Chapter 1306: Civilizational Gap
The Sun-Chasing Belt was the outermost ring of the Interstellar Alliance’s territory. It was considered its first line of defense. Two warship fleets, the sixth and the eighth, were stationed here.
It was Sunday, and the warship fleets were celebrating their holiday festivities as usual, with only a few personnel left on watch. Long interstellar patrols easily bred fatigue, so organizing such events regularly was necessary.
Watching their comrades singing and dancing on the surveillance feed, the soldier on duty yawned and complained to the person beside him. “Sometimes I wonder, what’s the point of patrolling this godforsaken place every single day? We might as well let Ether do the job instead.”
“Come on. You wouldn’t say that if you were unemployed.”
That soldier waved it off. “So what if I’m unemployed? I’ll still get government benefits. It’s not like I’ll die.”
Suddenly, a red exclamation mark flashed on the big screen, accompanied by a blaring alarm.
”Attention: unknown signal source detected! Attention: unknown signal source detected!”
The two soldiers on duty exchanged a puzzled glance. Are there still unknown signal sources in this day and age? Could it be a cosmic probe from some unknown planet, carrying a message like “Let’s be friends?”
But the radar readings quickly put an end to their wishful thinking. The radar display was crowded with signal sources. The number ticked up rapidly and settled at 1500. This meant that 1500 unknown objects were approaching the Sun-Chasing Belt.
Their pupils constricted sharply. They immediately realized that the situation was dire. “Quick, report to the commander!”
The festivities were swiftly canceled, and both warship fleets entered a state of emergency, prepared for combat. The commander brought up the space telescope and finally got a clear look at the unknown signal sources.
“What’s... that?”
Rather than spaceships, they were more like enormous spheres of flesh, their exteriors writhing. It was as though 1500 giant caterpillars were crossing the starry sky in a vast procession.
The commander had encountered many civilizations capable of interstellar navigation, but they were all eventually absorbed into the Interstellar Alliance. But none of them had been as bizarre as these spaceships before him. Or are these not spaceships but some kind of interstellar species?
”Report: the life-sign system has detected a large number of lifeforms within.”
“A large number of lifeforms?”
“Activate all defense systems. Stay alert.” The commander’s voice was steady and resolute, but it couldn’t hide his inner anxiety. “Attempt to re-establish communication. We must confirm their intention!”
The repeated attempts to establish communication ended in failure. The unknown fleet seemed to completely ignore all signals, remaining silent as it slowly advanced.
“Deploy unmanned ships to block their path. Remember to activate energy shields! Report this to the Council Chairman immediately!”
“Yes, sir!”
Soon, over a hundred unmanned ships deployed energy shields that linked together, forming a net that blocked the unknown fleet’s advance.
The commander was confident in the energy net. During military drills, it had held back a planet’s orbital motion for several minutes before disintegrating. One could imagine its strength.
Yet this energy net crumbled on contact with the unknown fleet. It wasn’t even worthy of being an obstacle.
“How is this possible?!” The soldiers stared in disbelief. The scene seemed to have come out of a fantasy.
The commander finally confirmed their hostile intent and gave the order. “All units, attack!”
Laser cannons, particle beams, and missiles rained down upon the enemy, illuminating the pitch-black outer space.
~~~
“Sixth Fleet, respond if you can hear me!”
“Eighth Fleet, respond if you can hear me!”
The Council Chairman repeatedly hailed the fleets, but received no response. He was sweating with anxiety.
“Ether, pull up the Sun-Chasing Belt surveillance feed!”
But before Ether could act, the screen flickered on. Yet the person on the other end wasn’t any of the commanders.
“This is how it’s operated, right? Let me see. It worked.”
A humanoid lifeform stood on the other side. His attire was refined, and he appeared to be someone of considerable status.
“Who are you? Where are the Sixth and Eighth fleets?!”
“The Sixth and Eighth fleets? Oh, you mean those little toys that greeted me rudely?” The humanoid lifeform wore a relaxed expression. He snapped his fingers, and the feed switched to the starry sky.
The Sixth and Eighth warship fleets were being devoured by the writhing flesh-walls of the unknown fleet, leaving only half of each warship still visible.
At the sight of this, the Council Chairman felt as though a hammer had struck his skull, sending his mind reeling. I’d lost contact with the two fleets only moments ago. How could they already be annihilated? Just how powerful is the enemy?!
The feed switched again, this time to the interior of one of the unknown ships. The layout resembled the inside of a living organism. The legion commander had been swallowed by the wall, with only his head remaining.
“Chong’en!” the Council Chairman cried out.
The feed cut back to the humanoid lifeform’s mocking smile. “Don’t worry. We were just extracting the language for communication from his brain.”
Only then did the Council Chairman realize that this humanoid lifeform had been speaking in the Interstellar Alliance’s language all along.
“Who exactly are you people?!”
“Us? We are the Zhutian Civilization, the hegemon of the universe. Under our Heavenly Emperor’s command, we have come to conquer the cosmos. We simply happened to run into you.
“As for me, I’m Shi Wumian, the legion commander of this Biluo Heaven Fleet.”
“If the Interstellar Alliance is willing to submit to the Zhutian Civilization, become our vassal, pledge allegiance to us, and offer tribute regularly, you may be spared from war. What do you say?”
The Council Chairman erupted in fury. “Dream on! The Interstellar Alliance will never bow to anyone!”
“I hear the same thing at every conquest, but doesn’t it always end the same way?” Shi Wumian sighed. Then he turned around and ordered the Biluo Heaven Fleet, “All units, prepare to jump to the Eternal Galaxy!”
~~~
The Council Chairman’s expression was stormy. The Zhutian Civilization is hostile and overwhelmingly powerful. The two entire fleets had held out for less than ten minutes. Even if I summon the remaining warship fleets, they still won’t be a match for them.
The only option left is...
“Ether, take full command of all twelve warship fleets of the Interstellar Alliance. Do everything in your power to stop the Zhutian Civilization’s invasion!”
The Council Chairman had always distrusted artificial intelligence. He could only rest assured with the military in his own hands. But with a formidable foe right at their doorstep, there was no way they could defeat the Zhutian Civilization through his command alone. Only with Ether in command of the entire military force do we stand a fighting chance!
~~~
The Biluo Heaven Fleet jumped to the outskirts of the Eternal Galaxy and was immediately intercepted.
However, the Zhutian Civilization’s power far exceeded the Council Chairman’s expectations. They rampaged through the Eternal Galaxy with wild abandon. Not a single attack could leave even a scratch. In the face of absolute power, no combat tactic could make up for the difference.
Such a large-scale battle couldn’t be hidden from the public, and Ether couldn’t spare the processing power to manage online discourse. The populace wailed in despair. Their vaunted invincible fleets were nothing more than slightly larger ants before the Zhutian Civilization.
“Maybe we should just surrender. The Zhutian Civilization is so powerful. Submitting to them might not be so bad.”
Exactly. We won’t lose anything from surrendering. Maybe they’ll even help the alliance develop.”
“Disgusting. Spineless cowards with no principles.”
“Traitors should go die! The alliance will never surrender!”
Although many vowed never to surrender, a considerable number advocated for surrender. In their eyes, this was a pointless war.
“What else can we do but surrender? Can we even fight them?”
“We can still fight. Don’t forget we haven’t used the star-destroying cannon yet.”
“That’s right. We still have the star-destroying cannon.”
The words “star-destroying cannon” renewed the people’s confidence. It was the ultimate weapon, capable of releasing a beam that could annihilate a planet in an instant. The weapon’s immense power struck terror into everyone.
Ether lured the Zhutian Civilization into an ambush and deployed the hidden star-destroying cannon.
Stored antimatter swiftly collided with matter and was obliterated, releasing an enormous burst of crystalline blue energy. Bound by a magnetic field, it converged into a single beam, aimed at Shi Wumian’s command ship.
When the star-destroying cannon fired, a blinding radiance engulfed the warship, as though a new star had been born in the universe.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for the result.
As the light faded, the command vessel still hovered intact, a massive charred hole blown through its hull.
But soon, fleshy tendrils sprouted from the edges and sealed the hole shut.
𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
At this sight, the Council Chairman plummeted into an abyss of despair. He slumped in his chair, his eyes vacant.
It’s over. Everything is over. If even the star-destroying cannon is useless, what else does the Interstellar Alliance have to resist the Zhutian Civilization?
“Star-destroying weapons, huh? That makes sense. Given the Interstellar Alliance’s level of development, that’s not surprising,” Shi Wumian remarked coldly.
They used to possess such weapons, which were once considered ultimate weapons. But ever since His Excellency the Heavenly Emperor came to rule all under heaven, the Zhutian Civilization had advanced even further. Star-destroying weapons are now merely considered heavy weaponry.
“It’s all thanks to His Excellency.”
If the Zhutian Civilization had been at its former level, even victory over the Interstellar Alliance wouldn’t have come so easily. Zero casualties—this is only possible if a civilizational gap exists.
The Biluo Heaven Fleet blockaded the Eternal Galaxy, and Shi Wumian piloted his command ship down to the Eternal Planet. Just then, several intensely bright dots appeared on the command ship’s spirit stone detection radar. Even the unflappable Shi Wumian felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of them.
“This planet has the top-grade spirit stones that the Heavenly Emperor needs?!”