Chapter 1038: Settling Accounts Immediately

Core territory of the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance, Jingsishi.

Yingzhou was floating in mid-air with his eyes closed; suddenly, Yingzhou furrowed his brows slightly.

A wave of prayers filled with terror surged over.

Its source pointed to a remote coordinate in the Sixth Star Sector on the star map: Ximao Star.

Almost simultaneously, the space beside Yingzhou rippled, and a female phantom composed of pure light energy emerged.

"His Majesty, an emergency encrypted communication attempt has been received from Ximao Star in the Southern Theater, but the signal is being interfered with by extremely intense, non-natural biological energy waves, making it impossible to establish a stable connection; only fragmented information can be parsed.

Key terms include: unidentified biological attack, orbital drop, global defense, request for reinforcements, Shengxue Angel Dishilian... and, extremely high energy reaction readings, suspected... Insect Hive Mother Ship."

Yingzhou slowly opened his eyes.

Ximao Star, a mining world that had just been recovered and was currently undergoing reconstruction, how could it have provoked an Insect Hive Mother Ship?

Furthermore, Shengxue Angel Dishilian was actually there, and had fallen into a bitter struggle requiring reinforcements?

"Insect Hive Mother Ship... scale?"

Yingzhou asked calmly.

"Based on the interference intensity and energy characteristic model projections, its scale far exceeds a conventional reconnaissance sub-swarm, at least at the level of a main sub-swarm capable of planetary Devour."

Selina responded quickly.

"Given Ximao Star's current defensive strength and the configuration of the Eighth Company, the estimated time for total resistance is no more than thirty standard hours."

Thirty standard hours... for a planet and all the living beings upon it, this time was suffocatingly short.

Yingzhou was in Silence.

He could clearly feel that the wave of prayers from Ximao Star had not weakened, but was instead becoming even more turbulent.

Dispatch reinforcements? The nearest organized fleet reaching Ximao Star would be like trying to put out a cartload of burning firewood with a cup of water.

Utilize certain hidden... powers? The price would be enormous, and it could trigger unpredictable consequences.

Just as he was weighing his options, a cold and mechanical voice that only he could "hear" sounded deep within his consciousness—it was the notification sound of the "System" bound to his soul:

【Strong Faith Anchor detected, Ximao Star is facing a crisis.】

【Usable psionic medium detected, White Scars Librarian Ulton, is in a state of high-load psionic resonance.】

【Emergency response protocol triggered: can consume stored Spiritual Power and Faith Value to directionally project the "Legion of the Damned" through the medium coordinate to execute a purification Task.】

【Warning: This operation will consume a large amount of resources, may lead to the exhaustion of the medium's psionic power, and there are limitations on the projection's duration and intensity.】

【Execute?】

Yingzhou's gaze pierced through the barriers of space, as if seeing that massive insect hive shadow in the orbit of Ximao Star, seeing the Angel and Astra Militarum fighting in a Blood Bath amidst the sea of insects on the surface, seeing the civilians praying in despair in the shelters, and also vaguely sensing the weak psionic spark of the Librarian Ulton, who was inside the Insect Hive Mother Ship, desperately calling out his name.

"Execute."

Yingzhou murmured in his heart.

In an instant, Yingzhou felt his own Spiritual Power and accumulated Faith Value being guided by the System and poured into Ulton, who was acting as the medium.

Yingzhou "saw" fifty warriors of the Legion of the Damned draped in crimson Psionic Flame appear out of thin air, "saw" them purify the Zerg with overwhelming force, ignoring all defenses, and finally rush into the core of the Mother Ship, destroying it completely...

This process seemed long, but in the reality dimension, only a very short time had passed.

When he sensed the psionic aftershocks of the Mother Ship's core explosion, Yingzhou exhaled a breath of turbid air.

That move just now had almost drained all of his Spiritual Power reserves and a considerable amount of Faith Value.

This kind of consumption, even for him, was by no means something that could be borne at will.

Selina beside him also seemed to have detected something and reported.

"His Majesty, the biological energy interference from the direction of Ximao Star is rapidly receding... the energy signal of the Insect Hive Mother Ship... has disappeared. Replacing it is... an intense, non-Zerg psionic explosion reaction, which then also quickly subsided. Communication with Ximao Star... is being restored.

Additionally, a large number of fleets from the Feng Qi Xing Alliance have been discovered between the Sixth Star Sector and the Seventh Star Sector, and are launching attacks on planets at the border."

Yingzhou nodded slightly, not speaking immediately.

He focused his attention on that crucial piece of information, the wreckage of the two Feng Qi Xing Alliance warships that had been discovered being dismantled inside the Mother Ship.

"Man-made guidance... Feng Qi Xing Alliance, you all know how to play."

A cold glint flashed in Yingzhou's eyes.

It was indeed no coincidence.

"Selina, conduct a comprehensive assessment of the current situation on Ximao Star."

Yingzhou ordered.

A light screen unfolded before Yingzhou, showing the data stream from the newly restored communication with Ximao Star.

"Assessment complete, His Majesty. The Insect Hive Mother Ship 'Reaper' sub-swarm is confirmed destroyed, and its derivatives have fallen into chaos due to the loss of the core will and are being quickly mopped up by the surface garrison. Ximao Star's main defensive nodes 'Jianbao', 'Oasis', and 'Red Rock City' are all stable, and the garrison is launching a full counterattack to clear out remaining Zerg units."

"Regarding casualties: Shengxue Angel Dishilian, seven killed in action, twelve seriously wounded, minor injuries are common. Cadian 214th Regiment, casualties approximately fifty-five percent. Wentuiliya 93rd Infantry Regiment, casualties approximately forty percent. Krieg 118th Death Korps, landing forces casualties exceed eighty percent. Civilians... due to timely evacuation and effective organization, casualties are far lower than expected, mainly concentrated in the initial chaos and individual strongholds that were breached."

"White Scars Ninth Company assault team, confirmed to have successfully infiltrated before the Mother Ship was destroyed, current status unknown, but the company flagship has been confirmed to have survived and is currently executing surveillance in the orbit of Ximao Star. Based on fragmented information transmitted back, the assault team may have encountered a strong counterattack from the Mother Ship's internal defense system, but... it seems an unknown force intervened to assist them in completing the Task."

Selina paused for a moment and summarized.

"Overall, after encountering an Alien attack far exceeding its defensive capabilities, Ximao Star successfully resolved the crisis within thirteen standard hours and basically cleared the threat. Personnel casualties... although heavy, considering the scale and intensity of the enemy, it is already a miracle. Planetary infrastructure is severely damaged, but the foundations of the core industrial zones and agricultural projects remain intact, and reconstruction work can be launched quickly."

Hearing this result, Yingzhou's tense heartstrings finally relaxed slightly.

Thirteen standard hours... much better than the worst-case scenario he had imagined.

Most of the civilians had survived, and the main force of the loyal army remained.

This was already a blessing in misfortune.

"Miracle..."

Yingzhou repeated the word in a low voice and ordered.

"Issue the order. Commend all participating troops on Ximao Star, provide pensions for the fallen soldiers, and spare no effort in treating the wounded. Order the Southern Theater to immediately dispatch engineering fleets and supplies to support the reconstruction of Ximao Star. At the same time, with the highest security classification, investigate all recent abnormal military movements of the Feng Qi Xing Alliance and their connection to the Zerg activity zone."

His gaze turned back to the star map, focusing on the direction of the Feng Qi Xing Alliance.

"As for the Feng Qi Xing Alliance... this debt, I will settle it immediately."

He waved his hand, and the phantom of Selina bowed slightly before dissipating.

The Garden of Quiet Contemplation returned to silence.

Yingzhou sat alone, digesting the information and impact brought by this incident.

"The Kurgan assault team needs their memories erased; send Taigehe'er and Dabeiwenqiao, I hope they can cooperate."

As he spoke, Yingzhou contacted the two through his communication terminal and issued the Task.