Lion King Star System
Zhao Chen finally led his interstellar fleet back.
Fortunately, the Fire Salamander Tribe had not yet launched their attack.
The Lion King Star System remained calm and peaceful.
At the temporary Fierce Dragon base outside the Third Planet of the Lion King Star System.
Two T2 Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships were clearly visible, their operational platforms fully deployed. Among them, two starships were nearing completion.
Summoned, Charlotte and Secretary Aili arrived at Zhao Chen's T3 Blizzard bridge via shuttle to discuss the upcoming matters.
On the bridge, Zhao Chen looked with surprise at the video feed showing the two starships nearing completion on the operational platforms of the T2 Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships.
"You've really given me a big surprise," Zhao Chen remarked, glancing at Charlotte beside him.
Charlotte pointed to Secretary Aili next to her and said, "This was all her arrangement. Due to poor communication, we couldn't report it to you in time. Earlier, when we urgently reported the Fire Salamander Tribe situation, we overlooked this as well."
Secretary Aili immediately bowed nervously and said, "I apologize, Commander. I acted without your permission..."
"No, you did an excellent job. I was originally worried that our combat capability might be insufficient for this battle. But with these two starships you ordered to be built, our combat capability has been greatly enhanced!" Zhao Chen praised Secretary Aili.
The two starships being constructed by the T2 Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships were none other than two T2 Lion King-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ships!
Judging by their progress, they were estimated to be ready for sea trials today.
According to Secretary Aili's explanation, after Zhao Chen established his authority in the Lion King Star System, various planetary forces had 'offered' many valuable resources, with raw materials being the most abundant.
The two T2 Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships dispatched to the Lion King Star System had completed repairs on the original Fierce Dragon Fleet. With nothing else to do and insufficient resources to build the Stargate, Secretary Aili decided to order the construction of two T2 Lion King-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ships.
After all, the outstanding performance of the T2 Lion King-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ships in previous battles was undeniable.
Aside from being costly, their combat capability was truly terrifying!
Moreover, due to their proximity to the Dwarf Planet, Clan Chief Bagin was more than willing to take on the construction of some mid-to-low-end components, significantly speeding up the building process of the two T2 Lion King-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ships!
Of course, Secretary Aili's arrangements did not delay the construction of the T3 Glorious Moon-class Stargate in the Lion King Star System, as large quantities of raw materials had not yet been transported.
According to news Zhao Chen received not long ago, the Fierce Dragon Star System had already received a batch of raw material resources delivered by the Bloody Mary Mercenary Corps. The construction of the T3 Glorious Moon-class Stargate in the Fierce Dragon Star System was proceeding as planned.
Several T2 Moose-class Heavy Interstellar Transport Ships were already fully loaded with raw materials and on their way to the Lion King Star System. These resources would ensure the continued construction of the T3 Glorious Moon-class Stargate in the Lion King Star System.
However, the immediate priority was to deal with the trouble brought by the Fire Salamander Tribe.
"Let's get down to business. Do we have detailed intelligence on the Fire Salamander Tribe?" Zhao Chen inquired.
Zhao Chen had anticipated that the Fire Salamander Tribe would retaliate.
However, he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly. After all, interstellar wars aren't something you can just launch on a whim.
It had been less than two months since the Fire Salamander Tribe suffered their last setback. Had they already recovered?
"Regarding that, I have the latest intelligence to report. The situation may be far worse than we previously understood," Charlotte said seriously.
Zhao Chen waited for her to continue.
Charlotte went on, "About a week ago, we received a piece of intelligence. We later verified the information ourselves, and it is indeed true.
The intelligence states that the Fire Salamander Tribe has allied with three other stellar powers: the Cerberus Star Pirate Gang, the Black Boar Tribe, and the Gabor Race.
Their combined Starship Count exceeds three thousand vessels!
Among them, the number of T3 interstellar warships is not five, but ten!"
Zhao Chen frowned.
Ten?
This far exceeded his expectations.
No matter how many T1 Interstellar Warships the enemy had, Zhao Chen was not afraid.
The only concerns were the enemy's T2 Starships, and especially their T3 interstellar warships.
T3 interstellar warships posed a threat to Zhao Chen's Fierce Dragon Fleet.
"But there is a piece of news that could barely be considered good: out of those ten T3 interstellar warships, five are Interstellar Frigates. The rest consist of one Stellar Cruiser, two Stellar Destroyers, and two Interstellar Battleships.
Moreover, the Starship Types are all relatively outdated models," Charlotte explained.
"What about the number of their T2 Starships?" Zhao Chen asked.
"Close to eight hundred."
Ten T3 interstellar warships, nearly eight hundred T2 Starships, and the remaining nearly two thousand five hundred T1 Interstellar Warships.
All of this far exceeded Zhao Chen's expectations.
"Can the Fire Salamander Tribe mobilize so many starships?" Zhao Chen was puzzled.
Based on their previous understanding, the Fire Salamander Tribe shouldn't have such capability.
"This point also puzzles us. The person who provided us with the intelligence said they must meet you in person to explain this matter," Charlotte said.
"Meet me? Right, the intelligence you just mentioned was provided by this person who wants to see me?" Zhao Chen asked.
Charlotte nodded.
"It was about a week ago. At that time, we already knew the Fire Salamander Tribe was planning to attack us again, so we began preparing our fleet.
Just then, someone contacted us through Clan Chief Bagin.
They informed us of the intelligence I just shared.
They also expressed a desire to cooperate with us, but on the condition that they must speak with you personally," Charlotte said.
Zhao Chen pondered. In the Reef Starfield, they had virtually no connections.
For someone to suddenly seek cooperation with them at this time couldn't be due to his personal charm or anything like that.
The most likely possibility was that they wanted to use him as a tool to eliminate their enemy.
The Fire Salamander Tribe alone couldn't possibly assemble such a massive interstellar fleet; there must be a power behind them providing support.
And it was highly probable that the person seeking cooperation with them had conflicts with the power backing the Fire Salamander Tribe.
"Do we know the background of the person who wants to cooperate with us?" Zhao Chen inquired.
Charlotte released an emblem, which featured a central circle surrounded by nine rotating snake heads.
"One of the top stellar powers in the Reef Starfield—the Snake People Tribe!
The one who wishes to speak with you is their queen, Medusa."