Chapter Summaries

Lin Hong joined Galon in battle against Farn, forcing Farn to retreat. Galon then asked Lin Hong to explain how he and Farn had gained their strange forms.

• Farn and Galon fought across dimensions, and Farn tried to persuade Galon to let him devour it.
• Lin Hong appeared and attacked Farn to protect Galon, the last sacred totem beast of his race.
• Lin Hong identified himself as Lin Aotian’s son and a member of the Alphart Supreme Council, and he and Galon agreed to drive Farn back.
• Facing their combined attack, Farn withdrew his dimensional projection from the battlefield.
• Galon warned that Farn would target it again and asked Lin Hong about their forms, so Lin Hong began explaining how he had dragged Farn into Zero-Dimensional Space.

Farn’s dwindling hunting gains led Lin Fan to suspect that he had turned to devouring lifeforms in other dimensions. Lin Hong explained that life existed in seven-dimensional and ten-dimensional space, leaving Lin Fan worried that Farn might now be powerful enough to reach them.

• The Federation supplied Galon and the Biological Civilizations with first-generation Mirta Devices despite Galon and Hypnos’s hatred of humanity, to protect them from Farn.
• After Mirta Devices made hunting harder, Farn stopped attacking civilizations for three months, and Lin Fan questioned Lin Hong about his unexplained absence.
• Lin Fan realized Farn might evolve by devouring lifeforms outside three-dimensional space and asked Lin Hong whether that was possible.
• Lin Hong said life existed in three-dimensional, seven-dimensional, ten-dimensional, and zero-dimensional space, and that the higher-dimensional lifeforms were exceptionally powerful.
• Lin Fan asked whether Farn could devour life in seven-dimensional or ten-dimensional space, and Lin Hong feared that he might be able to do so.

The Sun River Empire prepared to attack the Anti-Sun River Alliance as its advantages dwindled, seeking an agreement with Galon’s Biological Civilization faction to free its fleets. Lin Zhen warned the Alliance that Galon would likely stay out of the war against the Empire, leaving the balance at the front in danger.

• Lin Hong left to investigate whether Farn had attacked other seven-dimensional or Ten-dimensional Spaces.
• By Federation Year 232, the Sun River Empire had lost ground as Galon’s faction seized a Dark Energy Spring, the Federation kept its scientists, and the Divine Radiance Civilization and Gem Empire received Dark Energy Crystals.
• Amles told Harris to secure an agreement with Galon’s faction so the Empire could redeploy its fleets and launch a decisive attack on the Alliance.
• Xilavi reported to Lin Zhen and Rotavis that Amles had been in close contact with the Biological Civilization faction.
• Lin Zhen explained Galon’s old grudge against the Federation and warned that Galon’s faction would likely agree not to attack the Empire during its war with the Alliance.

Lin Zhen urged Xilavi and Rotavis to break out of their defensive mindset and launch a surprise offensive against the Sun River Empire. The Alliance attacked seventeen frontline nodes, leaving the Empire’s defensive line at risk of collapsing within three days.

• Lin Zhen persuaded Xilavi and Rotavis that the Alliance could seize the initiative while the Sun River Empire’s forces were divided.
• Lance dismissed the possibility of an Alliance attack until ten Black Hole Channels opened across Rorochair.
• Lance ordered subordinate fleets to hold the channel exits, but the Alliance wiped them out in under two minutes and established landing zones.
• Lar'ao informed Amles that the Alliance had attacked seventeen frontline nodes and inflicted devastating losses.
• Lar'ao warned Amles that the defensive line could collapse within three days without immediate reinforcements.

Amles agreed to trade another Dark Energy Spring with Galon so the Sun River Empire could send reinforcements, and he ordered the fleet and three Guardian Envoys to prepare. At the Alliance conference, Lin Fan revealed that the Federation could collapse the Sun River Empire’s reinforcement channels, while Altra reassured Autwell that the Federation could also address the enemy’s superior top-tier fighters.

• Lar'ao persuaded Amles to prioritize the front-line battle over retaining three Dark Energy Springs, and Amles ordered reinforcements and the three Guardian Envoys to prepare.
• Altra told Lin Fan and Autwell that fleets in the Sun River Empire’s central region were assembling, likely to reinforce the front lines.
• Lin Fan explained that the Federation could use Dark Energy Crystals to collapse any Black Hole Channel the Sun River Empire opened.
• Altra welcomed the plan, while Autwell warned that the Sun River Empire had more peak Eleventh Order Dark Energy Manipulators than the Alliance.
• Altra reminded Autwell that the Federation could help counter the Sun River Empire’s top-tier fighters.

Lin Fan proposed misleading the Fario Civilization into helping the Alliance by making it believe defeat would leave Fario next in line for destruction. Altra contacted Nevitt with a promise of a plan to stop the Sun River Empire, and Nevitt agreed to listen.

• Lin Fan reminded Altra and Autwell of the Federation's strength and suggested concealing their plan to stop the Sun River Empire's reinforcements from the Fario Civilization.
• Altra volunteered to handle Nevitt and prevent Fario from joining forces with the Sun River Empire after the battle.
• Nevitt worried that the Sun River Empire's assembling fleet would overwhelm the Alliance, but he rejected Korlak's suggestion that Fario commit its forces without a suitable plan.
• Nevitt initially ordered his secretary to reject Altra's call, then let it through after Korlak urged him to hear Altra out.
• Altra told Nevitt he had a plan to stop the Sun River Empire without heavy losses on either side, and Nevitt asked to hear it.

Altra proposed that Nevitt secretly leak half of the Sun River Empire’s Black Hole Channel coordinates to the alliance, sacrificing some Fario fleets to make the betrayal seem genuine. Convinced by Korlak, Nevitt agreed to identify disloyal fleets for the sacrifice, leaving the plan poised to move forward.

• Altra urged Nevitt to join the Sun River Empire’s reinforcement operation and demand a public promise that it would not attack the Fario Civilization after the war.
• Altra proposed that Nevitt leak half the Black Hole Channel coordinates to the alliance and sacrifice about ten percent of Fario fleets to deflect suspicion.
• Nevitt asked Korlak whether the plan was worth the risk, and Korlak said the resulting balance between the camps would benefit the Fario Civilization despite the danger.
• Korlak suggested using the sacrifice to eliminate restless fleets within the military, whose commanders opposed Nevitt’s shifting alliances.
• Nevitt ordered Korlak to identify every fleet that was not loyal to him, allowing up to forty percent to be sacrificed.

The Sun River Empire publicly promised not to attack the Fario Civilization, while Lin Fan’s Alliance prepared to exploit the locations of the Empire’s Black Hole Channels. Saik launched the Empire’s reinforcement operation, but all seventeen channels immediately became unstable and consumed Dark Energy Crystals at an alarming rate.

• Amles agreed to the Empire’s public promise, believing it would not matter after the Alliance was destroyed.
• The Sun River Empire promised the universe it would not attack the Fario Civilization for ten thousand years, and Lin Fan’s group recognized that their plan had worked.
• Lin Fan told Altra that the Alliance was ready to strike once its frontline fleets reported the Black Hole Channels’ coordinates, and he warned that the Empire’s peak-level Dark Energy Users could fight recklessly.
• Saik assembled twenty-five legions and ordered all seventeen Black Hole Channels opened according to the operation plan.
• The Empire’s adjutant reported that every channel had unstable energy fluctuations and was rapidly consuming Dark Energy Crystals.

Seke discovered that the Alliance was collapsing the Sun River Empire’s Black Hole Channels by striking their exits with other channels, rapidly draining Dark Energy Crystals. He chose to fight a war of attrition, and Amles sent him ninety percent of the empire’s reserves to continue.

• The seventeen Black Hole Channels collapsed after their prepared Dark Energy Crystals were exhausted, and Seke ordered the fleets to try opening them again with their wartime reserves.
• The channels collapsed a second time when their crystals’ energy consumption surged, and Seke’s technical team investigated the cause.
• The technical team confirmed that the Alliance was creating Black Hole Channels to strike the exits of the empire’s channels.
• Seke ordered further attempts to open the channels and requested more Dark Energy Crystals from Amles.
• Amles agreed to wear down the Alliance’s reserves and ordered ninety percent of the empire’s Dark Energy Crystals sent to Seke.

Lin Fan ordered the Alliance fleets to slow their attacks so the Sun River Empire would keep spending Dark Energy Crystals while suffering fewer losses. Amles remained uncertain whether the Federation could outlast the Empire or was bluffing, and Korlak argued that the Alliance was trying to make the Empire give up.

• Altra reported that the Sun River Empire had spent 1,666 Dark Energy Crystals in under five hours, and Lin Fan proposed slowing the Alliance's attacks to prolong the attrition war.
• Altra arranged for the frontline fleets to switch from frenzied assaults to a steadier advance, allowing more Sun River Empire ships to survive.
• Korlak presented Amles with possible explanations for the Alliance's slower offensive, including that it wanted to draw out the Empire's crystal reserves or was bluffing about its own.
• Amles asked Korlak to assess the situation, and Korlak argued that the Federation's crystals likely came from the Alphart Civilization and that its reserves were now below 50,000.
• Korlak concluded that the Alliance was deliberately trying to make the Sun River Empire abandon the war of attrition.

After the Sun River Empire spent ninety percent of its Dark Energy Crystal reserves in a failed war of attrition, Galon offered a possible way to reverse its fortunes without directly joining the war. The chapter ended with Amles asking how many Black Hole Crystals Galon could provide.

• Amles accepted Korlak's proposal to continue the war of attrition, but the Empire depleted ninety percent of its Dark Energy Crystal reserves and had to stop.
• Altra and Tarovis celebrated the Alliance's advantage as its commanders calculated that the Empire had nearly exhausted its reserves.
• Amles asked his ministers how the Empire could fight on, but the audience chamber fell silent.
• Harris reported that Galon knew of the Empire's predicament and had offered help in exchange for another Dark Energy Spring.
• Harris revealed that Galon had provided a Black Hole Crystal, which tests confirmed was almost entirely composed of Black Hole Cavity Particles.
• Amles realized that Black Hole Crystals could produce hundreds of Dark Energy Crystals and asked how many Galon could supply.

The Sun River Empire debated how much to demand from Galon for a Dark Energy Spring, realizing Galon urgently needed the springs. Galon immediately accepted their doubled terms, leaving Amles wondering whether the Empire had asked for too little.

• Galon offered 100 Black Hole Crystals upfront and 10 each year for 100 years in exchange for one Dark Energy Spring.
• Amles and the ministers calculated that the crystals could yield Dark Energy Crystals equivalent to 33,000 years of a spring’s output.
• Korlak argued that Galon lacked the technology to use Black Hole Crystals and needed Dark Energy Springs just as urgently as the Empire needed crystals.
• Amles instructed Harris to demand 200 crystals upfront, followed by 20 per year for 100 years or 10 per year for 200 years.
• Harris reported that Galon had agreed to the increased terms, and Amles wondered if they had asked for too little.

Amles agreed to devote a large annual supply of Dark Energy Crystals to advancing the Sun River Empire’s Black Hole data analysis. The Alliance debated whether to press its attack or consolidate, while Farn prepared to hunt Ten-dimensional Beings again.

• Korlak advised Amles to use the Empire’s new crystal reserves to improve Black Hole data analysis rather than continue the war of attrition, and Amles approved allocating ten thousand crystals per year to the Ministry of Science.
• Tarovis told Altra that the Sun River Empire had stopped opening Black Hole Channels for one day, and the Alliance leaders asked Lin Fan whether to attack or consolidate.
• Lin Fan weighed the risks posed by Galon’s Biological Civilization faction and the missing Farn, and favored slowing down to consolidate gains while giving the Federation time to analyze Black Hole data.
• Farn returned to Ten-dimensional Space, where he had previously failed to devour its immortal inhabitants, and prepared to hunt them again using a new plan.

Farn became a successful hunter of Ten-dimensional Beings by devouring their timelines, but a coalition trapped him in a one-second loop. Five years after the last war, the Federation developed the Exile Ray, an immensely powerful weapon that banished its targets into the Black Hole Cavity.

• Farn realized that a Ten-dimensional Being could only be truly killed by devouring its entire timeline, and he successfully hunted several of them.
• Ten-dimensional Beings discovered Farn’s hunts and trapped him in a blank, one-second timeline loop.
• Lin Hong appeared in the loop while searching for traces of Farn.
• In Federation Year 236, the Federation’s Black Hole Cavity data parsing reached 85% in the Boötes Void.
• The Federation developed the Exile Ray, which forcibly pulled targets into the Black Hole Cavity with no known way back.

The Federation strengthened its fleets and top-tier fighters, bringing the Alliance camp closer to parity with the Sun River Empire. Meanwhile, the Lothar Republic faced collapse after losing most of its territory and receiving an order to surrender five more Superclusters, but Krum received startling good news.

• The Federation upgraded 150 billion main warships with low-concentration Black Hole Cavity Armor and improved the Nether Fleet and its Eleventh Order fighters.
• The Lothar Republic lost its main fleet at Turgar, and surrounding civilizations seized seventeen of its twenty-five Superclusters.
• Krum and the Republic's leaders despaired when the Sun River Empire ordered them to surrender five of their remaining eight Superclusters.
• Krum's assistant rushed into the meeting and told him something that made him react with shock and joy.

Krum agreed to let the Alliance secretly evacuate the Lothar Republic’s population and move its fleet into three Superclusters. In Federation Year 237, the Alliance launched a full-scale offensive, but the Empire’s Solar Battleships drove it into a disadvantage.

• Krum spoke with Speight, who proposed cooperating with the Alliance in exchange for Superclusters to shelter the Republic’s people and restore its territory after the war.
• Speight revealed that the Human Federation’s undetectable Black Hole Channel technology could secretly evacuate the Republic and bring Alliance forces into its territory.
• The Lothar Republic agreed to hand over five galaxy clusters to the Sun River Empire and began moving its people through Black Hole Channels into Alliance-provided Superclusters.
• After the three-month evacuation, more than twenty trillion Alliance troops, including Federation forces and Moy Race warships, entered the Republic’s three emptied Superclusters.
• In Federation Year 237, the Alliance launched a full-scale offensive, but the Empire’s Solar Battleships overwhelmed the Divine Radiance Civilization and Gem Empire fleets, putting the Alliance at a disadvantage.

Lin Fan explained that the Sun River Empire’s Blazing Sun fleets depended on vast Dark Energy Crystal reserves, then launched a Federal attack through Black Hole Channels against the Empire’s vulnerable rear. The Imperial military fell into chaos as Federal fleets devastated its energy replenishment bases.

• Lin Fan told Altra and Tarovis that the Blazing Sun-class Warships used incomplete Black Hole Cavity Armor and questioned how the Empire had acquired enough Dark Energy Crystals to build them.
• The Sun River Empire’s Blazing Sun Fleets broke through Alliance interceptions and helped push the Alliance back across the main battlefield.
• Lin Fan sent Federal fleets through Black Hole Channels into the rear of the advancing Imperial forces, targeting resting troops and ships replenishing their energy.
• Federal fleets heavily damaged the Empire’s energy replenishment bases, throwing its military into chaos.
• Gloucester demanded to know where the attacking Federal fleets had come from.

Gloucester discovered that the Alliance could open Black Hole Channels that Imperial sensors could not detect, leaving Imperial forces vulnerable to surprise attacks. He ordered the Imperial fleets to retreat behind subsidiary civilization forces and sought reinforcements and supplies while arranging visual surveillance of the rear.

• Gloucester received reports and footage showing Black Hole Channels at three coordinates, though Imperial detection systems found nothing there.
• Gloucester ordered the Imperial fleets to withdraw while subsidiary civilization fleets covered their retreat, because the Blazing Sun Fleet needed to replenish its depleted armor particles.
• Gloucester asked the homeland for reinforcements and ordered adjacent subsidiary civilizations to send supplies through the Cosmic Currents rather than risk Alliance attacks on Black Hole Channels.
• Gloucester ordered warships to visually monitor rear areas where battles were not underway, since Imperial sensors could not detect the Alliance's new technology.

As the Alliance counterattacked at the front, the Federation’s Third Attack Group held off a much larger Imperial force near the Greenlert Supercluster. Gloucester’s Blazing Sun Fleet resisted the Exile Ray, but Carroll prepared the Federation’s next move, leaving Gloucester unsure whether the enemy was retreating.

• The Alliance launched a full-scale counterattack as the Sun River Empire’s fleet withdrew, while Lin Fan kept the Federal Fleet drawing Imperial forces away from the front.
• Gloucester refused to abandon the supply line despite his adjutant warning that conventional fleets were being slaughtered by the Federation’s Exile Ray.
• Gloucester learned the Blazing Sun Fleet was returning and ordered its three billion warships to lead a renewed charge using prototype Black Hole Cavity Armor.
• The Blazing Sun Fleet endured most of the Exile Ray’s pulling force, convincing Gloucester that his ships could break through the Federation formation.
• Carroll ordered the Third Attack Group to begin the second stage of its operation and open a Black Hole Channel once the coordinates were locked.
• Gloucester’s officers reported that the Federal Fleet was drawing together, and Gloucester told his forces to prioritize protecting the supplies rather than pursuing a possible retreat.

Lin Fan’s forces bypassed Gloucester’s new surveillance network and attacked the subordinate civilizations supplying the Imperial front lines, cutting off a vital supply route. Amles responded by ordering a war of Dark Energy Crystal attrition against the Alliance and sent Harris to seek more Black Hole Crystals from Galon.

• Lin Fan, Altra, and Tarovis discussed their three-stage battle plan and warned that Gloucester might resort to desperate measures.
• Gloucester established a vast network of warships to watch for Black Hole Channels after believing the Federal Fleet had retreated.
• Human fleets attacked the subordinate civilizations behind the Imperial front lines, and Gloucester realized their supply route had collapsed.
• Gloucester ordered his adjutant to report the crisis to the homeland, while he clung to the hope that the Empire could win a Dark Energy Crystal war of attrition.
• Amles ordered an immediate war of Dark Energy Crystal attrition against the Alliance and sent Harris to Galon to request more Black Hole Crystals.