"He Xingzhou, I’ve done my best, now it’s up to you!" Bai Ningxiang thought to herself.
Two and a half years later.
Moon, Space Battleship Factory.
Building space battleships on the Moon is more convenient than on Blue Star because the Moon’s smaller gravity is more suitable for assembling and testing large battleships.
He Xingzhou, wearing space armor, was inspecting the Moon battleship factory with He Hongwei, Cui Weimin, Luo An, and Lei Yuanfeng.
"Currently, the Moon’s battleship factory can produce one L1 space battleship every fifteen days on average. To build an L2 space battleship takes double the time. Together with the four battleship factories on Blue Star, we can produce about eight battleships a month, roughly 100 a year," Ship Designer Wang Yan introduced.
Luo An said, "Right now we have fifty L1 space reconnaissance ships; fifty L1 space guard ships, and twenty L1 space cruisers."
"One hundred L2 space reconnaissance ships, one hundred L2 space guard ships, twenty L2 space cruisers, and a few command ships."
"That’s about it," He Xingzhou said, "This is the limit of our production capacity. Depending solely on Blue Star’s resources, it’s very difficult to expand production capacity."
Cui Weimin, who was always in charge of intelligence, said, "From the intelligence gathered from Mars reconnaissance, our primary opponents are the five super volcanic insect nests located on the western hemisphere of Mars, at the Tharsis Plateau."
"Additionally, there’s an unfinished space insect nest."
"The number of surface Zerg at the level of Planet Dominator is estimated to be five hundred."
"There are also about three to four hundred Planet Dominators with space survival and attack capabilities. The actual number might be more, with most being Medium Planet Dominators."
Once the Zerg reach the level of Planet Dominator, their evolution speed slows down. The probability of a Medium Planet Dominator evolving into a higher level is about one percent, and even lower from Medium to High and beyond.
This is why Zerg yearn for planets with more mass; only there can they find enough resources to evolve into a Planet Devourer.
"That’s about it," He Xingzhou said, "although our forces are not as numerous as theirs, our space battleships can handle two or three Medium Planet Dominators at a time."
"Time waits for no one!"
He Xingzhou wanted to fight battles with more assurance, but he still needed the Black Sea Civilization to hold back the Maoshi Star Union, so he had to go to war quickly.
The group returned to the command center to start drafting the battle plan.
"Our number of battleships is not enough, so ninety percent of our forces must be sent out!" He Hongwei said, "There are military bases on Blue Star and the Moon, which provide some level of defense."
"Conscript all conventional spacecraft and engineering ships for patrolling the space around the battlefield. Deploy all other forces!" He Xingzhou said, "Only a few emergency warships need to be left."
"The defense of Blue Star and the Moon will be the responsibility of Commander Qiu Hong," He Xingzhou said.
"Yes!" Qiu Hong responded. He had already been promoted to Level 2 Commander in the Blue Star Alliance. Apart from him, commanders from the Xuanwu Army who excelled during the Catastrophe Era had become the backbone of the Blue Star Alliance.
"Begin drafting the Mars battle plan now!" He Xingzhou called for Xuanwu to open the space map.
This was a dynamic map of the Solar System, planned with the Sun as the origin of spatial coordinates.
"We have six main attack points," He Xingzhou pointed to the Mars region, "First is the space insect nest outside Mars!"
"We’ve attacked it before, the Mars Zerg have rebuilt it, and there’s a special Zerg space patrol team guarding it."
"If we don’t take out this space insect nest, we will be cut off from space support during surface operations on Mars, falling into the danger of being besieged!"
"Destroy the space insect nest, and it’s best to do it in a blitz!" Luo An said, "We have already figured out the Zerg’s patrol routes and times."
"Resources in the space insect nest are limited, and every now and then, the Zerg return to the surface to replenish their energy."
"This is when their defense is weakest. If we blitz and destroy the space insect nest, we will gain full air supremacy over Mars!"
Space battle tactics are completely different from surface warfare; space battleships’ space hydrogen bombs, laser weapons, and plasma weapons can attack globally!
The thin atmosphere on Mars makes laser and plasma weapons more powerful there than on Blue Star!
Under the bombardment of space battleships, whoever loses air supremacy first falls into a disadvantage.
"Since it’s a surprise attack, it has to be swift!" He Hongwei said, "I recommend letting the space reconnaissance fleet handle the surprise attack mission, capturing the space insect nest at the fastest speed!"
Everyone had no objections; the L2 space reconnaissance ships now had the best camouflage and the fastest cruising speed.
"When attacking the space insect nest, the Zerg will certainly provide support, at which point our guard ships and cruisers must immediately enter the Martian atmosphere to intercept!" He Xingzhou said, "Another main fleet must immediately engage in battle."
"Deploy eighty L2 space reconnaissance ships for the surprise attack on the space insect nest; all L1 space warships should head to the planetary surface battle, along with the other L2 guard ships and cruisers, as the main fleet."
Upon entering the atmosphere, the air resistance affects the warships’ speed of travel, at which time the speed disadvantage of L1 ships is not as pronounced.