In interstellar warfare, support and supply lines, primarily based on stargate transportation, are crucial. Imperial forces continuously plant stargates along their routes, creating rapid advance and retreat routes. To prevent enemy surprise attacks on these stargate stations, each legion deploys a portion of its forces to guard each extended stargate passage. Therefore, the deeper one ventures into the Light Dust Star Cluster, the smaller the force led by each Imperial officer gradually becomes.
As the aggressor, the empire was forced to prolong its battle lines, but this was precisely the advantage of its abundant military strength, which allowed it to expend resources lavishly.
As the size of the frontline troops gradually decreased, the intensity of the battles gradually increased. Of course, the commanders of each army were promising young officers drawn from all over the world by the Empire, who had rich experience in interstellar warfare.
Just how impressive was the lineup? In Han Xiao's memory, almost all of these transferred officers were future high-ranking military officials, and at least three of them held power no less than Tenny's, and would command other major legions of the empire.
Faced with such a group of renowned generals, the Kunde Race were at a complete disadvantage in large-scale interstellar warfare. Even with the reduction of Imperial forces, the Kunde Race continued to suffer repeated defeats.
After receiving Han Xiao's instructions, Tenny changed his previous approach and began to assign more war missions to the Black Star Army Legion, giving special consideration to Nero, whom Han Xiao had emphasized.
Basically, every battle would assign key combat missions to Nero's main brigade, which would then fall to the individual squads, making the battles extremely frequent.
Coincidentally, most of the graduates from the Super Academy belonged to different squads of this branch. The continuous high-intensity and high-risk battles had put a huge burden on these still inexperienced students. Even Nero was a little overwhelmed and felt strange, wondering where their branch had offended the commander.
Due to the continuous high-pressure battles, Nero's machinery suffered severe wear and tear, losing nearly half of its stockpile. Even when there was no battle, he couldn't rest and had to work tirelessly repairing the machinery, fearing that he wouldn't have any equipment to use in the next battle.
At this point, Nero was very grateful to Reynold.
--It's just not sleeping. I developed that ability long ago when I was forced to immerse myself in studying.
This isn't just a description; it's a true specialty on the attribute panel.
--[Advanced Fatigue Resistance], increases physical recovery efficiency by 500% during rest, reduces physical depletion rate by 60%, and lowers the severity of "mental fatigue" caused by lack of sleep and rest, accumulating to a maximum of "mild mental fatigue".
People with talent can develop a skill even without sleeping; Han Xiao didn't know who to complain to.
However, the other graduates lacked Nero's inspiring story and were exhausted. Even Mia didn't have time to chat with him on the phone or flirt with him anymore.
Unable to fathom the commander's thoughts, Nero could only grumble inwardly, unaware that he had already been carefully orchestrated by Tenny.
High-intensity combat leads to casualties, but that's how real combat training is; losses are unavoidable. Nero's squad is doing alright; although exhausted, no members have been killed yet. In the frequent battles, the bond between Nero and his squad members has become even stronger.
The Crimson Dynasty held an overwhelming advantage in this war. Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and the various imperial fleets steadily advanced, having already crossed multiple star systems, and were finally gradually approaching the borders of the Kunde Race territory.
With the army pressing in, scouts moved first. Legions from different directions approaching Kunde Race territory dispatched large numbers of scouts to infiltrate Kunde Race territory and gather intelligence. These scouts included both remotely controlled unmanned fleets and combat squads carrying ground landing troops.
As expected, Nero and his team were chosen as the scout unit to carry out a dangerous reconnaissance mission.
While the Imperial forces were exploring the borders of the Kunde Race, a secret mechanical force dispatched by Han Xiao had already arrived near the Kunde Race homeworld, following his guidance.
This is a black planet that looks like a barren planet. There are a large number of armed probe satellites floating in the outer space, as well as camouflage equipment used to cover the appearance of the planet's surface. Through the high-speed camouflage-breaking probes of the mech soldiers, the true appearance of the Kunde Race's home planet can be seen. In fact, it is a sapphire-like planet, with oceans covering most of the surface area and numerous sea cities and floating cities.
"So this is what this planet originally looked like."
The mechanical troops were stationed in outer space far from the planet, all camouflaged and concealed. Han Xiao's technology and Mechanical Force were enough to make it impossible for the Kunde Race's home planet to detect the existence of these mechanical soldiers.
One of the machines is Han Xiao's Dominion avatar, carrying his consciousness, and is carefully observing the planet.
In his previous life, after the Shattered World opened, Han Xiao came here to do a mission. At that time, the Kunde Race's homeworld had changed drastically and had been completely transformed by the Empire.
Because the Empire had launched a direct attack, the population of the homeworld had been largely evacuated. However, the Kunde Race had not destroyed the homeworld; many facilities remained, and a small fleet was stationed there temporarily to manage it. It is still one of the Kunde Race's core quantum network nodes.
"Get to work."
Han Xiao twisted his mechanical neck, and with a thought, he suddenly entered the Quantum Network Vision.
The field of vision turned completely black again, leaving only clusters of light representing the nodes of the quantum network. These clusters varied in brightness and were connected by thin rays of light representing the flow of information, forming the network structure.
Han Xiao directly locked onto the main quantum network node of the Kunde Race's home planet. His consciousness transformed into a stream of light and arrived suddenly. The node's firewall appeared before him, like layers of moving, dynamic data walls. In his eyes, it was full of loopholes and gaps.
He didn't want to alert the Kunde Race, so he opted for data deep diving instead of direct intrusion, skillfully bypassing vulnerabilities in data firewalls to open a backdoor.
The opponent's quantum network technology is rudimentary; all confidential permissions are practically useless. It's like entering a house where the owner isn't home, but having the tools to open any room and safe. Don't ask; the answer is: they can do whatever they want.
Soon, the Kunde Race's data repository shed all its defenses, revealing itself naked before Han Xiao, like a dessert waiting to be enjoyed.
"Phillip, copy their database."
Han Xiao greeted him.
His goal was merely the still imperfect 1.0 version of the Spacetime Shearing Technology, but since he was already here, he might as well pack up all the Kunde Race's data and take it with him.
Phillip started working diligently. Copying an entire star cluster of data would take some time, so Han Xiao took the opportunity to check all the objects connected to this node.
Locating the movements of all Kunde Race fleets through path tracking was a simple matter for him.
"Let me see where the Kunde Race's troops are..."
After importing the coordinate data into the star map, Han Xiao glanced at it and suddenly his eyes lit up as he discovered some interesting information.
The Kunde Race fleet was roughly divided into four groups. The core fleet, mainly composed of the command headquarters, was concealed and waiting within the territory. The second group was blocking the Empire's main combat forces at the front line, which was quite normal. The third group was a fleet carrying civilians to evacuate, which had already left Kunde Race territory.
What caught Han Xiao's attention was the fourth type: countless small teams split up and headed towards the borders of other territories, seemingly trying to form an encirclement. However, given the distance, it was clearly not an encirclement in the conventional sense; it appeared to be carrying out a special combat mission.
With Han Xiao's current knowledge, he was naturally not completely confused. He quickly made a guess, and a thought flashed through his mind:
"In this situation, there are only three possibilities... First, they're fleeing; second, they're covering the evacuation of civilians; third, they're setting a special trap. Fleeing can be ruled out, and the evacuating civilians are all going in the opposite direction, not with these fleets, so that can also be ruled out. Therefore, the most likely possibility is that they're setting a trap. As for what kind of trap..."
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and analyzed the available means and specific circumstances of the Kunde Race. The most likely plan of the enemy was to bury a large amount of Primal Psionic Energy on the edge of the territory, catalyze its expansion, and let it devour all celestial bodies within the territory, leaving not a single hair for the Empire.
This wasn't just a random guess; there were too many examples of this in the Exploration Era War. All those man-made Desolate Universe Belt were caused by the overabundance of Primal Psionic Energy.
"So, the Kunde Race wants to turn their homeland into a killing trap, lure the Imperial fleet in and wipe it out. Wow, that's ruthless. They even want to take a bite out of the Empire before they run away." Han Xiao clicked his tongue and shook his head.
Only civilizations that fail to recognize the dangers of Primal Psionic Energy would misuse it. The formation of a natural celestial body takes billions of years and is based on random probability. Wherever Primal Psionic Energy passes, it devours all celestial bodies, turning the universe into a vacuum, a barren wasteland where no material resources can be found—truly a place where nothing grows.
Moreover, as long as pollution is not addressed, Primal Psionic Energy will continue to expand indefinitely. As its volume increases, the contact area with external matter or energy also increases, and the expansion efficiency will actually increase. If it grows to a terrifying extent, it may become impossible to control. At that time, all living beings will only be able to race against the apocalypse.
One important reason why the Three Universal Civilizations are keen to explore unknown territories is that they fear that in places unknown to them, there might be unfamiliar, advanced civilizations that have abandoned Primal Psionic Energy and left it unchecked, allowing it to expand endlessly. Sooner or later, all life in the universe would suffer as a result.
In the historical background of his previous life, there were no detailed records of the Empire's dealings with the Kunde Race. Han Xiao did not know whether the Kunde Race had adopted the Scorched Earth Plan last time. However, the celestial bodies of the Light Dust Star Cluster in his previous life were well preserved, proving that even if the Kunde Race had implemented the Scorched Earth Plan, it was stopped by the Empire in time.
After thinking it over, Han Xiao decided to hand over this intelligence to the Empire later, which would definitely greatly improve the mission evaluation.
"While Primal Psionic Energy is terrifying, it takes time for it to expand to a certain scale, and the Empire has ample time to resolve the issue."
Han Xiao nodded secretly, feeling relieved.
I originally came here just to replicate the Spacetime Shearing Technology, but I didn't expect to have such an unexpected gain.
After a while, Phillip finished copying the data, Han Xiao left a backdoor program, then cleared the traces of the visit, and after completing the cleanup, he immediately deactivated the Quantum Network Vision and ordered the mechanical force to return.
The Kunde Race homeworld quickly disappeared from the Dominion's avatar's sight. From beginning to end, his visit did not alert anyone; he was a complete thief.
The Peak Beyond Grade A virtual mechanics are unparalleled in their intelligence-stealing abilities, making them a force to be reckoned with by Three Universal Civilizations.
Meanwhile, at this very moment, the Kunde Race's high-ranking members, who were completely unaware that their homes had been ransacked, were holding a new meeting.
The meeting's theme was related to superhumans.
Inside the room, the Kunde Race leader surveyed the crowd and said in a deep voice, "The enemy's superhuman technology has endowed their warriors with formidable individual combat power. According to data from the crashed spaceship, this superhuman technology is a method for individual life forms to train themselves. An individual can even possess the power to destroy a planet. Our proud warriors are utterly vulnerable in the face of superhumans."
Everyone felt heavy-hearted. The Super System was a technology that required luck to discover, and the Kunde Race, like Han Xiao, was clearly on Lady Luck's blacklist.
The supercluster-level civilization that was behind the scenes mentioned the existence of superhumans, but did not also include the training methods for superhumans in the package for the Kunde Race, which is why the Kunde Race still does not have Super System.
The Kunde Race leader said slowly, "Superhumans, this is exactly what we lack. Everyone, we have decided to leave our homeland. If we can obtain this technology from our enemies, it will help us establish ourselves in our new home."
"You mean..."
"I want the frontline troops to find a way to capture some enemy superhumans and bring them back as experimental subjects. Once we have their bodies, we can study the principles and mysteries of the Super System."
"In that case, the operational strategy of the frontline troops will need to be changed."
Everyone perked up and began to discuss.
Most people desire immense personal power and a long lifespan, especially those in positions of power. Power has always been linked to authority; if there were power beyond the ordinary, then fist strength would be power.
They covet the existence of superhumans and now not only want to use the Scorched Earth Plan to sabotage the Empire's plans, but also want to seize new technologies from the Empire that they do not possess.
A few days later, at the border of the Kunde Race territory.
An imperial scout force is making its way stealthily.
This scout force consisted of over twenty warships, mostly Black Star Army ships, carrying combat squads. Not only Nero, but also Mia and a large group of academy graduates were among them.
They had been in Kunde Race territory for several days, remaining vigilant and prepared for any potential encounters, but had not yet run into the enemy.
Inside the cabin of one of the warships, a large group of legion warriors were gathered around a star map, discussing the current situation. Nero, stroking his chin and gazing at the star map, couldn't help but ask a question:
"It's strange. Before we even reached Kunde Race territory, we were constantly being ambushed by enemies. Now that we've entered their land, nobody seems to care about us anymore?"
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at him but remained silent.
Mia, standing not far away with her arms crossed, raised her eyebrows and started a conversation, her tone confident:
"Perhaps the enemy realized they couldn't stop the empire and have already fled."
"I don't think it's that simple." Nero shook his head.
This time, Nero's squad and Mia's squad were on the same ship, along with several other combat squads.
Having experienced the baptism of war, Nero's combat skills have improved considerably, but his personal demeanor has remained largely unchanged. After all, he has a baby face and can't look fierce; he's rather comical no matter how you look at him.
Mia, on the other hand, proved her combat prowess in actual battle, and her demeanor became increasingly confident.
Long--
Just then, the fleet reached the pre-set target location and abruptly exited the warp state.
Outside the window was a planet, which was also the current target of their scout team's exploration: to find a planet suspected to be Kunde Race colony and to attempt a ground landing.
The surface of this planet clearly shows traces of cities.
Upon seeing this, everyone's expression tightened.
"Looks like we've found the place. Everyone, be careful."