The lawn at Tiandian has completely transformed compared to yesterday, utterly different, filled with the structures, magnificent curves, and brilliant jewels characteristic of Protoss design.

Hundreds of Photon Turrets are strategically spread throughout the grass. Photon Turrets are a defense structure unique to the Protoss. In the past, the power of a Photon Turret was only equivalent to a Level Two Uranium Cannon. However, with the advancement of Protoss technology, many models have been developed: the most primitive is called the Small Photon Turret, while others include the Medium Photon Turret, equivalent to a Level Four Uranium Cannon, and the Large Photon Turret, equivalent to a Level Six Uranium Cannon.

When a Large Photon Turret enters attack mode, it can rise a hundred meters high, launching a sphere of light the size of a two-story villa, with a range sufficient to reach the planet's outer orbit within one hundred thousand kilometers, boasting high accuracy.

Of course, there is no immediate need for the largest ones; only one was constructed at the center of the outpost, with all others being small or medium-sized Photon Turrets sufficient for defending the base.

With dozens of warp gates established, this outpost is now connected to other Protoss territories, meaning that even without Yang Ying, supplies could be drawn directly from the Solar System and troops sourced from the floating continent.

Several waves of beast tides arrived during this period, with various strange and bizarre creatures assaulting the outpost's defenses. However, few could breach the defense line formed by the Templar Warriors in the forest; a single Psi Storm from a High Templar could wipe out a group, while Dark Templar, wielding their double blades, left behind numerous corpses sliced into various shapes with their relentless sweeping attacks.

The corpses of these beasts were not wasted. After the warp gates were completed, specialized personnel collected them and sent them through the gates to the Zerg territories on the floating continent. Even the insects and plant-based lifeforms were not spared; samples were collected and delivered to the Zerg.

This planet has been isolated for billions of years. It harbors millions of unique life forms. Its indigenous gene bank is a treasure trove, capable of providing ample raw material and templates for Zerg evolution. Yang Ying believed that once their traits were absorbed by the Zerg, new troop types would rapidly emerge.

Although Yang Ying did not wish for the Zerg to set foot on Ai'er, sending the byproducts generated during the conquest process to their rightful destination was necessary, as neither the Protoss nor the Terrans required these corpses.

On the first day of arrival on Ai'er, the defenses of the first outpost were already incredibly stable. The surrounding fifty kilometers had been cleared. While not every beast had been killed, the remaining few were confirmed to pose no threat to the outpost.

During the construction of the first outpost, the Protoss High Council was already deliberating on the locations for other bases. Using maps of the planet's surface captured by Observers, the council members shared their views, ultimately designating nine other locations as the sites for establishing the first batch of outposts.

During this time, Yang Ying was not on Ai'er. He and Howard had returned with the Behemoth into the gas cloud to completely erase any trace left behind by Captain Rall.

There were still some explorers in the gas cloud unwilling to give up, and Yang Ying could locate those explorers heading toward Ai'er using Space Tracing Technique. However, unlike him, they did not possess a large number of Observers and would thus require more time.

To prevent this possibility from materializing, those traces could not be left unattended for a single moment longer.

Furthermore, Yang Ying recalled the decision made earlier: once this planet was discovered, they would find several individuals knowledgeable about the various races in the galaxy, bring them under control, and interrogate them for intelligence on those races.

Explorers fit this profile perfectly. They were well-traveled, well-connected, had been to many places, and possessed channels unavailable to others. Moreover, most of them had military backgrounds, giving them some insight into the armaments of various races, making them the most suitable candidates.

Taking advantage of the fact that they were still lingering in the gas cloud, Yang Ying planned to use the time spent erasing traces to also seize a few explorers and subject them to mental control. The gas cloud had just swallowed five thousand Khalaor warships and decimated Bibobarn's fleet; its fearsome reputation was at its zenith. Having a few explorers disappear now would be perfectly normal.

The Behemoth returned to the gas cloud. Through the Observers, Yang Ying had already learned that since Bibobarn's demise, many explorers had lost heart and left the gas cloud. Those remaining were individuals of firm will, skilled fighters, or those who had survived by sheer luck.

"Destroy those two rocks in the two o'clock direction, and the one rock in the eleven o'clock direction," Yang Ying instructed the gunner.

"Yes, sir," the gunner replied, firing the plasma cannon as ordered, shattering the rocks into fragments.

"Good. Move a bit further in. See that rock slightly higher up in the one o'clock direction? Destroy that one too," Yang Ying continued. Since the enemy was clearly familiar with Space Tracing Technique, they could certainly employ reverse tactics, find ways to erase traces, or even set up decoys to mislead those analyzing the traces, thereby preventing them from reaching the correct conclusions.

When Yang Ying was satisfied, every trace had been thoroughly wiped clean. Even the most powerful computing entities—be they Light Minds, Flying Brains, Super Brains, or any other—could never deduce Captain Rall's flight path now.

Yang Ying let out a breath of relief. "Alright, Ai'er is secure. Next is finding a few unfortunate explorer ships and controlling them."

"Sir, please look at this," said an aide, bringing up a screen. "This is an image sent by an Observer."

Yang Ying started in shock upon seeing the display. It showed a fleet of Burkean explorer ships—five of them—almost identical to Bibobarn's fleet. If he hadn't confirmed Bibobarn's death and noticed a slight difference in the emblem on the leading explorer ship compared to Bibobarn's, he would have sworn it was the same fleet.

This explorer fleet was guarded by twenty Burkean warships. Fifteen of them appeared to be the same model as the warships Bibobarn had brought last time, while the other five were noticeably larger, sporting four menacing Uranium Cannons, indicating their firepower surpassed the other eighteen ships.

"These Burkeans have brought a larger fleet, and powerful warships equipped with four Level Seven Uranium Cannons. Are they here for revenge for Bibobarn?" Yang Ying murmured to himself, deep in thought. "Fifteen warships identical to the last batch, each with one Level Seven Cannon, and five newly appeared warships, each with four Level Seven Cannons—a total of fifteen. Plus over a hundred Level Six Cannons. If we deploy forty Space Stalkers like last time, it might not even last one exchange."

Yang Ying surveyed the bridge; everyone was awaiting his command. After a moment's thought, he decided, "Ignore them and focus on the other explorers. All traces leading to Ai'er have been erased; there's no need to invite further complications."

"This Burkean force is not weak. If we were to deal with them using Space Stalkers, we would need at least two hundred. Such a massive swarm of Space Stalkers is rare even in the entire gas cloud, and mental control is a costly spell—consuming energy for two hundred instances just to deal with one fleet. Yang Ying mused it wasn't worth it.

He would rather expend the energy dealing with other explorer ships.

Hearing Yang Ying's decision, Howard and the others offered no objection and proceeded with the execution.

The Behemoth did not approach the Burkean fleet but targeted several explorer ships near the edge of the gas cloud, quickly selecting its first target. It was a gray, amorphous explorer ship that blended perfectly with the debris field, seemingly navigating aimlessly.

Yang Ying did not deploy the Behemoth itself but dispatched two clones piloting stealth Ghost Fighters to approach the explorer ship.

It took nearly two hours to reach the vicinity of the ship. This location was deep within the asteroid field, far from other explorer vessels, and the asteroids provided excellent radar occlusion, creating a favorable environment for Yang Ying to act.

Yang Ying didn't even need the Ghost Fighters; the two clones entered the Blade Emperor state, activated their cloaking, and flew out of the cockpits. Enveloped by psychic energy, they traversed the void and landed on the hull of the ship, one positioned front and one rear. Simultaneously, they drew their Hidden Light Sabers and plunged them in.

Sharp alarms immediately blared throughout the vessel.

The two clones carved circles into the hull. The internal air pressure blasted the panels outward, and they surged inside the ship.

Upon entering, the large holes in the hull began to shrink. One clone glanced back and saw flowing liquid metal spreading from the edges, the large openings gradually becoming smaller holes until finally sealed by the liquid metal, stopping the air loss.

The clone at the stern heard several hissing and scraping sounds as figures approached. Soon, the ship's crew appeared. They resembled the legendary Serpent People: legless, propelling themselves by slithering on their tails, their bodies smooth and scaled. Their faces, however, resembled humans, but with vertical slit pupils and long, flicking tongues. They all possessed a pair of flexible hands, each with only four fingers.

The clone entering the bow was right next to the bridge and immediately kicked open the door. Seeing the captain and his entourage inside the control room.

"What happened?"

The Serpent Captain, Sishaxi, was a psychic with power at the peak of Level Two, equivalent to a quasi-Master in the Solar System. Realizing the bridge door had burst open, he knew trouble had arrived and immediately readied a light saber in defense.

The clone waved a hand, sealing the bridge hatch, and a large vortex immobilized all the Serpent People inside the cockpit. The clone stepped forward, extending a hand toward Sishaxi, emitting an orange glow from its palm. To know what happens next, please log in to Chapter [XX] for more support for the author and legitimate reading.