Warhammer, I really didn't intend to form a second empire!

The Ironborn's practical testing has entered its second phase, the expansion project of the Forging World is progressing as planned, and the data decoding work on the Ancestral Core is also proceeding slowly but steadily...

None of these things are more urgent right now than fighting for a position that has not yet been established.

However, the emperor's decrees were directly issued to the Qin Dynasty.

The golden spiritual energy appeared suddenly. Zhao Zheng was in the rest room of the Lishan ship, reviewing the latest decoding report of the ancestral core submitted by Zhang Heng.

The Emperor's psychic energy appeared at the edge of his perception without warning, releasing a clear message at a steady frequency.

"In the Extreme Starfield, J-20 Star Cluster, there is an Alien Pocket Empire that needs to be dealt with. Your campaign in the River Heart region has spread widely among the various legions of the Empire. The Great Expedition needs a sufficiently strong force in this direction to deal with this Alien Empire."

"Horus and the other legions are responsible for different areas on other battlefields. The J-20 star cluster is not far from your nearest jurisdiction, so I sent you to handle it."

Zhao Zheng originally thought he could just send these few brother legions over, since he didn't have the time right now, but then he suddenly thought of those Ironborn.

It seems they haven't experienced a real battle yet, and this looks like a good opportunity.

He replied to the Emperor's message with a very straightforward sentence.

"I'll handle it."

The Emperor's spiritual energy messages ceased, and after confirming Zhao Zheng's response, the golden spiritual energy receded from Zhao Zheng's perception.

Zhao Zheng sat at the table in the lounge, looking at the Ancestral Core Decoding Report that had been set aside. He then turned off the data panel and picked up the message panel that the Emperor had just sent him.

The alien pocket empire in the J-20 star system is quite large. According to the data he retrieved from the empire's intelligence files, it is an alien civilization that controls at least eight star systems and has a complete orbital defense system.

Their biological characteristics and technological level are not yet fully understood. The reconnaissance units sent by the Empire have only sent back some basic orbital scan data, confirming that the density of the defense forces in this star system is much higher than that of typical alien settlements.

Judging from the data on paper, this Alien Pocket Empire is indeed very strong, but that's about it.

"Kongming, come here for a moment."

Zhao Zheng's voice came through the communication channel, and not long after, Kong Ming pushed open the door and walked in.

He was wearing his standard white uniform, and as usual, he was holding a data tablet in his hand.

Generally speaking, Kongming rarely wore that power armor. After all, if a civil official like him had to go to the battlefield, it meant that the situation was already very serious, even though his α+ level psionic strength was enough to make him no less than any top Astartes.

"His Majesty?"

"The Emperor just sent an order to me to clean up an alien pocket empire in the J-20 star cluster of the Extreme Starfield. I plan to take a group of Ironborn with me to see how they perform in real combat."

After listening, Kongming did not respond immediately. He lowered his gaze for a moment, and his fingertip lightly traced the edge of the data panel on Zhao Zheng's desk, quickly browsing through the relevant information about the J-20 star system.

"According to intelligence from the Empire, this alien empire is not small in scale, and they have been operating in the J-20 star cluster for a long time, continuing from the Golden Age to the present day. They must have something extraordinary about them."

"If we only bring Ironborn, without the regular troops of the Imperial Dragon Legion, we might encounter some problems during the assault phase, and it might also expose our situation."

Zhao Zheng leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped together on his abdomen.

"Then let's bring some auxiliary troops, and send more heavy weapons and drone formations, so that we can disguise ourselves when the time comes."

"The main purpose of this operation is to test the Ironborn's combat capabilities, not to pursue the shortest possible occupation time. I have enough time to let them fight step by step, as long as the final result is to take down the J-20 star cluster."

Kongming nodded slightly and did not insist on his suggestion any further.

He knew that Zhao Zheng's idea was correct. If the Ironborn were to play a more important role on the battlefield in the future, they would indeed need a substantial real battle to verify their reliability.

"Should we send a marshal to assist you in this operation?"

"No need. You stay on Qiankun Star to oversee and handle daily affairs. I'll take a group of Ironborn, some auxiliary troops, and warships, that'll be enough. It's not like we're going to fight to the death. If we can't beat the Great Qin, we still have reinforcements."

"The situation in the river region is almost stable now. The marshals and the brother legions must be getting restless lately. Let's prepare and let them resume their expedition."

"To avoid the Emperor noticing and saying we're delaying the expedition. Tsk, I don't know what the Emperor is thinking. Ruth has only been back for a short time, and he's already sending his legion to fight a large orc empire."

"Does he think Ruth is me? Or does he think a barbarian who has never been exposed to interstellar warfare can command a fleet? I guess it's going to be another boarding and decapitation strike or something like that. I wonder if the Sixth Legion can hold out, and whether that silly kid Ruth will swallow his pride and ask for help."

Kongming responded, ignoring Zhao Zheng's daily complaints about the Emperor and the Primarch, and went to make preparations.

That evening, Zhao Zheng sent a brief confirmation message to the Emperor using his psionic powers, informing him that he would be departing for the J-20 star system within a week, and then "hung up" the communication without waiting for the Emperor's reply.

……

On his way to the J-20 star system, Zhao Zheng reviewed the reconnaissance data several times.

The layout of those irregularly shaped orbital defense platforms presents a relatively regular geometric arrangement, a very normal layout.

The turrets and sensor arrays are distributed very evenly, which is closer to human defense technology in this respect than the rugged industrial style of the dwarves.

That's all; the technological origins or specific threat level of this alien civilization cannot be confirmed at present.

Zhao Zheng was not in a hurry to make a judgment. Before setting off, he notified the Ironborn that the location of the second round of combat tests would be changed from the edge of the river center area to the synchronous orbit of the J-20 galaxy.

Those mass-produced Ironborn who have just rolled off the production line and have not yet experienced a real large-scale battle will face their first real combat test on the battlefield of this alien empire.

Before setting off, Zhao Zheng set the number of Ironborn troops participating in this operation at 100,000, plus a fleet consisting of 100 Great Wall-class battleships and more than 2,000 auxiliary ships, as well as 2,000 Astartes from the Imperial Dragon Legion responsible for command and coordination, and 10,000 "good brothers" auxiliary troops.

……

Zhao Zheng stood in front of the control panel, his gaze fixed on the slowly rotating image of the star system cluster, his fingertips lightly tapping the edge of the panel.

His reconnaissance units had completed a preliminary scan of the outer perimeter of the J-20 star system forty-eight hours ago. The data stream was being refreshed line by line on the holographic screen, gradually filling in the location information of those alien orbital defense platforms and ground facilities.

The detection data shows that the surfaces of those defense platforms are covered with a translucent energy shield, and the outer shell glows with an extremely faint blue-white fluorescence under starlight.

Based on the scan results, this alien pocket empire has been operating in the J-20 system for a long time, and their defense system is very complete.

Furthermore, it is evident that their fleets are purely technological creations, untouched by any strange or unusual biotechnology contamination.

"Are they all humanoid aliens? Could they be an alien race evolved from mutants?"

Looking at the images transmitted back by the drone formation, Zhao Zheng noticed that the aliens resembled some of the aliens in children's movies and TV shows he had seen in his previous life.

But it doesn't matter, since they're going to be exterminated anyway.

"All fleets, listen to my command: concentrate your firepower and prioritize attacking the enemy's main star defense platform, while conducting probing strikes on the orbital defense platforms on the outer perimeter of the planet."

Zhao Zheng's orders were transmitted to each fleet via encrypted channels.

The sound of the main guns charging on the Great Wall-class battleships echoed deep within the hull, low and resonant, carrying through the metal structure along with the hum of battle preparations, spreading throughout the entire ship at a frequency almost perceptible to the bones.

Zhao Zheng stood in front of the main control console, watching the confirmation signals of each ship light up one by one, and then issued the order to fire.

The first round of orbital strikes was highly accurate. The main guns of the Great Wall-class battleships completed precise trajectory corrections before firing, ensuring that every luminous spear and macro cannon landed at the connection point of the orbital defense platform.

The turrets of the alien defense platforms were briefly paralyzed after the beam hit the connection point. Some platforms began to tilt and slowly slid off their intended tracks, exposing the supporting structure underneath.

They hadn't even realized what was happening, because the Qin fleet hadn't entered their detection range, and their defense platforms were unable to implement countermeasures.

These alien fleets quickly spotted the Qin fleet and began to sweep towards them at full speed.

But Zhao Zheng shook his head as he looked at the loose formation of these aliens and the weapon array that hadn't even started to warm up yet.

The outlines of those ships gradually became clear in the optical sensors, revealing a flat, streamlined design with a uniform blue-white energy shield covering their surfaces.

Each of them is quite large, roughly equivalent to an Imperial standard frigate or light cruiser.

But their speed was too slow, and their formation was too chaotic. How could they point their cannons at their own fleet?

"Is this the state their fleet was in when it charged in?"

Adjutant Su Lie quickly retrieved the records from the forward reconnaissance units at the front, and after confirming them, gave an affirmative answer.

"Yes, Your Majesty, they only began to assemble in this direction about eleven minutes after the orbital strike began, and the formation speed during the assembly process has remained at the current speed without any signs of acceleration."

Zhao Zheng withdrew his gaze and focused it again on the blue-white light spots that were slowly approaching in front of him.

He had originally thought this would be a campaign that would take at least several weeks to complete, so he brought sufficient logistical reserves and heavy firepower, intending to slowly test the Ironborn's combat capabilities on the battlefield of the J-20 system.

However, judging from the current situation, the alien empire's reaction speed and tactical organization capabilities are much lower than his lowest estimate, and even worse than the first interstellar encounter when the Great Qin was just starting out.

Zhao Zheng even suspected that they might have degenerated to the point of not knowing how to deal with interstellar warfare because they hadn't seen an external enemy for so long.

"Fire all main guns at once and take out their flagship first. The rest of the fleet should remain in place. The escort ships should maintain the air defense array and see how their remaining ships react."

After the order was given, the main guns of the Great Wall-class battleships quickly adjusted their aiming parameters and fired a second salvo, locking onto the largest ship in the center of the alien fleet, as well as the nearby escort fleet.

The light spears drew thousands of straight blue beams across the starry sky, accurately hitting the flagship and its surroundings.

The ship's energy shield flickered a few times under this high-intensity, continuous impact before shattering and peeling off. The ship's armor layers evaporated layer by layer under the focused beam of light, and then a secondary explosion occurred.

The flagship broke in two during the explosion, and the wreckage, still burning, slid to both sides, turning into scrap metal along with the surrounding escort fleet and drifting in the starry sky.

The surrounding alien ships did not show any obvious chaos after the flagship was destroyed; their formation continued to advance in its original loose formation, and their speed remained unchanged.

Zhao Zheng observed for about three minutes and confirmed that the alien ships did not take any countermeasures, but only focused on escaping and charging. His own fleet even collided with one of them.

He shook his head, ordered the fleet to continue maintaining firepower suppression and gradually reduce the number of alien fleets, and then stepped back from the control panel.

Over the next thirty minutes, the Qin fleet steadily and gradually eliminated the alien ships.

Each salvo accurately shot down dozens of alien ships, and the explosions flashed alternately in the vacuum, thinning the loose formation layer by layer.

They continued forward at their original speed amidst the burning wreckage until the last ship shattered into tumbling metal fragments under the blows of light spears and torpedoes.

The entire process lacked any element that could be called a "battle," and there was no feedback whatsoever.

It was less of a naval battle and more of a boring, childish game of crushing the enemy.

Zhao Zheng looked at the battlefield area filled with debris, remained silent for a long time, and finally spoke in a tone that was somewhere between helplessness and confirmation.

"Order to prepare to deploy landing forces to the planet's surface. The fleet will maintain orbital blockade and, while the Ironborn gain control of the surface, take control of the alien orbital platform."

The landing of the Ironborn proceeded as planned over the next few hours.

One hundred thousand Ironborn landed on the planet's surface and in areas cleared by orbital strikes in batches via numerous airdrop pods and transport ships, encountering no significant resistance along the way.

There are indeed alien military facilities and fortifications on the ground, with a fairly sophisticated structure.

However, the turrets were closed, the garrison was sparsely populated, and the alien soldiers who survived the orbital strikes did not put up any organized resistance when faced with the Ironborn's advance.

Zhao Zheng stood on the bridge of the Lishan, looking down at the real-time footage of the planet's surface from high above. His gaze fell on the Ironborn convoy slowly advancing between the blue and white buildings, and he frowned.

He suddenly understood.

This so-called alien pocket empire is likely rotten from within. They have been complacent here for far too long, to the point that multiple rounds of political struggles may have taken place internally, leaving them in a state of internal weakness.

Those orbital defense platforms and fleets are probably filled with countless generations of spoiled rich kids who are just coasting along. Those who are truly capable and get things done have probably been squeezed out.

Otherwise, Zhao Zheng couldn't have imagined why such a vast and prosperous pocket empire would fall into such a state of disarray.

After confirming that the Ironborn's ground advance had not encountered any substantial obstacles, Zhao Zheng handed over command of the bridge to Su Lie and turned to head to the lounge.

As he walked through the corridor, his psychic senses spread outwards along the planet's surface, reaching the edges of the alien settlements.

He noticed that the biosignal density inside those buildings was indeed very low, and the activity intensity was also extremely weak, as if most areas were in a state of idleness.

These aliens have either severely degenerated or shrunk in number, or they have abandoned their responsibility for external defense on a larger scale.

In either case, they could not possibly confront the Qin Empire head-on.

In just three days, the ground scan data of the J-20 star system was compiled onto Zhao Zheng's terminal.

Most of the aliens' main settlements and industrial facilities were already in a semi-abandoned state before the Ironborn arrived.

In the few areas where aliens were still active, no resistance was offered when the Ironborn approached. Like a group of animals that had long forgotten how to deal with threats, they silently stayed in place and waited for the outcome.

The Ironborn lined up around the alien settlements, but received no orders to fire. Their sensor arrays continued to scan the surrounding buildings, checking to see if any aliens would come out to fight back.

But in the end, there was no resistance.

After finishing reviewing the report on the bridge of the Lishan, Zhao Zheng turned off the data panel, leaned back in his chair, and stared at the J-20 star cluster marker, which had been tinged with pale green by the map of the Qin Dynasty.

One hundred thousand Ironborn, two thousand warships, ten thousand auxiliary troops, and two thousand Astartes from the Imperial Dragon Legion, after a week of preparation, arrived at the battlefield after a long voyage, bringing ample ammunition, supplies, and logistical support...

Then they discovered that the enemy offered no real resistance.

Zhao Zheng couldn't describe his feelings at that moment. He simply continued to sit in the conductor's chair, his fingertips tapping absently on the edge of the armrest.

"Forget it, let's just treat it as a long-distance military exercise. At least we ran through the long-distance transportation and orbital landing procedures of the Ironborn, so the data is still useful."

Zhao Zheng muttered to himself, as if trying to convince himself, or perhaps trying to find a plausible ending to the operation.

He turned back to the control panel, pulled up the next deployment plan, lingered for a moment on the green area marked "cleared," and then added it to the subsequent development sequence.

Although the J-20 star cluster did not fulfill the testing role Zhao Zheng had envisioned, its resource potential is still significant; otherwise, this group of aliens could not have developed so well.

Having done all this, Zhao Zheng planned to return to Qiankun Star first, and then arrange for follow-up troops to handle the remaining issues.

"A boring battle."

Zhao Zheng commented that although everything was good, because they could take over such a large, resource-rich territory without bloodshed, and also acquire so much valuable technology, they had made a huge profit.

"Your Majesty, we have discovered a complex set of equipment in an underground facility on the third planet. Our initial assessment is that it is a system for agricultural production, far exceeding the scale of any agricultural facility in the Empire. We suggest you come down and confirm it in person."

Just then, the offspring in charge of cleaning up the battlefield sent back a message, which made Zhao Zheng stand up.