The battle situation at the front had naturally already reached the Hyperion. General Paris finally showed a rare smile, knowing that this round was already a sure thing.
Of course, whether it could end perfectly would depend on the other side…
"That little fellow… hmm, what about Colonel Chaimen Daisuke's side?"
"Final preparations are underway; we can depart in ten minutes at most!" Captain Green, the adjutant, immediately replied.
"Very good! Then, let's sortie as well." General Paris straightened his already perfectly aligned military cap and took his seat at the main bridge station.
Following his command, a main assault fleet consisting of 24 strategic battlecruisers and 80 heavy cruisers, with the Hyperion at its core, began to warp. This was the Outer Rim Fleet's most powerful strategic mobile force. Alongside it, various escort and auxiliary vessels also followed closely.
In addition, 14 Aircraft Carriers and 16 Armory Ships, commanded by Vice Admiral Cohen, the fleet's Deputy Commander, would also begin to accelerate. They would merge with the First and Second Strike Fleets, currently engaged with the enemy, to continue providing dense firepower against the enemy.
Now, with the exception of the general reserve still on standby, almost all of the Commonwealth Outer Rim Fleet's main forces were practically on the K'tarians' faces. The warriors on the Hyperion felt as if they could see the K'tarians' panicked expressions, and everyone's morale was soaring. Thus, without waiting for General Paris's order, they executed the assault fleet's first volley with tactical precision that was almost perfect.
The battlecruisers' light spear main cannons cut crimson rays across the long sky, truly like long spears made of strong light, piercing into the enemy fleet.
The warships' reactive shields, under the assault of the light spear, disintegrated instantly like mud shields. This was followed by a series of intense explosions.
The Commander sat composedly at his command station, giving orders in an orderly fashion: "Prepare for assault. Also, have Vice Admiral Cohen's strike fleet cluster continue to strike the enemy from the flank. Peel them like an onion for me! Every layer peeled brings us closer to victory."
This was clearly a strategy to annihilate the enemy! Chief of Staff Lapash then added, "Should we prepare the assault ships?"
"No need… Old Red-Eyes is a smart man. When necessary, he will raise a white flag. None of us want to make things irreconcilable."
Things are already irreconcilable! With that last volley, you've already heavily damaged at least four of the enemy's main ships!
"Continue the assault! Wahahahahaha! I'm going to mount Old Red-Eyes' cunning red eyes on my shield!"
So, who's going to announce the surrender then?
Meanwhile, in the Gibraltar β star system, a small fleet had also assembled and was preparing to depart from the reserve cluster.
This was a "small" fleet consisting of 1 armored Aircraft Carrier, 12 destroyers, and 45 assault ships.
In the New World, this would, of course, be a force capable of deterring an entire star sector, but in the Milky Way Galaxy, and even on this battlefield, it was truly just a detachment.
The Aircraft Carrier was named "lexington," a ship name that Yu Lian found quite familiar. However, that wasn't the focus now; what was in its hangar was the main point.
These were humanoid constructs over three meters tall, mechanical creations. They were larger than the Marine Corps' Dragoon mechs, with a more designed appearance, and their silver-white exteriors were adorned with luxurious, noble patterns carved in gold and red. Compared side-by-side, it was truly the difference between a boss and a minion.
"Emblem Machine!" Yu Lian sighed inwardly again, still not feeling too happy.
The so-called Emblem Machine was, to put it plainly, a type of powered exoskeleton. It was named because the spiritual energy user arrays on its body, carved from priceless Zero Element, closely resembled the emblems of nobles.
Its "nobility" was, of course, not limited to this; due to the effect of the spiritual energy user arrays on the machine, the pilot's spiritual energy user could even be enhanced and extended. Therefore, its exclusive pilot could only be a spiritual energy user.
Yes, the heavily-invested Emblem Machine could, of course, only be used by one in a million awakened individuals! This was truly a fine horse for a hero.
"Yes, these are our Emblem Machines. From now on, we are the third nation in the Milky Way Galaxy capable of manufacturing Emblem Machines!" Colonel Chaimen, whose real name was Chaimen Daisuke, could not hide his pride and satisfaction.
"So, we can also form unified spiritual energy user combat teams, just like the Empire and the Alliance. Of course, it's still experimental for now, but we've already recruited quite a few people. Young man, are you a newcomer brought in by Chaimen? Trust me, you won't regret this choice. High salary, generous allowances, many benefits, fast promotions, and high status! Won't the three of us be partners from now on? After this battle, we definitely need beer and barbecue! I know a place in Gibraltar Starport that has both authentic Mediterranean-style barbecue and dancing girls!" The speaker was Major Nani, Chaimen Daisuke's partner, an overly enthusiastic Spanish-descended uncle.
Of course, though called an uncle, Major Nani was actually only about thirty-five or thirty-six, in the prime of a man's life. As a spiritual energy user, his physique and build were well-proportioned and robust, but his playful, unserious demeanor made him seem a bit greasy, and thus he became an uncle.
Unfortunately, handsome people who act playful are called dashing and uninhibited, like Yu Lian. But those who aren't handsome are just greasy. That's how realistic this world is.
Indeed, spiritual energy user is said to enhance appearance, but in reality, it's more about temperament. And temperament is truly just an enigma… No matter what, you at least need some basic value to even talk about room for improvement.
On the way, Yu Lian had already learned that Colonel Chaimen Daisuke and his subordinate, Major Nani, had both joined this experimental unit. This time, they had brought the newly manufactured Emblem Machine to the Outer Rim Fleet for testing and training.
"The new unit's name hasn't been decided yet. Things like 'Sanctuary Guardians,' 'Star Ring Special Forces,' 'Avengers,' 'Justice League,' etc., none of them sound reliable. Of course, that's not the point… I heard that the Empire's Star Realm Knight Order and the Alliance's Guerrillas both use a three-person team combat tactic when their spiritual energy users go into battle, is that right?"
"At least for Five Rings and below, yes, that's how it is." Yu Lian nodded.
As for above Five Rings, "mass-produced" Emblem Machines were useless, so what formation tactics were needed?
And if it reached Seven Rings and above, that was the so-called humanoid nation- trấn heavy weapon, not to be moved lightly. They were almost never seen on the front lines.
"Hmm, Five Rings, I estimate I won't reach that level in my next life." Colonel Chaimen scratched his head, his face full of longing and envy, yet showing no expectation at all.
"So, a group of three, and you're missing one person? Strange, shouldn't you have found a formal partner when you first formed the team?"
"Because Mina suddenly got pregnant and went home to rest." Nani said helplessly, "But we've already set the training and testing plan. We can't just not do it because one person is missing, can we? But who would have thought a real fight would break out at this time?"
"Don't talk about that anymore, just give it a try. This is Mina's spare unit, but her build is similar to yours, so the cockpit doesn't need adjustment." Colonel Chaimen said.
Why do I have to be similar in build to a girl? I'm 1.8 meters tall, okay? Yu Lian felt greatly insulted, but still climbed into the Emblem Machine and put on the helmet. His vision first went black, then brightened again, and the view before him suddenly widened. Within his field of vision, several picture-in-picture displays appeared, showing various data.
"Feel it, the strength, speed, flexibility. Yes, and most importantly, the extension of spiritual energy user, see if it's affected!" Chaimen Daisuke said from outside, "Oh, and the airtightness! Soon, we'll have to pilot this thing for boarding assaults! We might even have to glide through space."
Yu Lian nodded, making an OK gesture with the Emblem Machine, his movements showing no sense of delay.
"This kid is really good!" Major Nani raised an eyebrow in surprise. His first time piloting took a long time to adapt.
"He's the one I picked!" Colonel Chaimen said proudly.
Subsequently, in the Aircraft Carrier's hangar, Yu Lian, wearing the priceless Emblem Machine, performed two sets of squats, two sets of push-ups, two sets of burpees, and two 100-meter shuttle runs. Then he helped the maintenance crew attach missiles and proton torpedoes to the fighters, scaring everyone around him pale. Finally, he sat down cross-legged and formed an Immovable Fundamental Mudra with his alloy-gloved hands.
The hangar was soon surrounded by a large crowd of pilots and ground crew. They had never seen such a spectacle before, and by the end, they were clapping, cheering, and catcalling.
Overall, the test went very smoothly. Yu Lian was practically born for the Emblem Machine; the so-called human-machine integration, human as machine, machine as human, was perfectly exemplified.
The above was Major Nani's evaluation; his slight reservations about Yu Lian, the "airborne soldier," had now vanished, and he was very much looking forward to the upcoming battle.
On the other side, Yu Lian also had an objective assessment of this Blue Star Commonwealth-produced Emblem Machine. Overall, its speed, strength, and flexibility were almost perfect, and the spiritual energy user's intensity was also guaranteed. Its overall performance was almost identical to the Empire's Glow Knight Armor Type 1.
However, that was an Empire model from 40 years ago; now, Glow Knight Armor Types 2 and 3 are close to retirement. The Star Realm Knight Order is massively re-equipping with two new models, "Scarlet" and "Azure." And then, ten years later, they will have the even more advanced Nightfall type.
"But no matter what, it's a start, isn't it?"
Yu Lian felt he shouldn't pour cold water on the Engineers, so he pushed his hands towards the sky and shouted, "Buddha's Palm!" Anyway, he had already confirmed that the external microphone was off, so others would just think he was testing the joints.
…A new pop-up window suddenly appeared in his vision, and it was Colonel Yang Xiyi.
Yu Lian retracted his hands, his eyes fixed straight ahead, shining brightly.
A hint of doting, even tolerant, but definitely condescending smile flashed across Colonel Yang Xiyi's face before he said seriously, "The Commander has already personally led the main battleship formation."
"That certainly matches that old man's style!"
"Brigadier General Hall, the Commander of the detachment, is an open-minded person. You can communicate with him at any time with any suggestions. You are a Moon Person, a spiritual energy user; he will listen."
The implication being, if I weren't a spiritual energy user and not a Moon Person, he wouldn't listen, right?
"I also need to return to the reserve formation and await orders. Keep the communication open!"
"Keep the communication open!"
Communication was temporarily cut off. Yu Lian and their "small" fleet also began to warp, but their destination was not the main battlefield, but rather behind a gas giant far from there.
Today is the second update of integrity beast, this is the first update.
Also, ships smaller than destroyers include assault ships and strike ships, but since they are used for boarding, biting, and dogfighting, I always feel that calling them "escorts" is not quite appropriate.
This is also what I want to complain about. In Stellaris, why are the "frigates" that are clearly charging and fighting more recklessly than even carrier-based aircraft also called "frigates"?
So, don't worry about not having a frigate swarm in the future; we will have an assault ship swarm.
Just consider it a bit of my fussiness and willfulness.
Also, you're right, I did borrow from Star Realm for the ship settings.
