Book 10: Chapter 24: The Attack in Progress

“This is so boring!” Fiers watched the ongoing battle, feeling rather unenthusiastic.

“Haha, isn’t this good? Ten against eight, no losses—no matter what, it was a complete victory!” While relaxed, Alex didn’t stop Fiers from chattering in the crew channel.

The process of eliminating the remaining five Napatha was, as Fiers said, quite dull. None of it compared to the stunning performances Qin Lun and Frank had shown before. The eight Gith Flight Officers, with their well-coordinated tactics, were different from Qin Lun and Frank. Their particle beams wove a net that completely restricted the Napatha’s evasive range, ultimately allowing the two teams of Bingren to take them down one by one.

“Giggle, Officer Qin Lun always says he has no talent for tactics. But from what I see, aside from finding it hard to quickly master formation tactics, his small-scale aerial combat tactics aren’t bad at all!” Vera tried to boost Qin Lun’s spirits in the channel.

“Yeah!” Hearing Vera’s words, Alex couldn’t help but feel a stir.

After the Gith Flight Officers and the Apostles formed five-person teams, the Apostles, thinking they weren’t good at aerial combat tactics, mostly handed over command to the Gith. Even Qin Lun was no exception. However, judging by today’s battle, it seemed the Apostles weren’t incapable of tactical command—they just weren’t familiar with formation tactics.

Based on actual combat, it appeared that they had a significant misconception in this area. In the past, Gith flight squads lacked particularly outstanding combat power. Therefore, during aerial battles, they had to rely on overall formation tactics; individual heroism would lead to heavy losses.

But with the Apostles joining, things changed. The Apostles themselves possessed remarkable individual abilities, and the tactical coordination that resulted from this broke away from the old patterns, seeming closer to the combat tactics used by Apostle teams.

While Alex was lost in thought, the last Napatha was killed by Qin Lun and Frank. Their two Bingren, covered in dark green fluid, flew toward them. Alex snapped out of it and called to his companions, “The two officers are back. Let’s head back! Meri, Fiers, bring back a few Napatha remains with intact heads.”

“Meri, why are we taking these back? Is it to hand them over to the Faith for research?” Seeing Meri dragging two Napatha corpses, Qin Lun couldn’t help but be puzzled.

“Sir, this is a necessary procedure when fighting the Insectoids!” Alex explained cheerfully in the channel.

It turned out that ever since the Gith obtained bio-technology from the Insectoids and the Hismael, they developed a technological method to extract residual information from the brains of corpses. This method didn’t work on the Jannamer or the mainly spiritual Hismael, but it was very effective on the Insectoids.

The Insectoids had a strict hierarchy, with varying levels of intelligence, and they were also organized as a clan society. Low-level types like the Napatha mostly had the intelligence of seven- or eight-year-old children, ensuring absolute obedience to the Insect Queen.

However, because of this, the information in these Insectoids’ brains was not very complex and could easily be stimulated with technology to retrieve their memory images. In other words, with these few Napatha corpses, the Advancing’s reconnaissance work was considered minimally accomplished.

“As the main reconnaissance vessel, the Advancing is equipped with devices for extracting residual brainwave information. If we can learn about the Insectoid base from these Napatha, then Captain Marx’s assigned task will be completed.”

After the battle ended, Alex completely relaxed, and his mood was clearly very good.

“That old fox…” Qin Lun cursed with a laugh. Captain Marx clearly never intended for their independent warship to venture directly into Planet X-352. He naturally knew they would encounter Insectoid patrols in the outer reaches of the star system. The Advancing’s actual task was simply to capture a few “tongues.”

…

Since this battle was the Apostles’ first actual combat after the training encounter, Alex and the others recorded the battlefield from multiple angles. Aside from the moment Qin Lun charged out alone—which was too far away—the process of the encirclement and elimination was very clear, providing valuable guidance for their future small-team combat.

The Apostles and the other Gith Flight Officers gathered together to comment on the combat footage, mostly praising the two strike teams.

“Captain Robin, the science team’s sampling results are in. Alex’s team submitted very complete Insectoid samples. We obtained a topographical projection of Planet X-352 and information about the Insectoid base!”

Before everyone had finished watching the combat footage, Fuyutsuki entered the War Room from outside and happily handed Robin a projection chip.

Robin paused the combat video and played the projection information extracted by the science team on the large screen. A pristine blue planet immediately appeared before everyone.

This planet, designated X-352 by the Gith, turned out to be a life-bearing planet as previously suspected. The projection was very clear—it was a beautiful world.

Blue skies, white clouds, and lush vegetation covered the surface. Some low-level primal animals ran through the jungles. However, judging by their expressions, most seemed panicked after encountering the Insectoids.

The most striking features in the projection were the massive, crystal-clear lakes scattered throughout the dense forests, looking like sapphires.

According to the analytical data Fuyutsuki got from the science team, this planet was roughly at the stage of Earth’s Cretaceous period. Most of the surface vegetation was relatively simple, resembling woody ferns and thorns. However, the dominant primal animals on the planet were not vertebrate reptiles like dinosaurs, but invertebrate arthropods.

“No wonder the Insectoids are interested in this planet. Invertebrate arthropods are their close relatives. This planet should be well-suited for Insectoid reproduction!” Fuyutsuki commented, pointing at the projection.

“What about the Insectoid base? Why haven’t we seen it yet?” Bobby asked impatiently.

“Don’t rush, the next one shows it!” Robin smiled and switched to another projection. A completely different scene from the surface topography appeared on the screen.

“Is this… underwater? The Insectoids built their base on the seabed!” The Apostles looked at the clear, deep-blue underwater images, all quite surprised.

In this projection, aside from the strangely shaped and diverse arthropods and planktonic underwater creatures, everyone saw a massive, menacing structure. It looked somewhat like an enormous sea snail, but its surface was covered with countless sharp spines, resembling protruding curved horns.

Compared to memory images extracted from that Napatha, the dozens-of-meters-long Insectoid workers appeared like ants next to the sea snail, coming and going through the holes on its surface. Clearly, this was a typical Insectoid base, or perhaps an immigration city developed earlier on X-352.

“The information extracted from the Napatha ends here.” Fuyutsuki turned off the projection, her expression serious.

“There’s no doubt that Planet X-352 has an Insectoid base. However, aside from the known base, we don’t know if there are others. My suggestion is to leave this star system immediately and bring the intel back to the Faith, letting Captain Marx decide the next steps.”

Hearing Fuyutsuki’s words, the other Gith Flight Officers in the War Room generally agreed. As an independent warship, the Advancing’s reconnaissance mission was successfully completed here. Even Captain Marx wouldn’t be able to ask for better results.

Going further to scout X-352 was somewhat unrealistic. Judging by the scale of this Insectoid base, the Advancing would struggle to handle it. It’s hard to tell from the outside whether an Insectoid base is civilian or military.

In reality, the only difference between civilian and military bases is the quantity of combat insects. Civilian Insectoid bases mainly consist of workers, which the Advancing could barely manage. If it were military, there would definitely be a large number of giant aerial insects, and the Advancing would have no choice but to flee.

Moreover, it’s difficult to determine from the scarce memory images whether other Insectoid bases exist. If there were other bases, the Advancing entering the planet’s atmosphere would be like poking a hornet’s nest.

However, Robin and the other Apostles were all unusually quiet at this moment, each sitting in their chairs and frowning. The Apostles had their own distinct working styles, but whether they preferred team combat or, like Qin Lun, marching to their own beat, they shared a common trait: initiative and aggressiveness when carrying out world missions.

Of course, this made sense. The Shattered Starry Sky sent Apostles into quest worlds mostly to explore historical plots and plunder the world origin. Apostles often needed to alter the original course of world history; their tasks couldn’t be completed by simply following orders step by step.

Apostles who just followed routine tasks definitely wouldn’t become Professionals and would have been eliminated by the Shattered Starry Sky long ago. Professional Apostles, regardless of their skill levels, had to explore tasks on their own and act decisively at the right moments to achieve breakthroughs.

Robin glanced at Qin Lun and asked hesitantly through telepathy, “Qin Lun, what’s your opinion?”

Qin Lun’s eyes gleamed, and he replied calmly, “We’re different from the Gith. They may be skeptical about whether X-352 has Insectoids, but we, through the Guidance Mission, already confirmed it. Going back now would mean we came for nothing.

Besides, Captain Marx has worked with Apostles before, so he should also be able to confirm that X-352 has an Insectoid base. Sending the Advancing here was a kind of indirect test for us. If we return now, we’ll definitely lose points in the old fox’s eyes. After that, we’ll just have to drift along as he arranges.”

“But isn’t it too risky to enter the atmosphere with just the Advancing and fifty Bingren?” Robin nodded slowly and asked cautiously.

Looking at Robin’s beautiful face, Qin Lun sighed inwardly.

Now he understood why, given Robin’s qualities, Lost had previously arranged for Kelly in the newbie team. This beautiful Leader had many good points—both strategic and combat abilities were solid—but she was too indecisive. No wonder Kelly had arranged for him to come along this time.

“The Main Quests given by the Shattered Starry Sky are often unpredictable and definitely allow for multiple exploration paths. Apostles can choose factions and mission routes based on their own ideas. However, with Guidance Missions, because they are very close to the point when we enter the world, the Star Void’s advance calculations usually don’t have major errors.”

Qin Lun thought about how to phrase it and said seriously, “Based on our current Guidance Mission and its difficulty, I think the Insectoid base on X-352 won’t be very strong. It might even be nothing more than an empty shell. Based on the Star Void’s calculations, it’s likely that our Patroller Team alone could handle it independently. Plus, we now have fifty Bingren and the Advancing to rely on…”

In truth, Robin understood this even without Qin Lun’s explanation. Feeling relieved now, she showed a firm smile.

“Captain’s orders: proceed forward! The Advancing’s main cannon will begin pre-heating. We will launch a pinpoint attack within the atmosphere in three stellar hours. Everyone, the battle that will decide the fate of Planet X-352 starts with the Advancing. Let’s work hard together!”