New Year's Day bonus chapter~
...A total of five Cloud Knight armies from Azure City set out this time, heading to various worlds occupied by Abominations according to different military orders.
At the maximum speed of March-Class Warships, it would take at least several dozen days to reach the target star system.
The first-hand intelligence sent back by the Scout Ships made the Vanguards leading the army look solemn.
The Divination Commission's divination was not wrong at all.
This battle was indeed perilous.
The various Borisin hunting packs occupied the worlds along the route, and after devouring the conquered civilizations, their scale and combat power grew explosively.
If they proceeded with the original plan of separate frontal assaults, the battle would inevitably fall into a stalemate.
The emergency military meeting lasted for six System Hours.
The final plan was determined: to adopt a "sharp knife" tactic.
The most elite forces were drawn from the five armies, led by Qi Zhimu, to form a Strike Fleet to attack the fallen worlds one by one.
The goal was to reduce the power of the Abominations of Abundance as quickly as possible and disrupt their deployment.
There are many species of the Followers of Abundance, and without a sufficiently powerful being to lead them, they are not united and often engage in internal strife.
If it weren't for the speed at which Yaoshi creates the Followers of Abundance being truly... terrifying, perhaps they would have consumed half of themselves through internal attrition without the Xianzhou even needing to act.
Utilizing this point, they might be able to catch the enemy off guard.
After more than a year of rest and reinforcement, the combat power of the Cloud Knights' core elites was no longer what it used to be.
The non-elite forces were merged into the other four detachments, splitting up to pin down several other worlds of Abominations, carrying out feints and harassment to block their support for the worlds Qi Zhimu was attacking.
A life-and-death war of attrition officially began.
Bloody battles make it easy for one to forget the flow of time.
Qi Zhimu led the army to crush four Abomination worlds in succession. When the battle reports reached Azure City, the internal atmosphere became increasingly tense.
Over a year ago, the Jade Dwelling Xianzhou had sent a warning: within the next three years, a war no less disastrous than the Yueque Catastrophe might break out in Azure City.
The Divination Commissions of Yueque and Azure City jointly deduced for months, gradually locking the source onto the Emanator of Abundance, Shuhu.
Just over four months after Qi Zhimu set out, the Divination Commission finally captured traces of Shuhu's recent activity.
The calculation results showed that the area overlapped exactly with the star system where the Cloud Knights were deployed.
The news was transmitted to the high-level officials of the Xianzhou Alliance through the Huangzhong Resonance System, causing quite a stir.
After an emergency resolution, the Yaoqing Xianzhou, which was originally planned to fly alongside Azure City, changed its course and rushed toward the star system where Qi Zhimu was located at full speed.
The General of Yaoqing personally oversaw the operation, but to prevent a diversion, he ordered his Sword Master to head to Azure City to assist in defense.
In this way, Azure City was guarded by General Teng Xiao and two Sword Masters, making it as solid as a fortress.
The neighboring Xianzhou Luofu also entered a state of combat readiness, prepared to dispatch Cloud Knights for support at any time.
An Ironclad Formation had been laid out; no matter which side Shuhu attacked, there would be a countermeasure.
The most critical thing now was to determine Shuhu's specific location.
Once this Emanator made a move, the Cloud Knights fighting in that star system would likely be completely wiped out.
This was precisely why the Yaoqing Xianzhou was rushing there at full speed... Just as Qi Zhimu was preparing to lead his army to attack the fifth Abomination world, emergency intelligence arrived.
"Shuhu might be lurking in this star system...?"
This short line of text caused the air in the Command Cabin to freeze instantly.
Qi Zhimu spoke decisively, halting the imminent attack order.
"Order the three armies: command the fleet to maintain a blockade formation, locking the target planet within the Fire Network. Wait for further instructions within three System Hours."
"Understood!"
Qi Zhimu stood by the porthole, staring at the distant planet occupied by Abominations.
Behind him, Mo Tingquan stepped forward and stood side by side with him.
"If Shuhu is truly here, why hasn't he appeared yet? We have crushed four worlds in a row; if that thing just sits by and does nothing, isn't it allowing us to weaken its power?"
Mo Tingquan's words were also Qi Zhimu's current doubt.
"Unless... it intentionally wants us to take down these worlds," he stated a rather bold guess.
Mo Tingquan was stunned, unable to understand it at all.
If it was truly as Qi Zhimu said, what deep meaning did Shuhu's action have?
"Could the deduction be wrong? In the year 5749 of the star calendar, during the Second Abundance Plague War that broke out in Yueque, the Divination Commission failed to deduce the correct future to avoid the disaster."
"This emergency intelligence was jointly deduced by the Divination Commissions of Yueque and Azure City. Military orders are like mountains; until there is more credible information, we can only wait for an opportunity," Qi Zhimu shook his head.
Hearing this, Mo Tingquan pulled up the intelligence data stream, his brows furrowed deeply.
"The intelligence mentions: traces of activity left not long ago; it cannot be confirmed if Shuhu is still here now."
"It could also be that he left them intentionally."
Qi Zhimu fell into deep thought and analyzed:
"If I were Shuhu, facing the encirclement of five Cloud Knight armies, there would be no need to play tricks. I would strike immediately upon meeting; the Xianzhou flagship wouldn't have time to rescue them."
Mo Tingquan stroked his chin and guessed: "Does he want to wait until the last world to wipe us all out at once?"
Qi Zhimu did not speak again.
Perhaps Shuhu had such intentions, but he didn't think that could be the primary reason.
At the speed of the Star Skiff, it would arrive here in less than two months.
The Yaoqing Xianzhou coming for support is faster; it will take about a month. If the main Hunt expedition fleet is dispatched, it would only take ten days at full speed.
In several previous brutal battles, Shuhu had held back the Xianzhou Generals while his minions launched massive attacks.
But if he lost the billions of minions from the Abundance coalition to pin down the Cloud Knights, Shuhu alone would have no possibility of defeating two Xianzhou Generals.
Three System Hours passed in a flash.
The instructions arrived on time.
"Maintain formation and wait for reinforcements. Estimated arrival time: ten days. Maintain maximum alert during this period."
"If the Abominations of Abundance attempt to break out, use the Fire Network to force them back."
"Before receiving authorization, it is strictly forbidden to land on the Abomination worlds for surface combat."
After hearing Qi Zhimu finish, the Vanguards in the Command Cabin glanced at each other.
It seemed the Alliance had decided to let the Yaoqing elites set out first; once the two armies met, they could crush the Abominations occupying the remaining two worlds like dry weeds.
Qi Zhimu, however, felt a faint sense of unease.
The battles over the previous months had been relatively smooth; although the enemy was troublesome, the Cloud Knights' casualties were not high.
This did not match the perilous conclusion deduced by the Divination Commission.
And Shuhu's traces happened to be captured... It was as if an invisible hand were pushing everything forward.
But without many clues, he could only follow orders.
"Order all ships to maintain the encirclement formation and take turns on guard. All personnel must not slacken. The Detection Radar Arrays must operate at full power, and any enemy anomalies must be reported immediately."
"Yes!"
The waiting time was not long for the Long-lived Species.
The march-class ships and the densely packed Combat Starships hung in the silent universe.
All the Cloud Knight soldiers inside were on edge, their weapons never leaving their hands.
The Detection Radar Arrays swept through every inch of the star system, but they only ever captured the unique signals emitted by the Abomination worlds.
There was no sign of Shuhu.
Several large Abomination coalition forces tried to break out multiple times but were suppressed and pushed back.
Ten days passed with only minor skirmishes breaking out; everything was abnormally calm, which was unsettling.