Chapter 538: General Offensive

On the 78th Earth day of the Expeditionary Army, Commander-in-Chief Makemu launched the first general offensive against the Kepler Giant Insect race. Over ten thousand various large human starships joined the battlefield, along with a million sorties of drones and Mobile Suits. The Giant Insect Legion also took the Expeditionary Army by surprise, with a rough estimate reaching the tens of millions. The flames of war illuminated space. Humans still held an overall lead in long-range firepower; various laser cannons, neutron cannons, laser beam cannons, and space torpedoes continuously swept through the Giant Insect swarms. The Space Fortress of the Hanxing Fleet released an anti-matter collapse bomb, one of humanity's ultimate weapons. Both sides fought fiercely for over thirty Earth hours. In terms of the situation, the Expeditionary Army achieved massive results, though losses were not insignificant. As large areas of the Giant Insect swarms were being wiped out and an overwhelming advantage was gradually emerging, a sudden change occurred. The clouds covering the vast sea surface of Kepler dispersed, and countless Giant Insect Brood Mothers flew toward space. At the same time, from the depths of the ocean, a giant blue beam of light wrapped in spiral energy pierced through Kepler's atmosphere and slammed into the Space Fortress at the core of the Hanxing Fleet. Human Mecha and starships along its path lost energy one after another; upon contact, ships were destroyed and crews perished instantly. The Space Fortress activated its energy shield—this was also humanity's formidable energy shield.

This terrifying beam of light directly whittled away more than half of the Space Fortress's energy shield and destroyed one-fifth of the fortress's area. The human fleet began to retreat, and the Expeditionary Army's first general offensive came to an end.

The Kepler regions that had originally been cleared by the Expeditionary Army were filled up by Giant Insects before long. Each floating Brood Mother was like a Nightmare. In terms of overall results, humanity had won, but looking at the situation, there was nothing to be happy about.

The Giant Insects displayed a continuous production capacity, and being close to the Kepler Planet, their supply lines were much more convenient than those of the humans. The human front line was stretched too thin.

Makemu's combat style was to seek the extraordinary within the stable. Upon seeing the number of Giant Insect reinforcements, he decisively ordered a retreat. Although they could have risked taking this opportunity to wipe out a wave of Giant Insects, they would then have become entangled, and the combat losses incurred while trying to withdraw from the battlefield would have been immeasurable. Moreover, this battle was clearly not the time for an all-in; it could even be said that the Giant Insects—or rather, Theseus—had preparations that other humans were unaware of. This risk could not be taken.

The Space Fortress suffered rather serious damage this time, causing not insignificant casualties. One nuclear power reactor was completely destroyed, and there was radiation leakage. Engineering ships were working overtime to repair it. Before the Space Fortress was repaired, the Expeditionary Army would not easily launch another general offensive.

The various fleets returned to their anchor points to regroup, repair starships, and treat the wounded, while also waiting for the second wave of weapons and equipment from the logistics troops.

The Fifth Fleet suffered over fifty percent damage, making it the most severely damaged in the Expeditionary Army; it withdrew from the front outpost to the rear, replaced by the Third Conquest Fleet from Mars.

The Hunters also participated in the general offensive, but were not assigned to the front-most outpost tasks. No matter how strong individual power was, it seemed like a drop in the bucket in such a geometrically scaled battle. Of course, the Hunters' results were very significant, especially top experts like Li Hao and Maxis, who truly disrupted the local battlefield of the Giant Insects. Moreover, as long as their Mecha were not damaged beyond repair, their sustained combat capability was extremely strong, allowing them to slaughter back and forth within the insect swarms, letting the Giant Insects taste the same experience.

In the laboratory of the Space Fortress, Sa Wutian, who had been transported there, had already lost consciousness, but his body was still moving autonomously and rapidly proliferating in a strange state of hyperplasia. He was frozen in liquid nitrogen by a group of scientists including Jeris. Even during wartime, they studied day and night. When the Space Fortress was struck, the outside was in chaos, but they didn't care at all, terrified that their experimental subject would be destroyed; nothing else was important.

Sa Wutian's original body was already dead, but strangely, the body still possessed activity and intended to proliferate in a disordered manner. However, such proliferation would only lead to collapse and eventual total death. They still managed to analyze a different energy fluctuation from Sa Wutian's body. This faint energy fluctuation should be the "divine power" of Theseus. This seemingly unremarkable energy fluctuation allowed this body that shouldn't exist to survive in a biological sense. It was just that there was currently no means to preserve this power; once Sa Wutian's body completely perished, this power would also disappear at any time. The things contained within it made everyone itch with curiosity; the existence of this power could not only prove that life could be created, but that a Spirit could also be bestowed.

The existence of humans, Earth, and even the Solar System was highly likely not a coincidence.

This had already reached a consensus in the minds of Jeris and the others. Did Theseus have a certain connection with human civilization?

Could it be that humans were actually seeds left behind before the Nimeier migrated?

Humans and Nimeier were infinitely close in form and other aspects, only the Nimeier's Spirit was more powerful, closer to the gods in human legends.

Finding Theseus had become the key to this battle. Through Spirit localization, Jeris and the others were trying to find a way to estimate Theseus's general location. That energy cannon that hit the Space Fortress also provided them with a reference; such an ability was absolutely not the power of the Giant Insects, but that of the Nimeier. The enemy humanity was ultimately facing was gradually being exposed.

While the front line was in a great war, the interior of the Solar System was equally embroiled in endless debate. Across the Four Great Federations, especially on the Moon and Earth, large-scale anti-war protests broke out. Some insect-rights organizations believed that humans were the aggressors and that this battle was completely unnecessary; humans should coexist peacefully with the Giant Insects. Coupled with the casualties and social instability brought by the war, various social problems were bred.

Fortunately, the mainstream opinion within the Solar System Alliance was relatively unified: this battle must be fought, and it must be won, at all costs, even if it meant destroying the Kepler Planet. The new intelligence obtained by the Expeditionary Army was continuously funneled to the Alliance headquarters. Upon realizing the existence and control of the Nimeier, even if they lost the Kepler Planet, they could not allow failure. Once the Giant Insects marched on the Solar System, humans would become kept livestock, and they wouldn't even have the chance to kneel.

In troubled times, execute the "saints" first. The opinions of the Four Great Federations were very unified: in a civilization war, there is no room for any luck. If humanity is gone, what meaning does the universe have?

A continuous stream of supplies was being transported to the front line. The radicals within the Alliance were more inclined to use the Janibekov Cannon to solve the problem once and for all. Although the difficulty of reconstruction would increase significantly, this was the most favorable method; it was just that this was humanity's final resort.

Makemu and the others on the front line had the same intention. Based on the faint connection of the Spirit wavebands, Jeris and the others basically determined the area where Theseus was located. That shot on the sea might have been a smoke bomb. The human Base One on Kepler had now become the headquarters for Nangong Yuhang and the Giant Insects.

"I believe a war of attrition is unfavorable to us. Theseus must be stalling for time to complete his evolution, especially since his potential influence on humans cannot be ignored. We need to end this war as soon as possible."

Everyone was very worried about Theseus's massive mental ability and omnipresent influence. It hadn't reached that level yet, but a portion of people had already been affected, and the key was that they didn't even know it themselves. If left to develop, the consequences would be unimaginable. The Giant Insects could continuously produce and consume, but humans could not afford to. Currently, it was still within a controllable range; if combat losses were too great, the pressure within the Solar System would also be enormous, and if not handled well, it would also create immeasurable problems. The support Makemu and the others received was that the Alliance was withstanding tremendous pressure; they might not even get a good reputation after this battle ended, but that didn't matter. As soldiers, they knew their responsibility.

"Our goal is not to wipe out the Giant Insects, nor is it to destroy Kepler, but to eliminate Theseus. This is the true bane of human survival. The Giant Insects themselves are not this aggressive or reproductive."

"We have adjusted Plan B. We will launch another general offensive once the supplies arrive, open a breakthrough, and send in special forces to destroy the five bases. If the operation fails, we will use the Janibekov Cannon!" Pang Pai said.

While the fleet sent drones to harass them continuously, they were also constantly discussing the combat plan. Makemu and the others all had dark circles under their eyes. Various intelligence from the front and rear was constantly being fed back. Although the Alliance supported them, it could not sustain a protracted war. After all, the war was happening on the distant Kepler, and there was a considerable portion of humans who truly did not understand. Although the Alliance gave reasons, some people were only willing to believe the judgments within their own cognition, and this was also a considerable group. This pressure was equally enormous.

Combining various factors and considering the situation on the front line, launching a landing plan was imminent.

"Is it necessary to hit five bases? The scope is too large, and the difficulty is high."

"Base One is definitely the main attack point; this will be left to Li Hao to lead. But the other four bases must also be destroyed. We don't have a second chance. This time, we will commit all landing troops to forcibly destroy them!" Makemu said in a deep voice.

There was a high probability that Nangong Yuhang was at Base One, but the other four bases were also Giant Insect headquarters, with large numbers of Giant Insects pouring out from them, so they could not be left alone. This battle would be a two-pronged approach: aerial strikes and ground cutting. It had always been thought that the Giant Insects' combat command was directed by Brood Mothers or Brain Insects, but now it appeared to be entirely under Theseus's control. Cutting off the command was the key to this battle.

Of course, taking a step back, if the ground operation failed, or if destroying Theseus still failed to affect the Giant Insects, then they would have to use the Jianibieke Fu Dizhou D Pao. The energy for this Planetary Level destruction weapon was anti-matter. Humanity's current accumulation of Dark Matter was still quite slow, and the Space Fortress only had the opportunity for one shot, but as long as it hit, the surface and shallow organisms of Kepler would become history.

The experiments for the Jianibieke Fu Dizhou D Pao were all based on data from uninhabited, desolate satellites and laboratories; this would also be the first time it was used in actual combat.

(End of chapter)