Chapter 500: Hope to Live I
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
And because of this, his concern towards this fleet and this mysterious Master Jay only got stronger over time. He had been trying all sorts of channels to obtain information regarding this fleet. Unfortunately, it was fruitless most of the time. This Master Jay apparently had a method of his own when it came to management. The fleet was made out of utter folks yet they had the discipline of an actual military troop. That was mission impossible to him. He felt that was the core issue of his capability. Xiao Wan might be the supreme leader of this fleet, but hardly she had interfered Arwa.
And this time around, Jay's fleet had performed such an overhaul that it was beyond his expectation. Since in his viewpoint, it was hard to unite an army of a variety. Any bit of ember on the haystack could strike a forest fire. The fleet could disband on its own upon crisis. So he had been treading the ground carefully, handling the fleet with care.
It wasn't him alone but everyone who had interests on this fleet would probably never expected that the instructor, Ye Chong did not really concern on the day the fleet disbanded.
The size of the fleet had decreased, contrary to everyone's expectation. It felt like the worst move to make at this period since not only it would weaken the entire force, but also it could kill the confidence in people.
That should have been his final conclusion, but the old captain of the fleet had given an explanation which changed his mind.
The old captain basically pointed out Jay's judgement in the situation, which Arwa actually noticed. Jay should have other channels to get the necessary intelligence. It was evident as he at least knew the severity of raids of red-tailed beasts around the galaxy. Getting good intelligence had been Arwa's biggest problem. The Xiao Family's army was actually dead despite the mention of its existence to the public. Furthermore, they had not even established a working network of intelligence. So Arwa was literally blind to the outside world. He could not make a fair judgement.
Technically, yes, one would very likely be destroyed if one traveled into the Calamitous Asteroid Belt, be it Jay's fleet or Arwa's. Not even the trained army could survive the asteroid belt, let alone this fleet conisisting ordinary citizens whose mentality and strength were probably far weaker.
That explained the shrinking size of Jay's fleet. Everyone just left the party before they marched into the mouth of the giant calamitous beast.
Even though Jay had led them through one victory against the red-tailed beasts and another, they were no longer facing red-tailed beasts but nature itself. The universal law of nature. A thing that humanity could never conquer.
Nonetheless, Arwa agreed to Jay's decision...well... assuming Jay was right on his intelligence.
Arwa himself was confident that he would make the same decision given that he got the same intelligence as Jay. He had sufficient experience fighting against the notorious brilliance of the cunning red-tailed beasts. He had witnessed the collapse of the front-line and had surely tasted that close-shave moment of his life. It was the most agonizing event in his memory.
The mysterious Master Jay rather took the most treacherous path of the galaxy, gambling with his and his fleet's lives, than gambling with the odds of the red-tailed beasts completing the very siege that would swallow the entire galaxy.
What would that imply?
Arwa's schemata ran rapidly.
That would imply that Jay was very confident of the intelligence he had obtained as well as his own judgement. That was why he took the greatest risk.
The conclusion was a little beyond Arwa's expectation. But there was already no time for him to act surprised. He should be figuring out their next move. Assuming Jay was right about his judgement, that would mean a capital punishment for Arwa and his fleet. Based on the old captain's illustration, Arwa could make out of location of Jay's fleet which was much closer to Kasent. Jay should be presuming that his fleet would not be able to go beyond Kasent before the red-tailed beasts finished their circle. Well, neither could Arwa's fleet.
The options had become clear then - either Arwa followed the planned course as before, disregarding Jay's change of course or he would follow Jay into the Calamitous Asteroid Belt.
Arwa was getting indecisive on this, as he was fully aware of what his decision could bring to him as well as the entire fleet. Arwa was becoming more impressed of Jay, on how Jay could pick the treacherous path so calmly. It certainly required ounces of courage.
Currently Arwa was 70 or 80% convinced of Jay's judgement. He might as well followed Jay into the asteroid belt but that would inevitably lead to massive casualties which might disband his fleet immediately.
While Arwa was hesitating, Ye Chong no longer was troubled by any of these.
The people in Ye Chong's fleet had been working from day to night not noticing the hours passing by. A few of them started to run out of stamina that they fell. Their weights were dropping significantly yet their spirit burned high. On the other hand, the folk mechanics like Yang Ming had already a few of them collapsed. None of them were retreating however, some of them even used stimulants to keep them working.
All of them knew how much each second would matter. It was a race with not only time but also fate as well as the Reaper. Under the lead of these mechanics, the entire fleet was enthralled carrying out the operation, including their indifferent leader, Ye Chong.
T-1 to Calamitous Asteroid Belt and they managed to finish the strengthening of every spaceship in line. Half of the technicians, included Yang Ming, fell down. Their blood and sweat had inspired the others, especially the young pilots who eagerly awaited the next phase of the operation once they entered the deadliest zone of the galaxy.
Ye Chong took a day off earlier. Being the sole leader was far more occupying than any other position, especially in a timing like this, without the help of the artificial intelligence. He was the most experienced person regarding the asteroid belt.
The asteroid belt was boundless like the sea with the clusters of irregularly shaped rocks hovering around. The gigantic fleet was looking like a dust particle when compared to it. Most passengers were mentally prepared for the adventure but they were still overwhelmed by the difference in size when they marveled at the belt itself.
That was when they received an order from Master Jay to proceed. The firm voice rang profoundly in the ears of everybody, which calmed them somehow. No worry, no bewilderment or hesitation could be found in their eyes.
The Calamitous Asteroid Belt is the greatest view in the galaxy.
Then we shall be greater as we conquer it!
Confidence rocked in the heart of every sailor, as their actions became more efficient.
"Shrink the formation. War units take care of both wings."
"All combat units into position."
"Mechanics standby in your positions now."
"Medical units on standby too."
...
A chain of orders came from Haskel and spread throughout the entire fleet. The captain's room on every spaceship was now the busiest, liveliest spot in the whole spaceship. All sorts of micro-commands, signals were passed around from people to people, through the public address system.
The fleet then reformed into a diagonal, as they gradually moved towards the asteroid belt. The members could already make out of the shapes of each asteroid hovering in waves.
It was another period of dead silence after the instruction had been passed and carried out. Everyone was staring at the hologramic screen.
They were close.
They got closer!
The entire fleet was traveling like a diagonal shuriken striking at the piece of patterned plate of rock.
Because of the fleet's colossal size, it was impossible to dodge every asteroid perfectly. They were forcing in, as they could see the handful of rocks being bounced away by the armor of their ships. It was like a domino when it happened. One rock being bounced away would hit into another piece of space rock, the momentum went on, like a droplet of water into a pot of boiling oil. The waves of asteroids started boiling...
There were asteroids crashing into the fleet like cannonballs, specifically the spaceships at the outermost layer.
"All onto steers! Hold it, do not tilt!"
"Stay calm! Stay on speed!"
"Mechanics perform inspection now!"
The voices of captain were chilling the atmosphere in the midst of silence.
There were no command from Haskel. Ye Chong did not influence the other ships, as he knew it was just the prelude before the storm. If they could not even settle this problem on their own, the later would be unimaginable.
Spaceships were not made for asteroid belt travels, especially the deadly ones. Its size would disrupt the pulling forces between each peacefully traveling asteroids, which could be dangerous. Mechs, however, were more suitable for asteroid belt travels. Their size as well as the mobility gave them better safety, well except if there was a whirlpool in the end, that would be a gamble.
Thump. Klink. Bump.
It was like a rain of asteroids as a few sizable rocks just hit the armor like meteor shower.
Fortunately, there had not been actual damage to any of the spaceships, although dents could be seen on the ships... It was a painful sight to the captains.