The Snail People clearly didn't just wait idly.
After entering the Solar System, they immediately began preparations for their attack.
Sending cannon fodder to explore civilized planets is only a small part of the pre-war preparations; they still have a lot to do before engaging in combat.
The operations of a star destroyer are extremely energy-intensive. Although sufficient energy was replenished before departure, an energy replenishment point is still needed after such a long warp drive.
At the same time, the warships also dispatched a large number of unmanned aerial vehicles to nearby inanimate planets to find suitable locations and establish wartime logistics lines.
In addition, drones will utilize the minerals on these planets to build warship repair factories and necessary combat readiness replenishment factories in a very short time.
Warfare is all about logistics. Even if it's a Star Destroyer attack, having more abundant logistical supplies would greatly increase the chances of victory.
Once the drone returns to the correct coordinates, the giant warship will release a huge metal structure that looks like a molten metal sphere. After landing, the sphere will unfold and become a ready-to-use combat base.
This giant spaceship carries many bases like these, which always play a vital role, whether in wartime or for traveling in peacetime.
The reconnaissance ships didn't transmit much information. Besides the fact that these dilapidated ships had a 50% damage rate, the military skills of these cannon fodder were also not very high. The Snail People didn't know how much information they could bring back, so sending them out was practically sending them to their deaths.
After all, in the eyes of the Snail People, how strong could a civilization that hasn't even made a breakthrough on its own home planet possibly be?
On the contrary, during the more than ten years of warp-in, the pressure in the fodder compartments inside the spaceship has been quite high. Without a suitable damage reduction breakthrough, the number of fodder has increased sharply. Every extra person means an extra mouth to feed, so it would be better to reduce their numbers appropriately.
"Aren't you going to make a move? Judging from the current situation, these natives might already know we're here."
Standing in the spaceship's command center, Aozile stared at the star map and asked a question.
Although he was a wartime commander, he still acted like a student in front of Lao Mu.
"The worst thing you can do in war is to be hasty. Even if they find out, what can they do?"
Lao Mu maintained a very calm expression.
"Besides, if we sail there now and launch a surprise attack on those natives' homeworld, how are you going to deploy those cannon fodder? Are you going to use the standard drop pods on my ship?"
The Aozile somewhat confused.
"Otherwise, what else can we do? This operation will definitely involve dropping cannon fodder to clean up the mess. What else would we use if not drop pods?"
He had always acted alone in his previous actions, and this was the first time he had gone on a mission with Lao Mu's ship.
"Do you know how expensive the Zhi family's drop pods are? Even if you filled them with cannon fodder, it wouldn't cost as much as one drop pod. You can't just cheapen this thing like that."
The Lao Mu extended one of its tentacles and took a sip of its drink.
"We've already deployed factories to the surrounding mineral planets, and I've modified the factory programs so they'll return with disposable delivery pods."
Aozile's eyes lit up. He knew how to fight, but he couldn't handle these intricate details.
"When these delivery capsules are returned to the black market, they'll bring in another fortune."
"As expected, it was you! I've learned a lot..."
Aozile quickly memorized this, after all, he needed money too. He was about to be promoted to second-class citizen, and there were many places where he would need to spend money.
"But doesn't the Intelligent Brain know that we're doing this?"
Aozile still had some doubts about this, after all, the Intelligent Brain was artificial intelligence, and it was not as easy to fool as an ordinary person.
"Hey, what's wrong with Intelligent Brain? Intelligent Brain have intelligence too, and if they have intelligence, they have desires."
The Lao Mu spoke mysteriously, without revealing any further details.
"So, don't rush. Once the equipment arrives, we'll launch a blitzkrieg against these natives' homeworld."
The Aozile rolled his eyes and nodded.
"Teacher, I'll go down and prepare for battle now."
"Go ahead, observe more, and learn more."
As he emerged from the command room, Aozile seemed to have learned something; he beckoned, and his adjutant ran to him.
"How is the deployment of our fleet's frigate repair facilities going?"
"Report: A suitable location has been found, and the factory is already operational."
"Alright, quickly assemble a batch of frigates for me. Use local minerals for all the materials; there are no strict standards, as long as they can operate and fight."
"Sir, time is so tight, the ship we build will have serious problems."
Aozile chuckled. "Then let's stuff another bomb in the ship's power compartment. If anything goes wrong, just detonate it."
Ignoring the adjutant's gaze, he gave his orders and strode away.
Lao Mu is a good teacher; he teaches him all sorts of methods. He can't learn to do this kind of deception on his own.
As for those who sailed the frigates, although they weren't cannon fodder, they were just ordinary soldiers. What difference would it make if a few fifth-class citizens died?
He seemed to have long forgotten that he too had climbed out of that quagmire.
As time passed day by day, both sides were making their preparations, and a major battle was inevitable.
Even ordinary people on Earth Star can sense the tension in the recent developments in Divine Land.
Two weeks later.
"We have enough delivery pods. How are your preparations going?"
It's still the Snail People's command center, still Lao Mu and Aozile.
"I'm ready on my end, and we can strike at any time."
"That's good. Our target this time is this planet. We must act swiftly and wipe out all intelligent life on this planet."
Lao Mu pointed at Venus, his eyes sharpening.
No problem, they're just locals. Just watch me.
Aozile laughed.
At this moment, at the fleet's docking point.
"Where's my boat? What kind of junk is this?"
A Snail People dressed in full combat gear had its hands around the neck of another Snail People, its antennae standing upright in a furious expression.
Beside him was a frigate, or rather, a piece of industrial waste temporarily generated by a distributed frigate factory.
"All the escort ships have been sent for repairs. This is Aozile's decision, and we are all just following orders."
The Snail People, after being captured, apologized repeatedly, but despite this, it still took several blows.
"Damn it, how are we supposed to fight a war with this piece of junk!"
Tossing the old man aside, the Snail People, ready for battle, slammed his fist into the spaceship door.
This boat's performance is several levels below his own. If his boat is a sports car, then this thing is at best an ordinary family car.
Of course, it's still much better than the reconnaissance ships of the cannon fodder; those ships are at best like rocking horses.