Chapter 813: Battle in the K-78 Asteroid Belt (1)

Number Three Shooting Range, Ninth Defense Zone Military Region.

Rows of brand-new laser guns were neatly racked on the shooting benches, the cold metal gleaming with a deep blue luster under the lights.

The recruits stood in formation, their eyes both weary and filled with curiosity and longing—this was their first time truly coming into contact with standard-issue weapons!

Instructor Kusake did not waste words, picking up a laser rifle directly, his movements dazzlingly fast.

"Watch closely! Load the magazine! Disengage the safety! Shoulder the stock! Align the three points for aiming! Fire!"

As he roared the commands, he completed the movements fluidly, and a blinding laser beam shot out, precisely hitting the bullseye of a fixed target a hundred meters away, leaving a charred hole in the center of the target.

"These are the tools you'll be eating with from now on! Now, it's your turn, you bunch of rookies! Follow my movements from just now, practice loading and aiming postures in groups! Do not touch the triggers! Whoever dares to put a finger on one, I'll make them do a hundred push-ups with that finger! Start!"

The target range was instantly filled with the sound of clashing metal and Instructor Kusake's constant reprimands.

"Afudao! Your shoulder! Why are you letting it slump? The buttstock must be pressed firmly against your shoulder pocket! Imagine you're nailing it into your bone!"

"Dekashi! The line of sight! Eyes! Front sight! Target! One line! I'm not asking you to look at the target with your nostrils!"

"Idiot! You want to fire without disengaging the safety? Do you want to be riddled with holes by the enemy on the battlefield?"

Afudao tried hard to recall Kusake's movements; because his fingers were trembling slightly while loading the magazine, he fumbled several times before succeeding.

When shouldering and aiming, the heavy weight of the gun made his arm muscles ache intensely, and his posture looked incredibly awkward under Kusake's critical gaze.

Dekashi appeared more composed; he operated strictly according to the steps, and although his movements were stiff, he at least made no major mistakes.

Time slipped away amidst repeated practice and the instructor's roaring.

Dinner time finally arrived.

In the cafeteria, the recruits stood in long lines and received their own dinners.

A large bowl of thick paste boiled from synthetic protein and grains, two pieces of compressed rations that provided enough calories, and a small energy bar to replenish salt.

Dekashi and Afudao found a corner seat and began to enjoy the food before them.

The paste didn't taste bad, but for them, having exhausted their physical strength, even if it had no flavor, they could now drink it as if it were a delicacy.

The surrounding tables were also filled with recruits; beneath their weary faces was the excitement of having just entered the military camp and the tentative exchanges between one another.

"Hey, buddy, where are you guys from?"

A recruit with freckles on his face asked from nearby, his mouth stuffed with rations.

"Fourth Defense Zone."

Afudao swallowed the paste in his mouth and replied.

"Fourth Defense Zone?"

Another recruit leaned over.

"I heard that place took in quite a few survivors rescued from other defense zones. Which alien race were you rescued from?"

Dekashi and Afudao exchanged a glance, both seeing the shadows in the other's eyes.

Dekashi shook his head in silence, while Afudao said in a low voice.

"We were in a Zerg Breeding Ground. That place... I don't want to talk about it again."

He bit down hard on the compressed ration, as if he wanted to bite that memory to pieces and swallow it.

"Hiss..."

The surrounding recruits gasped; they had heard of the Zerg, but had never seen one.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit off, someone changed the subject.

"The Ninth Defense Zone is really different now; there are Oath Halls everywhere. It feels like... the Emperor is right here watching us."

"Yeah,"

Afudao's eyes lit up.

"That's exactly what we came for! To follow the Emperor's will!"

"Right! Follow the Emperor!"

However, the peace of dinner did not last long.

Just as the recruits had stuffed the last bit of food into their stomachs and were contentedly rubbing their bellies, Instructor Kusake's voice exploded at the cafeteria entrance again.

"Everyone assemble! Parade ground! Three minutes!"

"No way... again?"

A chorus of wails arose, but no one dared to hesitate.

The recruits immediately rushed out of the cafeteria, stumbling toward the parade ground.

"Full? Have the energy to complain now?"

Kusake's gaze swept over the panting ranks of recruits.

"Looks like today's training volume isn't enough! Everyone, attention! Prepare for push-ups! No target, until I call for you to stop! Start!"

The recruits immediately propped their bodies up on the ground.

The soreness in their arms had not yet faded, and every downward press and push-up was accompanied by heavy gasps and the protest of their muscles.

Sweat seeped out again, shimmering in the moonlight.

Kusake watched these recruits struggling to persist before him and continued to shout.

"Fifty-seven... hold on! Think about why you came here! Think about what you want to protect! Think about the Emperor's banner!"

Dekashi gritted his teeth; every push-up felt like his arms were about to snap, yet in his mind flashed his compatriots in the Breeding Ground who were treated like objects, and the dazzling light on the screen when the Emperor announced the founding of the Star Alliance.

Afudao felt even more like his vision was going black, with only one thought in his heart: Cannot fall! For the Emperor!

When Kusake finally shouted "Stand up!", a group of recruits collapsed on the parade ground.

Dekashi and Afudao pulled on each other to barely stand up.

Kusake looked at these young people who were almost exhausted but still stubbornly held their spines straight; he was silent for a moment before he spoke.

"Remember today's sweat! Remember the soreness of your muscles! Remember why you persist! This is just a beginning! Dismissed! Get back to the barracks and sleep! Tomorrow, we continue!"

"Yes!"

The edge of the K-78 Asteroid Belt, the disputed Huan Chong Qu between the Feng Qi Xing Alliance and the Ash Star Alliance.

The void was occupied by countless rock fragments, and the K-78 Asteroid Belt shimmered with a grayish-white hue under the faint light of a distant star.

Suddenly, a hurried communication, carrying distinct electronic interference noise, pierced the silence.

"This is the Fengqi survey ship 'Probe Seven'! Encountering unidentified vessels! Repeat, encountering unidentified vessels! The other party is not responding to identification codes and is approaching our ship at high speed! Requesting support from the Star Alliance Patrol Squad! Coordinates..."

The communication cut off abruptly, drowned out by intense interference noise.

In the shadow of a massive meteorite within the asteroid belt, three ships with ferocious designs and sharp lines slid out quietly.

The hulls were painted with the dark red and charred black stripes characteristic of the Ash Star Alliance.

They were the Ash Star Alliance's "Razor"-class high-speed patrol ships.

Inside the Bridge of the lead ship, Commander Vika curled her lips into a cold arc, her gray-blue eyes fixed on the light dot on the tactical star map representing "Probe Seven," which was frantically attempting to turn and flee.

"Target locked, 'Probe Seven,' the technological moles of Fengqi."

Vika's voice echoed on the Bridge.

"Let them learn a lesson and know who the master of these 'Ashes' is. Razor 1 and 2, crossfire, knock out their engines and Sensor Array, leave one survivor for the 'big shots' of Fengqi to see."

"Received, Commander!"

The response from the wing ships came through the Communication Device.

Three blue-white ion beams shot out, accurately hitting the Feng Qi Xing Alliance survey ship.

A silent explosion bloomed in the vacuum; the massive energy impact tore the engine array on one side of the survey ship into twisted scrap metal, and the Sensor Array also turned into a cluster of dazzling sparks.

The hull shuddered violently, losing power, and fine ice crystals sprayed out from the damaged areas.

"Hit! Target has lost maneuverability!"

The wing ships reported.

Vika nodded with satisfaction.

"Very good. Prepare to board..."

Before her words could finish, the Bridge's alarm sounded!

"Detected Fengqi warp signal! High energy reaction! Quantity one, azimuth 312, elevation negative 15! Approaching at high speed!"