East Marsh Bastion floated in the darkness of space like a colossus. Occasionally, military ships flew in and out of the darkness.
The number of Bastions was an important metric in modern warfare.
The Northern Alliance had twelve, the most of the Major League. The Western Alliance had seven, and the Eastern Alliance only five.
The Eastern Alliance and Western Alliance combined were equal to the Northern Alliance. It was clear how powerful the Northern Alliance was.
East Marsh Bastion was the weakest of the Eastern Alliance. It was responsible for guarding the wormholes in the Shattered Starfields, as well as the surrounding areas.
It was responsible for the permanent rotation of a cosmic army.
Compared to the other bastions, which had at least two cosmic armies stationed, East Marsh Bastion was a bit weaker. Their main purpose was to suppress the locust-like pirates in the Shattered Starfields.
The Shattered Starfields were too complicated for large ships to pass through. The pirates were also familiar with the terrain.
The three Major Leagues had once worked together to wipe them out, but they had only dealt a blow to the periphery, not to the core.
Add to that the political significance of the pirates' existence, and that was how the pirates grew in power.
"We'll be entering in three minutes.
Prepare to charge. "Lin Guo-guo's voice reverberated throughout the control room.
Zeus -1's light had dimmed, as if it had melted into space itself.
The blue keystone's ability to block out detection signals, combined with Zeus -1's internal systems, helped it hide in space.
Kerr. "Twenty times the speed of sound. Prepare to charge."
Xiu Xiu. "Main thrusters charged, ready to go.
The protective shield is ready. "
"Weapons systems ready," Mika said.
"Charge in one hundred and sixty seconds. We'll be flying at sub-light speed for a hundred seconds."
Lan Jue sat upright in his seat. A metal sphere rose from the armrests on either side of his chair. He held them in his hands. His lazy expression was gone, replaced by one of solemnity.
In this age of space, it was impossible for a single person to fight against an army.
A Bastion's main cannon could destroy a planet in an instant.
Of course, ships like theirs weren't going to be targeted by the bastion's main cannon.
Even so, he couldn't afford to be careless.
Some of the main battleships of the military were equipped with the ability to travel at light speed.
He had to enter the wormhole before they found out and sped up.
With the size of Zeus -1, it was already a miracle that it could travel at sub-light speed.
As for the speed of light, it did not just rely on the power of the spacecraft itself.
"Countdown to sprint begins.
Ten, nine, eight, seven … "
"Three, two, one, charge!"
The originally dim Zeus -1 suddenly burst out with a piercing blue light. All five of its thrusters lit up, making it look like a burning blue bird in the darkness. The next moment, Zeus -1 had already burst out at full speed.
The sudden increase in speed caused the entire interior of Zeus -1 to tremble. The outer shield instantly turned from white to light red, and then gradually approached the color of orange.
"Energy output normal. Acceleration normal."
In a graceful arc, Zeus -1 circled around to the rear of East Marsh Bastion.
Zeus-1 was no longer able to hide from the Bastion's onslaught. Alarms began to blare to life.
"Unknown ship warning. Unknown ship warning.
This is East Marsh Bastion. Please stop immediately or we will attack. "The cold electronic voice echoed through the air.
But Lan Jue and the other four women didn't seem to hear.
Three patrolling ships had already reacted and were moving in to flank the Bastion.
"Thirty seconds to sub-light speed.
Distance calculated to ensure safety. "Kerr's voice was low.
"Eastern Alliance's White Tiger-class battleships are charging their main cannons.
Calculate firing trajectory. "Xiu Xiu said.
The atmosphere inside Zeus -1 grew tense as they spoke.
"In ten seconds, White Tiger-class battleship on the left will fire. Estimated time of twenty-three seconds to intercept Zeus -1.
Trajectory can be evaded, but we can't rule out tracking. "
Lan Jue's face was serious, but calm.
"White Tiger-class battleship one, firing." Kerr's voice rose.
Through the porthole they could see a small white dot in the distance.
Any vessel that tried to enter the Shattered Starfields through the wormhole was treated as a pirate. This was why the Bastion's battleships had been so quick to launch an attack.
"Twenty seconds until attack arrives!"
"Fifteen seconds until attack arrives!"
"Ten seconds until attack arrives!"
"Begin auxiliary acceleration!" Lan Jue's voice was low.
Then, without warning, his deep eyes suddenly turned azure blue, and his whole body turned the same color in the next second.
The protective barrier around his body seemed to have turned into a sea of lightning in an instant.
But the waves of energy were completely isolated by the light.
At the top of Zeus-1, a strange electric light flared to life. Inside the main thrusters, a small jet nozzle opened up, and a violet-blue gem, cut from a diamond, was pushed out. A blinding beam of blue light shot out and melded with the energy of the main thrusters.
Zeus-1 shuddered violently. In that moment, it seemed as though the ship had come to a standstill in midair.
Then the main thruster's orange-red tail turned to a brilliant blue. The four auxiliary thrusters also changed color.
The orange glow of the protective shield faded to a dark red. Zeus-1 came to a sudden stop, and then it shot forward like a cannonball.
It entered the sub-light speed directly and was rapidly climbing toward the speed of light.
A few seconds later, a white light swept past from behind and disappeared into the vast night sky.
As the White Tiger-class battleships watched in shock, Zeus -1 became a dot of blue light. It shot toward the wormhole behind the Bastion.
"Long live the boss!"
Kerr, Lin Guo-guo, and Mika cheered at the same time. The shy Xiu Xiu also smiled.
Ke 'er exclaimed, "It's still the best to have Boss around. We don't even need to use our weapons to stop them.
Enter the wormhole in ten seconds. "
Lin Guo-guo said, "The White Tiger battleships have given up on charging."
The blue light on Lan Jue's body gradually receded. Zeus -1 also returned to sub-light speed. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Charge successful."
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