Chapter 16: Landing, From Now On, I Am Your Master

Yan Xia observed Ella's masterpiece without any reaction.

After all, they had a clear advantage in terms of civilization level, and Ella, a genius-level artificial intelligence, was in full command and control.

The advantage was evident.

The loss of four landing ships to eliminate hundreds of enemy ships was within an acceptable range.

Yan Xia assessed the current battle situation and asked, "Can we make them surrender now?"

Ella replied, "I'm afraid not. We've killed over 200 million of their lives in the past thousand years, and they still have some fighting power left. Only by eliminating their military might can we stabilize the situation."

Yan Xia nodded, a hint of ruthlessness in his eyes.

"Then let's do it."

"Destroy all their anti-aircraft laser weapons on the ground and in space."

After killing so many, killing more was of no consequence.

Yan Xia's initial intention was not to conquer their civilization but to study these beings.

Upon receiving the order, Ella began directing the ships to attack.

The battle became more straightforward with the arrival of the escorts, as the enemy's laser weapons were rendered almost useless.

Ella employed a new attack strategy after the ships were in position.

The electromagnetic fields on each ship were maximized.

Magnetic fields can attract any charged particles.

"What's happening? Our ships are moving on their own."

"Observe and analyze!"

"The enemy ships are generating a magnetic source, and our ships don't have anti-magnetic devices. We're being pulled in."

"Engage the thrusters and break free from the enemy's magnetic pull..."

The enemy's communications were under Ella's control.

Their tactics were primitive, using light signals from the ship's surface to transmit information instead of radio waves, which were easier to intercept.

This was a clever tactic.

Radio waves were more susceptible to interception, while light signals could be easily overlooked.

But Ella was too comprehensive; she wasn't prone to making mistakes.

Every possible scenario in this war had been simulated, and for her, it was a matter of following the pre-calculated results.

The enemy ships began accelerating towards the opposing force.

However, the magnetic source acted like a black hole, attracting them.

The magnetic source's energy was supplied by all the controllable nuclear fusion devices on 33 ships, operating at full capacity.

The electricity generated in one second was enough to power the Earth for several decades.

Such a terrifying amount of energy could only be escaped by a velocity exceeding 840 km/s.

But the enemy's propulsion technology was too backward and slow, with a maximum speed of only 620 km/s.

...

The underground space's door opened, and some of the planet's native lifeforms that had been underground emerged. When they saw the surface, they were in agony.

The planet's surface, devoid of air currents, experienced its first 'wind' in history.

Countless dust particles, thrown up by the explosions, had not completely settled after several days.

The original cities were reduced to rubble, with ruins and dead bodies everywhere.

There were no signs of life.

In the distance, towering mushroom clouds rose from erupting volcanoes, spewing lava and ash that obscured the sky.

At this moment, the entire planet's surface was dark, with only the glow of lava visible.

Darkness, destruction, silence, and lifelessness.

For these beings, it was a painful apocalypse, just like centuries ago.

The native lifeforms had no time for further sorrow. They hurried towards the anti-aircraft laser weapon platforms, which had strong defenses and might have survived the explosions.

There were 580,000 such platforms on the planet's surface.

Soon, some of the lifeforms that had emerged from underground found one of the platforms and signaled it with light. The platform responded.

It was still functional!

They were overjoyed and entered the platform.

Suddenly, they felt the ground tremble slightly.

Looking up at the sky, they saw strange machines descending like falcons, each releasing a massive payload.

The ground shook with countless explosions, and no building could withstand these giant projectiles.

At the same time...

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

On the ground, explosions erupted one after another, spreading from beneath their feet.

The lifeforms inside the anti-aircraft laser weapon platform, with hundreds of eyes, watched a strange, grayish machine fly overhead, and something dropped from it.

"Boom—"

The same sound echoed within the platform.

The entire platform was reduced to rubble.

Within a few hours, all the laser weapons on the ground were neutralized.

The lifeforms underground could only watch helplessly as their weapons were destroyed.

They frantically tried to contact the fleet in space, but there was no response.

Despair!

Darkness engulfed them.

Just then, the mushroom cloud in the sky suddenly parted, revealing a hundred-kilometer-wide gap, and the stars shone through.

Gigantic ships descended from the heavens.

There was no cheering.

These were not their ships.

The ships landed in an empty field, and a beam of light emerged from one of them.

The light conveyed a message in the planet's common language.

It said...

"Surrender or die!"

"Those who surrender must disarm and reach the surface within one planetary rotation. Otherwise, we will initiate a new round of cleansing, implementing a civilization extinction plan."

The blunt message terrified all the native lifeforms.

Inside the Hope spacecraft, Yan Xia asked, "Ella, do you think they'll fight to the end or surrender?"

Ella's virtual avatar changed into casual attire.

"It depends on their intelligence."

"Hiding within a planet is useless against a Level 1 civilization."

"The Antimatter Annihilator Cannon, with just ten hours of charging, can destroy most life and structures on a planet's surface. In its fully charged state, it can fire 1 ton of antimatter, which a Level 1.1 civilization can't withstand."

Yan Xia nodded.

"I hope they're smart enough to surrender."

Indeed, a civilization that had reached this level of development wasn't likely to be foolish.

Millions upon millions of lifeforms emerged from underground.

Yan Xia observed their form—slimy and repulsive to humans.

"Indeed, not a likable species."

He put on a spacesuit and headed out, wearing a belt that could generate a localized magnetic shield. The shield's energy was wirelessly supplied by the ships, and its defensive capabilities were sufficient to block most of the civilization's laser weapons.

The door opened, and Yan Xia stepped out.

He moved among the giant, many-eyed slimes, all staring at him.

Simultaneously, a giant holographic projection of Yan Xia appeared on top of the ship.

Ella controlled the light to translate Yan Xia's words.

"From now on, I am your master."

"You are all my slaves."

In Yan Xia's earpiece, Ella's voice quipped, "A bit dramatic, don't you think?"