Chapter 15: Alien Planet! Alien Creatures? Section 10

Explosions, roars, and dazzling sparks. For a moment, the entire cosmic space seemed filled with these phenomena. The hard armor plates groaned, waves of distorted halos flashed outside the warships and vanished quickly. Countless sharp spikes appeared out of nowhere around the fleet like ghosts, launching intense attacks as if in a storm!!
“Boom!!”
Another dazzling ball of light exploded in the starry sky. An element core of the short-sword class was hit, and the shockwave from the explosion spread out, creating a large empty area. The dying screams of the crew members reached everyone’s ears through the public channel, and sweat covered everyone’s faces.
God, where on earth did these things come from!? Why haven’t we located the enemy yet? Could this be the work of ghosts?
In just ten minutes, the arrow formation of the interstellar fleet was completely disorganized. A huge gap was torn in the frontmost part, and about forty warships were damaged to varying degrees—some lightly scratched, others even exploding in midair. Massive debris and fragments filled every corner of the space. Through the portholes, one could even see the broken bodies of the crew members floating around!!
Fear gripped everyone’s hearts tightly.
However, this situation didn’t last long. Even the most hidden attacks would eventually be detected. Soon, the approximate location of Baroka’s group was captured by the fleet’s active scanning. Amid the old general’s furious roars, a group of about fifty warships suddenly separated from the fleet and rushed at the Sockeye-class ships hidden within them at extreme speed. All the warships opened their cannons, firing wildly even if they couldn’t aim at the hidden Sockeye-class ships.
Clearly, this tactic was very effective. Baroka’s group was immediately disrupted by the intense gunfire. To avoid it, they were forced to scatter. The exhaust plumes from their engines immediately revealed their exact positions, making them targets for everyone.
“Die, you despicable reptiles!!” The crew members of the interstellar fleet shouted angrily, their chests burning with rage. Almost all the cannons were now aimed at them. Dense streams of energy projectiles streaked across the sky like a meteor shower.

However, the Sardine-class ships were simply too small and too agile. Even under such intense fire, these little guys managed to react quickly, turning around in unison without firing a single shot and fleeing swiftly downward. Such behavior enraged everyone, causing them to shout in fury.
“Damn you, you reptiles! Do you only know how to launch sneak attacks? You despicable bastards, stop right there! I’ll tear you to pieces!!”
By God, the Blood Wolf Fleet’s actions completely violated every principle of space warfare. These guys had not even a shred of chivalry—they attacked secretly and then ran away. Such cowardly behavior was like a ragged beggar suddenly rushing out of the crowd to slap a noble lord in the face—it was an insult to interstellar fleets!!
For a moment, almost everyone was furious beyond measure.
The fifty Shortsword-class ships sent out first pursued even faster. These enraged fighters didn’t even activate their energy shields, focusing all their energy on boosting their engines. With massive power support, they increased their speed by one level, matching that of the Baroque group. They were determined to hold on at all costs!
A scene unfolded in space: a group of dark small warships raced ahead, while a large swarm of silver-white warships chased after them. Yet their speeds were almost the same, and none could change the situation. Intense gunfire was fired from the ships behind, but it was always dodged skillfully by the smaller fleet.
There was nothing they could do… That was the thought in everyone’s mind. The Sardine-class ships were simply too fast. They were already the favorite fast ships among pirates, and after being specially modified by Blackhair, their speed had increased even further. With the current types of ships in interstellar fleets, no one could catch up—even the Shortsword-class ships designed specifically to combat pirates were no match!!
But they didn’t know that at that moment, Baroque aboard the Sardine-class ship was laughing so hard he could barely breathe.
“Hahaha, guys, push harder! Act more convincingly. Tell Hong and Lan to make things messy—don’t be orderly. If those guys get away, I’m not done with them.”
“Yes, leader,” the sand pirates replied loudly. Despite being the ones being chased, none of them showed any signs of tension. On the contrary, everyone was excited and thrilled!!

The crew of the Interstellar Fleet never imagined that the Baroka group, who were now being chased like rats, actually hadn’t exerted their full strength. They were merely flying at the normal speed of Sardine-class ships. The Shortsword-class ships behind them were just being toyed with by them. If they could run a little further, they could put some distance between themselves and the larger fleet above. By then, not even God could save them.

Except for… one person.

On the flagship of the Expeditionary Force, the old general Berito watched the chase unfolding on the vision crystal. Suddenly, it seemed he realized something, his expression changing drastically as he stood up abruptly.

“Bad! Order the Third Fleet to stop chasing and return quickly!!”

“What’s wrong, General? We already have the situation under control. In a little while, those despicable Sardine-class ships will surely slow down. Their energy supply can’t sustain this speed forever!” asked his adjutant in confusion.

“Shut up!! Execute my orders. Don’t ask why!!” the old general shouted angrily, completely losing his calmness from earlier.

It was too late… Even though the old general was experienced and keenly perceived Baroka’s scheme, issuing the order was still too late.

Just as the pursuing fleet received the order to turn back, the speed of the Bloodwolf Fleet ahead suddenly slowed down. This sight instantly filled the commanders of the pursuing fleet with joy. They immediately forgot the old general’s instructions and ordered a full-scale attack.

But this time, their gunfire was no longer coordinated.

In an instant, the space around the pursuing fleet began to distort violently, like ripples spreading across water when a stone is thrown in. Soon after, massive bursts of blue light appeared. Right before everyone’s eyes, several giant beetles suddenly appeared in this normal space.

Only, their location was strange…

These huge and monstrous beetles didn’t appear around the fleet but right inside the warships!!

Oh!! God!! How is this possible???

Everyone behind was shocked by what they saw on the vision crystal. Watching those terrifying beetles suddenly appear inside the warships, their brains almost stopped functioning. They stood there, stunned.

But for the pursuing fleet at this moment, it could no longer be simply described as terrifying. Watching those massive creatures suddenly appear beside them was enough to drive any normal human insane. Moreover, these creatures were incredibly huge—over a hundred meters long. There was simply no space inside the warships to accommodate them. So in the next instant, the interiors of the warships became a mess!!
Their hard shells compressed and deformed the interiors of the warships, while their sharp claws tore apart any structure that stood in their way. These beetles could actually pierce through steel, using their overwhelming strength to create space for themselves within the warships. Any structure that blocked them—metal, compartments, weapons, ammunition, even armor plates—would be instantly crushed and deformed. Not to mention the crew with no protection at all.
What was even more terrifying was that these giant insects, while destroying everything around them, could also speak human language…
“Celery! I want celery!!”
Oh, damn it, celery… The commander of the pursuing fleet collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth and pale as death. He simply couldn’t bear such a horrifying scene. Watching his crew being crushed into meat by these terrifying insects, no one could remain sane.
Outside the warships, Baroque and his group had also turned around. Countless sharp missile pods burst from the Sardine-class warships, raining down like a storm on the nearby pursuing fleet. The Sword-class warships, already lacking energy shields due to full-speed pursuit, were instantly destroyed by the missiles. Armor plates were torn off in large pieces, and intense flames illuminated everyone’s faces.
“Oh… no!!” The crew of the rear fleet lowered their heads at this terrifying sight.
The roles of hunter and prey had instantly reversed. What lay before them was a massacre. Witnessing their comrades’ warships destroyed and their friends slaughtered dealt a severe blow to the officers and soldiers of the expeditionary force. Many young captains, seeing the brutality of war for the first time, turned pale and trembled with fear.
Indeed, the scene was utterly terrifying. Not only the fierce missile barrage outside but also the giant beetles inside were everyone’s nightmare. No one could imagine how they had appeared inside the warships. Even if they had teleported from anti-space, such precision was astonishing. After all, creatures in anti-space had to enter deep sleep—how could they possibly capture warships moving at high speed in normal space?
Could it be…

“Could they really be the true killers behind the destruction of the vanguard fleet!?” The old general exclaimed in shock, voicing his suspicion. After two consecutive battles, although the massive expeditionary force had not been severely weakened, it still lost a full hundred warships from two of its fleets. This was undoubtedly a huge blow to them. After all, their total number of combat ships was only five hundred—half of what the interstellar fleet possessed!! How could they now face the enemy’s most terrifying armed planets!? Staring blankly at the carnage before him, the old general slumped weakly in his chair.