Brother, just how powerful is our family?

On the bridge of the Conqueror 001, Qin Zhanjun's face was ashen.

On the holographic screen, two of the dots representing friendly forces are rapidly dimming and then disappearing.

Logistics 015. Medical 008.

disappear.

Including the 23,741 people mentioned above.

They disappeared together.

His fists were clenched tightly.

But he had no time to grieve.

Because the bullets are still coming.

"All fleet, full defense!" His voice echoed through the quantum communication system. "Stop them at all costs!"

"at the same time--"

His gaze fell on another direction on the holographic screen—the direction from which all the bullets were coming from.

"Information investigation team, find their source!"

In front of the holographic screen, everyone in the information reconnaissance team was working frantically.

The gravity sensing system is operating at full power. Electromagnetic spectrum scanning covers the entire frequency band. Neutrino detectors are fully activated. Changes in space curvature are being monitored in real time.

All the data is converging on the ship's main computer.

Then, the mastermind provided the answer:

Projectile direction locked.

Coordinates: Zenu Galaxy.

Distance: Approximately two light-years.

"The Zenu Galaxy?" The head of the information reconnaissance team stared at the coordinates, his brow furrowed. "That's—"

"The edge of the Serandia civilization's territory," the deputy continued, "about ten light-years from their home planet."

The team leader was silent for a second.

Then, a cold smile appeared on his lips:

"Oh, so they were waiting for us here."

"Report to the Commander-in-Chief immediately—"

"The projectiles originated from the Zenu system." The information reconnaissance team's report reached Qin Zhanjun's ears thirty seconds later. "The distance is approximately two light-years. Judging from the density and distribution range of the projectiles, the enemy should have deployed a large number of orbital cannons on the outer edge of the Zenu system, and is continuously firing projectiles in our direction."

Qin Zhanjun stared at the point of light marked "Zenu" on the star map and remained silent for three seconds.

Three seconds later, he gave the order to counterattack:

"All Conqueror-class ships, prepare electromagnetic railguns."

"Target: Direction of the Zenu Galaxy."

Ammunition type: Standard bullet.

Rate of fire: Full power.

"Fire!"

Twenty-four Conqueror-class capital ships simultaneously began charging.

Each Conqueror-class ship is equipped with thirty-six electromagnetic railguns.

Twenty-four ships, totaling eight hundred and sixty-four doors.

What does it mean to fire 864 electromagnetic railguns simultaneously?

That's a power powerful enough to tear a planet apart.

That is a power powerful enough to destroy a galaxy.

That was the first time the Yanhuang civilization had shown its true strength to the Serantia civilization.

Eight hundred and sixty-four projectiles were fired simultaneously from the cannon barrel.

Each bullet weighs 10,000 tons.

Each bullet exits the barrel at a speed of 0.8 times the speed of light.

Each bullet carries enough kinetic energy to destroy a continent.

They left 864 faint trails in the void as they flew toward the Zenu Galaxy, two light-years away.

Two light-years.

Traveling at 0.8 times the speed of light, it would take two and a half years to arrive.

Two and a half years later, they will reach the star system with eight thousand orbital cannons deployed.

Two and a half years later, they will teach the Thranduil people a lesson—

When you fire projectiles at the descendants of Yan and Huang, you'd better pray they don't retaliate.

Because once they retaliate, you won't have a second chance.

After the order to counterattack was given, the Qin army did not stop.

"Ship 009, report the damage."

On the bridge of Conqueror 009, the commander's voice was somewhat hoarse:

"The ship's side was grazed by a projectile, creating a gash approximately five kilometers long. All airtight compartments in the gash area have been sealed off and the area isolated. Preliminary count: casualties..."

He paused:

"Two thousand three hundred and seventy-one people were killed in action. Among them, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two were soldiers and five hundred and twenty-nine were support personnel."

"Another 300 soldiers were blown out of the ship during the loss of control and are currently drifting in space. We have dispatched rescue ships and are conducting a full-scale search and rescue operation."

Qin Zhanjun was silent for a second:

"Save them. Not one of them can be lost."

"yes!"

Near Conqueror 009, more than twenty small rescue ships are shuttling back and forth.

Their mission is to find the soldiers who have been blown out of the ship and rescue them.

Those soldiers, wearing combat uniforms, can survive for seventy-two hours in a vacuum.

The problem is that when they were blown out, they were at different speeds and in different directions, and now they are scattered over a radius of hundreds of kilometers.

Moreover, the bullets continued to rain down.

The rescue spacecraft pilots dodged incoming projectiles while searching for faint signs of life on the holographic screen.

"Found one! Coordinates..."

"Got it, I'm off!"

A rescue spaceship changed direction and flew towards that coordinate.

Soon, the driver spotted the target: a figure in a black combat suit, slowly floating in the air.

The rescue spacecraft approached, opened the hatch, extended its robotic arm, gently grabbed the figure, and pulled it into the cabin.

The hatch closed, and the air pressure was restored.

The driver took off his helmet and looked back.

He was a young soldier, who looked to be no more than twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

His combat uniform was intact, and his vital signs were normal, but his eyes were closed and his face was pale.

The driver gently patted his face:

"Hey, wake up!"

The soldier's eyelids twitched, and he slowly opened them.

He saw the top of the rescue spacecraft, the pilot's face, and the green signal light that indicated "rescued".

Then, he opened his mouth and asked in a hoarse voice:

"I'm alive?"

The driver smiled:

"Live. Live well."

The soldier paused for a second, then suddenly remembered something and sat up abruptly:

"Where are my comrades? I have several comrades right next to me!"

The driver was silent for a second.

Then, he said softly:

"We will continue the search."

The soldier understood from his expression.

He closed his eyes and didn't say another word.

The rescue operation lasted six hours.

Six hours later, all the soldiers who could be found were rescued.

A total of 273 people.

Sixty-seven people have not yet been found.

They might have been hit by a bullet, or drifted further away in the void, or perhaps...

Nobody knows.

But everyone knew they wouldn't be coming back.

Sixty-seven more names have been added to the list of the dead.

Including the 23,741 people on Logistics 015 and Medical 008, plus the more than 1,800 people on Conqueror 009 who were directly vaporized by the projectiles—

On this day, more than 26,000 members of the expeditionary force were killed in action.

26,000 people.

During the five-year voyage, the expeditionary force did not lose a single man.

On this day, 26,000 people were left forever in this star field.

On the bridge of Conqueror 001, Qin Zhanjun stood in front of the holographic star map, motionless for a long time.

Behind him, everyone in the bridge command group remained silent.