The roar had not yet died down when Ou Zhanpeng's hands moved in unison, issuing several commands in succession.
Starship Base initiated quantum interference, activated full-power shields, and accelerated its orbit around Earth; Starship detached from the base, taking the lead towards the wormhole.
"My God, what does that damned little runt want to do?" Mi Sha's eyes widened in terror, letting out a scream of fear, "What does he want to do?"
Zhou Guangyi was equally horrified: "Call Starship, please respond, Starship, please respond, Ou Zhanpeng, talk to me—"
"Starship acknowledges!" Ou Zhanpeng's calm voice came through the comms.
"Ou Zhanpeng, do you know what you're doing?" Zhou Guangyi flew into a rage, "What do you want to do?"
Ou Zhanpeng's voice was as placid as still water: "I want to give the Black Horn people an unforgettable lesson, so they never dare to covet Earth again!"
"Have you considered the consequences of doing this? You're still going forward, stop for me!" Zhou Guangyi was hopping with anxiety, "Ou Zhanpeng—"
"I know exactly what I'm doing." The bow of Starship had already entered the wormhole, showing no sign of slowing down, "Either we defend Earth passively and get beaten, or we take the initiative and settle it once and for all!"
Zhou Guangyi roared sternly: "Aren't you afraid Earth will be finished by the time Starship returns?"
Ou Zhanpeng's lips curved: "If I don't do this, Earth will be finished today."
Before his words had finished, Starship had plunged into the wormhole, disappearing completely.
A general, on campaign, may disregard the monarch's orders!
Ou Zhanpeng could not accept the outcome of Earth being destroyed by aliens. He had to take this risk, he had to fight for a future for humanity!
Zhou Guangyi was in despair, but he still remembered the importance of Starship to humanity. He let out a furious roar: "What are you standing around for, follow!"
No order was needed. All the officers and soldiers of the three fleets were captivated by the courage and decisiveness Ou Zhanpeng displayed in the face of disaster. More than a dozen Flaming-class ships surged towards the wormhole in unison.
"You're crazy, all of you, come back!" Shan Qiuyu appeared in time to stop them, "If you all follow Starship, who will defend Earth?"
This caused everyone to be at a loss for what to do.
Zhou Guangyi, who had been blinded by anger, finally regained some clarity: "Earth and Mars fleets remain, Jupiter fleet follows!"
Shan Qiuyu, though filled with worry, did not speak out to stop them further.
He had always opposed Zhou Guangyi's decision.
Starship Base was indeed important, and Starship was indeed useful, but they were merely legacies left by the Seers. How to ensure the survival of human civilization was the primary problem facing everyone!
This was not just a disagreement between Zhou Guangyi and Shan Qiuyu; to a large extent, it represented two different attitudes. Zhou Guangyi, ever the pessimist, had long prepared a fallback for humanity, ensuring their survival even if Earth were destroyed.
Shan Qiuyu was also pessimistic, but his focus was always on how humanity could overcome the crisis, not on abandoning their home and starting anew.
There was no right or wrong, only differences in opinion and worldviews, which led to different attitudes towards Starship.
The soldiers, however, could not think so much. The Jupiter fleet charged forward as one, lining up and passing through sequentially.
Everyone's hearts were filled with passion, anticipating a decisive battle with the alien fleet after passing through the wormhole.
However, after the first Flaming-class ship passed, the wormhole's coverage began to noticeably shrink.
The ships behind them were suddenly caught in a dilemma.
Stopping was easy, but their allied ships that had already passed through the wormhole would become isolated; but proceeding further risked being sliced in half by the wormhole!
The very first ship was the Qinzhou, commanded by Gu Haibo.
At this critical moment, Gu Haibo remained calm and collected, immediately assessing the wormhole's contraction speed, and decisively ordered the ship to advance at full speed, plunging into the wormhole.
At this moment, everyone unconsciously held their breath.
If a warship were severed by a wormhole, it would be far more than simply breaking into two pieces. The portion of the ship remaining outside the wormhole would have a slim chance of survival, while the portion that had entered the wormhole would inevitably be lost in the unknown universe.
It was no exaggeration to say that passing through the wormhole at this moment was an extremely dangerous act.
What caused even greater concern was that after Qinzhou entered the wormhole, the edge of the wormhole contracted even faster!
Qinzhou's tail emitted an extremely long trail of flame. In an instant, only its tail remained outside the wormhole, but the wormhole's contraction was accelerating, about to disappear completely.
At the very moment the tail was about to be completely submerged, the edge of the wormhole closed, vanishing entirely.
Everyone stared dumbfounded, then began to whisper and discuss, all unable to ascertain whether Qinzhou had successfully passed through the wormhole.
Even the footage captured by high-speed cameras could not reveal what had happened in that final moment.
All they could do was pray for Qinzhou's safety.
On the other side of the wormhole, it closed completely behind Qinzhou, only narrowly missing severing the warship into two.
Gu Haibo let out a long sigh, muttering "That was close."
Ou Zhanpeng's eyes nearly bulged out. After confirming the warship's identity, he immediately contacted it, "Old Gu, you're something else!"
"By luck!" Gu Haibo, still shaken, swept his gaze around and immediately grasped the surrounding situation.
In his sight, he could see four giant Black ships, along with over twenty ordinary Black ships, regrouping around the giant ships, preparing to launch an attack.
The habitable planet in the distance was even more remarkable, with three orbital rings—inner, middle, and outer—and several orbital elevators extending straight to the surface. The areas around the orbital rings were swarming with countless spacecraft, so many that Gu Haibo's heart sank with trepidation.
Even ants can bite an elephant to death. Even with overwhelming force, three warships could not possibly contend with so many enemy vessels!
He swallowed hard and asked, "What do we do?"
"Linzhou, move to my left; Qinzhou, move to my right!" Ou Zhanpeng issued his first command after passing through the wormhole.
His mind was racing.
The enemy warships were more numerous than they had previously observed, and their overall strength far exceeded expectations. Meanwhile, their own side, due to the wormhole closing, only had three warships that made it through, resulting in an extremely disproportionate disparity in strength.
At this moment, engaging the enemy would inevitably lead to a fierce battle, and no matter how powerful Starship was, it would only face destruction.
They absolutely could not allow the enemy to gain the initiative!
Ou Zhanpeng made a decisive move: "Linzhou, Qinzhou, release your sub-ships to tie down the enemy; main ships, follow me!"
The eight sub-ships immediately separated from the main ship, their tail flames spewing as they voluntarily charged towards the enemy.
The main ships followed closely behind Starship, adopting a disengagement posture. Ou Zhanpeng deliberately used Starship to shield the two allied ships, and two tractor beams were locked onto the allied ships, assisting them in accelerating their flight.
It looked like a move of cutting off one's tail to escape.
The enemy forces immediately focused their fire on the sub-ships. Within two volleys, five of the eight sub-ships were destroyed.
Ou Zhanpeng's gaze fell upon the distance, and he softly uttered two words: "Fire!"
The cutting cannon's energy was depleted, and an orbital elevator was silently severed, falling into the atmosphere in a winding, distorted manner.
Since they were no match for the Black Horn fleet, they would attack what the enemy had to save—their planet!