Chapter 73: Declaration of War

Chapter 73: The War Begins

From the Main Star to the Northern Domain Star, even at full speed, it would take at least two days.

The Northern Domain Star was surrounded by five planets, all of which had been occupied by Yan Huishi over the past few months. Yan Huishi's intentions regarding Yan Wanqiu could not be more obvious.

Now that troops were deployed, the Kingdom was in an uproar.

"According to intelligence from our informants, Yan Huishi has brought an army of as many as two hundred thousand. That's just the Main Star Army—we can't accurately estimate how many of the Mechanical Aliens have arrived."

At the final pre-war meeting, Xie Chi reported the specifics while Yan Wanqiu wore a grim expression.

At nineteen weeks pregnant, his body had grown heavier, and even loose clothing could no longer fully hide it.

Fortunately, the cold climate of the Northern Domain Star meant he usually dressed thickly, and few people became suspicious.

You Fuzhu clicked his tongue. "Those Mechanical Aliens can field at most two hundred thousand or so. They wouldn't dare pull too many troops away, or their vassal planets would fall into chaos immediately."

Bai Fengyun smiled calmly. "Rest assured, Your Majesty. Our preparations are also at the million-man level. Before the entire Northern Domain Star is reduced to ash, we will not surrender. We'll fight tooth and nail to get you out safely."

Yan Wanqiu rubbed his brow and made his final decision: "All cities will follow the pre-war contingency plans. Move the old, weak, sick, and disabled to underground shelters. Consolidate all forces. I'll personally command from the front lines. No matter what, we have to win this battle."

"Yes, sir!"

.

"Boom!"

Artillery fire streaked across the sky like a stone dropped into a calm lake, sending ripples outward.

The Main Star Army arrived, countless battle cruisers spread across the horizon, completely surrounding the Northern Domain Star.

Yan Huishi had thrown all caution to the wind—he even sent media reporters to livestream the entire battle, hoping to use this decisive victory as a warning to all the other planets.

In the live broadcast, the Main Star's battle cruisers loomed like a black cloud, filling the entire frame, reflecting sharp cold light off the white snow as they bombarded every Northern Domain Star structure in sight.

"Boom! Boom!"

Paratroopers landed silently behind the lines, carrying full electromagnetic equipment. Ground vehicles slowly advanced from transport ships. Even before the alien race had arrived, the Main Star forces had already surrounded the Northern Domain Star from all sides within minutes.

The livestream viewers on the Star Network were stunned.

"How many troops did the Main Star send?"

"At least two hundred thousand. Our planet alone evacuated thirty thousand people yesterday, and today all fighting has stopped. Yan Huishi is really out for blood this time."

"Ahhhh why isn't the Northern Domain Star reacting?! They've been bombing for ages and all we see is snow and ruins—did they flee?"

"Run where? Is there anywhere safe left in the whole star system?"

"That's exactly what's wrong—only snow and ruins! Holy shit!!"

The chat exploded.

After the Main Star's surprise attack, battle cruisers lifted off from the vast snowfields of the Northern Domain Star. These cruisers were a size smaller than standard ones but moved extremely fast—almost every single one launched straight up, pulling off extreme maneuvers.

Unlike the Main Star's cautious long-range attacks, the small battle cruisers from the Northern Domain Star seemed to have no regard for their own lives. Once airborne, they launched suicide attacks against the enemy.

"Boom—!!!"

The sound of artillery fire erupted, dozens of times more intense than before. The small cruisers charged forward fearlessly—even when hit and blown to pieces, they would viciously ram into an enemy ship and self-destruct.

The Main Star soldiers were shaken by this reckless fighting style, and for a moment their formation wavered, allowing the swarm of small cruisers to tear a hole straight through their lines.

"Damn! Are these people out of their minds?!"

"What kind of battle cruiser is that? I've never seen it before!"

"They must have modified it themselves—it's equipped with electromagnetic cannons. But how is it this fierce? Wouldn't the crew's brains be rattled to jelly in there?"

"Don't they know when to retreat?! Even blown to pieces, they still self-destruct to take others down?? The alien race hasn't even arrived yet! Are they prepared to fight to the death?!"

The comments were stunned by this tragic and heroic fighting style, and a thrilling wave of emotion silently spread through the livestream.

And this was just the beginning.

More battle cruisers rose into the sky, each one fearless, each one ready to die.

The sky momentarily turned into a meat grinder of a battlefield. The Main Star Army, already lacking fighting spirit due to turning their weapons on their own kind, retreated step by step—until they were pushed straight out of the Northern Domain Star's atmosphere.

On the snowfields, it was a total rout. The Main Star soldiers wore thick cold-weather gear, but they were still shivering violently shortly after getting off their transports.

It was freezing.

Temperatures of over a hundred degrees below zero were simply not something these Main Star soldiers, born in year-round temperate climates, could adapt to. The wind cut like knives across every patch of exposed skin, and their mechs got stuck in the snow, which was over three meters deep, before they could even advance.

In stark contrast, the Northern Domain Star soldiers—even the vanguard—were lightly armed.

These people born on the snowfields moved across the terrain with ease, disciplined and orderly. Without even using their armor, they had already taken control of the ground battle.

"By order of His Majesty! Any Main Star soldier who surrenders will be spared! We are all of the same blood—why slaughter each other and hand the Kingdom to the enemy?"

The Main Star soldiers took a beat to realize that this "His Majesty" referred to Yan Wanqiu, not Yan Huishi.

With the freezing climate, crumbling morale, and the tide of battle turning against them, a surprising number of soldiers laid down their weapons and surrendered, turning the ground battle into an unprecedented and bizarre situation—

The Main Star Army landed at a city. They froze stiff. The Northern Domain Star Army quickly surrounded them. They surrendered.

"I was just watching the battle cruisers—how did the ground forces surrender so fast?!"

"It's over a hundred degrees below zero. I'd surrender too, but this is too weird. Did the Northern Domain Star people evolve? How are their soldiers going out in just light clothing?!"

"What are those weapons they're holding? They don't look like electromagnetic guns?"

The aerial battle was intense, the ground battle was a one-sided rout, and those who had been silently worried for Yan Wanqiu were now utterly shocked.

The entire battle was too strange—whether it was the death-defying battle cruisers or the soldiers on the ground with their unusual equipment, everything exceeded everyone's expectations by far.

Yan Huishi was watching the battle too.

He hadn't thought there was any doubt about attacking the Northern Domain Star. After all, he had sent such a massive army, prepared for so long, and coordinated with the Mechanical Alien Race. Even without the alien race's help, the Main Star Army alone should have crushed this remote, desolate little planet into the ground.

Now, watching his army flee in defeat, Yan Huishi was first in disbelief, then furious.

"Useless!! Who allowed them to surrender?!? They haven't even seen Yan Wanqiu, and they dare surrender?!"

The androids beside Yan Huishi were also analyzing the battle through the network.

They had wanted Yan Huishi and Yan Wanqiu to fight each other, to exhaust the Northern Domain Star's forces as much as possible, and then step in themselves to minimize losses.

Now that the Main Star Army was retreating in defeat, the androids couldn't help but feel disdain for the ABO Kingdom's fighting capability.

Holding their electromagnetic guns and cannons, they were still being forced back by Yan Wanqiu.

But the machine had no time to hesitate—if it didn't act now, Yan Wanqiu would push Yan Huishi's battle cruiser fleet out of the North Domain Star.

The deployment order was unanimously approved across the mechanical network. Blue lights lit up on the heads of the machines stationed on planets near the North Domain Star, and almost simultaneously, they received the signal and surged straight toward the North Domain Star.

"The aliens are coming!!"

"So many... isn't this more than the Main Star Army?"

"No way, is this really the end?"

On Resort Star K322, Yure watched the alien army heading for the North Domain Star, then glanced at the weakly defended network hub, his eyes filled with resolve.

North Domain Star.

Inside his mech, Xie Chi sneered as he watched the machines closing in on the horizon.

He had been waiting a long time for this.

And behind him stood countless ground armor units, packed just as tightly and poised to strike.