With the commander's order given, the Xuan Star Civilization's warships no longer avoided the Wind Master ' impact. Instead, they formed a giant sphere, with hundreds of warships in total. All the warships shone brightly and counterattacked the Wind Master. The three Wind Master, noticing the Xuan Star Civilization warships changing direction, were unaware of the existence of this giant sphere and rushed directly into it, preparing to ram the nearest Xuan Star Civilization warship.
The Wind Rider Wind Master had just rushed into the cage, had no time to find a target to hit before it suddenly slowed down and was eventually immobilized. No matter whether it used the warp drive or the conventional power engine, it could not move an inch. The entire space seemed to have turned into a huge quagmire, and the Wind Master was in this quagmire, unable to escape no matter how strong it was.
Seeing that the Wind Master were unable to move, several Xuan Star Civilization warships immediately launched an attack on Wind Master. All of this happened in just two minutes. More than 400,000 cages were used, with varying results. The Wind Master lost more than a million ships in one fell swoop. Even if they discovered the existence of the cages, the Wind Master could not break through them. The enemy fleet was fast and could trap the Wind Master in the cages at any time.
"What kind of tactics are these?! What are these cages? Why are the warships so firmly secured inside them as soon as they enter?!" Hu Yu said angrily.
"Sigh." Wen Zhonghua slammed his hand on the table. "We've used up all our energy orbs, and now our warships are stuck in a quagmire. If this continues, we'll be completely wiped out in a few days. Old Hu, we need to come up with a plan."
"Let the Wind Master escape the cage."
"This won't last long. The enemy's speed is 3000 times the speed of light, while ours is only 1800 times. The difference is too great."
"I know that by keeping the Wind Master maneuvering erratically between the two cages and disrupting this airspace, their cages won't dare to get too close. If they do, they risk attracting each other and colliding. So we'll look for opportunities to collide between the cages."
"Well, this battle was truly frustrating."
With the help of battlefield satellites and computers, more than 400,000 cages were quickly mapped out. The Wind Master used the movement of the cages to find the best survival area, and moved swiftly and nimbly between the cages. If a cage continued to pursue them, the Wind Master would fly towards the adjacent cage. Sure enough, the Xuan Star Civilization could only slow down its pursuit and had to constantly prevent the Wind Master from coming from the opposite direction and colliding with it. For a time, the Xuan Star Civilization Civilization's results dropped again.
After the Wind Master adopted a new tactical approach, the tactical victory that the Xuan Star Civilization had just achieved was shattered once again. This cage was like a child trying to catch butterflies with a net; it would take a very long time to catch even one. On the contrary, the Wind Master were frequently able to ram into the Xuan Star Civilization's warships. Four months had passed, Xuan Star Civilization had lost 500,000 warships, while the Wind Master had lost 5 million. Hu Yu finally felt a little relieved. At the rate of consuming 5 million ships in four months, they could easily hold out for another two years. Now, after six months, the Wind Master still had 27 million ships left.
Luo Zhigao will be able to break out of the space vortex in three months. In order to reduce Hu Yu's burden, Luo Zhigao has made necessary preparations. The first is to directly abandon a batch of large transport ships. These ships consume a lot of energy and have a large mass. Normally, these transport ships would never be abandoned. They are the foundation of the fleet's development. All the material reserves, mechanical equipment, etc. are on the transport ships. However, now, in order to reduce Hu Yu's pressure and not let Hu Yu work in vain, Luo Zhigao still made the ruthless decision to abandon the transport ships.
Secondly, apart from essential supplies, everything else that can be jettisoned should be discarded from the warship. This would reduce the warship's weight and increase its speed, even if it only increases the speed by one meter per second.
The number of Wind Master is decreasing every second, and Luo Zhigao is also gradually moving closer to the outer edge of the vortex. He is only 0.06 light-years away from reaching the edge of the vortex.
"Commander, at this rate, our energy won't last long before it runs out. The Space Cage is consuming far too much energy."
"No rush, our energy reserves can last at least five years, enough to wipe out these human warships." The energy reserves of interstellar warships are measured in millennia. A millennium of energy reserves will be depleted within five or six years. The Space Cage is indeed an energy killer.
"These newly arrived human warships are incredibly slippery, fearless, and fast—completely unlike the warships of Star System-Level Civilization."
"I'm also a bit puzzled. This newly arrived human fleet is completely different from the original one, and its speed has already surpassed the threshold of a thousand times the speed of light. It also possesses a weapon of immense power. This is definitely not the combat capability of Star System-Level Civilization."
"Commander, could this be reinforcements called in by humans? Or perhaps they aren't a human fleet at all?"
"No, it's definitely human. Every race has its own technological characteristics. Although the warships of these two fleets look completely different, their construction style is the same."
"Commander, why don't we just use the Space Barrier and wipe them out in one go?"
"Not yet. Their fleet is still too scattered. We're consuming too much energy, and using Space Barrier against them is too wasteful. Plus, we might not be able to wipe them all out in one go."
"Alright, Commander, let's slowly wear them down. We have plenty of time."
"Hmm, I've had a new idea lately, Lieutenant. Let's take it slow and steady. Don't rush things; the best is yet to come."
While anxiously urging the fleet to go faster, Luo Zhigao was also worried about Hu Yu. However, Hu Yu sent a message reassuring Luo Zhigao that the Wind Master could hold out for at least two more years, half a year longer than expected, which put Luo Zhigao at ease a little.
Near Earth Two, the activity of 17 planets and an extinct star has reached its peak. Only one million Wind Master remain here, all working frantically to support Luo Zhigao and protect themselves.
The production of the Wind Master increased again, reaching a rate of 3,000 ships per day, which translates to one million ships per year. These warships will no longer be sent to the space vortex. Sending warships there now would greatly increase the risk of Earth Two being exposed, and the current number of warships would be insufficient to meet the needs.
After several years of intensive production, the number of Wind Master near Earth Two has now reached 6 million, barely giving them the ability to defend themselves. Unless a fleet of Advanced Star System-Level Civilization arrives, they can easily handle the other intermediate and basic ones.
The production of energy orbs has never stopped, but all the energy orbs produced in the past few years have been taken by the Wind Master to slow down the rotation speed of the space vortex. The newly produced energy orbs are just enough to arm 6 million Wind Master. At present, the production progress of energy orbs is basically in line with the production progress of the Wind Master.
Another month has passed, and the number of Wind Master has dropped to 25 million. Meanwhile, Luo Zhigao is much closer to the edge. In another two months, the fleet will be able to break out of the space vortex.
"Minister, don't worry, we can hold on." That day, Hu Yu contacted Luo Zhigao.
"How could I not worry? You haven't changed at all over the years. But I still want to thank you on behalf of 10 billion people. Without you, we would already be trapped in the center of the spatial vortex and turned into elementary particles by now."
"Minister, if you keep saying that, you're making me feel bad. We are both descendants of the Yellow Emperor, and we both strive for the continuation of our nation. There's no need for thanks."
"Alright, that's enough, that's enough. Talking any further would just make me seem petty. General Hu, how's your fleet doing now?"