P331 Asteroid, with a population of five million, is a small resource planet. Therefore, the Arctic Fox Star System established several bases here, arranging for five million people to carry out resource extraction operations on this small resource planet.
Who would have thought that disaster would strike from above? A Cosmic Insectoid Hive appeared! The first to be endangered was their P331 Asteroid.
The Planetary Governor was currently in a frenzy, launching evacuation efforts, but there were too few Interstellar Transport Ships here, and so far, less than one-tenth of the people had been evacuated. Their transport capacity alone was far from enough, but the Interstellar Transport Ship fleet, which was supposed to arrive half an hour ago under the Arctic Fox Star System Lord Fleet, was still delayed.
"How is your evacuation progressing!" A video window appeared in front of the Planetary Governor.
On the other side was a female officer in an Imperial Army uniform of the Star Glory Empire.
"So far, we have only evacuated 500,000 people, and more than four million are still awaiting evacuation," the Planetary Governor replied.
"What about the Interstellar Transport Ship fleet?" The female officer frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the efficiency.
"Not… not yet," the Planetary Governor said helplessly.
"Commander, a large number of bugs have appeared on our fleet's right flank! There are too many—we must retreat a long distance!"
"Commander, the enemy's T2 Zerg Nest Mothership used plasma cannons to attack our starship, and the hull of a T2 Hyena-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer was damaged!"
The female officer's side was very noisy, filled with various reports, and each message increased the Planetary Governor's anxiety.
"Sir… why don't… you evacuate first? Sacrificing thirty Imperial Army starships for the sake of a few million people here is not worth it," the Planetary Governor advised again. He had already said this several times. If this commander had not led the Imperial Army fleet here, perhaps he himself would have already left on a starship.
"We still have time! We cannot abandon any citizen of the Empire!" the female officer said sternly.
The Planetary Governor smiled bitterly in his heart, thinking, You are merciful, but don't drag the high-ranking officials of our small planet down with you. If she didn't leave, they wouldn't be able to leave either.
"We will continue to delay the Interstellar Zerg's attack here, and we estimate we can hold on for another two hours! You must find a way to evacuate the civilians as quickly as possible!" the female officer said with unwavering determination.
"Yes…" the Planetary Governor replied, bracing himself.
Star Glory Empire Seventh Legion, Third Regiment, Fifth Fleet, flagship, T2 Fire Leopard-class Medium Interstellar Battleship Bridge
The female officer, who had just finished the communication, looked at the starship radar in front of her with a solemn expression. On the starship radar, there were countless dense red dots, numbering in the millions! These were all bugs!
"Miss, we… really should retreat. If we continue fighting like this, our fleet might accidentally get entangled by the swarm and be completely wiped out! Currently, we can suppress the swarm with our firepower, but as the number of bugs increases, we… we will soon be surrounded, and then we won't even be able to retreat!" Commander Elena Vance, her female deputy, anxiously advised.
The female officer, Captain Victoria Shaw, gritted her teeth and said reluctantly, "Are we really going to abandon the lives of those few million people on that planet?!"
"Miss, your life is far more important than those few million lives!" Commander Vance said bluntly.
"No! Everyone is the same, and as Imperial soldiers, our duty is to protect the people of the Empire," Captain Shaw said righteously.
Commander Vance felt a million mythical creatures galloping in her heart, thinking, Miss, this is not the time for your sense of justice to overflow. She had no choice but to pull out her trump card: "Miss, you care about those few million people, but don't you think about how many people will pay the price if something happens to you here? How many families will be implicated behind this?!"
Captain Shaw was conflicted. She knew very well that she was being a bit 'willful' now, but her sense of justice did not allow her to easily abandon the lives of those few million people on that planet.
"Two hours! We will hold on for another two hours!" Captain Shaw gritted her teeth and chose to compromise.
"Two hours is impossible! Given our current situation, we can only hold on for at most one hour! We must retreat within one hour, no matter what. If worst comes to worst, your starship can retreat, and I will lead the remaining fleet to hold our ground here!" Commander Vance said with determination. Compared to the life of this miss, this Imperial Army fleet of thirty starships was nothing.
"How can I abandon you and flee!" Captain Shaw rejected the suggestion. She clenched her fists and asked, "Has any fleet come to support us yet for the bounty mission I issued earlier?"
"Miss, no one will come to support us!" Commander Vance truly wanted to knock out the miss at this point and take her away directly.
Captain Shaw was conflicted, her sense of justice and reality constantly clashing. To retreat or not to retreat?
At this moment, on the battlefield, as the number of bugs continued to increase, one T2 Guardian-class Medium Interstellar Frigate had already had its defenses breached by the bugs. Bugs, each as large as a human, began to cling to the hull armor of this T2 Guardian, furiously gnawing at the hull armor. This T2 Guardian was helpless against the bugs clinging to its hull, only able to watch as its hull armor was gnawed away, creating gaps.
"Report, the starboard hull of T2 Guardian 0712 has been extensively covered by flying insects… It cannot… cannot be saved." The Bridge crew member reported the news to Captain Shaw.
Once a starship is stuck by bugs, it's basically one foot in the grave—a near-certain death.
Captain Shaw looked at the T2 Guardian with anger and guilt. This would be the first starship in her fleet to fall here, but it might not be the last.
"Report! A batch of Interstellar Drone Swarm has appeared behind our fleet!" A crew member who had been staring at the starship radar suddenly reported the news.
"Interstellar Drone Swarm?" Captain Shaw was surprised.
While they were surprised by these Interstellar Drones, this Interstellar Drone Swarm had already rushed into the battlefield, targeting the flying insects and firing a barrage, tearing the flying insects to pieces. At the same time, it also supported the besieged T2 Guardian. Relying on the Interstellar Drone's autocannon attacks, all the flying insects on the hull were gradually cleared away. Finally, that T2 Guardian, dragging its damaged hull, successfully withdrew from the danger zone.
"Where did these… Interstellar Drones… come from?" Captain Shaw was surprised.
Just then, a communication came in.
"I am the Black Dragon Fleet fleet commander. I have accepted the bounty mission and come to provide support." A male voice sounded in the communication channel.
Captain Shaw felt a sense of overwhelming joy at this moment. See! Her plea for help—there were still people willing to come! There were still people who, like her, possessed a sense of justice!
Meanwhile, in the distance of the battlefield, several massive insect-like creatures, resembling interstellar warships, were gradually approaching the battlefield.