"Satan's Hand" was not a conventional method of energy projection.
Although over eighty percent of the Federation's super-long-range weaponry relied on laser-based energy attacks, this did not imply the Federation's focus was limited solely to producing such rudimentary arms.
As time advanced, more technologically sophisticated super-range weapons would inevitably surface.
The current slow progression was necessitated by the Federation diverting critical resources toward dimensional research.
If countless energy sources were dedicated to dimensional studies, the budgets allocated to other fields of scholarship would naturally face cuts. Consequently, in other areas, the Federation would enter an inevitable period of stagnation.
This was an unavoidable reality.
Unless, of course, dimensional exploration began to generate substantial returns.
Ayla's intense drive to rapidly enter and conquer four dimensions stemmed precisely from this imperative.
Dimensional exploration absolutely had to produce a positive yield, or at least incur minimal losses; Ayla could, perhaps, concede the latter.
"Satan's Hand" required an energy recharge period of eleven days.
This duration was considered relatively brief when compared to numerous other super-range weapons.
Many such weapons demanded months, even years, to fully replenish their charge. This was due to the sheer magnitude of energy they were required to deploy, which, at times, exceeded the capacity of even their launching mechanisms to withstand such high-intensity power transmission.
Objectively speaking, eleven days was merely a blink of an eye.
After eleven days, Sucan commanded the fleet to halt its forward momentum.
Simultaneously, the other four fleets took up their designated positions on the periphery of the star system.
This entire maneuver was executed according to the master plan.
Almost the exact moment all fleets ceased movement, "Satan's Hand" completed its energy replenishment cycle, the electromagnetic field heating process concluded, and the crucial energy accumulation conduit, channeled by the magnetic field, was successfully established.
Accompanied by a terrifying, palpable suction, everyone watched as severe light-scattering anomalies began to manifest within the star system, as if a massive blurring effect had been activated.
In truth, it wasn't merely light being affected; other elements were involved too.
"Satan's Hand" was not fundamentally an offensive super-range weapon, but rather a disruptive one.
It possessed two distinct operational modes.
One mode involved launching a vast quantity of particles into a designated star system, aimed at disrupting all internal quantum systems throughout the entire area, leading to a complete collapse of that system's quantum structure.
And now, it was displaying its second mode.
At close range, it absorbed the star system's inherent quantum particles, achieving the same ultimate goal—the collapse of the system's internal quantum order—but via a different method.
A quantum system is distinct from an atomic system.
The so-called quantum particles are elementary particles.
From a distance, "Satan's Hand" could subtly alter the electrical charge of these elementary particles, inducing chaos when they interacted with other particles.
At close range, it directly attracted the free-floating quantum particles within the star system, thereby dismantling the pre-existing quantum framework.
This close-range offensive maneuver was also known as quantum predation.
The targets of this quantum predation included photons.
Of course, in four dimensions, these particles were not strictly termed photons. The velocity of these "photons" was actually significantly faster than that of photons in a three-dimensional reality.
However, this distinction proved irrelevant.
The four fundamental forces still applied universally, even in four dimensions.
The electromagnetic force, the strong force, and the weak force, although undergoing subtle microscopic shifts at the fundamental level, their essential nature, when subjected to scientific explanation, showed no significant divergence.
For advanced civilizations, converting three-dimensional fundamental forces into their four-dimensional equivalents for practical application was not a complex feat.
The time required for adaptation was minimal.
Upon activation of "Satan's Hand," all quantum particles, including the light-carrying ones, were drawn toward and absorbed by the weapon, causing the entire star system's internal illumination to deviate drastically.
Light sources emitted by stars and signal sources broadcast by devices all streamed toward the location of "Satan's Hand."
This phenomenon resembled a massive reservoir whose floodgates had suddenly been flung wide open. The rushing water represented the absorbed quantum particles, while immovable objects—like stone pillars submerged in the torrent—were the star itself, the planets, and the structures built by the civilization.
In reality, "Satan's Hand" itself wasn't performing the massive suction; it was merely operating a master pump positioned externally.
The true floodgate mechanism was the targeted star system's own defense network.
This explained Sucan's earlier insistence on destroying that defense network.
Once all free quantum particles had streamed toward "Satan's Hand," the interior of the star system would permanently cease receiving any information originating from the direction of the weapon. Concurrently, when the beings of that civilization looked toward "Satan's Hand," they would see only absolute, impenetrable darkness. Only by turning away and looking in other directions would they perceive light.
This experience was analogous to standing at the edge of an immense abyss, gazing directly down into its crushing depth.
"Satan's Hand" was named precisely for this terrifying visual effect.
"The effect of 'Satan's Hand' can be overcome within a reasonable timeframe."
"Now, all internal devices in the star system receive no informational input when directed toward our position. Therefore, this represents the optimal moment for us to infiltrate the star system."
"Activate!"
Sucan issued the order for all fleets to advance.
He didn't need to transmit specific instructions to the other fleets; the personnel aboard the other vessels had already initiated their entry into the star system upon witnessing the activation of "Satan's Hand."
This also explained why Sucan hadn't divided his forces into five fleets to secure the rear routes of the star system.
Because from the rear, any fleet movement would inevitably lead them closer to "Satan's Hand." At that point, their own tactical advantage would become the enemy's tactical advantage; they wouldn't see the enemy, but the enemy would see them clearly.
"Commence 'Destroyer' fighter operations."
Sucan continued issuing commands, his face utterly devoid of emotion.
From within the warships, a large contingent of fighters launched.
These fighters bore an almost identical appearance to those from millennia, or even hundreds of millennia, ago, with only incremental improvements in propulsion technology.
Fighters were inherently designed as disposable assets; their role on the battlefield was purely for harassment, neither for defense nor decisive offense.
"Destroyer" class fighters were specifically designed as suicidal harassment units.
They possessed the capability to simulate energy signatures and intensity, misleading the enemy during long-range scans into believing these units were actual warships. This would consequently provoke the enemy into expending their more powerful weaponry, thus draining the enemy's energy reserves.
Currently, their objective was systematic clearance.
To sweep away the surrounding defensive grid.
These defensive emplacements were merely suppressed or blinded, not entirely eradicated. Once the main warships breached the star system's interior, they would still face residual threats from these networks, so maximum clearing was necessary.
Five fleets deployed millions of fighters, initiating a carpet-bombing sweep.
The main warships, meanwhile, charged directly toward the core.
In reality, Sucan's true challenge was only just beginning.
Their goal was occupation and subjugation, not annihilation.
Theoretically, even at this juncture, they could not genuinely deploy their most destructive weaponry against the enemy civilization's structures.
That approach would result in staggering collateral damage.
Furthermore, it would only intensify the enemy civilization's rage and animosity toward the invaders.
If the enemy possessed negligible strength, the Federation could, naturally, proceed with outright military conquest.
But this was not the case here.
The opposing civilization demonstrated a notable level of inherent strength.
Violent subjugation would only catalyze a resurgence of racial consciousness, far more fervent than many of the infamous ethnic conflicts during Earth's history.
"To fundamentally shatter the enemy's conviction is the only guaranteed path to conquest."
"This isn't a civilian zone; it's a military installation, which significantly complicates matters."
"I wonder how protracted this limited-scale conflict will ultimately become!"
...
"What in the void!"
"Can someone explain precisely what is transpiring?"
"Light, and its absolute antithesis, darkness—the demarcation line has never been so starkly defined."
Inside the central war fortress.
An officer stared fixedly in one direction, where a blinding light, tens of thousands of feet high, gave the sensation of impending visual failure.
Of course, it lacked traditional human eyes, but it possessed advanced light-sensing organs, and looking at that radiance felt like those organs might instantly cease functioning.
Then, it shifted its focus to the opposite direction.
An expanse of utter darkness.
Not a single photon of light was perceivable.
It felt as if it were standing at the boundary of a black hole's event horizon.
All light seemed to be funneling in one direction; those photons couldn't even reflect backward.
What kind of technology manifested this effect?
It lacked the comprehension.
It hurried toward the war council chamber.
The room already housed thousands of officers and several key scholars.
At that moment, the scholars were lecturing with their backs to the overwhelming light, while all the officers were fixed facing it, unable to divert their attention.
Logically, the room's internal stability should have been maintained.
But it was not.
Even within the chamber, light appeared to be flowing toward that single point.
They experienced a sensation akin to being transported to an entirely different plane of existence.
"Quantum particles. Those aggressors are actively manipulating the quantum particles within our space."
"All quantum particles are being inexorably drawn toward that vector."
"That is not a straightforward energy projection; it is a genuine spatial alteration. We must be absolutely clear on that point."
"Space is conceptually flat. All particles traverse a two-dimensional surface. But what if we force space to become vertically oriented?"
"In reality, it's not about making it upright. It's about applying force to render space, from the perspective of quantum particles, into an upright state. At that juncture, any particle moving forward becomes immensely difficult, while downward movement becomes effortless."
"This alone isn't enough to generate such a profound effect. They possess supplementary technologies, but under these current conditions, immediate analysis is impossible, at least not within a short timeframe."
"If we were to attempt their maneuver now, it would only result in warping our own localized space, achieving no actual defensive change."
"The only viable recourse is to sever space itself, inducing spatial fractures. For instance, by generating a nearby micro-black hole, that singularity would act like a colossal retaining wall against a hurricane, helping us prevent the quantum particles from drifting away."
The military scholars' capacity for such rapid assessment was truly commendable.
All the officers who received this intelligence instantly understood their mandated course of action.
A black hole was fundamentally an immense gravitational nexus.
They did not intend to generate such a nexus inside the war fortress, but rather to establish one strategically in the spatial gap between the enemy's weapon effect and their own fortress.
"All capital ships execute launch procedures; converge to establish a gravitational barrier to impede this quantum influx."
The efficiency of an advanced civilization was immediately evident.
Within mere days, they were actively executing the plan.
Countless capital ships poured out of the fortress bay.
All capital ships converged to generate a new, localized gravitational field. This time, they were not employing gravity as an offensive tool, but rather confining and stretching it to form a stable wall.
This controlled gravitational field could not entirely negate the influence emanating from Satan's Hand, but it could significantly mitigate the effect.
This measure was, in essence, merely a temporary fix, treating the symptoms rather than the underlying cause.
Sucan's fleet quickly registered the opponent's maneuver.
"They are attempting to isolate Satan's Hand?"
"A charming, if futile, endeavor."
"Main server, initiate analysis of the quantity of capital ships the opponent is deploying."
[Analysis complete. Enemy thousand-meter class capital ship count has reached 4.82 million, with an acceptable error margin of 70,000.]
[Estimated time until the capital ships engage this fleet: 31 days.]
The main server delivered the assessment instantaneously, primarily because it operated on continuous external data collection rather than commencing analysis only upon Sucan's query.
All warship main servers were active, intelligent processing units.
"Nearly 5 million. Even if these are solely capital ships, that count remains quite staggering."
"This civilization still harbors considerable hidden reserves."
"However, thus far, they have not revealed a single ten-thousand-meter class warship…"
If concealment wasn't the factor, then the logical deduction was that the opponent simply did not possess any.
Their civilization likely relied on a swarm doctrine, meaning quantitative superiority leading to qualitative change.
Precisely what they were attempting in the current deployment.
Utilizing a massive number of capital ships to induce powerful clustered attacks—this strategy bore a certain similarity to the Filament Civilization's approach.
The Filament Civilization's method of ship interconnection was, in fact, highly sophisticated.
However, with the demise of the Filament Civilization, the Federation did not fully inherit their technology, only managing to analyze certain residual traces from their ruins.
This had always been a significant regret for Luna.
"A swarm will severely test the collective's defensive capabilities."
"If the cluster cannot withstand even a single sustained assault, then the concept of dispersion becomes merely a hollow jest."
If a capital ship lacked sufficient size, its internal electronic systems would inevitably be compromised.
If the electronic integrity of every single capital ship were affected, it would surely lead to a complete systemic collapse.
Sucan felt this was a risk worth taking.
"Deploy the electronic jamming devices."
From several physical gun barrels, hundreds of miniature missiles were launched. These missiles had somewhat weak boosters, barely achieving speeds of 4,000 kilometers per second, but that was deemed sufficient for the task.
The missiles themselves were slender, measuring only about 2 meters in width and length, with a proportion resembling chopsticks.
These projectiles were not easily detectable.
Especially within the unique environment generated by Satan's Hand.
They silently approached the capital ships, then their forward sections opened, and suction-cup mechanisms attached themselves to the hull surfaces.
Electronic jamming, the officers noted, was absolutely not a network attack, but rather an electronic offensive executed in the physical realm.
Network intrusions were, in fact, considered relatively low-tier tactics. Unless one could ascend to the level of the Eternal Cycle Star Nation's microscopic civilization—capable of directly erasing server data—network attacks often resulted in nothing more than a ship's primary server executing a direct shutdown.
This was also why many Federation warships retained manual cockpits. In a state where the main server was offline, human operators could utilize the most basic mechanical structures to pilot the warship.
Electronic jamming, on the other hand, actively targeted the electrons within the atomic structure, forcing them to detach from their fixed atomic bonds.
When coupled with the presence of Satan's Hand, these dislodged electrons would be directly pulled toward that anomaly.
Even with a massive gravitational source present, these rogue electrons might hesitate, oscillating back and forth between the two poles, thereby inducing instability within the atomic framework.
After these missiles completed their electronic saturation, the entire capital ship effectively disintegrated in an instant.
"The stabilization at the electronic level remains significantly too weak."
"Indeed, they neglected to account for that specific vulnerability."
Sucan observed his apprehension alleviate by more than half.
A quality capital ship or warship requires its own dedicated energy source to constantly supply its outer shell, using that power to stabilize the material integrity of the hull and actively resist such insidious attack vectors.
This particular civilization, however, had failed to implement such a defense.
"Since that is the case, I will not hold back."
Sucan ordered the remaining warships to release a far greater number of electronic jammers.
These electronic jamming packages were sufficient to disintegrate millions of the opposing side's capital ships.
Was the opposing civilization inherently weak?
Actually, no.
This civilization could, in fact, hold its own against the historical might of the Olive Branch Civilization of old.
But times had drastically changed.
It wasn't that the opponent was too weak; it was simply that the Federation had grown powerful enough!
Upon Sucan's command, a massive barrage of electronic jamming devices was launched.
These jammers rapidly reached millions of the opposing fleet's capital ships.
Almost simultaneously, they succeeded in disintegrating these capital ships.
"They cannot withstand a direct assault."
Sucan ordered the fleet to accelerate its advance.
Satan's Hand would not persist indefinitely; it would eventually cease its influence.
They needed to capture the enemy's main stronghold before that happened, or the ensuing conflict would become significantly more complicated.
Just as the fleet began to quicken its pace.
From the direction where the enemy capital ships had just been annihilated, gravity suddenly intensified. The fleet's precise formation was disrupted and slightly deviated, threatening to pull them toward that localized area.
Sucan once again focused his gaze toward that anomaly.
"Something appears to be activating over there."
"Weren't the gravity-generating capital ships destroyed?"
"Could it be that the source of gravitational manipulation has achieved long-range capability?"
Sucan voiced his speculation.
But soon, he no longer needed to guess.
Because over there, energy signatures materialized, their count perfectly matching the number of capital ships previously destroyed.
Then, before everyone's astonished eyes, those supposedly annihilated capital ships reappeared.
"!?"
Every individual aboard the fleet was utterly shocked.
Destroyed assets reappeared, not a single one missing.
This was a phenomenon no one had ever witnessed before.
"Main server, initiate analysis of the situation unfolding over there."
Human vision, after all, possessed inherent limitations; only the main server's advanced sensors could accurately restore the original sequence of events.
A comprehensive simulation materialized before Sucan.
The first layer of the simulation process was exactly what he had previously hypothesized:
Capital ships vanishing and reappearing.
But this was a three-dimensional simulation.
After introducing the fourth dimension, the capital ship's fourth-dimensional surface still persisted. From this surface, a new capital ship directly manifested.
This was the actual mechanism at play.
"Although four dimensions are only one layer more than three dimensions, in reality, it's not simply 'three plus one'; it's 'three dimensions plus another set of three.'"
"The opponent can maneuver within that 'other three,' which is a realm we fundamentally cannot perceive."
The fourth dimension.
Regardless of human sensory organs or warship sensors, neither could accurately detect it.
At this current stage of the war, everyone could only simulate the fourth dimension.
Three-dimensional beings could never truly grasp four dimensions; this is the inherent limitation of dimensional traversal.
This very point was thoroughly debated at the very inception of the dimensional war.
Sucan was acutely aware of this.
He paid meticulous attention to phenomena originating in the fourth dimension.
But his attention offered no practical advantage.
Because he couldn't perceive it directly.
If points A and B are 1 light-year apart, being at A means you will forever be unable to know the complete state of point B. Any information you perceive is transmitted through intermediaries, such as light, which inherently suffers losses.
The situation with the fourth dimension is analogous.
For three-dimensional entities, the fourth dimension remains profoundly distant. It can only be explored using calculations and other indirect detection techniques, but never truly seen.
"Following the previous engagement, this civilization must have thoroughly analyzed us."
"They understand our inherent weakness in the four dimensions, which is why they specifically deployed this vessel existing partially within the fourth dimension."
Sucan analyzed the situation.
Otherwise, if their adversary were another four-dimensional civilization, this tactic would only serve to escalate their own resource expenditure.
Only against three-dimensional aggressors could they utilize attacks based solely on three-dimensional accuracy.
It's akin to attempting to slice tofu with a simple knife: if you can only manage one pass, there will always remain at least one side you haven't cut.
"This is a fundamental vulnerability we cannot resolve at the present moment."
"The fourth dimension functions as a cohesive whole. If they simply shroud the ship's core within the fourth dimension, we would require exponentially larger and more powerful weaponry to guarantee its destruction."
Super-high-energy weapons remained the ultimate recourse.
But such precision-based attacks were proving inefficient against this particular civilization.
This meant the Federation would be forced into a sustained exchange where they used two units of energy to neutralize one unit on an inherently disadvantageous playing field.
Such a conflict was highly likely to become protracted, potentially leading to their defeat.
At this critical juncture, someone entered from outside the command center.
It was the Captain of the capital ship.
Sucan's rank was Grand Commander, not Captain.
So, even while aboard this vessel, its operational command still rested with its Captain.
It was comparable to an early-era Vice Admiral boarding a Destroyer; one couldn't simply dismiss the commanding officer outright.
For the current situation, the person most intimately familiar with this warship's operational parameters was still its original Captain.
"Commander Sucan, regarding the recent anomaly, I have an update to report."
The other party approached Sucan and rendered a crisp salute.
"Proceed."
Although Sucan had mentally factored in the drawbacks of four-dimensional mechanics earlier, his grasp of the concept remained too incomplete to formulate a perfect counter-strategy instantly.
He was someone who perpetually sought improvement.
And time, critically, was now the essence. The other Federation fleets were executing the original strategic deployment.
Any delay in this engagement could prove fatal to the entire overarching plan.
"If the enemy can weaponize this technology on a capital ship, perhaps they can deploy it elsewhere as well."
"When confronting Satan's Hand, we know three dimensions are affected, but to what extent is the fourth dimension influenced? What is the degree of interference?"
"Can the enemy breach into our space via a four-dimensional rift to attack us, or use it for immediate escape?"
Ignorance was the greatest adversary in this war.
Sucan did not immediately answer the Captain's string of questions. The officer stood there, momentarily stunned, for several minutes.
It wasn't that he was disoriented, but rather that he was internally calculating potential gains and risks.
After a brief pause, he finally spoke.
"Satan's Hand's influence is indeed significantly attenuated within the fourth dimension."
"I had considered this scenario long ago, but it was inherently an unsolvable dilemma for us under current parameters."
"Therefore, posing the question now is analytically moot."
"We must simply focus on excelling at what we can accomplish."
Sucan had moved past dwelling on the Captain's specific line of inquiry. There existed a discernible gap in their levels of comprehension.
"I previously overcomplicated the approach to solving this issue. In truth, the solution is remarkably straightforward."
"The opponent is painstakingly controlling the mass and scope of the gravitational source. If we wish to prevent that source from destabilizing Satan's Hand's effects, we actually only need to force the opponent's controlled action into a state of chaos—for example, by deliberately transforming their gravitational source into a black hole."
"Against an entity utterly out of control, we and they would instantaneously revert to an approximate balance of power."
"They cannot sustain a stable black hole indefinitely."
"The moment a black hole materializes, the neutralizing effect of Satan's Hand will momentarily cease to be relevant. During that brief window, we can transmit vital data to the other fleets, allowing us to slightly adjust the overall plan's timeline."
Inter-fleet communication relied on Tachyon pulses.
Tachyons, by their nature, would not be influenced by Satan's Hand.
However, activating the Tachyon relay required a burst of energy, and this energy, during the initiation sequence, would be instantly drawn in by Satan's Hand, causing the entire Tachyon communication matrix to fail temporarily.
No strategy proceeds flawlessly. True warfare demands a counter for every countermove.
Sucan had just implemented the first minor corrective patch to his grand strategy.