More than 50 miniature spaceships infiltrated the Xuan Star Civilization from various angles. Here, the miniature spaceships counted more than 500 million warships belonging to the Xuan Star Civilization. These giant ships, about ten kilometers long, were exactly the same as those in the territory of the Mu Star Civilization. In addition to these warships, Hu Yu also discovered a type of small warship, about 3 kilometers long, numbering approximately 2 billion. According to computer analysis, these warships were likely manufactured by the Xuan Star Civilization when it was Star System-Level Civilization. More than a thousand years ago, the Xuan Star Civilization broke through to Small Star Sector Civilization. These Star System Level warships were not destroyed but were preserved.
However, the manufacturing capabilities of the Xuan Star Civilization far surpassed those of the Mu Star Civilization, and were in no way inferior to those of humanity. The reason why humanity's construction speed is slow is because humanity has been wandering and its population growth has been very slow. To date, the number of humans in Hu Yu's fleet is only over 16 billion. Moreover, humanity's history is very short, unlike these civilizations which have undergone a long period of development. Regardless of whether their technology has progressed or not, at least their population has grown.
In the interstellar age, technology is one aspect, but population is also a very important one. With a larger population, there will naturally be more scientists, and more people make things easier. Warships, weapons, and the like can be mass-produced in a short period of time. Many civilizations, in order to develop, will have requirements on the number of their people to reproduce, and will try to reproduce as many people as possible.
Because once Stellar-Level Civilization, the survival of organisms, whether through food or other energy sources, is not a problem. The energy consumed by organisms accounts for only a tiny fraction of the civilization's total energy consumption, and there will absolutely be no situation where the civilization will starve due to the large number of species.
For civilizations at the Star-Level or above, the larger the population, the better, with no disadvantages whatsoever. As the Snow Tribe chief once said, at their peak, their population was so large that even they themselves could not count it. This shows just how enormous that number was. Conversely, without such a large population, even with the most advanced technology, it would be difficult to rule the entire Milky Way.
The fleet is not yet settled. After the population reached 10 billion, Hu Yu stopped rewarding births. Hu Yu was afraid of being attacked again by a fleet similar to the Fish Horse Star Fleet, which could result in the deaths and injuries of billions of people. After all, the larger the population, the more planets they occupy, and the greater the losses after being attacked.
The population of the Wind Star Civilization is over 300 billion, the population of the Mu Star Civilization is also over 300 billion, and the population of the Xuan Star Civilization, according to rough estimates, may have reached 500 billion.
The fleet of the Xuan Star Civilization, in particular, almost drove Hu Yu to despair. He had originally thought that the Xuan Star Civilization had only entered the Small Star Sector Civilization a thousand years ago, and that the number of warships should be around two to three hundred million. He never expected that the Xuan Star Civilization had a total of more than 700 million Small Star Region -level warships, and also preserved more than 2 billion warships from the Star System-Level Civilization stage.
These warships of all sizes were simply docked in space, and there were no space-based or land-based defense systems here. For Small Star Sector Civilization, these were all superfluous. Perhaps in a while, these Star System Level warships would be dismantled, but Hu Yu didn't want to wait until then.
The dismantling of the Star System Level warships means that the number of Small Star Region warships has reached their expected minimum scale. Now, the Xuan Star Civilization is definitely still continuously manufacturing more Small Star Sector Civilization- level warships. The longer it drags on, the greater the gap between the two sides will become. At that time, even if there are more energy orbs, it will be of no use.
Originally, it was thought that an attack could be launched in two thousand years at most, but now it seems that it won't be possible to do so even in twenty thousand years, let alone two thousand years. There is no need to worry about the Mu Star Civilization. This kind of civilization must be like the Wind Star Civilization, feeding the Insect Race in exchange for technology. They are unlikely to have reached the stage of Small Star Sector Civilization.
However, the Xuan Star Civilization is different. They have already entered the Small Star Sector Civilization, and it is unlikely that their technology was provided by the Fish Horse Star Civilization. Hu Yu knows that the Fish Horse Star Civilization would never give space technology to the civilizations that help them raise the Insect Race. Therefore, the Xuan Star Civilization must have reached the Small Star Sector Civilization through its own capabilities. Moreover, no captive planets have been found within their civilization's territory. Therefore, the relationship between the Xuan Star Civilization and the Fish Horse Star Civilization is most likely a cooperative relationship or a relationship of bribery.
Since the Xuan Star Civilization was able to break through to the Small Star Sector Civilization, it shows that their civilization has great potential. After all, there are only a little over a hundred Small Star Sector Civilization in the entire Milky Way. They are the best among all the civilizations in the galaxy. If this drags on for a long time, they will enter the Intermediate Stage of Small Star Sector. At that time, it will be even more difficult to devour them.
However, even now, Hu Yu has no way to defeat them. It's impossible to win by simply outnumbering their warships, and the Xuan Star Civilization must already know about the energy sphere. It's no longer possible to rely on their carelessness to achieve good results again.
Seeing this, Hu Yu could only manage a bitter smile. He had waited here for over 400 years, only to receive this result. He was truly heartbroken and helpless.
" Old Hu, what should we do?"
"I don't know either. I was too eager for quick success and underestimated the Xuan Star Civilization. After all, they are the most advanced civilization in the entire Milky Way. I actually had the audacity to think I could eat them. Sigh."
" The Destroyers was right. There is indeed a world of difference between Star System-Level Civilization and Small Star Sector Civilization. After all, we have only taken one foot into the Small Star Sector Civilization stage; we are not yet a true Small Star Sector Civilization."
"General, Academician Zeng has made a phone call requesting permission," Li Zhixiong called out from the side.
"Bring him in."
"General." Academician Zeng's holographic image traveled more than 30,000 light-years and was transmitted to Hu Yu's side.
" Academician Zeng, you saw it all, didn't you?"
"Yes, the power of the Xuan Star Civilization far exceeds our expectations. We have never come into contact with Small Star Sector Civilization before; everything about them is just our imagination. Unfortunately, our imagination is wrong, terribly wrong."
"Academician, how long until we achieve a breakthrough in space technology? If we can, perhaps there is still hope."
Academician Zeng lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then said, "It's hard to say. Perhaps in a year or two, or perhaps in a hundred or ten thousand years."
"A hundred years, ten thousand years?"
"It's not surprising. Almost every civilization in this Milky Way can develop from the Planet-Level to the Star System Level, but how many Star System-Level Civilization can develop into Small Star Sector Civilization? Countless civilizations are trapped at the Star System Level level for tens of thousands, or even millions of years. I'm exaggerating when I say tens of thousands of years. Space is too difficult to understand and manipulate."
"Academician, the more you say that, the more I want to devour this Xuan Star Civilization. Are we humans destined to be stuck at this stage for hundreds of thousands or millions of years? I can't wait, and we don't have time to wait. The Insect Race could break through our defenses at any time. Even if they don't, if the major Great Star Region Civilization abandons the Insect Race, our only fate will be extinction."