The battlefield was more intense than Jiang Ye had anticipated. He had expected sporadic enemy attacks, but instead, brilliant streams of lasers and explosions erupted from all directions, dazzling and dense, as if the entire asteroid belt had been set ablaze.
The warships maneuvered through the fierce enemy fire, surrounded by shattered asteroids, debris scattering like a rain of stones.
Jiang Ye observed for a moment. At least a hundred firing points were active simultaneously, while the warships were also rapidly engaging these points, eliminating thirty per second on average, with all one hundred destroyed in three seconds.
However, after eliminating a hundred firing points, the warships had moved to a new position, and immediately, another hundred new firing points emerged, unleashing a barrage of fire upon them.
Jiang Ye felt that Fu Qiuyan's warship was like a tough, high-HP boss in a game, plowing through numerous defensive units. Although the entire screen was filled with attacking fire, the boss’s health bar was incredibly long, allowing it to endure indefinitely.
At the same time, Jiang Ye was also shocked by the density of the fortifications built by the Chan people. Destroying a hundred per second, and the battle had been ongoing for a long time, he wondered how many Hou Yi systems the Chan people had built.
Two hours later, Hua Qing successfully completed the work handover with Dai Zhixing's subordinates online and obtained the data for the Hou Yi system.
Upon seeing the data for the Hou Yi system, Jiang Ye felt a sense of sudden enlightenment.
This thing was truly simple and inexpensive, giving it the feel of a homemade landmine in the era of space warfare.
The entire Hou Yi system was a coffin-like rectangular metal body, but this coffin was enormous, about the size of a basketball court.
The interior of the coffin included a small radar, fire control mechanisms, an ammunition depot, launch tubes, and a small battery center. As Fu Qiuyan had said, it was indeed "small but complete," a fully automated weapon station.
Depending on the parameters of the weapons placed within, the performance of the Hou Yi system would vary. It could be equipped with very cheap weapons or extremely powerful ones. The radar's scanning range could also be adjusted, determining the Hou Yi system's engagement distance. The battery center determined the system's effective lifespan. Cheap batteries might only last a week in standby mode, while fusion battery packs could keep the entire system in standby for a century, becoming a persistent security threat.
Hua Qing diligently arranged for personnel to set up the Hou Yi system production line.
Meanwhile, reinforcements from the fleets of various planets arrived at the Xinke asteroid belt. They first completed data sharing and unified the identification system with the Daughter Star fleet, and then began aggressively attacking the mining ships.
Fu Qiuyan's forces had faced considerable difficulty advancing. With the significant reinforcements sent by Jiang Ye, the situation instantly reversed. Large numbers of asteroids were swept away by the intense firepower, and countless Chan spacecraft and Hou Yi systems were rapidly destroyed. The light from the battlefield was still clearly visible several light-hours away. Some trade ships passing nearby were startled and rerouted their courses away from the asteroid belt to avoid being hit by stray fire.
Soon, Jiang Ye received a call from Fu Qiuyan.
"The reinforcements you sent are truly formidable! Their attack speed is much faster than ours; my troops can't even hit the targets now," Fu Qiuyan's tone conveyed a sense of relief. "Ju Lanlan is safe for the time being. The property damage is considerable, and two people died, both miners on duty, who were directly hit by the fire from the Chan's mining ships."
"Understood," Jiang Ye replied. "Have your troops resolve the current situation first. Within about two days, the first batch of Hou Yi systems we manufactured will be transported to the asteroid belt. Once we strategically place our Hou Yi systems in various locations throughout the asteroid belt, we will achieve military control over the entire belt, and then we won't have to worry about the Chan's mining teams."
"Okay," Fu Qiuyan said. "Let me know if you need anything. Let's stay in touch."
"Can you capture some Chan hostages?" Jiang Ye suddenly had an idea.
"We can try."
"Then let's try to capture some. Ensure the safety of our human soldiers during the capture, and avoid casualties," Jiang Ye said. "With hostages, we should be able to gain more initiative."
After ending the call with Fu Qiuyan, Jiang Ye called Che Zhen and relayed the order to capture Chan hostages.
Jiang Ye estimated that capturing hostages would not be easy. The battlefield was so chaotic, it might not be possible to capture any, and it would take a long time even if they tried.
Unexpectedly, just half an hour after the order was issued, Che Zhen called back.
"We've captured a small Chan mining ship and have it under control. It's being transferred to the Daughter Star military base. There are a total of 8 Chan individuals, their identities are unknown, and they have all surrendered."
"What about our troops' casualties?" Jiang Ye asked.
"No human soldiers were casualties. A small squad's spaceship was hit, resulting in collective casualties," Che Zhen replied.
"Good," Jiang Ye breathed a sigh of relief. "Have you contacted Fu Qiuyan? Are there any issues with her receiving the Chan prisoners?"
"No problems. She has experience receiving alien prisoners of different species, and they have experienced experts and a space prison costing tens of billions," Che Zhen said. "We have broadcast in multiple languages to the vicinity of the asteroid belt, informing them that we have captured Chan prisoners and inviting them to negotiate at a designated location. We will not attack Chan ships at the designated location."
"Good, you handled it very well," Jiang Ye nodded. "Thank you for your hard work."
The call ended.
...
The battle lasted for twelve hours, with over four hundred Chan mining ships destroyed. The remaining mining ships began to retreat, scattering in different directions.
Che Zhen commanded the fleet in pursuit. The remaining mining ships reacted quickly, with four hundred actively engaging to intercept Che Zhen's fleet and delay them, ultimately being blown up. The remaining over a thousand mining ships successfully escaped.
After the battle ended, Che Zhen led the fleet to clear the space debris in the Xinke asteroid belt, collecting a large number of unexploded ordnance from the Chan mining ships and towing them to a nearby empty area for detonation. Some escaped Hou Yi systems were also destroyed one by one, bringing a temporary calm to the entire asteroid belt.
The Hou Yi system production line arrived at Jiang Ye Star and began assembly and construction.
Jiang Ye personally inspected the production line. The on-site efficiency was extremely high. As the production line was being set up, raw material transport vehicles began unloading. Jiang Ye's inspection coincided with a crucial moment: the production line setup and testing were just completed, and after a successful test, raw materials were loaded for production within ten minutes.
In just one hour, the first batch of Hou Yi systems was produced. After testing at the firing range, they were transported to the military space station and quickly departed for the Xinke asteroid belt.
The entire process was seamless. The personnel operating each step were either military soldiers or military technicians, working efficiently without any delays. Jiang Ye watched with admiration, truly impressed by the caliber of the troops.