Ambush

On the outskirts of the Thunderflame Star System, the Insect Race and the Nagang People remained locked in constant fighting. Without the Star-Destroying Cannon, the Nagang People could pose no threat to the Insect Race.

Strangely, however, the Insect Race only harassed the outskirts. They attacked the outer planets without occupying them, and whenever they withdrew, the Nagang People hurried to repair their defensive installations.

Just as the repairs neared completion, the Insect Race army returned and ruthlessly destroyed everything. By the time Nasteel reinforcements arrived, the Insect Race had already moved on to another planet.

Days of running himself ragged had left Huobao on the verge of exploding. He had smashed everything within reach. Standing beside him, Tieqian would probably have cut his wires long ago if he had been a combat robot.

"Smashing all this won't help. If you want to smash something, go smash the Insect Race."

"No kidding! I'd have to catch them first."

After pondering for a moment, Tieqian said, "This kind of guerrilla tactic is actually easy to counter, but every time, you run off before I can finish."

"Can you stop complaining? Go on, I'll listen this time!" Huobao glared at Tieqian. "Well, say something!"

"...How did I end up assigned to a commander like you? We can calculate which planet the enemy will attack in advance, station a large force there in ambush, and wait for them to come..."

Before Tieqian could finish, Huobao jumped up and roared, "Good! Excellent tactic! Someone notify the entire army to prepare for battle! We're heading to..."

Huobao paused, then asked, "Where are we setting up the ambush?"

The circuit boards inside Tieqian's head crackled with electricity. Suppressing his anger, he said helplessly, "Jiede Star."

"Right! We'll lie in ambush on Jiede and wipe out those damned bugs!"

Hu Baili and Yata leisurely enjoyed their morning tea aboard the Dragon Emperor-class command ship. Smiling, Yata asked, "High Priest, based on your years of experience, how long will it take the Nagang People to react?"

"Any time now. The Nagang People rely on their general-class units as their primary combat strength, but their adjutants direct the overall battle. We call them Tactical Robots."

After taking a small sip of fragrant tea, Hu Baili continued, "Tactical Robots analyze battlefield conditions and devise the optimal tactical plan."

Seeing how attentively Yata listened, Hu Baili questioned her like a teacher testing a student. "If you were facing a robot that optimized its tactics like that, what would you do?"

After a little thought, Yata replied, "Machine intelligence relies on massive calculations and simulations to predict our next move. If we could disrupt their calculations, or give them misleading clues..."

Hu Baili laughed heartily. "A promising pupil indeed... Your analysis is sound, Matriarch Yata. Right now, we're giving them misleading clues."

Yata suddenly exclaimed, "No wonder you had me leave some troops hidden on Jiede Star every time we withdrew, while sending only half our forces to attack Suya and Kazi. You're planning to..."

"Hahaha! Give them misleading clues, and they'll make what they believe is the right decision. The result speaks for itself."

Yata bowed respectfully to Hu Baili. "Thank you for your guidance, Teacher."

"Good, good, good. To have a student like you is a blessing in my old age. I, Hu Baili, am fortunate in my later years."

"I'm the fortunate one to have met you, Teacher."

While that lesson unfolded, the Nasteel People did indeed station a large force in ambush on Jiede, and the Insect Race army arrived on schedule, just as the Nasteel simulations had predicted.

Tieqian was congratulating himself on the Insect Race falling into his trap when he suddenly received a scout's report. "The Insect Race army has changed course and is heading toward Kazi."

Utterly bewildered, Tieqian roared, "Impossible!" His processing chips ran nonstop calculations, projecting the Insect Race's movements.

He exclaimed, "Have the Lilvara People gone mad? They aren't strong enough to breach Kazi's defenses. Are they going there to die?"

The scout reported, "Lilvara's forces are three times as large as before, and they're advancing at full speed."

Tieqian cried out at the realization that he had been duped. "So that old fox Hu Baili is in command! I was careless. I never factored in that he might be leading their army."

"Quick! We must reinforce Kazi immediately!"

Huobao stared blankly, still struggling to catch up. "We're not ambushing them anymore?"

"What ambush? Kazi is about to fall! It was their target from the start."

At Huobao's command, all the troops lying in ambush on Jiede took to the air, preparing to head for Kazi. But once they had all revealed themselves, the Insect Race troops that had long been lying in wait suddenly surged out and attacked Jiede's command center.

"How are there Insect Race troops here?"

Before Tieqian could recover, the scout's report nearly fried his circuit boards.

"The Liruwara People have turned back! Our fleet had barely warped away when the Insect Race returned."

"What?" White smoke was already rising from Tieqian's circuit boards, and a maintenance robot hurriedly climbed onto his head.

"That old fox... That old fox..."

Surrounded on all sides, the Nasteel forces were almost completely annihilated in less than thirty minutes. Huobao had no choice but to flee Jiede in panic with Tieqian.

"Ask the other star systems for reinforcements. Any later, and the Thunderflame Star System will be lost."

Huobao glared furiously at the exhausted Tieqian, his fist already swinging toward his face. If several guards had not stopped him, Tieqian really would have been reduced to an iron skewer.

"This is all your fault, you damned adjutant! How could you not realize it was a trick?"

Tieqian no longer wanted to speak. The miscalculation was indeed his responsibility. Now he had to figure out how to salvage this defeat. If he lost an entire star system, he would undoubtedly be nailed to the wall of shame and left hanging there forever.

Just then, a scout reported, "We've detected a Lilvara command ship approximately ten light-years ahead."

Tieqian immediately perked up. "Identify it at once."

"Life-form identification complete. It's King Pamir and an unidentified creature. Analysis of the various readings suggests that they're lost."

Overjoyed, Tieqian said, "Capture them immediately. Alive."

Huobao, however, paused to think, adopting a thoughtful pose. "Could this be another trap?"

Tieqian ran another round of calculations and analysis, but this time he was quite cautious. He sent out hundreds of probes to scan everything within ten light-years of the Lilvara command ship, only breathing a sigh of relief after confirming that there were no other signs of the Liruwara People.

"Capture them!"

When Huobao and Tieqian boarded the Lilvara command ship, King Pamir looked at Zhang Fan in terror. "You sold me out?"

"Hahaha! What are you thinking? We're going to Huo Planet on vacation. You can communicate with them, right? Tell them we surrender!"

"You... Didn't you say the Insect Race never surrenders?"

Seeing the contempt in King Pamir's eyes, Zhang Fan smiled. "My other half isn't Insect Race! Hahaha!"

"King Pamir... I never imagined we'd stumble across such a treasure here." Tieqian knew that as long as he brought King Pamir back, he would be safe even if he lost Thunderflame Star. He could even concoct a tactical justification. At worst...

Huobao glared at King Pamir and swung a fist at him. Zhang Fan easily caught the full-force punch and smiled at Tieqian. "It seems General Huobao wants to cut off your only chance of survival."

After King Pamir translated, Tieqian pondered for a moment, then said, "General Huobao, calm down. We need to take them back to see the emperor."

"Calm down? How many of our soldiers has he killed? Now the Thunderflame Star System has fallen into their hands too. How do you expect me to calm down?"

The moment he finished speaking, a sharp short sword extended from his fist, and he slashed at Zhang Fan's neck.

Zhang Fan paid this clumsy robot no mind at all. Right now, he only wanted to see where Tieqian stood.

Zhang Fan gave Tieqian a strange, meaningful look. Tieqian suddenly unleashed a powerful electric current, and Huobao convulsed before collapsing limply to the floor.

Pointing at Tieqian, he said, "You... What are you doing?"

"Stopping your recklessness. I'm taking them to Huo Planet alive to seek forgiveness for our mistakes."