Dark Mine

Faced with the overwhelming Swarm, the Koya Alliance and the Locke Mutual Aid Society, two old rivals, joined forces. However, even their alliance couldn't solve many of the problems.

Because both sides are currently under attack from the Swarm, they are unable to spare any troops to support each other. Theoretically, this alliance can only be used to cheer each other on a morale level.

In reality, long-standing feuds cannot be easily resolved, and the remote meeting between the two sides was filled with sarcastic praise and encouragement.

"Although Locke Mutual Aid Society is our competitor, it has always been our role model. Your achievements are the driving force that spurs us on."

"Haha, you are too modest. You are our role models. We have always been at a disadvantage in the competition. We cannot accept your praise."

"No, no, no, your strength is evident to all. I believe you can annihilate the Zerg who dared to offend you, teach them a profound lesson, and set a benchmark for us."

"No, no, no. We have always maintained good relations with the Zerg. This time, we don't know what misunderstanding has arisen, and we are actively contacting them in hopes of clearing up the misunderstanding. On the other hand, your side has always had considerable conflict with the Zerg, even leading to two Council of Elders of the Epoch Clan. Now that the Zerg has acted so aggressively, it is still unknown whether our side has been implicated by your side. We hope that your side will handle this matter as soon as possible and avoid harming innocent people."

Upon hearing this, the Koya Alliance became anxious. No one knew what the Zerg were planning. If they were to temporarily reconcile with the Kelo Alliance to reduce pressure on their front lines, it would be bad news for the Koya Alliance. If the Zerg forces that had come from the Sandstorm, Big Horn, and White Grub star systems were to turn their attention to them, it would undoubtedly worsen their situation.

"The Zerg's ambitions are common knowledge; they want to seize your territory, and I believe your Think Tank is also aware of this. I hope you will abandon your illusions as soon as possible, actively resist, and establish strong defenses to avoid letting the wolves into your home."

"You don't need to worry about that. However, your current approach to the members' civilization is rather unseemly, and I know that many factions are already quite critical of it."

"On this point, you have no right to criticize us. Didn't you also sacrifice the interests of your members to avoid the Zerg not long ago?"

"Those star systems were originally unclaimed areas, developed by a few of our new members, but they didn't build much. The Zerg also have the right to develop those star systems. Now that the Zerg want them, it's understandable that we would concede for the sake of our friendship. This is completely different from your 50 billion-strong migration."

"Hmph, our member has some grudges with the Zerg. They've realized their mistake and are planning to surrender all their territory to the Zerg. It's their own decision, and we can't interfere. We can only do our best to help them relocate their people. Fortunately, so far, we've done a pretty good job."

"Heh, I've never seen such a shameless person as you."

"You flatter me, you flatter me!"

"Hmph, everyone knows the truth. If it were us, we wouldn't be humiliated to this extent and choose to swallow our anger."

"Anyone can brag. The Zerg are right at your doorstep. If you're so capable, go up there and have a go at them."

"Hmph, if it came to your level, we wouldn't be cowards."

After some back and forth, both sides hoped to persuade the other to make the first move and attack the Zerg, hoping to draw the Zerg's attention and reduce the pressure on their own side.

Rowan paid no attention to the alliance between the Koya Alliance and the Locke Mutual Aid Society, and instead proceeded with the established plan step by step.

In the early years of the New Era 18, the vanguard of the Ancient Cluster, originating from Sandstorm, Big Horn, and White Grub, arrived at star systems numbered LKDW286, 287, and 288. The few extraterrestrial forces within the system had already withdrawn, leaving behind some structures. However, unlike the Duoqi Civilization, they did not destroy these structures; instead, they preserved them in their original locations, leaving their meaning unclear.

Following procedure, the Swarm first located and cleared the monitoring devices within the star system, and then planted Creep Seed and mutant Insect Empress awaiting the arrival of the main force.

On the Duoqi Civilization's side, the Swarm forces that departed from the LKDW291 star system, which originally set off earlier than the Swarm forces from the Sand, Great, and White star systems, are still slacking off on their way.

In order to buy more time for the Duoqi Civilization to migrate, the Koya Alliance threw all the Dark Mine into the waterway when the fleet originally assembled at the border withdrew.

One type of Dark Mine is specifically designed to target Warp Bubble. This is a technologically advanced, actively triggered mine that can detect Warp Bubble passing by within a certain range and, when the two approach a certain distance, unleash a burst of special energy. This special energy can instantly erupt at a very high energy level, interfering with the Warp Bubble.

Disruption to Warp Bubble traveling at extremely high speeds can cause instability in its internal structure, leading to the collapse of certain areas. This change can cause immense damage to warships or Biological Weapon within it. In mild cases, the structure may be partially damaged, causing the ship to be flung out of warp space. In severe cases, the ship may be directly annihilated by the energy of the collapse, bidding farewell to the world.

However, this type of Dark Mine has significant drawbacks. First, it is extremely expensive. The Warp Bubble drive radar alone is very costly, not to mention other components. Second, its effective range is very small, affecting only a few kilometers after the explosion.

If this explosion were on a planet's surface, it would be incredibly powerful, but in space, it would be rather useless. Imagine, such Dark Mine would have to be pre-positioned in enemy flight paths, but warp drives require speeds exceeding the speed of light, reaching hundreds of thousands of kilometers per second.

This is a true case of a tiny difference leading to a huge error. At that speed, in the vastness of space, colliding with a stationary bomb with an impact radius of only a few kilometers—the probability isn't zero, but to say it's extremely low is a stretch.

Moreover, this kind of Dark Mine technology is of a very high level and involves the use of a high-level energy, which makes its manufacturing threshold very high. Within the Koya Alliance, only the Koriato civilization, which is the leader, is capable of manufacturing it.

There were no warships belonging to Koriato among the fleet that had previously assembled at the border. However, one of the allied members had received some of these Dark Mine as a bonus during a military purchase from Koriato. Coincidentally, the warships carrying these Dark Mine were among the first batch of fleets to arrive at the border.

As they evacuated, these Dark Mine thrown out along with the others.

Thank you to reader 20200516211623885 for the 1500 Qidian coins reward, and thank you to "Getting Up Is So Hard" for the 100 Qidian coins reward.