Outside Mendia Sector.
J and Niza watched the distant enemy approach.
They stood on an asteroid, with only a handful of ships behind them.
"If we had proactively attacked, we'd probably already be fighting them. Is your plan reliable after all?"
Niza glanced at J, always feeling that this guy was no longer trustworthy.
"You don't need to be like a child, making up an unsubstantiated standard in your mind, then acting on it."
"The other two guys aren't faster than us. A frontal battle means being unable to approach the opponent. If they chose that, they'd waste more time than we would."
Niza, having had her inner thoughts exposed, didn't feel embarrassed.
He said, "Isn't it the same now? Will the enemy even approach?"
J smiled.
"Who can guarantee that?"
As he spoke, the distant fleet actually veered towards them.
The Kingdom of Sky's Glorious Fleet directly targeted their ships from afar, then launched an attack.
The ships remained stationary. Due to limited energy, they couldn't accelerate and were completely destroyed.
Niza glanced behind him.
He spotted a tiny bright dot.
"Is that your plan?"
"What can a speck of light do?"
J said nothing, but Niza's gaze, having seen that bright dot, never left it. Not until a minute later, when he shuddered all over, retreated a few steps, and breathed heavily as he averted his eyes.
"What is that?"
Now his expression became considerably nervous.
J asked Niza.
"You should know that living beings are incredibly fragile. It is only because of protective technology that they become incredibly powerful."
"But living beings themselves are still fragile. Even if their bodies have undergone countless enhancements, they still have something inherently weak."
"Do you know what that is?"
J now looked very wise.
But Niza didn't fall for his act.
"No need to act so profound, Poker J. I've heard of you before in Hyperdimensional Space. I heard you liked to comfort the hearts of those distraught women who stumbled, often doing things like entering women's restrooms."
Upon hearing this, J visibly crumbled.
He coughed twice.
"That must not have been me you heard about."
"Why would I do such a low-level thing?"
"It seems you don't know the answer, then I…"
"It's consciousness, consciousness!" Niza replied at this moment.
Regardless of morality or nature, the Divine are also those individuals with profound knowledge. It's not that they love to learn, but that they are driven to learn.
Those unwilling to learn have become skeletons.
Consciousness does not grow with a person's strength. No matter how powerful a person is, their consciousness remains unchanged.
Unless consciousness can be modified.
And J is an expert at manipulating hearts and minds.
"Poker J" was a mocking nickname; his true nickname was "Worry Jack."
Worry.
Mind control.
"No matter what creature or person, they are actually fragile. Even as a Divine, you can easily fall into illusory light."
"What about those ordinary people?"
"What about those individuals who naturally emit light, who can read light?"
Although the lives in the Kingdom of Sky have undergone genetic modification, they still cannot escape the essence of Lightwings.
What did Lightwings do?
During their evolution, when there was no technology, it must have been used for communication.
J knows how to fascinate Lightwings.
"The server will alert them!"
Niza's words were a kind warning, but J was extremely confident in his abilities.
"The server can only alert to threats, and right now, there is no threat."
"Those guys just believe there is treasure here, and this path doesn't conflict with their route, so they will come."
The distant fleet corroborated J's words.
After defeating their fleet, those warships were still coming this way.
Niza truly wanted to see if those guys had succumbed to greed.
However, that would delay his plan.
Another team would resolve the current fleet before them.
Truly 2 individuals versus a fleet of ten thousand ships.
"Then I'll be watching with bated breath."
...
Royal Sword.
How could Prince 82 remain calm after seeing the enemy's magic circle?
That thing was no toy.
It was something truly effective.
But he wouldn't be so naive as to think it was actual magic. It was merely an ostentatious weapon.
"Laser attacks currently appear to have no effect."
Prince 82 walked into the command bridge.
Shet's body straightened, giving Prince 82 a military salute.
"Your Highness, your subordinate is incompetent."
Prince 82 shook his head.
"The enemy merely has too many tricks. The Rusty Star Nation remains a mystery to us; they possess too many technologies we cannot comprehend."
"That's why I initially ordered the fleet to keep them at bay, not giving them any opportunity."
"I thought I had overestimated them before, but I was wrong; I underestimated them."
"Is their objective to close the distance to within 50 astronomical units?"
"But doing so is perhaps too contemptuous of us."
"Activate the Void Trace weapon. Teach them a lesson."
Void Trace weapon.
Traces in the vacuum.
It was actually a particle weapon.
Ordinary particle weapons, or perhaps all weapons, needed to rely on stealth to achieve surprise.
But Void Trace was different.
It manifested directly.
The particles themselves were not afraid of being intercepted.
It would convert all attacking energy into its own.
After issuing the command, the server reported.
[Information turbulence detected in the vicinity. Void Trace weapon cannot be activated normally. Energy shield weakened by 80%. Main hull internal energy system damaged. Checking for anomaly source… Unable to detect anomaly source…]
Prince 82 was stunned.
"The enemy's tactics have already arrived."
"Where are the scholars? Have them check for anomalies."
"Warship sensors are, after all, not as powerful as truly professional-grade equipment."
The scholars on the ship were for this purpose.
If the server couldn't solve it, the scholars would.
Although it was a bit slow, it was definitely effective.
Within a few hours.
Through research, the scholars obtained an answer.
"Reporting, Your Highness. Based on our scans, the anomaly originates from the sub-microscopic world. That is not a field we can control."
"But the warship has a quantum particle device. Perhaps it will be useful."
Prince 82 was extremely surprised.
"Where did those guys get weapons more refined than the microscopic world?"
At this moment, he somewhat doubted his decision to join the war against the Rusty Star Nation.
Many things were now spiraling out of control.
"Quickly activate the quantum particle device. And, how large is the device's range?"
The scholar replied.
"Approximately one warship."
"Then how many such devices are there?"
"Every warship should have one."
"What about the ships?"
"This…"
Prince 82 directly cut off the communication and asked the server.
"Have the ships been affected?"
[All ship contact lost.]
This was utterly disastrous.
They might soon become commanders without troops.
What to do?
Prince 82 was not a scholar by training; he had no talent in this area.
Facing such high-tech attacks, he completely failed to conceive a solution.
And at this moment, within the fleet, the first ship exploded.
The turbulent information caused the energy within the ship to go haywire, creating internal short circuits, thus detonating the ship from the inside out.
BOOM!
This was the first, but not the last.
...
Rusty Star Nation Fleet.
Chio clearly felt the enemy's attack slowing down.
They had lost over 6,000 ships and 30 warships in this offensive. Although she was Divine, the power of a Divine did not mean she was omnipotent.
The Divine also had limitations.
Specifically, the individual.
The combat power of a Divine individual was immense, but against a collective...
Perhaps there were powerful collective Divines, but they faced a boundary. They could cover ground battlefields, a planet, or even a Star City. However, the fleet's penetration was too vast, spanning hundreds of millions of kilometers. To cover that required a terrifying amount of energy; even Mingna would struggle to achieve it.
"Did that Mechanic finally exert his power?"
"I can't afford to lose this bet."
"Is it time to strike? Let him see how a true Great Magister attacks."
Divine power surged.
This power originated from Godhood, also known as the Kingdom of God.
In Hyperdimensional Space, upon becoming Divine, one acquired a Kingdom of God within their body, drawing massive energy from it.
The Kingdom of God was an imaginary realm, a virtual world.
The Divine could not enter it physically, but their believers could. It did not exist in reality, only within the virtual realm of consciousness.
This was the Kingdom of God existing within Hyperdimensional Space.
But in reality...
Chio did not know.
She chanted a spell, activating her Divine power.
Space twisted under the weight of the energy. Alchemy bestowed unparalleled strength upon this force.
The energy transformed into spears, hurtling toward the enemy like tens of thousands of arrows.
"Fighting fleets is never truly comfortable."
After Chio finished, her body felt extremely weak.
Those countless arrows reached the Royal Sword at near-light speed. They suddenly decelerated, matching the fleet's velocity. From the perspective of the ships, these light spears appeared motionless.
Then, in an instant.
The light sprayed out countless threads, connecting to one another.
These threads, though separated by millions of kilometers, formed an enormous cage over a hundred astronomical units wide.
It was immense.
The cage linked the entire fleet into a single entity and assigned it a center of gravity. This gravity pulled the entire Royal Sword toward the center.
"What is that thing?"
Prince 82 ordered his people to neutralize it.
However, the moment anyone flew out of a warship, they were struck by Information Turbulence.
"The turbulence is still there, but why aren't those spears affected?"
Prince 82 had no time to wonder. He ordered everyone to repair the warships immediately, just enough to ensure self-defense.
But it would take too long.
The Information Turbulence persisted.
These two Divine methods, while seemingly lacking raw power, did not actually require massive amounts of energy.
What made them truly terrifying was the Technology!
Under this technological suppression, the Saintees Star Nation fleet was powerless to resist.
"Is it not ready yet?"
"A bunch of useless people! Why do I spend so much money on you?"
Inside the warship.
As time ticked away, Prince 82 grew more anxious.
His current state was one of pure, impotent rage.
In various sectors of the warship, countless soldiers wailed in terror and pain.
The Information Turbulence penetrated the hull, affecting the crew directly. Some bodies simply exploded. Some shattered mecha left pilots naked within the ship, roasted into charcoal by dissipating energy.
These were the Wailing Birds.
...
Aboard his custom ship, the owner of the Wailing Birds, Fit, was roaring.
"That damned witch! She took advantage of my little birds' power when I least expected it."
"She's repressed, far too repressed. Outwardly she's docile and cute, but inwardly she's malicious—that's exactly who she is."
"Magic! I hate cheating professions like magicians more than anything."
Despite his shouting, Fit did not recall the Wailing Birds.
Completing the mission was the priority. He would settle the score with her later.
"The enemy is just too weak this time. Do we really need five Divines for a mission like this?"
"That Sultry Witch seemed to target that man, yet he wasn't affected at all. Interesting."
Fit thought of Toma K.
He was at leisure, intending to nap until the mission ended.
He closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he suddenly realized he hadn't changed his direction, and the distance to the fleet was growing.
He hurried to correct his course.
But he found that between the blink of his eyes, 10 years had passed.
...
Chio returned inside the warship.
After unleashing her attack, she already knew the enemy's fate.
The enemy could not defeat them, as they were Divine.
What was the peak of individual strength?
Her previous calculations suggested supreme gene pools.
But after truly entering the Divine level, she understood that this was not the case.
Supreme gene pools represented the peak of an individual's physical body. The power of the body could be explored to that level.
But what about the Divine?
The Divine aggregated physical body, energy, intelligence, experience, and the ability to utilize unimaginably advanced technology. So much aggregation had long since transformed the Divine into machinery, rather than flesh and blood.
As machinery, then what was the peak of an individual?
At least at the current stage, within Human Civilization, it was a planet-class warship.
Could the Divine contend with a planet-class warship?
Perhaps…
Chio also gained some things from this war, not in terms of rewards, but in terms of understanding.
After she returned to the warship, the first thing she did was ask where Toma K was.
[Director Toma K has entered cryosleep .]
"That guy!"
"I still wanted to ask him a few things. I didn't expect him to hide."
She was very concerned that when she used some abilities on Toma K earlier, they had no effect on him. That might be one of the core aspects of this mission.
Five Divines came here, not just to fight.
"Never mind. I'll wait until he wakes up."
"After a battle, I'm all sweaty. Being sticky is really uncomfortable. I'll take a shower."
[Strategos Chio, your mecha has a self-cleaning function.]
The server interjected at this moment.
"Shut up! Can't I just want to take a shower?"
"Also, arrange two male clones for me. No clothes needed. Hehehe…"
Chio had a look of ecstasy.
She returned to her room.
Inside the room, various books were piled everywhere. But they weren't magic books; they were BL magazines, filled with all sorts of decadent men embracing each other.
In a way, Fit's intuition was quite accurate.
...
Royal Sword.
The battle was not actually over yet.
Prince 82 still persisted, commanding the warship to escape the entanglement of the threads and the turbulent information zone.
The threads had caused many warships to cluster together. This was Prince 82's opportunity.
He prepared to detonate some of the warships, using the power of the explosions to disrupt the surrounding threads and information turbulence.
"It must work!"
BOOM! BOOM!
The explosion unleashed energy shockwaves in all directions.
Only destructive energy, extremely potent, could shatter Chio's magic threads, and the Wailing Birds that released information turbulence were also destroyed.
The Royal Sword, the flagship of that region, escaped.
But it was only one such ship.
Shet knelt on the ship, begging Prince 82 for forgiveness.
"Your Highness, it is all my fault. I did not foresee the enemy's attack, nor did I make the best judgment."
Prince 82 shook his head.
"The Rusty Star Nation is simply too powerful."
"Do you know why the Ynun Star Nation wanted to attack the Rusty Star Nation this time?"
Shet was puzzled.
"Isn't it because they saw the profits of Supernova Technology Corporation?"
"Of course not."
Shet's knowledge was less extensive than Prince 82's.
"The Supernova Technology Corporation had prepared to attack the Ynun Star Nation. This plan was discovered by Ynun Star Nation spies. Only then did the Ynun Star Nation prepare to take down the Supernova Technology Corporation."
"As for the Rusty Star Nation, consider it a transaction. They completed a deal with the Rusty King."
"After the Rusty King completely controls the Rusty Star Nation, the Rusty King will help the Ynun Star Nation attack our Saintees Star Nation."
"However, unexpectedly, yet also within expectation, the Supernova Technology Corporation is a fierce beast."
"I originally wondered why the Supernova Technology Corporation had the audacity to attack the Ynun Star Nation. Binom's retreat in the previous war was actually a signal, but I didn't have more precise information."
"The Rusty Star Nation also suffered some injuries and lost the extremely important M36 star cluster. Coupled with the Ynun Star Nation's instigation, His Majesty and I then decided to join this war."
"Therefore, this is our mistake, a misjudgment."
"The Rusty Star Nation harbors too many secrets. Their objective might be to become the ruler of this sector."
"After I return, I will persuade His Majesty!"
This was a simple yet tragic engagement.
The enemy revealed many things, yet also revealed nothing.
Prince 82 didn't know how many more hidden moves the Rusty Star Nation possessed.
What was the situation with the Kingdom of Sky?
...
Glorious Fleet.
Holy Envoy Bifaya asked Strear Envoy Windama beside him, "Have you determined what information that object is transmitting?"
Holy Envoy, Strear Envoy, Tracer Envoy, Mushi Envoy, Mercy Envoy—these are the ranks of the Kingdom of Sky, equivalent to Grand Commander, Commander, Captain, Shipmaster, and Legion Commander.
These titles aren't necessarily fixed roles. For example, a fleet also has deputy commanders, strategists, and so on. Windama was the fleet's chief strategist.
"Still undetermined."
"I feel it's calling to me, showing me things I shouldn't see."
"Holy Envoy, I feel there is danger there; it might be an enemy decoy."
Decoy. Almost the most commonly used tactic in interstellar warfare. Yet it persisted without waning. Every war demonstrated the effectiveness of decoys; the tactic truly worked very well.
Bifaya was well aware of this point. It could be an enemy decoy, but so what?
"Our army is so massive, and the enemy also has to contend with the Saintees Star Nation. Strear Envoy, how many fleets do you think the enemy has to stop us?"
"Just one fleet that couldn't even finish the M36 star cluster quickly—what ability does it have to defeat us?"
"I know your concerns, but rest assured, I have already made all preparations."
If it was a trap, then they would counter-trap.
Windama pondered for a long time, finally having to agree with Bifaya's statement. He advocated avoiding any danger, which made him prudent but not aggressive enough in past wars.
Bifaya, on the other hand, was his opposite. Bifaya was very aggressive, always pursuing the enemy to fight upon seeing them. Such an approach would normally lead to easy death, but the victor was always Bifaya. This person clearly knew what she was doing and had a very high success rate in battlefield judgments.
Windama felt he should be at ease. But looking at Bifaya's figure, he felt an indescribable sensation. At this moment, Bifaya seemed somewhat different from the Bifaya of before.
He greeted Bifaya and then left the command bridge.
After only Bifaya remained in the command bridge, she turned and stared at the distant bright dot, her expression growing increasingly entranced.
"I'm coming."
"You all wait for me there."
In her eyes, that light was not just light. It was home.
Bifaya once had a planet. As a Holy Envoy, she had the right to possess an independent planet. Her home was there. That planet consisted only of plains. She filled it with golden grass and settled her family there.
The golden grass could produce a pigment called "gold," which was very valuable; it was a necessary component in genetic medicine. Bifaya hoped to earn money from this, and also to create a beautiful landscape.
However, she overlooked one point. All around the star nation were greedy interstellar pirates. She possessed a planet, but not the corresponding planetary defenses. That planet was like a golden lure attracting pirates to attack.
Her family died. The Kingdom of Sky had no conscious collection machinery. Even if it did, it wouldn't have been there. Beauty and danger coexisted. To gain something, one had to lose something. At that moment, Bifaya truly took this saying to heart.
In her eyes, that was her home. She was on her way home. She was filled with anticipation, even imagining herself seeing her family's faces.
Perhaps in this era, one could no longer find a wife again, nor have children reborn, but could parents also not be found and reborn? This was not just a small family. It was her entire clan. When she looked at that place, she didn't know why, but she felt an inexplicable heartache. That was her eternal regret.
"Approaching!"
That bright dot was here. Windama had already had people investigate that bright dot. According to all investigations, it was just a tiny bright dot; there was nothing around it except an asteroid.
"Does this mean it's hidden within the asteroid?"
They gradually drew closer. When they were within 10 astronomical units, the server, through its detection equipment, spotted two figures on the asteroid's surface.
One was a tall, slender Lelera, whose body was so massive, unlike any Lelera they had ever seen—larger even than a Warbeast, resembling a slender praying mantis.
The other was a Shore Tribe member, with a slender, stick-like body similar to a bamboo insect. It had a single foot the size of a coin at the bottom, and a suction cup on its head, which was quite striking.
The two had vastly different physiques. They both waited on that asteroid, watching them approach. For some reason, Windama felt a sudden palpitation when he saw them.
"Those two!"
"Destroy that asteroid directly."
He didn't want to prolong the night with troublesome dreams. However, the soldier beside him angrily grabbed his body.
"Why?"
Why? Windama looked at him, startled. Did he even need to ask? They were the enemy. He looked at the soldier before him, truly not knowing who gave him such courage.
"He's gone mad! Restrain him!" Windama shouted to the others around him.
However, no one stepped forward. On the contrary, more people echoed his rage.
"Unless you retract the order, it's impossible."
These people were truly insane. At this moment, Windama felt a surge of panic. He turned to look at the transmitted image: those two individuals and the bright dot behind them.
"Server, what's wrong with them?"
[No anomaly detected!]
The server's words plunged Windama's heart to rock bottom. But he still felt something was peculiar.
"Server, investigate their memories, their current thoughts."
[Investigating… Traces of hypnosis detected. Traces of mental deception detected. Do you wish to erase memories?]
"Yes!"
That made sense.
"It truly was that light?"
Beside him, all the soldiers slumped down.
Windama went directly to the command bridge; he wanted to report this discovery.
But when he opened the command bridge, he found Bifaya standing there, in the same position as when he left, staring into the distance.
"What did you see?"
Windama's heart skipped a beat, but he still stepped forward and asked.
Bifaya replied to him, "Home!"
"That's my home! My home! My home!" He then spoke directly to the server: "Our Holy Envoy has also fallen victim, server."
[Authority override. Authority elevated. Reading Holy Envoy Bifaya's memory fragment. Traces of mental deception confirmed. Erasing mental deception fragment.]
[Complete.]
Bifaya also collapsed to the ground.
Windama immediately helped him up and ordered the server to heal him.
Bifaya quickly regained consciousness. He asked Windama, puzzled, "What happened to me?"
Windama told Bifaya about that bright dot.
"Hypnosis?"
"To think they could attack us directly in our warship using such a method."
"The enemy is terrifying."
"I have no memory after destroying those ships."
Windama directly shared his memories with Bifaya. The third-person perspective allowed Bifaya to understand his encounter more clearly.
"Thankfully, you're alright."
Bifaya stood up, allowing his mecha to automatically mosaic that bright dot on his retina.
After all this was done, he focused on that asteroid.
"What are they doing there?"
"Watching a play?"
"Perhaps they think they have victory assured?"
Bifaya felt a surge of anger.
Because they had deceived him.
That memory, buried deep in his heart, was his untouchable forbidden zone.
But at this moment, it was ruthlessly exhumed, laid bare, and used to plunge him into another bout of pain.
This feeling was utterly repulsive.
"Crush them!"
He gave the order.
The server mobilized weapons, targeting that asteroid.
...
On the asteroid.
J and Niza also watched the Glorious Fleet.
J asked Niza, "Can I take all the credit alone?"
"Your mission evaluation won't be very high afterwards."
Niza smiled.
"Then wait for next time."
"Not every time will be lucky enough to encounter another Divine. If this fleet makes you feel good, then wouldn't I profit?"
"Of course, it's a good thing I'm not a married woman."
J lowered his head and looked at Niza, warningly saying, "Those aren't the words of someone trying to be friendly."
"Shouldn't you feel proud?"
Niza found it very strange.
It was like a flower-picking bandit wouldn't get angry if someone called him a flower-picking bandit; on the contrary, he would be delighted.
J was also very strange.
"I'm merely comforting their empty hearts. They are my confidantes."
What audacity, what shamelessness, to utter such words.
But Niza felt it didn't matter. If a Divine didn't have a screw loose, would it still be called Divine?
He looked towards the Glorious Fleet.
The direction of that fleet seemed to have shifted.
"It seems your hypnosis isn't omnipotent. At this moment, the enemy's attack has already been launched."
"We have at most 8 minutes, at shortest…"
"Do you have any solution?"
J shook his head.
"I'm just a Hypnotist. What solution could I have?"
"Isn't it just you left beside me?"
"Frail little body. I heard you armed yourself to the teeth, but not for offense, but for defense."
"The Divine of Defense, Femibo. The Divine circle is actually very small."
Femibo asked, "Where did I show my weakness?"
He hadn't revealed his abilities before.
"Don't forget, I am a psychological expert. Even if we are different species, I can still see through your heart."
"At this moment, facing so many warships, your heart shows no change. You are extremely calm."
"I actually wondered what abilities you possessed."
"To flee, or to block?"
J seemed to see through Femibo completely.
"Then why not flee?"
"I am Divine!"
A simple, clear answer.
Although the Divine are not omnipotent, they have experienced many things.
Omnipotence can be seen as practice, the ability to apply and create.
But besides practice, there is another thing: theory.
Theory is not conjecture, but judgment based on experience.
"Ah!"
"I almost forgot!"
"So, at such close range, even if I conceal myself, you can still sense Divine power?"
J shook his head, then pointed to his mecha.
"The mecha has an energy detector. Its dial has intensified."
It was that simple.
Femibo turned his head away, unwilling to respond to J.
Then.
A blinding light pierced his eyes.
An attack struck his defense.
His defense didn't budge an inch.
All of it came from Divine power!
"If it were a warship's main cannon, I couldn't block much."
"You know me, so you should know I'm not skilled in offense," Femibo said.
And J replied almost instantly.
"You're lying!"
A Divine who only understood defense?
Impossible.
Even if they initially only understood defense, later on, they would gradually perfect themselves.
At this Divine level, specialties were already very difficult to break through.
"But it's nothing. Who doesn't lie?"
"Actually, I have another name, because I don't like to worry, I prefer: Deception!"
Deception Jack.
Femibo saw the asteroid beneath his feet, including himself, begin to split.
In space, hundreds of identical asteroids appeared, along with copies of them.
...
Glorious Fleet.
"Blocked?"
"Warship detected?"
"No?"
"Impossible. That warship's stealth technology must be too strong, or perhaps that asteroid is actually a warship!"
Bifaya didn't believe that just two people could stop a warship's laser cannons. Even if it wasn't a main cannon, it was still impossible.
"Full attack!"
"Hold nothing back!"
As Bifaya issued the command, she suddenly saw that the enemy ahead had multiplied.
Hundreds of asteroids, each with 2 individuals on it.
Windama investigated thoroughly and said in surprise, "Those asteroids also have mass. Could they be a fleet?"
Bifaya snorted. The previous incident had already ignited her anger.
"So what if it's a fleet? Can't we just attack them all? At this close range, hitting them is extremely simple."
The entire fleet attacked those asteroids. Every single one.
Tens of thousands of lasers rained down, striking each asteroid. All the asteroids shattered into pieces, scattering in all directions.
But Bifaya was not pleased.
"Find the common point of all asteroid fragments."
[No common point exists.]
"None?"
Before the attack, Bifaya had expected the asteroids to block their attack in various ways, or for their attacks to penetrate the asteroids. But she never expected them to shatter the asteroids.
That meant every single asteroid was real.
But this was the strangest part. Those asteroids were clearly identical. The similarity wasn't 99%, but 100%. No matter how one looked at it, it was just an illusion.
Creating illusions with optical projections was very easy.
The Glorious Fleet's speed never stopped. Twenty minutes later, they encountered those asteroid fragments.
Each fragment was extremely small, the largest no more than 1 meter in diameter.
Bifaya stood at the front window, watching those asteroid fragments strike the warship, or pass through the fleet. Their relative speed was so fast that Bifaya could barely see those asteroids, only a dark shadow.
He adjusted the shutter speed of his eyes. This allowed him to extract images of those asteroid fragments.
He didn't know until he looked. He was startled when he saw.
Those asteroid fragments were all miniaturized versions of primitive asteroids, and on these asteroids, two people stood as well.
"This is…"
Bifaya vigorously shook his head, but he had already saved that information; he was certain he hadn't misread it.
"Did I fall into hypnosis again?"
He immediately ordered the server to analyze his memory again.
[Your memory shows no mental disturbance. Based on analysis, those asteroids are exactly as you saw them; all of them are identical.]
Upon receiving the server's confirmation, Bifaya felt even more bewildered.
"How was that even done? Are those also miniature devices? Capture a fragment and examine it."
Doubt. Not only Bifaya doubted; the soldiers on the warship also noticed this.
"What are those things?"
"It's terrifying. It feels like we exist in a fake space."
"Do you think, are we actually brains in a vat?"
Fear spread. More people respected science, believing it to be an enemy tactic. But the key was, they had never seen such a bizarre sight.
Isn't battle supposed to be laser fire? When did such strange things appear?
Bifaya couldn't stop this fear; the only thing he could do was eliminate its source.
The server captured a fragment. Bifaya went to the laboratory and saw the fragment.
That fragment was indeed a miniaturized version of an asteroid, with two people on it.
Upon approaching, Bifaya asked the two figures on it, "Who are you?"
As he asked this question, he even felt he was going mad, that he was actually asking two illusions.
However, he received an answer.
"You can call me J. I am a Strategos of the Rusty Star Nation fleet."
"As for the little fellow beside me, his name is Niza. At least that's how he introduced himself. He's also a Strategos."
"We are here to annihilate you."
Shrink himself? Bifaya was somewhat terrified.
"Annihilate them!"
The fragment and the two individuals on it were shattered by a laser, turning into particles.
Before Bifaya could breathe a sigh of relief, he saw the previously destroyed asteroid fragments reassemble.
"You haven't even introduced yourself yet! That's rude!" said the one called J.
Bifaya felt a chilling sensation. Was this truly the real world?
He even began to doubt himself. Had he been in a state of hypnosis all this time?
But the server… No, the server might not be the real server.
Femibo, seeing Bifaya's expression, said with a smile, "You see, you've made everyone nervous. Is this really modern warfare?"
"How does it feel like a horror novel déjà vu? That must be what he's thinking."
J said expressionlessly, "Since you're so worried about his mental distress, why not just put him out of his misery?"
Femibo shook his head. "That's your affair. Why should I waste my energy?"
He acted completely indifferent. The two seemed to be taking a stroll.
Bifaya was somewhat terrified. This was technology he had never encountered. If it were just a few cheap tricks, he might look at the opponent as if they were a clown.
However, what truly terrified him was this point: the server had no reaction.
The enemy bypassed the server's detection. How was that done?
"Server, destroy the fragments! Destroy all the fragments!"
[Impossible. There are too many fragments. This will deplete the fleet's energy.]
The server's reply brought Bifaya back to a semblance of calm.
"That's right. This is probably what the enemy wants. To deplete all my energy."
However, the person on the fragment smiled.
"J, did you hear that? He says you want to wear them down. Is that your idea?"
Femibo's laugh was extremely grating, like a sharp whistle.
"After shrinking, your voice is truly unpleasant, Femibo."
"What he said is quite insightful. I hadn't initially considered this attrition strategy, but after all, it's a fleet; it deserves the utmost respect."
"Cloning was not high technology even tens of thousands of years ago; gene pools could achieve that."
"This isn't an illusion, because an illusion certainly couldn't fool the server, nor could it fool the high-tech scholars on the warships. The strongest deception is to use what is real to deceive."
"Divine power can create everything, after all, Divine power is energy, and all things in the world are composed of various forms of energy."
"Kill him, Femibo."
Femibo was very displeased.
"Why me?"
He didn't want to act.
"Truly a lazy Divine."
"Because you are right beside me. How's that for a reason?"
In their eyes, Bifaya simply did not exist.
Bifaya roared, "Whatever you are discussing, you will all surely die today."
"I will find a way to destroy you."
He was about to leave.
He thought the two had no combat power.
But at that moment, Femibo suddenly exploded with energy. He smashed through the crystal wall that blocked him; that wall, strong enough to block super-powerful laser fire, was like wrapping paper before him.
Then he pierced through Bifaya's body.
Even the mecha couldn't stop him.
A large hole appeared on Bifaya's body. Inside, tiny robots were performing repairs, but quickly, the flesh began to decay; this was not poison, but genetic-level collapse.
Femibo attacked his genes.
"You…"
Bifaya found it hard to believe he was truly attacked, by that "illusion."
He fell.
His body, like burnt paper, turned to ash and scattered with a puff.
The server issued an alarm to the fleet: Holy Envoy dead, Strear Envoy temporarily taking command.
Femibo stood on his body, turning to look at J.
"It's truly hard to imagine. Every single one of me is me."
At this moment, he could feel tens of thousands of himself, and every one of them was him, every J was J.
This had already transcended ordinary deception.
"Do you know consciousness?" J asked him.
"Isn't that stating the obvious?"
"I'm talking about consciousness itself, something akin to the legendary soul, not the literal explanation of consciousness."
"It's an ethereal thing, but as a Divine, you should know that consciousness can be extracted in Hyperdimensional Space, and reality is actually the same. Human Civilization's technology is far more powerful than you imagine."
"I have spread your consciousness out, like a sheet of gold leaf. Its area is terrifyingly vast, enough for traces of you to exist everywhere around us."
"Every one of your illusions shares your true consciousness; that is the real you."
J's ability was terrifying.
But this was the Divine.
If Divine abilities weren't terrifying, why would they be called Divine?
"So, not only are the abilities terrifying, but the underlying principles are also so dreadful?" Femibo felt J must be a formidable opponent.
J didn't think so.
"No need to be so wary of me."
"Change has arrived."
"Or perhaps, Human Civilization's war has begun."
"Have you never thought about the meaning of Hyperdimensional Space's existence?"
"It's a weapon!"
"The Divine are the Civilization's weapons, super soldiers trained and educated."
"Before this mission, several Divines connected to me disappeared without a trace. I heard around that they all seemed to have been summoned for the same mission."
"That mission isn't in a virtual world, nor in our current world, but in a more distant place. That place could be very close to us, or it could…"
Before he finished speaking, Femibo interrupted him.
"Are you always so garrulous?"
"It certainly fits your character design."
"Can't you just say it's four dimensions?"
J smiled, without any embarrassment.
"So everyone knows, then."
"But at this moment, we are summoned here. Why do you think that is?"
"This place might also be part of the war."
Femibo, however, had no time to listen to his conjectures.
"Won't we understand all this when we truly reach it?"
"The people on this fleet, I'll reluctantly accept them."
Each Femibo flew towards the surrounding ships.
Everyone on all the ships was enchanted by J; they were all busy trying to figure out what those fragments were, completely off guard.
In fact, even if they were on guard, it would be useless.
Because Femibo was too powerful.
His miniaturized version, capable of wielding Divine power, delivered an ultimate compressed attack. The energy level contained within such a small point even approached that of some super-range weapons.
These ships and warships were, after all, not specifically designed for this.
Technological suppression once again manifested on this battlefield with incredibly fine precision.
The entire Glorious Fleet subsequently became completely silent.
J's most powerful ability was not deceiving people, but deceiving the server. Femibo didn't know how J did it, but it was reality.
When all this was done.
Every Divine received information from Hyperdimensional Space.
Their mission was complete.
[Main Mission complete. Do you wish to return?]
Every Divine chose "Yes."
They had no further reason to remain there.
...
Fourth Fleet.
Giotto stood up, intending to ask Mingna what to do next.
After all, just waiting there like this was no solution.
So many years had passed; the war had probably already begun.
When he reached the command bridge, he saw no trace of Mingna.
He asked the officers in the command bridge.
"Where is Mingna?"
The officer looked at him bewildered and asked, "Who is Mingna?"
Giotto thought the officer just didn't know Mingna's name, and said, "The Strategos!"
The officer grew even more puzzled.
"Director Giotto, aren't you the Strategos of the Fourth Fleet?"
Giotto's eyes widened, then quickly regained composure.
"Yes, I got confused."
He silently sat in the Strategos's seat.
In that seat, he even felt a lingering warmth.
"This kind of power, only those supreme authorities of the Civilization could achieve it."
"If I didn't have the alien Civilization within me, my memories would probably also be fabricated."
"She, no, they have returned. That means this war has completely ended. Too fast!"
"How on earth was it accomplished?"
"Toma K should know more details."
...
Ynun Star Nation.
Maunli returned to Flaorse Corporation, saying he was ready for the next phase.
Ynun remained steadfast in his position, observing the unfolding events.
For them, this war would yield no losses, no matter what.
"Has Officer Binom sent back any news?"
He kept his eyes closed, meditating as he always did; for him, this was a form of cultivation.
This cultivation brought him many things, not material, but a spiritual transcendence.
Now, the server in the Imperial City answered Ynun's query.
[Officer Binom's last transmitted message was 31 years ago.]
[However, we have received information from some soldiers, and based on the communications, Officer Binom most likely suffered a defeat.]
"Is that so?"
"How many ships and warships are left?"
Ynun had anticipated this to some extent. After all, Binom had been defeated last time, and the Rusty Star Nation was hiding something.
But as long as they still had combat power, victory would still favor them.
[Entire army annihilated.]
Ynun's tightly shut eyes instantly sprang open, his gaze quickly becoming bloodshot.
"What did you say?"