Indeed, Divine Ark Civilization was the name Xiao Yu had chosen for himself. Originally, Xiao Yu had always thought that having or not having a name was of little consequence, but Luka Two’s suggestion changed his view.
“Having a unified name is very effective in enhancing internal cohesion.” Luka Two had said.
At that, Xiao Yu had an epiphany. He recalled the national flags, emblems, and anthems from Earth’s era. In essence, these were nothing more than simple patterns and melodies, yet the difference between having them and not having them was significant. It was like having a clear objective, constantly reminding the intelligent beings under him of what they were working for. Only then could their will remain firm.
The name Xiao Yu settled on was Divine Ark.
“From this moment on, we are all members of the Divine Ark Civilization. The name Divine Ark will one day resound across the Milky Way and even the entire universe. For that goal, let us strive!” Xiao Yu declared.
And so, spurred by this rallying cry, the massive fleet began moving, sailing toward the coordinates of the Azure Market.
The Azure Market was more than five hundred light-years away. With Xiao Yu’s current travel speed already reaching twelve times the speed of light, the journey would take less than fifty years.
This speed slightly surpassed that of the Molian Civilization when Xiao Yu had first encountered them. But now, several centuries had passed since then, and it was certain that the Molian Civilization had also made progress during this time, an increase in their travel speed was inevitable. Overall, in terms of military technology, Xiao Yu estimated that the Molian Civilization was not much different from himself.
Over the past two hundred years, Xiao Yu had established a complete military system, with the number of active-duty soldiers reaching two hundred million.
Directly commanding them was the Military Committee. The top figure of the Military Committee was Luka Two, but Luka Two did not handle day-to-day affairs. The committee was composed of seventeen members who reported directly to Xiao Yu, responsible for providing operational plans and strategic advice. The final orders of engagement could only be issued by Xiao Yu himself. Of course, in special circumstances, such as losing contact with Xiao Yu, they also had the authority to command the military directly.This authority was crucial, and correspondingly, Xiao Yu’s surveillance over the members of the Military Committee was the strictest.
During the fifty years of curvature flight, Xiao Yu was conducting the final preparations for war. This war was unlike any before, it would be the first time Xiao Yu actively launched an attack against another civilization.
The strategic objective of this war was to obtain the complete Level 5 Civilization technology tree, and all combat operations would serve this goal. In truth, if the option of equal trade were available, Xiao Yu would rather pay a greater price than choose war, for war carried risks, great risks. But considering the unique culture of the Molian Civilization, whose soldiers would rather die than surrender, and the deep-seated enmity between the two sides, Xiao Yu believed it would be a waste of effort to attempt negotiations, it was better to strike directly.
This proposal gained the support of thirteen members of the Military Committee, as well as the Social Committee and the majority of scientists from the Central Research Academy of Science. After all, the more than one hundred races that later came under Xiao Yu’s rule had all truly suffered under the oppression of the Molian Civilization. That period had become the darkest chapter of their lives, and they would wish nothing more than to see the Molian Civilization wiped out entirely.
Under such circumstances, Xiao Yu believed that destroying the Molian Civilization would help strengthen cohesion within his fleet. Moreover, a large-scale war could comprehensively enhance his theories of warfare, foster countless powerful soldiers, and in short, after weighing all the benefits and losses from every angle, Xiao Yu ultimately made this decision.
“It is certain that the main base of the Molian Civilization will definitely not be too far from the Azure Market. As for a place like the Azure Market, where such a brutal war once took place, they cannot possibly have left it without any defenses. And as long as I make contact with their fleet, I won’t have to worry about finding their lair.”
Xiao Yu speculated in silence, while the members of the Military Committee busied themselves with tense war simulations. The colossal war machine had already been set in motion, and Xiao Yu’s fleet, carrying the breath of destruction and death, advanced in a mighty surge.
Fifty years passed in the blink of an eye. Exiting curvature travel, Xiao Yu once again gazed upon the familiar starry sky.
Five planets were quietly orbiting a yellow dwarf star similar to the Sun, each along its own trajectory. In the starry void, fragments of warships could still be seen from time to time, and the pitted marks on the planets’ surfaces testified that a fierce battle had once taken place here.
The last time he had come here, Xiao Yu’s power had still been quite weak. Back then, he had come with sincerity, hoping to use the resources in his hands to exchange for urgently needed goods. Yet what greeted him was not peace and fairness, but darkness and plunder.
“A soldier hid in my fleet? Hmph… What a laughable excuse.” Xiao Yu thought to himself. “This time, we’ll fight openly and honorably.”
The Azure Market now no longer possessed the prosperity it had when Xiao Yu first arrived. It looked more like a ruin. Yet Xiao Yu keenly noticed that, in this desolation, the flares of starship engine exhaust still flickered, and in significant numbers.
At the moment, Xiao Yu’s fleet was positioned over one hundred billion kilometers from the star, and every vessel had been disguised. This camouflage could effectively fool tachyon detectors into thinking there was nothing here but empty space. In general, unless someone had prior intelligence and deliberately scanned this region, they were unlikely to detect Xiao Yu.
One in the light, one in the dark. Xiao Yu’s massive fleet lay in wait, like a tiger silently watching its prey, ready to pounce.
Extremely small in size and mass, the spy satellites had already been deployed. They would remain in position fifty billion kilometers from the outermost planet of the system, carrying out a comprehensive reconnaissance of the star system. Only after determining the enemy’s military strength, the number of ships, the number of bases, and other such intelligence, would the next stage of operations begin.
Although interstellar warfare bore some similarities to land wars on a planet’s surface, there were also many differences. The greatest was the difficulty of detecting enemies hidden in the dark. The vastness of space was immense, several light-years of distance was like the distance between one’s home and backyard on Earth. In Earth’s era, monitoring one’s backyard was trivial, but in interstellar war, to monitor a sphere with a radius of four light-years was enormously difficult. Even one hundred billion kilometers was not easy to cover. At least, Xiao Yu could not do it yet, and he believed the Molian Civilization could not either.
Thus, Xiao Yu’s fleet quietly hid here, waiting for the spy satellites to transmit their reports.
“Hmm… The intelligence shows that this star system contains a certain mineral that is fairly rare and quite abundant in reserves. So, after that war, the Molian Civilization did not abandon this place. There are many mining bases and mineral transport ships here, and the number of military ships is about twenty thousand, with a Province-Class vessel as the flagship.”
“Then, after deliberation, the operational strategy for this campaign is as follows.” In the conference room, facing all members of the Military Committee, as well as Luka Two, attending as the official in charge of civil and logistical support, Luka Three, Luka Four, Senya, and others responsible for technological support, Xiao Yu laid out the final plan.
“We will remain hidden here for the time being, deploying large numbers of spy ships to secretly follow the Molian Civilization’s mineral transport ships until we find the location of their main base. Then… the plan will enter its critical stage.”
“We will split into two forces, one in the light and one in the dark. I will personally lead more than 3.8 million combat ships, along with civilian and logistical vessels, to engage these more than twenty thousand enemy ships head-on, advancing steadily forward. I will expose my own presence and turn this into the main battlefield. The main battlefield will draw in most of the Molian Civilization’s combat power. Meanwhile, I need you to take the Heaven’s Kingdom as your flagship, lead our troops, and command roughly five hundred thousand ships to launch a surprise attack on the Molian Civilization’s homeworld.”
“In the detachment, Luka Two will be the highest authority. If you lose contact with me, no orders are to be carried out without Luka Two’s approval.”
“All seventeen members of the Military Committee will accompany the detachment. Remember your mission, if you can break through the defenses of the Molian Civilization’s capital planet, you must quickly seize their data center and copy all technological materials. If the data center is destroyed, you must obtain this information by other means and then rendezvous with me as quickly as possible.”
“If you fail to occupy it, or if the defenses of the capital planet exceed your expectations and make success impossible, then you must focus on harassing them, disrupting their morale, and creating favorable conditions for me on the main battlefield. Once I crush their main forces, I will join up with you as soon as possible.”
“Alright, that’s the overall strategic plan. Now, head to the Heaven’s Kingdom. The Heaven’s Kingdom will withdraw three hundred billion kilometers from here to avoid exposure…”