Chapter 501: Hope to Live II
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The warships at both wings were not having a fun time being the first line of defense, as they were preoccupied with the task of destroying the larger space rocks coming towards them. The damage caused by the collision between these space rocks and the spaceship would be horrendous. It would be easily a critical hit on any spot of the other ships. So they had to crush them before the space rocks could touch them, as what Master Jay ordered.
They might be as busy as bees, but they were better off compared to the transporting spaceships. Their armors were far thicker, to begin with. Every single part of their warship was armored. As long as collision on the same spot did not occur consecutively, they were very much safe.
The fleet traveled steadily towards the depth of the asteroid belt.
It was the second day of penetrating the asteroid belt. Clearly the density of asteroids had increased 3 times more than the day before, which consequently stressed the people more. Haskel remained at the center of the entire formation so no space pebble could even touch it.
There had not been any form of casualties at the moment. The crew members had a boost in will, as they seemed to have seen a light of hope despite being in probably the darkest, the most treacherous corner of galaxy. Nonetheless, the leader, Ye Chong did not seem particularly happy with the situation.
"This isn't right," Shang said without cheekiness in his tone. "There is high activity in asteroid region." Worries were flooding his beeping, "It could destabilize at any moment, especially with our intrusion. There is a considerable amount of possibility that an asteroid whirlpool could occur." He was not entirely wrong. The Calamitous Asteroid Belt was known deadly for its great deal of unstable regions which were identified to be frequented by whirlpool phenomenon. If Ye Chong was traveling alone, he would have chosen to leave the area right away.
"Mhm," replied Ye Chong. He was as worried as Shang but there was no workaround for him at the moment. The area of this region was exceptionally sizable. They had been traveling on the shortest course to perform a space jump. Yes, they could have made a detour but there would be no guarantee that they could avoid the entire region safely while only consuming more time. The shortest course was estimated to be a three-day travel, yet they would need to spend a few more days breaking the rocks if they took a turn. The longer they took in the asteroid belt, the more risk they would get.
"Shang, calculate the chance of us, at maximum as well as the current speed, being able to pass this region before a potential whirlpool phenomena occurred."
One was not meant to travel at maximum speed in Calamitous Asteroid Belt. With these asteroids, the spaceships would only be hindered. Not only the spaceships would be damaged greatly, the space would be further destabilized. The damage was not an issue compared to the chance of being sucked into a quantum singularity.
Ye Chong had no idea what the maximum destabilization the space could take before a whirlpool phenomena would occur. Thus, he asked Shang to perform simulation on both properties to get a basic reference on whether an asteroid whirlpool could form; if so, they also had to find out the timing when it occurred. They must not be the passive ones here. They must do something, however, the acceleration would highly increase the likelihood of the formation. So, which would be a better choice then?
5 minutes lapsed, "5%," muttered Shang." Assuming the fleet accelerated, the likelihood of a safe escape would be 5% higher." Then he added, "That is Mu's calculation, by the way." Even though Mu did not provide the entire sequence of calculation, Ye Chong was fairly convinced.
"Alright, we have to leave this dangerous area as soon as possible," commanded Ye Chong firmly after a moment of ponder.
5% might not look like something in the eyes of most people, but that could be the very feather that tilted the scale of life for Ye Chong.
The fleet was speeding up upon his command.
The asteroid shower intensified!
The domino of asteroids were breaking up.
The zone was destabilizing rapidly!
The activity was getting stronger, as the fleet sped up.
Boom!
One spaceship at the end of the fleet was crushed by a giant spaceship with a diameter of 300 meters right in the body. The spaceship blew up.
That was the first casualty.
People could not help but to flinch at the scene. Simply no one would have survived that explosion. They could not do a thing to the situation. They were already occupied in saving themselves.
It was as if the wails of people rang in their ears. They were watching out for the rocks, but their lips were tight.
Ye Chong remained in the commander's room, his eyes soullessly gazed on the holographic screen. He saw everything through the projection. He must think for the entire fleet. He needed to be calm. He had to make decisions that would cause the least casualties. That would what a leader like him should do. He did not have time to mourn for the dead.
"Shrink further. Formation - 20 meters away from each other," said Ye Chong. The crew members quickly passed the order to every spaceship. Ranged firearms like warships were scarce in the fleet. Most of their firepower came from the close-combat models. Although the models allowed them an easier time dealing with red-tailed beasts, such setup gave them a lethal weakness - vulnerable to ranged attacks. It was clear, that the space rocks would cause horrible damages if they were not destroyed at range. They might have strengthened the armor of each spaceship but it was only effective against the smaller asteroids. The large ones would be an overkill.
The density of the rocks was great, as if an actual sea of rocks. The fleet was as if an icebreaker, opening a way further into the frozen ocean.
The first explosion seemed to be a trigger.
A trigger for more casualties.
Just when Ye Chong's fleet was struggling in the asteroid belt, Arwa was leading his fleet into the asteroid belt.
Eventually, Arwa chose to follow the Master Jay.
He did receive a number of objections from his men but he had his authority of giving ultimate command like Ye Chong. His order was unchangeable. At least Xiao Wan was fully supportive on his proposition. He thought everyone would be against him at first, that was a relief.
And it was when the news of his decision reached the entire Gray Valley.
People were confused, of how the two greatest leaders had made the exact decision, one was the military genius, Master Jay who first wiped out the wave of red-tailed beasts successfully; the other being Arwa, the wise strategist who managed to break through the siege during the front-line collapse.
It was a signal for the people, that probably it was a right decision to head into the asteroid belt.
The moment when Arwa ordered for a full acceleration into Calamitous Asteroid Belt, Kasent suddenly had a massive migration.
Residents on Kasent were preparing to migrate, as countless spaceships could be seen zooming into space. With the hope to live, they headed for the world beyond their reach.
On 6 a.m. the third day, a large wave of red-tailed beasts was detected at the few watching points near Kasent.
And that was when people who was trying to travel beyond Kasent jerked their steps. The spaceships approaching Kasent were accelerating to the maximum right away, while the distant ones took a turn and ran towards the warping point within the Calamitous Asteroid Belt frantically.
Ye Chong was unaware of the happening outside, but he knew he was in hot water. It was as if they were treading on the landmine area. They might have 5% more likelihood if they travel fast, but once a whirlpool phenomena occurred, the likelihood would drop to 0% immediately. No argument would be needed. It was undeniable.
...(Meanwhile at the mechanics)...
A new mechanic took over Yang Ming's position. He had not fully recovered. He overclocked himself too much. It was true, he wanted to work more, so he dragged himself to the front-line, he had to chase the time, he had to repair all the damaged armor or the ship would be sinking if they got hit by another space rock.
It was a tiring a task to fix it. It was a tugging war. He could hear the panicked voice of the messenger passing updates on the damages. There seemed to be a new area dented.
Well, he eventually did not need to even hear the messenger speaking. Every quake occurred at the ship was sufficient to convince him that there was another collision occurred. He had a handful of assistants around him. It felt like a stormy ride to him, especially when he was working on the repair. The pebbles were hitting the armor like bullets.
And now he got replaced.
Finally he could take a break...
He almost tripped on himself when he got off the platform.