The attack came suddenly!
Ion cannon shots exploded into dazzling fireworks on the golden shields of the Goddora frigate, but a dozen or so escaped through the gaps in the frigate fleet and landed on the surface of Planet Aquamarine.
The beams of light shrank as they passed through the field of vision; some fell into the sea, creating tiny waves, while others exploded into miniature mushroom clouds on the ground—at least from the perspective of outer space, the movement appeared very small.
"Activate the Vichy Magic Energy Shield!" Battet roared.
The Goddora escort fleet changed formation, converging entirely in the direction from which the attack was coming, and fired golden rays that formed ten enormous semi-circular golden shields in front of the fleet, completely covering the entire area of Planet Aquamarine.
Immediately afterward, another salvo of ion cannons from the Norcap fleet struck, all hitting the shield. The ion cannons continued relentlessly, like a rain of light, and the golden shield was hit countless times, constantly rippling with energy.
"Increase the shield's power! Hold it up!" Battet his hands frantically. "Don't just take the hits, fight back! Fight back! Fight back!!"
The Goddora fleet locked onto its radar targets and began beyond-visual-range attacks, firing beams of golden lasers into the empty universe.
Neither fleet could see the other with the naked eye. Golden and green lasers clashed fiercely. If it weren't for the vacuum environment, the people of Planet Aquamarine could hear the sounds of the fleets battling, like continuous muffled thunder.
Battet quickly informed the higher-ups, and also told Nagokin about the situation.
At this moment, on the surface of Planet Aquamarine, the Six Nations had already discovered the battle in outer space through satellites, and all of them were filled with panic.
Although they didn't have a clear concept of DarkStar, they had already learned from Nagokin that it was an interstellar-level enemy, capable of crushing them at will. The Six Nations dared not delay and hurriedly began evacuation, sending the refugees into the underground airship.
During the first wave of attacks, more than a dozen ion cannons struck the ground, most of them landing in the wilderness. The one closest to the Six Nations hit the outskirts of a city, like a green Thunder falling from the sky.
Boom!
A small mushroom cloud shot into the sky, blasted a large hole in the ground, and the shockwave flattened a street, leaving behind a mess and dust everywhere.
The Sanctuary also began an emergency evacuation, and the tense atmosphere finally turned into panic. Although the refugees did not know what was happening, they could not stop their wild speculations. The crowds were so dense that a stampede occurred. There were too many refugees, and many people had not yet received the inhibitor. Coincidentally, the Mutation Virus flared up again, and riots soon broke out.
The guards rushed to intervene, but small-scale chaos was breaking out everywhere, making it difficult to manage simultaneously. Bennett, with a serious expression, kept issuing orders and managed to barely stabilize the situation.
Players triggered an emergency mission. The mission description stated that Planet Aquamarine had been attacked by a fleet, and the task was to help evacuate the people from the Sanctuary. Almost every player subconsciously looked up at the sky, and after looking carefully for a while, they could indeed see a faint light flickering in the sky.
Are there warships exchanging fire outside Planet Aquamarine?!
"Too bad I can't see it, damn it!"
Curiosity, like a feather, tugs at the player's heart, making them restless and eager. This feeling of knowing there is a high-level war in the sky, yet being unable to participate or witness it, is too agonizing.
The riot at the Sanctuary was being handled by someone else and was not within Han Xiao's considerations. Although Han Xiao had also triggered the same emergency mission as the players, the experience reward was too small (for him), so he wasn't interested. He turned on his communicator and contacted Nagokin.
"How is the situation now?"
"The fleet is engaged in battle with the DarkStar, and we don't know when reinforcements will arrive. I have to go up and help." In the video, Nagokin is hurriedly boarding the spaceship, his voice urgent.
"Then I'll hold my position for now, keep my phone on, and stay in touch," Han Xiao nodded. With Nagokin and the Goddora fleet there, he didn't need to go and join the fray.
He wasn't surprised by DarkStar's sudden attack; instead, he breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like "it's finally here." He glanced at the mercenaries beside him, whose faces were somewhat tense.
The DarkStar Fleet will not wreak havoc on the planet—this is crucial intelligence that Han Xiao knows. Based on this premise, the enemy is very likely not to land, but rather to launch an air attack from outer space. Therefore, the key is to minimize losses.
Furthermore, Han Xiao estimated that there should be DarkStar forces lurking on Planet Aquamarine. The other side likely knew that he and Nagokin were here. After all, DarkStar also knew the importance of intelligence and must have Reconnaissance every target they wanted to attack beforehand.
Having experienced similar events in his previous life, Han Xiao understood the key to their situation. He quickly issued orders, directing his mercenaries to pilot their spaceships to the territories of the Six Nations. Although these rented spaceships had limited combat capabilities, they could deploy shields to withstand aerial bombardment, thus minimizing losses. These shipborne ion cannons were quite powerful; if he were to take a direct hit with his bare body, even after deducting resistance reduction, the damage would be estimated at around 2000. For a player at this level, one shot would wipe out a group of children. Of course, he wouldn't be that reckless; building a mech wasn't just for show. In battles of this level, only martial artists would dare to go naked—because they were incredibly resilient.
In this way, the overall progress of the [Mutation Disaster] quest won't drop too drastically—for players, every DarkStar attack is a frustrating event that causes a significant drop in progress.
DarkStar didn't just attack Planet Aquamarine; other disaster-stricken planets were also attacked simultaneously. Han Xiao couldn't deal with the other disaster-stricken planets for the time being, but on Planet Aquamarine, he could at least minimize the losses and prevent DarkStar from sabotaging the disaster relief efforts, otherwise the previous construction would be destroyed.
"The Goddora fleet is holding off the enemy, and Nagokin has gone up there. I wonder what the situation is." Han Xiao rubbed his hands together, staring at the live footage transmitted back by Nagokin.
He hoped that Goddora could force the DarkStar fleet to retreat without him having to take action. DarkStar was unaware of his growing strength, so they would keep their trump cards hidden for as long as possible.
As Nagokin's ship left the atmosphere, he immediately saw ten golden shields in outer space. The fleets of Goddora and DarkStar were still exchanging fire at each other from a great distance. With his rich experience, he could tell that although the standoff was fierce, neither side could gain the upper hand.
The ion cannons were all blocked by the shields. Even if a ship's shield was destroyed, the distance was great, so there was enough reaction time to allow other ships to take its place and wait for the shield to be restored before moving in, in a continuous rotation.
Aside from conventional shipborne ion cannons, most other weapons are out of range; nuclear-powered tracking missiles are detonated by the ion cannons halfway through their flight. Goddora and DarkStar Fleet have similar technological levels and lack overwhelming weapons; to inflict damage on the enemy, they must close the distance.
Didi--
Battet connected to Nagokin's communications.
"The shield can't last forever. We can't just sit here passively taking hits. If we keep going like this, DarkStar won't suffer any casualties. I need to close the distance. Nagokin, you lead the charge and crush them!"
"Don't take any risks!" Nagokin shouted. "The situation is in our favor now. If we continue this stalemate, DarkStar will naturally retreat."
"You're kidding! The DarkStar fleet is about the same size as ours, but with you here, our strength is enough to overwhelm them. This is a great opportunity to strike DarkStar!"
Battet shouted. He was a radical officer who preferred to use the opportunity to strike the DarkStar's armed forces rather than defend the disaster planet.
Nagokin was about to speak, Battet suddenly exclaimed.
"Wait... the radar shows the enemy is retreating, they're withdrawing?!"
Norcap narrowed his eyes to slits, staring at the radar screen, his hands clasped behind his back, his fingers unconsciously twitching the hem of his clothes. He shook his head, gave the order, his tone flat and devoid of any emotion.
"Attention all personnel, prepare for jump."