"More obstructors have arrived."
"Clear them out."
"No, they're being very cautious this time. Some may slip through the net."
Another newly assembled pursuit force of the Bofu Hegemony arrived. Yet this time, the Collectors showed no intention of attacking. Although they already possessed enough Ripple Megastructures, the effects of those constructs were limited by the speed of light. Gravitational waves—ripples in spacetime—could not propagate faster than light. Like light itself, they traveled at light speed.
This meant that if the target using the Spirit Domain was sufficiently vigilant, it could evade the Spirit Domain Seal.
This new pursuit force could not possibly have been unaware of the previous force's disappearance. They were bound to be highly alert, and rashly activating the Ripple Megastructures might allow some to escape.
But the Collectors wanted to swallow every last one of them and maximize the results. So, they prepared to set another trap for this new Bofu Hegemony pursuit force.
The cluster leader issued an order. "Do not activate the Ripple Megastructures yet. We'll act like we're fleeing, just like last time. Let them lower their guard, then swallow them all."
"Understood."
It was not a particularly complicated strategy. They would show weakness to the enemy, then suddenly launch a crushing surprise attack once the enemy lowered its guard, swallowing them all with lightning speed.
The Collectors entered faster-than-light travel one after another, refusing to engage the new pursuit force at all.
This caused the commander of the new pursuit force to misjudge the situation. They fled upon their first encounter, fled upon their second encounter... and still fled upon their forty-ninth encounter. No matter how cautious the commander was, he could not help concluding that the Amoeba race possessed some fatal weakness that prevented them from confronting the pursuit force head-on.