Rebirth of the Super Battleship

Thirteen minutes remained until the arrival of the Specter Race. During this time, Xiao Yu and the Luka fleet commander exchanged critical information and strategies for combating the Specter Race.

The consensus was simple: the only way to defeat the Specter Race was through continuous firepower, gradually wearing down their radiation intensity until they were destroyed. This method was universally effective, whether for a Level 2 civilization or a Level 6 civilization, though advanced civilizations could achieve the same result more quickly due to their superior firepower.

To ensure fairness, neither side assumed sole responsibility for offense or defense. Instead, they divided the battlefield evenly—each taking charge of their respective port or starboard side for attack and defense.

“Attention, distance now two light-minutes. Begin firing high-power laser cannons!” Xiao Yu received the Luka fleet commander’s signal.

“Roger that!” Xiao Yu responded, immediately activating the 200,000 laser cannons aboard his ships, directing a concentrated volley forward. At the same time, the Luka fleet unleashed 100,000 laser cannons.

Although the Luka fleet had fewer cannons, their average strength far exceeded Xiao Yu’s. Consequently, their total firepower significantly outmatched Xiao Yu’s despite their numerical disadvantage.

Xiao Yu discreetly recorded the parameters of the Luka fleet’s laser cannons, such as their power output and quantity. He knew the Luka fleet was likely doing the same with his ships, but he didn’t mind.

Due to the lack of pre-deployed superluminal communication satellites, information about the Specter Race’s position and distance had to be gleaned through the Specter Detector. Xiao Yu observed a slow decline in the Specter Race’s energy intensity on the detector.

The decline was agonizingly gradual. At the current firing rate, by the time the Specter Race closed in, their total energy intensity would have dropped by only about 3%.

“Understood! All ships, fire your energy cannons!” The Luka fleet commander quickly responded.

By now, the distance between the Specter Race and the fleet had shrunk to 30 light-seconds, roughly nine million kilometers.

The combined fleet of 180,000 ships unleashed an onslaught of energy projectiles. Bright bluish orbs streaked forward at sub-light speed, exploding violently in the void.

Xiao Yu detected another 5% decrease in the Specter Race’s energy intensity.

With only twenty seconds remaining until contact, Xiao Yu prepared for a second volley of energy projectiles. But at this critical moment, a strange sensation struck him again.

“Force Field Generators! Luka Civilization, what are you doing? Shut them down immediately!” Xiao Yu roared in fury.

He was right. The Luka fleet had reactivated their Force Field Generators, a weapon Xiao Yu despised.

Earlier, after agreeing to the alliance, the Luka fleet had deactivated their Force Field Generators to avoid impairing Xiao Yu’s combat effectiveness. But for reasons unknown, they had now reactivated them. Xiao Yu’s fleet’s mobility was severely hindered, and their combat efficiency plummeted.

“Hahaha! Damn mechanical civilization! You can play the decoy while I pull back!” The Luka fleet commander’s arrogant laughter echoed through the communication channel.

Xiao Yu immediately realized he had been tricked.

“Master, you’ve been deceived,” Luka Two murmured, having quietly regained consciousness at some point, fully aware of the unfolding betrayal.

“Damn it! I know I’ve been deceived!” Xiao Yu roared. “But why would they dare to do this? By crippling my combat strength, are they really confident they can defeat the Specter Race on their own?”

“No, it’s not that simple,” Luka Two said hurriedly. “Even the Specter Race operates on certain instincts. When faced with a distant target and a closer one, they will naturally prioritize the closer target. In this case, after the Luka fleet retreats, you will become the Specter Race’s primary target. Once attacked, you will retaliate, thereby engaging the Specter Race and delaying them long enough for the Luka fleet to mount an effective attack.”

“Damn it!” Xiao Yu cursed viciously. “If I’m going down, I won’t let you off so easily! Fire the energy cannons!”

Xiao Yu issued the command, but this time, the target was not the Specter Race—it was the retreating Luka fleet.

“It’s useless! Gravitational bombs, fire!” the Luka fleet commander shouted with wild abandon.

Gravitational bombs, creations of a Level 4 civilization, were weapons on par with Force Field Generators. Their power was nothing short of catastrophic.

At this moment, only five seconds remained until the Specter Race and Xiao Yu’s fleet intersected. The gravitational bomb would arrive just as the two forces converged, detonating to deal a devastating blow to both the Specter Race and Xiao Yu’s fleet.

“What a ruthless move! What terrifying decisiveness!” Xiao Yu muttered as he stared at the Luka fleet, his mind racing for a solution but finding none.

“Level 4 civilizations have mastered proton-neutron-level Matter Decay Technology and faster-than-light travel. More importantly, they’ve unified the four fundamental forces: strong force, weak force, electromagnetic force, and gravity. This unification allows for the creation of all manner of force field-based weapons! Gravitational bombs are one of these. Upon detonation, vast amounts of energy are converted into gravitational waves, annihilating everything within several hundred kilometers. It’s unstoppable! I have thousands of these bombs in my arsenal! Damn mechanical civilization, you have no chance! Both the Specter Race and you will die by my hand!” The Luka fleet commander’s maniacal laughter filled Xiao Yu’s communication channels.

“So, they’ve unified the four fundamental forces…” Xiao Yu froze for a moment.

Gravity, electromagnetism, strong nuclear force, and weak nuclear force—these are the four fundamental forces. In previous scientific research, humanity had unified electromagnetism, strong nuclear force, and weak nuclear force, confirming that they were different manifestations of the same fundamental interaction. However, gravity had always eluded unification.

Humanity had spent countless years researching this problem, with the theory of unifying all four forces being hailed as the Grand Unified Theory, a pinnacle of scientific achievement. Yet Xiao Yu had not made any progress on this front.

Now he understood—the Grand Unified Theory was a realm only accessible to Level 4 civilizations. The Force Field Generator and Gravitational Bomb were both products of this theoretical framework.

Mastering the Grand Unified Theory allowed energy to be converted seamlessly among the four forces. Where Xiao Yu could only create energy projectiles using fusion energy, a Level 4 civilization could transform the same energy into gravitational waves, crafting weapons like gravitational bombs.

This fundamental advancement in theoretical physics had brought about a leap in technology.

“Am I really going to be outwitted and die here today?” Xiao Yu thought, despair flashing through his mind.

As the gravitational bomb arrived, Xiao Yu’s energy cannon barrage reached the Luka fleet. However, launched in haste, the attack lacked power—destroying only a dozen Luka ships.

The gravitational bomb, meanwhile, entered Xiao Yu’s fleet at high speed and detonated instantly.

The moment it exploded, Xiao Yu detected an indescribable gravitational wave. At the center of the blast, it was as if a massive celestial body had materialized, exerting an acceleration of at least 1,000 meters per second squared on all matter within hundreds of kilometers. Ships succumbed to this enormous gravitational pull, spiraling toward the blast center.

Furthermore, the gravitational gradient between the near and far ends of each ship caused extreme tidal forces, stretching the ships until they tore apart. Xiao Yu saw a Village-Class ship elongated into a thin strip before being dragged into the epicenter.

Xiao Yu knew this destructive force was called tidal force. Ships caught within the Roche Limit of the explosion were torn apart by these tidal forces.

Energy shields were useless against gravity. Xiao Yu could only watch helplessly as over 10,000 of his ships were obliterated by a single gravitational bomb.

Under the influence of the Force Field Generator, his fleet’s mobility was drastically reduced, preventing them from dispersing. This inability to spread out maximized the bomb’s lethality.

At the moment of the explosion, Xiao Yu detected that the Specter Race had reached his fleet. The gravitational bomb reduced the Specter Race’s overall radiation intensity by 0.5%.

In comparison, the previous round of 180,000 energy projectiles had reduced their intensity by 5%.

The sheer power of the gravitational bomb left Xiao Yu deeply shaken.

“The Specter Race has arrived… They’re thousands, maybe tens of thousands of times stronger than the Phantom. I have no chance against them. Sigh…” Xiao Yu sighed, abandoning all thoughts of resistance.

But the next moment, something astonishing occurred.

The Specter Race, upon reaching Xiao Yu’s fleet, didn’t stop. Instead, they bypassed his fleet entirely and continued charging forward.

Ahead of them lay the Luka fleet!