Luna felt the fear of the unknown, too.
Especially after witnessing the scale of it all, she understood the terrifying level of technology required to pull this off.
She reacted quickly, observing the shifts in the distant stars.
As expected, she found a certain degree of stellar displacement.
"It looks like it's been frozen."
"The entire star system is in stasis."
Luna couldn't even calculate the energy required for such a feat, but it was easily more than the total production of the entire human civilization over ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand years.
The six-dimensional Civilization had finally made its move; she didn't know if this was a blessing or a curse.
However, this served as indirect confirmation of certain intel: the six-dimensional Civilization didn't fear exposure. The wars between top-tier civilizations were now playing out in the open.
But the universe is vast, and the Milky Way is equally immense. human civilization, along with the local four-dimensional Civilization, remained completely oblivious to this war.
"So it's settled. Easier than I imagined. We need to get back to the fourth dimension as soon as possible."
Developing the fourth dimension was paramount.
However, re-establishing the Dimensional Bridge would likely take at least several thousand, if not ten thousand years.
Ayla would definitely dispatch ships to investigate, so Luna didn't need to worry about that.
The most important question now was: what should she do?
"Stay or leave?"
Staying would allow her to act as a liaison for future human efforts, helping the human civilization reclaim the Believer Civilization faster and dig deeper into the six-dimensional Civilization behind it.
Leaving meant exploring four-dimensional space; she needed to acquire more data on the fourth dimension.
She pondered for a moment.
"My thought process is still too narrow. Without an auxiliary brain, my mind feels so sluggish."
"Why not have it both ways?"
This body contained Metacellulars; she could split off another Luna.
She looked at the forum; the God's Chosen and the nobles had now caught on, filled with intense excitement and profound dread.
If the Divine could deal with the Faraway Civilization, then it could certainly deal with them as well.
Luna had no intention of being part of this mass hysteria; she returned to her Shell, intending to spend a few hundred years focused on development.
...
Three dimensions.
Rusty Star Nation.
Aerosendia, the forward sector of the Ode New Route.
The Ode New Route was one of three new routes established by the Rusty Star Nation to link the newly developed sectors. The three routes were the Kilowatt Passage, leading to the former Saintees star nation Sector; the Jin'ka Route, leading to the former Kingdom of Sky Sector; and the Ode Passage, leading to the former Ynun star nation Sector.
The three locations were respectively named.
Justi Sector (Saintees), Orabbon Sector (Sky), and Falmortal Sector (Ynun).
Such inconsistent names were naturally because Luna allowed her subordinates to choose them.
Aerosendia was the sector closest to the forward border of the Falmortal Sector, boasting 22 habitable star systems and 74 Star Cities.
"Forward" was, in fact, a relatively mainstream directional term now.
Since a galaxy isn't a flat plane, there are six primary headings: forward, rear, left, right, upper, and lower.
Forward corresponds to North, while rear signifies South.
However, navigational conventions vary; every star nation defines these based on their own unique characteristics rather than a universal standard.
Within the Rusty Star Nation, Luna designated six border stars in different directions to serve as coordinates. None of these are habitable; instead, their entire energy output is harvested to emit continuous, specialized signal waves.
The entire star nation constantly receives these waves, allowing ships to determine their true position. It's more reliable than tracking stellar drift, even if it's a bit time-consuming.
In the past, the Rusty Star Nation was too small to need such a complex orientation system; you could fly just about anywhere and still know exactly where you were.
But now that the Rusty Star Nation's sectors have grown so vast, establishing beacon stars became a necessity.
Aerosendia is situated in the forward-left quadrant of the three-dimensional coordinate system, right on the edge of the frontier.
This was also the very sector previously invaded by the Glolo star nation.
Luna subsequently established a branch here, designated as Transparent No. 3, better known as Wrath Star City.
Initially, Giotto, Toma K, and Luna were stationed at the M36 cluster headquarters, the true heart of the nation and its absolute core region.
Within the last 300 years, however, the three of them relocated to Wrath Star City.
The name Wrath Star City said enough; war would be directed from here. A conflict between the Rusty Star Nation and the Glolo star nation was inevitable.
...
232,800 A.D.
Only one year remained until the thousand-year war Luna had predicted.
But even now, the battle reports in Luna's office were piled high like a mountain.
Paper documents stretched across the three-meter-long desk and spilled onto the floor.
Yet this was merely the tip of the iceberg. The volume of reports was so immense that Luna had been forced to switch to electronic storage for the rest.
Once the quantity of items became overwhelming, Luna stopped insisting on paper. It was too chaotic; finding a single record could take all day. With electronic files, she just had to type in a keyword.
Well before Luna had set the thousand-year timeframe, the fighting had already broken out.
Although the Glolo star nation had stopped deploying massive fleets for direct invasions due to the influence of the Fenton Games Company, as a powerful high-tier star nation, it had plenty of vassals.
These vassal nations had been constantly dispatching warships to harass the Rusty Star Nation.
Skirmishes between warships, sieges on Star Cities, assassinations of high-ranking officials, and the disruption of local order, all of these were compiled into reports that converged on Luna's desk. She read every single one.
"The fourteenth."
"Losing only fourteen star systems in a thousand years counts as restraint."
Luna used the network to call Giotto directly.
Giotto looked exhausted when he entered. He had followed Luna's lead in handling affairs personally, and his office was likely as buried in data as hers.
The workload had clearly pushed him to his limits.
Seeing Luna still looking radiant and energetic behind her mountain of documents, Giotto looked at her with a sense of awe for the umpteenth time.
You don't know the weight of the crown until you wear it.
Giotto had been a king before, but the volume of information he processed then wasn't even a tenth of what he dealt with now. Back then, he could delegate most of it to subordinates; here, he couldn't.
If you don't read and analyze it yourself, if you rely entirely on a massive bureaucracy, the information will eventually be distorted by poor communication.
It was like a rumor.
Everyone has a different interpretation, every speaker adds their own flair, and everyone has their own agenda. The more mouths a report passes through in war, the less accurate it becomes.
It was uncontrollable.
Even the information they were getting now wasn't necessarily perfectly accurate.
But at least by digging into it now, they could slowly piece together the truth.
If a war breaks out and you rely entirely on subordinates to filter and provide intel, it will never be fast enough or accurate enough. Managing a star nation is one thing, you can change a policy if it fails, but this is war. If information is bottlenecked or an order is misinterpreted, it means the collapse of the entire nation.
The two are not on the same scale.
As the star nation expanded, Luna's ability to process such a staggering volume of data seemed, in Giotto's eyes, like the work of a god.
In Luna's office, seats were reserved for guests, yet Giotto stood dutifully before her desk. Only after Luna finished reading the battle report in her hand did she speak.
"The war is about to begin. Deploy the Tier 2 fleets to the front lines. We can't let those minor star nations remain arrogant any longer. Remember, I want them crushed in a single blow."
"You head to the front as well. It's not considered too dangerous there."
After years of growth, Giotto had become someone who could be entrusted with critical missions.
A Tier 2 fleet consisted of standard vessels and warships, but it was more than enough to handle those minor star nations.
Hearing this, Giotto stared blankly at the time.
It had actually come to this!
He had spent all his time buried in reports, losing sleep and forgetting to eat for the past thousand years.
"No problem."
The command actually brought him a sense of relief.
He felt that analyzing intelligence was the hardest thing he had ever done in his life, bar none.
It was even more difficult than learning technical knowledge.
Knowledge at least had reference materials, but this intel? There was no "weirdest," only "weirder."
Every situation was unique. During the analysis process, he often found it impossible to understand how some people's minds worked; it was a constant assault on the analyzer's values, outlook on life, and logic.
After waiting a moment longer and seeing that Luna had no further instructions, Giotto turned to leave.
By now, everyone had been frank with one another, and Luna was happy to give them direct orders.
Over the last millennium, she had begun educating the two of them directly, transforming them from useless assets into functional individuals.
Of course, neither of them had been truly incompetent before; compared to an average person, they were already quite formidable.
But this world is multifaceted.
You must fulfill the duties of your position.
Or, to put it another way, at a certain level, you must compare yourself to others at that same level.
For instance, if you rank 438th in your grade, you compare yourself to those in the 400-500 range and strive to excel there. Once you move up to 399th, you start comparing yourself to the 300-400 group.
If the person in 438th place tries to measure themselves directly against the top 10, it's just aimless ambition, it's enough to drive anyone to despair.
Luna had been raised with this kind of education since childhood; she understood it perfectly.
Growing up, the peers her parents compared her to were always nearly impossible to match, like a massive mountain blocking her path. Simply studying hard wasn't enough to surpass them.
By setting goals step-by-step, those whose lives had been marked by failure could finally experience success, moving gradually from small wins to major achievements.
Luna's tutelage of Giotto and Toma K followed this exact philosophy.
First, she identified their current capabilities, placed them in roles that matched their skill sets, and then allowed them to slowly push past their boundaries.
It didn't actually take that long. Within 200 years, they were able to handle basic information at her level. From there, she incrementally increased the pressure, forcing them to break through their limits.
As a result, Luna placed a fair amount of trust in Giotto.
As for Toma K, he was a bit more childish and lacked Giotto's administrative experience, so his progress was somewhat slower.
After Giotto left the office, he ran into Toma K in the corridor. They looked at each other, both sensing a deep, shared exhaustion. They simply nodded and passed by; neither had the energy for words.
Toma K entered the office.
Like Giotto, he stood for a while, waiting for Luna to speak.
"I just sent Giotto to lead a team to the front. He's going to flatten those harassing star nations."
A flicker of envy crossed Toma K's eyes.
"As for you, follow me. You'll serve as my adjutant on the main front."
"The Glolo star nation is currently in a state of internal chaos. Hua'a's 'dull knife' tactics may not have drawn blood yet, but they're making Glolo feel the sting."
"His work isn't fully finished. He asked me for another 10 trillion earlier; he's clearly timed it to our planned strike."
"10 trillion in exchange for a period of instability within Glolo. It will keep them from digging into our intelligence, allowing us to invade smoothly."
Luna laid out the plan for Toma K.
Toma K looked skeptical.
"Should we really trust Hua'a that much? He might be playing both sides."
"If we just jump across like that, we might fall right into a Glolo ambush."
Luna felt a sense of pride.
The fact that the boy could think of this already showed massive improvement.
"We certainly can't trust him completely."
"The locations and times I gave him are slightly off. Hua'a isn't an ordinary man; he'll surely figure that out, but he won't share that detail with Glolo. It all depends on whether the people running the Glolo star nation are mediocre or not."
Star nations, especially very stable ones, are prone to producing mediocrity.
The fact that Hua'a could manipulate the Glolo star nation so easily was proof enough that they currently lacked any real political talent.
But nothing was certain.
Luna hadn't managed to plant any spies within the Glolo star nation's high command, so her specific intel was purely in the guesswork stage.
But this was a war that simply had to be fought.
If she won, her plans would be ahead of schedule by quite a few years.
If she lost, Luna had already prepared alternative strategies.
That being said, Luna was not the type to enter a battle she was destined to lose.
The Rusty Star Nation was powerful enough, while the Glolo star nation wasn't exactly a juggernaut.
"Our Tier 1 fleet is composed entirely of evasion-type vessels and warships. Do you know what our advantage is?" Luna asked.
Toma K didn't have to think twice. "Decapitation."
The new void-class warships and vessels had only been deployed on the battlefield once, and the star nation that held data on them had been annihilated.
Theoretically, it was impossible for the Glolo star nation to possess countermeasures. This meant the void-class fleet could strike directly at the heart of the enemy, dealing a crushing blow at the very start of the war.
"Exactly. And this time, even though you are my adjutant, you will be the one issuing all the orders."
Toma K had matured. Luna intended to push him to take the next step.
Hearing this, Toma K grew tense immediately. "This..."
He had never commanded a war before. This conflict was particularly critical, and he was terrified of making a catastrophic decision.
"It's fine. I'll be right there beside you. I can correct any wrong decisions you might make."
Those words allowed Toma K to breathe a sigh of relief. "Alright then! I need to go prepare."
He could only grit his teeth and accept the challenge.
Luna needed both men to undergo a transformation to increase the success rate of her future plans. Once they were capable of commanding their own fronts, the pace of the star nation's unification would accelerate significantly.
The only thing to be wary of was the possibility that these two might eventually rebel. But as long as the true power remained in her hands, the two of them alone couldn't cause any real upheaval.
After Toma K left, Luna gathered up all her documents. "War... it's about to begin again!"
Withdrawing her gaze from the cosmos, Luna stood at the highest peak of the Aerosendia branch of the Supernova Technology Corporation.
Currently, dense clusters of ships and warships gathered around the branch.
At a glance, it was impossible to discern their exact numbers.
Only the data Luna received held the precise figures.
Standard ships: 212,894.
Standard warships: 612.
Void-class ships: 206,211.
Void-class warships: 176.
This could be described as over 90% of the Rusty Star Nation's total combat power.
The remaining fleet at the star nation's headquarters consisted of 31,000 ships and 168 warships, all of which were conventional models.
The reason for such a vast number of standard ships and warships was twofold: first, they relied on production lines leased from surrounding star nations; second, they made extensive external purchases.
Over these 1,000 years, the Rusty Star Nation's spending could only be described as horrifying, having nearly hollowed out over half of the Supernova Technology Corporation.
Fortunately, the Supernova Technology Corporation had been favored by the capital markets over the last millennium following the Rusty Star Nation's expansion, attracting massive investment.
It was estimated that once this war broke out, the Supernova Technology Corporation's financial troubles would be exposed, followed by a cliff-like plummet in value.
However, Luna didn't care about the current market value of the Supernova Technology Corporation.
She had already shifted her position.
She was no longer a professional manager.
"Then, we'll head out first!"
Giotto's holographic avatar appeared at the side of Luna's vision.
As the controller of the Tier 2 fleet, participating personally in such a massive war for the first time in a true sense made him somewhat excited and uneasy.
Tier 1 and Tier 2 were not ranks, but rather priorities.
The Tier 1 fleet held higher authority, while Tier 2 held secondary authority.
To put it more bluntly, the Tier 1 fleet was the true main combat fleet. The Tier 2 fleet had been established for defense, and its current deployment was only because the Rusty Star Nation lacked a sufficient number of Tier 1 warships and ships.
Once the Rusty Star Nation's Tier 1 fleet grew large enough to handle all enemies, the Tier 2 fleet would remain permanently within the star nation.
"Go. Do it right."
Luna gave no further instructions.
Giotto was now capable of handling that side independently.
In the video feed, Giotto hadn't closed the connection yet. His expression was resolute as he broadcast his voice to every unit in the Tier 2 fleet.
"Begin acceleration!"
"Advance at maximum speed to the border of the Lianu Sector, the upper-left quadrant of combat zone H19 in the Bix Passage!"
That was the core combat zone for the minor star nations.
Ship after ship, warship after warship, trailed invisible jets of fire as they departed. These vessels were all equipped with advanced dark matter thrusters. Although such technology had been at the bottom of the Federation's standards for tens of thousands of years, it was still a novelty for the nations in this region, having only been widely deployed in the last few millennia.
Luna had more money than she knew what to do with, so she had authorized a comprehensive upgrade for every warship and ship within the Rusty Star Nation.
In her words, they would have needed upgrading sooner or later anyway.
They had already exhausted the nearby warship and ship markets; there was no point in letting the remaining funds sit idle, so they might as well spend it before the war.
The results of this approach were quite impressive.
The minimum speed of the Rusty Star Nation's standard ship units reached 122,000 km/s, while the minimum speed for warship units reached 106,000 km/s.
These were standard warships, mind you; previously, the fleet of the Ynun star nation, which was slightly stronger than the Rusty Star Nation, had a minimum speed of only about 70,000 km/s.
In a fleet, minimum speed is what truly matters. There's no such thing as "average speed" or "maximum speed" when you're dealing with more than a single vessel.
...
On the flagship of the Tier 2 fleet.
Giotto's heart was racing.
However, his adjutant appeared hesitant.
"Director, the Tier 1 fleet's route is much longer than ours. Should we perhaps slow our advance?"
Having the Tier 1 and Tier 2 fleets attack simultaneously was a sound strategy; it would ensure both fronts were plunged into war quickly, splitting the enemy's forces.
The adjutant's idea wasn't bad, but it overlooked many factors.
"Dudley, I don't need you to remind me of that. Just do your job."
"Since the CEO ordered us to advance at maximum speed, consider the logic behind it rather than questioning it. If there is a next time, you can go report to the fighter squadrons."
Dudley was a trusted aide Giotto had personally selected.
An adjutant doesn't need overwhelming intelligence; their most important quality is obedience.
If an adjutant starts having their own ideas in the middle of a war, things fall apart.
So, when Dudley spoke up, Giotto gave him a stern, direct warning.
Dudley broke into a cold sweat and immediately snapped into a salute.
"Sir, understood!"
Dudley's only flaw was his anxiety regarding things that hadn't happened yet. He could only perform perfectly when given precise orders and the confidence to carry them out.
Giotto had chosen him specifically for this trait.
Being brave enough to offer opinions when not in active combat forced Giotto to consider battlefield intel from more angles.
"Currently, the battlefield of the minor star nations exhibits a distributed characteristic; rather than defensive hubs, every point is a direct staging ground for strikes against the Rusty Star Nation."
"The Glolo star nation has likely already dispatched vanguard fleets to support these minor powers. The lack of intel currently suggests they are lying in wait, biding their time for the breakout."
"It shouldn't be long now. Our primary objective in this deployment is to neutralize these threats. Only after these risks are cleared can we secure a stable rear for our operations."
"If we were to strike simultaneously without a clear operational picture, the sheer number of enemies could be overwhelming. Once the Tier 1 fleet launches its offensive, it could easily be pinned down by Glolo's guerrilla maneuvers, forcing us into a reactive position."
"By arriving first, we can effectively scout the enemy's strength for the Tier 1 fleet while drawing the maximum amount of Glolo's attention. This will keep them from suspecting that our Tier 1 fleet has already begun its main advance."
Luna had hidden her hand deep over the past millennium.
Leveraging Hua'a's intelligence, she had purged wave after wave of spies. The Glolo star nation was very likely to miscalculate their actual warship count, that was the Rusty Star Nation's trump card.
Giotto had understood this the moment Luna issued the command, which was why he wasn't as oblivious as Dudley to voice such direct doubts.
This was his evolution.
Now revitalized, could he dominate this interstellar battlefield?
For him, this was the battle to prove his worth!
...
Giotto departed.
Luna also messaged Toma K, ordering him to commence the advance of the Tier 1 fleet.
As for herself, she donned her mecha and rapidly approached the flagship docked at the branch Starport. She dropped directly onto the outer hull of the command bridge; the armor plates slid open like melting ice to reveal a large hatch. Luna leapt inside and headed straight for the command center.
This warship was a void-class vessel, which Luna had named [ Midnight ].
The Midnight was 30,183 meters long, 6,283 meters wide, and 4,011 meters high. Its forward section was sleek and sharp, a classic diamond-shaped warship, stripped of any flashy, unnecessary components.
The warship was equipped with a second-generation improved quantum engine, capable of reaching a top speed of 132,000 kilometers per second in a single burst.
The other warships were similarly spec'd.
The ship units were slightly faster, capable of hitting 136,000 kilometers per second.
Since these were all brand-new ships and warships, their performance was uniform; there was essentially no "minimum speed" issue to worry about.
Toma K ordered the entire fleet to accelerate.
Upon reaching maximum speed, the fleet entered the transit corridor to complete its second stage of acceleration.
Navigational corridors within a star nation naturally couldn't be extended directly from this frontier; this specific corridor was a solo project ordered by Luna, built exclusively to accelerate the fleet for this war.
If the war proved successful, this corridor could be extended all the way to the Abandnda Sector.
Because only one section was constructed, the acceleration effect wasn't optimal, but it still managed to push the entire fleet's speed to over 180,000 km/s.
Interstellar travel is the most time-consuming phase.
The direct distance from Aerosendia to the Abandnda Sector is 206 light-years.
Even at a speed of 180,000 km/s, the journey would still take 343 years.
Giotto's side lacked an interstellar corridor, but since Aerosendia was already on the border, his destination was only 31 light-years away. At a minimum speed of 100,000 km/s, he would reach the battlefield in less than a century.
Once they entered the interstellar corridor, Toma K ordered all soldiers into cryosleep.
Returning to the command bridge, Toma K spoke to Luna: "Archon Commander, the cryopods are ready. The timer is set for 94 years from now."
That would mark the first year after the Tier 2 fleet's arrival.
Luna needed the intelligence from that side.
"Mm. Put the warship into evasion mode."
They needed to remain hidden.
The Glolo star nation had deployed quite a few probes along this route.
Luna had destroyed some but left others intact to give Glolo the illusion that everything was under control. She had even paid Hua'a for the locations of the newest probes Glolo had installed.
"Yes!"
Toma K had matured significantly; he no longer grumbled or blamed others, replaced instead by a sharp, focused energy.
At a time like this, there was no room for idle chatter, a sign of growing self-confidence.
When someone is constantly talkative, it often stems from a lack of confidence or security, reflecting a lack of control over their circumstances or an uncertainty about the correct path forward.
In the past, both Giotto and Toma K had exhibited those tendencies.
Fortunately, Luna was an excellent teacher.
Albeit a harsh one.
To this day, Toma K still felt a lingering sense of dread.
Sometimes, the punishments Luna meted out made Toma K feel like life was worse than death; they felt less like discipline and more like torture.
Thinking of this, Toma K couldn't help but shiver.
He quickly scheduled the fleet's transition to evasion mode and then headed to his cryopod. He set his own wake-up timer for 94 years.
...
87 years passed in the blink of an eye.
Tier 2 Fleet.
Giotto was awakened from his stasis.
He had set the timer for 90 years; being woken up three years early meant something had gone wrong.
Emerging from the cryopod, his mecha armored up as he headed straight for the command bridge.
He began his inquiry before he even reached the room.
"What's the situation?"
The main server transmitted a full report, and his adjutant, Dudley, established a direct comms link with him.
"It's an electron cloud."
"We've reached the border of the Yanli Independence star nation. The entire nation is enveloped in an electron cloud."
Dudley's voice still carried the shock of his discovery, but that was what the sensors were reporting.
Giotto was incredulous.
"The whole thing?"
The Yanli Independence star nation encompassed over 100 star systems. While only 31 were habitable, wrapping so many systems meant the electron cloud's diameter was at least dozens of light-years across, even exceeding a hundred in some areas.
"Correct. The fleet was still receiving signals from the Yanli Independence star nation roughly 60 years ago. But in the 60 years since, there hasn't been a single one. It's highly probable it happened around then."
"We're currently pulling the fleet's logs; we might find something there."
As he spoke, Giotto reached the command bridge.
The massive 3D projection played the fleet's recordings of the Yanli Independence star nation's changes over the decades.
Most of it was optical data, making it difficult to decipher exactly what had transpired.
"The point of origin is confirmed as the Miko Stellar Stream!"
Dudley zoomed in on the target.
It was an astronomical belt roughly 7 light-years long, a remnant of a past war. A red dwarf had been destroyed there, and its remaining core had been too small to form a complete celestial body. In a few hundred thousand or millions of years, it would likely become a dwarf star remnant.
The scattered matter had formed a ribbon-like structure of cosmic dust. Because of its mass, its gravity had trapped some smaller celestial bodies, most only a few to a few dozen meters in diameter.
"It was one of the staging points!"
The enemy's choice of a foothold didn't necessarily have to be a star.
While stars provide immense energy, for a short-term conflict, the matter harvested from a nebula is more than enough to supply all power needs.
Giotto ordered the server to pull up older images of the Miko Stellar Stream.
Data existed within the Yanli Independence star nation's records.
When the Yanli Independence star nation became a client state of the Rusty Star Nation, the latter had essentially hollowed out its entire database.
Information and knowledge were incredibly precious resources.
[ Retrieving visual data of the Miko Stellar Stream from 220,378 A.D. ]
The two images were overlaid for comparison.
"It's thinner!"
A mere ten thousand years wouldn't be nearly enough for the Miko Stellar Stream to undergo such a massive transformation naturally.
Therefore, the Glolo star nation had definitely hidden an army there.
But what were they trying to do now?
"Deploy probes. See if they can penetrate the electron cloud."
"To make such a massive stir, they must be up to something inside."
For some reason, Giotto had a bad feeling about this.