Chapter 526: Close Combat_1

The Q-355 Warship was the flagship of the frontline batch of warships in the Countercharge Fleet.

When the enemy's second combat unit suddenly appeared on the radar, Captain Yue Tong was somewhat surprised; the two sides almost brushed past each other.

Immediately after, the staff officer reported, "Captain, the main fleet's formation has suddenly disappeared from the radar."

Before Yue Tong could inquire further, the staff officer continued, "A huge planet has appeared in front of us!"

"There must be some kind of barrier-like structure," Yue Tong said. "Report this situation up the chain of command, and prepare the entire ship for battle!"

If a planet had appeared, then it might be an Orphan Planet, and the civilization we encountered must be from the Orphan Planet.

But soon, the communications officer said, "Captain, we can't get in touch with the Command Ship!"

"What!" Yue Tong stood up sharply. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation. "What about real-time communication? Is real-time communication still functioning?"

The barriers of a fallen civilization can't block real-time communication systems.

"That's not working either."

Yue Tong then asked, "Can the radar distinguish between enemy and friendly states, and the conditions of each vessel?"

"Just now, our connection with the combat radar was also cut off. Our ship's radar has been showing some strange force fields in our vicinity, only able to detect a few dozen kilometers around."

Yue Tong glanced at the simulated images drawn by the radar. Surrounding the warship were layers of white disturbances indicating force fields, as if layers of fog had enveloped the warship.

He slowly took his seat in the captain's chair. "Return to base immediately!"

The entire Countercharge Fleet had become blind. It was Yue Tong's first time facing such a situation.

Someone needed to report this situation to the enemy's supreme commander. This was no simple barrier! It was likely a type of defensive weapon previously unencountered.

However, just as they began to return to base, the warship shook violently; now the only thing they had left was the optical telescope.

In the darkness of outer space, the optical telescope was almost useless. Apart from the distant stars dotting the black canvas, it was impossible to see anything up close even if it was just a few dozen kilometers away.

Unless the opposing object was so large that it blocked the distant starfield, there was no way to determine if there was anything ahead.

But under such circumstances, the optical telescope clearly captured images of spatial distortion ahead.

In the darkness, it was clear that space seemed to wobble.

Suddenly, Yue Tong had an idea. "Activate the Gravitational Turbulence Field System immediately!"

By the time he thought of this, it was already a bit late; the spaceship slowly began to spin within the distorted space.

The speed of rotation grew faster, and everyone's ears began to feel uncomfortable, but Yue Tong was still shouting, "Hurry, use the Gravitational Turbulence Field System!"

Just as Yue Tong was about to be overcome by nausea, the spinning finally began to slow down.

The combat officer, fighting the sensation of sickness, reported, "The Gravitational Turbulence Field has been activated, radar has started working again, detecting numerous gravitational vortices around us."

The communications officer also said, "Real-time communication has suddenly been restored."

Then he broadcasted the order on the combat channel, "All warships, immediately activate the Gravitational Turbulence Field System, let the entire fleet be within the Gravitational Turbulence Field to counter the force field emitted by the enemy!

"Don't be fooled by the illusions before you. The radar has been working all along; it's just that the enemy's force field has been obstructing the radar's information collection pathway.

"The real-time communication system is also affected by microscopic forces within this field, which have influenced the trajectory of quantum actions.

"This is a trap set by the enemy! But as long as we counter with our own force fields, the radar system and communication system can operate normally!

"All fleets, fire at will at the giant planet ahead!"

Yue Tong had activated the Gravitational Turbulence Field System a bit late. Two force fields were wrestling fiercely, and the hull of the Q-355 couldn't stabilize, making effective shooting impossible!

Since he had reestablished a link with the combat radar, Yue Tong saw that most of the warships were in a similar plight to Q-355.

It was as if someone had suddenly scattered a handful of beans into space, with each warship bouncing and tumbling, the charge formation completely disrupted.

Suddenly, the alarm on Galaxy III went off: "Enemy attack! Evade immediately!"

A colossal celestial body seemed to have appeared out of nowhere in front of Q-355.

In that instant, Yue Tong recalled the battle with Venus, which could also project its power over great distances in a short time.

In the post-war analysis report, the science academy speculated that Venus could not only extend its power over great distances but could also quickly dispatch celestial bodies of small asteroid size to far-off locations.

The celestial body that the enemy had sent measured hundreds of kilometers in diameter, nearly the size of a small dwarf planet.

There was an eighty to ninety percent chance that the massive planet was an untouched First Epoch Life Form.

Wuwuwu~

Amidst the blaring alarms, Yue Tong immediately said, "Report upwards, the enemy we face is very likely a First Epoch Life Form, not the civilization of an Orphan Planet!"

Then he said, "Open both the acceleration thrusters and the deceleration engines!"

The combat staff were slightly stunned, having never heard such an order.

But the celestial body was already too close for them to consider the intention behind the order, and they executed it almost instinctively.

The spaceship, which had been tumbling like a rolling football, began to slow down when the nuclear engines at its rear and front started spewing their garish flames.

Yue Tong's slick maneuver gradually stabilized the ship, "Increase the energy output of the thrusters!"

The ship's rear thrusters immediately ejected even more intense flames, and the spaceship narrowly dodged the massive oncoming celestial body.

At the same time, many spaceships had begun firing at this body, which was swiftly riddled like a sieve.

Just as the commanding officer of the Charge Fleet ordered the dismemberment of this celestial body, Yue Tong's warship, illuminated by the faint light of antimatter annihilation, noticed the core of the planet was not rock but looked remarkably like a metallic structure.

The enormous celestial body suddenly shattered like a watermelon falling from a great height, without exploding. It was like a pan of sand that seemed whole within the pan, but once grasped and tossed out, it simply disintegrated.

Yue Tong's warship, being closest to the celestial body, was hit by two fragments, sustaining serious damage.

They were lucky to be so close; a small fragment pierced through the warship, and another, nearly the size of the ship, zipped by at incredible speed, narrowly missing and failing to attach to the hull.

The fleets hadn't expected to suddenly be thrust into a close-quarters combat; though a bit flustered, their return fire was fierce, and for a moment, space was ablaze with bursts of white light.

But Yue Tong wasn't so lucky. After the damage, the radar quickly detected that the massive planet had, unnoticed, appeared right in front of them.

Due to the complications just a moment earlier, Yue Tong's warship had slowed considerably.

Then, the ship was captured by the planet's gravity, and with the damage sustained, it could no longer break free from the planet's gravitational pull.

Yue Tong scoffed, "Since it has come knocking, let's face it head-on.

"Charge at the giant planet! Prepare for a landing battle!"

The crew, resigned to their fate, routed all energy of the spaceship to the weapon systems and began strafing the surface of the giant planet.