Chapter 179: Imperial Doesn’t Need Haven
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
The day before, Lin Xu opened a quantum space-time rift, using the strong gravitational lens of a binary star system within the Long Whale Region to expand the rift wide enough for the Alliance fleet to pass through.
The space shuttle succeeded flawlessly. Meng Zhenhua dispatched part of his forces to other planets in the Long Whale Region troubled by Zerg, including some with Alliance collaborators. The remaining troops all headed to Haven to reinforce the battle.
The personnel transfer on Haven had dragged on too long—waiting was no longer an option. The massive energy drain from his powers left Lin Xu drained, but after recovering slightly, he resolved to conduct the transfer that day, contacting Alliance mechas to arrive later as escorts.
When Lin Xu spotted the mecha black dots high above, he knew his chance had come. He could draw the A-Class Zerg away from the convoy and wait for the Alliance mecha to arrive and strike. To his surprise, Blizzard arrived first.
That gave Lin Xu the confidence to leap off the cliff, grab the Blizzard’s arm as it sped toward him, and swiftly climb into the cockpit. He took the pilot seat beside Heinrich, donned his mental link helmet, and together they fought to kill Zerg.
After the floating media sphere caught Blizzard’s silhouette, the screen filled with more fully armed mechas methodically firing and clearing the ground of Zerg. Shells, lasers, and arcs of electricity mingled with the splattered blood of the Zerg in both air and on earth. Comments in the chat showed confusion.
[What mecha model is that? I don’t remember seeing these anywhere.]
[Neither do I… They’re not in the Star Ocean compendium, and no recent military reports mention them. Has the Imperial developed new mechas?]
[Heinrich Chu is a traitor. How could he be commanding Imperial mechas?]
[I’m from the Military Academy. I think I’ve seen something like this at the Battle of Marquee memorial. Those Alliance mechas that were shot down and captured back then looked just like this—bigger thrusters and stronger propulsion than Imperial mechas.]
[Marshal Chu went over to the Alliance??? Feels like my own cabbage was stolen by pigs… What’s so great about the Alliance?]
[What’s great is that the Alliance troops got here first to fight the Zerg and save people.]
[The Alliance bringing starships and mechas into Imperial territory? You call that saving people? That’s an outright invasion!]
[…Inviting trouble is easier than sending it away. Who can guarantee the Alliance will withdraw after saving Haven?]
[The people of Haven drove out the Imperial forces. They can probably do the same to the Alliance. I swear Haven wants to push itself out of human territory, to a quiet place to study science.]
[They never expected their peaceful lives to be shattered by a sudden Zerg attack…]
[Look at the sky images Lei Ying just posted. Wow, a black cloud of Alliance starships.]
[Wow, Alliance starships are so pretty.]
[If they’ve fought the Imperial for hundreds of years, how bad can they be?]
[Talking starship tech, the Alliance, always drifting in space, probably surpasses the Imperial by a lot.]
Massive starships entered Haven’s atmosphere, flames burning on their hulls as they cast broad shadows on the ground below—like looming mountains pressing down, stirring awe and dread.
Inside the Imperial palace, Alfred received reports from the frontlines of Haven. The Alliance forces had already occupied the city districts. Even scholars on Haven, known for their calm rationality, couldn’t help but express gratitude to the Alliance, calling Lin Xu and Heinrich the saviors of Haven.
Public opinion began to sway once more. Neuman watched Alfred pacing gloomily before the window, cold sweat trickling down his face.
“Your Majesty… Should we speed up the rescue fleet? Or mobilize more troops from the First Legion to Haven? We might have to fight both Zerg and the Alliance simultaneously.”
“No.”
Neuman was stunned. He couldn’t understand Alfred’s thinking. If they didn’t seize the opportunity to save Haven now, the Alliance would root themselves there first—and then it would be difficult to dislodge them.
“The Imperial doesn’t need Haven,” Alfred said. “Send some troops to clear the Zerg on Alexandria. Prepare a victory report draft for me to review. Understand?”
Neuman looked at the emperor’s cold and indifferent face, lips trembling. He finally bowed his head and said, “Yes.”
How many innocents would bleed at one emperor’s command?
– –
The Alliance fleet bypassed the Michael’s Sword defense line, simultaneously sweeping away Zerg while launching a pincer attack against the Imperial forces stationed there, coordinating with fleets inside the Red Moon System.
Xiao Yue, the supreme commander of Michael’s Sword, had not anticipated the Alliance fleet appearing directly behind his position and was caught completely off guard.
Now, the Alliance forces advanced like a tide breaking through a dam. Victory was within reach as they prepared to seize the Michael’s Sword defense line.
Chen Jinshan, secretly embedded inside Michael’s Sword, sent covert reports. Xiao Yue was determined to hold his ground to the death, but morale inside the defense line was shaken—some soldiers had already begun contemplating surrender to the Alliance.
After all, surrendering to the Alliance meant survival, whereas stubbornly fighting both the Alliance and the Zerg simultaneously was a guaranteed death sentence. As long as the Imperial did not reinforce, the human conflict would quickly calm.
Judging by the slow pace of the Imperial troops clearing Zerg at the center of the Long Whale Region, by the time they confronted the Alliance fleet, both Michael’s Sword and Haven would have fallen under Alliance control. But the Zerg problem remained thorny.
Under Heinrich’s command, Alliance forces rapidly cleared the Zerg from Haven’s surface. Humans who had been forced underground could finally emerge from shelters and join reconstruction efforts. The Review Committee reached an agreement with the Alliance to allow their troops to be temporarily stationed on Haven. Yet deep space remained unstable.
Zerg continuously poured out from the Ent Nebula, like a raging, unrelenting tornado sweeping toward Haven. The battlefield shifted to the space surrounding Haven. Countless starships formed battle lines, the distant stars’ light glinting off their silhouettes like sharp arrows—or like roaring beasts—engaged in fierce combat against enormous Zerg.
Countless Zerg limbs, shredded starship and mecha debris, and broken shell casings floated in the vacuum. Space debris clearing vessels carefully weaved between beams of light energy and particle cannons, hauling away junk to reduce the strain on starship and mecha shields.
Haven’s two natural moons, along with a multitude of communication, weather, and observation satellites, suffered massive damage.
Yet the Zerg appeared to proliferate endlessly, relentlessly assaulting Haven. Heinrich decided to set up interception battles along the Zerg flight paths. Though the interception battles scored several victories, buying the Alliance fleet short breaths, new Zerg continuously streamed from the Ent Nebula, perpetuating the invasion routes.
It seemed the assault would not cease until the Zerg hive itself was destroyed. But killing all the Zerg was no simple task. Humanity could not yet even estimate their total population. The war had grown strange to Heinrich.
By past experience, Zerg relentless fighting happened in distinct groups; once a group was wiped out, it ceased fighting.
Yet the Zerg retained the biological trait of Earth creatures: after one group’s annihilation, it would leave behind warnings to dissuade others from entering dangerous zones. This time, however, the Zerg were maddened, acting with reckless frenzy.
In his office, Heinrich studied a complete set of Imperial Zerg behavioral research data privately sent by Zhou Pingbo, with Lin Xu beside him. The coordination and handover of management on Haven had nearly finished.
Lin Xu lounged on the memory-jelly plush sofa aboard the Victoria, orbiting Haven, scanning battle reports. Heinrich, meanwhile, held a stern call with Alliance generals, frowning deeply, his voice cold and serious.
Lin Xu overheard only fragments, focusing instead on an unusual battle report before him, his eyes swiftly reading. When Heinrich ended the call and closed communications, Lin Xu called out softly. “Heinrich.”
Heinrich looked up. Lin Xu flipped over, propping himself on an elbow while lying on the sofa, gazing up at Heinrich. “Come look at this battle report.”
Heinrich walked over. Lin Xu sprawled across the entire sofa; Heinrich settled on the armrest. Lin Xu leaned his head on Heinrich’s arm, sliding the display screen between them.
“Look at this combat record from the 453 star system.”
Heinrich glanced over, already guessing why Lin Xu’s interest was piqued.
“At the time, the Far-Field Battle Fleet in 453 used an antimatter annihilation weapon. It collided with high-energy electromagnetic cannon fire from the Old Glory, which came as reinforcements, causing electromagnetic and gravitational field disturbances. There was a period of lost contact; onboard recording equipment failed. So this record only has oral reports from combat personnel.”
Lin Xu said, “During that time, the ship’s weapon systems failed, and the remaining Zerg stopped attacking, so no major losses occurred. When the ship systems resumed operation, the Zerg were still disoriented and were wiped out in one sweep.”
“The earlier attack was very powerful, so the Zerg…” Heinrich’s voice trailed off, his lips tightening. Something wasn’t right. The Zerg lacked a strict command system. They moved precisely in coordinated action by individual will. External attacks alone wouldn’t cause them to halt their assault or become confused and helpless.
“What do you think?” Heinrich asked, looking down at Lin Xu.
“Is it possible,” Lin Xu proposed, “that we create a test field mimicking that kind of disorienting condition and observe whether the Zerg truly become chaotic and cease attacking?”
“If we can’t kill them all, we have to try other methods.”
Heinrich pondered. “Worth a try.”
Zerg behavioral researchers within the Alliance were few. After hearing Heinrich and Lin Xu’s idea, Meng Zhenhua ordered the group sent to the front lines for experiments. The news was forwarded to Zhou Pingbo, far away on Capital Star. Zhou Pingbo was momentarily stunned upon hearing it.
“What is it?” Heinrich asked.
“Nothing,” Zhou Pingbo shook his head, but then grew serious.
After some thought, he cautiously said, “Well, not exactly nothing. The Zerg in my lab have been acting strangely lately. All captured live Zerg are locked in special cages that trigger attack mode if anyone approaches. Recently, I was busy and neglected them. But then the lab’s sample handlers were horrified to report that the live Zerg went berserk, all smashing toward one side of their cage. When I rushed over, one E-Class Zerg had already broken out, biting off a handler’s leg. There was blood everywhere…”
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