Chapter 144: Report

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Yet when Zhang Desen saw this scene, his heart tightened for no apparent reason. He had the uneasy feeling that he had done something wrong. Before he could react, Feng Linger seized his right arm and said:

“Oh my, so you actually know quite a lot! No wonder you are our foremost warrior. What else do you know? Hurry up and tell me!”

Zhang Desen looked at Feng Linger before him, momentarily at a loss for words. After thinking for a moment, he said:

“Miss Feng, one moment you glare at me angrily, and the next you treat me in a way I cannot even describe. What exactly did you come here to see me about today?”

The moment Feng Linger heard this, her delicate brows shot upward. She glared at Zhang Desen and said:

“Hmph. I was giving you a way out, and you have the nerve to be ungrateful?”

Zhang Desen could not help feeling both amused and exasperated. Then a mischievous smile suddenly appeared on his face.

“Now, Miss Feng, why are you so unpredictable? You should know that you were the one who came looking for me today. And what is more, it is rather strange for you to appear in Hezhou City. What brings you here?”

Feng Linger’s expression instantly became remarkably complicated. She shouted at Zhang Desen:

“Why are you so utterly ungrateful? I merely wanted to see what you were capable of. For a time, you have been more talked about in the army than even my father. Since that has happened, your abilities must be sufficient to justify your current position. Otherwise, would you not be disgracing our family? That is why I had to test you. Now that you have some real ability, of course I am pleased. I even granted you a way out, yet you do not know enough to show your gratitude?”

Zhang Desen said with a smile:

“You are only making things more confusing. Still, thank you for your concern, Miss Feng. In my eyes, General Feng remains a god of war. He will continue to stand tall and unshaken. In truth, Miss Feng, you need not concern yourself with what people outside say or how they spread their rumors…”

Feng Linger snorted.

“Do not think that being a third-rank Duke of Pacifying the North makes you extraordinary. Whatever else he may be, my father is still a first-rank duke. So do not imagine that you are truly invincible.”

“All right, all right, my dear Miss Feng,” Zhang Desen said. “We still have many genuine enemies ahead of us, and their strength is in no way comparable to that of the Liao Ancient Kingdom. The Liao Ancient Kingdom is nothing more than a group of people armed with cold weapons. If you truly saw the troubles we are facing now, you would not think that I consider myself invincible.”

Before Feng Linger could reply, Sun Jia, the steward of the Sun household, suddenly cut in from the side. He spoke with undisguised contempt:

“That is enough, you little brats. You have no idea how terrifying the Liao Ancient Kingdom is. If the Liao Ancient Kingdom does not count as a genuine enemy, then go ahead and say that General Feng Yucai is incompetent. Replace him in his position while you are at it. Then I will admit that you really have some ability. But the Marquis of Awe-Inspiring Might will be arriving shortly. You will have no chance to show off again.”

Before Zhang Desen could say anything, Feng Linger, the young lady of the Feng family, stepped forward at once. She drew her sword and slashed directly at the right arm of Sun Jia, the Sun household’s steward. Before anyone could react, Sun Jia’s right arm was severed.

Feng Linger shouted:

“You coward! You have no idea who stands before you. Even if Lord Wang Wangdan arrives in a moment, he will be powerless against us. The dispute within our family is none of your concern.”

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As Sun Jia listened, screaming in agony, Feng Linger suddenly realized that something in what she had just said was wrong. Her face immediately flushed crimson with embarrassment.

Zhang Desen had noticed it as well. He, too, felt that something was amiss and nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood. For a time, everyone stood there in awkward silence, unable to say a word.

To ease the embarrassment, Feng Linger began beating Sun Jia even more viciously. His suffering was now beyond description. In addition to his severed arm, his face, abdomen, and other parts of his body were repeatedly battered.

Zhang Desen found it difficult to believe his eyes. Feng Linger did not appear very old, yet her current display was terrifying. He could not help feeling some sympathy for Sun Jia.

At that moment, Zhang Desen glanced out the window and saw that the rain had grown even heavier. He reckoned that the Marquis of Awe-Inspiring Might and his retinue would certainly be delayed again. He therefore called over He Youcai, manager of the Hezhou branch of the Liu Family Trading Company, and asked him to reheat the dishes. While they waited, they might as well eat something first.

…

Meanwhile, in the office of the Supreme Leader in Prairie City of the Fearsome Almei Empire, the empire’s director of intelligence, Kaba Duer, suddenly rushed in. He immediately reported to their supreme leader, Yuri Gotne:

“Report, Supreme Leader. Our intelligence observation stations have just reported signs of several unexplained conflicts in the vicinity of Bird God Star and other regions. It appears that unidentified spacecraft from beyond the outermost layer of the solar sphere have entered our solar system. They seem to be tracking our space patrol fighters.”

Yuri Gotne immediately asked:

“What? What is going on? How could they have breached our surveillance network without anyone noticing? If this is true, what exactly has your intelligence department been doing?”

Kaba Duer explained:

“Report, Supreme Leader. We were already on the verge of deploying the Heavenly Thunder Array in that region, so we were in the process of withdrawing several intelligence observation stations…”

Yuri Gotne waved a hand and cut him off, then asked swiftly:

“Very well. I will temporarily accept your explanation. But the Heavenly Thunder Array must be completed as soon as possible. What is the current situation of the fighters being tracked? Have they reported anything?”

Kaba Duer replied:

“Report, Supreme Leader. We also find the situation extremely strange. The two space patrol fighters under pursuit have not sent us any report. We suspect that they may have other intentions, so we have refrained from contacting them for the moment and are continuing to monitor their movements. They appear to be heading toward the Heavenly Thunder Array near Neptune. Perhaps they intend to lure the enemy into it. They then vanished completely within the array.”

Yuri Gotne asked again:

“Have we detected any enemy space carriers? Or how many enemy space carriers have entered the region of our solar system?”

Kaba Duer immediately answered:

“At present, we have detected no enemy space carriers entering our solar system. It is also possible that what entered was a miniature space carrier.”

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A space carrier is a massive spacecraft capable of operating both in the atmosphere and in space, flying in geosynchronous orbit approximately thirty-six thousand kilometers above the ground. Unlike an aerospace carrier or an aircraft carrier, a space carrier is a large airborne battle group that uses carrier-based aircraft as its primary weapons and serves as their aerial operations base.

With a space carrier, a nation can exert military pressure and conduct combat operations far from its own territory without relying on local airports.

A space carrier is a gigantic spacecraft capable of flying in geosynchronous orbit thirty-six thousand kilometers above the ground. It leads a patrol fleet consisting of four space shuttles, two space tugs, one orbital fuel depot, and one space supply station.

It was reported that the United States had already designed a space carrier capable of carrying a space force composed of nearly one hundred astronauts. American military scientists predicted that by 2032, the United States would have at least three nuclear-powered space carriers deployed in geosynchronous orbit. Space carriers are equipped with rockets, missiles, atomic warheads, laser cannons, and directed-energy weapons.

Among these, the laser cannon is the most powerful. Its beam can produce energy equivalent to one million atomic bombs over an extremely small area of impact, allowing it to shatter a small asteroid in an instant. From this, it can be seen that a space carrier can serve both as a space base and as a docking station for space shuttles and spacecraft. It can function as a space-based military support system for combat operations, as well as a camp for astronauts.

For this reason, various nations are working hard to develop space carriers in a struggle for control of outer space.

Generally speaking, space carriers can be classified according to their missions as attack carriers, early-warning carriers, escort carriers, and multipurpose combat carriers.

According to the types of aircraft they carry, they can be divided into fixed-wing carriers and helicopter carriers.

Space carriers generally do not operate alone. They are always accompanied by other vessels, together forming a space-carrier formation, also known as a space-carrier battle group.

Under the unified command of the space carrier, the entire formation can search for, track, lock onto, and attack hostile targets within a range of several hundred kilometers. Because the formation can simultaneously employ multiple branches of the military, different types of vessels, and various kinds of aircraft, it can create an independent aerial battlefield. In this way, it can achieve all-weather, wide-area, high-intensity, long-duration continuous combat and conduct integrated joint operations across the middle and high seas.

The primary mission of a space carrier is to use its carrier-based aircraft formation to seize air and sea control beyond its homeland. A space carrier is the central aerial base around which a space-carrier fleet is organized.

After hearing this, Yuri Gotne continued:

“Regardless of what the enemy is planning, you must remain alert to the possibility that an enemy space carrier may secretly enter our solar system. If we are struck by an enemy space carrier without any preparation, some of the defensive lines we have already established could collapse completely in an instant. Your intelligence department must handle this matter properly.”

Kaba Duer immediately said:

“Supreme Leader, you have nothing to worry about. Enemy space carriers cannot evade our observation network. If what enters is a miniature space carrier, we can destroy it quickly. Even if it is a more powerful vessel, there is still no need for concern. Our observation network can direct our firepower in a saturation strike. If the enemy enters openly as a full force, we can simply confront them head-on.”

“Good,” Yuri Gotne said.