"Academician, how could we possibly attract a swarm of insects?"
Do you remember what it was like when we encountered insects more than a thousand years ago?
"Nothing's wrong, everything's normal."
"No, our patrol fleet tested Virtual Matter on the outskirts of our territory and also detonated a star. This time, we also detonated a star. Is this just a coincidence?"
"Isn't this normal? This isn't the first time we've detonated a star. Why didn't we do this before?" Wen Zhonghua asked.
"No, this is precisely where things are abnormal. It indicates that the swarm has become unsettled; they are moving in the fourth dimension. There was a large spatial fluctuation in that area, and that's where they descended."
"That seems to make sense, but Academician, the location where we detonated the star this time is more than a thousand light-years away from the Xuan Star Civilization. The location where the swarm descended is too absurd. How did it land exactly in the territory of the Xuan Star Civilization?"
"I suspect it's because the swarm can't descend at any time. They need to move in the fourth dimension to reach the locations of fluctuations in three-dimensional space. That's why the swarm didn't descend at the coordinates of the stellar explosions either time. They probably descended by chasing fluctuations near the explosion point. Last time, after we detonated the star with Virtual Matter, the patrol fleet collected relevant information and left, and the swarm chased the patrol fleet. This time, they are tracking the Space Shockwave generated by the stellar explosion. You see, the Space Shockwave has just reached the interior of the Xuan Star Civilization's territory."
"Won't that mean our fleet's voyages will be dangerous from now on?"
"Not necessarily. Fleet navigation is like fish swimming in water, while a stellar explosion is like throwing a pebble into the water. Only the energy of a stellar explosion can disturb the fourth dimension. Although warp drive will also affect the fourth dimension, it is far less noticeable than a stellar explosion and should not attract the attention of the swarm. Moreover, I speculate that the greater the spatial fluctuations, the more swarms will descend."
"Academician, what is the insect's purpose?"
"I don't know. If I knew the Zerg's purpose, would I still be here? A bunch of Great Star Region Civilization have invited me for tea," Academician Zeng laughed.
"Anyway, there's nothing much going on now. The leader of the Xuan Star Civilization has already entered the warship, and all photons have been deflected. We can only drink tea and watch the show."
"No rush, it's good to watch the show," Academician Zeng said with a smile.
"Academician, I have a way to verify your conjecture," Wen Zhonghua suddenly said.
"Oh? Is that so?"
"When we go to war with the Mu Star Civilization, we'll send a few stars over there to detonate them first. Maybe then the Zerg swarm will wipe out the Mu Star Civilization for us without us even lifting a finger."
" Zhonghua? No, that won't work. There are trillions of humans trapped in captivity within the Mu Star Civilization. If the Zerg swarm descends, not a single one of them will survive."
"Right, I forgot about that. Old Hu, what are you planning to do about settling these humans?"
"We'll see when the time comes. We don't know yet what these humans have become."
At this moment, within the territory of the Xuan Star Civilization, warships and the insect swarm were locked in a fierce battle. The Xuan Star Civilization's warships displayed formidable combat power, activating Space Barrier to protect all the civilian fleets. Any insects attempting to penetrate the defensive perimeter, regardless of their level, were shredded into pieces by the spatial forces.
If it weren't the swarm surrounding the fleet, but the fleet surrounding the swarm, even 18 more units of swarms might not be able to break through the barrier's encirclement. The Space Barrier of the Xuan Star Civilization is more powerful than that of the human fleet. The only drawback is that the warships must form a certain formation. The human fleet's imitation of the Xuan Star Civilization's Space Barrier is more flexible in its use. There are few requirements for the warships' positions, as long as they are within a certain distance. However, the power is much less due to the lack of amplification.
More Xuan Star Civilization civilization warships maneuvered and fought on the outer perimeter of the Space Barrier, sweeping away wave after wave of attacking insect swarms, trying to open a passage for the people inside the barrier.
The Space Barrier is extremely energy-intensive. If a passage is not opened in time and the warships run out of energy, the swarm will immediately attack. In the ensuing one-on-one battle, although the individual combat power of the Xuan Star Civilization civilization's warships is absolutely superior, the sheer number of swarms will quickly overwhelm the warships' advantage.
The Xuan Star Civilization's warships were pinned to one position, unable to move. Although the Xuan Star Civilization had powerful attacks, its defenses were weak. The insects could often find gaps in the attacks to break through the defenses. As the battle dragged on, the insect corpses piled up in the air, further hindering the warships' space attacks.
In recent years, under the leadership of Xuan Star Civilization, scientists of the Feng Ye have developed a new single-target attack method that is no longer limited to the collective mode and uses energy more efficiently. It is very effective in combating swarms. However, the fleet is now surrounded by dense swarm corpses, and living swarms rush out from these corpses to attack, making it impossible for the Xuan Star Civilization's warships to defend against them. They can only launch indiscriminate attacks.
"How's the investigation going?"
"Chief, there are just too many bugs. We've lost over 6 billion warships in the last two months, but we've also killed at least 8 units of bugs."
"Okay, keep up the good work, I believe we'll be able to eliminate all the bugs soon."
"Sir, I will do my best."
Bi Cha didn't mention the fleet's energy problem. The Space Barrier was like a bottomless pit, constantly devouring large amounts of energy from the warships. Originally, the Space Barrier was only used for a few seconds during combat, and then moved to another location to continue using it to achieve the desired combat effect. Now, however, it was being used non-stop 24 hours a day. If it weren't for the thorough preparations made at the beginning, with all the warships fully loaded and refueled, they wouldn't have been able to hold out until now.
Bi Cha didn't mention that the fleet's combat effectiveness would decrease over time. Although the swarm's attacks were also affected by the debris of its own kind, the swarm had plenty of time. It could swarm in as soon as the fleet's energy was depleted.
The Xuan Star Civilization civilization's warships were not without energy resupply. Within the barrier, there were over 400 planets, a star, and an antimatter star, providing ample energy. All the celestial bodies and warships were crammed into a tiny space less than 0.2 astronomical units in diameter. However, resupplying the Xuan Star Civilization warships was extremely difficult. For every warship that withdrew from the Space Barrier, another had to immediately replace it. At the same time, several warships were reserved to prevent the Zerg swarm from breaching the defenses at this critical moment, because while there weren't large numbers of mobile warships in every direction, there were large numbers of Zerg swarms in every direction.
At this rate, the supply can only last for six months at most. By then, a large number of warships will run out of energy, and the defense line will inevitably fail. Resupplying the outer warships is much more convenient. As long as a large number of warships are on the defensive, and the Space Barrier leaves an opening, the fleet can enter for resupply.