The Seventh Base

The blinding beams explode, enough to leave one in a state of blindness.

"Prepare to launch an attack," said Major General Galan in the Mandala Star Main Ship. He was a bit puzzled, wondering why he hadn't seen the enemy fleet.

"Major General Galan, enemy warships have appeared behind us," the operator reported. Galan frowned, had the enemy's warships circled to their rear?

How did they manage that?

Were their detectors malfunctioning?

But now wasn't the time to investigate these issues.

In an instant, beams of light shot down from above, targeting the Mandala Star Fleet for a barrage. Meanwhile, many fighter jets also began to separate and initiate attacks.

The primary targets of this first round of attacks were the two Ion Battleships.

"Activate the Vortex Laser Cannon," ordered Galan. Suddenly, several terrifying blue vortex storms appeared on the Sword Main Ship. There were five gun ports aiming above, firing simultaneously, with five beams penetrating the sky.

Fighter jets exploded wildly, with two warships hit and their shields severely depleted.

However, the fleet's firepower also densely hit the two Ion Battleships, but surprisingly, their shields were extremely strong and could decompose Energy Shock Waves. Despite violently shaking, they were not destroyed.

Recovering from the barrage, both Ion Battleships fired ion cannons, releasing terrifying Energy Waves in the air. Many fighter jets were directly paralyzed, plummeting downwards.

"Communications systems malfunctioning." Commander Ben's Main Ship was also hit by the ion cannon. The control room echoed with piercing alarms, and the mighty Particle Cannon damaged their engine systems.

With the communications down, the Main Ship lost its command role, leaving the fleet to fight independently.

"Boom..."

Another massive explosion occurred, and the Mandala Star Main Ship fired a sword-like laser beam, piercing through the sky and directly into the Byron Star's Main Ship.

"Shield destroyed." A voice of panic issued from the Main Ship. The enemy immediately aimed to obliterate their Main Ship.

"Commander, please evacuate immediately," someone urged Commander Ben. The Main Ship was threatened.

"In the ship, I remain," responded Commander Ben, "Lock all weapons onto the enemy Ion battleship, and concentrate fire."

"Yes, Commander." Though the Main Ship was approaching paralysis, they still concentrated fire, launching attacks on the Ion Battleship. Although the ion ship was powerful, its ion cannon couldn't fire continuously and required a cooldown.

Observing the Main Ship attack, Byron Star Fleet immediately knew what to do, concentrating all firepower.

Additionally, a warship actively appeared below the Main Ship, protecting it from the attack.

In the command room, Xu Mo intently watched the battle on the screen, his expression solemn.

As he anticipated, the Mandala Fleet's combat power was far superior to the Black God Fleet and Camp Star, shockingly potent. The two Ion Ships could incapacitate warships, and the Main Ship's attack was incredibly fearsome, able to destroy a ship with a focused strike.

"Commander Ben is in danger."

Someone spoke up.

"Protect Commander Ben with escort retreat," ordered Xu Mo.

"No need," came Commander Ben's calm voice, "Continue attacking the ion battleship."

Under intense attack, the two Ion Battleships finally wavered.

Byron Star's fighters battled furiously in the air with enemy fighters. Byron Star's fighters were now equipped with superpower weapon systems, remarkably fierce and not showing weakness, using their numerical advantage to suppress the enemy jets.

Just then, a fighter squadron swarmed the Ion Battleship, firing wildly.

The Ion Battleship finally fired an ion cannon.

"Boom..." A terrifying storm swept through the sky, disabling the fighter matrix.

The Ion Battleship's volley sent attackers plummeting.

At this moment, a gigantic machine resembling petals bloomed on the ground, revealing a massive cylindrical groove brewing an ominous energy aura.

A shrill alarm resounded from the Ion Battleship's command room.

"What's happening?" the commander asked.

"Locked by a superweapon." Their detectors captured ground imagery, where a large machine was unleashing a dreadful Energy Storm, seemingly building up the entire time.

"What weapon is this; evade it," ordered the commander.

His words were followed by a dazzling beam from the ground skybound, instantly piercing the heavens and illuminating the entire city.

Under the blinding beam, the Ion Battleship was penetrated straight through the middle. Already near depleted, the energy shield couldn't withstand the strike, and the ship was instantly destroyed.

The other Ion Battleship also found its shield destroyed amid relentless attacks, and its hull began to fracture.

"What is that?" Galan saw the massive anti-air weapon on the ground. The energy beams it released threatened the Sword Main Ship.

"Superweapon powered by an advanced energy reactor," someone responded, "Its preliminary calculated attack strength can threaten the Main Ship."

Galan gazed at the space below, alongside Major General Miles of Lancelot Star, who also eyed the screen.

Byron Star had developed such a tier of anti-air weaponry?

Byron Star's changes over the years were more astounding than imagined.

"Destroy it," commanded Galan, and the Sword Main Ship descended. The terrifying warship moved like a sword adorned with white steel armor, larger than any other ship.

As the Sword swooped down, its vortex laser weapon charged, and with a subsequent flash, beams pierced the space.

Almost simultaneously, different ground positions burst with laser beams, clashing with the vortex laser cannon and unleashing devastation, arraying a storm of destruction across the sky.

"Hissing..."

More rays erupted from the warship, incredibly potent. On the ground, all anti-air weapons opened fire, buying time for the superweapon.

In the Byron Star sky, of the eight warships scrambled, half had already lost combat power, and one was destroyed earlier. The remaining warships launched furious attacks against Lancelot Star's two warships.

Though the battle erupted swiftly, its brutality exceeded expectations. Apart from the warships, a third of the fighter formations were annihilated.

Just five warships resulted in such devastation. This was the threat Mandala Star posed. Should it be a high-level civilization, Byron Star would be utterly defenseless.

Xu Mo's eyes reddened. These were years of the base's wealth, including trained personnel and fighters. A war had claimed many lives.

"Out of the Byron Star's detectors, a fleet signal has arrived outside the planet," a voice reported. Xu Mo felt a tremor; could it be an enemy fleet?

"It's a large fleet, likely the Star System Alliance fleet."

"They've decelerated, not entering Byron Star."

Xu Mo squinted. He was aware the Star System Alliance fleet was informed earlier, the Sasi Kingdom had already notified him, but Lucas Star clearly refrained from informing them, letting this war erupt internally in Byron Star.

Judging by their intention, they seemed to want to capitalize on the battle, hunting in space, targeting Mandala Star's warships.

However, if Mandala Star seized Byron Star, they would launch an assault towards the planet's interior, 'protecting' Byron Star, perhaps? While taking over Byron Star.