"950 knots stellar speed!" Chu Xuan couldn't help but shout excitedly, only to awkwardly realize that Zhao Chen and the other crew members around her all wore calm expressions.
It was as if she alone looked like someone who had never seen the world before.
Uh...
What was going on with them?
Weren't they excited at all?
This was matching the maximum speed of a T4 interstellar warship—and with a T3 starship at that!
If word got out, this T3 starship would be enough to shake the entire Stellar Glory Empire.
However, matching was not as good as surpassing. Moreover, if it could break through 1,000 knots stellar speed, that would truly be a historic moment.
Chu Xuan continued to watch the speed gauge expectantly.
955 knots stellar speed!
Just as she was anticipating the speed to continue increasing, suddenly, the speed actually began to drop.
"Why is the speed starting to drop!" Chu Xuan instinctively asked.
Zhao Chen looked at Chu Xuan as if she were a fool, pointing at the star map beside them: "Can't you see we're almost at the last signal coordinates of the Two-Academy Fleet?"
Only then did Chu Xuan realize that, because she had been too focused on the speed earlier, the cursor representing the starship on the star map was now very close to the last known coordinates of the Two-Academy Fleet.
Chu Xuan fell silent, feeling somewhat embarrassed, and inwardly lamented that she hadn't seen the starship's maximum speed.
Judging from the earlier situation, the T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser still had some reserve power under this so-called Blizzard Extreme Cruise Mode. It was highly likely capable of breaking through 1,000 knots stellar speed.
"Begin exiting 'Blizzard Extreme Cruise Mode,'" Charlotte ordered.
"Understood, exiting and shutting down 'Blizzard Extreme Cruise Mode'..." a crew member reported.
Due to the excessive speed, deceleration couldn't be achieved instantly. It took several minutes to reduce the speed to 210 knots stellar speed.
Following the pre-designed course, once the speed normalized, the T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser was positioned exactly at the last signal coordinates of the Two-Academy Fleet.
"Report: 'Blizzard Extreme Cruise Mode' has been shut down."
"Report: Starship weapon modules are deploying."
As the 'Blizzard Extreme Cruise Mode' was exited, the ship hull weapons of the T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser were once again revealed.
Simultaneously, multiple energy signals appeared on the starship's radar.
"Report: Three T2 Hive Mothership signals and twelve T1 Hive Mothership signals have been detected in three directions.
These swarms are advancing toward our position.
The first wave of the swarm is expected to engage our ship within half an hour!" Secretary Officer Lilith reported crucial information.
Now was the critical moment.
The starship Zhao Chen was on was essentially deep within a 'hive.' They had to quickly locate the teachers and students of the Two-Academy Fleet and evacuate them. Every minute of delay increased the danger.
"Scan the surrounding planets and monitor all communication frequencies in the vicinity! Also, broadcast on all channels," Zhao Chen commanded.
The Interstellar Zerg's magnetic field could interfere with signals, but if the distance was relatively close, some signals could still be received.
He looked at the star map. In this region, there was one planet, two dwarf planets, four moons, and one hundred and eighty asteroids.
Assuming the Two-Academy Fleet was truly here, the search area was quite extensive.
But for now, all Zhao Chen and the others could do was wait.
Time passed bit by bit.
One minute... three minutes... five minutes...
During this period, Zhao Chen and the others did receive several communication signals, but these were all distress calls sent by local residents or interstellar factions in the Water Lily Star System.
For these people, Zhao Chen was powerless to help. His current capabilities were limited to rescuing his sister and fulfilling the requirements of the system task.
Seven minutes... eight minutes...
The Swarm in the distance grew increasingly closer on the starship radar. Once entangled by these Swarms, it would undoubtedly be the most dangerous situation for the T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser.
Nine minutes...
"Hiss... hiss... We are survivors of the North Star... Starship Military Academy and the Tianyao... Noble Starship Military Academy fleet. We request assistance... We request assistance..."
The communication crew member suddenly exclaimed in excitement, "Commander, we've received a communication from the Two-Academy Fleet!"
"Connect immediately and lock onto the communication coordinates," Zhao Chen ordered promptly.
"Yes!"
A video communication window appeared before Zhao Chen, but it was very blurry, making it impossible to clearly see the person on the other side.
"Great! Finally, someone received our communication request! Are you the Imperial Fleet sent to rescue us?" The other party's delighted voice came through, immediately assuming it was a fleet dispatched by the Imperial Army for rescue.
"We are not the Imperial Army, we—" Zhao Chen had just begun speaking when the communication cut off.
"What happened?" Zhao Chen frowned, looking at the communication crew member.
The communication crew member said anxiously, "I'm not sure, but it's highly likely that something went wrong on their end. The communication was unilaterally interrupted.
However, I've already locked onto the coordinates based on their communication signal.
It's the seventh planet of the Water Lily Star System!"
Zhao Chen immediately pulled up the star map.
The seventh planet of the Water Lily Star System!
Zhao Chen pointed at the planet on the star map. Unfortunately, it was located precisely at the edge of the radar detection range of their T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser.
Fortunately, it was not in the direction of any of the Swarms.
"Proceed there immediately!" Zhao Chen issued the command.
The T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser immediately headed toward this seventh planet. Relying on its high speed, it quickly arrived at the planet's location.
From a bird's-eye view, several T1 Hive Motherships could be seen on the planet's surface, along with a large amount of starship wreckage, indicating that a major battle had taken place.
They even saw a massive "scar" on the planet's surface, like a crimson iron chain striking the ground.
But upon closer inspection, it was not a "scar" but a fallen space elevator!
It seemed that the planet's space defenses had completely collapsed, and the conflict had moved to ground combat.
And as everyone knows, when it comes to the Interstellar Zerg, ground combat is essentially their primary battlefield!
Unless you conduct orbital bombardment on this planet, it would be... very difficult to win against the numerous zerg ground forces without deploying a large number of troops!
"Can we lock onto the precise location?" Zhao Chen looked at Lilith.
Lilith quickly pulled up the detailed coordinates of the signal on this planet, showing it was located within a mountain range.
"Not good! Detecting a large number of zerg ground forces gathering around the signal location. At the same time, there is a small group of zergs at the signal site itself. Based on energy fluctuations, it appears they are engaged in intense combat!" Lilith reported nervously.
"Commander, although entering the planet's atmosphere poses significant risks to our starship, it is currently the fastest method to rescue them. Without using the starship, relying solely on shuttles would be impossible to break through," Charlotte reminded.
Zhao Chen looked at the swarm enveloping the planet. Indeed, as Charlotte had said, it was a vast, gray expanse that instilled fear.
T1 starships and T2 interstellar warships, due to their smaller size, can enter a planet's atmosphere. However, T3 interstellar warships generally avoid entering a planet's interior unless absolutely necessary, as it greatly reduces the starship's combat capability and consumes an enormous amount of energy.
But now, Zhao Chen had no other choice.
"Enter the planet's atmosphere and prepare for combat!" Zhao Chen issued the command.
The secondary cannons of the T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser opened fire at full power. A large number of zergs were annihilated, clearing a path for the T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser as it charged straight toward the planet!
The scene was as spectacular as a comet crashing into a planet.