P331 asteroid, with a population of five million, is a small resource planet.
Therefore, the Arctic Fox System established several bases here and assigned five million people to carry out resource extraction operations on this small resource planet.
Who would have thought that disaster would strike from the sky.
A Cosmic Insect Nest had actually appeared!
The first to be endangered was their very own P331 asteroid.
The asteroid's supervisor was currently overwhelmed with organizing evacuation efforts, but unfortunately, there were too few Interstellar Transport Ships here. So far, less than one-tenth of the population had been evacuated.
Their transport capacity alone was far from sufficient, yet the Interstellar Transport Ship fleet under the Arctic Fox Star System Lord's Fleet, which should have arrived half an hour ago, was still nowhere to be seen.
"How is your evacuation progressing?" A video window appeared before the asteroid supervisor.
On the other side was a woman wearing the uniform of the Stellar Glory Empire's Imperial Army.
"So far, we have only evacuated five hundred thousand people, with over four million still awaiting evacuation," the asteroid supervisor replied.
"What about the Interstellar Transport Ship fleet?" the female officer frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the efficiency.
"They... they haven't arrived yet," the asteroid supervisor said helplessly.
"Captain, a large number of Zergs have appeared on the right flank of our fleet! There are too many of them; we must retreat on a large scale!"
"Captain, the enemy's T2 Hive Mothership is attacking our ship with Plasma Cannons! A T2 Hyena-class Medium Stellar Destroyer has sustained hull damage!"
The female officer's side was filled with chaotic noises, with various reports flooding in. Each piece of news heightened the asteroid supervisor's anxiety.
"Sir... perhaps... you should withdraw first. Sacrificing thirty Imperial Army Starships for the sake of a few million people here isn't worth it," the asteroid supervisor urged once again.
He had already said this multiple times.
If it weren't for this officer leading the Imperial Fleet here, he himself might have already boarded a starship and left.
"We still have time! We cannot abandon any citizen of the Empire!" the female officer declared sternly.
The asteroid supervisor inwardly sighed. While her compassion was admirable, he didn't want the asteroid's leadership to be dragged down as sacrificial pawns.
If she didn't leave, none of them could leave either.
"We will continue to delay the advance of the Interstellar Zergs here. We estimate we can hold out for another two hours! Do everything you can to evacuate the civilians as quickly as possible!" the female officer said resolutely.
"Yes..." the asteroid supervisor replied reluctantly.
Bridge of the Flagship Fire Panther-class Medium Interstellar Battleship, Fifth Fleet under the Third Battalion of the Seventh Legion, Stellar Glory Empire
The female officer, having just ended the communication, stared grimly at the Starship Radar before her.
On the Starship Radar, countless red dots densely covered the screen, numbering in the millions!
These were all Zergs!
"Miss, we... really should withdraw now. If we continue fighting like this, our fleet could easily become entangled with the insect swarm and face total annihilation!
Right now, we can suppress the insect swarm with our firepower, but as their numbers increase, we... we will soon be surrounded. By then, we won't even be able to retreat!" a female adjutant beside her anxiously urged.
The female officer gritted her teeth, unable to bear the thought. "Are we really going to abandon the millions of lives on that planet?"
"Miss, your life is far more important than those millions!" her female adjutant stated bluntly.
"No! Everyone is equal. As Imperial soldiers, it is our duty to protect the people of the Empire," the female officer declared with unwavering conviction.
The adjutant felt as if ten thousand wild horses were stampeding through her mind. Why did her mistress have to be so righteous at a time like this?
Left with no choice, the adjutant played her trump card. "Miss, you care about those millions of people, but have you considered what would happen if something were to go wrong here? How many would pay the price for it, and how many families would be affected as a result?"
The female officer was torn. She knew she was being somewhat 'stubborn' at the moment, but her sense of justice wouldn't allow her to easily abandon the millions of lives on that planet.
"Two hours! Let's hold out for two more hours!" she gritted her teeth, making a compromise.
"Two hours is impossible! Given our current situation, we can only last one hour at most. We must retreat no matter what in one hour. If it comes to it, your starship can withdraw, and I'll lead the remaining fleet to hold the line here!" the adjutant said, steeling her heart.
Compared to the life of the young lady before her, this Imperial fleet of thirty starships was nothing.
"How can I abandon you all and flee?" the female officer rejected the proposal. Clenching her fists, she asked, "Has no fleet come to support us from the bounty mission I issued earlier?"
"Miss, no one is coming to support us!" The adjutant truly wanted to knock her mistress unconscious and carry her away at this moment.
The female officer was torn, her sense of justice clashing with reality.
To retreat or not to retreat?
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, as the number of Zergs continued to increase, one T2 Guardian-class Medium Interstellar Escort Ship had already been breached by the creatures. Zergs as large as human bodies began swarming over the ship's hull armor, frantically gnawing at it.
Against these creatures clinging to the hull, the T2 Guardian-class Medium Interstellar Escort Ship was powerless, forced to watch helplessly as its armor was bitten away, piece by piece, leaving gaping holes.
"Report, the starboard hull of T2 Guardian-class Medium Interstellar Escort Ship 0712 has been heavily covered by Flying Zergs... unable... unable to save it," a bridge crew member reported to the female officer.
Once a starship was swarmed by Zergs, it was as good as having one foot in the grave, with little chance of survival.
The female officer stared at the T2 Guardian-class Medium Interstellar Escort Ship with a mix of anger and guilt. This would be the first starship lost from her fleet here, but it might not be the last.
"Report! A swarm of Stellar Drones has appeared behind our fleet!" A crew member monitoring the Starship Radar suddenly reported.
"Stellar Drones?" the female officer exclaimed in surprise.
As they were still processing the appearance of the Stellar Drones, the swarm had already plunged into the battlefield, targeting the Flying Zergs and unleashing a barrage of fire, tearing them apart.
At the same time, they also provided support to the besieged T2 Guardian-class Medium Interstellar Escort Ship.
Relying on the autocannon fire from the Stellar Drones, they gradually cleared all the Flying Zergs from the ship hull.
Finally, the T2 Guardian-class Medium Interstellar Escort Ship, dragging its battered hull, successfully withdrew from the danger zone.
"Where... did these Stellar Drones come from?" the female officer exclaimed in astonishment.
Just then, a communication channel opened.
"I am the commander of the Black Dragon Fleet, responding to a Bounty Mission to provide support," a male voice sounded over the comms.
The female officer felt an overwhelming surge of relief, almost to the point of tears. See!
Her distress call had been answered! There were still people willing to come, people who shared her sense of justice!
Meanwhile, in the distance of the battlefield, several massive zerg creatures, resembling Starships, were gradually approaching the combat zone.