Chapter 155: The Ultimate Weapon

Watching this display, Feng Mo felt a surge of excitement. The T5-class planetary annihilator cannon was practically a cheat-level weapon at this stage—no matter the target, a single shot, maybe two at most, would be all it took.

Its sheer power was enough to obliterate a small asteroid in one blast. Feng Mo wasn't even sure that the reinforced shields and modified exterior armor of the Hurricane would be able to withstand it.

The advance continued, with ten T4-class missile carriers providing steady firepower, complemented by T5-class unmanned drones and starfighters, which systematically destroyed one T5-class insectoid mother ship after another.

Suddenly, a massive explosion erupted behind the swarm of insectoid mother ships. The blast was so vast it enveloped nearly the entire rear half of the swarm, reducing it to a sea of fire that consumed everything in its wake.

Feng Mo zoomed in on the radar-generated video feed. An invisible bomber! And a T5-class invisible bomber at that. He was familiar with the power of such a strategic weapon—after all, the Storm Fleet had carved its path through the stars thanks to the four T4-class Scorpions under his command. But this… this was an entire level beyond.

"Xiao Mo," Gu Jun's voice said with a hint of pride, "this is a newly developed stealth bomber from the Federation's Starship Design Division. Recognize it? Its design draws heavily on the Scorpion class you personally developed.

"There are many top-tier starship designers in the Design Division, and quite a few of them have studied the Scorpion class in action, using it to inspire a host of innovative additions to the original T5 stealth bomber. That led to the creation of this new model."

Gu Jun's explanation left Feng Mo momentarily speechless. They had "borrowed" his Scorpion design yet hadn't paid any royalties. Feng Mo knew of the Federation's Starship Design Division, a department filled with designers whose expertise he could only envy. The division had tried recruiting him once, but he'd declined. After all, his starship designs for the Storm Fleet came from the Flame Spark system's exchange or as mission rewards; they weren't exactly his original designs.

Of course, he couldn't say that aloud. So, he continued to parade around as the Federation's next-gen top starship designer. And it wasn't false advertising—he had thoroughly studied every blueprint he'd acquired to ensure he could replicate and innovate on any design, if only to avoid detection.

Sensing Feng Mo's quiet frustration, Gu Jun added thoughtfully, "The Federation is our foundation, and the Copyright Bureau falls under the Design Division. So, every design you've uploaded—T1, T2, T3—all are accessible to the Design Division whenever they wish."

This served as a clear reminder to Feng Mo. The Starship Design Division wielded immense power, and it would be wise not to upload any T4, let alone potential T5 designs, to the Copyright Bureau in the future.

After all, they had no qualms about "borrowing" designs, and if you ever tried to challenge them, it would be impossible to argue. The resemblance wasn't "plagiarism," right?

Acknowledging the advice, Feng Mo refocused on the video feed.

As the Celestial Dawn Fleet continued its slow advance, the insectoid mother ships were relentlessly torn apart by missiles, laser cannons, and a host of other weapons. Even as the fleet encountered nearly twice as many T5-class insectoid mother ships, the Celestial Dawn held firm, pushing forward despite sustaining damage.

The Federation's T5 fleets were proving their might and tenacity in this battle. Just then, an electronic alert sounded.

"Warning! Massive insectoid mother ship swarm detected ahead. Scanning… Scan complete. Detected 2,400 T5-class and 23,600 T4-class mother ships."

The alert brought a wave of solemnity over the fleet. Even Gu Jun and the other twelve commanders appeared visibly serious as an air of deadly resolve filled the command bridge.

"It seems the insectoid Queen knows we've come calling and decided to greet us with her finest. If we can wipe out these 26,000 mother ships here, the insectoid species should be kept in check for quite some time," Gu Jun said confidently. Feng Mo understood that destroying this wave would mark the mission's end; there would be no need to push further. If they tried, fewer than half of their fleets would likely return, and they still wouldn't be able to eliminate the Queen.

Feng Mo estimated that the Queen had probably already evolved to a quasi-T6 level. Nothing short of three T5-class cluster annihilator cannon shots would even dent its defenses. Numerous experimental offensives by the Federation had confirmed this fact, which was why the Xuanwu Star Fortress had been erected to stand as a buffer for over a thousand years.

The remaining twelve T5 fleets gathered alongside the Celestial Dawn, reinforcing the formation until several thousand ships were in place.

A vast semi-circle array took shape, with the forward arc comprised of escort ships as the first line of defense, followed by interceptors, destroyers, and battleships in the second line. Behind them were missile carriers, psionic ships, and other specialty vessels.

"Xiao Mo," Gu Jun's voice chimed with a note of pride, "I've got a treat for you: a T5-class cluster annihilator cannon. It's over twice as powerful as a regular T5 annihilator."

Feng Mo's curiosity piqued. The Hurricane was outfitted with a quasi-T5-class annihilator cannon, which had a cluster mode that indeed surpassed its regular firing capacity. But double the power? That seemed unreal, especially given that the T5-class annihilator was already considered the ultimate weapon for its class.

To push it another level closer to a quasi-T6 class—it was almost too much to imagine. But watching the T5-class cluster annihilator cannon about to be fired changed Feng Mo's mind entirely.

The Yunshan's bow glowed with a brilliant amber light as Feng Mo zoomed in to examine it.

Just in terms of diameter, this cannon was nearly twice the size of the Hurricane's quasi-T5 annihilator cannon and at least double that of a standard T5 battleship's annihilator.

This was a true superweapon, and Feng Mo was utterly captivated by it. His preference had always leaned towards battleships and cannons, which explained why he had chosen a battleship rather than a carrier for his flagship—a rare choice since most fleets used a carrier as their primary ship. 

Watching this super cannon charge up, Feng Mo had only one thought: "Mine—all mine." If he could, he'd take it off the Yunshan right then and there and mount it on the Hurricane.

But for now, all he could do was watch in anticipation as the Yunshan completed its charge. The amber glow coalesced into an enormous energy sphere, and at Gu Jun's command, a colossal amber beam shot forth.

The annihilator cannon's principle was rooted in dark energy manipulation, projected in a concentrated laser form. The amber beam

shot straight towards the swarm of insectoid mother ships.