Stellaris from the Automata Era

In dogfights, its shields, weapons, and even turning speed surpassed those of the latest round-headed fleet.

Even if we just look at the casualty ratio, it takes five round-headed people to replace one enemy.

This is only possible when the opponent suddenly stops in place from time to time, allowing Round Head to find the right opportunity to knock him down.

If things continue at this rate, by the time the battle is over, N2 may gain the final victory, and her expeditionary fleet will be destroyed.

Although the mechanical life forms still have sufficient production capacity in their hometown in the Koprulu sector to quickly form a new one, the journey would take several months, and they would likely miss the best opportunity to fight.

On the other hand, the tree people themselves fight on their own land, and they can provide continuous support for their own warships.

The next time the Earth gathers enough strength, it will probably face an enemy fleet with twice the number of fleets.

Although he understood this, n2 was powerless to change it.

"We can only change the combat mode to focus on harassment, maintain the entire battle long enough, and wait for new reinforcements to arrive." N2 made a quick judgment.

As for whether there will be new reinforcements...

Just a few days after the intensity of the battle on N2 decreased and the situation had begun to gradually become stalemate, she received a new communication.

That’s a direct connection from a human being.

"N2, the humanoids have defeated the Treeman galaxy defenses. If possible, quickly withdraw from the current battle and help them complete the capture of the planet."

"Wait? The humanoids overwhelmed the system's defenses?"

Note: T34 tactics, a rather unorthodox (mainstream) playstyle in Stellaris, involves removing the shields and expensive weapons from the battleship, only installing a lance, and then adding red armor. In short, the resulting battleship is cheaper than a guard.

Chapter 315: Today’s main focus is recklessness

"Senior, all the space defense fortifications on the opposite side have been cleared, and the space defense station has been destroyed by us. What should we do next?"

"You've stumped me with this question." 11b fell into deep thought.

The corruption seemed even worse than she had imagined. After jumping out of the subspace, 11b crashed headfirst into the treeman's galaxy defense circle.

The fortifications were generally composed of a space defense platform and several surrounding star rings. She was a little nervous at first, after all, judging from the level of defense around it, it seemed like the type with rapid firepower.

As a result, she tried to go up and let the fleet kick them, and the fortifications collapsed instantly.

More importantly, even after she turned the space station claimed by the tree people into space garbage, she did not see any fleet rushing out to fight her.

At most, we can see a few things like engineering ships fleeing in panic in the universe, so could those defenses be half-finished products that have not yet been built?

"According to the Master's instructions, it seems we should capture their planet and establish a base there using their galaxy facilities," 11b tried hard to recall the human's instructions. "All in all, this shouldn't be a difficult task."

Next is the planetary defense circle. If you want to utilize the resources of the enemy planet, land warfare is an indispensable link.

However, this is also the most difficult part. After all, the most essential goal is not to destroy it all, but to disintegrate the opponent's entire army on the planet and rule as a conqueror, and to make all the enemy's people return to their jobs to produce resources.

From the perspective of the old era of the Earth when national consciousness was awakening, this was almost an impossible act.

But the most fundamental reason why the interstellar age can be implemented in this way is that pre-space civilizations are unable to effectively eliminate each other's hostile attitudes.

Space civilization has plenty of ways to resolve the conflict between the two sides, the most representative of which is the extermination order. As long as we find a few typical examples, I believe the ignorant masses will immediately understand that they have been bewitched.

After careful consideration, they voluntarily resolved the conflict between the two civilizations, worked overtime to produce supplies, and prepared food and drink to welcome the royal army.

But before completing the above process, effective rule over a planet must be achieved first.

If the Earth still wants to make use of the planet's resources, then they must ensure that the facilities on the planet will not be severely damaged.

In other words, the method of using indiscriminate bombing by fleets to reduce the defense of planetary armies has basically been sealed.

So the real difficulty is not to destroy and then occupy, but to occupy in order to rule.

"What's the situation of the army on our ship?" 11b asked. She boarded the pirate ship in a daze, and during the march, she was probably only thinking about how to end her military career decently, so she didn't see most of the situation in her fleet.

But this is consistent with her personality.

"Army? Aren't we just a fleet?" 160d asked in surprise. "There are no Marines in our fleet at all. Maybe the Commander's fleet has some."

"They don't even give me the option of boarding!"

It's broken. The humanoids of the pure KanColle system and the mechanical life forms that fight purely with AI are not like traditional ships that are equipped with a large number of accompanying personnel.

One person can control the warship at will. The advantage is that it saves a lot of manpower, but the disadvantage is that once the opponent chooses a more radical tactic, there is almost no ability to resist.

Another problem that arises is that 11b simply lacks the means to occupy the planet.

"My Lord has given me a task that I cannot complete."

It is undeniable that her subjective humanoid is indeed powerful in land combat. Most enemies can be killed with just one sword, and very few require two swords.

If someone insisted on making a quip about what to do if they encountered a war machine that was dozens of meters high, she would say that they could chop it down with a knife, but it would not be as practical as destroying the ground with artillery.

But even so, if you want to complete the occupation of the planet, you need an army organized into clusters.

Even the strongest T-doll can't stand up to the collective power!

However, when 11b looked around, he realized that the vehicle he was riding in might contain all the humanoids in the entire fleet, and the total number of people might not exceed a hundred.

Seizing the planet can almost be described as a failure.

"Then there's only one answer! Let's go find the commander and take her army!"

"But didn't the master's order tell us to wait for support from the mechanical lifeforms?"

"That's a real problem." 11b scratched his head in annoyance. "Should we send a message to the adults to report our situation?"

This proposal was almost unanimously approved by everyone. After everyone agreed, 11b quickly sent a message.

Sure enough, there was a response.

"It's true that I wasn't thoughtful enough. Not only do you guys over there with round heads, but we don't have any army units either. It seems we have to go and support the commander."

Yan Luo immediately agreed to 11b's plan. He had already believed that this war was a training exercise, but it seemed that 11b gave him a big surprise.

Although he was puzzled at first why 11b failed to follow the established plan and join forces with n2 to squeeze the tree people on the front line, but instead raided the weak rear alone.

But since she was able to achieve results, for the time being it can only be attributed to her keen sense of smell.

"Then let's adjust the plan. The commander is almost at his wit's end, so you'll be the one to take over."

As for the current galaxy, it has of course been abandoned temporarily. The N2 fleet is on the way, and maybe it can just fill the gap in defense.

Of course, it doesn’t matter much if you can’t block it. Space warfare itself is the romance of the navy. Compared with the opponent’s fleet, the defense platform is only used to supplement output and delay.

Although the tree people may immediately carry out emergency repairs and defenses after 11b leaves, they are unlikely to recover so quickly as the damage is so severe.

More importantly, if we don’t occupy the other party’s planet, there is really no other way.

After all, battleships don’t necessarily have to be built in the universe. It’s just that it’s more convenient to build battleships in the universe.

Moreover, various building materials are transported from the planet to space. Since the raw materials are on the planet, it also means that they can build warships on the planet.

As for blowing up all the facilities on the ground to prevent the resurgence of the problem, not to mention that Yan Luo still needs the production capacity on it to make up for the long supply line.

Even a complete civilization would consider the possibility of its planet being attacked, so they must have hidden facilities underground that could be used for resistance.

Anyway, the cute cat next door was beaten to the point of curling up on the ground before he managed to turn the tables.

"Just do what you want, and do it at your own convenience."

After getting permission, 11b set off with her fleet. After she left, the tree people who had been hiding on the planet dared to send out ships and frantically repaired the fortifications.

Of course, these have nothing to do with the earth for the time being, so let’s change our perspective.

Compared to 11b and n2, the Commander's life is not easy. If the difficulty of the previous two is easy and standard, then the Commander's is difficult.

The mediocre command and level of her previous colleague had already greatly reduced the strength of the fleet, and the fleet she had to face was a truly complete organization.

The whole thing can even be described as hell.

In essence, the commander should have been defeated by the enemy long ago, but as time went on, she gradually found that the enemy's offensive was weakening.

This is not a factor based on her senses, but a comparison based on actual data.

As time passed, the casualties in her front row began to decrease.

If the opposing fleet had not been substantially reduced in size on the battlefield, she would have almost thought that she had exhausted all of the enemy's manpower.

Also because they were facing the opponent's main force, and they were unable to equip any new equipment or get any strong support.

So it’s not that I’ve become stronger that makes the fight with the opponent more difficult, it’s that the opponent has become weaker!

Although the specific reason is unknown, it did not prevent the commander from ordering to engage with the enemy and pursue the victory.

Unfortunately, given the current level, the commander's fleet cannot deal a fatal blow to the enemy.

However, it is still possible for the two sides to engage in friendly horse-gun battles, especially when the screen ships are facing each other. The battleships without vision can only blindly fire at each other. This is almost developing into a turn-based game.

But this joyful game seems to be coming to an end soon.

After the cannon fodder on the front lines of both sides had fought for countless times, the tree people suddenly became agitated, or rather, the front line broke.

The tree man who was communicating with the round-headed man suddenly changed direction and quickly evacuated behind them. You should know that this was a very reckless move.

Forcing a turn while the troops are already engaged in a fierce battle is no less than a collapse of morale, exposing their backs to the enemy, and there is a price to pay for this.

But because the opponent's transformation was too sudden, coupled with the advantages of ship performance and the artificial intelligence's round-headed AI, in fact, there was not much loss.

Although he failed to seize the opportunity to inflict heavy damage on the enemy, the current outcome was already good for the commander.

After all, after such a long and fierce battle, the commander's fleet is about to enter the final round like eating chicken, and all the cannon fodder used to defend the front line will soon be exhausted.

The next step is either to send battleships into the battlefield or to escape from the subspace urgently.

At least we have repelled the enemy, and our future resume will look better than that of our colleagues.

"The only problem is that we won't be able to form an effective combat force next time." The commander sighed.

Judging from the current situation, her expedition should be considered to have come to an end. Including the round-headed ones, she only has more than a thousand military warships available. You must know that the humanoid combat force is only exactly 10,000.

This has already wiped out nine levels of combat power. In the professional terminology of the old times, it can even be called the complete destruction of the organization.

However, considering that only the round heads were lost and there were no awakened machines, mechanical life can be found to replenish them later.

So the commander didn't feel bad about swiping other people's cards, because he wasn't paying anyway.

What she needs to consider now is how to report to Yan Luo and withdraw from the quagmire of war with dignity.

But before she could think of her words, a communication came directly to her.

After she answered the phone, 11b's face popped up.

She did receive news about 11b becoming the commander.

"Commander, I'm here to help you."

"Don't you think it's too late for you now?" The commander took a moment to look out the window at the rubble, feeling a sense of anguish. "It's all over here. The enemy has retreated."

She was originally planning to have a good chat with the other party. She had just suffered heavy losses in a fight and might not be able to form any effective fighting force in the future.

But suddenly I was confused by 11b's words.

"So the ones I'm looking at now are the enemies who have retreated from you?"

"You met over there...Wait, where are you now?"

"Probably the closest galaxy to you," 11b replied somewhat awkwardly. Asking her to find coordinates on a star map wasn't a good idea, so the commander could only guess based on her testimony. "Anyway, I just broke through another galaxy's defenses to come help you."

"Again?" So how colorful is the situation over at 11b?

However, the commander finally understood why the tree people were in a hurry to evacuate. It was because their rear was attacked.

Any commander with a normal mind would immediately think of the encirclement scenario, so running away in such a hurry would not be considered a misjudgment.

But what's the situation when they were caught by 11b? Where are their detectors?

"Because this is the second one I've penetrated. Okay, that's enough. I saw the enemy battleship rushing towards me." The words were filled with danger, but 11b's expression seemed to be nonchalant. "I'm going!"

"Wait a little longer. They're no ordinary enemy. Their fleet is..." It was too late. 11b had already turned off the screen. Staring at the blackened projection before him, the commander could only slowly utter the last word. "Strong."

She was stunned for a few seconds, and then the flagship who had listened to the whole process began to speak frankly.

"No! Is 11b so brave?" As expected, military stars have their own personalities. They are worthy of being the generals who have been following the lord during the pioneering period.

Although this is a peer, she is as brave as me, so I hope her fighting power can really defeat the opponent.

As for whether there is an option to rush over and help now...

The commander's fleet, which had just ended a chaotic battle, was really unable to provide effective support.