Interstellar Survival: Invasion

Chapter 167: Return to Space

After finalizing the arrangements for the borrowed soldiers, we bid King Carter farewell and returned to our temporary accommodations. There, the core members of our crew gathered to talk about our next course of action.

I had Dondon wake Zhang Bao'er up for the meeting. Shortly after, Bao'er arrived with Dondon. On Bao'er's face was an extremely dispirited expression. It was pretty obvious that Dondon, the straightforward fellow, had bragged about the food to Zhang Bao'er without considering his feelings.

Suffering from a rumbling stomach and Dondon's detailed description of the feast, Zhang Bao'er could only chew on the military crackers grumpily.

'Sigh. You can only blame yourself for shutting off your communicator,' I thought inwardly. Of course, I was careful to not say a word about the feast so as to not further trigger Zhang Bao'er.

An hour later, Old Du returned to the palace with Maley. I had no interest in joining the meeting between Maley and King Carter. The moment Old Du and Kelly joined us, our own meeting began.

"According to the latest update, the Interstellar League's fleet is using all their strength to attack Planet Lidu. However, they weren't able to achieve the strategic goal of fully destroying the Northstar Army. Instead, both sides were stuck in an endless back and forth," reported Lin Feixue. He had obtained the news from Kenante.

"In other words, curbing the Horsehead Nebula's Midstar Army will be even more important strategically now," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Currently, we are facing a very real issue. How are we supposed to transport over 10,000 soldiers off the planet?" asked Prince Toruse.

"There are large haulers on Rumble we can use," said Master Crystal.

"The haulers here are outdated with no defensive capabilities. They won't be able to get through the empire's defensive lines. They will only become live targets at the Horsehead Nebula. We need an actual battleship. One that can fight in wars," said Prince Toruse while shaking his head.

"The prince is right. We need a battleship to both transport and protect these soldiers," agreed Zhang Xingxing.

"Will the league help us with transportation?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"Impossible. This is an unauthorized mission in the first place. The league will not approve it if they know what we're trying to do. We might even be accused of insubordination," said Kelly.

"But in this system, only the league and the empire have large-scale battleships," said Old Du.

"Kelly, can you have Captain Carter help?" I suggested.

"Carter still bears a grudge against you for what you did. You can't count on him. The Interstellar League is too strict with its military law. Moving a large-scale battleship is a very big deal," said Kelly, vetoing my suggestion with a reasonable argument.

We hadn't actually considered the issue of transporting the new soldiers through the empire's defensive line, but now, this issue had halted our move forward.

"A bunch of fools get together to come up with a plan. And all the plans are laden with loopholes," a sneer rang out beside us.

We turned our heads and saw Wind Spirit sitting comfortably on a couch while Dondon served her snacks.

"Where did this female cat come from? Why is it running its mouth here?" said Prince Arude in his attempt to temper Wind Spirit's arrogance.

"Little prince, you dare show disrespect to your superior?" retorted Wind Spirit unyieldingly.

"Calm down, everyone. We can always talk everything out," said Baron Sisse as he placated the two.

"I was about to give you an idea, but this little prince is too rude. In that case, there is no need for me to be so kind anymore," said Wind Spirit grumpily.

As a military observer of the empire, Wind Spirit was very familiar with the empire's internal situation. Her suggestion could be extremely valuable. At that thought, I signaled Dondon with my eyes. Fortunately, Dondon could be rather smart when it mattered. The little fellow immediately understood my signal.

"Princess Wind Spirit, come on. Just tell them your idea. We'll go play outside. The air in here is so bad," said Dondon.

"Great! I am long tired of this room. Why bother telling them anything? Let's just go," replied Wind Spirit happily.

Unfortunately, Dondon was far too simple-minded compared to Wind Spirit, so he did not know how to react to that.

"Wind Spirit, just share it. I'll tell you some stories about your father in return," said Master Crystal, giving Dondon a hand.

That managed to pique Wind Spirit's interest.

"Fine. Deal!" said Wind Spirit.

Master Crystal nodded in confirmation.

"You put too many limitations on your plans. Yes, both the league and the empire have the battleships you need. If you can't get a battleship from the league, just get it from the empire," said Wind Spirit confidently.

"Wow! I thought it would be some genius idea. This female cat is truly a super genius. No wonder she spends so much time with the glutton. Birds of a feather do indeed flock together," sneered Domo, who was tired of Wind Spirit's arrogance.

"Freak! Try calling me a female cat one more time!" said Wind Spirit furiously.

"Domo, don't interrupt." I stopped Domo and then asked, "Princess Wind Spirit, the imperial battleships are all guarded strictly. How are we supposed to get one?"

Wind Spirit threw Domo a glare before saying, "The Imperial Repair Center. That place is in charge of repairing the empire's battleships. Since we're currently in a time of war, many battleships must have been sent there for repair, and the center's defenses must be weaker than they usually are. This is the perfect opportunity to steal a battleship from them."

"Good idea. I know the repair center well. It doesn't really have powerful defenses," said Principal Sosse upon hearing the suggestion.

It was clear that Wind Spirit was telling the truth. And thus, snatching a battleship from the repair center became our next priority.

"Where is the Imperial Repair Center?" I asked.

"Near Eternal, on the empire's other artificial planet, Cloudcast," said Principal Sosse.

"Near Eternal? Won't the forces stationed at Eternal be able to arrive quickly?" asked Old Du.

"I believe that for now, we don't have to worry too much. The league is pressing into the imperial borders with their fleet. As the capital of the Divine Empire, Eternal will be protected by a heavy military force. The force won't easily leave either. After all, any attack might be bait. Emperor Fille has always been a cautious person. He won't send his army out easily for fear of falling into a trap," said Master Crystal.

"I agree with Master Crystal's analysis. The Interstellar League is planning to attack Eternal with their most elite army, the A Army. I don't believe the empire's intelligence will have no clue. Empire Fille will definitely concentrate his forces on his capital," said Kelly.

"In that case, we will draw a plan to ambush Cloudcast and snatch a battleship as quickly as possible," decided Zhang Xingxing.

Following Zhang Xingxing's order, everyone worked together to form a detailed plan. It was decided that I would be the commander of the ambush operation. Wind Spirit, Old Du, Zhang Bao'er, Lin Feixue, Kelly, Anxashe, Baron Sisse, Dondon, Dodo, Master Crystal, Sarje, Domo, Wuzhou, and 20 soldiers from the 7th Armored Division would be Spacetime's crew members for this mission. The others would wait on Rumble.

Zhang Xingxing also requested that the two princes have King Carter send a medical team to help treat the 500 Akko soldiers we had withdrawn from Akko and help them recover their combat strength as soon as possible. Titan and Amethyst would work with Zhang Xingxing to reorganize the barbarians and the reinforcements from Kenante so that they could work as a team.

As for Bulu, I decided to bring it with me even though it had been asleep for several days. After all, Bulu had always been extremely helpful during the most critical moments. Thus, it was worth trusting.

After everyone received their tasks, we boarded Spacetime and started preparing for take off. We would be carrying out the mission of acquiring suitable transportation for our new soldiers.

"Canyue, as usual, be careful. You must promise me to return safely with the team," exhorted Zhang Xingxing before we left.

"Don't worry. I believe this is only the start of our adventures," I said with a relaxed smile on my face.

After everyone finished saying farewell, Spacetime soared into the sky and returned to outer space carrying the members of this operation. Although it had only been several days, it somehow felt to me like I had been away from space for a very long time. I had started to miss outer space.

Having gotten used to seeing the various celestial bodies from outer space, I felt empty inside after having not seen them. Looking out the window as Spacetime hovered above Rumble, the dark green planet looked exceptionally beautiful.

Right at that moment, Spacetime activated the wormhole production sequence. A wormhole appeared before the ship. After spending 30 minutes journeying over a distance of over a thousand lightyears, we were once again back in the Betelgeuse System. The red giant was once again before my eyes. Unlike before when we had first come, the very air itself seemed to be filled with the smell of conflict.

Cloudcast was roughly 200 million kilometers away from Eternal and was a pure military planet. Any vessels that approached without permission would be shot down. The usual scenes of busy trade stations were nowhere to be seen around this planet. All we saw were cold and unfeeling forts, spaceships, and fighter drones.

Spacetime entered its invisible mode and utilized the three-dimensional prediction system to plot a path that avoided all locations where a battle might break out or where we might encounter patrols. These two technologies ensured that we would remain hidden.

We moved slowly, and only after 48 hours of travel in invisibility did Spacetime reach Cloudcast. There, Master Crystal's analysis was quickly proved correct. Outside the planet, we saw a massive opening in the defensive line around Cloudcast. Spacetime could easily enter the planet at any time. The main issue with the defensive line was the lack of fighter drones and spaceships.

"Commander, do we send our robotic probes out and plot a suitable route of entry first?" asked Lin Feixue.

"The opening is so big. What's the point of sending probes? I suggest we do something they least expect and charge right in," suggested Zhang Bao'er.

"No," Wind Spirit suddenly said. "This fool knows nothing. We must send some probes out. I remember that my father once told me about a unique defensive weapon in this base. We must be careful."

"What kind of a unique weapon?" asked Baron Sisse.

"I don't know," replied Wind Spirit.

"Why didn't you tell us something so important earlier?" grumbled the impatient Domo.

"What do you mean, freak? Did any of you ask me? Is this princess obligated to share that information with you?" said Wind Spirit unyieldingly.

"Stop arguing. Lin Feixue, send the probes out immediately. They will scout around and plot a suitable route of entry. I need to maximize our chance of success," I said to Lin Feixue.