Two months after the Mutation Disaster, DarkStar remained inactive, leaving many feeling something was missing. After such a long period of silence, DarkStar finally took action, sending a fleet to attack three of the Mutation Disaster planets.
This news caused a huge reaction in the Garton Star System, and many interstellar citizens were invigorated, knowing that the real show was about to begin. As the archenemy of Goddora, it was easy to imagine that DarkStar would not let go of such a good opportunity, and now it had finally filled in this missing piece of the puzzle.
There is currently no evidence that the Mutation Disaster was a conspiracy by DarkStar, but that's irrelevant. As long as DarkStar intervenes, Goddora's biggest adversary will become this mortal enemy, and the situation will be completely different.
The DarkStar's first wave of attacks targeted three disaster-stricken planets, where they encountered the local Goddora relief teams. A fierce battle ensued, and due to the hasty response and the small size of the fleet, the three Goddora relief teams suffered heavy losses.
Logically speaking, the civilizations of these three planets should have been no match for the DarkStar fleet. However, the DarkStar did not destroy these three planets along the way. It seems that they came to attack the relief team, causing symbolic damage before withdrawing before the arrival of Goddora's support forces.
The attack resulted in the loss of 70-80% of the disaster relief efforts on these three planets, and the hard-won stabilization situation once again descended into chaos.
Goddora therefore raised its alert level and dispatched regular military fleets to different disaster planets to act as escorts and prevent further attacks from DarkStar. Even so, it did not make DarkStar give up.
The second wave of attacks soon followed, this time targeting several other planets in dire need of destruction.
The process was the same. Although Goddora increased its guard, DarkStar also increased its attack power. This time, the two sides Head-On Conflict, resulting in a large-scale interstellar battle.
Spaceships clashed, shields flashed, and the light from shipborne ion cannons resembled newly born stars, while Photon pulses formed rainbow bridges traversing the dark universe.
After a fierce battle, DarkStar withdrew in time once again, preventing a full-scale war. Goddora's fleet suffered another loss, and the disaster planet it was protecting suffered the same fate as the three planets in the first round, with all the disaster relief efforts destroyed.
Most of the time, DarkStar only plots against Goddora from the shadows. Many years have passed since their last Head-On Engagement. Now, DarkStar has once again come out in full force, no longer engaging in small-scale skirmishes, which immediately puts pressure on Goddora.
Goddora possesses an absolute advantage in raw power; however, Goddora's territory is vast, and its fleet is stationed in different bases and colonies in the Garton Star System. The free forces it can mobilize cannot overwhelm DarkStar, and Goddora is also unaware of the true extent of DarkStar's military strength.
The most feared aspect of DarkStar has always been its ability to remain hidden in the shadows, making it impossible to Detection its actions in advance. This has been a major headache for Goddora. Without knowing the location of DarkStar's next attack, they cannot develop a targeted strategy and can only passively defend, which is very inefficient.
The two consecutive attacks seem to be targeting the disaster relief forces, but DarkStar won't withdraw its relief team because of this; otherwise, it would appear that they are afraid of the DarkStar, Goddora Goddora wouldn't show such an attitude to its enemy. Moreover, since disaster relief has already begun, abandoning it halfway would be a more serious blow to its ruling position and reputation, and the situation hasn't reached that point yet.
The two sides clashed head-on again after many years, causing a Garton Star System and instantly becoming the most eye-catching focus of the Colton Star Cluster.
"DarkStar won't stop here; they will continue to attack, and we will be attacked sooner or later."
In the Sanctuary's conference room, Nagokin explained the situation with a serious expression. Among the meeting participants, only Han Xiao was aware of the situation, Bennett and the leaders of the Six Nations listened attentively to Nagokin's speech.
After the first wave of attacks from DarkStar, the situation became serious. A few days ago, Goddora fleet arrived to defend Planet Aquamarine. One hundred and twenty Goddora warships are currently on standby in the outer space of Planet Aquamarine to guard against attacks from DarkStar.
Nagokin couldn't concern himself with disaster relief or recruiting Inhuman; guarding against DarkStar became his top priority. He had discussed this with Han Xiao many times in the past few days. The purpose of this meeting was to raise the alert level of the Sanctuary and the Six Nations. Of course, the Planet Aquamarine civilization didn't have much ability to resist in interstellar warfare, but Nagokin's main goal was to prepare them psychologically so they could take immediate refuge in the event of an enemy attack.
"Because we are engaged in disaster relief, we can only defend passively, which is very unfavorable for us. DarkStar's goal is likely to exploit the weakness of the scattered Goddora forces to defeat them one by one, intending to gradually erode Goddora's armed forces. We have no way of knowing DarkStar's next target," Nagokin said in a deep voice.
Han Xiao nodded. This was indeed DarkStar's goal, but it was only one part of the plan. DarkStar's "Mutation Disaster" plan aimed to weaken Goddora's power, not just militarily, but to shake Goddora's rule in every aspect. Attacking disaster planets would not destroy the lower-level civilizations on them. If the civilizations were destroyed, Goddora would not need to provide disaster relief. What DarkStar needed to do was to keep Goddora occupied.
Bennett and the others looked grave. Panic was out of the question; the problem was serious, and panicking wouldn't help.
"How are you going to deal with this?" Bennett asked.
"The War Bureau will dispatch troops from other star sectors. The second and third support fleets are on their way. We are ordered to continue our work, remain on alert, and expedite the disaster relief efforts..."
Nagokin frowned. Actually, there was an intention to forcibly relocate refugees from the disaster planet, but this action had a bad influence and great hidden dangers. It was impossible to detect whether the Mutation Source had followed the refugees onto the spaceship. Considering various factors, this plan was temporarily shelved, and the War Bureau decided to confront DarkStar head-on.
Some more radical officers even saw this as an opportunity: DarkStar had been hiding for a long time and was finally showing itself, so they could use it to lure the DarkStar fleet out and strike them. Therefore, the War Bureau decided to deploy troops.
"So for now, we can only wait..." Nagokin said in a somber tone.
In fact, he concealed an order: if they found themselves outmatched after engaging the DarkStar fleet, they were instructed to strategically avoid battle and protect their remaining forces. If the disaster planet was destroyed by the DarkStar as a result, Goddora could only express deep regret.
Han Xiao shook his head. The order of DarkStar's attacks was random, and he couldn't be sure. Even if he knew DarkStar's entire plan, he still had to stop the enemy first.
"If the DarkStar Fleet attacks, I'll have to join the battle. This time it won't be a ground war, but a space war..."
Han Xiao pondered silently. Space warfare was far more dangerous than ground warfare. It was no longer a battle against superhumans, but a battle against a fleet, which would put him under considerable pressure.
After the meeting, Han Xiao summoned the mercenary group's officers and instructed them to be on high alert for the next few days. He also ordered all the supplies in the spaceship's warehouse to be moved to the secret base beneath the Sanctuary.
The spaceships he rented were travel-type and not very combat-ready. He didn't plan to use them in battle; they would be useless, and if they were destroyed, it would be a huge loss. He had other uses for these spaceships.
As a result, the mercenary group could only use Blacklight Stealth warships, which, although few in number, were fortunately of high quality.
The Sanctuary were mobilized to disperse the refugees, reduce population density, and build some simple defensive measures. With limited technical capabilities, they could only do their best and leave the rest to fate. Although the refugees did not know what was happening, they all obeyed orders. However, the atmosphere in the Sanctuary gradually became tense and uneasy.
Players have no idea what they are about to encounter. Han Xiao remembers that every time they were attacked in his previous life, the overall progress of the [Mutation Disaster] main quest would drop significantly. With the player's current strength, it would be difficult to play a role in the space battle.
"It would be best if DarkStar didn't come," Han Xiao sighed.
A Stealth DarkStar fleet moved slowly through the universe. This was a highly mobile armed force. The main ship was not the DarkStar mothership, but a Berserk Class command ship called "Bloody Gaol". More than two hundred warships guarded the main ship, most of which were heavily armed assault ships.
In the bustling warship's central control room, fleet commander Norcap stood with his hands behind his back, silently watching the star map projection, his eyes devoid of emotion, so cold that not a trace of humanity could be seen.
Not long ago, he led his fleet in the first two attacks, annihilating over a hundred Goddora warships while suffering less than half that number in losses himself.
Norcap's fleet is the elite force of DarkStar, possessing formidable combat power. Following orders from DarkStar's high command, he is leading the fleet towards their next target.
"How much longer until we reach our destination?" Norcap asked casually.
"Seventeen hours and twenty-six minutes," the observer replied.
The green 3D projection displayed on the virtual sandbox is the star map of the Ninth Star Zone, with a marked planet glowing red, which is the next target for attack.
Planet Aquamarine!