The Federation army spent an entire day and night reorganizing, and everyone had recovered to peak condition.
After daybreak, they ceased all activity and stood at attention, waiting for Wu Zhengming’s orders.
Wu Zhengming kept a close eye on the footage transmitted by the reconnaissance robots.
On-screen, the insectoids that had retreated underground remained completely still.
But the quieter they were, the more uneasy everyone felt.
Wu Zhengming’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter. For some reason, he had a strong intuition that the insectoids were preparing something terrifying.
People who had spent years on the battlefield trusted their instincts. Wu Zhengming opened his photobrain and issued an order.
“All personnel, prepare for battle.”
As soon as Wu Zhengming gave the order, the Federation soldiers aboard every battleship began carrying out one final inspection.
Combat mechs, protective suits, weapons…
Nothing could be left to chance on the battlefield.
Even a loose, insignificant component could result in the death of one person—or an entire group—at the hands of the insectoids.
The Federation army would never allow casualties that could have been prevented.
Ten minutes later, the seventeen SSS-rank ability users temporarily serving as deputy commanders reported in one after another.
“Reporting to the commander. The First Legion is ready.”
“The Second Legion is ready.”
“The Third Legion…”
Almost immediately after all seventeen deputies had finished reporting, the footage transmitted by the reconnaissance robots changed.
At the same time, every Federation soldier’s photobrain began flashing red and emitting a piercing alarm.
Wu Zhengming’s reassuring voice rang out.
“All legions, mount your combat mechs and engage the enemy.”
The Federation army’s execution was impeccable. Within half a second of receiving the order, they began moving.
One combat mech after another emerged from the ability barrier surrounding the fleet and assembled around the battleships.
Huge mounds of earth rose from the wasteland. Black heads emerged from them, green eyes fixed on the mechs piloted by the Federation soldiers, while their antennae vibrated rapidly.
Wu Zhengming did not need to remind them. The soldiers inside the mechs could tell at a glance that these insectoids were very different from the ones they had faced last time.
Their numbers were smaller, but their overall ranks were considerably higher.
There were more than a hundred ninth-level insectoids—each comparable in strength to an SSS-rank ability user—more than five times the number of SSS-rank ability users in the Federation!
Wu Zhengming’s expression turned solemn. As he issued orders, he did not forget to share the information with the other commanders.
“Over a hundred?” Holmont sucked in a sharp breath. “How could there be so many?!”
After all, the total number of ninth-level insectoids on all the frontier planets combined was only a little over a hundred.
The destruction of the Insect Queen’s breeding site last time had not only prevented hundreds of thousands of new insects from being born, but had also given the Federation army a clearer understanding of the insectoids’ current strength.
Holmont had been the commander in charge of that operation.
He was certain that when they had gone to the insectoids’ territory last time, there had been no more than one hundred and fifty ninth-level insectoids.
Before that, the insectoids had dispatched quite a few ninth-level forces in retaliation against the Federation, and nearly half of them had been lost on the frontier planets.
By his calculations, the number of ninth-level insectoids should have been reduced to around one hundred and thirty. On top of that, more than a hundred had been trapped on the frontier planets.
So where had those extra seventy ninth-level insectoids come from?
This was the question troubling every commander, but Wu Zhengming had no answer either.
The Federation army could not investigate the exact situation inside the insect nest. All he could do was remain calm and modify the battle plan they had prepared earlier.
Yunyang had woken up before the battle began and was now sitting on a sofa not far from Wu Zhengming.
She could clearly hear Wu Zhengming’s conversations with the other commanders. She could also see the situation on the battlefield through the light screen in front of her.
At this point, the Federation soldiers were still inside their mechs. Rather than waste her ability, she stared at the screen for a long while.
“Do you feel that something is strange about the insectoids today?”
The nine beast husbands carefully observed the insectoids on the screen after hearing this.
Qin Mo and Cang Zhuonian had dealt with insectoids the most. They were the first to notice what Yunyang meant.
“Mistress, these ninth-level insectoids seem to be extremely furious.”
It was normal for the insectoids to be enraged after the beastmen had raided their planet and attempted to exterminate the Insect Queen.
But before this, the insectoids had never displayed their emotions so clearly. Even when the Insect Queen’s breeding site had been destroyed, they had not seemed this enraged.
Yunyang’s brows drew together slightly.
“Do you think the Insect Queen’s mental shock could affect the insectoids?”
The Insect Queen’s mental shock could influence the emotions of ability users and disrupt their attacks. This was something the Federation had always been wary of.
When Qin Mo and the other two had previously been recalled to the garrison, Yunyang had continued following the military’s official account. In her spare time, she had also browsed through the military’s earlier posts.
She seemed to remember seeing a video of beastmen being affected by the Insect Queen.
The insectoids on the screen looked no different from usual, but their emotions were visibly exposed, and their eyes held a ferocious glint.
They seemed somewhat similar to the beastmen who had been affected.
Yunyang’s question left all nine beast husbands speechless. Even Wu Zhengming, who was not far away, froze for a moment.
Even if the Insect Queen’s mental shock could affect the insectoids, the Insect Queen was not stupid. Why would she attack her own soldiers at a time like this?
Wu Zhengming continued directing the Federation army’s battle, but another thought surfaced in his mind—
Would the Insect Queen really not attack the insectoid army?
Half an hour after the Federation army and the insectoids began their second battle, Wu Zhengming ordered all ability users ranked A and above to withdraw from their combat mechs and fight the insectoids with their abilities.
Yunyang continued blessing the defensive-type ability users on the front line.
Just then, the door to another lounge aboard the battleship finally opened.
After learning that she had slept through the entire night, Si Zhao quickly washed up and then walked out of the lounge with her five Imperial Consorts.
She sat down beside Yunyang, and the aura surrounding her seemed unchanged.
“Yangyang, did you get enough rest last night?”
Si Zhao could no longer remember when she had fallen asleep.
But she knew that after she had drifted off, Yangyang must have taken over the remaining purification work.
While absorbing insect cores to replenish her ability, Yunyang replied, “Sister Zhaozhao, I rested very well. What about you?”
“I rested well too.”
Si Zhao nodded. After taking a moment to recover, she turned her attention to the battlefield.
Since the battle had only just begun, no ability user’s contamination level had exceeded ninety yet, so there was no opportunity for her to intervene.
However, it was not long before an ability user failed to inject a suppressant in time. His contamination level rose to ninety, and part of his body underwent irreversible beastification.
Si Zhao immediately worked with He Youchuan to bring him back.
The Federation soldier was an S-rank ability user. Knowing that she could not purify him, Si Zhao turned to Yunyang.
But Yunyang did not purify the soldier right away.
After renewing the blessings on the defensive-type ability users, she tentatively asked, “Sister Zhaozhao, your mental strength is close to S-rank. Would you like to try and see if you can purify his contamination?”
