Chapter 24 Arrival
"—Hurry up! Inform the headquarters! We are attacked by a 'swarm'!"
"Damn it! Where's the guard fleet? Where's their people? Get rid of these dangerous eaters!"
"Dear adventurers! The 'swarm' has attacked here and blocked the hyperspace channel leading to the outside world! Now we must stand on the same front to resist this crisis!"
"Kribo hereby promises that after this attack, you will be rewarded extremely generously!"
...
Located on the border of the Milky Way, the trade enclave of Corebo 13 is suffering a catastrophe at this time.
No one would have thought that even such a remote place could be attacked by a "swarm of bees".
A scarred guard frigate walked through the chaotic battlefield, narrowly avoiding the acid etching liquid sprayed by the "gun-nosed bug", and smashed the "mosquito hunter" blocking the way with superb technology. Dock at the crumbling trading post Starport.
A tall alien flew off the ship, and what he saw was a tragic scene.
Countless fragments of corpses from various races were spread all over the ground, and pus mixed with a dizzying and disgusting smell wafted in the enclosed space.
A small number of flying insects that escaped the control of the brood are still hovering here, gnawing on the "ingredients" everywhere.
The alien frowned, but used the weapon in his hand to accurately kill the flying insects that were still eating, and then called out through the communicator:
"Hello? Are there any living people in the trading center? I'm Mao Xiong, and now I need someone to control the defensive ion cannon on the platform. Please reply!"
This person is Mao Xiong, the bear-shaped alien who once tried to blackmail Li Wenyuan.
Now he exudes a murderous aura of iron and blood, his eyes are cold, and he is indifferent to the corpses all over the ground, as if he has become commonplace.
After a "rustling" sound from the communicator, there was a sound of connection soon:
"...This is the trading center. We are currently being besieged by the intruding individuals of the 'swarm', and we cannot spare manpower. I hope you will quickly bring someone to support—"
Asking for help failed, but was asked for help, which made Mao Xiong hang up the phone directly,
He grabbed a handful of hairs and yelled behind him: "Get down! Prepare to fight a **** road to the defense platform here! Otherwise, all of us will die here!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a few more people jumped off the docked frigate, all of whom were experienced veterans.
And Mao Xiong also led this group of people and began to march at a certain speed in the trading post strewn with corpses.
At this time, in the outer space, two groups of people are fighting.
One group is the adventurer fleet that was mixed with the guard fleet headed by Keruibo, and the other group is the "killing bee swarm" that sneaked into this place and started the slaughter.
"Bee Swarm", this is a civilization composed of a group of dangerous creatures.
When dividing whether they belong to civilization or not to civilization, interstellar scientists debated for a long time, and finally classified them as civilization.
They have most of the hallmarks of "civilization", including highly differentiated jobs; possible but incomprehensible languages and scripts; planning and expansion for growth...
Everything about them seems very civilized and orderly, except for their penchant for looting organic matter.
This is also the focus of debate among interstellar scientists.
This hobby can be expressed in easy-to-understand words: "They like to reduce all living things into organic molecules, and then use these organic molecules to grow and strengthen themselves."
This process manifests itself as eating all alien creatures encountered.
This is undoubtedly a disaster for the vast majority of creatures, but for the "swarm", this is just the most effective way to grow the group.
A staff member in the center building cursed loudly, attracting everyone's attention. Even the person in charge here, Brianin, looked sideways at him.
Because he spoke the minds of all.
Not long ago, the swarm of devouring bees expanded to a forest planet under the jurisdiction of Corebo, and ransacked the original life on it, turning this promising planet into a barren planet full of bare rocks.
Of course, it was impossible for Keruibo to swallow this bitter fruit. He immediately declared a state of war, launched a counterattack against the killing bee swarm with a large number of mercenaries, and quickly won successive victories.
And now, just as the war is coming to an end and everyone is celebrating victory, the swarm's revenge is coming.
They have evolved a shell that can shield existing interstellar detection, and they have quietly touched several trade enclaves of Cribb.
And here is just one of them.
"Cheer up! Headquarters support is on the way! As long as we survive this catastrophe, everyone's contract years will be shortened by 50 years!"
Brenning tried to say some words of encouragement, but no one responded to him.
After all, as far as the current situation is concerned, they probably won't last until then.
Brenning's eyes darkened slightly, he didn't believe in idealistic civilization at all, so he couldn't help praying for a miracle at this time.
At this time, in the neighboring galaxy that is only one galaxy away from this trading post, Li Wenyuan frowned as he watched the distress signal he received.
After a month of hyperspace voyage, the scientific research spacecraft and unmanned frigate under his control are about to enter the star system where the Kribo trading station is located.
But at this moment, he received a distress message from inside the galaxy.
"To all the interstellar civilizations who have received this message! I am Blaine, the person in charge of the trade enclave of Cribb 13, and our coordinates here are XXXX!"
"We are now being attacked by the 'swarm'. Now, on behalf of Corebo, I send a rescue request to all interstellar civilizations that are capable of helping! Anyone who sends fleet support, no matter what the final result is, you can receive a huge sum of money reward!"
This trade enclave of Cribb is the closest interstellar information acquisition point to the solar system. Li Wenyuan does not want such a place to be destroyed.
And now what prevents him from launching an immediate rescue is his concern about the strength of his own fleet.
"...'Bee swarm', the name sounds like the same type of existence as 'Bug swarm'... Is my strength enough?"
He remembered a famous quote he heard in "Star XCraft" before:
"My swarm is endless, and your troops are dying every moment. What suspense is there?"
Thinking of the overwhelming insect swarm, Li Wenyuan also felt that he might not be the opponent.
"... Forget it, the interstellar war will be experienced sooner or later. I can make a specific judgment on the strength of my fleet through this time... If it is really not possible, I still have the 'Sky Veil Battleship' as a guarantee."
After a little thought, he made up his mind and activated the unmanned fleet still in the solar system.
The heavy steel behemoth seemed to be given life in an instant, and the brand-new engine made a dull roar.
Streamers surround their huge bodies, and the order of space is also broken and reorganized at this moment.
Some kind of strong fluctuation spread to the whole galaxy as they disappeared.
The next moment, hundreds of warships descended on Corebo's No. 13 trade enclave.
The ancient trading post is crumbling.
But the eyes of all creatures are now focused on these black fleets of unknown origin.
A certain sense of oppression from ancient times gradually covered the entire galaxy.
(end of this chapter)