Chapter 399 The Terror of the Guardian

As expected, the First Fleet detected a massive, unavoidable "trap" area in front, like a huge maw silently waiting to swallow any existence daring to challenge its power.

Once stepping into this domain of death, only two narrow passages existed like lifelines, while the surroundings were dense dead zones where light-speed jumps couldn't be executed—a cruel joke of nature, gathering all the "frogs" attempting to escape, setting a rare hunting feast for the Guardian Civilization.

Just as the Guardian Civilization was sharpening its knives, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to this isolated force, on the other end of the battlefield, like the sudden appearance of twin stars on the horizon, two massive fleets, each composed of a million warships, emerged.

Their appearance, like a thunderclap on a clear day, truly stunned the Guardian Civilization. The familiar structure and aura unquestionably announced that they were of the same origin as the First Fleet, hailing from the same civilization.

The Guardian Commander's expression was particularly grave under the dim light of the command room, and there was an almost imperceptible note in his voice:

"The surprises keep getting bigger from the Unknown Civilization. I didn't expect them to have two fleets of such magnitude. I wonder if they will bring us even greater surprises."

Staff Office: "With the successive appearance of the Second Fleet and the Third Fleet from the Unknown Civilization, it's confirmed they're not just here to lay an ambush and launch a surprise attack on us.

"Their most likely intention is to spread out and break through, increasing the probability of a breakout. In such a distorted spatial environment, whether it's us or the Unknown Civilization, the most probable mode of travel would be light-speed jumps, and pursuing and exterminating the enemy is not an easy task."

The Guardian Commander nodded slowly: "Indeed, they must have also anticipated that our deployment here is relatively weak and our closest reinforcements are 0.8 light years away, too far to come to our aid in time.

"With only our current forces, even though we might be intimately familiar with every inch of this space and every fissure, facing the hundreds of millions of warships scattering to break out like a tide, we have to admit that even with absolute geographical advantage, we can't ensure the eradication of all invaders without a single one slipping through.

"This has become their only glimmer of hope in this dire situation."

Staff Office Chief: "This must also be why the First Fleet from the Unknown Civilization attempted to break through first. Their purpose is to mobilize our troop deployment, thus giving the other two fleets a greater chance of breaking out.

"But they clearly underestimated the insurmountable gap between civilizational levels. The difference between a 2.0 level civilization and theirs is not a mere accumulation in numbers or form, but a qualitative leap, a fundamental transformation in life forms and cognitive boundaries.

"Their estimates of our power are nothing but a pale imitation based on past experiences, as limited as a blind man touching an elephant, unable to grasp even a fraction of the truth.

"Our technology, to them, is like the Strong Interaction Material of civilizations fantasized in the information age, a product they cannot comprehend.

"Of course, we also do not rule out the possibility that the Unknown Civilization may still have deeper military arrangements."

The Guardian Commander's gaze roamed among the flickering data on the screen: "So, what is your suggestion?"

Staff Office Chief gave a slight nod: "We recommend continuing to conceal our presence, and the four warships near the First Fleet should continue to hold their positions.

"Moreover, regarding the Second and Third Fleets, we should dispatch six additional warships to lie in wait around them.

"As for whether they still have a hidden hand, we are likewise curious.

"Thus, I suggest we redirect one warship to secretly head to the area behind where they first appeared and carry out a deep reconnaissance mission to detect whether they still have unknown military forces lying in wait."

Such a decision seems like the most correct and rational one, yet it conceals an indescribable arrogance and conceit. Perhaps they have forgotten that the battlefield does not change according to one's wishes.

Maybe it's because the Guardian Civilization has not experienced a true civilization war for far too long. The peaceful millennia, like an invisible blunt knife, have quietly worn down their vigilance and gradually cost them that most precious fighting will.

In comfort, they began to harbor a disdainful attitude like a cat playing with a mouse, as if the opponent was merely a plaything at their disposal.

However, what they never considered was that they might be the "playthings" in the "prey's" eyes. The Divine Vessel Civilization never intended to sacrifice any fleet as bait to struggle for a breakout. Perhaps from the very beginning, their target was themselves.

The goal of the Divine Vessel Civilization might be to firmly lead the Guardians by the nose in this game, anticipating all their predictions. More crucially, it seems that the Divine Vessel Civilization has already achieved some success in this silent contest.

At this moment, the Guardians once again awaited for the three fleets to enter the special "trap" area, knowing that the dangers of the space ahead far exceeded what the intruders could imagine.

What the Divine Vessel Civilization now witnessed, the shattered space, was but a tiny corner on the edge of the "defensive line." Inside the true "defense line," even without the Guardians' action, the Divine Vessel Civilization would suffer heavy losses, with many warships destroyed.

Just when the battlefield seemed on the verge of falling silent again, the Divine Vessel Civilization suddenly made a move.

Millions of warships, like possessed demons, launched a fierce attack on all normal space within a radius of 100 astronomical units.

For a moment, sub-vacuum decay, vacuum expansion, curvature umbrellas, space cutting… these terrifying weapons took to the stage one after another, casting the battlefield into chaos. It seemed as if the entire universe was venting its rage in this instant.

The Guardian Commander, barely able to hide his astonishment, said, "Immediately instruct the lurking warships to withdraw beyond 100 astronomical units from them!

"They really did something unexpected again, forcing us to reveal ourselves in such a way?"

The Staff Office was also slightly flustered, with a hint of urgency in their voice:

"Unfortunately, one of our warships is lurking between the Second and Third Fleets and is only 40 astronomical units from the Third Fleet. It is very likely to be exposed during the attack of the Unknown Civilization.

"This oversight was our mistake. We had anticipated that our opponent might discern our intent to lurk, but we didn't expect them to be so decisive as to launch an indiscriminate, all-out attack.

"Such an attack consumes an immense amount of resources, and they will have an even more difficult path ahead. Using up so much resource so early into the battle is unwise.

"We used space-folding technology to fold a section of space beneath flat space and ironed out the creases. On the surface, this space appears utterly flat, but beneath this expanse lies a vast hidden space, where my warship is concealed.

"This space 'ironing' technique is also our highest technical method. Whether it's light, gravity waves, or any other detection method, they are all helpless in front of this ironed space, only concluding that it's absolutely flat.

"Such a cloaking technology is almost impossible to detect unless one delves into the microscopic level of detail. So we subconsciously believed that they would not discover it.

"The key issue is that we were too confident in our own technology, even overlooking the possibility of exposure under such attacks. Our prior attitude of mockery was the main factor."

The Guardian Commander spoke in a calm and firm voice that pierced the tense atmosphere in the room: "Immediately devise countermeasures for our warship's exposure."

The Chief of the Staff Office rapidly responded, "We believe that if exposed, this warship will face an onslaught from 2 million Unknown Civilization warships. Even if it uses space folding again, it will soon be attacked and reappear.

"But rest assured, our warship's surface is armored with defense technology that surpasses traditional materials, using a 'black hole' defense technique. This armor can effectively withstand any form of attack from the Unknown Civilization, ensuring the warship's safety."

Inside a black hole, space is infinitely stretched and twisted beyond imagination, and the passage of time seems to be eternally frozen here. Even the sharp method of space cutting or the destructive power of vacuum decay must cease their relentless advance in the depths of a black hole, incapable of continuing their rampage.

The so-called "black hole" defense armor is not literal, in that the warship's surface is embedded with countless miniature but stable black holes, but an effect resembling a black hole created by gravitational effects.

The essence of gravitational effect is a temporal effect, also known as a spacetime effect, which is not the force or space effect as we understand it, making it a defense technology many times more advanced than that of a neutron star.

Clearly, the Guardian Civilization's technology has reached a level where they can manipulate the rules of physics, as they can already "time pause", and no attack can surpass the rules of time. Therefore, the "black hole" defense armor might as well be called "time pause" defense armor.

The Chief of the Staff Office continued, "We have two countermeasures:

"One is to launch an attack directly. With the power of our ten warships, we can confront their three million warships. In this lopsided battle, they are doomed to defeat.

"Even if a few manage to flee, we still have 10 warships that can lay in ambush. Even without chasing them down, they will have difficulty navigating through the severely damaged space ahead.

"The second is to turn their plan against them, using the inadvertently exposed warship as bait to attract an attack from their 2 million warships and make them believe that concentrating their firepower can destroy this warship.

"Although the likelihood of them having other military forces is extremely slim, we still need to draw them out to eliminate any future threats.

"In the end, we will adopt a tactic of encirclement from all sides and strike at their center to wipe them out in one fell swoop."

PS: The author believes that a civilization reaching 2.0 would have mastered some of the Rule Power, and what the Guardians have is the "Time Pause".