Chapter 446: Inevitable War! IV
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
He suddenly remembered about the mollusc bristleworms and crustalades. Mollusc bristleworms were immune to energy weapons. They evolve by absorbing energy, while crustalades evolve by consuming metals. Were there any other creatures that were similar to mollusc bristleworms here? After all, in the span of just a few minutes, the laser beams that were shot towards this purplish gas cloud was packed with a lot of energy!
Ye Chong had already recognized some of the bodies as that of the crustalades, so it was a real possibility that the mollusc bristleworms were also here. Ye Chong was not particularly worried about them. He knew that the Collision mechs would be effective against them because of his experience fighting against those creatures.
Ye Chong was more worried about the existence of other kinds of creatures that were similar to the mollusc bristleworms.
Evolution was a powerful and frightening ability. Take the crustalades as an example. The more metal they consumed, the more metallic their armor plates would become. Their armor would become tougher, and their teeth stronger.
After encountering the crustalades and mollusc bristleworms, Ye Chong had never seen any other creatures that could evolve as fast as those two.
Pure energy and metal were the conditions for their evolution. However, they were also the most important resources for humans. Based on this principle alone, without regard to the aggressive behavior of the unknown lifeforms, humans and these creatures were intrinsically incompatible. This was also the decisive factor that turned both sides into enemies.
However, Ye Chong was probably the only who was thinking about this at the moment. Most of the people were still watching the holographic screen, some of them cursing the mysterious battalion that was simply too menacing and terrifying! Look at those countless bodies floating in space, the proof of their callousness!
Nonetheless, Ye Chong was not the kind of person who would think about how he was a part of humanity. He would never willingly shoulder the burden of saving humanity. The only thing he cared about was the danger that these creatures posed to the people he cared about.
The purple gas cloud was rapidly expanding, and Ye Chong thought it looked like a huge purple heart, expanding with each pulse.
The purple gas cloud was now spanning across 700 kilometers. However, it did not turn any thinner. It was still as thick as before. 700 kilometers was the equivalent length of about 120 starships joined lengthwise. Such a massive object was still considered small compared to the scale of the universe, roughly the size of a slightly larger asteroid. However, to the Sang Tribe members who were still flying around it, it was a solid threat.
"It's unimaginable! Heavens! What's happening? Was this mysterious battalion actually here to fight against those unknown lifeforms? It's too devastating! We had no idea where these unknown lifeforms come from, but the incontrovertible fact is that these outsiders that came from far away have been completely destroyed by a powerful force! Is it possible for these unknown lifeforms to survive an attack like that? I bet nothing could! Even the most sturdy starship in the world will be destroyed by that round of attack.
"The place has become a devastating battlefield! May I remind the audience that minors should be accompanied by adults while watching this program." The reporter had by now recovered from his shakened state, and began to speak more fluently. However, one could still notice the slight tremble in his voice.
Along the Hyperbolic Flight Route, a fleet made up of approximately 50 starships were flying at constant speed. As the He Yue Galaxy's fifth largest flight route, it was extremely busy. The number of starships that traveled along Hyperbolic Flight Route had also steeply increased of late. Ever since the Three Aristocratic Families relocated their military personnel, most of the main flight routes were greatly affected. Due to the fact that the Hyperbolic Flight Route was not under the control of the Three Aristocratic Families, however, flights along this route were not just unaffected, but had increased by a few magnitudes.
Captain Craig sat quietly in the captain's cabin, resting his mind. There was nothing in particular that demanded his attention throughout the flight. The Hyperbolic Flight Route had always been quite safe. Rarely would space pirates dare to do their marauding here.
The 50 transport ships that made up the fleet were all carrying war resources. There were high performance energy cells, mechs and mech parts. High performance energy cells could store four to five times more energy than normal energy cells, and were thus much preferred. However, due to its complicated manufacturing process, they were also very expensive. Aside from the Three Aristocratic Families, only two other huge company groups could produce them, and only in limited numbers. All their products were sold by wholesale agents, and they were never sold individually. Every year, all the manufactured energy cells would be sold out to these wholesale agents.
Captain Craig served as a Captain under one of these wholesale agents. With 35 years of flight experience, he was widely respected by his peers and the wholesale agent.
Currently, he was being assigned for an important mission. The amount of goods to be transported this time was unprecedented. Of the 50 ships in the fleet, 25 of them were loaded with high performance energy cells. Craig knew that this was roughly the volume that his employer would purchase for an entire year!
For this mission, Craig had made a whole range of preparations. All 50 ships in the fleet did not look particularly conspicuous from the outside, but they had all gone through extensive modifications. All the crew members assigned to this mission were handpicked, and they were all excellent mech pilots. All of them were combat ready, and stood a chance even against mech pilots from the Three Aristocratic Families.
Craig was confident because of these reasons. Additionally, he had been directing fleets along the Hyperbolic Route since he was 18. He knew the route like the back of his hand.
"Captain!" A crew member interrupted his rest. He opened his eyes and asked in a low voice, "What is it?"
"Please look at this, what is it?" The crew member pointed towards the holographic screen.
The screen was filled with the image of a huge and seemingly boundless purple gas cloud.
Whatever was going on along the Hyperbolic Flight Route did not gain any attention from anyone else. Right now, the center of all attention was in a secluded area where Planet Yi Ju was.
Ye Chong's expression was grim.
The first one to notice was Sang Pu. Soon, like a chain reaction, a second person noticed, then a third person … Gradually, everyone in the meeting room noticed Ye Chong's grim expression. The lively discussion in the meeting room quieted down until it was completely silent. Everyone looked to the young man. Even the slowest of them had figured out by then that the situation was not as optimistic as they thought.
If it were anyone else, they would have thought he was worrying for nothing. However, this was their young teacher, whom they had revered as a God … No one in the Sang Tribe would doubt him.
Ye Chong watched unblinkingly at the holographic screen, unaware of the stares he was receiving.
Everyone else looked to the holographic screen that he was watching. Shown on the screen was still a purple gas cloud. They stared at it for a long time, but did not notice anything amiss.
Just then, Ye Chong spoke, "Pu."
"Ah." Sang Pu paused at the sudden call, but quickly responded, "Sir …"
"Did you see any bodies coming out from the purple gas cloud?" Ye Chong asked a curious question.
Sang Pu looked like he was recalling every detail of the event before. He then looked up and replied firmly, "No, Sir. I didn't see any bodies coming out."
The exchange between Ye Chong and Sang Pu attracted the attention of everyone else in the meeting room.
Ye Chong took a glance at Sang Pu, and asked, "Do you think there could be more unknown lifeforms in the purple gas cloud?"
"Inside the purple gas cloud?" Sang Pu was surprised, then the feeling turned to dread. "Could there be more of those creatures in there?"
Sang Pu's question caused the mood in the meeting room to turn serious.
Right then, Ye Chong received incoming from Mu. "Ye, be careful, the purple gas cloud's range has extended to where we placed our laser beam guns."
Mu's words sent a jolt to shock to Ye Chong. He abruptly looked up. The massive purple gas cloud on the holographic screen had indeed reached the area where they had placed their beam guns. The laser beam guns disappeared one by one into the expanding purple gas cloud, like they were swallowed by the massive thing.
Ye Chong felt dead calm right now. He quickly identified the key factors in play.
"Mu, make a comparative analysis on the rate of expansion of the purple gas cloud, for before and after our attack."
Mu's reply was swift. "The rate of expansion had increased by 7.67 times after the attack."
"As expected! It's absorbing energy!" Ye Chong muttered to himself.
The exchange between Ye Chong and Mu was unknown to Sang Pu and others. To them, it seemed that Ye Chong was only in deep thought.
"Send some men into the purple gas cloud to investigate what's inside," Ye Chong said to Sang Pu.
Sang Pu nodded in understanding. He immediately opened his comms channel. "Sang Mu, send 50 men into the purple gas cloud, investigate what's inside. Any discoveries should be transmitted live back to base. If signals are disrupted, record your findings, but you must bring the recordings back. Understood?" Ye Chong had left all the actual commanding of the Sang Tribe to Sang Pu. When it came to battles, Ye Chong had a natural instinct, but this did not imply that he would be an able commander. Hence, he had never interfered in the particulars of commanding their forces. This was a fact that he had understood early on. It was best to leave some things to the professionals.
On the holographic screen, Sang Mu nodded. "Understood."
The 50 Collision mechs made up their first combat wave.
From their first wave of Collision mechs that were flying around the edge of the purple gas cloud, 50 Collision mechs broke off from the group. They immediately formed five squads and plunged straight into the purple gas cloud.