Chapter 103 Counterattack 2
In the deep universe, there is no distinction between day and night, only eternal darkness and coldness.
The artificial lights of the main star port drew three white light bands in the starry sky, illuminating the patrol ship docked at the edge of the port.
The dark barrel of the anti-aircraft gun also reflected a cold light. There was still an hour before the Third Prince's reinforcements were expected to arrive.
The entire port was like a fully drawn bowstring, and even the air was tense and solemn.
Inside the observation deck, the red warning light flashed every three seconds, intertwined with the soldiers' reports coming from the communicator:
"Anti-aircraft gun position number one has been calibrated!"
"Electromagnetic trap energy reserve reaches 100%!"
"The patrol ship has arrived at the outer warning point of Channel C12!"
Each report was brief and concise, but could not conceal the solemnity in the tone.
Everyone knows how important the next battle is.
Lin Yao leaned his hands on the railing of the observation platform, his eyes closed, but his fingertips were unconsciously stroking the edge of the military terminal.
His mental network had been deployed at the entrance of Channel C12 for an hour and a half.
The dense web lines are like spider silk suspended in the starry sky, each strand capturing the surrounding energy fluctuations.
There was no fluctuation in the network, but he did not dare to relax at all. Even if he missed a trace of abnormal signal, the previous defense might fail.
Mo Yun was entrenched outside the observation platform, his huge body almost taking up half of the platform.
The vertical pupils were surprisingly bright in the darkness, staring intently in the direction of the C12 channel.
It seemed to sense the tension in the air, and the tip of its tail would occasionally sweep across the ground, making a slight sound, but would quickly tense up again, as if it was gathering strength and waiting for prey to appear.
Ye Heng stood in front of the radar screen. The star map on the screen flickered with a faint blue light, and the coordinates of the channel entrance were highlighted with a red circle.
"Marshal, Major General Lin, have something to drink." Bian Miao walked over with two cups of hot drinks, his eyes full of solemnity and worry.
Ye Heng took the cup from his hand, glanced at Lin Yao, and found that he was in good condition, so he returned his gaze to the screen.
Bian Miao walked over to Lin Yao and handed him the hot drink:
"Drink something hot first, it can relieve some fatigue."
Lin Yao opened his eyes, took the hot drink, and said thank you to Bian Miao.
The warm touch from my fingertips relaxed my tense nerves a little.
Just as he was about to speak, there was a sudden violent tremor in the mental network.
It was not the interference of cosmic radiation, but the dull feeling of a heavy object crashing into the barrier, like a huge ship cutting through the tranquility of the starry sky.
"Here it is," Lin Yao didn't even have time to take a sip of the hot drink in his hand before putting it on the table beside him.
On the radar screen facing Ye Heng, several red spots were approaching rapidly, and their trajectory was exactly the same as what Zhao Cheng confessed.
"Notify all units to enter Level 1 combat mode! Warm up anti-aircraft guns and prepare electromagnetic traps!"
His voice was steady, yet carried an unquestionable authority.
Ten minutes later, Lin Yao's mental network sent another strong fluctuation:
"They've slowed down. They seem to have sensed something unusual and are sending information and scanning their surroundings!"
"It's too late." Ye Heng looked at the starships that had all entered the attack range, a cold arc appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he ordered to Bian Miao, "Attack!"
Bian Miao immediately pressed the red button on the terminal, and the electromagnetic trap at the entrance was instantly activated. Light blue electric current exploded in the starry sky, forming a huge electromagnetic interference area.
The red dot on the radar screen suddenly began to flash violently, the speed dropped sharply, and there was even a brief offset. It was obvious that the patrol ship's navigation system was interfered with.
"They're panicking!" There was a hint of barely perceptible excitement in Lin Yao's voice, and his mental power captured the chaotic communications coming from inside the cruiser.
Some people were screaming "navigation failure", some were frantically asking for support, and some were cursing "how could there be an electromagnetic trap", the entire command system was in chaos.
At this moment, the patrol ship in the front suddenly changed direction.
Trying to avoid the electromagnetic interference zone, it just happened to enter the range of the anti-aircraft gun.
"The first target has entered interception range!" Xu Li's voice came from the communicator, "Request to open fire!"
"Open fire!" Ye Heng gave the order.
The three anti-aircraft gun positions in the main star port lit up red at the same time, and the black gun barrels emitted a deafening roar.
Dozens of energy shells, trailing orange-red flames, flew towards the patrol ship like meteors.
"Boom——" The first shell accurately hit the left engine of the patrol ship, and a ball of dazzling fire exploded in the starry sky.
The engine wreckage scattered like fragments, and the patrol ship instantly lost its balance and began to spin in the starry sky.
"The left engine is destroyed! Request support! Request support!" A desperate roar came from the patrol ship's communication channel.
But there was no response. The other four patrol ships were trapped in the electromagnetic trap and could not get close at all.
The frigate tried to fire a counterattack, but due to a navigation failure, the shells deviated by dozens of kilometers and landed in the empty starry sky, not even hitting the defense circle of the main star port.
"The second target is within range!" Xu Li asked again.
"Go on! Leave one relatively intact ship, I want to talk to them!" Ye Heng ordered.
Another round of artillery fire hit three patrol ships and several frigates, and their speed was completely reduced, so they could only float in place;
Seeing that the situation was not good, the others wanted to turn around and escape, but were stopped by the Red Shadow Fleet. The side of the ship was hit by two bullets and the engine was completely shut down.
In just twenty minutes, four patrol ships and twelve frigates lost their combat capability, and only one patrol ship in the middle suffered minor injuries.
Burning debris floated in the starry sky, and the thick smoke was particularly dazzling against the dark background.
Lin Yao slowly withdrew some of his mental power, leaving only the detection line to monitor the escape pod.
He felt a slight soreness in his solar plexus, so he fished out a supplement from his pocket and drank it.
The cold liquid slid down his throat, and his mental strength quickly recovered.
At this moment, the communication wave of the relatively intact patrol ship suddenly connected to the public frequency band of the main star port.
An angry voice came, questioning with disbelief:
"Ye Heng! I know it's you! You are the Marshal Chiying appointed by the Empire, yet you dare to intercept the Third Prince's reinforcements! You are disobeying the Empire's orders and committing treason!"
Ye Heng walked to the communicator and pressed the answer button.
The voice was as cold as ice, carried throughout the main starport and patrol ships via the public frequency band: "Treason?"
He scoffed, his tone full of disdain, "My information has long been lost. I'm no longer the marshal of the empire. Which country did I betray?"
"Ridiculous!" The other party's voice became more excited.
"Your citizen information is gone, but as Marshal Chiying, you must obey the imperial orders! If you intercept the reinforcements now, you're going against the entire empire!"
"An order from the Empire?" Ye Heng's voice suddenly rose, filled with anger that had been suppressed for a long time.
"The Empire's order is to disperse the Red Shadow? To trade soldiers' lives for power?"
He paused, his tone firm as iron.
"I stopped you today to tell everyone that Chiying no longer belongs to the empire!"
The communication channel fell silent, with only the crackling sound of electricity echoing.
After a long while, a frightened voice came from the other side: "You... what do you want?"
"I don't want to do anything." Ye Heng's voice returned to calm, but with a majesty that could not be refused.
"Get out of the Sphenoid Galaxy and tell those people that we'll meet again one day."
The communication channel fell into a brief silence, with only the crackling sound of electricity, as if the other party was desperately suppressing his anger.
Without waiting for a response, Ye Heng added:
"Oh, by the way, if anyone wants Zhao Cheng and the rest of you, remember to bring the ransom. Chiying doesn't keep idle people.
If you want someone, you have to be sincere enough in exchange."
As soon as he finished speaking, he pressed the hang-up button without hesitation, his fingertips slid across the communicator, and cut off the connection cleanly.
When he turned around to look at the starry sky outside the observatory, the black clouds had already settled at his feet.
Lin Yao stood in front of the radar screen, his mental focus fixed on the few starships that were not seriously damaged. He tapped the screen with his fingertips:
"Their engines are warming up, but they haven't turned towards the main starport and seem to be hesitating."
He paused, then added, "There was a lot of arguing on the communication channel. Some wanted to fight, some wanted to retreat, and some were asking about the specific amount of the 'ransom'. It was a mess."
Ye Heng walked up to him, his eyes fixed on the flashing red dot on the screen. His tone was calm but full of control:
"They dare not fight head-on. Four patrol ships have lost power, and even if the remaining one wants to fight back,
They can't break through our anti-aircraft artillery line, so retreat is their only option."
As soon as the words fell, the red dot on the radar screen suddenly moved, and the patrol ship slowly turned and moved towards the exit of the C12 channel.
The speed was very slow, obviously testing whether the main starport would open fire.
Xu Li's voice immediately came from the communicator, with a note of caution: "Marshal, the enemy ship is turning to retreat. Do we need to follow it?"
"No need." Ye Heng raised his hand to stop him. "Let them go. It's a good opportunity for them to tell the Third Prince about the ransom for Zhao Cheng."
He turned to Lin Yao and said, "Make sure they didn't leave any escape pods or probes behind to avoid any subsequent trouble."
Lin Yao immediately exerted his mental power to completely cover the area around the patrol ship. No abnormal energy reactions were found, nor were there any signs of the small aircraft escaping.
"Clean. They didn't dare leave anything behind. They didn't even dare to activate the escape pods on the damaged patrol ship."
In the starry sky, the patrol ship's speed gradually increased, and soon it was out of the range of the anti-aircraft guns and headed towards the exit.
The remaining ships were still floating in the same place, and the wreckage of the port wing and tail wing were still burning.
The orange-red flames were particularly conspicuous in the dark starry sky, like a messy scar, recording this short but disparate battle.
"Are they really gone?" Bian Miao approached the observation platform, looking at the gradually shrinking red dot on the radar screen, his tone filled with disbelief.
He originally thought that the other party would struggle to the end, but he didn't expect that Ye Heng's two tough words would completely break down their psychological defenses.
"What else can I do if I don't leave?" Ye Heng raised his lips with a cold arc.
"Those sent by the Third Prince are cowards. They lack the courage to fight head-on, but are unwilling to give up their lives. Retreat is their only way out."
He paused, and turned his gaze to the ships.
"Xu Li, take a team to clean up the damaged ship. Capture the people aboard and bring back any parts that can be salvaged. Destroy any that cannot be salvaged."
"Yes! Marshal!" Xu Li's voice came from the communicator, full of excitement.
"I've been wanting to dismantle these patrol ships for a while now. This is a great opportunity to see what kind of crappy equipment the Third Prince's private soldiers are using!"
Lin Yao slowly withdrew his mental strength and rubbed his swollen solar plexus.
Ye Heng glanced at him, his tone full of concern: "Your mental energy has been depleted quite a bit. Go lie down in the rest cabin for a while. Leave the cleaning of the ship to Xu Li and the others."
"It's okay. Let's wait until we confirm that they have completely left the Sphenoid Galaxy." Lin Yao shook his head and his gaze returned to the radar screen.
The red dot has completely disappeared in the direction of the exit, and there are no longer any abnormal targets within the radar monitoring range.
He breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense body finally relaxed.
Ye Heng walked to the railing of the observation deck and looked at the dark starry sky.
The anti-aircraft gun in the distance had stopped, its barrel returning to its original angle;
Chiying's ships also began to return, their lights drawing soft trails in the starry sky;
The soldiers were busy on the deck of the main star port. The sounds of footsteps clearing the battlefield and the debugging of equipment intertwined into an orderly sound.
"Will the Third Prince react to the ransom?" Lin Yao walked up to Ye Heng and asked.
"Zhao Cheng is his confidant. Logically, he should send someone to redeem her, but the Third Prince has always been stingy. He might just give up."
"Whether he comes or not, we won't suffer any loss." Ye Heng said calmly.
"If you come, we'll get more supplies. If you don't come, we'll try Zhao Cheng according to military regulations, which will be a good opportunity to clean up the traitors in the base."
He paused, his eyes becoming firm. "Next, what we need to do is to reorganize the base, strengthen the defense of the main star port, and then take the initiative to attack."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
