Chapter 492: Deduction
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The starry sky stretched on to the edges of the universe. Nebulae flared in brilliant colors like ephemeral space clouds. This familiar sight brought on a different emotion within Ye Chong. Looking back, he could see that Mu had already been planning for his independence. If there was only one person he could trust in this whole wide world, it would definitely be Mu/Shang. Mu's support was always there, and even Shang with all his pointless tricks had never disappointed him. That Mu and Shang would come to an agreement on this meant that they both believed that he should be independent.
There was no dread, no fear, no sense of loss - Ye Chong continued as usual. Nothing seemed to have changed, but something still felt off.
Now, he had no one to discuss his next steps. Ye Chong stared at the star chart of Gray Valley on the holographic screen in a daze. In the last few months, he, Mu and Shang had been playing their games with Gray Valley as the scene. Ye Chong could visualize the star chart with his eyes closed. He could even tell the minerals that could be found in each corner of the place.
After Mu and Shang cracked Gray Valley's virtual world encryption, they scoured through the virtual world for all the information they could get that was related to Gray Valley. Hence, their game, set up in Gray Valley, was at least 70 percent accurate compared to reality.
On this star chart, the red zones continued to expand. The red zones indicated where red-tailed beasts had arrived, and the color intensity told the frequency in which the creatures were sighted. The star chart was updated everyday as Shang continued to gather intel. Mu and Shang had decided to not interfere with Ye Chong's role in strategizing, but they would still offer technical assistance. Since Shang's intel came mostly from the virtual world, it was hard to gauge its accuracy. There was a lot of uncertainty involved.
Even so, the information was an important reference for Ye Chong.
Though he was unfamiliar to the silence on Mu and Shang's part, Ye Chong tried to concentrate. He rested his chin on his hands, staring at the holographic screen while his mind raced through possibilities.
The situation was serious! That was Ye Chong's first conclusion.
A few months ago, he would not have concluded anything meaningful from the star chart. Now, he could make at least make a few deductions from the uneven red stains on the star chart.
From the star chart, it seemed that the red-tailed beasts were beginning to spread throughout Gray Valley. However, most of the area was still a light red. This meant that the creatures did not appear so often. Ye Chong focused on the places where the red was the most intense, and a terrible image of disaster came to mind. He imagined how the intense red would spread like wildfire across the entire Gray Valley.
More importantly, the Gateway towards He Yue Galaxy was now decided in red-tailed beast territory. Shang had colored the area around the Gateway in dark red as the frontline. Even without the color, Ye Chong would have deduced the situation over there. That the heavily guarded Gateway was yielded to their enemy showed just how strong the red-tailed beasts were.
Their plan to head towards Duodania would have to change. Ye Chong was not confident that they would be able to break through the red-tailed beasts at the Gateway with their current strength.
Where to, then?
Ye Chong frowned. The huge expanse of Gray Valley seemed to offer no refuge for them. Ye Chong was confident of his own ability that, should they not encounter a large group of red-tailed beasts, they should be able to fight back, at least.
The dreadful redness seemed to taint every corner of Gray Valley. It was like a star chart marred with blood, or a map punctured with the jaws of death.
Their prospects were bleak, leaving not enough time for Ye Chong. Their slower flight had also allowed the red-tailed beasts behind them plenty of time to catch up.
However, Ye Chong was not worried about that. He was more focused on the distribution of red-tailed beasts in the star chart. He had seen how the spread of redness on the star chart changed over time. The hidden intention of the red-tailed beasts troubled him.
At first, Ye Chong noticed that the main army of the red-tailed beasts was advancing very slowly, even slower than their own starship. With the frontline army defeated, their final hurdle was removed. The red-tailed beast army should have overwhelmed Gray Valley by now. Ye Chong could not understand why they hesitated.
It was only a month later that Ye Chong began to catch a glimpse of the truth.
On the star chart, the dark red areas spread out like four tentacles. Two of them stretched out along the edge between Gray Valley and the Calamitous Asteroid Belt. These red-tailed beasts pushed forward quickly, and were already ahead of Ye Chong's ship. The other two formed the main red-tailed beast army. They advanced slowly but steadily, undeterred by any human forces they met along the way.
Ye Chong's time spent on the games were worth it - he could tell roughly what the red-tailed beasts were trying to do.
The red-tailed beasts knew how to plan their battles! This completely surprised Ye Chong. The red-tailed beasts that he saw near Yi Ju were a disordered bunch that fought only by instinct. It was thanks to this that the Sang Tribe did not lose even more people.
He could not deduce what happened to cause this change in the red-tailed beasts without any further information to work on. However, that was a problem to be filed away for later.
If he guessed right, the two red-tailed beast forces moving quickly along the boundaries of Gray Valley would converge at a single point, creating a circle of creatures around Gray Valley. The two main forces within would simply plough through the inside regions with unstoppable vigor.
What made the red-tailed beasts opt for this strategy? They could have just pushed forward with a single main force.
Surround and destroy! The thought came to Ye Chong almost instantly. A chilling sensation followed swiftly. Could it be … Could it be that chasing away the humans was not enough for them?
Ye Chong considered the possibility and found it to be highly likely! The armies at the flank were advancing quickly, ignoring the planets that they passed by. They may not be as powerful as the main army, but once both armies join forces, they would act as a strong barrier that would prevent anyone from escaping Gray Valley. The main forces could then take their time destroying the inhabitants within.
Was this really the case? Ye Chong's calmness gave way to nervousness. His back was drenched in cold sweat. The results of his deduction had shocked him.
Ye Chong quickly calmed himself down and repeated his deduction process. He reached the same conclusion for three times.
He no longer paused to wonder at the cruel designs by the red-tailed beasts. What he needed now was an answer to an important question.
Where would the two flanking red-tailed beast armies rendezvous?
It was an important question, and one that might become the key to their survival.
It took a long while, but in the end, Ye Chong's eyes focused on a particular point on the star chart.
Xi Qing and Shu were beside Ye Chong, quiet as mice so as to not interrupt their instructor.
Just then, the alarm rang, startling all three of them.
"Warning, red-tailed beasts sighted, there are -" The reporting crew's voice trembled, "- there are 1,632 of them!"
Xi Qing and Shu paled!
1,632 red-tailed beasts! This was almost the sum of all the red-tailed beasts they had ever encountered before this. It was no wonder that they both looked shocked.
On the holographic screen, the red-tailed beasts looked like a swarm of angry hornets, coming towards them.
Ye Chong gave his order calmly, "Round up the starships. All combat personnel to your designated stations. Get ready for battle!"
"Yes sir!" Xi Qing and Shu gathered themselves then, acknowledged their superior, and rushed out of the room. They were now even more impressed with their instructor. To be so calm and collected despite their predicament, he was obviously a man far more capable than themselves.
This time, they would attack with all they have.
"Hurry up - energy cells - over here!"
"Pressure valves checked, passageway hatch checked -"
"In your positions now. Please head to Position 2 -"
"Group 1, secure Passage 1. Group 2, secure Passage 2 -"
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The entire fleet waited in suspense. The ships stayed close to each other. Crew members dashed through the corridors, yelling at the top of their lungs. Eyes were opened wide, faces were flushed …
Five Fighter mechs took their positions at their designated passageway. Behind them were four other squads as backup.
"Squad Captain, do you think we'll win this time?" One of the mech pilots could not help but asked through the comms.
Their captain replied without hesitation, "Nonsense! Of course we will!" Then, he added unsurely, "I say, Major, don't you start chickening out. Hehe, if you're not up to it, I'll have you switched out!"
They all knew that the first wave of red-tailed beasts would be the strongest, and it would most likely be their make or break moment. Hence, the mech pilots for the first round of engagement were the bravest, and had the most casualties. They were also the heroes among them all, a symbol of courage, and respected by everyone in the fleet. People call them the spearheads.
A few of them laughed in the comms. Some began to jeer, "Haha, Major, wanna switch with me? Hehe, I always wanted to be a spearhead -"
Major flushed red, all the way to his neck. He growled like an angered beast, "Get lost! Who's chickening out? Squad Captain, I'll show you how to crush those b*stards! I'm a f*cking spearhead!" His hoarse voice was filled with pride and eagerness for battle!