Super Mothership
Wormhole War Zone.
The reinforcements pouring into the Proxima Centauri system from the Solar System had gradually come to a halt.
It wasn't because Nie Yun lacked backup troops—on the contrary, the weapons and equipment mobilized from various sub-bases within the Solar System were sufficient for him to deploy two to three times more forces.
However, the transit quota for this wormhole had now been completely exhausted. To continue using it, they would have to wait for the wormhole's energy to naturally recover. Based on data obtained from the Gemini civilization, this would take approximately 40 hours.
But the marine race's frontline commander, upon seeing this development, wasn’t pleased in the slightest.
This... wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
Where was the so-called "lure the snake out of its hole"? The enemy had barely poked their head out—how could that count?
The opponent halting reinforcements had been expected; unless they had access to the Wuerff civilization’s “wormhole energy-charging technology,” the maximum deployable tonnage was already predetermined.
But what troubled him was that the current strength deployed by the enemy to Proxima Centauri far exceeded their previous intelligence estimates.
Previously, the Solar System only had a few scattered units—now, so many new-generation mechs had suddenly emerged.
Their combat strength clearly needed to be reassessed.
At present, aside from the impressive “Houyi-class” frigate guarding the wormhole, there were nearly 2,500 mechs forming a hemispherical defense formation several hundred kilometers thick in front of the wormhole—clearly prepared for battle, and firmly protecting both the wormhole and the frigate.
This Solar System wormhole was marked as an E-class small wormhole passage by the Gemini, stable but with limited capacity.
Nie Yun had deployed one Houyi-class frigate and nearly 3,000 “Jianxian” mechs—essentially the entirety of the new-generation mechs mass-produced during this time inside the Solar System.
In the initial clashes to prevent the enemy fleet from advancing, about 500 mechs were lost. The remaining forces now stood guard at the wormhole.
Due to Gustav's fake orders, the Gemini fleet had withdrawn after a probing exchange of fire. But unexpectedly, the opposing forces showed no interest in pursuing them.
Thus, the two sides had gradually disengaged from direct combat and were now in a distant standoff.
The marine commander finally realized the enemy’s intentions. With a force structure centered around mechs and supplemented by heavy artillery, they clearly had no plans to invade deep into the Proxima system. Their real goal was to secure control over the wormhole.
A tinge of regret crept into him.
Had he fought more decisively earlier instead of following Gustav’s “lure out the snake” plan, he might have wiped out half of the enemy force before they could fully establish a foothold.
But at this point, launching an assault against a fortified position would only end in a bloody disaster.
These mechs held a tactical role similar to fighter jets on Earth. Under swarm bombing, one misstep could lead to total annihilation. The Gemini fleet had to tread carefully.
Originally 15 ships strong, the Gemini fleet now had only 12 left. Two had been unexpectedly disabled by the Houyi-class frigate's superior range and rate of fire, and one was taken down after underestimating the Jianxian mechs’ combat capabilities—Nie Yun’s tactic of swarm assault had overwhelmed it at close range.
After sacrificing more than 500 units, Nie Yun’s mech forces had finally breached the Gemini’s joint air-defense network of space fighters and fleet firepower, crashing through their formation and destroying one warship and damaging another in a suicide charge through a hailstorm of bullets.
The Gemini fleet commanders were shocked by the ferocity and power of the enemy's mechs.
Battle footage analysis revealed an even more stunning fact—there were no pilots inside the Jianxian mechs.
Their robotic group charges and stiff, formulaic maneuvers confirmed the suspicion: these were fully automated unmanned mechs controlled by an AI.
Indeed, Nie Yun had not used virtual reality or manual control. For brainless charges under heavy fire or for tight formation defenses, centralized code-based control offered better discipline and efficiency than human pilots.
But remote-controlled mechs had one fatal flaw: communication interference.
The Gemini were quick to exploit this vulnerability, testing various jamming techniques in small-scale trials.
Yet… they were disappointed to find they had no effect at all. The enemy mechs remained fast, agile, and completely unaffected.
Just like on Jupiter’s moon Callisto, it seemed the enemy’s communication tech was beyond the Gemini’s current understanding. Their jamming tactics had utterly failed.
Now facing a swarm of fearless unmanned mechs and with enemy reinforcements en route, the Gemini fleet, unwilling to suffer huge casualties in a head-on clash, chose to hold their ground and wait for backup.
Meanwhile, inside the marine fleet...
"How long until our reinforcements arrive?" the commander asked with a frown.
"Reporting, sir—at the earliest, 72 more hours," his adjutant replied.
Given the distance between Planet Kara and the wormhole, a three-day journey wasn’t long—this was already the limit of a full-speed march.
Yet the commander remained uneasy.
The current posture of the "Unity of All Things" faction—fortifying their position without advancing or provoking—gave him an increasingly bad feeling.
Surely the enemy was aware of their incoming reinforcements, a massive target like that couldn’t go unnoticed. And still, they showed no signs of panic.
Could they really intend to use just those mechs to resist an approaching fleet of over 50 warships?
Their behavior made it seem as though they were waiting for something.
But what exactly were they waiting for?
The lack of clarity in the enemy’s strategic objective was a dangerous sign for the Gemini.
What’s more, with reinforcements still 72 hours away, the enemy would have time for at least one more wave of reinforcements.
And who knew how many more troops they could send through that wormhole?
Judging by the uniform quality of their elite equipment, there were only two possibilities:
Either the enemy had been deliberately hiding their strength in the previous wormhole battles, playing dumb,
or they had just received powerful support.
Could this new-generation equipment have been supplied by the Ant Empire, rumored to be backing them?
If so, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if their troop strength doubled again in the next wave.
If that happened, then even once their own reinforcements arrived, the battle would still be extremely difficult.
Suddenly, the "Lure the Snake Out" strategy devised by Gustav didn't seem quite so reliable anymore...
Just then, a broadcast message sent across wide-range communications left the commander completely stunned.
The message, issued by Commander Isabel, was explosive:
The highest-ranking officer of the marine fleet—Gustav—has defected!
But that wasn’t even the most shocking part.
Because right after that, he received a second, private message—and it was from none other than the supposedly defected Gustav himself!
The message was short, issued under personal clearance, containing only a few words—but every word hit like a thunderclap:
"Beware of Isabel. Gustav—Final note."
The marine officer stared at the blood-red characters spelling “Final note,” and his mind fell into complete chaos.
What the hell?!
What kind of twisted drama was this?
Each of them is more dramatic than the last!
TL Note- The Drama....
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