Ch.124124. A New Planetary System

Of course, humanity didn’t particularly care what those strange self-proclaimed “Nec-Rokists” had to say.

They only engaged in dialogue to confirm their identity and gather information. From humanity’s perspective, these machines were nothing more than pirates who had invaded without even declaring war.

So, after stalling for time through conversation and collecting all possible intelligence, the enraged Human Federation attacked the Bauti planetary system with their elite fleet.

A total of 12 new Enterprise-class battleships, 24 Independent-class battleships, and numerous auxiliary vessels—almost equivalent to an extermination fleet from the Monster War era—were dispatched to target a single planetary system.

This massive force was deployed to nip the threat in the bud and prevent further instability. Indeed, the Nec-Rokist fleet, whose largest vessels barely reached 10km in length, melted away before the Federation fleet without inflicting significant damage… but the real problem came afterward.

First of all, true to their Rokist nature, they kept harassing Federation forces by deploying infantry troops on small, high-speed vessels. The issue was that they were all machines.

When destroyed, only resources were lost; the soul fragments bound to their mechanical bodies were simply recovered and transplanted into newly manufactured vessels. This meant they suffered virtually no personnel losses, and unlike ordinary Rokist pirates, these creatures charged forward with reckless abandon.

Furthermore, the combat capabilities of these mechanized Rokists exceeded all expectations.

The Nec-Rokists primarily used energy weapons characterized by purple flashes, firing violet energy beams that dissolved organic matter and decomposed inorganic materials. These capabilities occasionally allowed even infantry weapons to penetrate the thin armor of light vehicles.

These energy weapons often took the form of cold weapons like swords or spears with purple blades. In close combat, the laser beam properties were directly applied to the blades, achieving the remarkable feat of actual anti-tank bayonet techniques.

Additionally, their mechanical bodies continued to move unless their drive systems or power sources were completely destroyed, and their durability was comparable to decent powered suits—essentially making them like zombies, just mechanical ones.

However…

“Ha! Insects need extermination!”

“So much trash to clean up—this is fun!”

Naturally, the Federation had anticipated such shipboard combat and deployed large numbers of superhuman psychic users, who simply swept away these infantry-focused enemies.

With all threats eliminated, the Federation fleet began landing operations on the planet occupied by the Nec-Rokists, spearheaded by marines and the Federation Army—and this is where the real problems began.

The various mechanical insect weapons, composed of countless nanomachines harvested from the planet’s resources, were so formidable that a single medium-sized unit, roughly elephant-sized, could annihilate an entire marine company. High-level psychic users were absolutely necessary, and even then, these infantry proved unexpectedly tenacious in ground combat.

Their durability allowed them to withstand even a shot from the compact plasma rifle attached to the Federation Army’s standard laser assault rifle. They fought with incredible persistence until the very last unit ceased functioning. Most problematic were the elite units mixed among their ranks.

Mid-level commanders resembling the Arachne of ancient mythology—mechanical spider lower bodies with Nec-Rokist upper bodies—possessed firepower, defense, and mobility equivalent to small tanks. The Rokist assault troops equipped with personal shields were equally devastating to infantry.

The Nec-Rokists were formidable opponents, even though Federation Army infantry were by no means weak.

The standard Federation weapon—a laser medium assault rifle with mounted compact plasma rifle—was practically equivalent to a light machine gun capable of anti-tank warfare. All soldiers wore compact powered suits that, while cheap, could easily deflect laser rifle fire.

Depending on their specialization, troops might be equipped with antimatter grenades or missile launchers. For Federation Army non-commissioned officers, whose bodies were covered in implants purchased with their salaries, mastery of plasma pistol shooting and one-handed sword techniques was considered basic training.

Normally, these monsters could wipe out an entire planetary defense force with a single division, yet now they were struggling against what amounted to a band of raiders.

“When are the androids coming?”

“I don’t know, sir!”

Nevertheless, humanity remained powerful. If infantry numbers were insufficient, they deployed humanoid robot weapons—battle androids—to fill the gaps, which also helped address infantry firepower shortages.

These battle androids carried heavy weapons on their shoulders and had various firearms installed in place of forearms and hands below the elbow on one arm for adaptive response. They even contained expensive personal (ultra-compact) psychic shield generators.

For mechanical insects like giant mechanical beetles or centipedes that were difficult to handle with conventional weapons, the Federation Army’s standard IK (Iron Knight) tanks were the answer.

Though often used as a benchmark for comparing other weapons or measuring combat effectiveness—which might make them seem ordinary—this very fact testified to their strength.

Armed with a plasma cannon as main armament, a high-output medium psychic shield generator, and four laser machine guns, the IK tank had faced countless enemies of humanity, resulting in various specialized variants.

For this expedition, the IK tanks were hastily modified into the Tesla type—designated IK-78T—featuring psychic shock discharge capabilities. Naturally, this psychic discharge was the perfect counter to the Nec-Rokists, who were machines infused with psychic elements.

A brief psychic shock was enough to disable infantry-sized Nec-Rokists, while larger mechanical insects would freeze in place, though they could withstand the shock.

Once the initially surprised army established countermeasures, they began reclaiming the planet one area at a time with overwhelming numbers and orbital fire support. But this was when the Nec-Rokists revealed their true capabilities.

They had constructed complex, compartmentalized underground production facilities deep beneath the surface. Areas thought secure would suddenly be overrun by Nec-Rokists emerging from below—an almost daily occurrence.

Furthermore, their destroyed bodies automatically decomposed into nanomachines over time. These nanomachines floated through the air, naturally mixing into the respiratory systems of living beings.

These metal particles were harmful as heavy metals, but worse, they consumed the body from within while self-replicating and gradually converting consumed areas into machinery.

In other words, merely being invaded meant the planet—and everyone deployed there—was potentially contaminated…

“Retreat. And… deploy the Planet Killer.”

The expedition leadership finally decided to withdraw their forces and use the Planet Killer weapons mounted on their battleships.

Among the various Planet Killers—weapons designed to destroy or render planets uninhabitable—the one selected to deal with the Nec-Rokists was a massive shockwave bomb called the Land Destroyer.

Normally, the standard procedure would be to first eliminate all life forms with biological decomposition virus bombs, but no life forms remained on the Bauti planetary system.

Therefore, they loaded Land Destroyers onto planet-striking torpedoes fired from their ships, launching about ten per planet. When the torpedo warheads reached the surface—

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM…

With shockwaves faint but strong enough to reach the ships, the planets of the Bauti system were rendered irrecoverable.

Additional nuclear weapons evaporated the seas, while the shockwaves churned the planetary crust, literally plowing the planets into molten masses.

After the destruction of the Bauti system, the expedition fleet returned home.

“Nec-Rokists! I repeat, Nec-Rokists!”

When the Nec-Rokists—who had somehow emerged from somewhere—invaded yet another planetary system, humanity had to accept the fact that they had gained a new adversary.