Chapter 286

Chapter 286

Ye He inspected the newly set up command center in the base.

Several Grath soldiers stood straight at their posts, facing light screens scrolling with different data. None of them started working immediately; they waited in place for Ye He's orders.

Ye He had placed Ye Mo next to his own position, sitting there a bit awkwardly. His gaze was fixed on Ye He, eagerly waiting for him to come over.

The command center was filled with light screens and data streaming continuously from various sources.

Unlike Ye Mo, Ye He was very relaxed—this was the environment that made him feel at ease.

After verifying the accuracy of the data three times according to protocol, Ye He looked up and announced, "Let's begin, everyone."

"Yes!"

The command center sprang into operation from that moment.

Ye He sat down calmly.

Ye Mo immediately leaned over and sat down beside Ye He.

Ye He glanced at Ye Mo. If they were somewhere Ye Mo was familiar with, he wouldn't be this clingy.

Although this feeling was quite pleasant, he still preferred Ye Mo to be more relaxed here—at least Ye Mo wasn't like this in front of Mrs. Ye.

Ye Mo almost never acted spoiled in front of Ye He when Mrs. Ye was around, but when Ye Mo was young, he was bad at stealth. Whether Ye He deliberately concealed his presence or not, when Ye He looked down from the second floor, Ye Mo on the first floor was completely oblivious. Ye He had seen this many times from upstairs.

As he thought this, Ye He shared the light screen with Ye Mo, which showed rapidly scrolling data.

He said calmly, "This is news from other fleets. Every so often, they send different signals to confirm communication and report that they are safe. I will confirm and reply to each one..."

Ye Mo watched intently, but Ye He paused mid-sentence and didn't continue. Suddenly, he asked, "Is it boring?"

The question was abrupt, leaving Ye Mo no time to react. He nodded instinctively, then, halfway through, shook his head. "A little, not quite what I imagined."

Ye He reached out and placed a hand on Ye Mo's neck, gently pressing him down. Ye Mo followed the pressure and lowered his head.

When Ye He let go, Ye Mo looked up again and smiled.

Ye He touched Ye Mo's face. "Get me a glass of water."

Ye Mo obediently got up.

Ye He turned his attention back to the light screen.

Their tasks were simple, and would likely remain so throughout the entire command operation: maintain these two bases, handle logistics, and provide support to other fleets in emergencies.

So simple that Ye He felt it barely qualified as commanding, but he wasn't impatient. He patiently performed these tedious tasks one by one.

Ye Mo gently placed the cup of water beside Ye He and sat back down. He looked at Ye He, then focused on the light screen with him, worried about disturbing his work, so he whispered, "But this is good, too."

Ye He heard him. He looked at the light screen, pushed the cup toward Ye Mo, and said, "It is good."

All these tedious tasks meant that the front lines were calm and peaceful.

Handling crises and pivotal moments could showcase a commander's ability and was more exciting and interesting.

But for a commander, one would probably hope that all work were like this—tedious but stable.

...

Grath Base 2.

Vilar had just settled in. One of the two bases she was responsible for was relatively close to the edge, but not too much, and with Emperor Bode nearby, the pressure wasn't on the front line.

Vilar stared at the light screen with a headache. "This base doesn't have a docking port compatible with the warship. It took so much time to unload. There's so much to do, and we still need to scout outside for Zerg. If there are any, we have to clear them out. When will we ever get to earn points?"

Her adjutant reminded her, "Emperor Bode's battle is over, but he has no spare capacity for scouting. Since we're the closest, we need to handle his area as well."

"Also, according to our strategy so far, we should focus on defense. I hope you won't hold any unrealistic expectations..."

The adjutant's voice grew quieter. Finally, he mustered the courage to say quickly, "But there's good news: there's no activity near Emperor Bode's battlefield. At least there are probably no Zerg around him."

Vilar withdrew her gaze. "Forget it, send people to check first. Put other things aside. If we find Zerg, we'll clear them out first."

"But the area we need to scout is quite large. The fleet we send out will be sizable, leaving fewer people here. There's some risk."

"Do it. The Second Corps can't hold Grath back."

Grath had strict protocols for dealing with Zerg, with minimum personnel requirements for any given area.

Meanwhile, half of the bases near the edge of Grath's territory sent out starships for reconnaissance. To prevent attacks during this time, if one base dispatched ships, the neighboring base remained still.

The Star Alliance noticed Grath's movements. After the first round, Grath had become one of the key focuses of the Star Alliance in the resource war.

The host announced loudly, "Following Grath's brilliant performance earlier, Grath has made new moves shortly after arriving at their bases. Let's see where they plan to strike first."

The main view switched to a star map, marking the direction of Grath's fleet.

The host paused briefly, then returned to a normal tone. "It seems Grath is being cautious for now, with no intention of starting a fight. They want to scout the surrounding environment first. That's also important, especially since Grath is near the edge of the star region and occasionally encounters Zerg threats."

"What's the point of scouting? If there are no Zerg, there are none. If there are supposed to be, they'll show up anyway. If they do, just run."

"They're probably assessing whether the bases are defensible. In previous command battles, they didn't bother with this. If you occupy quietly and Zerg show up during a battle, both sides retreat, wasting effort. If you have enough troops, you can take the risk. But Grath likely needs to concentrate their forces."

"Grath is a bit unlucky. I looked closely—about a third of their bases are near the edge."

"But sending so many people out—won't someone take the opportunity to attack? And Grath doesn't have mechs."

"They do. Look at the map—several countries are heading over there..."

The host noticed as well. "Grath is in a tough spot. More enemies are moving in."

"But it looks like the scouting teams don't plan to stop. Let's wait and see."

...

Base 2.

"Corps Commander Vilar, someone is heading our way!"

Vilar sat in the center of the command center, staring intently at the light screen, calculating the enemy's numbers.

"Don't panic. Emperor Bode will help intercept some of them. Organize the remaining troops. Half of the scouting team returns, and the other half shrinks the search area."

The adjutant nodded. "It'll take some time for them to return. I'll keep monitoring and request reinforcements if necessary."

To prevent decision-making errors, the adjutant had the authority to override the corps commander's orders in emergencies and could also report to higher levels if there was a serious disagreement with the commander.

Vilar didn't even turn her head. "I understand. Don't worry, I won't interfere. But it's far from that point yet. At least we can hold out for a little while until the team returns."

As time passed, Vilar relaxed slightly. "This is a probing attack. There aren't many enemies, and Emperor Bode has intercepted most of them, easing our burden considerably. We should be able to hold out until the returning team arrives—then we won't have to worry."

The adjutant stood to the side. "But we need to finish the recon quickly. We might face more enemies."

Vilar continued issuing orders while watching the holographic screen. "A-team, avoid my marked coordinates, go around to the right. C-team, advance..."

She frowned as she spoke. "I think they've found our command center."

"Are we just that unlucky?"

The command center's location is always the highest priority to keep secret, especially in a base like this—the same goes for the Star Alliance.

Most soldiers don't even know where the command center is. To end a fight fast, you first find and hit the command center.

Unless you put the command center on the mother ship, but that means abandoning the base, so it doesn't count as a command battle.

In a command battle, the command center has to be in the base. The only time you can move it is if it's discovered—then you can transfer command, but there are strict rules. Whoever holds the command center owns the base. In the end, whoever's command center remains gets the points.

Vilar put her command center in a plain, ordinary spot.

But they were just incredibly unlucky. There were cases where a base was chosen as a temporary battlefield and the command center was accidentally discovered.

"Another mech is approaching."

Vilar didn't have time to figure out if the enemy had found the command center. She glanced at the enemy coordinates on the report and clicked her tongue. "Continue with normal attacks."

The adjutant frowned, double-checked their coordinates, and refined the coordinates to pinpoint the enemy's location. "That's not my imagination—we need to relocate immediately—"

His words were cut short as something heavy slammed onto the roof above them.

The floor shook. Lights flickered. Debris fell, but no one got up. They all remained seated, focused on their tasks.

Only the spectators knew what was going on. Over at Bode's position, the fight was already over. By the end, the enemy was steering clear of him before he even got close. The warships didn't chase them—the mother ship was way faster than any standard warship.

The view then shifted to Vilar.

"Over here, without Grath, they're probably going to lose points."

"Not necessarily. Grath's soldiers can handle mechs, too—unless it's a star-level pilot, then it gets tricky."

"They can handle it, but it'll cost them men. Look at the numbers here. This base sent out the most recon ships earlier. They could have relied on nearby bases for reinforcements, but now those neighboring bases are fighting for their own survival."

The host spoke with unusual seriousness. "Attacking multiple bases at once like this is rare in the early game."

"Grath seems unlucky, but the enemy can't be sure the command center is here. If they can divert the fight to a nearby location, they might still turn things around..."

Then, a large hole was blasted into the roof of Vilar's command center.

"Damn, it's over!"

The mech above immediately noticed something was wrong. "Suspected command post located! Requesting reinforcements! Seal off the coordinates!"

The mech remained on alert, scanning below in an attacking stance. If it were them, there would usually be skilled mech pilots protecting the commanders.

After all, if the chief commander fell or surrendered, the battle was over.

But here, it seemed only the commanders were present. The mech swept its sensors from front to back, then locked onto the personnel in the command center, hesitating whether to attack.

Vilar remained seated in her original spot, issuing her final order—"The main ship will temporarily take over command."

Then she looked up, meeting the gaze of the mech hovering above.

She stood up, pulling out her sword from beneath the worktable in front of her. The commander moved, and the others followed suit, rising and retrieving their swords from under their worktables.

Vilar had already leaped onto the table and charged upward. "You didn't think I could only command, did you?"