Storm Clouds Gathering
Three hours after the unknown Silver-White Fleet was destroyed.
At the other end of the galaxy, a completely hollowed-out asteroid floats Jingjing in the Void, its appearance no different from other debris.
But internally, countless data streams flow through the network, optical signals travel through transistor channels, and processor clusters operate at maximum efficiency.
This world has no flesh and blood life, only logic, only consciousness, only eternal calculation.
[Battle damage assessment complete]
[The First Fleet was completely annihilated; no units survived.]
[Battle Results: 1267 Tracing Light Warships destroyed, approximately 13,000 units killed]
[The hidden forces in the Tracing Light are too numerous, and the number of individual powerhouses exceeds expectations. A reassessment is recommended.]
The cold, impersonal message is transmitted through the shared network of consciousness across the entire civilization. For survival, they have long since abandoned emotions—anger, fear, sorrow...
All the inefficient and judgment-interfering elements have been formatted cleanly, leaving only endless calculations.
[Tracing Light Technology Level: Mid-to-High Information Age. Weapon System Threat Level: High. Defense System Threat Level: High. Individual Combat Power Threat Level: High.]
Should we change our goals?
[Voting is now open]
Three milliseconds later.
[64% of citizens voted "not to change their goals"]
[The advantages of attacking the Suguang Civilization outweigh the disadvantages. This civilization has the broadest range of interests, excelling in technology, Mana, and faith, making it the best "newbie gift pack."]
[Meanwhile, this civilization has stationed a fleet at the Micro Black Hole; this resource point must be contested.]
[Offensive strategy changed: War of attrition]
Throughout the galaxy, Intelligent Factories hidden in asteroid belts, ruined battlefields, and stellar debris simultaneously activated, production lines running at full power, and silver-white ships gliding out of docks like flowing water.
This time, it's not five hundred ships.
Five thousand ships.
However, its strength is much lower than that of the First Fleet, with a smaller hull, simpler systems, and cheaper materials. But its quantity is ten times greater.
[Referencing the Zerg's strategy of prioritizing quantity over quality]
[Optimization for the Tracing Light Warrior: Added Lock-On device to suppress burst damage; added an energy shield piercing module to counter mage shields; added Self-Destruct protocol that automatically detonates when the ship's damage rate exceeds 70%.]
[Objective: Reduce the fleet to below 30% before Tracing Light reaches the other side of the galaxy.]
In the Void, new fleets are taking shape.
Batch after batch of natural resources are being collected, refined, and processed into unmanned vessels without limit.
Ahead of Origin Star, Swarm relentlessly surged in.
On the command ship, the monitoring officer stared at the screen, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.
"Sir, look at this."
He pulled up a video clip.
A Zerg had half its body blasted apart by Spell, but it did not die. Its remains struggled in the Void, and countless tiny buds of flesh sprouted from its wounds, growing at a visible speed.
The commander narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
Powerful Regeneration capabilities are of little use in this kind of space war. The only usable material around is the corpses of their comrades. Resources are limited, and no matter how fast the Regeneration speed is, it can't keep up with the speed at which they are blasted into dust. For Tracing Light, it's just a matter of one more shot.
But the video continued playing.
Ten minutes later.
A new Zerg crawls out of the wreckage.
It was smaller than before, almost half the size. But on its shell, there was an extra layer of reflective film, which had a faint metallic sheen, like some kind of special coating.
"The thin membrane on this New Life Zerg's body has been identified as being able to reflect 5% of the power of ordinary Spells."
The commander's expression gradually became serious.
This level of power isn't particularly strong, but it evolved in real-time on the battlefield... The previous Zerg didn't have such powerful evolutionary capabilities.
"Their evolutionary pace has doubled; they are no longer in the completely passive and slow form they were before."
Is there anything else?
"Look at this."
Another video.
A massive Zerg charged into the fleet's defenses. It was dozens of times larger than a normal Zerg, its carapace as thick as armor plating, and its compound eyes Burn with a scarlet light. It was easily crushed by the mage squad.
But at the moment of its death, its body suddenly exploded.
Countless tiny spores drifted from the burst wound, densely packed and overwhelming. These spores attached themselves to the nearby Warship's shields and began to slowly corrode the shields' energy structure.
"A variant specifically designed to counter shields," the monitor said. "And they're recording it. Every time they die, the Zerg send the information back to the Hive. The next Zerg to arrive will bring that experience with them."
"So, they've inexplicably become organized and disciplined... Is some kind of underlying civilization at work?"
"I'm not sure, but the expedition has only been going on for less than half a month, and the evolution of the Swarm has brought more variables."
The commander sneered.
"Heh, we'll meet force with force, and water with earth," he said. "Notify the Frontier Academy of Sciences. I believe they're very interested in the Zerg's powerful evolutionary capabilities. In a sense, the Zerg are also the best supplementary technology for biology and materials science."
"Receive."
"By the way, how's the recruitment going?"
"Two of Ordinal Rank top ten leaders have personally visited the later civilizations, intending to have a cordial discussion with them."
The commander nodded thoughtfully.
The Ordinal Rank is a system that emerges before the start of Great Expedition to assess overall strength, and it depends entirely on individual strength and influence.
The first fifty in the Ordinal Rank were almost all National Guardian Mage.
Ordinal Rank 001-- God Mu Ri.
Ordinal Rank 000--
Scholar.
That said, will that [Scholar] personally intervene in this Great Expedition?
The commander shook his head, suppressing the thought for the time being.
"Continue to do your job well," he said. "Report any urgent intelligence immediately!"
This is the site of a civilization that has been destroyed. The once prosperous city is now just ruins, and the once magnificent palaces are now just broken walls and crumbling walls.
Even the Zerg don't want to stay here, because there's nothing here but Curse.
This was once a civilization Faith Side.
In the final moments of their civilization's demise, their Gods, at the cost of their Godhead, Curse the civilization that destroyed them, Curse the land, and even Curse the "gods" above them.
In the entire galaxy, this is the first Survivor to be devoured by civilization itself.
No fleet was willing to approach this place, and no living being was willing to linger. Only occasionally would research teams from various civilizations come by to take a look and record some data.
This Gray-Robed Figure, named Lawson, came from a similarly destroyed Mana Side civilization.
Several years ago, to escape persecution from other civilizations, he fled to this godforsaken place. Here, he encountered his opportunity.
That unclaimed divine Godhead fell into his hands while he was being hunted down.
After the destruction of civilization and the taint of countless Curses, it underwent a peculiar transformation.
"So many years..."
Lawson stroked his chest. Inside his chest cavity, the beating heart had been replaced by a cold, gray energy core.
"I think about strength and power day and night!"
His voice was hoarse and frantic, as if he had been suppressing it for too long and was finally releasing it.
"Finally! Finally! I truly have you!"
He stroked his chest with fascination, feeling the power surging through his body.
Lawson masturbated intensely for three days straight, feeling his body was absolutely Perfect.
Then, he raised his head and looked at the world.
His eyes had turned pure gray, and countless souls were wailing deep within his pupils.
"I am the New Life Lord of Death." He spread his arms, his voice echoing across the ruined planet, "The natural ruler of the dead..."