The Seventh Base

Capítulo 1234: Chapter 277: Fishing in Troubled Waters

The matter concerning the Tang Family on Chloe Star is extremely strange; after someone publicly declared they would join the fight, the Family Head wished to renege.

But the momentum of public opinion had already formed, coupled with pressure from the Governor’s Mansion, leaving them no choice. The Tang Family was compelled to deploy their armed forces, joining Chloe Star’s official forces to prepare for battle against the Kales Empire’s army.

Furthermore, the military forces of Chloe Star Province are naturally the main force in this battle; the fleet has already been deployed at the space station outside Chloe Star and emergency measures have been activated, gathering combat units from various parts of the province back to the home base.

However, this left other planets in the Chloe Province defenseless, essentially exposing them. If the Kales Empire were to launch an attack, they would be powerless to resist.

This was inevitable; since the Kales Empire decided to launch this large-scale military action against Chloe Star, the target wasn’t ordinary planets, and indeed, the other planets no longer have any defensive capability.

However, what neither side knew is that the Republic’s high command was already aware of this military action.

Currently, a fleet is approaching Chloe Star from different directions within the Republic, and this action is a secret operation. If exposed, the Kales Empire might shift its strategic target and abandon Chloe Star to attack other main stars, which would be extremely passive for the O’Brian Republic.

Conversely, if the Kales Empire proceeds according to the original plan, the O’Brian Republic can form an encirclement to defeat the Kales Empire, weaving a large net to strive to annihilate the Empire’s main fleet in the depths of space outside Chloe Star.

If the operation is successful, this war phase over the years would conclude in victory for the O’Brian Republic. The destruction of the Kales Empire’s main fleet would essentially strip them of combat capability within the O’Brian Republic Star Domain.

At this moment, in the space outside Chloe Star, fleets are arriving from different positions, beginning to form a faint encirclement around Chloe Star.

Yet the Kales Empire fleet has not acted immediately. They are waiting for all the Empire fleets dispersed and those rerouting to arrive before launching a full assault; capturing a main star isn’t an easy task as they must first break through the defenses of the Space Base.

They are aware the action has been exposed, but it doesn’t matter. They have the advantage in timing; even if the O’Brian Republic mobilizes its fleet now, it’s already too late as the journey takes time.

Conversely, after capturing Chloe Star, they even plan to turn back to launch another attack on a fleet on a specific route.

The main battleship of the Kales Empire, with its silver-grey hull, stretches ten thousand meters long, covered in countless spikes, resembling a terrifying giant beast in space, fierce and menacing.

This main battleship is renowned within the Kales Empire; it’s the ‘Netherworld’ Warship.

Just this singular warship alone can command a powerful fleet.

Within the ‘Netherworld’ Warship, Marshal Roson Chris of the Kales Empire gazes ahead from the battleship, faintly seeing a massive star in the distance.

“How long until all fleets can be assembled?” Roson asked, his voice carrying a somber air.

“Within seven days, they can all be assembled.” Someone responds beside him.

“Order the fleet to deploy sensors behind us, expanding the range as much as possible, and monitor the movement from behind.” Roson commands.

“Yes, Marshal.”

“Teacher, is it necessary to be this cautious?” At this moment, a figure walks up behind him; if Xu Mo were here, he would recognize this person as none other than the Kelles Empire Prince Lonco, who was previously responsible for the death of Heath O’Brien.

Lonco has now crossed into the Skywalker Realm, and his teacher is none other than Marshal Roson Chris.

This Marshal is one of the strongest in the Kales Empire, a Destroyer Level individual, a truly Giant Level personage.

This military action is personally commanded by him, demonstrating the Kales Empire’s significance on this operation, tolerating no failure.

The war between the O’Brian Republic and the Kales Empire has existed for many years, but there hasn’t been a truly decisive battle targeting the main stars.

Until now, this battle will directly determine the future fate of the O’Brian Republic. If they capture Chloe Star, it will substantially weaken O’Brian Republic, and next, they plan to gradually and thoroughly defeat O’Brian Republic.

“In war, one must have the confidence for victory but also consider variables on the battlefield.” Roson speaks: “The Empire’s forces coming this time must achieve victory; failure is not permissible. Although this operation is confidential, we can’t exclude the possibility it was noticed by the opponent in advance. What’s more, even if it wasn’t, should a backup fleet arrive to support from behind, we must detect it immediately and prepare appropriate responses to avoid being too passive.”

“Hmm.” Lonco nods, responding: “Teacher, should we initiate an attack now, as our fleet still holds a significant advantage; perhaps launching a prior strike would be beneficial.”

“No rush.” Roson shakes his head: “Currently, both sides are indeed within each other’s attack range, but Chloe Star doesn’t dare to strike first, nor do we need to hastily deplete these seven days. When all fleets have fully assembled, their destructive power increases, minimizing losses.”

“Alright, everything follows the teacher’s arrangements.” Lonco nods in agreement.

“After deploying the sensors, closely monitor Chloe Star’s movements; every action within this space centered on Chloe Star must be grasped in hand.” Roson continues.

“Yes, Marshal.” The person beside responds.

Roson then turned and left the command room.

……

In the space heading towards Chloe Star, there were two fleets.

The Chiyou Battleship and the Plunder Battleship each led a fleet, proceeding separately and launching ‘Space Eyes’ along the way to monitor the movement in this area of space, especially as they approached the space near Chloe Star, where the Space Eyes were launched more densely.

In the command room of the Plunder Battleship, Gaia and Xu Mo were present. At this moment, they were connecting with a starship, sharing its vision.

That starship was at the forefront of the fleet, with the Church’s emblem engraved on it, and it was also a starship of the Church.

Moreover, both the Plunder and the fleet had the Church’s emblems engraved on them.

In fact, the Plunder did not need additional engraving, as it already had the Church’s emblem on it. This starship was indeed an advanced battleship of the Church.

This was one of their plans. Since they were going to fish in troubled waters, it was best to muddy the waters further.

By the time comes, even the Kales Empire would be unable to discern whether it was the Church causing mischief behind the scenes or some other force.

“The signal has detected the warship.” A voice came from the screen, Xu Mo nodded and looked at Gaia, only to hear Gaia say, “We can also stop now.”

The order was given, and the fleet began to halt its advance. Any closer, and they would truly be entering the battlefield, but they were not here to participate in the battle.

“Proceed as planned, navigate the periphery of Chloe Star, launching Space Eyes along the way,” Xu Mo ordered. The fleet began to avoid getting closer to Chloe Star, continuing as if Chloe Star were a point. They would maintain this distance and orbit Chloe Star.

Of course, this range was vast, and it was uncertain how far they could travel.

However, their subsequent route would remain within this region, where their detectors were deployed to ensure safety.

The Plunder Fleet and the Chiyou Fleet acted like two ghost teams, moving silently outside the battlefield.

“Damn.”

At this moment, a curse was heard, and Xiao Qi spoke, “A Space Eye has been destroyed, detected by an enemy starship passing by. It should be a Kales Empire warship coming to rendezvous.”

Xu Mo glanced at the electronic star map where the position of the Space Eye was marked, and the images it monitored could be seen.

“There are only three fleets, and they’re not far away. Should we…” Xiao Qi looked at Xu Mo.

“Do not alert the enemy.” Gaia spoke, “Now this space should not only have our detectors but also those of other forces. They would think the detectors were deployed by Chloe Star and wouldn’t suspect others. But if we take action, even if we can control this team, the brief disappearance of the signal will still attract the attention of the opposing main force. It’s not so easy to fool them. Once they know there’s an ambush team on the periphery, the things we want to do afterward won’t be as easy.”

“Hmm.” Xu Mo nodded, looking at Xiao Qi said, “Remember, we are in a covert operation. Before the opponent goes into battle, we do not exist.”

“Understood.”

Xiao Qi nodded, then sat upright without saying another word.

As they continued to maneuver in space, many Space Eye detectors were destroyed one after another.

Some detectors were destroyed silently, without capturing any images. They knew it was because the signals were jammed before detecting the enemy, encountering advanced warships.

“The opponent has also deployed detectors.” At this moment, Xiao Qi spoke again.

“Ignore it, pretend you didn’t see.” Xu Mo responded, slightly furrowing his brows, “It seems this distance is already dangerous.”

If the opponent’s detector has greater detection capability than their starship, they would discover them first.

However, before setting out, they had modified the fleet’s detectors to better survive in space. They must not fall behind in this technology. Otherwise, if the enemy fleet sneaks up on them, they won’t even know how they died.

“The Kales Empire fleet is arriving one after another. From the Space Eyes being destroyed and the tracked trajectories, fleets from all sides are converging on Chloe Star. The outbreak of war should be in a few days.” Gaia looked at the pictures on the star map and said.

“Hmm, I hope the O’Brian Republic is prepared,” Xu Mo said. The fleets discovered so far were all from the Kales Empire.

How the O’Brian Republic would respond, he was not sure either.