Interstellar Survival: Invasion

Chapter 212: Diversion

Chapter 212: Diversion

After roughly 10 minutes, Skyhawk's signal came from the communication system.

"Skyhawk, Skyhawk, this is Spacetime. Do you hear me?" Dodo started speaking.

"Yes. This is Skyhawk's pilot commander, Lin Feixue. Please give us your current location."

A few minutes later, our communication systems were fully linked up. The moment that was done, Old Du told Commander Zhang Xingxing about the alterations we had made to the plan. Hearing about the number of drones here shocked them all, and they sank into silence.

"If the enemy forces are so powerful, it will be too dangerous to attack with our ships. I agree with the use of drones and nuclear warheads. I have also reached an agreement with the two princes. If our drones can't tear an opening, we will temporarily abandon this operation and return to the league," said Zhang Xingxing, who finally broke the silence with the latest order.

With her order, everyone finally had a clear direction to work toward.

"Canyue, do we deploy the drones now?" Dodo asked.

I looked outside the window, clenched my teeth, and replied resolutely, "Begin!"

With the confirmation, Dodo immediately released 20 drones from Spacetime. Among them, five were carrying nuclear warheads. They maintained invisibility as they flew away from Spacetime.

The red dots representing the 20 drones could be clearly seen on our screen. Each group was made of four drones, and together, they formed five groups. Shortly after, they split up and headed toward their respective targets.

"Commander, the first group has arrived at their destination. They are only 300,000 kilometers away from their target. Permission to attack," said Dodo.

"How far away is Skyhawk from us?" I asked.

"Skyhawk will be able to reach us in roughly 15 minutes," said Dodo.

I knew very well that there was no turning back from this plan. The moment the first attack was launched, we could only keep going ahead without stopping. I looked at Baron Sisse, Zhang Bao'er, Anxashe, and the other comrades who also came from Blue. They all gazed at me with a look of trust.

"Dodo, launch the first nuclear attack. Have the other drones attack in turns as per our plan," I ordered firmly.

Then, our screen immediately showed a red arrowhead flying straight toward an imperial transport ship. Everyone focused on the surveillance screen and saw that the enemy transport ships were still busy moving in and out in an orderly fashion, completely oblivious to the fact that a nuclear attack was imminent.

Suddenly, we noticed from the screen that the enemy drones seemed to have discovered something as a group of them were rushing in a direction. A few battleships were also following them.

"Looks like our attack has been discovered," analyzed Baron Sisse, who was watching nervously.

Right at that moment, a deafening sound rang out in front of our ship to the right; a massive red cloud had formed while a red dot on our screen vanished. However, the explosion had occurred quite far from our actual target. We couldn't see the explosion on our screen, but we could see that the transport ships were still operating normally.

"Shit, the drone carrying the warhead was intercepted before it could reach its destination," said Zhang Bao'er as he stared at the rolling cloud.

I ignored Zhang Bao'er and asked for the data from Dodo, "Dodo, evaluate the attack of the first warhead."

"The warhead was intercepted 100,000 kilometers away from the target. It was unable to deal any damage to the transport ship, but a large number of enemy drones are rushing toward the explosion site," said Dodo, giving us a piece of news that wasn't too bad.

Just as I was about to ask more questions, the second nuclear warhead detonated. Somewhere over 10,000 kilometers away from the first explosion, an even larger and brighter rolling cloud formed. The two clouds formed a reflection of each other, coming together to present a terrifying sight.

At that point, the radius of the first explosion had expanded to a wide area. The shockwaves that followed the explosion were able to spread even farther in boundless space. Even Spacetime and Fearless could feel the shockwaves; they were shaking intensely even with the protection of our shields.

"I did not expect a nuclear explosion in space would be so much more powerful than one on a planet," said Zhang Bao'er in astonishment.

"Canyue, the enemy transport ships have been struck by the shockwaves," Dodo's joyful voice rang out from the communicator.

From the screen, we could clearly see that the shockwaves of the first explosion had sent several transport ships flying and spinning away. After losing their flight capabilities, these ships actually dropped below the base. After a while, they seemed to have knocked onto something as they all blew up in dazzling and fiery explosions before vanishing into nothingness.

"Invisible mines. Looks like the lower and upper parts of the base are well-defended. Good thing we didn't take the risk to sneak through there," said Old Du fearfully upon seeing the intense explosions.

While we were talking, the shockwaves of the second explosion arrived. The shockwaves from the second explosion were several times more powerful than the first, and our two ships were nearly sent flying. As for the enemy transport ships, they suffered heavy losses, and almost a hundred of them were sent into the mines and blown up.

"Canyue, we have arrived at the appointed location. Skyhawk is right behind you," Zhang Xingxing's voice came from the communicator.

"Reporting to the commander, the nuclear attacks have begun. Please have the ship ready to sneak through," I replied.

At that time, the enemy ships had started to perform mass maneuvers to deal with the explosions. Even so, there were still far more drones remaining behind than we had expected. Then, a new bright explosion erupted far away. The third warhead had been detonated.

"The third warhead was intercepted by the enemy drones about 50,000 kilometers from their transport route and was forced to detonate," reported Dodo.

"Each subsequent explosion has been able to shift closer to their transportation route. Hopefully, the final two warheads will be able to strike the transportation route," said Zhang Bao'er.

The third explosion created a chain effect with the previous explosions to create a ring-shaped shockwave that destroyed all drones in the ring. However, the enemy ships seemed to be employing a rather simple tactic. They were basically sacrificing their numbers to intercept our attacks without a care for the cost. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that more drones were flying toward the explosions to prevent more attacks. Our diversion seemed to be working perfectly.

"Canyue, a majority of the enemy defenses have left. Should we attempt to sneak in now?" asked Old Du through the communicator.

"I suggest we wait until the fourth explosion before moving," I said.

But then, an enemy battleship appeared on our screen. It was leading a group of drones to attack the drones carrying the fourth warhead. About 300 imperial drones were encircling and attacking our drones. In a short while, the red dots representing the fourth group vanished from our screen.

"Shit, the enemy has seen through our invisible drones. Our fourth warhead was destroyed before it could be detonated," came Dodo's urgent voice.

"Canyue, start sneaking through earlier. If the fifth warhead also fails, the enemy defenders will return to their positions," said Old Du.

"Dodo, according to our plan, how much longer will the fifth warhead take to reach its target?" I asked while looking at the four final red dots on the screen.

"If they are not intercepted, they will reach their destination in 2 minutes. The earlier explosions have distracted the defensive forces. We might succeed if we sneak in now," said Dodo, giving the same advice to move earlier.

"Canyue, Lin Feixue estimated that there is only about 30 percent of the enemy drones left in their original positions. Do we move in?" Zhang Xingxing asked.

This was the longest 2 minutes I had ever experienced in my life. It felt more like hours than minutes. However, I insisted on waiting for the final cloud to rise as I fixed my gaze on the busy transportation route.

The heavens seemed to have decided to reward my patience. When the appointed time arrived, an even larger explosion cloud formed in the distance. Even our screen was filled with a white radiance.

"Success! The fifth warhead exploded directly on its target at the center of the transportation route!" exclaimed Dodo in excitement.

The intense explosion caused our recording system to fail, forcing us to look out of the window. A massive cloud could be seen, and right below the cloud, a string of explosions had occurred, chaining toward us.

"The nuclear strike has caused a chain explosion. All the enemy drones have moved to contain the explosion with their bodies," reported Old Du. This was our best chance to sneak through. We could no longer hesitate.

"Dodo, verify the sneaking routes of all three ships. Set off immediately," I ordered.

The three ships flew rapidly toward the enemy's defensive perimeter.

I thought inwardly, 'Orion Constellation's Horsehead Nebula, Nommo's ancient memories, we have come today in accordance with the prophecy. The 7th Armored Division shall unveil this ancient puzzle.'