Chapter 143: Encirclement

Words : 1497 Updated : Sep 21st, 2025

After the framework of Base One had taken shape, Xiao Yu redeployed over 90,000 of the Ground-Type One combat robots, leaving only 10,000 behind to guard the base. With the support of reinforced steel walls and base turrets, these 10,000 units were more than sufficient to keep Base One firmly under control. On the two moons, Xiao Yu had long since prepared the next wave of supplies. Loading was complete, and roughly one thousand Town-Class ships were already en route to the site of the second base’s construction, escorted by the 90,000 combat robots. Meanwhile, the construction robots left at Base One were not relocated. They had another critical task to perform. To collect the corpses of at least one million Swarm bugs left behind. The Swarm, after all, belonged to the broader Alien Beast category. While their bodies weren’t as strong as those of the white dwarf alien beast, they were still quite formidable. Their forelimbs and dorsal carapaces were even tougher than the most durable materials Xiao Yu could currently fabricate. Swarm corpses were difficult to collect in space, but on the ground, that wasn’t a problem. Xiao Yu had no reason to waste such a vast supply of materials. Hundreds of thousands of construction robots temporarily became cleanup workers. Armed with specialized tools, they moved busily through the battlefield that had turned into a mountain of corpses and a sea of insects. Transport robots followed behind them, and once fully loaded, hauled the materials back to the base, where dedicated loading robots placed them into the cargo bays of waiting ships. Each bug yielded around ten kilograms of usable material. One million bugs equaled ten thousand tons. From this single battle, Xiao Yu gathered enough material to construct three or four Village-Class ships. The material collection operation lasted over a dozen hours. Once complete, the construction robots boarded ships and departed for Base Two to resume their primary duties, while the ships carrying the Swarm materials returned to the moon bases. Looking at the warehouses now filled with Swarm body parts, Xiao Yu was thoroughly pleased. “Planet One’s tens of billions of Swarm bugs are now my resource supply base. Even though ships made from Swarm bodies won’t compare to the Hebei, they’ll still boost ship performance by at least 50%...” “Mm... from now on, I’ll stop using the white dwarf alien beast tissue in robot construction and switch to Swarm bodies instead. I don’t mind if the performance drops a bit—I’ll just build more units. Also, I’ll switch all small spacecraft construction to using Swarm corpses. White dwarf alien beast flesh is far too valuable to waste on robots or small ships. Once I finish building a few more City-Class vessels, I’ll store the rest for future use.” Having made up his mind, Xiao Yu immediately began researching how to best utilize the Swarm corpses. Once results came in, he put them into practical application without delay. Neither the Hebei nor the combat robots were made entirely from white dwarf alien beast flesh or Swarm bodies. For example, of the Hebei’s 50 million tons of mass, around 35 million tons came from alien beast flesh—70% of the total. That was already the upper limit since certain materials—like internal wiring—couldn’t be replaced by biological components. The first batch of robots, by contrast, only used alien beast flesh for around 0.1% of their mass. For expendable units, Xiao Yu wasn’t willing to use too much of that precious resource. But if he were to build robots with the same proportion of alien beast material as the Hebei, their combat capabilities could increase a hundredfold. From the first 10,000 tons of Swarm material, Xiao Yu estimated he could construct 10,000 combat robots. Performance testing showed these Swarm-based robots reached about 30% of the combat power of the original units. While inferior, they were still roughly three times stronger than robots made without any alien beast components. All in all, Xiao Yu was quite satisfied with the numbers. Base Two was less than 100 kilometers from Base One. Xiao Yu’s strategy was to proceed step by step, gradually expanding his area of control and eliminating the Swarm—turning their corpses into valuable construction resources. Three days later, Base Two was successfully completed. During its construction, Xiao Yu also harvested several thousand tons of Swarm biomass. A few thousand tons of Swarm material meant a few thousand new combat robots. Ships continuously shuttled between Planet One and its two moons—carrying shipments of construction materials and returning with Swarm corpses. With this arrangement, the tens of thousands of mining bases and foundries on the moons were operating at full capacity, producing astronomical amounts of resources every hour. Meanwhile, the number of surface bases on Planet One increased by five per day. When the base count reached one thousand—blanketing the entire grassland—Xiao Yu began his offensive operations. Under precise coordination, teams of robots launched synchronized attacks to sweep through the Swarm remnants across the plains. By this point, Xiao Yu had amassed a total of one million combat robots. Their full-scale deployment meant an exponential increase in harvested Swarm materials. More robots meant stronger ground combat capability. Stronger ground capability meant faster base construction. The system had entered a virtuous cycle. The grassland spanned more than 100,000 square kilometers. It bordered Planet One’s largest forest, which stretched over a million square kilometers. On the other side of the forest lay an immense desert. After completely occupying the grassland, Xiao Yu began building bases in the desert. Beyond the desert, along the edge of the mountains, lay another vast plain... Over the course of a year, Xiao Yu built tens of thousands of bases surrounding the entire forest. These bases encircled the forest in its entirety. Inside the forest, Xiao Yu constructed over 500 large supply bases, ensuring that no matter where the robots went, there would always be a supply station within 30 kilometers. With all of these bases complete, the number of combat robots on Planet One had reached ten million. “It’s time for a decisive battle...” Xiao Yu mused as he gazed at the tens of thousands of completed ground bases. This had been part of his plan all along. This massive forest—covering over a million square kilometers—was hiding at least one billion Swarm. It was the largest concentration of bugs on Planet One. Xiao Yu’s goal was to use the bases surrounding the forest and his ten million combat robots to completely annihilate them. This would be the largest battle on Planet One. After this war, there likely wouldn’t be another engagement of this scale—not until the Swarm’s complete extinction. Because the battle would take place within a forest, Xiao Yu couldn’t use high-yield weapons like hydrogen bombs or large energy shells. What’s more, with one billion Swarm and only ten million robots, he was actually at a disadvantage in terms of ground combat power. To prepare, Xiao Yu had made meticulous arrangements and drawn up detailed battle plans. He was over 90% confident in the operation’s success. When news spread of Xiao Yu’s impending large-scale operation, the Arrow Beasts became fired up. They all clamored to join the fight. Even elderly Arrow Beasts—so old they could barely fly in the atmosphere—became impassioned, weeping as they begged Xiao Yu for the chance to “personally slay the enemies who invaded our home.” Lorna in particular took her cuteness offensive to new extremes. Relying on the Arrow Beasts’ ability to shapeshift at will, she transformed into a teary-eyed kitten, then a cuddly puppy rubbing against Xiao Yu’s hologram. The most outrageous time, she became a giant panda and sat adorably in front of him, refusing to leave. She begged Xiao Yu persistently for three straight days. But Xiao Yu remained firm in his refusal. Not just Lorna—Xiao Yu turned down every Arrow Beast’s request. This wasn’t a joking matter. For skirmishes involving tens of thousands, it was fine to let them participate; under the protection of ships and robots, they were safe. But this battle was different. Ten billion Swarm would be involved, and the Arrow Beasts were too few to make a difference. Worse, the battle would take place in the complex terrain of a forest. Xiao Yu couldn’t spare resources to protect them, and the tree cover made aerial monitoring impossible. At some point, Xiao Yu’s role had quietly shifted when dealing with these Arrow Beasts. With these young creatures, he no longer felt like a commander—but more like a father. A father who worried about their safety, considered their future, and punished them sternly when they made foolish decisions. “But... this feeling isn’t so bad,” Xiao Yu thought to himself, watching Lorna—now in the form of a giant panda—cling to him, refusing to leave. “These pure and innocent Arrow Beasts, untouched by any schemes or deceit... they’re worth this kind of care.”

Chapter 143: Encirclement

Comments (0)