Recaps

After an unknown force devastated Hei Sha’s tribute-collection fleet, Emperor Bourne summoned the Purple Cloud Empire’s marshals and generals to decide how to respond. Hei Sha was stripped of his Imperial Fleet positions and sent home to retire, and the meeting turned to the threat posed by the unknown enemy.

• Hei Sha learned that 52 million warships had been destroyed and 19 million severely damaged by attacks that either destroyed ships or left them badly damaged.
• Emperor Bourne summoned the two marshals and eight generals to a virtual meeting to review Hei Sha’s report and battlefield data.
• The marshals and generals discovered that the enemy had only ten million warships, attacked from beyond 10 AU, and could not be detected or stopped by Spatial Shields.
• Blue River argued that Hei Sha had handled the attack well and should be treated leniently, but Bourne insisted someone had to take responsibility for the defeat.
• Bourne stripped Hei Sha of all his Imperial Fleet positions and sent him home to retire, then asked the council how to respond to the unknown force.

Emperor Bern ordered a massive punitive force to attack the unknown civilization while keeping the Neutron Battle Star on standby unless losses grew excessive. In the Forearm Spiral, Lin Yu’s fleet used modified reconnaissance ships to lure Purple Cloud Empire scouts toward an illusory star system, where the scouts arrived.

• Red Lion analyzed the unknown civilization’s long-range weapons and proposed either a costly fleet encirclement or annihilation by the Neutron Battle Star.
• Bern ordered 32 billion warships under Red Lion and sent Blue River with the Neutron Battle Star, which could join the battle if casualties became excessive.
• Lin Yu’s modified reconnaissance ships departed the wormhole wreckage using Warp Drive Engines, and Purple Cloud Empire scouts pursued them toward their suspected destination.
• At the former Crimson Federation Capital Sphere, Lin Yu’s forces activated the Spatial Illusion System, making the region appear prosperous and hiding the Neutron Degenerate Spheres.
• Hei Sha’s reconnaissance ships arrived at the former Crimson Federation Capital Sphere.

Lin Yu’s fleet used a Spatial Illusion System to trick Purple Cloud Empire scouts, then destroyed twenty-seven of their twenty-eight reconnaissance ships. Bai Lang sent his findings to Chi Shi and escaped punishment, while Marshal Lan He arrived at an outpost to inspect a battle star preparing to sortie.

• Lin Yu ordered his fleet to wait before destroying every reconnaissance ship except the command ship.
• Bai Lang’s team discovered the enemy base in Saka and reported its facilities and population before the enemy attacked.
• Bai Lang escaped with his command ship and learned that the other twenty-seven reconnaissance ships were presumed destroyed.
• Bai Lang sent his reconnaissance data to Chi Shi, who praised the findings and excused the ship losses.
• Lan He arrived at an outpost in the Lier Star System and asked about preparations for the battle star’s sortie.
• Lan He’s party reached a hollow at the center of the outpost, enclosed by a deep blue barrier.

Lan He revealed that the Purple Cloud Empire could use the Neutron Battle Star only while its outpost and energy reserves remained, and Chi Shi assembled the imperial forces to seize the Federation’s weapons technology. Lin Yu concluded that the Neutron Battle Star was being held in reserve and prepared to exploit the coming fleet battle.

• Lan He learned that the outpost had only six reserve crystals, enough for about a thousand years, and ordered officials to notify him when the Neutron Battle Star was ready to deploy.
• Chi Shi gathered the Empire’s fleets at the Lancer Corridor and told Nantian, Lei Yu, Bai Yang, and Lin Long that obtaining Federation technology was the operation’s priority and that damaging key facilities was forbidden.
• Chi Shi presented a Star Chart of Saka, marking production lines and suspected research sites as primary targets.
• Lin Yu told his adjutant that the Purple Cloud Empire had likely dispatched the Neutron Battle Star as insurance while conventional fleets attempted to encircle the Federation and seize its technology.
• Lin Yu explained that he had used Spatial Illusion Technology to populate Saka with misleading facilities, laying groundwork to ambush the Neutron Battle Star and weaken the imperial forces.

Marshal Lan He’s Neutron Battle Star neared its target while Chi Shi led the Purple Cloud Empire’s fleet through the wormhole into the forward spiral arm. The enemy had anticipated Chi Shi’s every move and reactivated the Spatial Illusion System to make ruined Saka appear prosperous and bustling.

• Lan He learned that the Neutron Battle Star was one hyperspace voyage away from its target, though its communications could not be used to revise plans mid-mission.
• Chi Shi sent Strategic Reconnaissance Ships to check the area within twenty AU of the wormhole exit for enemy ships and Warp Interruption Devices.
• The reconnaissance formation reported no threats, so Chi Shi ordered the fleet to pass through the wormhole.
• All 22 billion warships crossed into the forward spiral arm and assembled without encountering abnormalities.
• The enemy learned that Chi Shi’s fleet had arrived, and its commander ordered the Spatial Illusion System fully activated, restoring the appearance of prosperous Saka.

Marshal Chi Shi led an invasion of Saka, believing its defenses were absent, but the fleet’s apparent targets proved to be illusions. As devastating attacks tore through his forces, he realized the Neutron Battle Star might have arrived.

• Marshal Chi Shi ordered his legions to attack Saka’s spaceports, seize its facilities, and land on its Life Planets while avoiding damage to non-military sites.
• Nantian and Lei Yu attacked an apparently undefended spaceport cluster, while Bai Yang and Lin Long began raiding facilities and landing operations without resistance.
• Marshal Chi Shi noticed that civilian ships across the star system showed no reaction to the battles and suspected the targets were illusions.
• The four generals reported that their targets were false illusions, and Marshal Chi Shi ordered every fleet to withdraw immediately.
• Attacks from across several AU destroyed tens of thousands of warships, and Marshal Chi Shi feared the Neutron Battle Star had arrived.

Lin Yu’s forces annihilated Chi Shi’s fleet at Saka, prompting the Purple Cloud Empire to realize it faced a far more advanced enemy and prepare for the Neutron Battle Star’s arrival. Two days later, Lin Yu detected a Hyperspace Window opening within Saka and ordered Li Lizhi to begin the next phase of the trap.

• Chi Shi realized that the civilization attacking Saka was likely Level 6 or Level 7, then died as his fleet was destroyed.
• Lin Yu ordered his fleets to withdraw beyond 10 AU from Saka and monitor for Hyperspace Windows.
• Bern received Chi Shi’s report and ordered Bai Zheng and Niu Xi to defend the Lancer Corridor, Xing Fei to protect the imperial capital, and Wei Bao to take charge of the Seed Plan.
• Bern considered the Blazing Fire Civilization as a backup plan while hoping Lan He and the Neutron Battle Star could save the Empire.
• Lin Yu detected a Hyperspace Window forming within Saka and told his forces to notify Li Lizhi that the prey had entered the trap.

Li Lizhi’s Super Gravity Counteraction System trapped the Neutron Battle Star in Saka, where Lan He discovered the wreckage and realized his fleet had entered a trap. As more than a hundred million Neutron Degenerate Matter spheres approached, Li Lizhi’s team confirmed they were being drawn toward the battle star.

• On Worton, Li Lizhi’s team activated the Super Gravity Counteraction System to disrupt the Neutron Battle Star’s gravity control.
• Lan He’s adjutant reported that Saka contained no expected targets and held billions of Purple Cloud Empire warship wrecks, leading Lan He to suspect a trap.
• Lan He ordered the Neutron Battle Star to retreat, but it failed to open a Hyperspace Window and could not travel at sub-light speed.
• A radar officer reported more than a hundred million unidentified spheres approaching the Neutron Battle Star, though their mass and structure could not be analyzed.
• A researcher told Li Lizhi that the Neutron Battle Star and the Neutron Degenerate Matter spheres attracted each other, and Li Lizhi ordered the team to keep recording data.

Lan He realized that the Mass Spheres were meant to increase the Neutron Battle Star’s mass until it became a black hole, while his immobilized crew faced the failing Gravity Barrier. Li Lizhi watched the fusion reach its critical moment and declared that the Neutron Battle Star would become a black hole.

• Lan He learned that the technicians could not repair the Neutron Battle Star, which had become immobilized as the Mass Spheres approached.
• The Mass Spheres entered the absolute kill zone without being destroyed, and Lan He suspected they were designed to turn the Neutron Battle Star into a black hole.
• Three hours later, the Mass Spheres engulfed the Neutron Battle Star, overwhelming its Gravity Barrier and rapidly draining its energy.
• Li Lizhi learned that the Neutron Battle Star would reach its mass Critical Point in twenty-nine minutes as it fused with the Mass Spheres.
• After twenty-nine minutes, the shrinking body jolted and stopped, and Li Lizhi announced that it was time for the Neutron Battle Star to become a black hole.

Farn and Lin Hong watched as the Neutron Battle Star collapsed into a black hole, while arguing over their conflicting plans for humanity. After the researchers celebrated the experiment’s success, Li Lizhi noticed two energy readings that had remained unaffected near the black hole and suspected an advanced civilization had been watching them.

• Farn appeared near the Neutron Battle Star and criticized humanity for failing to use its full power.
• Lin Hong confronted Farn, who defended his methods and questioned whether humanity could achieve a God-tier Civilization.
• The Neutron Battle Star reached the Critical Point and collapsed, creating a black hole that devoured nearby wreckage and celestial bodies.
• Farn and Lin Hong left after observing the black hole’s formation.
• Li Lizhi noticed two energy readings near the black hole that had remained unchanged and asked Yuan Ling whether an advanced civilization might have been surveilling them.

After the Human Federation destroyed the Neutron Battle Star, Lin Fan learned that two energy lifeforms from a Transcendent Civilization had witnessed the battle and began investigating humanity’s origins. Across Andromeda, the news brought civilizations into turmoil, while Bern faced a mysterious red energy being that claimed the Purple Cloud Empire still had a chance.

• Aimeni confirmed that Lin Yu’s forces had destroyed the Neutron Battle Star and formed a black hole where Saka had been, delighting Aimeni.
• Lin Fan praised Li Lizhi’s research, then learned from the system that the two energy bodies were immortal lifeforms from a Transcendent Civilization and wondered why they had targeted humanity.
• Aimeni shared the battle report with Andromeda’s overlord civilizations, which verified Saka’s destruction and grew alarmed.
• Rear-spiral-arm civilizations reported that Purple Cloud Empire legions had abandoned their garrisons and rushed back to imperial territory.
• Aimeni announced the Federation’s origins and its policy toward subordinate civilizations, revealing that the Brilliant Empire had joined the Federation.
• Bern read the intelligence and feared the Purple Cloud Empire faced destruction until a mass of red energy appeared and told him there was still a chance.

Bern met Farn, a former chief scientist of the Level 12 Alphart Civilization, who modified the Purple Cloud Empire’s remaining Neutron Battle Star and revealed the locations of three Level 7 Planet-class Warships. After Farn vanished, Bern learned that the Blazing Fire Neutron Battle Star had been transformed and its energy reserves replenished, and he sent Carter the coordinates of the warships to secure the empire’s survival.

• Farn introduced himself to Bern, revealed that the Alphart Civilization had created the Neutron Battle Stars, and offered to make the remaining one resistant to destruction.
• Farn explained that he wanted to challenge humanity’s future because an old friend believed in it, and Bern mistakenly suspected he intended to use the Purple Cloud Empire as a whetstone.
• Farn vanished after revealing that three Level 7 Planet-class Warships were sealed in the star system and giving Bern their coordinates and highest control authority.
• Carter contacted Bern to report that the Blazing Fire Neutron Battle Star’s command room had been rebuilt and that one hundred Energy Crystals had appeared at the outpost.
• Bern recognized Farn’s work, ordered Carter to stop investigating, and sent him the warship coordinates, saying the mission concerned the Purple Cloud Empire’s survival.

Carter discovered that the coordinates Bern had given him concealed a Level 7 Civilization base holding three enormous warships. Bern used his authority over the base to reveal it, leaving Carter and his fleet staring at the vessels.

• Carter found nothing at the coordinates until footage of his Positron Cannon revealed metallic structures hidden by ripples in space.
• The base's central AI warned Bern that Carter's fleet had attacked it and asked whether to retaliate.
• Bern ordered the AI not to retaliate, realized Carter had reached the coordinates, and explained that he controlled the base.
• Bern ordered the base to deactivate its stealth status and Phase Shield, revealing a vast spaceport and three enormous warships to Carter's fleet.

After Li Lizhi detected a possible Neutron Battle Star in Blazing Fire Civilization territory, Lin Yu sent Woston and a hundred warships to investigate. Woston found a mysterious Space Base and then watched three planet-sized ships emerge from Hyperspace Windows, each resembling the Dark Star.

• Li Lizhi's new detection device found an anomaly resembling a Neutron Battle Star near the Blazing Fire Civilization, and Lin Yu ordered Woston to investigate.
• Woston led a hundred warships to the coordinates and found a futuristic Space Base with a blue barrier surrounding a sphere the size of the Purple Cloud Empire's Neutron Battle Star.
• Woston ordered the fleet to combat readiness after detecting three enormous Hyperspace Windows forming nearby.
• Three planet-sized warships emerged, and Woston recognized them as resembling the Dark Star stored in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Woston’s fleet faced three Planet-class Warships, and he ordered a feigned surrender to buy time for the Hyperspace Engine to charge. The enemy deployed a Warp Interruption Device to prevent their escape, convincing Woston that they were only a low-level civilization using stolen Level 7 ships.

• Woston ordered his fleet to withdraw and send its data to Commander Lin Yu, but a spatial attack destroyed three warships before they could escape.
• Woston realized the enemy might want to capture the fleet for interrogation, so he ordered his ships to stow their weapons and pretend to surrender while the Hyperspace Engine charged.
• Karte mistook the fleet’s apparent surrender for proof of weakness and ordered his forces to capture the Federation ships and crew.
• Woston learned that the enemy had deployed a Warp Interruption Device and concluded that they were a low-level civilization that had obtained Level 7 warships.

Carter’s three Planet-class Warships confronted Woston’s Federation fleet, but Woston’s ships escaped through hyperspace and left a Zero-Point Bomb behind. Carter’s deployed Blazing Fire Empire fleet was annihilated, while Phase Shields protected his three warships from the blast.

• Carter used a Warp Interference Device to try to prevent Woston’s fleet from escaping, unaware that the Federation ships had Hyperspace Engines.
• Woston recognized the deployed ships as Blazing Fire Empire warships equipped with Spatial Shields and ordered his fleet to leave a device behind and retreat through hyperspace.
• Carter and his soldiers were astonished when the Federation fleet opened Hyperspace Windows and vanished.
• Woston’s unidentified device detonated as a Zero-Point Bomb, destroying the deployed Blazing Fire Empire warships and nearby planets and asteroids.
• The Phase Shields around Carter’s three Planet-class Warships shifted them into another phase and left them unharmed by the spatial destruction.

Woston tested a miniature Zero-Point Bomb against the Dark Star’s Phase Shield and found it could not cause damage, then reported his discovery to Lin Yu. He also revealed a suspected Neutron Battle Star base and warned that he had found something even worse.

• Woston observed the Zero-Point Bomb’s effects from more than ten light-years away and saw that it had failed to damage the Dark Star’s shield.
• Li Lizhi told Lin Yu that her Neutron Degenerate Mass Sphere could defeat a Neutron Battle Star only if it remained still, and that its Super Gravity Counteraction System could likely counter the method on a second attempt.
• Woston showed Lin Yu and Li Lizhi footage of a space base containing a barrier-shrouded object that Li Lizhi identified as likely being a Neutron Battle Star.
• Woston began reporting that he had found something even worse than the Neutron Battle Star.

After the Federation lost three warships to phase-shielded Dark Star-class vessels, Lin Yu learned that a Neutron Battle Star might provide a way to defeat them. He began planning to steal one by drawing the Blazing Fire Empire’s ships away, and ordered Jiang Sen to launch a feint against the empire’s capital.

• Woston reported the loss of three warships, and Li Lizhi explained that phase shields shifted ships into a different phase of space, making ordinary attacks ineffective.
• Li Lizhi said the Dark Star’s weapons could not pierce the phase shields, but acquiring a Neutron Battle Star would let her find a way to break them.
• Lin Yu realized the Neutron Battle Star might be stolen from its outpost and told Woston to keep monitoring the three enemy warships.
• Lin Yu ordered Major General Jiang Sen to lead a fleet in a feint attack on the Blazing Fire Empire’s Capital Sphere, warning him not to hit it too hard.

Lin Yu finalized the operation to lure away the Blazing Fire Empire’s three Dark Star-class Warships, reluctantly agreeing to let Li Lizhi join the mission with guards assigned to remove her if necessary. Ten days later, Jiang Sen began the first phase by sending a million-warship fleet toward the Blazing Fire Empire’s Capital Sphere, where Lan Wei’s ten-million-warship Guard Fleet moved to intercept them.

• Lin Yu and Li Lizhi argued over her joining the operation, and he agreed on the condition that guards could withdraw her if the mission became too dangerous.
• Li Lizhi accepted Lin Yu’s condition, and he reminded her to return safely and fulfill their childhood promise.
• Ten days later, Lin Yu ordered Jiang Sen to attack the Blazing Fire Empire’s Capital Sphere to force its forces to return and defend it.
• Jiang Sen led one million warships out of hyperspace at the edge of the Capital Sphere and advanced openly toward the imperial star.
• Carter dismissed the invading fleet as no threat after learning Lan Wei had taken ten million warships to intercept it.
• Lan Wei’s fleet warned Jiang Sen’s fleet to stop, and Jiang Sen ordered his forces to send the enemy a greeting attack.

Lan Wei's fleet confronted an unidentified force approaching the Blazing Fire Empire's Capital Sphere, while Carter recognized the attackers as humanity and ordered an immediate retreat. Humanity destroyed Lan Wei's fleet before it could escape, and Carter summoned Silver Fox and three Planet-class Warships to reinforce the Capital Sphere.

• Lan Wei ordered the Imperial Guard Legion to prepare for battle after his warnings went unanswered and the unknown fleet drew closer.
• Carter recognized the enemy ships in the projected images as humanity's and ordered Lan Wei to retreat immediately.
• Humanity's Spatial Rift attacks cut through Lan Wei's fleet, and Warp Interruption Devices prevented the ships from escaping.
• A Space Cut attack destroyed Lan Wei's flagship, and the Empire lost contact with his entire fleet of ten million warships.
• Carter ordered Silver Fox to bring three Planet-class Warships to defend the Capital Sphere, and Silver Fox immediately set out.

Su Yan’s assault force used an unmanned warship to cut a safe breach into the outpost holding the Neutron Battle Star, then rushed in before the enemy fleet could return. Bai Yu recognized the attack and hurried toward the battle star passage, intending to protect the Neutron Battle Star by entering it.

• Lin Yu ordered Su Yan to begin the second phase and reminded her that the assault had less than 385 seconds.
• Zero Ship opened a Hyperspace Window into the outpost, cutting away part of Sector E61 without damaging the central Gravity Barrier.
• After confirming the breach was safe, Su Yan ordered the other nine warships to advance and launch the assault.
• Bai Yu saw the damaged sector and learned that nine enemy warships were deploying Combat Vehicles toward the breach.
• Bai Yu ordered the outpost guards to engage and ran toward the Neutron Battle Star passage to rendezvous with its command group.

Silver Fox devised a three-ship pursuit plan after Jiang Sen's fleet escaped, unaware that Federation Hyperspace Engines charged faster than his ships could. At the outpost, the Federation overwhelmed the guards and advanced toward key objectives, with Su Yan assigning Dyson Squad to protect the VIP mech.

• Jiang Sen ordered his fleet to withdraw as Silver Fox's three Planet-class Warships arrived at the Capital Sphere.
• Silver Fox learned the enemy fleet had escaped and planned to pursue it with his ships in sequence, but his plan relied on an incorrect estimate of Federation engine charge times.
• The Federation's mech squads defeated the outpost guards and split up to search likely locations for important facilities.
• Su Yan ordered Dyson Squad to protect the VIP mech and evacuate it immediately if danger arose as the squads approached the Neutron Battle Star's docking port.

Bai Yu’s group rushed to enter the Neutron Battle Star, but enemy mechs broke through before they could open a safe passage. Li Lizhi killed Bai Yu as he tried to overload the Gravity Barrier, and the Federation forces secured the outpost’s key areas, leaving Su Yan to deal with the captured Blazing Fire Empire personnel.

• Bai Yu arrived at the docking port and ordered his personnel to enter the Neutron Battle Star as the enemy blasted through the sealed passage.
• Bai Yu ordered the Gravity Barrier generator overloaded when the mechs threatened to reach his group before the entry passage was ready.
• Li Lizhi shot Bai Yu before he could operate the console, then warned Su Yan to keep enemy personnel away from it.
• Su Yan ordered his forces to guard the console, and the intimidated Blazing Fire Empire command group surrendered without further incident.
• Su Yan’s First Squadron secured the docking port while reports confirmed that the Third Squadron had taken the control room and the Seventh Squadron the energy storage.
• Li Lizhi began studying the control console as Su Yan gave the captured Blazing Fire Empire personnel a sinister smile.

Li Lizhi learned to operate the Neutron Battle Star’s controls and entered its command room with Su Yan and several captured Blazing Fire Empire natives. While reading the startup instructions and operating the console, she activated the outpost’s barrier and revealed the Neutron Battle Star.

• Li Lizhi learned how to use the control console and opened a protected passage into the Neutron Battle Star.
• Su Yan led the group inside and questioned six captured members of the battle star’s command crew about how to operate it.
• The crew pointed out a massive operations manual, which Li Lizhi read rapidly in the Blazing Fire Empire’s script.
• Li Lizhi read the startup section and began activating the Neutron Battle Star while continuing through the manual.
• Li Lizhi activated the barrier around the outpost and removed the Gravity Barrier concealing the Neutron Battle Star.

Silver Fox received a Crimson-class order to reinforce ST Outpost after it lost contact, while Su Yan and Li Lizhi activated the Neutron Battle Star and discovered its gravity field disabled conventional communications. Li Lizhi used a Phase Communicator to reach Lin Yu, but she remained troubled by the operations manual’s unexplained origins.

• Silver Fox canceled his combat plans and ordered Ship Two and Ship Three to accompany him to ST Outpost, where the Neutron Battle Star was located.
• The Neutron Battle Star activated its Super Gravity Field, destroying an unmanned warship outside the outpost while the Gravity Barrier protected the outpost.
• Su Yan realized the activated battle star had disabled conventional communications, leaving the team unable to coordinate the operation with Lin Yu.
• Li Lizhi used a Phase Communicator to contact Lin Yu and handed the device to Su Yan so he could report the situation.
• Li Lizhi studied the operations manual and wondered how it could describe the Neutron Battle Star so thoroughly while being written in the Blazing Fire Empire’s language.