Chapter 153: Strategic Retreat

Words : 1462 Updated : Sep 23rd, 2025

The lines from that diary continued to replay vividly in Xiao Yu’s mind—the emotions behind each one still echoing: happiness, sorrow, anger... and ultimately, complete despair. “I’ve made a copy of this diary and left it in my bedroom aboard this damaged spaceship. I hope someone will find it and know my story.” Xiao Yu recalled that passage and silently reflected: “Your wish has come true. Someone has read your diary—and that person is one of your own. When my technology becomes advanced enough, I’ll fulfill your other wish. I will bring you back... my kin.” Pulling his thoughts back to the present, Xiao Yu turned his gaze to the Swarm Queen, aggressively approaching through the void of space. “This time... have you come prepared? Found a way to counter the Hebei?” Earlier, Xiao Yu had already divided his fleet into three formations, stationed across the three planets of the Aquila Three system. Planet Three was defended by around forty thousand ships, including three City-Class vessels: Yanjing, Tianjin, and Tangshan. At the moment the satellites spread across the Aquila Three system detected the Swarm Queen, Xiao Yu’s fleet immediately mobilized. The ships stationed on Planet Two and the main base at Planet One began accelerating toward Planet Three. However, the fleet on Planet Three didn’t engage the Swarm Queen directly. Instead, they ascended into orbit and took up defensive positions. Meanwhile, on Planet One, all ships except for the three City-Class vessels (Xingtai, Langfang, and Handan) and ten thousand smaller ships remained on defensive duty. The rest, under the command of the Hebei, began heading toward Planet Three. Xiao Yu had a clear understanding of his own strength: if his forces were scattered, they wouldn’t be a match for the Swarm Queen. Only by gathering his fleet into a unified force would he have any hope of defeating her. Therefore, he didn’t send Planet Three’s fleet to die in vain, but had them hold position—stalling for time until reinforcements could arrive. In space, planets—especially gas giants—represent virtually unlimited energy sources. Xiao Yu couldn’t afford to surrender Planet Three to the enemy. Over a hundred thousand ships maneuvered in the void, forming up. A massive battle was on the horizon. “Let’s see what method you plan to use to counter the Hebei...” Xiao Yu thought confidently. He had complete faith in the Hebei. The Swarm Queen was still a day away from Planet Three. The Hebei would need four days to arrive, but the fleet from Planet Two would reach first. When they did, Xiao Yu’s forces at Planet Three would number seventy thousand ships—enough to hold the line until the Hebei arrived. The Swarm Queen was still the same massive size. Xiao Yu knew the moon was still inside her body. She hadn’t finished digesting it. Through his telescope, Xiao Yu saw countless bugs spewing from her vents—dense clouds of them clustering around her, numbering in the tens of billions. When the Swarm Queen was still hundreds of millions of kilometers away, her spawn reached Planet Three and began battling Xiao Yu’s defending fleet. The entire region of space was flooded with these insects. Against them, Xiao Yu had only tens of thousands of ships. But in space, Xiao Yu had no reason to hold back on weapons of mass destruction—large-yield hydrogen bombs frequently wiped out thousands or tens of thousands of bugs with each detonation. As he fought intensely, Xiao Yu kept a close eye on the Swarm Queen’s movements. The current wave of bugs wasn’t worthy of his attention. He noticed the Swarm Queen wasn’t slowing down at all—she was charging straight for Planet Three. “As expected... whether for me or for the Swarm Queen, resources are everything. Planet Three is a gas giant—effectively an infinite source of fusion fuel. That’s her real target.” Xiao Yu carefully considered the Queen’s intentions and how to respond. The Swarm Queen’s production capacity was limitless. Killing her spawn was pointless. So Xiao Yu tried to disengage from the swarm and launch a direct attack on the Queen. But unexpectedly, the bugs seemed to anticipate his strategy. Billions of them bogged his fleet down, locking it in place. These ships weren’t as powerful as the Hebei and couldn’t simply break through by force. With no other choice, Xiao Yu had to abandon the plan. As the Queen drew closer, the number of bugs increased. Xiao Yu’s fleet was now submerged in a sea of insects. While they weren’t in immediate danger, they no longer had the strength to stop the Queen. Xiao Yu watched as the Swarm Queen entered orbit around Planet Three and began launching massive numbers of collector-class bugs. These units roamed the gas giant, ballooning in size as they filled with fuel, then returned to the Queen’s body loaded with fusion materials. She had begun harvesting fusion fuel. This development made Xiao Yu increasingly anxious. The fleet from Planet Two had arrived and joined with the one on Planet Three. But aside from prolonging their survival, it had little practical effect. The endless swarm was like a whetstone, slowly wearing down Xiao Yu’s forces. He saw a County-Class ship take a direct hit from hundreds of thousands of miniature energy blasts. Its energy shield flickered, and countless melee-class insects swarmed over its hull. After several minutes of sustained assault, the shield collapsed, and the ship exploded. “My energy is finite. And surrounded by the swarm, I can’t receive resupply. Sigh... I did underestimate this part. But it’s fine. Once the Hebei arrives, everything will change.” Ten hours later, the Hebei reached Planet Three. Upon arrival, the Swarm Queen appeared to become more cautious. Xiao Yu saw that a large portion of the swarm stopped attacking the local fleet and began flying toward the Hebei instead. “Pointless. Against the might of the Hebei, these bugs aren’t even worthy to be cannon fodder.” Xiao Yu scoffed as he blasted the insects apart, while piloting the Hebei directly toward the Swarm Queen. His plan was simple—just like last time. But this time, if the Queen tried to escape, he would pursue her. Planet One had already been fortified: billions of combat robots stood ready to protect the Arrow Beasts. Xiao Yu had no more vulnerabilities to worry about. Driven by over 100,000 engines, the massive Hebei surged forward to strike. Within it, a County-Class ship loaded with a super high-yield hydrogen bomb had already been deployed, ready to attack. But what happened next caught Xiao Yu completely off guard. The Swarm Queen didn’t retreat—instead, she redoubled her efforts, releasing even more bugs. And these were no ordinary bugs. These were the engine-type insects Xiao Yu had seen before. “What’s she trying to do? She already tried using these engine insects to push me back in the last battle—and failed. Does she want to taste failure again?” Seeing that the Queen wasn’t fleeing, Xiao Yu became suspicious. But the next moment, he understood. He had been wrong. This Queen... wasn’t that stupid. Millions of engine insects attached themselves to the Hebei, their tails igniting with bright blue flames. From those flames, Xiao Yu detected thrust levels far higher than last time. The Hebei began to slow... and then continued slowing. If this continued, it wouldn’t just stop—it might be pushed even farther from the Queen. Xiao Yu reacted immediately. He activated the Hebei’s 360-degree laser turrets to clear the insects off its hull. To speed things up, he even had some Village-Class ships open fire on the Hebei itself. The Village-Class attacks were like mosquito bites to the Hebei, but they were strong enough to blast the engine insects off its hull. But what Xiao Yu saw next stunned him. His rate of killing the engine insects couldn’t keep up with the Queen’s rate of production. More and more insects clung to the Hebei, pushing it back. Slowly, steadily, the Hebei began retreating. Over a hundred thousand engines roared in defiance, generating immense thrust against the Queen. But under the overwhelming counter-thrust of the engine insects, it was useless. The Hebei couldn’t move forward another inch. Fortunately, the Hebei was made from extraordinarily resilient materials. Otherwise, caught between its own propulsion and the insect pushback, it might’ve been crushed. “This Swarm Queen really came prepared. Looks like this operation plan has to be scrapped.” “For now... we’ll abandon Planet Three and fall back to Planet Two. It’s time to implement the backup plan—a battle of manufacturing capacity!” “Let’s see whose production is stronger: mine, as a half-mechanical, half-technological civilization—or yours, as a limitless proliferative Alien Beast Civilization!” “Let’s see who’s faster—your ability to spawn bugs, or my ability to build robots!”

Chapter 153: Strategic Retreat

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