Chapter 396: Cosmic Military Science

Shenzhou Era 12344.

After encountering the Black Fog City Wall, the Divine Vessel Civilization ultimately chose to bypass the Black Wall, even though this choice meant they might directly face the threats of higher-level civilizations, at least level 2.0, or even more powerful entities.

However, for the Divine Vessel Civilization, the unknown and challenges were never reasons to stop moving forward, but rather sparks to ignite the desire for exploration.

The Divine Vessel Civilization made a turn 10 light years from the Black Wall, tracing a resolute arc in the endless sea of stars. This turn marked the passage of more than three thousand six hundred Spring and Autumn periods, a magnificent journey of over a thousand light years, finally reaching the end of that seemingly endless Black Fog City Wall.

During this voyage, the technological explosion within the Divine Vessel Civilization never ceased; they were all clear about what they were about to face.

At this moment, the technological levels of various civilizations were as follows:

Human Civilization, high order level 1.9. Humanity's Deep Sea Civilization, high order level 1.8.

Mo Civilization, high order level 1.9.

Mountain Civilization, level 1.9.

Trisolaran Civilization, high order level 1.8.

Dinosaur Civilization, high order level 1.8.

Micro Civilization, level 1.8.

Each civilization had its own technological development trajectory, and although there was some technological exchange among them during the most challenging part of the journey, the technological levels of the Trisolaran and Dinosaur Civilizations did not reach 1.9.

The Divine Vessel Civilization observed the condition of that defense zone from dozens of light years away from the formidable Guardian defensive line.

The sight was like a cosmic-level tragic tableau, with the structure of space-time seemingly kneaded at will by invisible giant hands, leaving countless slender and twisted scars, like a block of cheese gnawed on by numerous greedy mice, hollow inside and mottled on the surface.

This was the state of a battlefield that had undergone the baptism of countless wars, a dead silence filled with endless desolation and solemnity.

In this war-ravaged area, the cracks in space-time were like giant mouths, silently devouring everything around them, even distorting and warping light as it passed. The remnants of radiation wandered through the void, like invisible blades, cutting through any existence that dared to challenge its power.

Once the Divine Vessel Civilization entered this region, even without attacks from the Guardian Civilization, they could still face dangerous spatial areas at any time, ruthlessly twisted and crushed by warped space.

With the technology of the Divine Vessel, to break through this defense line that stretched a light year deep, their top speed could not exceed 2% of the speed of light; in other words, humanity could be attacked by the Guardian Civilization at any time within these 50 years while in such a region.

If one took into account the various changes in routes to avoid dangerous areas, this time might be somewhere between 100 and 200 years.

And the likelihood of combat with humanity might only involve one Big Head Soldier dispatched by the Guardians; if the real Guardian mother civilization were encountered, the Divine Vessel Civilization could also suffer significant losses.

As technology surged forward, the war theories of the Divine Vessel Civilization shone like stars, dazzling and ever-changing, showcasing a magnificent view of the future.

Cosmic Military Science was born as a result, even holding a higher status than Cosmic Sociology, and became the temple pursued by countless scholars.

With their sharp insights, they captured the pulse of each cutting-edge technology, ensuring that military research kept pace with the tides of technological advancement, without a moment of slack, together weaving the grand blueprint of future warfare.

In Cosmic Military Science, the tapestry of war unfolded slowly with the passage of time, its aspects now nothing like those of the past. When the levels of civilization still lingered at 1.6 or below, the stars of the interstellar battlefield were those Directed Energy Weapons, such as gluon oscillation beams, high-energy Sophon beams, zero-point energy attacks…

They were like the kiss of the Grim Reaper, turning everything they touched to ash, becoming the uncontested sovereigns of the battlefield.

However, as civilizations stepped into the 1.7 level of the New Era, these once-dominant forces began to show their limitations. Even with attack speeds at the speed of light, they were no more effective than a snail's pace on an interstellar scale, and combatants were akin to blind men swinging swords.

In the current model of military warfare, interstellar battlefields often span thousands of astronomical units, and now, facing a defensive line with a depth of more than sixty thousand astronomical units, previous military theories are rendered entirely obsolete.

The reason that a civilization is considered a true Hunter of the Dark Forest and a prelude to the Hegemony of Civilizations only when it ascends to level 1.7, is that only at this level does a civilization truly master those wide-range stellar attack weapons that can shake the stars and rewrite the cosmic order.

Weapons like Sub-vacuum Decay, Curvature Umbrellas, and Space Cutting… their introduction undoubtedly sparked a revolution on the stage of war, representing not just leaps in technology but also a split in the philosophy and strategic layout of warfare—a complete upheaval akin to the introduction of firearms in the era of edged weapons.

The use of these weapons required the guidance of the most advanced forefront military theories. This battlefield relic, like an unfolded tome of history, speaks to the newly arrived Divine Vessel Civilization of the smoky battles between the stars of the past, with each speck of dust bearing the weight and splendor of past wars.

By analyzing these relics and combining them with the clues scattered across temporal seams, the Divine Vessel Civilization might gain a glimpse into the weapons used by the Guardian Civilization and the patterns of their warfare, a strategic intelligence of immense value to the current Divine Vessel Civilization.

At this moment, the Divine Vessel Civilization faced not just an obstacle on its path of conquest but a critical test that would determine the civilization's fate. To pass safely, they must defeat and obliterate the hidden Guardian Civilization here.

Otherwise, during this lengthy voyage, the Divine Vessel Civilization would be constantly shrouded in the shadow of sudden attacks from the Guardian Civilization. Those ancient and cunning Guardians were undoubtedly lurking nearby, silent as the abyss, waiting patiently for the next unfortunate prey to wander into their territory.

The Divine Vessel Civilization, even when facing what might be considered an insignificant "Big Head Soldier" from the Guardian Civilization, must commit everything with resolute determination and full effort.

For decades, the Divine Vessel Civilization planned and ran military simulations day and night, and the final battle plan took shape after endless collisions and adaptations:

It divided itself into three powerful allied forces: Humanity and the Dinosaur Civilization combined into one, Mountain Civilization and the Trisolaran Civilization formed another, and the Mo Civilization and Micro Civilization unified into the third.

Humanity had the greatest composite strength and no significant weaknesses in military capability. The Dinosaur Civilization, on the other hand, had the strongest ability to sense energy from other civilizations, able to detect the faintest premonitory tremors of danger, predicting crises, and building invisible yet formidable lines of defense for its allies.

In combat, Humanity and the Dinosaur Civilization would try to break through the defenses of the Guardian Civilization first. Even if the Guardians launched a surprise attack, their response capability would be the strongest. According to the latest military simulations, it would be extremely difficult for the Guardian Civilization to completely wipe out this allied force.

The Mountain Civilization and the Trisolaran Civilization, acting as reserves, would leap from their hiding places without hesitation the moment the Guardians appeared, charging at the enemy while providing crucial support to the embattled Humanity and Dinosaur Civilization.

A shared trait of the Mountain and Trisolaran Civilizations was their toughness, their disregard for sacrifice, and their knack for analysis and calculation. Currently, they were also the largest demographic within the Divine Vessel Civilization, and their attacks would overwhelm the Guardians.

While Humanity led in technology, these civilizations held the overwhelming advantage in numbers. The Trisolaran Civilization needed a vast civilizational base to fully harness the power of the "Patch the Sky Project" and gradually close the technological gap with Humanity.

The Mountain Civilization, as a Silicon-based Civilization, grew in strength with the expansion of their collective. Moreover, they shared a trait: individuals consumed few resources and exhibited high obedience to the collective, the cornerstone for building large populations.

Given the right opportunity, these civilizations could also have a certain chance of inflicting serious damage to the Guardians.

Yet, the real trump card was the alliance between the Mo Civilization and the Micro Civilization, who were like ghostly assassins in the night, silent but with the power to turn heaven and earth.

The Mo Civilization had already semi-energized itself, while the Micro Civilization had made significant achievements in the study of high-dimensional micro spaces, almost stepping into the threshold of the micro high dimensions.

Their alliance seemed to open up a new world. To some extent, they had become Quantum Ghosts, Quantum Ghosts with immense offensive capabilities.

Once they neared the Guardian Civilization, they could trigger a super-chain macrofusion reaction, with a blast radius wide enough to cover dozens or even a hundred astronomical units. Without a doubt, this was the ultimate power that Tyler had longed for in his dreams, powerful enough to shake this Starfield.