Chapter 1 The Eve of War

Although the war had only just begun, the fleets' fighting spirit had been ignited. However, the command headquarters remained remarkably calm, not rashly regarding their opponents as mindless insects. The fleet's soldiers simply chatted and vented their feelings; after all, this was no game.

Actively preparing for war, the expeditionary force began to mobilize. In the future, they would launch continuous probing attacks against Kepler's giant insects to find weaknesses in their formations. The giant insects were unlikely to be inexhaustible and must have weaknesses. Securing the battlefield at the lowest possible cost was what Commander-in-Chief Markum had to consider.

Li Hao and the others maintained their daily training, but the intensity was reduced. During combat operations, all soldiers, including reservists, had to be ready for battle at any time. The atmosphere was completely different from when they had first set sail. However, the warriors of the Hunter Battle Group were eager to try. Overlord Body wasn't formed overnight. Everyone had indeed undergone a qualitative change, finding a way to match physical strength with mental strength. The duration of high-intensity combat was greatly enhanced. Possessing the pinnacle power of Flowing Heart Martial combined with the Overlord Body, and the current K23 mech, their combat power was extraordinary. Their individual combat strength was on a different level.

While humanity was planning how to tear open a gap and find weaknesses, in space, patches of phantom images, merging with the dim vacuum, flew toward the human fleet like trails of starlight.

Human radar systems didn't react. These patches, resembling thin films, gradually drifted into the human fleet and slowly adhered to the surfaces of the warships, quickly becoming the same color.

The films continued to enter, beginning to penetrate the Fifth Fleet. The whole process was silent. Once settled, there was no movement. Everything remained normal within the fleet. Even mobile suits on routine patrol along the warship surfaces showed no abnormal reactions. These strange objects didn't attack, or perhaps they simply lacked offensive capabilities?

After some time, slight biological reactions began to appear on the surfaces of some warships in the Fifth Fleet. The settled films were slowly bulging.

Kepler's five human bases had become giant insect test sites, or more accurately, Nangong Yuhang's test sites. Except for essential personnel, everyone was being transformed into insect-humans. These personnel would undergo transformation once the new insect-humans could take over their work. Only by becoming one of them could they be without ulterior motives.

Nangong Yuhang didn't care about their petty thoughts and resistance. Once they obtained new bodies and new lives, they would thank him.

In Kepler's first base, the experiments were progressing very smoothly. The scientists that Noah's Ark and Melafis had gathered through various means over the years were all here. Outwardly, Nangong Yuhang completely controlled the situation. He possessed the highest authority over the giant insects and could see the battlefield situation and feedback through their vision. This was the power that only a god could possess: infinite, omnipotent. He was gradually experiencing and mastering it. Because his body's strength was still slowly growing, he had a great burden and limitations in using this kind of power, but he had already tasted the feeling. Given time, these problems would be solved. His body could be further strengthened. Cultivating Romero and the others was also a kind of experiment, using their successes and failures to correct mistakes and ultimately find the ultimate mystery of human apotheosis.

The results of the first round of engagement didn't need to be taken too seriously. He understood human thinking: probing, looking for opportunities, and feeling the opponent's strength, their hearts beginning to waver. This level of game was effortless. They didn't know who their opponent was. The giant insects were truly born as servant creatures. As long as battle commands were issued, they had a complete strategic system. As their master, he only needed to input instructions, and the rest would be perfectly executed.

Of course, relying entirely on the giant insects wouldn't be enough to defeat humanity. This time was different. It was a pity that, if not for Li Hao's obstruction, he could have completed this task more perfectly and with less consumption, and with a large number of experimental subjects.

Nangong Yuhang suppressed the anger in his heart. It wasn't necessary. What he had to do was on another level and at a higher altitude. He would become the supreme leader, the only king, of three civilizations, the new god of humanity, the Nemeians, and the Kepler giant insects. Why bother with an ant?

Achieving perfect modification was a complex and difficult process, and the first to mature was the most difficult and strongest Insect God General.

Romero. Nangong Yuhang was very satisfied, which was enough to see Romero's powerful soul and desire. Yes, it was the concept of the soul. This was not the superficial genetic theory of humans. Genes were only a presentation of the soul. This was the Nemeian view of civilization. The strength of the soul was a cosmic rule, it was predetermined, and even contained the law of cause and effect. Therefore, the reason he wanted to find Romero alone was also for this reason. Romero indeed didn't disappoint him.

Regarding Blee, Nangong Yuhang had of course conducted in-depth investigations and thinking. For him, this world existed to serve him. He didn't trust anyone, not even "God," because only he could control himself. Combining the understanding of human civilization and Nemeian civilization, Blee's form wasn't limited and could even appear in dreams, but it would appear as Blee. It could be temporarily understood as a kind of macroscopic force, a code or signal at the level of a specific civilization. In Nangong Yuhang's judgment, this should be the law of the universe's operation. He firmly believed that everything in the universe wasn't random but was an arrangement, a predetermined law, giving hints and guidance to those whose souls carried the mark of the universe. It could be understood as a higher level or higher dimension, and he was the only one chosen among thousands of humans. He would lead all of this.

They were one, the god is me, I am the god.

Of course, even if he became a god, he needed people to convey his will, so he wanted to cultivate more new humans. He wanted to see this game from another perspective. One of the reasons he chose Romero was to give Li Hao a surprise. He would personally obliterate and destroy a person from the future and appear in a stronger and more magnificent posture. How fun would that be? The meatball cracked open, and amniotic fluid with a strange smell flowed out. Romero slowly stood up, his body a circle larger, still maintaining the complete form of a human, but his body surface was covered with a layer of silicon-based armor flowing with exquisite patterns. On the helmet on his forehead was an upright pupil of unknown material, with light flowing inside. At this time, countless pieces of information poured into Romero's mind. He could even feel the condition of countless giant insects in the sky, power, confidence, and supreme authority. The next moment, his thoughts expanded, sensing the underground, in Kepler's boundless underground world, countless giant insects were busy. This was infinite power, capable of rapid production and evolution by eating anything. Romero could see, in the luxurious caves, fat mother insects were eating, and the food they fed was humans, sensing human wisdom and weakness. The mother insects were trying to give birth to more advanced giant insects specifically to target humans. This was the unique survival rule of giant insect civilization.

His consciousness continued to rise. In an instant, Romero seemed to feel overwhelming majesty, the true master of the entire Kepler world in the sea.

The next moment, his spirit broke, and Romero gasped for breath weakly. Those few seconds seemed to have drained him dry.

After a long while, Romero's eyes opened, and he saw Nangong Yuhang in front of him, looking at him with a smile that was not a smile, as if waiting for him to express his position.

Without hesitation, Romero knelt on one knee, offering his highest submission.

Nangong Yuhang nodded with satisfaction. "You felt it."

"Yes, unimaginable power and threat," Romero said in a deep voice.

Nangong Yuhang smiled. "Very good, you can still maintain vigilance in this situation. Giant insects are just a tool. They are tools for me to conquer the solar system and move towards the universe in the future. I will assimilate the elites among humans and give them better life forms."

Romero was silent for a while. "What I'm worried about is..."

Obviously, the vast power shrouding the sea. Nangong Yuhang smiled slightly. "Never mind, let me open your eyes. This is the greatest reliance for our victory in this war, and the source of power."

Over the next week, the human fleet launched several small-scale probes. Both sides suffered losses, but the giant insect army was also cunning. Their combat range always revolved around the planet Kepler, refusing to leave, thwarting Markum's several attempts to airdrop troops onto Kepler. Currently, the human side had completely lost contact with Kepler, and the giant insects stubbornly refused to yield any gaps, which meant they had something they didn't want humans to know. This also involved Noah's Ark and the Nemeian civilization, so understanding the situation inside Kepler was even more important.

During these probes, the three fleets also made a feigned concentrated attack, wanting to lure the giant insect army to one side of the planet Kepler so that cruisers could forcibly break through with transport ships. But the action didn't achieve the desired effect. The enemy maintained vigilance against Kepler, and a large amount of fog, of unknown origin, covered the sky and the sun, making it impossible for human reconnaissance equipment to operate.

This level of mutual targeting further proved that there was a major problem inside Kepler.

The Solar System Alliance also issued a resolution. This battle was imperative, and the front line was given sufficient authority. After all, the actual situation needed to be judged based on battlefield conditions. Supply ships were also heading to Kepler for the second wave, but Markum's integrated fleet wasn't available.

Mainly because, after integrating intelligence from all aspects, a possibility was raised in the council. Assuming Kepler was deliberately opened to the solar system by an alien civilization to lure humans into a trap, if humanity sent all its fleets, mobilizing all its forces to Kepler, then... who would protect the solar system?