Legacy of the Void Fleet-Chapter 297: ch

Many who heard this wore expressions as if they had tasted something bitter. Yet what the Minotaur said was logical and hard to refute once they thought about it deeply.

Then someone spoke again, "If that’s true, wouldn’t the Star Race, along with the coalition of four other Tier One powers, be at a disadvantage? Can they really do anything against this enemy?" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

After a pause, the voice grew heavier. "If not... then wouldn’t this be the end of us? Of our race?"

Many who heard this wore expressions as if they had tasted something bitter. Yet what the Minotaur said was logical and hard to refute once they thought about it deeply.

Then someone spoke again, "If that’s true, wouldn’t the Star Race, along with the coalition of four other Tier One powers, be at a disadvantage? Can they really do anything against this enemy?"

After a pause, the voice grew heavier. "If not... then wouldn’t this be the end of us? Of our race?"

That... many Minotaur gasped upon hearing it, their breaths quickening as they shuddered. But before their thoughts could spiral out of control, another Minotaur’s voice rang out with urgency.

"Look! Look! Our battleships, Taurus Prime and the Horn-class battleships, are moving directly toward the enemy flanks. As I speak, they’re racing straight toward us!"

"What?" the Minotaur reacted as they regained their composure and lifted their gaze to the battlefield charts. And indeed, they could see it. The signatures belonging to Taurus Prime and its six escort ships were moving toward the enemy’s left and right flanks, which were advancing toward them. Meanwhile, Taurus Prime itself was charging directly toward the enemy vanguard.

"Wh—what is Admiral Throax doing?" one Minotaur couldn’t help but ask, voicing the question many of them were thinking.

Others began to speculate. "Is he planning to fight them head-on? But isn’t that suicidal?" The Minotaur were completely perplexed.

"Is he trying to buy time for others to escape? Or does he truly intend to make a last stand, to fight until he is completely obliterated by the enemy?"

"That can’t be right... can it?" someone muttered. "He isn’t like that. He knows when to retreat and when not to. After all, among our race, few can match his caution and vision," Helran said, his expression strange. While others might not know, he did. Like him, Throax had also been planning to escape.

"Something’s wrong here," he added quietly.

The confusion was not limited to them. Aboard the escaping corvettes, the other serving Minotaur acolytes from the remaining three hundred–plus ships were thinking the same thing. None of them could understand what Admiral Throax was doing.

Wasn’t he supposed to escape with them? Then why was he moving toward the enemy with such aggressive speed?

But some of those who were closely observing the battlefield noticed something strange, something that felt out of place. Why weren’t the enemy ships targeting the seven battleships charging straight toward them? Couldn’t they see those battleships rushing in like mad?

Then why weren’t they attacking?

"Wait... could it be that they’re not taking them seriously?" someone wondered. "No, that can’t be it. Or is there something we’re missing?"

Slowly but surely, other Minotaur who had their eyes fixed on Taurus Prime and its group began to notice the same thing. Murmurs spread, and voices rose as they spoke their thoughts aloud.

Until one voice finally said something truly dangerous.

"Could it be... that Admiral Throax and his group have defected? That they’ve switched sides and joined the enemy?"

The words hung in the air, heavy and unsettling.

Hearing this, many shuddered, while others hurried to refute the claim with their own logic.

"That’s impossible! From the moment the battle began, the enemy has never once communicated with us. They have been purely on the offensive. What chance is there that they somehow spoke with Admiral Throax, let alone convinced him to join their side?"

"And even if that were the case, would the enemy truly want any of us among their ranks? They are overwhelmingly strong, while we are weak. To them, we are no more than chickens... or insects they scarcely care about. Why would they go out of their way to entice members of our fleet to defect?"

Once again, the Minotaur pressed the point. "Put yourself in the enemy’s place. Would you really need to do what this fellow suggests?"

Another Minotaur spoke up, his voice tense. "What you say is true. But what he said also makes some sense. After all, how else do you explain this? Why haven’t the enemy attacked them even once? Can you explain that?"

He paused, then added quietly, "No... you can’t, can you?"

That Minotaur shuddered, unable to find the words to explain the situation. But others came forward with their own ideas, and they did not hesitate to voice them loudly enough for all to hear.

"If—hypothetically—Admiral Throax has joined the enemy’s fold, then can’t we do the same? That way, we might have a chance to survive, right?"

Many Minotaur turned toward the one who spoke. On other ships, others were just as stunned. What this fellow was suggesting was nothing less than completely severing the bonds of their race. That was what it truly meant.

Yet the temptation to survive was stronger for many, perhaps for all, than loyalty to their own clan.

Still, none voiced it openly just yet. There were too many unknowns, and they were unwilling to place their trust in mere speculation.

After all, there was also the possibility that those ships were already under enemy control.

Someone spoke this thought aloud, and it pulled many back from the edge, distracting those who had begun to consider surrender.

"But how could they have boarded our ships?" one Minotaur demanded over the comms. "And that too, from the very center of our formation. Even if it were possible, they would have had to enter in complete stealth."

"And even then," he continued, his voice tightening, "their movements should have been detected. No matter how small the team they sent, it couldn’t have been in the millions. And if it was large, how could such a force move unnoticed?"

The question echoed across the channels, heavy with doubt and unease.

Many agreed, and one particularly high-ranking Minotaur added, "Yes, I agree with the point that was made. Even if they had large numbers, they wouldn’t have millions. To take control of a ship like ours, they would first need to seize the two main command brigades, as well as the power rooms, propulsion, and other critical systems."

"To reach those areas, they would have to pass through countless personnel. And there are many of us. It would be almost impossible to do that without alerting anyone. No matter how powerful they are, they cannot defeat millions of our people without making a sound."

"That makes sense," many Minotaur said in agreement.

But another high-level Minotaur immediately countered, "No, it doesn’t. Think about it carefully. Why would they go through the trouble of subduing everyone?"

"If their ship-borne prowess is this overwhelming, who’s to say they don’t also possess advanced combat suits with high-level stealth systems? With that, they could move through our ships completely undetected. Our people might not even realize the enemy was standing right in front of them."

The channel fell silent once more.

But the one who had previously called it impossible spoke again. "Let’s assume what you’re saying is correct, Trok. Even then, at some point they would have to fight, right? To enter the command brigades and take control, they’d be forced into combat."

"And if that happens, it’s bound to alert others, isn’t it? Before they could even reach those high-security zones, they would have to fight through the guards stationed there. So sooner or later, they would be exposed."

"What you’re saying makes sense, Rob," another voice interjected, "but it can still be explained. They may have breached our firewalls and hacked our ship systems, controlling key functions like alerts and communications at will."

"And even if fighting did break out, who’s to say they don’t have silent fields? We have similar equipment ourselves. If they do, they could suppress all sound and signals. They could infiltrate and even seize our ships without anyone realizing it."

Hearing this, many hissed uneasily. Rob frowned, but he couldn’t come up with another theory. Slowly, he began to believe it.

And he wasn’t the only one. Others, too, were starting to fully accept the words of Captain Trok.

Meanwhile, back aboard the Eclipse-class super battleship, everything was now in place. The captured battleships had long since withdrawn from the main line of attack and were currently moving toward the left and right flanks.

And just as the Minotaur had been speculating, those seven ships had already completely fallen under the control of the First and Second Shadow Divisions. Within them, a slaughter was unfolding.

Thousands upon thousands of Tier One combat bots were tearing through millions of Minotaur with brutal precision. The Minotaur fought back desperately, but it made little difference. They were being cut down like chickens, one after another, their attacks utterly ineffective.

It was not a battle.

It was an extermination.