Chapter Summaries

Lin Fan prepared for Socrates's massive insect assault on the A211 Defense Zone while refusing to weaken the other fronts. Bai Zixuan revealed that he had developed Space Cut, a purely spatial offensive technology that could recreate the effect observed in a previous Spatial Shield test.

• Lin Fan rejected Bert's request for more reinforcements at A211 and left the other defensive lines in Bert's care while preparing to take command himself.
• Lin Fan struggled to find a way to delay the approaching insect tide without compromising his battle plan or exposing the Gonggong.
• Bai Zixuan told Lin Fan that the miniaturized one-way Spatial Barrier technology had been completed more than a year earlier but was a poor choice because it required physical-ammunition weapons and weakened warships.
• Bai Zixuan explained that he had mastered an advanced spatial application based on the final Spatial Shield test involving a captured Void Dragon.
• Bai Zixuan named the new purely spatial offensive technology Space Cut.

Lin Fan learned that Bai Zixuan had developed Space Cut, a Level 6 spatial weapon, and arranged for it to be installed on the Mercury Battle Star, Defense Platforms, and the Gonggong ahead of an upcoming battle. The Mercury Battle Star arrived at the Viers Defense Line as preparations began.

• Bai Zixuan told Lin Fan that Space Cut had been tested and could be deployed on fortress cannons or Defense Platforms, though it was too large for most warships.
• Lin Fan reviewed the test data and learned that Space Cut could strike targets up to 10 AU away or make rapid area-wide cuts across a region three million kilometers in diameter.
• Lin Fan ordered the Mercury Battle Star and ten converted Defense Platforms sent to the Viers Defense Line, and approved installing two Space Cut cannons on the Gonggong.
• Bai Zixuan said the Gonggong's modifications could be completed within ten days, and the Mercury Battle Star arrived at the Viers Defense Line an hour later.

Lin Fan brought the Mercury Battle Star and eight spatial Defense Platforms to the A211 Defense Zone, preparing to test the platforms against the insect swarm. The first strike landed across the distant swarm, leaving its effects to be assessed.

• Lin Fan made the Mercury Battle Star the Federation flagship in the defensive line database, confusing Belt.
• The Gonggong entered the Super Star Gate, and three days later eight spatial Defense Platforms arrived in the A211 Defense Zone.
• Lin Fan placed the platforms behind the third defensive line, relying on their 50 AU range and attacks that bypassed conventional trajectories.
• Lin Fan ordered the Federation legions to clear the attack area while Liang Xue locked targets amid the insect swarm.
• The eight spatial Defense Platforms fired their Spatial Cutting Cannons, slicing through the distant void and the insect swarm.

Socrates’s Zerg swarms endured repeated Space Cuts as they advanced toward the A211 Defense Zone, while he tried to identify the attacker. Once the tide entered range, Lin Fan ordered the Space Defense Platforms to unleash devastating Area Cuts, and a second wave struck ten minutes later.

• Eight Space Cuts killed more than 500 million warrior bugs, and Socrates recognized the attacks as resembling those of a Zerg Grand Duke.
• Socrates kept advancing despite the attacks, hoping to discover who was behind them and report the threat to the Zerg Emperor.
• After nearly five days of fighting, the Zerg tide had dwindled from nearly 150 trillion to around 125 trillion and approached within 10 AU of the A211 Defense Zone.
• Lin Fan ordered the Space Defense Platforms to switch to Area Cut mode and directed Liang Xue to clear the interception fleets from the attack zones.
• The first Area Cut strike killed at least 3 trillion warrior bugs, frightening Socrates and leaving him with no viable escape.
• Ten minutes later, a second wave of Area Cuts struck the Zerg tide.

Socrates hesitated to ask stronger Queen Bugs for help as the Federation destroyed his forces at the A211 Defense Zone, while Lin Fan considered whether the insectoids would summon reinforcements. After a month of quiet, Belt told Lin Fan that they had found the suspected intelligent bug.

• Socrates chose to wait rather than share the Milky Way with another Queen Bug or seek help from a stronger one.
• Lin Fan ordered the spatial Defense Platforms to stop firing and sent the twelve Star System Legions to finish off the remaining combat bugs.
• The insectoid swarm was destroyed before reaching the A211 Defense Zone, deepening the Four Overlords’ fears of the Federation and raising Lin Fan’s standing among other civilizations.
• Lin Fan spent a month of quiet considering whether the insectoids were gathering more forces or summoning reinforcements from outside the Milky Way.
• Liang Xue relayed Belt’s request for a communication link, and Belt told Lin Fan that they had found the suspected intelligent bug.

Lin Fan arranged a Zero-Point Bomb strike against Socrates while Kane’s reconnaissance fleet kept the bug swarms occupied. The bomb carrier emerged near Socrates’s planet and began its detonation sequence, leaving the King Bug sensing an inexplicable dread.

• Lin Fan ordered Kane to hold Socrates’s attention and withdraw when warned, while the Gonggong assembled a Stargate and sent a Zero-Point Bomb Carrier toward the Star System.
• Socrates mobilized battle bugs from across the Star System to encircle Kane’s ten warships and drive them away.
• Lin Fan warned Kane to retreat, and Kane’s fleet warped out after drawing the swarms away from Socrates.
• The Zero-Point Bomb Carrier emerged near Socrates’s planet, confirmed Socrates remained there, and began its detonation sequence.
• Socrates ordered the bug swarms to attack the carrier but felt a growing fear stronger than the dread it had felt facing the Bug Emperor.

Lin Fan’s Zero-Point Bomb devastated the Zerg-filled star system and killed the Intelligent Zerg Socrates. He ordered Bellt to deploy the largest possible fleet to Deo and establish a defense line around the Bug Nest Channel.

• Socrates watched a warship unleash Zero-Point Particles, spawning Spatial Rifts that consumed Zerg swarms and devastated planets across the star system.
• Lin Fan’s command team examined reconnaissance footage and confirmed the destruction, while Bellt recognized it as matching the devastation of Haiti.
• The reconnaissance crew located Socrates on the remains of his planet and confirmed that he was dead.
• Lin Fan told Bellt to establish a defensive line around Deo’s Bug Nest Channel, and Bellt asked how many forces to deploy.
• Lin Fan ordered Bellt to mobilize the largest force available.

Lin Fan reorganized the defense against the Zerg and sent fleets to secure the Deo Defense Line while launching a counterattack. Far away, Grand Duke Alba learned of Socrates’s death and decided to conquer the star cluster containing the Milky Way after taking Mels Star Cluster.

• Lin Fan used Socrates’s death and the deployment of Level 4 and Level 5 Civilizations to make a counterattack possible, while identifying the Bug Nest Channel in Deo as the remaining threat.
• Belt transferred 125 billion warships from the Viers Defense Line to garrison the Deo Defense Line, and the remaining fleets began advancing toward the end of the spiral arm.
• Grand Duke Alba pressed Adonis to conquer the Three-Eyed Empire’s Galactic System within ten years, despite the empire’s desperate resistance.
• Alba received Socrates’s message reporting his death in the Milky Way and concluded that the star cluster there had no Level 6 Civilization.
• Alba decided to target the Milky Way’s star cluster after conquering Mels Star Cluster, then turned his attention back to the battle in Galactic System.

The Milky Way Allied Forces advanced rapidly against the Zerg under Lin Fan’s tactics, prompting the Four Overlords to demand that command authority be returned to the Vera Federation. Lin Zhen agreed, but said the Human Federation’s 1.3 billion warships would withdraw with it, leaving the Four Overlords stunned.

• The allied fleets advanced 3,000 light-years in half a year and destroyed thousands of Super Swarms using Lin Fan’s combat procedures.
• The Five Overlords praised Lin Fan’s command, while Verto argued that the Vera Federation should regain authority because the Zerg had effectively been defeated.
• Xis, Hussein, and Moros backed Verto’s proposal to transfer command authority from the Human Federation to the local civilization.
• Lin Zhen agreed to return command authority, then announced that the Federation’s 1.3 billion warships would withdraw as well.

After Lin Zhen returned command of the allied fleet to the Four Overlords, Lin Fan’s forces prepared to leave, aware that a King Bug and quintillions of war bugs were approaching the Milky Way. Lin Fan warned Belt to hold to their strategy, and the chapter ended with the Four Overlords wondering why humanity had left a Super Star Gate behind.

• Lin Zhen agreed to return command authority after Lin Fan told him that a King Bug would reach the Deao Bug Nest Channel exit in one year with quintillions of war bugs.
• The Human Federation returned command of the allied forces to Belt, leaving Level 3 Civilizations fearing they would again be used as cannon fodder.
• Lin Fan explained to Belt that the Four Overlords’ actions could turn other civilizations against them, and urged Belt not to let them disrupt the current strategy.
• Lin Fan’s 1.3 billion warships, the Mercury, the Gonggong, and eight space Defense Platforms departed through the Super Star Gate.
• Four people watched the fleet leave and wondered why it had left the Super Star Gate behind.

The Big Four learned that Lin Fan had left the Super Star Gate behind and became determined to seize its energy technology. Verto dismissed Belt for refusing to obey, leaving White set to command the allied forces and Belt fearing the war against the insectoid race would suffer.

• Xis, Hussein, and Moros agreed with Verto to investigate why the Human Federation had left the Super Star Gate behind.
• Belt explained that Lin Fan had returned through the gate and left it for the war effort, warning that its advanced technology could be damaged if handled recklessly.
• The Big Four fixated on the gate’s energy core, and Verto ordered Belt to seize control of it with the four civilizations’ fleets.
• Belt objected that taking the gate could undermine the war against the insectoid race, but Verto accused him of serving the Human Federation rather than the Vera Federation.
• Verto dismissed Belt and appointed White to replace him, then kicked Belt out of the Virtual Meeting Room.
• Belt closed his eyes in pain aboard his warship, fearing White’s command could reverse the allied forces’ progress.

Verto dismissed Belt and appointed White to command the Allied Forces, ordering him to seize the Super Star Gate, reduce the use of higher-level civilizations’ fleets, and weaken the Human Federation’s influence. White took command at the Viers Defense Line and began carrying out those orders, while Belt left for the Capital Sphere fearing the consequences.

• Verto summoned White to the Virtual Meeting Room and appointed him commander of the Allied Forces at the Viers Defense Line.
• Verto ordered White to take control of the Super Star Gate, shift combat operations toward Level 3 Civilizations, and diminish the Human Federation’s influence.
• White contacted Belt aboard the Knox, mocked his dismissal, and ordered him to transfer command and return to the Capital Sphere.
• White ordered ten billion warships from the four Level 5 Civilizations to seal off the Super Star Gate within 5 AU.
• White ordered Level 4 and Level 5 Civilization warships to withdraw from the front, leaving subsequent combat to Level 3 Civilizations.
• Belt ordered his adjutant to comply, warned White about ruining their progress, and left the bridge for the Capital Sphere.

White’s effort to dismantle the Super Star Gate stalled as his oppression of the allied forces weakened morale and his deadline forced the scientists toward a dangerous last resort. Three months later, the director ordered them to attempt Violent Disassembly.

• White dismissed Belt, took his flagship, and sealed off the Super Star Gate region while punishing civilizations that supported the Human Federation.
• White’s supervisory fleets destroyed more than a thousand Level 3 Civilization fleets, driving allied morale to rock bottom.
• White gave the scientific team three months to extract the Super Star Gate’s core energy device or face execution.
• The director and scientists continued researching the gate, knowing that Violent Disassembly could trigger a catastrophic explosion.
• Three months later, the director ordered the team to prepare for Violent Disassembly.

White confronted the research team as its director began using a high-powered beam to cut into the Super Star Gate, but the gate’s core overloaded. The resulting eruption destroyed the area around the gate, engulfing most of the five billion warships White had gathered while leaving other civilizations outside the sealed zone unharmed.

• White demanded to know why the science team was preparing to use Violent Disassembly, and the department head argued that their deadline left no other choice.
• The director ordered the scientists to increase the cutting beam’s power until it pierced both sides of the Super Star Gate’s outer shell.
• A scan revealed that the Super Star Gate’s energy core had entered an overload reaction, and the director and scientists accepted that they were likely to die.
• The overloaded Zero-Point Particle energy erupted, creating a colossal blast that destroyed an area at least three AU across.
• The explosion engulfed most of the five billion warships White had summoned, while the sealed five-AU zone kept other civilizations from being affected.

White blamed Zorn for destroying the Super Star Gate, but four delayed video messages exposed White’s role in the disaster to the Four Overlords. White fled the Virtual Meeting Room and ordered his battleship to jump toward the Orion Arm.

• White raged over the destruction of the Super Star Gate as the Four Overlords gathered to demand an explanation from Verto.
• White told the Four Overlords that Zorn had recklessly used Violent Disassembly, and Verto initially accepted his explanation.
• Moros urged Verto to check for unapproved messages from the research team, and they found four videos awaiting approval.
• Zorn and scientists sent by the other three overlords revealed what had happened, causing Verto to turn on White.
• White disconnected from the Virtual Meeting Room and ordered his crew to shut down communications and jump toward the Orion Arm.

Admiral White secretly crossed into the Orion Arm after Sterling cleared the wormhole, then asked the Human Federation for protection. Liang Xingchen contacted Lin Fan, whom White recognized when he appeared.

• White told Sterling he planned to defect and asked him to help him pass through the wormhole unnoticed.
• Sterling withdrew the defense fleet under the pretense of suppressing space pirates, allowing White to cross into the Orion Arm aboard the Knox.
• Liang Xingchen’s forces detected the Knox at Hangu Pass and prepared to attack when White requested communications.
• White identified himself as a Vera Federation general and told Liang Xingchen he had come seeking protection.
• White asked to speak with Lin Fan, and Liang Xingchen arranged the connection.
• Lin Fan appeared in the command center, and White recognized him from his files.

White sought asylum from Lin Fan and offered recordings proving the four Level 5 Civilizations had tried to dismantle the Super Star Gate, along with compromising information about the Vera Federation. Lin Fan accepted his request and ordered the Knox taken over, while White prepared the crew to surrender without revealing that he had defected.

• White told Lin Fan that the Super Star Gate had self-destructed and blamed The Big Four, claiming he had been forced to obey them before fleeing.
• White showed Lin Fan recordings of the four Level 5 Civilizations studying the Star Gate and the Vera Federation attempting to dismantle it with ion cutters.
• White offered more recordings and damaging information about the Vera Federation in exchange for asylum, and Lin Fan agreed to apply on his behalf.
• White asked whether the Knox's crew should be killed to keep them from leaking the defection, but Lin Fan ordered them spared and the ship taken over.
• Lin Fan left Liang Xingchen to handle the takeover, and White ordered the crew to obey the Human Federation while they still believed they were on an undercover mission.

The Four Overlords blamed humanity for the Super Star Gate’s destruction, but Lin Zhen waited until resentment peaked before releasing White’s testimony and evidence exposing their crimes. The revelations plunged the four major alliances into chaos as civilizations learned that the Level 5 powers had destroyed rising Level 4 civilizations for millennia.

• The Four Overlords released a report claiming that a command signal from the Orion Arm had caused the Super Star Gate to self-destruct, and their leaders denied using Violent Disassembly.
• Lin Zhen told Lin Fan that humanity would respond when public resentment reached its peak and planned to spend the coming years building its strength before returning to the First Main Arm.
• After three days of growing hostility toward humanity, Lin Zhen issued a public response explaining that humanity had investigated the incident and had identified the true culprits.
• White’s recording accused the Four Overlords of ordering Violent Disassembly of the Super Star Gate, killing civilizations that supported humanity, and issuing a Level 1 kill order against him.
• The Federation released recordings and documents that corroborated White’s account and exposed the Four Overlords’ destruction of more than a dozen rising Level 4 civilizations.
• The revelations, including evidence that the Four Overlords had secretly colluded to destroy the Chino Empire and other Level 4 civilizations, threw all four major alliances into chaos.

The Four Overlords tried to contain the fallout from their past actions by making concessions and blaming White for the Super Star Gate's destruction. Meanwhile, Queen Bug Helme marched through Socrates's Bug Nest Channel toward the Milky Way, expecting to claim it after his failure.

• Verto wanted to suppress the rising dissent, but Xis persuaded him that doing so could drive the galaxy to side with humanity.
• Xis proposed sending Level 5 fleets to the insect war, offering new agreements to Level 4 Civilizations, and blaming White for the Super Star Gate's self-destruction; the other Overlords agreed.
• The Four Overlords released recordings implicating White, admitted their predecessors' wrongdoing, offered new agreements, and sent their fleets to the front lines.
• Helme learned that Socrates had failed and assembled an army to invade the Milky Way through the Bug Nest Channel he had left behind.
• Helme calculated that her forces would reach the Milky Way in just over twenty days.

Helme launched an attack on the Deo Star System using millions of Zerg Warships, catching its complacent Allied Forces defenders unprepared. Zi Guang ordered the ready ships to fire, but the Warship Bugs unleashed a devastating barrage against the defensive line.

• Helme decided the Zerg gathered around Deo were strong enough to begin the assault.
• Zi Guang discovered strange celestial bodies emerging from the Bug Nest Channel and sounded the alarm.
• Zi Guang ordered the warships ready for battle to fire, but their attacks barely damaged the celestial bodies.
• The damaged celestial bodies released Sprayer Bugs and Combat Bugs, while millions more revealed weapon arrays and began charging energy.
• The Warship Bugs fired hundreds of millions of dark red beams at the Allied Forces' defensive line.