Chapter 1 The First General Offensive

On the seventy-eighth Earth day of the expeditionary force, Commander-in-Chief Markum launched the first general offensive against the Kepler zerg. More than 10,000 various types of large human warships joined the battlefield, along with millions of drones and mecha warriors. The zerg army also surprised the expeditionary force, with a rough estimate of up to ten million. The flames of war lit up space. Humans still had a comprehensive lead in long-range firepower. Various laser cannons, neutron cannons, and ray guns, as well as space torpedoes, constantly swept through the zerg swarm. The space fortress of the Xing Han fleet released one of humanity's ultimate weapons: the antimatter collapse bomb. The two sides fought fiercely for more than thirty Earth hours. From the overall situation, the expeditionary force achieved very significant results, but the losses were also not small. As a large area of the zerg swarm was wiped out and the overall advantage gradually became overwhelming, a sudden change occurred. The clouds covering the vast sea of Kepler dispersed, and countless zerg nests flew towards space. At the same time, from the depths of the sea, a giant blue beam wrapped in spiral energy pierced through Kepler's atmosphere and blasted towards the core space fortress of the Xing Han fleet. The human mechs and warships along the way lost their energy. Upon contact, the ships were destroyed and the crew killed. The energy shield of the space fortress was activated, which was also humanity's formidable energy shield.

This terrifying beam directly weakened the energy shield of the space fortress by more than half and destroyed one-fifth of the space fortress's area. The human fleet began to retreat, and the first general offensive of the expeditionary force came to an end.

The Kepler area that had been cleared by the expeditionary force was soon filled with zergs again. One by one, the floating nests were like nightmares. From the overall results, humans had won, but they couldn't be happy with the situation.

The zergs demonstrated a continuous production capacity, and being closer to the planet Kepler, their supplies were much more convenient than humans. Humanity's battle line was stretched too far.

Markum's style of combat was to be steady and surprising. When he saw the number of zerg reinforcements, he decisively ordered a retreat. Although he could risk taking this opportunity to eliminate a wave of zergs, he would then be caught in entanglement, and the battle damage he would suffer if he wanted to withdraw from the battlefield would be immeasurable. Moreover, this battle was obviously not a time to go all-in. Even, the zergs should have preparations that Thesus and other humans did not know about, and this risk could not be taken.

The damage to the space fortress this time was quite serious, and it also caused a lot of casualties. One nuclear reactor was completely destroyed, and there was also radiation leakage. The engineering ships were already working overtime to repair it. Before the space fortress was repaired, the expeditionary force would not easily launch a general offensive.

The major fleets returned to their anchor points to rest, repair warships, and treat the wounded. They also needed to wait for the second wave of supplies and equipment from the logistics units.

The Fifth Fleet suffered more than half of its losses and was the most severely damaged fleet in the expeditionary force. It also withdrew from the outpost to the rear, and the Third Conquest Fleet from Mars took its place.

The Hunters also participated in the general offensive, but they were not assigned the task of being at the forefront. No matter how strong individual power was, it seemed like a drop in the bucket in such a geometrically multiplied battle. Of course, the Hunters' results were very significant. In particular, top experts such as Li Hao and Maxis did disrupt the local zerg battlefield, and as long as the mechs were not damaged beyond repair, their continuous combat capabilities were very strong. They could fight back and forth in the zerg swarm, giving the zergs a taste of their own medicine.

In the laboratory of the space fortress, Sa Wutian, who had been transported here, had already lost consciousness, but his body was still moving autonomously and rapidly reproducing in a strange state of proliferation. He was frozen in liquid nitrogen by a group of scientists such as Jeris. Even during the war, they were researching day and night. When the space fortress was hit, there was chaos outside, but they didn't care at all, for fear that their experimental products would be destroyed. Nothing else mattered.

Sa Wutian's main body was already dead, but strangely, his body was still active and was still planning to proliferate in an orderly manner, but such proliferation would only lead to collapse and eventual death. They still analyzed different energy fluctuations from Sa Wutian's body. This weak energy fluctuation should be Thesus's "divine power". This seemingly inconspicuous energy fluctuation allowed this body that should not exist to survive with a biological mindset, but now there was no way to preserve this power. When Sa Wutian's body completely died, this power would disappear at any time. The things contained in it also made everyone itch. The existence of this power could not only prove that life could be created, but also that souls could be endowed.

The existence of humans, Earth, and even the solar system was very likely not a coincidence.

This had already reached a consensus in the minds of Jeris and the others. Was there a certain connection between Thesus and human civilization?

Could it be that humans were actually seeds left behind before the Nemean migration?

Humans and Nemeans were infinitely close in terms of form and other aspects, except that the Nemeans' souls were more powerful and closer to the gods in human legends.

Finding Thesus had become the key to this battle. Through soul positioning, Jeris and others were trying to estimate the approximate location of Thesus. The energy cannon that hit the space fortress also provided them with a reference. Such power was definitely not the power of the zergs, but of the Nemeans. The enemy that humans would eventually face was gradually being exposed.

While the front line was in a great battle, the interior of the solar system was also full of disputes. Large-scale anti-war demonstrations broke out in the four major federations, especially on the moon and Earth. Some zerg rights organizations believed that humans were the invaders and that this battle was completely unnecessary. Humans should coexist peacefully with the zergs. In addition, the casualties and social instability brought about by the war had bred various social problems.

Fortunately, the mainstream opinion within the solar system alliance was relatively unified. This battle must be fought and won at all costs, even if it meant destroying the planet Kepler. The new intelligence obtained by the expeditionary force was also continuously summarized and sent to the alliance headquarters. After realizing the existence and control of the Nemeans, even if they lost the planet Kepler, they could not allow failure. Once the zergs went to the solar system, humans would become domesticated livestock, and they wouldn't even have the chance to kneel.

In chaotic times, the first to be killed are the bleeding hearts. The four major federations had a very unified opinion. In a war of civilizations, there was no room for luck. If humanity was gone, what would be the meaning of the universe?

A steady stream of supplies was being transported to the front line. The radical faction within the alliance was more inclined to use the Dzhanibekov cannon once and for all. Although the reconstruction would be more difficult, it was the most advantageous way, but this was humanity's last resort.

Markum and the others on the front line had the same plan. Jeris and the others, based on the weak connection of the soul wavebands, had basically determined the area where Thesus was located. The cannon on the sea may have been a smokescreen. Human Base No. 1 on Kepler had now become the base camp of Nangong Yu Hang and the zergs.

"I think a war of attrition is not good for us. Thesus must be delaying time to complete his evolution. In particular, the potential impact he has on humans cannot be ignored. We need to end this war as soon as possible."

Everyone was very worried about Thesus's vast mental abilities and ubiquitous influence. It hadn't reached that point yet, but some people had already been affected. The key was that they didn't even know it. If they were allowed to develop, the consequences would be unimaginable. The zergs could continuously produce and consume, but humans couldn't afford it. Currently, it was still within a controllable range. If the battle damage was too great, the pressure within the solar system would also be enormous. If it was not handled well, it would also cause immeasurable problems. The support that Markum and the others received was also because the alliance had withstood enormous pressure. Even if this battle ended, they might not be able to get a good evaluation, but it didn't matter. As soldiers, they knew their responsibilities.

"Our goal is not to eliminate the zergs, nor is it to destroy Kepler, but to eliminate Thesus. This is the root of our human survival. The zergs themselves do not have such strong aggressiveness and reproduction."

"We have adjusted Plan B. We will launch another general offensive after the supplies arrive, open a breakthrough, send the special forces down, and destroy five bases. If the operation fails, we will use the Dzhanibekov cannon!" Pang Pai said.

While the fleet was sending drones to harass the enemy, they were also constantly discussing the combat plan. Markum and the others were staring at the dark circles under their eyes. Various intelligence from the front line and the rear was constantly being fed back. Although the alliance supported them, it could not support a protracted war. After all, the war was happening on the distant Kepler, and a considerable number of humans really did not understand. Although the alliance had given reasons, some people were only willing to believe the judgments in their own cognition, and this was also a considerable group of people. This pressure was also enormous.

Combining various factors and considering the situation on the front line, launching a landing operation was imminent.

"Is it necessary to have five bases? The scope is too large and the difficulty is too high."

"Base No. 1 is definitely the main attack point, and this will be handed over to Li Hao to lead, but the other four bases must also be destroyed. We don't have a second chance. This time, we will invest all the landing troops and forcibly destroy them!" Markum said in a deep voice.

There was a high probability that Nangong Yu Hang was in Base No. 1, but the other four bases were also zerg strongholds, and a large number of zergs poured out of them, so this could not be ignored. This battle would be carried out in two ways: air strikes and ground cutoffs. It had always been believed that the zergs' combat command was commanded by the nests or cerebrates, but now it seemed that it was completely under the control of Thesus. Cutting off the command was the key to this battle.

Of course, to take a step back, if the ground operation failed, or even if Thesus was destroyed, it would still not have any impact on the zergs. At that time, the Dzhanibekov axis cannon would have to be used. The energy source of this planetary-level destruction weapon was antimatter. Humanity's current accumulation of dark matter was still quite slow, and the space fortress only had one chance to fire, but as long as it hit, the surface and shallow creatures of Kepler would become history.

The experiments of the Dzhanibekov axis cannon were all in some unmanned and desolate satellites and laboratory data, and this would be the first time it would be used in actual combat.

(End of this chapter)