Frontal battlefield!

Xiao Yu could almost imagine the frustrated expressions on the faces of those detestable aliens.

Now that he had mastered the technology of gravitational lensing, Xiao Yu no longer feared any of their stealth tactics. In Xiao Yu's technological roadmap, it would take hundreds of years to develop the technology to shield against gravitational lensing, but these aliens were only ten years ahead of him.

This meant that even if they attempted large-scale interference again to hide their presence, Xiao Yu would still be able to find them and continue to harass them persistently. After being harassed for over a century, the aliens might even face extinction.

Xiao Yu felt an exceptional sense of satisfaction.

After the hydrogen bomb exploded, a brief silence fell over the planet. Then, a few minutes later, countless powerful radar and laser beams were released, sweeping the space in all directions.

But Xiao Yu had only sent one hydrogen bomb in the first wave of attacks, so all their actions were in vain.

Xiao Yu merely maximized the power of his detection and reception devices, without emitting any radiation himself. He watched quietly, like a ghost in the night, as his increasingly frantic enemies awaited their doom.

After two days of continuous full-spectrum defense measures, the aliens finally stopped. Then, a day later, Xiao Yu's second batch of nuclear bombs arrived.

This time, twenty nuclear bombs were launched, fifteen of which detonated, while five were intercepted.

Their full-spectrum defense measures lasted for five days this time.

After they stopped their defenses, Xiao Yu's third batch of nuclear bombs arrived.

Watching his enemies being toyed with under his tactics, Xiao Yu felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

He almost laughed out loud, imagining the gloomy atmosphere on the alien planet. Perhaps their lives had already shifted to underground radiation shelters, where they were barely surviving like a bunch of groundhogs.

Xiao Yu estimated that if humans were subjected to this kind of assault, by now, he would have caused the deaths of billions. Fields would be desolate, water sources polluted, plagues rampant, and society would collapse, unable to maintain normal order.

In other words, under such circumstances, humanity would be on the brink of an apocalypse.

Of course, the aliens' situation might be somewhat better than humanity's, as their technology was far more advanced than that of humans at that time.

While observing his enemies, Xiao Yu focused on the development of new weapons. The existing weapons each had their limitations. For example, interstellar missiles, with a maximum speed of only a few thousand kilometers per second, were too slow in the vastness of space, where distances were measured in millions of kilometers. Additionally, while interstellar missiles were powerful, they were susceptible to interception by laser cannons. Until materials that could defend against laser strikes were developed, interstellar missiles were not practical.

Next, there were various laser weapons, which also had their limitations, such as high energy consumption and a limited range. However, their advantage at this stage was that laser weapons were nearly impossible to defend against in space.

The beams emitted by laser weapons were not visible light but extremely high-frequency invisible light, which could not be reflected by mirrors. The only way to defend against them was to block them with something, preventing the beam from hitting the hull directly. However, for Xiao Yu, this defensive method was impractical.

But the enemy was an entire planet, so Xiao Yu couldn't rely on laser cannons to eliminate them. The hope of destroying the enemy still rested on nuclear bombs.

Xiao Yu silently calculated, predicting the enemy's next move and planning how to counter it.

"They must have realized that I've found a way to detect them, so their next step should be to spare no effort in finding me and then engage in large-scale, direct combat..." Xiao Yu mused. "In direct combat, rapid-fire cannons will be useful. I'll prepare in advance!"

The three largest ships, the *Solar*, the *Voyager*, and the *Heaven's Garden*, served as the fleet's core and functioned as weapons factories and equipment repair facilities. During this time, all of Xiao Yu's equipment was operating at full capacity, continuously producing military supplies that were loaded into the cannons, ready to fire at any moment.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yu also produced thousands of reconnaissance satellites. These satellites were tiny and had simple functions. The small size made them easy to hide, and their simplicity was because they only needed to perform reconnaissance. Xiao Yu didn't expect these satellites to strike the enemy. In an interstellar war, these satellites would serve as Xiao Yu's eyes, gathering all sorts of battlefield intelligence.

Additionally, Xiao Yu developed a large number of small missiles. These missiles were made from highly stealthy materials, and their size and mass were only a fraction of that of interstellar missiles. Their warheads contained conventional high-explosive ordnance. This meant that while they were far less powerful than hydrogen bombs, they possessed high stealth and flexibility, and they were cheap enough to be produced in large quantities.

The intermittent nuclear strikes continued for six months. Finally, it seemed the alien planet had had enough of Xiao Yu's harassment. Unable to bear it any longer, they resorted to their ultimate measure.

A large-scale, all-encompassing, no-blind-spot detection system! Under such scrutiny, Xiao Yu could no longer hide, so he decided to face them openly.

"Finally choosing to fight head-on... come on, I've been waiting for this!" At this moment, Xiao Yu felt a surge of excitement.

Xiao Yu could now deduce the enemy's previous battle plan. They had intended to hide and drain Xiao Yu's strength slowly. Once Xiao Yu's strength had diminished sufficiently, they would then engage him directly, ensuring an easy victory.

But things had turned out quite the opposite. Not only had they failed to locate Xiao Yu, but they had also been discovered and bombarded with hundreds of nuclear bombs, which left them no choice but to engage in direct combat.

After all, if they delayed any longer, they might lose the ability to fight Xiao Yu altogether.

Xiao Yu was certain that the six months of harassment had caused significant damage to the aliens; otherwise, they wouldn't have made such a desperate move to engage in direct combat.

Forcing the enemy into such a position meant that Xiao Yu's chances of victory in this war had increased by at least 30%. This was the advantage of hiding in the shadows.

Xiao Yu saw their interstellar fleet for the first time.

Most of Xiao Yu's ships were either butterfly-shaped or circular, designs that distributed stress evenly across the hull to prevent damage from powerful forces. However, the enemy's ships were different from Xiao Yu's.

Their ships were triangular in shape, slightly smaller in size and volume than Xiao Yu's.

"Maybe they have stronger materials and structural designs," Xiao Yu thought.

Smaller size meant greater agility, but at the cost of reduced endurance and firepower. Each side had its own strengths. Xiao Yu wasn't afraid of space combat.

The alien fleet consisted of over 500 ships. Among them was a flagship that was 50% larger than Xiao Yu's county-class ships. There were two other ships the size of Xiao Yu's county-class ships, and the rest were smaller ships, even smaller than Xiao Yu's village-class and township-class ships.

Xiao Yu no longer concealed his presence. He led the remaining 800 ships, with fusion engines roaring, and they advanced mightily toward the enemy.

The two fleets were separated by 30 million kilometers, closing in at a speed of 200 kilometers per second. In about 40 hours, they would engage in a head-on battle.

Twenty hours later, the fleets were 15 million kilometers apart. Xiao Yu deployed his reconnaissance satellites, which discreetly hid in space.

Large-scale space battles differed from any form of warfare on Earth. The battlefield was immense, possibly spanning tens of thousands of kilometers in all directions and three-dimensional. In such a vast space, relying on a single ship's detection capabilities to gather intelligence was impossible. The presence of reconnaissance satellites was essential. They would help Xiao Yu maintain an overall understanding of the battlefield, allowing him to command the battle more effectively.

This was the most rational space warfare strategy Xiao Yu had deduced through tens of millions of simulations.

After 30 hours, the fleets were 8 million kilometers apart. At this point, the *Solar* and the *Voyager* began to slow down, leading about a hundred village-class and township-class ships away from the main fleet. The remaining ships, clustered around the *Heaven's Garden*, charged fiercely toward the battlefield.

Xiao Yu couldn't afford to commit all his forces at once. When the battle began, these ships would serve as his rear guard.

After 35 hours, the fleets were 4 million kilometers apart. The first wave of engagement was imminent.

Xiao Yu launched a large number of small missiles. These missiles were extremely fast and highly stealthy, making them difficult to intercept. Moreover, using these small missiles to deplete the enemy's fuel reserves was a worthwhile tactic.

After 40 hours, the fleets were 500,000 kilometers apart. Xiao Yu's specially modified high-rate-of-fire cannons began firing. A torrent of bullets surged forward. These bullets had extremely high initial velocities and were almost the same size as ordinary Earth bullets, making them nearly impossible to intercept.

These bullets relied on their high kinetic energy to cause damage. They would become the most commonly used and abundant weapon in space warfare at this stage.