Under the watchful eyes of the chief of staff, representatives from both sides shook hands and made peace, putting on a flawless show of diplomacy.
Their fleets returned to their respective defensive lines around their life planets. As for what maneuvers were happening behind the scenes, one would have to ask the leaders of each faction—losing thousands of probe satellites across various star systems was just standard procedure.
March 1, 5028 of the Star River Federation's Expansion Era.
The Katun Civilization, lingering at the periphery of the Stardust Star Region, amassed the military strength of two mixed corps and launched a surprise attack on the second star system of the Stardust Star Region.
Vast swarms of fighter jets soared through the cosmos, their countless ion wakes painting a breathtaking stellar spectacle that reached its zenith amidst dazzling bursts of fireworks.
The Xue family's defensive fleet, totaling over 3,000 warships of varying sizes, struggled to hold the line under the hastily constructed fire support of a space station.
The Katun Civilization deployed a staggering force of more than 10,000 warships, including over 500 battleships. The combined firepower of their fleet eclipsed even the light of the stars, and wherever their beams struck, not a single warship could withstand even a second.
Molten crimson metal flowed freely through the void, and the cold corpses drifting in space laid bare the brutality of war. In cosmic warfare, there was no surrender, no prisoners, and certainly no mercy.
Both sides fought for the future of their civilizations, even if personal ambitions were mixed in. From the moment the battle began, they represented their people, and amidst the chaos of war, no one could utter the word "retreat."
Within the second star system, over 10,000 warships blanketed millions of miles of space. Both sides had already deployed more than 1.3 million unmanned fighter jets and mechas, with reinforcements continuously being assembled and launched from their motherships.
Across millions of miles of space, beams of light crisscrossed incessantly, fragmenting the dark cosmic backdrop. Hundreds of thousands of fighter jets clashed in coordinated formations, with interceptions and counter-interceptions unfolding every second.
Neither side held back their deep-space torpedoes or missiles for strategic reserves—they were all launched into the void alongside the fighter swarms. Without the guidance of their ion wakes, even the launching forces lost track of their torpedoes in the interference-saturated battlefield. Whether they hit their targets was left entirely to chance.
Aboard the Xue family's command ship, Xue Renli—the de facto third-in-command of the family—oversaw operations from the headquarters. The virtual control room spanned thousands of square feet, divided into over a dozen levels of fleet command centers.
Thousands of personnel worked tirelessly in the command center. With neural interface devices, each operator processed over three million bytes of data per second. Even with the assistance of intelligent optical brains, their mental stamina quickly waned. The moment someone's performance dropped below a certain threshold, a replacement standing by would immediately take over.
Xue Renli's gaze remained fixed on the holographic projection, where the positions of both fleets were displayed with striking clarity. The synchronized flashes of ship cannons illuminated the battlefield, and with a single thought, any piece of information could be instantly relayed to his mind.
"What is the Third Sub-Fleet doing? Move them up immediately to cover the Fifth Sub-Fleet and provide fire support for the main fleet!"
"What about the fighter groups? The Fifth Fighter Group has been wiped out—dispatch reinforcements at once! Do not let enemy fighters breach our fleet's perimeter!"
"Point Two, evasive maneuvers now! Nearby corvettes, provide cover for Point Two's repositioning!"
"How long until reinforcements arrive at the battlefield?"
"It's too late. A space locking anchor has been deployed within a one-light-year radius, preventing any warp jumps into the combat zone. Forced jumps have over a seventy percent chance of plunging into space turbulence."
"If they can't make it, then seal off the perimeter and initiate Protocol Three."
"Command confirmed: Initiating Protocol Three."
"Asteroid Field Orbital Cannons deploying. Planetary Orbital Turrets ascending. Target: enemy main fleet clusters."
"Planetary Ground-Based Turrets charging. Countdown thirty seconds. Targets locked: enemy main Battleship groups."
"Fire..."
Watching his fleet being pushed back relentlessly, with dozens of warships destroyed every minute, the loss of personnel made his heart bleed. These were the backbone of the Xue family's fleet.
Xue Renli's cold gaze locked onto the Katon Fleet's Battleship groups as he activated his final trump card—the Star System Defense Network, secretly constructed since the discovery of the life planet. After five years, only a rudimentary framework had been established, but any effective defense was better than none.
Hundreds of thousands of Asteroid Field Orbital Cannons fired in coordinated salvos, while tens of thousands of Planetary Orbital Turrets rose from various planets. The concentrated firepower now surpassed the Katon Fleet's by over fivefold.
The Planetary Ground-Based Turrets unleashed beams hundreds of meters in diameter, piercing millions of miles in an instant with spatial assistance, striking deep into the heart of the Katon Fleet's Battleship formations.
The antimatter within the beams detonated, unleashing annihilation damage at millions to tens of millions of degrees, erasing Battleship groups across tens of thousands of miles.
Simultaneously, the Planetary Turrets' equally dazzling beams swept across millions of miles of space. In mere seconds, the Katon Fleet lost over a hundred Cruisers and larger warships, their once sky-obscuring fleet now riddled with gaping voids.
The Katon Fleet's firepower abruptly waned, no longer maintaining its previous density, and their offensive rhythm was thrown into disarray.
Seizing the moment, the Xue family fleet counterattacked. With Fighter Jet squadrons and Mecha units breaching enemy lines, the scales of victory began to tilt.
"All fleets, maintain formation. Prioritize concentrated fire on enemy capital ships."
"Fighter squadrons, encircle and divide their outer fleet. Mecha units, exploit the breach and eliminate them."
Xue Renli tore off his collar button, eyes blazing with intensity as he coordinated the fleet's movements with the turret networks, launching a full-scale counteroffensive.
Billions of beams never ceased. Tens of thousands of Fighter Jets, depleted of energy, resorted to ramming attacks—even in death, determined to drain dozens of points from the enemy's Energy Shields.
The battle grew increasingly brutal. The Xue family fleet had already lost over thirty thousand personnel, with even more civilian recruits perishing.
After the tide turned, the Katon Fleet began organizing a retreat, but their sheer size made turning around no easy task.
Under the relentless assault of hundreds of thousands of Fighter Jets and Mecha units, the Katon Fleet's outer defenses were swiftly dismantled. The Xue family fleet's firepower grew fiercer, working in tandem with the Planetary Turrets to rapidly eliminate the enemy's Battleships.
The Xue family's support fleet, which had already jumped one light-year away, was struggling to reach the battlefield through forcibly activated Warp Drive. However, at their current speed, it would take several days before they could have any impact on the battle.
The Katon Fleet spent over half an hour regrouping and reorganizing their formation.
Once reformed, the Katon Fleet unleashed another concentrated barrage, delivering a devastating counterattack against the pursuing Xue family fleet, instantly wiping out a significant portion of their forces.