The black hole's explosion engulfed the entire fleet in a torrent of particles.
Zap felt a violent tremor beneath his feet. He jumped, minimizing the impact, regaining his composure.
The screens in the bridge were filled with static; his network connection was completely severed.
The enemy's power was far beyond his expectations.
He was still shaken.
It was a black hole!
The enemy had created a black hole—small and unstable, yet a black hole nonetheless, the most terrifying celestial body in the universe.
Did they have any chance of winning?
Doubt gnawed at him.
Did the galactic federation truly exist?
Could the Kate civilization survive?
These thoughts surfaced, then were immediately suppressed.
What did it matter if they didn't win?
Even revealing a single facet of the enemy's capabilities was better than letting the rest of the Kate civilization be destroyed without warning.
After half an hour, he received his first report, another blow to his already shaken resolve.
The Third and Tenth Fleets had lost contact. The other fleets suffered over one-third casualties. The entire fleet had lost nearly half its ships (391) to the final 3% of matter expelled by the black hole.
Before the fleet could recover, another crisis struck.
The enemy had deployed neutrino-scale organisms to infiltrate the warships, aiming to eliminate their crews while leaving the ships intact.
This, however, was a relief to Zap.
"Deploy weak force fields across all ships!"
Ayla's research into these organisms had yielded results; she knew that they manipulated the weak force to affect subatomic particles, causing macroscopic diseases.
The best defense against them was the weak force.
The weak force fields were designed specifically for this purpose. They recorded the subatomic particles of a living organism, selectively repelling abnormal particles.
The order was executed swiftly. Except for four warships whose weak force field generators were damaged in the explosion, all ships deployed the fields.
Within five minutes, all symptoms subsided.
"All ships, launch fighters to investigate the barrier. We need to determine its composition!"
The enemy wouldn't give them time; they had to act quickly.
What was this barrier?
It had been closer to the black hole explosion, yet remained undamaged.
Over 7000 intact fighters were launched; the rest had suffered damage during the explosion.
The fighters, capable of reaching 12,197 km/s, were pushed to their limits. They would only use their engines once for acceleration and once for deceleration, relying heavily on inertia.
The fighters swarmed towards the barrier like a swarm of bees.
The fighters flew almost against the barrier, unleashing a barrage of fire. The projectiles seemed to melt into the barrier's surface.
"Something's different!"
Zap's second-in-command shouted.
Startled, Zap jumped. "What's different?"
His second-in-command paused, then spoke with growing certainty.
"The barrier reacted to the initial energy burst as a solid, but when conventional projectiles hit it, it behaves like a liquid."
"I have two hypotheses. First, energy cannot penetrate the barrier; only matter can."
"Second, high-energy weapons cannot penetrate the barrier; only low-energy weapons can."
"We need to test this. We need to ram the barrier with fighters, or even ships!"
Excited by this possibility, he believed they might be able to penetrate the barrier.
Zap ordered the retrieval of previous observational data.
"Use the main server to quickly analyze the possibilities!"
The server processed the information, providing the following:
【Hypothesis 1 probability: 32.28%. Hypothesis 2 probability: 26.92%. Remaining possibilities: 40.8%】
High probabilities!
Zap scrutinized the data.
"Perhaps both hypotheses are correct."
"This black hole weapon is clearly designed for use against dwarf planets."
"The enemy likely used their most powerful black hole weapon against the dwarf planet, implying they also feared the impact of a dwarf planet."
"We don't need to use ships or fighters; a small rock will suffice."
Zap ordered a fighter to propel a small asteroid, only slightly larger than a grain of rice, towards the barrier.
Its speed wasn't high—only 19 km/s.
Before impact, the barrier began to change.
Bubbles appeared on its surface. These transparent bubbles distorted light, making them visible.
The bubbles instantly enveloped the thousands of fighters near the barrier.
"Contact lost, Commander!"
Zap focused his attention on a specific point.
The asteroid.
As it neared, the asteroid entered one of the bubbles.
This was different from the fighters being engulfed.
His second-in-command's hypothesis was correct!
"Launch the entire fleet!"
"To the barrier!"
He made the decision the instant the asteroid was completely absorbed.
Decisive!
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Zap had been chosen by Luna precisely for his decisiveness.
In war, hesitation is fatal; it can determine the outcome of a battle.
Decisiveness was a critical trait.
The Valiant Legion had unwavering faith in their commander. Upon receiving the order, all the ship captains immediately initiated launch, thrusters at full power, setting a collision course with the barrier.
There was still some distance between them.
Once their intentions were clear, the Valiant Legion detected unusual signals emanating from the barrier.
The entire barrier began to tremble, and a U-shaped ship emerged.
It resembled the engineer ship from Prometheus (Ailen franchise), but a rotating structure at the center of the U emitted a pulsating, dark-green light.
After leaving the barrier, this ship instantly accelerated to one thirty-second the speed of light, rapidly closing the distance.
At that moment, the central structure of the enemy ship suddenly glowed, then dimmed.
As Zap witnessed this glow, a powerful force struck his ship.
"Commander, gravitational waves detected!"
"The enemy is using gravitons to generate gravitational waves to attack..."
Before the report was complete, Zap saw hundreds of gravitational waves converging on the screen, releasing immense energy at their point of intersection.
Warships near the convergence point were instantly consumed, their hulls vanishing.
The flagship, struck by the gravitational waves' immense power, was overwhelmed, its electromagnetic shields ineffective against gravity's power, pierced as if by a needle.
"Retaliate!"
Zap roared.
All warships began charging their weapons.
This was a limitation of their materials. Their most powerful weapons required a charging phase.
Fortunately, the vastness of space provided ample time.
Once the weapons were charged, hundreds of dark matter projectiles hurtled towards the enemy ship.
But the enemy ship was shielded by a barrier similar to the one they'd encountered earlier.
"Long-range attacks are ineffective."
"We need to close the distance."
"Launch fighters! Launch fighters!"
Zap roared, and in the chaos, more ships were destroyed.
Each warship carried tens of thousands of soldiers!
They had already lost millions.
This was the brutal reality of interstellar warfare.
The reason they hadn't used automated warships but instead deployed so many soldiers was for precisely this moment.
The launched fighters were packed with soldiers, preparing for close-range boarding actions.
This was an incredibly inefficient tactic. But when long-range attacks failed, or energy reserves were depleted, soldiers became the most effective combat units.
Damaged fighters, yet to be repaired, flew towards the enemy ship.
Before they could get halfway, tens of thousands of lasers erupted from the enemy ship, a terrifying barrage, rapidly depleting the fighters' electromagnetic shields and destroying thousands of them.
Space was silent!
But the soldiers and officers of the Valiant Legion felt a crushing weight, as if countless explosions were echoing in their ears—destruction, suppression, screams, despair.
The enemy had deployed only one ship, yet they were struggling.
Was the gap in power truly this vast?
Over two thousand fighters continued their advance; none turned back.
They flew straight towards the warship, leaving behind a trail of wreckage.
Impact!
The leading fighter struck the barrier.
It penetrated!
Excitement flashed across the faces of the soldiers, but it was quickly replaced by horror.
The fighter was instantly targeted by numerous lasers and destroyed.
But one breach meant more could follow!
More fighters charged through the barrier.
Zap felt a tremor beneath his feet. He moved his tentacles to the deck; the vibrations were even more pronounced.
A high-pitched buzzing, like the sound of countless mosquitoes, filled the air.
The source of the vibrations was the enemy warship!
The fighters near the enemy ship suddenly froze, as if time had stopped.
Zap urgently ordered, "It's not gravity, nor electromagnetism. It's likely the strong or weak force."
"Deploy weak force fields on all fighters!"
All fighters were equipped with weak force fields, based on Ayla's prediction that the enemy might utilize the weak force.
And she was correct.
After deploying the weak force fields, the fighters regained their maneuverability.
But this only bought them a short reprieve; over half the remaining fighters were destroyed. Fewer than 300 fighters remained, with little chance of survival under the relentless laser fire.
The battlefield, even with their remaining strength, offered little hope of victory.
As the fighters closed in, the remaining warships (218) followed suit, charging towards the enemy vessel.
The lead warship suddenly disintegrated—not a mechanical failure but the instantaneous reduction of hundreds of billions of tons of matter into subatomic particles.
"It's a strong nuclear force weapon. The enemy used the strong force to cause nuclear collapse!"
As a Type 2 civilization, they had mastered the four fundamental forces and were using them as weapons.
While electromagnetism is powerful, it's ineffective against gravity, the weak and strong nuclear forces.
Their electromagnetic shields offered little protection against the strong and weak forces and gravity, acting merely as decoration.
"Don't expect miracles!"
"We must close the distance. Otherwise, we'll be annihilated."
"Only by getting close do we have a chance."
"Initiate Project Last Stand!"
Any tactics are futile against overwhelming force. This was an unequal battle—ants against an elephant.
But enough ants can kill an elephant.
A message came from the lead warships.
"Farewell, comrades!"
"For our civilization! For our homes!"
Several blinding lights erupted, like starlight.
This was Project Last Stand.
No expense spared.
Blasts of light flashed before their eyes as Zap ordered all warships to use the energy released from their explosions for propulsion.
The blasts, however, contracted before fully expanding.
The enemy had acted, unleashing another unexpected weapon.
"The enemy's energy manipulation also consumes energy. Continue..."
Zap's voice was cold and devoid of emotion. There was no turning back.
More warships exploded.
A few ships, then dozens.
Then hundreds!
Immense energy continued to rain down on the enemy ship, wave after wave.
Tens of thousands of soldiers died in each explosion, their final thoughts flooding the network. Reading them would overwhelm anyone.
Zap completely blocked his network connection.
He could feel it—millions had died.
Yet, the enemy ship was unscathed.
Closing in.
The flagship neared the enemy vessel.
It had breached the barrier.
Zap left the bridge, heading for the captain's private quarters.
A small spacecraft (just over 50 meters long) was docked there. This ship belonged to a comrade who had explored the universe with him for 21 years.
A large jamming device was mounted on the ship's top.
Zap hadn't wanted to use this ship, but it offered another possibility.
As he boarded, he saw other officers emerging from the bridge, preparing to board fighters.
It seemed...
He wasn't the only one with this idea.
The ship and fighters launched.
A message came from the bridge.
"Detecting high-energy fluctuations from the enemy warship. They are likely preparing to use the strong force to disintegrate our ships..."
"Initiating flagship self-destruct sequence."
At this range, the enemy wouldn't use gravity; only electromagnetism, the strong and weak forces were viable.
Electromagnetic shields protected against electromagnetism. The enemy's electromagnetic capabilities weren't particularly strong; weak force fields could withstand their weak force attacks.
That left only the strong force!
Although it was only a hypothesis, the overwhelming disparity in power left no room for other possibilities. They detonated the flagship without hesitation, to enable the other ships and fighters to close the distance.
"BOOM!!!"
The sound was only audible within the flagship, turning Zap into a brighter light.
Zap focused on the enemy ship.
They were extremely close!
1.83 million kilometers...
1.51 million kilometers...
990,000 kilometers...
Closing the distance at 10,000 kilometers per second.
The flagship's explosion, occurring at extremely close range, forced the enemy warship to adjust its defenses, shrinking the barrier to maximize energy absorption.
But the flagship's debris, propelled by immense kinetic energy, pierced the barrier and struck the enemy ship's hull.
The fighters seized this opportunity and charged forward.
More lasers rained down, destroying fighters.
Zap saw his second-in-command's fighter destroyed, a flicker of emotion crossing his face, but his resolve remained firm. He continued piloting the small ship forward.
The ship's energy reserves were far greater than a fighter's. Even after being hit by multiple lasers, it didn't slow down.
But it seemed they had drawn attention.
More lasers, like a torrential downpour, struck the ship.
Its energy levels plummeted.
"Bang!"
A laser pierced through the electromagnetic shield, leaving a massive gash in the hull.
Warnings flashed on the console, but Zap ignored them.
They were close enough—only 40,000 kilometers away!
A small probe, from a strange device mounted on the ship's front, launched at over 20,000 km/s, entering a crack in the enemy ship's hull.
A grim smile touched Zap's face; relief was palpable.
A moment later, his ship was destroyed by laser fire.
...
Three months later, Luna received the battle report.
Of the 11.75 million soldiers, none survived. All warships were destroyed.
A devastating loss.
There was no other word to describe it.
The report included not only battle data but also an image.
The image showed a blurry purple shape, relatively small in size.
In the dim light, a narrow, vertical, eye-like structure was visible, with a white cable extending from its top, seemingly connected to something.
This was the enemy's appearance.
Luna's expression was unreadable.
The First Legion was expected to be destroyed; their sacrifice bought the Federation a chance at survival.
Zap had been chosen precisely because of his willingness to sacrifice everything, making the decisions Luna herself would have made.