The Sand Python fleet's speed advantage was obvious in battle. Hunter-Killers were destroyed one after another. Despite all the thorough assessments made before the war, humanity still knew far too little about the other civilization. In Aguduo's eyes, he too had underestimated the strength of human civilization.
"Activate the laser matrix," Aguduo ordered angrily.
At Aguduo's command, the Sand Python fleet began pairing off, with adjacent ships about ten thousand kilometers apart. Two laser beams then shot from one warship to the other, linking the two vessels together.
The two warships linked by the beams advanced in coordination. The beams swept across a Hunter-Killer, instantly slicing it in half. The Sand Python fleet still had more than 900,000 warships, which stretched out nearly two million laser lines, forming an interwoven net of death in space. Using their speed advantage, the Sand Python warships used it to catch Hunter-Killers. More and more Hunter-Killers became trapped, flying into the laser lines and being sliced apart.
The Hunter-Killers were like insects caught in a spiderweb, constantly at risk of being devoured by predators. The Sand Python fleet was also subtly expanding the net, hoping to catch every Hunter-Killer in one sweep.
The ultra-high-energy laser cannons used by warships needed time to charge. Their energy levels were extremely high, and without charging, the low-energy lasers they fired had little offensive power. Keeping a laser cannon firing continuously, like a switched-on flashlight, consumed an enormous amount of energy, more than a single warship could possibly sustain. So laser cannons charged, aimed and fired once, then charged again and waited for the next attack.
Lasers also lost energy in space. The laser cannons humanity possessed had an attack range of about one light-second. Beyond that distance, the lasers lost energy and their energy levels fell too low to be effective. The Sand Python fleet's laser cannons had a somewhat greater range, which meant they consumed somewhat more energy. Even the Sand Python fleet could not sustain such enormous consumption.
"Old Hu, it looks to me like they're recycling the energy. They recover the lasers before their energy runs out, add a little more energy, then fire them again. That keeps the energy loss to a minimum. As long as two or more ships work together, they can form a huge laser net. The Sand Python fleet outnumbers us, and now they're recycling energy like this too. It puts us at a serious disadvantage."
"Order the fleet to scatter, circle around to the outside of the Sand Python fleet, get out of their great laser net and attack from outside," Hu Yu ordered.
"Old Hu, if the fleet spreads out too much, it won't be able to form an effective net of fire. We'll soon be split up and wiped out," Wen Zhonghua warned.
"I know, but if we don't get out of the Sand Python fleet's laser net, we'll be like fish in a net, waiting to be caught. If we get out, at least we can hold on a little longer. Our main role isn't to defeat the Sand Python fleet, but to buy time for the surprise-attack fleet. It'll be here very soon. Tell the soldiers to preserve themselves as best they can, carry out harassing attacks and hold on for another two days."
"If we'd known the Sand Python residential ships were parked so close by, we wouldn't have had to take such a long detour."
"Zhonghua, order all the hidden Hunter-Killers forward to hold up the Sand Python fleet. As soon as the attackers arrive, immediately carry out the backup Plan Zero. Who knows whether the Sand Python fleet has any other weapons or methods of attack that we can't counter? We can't take that risk," Hu Yu ordered.
In the void, 40,000 Hunter-Killers coasted silently on inertia at 0.3 times the speed of light. In this state, they could effectively evade Sand Python detection and achieve a surprise attack. They were already close to the Sand Python Civilization's residential fleet and would be able to attack in another ten hours. Meanwhile, fewer than 150,000 of the 400,000 Hunter-Killers fighting at Tau Ceti remained. Every second, another Hunter-Killer was blown apart along with its five crew members. Only a few crew members managed to reach escape pods, and even those who did had no chance of rescue. The war had reached a fever pitch.
The Sand Python fleet unleashed another burst of power. Having lost more than 150,000 ships under the Hunter-Killers' heavy assault, the Sand Python warships finally stopped holding back. They withdrew their laser net and joined together in units of one hundred warships, connecting to one another with several enormous steel columns. The strange combined warships fired a gigantic laser column fifty meters in diameter. It fired without interruption and had an effective attack range of more than five light-seconds. The column swept across space in a scan of death, destroying ships and killing everyone aboard wherever it passed.
"All Hunter-Killers, retreat, retreat! Take cover behind the planets!" Hu Yu shouted. In just a few minutes, more than ten thousand Hunter-Killers had been destroyed by the beam. At this rate, the hundred-odd thousand remaining Hunter-Killers would all be wiped out before the attacking Hunter-Killers got into position. Once the battle here ended, the Sand Python fleet would immediately pursue the Deep Blue residential ships.
"Haha, in the face of absolute strength, all resistance is futile. What a pity, though. So much food wasted. But since you've cost me so much energy, once I catch you, I'll make sure you get a proper taste of the Sand Python Civilization's food culture," Aguduo said with a sinister laugh.
The 130,000 surviving Hunter-Killers either fled far away, out of the laser column's range, or hid behind several planets to escape its deadly sweep. By now, the Hunter-Killers had exhausted their gravity bombs and conventional missiles, leaving only their laser cannons and high-energy particle cannons, which were all means of defense against attacks. Facing a Sand Python fleet that still had more than 850,000 ships, they were almost powerless to strike back.
Some of the Sand Python fleet's warships began separating into individual vessels. Apparently, even they found the energy consumption of the enormous laser column hard to sustain, and their maneuverability had also suffered badly while combined. The separated Sand Python ships began gathering in the distance.
"This is bad. They're going to pursue our Deep Blue residential fleet. Orders: the Hunter-Killers assigned to the surprise attack are to enter warp immediately, reach the Sand Python Civilization's residential fleet ahead of schedule and attack. The Hunter-Killers at Tau Ceti are to prepare themselves. Plan Zero will be executed in one hour," Hu Yu shouted.
"Old Hu, we still have a lot of crew members in escape pods. If we launch Plan Zero now, what will happen to them?" Wen Zhonghua reminded him.
"There's no time, no time." Hu Yu gently closed his eyes and shook his head. "If we wait until we've rescued the crew members in the escape pods before carrying out Plan Zero, the Sand Python fleet will have long since left the attack area. That would mean disaster for the Deep Blue fleet. For the Deep Blue's sake, I have no choice but to sacrifice these soldiers. As the fleet's leader, I will conduct a self-criticism after this battle and take full responsibility for this incident."
"Old Hu, I know your decision is right, but..."
"All right, say no more. From the moment the leader entrusted the fleet to me, I foresaw a situation like this. Sacrifice is inevitable. We can only try to reduce it as much as possible, but we can't avoid it. Perhaps this is simply the norm in the space age. I'll send a message to the surviving crew members in the escape pods and give them an explanation."
"Comrades, this is Hu Yu. I'm very sorry I couldn't lead you to victory over the Sand Python fleet. I must inform you of the situation: the Sand Python fleet is preparing to pursue the Deep Blue, and our fleet has suffered such heavy losses that it can no longer intercept them. The Deep Blue is in imminent danger. To ensure its safety and the survival of our Chinese Nation, I will launch Plan Zero in one hour. Launching Plan Zero means you will also lose your chance of rescue. Searching my conscience, I truly cannot bring myself to give this order. I'm sorry. I hope you can understand."
"General, don't worry about us. As long as our people's safety can be guaranteed, I'm willing to give up my life."
"General, just give the order. I haven't been afraid of sacrifice since the day I joined the military."
"Please tell my parents I can no longer care for them in their old age. I haven't brought them shame."
"Tell my child his father wasn't a coward."
Message after message appeared before Hu Yu's eyes, and the battle-hardened veteran's eyes grew moist.
The 40,000 Hunter-Killers assigned to the surprise attack were less than 0.1 light-day from the Sand Python fleet's residential ships. If they entered warp, they could attack in two hours. But once they entered warp, the Sand Pythons would easily detect them. The Sand Python Civilization's mothership was still guarded by 200,000 warships. If they discovered the attackers too early, the surprise attack would be unlikely to have its intended effect. But there was no time to worry about that now. The Deep Blue fleet mattered more than anything.
As Hu Yu gave the order, a special spacecraft hidden in the light of Tau Ceti suddenly accelerated straight toward the star. Tau Ceti's heat baked the craft, turning its exterior red-hot. Gradually, it began to turn yellow, then white, until it started to vaporize and break apart. Yet its speed did not decrease in the slightest. In a few minutes, it plunged 5,000 kilometers into Tau Ceti and completely disintegrated.
It was a heat-resistant spacecraft made using many different elements, with thirty kilograms of antimatter inside. During the fleet's years at Tau Ceti, it had manufactured more than fifty kilograms of antimatter, and this was a large part of it. Directional magnetic field line control technology kept the antimatter aboard the spacecraft from coming into contact with ordinary matter. The technology was now fairly mature, and all warp engines used it.
The spacecraft disintegrated in Tau Ceti's heat, and the magnetic field lines vanished with it. The thirty kilograms of antimatter immediately reacted with the ordinary matter in Tau Ceti. An earth-shaking explosion erupted on the star, and an enormous bright spot more than a hundred thousand kilometers across appeared on one side of it. A mushroom of flame grew out of Tau Ceti immediately afterward, reaching a height of 500,000 kilometers.
A violent stream of particles and various kinds of high-energy radiation burst forth like floodwaters through a breached dam, surging toward the battlefield between humanity and the Sand Python Civilization. The moment the antimatter reached Tau Ceti, Hu Yu ordered the fleet to activate its warp engines in the relatively calm space on the outer edge and maneuver to the vicinity of Planet Five. The Sand Python fleet continued pursuing the human fleet from a position between Tau Ceti and Planet Five. The ultra-powerful particle stream and high-energy radiation erupting from Tau Ceti would hit the Sand Python Civilization's fleet first. When that happened, the human fleet would perform a warp maneuver to escape Tau Ceti's fury. Planet Five was seven astronomical units from Tau Ceti. In one hour, Tau Ceti's fury would scour the area, and that would also be when the Hunter-Killers' surprise attack began.
The Sand Python fleet had gathered more than 200,000 warships, and a steady stream of others was still breaking away from the battle to assemble on one side of the battlefield. Only 100,000 Hunter-Killers remained. Their main task now was to hold up the Sand Python fleet, attacking only when an opportunity arose, and their rate of loss had finally slowed.
The Sand Python fleet was still in the dark. They did not know that humanity had already enraged Tau Ceti. No civilization could withstand its fury head-on.
Ten seconds.
Nine seconds.
Eight seconds.
One second.
"All Hunter-Killers, enter warp immediately and leave the battlefield at maximum speed," Hu Yu ordered.
Three seconds later, before the Sand Python fleet understood what was happening, a shock wave of violent particle streams and high-energy radiation reached the battlefield. Before the shock wave, the Sand Python fleet was like a tiny boat on the open sea, reduced to its most basic particle state in the blink of an eye.
The Hunter-Killers had left the battlefield a few seconds earlier and were speeding toward either side of Tau Ceti at six times the speed of light. Tau Ceti's eruption formed a gigantic cone, like the spread of light from a flashlight. They would be safe as long as they got out of the area it covered. A few minutes later, the Hunter-Killers stopped and looked back at the battlefield.
The region of tens of billions of cubic kilometers, once filled with wreckage and fleets, had returned to its original state. Every fragment and warship, including the tens of thousands of human crew members still in escape pods, had vanished. No force could stop the violent shock wave of a stellar eruption. Such was the cruelty of war.
Only a little over 90,000 Hunter-Killers remained in the entire star field. Two minutes later, the shock wave passed and Tau Ceti returned to calm. The Hunter-Killers accelerated once more, heading for the Sand Python Civilization's residential fleet, where the battle had already begun.
After the 40,000 attacking Hunter-Killers were discovered by the Sand Python fleet, the surprise attack lost its purpose. They scattered and charged the Sand Python residential ships without regard for anything else. Every crew member knew that this was the core of the Sand Python Civilization. Only by crippling it could they strike at the civilization's foundations and buy more time and a chance of survival for the Deep Blue fleet. To achieve that goal, they were willing to give up their lives. This was the Chinese soldier's spirit of sacrifice and national refinement, passed down since ancient times.
The 200,000 Sand Python warships guarding the Sand Python mothership did not advance to meet the enemy. Instead, they gathered even more tightly, surrounding the leader's flagship so completely that nothing could get through, ensuring the mothership's absolute safety. As for the residential ships, the leader could not have cared less about them. His own safety mattered most.
"That bastard Aguduo! A million warships, and every last one of them wiped out! Ah~~" The leader of the Sand Python Civilization vented his fury as he gnawed on a fat Star Herder.