The First Expeditionary Fleet remains in the void outside the galaxy, more than 30 million kilometers from the outermost planet of the Marantai system.

The speed of light is 300,000 kilometers per second, which is equivalent to the distance of light traveling for about 100 seconds. For ordinary people, such a distance is already astronomical, but in the vast starry sky, the distance of more than 30 million kilometers can be said to be as close as a stone's throw.

30 million kilometers is also well thought out, it is a very appropriate tactical distance, in this position, the first expeditionary fleet can quickly enter the galaxy, and can also enter the subspace for the first time to get out of the battlefield, which is the best distance to attack and retreat.

The situation in the Marantai system is a bit complicated, the scanning system of the Holy Judge found that there was nothing here, empty, no space station, no orbital platform, not even traces of subspace corruption, but every planet had a strong signal of life.

After a brief discussion, Wang Ben and the others finally decided to send a reconnaissance team to see what was going on in the Marantai system, and then make the next plan after collecting enough information.

After receiving the order, several reconnaissance ships started their conventional engines, broke away from the main ship group, and entered the alien ring of the Marante system for reconnaissance operations.

The commander in charge of this reconnaissance mission was Liu Xia, who was the commander of the guard and became the commander of a company, due to the expansion of the empire, the original first army was split, and now the first army is rebuilt with veterans. In order to better carry out his work, Liu Xia changed from a personal guard officer to a company commander, and at the same time served as the deputy of the corps.

Don't think it's a deputy, just underestimate Liu Xia, if something happens to Wang Ben, he will become the second head of the legion and the commander of the first expeditionary force.

Several reconnaissance ships advanced in standard battle formations, tactics that had become instinctive among captains after years of warfare. No matter what the situation, they will subconsciously use these tactics, alert for the ever-present surprise.

Captains have seen too many accidental deaths, and in war, no matter how safe the environment is, once you lose your vigilance, you are not far from death.

The battlefield was a complete victory, and some people were greedy for merit and were hit by the defeated enemy, and they were directly blown up. There are also captains who let their guard down in what seems to be a safe place, only to have an enemy suddenly appear in the void, and they will hang up directly in the back.

Be vigilant at all times, for the universe is impermanent, the enemy is cunning, danger is everywhere, and the slightest relaxation is imminent death.

The first to be targeted was the outermost gas giant MLT07 in the Marante system, which, according to preliminary scans, has the fifth largest mass in the galaxy, with six moons orbiting it, all of which have strong life signals.

The reconnaissance fleet searched for a place where the gravitational point was stable and scanned the gas giant MLT-07. No space stations were found, no orbital stations were found, nothing, the orbit of the entire planet was empty and unspeakably clean. However, every moon of the gas giant MLT-07 has found a signal of life, even planet MLT07 has found a strong signal of life, and even some large meteorites have found a signal of life.

After in-depth scanning, it was found that the surface of each moon, even the atmosphere of the gas giant MLT07, has huge structures that resemble biological nests, which are like giant eggs towering above the surface or suspended in the atmosphere.

"What the hell is going on here!!" Liu Xia was full of confusion when he saw the results scanned by the reconnaissance ship.

"We'll have to log in to find out." The adjutant on the side, Fodia, said, "Take a look at those nests that occupy a large area, and the answer should be inside." ”

Liu Xia frowned, thinking about this proposal, and after a moment he relaxed, he finally decided to listen to the adjutant's advice and go to the ground in person.

"You really should go down and take a look."

Half an hour later, several large gunboats burst out of the scout's tarmac and carried the Legionnaires into the atmosphere towards the surface of the MLT07-01 satellite.

On the way, they did not encounter any interception, they arrived at the ground smoothly, the smoothly suspended gunboat roared and stretched out the hydraulic lifting to support the heavy huge body, and the heavy hatch slowly opened after stopping, Liu Xia and others rushed out along the hatch, holding weapons everywhere to impose martial law, forming a defensive front around the gunboat.

They all carry special weapons, flamethrowers, blasters, and a variety of high-powered energy guns, as well as fire support from armed drones.

Before the gunboat even landed, the armed drones were released and hovered high in the air, taking pictures and scanning the entire area.

As soon as they come out, they are able to use the vision provided by the drone to see what is going on around them.

The drone's field of view and the reconnaissance ship's scans show that MLT07-01 is a very desolate satellite, and although the life signal is strong, there is no living thing on the ground.

"Tarta, you take two squads to the front to garrison, I don't want something to rush over without warning." "We need to keep this landing site, and we can't afford to lose the gunboats. ”

A tall legionnaire nodded, and led two squads, a total of ten people, to fan outward, acting as the first line of cordon, guarding the landing site.

"Fodia, get your Doom Squad ready. To be honest, it's so eerie here, and while I can't see the enemy, I can feel that a battle could break out at any moment. ”

"They're in place, my lord." Said another tall legionnaire.

After arranging all his subordinates, Liu Xia took the rest of the warriors to a lair building near the landing site.

To be on the safe side, the gunboats didn't stop too close to the lairs to avoid enemy attacks, so they had to walk for a while to reach them.

The nest building is magnificent, towering above the ground and covering a large area, somewhat resembling a beehive and an anthill. There are places where they expand and contract rhythmically, as if the nest itself has life.

Liu Xia watched the footage taken by the drone as he led the team closer to the nests, and the scanning system showed a strong biological signal.

Approaching the lair, several huge entrances were discovered, pitch black and without a single light.

Liu Xia hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to take a closer look, there was no information about these strange buildings in the database of the Human Alliance, and it was very likely that it was a species that humans had not come into contact with.

It may be a bit silly to rush into the enemy's lair, but if you want to defeat the enemy, you need to know the enemy, and if you fire rashly, you will lose the opportunity to understand the enemy.

The team formed a defensive formation and followed a large entrance into the lair, which appeared to be made of some kind of hard-shelled biomass, black and emitting an eerie smell.

These hard-shelled biomass have a special ability to shield signals, and after entering the nest, their communication signal becomes very poor, and they can sometimes connect with the landing site, sometimes not.

"There are no anomalous subspace psionic powers, no signs of corruption have been found, these buildings are a product of nature??" Liu Xia looked at the divination scanner that was not abnormal, and muttered to himself.

The other team members didn't have an answer, they just recorded these things and prepared to take them back to the technical experts for analysis.

The team went deeper, deeper, until the helmets showed that they had walked five kilometers before finally reaching the end of the road, a large black platform.

Looking out from the platform, there is a huge space wriggling with flesh and various strange organs, it is hundreds of meters high, and it is bottomless.

The pods hung on the walls around them, covered with bloodshots, and sometimes wriggled because of the life conceived inside, looking like a palace that gave birth to new life.

In addition, there are some strange reptilian bugs tending to the pods, sending the cultivated individuals into some pipes to send them away.

"What are these things?" Xu Qianglong, who came in with Liu Xia, watched this scene, and his eyes widened.

"It looks like a nursery for bees." The other warrior said in a low voice.

"I think it's like ants, they gather their eggs together and hatch."

“.”

Liu Xia didn't intervene in the conversation of his teammates, and he didn't know what these ghosts were.

After observing for a while, he said to a few people next to him.

"Take some samples and give them to the technomaniacs."

"We'll find out." Xu Qianglong said.

"If you find out, you won't run." Liu Xia said angrily, "These things will definitely be listed as targets for cleanup, but we must know what they are and what kind of weapons are suitable for extermination." I don't want us to get here, I still don't know anything about this damn race. ”

Under Liu Xia's orders, Xu Qianglong and the others could only act according to the order, and several warriors took out combat daggers made of single-molecule materials, and easily cut off the flesh and blood connected to the pods, this theft made all the creeping creatures who had not noticed them aware of their existence.

These reptiles and the nest seem to be one, and if they are damaged in one place, they will be the first to notice.

Seeing those crawling insects looking at their positions, Liu Xia, who realized that he was exposed, immediately decided to let a few people retreat first with pods, and the others were responsible for buying time.

Strange howls rang out, and the creeping creatures crawled towards them at a rapid pace, easily crossing even the steepest slopes.

"Fire." Liu Xia shouted, and then took out the giant blaster gun, there were no abnormal psionic energy fluctuations detected on those crawling creatures, and the blaster was not the best way to kill the enemy.

Dense beams of blast energy sliced through the dark space, exploding upon contact with the target, blasting all creeping bugs in their path.

Those bugs

There are quite a few of them, but their combat effectiveness is really weak, and even with the protection of the carapace, they are no match for the legionnaires.

Liu Xia and the others were evacuating while slaughtering those insects, and after a while, the battlefield was full of broken corpses.

They thought it would be an easy battle, but what happened next was something they didn't expect.

From the depths of the nest crawled a steady stream of all kinds of strange insects, some crawling, some flying with wings, some running on two feet, everything from the depths of the nest. The only thing they have in common is that they all possess sharp claws and insect-like mouthparts, as well as various black carapace protections.

Some bugs also emit light on their abdomen, and after wriggling for a while, they will shoot out bioplasma balls and various beams of light, which are extremely lethal.

Countless insects poured out like a tidal wave, black and pressing, so numerous that the helmet's scanning device couldn't clearly calculate how many.

A rare trace of fear appeared on the faces of Liu Xia and the others, such a huge number of insects had never been seen before, what kind of species were they? ?

A huge number of insect swarms swarmed in, and Liu Xia and the others opened fire while evacuating, and at the same time called for gunboats to come to support.

Several brothers were overwhelmed by the insect swarm during the battle, and the display runes belonging to them were turned gray, indicating that they were dead, and they couldn't even grab the corpses, and they were torn apart by those bugs in an instant, and even the latest model of power armor was reduced to pieces.

The speed of the insects was very fast, and Liu Xia and the others had to give up the blaster gun and use melee weapons instead, fighting while retreating outside.

Some of the bugs were unusually large, several meters taller than legionnaires, with carapaces harder than steel, and mantis-like limbs, sharp and hard, like a sharp scythe, that could easily slice through their armor.

In seven or eight minutes of fighting, Liu Xia and the others lost more than one-third. The number of enemies is overwhelming, and there are various long-range melee attacks, combined with terrifying size and strength. On the other hand, they have neither the cover of heavy firepower, they are absolutely inferior in number and firepower, and they have no air support, so they are lucky to be able to run out alive.

Eventually, they fled outside, and the bugs rushed out with them, and the noisy screams filled the surroundings in an instant.

In addition to the monsters on the ground, there are also various insects that flapping their wings and flying in the air, and they are very numerous, covering the sky and leaving a huge shadow on the ground.

Several squads stationed at the landing site also arrived in gunboats at this time, and the dense artillery fire and beams fell on the dense swarm of insects, which did not need any aiming, and could blow up pieces of insects if they hit casually.

But the number of swarms is innumerable, and even if it is emptied, it will be replenished in an instant.

Bugs with ranged attacks shot hot bio-plasma and pulsed beams at the gunboat, causing ripples in the gunboat's shields.

Those insects with the ability to fly are swarming to pounce on the gunboats.

The gunboat's fire was so fierce that a large number of bugs fell from the air to the ground, but the number of bugs was so terrifying that no matter how many they killed, countless bugs appeared.

Soon the gunboat was broken through the defenses, swirling and crashing into the ground with black smoke, and the pilot shouted at the last moment the slogan of dying for the God Emperor and activated the self-detonation procedure. The bright bright light and shock wave swept out, instantly vaporizing the insects within a radius of tens of meters, and the insects within a radius of hundreds of meters were lifted away, and the charred wreckage and broken flesh flew into the air, and then fell to the ground like rain.

"If you can't fight, evacuate immediately." After Liu Xia witnessed the destruction of the gunboat and the empty area being filled with black bugs in an instant, he realized that if he continued to fight, they would all have to die here.

There are so many of these bugs that there is no reason to talk about, in the face of absolute numbers, no matter how stubbornly they fight, it is a dead end, and they must be evacuated, and then apply for a planetary extinction strike.

Under Liu Xia's orders, the team began to retreat in an orderly manner, the first to go up were the two brothers with pods, followed by the warriors in charge of the broken rear.

But the bugs were chasing too close, and some of the legionnaires had to stay behind to block the enemy and create time for the rest of the team to leave.

As the company commander and the adjutant of the corps, Liu Xia naturally got the right to evacuate first. Without any pretensions, he dragged the corpse of a bug, boarded the gunboat directly, and then asked the driver to immediately leave the ground and return to orbit.

The warriors who remained on the ground were quickly devoured by the swarm, but the battle was not over.

The swarm chased the gunboats, launching suicidal attacks one after another, and soon another gunboat could not withstand the attack, and was destroyed by the dense swarm of insects, exploding directly in the air, and disappearing into the flames with the passengers.

It wasn't until it entered the air that the air became thinner and the wings of the bugs could not provide enough lift that the gunboat was able to catch its breath, but after a while, the ground launched a huge plasma ball and pulse beam into the sky, not only attacking the gunboat, but also the reconnaissance ship in orbit, causing the reconnaissance ship's shield to flicker.

The gunboat's scanning system showed that insects as large as mountains were launching attacks that could reach low-Earth orbit.

In the end, only three gunboats returned to the reconnaissance ship in low-earth orbit, and Liu Xia immediately ordered the reconnaissance ship to return and directly withdraw to the expeditionary fleet.

Those bugs on the ground are definitely not indigenous creatures, and it is very likely that they are another interstellar race, a race that is not in the database of the Human Alliance.

The information and samples brought by Liu Xia were taken seriously, and Wang Ben immediately held a strategic meeting to prepare the various units of the expeditionary force for war, discuss how to purify the enemy in the Marantai system, and at the same time find a way to figure out what the origin of the enemy is.

Halfway through the meeting, when everyone was analyzing the battle data and images brought back by Liu Xia, Morton, who served as the chief technical adviser of the First Expeditionary Force, walked in with a pale face.

His metal-implanted face was slightly sluggish, devoid of his previous frenzy and excitement, as if he had discovered something unusual, and the whole person was stunned stupidly.

"What did you find??" Wang Ben looked at the technical chief adviser of the expeditionary force, and the other party's expression made his heart uneasy.

"A great catastrophe is coming." As Morton spoke, his bloated mechanical body trembled slightly, causing all the high-ranking officers at the strategy table to look at him.

"Say whatever you want!! Don't guess riddles, and don't talk about what you don't have. ”

Wang Ben's tone was serious, and he did not allow Morton to disturb the morale of the army.

Morton walked over to the console and used his mechanical tentacles to turn on the data projection, showing the specimens brought back by the reconnaissance unit, as well as the video and analysis of their dissection.

"All the samples brought back by the first company commander Liu Xia have been dissected, and we have found that those monsters have absorbed the genetic sequences of humans, not just human genetic sequences, and I have examined a variety of genetic sequences from different biological populations from their samples, which is a biological race that relies on devouring other organisms to complete its self-evolution. And there is no information in the database of the Human Alliance, they may be visitors who have just visited the galaxy. ”

These words made the faces of everyone present solemn, at the peak of the Human Alliance, it was just occupying the galaxy, and it failed to project its influence outside.

There may be some adventures or escape fleets that have fled to the galaxy closest to the galaxy, such as Big McGellan, but on the whole, the scope of influence of the Human Alliance is only within the galaxy.

If you want to divide the difference, the human alliance is a galaxy-level civilization, and those who can throw troops into other galaxies are super-star-level civilizations, or even reach the civilization level of their own galaxy group.

"Is it possible that the race is native to the galaxy?" An officer asked.

Morton shook his head, "It's impossible, the disintegration of the human alliance is only ten thousand years. Coupled with the ravages of the Eternal Night Storm, the races that rise during this time will all have psionic properties and the imprint of pollution left by evil gods. But they are very clean, there is no trace of pollution, and the genetic sequences in those guys, the Human Alliance's database can only identify five percent, which means that the remaining ninety-five percent may not belong to the galaxy. ”

"Damn." Wang Ben's brows furrowed, even if he had to sigh at the fate of the empire, "The star spirit has not approached yet, and another race has appeared that can cross the galaxy, is it true that the human race is going to perish?" ”

"We must report this to Regulus so that the Empire can prepare." Elsa said, "The swarm must have just taken control of the Tyranid sector. ”

"It's definitely going to be reported to Xuanyuan, and now we should discuss one thing first, and that is about the purification of the Maranta system." A high-ranking general of the expeditionary force said.

"Activate the Divine Purification, and destroy these damned monsters and eradicate them at all costs." Wang Ben said in a cold tone.

As soon as the words fell, the alarm sounded.

Intelligence Director Finnew's voice rang out over the communicator, with a hint of panic and unease. "A strong vital signal was detected that it was approaching us, and the enemy's fleet was coming."

A data packet enters the computing core of the strategy room, and after processing, it is displayed in the projection. I saw that the originally empty Marante system had appeared with a fleet of comparable size to the First Expeditionary Force.

While everyone was drawn to the sudden appearance of the fleet, in the cold and empty void, some strange meteorites silently crossed the shield, and when they touched the hull, they clung to the hull like barnacles.

The meteorites then grew limbs covered with heavy biological carapaces, moved around the hull, and crawled towards the battleship's scanning antenna, laser turrets, magnetic rail turrets, entrances, viewing windows, and other locations.

Six thousand two, another day of more than ten thousand, Chong Chong, brothers, continue to ask for votes.

It's up to you to rise.

(End of chapter)