The Legendary Mechanic, page 686
Roddick operated the star map for a while, marking the location of Garoze’s fleet, which was not far behind the Expedition Fleet.
This made him feel less worried.
“This way, we won’t have to worry about someone attacking us,” Roddick said coldly. “With our armed forces, as long as the dynasty dares to send someone here, they’ll see that they might not be the stronger side.”
At this time, a communication request came. It was from one of the Three Kings of the Modo Civilization.
The two of them immediately straightened their backs and put on serious expressions. They then accepted the communication request, and people appeared on the virtual screen.
The two of them saluted. “Your Excellencies.”
“What’s the situation now?” one of the Three Kings asked.
As leaders of the civilization, asking about the situation this soon after the Expedition Fleet entered the Flickering World seemed too impatient, but the Flickering World was way too significant to the Super Star Cluster civilizations. This was an opportunity to completely overthrow the situation they were stuck in; no amount of attention seemed too much.
Furthermore, they had angered the dynasty not too long ago. Now that their forces entered the dynasty’s territory, the Three Kings were even more on edge.
“We’re still on the way,” Roddick answered formally.
“Have you encountered any problems?”
“Everything is normal.”
“Hmm, no matter what happens, focus on protecting the logistics team,” the leader of the Modo Race said.
The armed fleet existed to protect the logistics team, which carried all kinds of necessary resources and devices to develop a Star Field. The armed spaceships could be depleted, but it would be extremely problematic if something happened to these important resources. Although they would still be able to resupply from their temporary stronghold in the Shattered Star Ring, it would tremendously slow down the speed of the development.
All the forces in the Flickering World were competitors. Every second wasted meant profit lost, which would then affect the Modo Civilization’s strategy.
Roddick nodded before speaking with a serious tone. “Your Excellencies Three Kings, don’t worry, I won’t let our enemies…”
Boom!
Before his sentence even ended, the entire main ship trembled. The crew in the command room fell to the ground!
Roddick staggered, too. He grabbed the table to regain his balance.
“What’s going on‽” He was shocked and furious.
“Commander, many unknown ships are approaching at a high speed and have attacked us.”
The radar showed that fleets appeared from every direction, surrounded them, and fired at them.
Furthermore, the alarm also mentioned that the opponent had deployed a large number of Space Stabilization Anchors in the area. This meant that they had charged right into a trap, and their hyperdrive was completely stopped, which was what caused the trembling. Even the stabilizing device inside the spaceship could not fully resolve the shock from suddenly stopping at such a high speed.
“We’re still some distance away from the next stargate. Is this an ambush?” Lagos was stunned.
They were just discussing the fact that there might be enemies, and speaking of the devil…
“What’s the enemy’s identity?” Roddick questioned.
“I—I don’t know. The spaceships they’re using are general models. There are no symbols on these ships, so we don’t know which organization these belong to,” the observer said with a nervous tone.
The communication from the Three Kings had not ended yet. They all saw this and frowned.
The leader of the Modo Civilization said with a deep voice and a grave expression, “Roddick, I’ll leave this to you. You must defeat the enemy.”
“Understood.” Roddick had a decisive look on his face. He immediately started to command the fleet and gave out orders one after another.
The Expedition Fleet responded quickly. It shrank its formation to protect the logistics team while firing back. Neither fleet was huge. In fact, the Modo Civilization’s fleet was a little larger.
Roddick showcased his excellent commanding talent, and the Modo Civilization firmly stood their ground.
Although they were ambushed, Roddick did not choose to break away but remained in place.
His confidence came from both the fact that his armed fleet was stronger and the Beyond Grade A Garoze who was not far behind. As long as Garoze arrived at the battlefield, he would be able to fight back using the strength of a Beyond Grade A.
Roddick’s style was tough and unbending; he was one to always take revenge. He was furious about being interrupted out of nowhere while speaking with the Three Kings. Compared to escaping, he would rather defeat the enemies.
“I’ll let Garoze join the battle immediately.” Lagos hastily took out his communicator to call for backup.
“Okay, do it quickly.” Roddick sneered. “No matter who they are, they’re not leaving easily.”
…
At the same time, Garoze’s fleet, which was not far away, noticed the situation as well.
“Someone really attacked them? I thought they were paranoid.”
Inside the command room, Garoze murmured to himself.
This was not his first time accepting a job from a Super Star Cluster civilization. As a neutral Beyond Grade A with no background, this was a key source of income for him. He had also accepted jobs from seven other organizations to protect their fleets.
Everyone knew that due to the competition in the Flickering World, this place would very soon become a heaven for mercenaries. Even many Beyond Grade As had joined in.
“Your Excellency Garoze, what do we do? Should we go over and help?” his assistant asked.
Garoze nodded. He was hired, so he had to do his duty.
However, just as he was about to make the order, the sound of a communicator ringing suddenly appeared in the room.
Beep beep beep!
Garoze looked down and was surprised.
It was his private communicator!
Who would call at this time?
As he took out the communicator to take a look, Garoze’s pupils constricted.
The caller was shockingly Black Star!
The two of them did not have much interaction in the past, they had only met during the Meeting Of The Gods and exchanged their private numbers.
I wonder why he is calling me…
Suppressing the doubts in his mind, Garoze walked to the side, picked up the communication, and asked carefully, “Your Excellency Black Star, what is it?”
“I have one thing I need your help with.” Han Xiao’s voice came out of the communicator.
“Please do tell.”
“I need you to do nothing.”
“Do nothing? What do you mea…”
Initially, Garoze did not understand, but then, it suddenly occurred to him.
“The fleet that attacked the Modo Civilization, it’s…”
Han Xiao interrupted him and asked calmly, “Can you do that?”
Garoze was extremely troubled. With the Black Star Army’s interference, this matter was no longer simple. The Modo Civilization would most likely be devastated, and from the depths of his heart, he did not want to take part in this.
However, he was right beside the battlefield. If he did not take action, his reputation would definitely be tainted.
Garoze looked a little troubled. “Your Excellency Black Star, I’ve already accepted the job from the Modo Civilization. If I don’t do anything…”
With an expressionless face, Han Xiao coldly said, “If you don’t want trouble, back away. This is not something you can interfere with.”
Then, he hung up without waiting for Garoze’s reply.
In my territory, you listen to me! Han Xiao did not even bother with bullsh*ting with the Modo Civilization. I’m going to beat you up, that’s all!
What, you’re not happy? Sure, don’t come to the Flickering World then!
The army was now the biggest organization in the Flickering World after operating there for so long. If he did not act like a menace, who had the right to‽
Garoze’s face became stiff as he was secretly shocked. In his mind, Black Star was a very friendly person who made friends everywhere he went. He did not expect Black Star’s tone to be this firm.
Looks like this is more serious than I thought. If I interfere, it probably won’t turn out well for me.
Also, if I ignore Black Star’s threat, won’t I follow the steps of that seven-eyed dude?
Garoze trembled uncontrollably.
The assistant came over and said, “Your Excellency, Lagos is already hurrying us. Are you going to give the order?”
Garoze hesitated for a few seconds before suddenly waving his hand. “Don’t help, just watch from here.”
The assistant was stunned, but seeing how firm Garoze was, he could only tell the fleet to standby at the edge of the battlefield.
“Sigh. This is a big loss.” Garoze smiled bitterly in his mind.
He was just an ordinary Beyond Grade A. There was no way he could mess with someone like Black Star. Be it in terms of his strength or organization, he was far inferior.
It was shameful to be forced away by just a few words. Garoze had his pride too, and he did not want to be a coward.
But, facing Black Star, how could he not back down?
After having been a Beyond Grade A for so many years and still not having improved much, Garoze knew long ago that he could not mess with the peak Beyond Grade As. He was just a neutral Beyond Grade A without any background. If Black Star wanted to kill him, there would be nothing holding him back at all!
Furthermore, during the Meeting of the Gods not long ago, Black Star had taken on the task of maintaining communication between all the Beyond Grade As. He had to give Han Xiao face even just because of this.
…
As time passed, the Expedition Fleet and the ambush fleet fought intensely.
In the main ship’s command room, after Roddick gave a few orders and finally had a little bit of time, he immediately turned around and yelled at Lagos.
“What’s going on with Garoze? Why isn’t he here yet‽”
Lagos was covered in sweat. “They just stopped there. I’ve already hurried them many times, but they refuse to join the battle no matter what. I—I don’t know why either!”
Seeing their reinforcements back away right before them, he was stupefied and utterly confused.
“Outsiders are not reliable at all!” Roddick was furious. He slammed the table and said, “We’re not going to wait for him! All units, listen. Change the strategy and charge toward the enemy’s formation!”
However, before the order was sent out, a sudden change occurred!
Unrest suddenly erupted in the logistics fleet that was protected behind multiple layers of armed fleets.
The logistics spaceships suddenly pushed away the armed spaceships in all directions, instantly causing chaos on their side!
“What’s happening‽”
Roddick’s expression changed drastically.
“R-report. The operating artificial intelligences of these logistics spaceships were infiltrated and have gone out of control. We’ve lost contact with the crew!”
Like he had just awoken from a dream, Roddick clenched his teeth filled with rage and squeezed out the words from between his teeth.
“God damn it, it’s a Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic!”
Chapter 1012. The First Shot in the Flickering World |
The logistics fleet was made up of mainly transport ships, cargo ships, and industrial ships, which were all rather large. Although they were also equipped with weapons and shields, their mobility and firepower could not match up to the combat spaceships with the same technology level. Therefore, they hid in the center of the formation, protected by the armed fleet.
At this point of time, some of the logistics spaceships were virtually hacked, bashing at the guard ships, instantly tearing up the Expedition Fleet’s formation. And these ships’ weapons were put to use, too, firing continuously at the back of the guard ships.
As the exterior part of the armed fleet did not put much energy into their rear shields, they were immediately damaged. Many divisions burst into panic.
“Control these spaceships, hold on! Other spaceships, strengthen the artificial intelligence firewall immediately, and increase the system self-check frequency!” Roddick did not have time to think about anything else. He quickly commanded the fleet to deal with this sudden situation.
Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanics had always been weapons of mass destruction in galactic wars that no fleet would want to face.
The most direct solution would be to turn off the artificial intelligence on all of the spaceships, but in that case, the chain of command would collapse, which would be no different from suicide.
Currently, controlling the spaceships and their communication with the quantum network was the best method. Although other methods such as magic or biological systems existed, they had more shortcomings.
For example, magic could be used to modify spaceships into an organism, but the cost of doing so would be many times more expensive, and the efficiency in controlling such spaceships was much lower than the quantum network technology, not to mention their vastly inferior communication distance and efficiency. Also, they would not be as secure as the firewall of the quantum network and would just be as fragile when facing Mages or Psychics.
All the civilizations in the universe had methods to prevent Virtual Intrusion, but whether it would work or not depended on how strong the opponent was.
Facing Han Xiao, who was now a peak Beyond Grade A, the artificial intelligence defense measures of the Modo Civilization clearly could not last; it could only stall for time until the other spaceships were hacked but not truly prevent Han Xiao from intruding. No matter how much they struggled, their lines of defense would still be penetrated one after another.
As for the spaceships that Han Xiao had already gained control of, taking them back was an almost impossible mission.
In the battlefield, the Expedition Fleet was being attacked from both sides. They had no choice but to send a part of their fleet to turn around and contain the panic caused by the haywire spaceships. The situation became very chaotic, and the Modo Civilization fleet was slowly losing their grip.
Some of the out of control spaceships penetrated the formation and were obtained by the attacker. The rest launched suicidal attacks not just on the guard ships around but also on the other logistic spaceships that had yet to lose control.
To prevent more damage, Roddick had no choice but to order the destruction of some logistic spaceships. Watching those logistic ships with key resources turn into fireworks in the cosmic space, his face was almost twisted.
There were people everywhere in the Flickering World. Although this route was unpopular, there were still people who passed by. The impact created by this battlefield spread out and very quickly attracted the attention of quite many fleets that passed by.
Most did not want to get dragged into this mess and hastily left.
But there were also some organizations that cautiously moved closer to watch from afar. Seeing the symbol of the Modo Civilization on the fleet, they chattered in the public communication channel.
“The Modo Civilization’s fleet has been attacked?”
“Who did this? Who dares mess with a Super Star Cluster civilization and still seems to have the upper hand?”
“We’ve just entered the Flickering World, but this attacker already has such a large fleet, so it can basically be confirmed that the attacker is from the dynasty.”
“The attacker hid their organization symbol, so we don’t know who it is.”
“Tsk, the very reason they hid their identity is to make sure not to leave any evidence. Watch what you say, and don’t get into trouble.”
Although these organizations that were passing by were gossiping, none of them would interfere—no one wanted to get into trouble.
As the intense battle carried on, Roddick made his fleet keep moving while fighting. The battlefield kept moving closer to the location of the next stargate station.
There were dynasty fleets stationed at the stargate station. Although Roddick knew that the attacker definitely had something to do with the dynasty, the dynasty could not attack the Modo Civilization publicly, or the negative impact would be too big. Not only would that affect the dynasty’s promise to open the Flickering World freely, it would also be a stain on their politics.
Growing up in a Super Star Cluster civilization, he knew all too well about what the three Universal Civilizations were like. In his eyes, not only were the three Universal Civilizations bullies, they also wanted to maintain a good image so that their position as rulers would be approved.
With such a large crowd watching, Roddick knew that the stargate station’s dynasty fleet had to reinforce him. Therefore, as long as he could move close enough to the stargate station, he would be able to force the attacker to retreat.
After the battle lasted a while longer, the attacker finally stopped the attacks and backed out of the battlefield. The fleet then entered hyperdrive one after another, turning into streams of light and disappearing.
“They’ve run away.” Seeing this, only then did Lagos’ uptight body relax. He said with hesitation, “Shall we chase them?”
“We can’t. This isn’t our territory.”
Although Roddick was furious, he did not lose his senses. He clenched his teeth and said, “Clean up the battlefield, and calculate the losses.”
The losses were very quickly calculated. The aide-de-camp walked to his side, not daring to look into Roddick’s eyes, and cautiously reported.
“Sir, we have lost eight percent of the armed guard ships. Twenty-nine percent of the armed guard ships suffered various extents of damage. They’re currently being repaired. The logistics fleet has lost thirty-seven percent of its spaceships, fifteen percent of which were captured by the enemy, mainly transport ships…”
