On the other end of the video feed, the Pope slapped his forehead, lamenting, "A fleet commander without proper training... let alone one who's mixed in beast genes—no wonder they're hopeless."
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The bald bishop couldn't waste any more time cursing. He was just about to order his fleet to intercept when it was already too late. On the radar display, numerous green dots representing the fleet started dimming and turning gray.
Zooming in on the radar, he could see one T4 starship after another engulfed in flames.
Watching from the command center, Feng Mo noted the success of the T4 Scorpions and issued another order:
"While the enemy is in disarray, have the two T3 Brawlers each launch three rounds of interstellar missiles, covering the enemy's T3 starships. Fire!"
"Yes, sir!"
With Feng Mo's command, the captains of the two T3 Brawlers responded promptly. Wave after wave of missiles shot toward the New Human Church's fleet. Feng Mo wasn't interested in pushing for a larger victory, so he gave no further orders. All ships remained stationary.
"Alert! Radar has detected a large number of interstellar missiles locked on our fleet."
Finally realizing the gravity of the situation, the bald bishop frantically issued intercept commands. The fleet's close-in defense systems began attempting to shoot down the incoming missiles. However, interception success is never guaranteed.
This round's interception success rate was under 45%, meaning only 450 out of every 1,000 missiles were intercepted. The remaining 550 struck the T3 starships' shields directly.
Each T3 Brawler had launched three volleys, totaling 3,000 missiles. Even with successful intercepts, over 1,600 still hit their marks. As the missiles exploded, entire sections of the New Human Church's fleet faded from the radar.
"You fool! Order the fleet to retreat immediately!" the Pope shouted at the bishop.
It wasn't that the Pope didn't want to fight; the losses were simply too high. And why did Storm Fleet have so many specialized ships? First, there were stealth bombers, and now interstellar missile ships. Storm Fleet seemed to have every type of major warship—how could they even compete?
Reluctantly, the Pope ordered a full retreat. Feng Mo had no intention of stopping them; his goal this time was only to repel the New Human Church. If he wiped them out completely without a remaining threat to the Crystal Fossil Clan, why would they still feel the need to accept his protection?
Testing loyalty at the expense of trust was not Feng Mo's style; he knew such actions could backfire. As the Grand Elder observed the outcome on his system's display, he looked at Feng Mo with newfound admiration.
"Today's victory against the New Human Church is all thanks to the leadership of our Lord and the might of Storm Fleet. The strategic capabilities of your starships have left this old man in awe. With your protection, the Crystal Fossil Clan can live in peace from now on."
"Please be assured, Lord. The Crystal Fossil Clan highly values its promises. Since we've sworn loyalty, we will remain unwavering. On behalf of the seventeen million people of the Crystal Fossil Clan, I pledge our loyalty to our Lord."
With that, the Grand Elder and Tian Guang knelt before Feng Mo.
"All hail our Lord!"
The Grand Elder's words echoed throughout the primary star of the Crystal System, and over ten million Crystal Fossil Clan members knelt on one knee, chanting in unison.
Seeing this, any remaining doubts in Feng Mo's heart melted away, replaced by a genuine smile. He lifted his hand in a gesture of acknowledgment and laughed, "Rest assured, Grand Elder. With me here, the Crystal Star System will never face another threat. Once we conquer the Beast Roar System, I'll establish a star gate between our systems. Then the people of the Crystal Fossil Clan can freely visit the Hurricane and Storm Star Systems."
"Thank you, my Lord. Many of our people have never left the Crystal Star System. It's time for them to connect with the Starsea Human Federation."
Feng Mo wasn't surprised that the Grand Elder was knowledgeable about the Federation. The elder was wise and always knew how to make the right choices at the right time.
"Grand Elder, I heard there's a white hole in the Crystal Star System. Could you have Tian Guang show me its location? Also, do you know when it last erupted?"
The Grand Elder responded without hesitation, "Lord, there's no need for such courtesy. The Crystal Fossil Clan has pledged its loyalty, and the entire Crystal Star System is yours. Your orders are the highest authority among our people. I can finally retire and attend to my crystal garden, which hasn't been properly polished in decades. I can't wait."
Feng Mo smiled to himself. What a true retiree, he thought. But this also confirmed the elder's wisdom. Knowing when to relinquish power is one thing; being able to actually do it is another.
Thus, the Crystal Fossil Clan transitioned from the Grand Elder's leadership to the era of Feng Mo's rule. With the elder's departure, Tian Guang and Tian Ming entered Hurricane's control room and input the white hole's coordinates.
"Ai Er, instruct the fleet to dock at the Crystal Fossil Clan's starport. Only the Hurricane will continue from here."
Ai Er, who was stationed on the Mammoth, acknowledged. In Feng Mo's absence, Ai Er commanded Storm Fleet from one of the T5 flagships.
The Hurricane engaged its Grade-4 warp drive, which, unburdened by the fleet's T3 ships, achieved speeds five times that of Grade-3 drives. Within an hour, the Hurricane reached the edge of the Crystal Star System. Since obtaining white hole resources before, Feng Mo had been diligently researching them.
The data revealed that white holes commonly appeared on the outskirts of star systems and usually didn't disappear for several centuries. Therefore, discovering a white hole was like finding a sustainable treasure trove.
This was the true prize. Even for an entire star system, Feng Mo wouldn't trade away a white hole. With a steady supply of dark matter and dark energy crystals, he could secretly build a few T5 warships in the Crystal Star System. They'd be a perfect hidden asset for future battles.
White holes, though similar to black holes, aren't truly white. They're named as such because, unlike black holes, which pull matter in, white holes expel it.
This white hole, seven kilometers wide—double the size of the one in the Glimmer Star System—could potentially unleash an enormous amount of valuable resources. Seeing this precious site firsthand, Feng Mo finally felt reassured.
He turned to Hua Qin and said, "Deploy ten T4 Kangaroos and twenty T4 Blades and Shields. Tell Alisa to prioritize building a T4 Hurricane-class battleship and a T4 Mammoth-class carrier. These thirty-two ships will form the White Hole Defense Fleet, under the command of Silia."
"Yes, my Lord!"
-Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!