Upon hearing this, everyone slowly nodded in agreement.
No one was complacent just because they possessed nine Sequence Fleets and held an absolute advantage in military strength.
Every person present was a battle-hardened Commander.
They understood better than anyone that underestimating the enemy on the battlefield was a sure path to death.
The slightest negligence could lead to catastrophic disaster.
Wen Tingtao lightly tapped his finger on the conference table.
A deep blue light screen instantly rose slowly from the center of the table, hovering before everyone's eyes.
Projected on the light screen was a photograph of blurry quality.
It was clearly taken from an extremely long distance, with faint interference ripples visible at the edges of the image.
Yet, even through the blur, one could clearly see it.
In the deep Void floated a massive celestial body with a rugged surface.
"At the same time, Rose also discovered that the Empire is heavily constructing War Fortresses at the border between the Bushman Star System and the Savannah Star System."
Wen Tingtao raised his hand, pointing at the photograph on the light screen, his tone growing increasingly grave.
"This is the image she managed to capture."
General Fu Changye, Commander of the Vault Fleet, fixed his gaze intently on the photograph on the light screen.
His pupils abruptly contracted, his voice tinged with unconcealed disbelief.
"This is... a Meteorite!
They've actually transformed a natural meteorite into a War Fortress!"
Before his words faded, General Zhao Yanzhi, Commander of the Azure Dragon Fleet, stood up.
His sharp eyes locked onto a specific detail on the meteorite's surface, and he extended a finger, pointing at that spot.
His voice was low and urgent.
"Look here..."
His fingertip landed on a neatly shaped, circular crater in the photograph.
"This meteorite's surface has a man-made, circular depression.
The edges are too uniform to be naturally formed."
He paused briefly, a flicker of concern flashing in his eyes.
"Could it be... they've hidden a heavy Fortress Cannon inside this depression?"
"If that's truly the case, then this thing becomes a serious problem. Subsequent attacks will likely be much more difficult."
Instantly, everyone's eyes focused on the photograph, following the direction Zhao Yanzhi pointed.
Indeed, the circular depression on the meteorite's surface had a regular outline and smooth edges.
It looked unmistakably like a man-made structure, not something formed by impacts from other celestial bodies.
Everyone's hearts sank.
The atmosphere in the conference room grew even more oppressive, heavy enough to almost suffocate.
However, Wen Tingtao's next sentence landed like a heavy bomb, crashing down on everyone's hearts.
It left everyone present utterly stunned, their minds blank.
"According to Rose's further deductions..."
"At the border between the Bushman and Savannah Star Systems, there are at least several thousand such Meteorite Fortresses."
Several thousand!
These two words exploded like thunder in the conference room, instantly overwhelming all other sounds.
The room fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the frantic pounding of hearts.
Several thousand Meteorite Fortresses meant there could potentially be several thousand terrifyingly powerful Fortress Cannons!
What did that mean?
It was equivalent to a deathly defensive line stretching for several light-years.
Even the least powerful fortress cannon could annihilate an entire Sub-Level Fleet with a single shot.
Just as everyone was reeling from the news of thousands of meteorite fortresses, their minds shaken and faces filled with unease, General Jiang Yubai, Commander of the Soaring Fleet, suddenly spoke up, breaking the dead silence in the conference room.
He raised his eyes to look at Wen Tingtao at the head of the table and asked, word by word, the question that weighed most heavily on everyone's minds—the one they most feared.
"Aside from the Bushman Star System, has the Empire deployed similarly treacherous war fortresses in other star systems?"
He paused briefly before adding, "For example, in systems bordering the front lines, like Machu Picchu or Bedros?"
As soon as he spoke, everyone in the conference room snapped back to attention, their gazes fixed intently on Wen Tingtao, eyes filled with urgency and hope.
If only the Bushman Star System had these thousands of fortresses, they could simply bypass it.
But if Machu Picchu, Serbern, and Bedros were also fortified with similar fortresses, that would mean over ten thousand of them—each potentially armed with terrifyingly powerful fortress cannons, each a tough nut to crack.
If they had to break through each one individually, the Federation Fleet would suffer unimaginable casualties.
Wen Tingtao slowly shook his head and responded in a steady tone, "According to all the intelligence Agent Rose has sent back so far, there is no mention of war fortresses being deployed in other star systems."
He paused briefly before continuing, "At the same time, based on data transmitted by forward reconnaissance ships, no newly added meteorite bodies have been detected in the border regions of other star systems."
His gaze swept slowly over every commander present. "Therefore, it is highly likely that the Empire has deployed a large number of war fortresses only in the Bushman Star System."
As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately added, "Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that they used special technology to conceal the war fortresses, evading detection by our reconnaissance ships."
The conference room fell into a brief silence once more, the air seeming to freeze again.
"Concealed"?
Those two words pierced everyone's hearts like a fine needle.
Just as everyone sank back into deep thought, General Lu Chengfeng, Commander of the Sirius Fleet, slowly spoke up.
"I, for one, believe it's impossible for the Empire to deploy so many war fortresses across multiple star systems."
Everyone looked up at him.
Meeting their gazes, Lu Chengfeng continued, "The Empire has expended tremendous effort to construct so many meteorite fortresses. Their core objective is undoubtedly to obstruct our advance and delay our progress."
He tapped his finger lightly on the conference table. "If the number of fortresses is too small, they would be ineffective at interception—we could easily bypass their defensive line and strike directly at their hinterland. But if the number is too large…"
He deliberately paused. "They simply couldn't produce so many war fortresses in such a short time. Even if they repurposed natural meteorite bodies to skip the step of building from scratch, the processes of modification, reinforcement, installing fortress cannons, and calibrating energy systems—each step requires time and cannot be accomplished overnight."
He looked at Wen Tingtao. "Unless this plan of theirs has been in the works for many years, and they began secretly preparing and modifying meteorites long ago, it would be impossible for them to blanket the borders of four star systems with war fortresses in such a short time."
Finally, in a firm and resolute tone, he delivered his conclusion.
"Therefore, I conclude that they have only deployed a large number of War Fortresses in the Bushman Star System.
As for other star systems, there are none, nor could there be."
As his words fell, the conference room sank into a brief silence.
The Commanders present lowered their heads one by one, carefully pondering Lu Chengfeng's analysis, the weight in their hearts gradually easing somewhat.
Lu Chengfeng's analysis was entirely reasonable and irrefutable.
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