"They had a ship suddenly disappear, Commander."
"?"
Phirios was somewhat surprised.
Explain to me what you mean by a ship suddenly disappearing?
The Earth Caste researcher paused before analyzing, "Our detectors did indeed register a ship suddenly vanishing from their harbor. It disappeared when the pulsar they created emitted its brightest light and had its strongest gravitational pull. However, since their pulsar had remained hidden behind the planet, we were unable to detect what it did before making that ship disappear. Based on this world's timekeeping, they may have been operating it for fourteen Tau hours before fully exposing themselves to us."
"According to our researchers' estimates."
"They most likely used gravity for faster-than-light travel, which is why it vanished instantly."
"This planet may possess a technological creation capable of allowing us to travel across star systems in an extremely short time."
"!!"
Upon hearing this news.
Phirios could no longer sit still.
Because this news was truly of vital importance to the Tau Empire.
As the Tau Empire's frontier gradually expanded.
The Tau Empire, which possessed hundreds of star systems, gradually felt its grasp over its imperial territory weakening.
Some decrees, issued by the Supreme Ethereal, took at least several days, even more than ten days, to arrive.
And if fleets were to provide reinforcements, they would need even longer to reach their destination.
This world had originally competed with us for territory using "cheap technology," technology far behind ours, yet now they seemed to have suddenly undergone a technological explosion and were using technology at the gravitational level. How was that possible?
The development of technology required a long time.
From the Tau Empire's first Sphere Expansion to its second, and now the third Sphere Expansion that was about to conclude, their technological capability had only advanced