No Way Out

The Dog-Headed People understood perfectly well that the glowing Light Screen must be Polarization Shield capable of defending against Energy Weapon, but the human Lake-Class Warship were still creations of Level 2 Civilization, too small to be equipped with Polarization Shield.

Of course, if the armor of the Lake-Class Warship used by the Dog-Headed People had been made of Alloy No. 1, it would have been much better; at least a single energy cannon shot wouldn't have taken out a warship. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

Thus, a one-sided battle ensued.

The Interstellar Pirate don't need to make any progress with the Dog-Headed People Fleet at all; they can easily eliminate them by simply using energy-based weapons to strike them from distant space.

With just the Polarization Shield technology, Level 3 Civilization would be able to crush Level 2 Civilization, not to mention the application of other technologies such as the Grey Goo Storm and nano-repair.

With this technology, even in close-quarters combat using Electromagnetic Railgun, Interstellar Pirate warships could crush Dog-Headed People warships.

A band of Interstellar Pirate suddenly appeared out of nowhere, leaving the Dog-Headed People Fleet nowhere to escape; resistance was futile and only a slow death.

In this situation, the Dog-Headed People Commander roared angrily at the Interstellar Pirate.

"Why? We didn't get anything of value from the Interstellar Transaction Market, so why are you attacking us! You'll get your comeuppance!"

His roar went unanswered.

By this time, the Dog-Headed People Commander realized that this fleet was definitely Interstellar Pirate, and very likely related to the Interstellar Transaction Market.

As Sentient Life, and having undergone years of training by humans, the Dog-Headed People were not stupid; they quickly realized the connection.

They had felt something was off when they left the Interstellar Transaction Market, and now they finally understood what was strange.

In the vast expanse of space, even if a bright trail of flame is produced during acceleration, it is absolutely impossible to encounter Pirate Civilization as soon as one leaves the Interstellar Transaction Market, let alone collide head-on during a voyage.

It was as if they had predicted the Dog-Headed People Fleet's course perfectly.

The only people who know the Dog-Headed People Fleet's route are the Kuntai People and the Interstellar Transaction Market. Excluding the Kuntai People, who are also subordinate to humans, you're left with the Interstellar Transaction Market.

Therefore, the so-called Interstellar Transaction Market may be a disguised form of Interstellar Pirate. Or conversely, these Interstellar Pirate may actually be a faction belonging to the Interstellar Transaction Market.

This force attracts other civilizations by posing as an Interstellar Transaction Market, and then attacks and plunders them.

But why?

The Dog-Headed People couldn't understand why, given the strength of the Interstellar Transaction Market, it could have easily destroyed them while their fleet was still within the market's Star System. Instead, they allowed the pirates to attack them only after the transaction was completed.

With this in mind, the Dog-Headed People Commander felt that there was another possible relationship between the Interstellar Transaction Market and the Interstellar Pirate: they were not belonging to one another, but rather two cooperating forces or two civilizations cooperating in this way.

The Dog-Headed People Commander felt that this explanation was more suitable for his current situation.

Although the reasoning was simple, even if it was correct, the Dog-Headed People still didn't know what to do. Especially seeing their own warships being destroyed one by one by the enemy's pinpoint fire, the Dog-Headed People Commander became even more anxious.

"Commander, give the order quickly! Even if we are all wiped out, we cannot let the warships fall into the hands of Interstellar Pirate!" On the fleet flagship, a Dog-Headed People covered in yellow fur opened his mouth and said.

As he spoke, his tail swayed involuntarily.

Another Dog-Headed People with a similar appearance spoke up, "That's right, Commander. Our lives were given to us by the Main Civilization. Now it's time for us to dedicate ourselves to repaying the Main Civilization."

"Commander, give the order. There's a saying in the Main Civilization: 'Don't hesitate, or you'll be defeated.' The remaining two thousand three hundred warships are waiting for your command."

"Of course I know!" The Dog-Headed People Commander stopped his tail, which was wagging unconsciously, and his expression changed slightly, making him look less comical.

"Pass on my order: the entire fleet, at any cost, must set up a broadcast array. We must transmit everything here, including our speculations, to the nearest Kuntai People Fleet."

The Dog-Headed People Commander, firmly secured to his seat by the cushioned chair, looked at the Dog-Headed People beside him and continued, "Furthermore, ships number one hundred to two hundred are to immediately split into ten echelons and break out from all directions—above, below, left, right, front, and back. Tell them that their mission is to deliver the Life Elixir sample carried by their respective echelons to the Main Civilization."

Humans once taught the Dog-Headed People not to put Luo Duo Beast their eggs in one basket.

The Luo Duo Beast is an oviparous reptile in the Dog-Headed People biosphere. Its eggs are particularly delicious, and the Dog-Headed People often domesticate them, just as humans raise chickens to eat eggs.

The Dog-Headed People Commander remembered this lesson, so after acquiring the Life Elixir through the trade, he divided the 100,000 Life Elixir into ten portions and placed them on ten warships.

At this moment, the Dog-Headed People Commander was hoping and praying that the ten breakout columns would escape alive. Even if only one column escaped, the Main Civilization would at least obtain ten thousand Life Elixir with a five-thousand-year efficacy.

That way, even if I were to perish in this sea of stars, I could die in peace.

However, it turned out that the Dog-Headed People Commander was overthinking things, or perhaps all the Dog-Headed People underestimated the power of a Level 3 Civilization warship.

Faced with the strategy of ten columns escaping separately, the Interstellar Pirate simply split ten warships from their Great Fleet, each squadron consisting of only three ships. In this way, relying on their advantage in acceleration and maximum speed, they swiftly traversed the dark starry sky, arriving before the breakout columns and intercepting them all.

Faced with the Dog-Headed People Fleet's relentless formation of a broadcast array regardless of casualties, the other Interstellar Pirate warships engaged in target practice, firing one shot after another from afar, destroying the Dog-Headed People warships.

On the other hand.

A message that only they could understand emanated from a certain Interstellar Pirate warship.

"Great Commander, that's enough. If we keep fighting, all of this Low-level Civilization's warships will be destroyed. We need to leave a few behind, otherwise it will be very difficult to find information about their home planet in their computers later."

"Haha, right, right, right. Tell the lads that it's harvest time. Tell them to be careful when deploying the Nanobots, and not to eat the Central Computer too! If we do this, our civilization will make a fortune again, hahaha, the resources of a life-bearing planet! We've definitely hit the jackpot this time! These are resources that even Level 5 Civilization covet. After researching them for a while, we can resell them to other civilizations. It's definitely a win-win situation."

"Yes, Your Great Commander, another Life Planet would greatly advance our civilization's research progress in life sciences. According to the researchers, it's not impossible to develop Life Elixir with a ten-thousand-year effect."