The expedition to the Celestial Crystal System proved immensely fruitful. The white hole there was expected to erupt again in roughly a year, giving Feng Mo ample time to gather resources during his next visit. He readily accepted the thirteen interstellar seeds, knowing that the Crystal Fossil Clan had little use for them.
The three unclassified seeds intrigued Feng Mo. Upon his return, he planned to visit Professor Luo in the Radiant Star System to have them analyzed. This would also be a convenient excuse to check on the mischievous Chu Yunjian. Reflecting on his three women, Feng Mo couldn't help but appreciate the timely addition of the Cinnamon Lotus—a useful medicinal herb.
Not that he'd admit he needed it, of course. It was just that the challenges were relentless, and no one could be expected to perform non-stop. After all, even he wasn't a machine.
Though these seeds were relatively ordinary—primarily herbaceous without any energy or unique interstellar properties—Feng Mo was still satisfied. Not every venture yielded spectacular results, and there was no reason to look down on practical, usable resources.
The spoils of this mission would suffice to retrofit additional quasi-T5 starships. Although a genuine T5 starship could be acquired through the Spark System's store, it came at an exorbitant price of 10,000 points—four times the cost of a T4 starship design. With his current balance of only 1,660 points, Feng Mo needed to complete three temporary missions to earn an additional 5,000 points. He would need to keep pushing forward, taking on more missions to accumulate enough.
For now, after securing so much from the Crystal Fossil Clan, it would only be right to see the mission through by wiping out the New Human Church threat.
The following morning, Feng Mo, accompanied by Aier and Hua Qin, arrived at the Celestial Crystal Star's port, where Tian Guang and Tian Ming were already waiting.
Feng Mo planned to launch an immediate assault on the Beast Roar System. Given that the New Human Church was likely prepared for an attack, capturing Beast Roar's primary planet directly would be challenging. He'd need the support of the Crystal Fossil Clan's fleet.
With the combined might of nearly 400 T4 starships, the Storm Alliance Fleet would be a force capable of overwhelming the New Human Church.
"Lord, the navigation route is set. Destination: Beast Roar Prime. The Storm Alliance Fleet has initiated synchronized warp drive mode. Level 1 gene warriors, please enter your stasis pods."
Yesterday, Feng Mo had tasked the fleet's industrial vessels with modifying the Crystal Fossil Clan's starships to integrate radar systems. Meanwhile, Eliza, who had received technical data on the crystal starships, was researching how to integrate dark matter and dark energy crystals to upgrade these vessels to quasi-T5 status.
Feng Mo hadn't shared these plans with Tian Guang or Tian Ming yet. Once Eliza completed the designs, presenting the modified ships would secure the clan's loyalty even further.
With the fleet in warp mode, they soon arrived in the interstellar space between the Celestial Crystal System and the Beast Roar System.
During the journey, Feng Mo listened to Tian Guang's explanations about the Beast Roar System. It was a relatively small star system, even smaller than the Storm System, containing only two primitive Class-2 habitable planets, both populated exclusively by beasts without any signs of humanoid or human life.
The Beast Roar System was largely undeveloped, with its resources left untapped. It seemed the system was relatively new, with the New Human Church having only occupied it for about three decades.
Based on this information, Feng Mo considered the Beast Roar System an ideal location for a hidden base. If the technology for creating battle planets became available, he could later transform the two Class-2 planets in the system for defensive purposes.
While Tian Guang continued his briefing, deep underground on Beast Roar Prime, the Pope of the New Human Church sat atop a grand throne clad in a red robe, with three muscular men in red battle suits standing below.
"Father, our fleet was ambushed by the Storm Fleet yesterday, suffering heavy losses. We lost sixty-seven T4 ships, three hundred sixty-four T3 ships, and over fourteen thousand hybrid crew members, with close to a hundred thousand regular crew killed. The enemy... sustained no casualties."
The bald-headed bishop glanced at the Pope, nervously gauging his reaction.
"Hmph. This Feng Mo dares to attack our fleet and inflict such a loss on us. He's become a growing threat, one that may soon endanger the Church itself," the Pope snarled, striking his throne's armrest in frustration before turning to the three bishops.
"I'll request a quasi-T5 fleet from the headquarters. As for you three, no more reckless gene-fusion experiments. You're to restore your former intelligence at once."
Before the Pope could finish, a mechanical alert sounded, cutting him off.
"Warning! Planetary defense radar has detected an unidentified fleet entering the Beast Roar System. Pope, your orders?"
"Father, it must be the Storm Fleet. Allow me to lead our fleet to meet them head-on. With the Beast Roar Prime's defenses, I'm confident we have a seventy percent chance of repelling them."
The Pope nodded, recalling how intelligent and resourceful his adopted bishops used to be, particularly Meng Ya, who had excelled in fleet command. But since they had begun fusing animal genes, their minds had deteriorated. Feng Mo had slain Meng Ya, the most capable among them, leaving the Pope with these three less insightful disciples.
Meanwhile, the Storm Alliance Fleet stopped just outside the radar range of the New Human Church's quasi-T5 starships in orbit around Beast Roar Prime.
"Storm Alliance Fleet has arrived at the designated coordinates outside Beast Roar Prime. Switching to standard navigation mode."
An automated announcement confirmed their position. A direct assault was not an option; the tactical analysis from the T4 Scorpion recon ships showed Beast Roar Prime was heavily fortified.
The defensive installations around the main starport alone boasted three hundred T4 surface-to-air missile cannons, making the starport a fortress in its own right.
Unlike typical planets that dispersed their defensive capabilities across the entire surface to protect their civilian population, Beast Roar Prime concentrated its firepower around the starport since the planet was populated only by beasts. This made it an easily defendable position, as any assault on the starport would face the combined fire of those three hundred T4 missile cannons—enough to breach even a quasi-T5 starship's shields.
Yet, Feng Mo had his own strategies. He had already demonstrated the capabilities of his stealth bombers and missile ships to the New Human Church; it was time to introduce them to something new.
Luckily, their defenses consisted mainly of missile cannons. While these cannons had quick cooldown times and could potentially unleash rapid volleys,
they were still easier to intercept compared to laser cannons.
-Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!