Chapter 158: Disaster at Skywarehouse V
by xennovel“Why?”
“Weren’t they supposed to be on Tianyuan IV?”
“So why are they charging in from Tianyuan III now?”
The commander left to guard Skywarehouse V was a Third-Class Star General named Berri, overseeing these 300 warships.
That’s a military rank unique to the Ziyang Empire—about the same as a major general among humans.
But none of that mattered right now.
He understood one crucial thing…
Things had gone terribly wrong!
“Order those rabble fleets to move—get all ships advancing at full speed and form an encirclement before they overwhelm us! Do it while their numbers are still low!”
“Hurry! Move now! If we’re even a moment too late…”
“It’s all over!”
Berri shouted himself hoarse.
His subordinates snapped out of their confusion and scrambled into action.
But…
These 300 ships, with their disciplined crews, could mobilize at a moment’s notice.
The same couldn’t be said for the raider fleet on the other side…
Most of those warships didn’t react at all, like the bridges were completely deserted.
But that figured.
Half the bridges were hosting wild parties—even the kind with barely any clothes involved.
Scenes that were downright shameful played out everywhere.
With that sort of mess, could anyone expect them to get orders, much less launch an operation instantly?
No way. Not. A. Chance.
It drove Berri up the wall.
The few ships he could reach—their crews on comms were either…
Still half-asleep and mumbling or…
Babbling nonsense with a bottle of booze in their arms.
There was just no way to communicate.
“General, uh, what are we…”
“Forget it. Order all our ships to withdraw—pull back to the mouth of the Glumbrich Stream right now!”
“But His Majesty’s orders are…”
“You think staying here will accomplish anything besides dying?”
He pointed out the porthole, toward that riot of a raider fleet.
Berri asked.
“By the way—just so you all know, both the Second and Third Imperial Guard Legions are gone!”
“Yes, that’s right. See those ships? The enemy used just a few hundred to utterly wipe out our two elite legions. The only reason you had no idea is because His Majesty sealed the news.”
“Our whole job out here now? Keep an eye on the raider fleet and, if they attack, act as enforcers to force them into battle.”
“But now, do you really think that’s worth it?”
Everyone was stunned.
Two Imperial Guard Legions—gone, just like that?
Wiped out by only a few hundred enemy ships?
The crew followed Berri’s finger, peering out in the same direction.
Supposed to be the enforcers, forcing the raiders to charge in headfirst?
Dream on!
Look at those guys—not just drunk, but tangled up with women. Hardly any of them were even awake! You really expected them to fight?
Not a chance!
“If you get it now, then get moving. I’ll take the blame for this back home!”
“Understood, General!”
He’d said it all—no one dared argue.
Moments later, all 300 Imperial warships turned and made a getaway at top speed.
And through all of this, in the raider fleet…
Not a single soul noticed.
——
“Your Majesty!”
The Imperial Capital of the Ziyang Empire.
A minister burst into Parlo’s palace in a panic, shouting.
“Fool! Who let you in here without announcing yourself?”
“Your Majesty, it’s a disaster—a total disaster!”
The minister ignored Parlo’s rage and shouted straight to the point.
“What’s happened?”
“Skywarehouse V… has fallen!”
“What!”
Parlo’s eyes went wide.
“That can’t be. Didn’t they just say the enemy was still on Tianyuan IV?”
“Your Majesty, we were tricked. The enemy’s fleet at Tianyuan IV was nothing but a huge holographic projection. They deliberately relaxed their lockdown earlier, so we saw some ships but couldn’t scan with radar. In reality, their fleet had already left Tianyuan IV for Tianyuan III. This attack started from Tianyuan III!”
He was floored.
Parlo was completely dumbstruck.
“Hold on—attacking from Tianyuan III is one thing, but if I remember right, the stream between Tianyuan III and IV in Skywarehouse V is just five light-seconds apart, isn’t it?”
“At a distance that short, you could easily redeploy the fleet in an emergency.”
How far is five seconds of light travel?
One and a half million kilometers!
If you mobilized 3,000 ships at 200 kilometers per second and tried to surround the enemy, how long would it take?
Just two hours.
In two hours, how many enemy ships could cross the stream?
Roughly five to six hundred.
Even if you give up some advantages, you should still be able to fight—right?
So how did it fall so fast?
“Your Majesty, Berri reported that the raider fleet was useless. Their crews were either stone drunk, gambling or with women. Most ships couldn’t even be contacted…”
“So with no other choice, he led the 300 ships to retreat toward the Glumbrich Stream, or else they’d be slaughtered for nothing.”
The minister spoke bitterly.
Honestly, everyone knew the raider fleet was trash.
But nobody thought they’d be this bad.
“Idiot! Who told Berri to retreat? Make him turn around and fight! If he dies, so be it—at least pin him to Skywarehouse V!”
“That… could be difficult…”
“Why? You telling me he can teleport and cross a journey of twenty days in just a few hours to reach the Glumbrich Stream?”
“No, but on their way, the enemy fleet caught up with them. And… the entire force was wiped out!”
What the hell?
Parlo froze again.
Didn’t they just say the enemy fleet had only arrived?
Berri was still five light-seconds away—and only a handful of enemy ships should have been there.
How could they catch up and annihilate 300 warships so quickly?
“Your Majesty, here’s the last footage Berri sent!”
The minister played the video as he spoke.
In just a dozen seconds, Parlo’s expression changed.
Because in that video, he saw—
Only eleven enemy warships were in pursuit. Just eleven, but…
From several light-seconds away, they opened up with everything they had.
Over a thousand ion beams fired at once, lighting up the void and destroying or crippling most of Berri’s fleet in a single barrage.
Then in a few more salvos—
The entire Imperial fleet, all 300 ships—
Wiped out.
Parlo’s hands started trembling.
Tier 3 Civilization!
At the very least, those eleven ships are absolutely the work of a Tier 3 Civilization.