Xyrin Empire
Chapter 571 Another Wave

Chapter 571: Chapter 571 Another Wave

This was destined to be an unfair fight.

On one side, thousands of battlecruisers formed an iron defense line, thousands of Star Spirit carriers, and Curved Light Ships made up the Doomsday gun turrets, desperately churning out DPS while being entirely invisible; on the other side, however, were merely over a thousand dilapidated sampans, nearly scrapped in battle, with the latter completely unable to locate their enemy. They blindly charged under the unseen scythe of Death, only hastening their demise. They could only loosely guess the enemy’s potential direction from cannonades materializing out of thin air, but under the defense of the Joint Shield, such unaimed, coarse attacks were not even enough to scratch an itch.

However, the enemy fearlessly launched their full firepower, which even left me, who had initially only intended a demonstrative attack, puzzled. We solely wanted to attract their attention, not annihilate them—after all, slaughtering an entire family just because you dislike someone wasn’t my style, but—why did I get the impression that these guys were fighting as desperately as if they were facing a mortal enemy who killed their father and stole their wife?

Moreover, it seems wrong to use "saw" right? These folks couldn’t even see our faces!

Amidst the confusion, all I could do was ask the Old Pirate Boss, who had the most say in this scene (that’s not wrong, is it?), "Reynolds, didn’t you say pirates are afraid to die? Wouldn’t a bombardment under absolute superiority make them scurry or wave the white flag?"

Reynolds, too, was baffled, only managing to scratch his chin, "Maybe it’s the cultural difference between two worlds? Do pirates in this world cherish knightly virtues?"

"Knightly virtues my ass, pirates and that!?" I cursed, "But the natives of this world really are fierce like madmen. I’m not familiar with your troops, so you handle how to wrap up this battle quickly."

Just now, the Spiritual Network System of the Light of El had intercepted a large amount of radio signals from the two groups of irregular forces. From their communications, we ultimately confirmed the opposing party’s pirate identity. Although I didn’t know why the pirates of this world were so bold, since they were pirates, wiping them out came without any pressure.

Thousands of Federation battleships—compared to the tens of thousands of Imperial ships sweeping through outer space in the Kepulu Star Zone, of course, looked quite insignificant. The forces we brought this time were originally not that many; the New Eden Federation Fleet, being a servant army, only had so many ships. However, they were more than enough to eliminate these sampans. Although I still didn’t know the technological prowess of this world’s regular army, this gang of pirates clearly wasn’t up to par. After about fifteen minutes of combat, or rather, slaughter, the only pirate ships still zigzagging under our watchful eyes were as few as a couple of cats. Debris fragments from exploded spaceships were drifting everywhere in the zero-resistance space environment, and this battlefield’s remnants would likely spread over a considerably large area.

Finally, a distorted cry came through from the intercepted enemy communications, "Retreat! Save yourselves! The enemy is an invisible Devil’s Army! The minefield is theirs now! It’s theirs!"

It seems we were mistaken for another power? Was this Devil’s Army another pirate force in this universe?

The taste in naming really leaves much to be desired.

"Deploy gravity traps, catch some alive." I ordered.

But just as the Space Collapse Generator on the Light of El was about to activate, something happened that no one could have anticipated.

"Warning, a massive energy reaction detected, unknown origin of attack, unknown target, unknown type of attack, initiating emergency shield enhancement protocol, Holy Mother Ship defense systems at full power..."

The soft female voice of the Holy Mother Ship’s artificial intelligence broadcasted the alarming information unhurriedly, and before we could even process it, the incomprehensible attack was upon us.

The entire battlefield exploded.

Before accurate data analysis could be done, I could only describe everything before my eyes as an explosion of the entire battlefield. Suddenly, countless explosions merged into one over the space of a hundred thousand kilometers where two pirate fleets had been fighting. The blinding white light balls appeared like sudden spherical lightning densely filling our vision. These smaller explosions triggered chain reactions, merging into a larger energy storm, as if a sun was being born out of nowhere within this hundred-thousand-kilometer radius. Even at the edge of the battlefield, our fleet had to withstand the shockwave’s impressive force. After all, the New Eden Federation Army was not the Imperial Regular Army; their ships lacked anti-phasing, space anchor systems, and vector lock generators. As such, when such a terrifying shockwave arrived, even the Light of El had no choice but to tough it out, immediately causing the surroundings to shake violently.

Under full power resistance, the entire fleet was actually "blown away" at least half a kilometer, which was the shocking conclusion we came to moments later.

It’s a good thing we had all large warships; if there had been a few Viking Fighter Phoenix Fighters or similar in the mix, being directly hit by such a massive bomb of a radius of several hundred thousand kilometers would likely have obliterated them instantly.

Even the Federation Fleet, resisting the shock with full power, was like this, and the asteroid belt behind us was even more exaggerated. A large number of previously lazily drifting asteroids were forcibly altered in their orbits, noisily colliding together. A bunch of rocky chunks tangled desperately in the silent space, and the heavy element cloud mist enveloping the entire battle zone was blown away significantly by the shockwave, looking like a cup of white foam suddenly had a drop of hot cocoa distinctly layered into it.

"Wow, that was intense!"

The severe jolting didn’t bring me down, but the other people in the command hall weren’t looking so good. Both the physically formidable Protos natives and the relatively fragile humans, after this sudden shake, didn’t look much different—all were in a disgraceful state sprawled on the ground. Of course, the former were in a decent condition at the start of the tremor; I personally saw Zeratul stand firm amidst the shaking, casually flicking away any debris around him with the aura of a deeply cultivated martial arts master, unyielding like a sturdy pine tree. But when Reynold, in his power armor, flew sideways right in front of him, and Uncle Z had no choice but to either dodge or fight, he still got honestly knocked over...

A good number of the Protos were toppled in this manner by their human allies, and the rest after realizing it was more dangerous to stand, chose to duck themselves. As proven, even with power armor enhanced by Xyrin technology to boost their fighting capabilities, lacking a strong foundation still won’t do much—you should have seen Reynold’s face turn red when Zeratul pulled him up.

"Ah—Mr. Chen, was that an earthquake just now?"

The shaking had just ended when a soft, leisurely voice came from behind me, nearly slowing down my entire being. Turning around, I saw Silva looking innocently at me. Apparently, the tremors hadn’t caused any harm to her, evidently possessing the robust body of a Xyrin Emperor, and what was more miraculous was that her mental defenses seemed even stronger.

Having observed the entire interstellar war from the back, experienced ten minutes of gunfire, and witnessed the hundred-thousand-kilometer-radius sphere space catching fire entirely, you could ignore all of this, but when you finally become unsteady from the quakes, you pop up with a question about an earthquake—Silva, oh Silva, are you really just here to be a mascot? Are you threatening Dingdang’s position in my heart?

"It seems there really is no need to send her back," Big Sister said, slightly dizzy, holding onto my shoulder. While physically fit, such an intense vibration wasn’t something everyone could handle, just like many people have no issues with their eyes, yet they can’t handle 3D, "Report the damage from this incident!"

"Yes! All warships’ energy shields are intact; the fleet has suffered no substantial damage, but... but about two thousand six hundred Federation soldiers were injured during the sudden acceleration..."

Well, wiping out a bunch of pirates without a scratch, and somehow surviving a mysterious space explosion unharmed, only to end up injured due to the jolting of the ship...

It seems that our method of fostering the New Eden Federation’s technology by force-feeding it has indeed gone somewhat awry. Their warships now possess defensive capabilities comparable to those of the Imperial Fleet, yet such a farce occurs where the soldiers are injured despite the warships being unscathed. Technology that falls from the sky truly isn’t that easy to utilize.

Reynolds also wore a look of embarrassment. Needless to say, the majority of those unfortunate two thousand plus injured were human soldiers. Although Protos and humans are citizens of the same nation now, soldiers, after all, tend to have a competitive spirit, especially after both sides entered the same military organization. But then again, ordinary humans trying to compete with Protos in individual prowess—aren’t they just asking for trouble? They should try arm wrestling with a couple of Xyrin Soldiers!

After the recent explosion, the entire battlefield was as clean as a restaurant swept by Sandora—yes, that kind of clean where nothing is left but the walls and the ceiling. The spacecraft wreckage, bodies flung into space, and pirate ships that failed to escape the combat zone, all vaporized, leaving not even ashes behind while the main computer aboard the Light of El frantically uploaded the battlefield data to the Imperial Admiral, located a light-year away. The recent attack was indeed bizarre, and deciphering a weapon born from a foreign technological system was beyond the capabilities of the Light of El’s onboard computer, whereas the main computer aboard the Imperial Admiral should be able to handle it.

The results quickly came in, and they were eye-opening.

It was merely a primitive nuclear attack.

Of course, it involved a nuclear reaction method that I had never heard of, using not typical materials like uranium-235, but—every material other than iron present on the battlefield at that time.

That’s right. When the entire battlefield was detonated, those countless white light balls were the result of the spacecraft debris, each being used as nuclear fuel for forced fission, and the final massive explosion was the result of this chain reaction merging. And so, the amazing aspect came to light—anyone from Earth who works at the Chinese Academy of Sciences would know that elements like sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, and phosphorus can’t be used as nuclear fuel. To induce fusion in them, an extreme compression even fiercer than a supernova explosion would be required, and to achieve fission... humans could hardly imagine a way; it fundamentally overturned humanity’s existing understanding.

Bear in mind, it overturned humanity’s existing understanding. In the technology system of the Xyrin, any material could be completely converted into energy under the right conditions. As a race that had free electricity millions of years ago due to their vast financial spaces and profound power, there are too many methods to completely transform material into energy.

"It seems we need to re-evaluate the technological level of this world," Visca also showed a very serious expression, nodding like an adult while speaking. This train of thought in Shorty made it seem like I was seeing a ghost in broad daylight. "Out of visual range, using the battlefield’s materials as reaction fuel to transform them directly into energy, initiating an unprecedented explosion—such an attack method can only be mastered by a civilization that deeply understands the relationship between matter and energy, as we used to say. It should be called a ’mass-energy attack weapon.’ Although this attack’s effectiveness diminishes significantly when facing energy-type shields, it is cost-effective, powerful, and remarkably lethal against targets without shields. We used to mass-produce such weapons long ago; even now, derivative models of these weapons occasionally appear in the Imperial Army’s arsenals. A civilization capable of using ’mass-energy attacks’ has already initially obtained the power to completely control all material in this world... Eh, brother, why do you look so strange?"

I didn’t say anything, just placed my hand on Visca’s forehead and touched it.

"No fever, Visca. What did you eat this morning... ouch."

A headbutt—such a powerful headbutt that when Visca’s head hit my stomach, afterimages appeared!

"Brother is such an idiot!" the little loli with red cat eyes didn’t calm down after a successful headbutt, her face flushed red either from anger or, well, more anger, "Brother always treats me like a child! I am a General, a very capable General! Only this silly Big Sister is the one with nothing but combat on her mind... Wahhh..."

Needless to say, the doll-like harmless Pandora exploded right there, feeling her dignity as an elder sister challenged, and since she couldn’t join the battle herself, lashed out with the Lu Mountain Ascending Dragon Dominator. Visca, swift as ever, flashed into action, pulling out an Azure Dragon Crescent Blade, and charged yelling...

"Ahhh—why are sisters Pandora and Visca fighting again—?" Silvia slowly made her way over to mediate, "Don’t fight... this is someone else’s home—"

Qianqian watched for a while, then suddenly thought that missing such fun would be a huge loss in life, and excitedly rushed into the fray.

Shoot me, who would be so kind as to shoot me now!

Just as the Command Hall once again descended into chaos, the voice of the ship’s main computer suddenly rang out again, and right now, I truly hated this artificial intelligence, who was good for nothing besides her vocal tone. She never brought us any good news! Sure enough, this time was no picnic either: "A gravity collapse and space rift are forming 6,000 kilometers ahead, with a large mass moving closer."

"Everyone stop!" I finally managed to assert some parental authority, roaring loudly enough to bring the young sisters practicing the Yang Family Spear and Qianqian, who was holding a strange "ready? go!" sign, to a sudden halt. Nearby, a nearly tearful Silvia continued inertially, "Don’t fight—this is someone’s home..."

Wiping away tears, I suddenly realized that I might be done in by my troublesome little sisters at home before the Abyss takes me out.

A fleet appeared seemingly out of nowhere, as friend or foe (definitely not friends, but enemies... we hadn’t provoked anyone, except for inexplicably battling some pirates just now). We immediately reactivated the Invisibility Field we were just about to disable, quietly waiting for the other side to show itself.

"Target fleet has appeared."

A much larger and imposing fleet than the two bands of irregular pirate armies we encountered earlier suddenly materialized amid the distorted interplay of light and shadow, crashing into this still unsettled space.

But, even though they were imposing, I could still tell at a glance that this was a makeshift force. The assortment of large, medium, and small spaceships, a motley collection of design styles and weapon structures, and almost entirely unique engine modules (a vital component commonly used to identify a unit of military fleet of the same category), this "one" civilization could never have produced such a patchwork fleet resembling the Renaissance era. However, unlike the pirates before, at least this new makeshift army had a unified paint job, and what might be a military insignia, a clover-shaped mark etched on the front of each warship. Even if they were pirates, they would be a cultured and high-quality bunch then.

Anyway, I still can’t believe that any civilization’s regular army doesn’t have even a small squad with uniform equipment from top to bottom, considering even the mafia nowadays sets up orders with clothing factories...

The newly appeared force consisted of roughly three hundred mother ships about ten kilometers in length, along with thousands of high-speed ships less than a kilometer long, interspersed with a large number of agile assault ships and fighter planes. Despite the style of the equipment being all over the place, it was a logically composed and varied assortment of troops, much like a regular army. The flagship of this force was likely the giant elliptical spaceship they protected in the center, its twenty-kilometer long axis, aside from the extra-large Xyrin ships, would be considered large in other universal civilizations. The occasionally roaming Energy Auroras and its staggering energy readings on the surface also made me believe that, even if this wasn’t the flagship, it must be a highly powerful super weapon, otherwise it wouldn’t be guarded by over three hundred mother ships like stars surrounding the moon.

As these ships entered the area, they stopped there, with all engines running silently, only a faint light at their rear confirming their power systems hadn’t shut down. Meanwhile, masses of fighter crafts and assault ships began moving out from the orderly formations, roaming the entire battlefield, seemingly engaged in reconnaissance or searching for something. Seeing this scene, I couldn’t help but suspect: Was the inexplicable, and almost deadly "mass-energy attack" that almost took out the Federation Army before, really the work of these guys?

(To be continued. For further details, please visit www.qidian.com. The Chapters are more plentiful, support the author, support genuine reading!)