The Pursuit

More than 200 million Unmanned Fighter, carrying various powerful tactical and strategic Dark Energy bombs, flew towards the Zerg forces.

More advanced technology made these bombs far more powerful than the rudimentary versions of Dark Energy mines. Terrifying energy tides disrupted the starry sky, successfully halting the Swarm's pursuit.

The Ketu Clan displayed exceptional discipline and teamwork. Each squadron consisted of only a hundred warships, and the fleet, totaling over fifty million ships, comprised nearly six hundred thousand squadrons. Each squadron had its own route, with so many sea lanes intersecting. Although these routes had been repeatedly rehearsed by the supercomputer, and theoretically their safety was guaranteed, in reality, if even one squadron disobeyed orders, it could trigger a severe chain reaction.

The detonation of over a hundred million super bombs caused unprecedented destruction and impact, with immense destructive power. Even with a major upgrade, the Swarm could not safely traverse this area. They could only watch helplessly as the Ketu Clan warships changed course and scattered in all directions like fairies scattering petals.

The energy tides were indiscriminate, hindering not only the Swarm's pursuit but also impacting the Ketu Clan. The terrifying energy tides severely disrupted spatial stability, making it impossible for the Ketu Clan to enter warp drive mode.

The reason why the Ketu Clan commander-in-chief had previously ordered the fleet to disperse and withdraw was to make it easier for each warship to enter warp speed mode in squadrons.

After all, the energy tide couldn't hold off the Zerg forever; Zerg would surely pursue them soon. Given the Zerg's previous superior performance in main gun range, the Ketu Clan commander couldn't guarantee that the Zerg would be inferior in terms of propulsion systems.

Therefore, they must escape their lagging position. But now they are far behind their allies, and even with their technological advantage, they cannot catch up with their long-lost allies in a short time using conventional power.

Therefore, the Ketu Clan must employ some special methods to escape their predicament. The commander believed that although the fleet could not be deployed simultaneously on a large scale due to the limitations of warp drive, the more dispersed the fleet was, the more units could simultaneously engage in warp drive.

In this way, although the routes of each squadron are varied and their destinations are different, making it difficult to guarantee the integrity and coordination of the fleet, the main task at this time is to escape, so there is no need to be so particular. No matter how scattered they are or how far apart their destinations are, as long as the warships can survive, they can always regroup, it will just take some time.

However, the interference caused by the detonation of hundreds of millions of super bombs far exceeded the computer's predictions. Even a basic Dark Energy mine can interfere with warp drive, causing units that fail to escape the Warp Bubble in time to be pulverized.

The interference caused by Dark Energy strategic weapons, whose power is many times that of mines and whose numbers are beyond imagination, is unimaginable. Several warship squadrons have already gone far beyond their designated locations, but the computer still indicates that the conditions for entering warp drive have not been met.

"Is this broken machine?"

"It's possible, perhaps it was damaged during the energy flow just now."

"So what do we do? We're already past the designated location."

"Based on previous calculations, we should now be able to enter warp drive."

"We cannot determine at this time whether the instrument is damaged. If it is functioning normally, forcing warp drive would be extremely dangerous."

"That's true, I don't approve of taking risks."

"Let's ask the higher-ups and see if the flagship supercomputer has come up with a new solution."

"No, the signal interference is too severe. We've been out of contact with the brigade for a long time. Even using special channels to contact the command center directly, there's been no response."

"The area is filled with electronic pulses. Although our warships are protected, they cannot protect the transmitted signals."

"Enough! Let me out of here! I don't want to stay here for another second!" a member of the Ketu Clan shouted, somewhat agitated.

"Stay calm. Until we're sure it's safe, we can only rely on conventional power."

"We'll be caught and killed by the Zerg if we do that. It's better to gamble that the equipment is malfunctioning!"

"It can't be equipment malfunction. We have a hundred warships here; it's impossible for the equipment on all of them to fail simultaneously." Although the communication system was jammed, as a long-established Mid-Ring Civilizations, they still had a certain ability to deal with this situation, such as a complete system for communicating via light.

However, this method of communication requires a high distance. Fortunately, the entire squadron is not far apart. Through communication, it has been confirmed that all relevant instruments on the warships show that the conditions for entering warp speed are insufficient.

The probability of one hundred instruments malfunctioning simultaneously and all producing the same incorrect result is negligible. Therefore, it is clear that the squadron's current location is indeed unsuitable for warp drive.

"Perhaps..."

"No, maybe not. But don't worry, the Zerg can't use warp speed either, so they might not be able to catch up with us."

Ultimately, after some discussion, the warship squadron decided to play it safe, trust the instrument data, and continue using conventional power to stay away from the battlefield.

However, some warship squadrons acted more aggressively, and under the pressure of life and death, they made irrational choices.

Several warships forcibly activated warp drive, but their actions were akin to activating warp drive in near-star orbit. The powerful gravitational interference caused the warships that hadn't fully entered warp space to detach from it.

However, this in-and-out process was not without cost. Some warships disappeared completely, while others had their bows explode, with various shattered metal parts piercing through the entire warship from the inside.

Their fate horrified the Ketu Clan witnessed it; they had sacrificed themselves to help their allies eliminate a flawed option. However, due to jammed instruments and poor communication, few warships could be seen, and thus, this tragedy continued to unfold.

Fortunately, the strategic weapons built on Dark Energy created a Jedi Time that lasted longer than expected. This allowed the Ketu Clan to travel even greater distances. Several hours later, a squadron of warships finally found that the instruments had returned to normal and all the conditions for warp drive had been met. After a brief discussion, they jumped into warp space one after another. This time, no accidents occurred, and a dozen minutes later, all one hundred warships had jumped away.

More and more squadrons moved out of the affected area, and the dispersed formations provided them with a better navigation environment, reducing waiting time. Without interference, more squadrons left safely one after another.

At this moment, the Swarm had only just begun their pursuit.

Thank you for the Mu Ming Qing Xin donation of 353 Qidian coins, and thank you for the Book Guest Good Brother donation of 100 Qidian coins.