On the edge of the Rhoer 4 star system, aboard the Star Boat.
At the center of the bridge, the base's holographic projection was displayed as always; the four cabin walls showed real-time images of the base's exterior.
At first glance, it seemed as if the entire bridge was suspended in the void.
For a long time, Ou Zhanpeng had believed the Star Boat only had a holographic projection system. It wasn't until recently, when he accidentally discovered that the bridge walls were actually a 360-degree, all-angle panoramic spherical screen.
Looking around, warships from various civilizations circled the Star Boat like stars around the moon. All the warships had their bows facing the star system. Though not in neat formations, they shared a common hatred for the enemy.
"Let's begin," Ou Zhanpeng said.
A warship near the base immediately issued an ultimatum to the Rhoer people, demanding they agree to a series of conditions, including ceasing the oppression of other civilizations and compensating them for their losses.
Otherwise, the allied forces would flatten the Rhoer 4 star system, delivered with a great sense of ceremony.
In Ou Zhanpeng's original plan, there was no need to waste any more words with the Rhoer people. They had already become mortal enemies. Once they reached their destination, they should have started fighting immediately.
It was that simple: either the Rhoer people would be completely wiped out, or humanity would disappear from the universe.
However, he never expected that the Leng’e people would find the Star Boat at this time, representing several civilizations, and express their intention to jointly resist the Rhoer people. Furthermore, without the Star Boat's consent, they had adopted the Blood Skull as the symbol of the Anti-Rhoer Alliance.
According to the Leng'e people, the major civilizations participating in the Anti-Rhoer Alliance regarded the Blood Skull as a symbol of their resolve to fight to the death, imbuing it with a profound meaning of sacrifice for freedom.
Ou Zhanpeng's facial muscles twitched uncontrollably. "I just casually made a symbol for a laugh; I never had so many convoluted ideas!"
But other civilizations didn't see it that way. They unanimously believed that since the Star Boat had the capability to destroy Rhoer planets single-handedly, it must also have the ability to lead multiple civilizations to completely overthrow the oppression imposed by the Rhoer people on other civilizations.
To be honest, Ou Zhanpeng didn't feel that the Rhoer people had oppressed other civilizations much. Although there were many problems in intercepting the star beasts, humanity's military and technological strength had also seen considerable development.
Even though humanity had paid a considerable price, the gains were not small. Overall, it could only be considered paying some necessary price for development. There was definitely oppression, but it hadn't reached the point where armed resistance was necessary.
Of course, this was excluding the Star Boat incident.
Thus, the Anti-Rhoer Alliance was rapidly formed in a very short period, and humanity was unanimously elected by numerous civilizations as the leader of the alliance.
More accurately, it was the Star Boat Base.
Ou Zhanpeng sincerely did not want to deal with so many troublesome matters. With so many civilizations, who knew which ones were sincere and which were not? Which ones were spies sent by the Rhoer people?
However, these civilizations were like stubborn sticky candy, unwavering in their focus on the Star Boat.
Ou Zhanpeng didn't know what to say.
He had only heard of being forced onto a duck, but never of people scrambling to recognize someone as a father!
Regarding this, Ling Xiao and the others from the Star Boat team had their own opinions. Some believed that the Star Boat operating alone had a greater advantage; others thought that the participation of other civilizations could strengthen their momentum; still others believed that caution was necessary, lest they be sold while helping to count the money.
In the end, Gong Yiding offered Ou Zhanpeng some rather sincere advice: "Refusing is definitely not appropriate. There are definitely those among them who genuinely resist. But agreeing entirely is also not feasible. There are definitely opportunists trying to fish in troubled waters."
Ou Zhanpeng's head spun even more. "This is no good, and that's no good either. Old Gong, why don't you help me make a decision!"
Gong Yiding smiled, "The problem now isn't how to make a decision, but how to unite these people!"
"What do you mean?" Ou Zhanpeng's mind was a bit slow to catch up.
"It's very simple. Regardless of whether these people are truly oppressed by the Rhoer people, or if they intend to follow and pick up scraps after hearing that we bombarded a Rhoer planet, in general, they are definitely standing in opposition to the Rhoer people," Gong Yiding analyzed carefully. "Since a common ground has been found, the next question is how to make everyone twist into one rope and unite to target the Rhoer people!"
Seeing Ou Zhanpeng still looking bewildered, Gong Yiding sighed, "Why isn't your brain working? Unity, unity, understand?"
"I understand!" Ou Zhanpeng felt extremely wronged. "Didn't you just say it? The problem is that with so many warships, and from different civilizations, there's no way to twist them into one rope!"
Gong Yiding rolled his eyes, "Didn't we find common ground?"
"We found common ground, and then what?"
Gong Yiding was speechless. He had intended to guide Ou Zhanpeng, but he didn't expect this outcome. "Then, of course, we conduct ideological education, propose a program that everyone can grasp, and then unite everyone under this goal!"
Ou Zhanpeng looked suspicious, "These individuals, who knows what they're thinking in their hearts, will this work?"
Gong Yiding was disappointed, "Whether it works or not isn't determined by words, but by actual actions. We propose a program, and then establish an alliance. Truly oppressed civilizations will actively flock to us, uniting under the banner of resisting the Rhoer people; opportunists are different. They don't have such firm resolve, and will eventually be filtered out by the great tide of elimination!"
Ou Zhanpeng paused for a moment, then finally nodded, "I think I understand!"
"If you understand, why are you still standing there?" Gong Yiding kicked Ou Zhanpeng's butt.
He knew exactly how much force his kick carried, controlling both speed and power very well.
Unexpectedly, Ou Zhanpeng's reaction speed was much faster than anticipated. He dodged with a sidestep. "Old Gong, since you're helping, help all the way. Send the Buddha to the West. Help me think of this program too!"
"Here you go!" Gong Yiding immediately sent a document to Ou Zhanpeng's terminal.
He had long anticipated this outcome and had already drafted the basic program for the Anti-Rhoer Alliance, noting at the beginning that this was only the most basic, initial version, and it would need to be continuously supplemented and improved based on the specific circumstances and requirements of other civilizations.
Ou Zhanpeng immediately contacted the Leng'e people, handing over all matters related to forming the alliance and releasing the program.
Simply put, it was to push the Leng'e people to the forefront, while humanity hid in the background to make a fortune.
He did this after careful consideration.
As the saying goes, the tallest nail gets hammered.
The Star Boat was the main force that destroyed Rhoer 2 and Rhoer 3, and had already garnered enough attention. Now that the Anti-Rhoer Alliance was formed, it might as well shift from the front stage to the background.
Ou Zhanpeng was not worried about power being usurped. Although there were many warships from various civilizations, their overall combat capability still needed continuous refinement. For a considerable period, the Star Boat would be the absolute main force of the alliance fleet, without exception.
Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. As long as the Star Boat encountered no accidents, no one could bypass humanity's control of the alliance.
Furthermore, according to historical experience, peasant uprisings should adopt a strategy of coercing and encompassing everything, uniting these known and unknown civilizations. This would be beneficial for gaining the participation of other civilizations, and in the long run, it would only bring benefits and no harm.
As per the Star Boat's wishes, the Leng'e people first released the program, then formed the alliance, and then formed the allied fleet, barely managing to unite this scattered sand.
Next, the nascent allied forces would have to undergo the baptism of war, with the fittest surviving and the dross being washed away.
Therefore, even though there were over four hundred warships gathered, and even though the Leng'e people were making a show of issuing ultimatums, Ou Zhanpeng actually didn't expect the alliance fleet to play much of a role. Bringing them here was merely to boost their morale.
Before the Leng'e people's ultimatum was finished, the Rhoer fleet had already divided into four routes and was charging forward menacingly.
Facing the powerful enemy, all ships collectively thought of the Star Boat. In an instant, the Star Boat's communication system was almost overloaded by over four hundred warships. Every warship was inquiring how to deal with the Rhoer fleet next, and whether their own warships should be at the forefront to share the pressure for the Star Boat, or retreat to the rear and wait for the optimal moment to intervene in the battle.
Before the battle even began, the nature of the scattered sand was fully exposed.
Ou Zhanpeng unhesitatingly rejected all communication requests and directly issued orders on the public channel: "All ships coordinate yourselves and form up on either side of the Star Boat!"
They were just cannon fodder; there was no point in expecting them to charge into battle. For now, they could be used as artillery platforms—even without fighting spirit, they should at least be able to fire from the rear.
Gong Yiding held a completely different view.
Since all these people claimed their civilizations were oppressed by the Rhoer people, when facing the Rhoer fleet, only those civilizations truly oppressed would rise up to resist. Those civilizations that were just coasting and had no deep-seated pain would not have such firm stances.
A single battle would reveal everyone's true colors. Therefore, ordering the cannon fodder warships to retreat was not a good method. Allowing them to choose for themselves whether to advance to the front or retreat to the rear, and adjusting the positions of each ship in a timely manner, was the best approach.
Ou Zhanpeng did listen, but while he was fine commanding the Star Boat, commanding such a large fleet?
"Don't kid me," he didn't know how to command it at all.
Rather than fumbling around, it was better to focus.
He knew very well that when it came to commanding fleets, among the Star Boat and its personnel, Gong Yiding's skill level was probably the highest.
It wasn't about strong command ability, but high calculation ability, allowing him to quickly calculate based on the battlefield situation and make the most appropriate adjustments in a timely manner.
Therefore, robots, and the like, were the most useful.
Gong Yiding had no way to refuse and could only take on the command of the fleet in this critical moment.
He could only hope that these cannon fodder weren't beyond redemption!
The Rhoer fleet continued to advance. Ou Zhanpeng didn't give them a chance to get close. He activated a wormhole to deploy mushroom bombs. As a series of explosions illuminated the void, the great battle officially commenced.
While deploying the second wave of mushroom bombs, Ou Zhanpeng roared fiercely, "Left flank focus fire, right flank focus fire!"
In the midst of the chaos, he still remembered to guide the targets for the warships on both flanks.
Gong Yiding glared fiercely at this kid, thinking, "Who is commanding here, you or me?"
However, no matter how dissatisfied he was, he wouldn't undermine Ou Zhanpeng in front of so many people. Besides, these two commands were not a big deal.
Since Ou Zhanpeng still had the energy to pay attention to the fleet, let him continue commanding. When he truly couldn't manage anymore, Gong Yiding could take over, and it wouldn't be too late.
Upon receiving the order, over four hundred warships quickly opened fire.
However, this round of volley immediately revealed the gap between scattered skirmishers and regular troops.
These warships not only couldn't manage formations, but even their volleys were uneven. What should have been a concentrated offensive turned into sporadic, disjointed scattered shots.
Ou Zhanpeng almost choked with anger. "This level? This coordination? And they still want to fight the Rhoer people?"
If their own third-rate troops took over these warships, they wouldn't have fired such scattered volleys.
Fortunately, Ou Zhanpeng hadn't expected much from this batch of warships in the first place. Otherwise, if he got angry now, it would be nothing. The complete collapse of the seemingly powerful fleet would be a disaster.
The Rhoer fleet didn't rush to counterattack but maintained its formation and continued to advance.
Witnessing this scene, Ling Xiao suddenly recalled the lobster soldiers from the era of marching and firing in formation.
"Coordinate, coordinate—" Amidst Ou Zhanpeng's roar, the second wave of mushroom bombs exploded, turning another batch of Rhoer warships into scattered space debris.
In the distance, the Rhoer planet was long prepared. All ships had taken to the skies, and all Rhoer people who could leave the planet had evacuated outside the planet.
Not only that, but what was even more astonishing was that this planet was equipped with three layers of planetary shields: inner, middle, and outer. It seemed they believed that the fall of Rhoer planets 2 and 3 was due to the insufficient strength of their planetary shields.
In a way, this thinking was correct.
Before the enemy got close, Ou Zhanpeng directly deployed mushroom bombs onto the planet.
The 100-megaton bombs had been used up. This time, only 50-megaton bombs could be deployed.
He intended to use the same tactic to destroy the planet, but upon opening the wormhole, he discovered that the three layers of planetary shields were indeed effective, forcefully trapping the wormhole, which should have appeared within the atmosphere, between the inner and middle shields.
The missiles that passed through the wormhole accelerated their dive and slammed into the inner shield.
Under the sudden burst of bright light, the inner shield instantly shattered.
Ou Zhanpeng immediately followed up with another round of mushroom bombs, this time appearing directly within the atmosphere.
The first two rounds were a single mushroom bomb doing all the work. This time, the yield was reduced, but to ensure the quality of destruction, Ou Zhanpeng deployed eight mushroom bombs, each with a yield of fifty megatons.
Moments later, the eight mushroom bombs detonated almost simultaneously, the bright light merging into one, blinding everyone's eyes.
A moment later, the light dissipated, and eight mushroom clouds slowly rose. Beneath the mushroom clouds, shockwaves swept across the area, devastating everything in their path.
Countless Rhoer people witnessed their homes being destroyed. Those who didn't know the reason cursed the atrocities of humanity; a minority who knew some inside information unanimously condemned the despicable and incompetent actions of the Rhoer authorities.
It was one thing to plot for the Prismatic Nebula, but to fail to acquire the super spaceship and instead suffer so much harm from humanity – what was this all about?
Now, not only was humanity raising the banner of anti-Rhoer resistance, but so many civilizations were cheering them on. Did they really think the Rhoer people couldn't handle them?
But even so, the performance of the Rhoer fleet was really unsatisfactory. They hadn't achieved many results, and they had lost quite a few of their own warships.
Could these damned primitive civilizations really turn the world upside down?