In the vast, empty starry expanse, within an asteroid belt formed by countless meteors.
Countless motes of light silently appeared, then vanished without a trace.
Five enormous starships emerged, orbital railguns encircling them, while their main cannons, resembling massive crystalline structures, emitted a dreamlike glow.
"Activate Optical Stealth. Initiate Stealth Mode," Qingyang ordered at once.
The outer armor of the five warships swiftly changed, completely blending into the surrounding environment. Even up close, it was difficult to spot anything unusual.
Their energy fluctuations were even better concealed. Unless it was a High-level Civilization or a similarly Datafied Starfleet—
Otherwise, the energy concealment brought by Datafication would be extremely difficult to detect.
Qingyang gestured for Guxing to check whether they had been Datafied. Only after confirming it did he activate his own talent.
Although the Star Network had been cut off, Starfleet and Commander Talents did not exist because of the Star Network.
More accurately, the Star Network had been born because of Starfleet and countless commanders.
[Local Star Net Channel activated. Only Starfleet from the same Dimensional World may access this channel.] [Local Network Node (1)—Eternal Truth Fleet]
Qingyang froze for a moment, then said in delight, "This way, we won't have to worry about our communications being intercepted or detected."
Once all crew members had connected to the Local Network, Qingyang, who held sole authority, swiftly divided it into several sections.
This made communication between command and the crew more convenient.
With the Huiyue Type Battleship in the lead, the five warships quickly sailed out of the asteroid belt.
The Detection Matrix activated, and a star map spanning dozens of light-days gradually took shape.
The region where the Eternal Fleet was located was a small stellar system, containing only a star roughly one million kilometers across and seven or eight planets.
There were no Habitable Planets.
However, Qingyang and the others spotted numerous metal structures on several planets.
"We need to determine their life forms before making a decision," Qingyang said with a frown.
If they were humans, it was best not to kill them if possible. The universe was vast beyond measure, and there were endless races and civilizations.
Races similar to humans were extremely rare, let alone life forms that were nearly identical.
Therefore, when encountering Sub-humans, negotiation was always the preferred policy. Those with an 80% resemblance even received favorable treatment, and many had joined the Alliance.
Loyalty? At most, civilizations that had integrated into the Alliance for several dozen generations would become completely devoted.
"Star of Truth, investigate the general information about this Dimensional World." Qingyang decided to exploit a loophole.
[Investigation: Four Civilizations—two Technological Civilizations, one Metal Civilization, and one Plant Civilization. Images below.]
Qingyang scanned the images.
Of the two Technological Civilizations, one resembled octopuses, while the other consisted of enormous Meatballs with countless tentacles bobbing up and down.
The other two civilizations had even less to do with humans: Metal Reptilians entirely made of Cyan Metal, and a group of short trees floating through the air.
Qingyang immediately relaxed. "Then we can cut loose. Head for the nearest energy signal!"
Guxing and Guxue had no objections.
Their cultures were different, their appearances were different, and although their languages could be translated, there was no need to bother.
They could simply start killing. They felt no psychological burden whatsoever.
The Star Sea Human Alliance had always been like this. Humanoid civilizations were one thing, but civilizations vastly different from humans either surrendered and became subordinates or became enemies!
Unless the other side possessed enough strength to qualify as an ally of the Alliance.
The Eternal Fleet easily broke through the Light Speed Barrier, entered this world's FTL Lane, and charged straight toward its destination.
Buzz—
The shrill hum of countless Energy Particles rampaged through space, while silent explosions and brilliant clusters of light rose and spread everywhere across the starry sky.
This was a massive galaxy. Its conspicuous multi-star system had made it a landmark of this world.
Thousands of warships were locked in chaotic battle here. Missiles, lasers, and energy beams filled this stretch of space.
Even the dark starry sky appeared exceptionally dazzling because of it.
The overall melee consisted of four camps, their warships visibly different in appearance.
On a Triangular Warship roughly three thousand meters long, an octopus-like creature with twelve tentacles continuously emitted strange syllables.
It seemed to be roaring.
"Fire! Fire! Blast those stupid Meatballs to pieces!"
The Triangular Warship continuously fired red beams, striking the crude warship opposite it hard.
Its shield flickered, blocking the frontal assault.
The crude warship immediately counterattacked. Three enormous Triple Naval Guns rotated mechanically.
They quickly locked onto the Triangular Warship.
At the same time, the massive hull smashed through the asteroids blocking its way, looking ready to perish together with its enemy.
The Octopus Person showed no fear and likewise ordered its warship to charge, its cannons firing continuously in a fierce exchange.
At the instant the two warships were about to collide, they both veered slightly left. Energy Particles scraped from their shields and spilled out wildly.
The shields dimmed at a visible rate.
The warships shook violently. The Octopus Person stared at the crude warship before it, as if it could see the enemies on the opposing bridge.
It roared savagely, "Fire at close range! Fire!"
The beams exploded at point-blank range, and the two warships fired almost simultaneously!
Their already heavily depleted shields grew even dimmer, as though they would shatter at the slightest touch.
The frenzied dogfight between these two warships was merely a microcosm of the entire galaxy.
The thousands of warships from the Four Civilizations had already fought themselves into a bloodlust.
There were no allies and little scheming. The four civilizations of this world had gathered most of their forces and gone straight to war.
Even on those planets, the ruins of numerous anti-ship batteries could be seen, alongside dense formations of mechs, fighter craft, and soldiers locked in brutal combat.
At the edge of the battlefield, Qingyang watched the battle erupting within.
"They've practically beaten each other's brains out. A Level 3 Civilization can have, at most, a little over three thousand warships, yet there are more than eight thousand here."
Of those more than eight thousand warships, three thousand were wrecks scattered across dozens of light-days around them.
Beside him, a woman in a sterile research suit and black-rimmed glasses examined the intelligence they had gathered.
Her tone was peculiar. "This is exactly like the textbooks. Resources in a Low-level Dimensional World are scarce, so the civilizations inside slaughter one another in pursuit of ascension, seeking to unite all resources."
She was Bellia, one of the researchers Qingyang had recently recruited, a Civilization Researcher.
She specialized in studying civilization ecosystems and political situations.
"Ascension?"
Qingyang asked curiously.
Bellia nodded. "For a Low-level Dimensional World, breaking through its barrier and finding another Dimensional World is called ascension.
"A very small number of powerful Dimensional Worlds can break through the barrier of the main universe and enter it."
"Also, based on Level 3 Civilization metrics, as long as our fleet isn't surrounded and bombarded by seven or eight hundred warships, we should basically be fine."
Bellia's addition made Qingyang's eyes light up.
"Let's hit them directly!"
Qingyang's expression brightened as the five warships charged straight into the battlefield, immediately deactivating Optical Stealth.
Their striking, gorgeous hulls instantly drew the attention of dozens of warships from the Four Civilizations nearby.
Even the firepower they had been directing at each other paused.
Which civilization did these warships belong to? Were they some secret weapon?
Before the surrounding warships could react, the Orbital Ship Cannons of the four cruisers began to shine brilliantly.
In an instant, more than a hundred cannon beams simultaneously struck over a dozen warships.
The local warships, only a thousand meters long, swayed slightly before their shields shattered in an instant!
Another volley of ship cannon fire followed, blasting their armor apart by sheer force.
Dozens of warships exploded at once, their glaring fire drawing the attention of even more creatures from the Four Civilizations.
Light raced through space, and energy cannons roared.
A silent massacre unfolded across this region. No matter how the local warships retaliated, they could not inflict any damage on the Joint Shield.
In contrast, every bombardment from the five starships blasted warships apart along with their shields.
Whenever a ship exploded, thousands of corpses from various species spilled into space, while even more were reduced to ashes along with the vessel.
That was with Qingyang not using the main cannons. Otherwise, the massacre would have been even swifter.
The explosions of warships reflected in Qingyang's eyes. Aside from exhilaration, he felt nothing else.
Most Alliance Humans were racists, and he was no exception!
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