone swarm, and the instantaneous explosions illuminated the void. The extremely high energy output in that instant was something even Ancient Class Biological Armor could not withstand.

The Ancient Class charge was halted, but fortunately, a steady stream of Mature Form and Larval Form joined the battle, bypassing the Ancient Class and rushing towards the Uniform Map Drone.

Unmanned Fighter and Space Octopus each have their own strengths and weaknesses. Space Octopus are more agile and maneuverable, which greatly amplifies their combat effectiveness in small or enclosed spaces. However, Unmanned Fighter have a structural advantage in terms of speed, especially in the vast environment of space. If Space Octopus fails to intercept Drone when they pass each other, it will be very difficult for it to catch up.

If the Swarm's strategic depth were greater, these things wouldn't matter. But currently, the Ancient Class is still maintaining a certain speed of forward advance. As long as the Unmanned Fighter can pass through a thin layer of Mature Form and Larval Form defenses, they can reach the Ancient Class.

The Yuntu Clan also noticed this. Instead of engaging the Mature Form and Larval Form, their fighter jets opened fire with their onboard Energy Cannon, attempting to drive them away or disrupt their defensive formation.

But at this moment, the Storage Sac of the Mature Form suddenly opened, spewing out numerous space-based Spider War-Bug, each about twenty centimeters in size. Their numbers were enormous, and they quickly covered an area.

These space-based Spider War-Bug, due to their size, are not equipped with any propulsion system and are purely a defensive unit.

Most of their bodies are occupied by a special silk sac. Fine spider silk is sprayed from the joints of their limbs and abdomen, quickly covering the area.

Although these spider silks are very fine and almost transparent, they are extremely tough. Even when they stick to Mature Form and Larval Form, they will not be torn, but will instead carry the Spider War-Bug forward.

Thus, the following scene unfolded on the battlefield: some Spider War-Bug floated in space, surrounded by fluttering silk threads, while others clung to the bodies of Space Octopus, rushing towards the formation of uniform-map fighter jets.