Outside the spacious and clear crystal porthole, beautiful starlight was projected in through the light blue energy shield, which coated all the facilities in the conference room with a faint light and shadow, looking like a dream, like a scene in a fairy tale.

Looking out through the porthole, the vast ocean of stars occupied all the vision, like an extremely gorgeous painting, showing the magnificence, mystery, depth and truth of the starry sea world to every living being.

This is a new deep space scientific research exploration ship that is 1,000 meters long, belonging to the Imperial Military Department. Around it, there are sixteen of the same detection ships. Hundreds of large warships guarding them in the center. All kinds of detection instruments on the warship have been turned on, and they are vigilantly paying attention to the movements in the surrounding void.

This small fleet is now hiding at the edge of the gravitational field of a giant neutron star. Here, several large planetary wrecks that have shattered and disintegrated form a meteorite cloud belt with a diameter of hundreds of thousands of kilometers.

At the limit distance that the ship-based detection instrument can see, there are several other neutron stars of varying sizes, and a group of red giants in their twilight age. After a long period of detection and analysis, the ship-based optical brain even discovered a small black hole hidden in it deep in a small cluster.

So many "evil objects" in interstellar navigation gather together, and various huge gravitational fields are entangled and interfering with each other. Coupled with violent toxic rays, gravitational tides, frequent high-energy particle storms, etc., this wild star field that has not been stepped into by any intelligent life for millions of years has become more and more dangerous.

In the past two years, the empire's expedition fleet paid an unimaginable price to barely detect a relatively safe channel from the mouths of many evil objects, thus successfully entering the deepest part of the star field.

In the conference room, the young major general sat in the first seat and looked at the robes on both sides. About half of them were soldiers, while the rest were researchers in silver work clothes, both men and women, all elite scientists seconded by the military department to the Imperial Academy of Sciences.

After coughing gently, he spoke:

"Everyone, we have been here for nearly two years, and now the task assigned by the above has been completed. So I decided that the fleet will set off in three hours and return along the same route. What do you have any suggestions?"

Everyone's faces showed relief. After staying in this hellish ghost place for so long, many familiar comrades and colleagues were buried here due to various accidents. The pressure in their hearts was so great that they could not be expressed clearly in just a few words!

There are less than one-tenth of the newly put into service special warships, plus more than a hundred targeted modified deep space scientific research and detection ships, as well as a large number of high-level supernatural warriors, who have survived so far!

Of course, despite the amazing cost, compared with the gains of this adventure, this loss is nothing. On the contrary, everyone present will have great contributions, and their colleagues who have already sacrificed will also receive generous pensions! Looking at the exquisite jade box placed in front of the major general, everyone was thinking in their hearts.

At this time, a middle-aged scholar with a slightly thin face stood up and asked, "General, our strength is limited now. It is unlikely that we can pass through the waterway outside that is not stable at all. I wonder what better way do you have?"

Several officers also had a look of inquiry in their eyes, looking at their supreme commander.

In fact, the danger of the waterway is second. The key is that after leaving this desperate domain, the fleet has to travel through thousands of wormholes and star gates. After a long voyage of more than 300,000 light years, it can only reach the overseas autonomous territory at the edge of the influence of the empire! Only when they get there can they be truly safe.

During this long voyage, in addition to various unpredictable starry sky traps, there are also many powerful and extremely powerful wild beasts appearing, and some particularly terrifying existences. Even the powerful people of the Imperial Star War God level dare not easily provoke them.

What's even more terrible is that if you encounter a patrol fleet of alien civilizations that are hostile to the empire and attract their siege, things will be really troublesome!

The major general nodded and said, "Professor Yu, I have considered your concerns! Please rest assured, ten days ago, I had used secret means to contact the senior management of the Imperial Military Department, and received a reply. The Imperial Silent Star Temple and the Imperial Northwest War Zone will jointly send a large number of elite troops to help. Even the "Frost and Snow" attack cluster guarding the northwestern border of the Empire will change its cruise route and come to support temporarily! So we don't need to worry about anything in the next thing!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the news. It seemed that the top leaders of the empire were not stupid. They realized that the gains of this mission had extraordinary significance for the improvement of the empire's future strategic strength! As long as this thing can be brought back to the empire safely, everyone here will receive unimaginable rewards. Whether it is military rank or academic administrative level, they must be upgraded to two levels at least, without mentioning generous material rewards!

Seeing that everyone had already relieved, the major general began to arrange the final preparations before retreating. As for the mysterious box, he thought about it, put it away, and decided to keep it in person before handing it to the Minister of Defense.

Three hours later, the fleet began to evacuate in an orderly manner according to the scheduled plan.

All the warships gathered together in spherical shapes, and the energy shield was opened to the maximum. They tightly guarded the remaining scientific research and exploration ships in the middle, and then walked carefully along the predetermined channel.

...

"...Mr., do you know what the consequences of this order mean?"

The command center of the Northwest War Theater of the Empire, located in a top-secret liaison room in the planetary fortress, a middle-aged man with a cold face and a general's uniform stared at a three-dimensional image in front of him, and said angrily:

"Damn Gambinos don't know what crazy they are going crazy. The recent offensive has become more and more fierce. The entire northwest defense line has been fully attacked by them. Except for countless fleets, it is said that even the strong men of Chi Yue's level command have dispatched more than ten, and my troops are not enough!"

"But at such a critical moment, you let a large number of elite troops, including the Frost and Snow attack cluster, break away from the defense line and perform that hell-like top-secret mission. I just want to ask you, what should I do with the defense line here? What should I do with the security of the northwestern border of the empire?"

In the image, there is an old man with gray hair, with a faint sense of killing majesty all over his body. The well-fitting golden marshal's uniform is spotless, and several huge medals on his chest are shining brightly under the light.

Hearing the subordinate's questioning implicitly, he smiled disconcertedly and said slowly:

"General Feng Linbo, I have no obligation to explain to you about the rationality of the order. This matter involves the highest secret of the empire! So as a soldier of the empire, your obligation is to execute the orders of the military headquarters without fail. Do you understand?"

"Of course I will not forget my responsibilities!" General Feng Linbo said, gritting his teeth,

"But such an important force was taken away, and the already fragile northwest defense line would never be able to stop the next attack of the aliens. Don't forget that behind the defense line is a large area of ​​overseas autonomous territory of our empire. If these beasts that treat humans as food are really allowed to rush in, the consequences... let alone me, even as you are, you will inevitably go to the military court! Are you sure you still want to do this?"

The marshal said lightly: "I know the consequences more than anyone else! It's just that compared with the gains we are about to get, this loss can only be said to be insignificant! So you just need to execute the order!"

"You must be crazy! That is related to the life and death of tens of billions of imperial citizens! You actually said that this is a trivial loss?" Feng Linbo finally couldn't suppress his anger and shouted with a dark face:

"I will never execute such an unreasonable order. Even if you want to remove my post, I will accept it!"

"General!" The Minister of Defense looked cold, slapped the table heavily, and said word by word:

"You can question my orders and appeal to the Supreme Council of the Empire afterwards. But now, you have to perform your duties without fail! Otherwise, I will immediately order your position to be removed!"

"..." Feng Linbo stared at his former old boss fiercely, gritting his teeth and saying nothing.

The Minister of National Defense sighed and his expression calmed down: "Xiao Feng, it's been so many years, your stubborn temper has not changed at all! Why do I say hello to you?"

"Forget it, you don't know some secrets. But I promise you that within three days, the two main legions of "Ice Peak" and "Fuxi" guarding the empire's hinterland will immediately go north to reinforce the northwest defense line, and all the logistics supplies you need will be allocated as soon as possible! You should be satisfied, right?"

"If this is the case, then I have nothing to say!" Feng Linbo's expression calmed down and he gave a standard military salute.

The three-dimensional image gradually faded in front of him. The marshal stared at the two documents on the desk in a daze, and a bitter smile appeared inadvertently on his old face.

It was his carefully prepared military budget plan for the next fiscal year of the empire. The content of another document was a complete set of special arms expansion plans proposed after a joint assessment by the wise regiment of the military headquarters in order to cope with the increasingly severe security situation around the empire.

There is no doubt that both plans will consume the empire's huge financial and material resources, and even far exceed the psychological bottom line of the bosses of the Supreme Council. He really doesn't have much hope for whether these two plans can be passed in the next budget review meeting.

Although he is also a member of the Supreme Council, the military's power does not have an advantage in the highest power decision-making level of this empire. It is not easy to let those bigwigs who hold financial approval power relax?

After thinking for a long time, he sighed tiredly, put away the documents, got up and walked out of the minister's office, intending to discuss with several colleagues who were close to each other.

...

In the boundless void, the fleet is rushing to the road.

After more than ten days of voyage, the sphere of influence of the empire was getting closer and closer, and the long-term tense nerves of the officers and soldiers on the ship could not help but relax.

"General, you have contacted the Imperial Legion that you are supporting!"

In the flagship main control room, the officer in charge of communication and contact excitedly reported to the major general.

"Where have they been?"

"After about 700 light-years, you can meet with them by passing through the wormholes in no more than an hour!" the officer replied.

The major general nodded when he heard the news, and a big stone in his heart fell slightly.

It basically takes no time to pass through the wormhole. Time is mainly spent on the journey between the wormholes. Since the empire's legions are close, there is no need to worry about anything anymore.

However, accidents often occur at the closest moments to success.

...

In the space fault, hundreds of giant flying saucers have been tracking the fleet quietly for a while!

The diameter of the UFO is nearly 10,000 meters, and the dark purple body is smooth and smooth like a mirror. A purple-red energy shield with a diameter of more than ten meters can easily block the storm of space sweeping from time to time, making it impossible to have any impact on the UFO.

"Dear Elder, everything is ready. Do we need to do it now?" A gentle voice echoed inside the flying saucer headed.

"Are you sure that something has fallen into human hands?" A majestic and low voice sounded.

"Of course, since the human exploration fleet entered the ancient ruins of the storm, the warriors of our clan had already discovered their traces!" the previous voice replied,

"Now they have finally left that realm and look like their strength is greatly reduced. This is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for our clan."

The third voice was obviously much more steady: "But even so, it is impossible to determine whether that thing was obtained by humans. After all, the warriors of our clan have a deep understanding of the dangers of the ancient ruins of the skull! Maybe they also gain nothing this time."

"If we take action rashly but cannot get what we need, it will infuriate the human world and cause the war between the two tribes to rekindle, it would be too unpaid! Don't forget that our tribe is still in the stage of rest and recuperation, and it is definitely not a wise move to start a war with humans, the star sea clan."

"Dear Elder Gemulalchi, I am confident enough to confirm this!" the first voice explained,

"Along the way, I have used secret techniques to repeatedly identify them. There are some mysterious energy fluctuations in the core area of ​​the flagship of the human fleet, which are very similar to the observations we observed many years ago. Therefore, it can be concluded that they have obtained the essence of ancient ruins."

"Since we can confirm, it seems that we must take action this time!" Elder Gaimulalchi was silent for a moment before he said quietly.

"Elder, there is nothing we can do about it!" Another sharp voice sounded,

"The human race is becoming more and more powerful. In the past century, there have been countless conflicts between the two races. Although they are evenly matched and no one can do anything to each other, we should all understand in our hearts that this is just the result of our tribe's profound foundation."

"If this crucial thing falls into the hands of human civilization, and by the time they crack the mystery, we can cultivate more high-end strategic forces in time, then the situation of our clan will become more and more difficult, so no matter what consequences it will cause, we have no choice now! The great Longxtilos Sagusnoch has led a large army to gather on the northwest border of the human empire. We should handle the matter here as soon as possible and rush to participate in the upcoming holy war! Do you understand?"

There was silence in the flying saucer, and the big guys present were thinking.
Chapter completed!