Smoke filled the air, and the flames of war froze. The roars, wails, gunshots and all kinds of strange rustling sounds are mixed together, making people feel inexplicably anxious when they hear it. Everywhere there are ruins, and the raging flames are mercilessly devouring everything around them.

A warrior in white battle armor struggled to his feet from the rubble, his glittering energy indicating that the armor had run out of energy and was nearly scrapped. The warrior picked up a piece of rubble from the ground and crumpled it to pieces, unable to accept the fact that the city, which had stood so long ago, had been reduced to ruins in an instant.

The smoke that covered the sky overhead was reflected in the firelight as a blood-red red, and occasionally one or two stray bullets slashed through and exploded nearby, but did not disturb the dome-like smoke in the slightest.

He patted his helmet and shouted, "Ghost Squad, I'm a lone wolf, did anyone hear me?" There was only a rustling sound in the "............" channel. The warrior struggled forward, trying to break through the smoke as he continued to call: "I'm a lone wolf, ask for help, does anyone hear me?" ......... Anyone"

"Rustle...... Zizi ...... Case..... This is the enemy nemesis, I can't locate your signal, please be as clear as possible about where you are. The warrior took out the last of the shaped stun bombs and threw them into the air with all his might. Rumble! A huge ball of light spread through the air and vanished, along with the large cloud of smoke.

"Okay, I'm coming, and the enemy nemesis is finished." In the sky, a huge fleet of warships slowly emerged, numbering at least hundreds of thousands, and the largest one occupied almost half of the sky. It was the general flagship of the Imperial fleet, the USS Victory and Glory. And at this moment, it is pouring out its endless fury on the enemy with its main cannon.

And higher up, another fleet a hundred times larger than them was exchanging fire with them, and those battleships were wriggling with huge tentacles outside, and they looked particularly disgusting; The dense and heavy artillery fire smashed the combined shield of the Imperial fleet, causing violent fluctuations, and the light of the combined shield became more and more dim, and it was only a matter of time before it was defeated.

"After all..... Still irretrievable......" The warrior silently looked up at the sky, he didn't intend to win at all, he just wanted to buy some time for the ongoing plan. Not far away, a blue-black landing ship flew towards this side. Just as he was about to slow down and land. Several warplanes wrapped around their tentacles suddenly burst out of the smoke. Straight into the flank of the landing ship.

The landing ship, which was caught off guard, was blown in two and turned into a fireball and fell to the ground. Faced with sudden changes. The warrior was calm, as if he had anticipated his end. "Lone wolf, this is the wolf's lair, our teleporter is malfunctioning, and there is no way to locate and teleport; What about the damage? We'll send more rescue troops to pick you up at once. ”

As soon as the words fell, monsters with hideous and twisted appearances emerged from the smoke. Some still appear to be humanoid, while others are completely inhuman. In just a few seconds, it had gathered into a large area. "No need, the ground forces are dead, it's too late, let me fight until the last moment for the sake of this city and this world......" The warrior looked into the sky and pulled out the last shuttle magazine, loaded it, and sprayed deadly projectiles at the monster.

“........ You will always be the best agent of the Empire, and may the glory be with you. The other party lost contact. The monsters that rushed to the front continued to explode into clouds of blood mist. But the flickering yellow light next to the monster that rushed up behind kept the projectile out. Plumshot shot from the crowd tore through the warrior's weak shield. It then penetrates through the abdomen; Bright red blood slowly flowed from the wound, but he didn't fall, and he pressed the red button with the last of his strength. Muttered, "Get out of here!" You filthy parasites! ”

A terrifying collapse occurred in the spherical space with a radius of 500 meters centered on the warrior's body. Everything inside has completely disappeared from this world.

The main flagship of the Imperial fleet, inside the bridge of the Victory and Glory. A young man in a white military uniform looked at the holographic projection in the center and let out a faint sigh. Just a second ago, he noticed that the space had collapsed. And at the same time lost the signal of that fighter. "Agent Black has always been the best agent in the Empire, was, is, and will be." The youth's eyes revealed a fortitude and depth that did not match his 20-something at all, and the patterns on the golden epaulettes and cloak were revealed. It shows that he is not only the captain of this battleship, but also the emperor of the Atlantean Empire - Arthur Lambert.

"Your Majesty, the sowing plan has entered its final stage, when will the evacuation begin?" a general on the left reported. Arthur's eyes froze, hesitated for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "Let them pay attention to concealment and evacuate in turn" "Yes! The general made a standard military salute and retreated.

Arthur sat back in the silver main seat, staring at the blue glow of the main screen in front of him. muttered: "Because of me, this matter has developed to such a point, and it should be up to me to put an end to it." I hope my people will forgive me......"

In the vast fleet, some hexagonal prism ships began to slow down in preparation for the upcoming space jump. But just as they began to slow down, the artillery bombardment from the enemy fleet suddenly stopped. For a while, the whole battlefield was quiet and a little scary.

The Combined Shield, which had been dimmed by a long period of firepower, quickly regained its energy. At least it doesn't look faintly almost transparent anymore. "Huh?" Arthur's eyes sharpened. Naturally, he noticed the anomaly of the enemy forces, and he did not understand why the enemy stopped attacking when he was about to break through our combined shield.

In an instant, his breath faltered, and his eyes were full of horror. I saw a huge battleship slowly emerging from the opposite fleet. The ship was several times larger than the Victory and Glory. Huge tentacles poked out of the ship's hull and waved in disorder. And in the center of its bow was shining with a blinding red light, as if it were about to tear a person's soul apart just by looking at it.

Annihilator-class Star Destroyer! The only weapon of this special warship is the directional star annihilation cannon in the bow, and the inside of the hull is a mass-energy conversion array except for the engine and the main control room. The matter hit by the beam is broken down into pure particles, which are then converted into pure energy. and cause a chain reaction of surrounding substances. That is to say, there is as much matter as it is hit, and how much matter is annihilated at the same time, and the energy released by it. Dozens of times more than a hydrogen bomb of the same mass!

If this cannon is solid, not to mention this fleet, even the ground under your feet will be wiped out. "We can't let them succeed, the migrant boat hasn't been withdrawn yet!" Arthur calmed down, and orders were issued as quickly as a blowout: "Increase the power of the Victory and Glory fusion reactor to 150%, and the rest of the ships to 130%, let the fortress ship go to the front!" "However, Your Majesty, this will cause irreparable damage to the engine." "There's no time, lieutenant, I know the limits of these ships' overloads. Besides, if you still have them, are you going to take them into the coffin? Arthur said, "Yes, Your Majesty!" ”

"Good!" Arthur turned and shouted to the console, "Hestia, turn to manual control for me, and turn all energy except the engine into the Combined Shield." "I'm done." A girl in a blue dress appeared in the holographic projection, quickly operating the virtual screen. "Well done!" Arthur sat back down in front of the console and quickly picked up the keyboard.

The pale blue combined shield gradually turns bright blue, which is a sign of energy enrichment. And the enemy's dazzling blood-red light cluster is becoming more and more unstable, and it may be launched at any time. "Report! The enemy artillery is fully charged! The observer on the left side of the control room reported. Arthur's heart sank, and he quickly typed a few keys on the keyboard. "Enemy cannon fire!" There was a noticeable tremor in the observer's voice. In the enemy formation, the red ball of light suddenly shone brightly, turning into a shocking rainbow and rushing straight to this side.

The bright blue combined shield gathered in an instant, and a white light shield with a diameter equal to the pillar of light blocked the path of the pillar of light. The dark red energy torrent blatantly collided with Bai Zhishi's energy barrier with an indomitable momentum. The energy corrodes and neutralizes each other, making a tooth-sour sound. It seems that only a moment has passed, and it is as long as eternity; The two intense rays of light dimmed and dissipated almost simultaneously, and even the enemy fleet was disturbed by the aftermath, causing the shield to fail, and now both sides were completely exposed to enemy fire.

The fleet high in the sky had thought that the Imperial fleet would be destroyed by this cannon. But things turned out more than they expected, and they quickly changed their formation. Clusters of light re-ignited, which was a sign that the enemy's main guns were recharged, especially the Star Destroyer, which failed to strike a single blow, and actually hid in the rear of the fleet to recharge. And the Imperial fleet, which had just withstood the devastating blow, was almost exhausted in energy, and it was about to fall into an absolute disadvantage.

Suddenly, the momentum of the Imperial fleet's advance suddenly stalled. The combat module on the hull changed rapidly. Some of the decks have even been flipped. A larger caliber combined main gun was converted and slowly turned towards the enemy fleet high in the sky. Flat, grotesque ships emerged from the gaps in the fleets ahead, sideways ahead of the fleet. Bracket-like antennas poke out from the edges, and tiny streams of energy can be seen shooting from the top of the antennas toward another battleship. The energy beams are intertwined into a large net composed of hexagonal optical films, and those battleships are the vertices of the hexagon, that is, the nodes of the optical network.

Imperial Shield – Alex-class bastion ships! Although these special warships are only cruisers, they can resist the bombardment of the capital ship class on their own, but because of their outrageous protection capabilities, they cannot carry any weapons for their crews (there are also safety concerns, and all fortress ships are unmanned). ）。 At this time, it is one of its two trump cards, the barrier mode - the joint defense field! The defensive force field released by a hundred fortress ships is comparable to the combined shield of 10,000 ships, and at this time, there are thousands of fortress ships forming a force field.

In the main control room of the main flagship of the Imperial Fleet, Arthur nodded with satisfaction and shouted loudly into the main screen: "Attention of the whole ship, full firepower!" Suddenly, hundreds of artillery pieces spewed out the flames of revenge at the enemy, and the rumbling cannon roared through the sky like thunder. Countless missiles pounced on the enemy ships with blazing tailfires, and the tsunami of helium triple fusion bombs, shaped energy shock bombs, and even antimatter bombs crushed the enemy fleet with the anger of the Atlanteans.

As early as when the mass energy conversion ray hit the combined shield, Arthur had already notified the whole ship to convert to live ammunition, compared to energy weapons, although physical ammunition is expensive, and the hit rate is low. However, it does not need to be recharged, and the energy consumption is very low. And what they lack most now is energy. A tidal barrage instantly engulfed the battleships in front. The infected warships that were not long ago have turned into brilliant fireworks. This was followed by a rain of arrows, leaving behind a trail of smoke like a storm, and from a distance, you might even think that the clouds were moving.

Brilliant balls of light bloomed in the air. Many of them are flashes of antimatter bomb explosions. Arthur then ordered a second round of attacks. But just as the second round of shells was about to fall on the flotilla, the enemy ship's main guns were also recharged. Brilliant beams of light shot out from the bow of the ship and weaved into a deadly rainbow, and nearly half of the shells were swallowed by this massive energy. However, the pillar of light was also weakened a lot, and although it also caused the defensive force field to fluctuate violently, it did not break it because of this.

After a round of bombardment, the infected fleet was actually wiped out by a tenth, while the Atlantis Imperial fleet was unscathed. This should have been an impossible situation given the huge numerical disadvantage of 1 to 100 troops. Through this round of surprise attacks, it was done stubbornly. But Arthur was not glad to be overjoyed, knowing that there would not be a second such result. The enemies are not stupid, they will quickly make adjustments. And the enemy's strength is still 90 times that of theirs. There will be no such opportunity in the future.

But the people around him were extremely excited, this was the first time that the claws of the empire were exposed after being passively beaten for a long time! "Keep firing!" Arthur said in a deep voice, "Hestia, let the immigrant ship move faster, we won't be able to hold out for long." "Ongoing." Hestia's answer was still as simple and straightforward as ever.

Sure enough, the enemy quickly changed formation. The heavily armored capital ship was ahead. Vulnerable small ships followed, and immediately minimized losses. Some of the less powerful shells could not even shake the armor of the capital ship. At this moment, the main guns of the enemy mothership are about to be fully charged, and the situation is very critical. "Report the situation!" Arthur frowned, and this time it was not Hestia who answered, but the controller in front of the screen on the right side of the bridge, "The enemy mothership is aiming, and it is expected to launch in 30 seconds; The migrant's jump engine guidance has entered its final stages, and it is expected to be evacuated in three minutes; Because of the previous overload, the main reactor was damaged by more than 30%. However, it can still operate stably, and the overall energy has recovered by 50%"

"Excellent! Charge the bow guns and switch to railgun attacks with the rest of the ships. The fortress ship has moved to the second mode! "Yes!" The artillery fire of the Atlantean fleet burst into flames. Immediately after, twisted air masses flew out at incredible speeds. The heavy armor plates of the capital ship were as vulnerable as paper paste in the face of these strange air masses. If you slow down, you will see that there is a small black dot in the center of these air masses. It was a metal ball that was traveling at a speed of up to a third of the speed of light. The surrounding air is instantly compressed and distorted due to its high velocity. As a result, the light rays are both refracted and distorted. These specialized lead and depleted uranium shells hit the armor plate at such a high speed that even the strongest material would be torn apart by the tremendous kinetic energy.

The fortress ship group also quickly changed its formation, the defensive force field gradually weakened, and the ships gradually moved closer to the center, layer upon layer, using their hulls to form a solid barrier. Protecting the group of ships behind, blue light flashed, and a dark blue film of light condensed like substance appeared on the hull of the ship. At the cost of narrowing the scope, the protection capability is greatly enhanced. That's its second trump card: Bastion Mode - Shield of Eternity!

The rest of the ships also moved to avoid being caught by the enemy. The explosions of the enemy fleet gradually stopped, revealing the Annihilator-class Star Destroyer hidden behind. The bow of the ship was glowing red. It was obviously preparing to launch a sneak attack when the empire was defenseless, but he didn't expect the capital ship group to be routed so quickly. When he was discovered, the ship's hull was shocked, and the bow of the ship emitted an unsettling electric light, and the red light expanded rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Not good! They overloaded the mass-energy conversion array. While this will prevent them from firing again, it will have the effect of instantly recharging, and they plan to break the boat! Hestia reminded, "If we import a part of the fleet's energy into the defensive field generator, the strength of the force field generated should be enough to withstand this round of attacks. Arthur looked at the migrant boats, which had glowed slightly. Ordered: "Do as she says, 30% of the ship's energy will be channeled into the fortress ship, all units will be ready to resist the shock, and the capital ship group will be ready to counterattack, we must buy them even a little time, understand?" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" A neat answer rang out in the main control room. Everyone looked serious and carried out a huge number of data processing operations in an orderly manner, and for a while only the sound of reports and operations remained. "The capital ship of the left flank fleet G03 suffered a direct attack from enemy artillery, the superstructure was seriously damaged, and it is retreating to the rear safety zone to wait for repairs." "Energy has been transmitted by 10%" "A small number of battleships have malfunctioned due to overload, which are being repaired. "The migration ship jump is in the final stages of preparation, and the first fleet is about to be evacuated ......"

Suddenly, all sounds stopped abruptly, and the intense flash of light reflected the originally silver-gray metal wall into a miserable white, and everyone subconsciously covered their eyes. This was followed by a deafening loud bang and violent concussions, which lasted for more than ten seconds before gradually ceased. Arthur straightened up again, he couldn't fall in front of everyone. He represents the backbone of the empire. He looked around the messy main control room and ordered, "Go back to your post and report the situation!" ”

If someone were to observe this battle from a distance, they would find that dozens of streamers suddenly appeared not far in front of the defensive force field just now, crashing into the force field shield at an extraordinary speed, and then turning into a huge and dazzling light ball. Previously, the anomaly was affected by it. "It was supposed to be an antimatter bomb, because it happened so suddenly that we didn't have time to defend against it." Hestia's light and shadow flickered slightly, but his voice was still clear: "The energy intensity of the defense field has dropped by 60%, some energy pipelines have leaked, and the remote transmission system is offline. ”

"What about the overall losses of the fleet?" "The situation is very bad, 15% of the battleships were directly destroyed by the previous explosion, 20% of the ship's energy center was damaged, and the offensive capability was temporarily lost, the bastion ship was partially out of order, and the enemy's main guns were about to open fire." Stealth bombers! Only this kind of thing can unknowingly complete a sneak attack under the nose of many radars. They paid such a big price just to wait for an opportunity, and after all, they were put on the table.

Arthur's eyes narrowed slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "Turn the bow of the ship, towards the Star Destroyer, the rest of the ships, fire with all their strength, and move fast!" "They're firing!" The red light flashed, and the ghostly mass energy transformation ray fell on the defensive force field, as long as it was not allowed to fall on the entity, it would not be able to exert its true power. At the same time, a dark blue beam of light shot out, staggered with the red pillar of light, and swooped straight towards the fierce Star Destroyer.

The flimsy armor of the lone Star Destroyer was torn apart in an instant. A torrent of blue energy pierced the main part of it. Then it exploded into a huge fireball and slowly fell. Star Destroyers without any protection are always the first to be set on fire. The blood-red pillar of light gradually disappeared, and the alarm in the main control room gradually stopped. Just when everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Arthur noticed that most of the fortresses had run out of energy. The defensive force field was also crumbling, and he was already in a state where he could no longer withstand this level of attack.

But the attacks from the overseers never stopped, and the flagship, which was clearly fully charged, was slow to fire. Although Arthur was confident in the armor protection of the fortress ship, it was always better to be careful. Arthur did a little bit on the main console. "The energy supply of the ships has been restored, right? Let them switch to plasma cannons. "Yes, Your Majesty!" With that, Arthur returned to the main console and continued to maneuver. "Hestia, has the migrant ship also been hit by the explosion earlier? Can I keep jumping? "They had a little problem withstanding the impact, but now it's been repaired and the first fleets have started jumping."

Arthur looked at the migrant ships whose light and shadow had become a little illusory, and then at the barren land beneath his feet. He knew he couldn't wait any longer, and with his right hand stroking the screen, a bright blue light lit up, "Authentication complete, control system online, welcome, Your Majesty Arthur." "Outside the ship, a giant turret full of technology flipped out of the middle of the hull. The volume is large enough to rival the main gun. The energy pipelines that emitted a faint blue light pulsated like blood vessels, like a beast ready to attack.

The enemy finally noticed the abnormality, and finally, the enemy mothership, which had been stored to the limit, opened fire. A soft glow floated from the muzzle of the cannon, slowly drifting towards this side's defensive position. Without any momentum and hustle, it slowly approached the force field light shield; But it's this fluttering attack. To put it mildly, it sliced through the defensive force field and pierced into the fortress ship's sturdy armor.

Arthur knew exactly what that meant, it was a beam of energy that could penetrate so easily with strong interaction armor. In addition to the Star Destroyer's main guns, there is another, and that is the Matter Breakdown Ray, a compressive energy beam capable of breaking down any matter into pure particles. "Target enemy mothership, fire!" The fortress ship was about to fail, and Arthur could only give the briefest order. Clusters of dark blue light shot out of the fleet, quickly consuming the energy of the enemy's mothership shields, these unstable plasma clusters not only have the effect of penetrating the shield, but also have a certain ability to attack and destroy the physical armor.

At this time, Arthur was closing his eyes, using his mind to manipulate the operation of this turret. A large amount of information flashed through his mind, and as soon as his mind moved, a stream of orange particles shot out from the muzzle of the cannon. Imprinted on the energy shield, it rotates, shatters, and along with it, the shield of the enemy mothership. "All battleships, salvo of main guns!" "E1–E7-Plasma Cannon Array Fire!" Brilliant clusters of light exploded deadly sparks on the enemy ship's body. It was as if I could hear the wails of the creatures attached to it. Arthur's proton cannon opened fire again, penetrating the enemy mothership from bow to stern, and the mothership was reduced to a cloud of non-combustible garbage in a violent explosion; The proton cannon destroyed the structure of its atoms, and the original sturdy monolith crumbled in an instant.

Arthur took off his helmet, and the crew around him immediately began to report various information. "The enemy motherships have been completely destroyed, but the remaining enemy ships are still a great threat to us; The hull was slightly damaged, but it did not affect the battle; The fortress ship has withdrawn from the battle; The first batch of colonial ships has entered subspace, and everything is basically going according to the original plan. ”

"It's finally time......" Arthur looked thoughtfully at the distorted space.

Suddenly, sparks erupted in the distorted space. At the same time, the enemy fleet shone brightly. Layers of energy shields were lit again, and dozens of migrant ships exploded into sparks where the main cannon light pillar cut. You know, there are hundreds of thousands of lives on every migrant ship!

"Damn! Let the migrant ship lift the echelon formation and break through at full speed! Arthur slammed to his feet from the main console. I'm afraid the enemy has already discovered that the first fleet must have hit the space mines, and now that their shields have been restored, we have no chance of winning. "But we weren't going to win from the start, were we?" Hestia slowly emerged, "We've got the full channel broadcast for you, let's get started when you're ready." ”

Arthur turned to the home screen, nodded to Hestia, and said, "Fellow citizens, we are gathered here today to resist the attacks of these monsters; They have invaded our planet and destroyed our homes. Turn our fellow citizens into monsters like them. Our brilliant technology and brilliant civilization have been ruthlessly plundered by them. Some people say that in the face of these monsters, we can only run. ”

"Yes, we are on the run, but it depends on how we escape. Is it an embarrassed head-hugging rat, or a glorious and dignified retreat. As you may have guessed, we can't get out of it, but humanity won't be extinct because of this, and those migrant ships are our last hope. They will take this hope with them and sail into the distance. ”

"Today, we no longer fight for ridiculous differences, no longer for our own selfish interests. It's about survival, fighting for the hope of humanity. Everything started with me, and it should end with me. Let us do this last duty and clear the last hurdle for them. As long as you remain, the empire will not perish. Glory be with you and me! "The final speech is over. Hestia automatically redirected to the command channel, and a figure of a captain in military uniform appeared on the home screen. In front of the console, a confirmation window covered with warning signs appeared, and a solemn atmosphere permeated the main control room. "Your Majesty, hurry up and make a decision!"

Arthur raised his hand and stared at the confirmation button, thoughtful. When it really came time for him to cut off the lives of most of his people, he was still a little hesitant. "Your Majesty, we don't have time!" Outside the porthole, a migrant ship is making space jumps one after another, and the enemy's landing ship is already imminent. Arthur gritted his teeth and looked at the home screen, "Let's start for the Empire, guys." Then he pressed the confirmation button at the same time as the other captains. Then the shrill sirens rang out in the main control room. Everyone knew what that meant, and with a resolute expression, waited for the last second. Arthur looked at Hestia, who had always been expressionless, and smiled in return until the white light swallowed everything.....

In 12,000 BC, the Atlantean Empire's war with unknown creatures ended......

Time passes, and after 10,000 years, the gears of fate still turn...... Prologue END