Rebirth of the Super Battleship-Chapter 83: Forced Surrender
From the moment Xiao Yu directed Tianyuan A to collide with Tianyuan IV, destroying the Force Field Generator, the outcome of the battle was decided. Without their most powerful weapon, the Luka Civilization’s response unfolded exactly as Xiao Yu had predicted.
Victory was finally within Xiao Yu’s grasp, securing the slim 40% survival chance he had initially calculated.
Now, commanding nearly 40,000 ships, Xiao Yu launched a relentless pursuit of the remaining 3,000 Luka ships.
A space pursuit differed greatly from planetary warfare. It was destined to be protracted, as the vast expanse of the universe offered limitless terrain for escape.
After five days, both fleets passed beyond the orbit of Tianyuan C, the last major planet in the Tianyuan IV system. Beyond this point, there were no more resources until they reached the Oort Cloud. Yet, Xiao Yu was unfazed. His large fleet had enough ships to cannibalize for materials, ensuring that he could simply outlast the Luka fleet.
However, during the pursuit, something caught Xiao Yu’s attention.
“The Luka ships’ escape route seems familiar… Hmm? They’re retracing the path they took during their attack. This could mean something significant,” Xiao Yu thought.
The question of how the Luka fleet would return loomed large.
It was simple to deduce. The Luka Civilization’s one-time free FTL transmission opportunity wouldn’t be one-way—it had to include a return.
If the route was two-way, it likely relied on a temporary FTL pathway with an entry and exit point. To return, they would have to reenter at the same location they exited.
Xiao Yu formulated a hypothesis. “If they’re retracing their route, it’s highly probable their entry point is the same as their original exit. And that entry point is about 18 billion kilometers ahead of me.”
“Continuing the chase would be a waste of time, and there’s a chance they could escape. Instead, I’ll destroy the entry point. Temporary FTL routes are often fragile. With tens of thousands of nuclear bombs, I refuse to believe I can’t destroy it.”
Resolving to act, Xiao Yu dispatched 100 of his best Village-Class ships, filling their fuel tanks to capacity. He ordered them to accelerate at maximum thrust.
In space, where there’s no resistance, velocity can increase indefinitely as long as fuel lasts. Ordinarily, fuel constraints kept Xiao Yu’s ships below 2,000 kilometers per second. Now, without holding back, these ships could reach 8,000 kilometers per second within an hour, consuming all their fuel in the process. However, they wouldn’t be able to decelerate or return.
Sacrificing 100 Village-Class ships to destroy the FTL route was a trade Xiao Yu deemed worthwhile.
After calculating a precise trajectory, the 100 ships ignited their engines, bright blue flames propelling them in a wide arc to bypass the Luka fleet and avoid detection. These ships would reach their target in 20 days, whereas both main fleets would take over three months to arrive.
Time slipped by as the fleets continued their prolonged pursuit, occasionally clashing and incurring minor losses—ranging from dozens to hundreds of ships.
Finally, the long chase neared its climax. In just 30 minutes, Xiao Yu’s strike force would reach the target.
Monitoring the area with satellites deployed across a 200-billion-kilometer radius around Tianyuan IV, Xiao Yu observed the FTL route entry. The region exhibited spatial distortions, akin to those around a massive celestial body.
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Though Xiao Yu’s technology lacked a full understanding of spatial mechanics, he used gravitational lensing to observe the bending of starlight behind the distortion. The phenomenon indicated that something extraordinary was occurring in this region.
This zone hung silently in the void, and Xiao Yu’s 100 Village-Class ships were now just 30 seconds away.
Each ship carried 100 hydrogen bombs, each with a yield of 1 billion tons of TNT. Collectively, this amounted to an explosive yield capable of shattering the moon.
Unlike atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs had no theoretical limit to their power; as long as there were sufficient resources and advanced technology, their yield could be scaled infinitely.
Xiao Yu commanded 30 nearby satellites to maintain close surveillance.
With just 10 seconds remaining and 80,000 kilometers to go, Xiao Yu detected an unexpected development through his superluminal communication satellites. At the temporary FTL route’s entry point, 100 Luka ships suddenly materialized.
The Luka ships wasted no time targeting Xiao Yu’s strike force, seemingly preparing to attack.
“As expected, they left a defensive force here. And for them to detect my Village-Class ships at a range of 80,000 kilometers in the dark void of space… truly worthy of a Level 3 Civilization,” Xiao Yu thought to himself.
These ships had ceased acceleration days ago, drifting purely on inertia, with communications handled via superluminal communication, which couldn’t be intercepted. Coupled with their small size and the immense distance from Tianyuan IV, it should have been virtually impossible to detect them. Even Xiao Yu couldn’t have done it.
This further highlighted the Luka Civilization’s formidable capabilities. Yet, their strength no longer mattered. The Village-Class ships were now only 10 seconds from their target.
Given that the Luka ships were manned by biological operators, they required at least 8 seconds to react to this sudden development—enough time for Xiao Yu’s ships to close the gap to just 16,000 kilometers.
“Begin the detonations,” Xiao Yu ordered.
Instantly, 30 of the targeted ships exploded just moments before being hit, while the rest detonated in sequence en route to the distorted space. The closest detonation occurred within 500 kilometers of the warped zone.
In a span of two seconds, the equivalent of 1 trillion tons of TNT in hydrogen bomb explosions was unleashed. Under this massive explosion, the 100 Luka ships were utterly obliterated. Their Energy Shields collapsed instantly, and their ships were reduced to ash before they could retaliate.
At this moment, Xiao Yu’s main fleet was still 11 billion kilometers away from the site.
Ten hours later, aboard the Shanghai, Xiao Yu observed the explosion from afar.
It was as if a new star had been born. The blast’s brightness exceeded Tianyuan IV by 1.7 times, signifying an unimaginable release of energy. The magnitude left Xiao Yu in awe.
Using his superluminal communication satellites, Xiao Yu observed the aftermath once the residual light of the hydrogen bomb explosions dissipated. To his surprise, the distorted space hadn’t been destroyed. Instead, it had expanded, and the degree of star distortion behind it fluctuated violently. It seemed the warped space had entered an extremely unstable state.
Xiao Yu exhaled in relief.
“It doesn’t matter if the distorted space isn’t eliminated. As long as it’s unusable, that’s enough. From the looks of it, this temporary FTL route is 80% likely to be out of commission.”
“The Luka Civilization should already know their route’s entry point has been destroyed. Now, what will they do? Surrender? Or fight to the death?”
Xiao Yu noticed that the fleeing Luka fleet ahead had started to scatter into a disorganized formation.
“I can’t push them into a corner. If they decide to self-destruct or fight to the death, I’ll end up with nothing. I need to give them hope, enough to lure them into surrender. Once they surrender and I take over their ships, I’ll have full control. Whether I let them live or kill them later will be entirely up to me.”
With this strategy in mind, Xiao Yu broadcasted a message to the Luka fleet using traditional radio waves:
“Greetings, Luka Civilization. I regret to inform you that you have lost this war against me.
First, let me clarify who I am. I am a mechanical civilization that has evolved to possess independent intelligence and consciousness. I am not a cold, code-driven machine lifeform devoid of thought. So, you need not despair—I have no desire to kill you. I merely wish to acquire certain things from you, such as your technology and the intelligence you possess.
You may continue to live aboard my ships. The long journey ahead will be less lonely with your company, which seems like a fair trade. Of course, being confined may not be ideal, but compared to eternal death, this outcome doesn’t seem entirely unacceptable. The choice is yours.
You should realize by now that without logistical support, you cannot escape. You have two options: die in battle or surrender to me. If you surrender, I will ensure you have comfortable living conditions until your natural deaths.
Now, give me your answer. Oh, and you only have one hour to decide.”
Xiao Yu appended a basic dictionary to the broadcast, ensuring his message could be fully understood, and sent it out.
