Chapter 15: Alien Planet! Alien Creatures? Section 8

It’s hard to imagine that the massive Bacchus bugs, with bodies over a hundred meters long, could move with such agility. Their enormous bodies trembled a few times before gliding through hyperspace at incredible speed. In the silent darkness, they resembled a group of thieves lurking in the shadows, plotting cold murders. Every Bacchus bug’s tiny mind was filled with the words spoken by their leader just moments ago.
“Celery! Celery! We want to eat celery too!!”
It’s truly a joke of nature. Among the various strange plants left behind by the Wandering Tribe when they developed Death Star, there was a particular plant that was less than a meter tall but crisp, tasty, and nutritious. Once discovered by Black Hair, it was brought to the dining table and became a delicacy among all pirates. During the welcome banquet when the Bacchus bugs arrived on Death Star, this dish was served. Its refreshing taste immediately won over these greedy bugs. Especially under the leadership of the Bacchus bug leader, the entire tribe developed a passion for eating celery.
Unfortunately, celery wasn’t available everywhere. Even though Black Hair ordered an increase in cultivation as soon as he heard about it, it still couldn’t meet the demand quickly. Celery thus became the most desired yet hardest-to-obtain thing for the Bacchus bugs.
However, this time Black Hair told the Bacchus bug leader that if they completed their mission, he would provide 2,000 tons of celery as a reward. This immediately won over the favor and enthusiasm of all the Bacchus bugs.
So, amidst cries of “I want to eat celery!”, these huge bugs rushed toward their prey.
At the same time, the poor interstellar fleet still had no idea that its vanguard had already become someone else’s target…
In hyperspace, everything seemed frozen. Even floating ships in transit moved only slightly. Any energy reaction in this strange space was multiplied by countless factors, leaving less than 1% effective. Such a special environment not only slowed down the movement of warships but also rendered their weapons useless.
To be precise, in hyperspace, there were no weapons that could exert any power at all!!
Except… collision!

Time lost its meaning; everything seemed to happen in an instant. The mental waves of those insects still lingered in the air. Their massive bodies crashed violently against the warships of the vanguard fleet. After accelerating, their thick carapaces unleashed terrifying energy, causing deafening roars to emanate from within the warships. Countless metal fragments flew everywhere, and the sturdy armor plates warped instantly. Red lights flashed simultaneously inside the ships, accompanied by incessant, shrill alarms.

This time, to get celery, the leader of the Buck insects invested heavily—bringing over a hundred of his subordinates, accounting for 70% of the total number involved in this migration! It was as if they had mobilized their entire population!

It should be noted that the reproductive capacity of the Buck insects is extremely low. It takes hundreds of years for a single Buck insect to grow from infancy to maturity. As a result, their population size has never reached a significant level. If not for the irresistible allure of celery, they would never have deployed such a large number.

Yet even so, their destructive power remains undiminished. A hundred giant insects are equivalent to a hundred small warships, moving fiercely through the vanguard fleet. The friction between their hard carapaces and the warship armor plates produced dazzling sparks. Their clawed limbs were as sharp as knives, and with each swing, they would plunge deep into the ship’s hull. Warships without energy shields were as fragile as cakes in front of them—everything could be shattered in an instant. Especially their leader, an astonishingly huge insect measuring over 300 meters in length, was terrifyingly powerful. With a single swing of its long claws, it could split a sturdy warship in two!!

Oh, God!! If anyone could witness the power of these insects, they would surely be terrified. This could no longer be called war—it was pure slaughter!!

The crew members of the vanguard fleet were pitiful, as they were doomed to eternal suffering without even a chance to resist. Yet they were also fortunate, as at least they wouldn’t experience despair. In anti-space, the conscious Buck insects were like gods! No one could stop them—not even humanity’s proudest armed fleets!

“Crack!” A massive Buckworm flew past the surface of a warship, its six sharp claws plunging deep into the ship’s hull. As it passed by, six long gashes appeared on the hull, and the air inside was instantly sucked out by the anti-space force. Before the life-saving devices could activate, another Buckworm’s claws reached the ship’s elemental core. With a twist, a huge gap appeared in the rear half of the warship. The dazzling elemental core was dug out in an instant and devoured without even a blink.

Such scenes played out almost constantly in anti-space. Humanity’s vanguard fleet was like naked girls, utterly incapable of resistance. Ship after ship was torn apart by those flying claws, with the excited mental waves of the Buckworms filling the air.

“Ha, this is mine! I’ve taken down another one—add a ton of celery!”
“Shut up! The celery is mine! I’ve taken down two!!”

There were no explosions, no screams—only piles of metal fragments and large chunks of armored debris. In the face of the Buckworms’ terrifying power, warships were twisted and distorted, their armor torn apart. All the crew died in their sleep. Blood and corpses were sucked out of the ships by anti-space and scattered everywhere.

If time could even be measured, it would have taken only ten minutes for the first fifty ships of the interstellar fleet to enter anti-space to be reduced to piles of steel debris. The huge ship bodies were torn apart by the brutal Buckworms, floating haphazardly. Electro-optical sparks flickered on and off. In this dead silent space, even the most intense energy reactions were fleeting.

The giant Buckworm leader stretched lazily, satisfied with the destruction caused by his minions. He laughed heartily. “Great job! Now those guys will surely realize who the most powerful race in the universe is. We Buckworms are invincible!! Mr. Black will be pleased—our celery is taken care of!!”

“Ooooh… Long live the leader… Ooooh… Long live the celery…” A group of giant insects perched on the wreckage of the warships, waving their claws in agreement.

Undoubtedly, this ambush was perfect. The capture of fifty ships would have caused a huge uproar even in the human world. No one could have imagined that such a massive force could be completely wiped out by a minor, obscure race in the universe—silently, no less. What was even worse was that this race was the insects, whom humans had always hated and despised!!

When the light spots representing the vanguard fleet disappeared from the vision crystal, the entire expedition fleet was shocked. Waves of warships ready to teleport were halted by urgent orders. For a moment, everyone fell into panic!!

What a joke… There could be enemies in the reverse space?

No, that’s impossible. It must be a malfunction in the instruments. People frantically rubbed their eyes, trying to locate the light spots of the vanguard fleet again. But to their disappointment, no matter how hard they tried, those tiny light spots were gone—vanished as if they had never existed, leaving no trace.

“This… it can’t be true…” The communications officer collapsed softly into his chair, closing his eyes in pain.

But whether he wanted to or not, their vanguard fleet had indeed disappeared. He could only report this news to the fleet’s highest commander, General Birito.

When the old man, renowned throughout the world and well past seventy, heard the news, his entire body trembled.

“I told them to be vigilant!! Vigilant!! What on earth are they doing?! My captains, the elites carefully trained by the Alliance!! What are they doing?! How could such a thing happen?! Who can tell me, who?!”

The old general was no longer just in pain—he was furious. His hunched figure straightened up, his eyes bloodshot red. He grabbed the report on the desk and smashed it across the face of his adjutant!!

“How many times have I said it? This is war, war!! Do you have to wait until we’re all destroyed before you remember?”

“General, calm down,” the young adjutant said, still expressionless, calmly staring at the enraged old man.

“Based on when the signals disappeared, they were still in reverse space at that time. I don’t think it was an enemy attack. So far, humanity doesn’t know of any creature that can remain conscious in that space. The special conditions of reverse space explain this. General, please forgive my rash words. It must be a malfunction in the fleet’s instruments. Once they exit reverse space, new messages should arrive.”

“Nonsense!!” The old general grabbed the adjutant by the collar and pulled him in front of him.

“Does not knowing mean there is nothing? The universe is so vast—how can you be sure there are no creatures that can operate in reverse space? How many times have I said that, under any circumstances, vigilance is the most fundamental requirement for a competent warrior!! Where are the fleet’s reverse space detectors? Why not deploy them first? And the decoy ships!! Why aren’t any of these in use!!”
“General, according to Article 3,562 of the fleet’s combat regulations, in non-battle situations, the fleet is allowed to enter reverse space without prior detection.” The adjutant, unfazed by his collar being grabbed, spoke calmly.
“Are you saying I’m violating the regulations?” The old general was furious. “Then what is this place? Tell me!”
“This is a battlefield!!”
“Please forgive me, General. Anger is not good for your health.” The adjutant replied calmly.
“You!” Unable to stand the adjutant’s indifferent attitude, the old general pushed him away forcefully and went back to his seat. He took out a cigar, lit it, and took a deep drag. The pungent smoke quickly filled the cabin, enveloping the old man’s hunched figure, making him barely visible.
After a long while, when the old man spoke again, his voice was calm.
“Tell me, how much time remains until the vanguard fleet completes its jump??”
“Seven minutes and twenty-three seconds,” the adjutant replied immediately after checking his watch.
“Good. Then wait a little longer. If there’s still no signal, order the fleet to abandon this jump coordinate and set off immediately. If we travel through normal space, how much time will it take to reach our final destination?”
“Two weeks, General. If we don’t use the jump and travel at full speed, it will still take two weeks.”
“Two weeks then! It’s better than entering reverse space and never knowing whether we’ll live or die. Now go and issue orders: throughout the rest of the journey, all warships must maintain the highest level of alertness—no slackness is allowed. Also, tell those noble lords’ stewards to snap out of it. If they can’t keep up with the fleet, don’t blame me for abandoning them here!!”
“Understood, General.” The adjutant replied softly. As he turned to leave the room, the old general spoke again.
“Send a message to Marshal Wick. Relay what’s happening here to him. And tell him I want his full authority, so as not to be held back by some unsuitable individuals.”
“As you wish, General.”

Seven minutes passed in an instant, and still, no news came from the vanguard fleet. With sighs, they followed the old general’s orders and set off. The massive warships stopped preparing for teleportation and instead formed a arrowhead formation. Powerful exhaust streams erupted from their engines, and the entire fleet gradually accelerated. At that moment, even the older fleet behind them seemed to realize something was wrong and obediently followed the instructions. The atmosphere among the fleet became oppressive.

They were the elite of humanity, the most powerful military force, yet they had lost fifty warships without even seeing their enemy. If such news spread, the reputation of the interstellar fleet would be utterly ruined. Moreover, that unknown mysterious enemy had blocked their ability to teleport, forcing them to travel the slowest possible route. It was simply a disgrace!!

For a while, everyone was filled with shame and anger toward the mysterious enemy. If they could, they would have rushed to face this detestable foe right away and tear it to pieces with their powerful fleet and invincible cannons!!

Yet they didn’t know that at the same time, another fleet had been waiting for them on the route they had to take.

They had only eleven warships, all of the weakest Sardine-class. But each ship was covered with numerous metal protrusions. If someone could observe up close, they would realize that these protrusions were nothing but a dense array of… missiles!!