Chapter 339: The Zerg Civilization, Destroyed! |
Inside the Stellaris.
Chen Mang looked at the mysterious box on the table. It appeared completely ordinary—entirely black and made of an unknown material that did not feel particularly special. If not for the fact that it had been produced by a Civilization Tenet...
If thrown by the roadside, it would not attract any attention.
Inside the box.
There was only a single, ordinary-looking token.
When he grasped this token in his hand, a corresponding panel popped up on the train's control console screen.
-
"Civilization Tenet": "Unlock the 'Higher-Dimensional Planet' technology tree." (Rainbow)
-
The last time the Human Civilization advanced to Level 3 and he drew for a Civilization Tenet effect, he had seen this exact one in the prize pool. He just hadn't paid much attention to it at the time, mostly because he didn't understand what it actually did.
There was no text description either.
It was not straightforward at all.
But he certainly recognized the "Rainbow" grade tagged at the end. With a suffix like that, this thing couldn't possibly be weak.
And if creating a single Civilization Wonder granted a Rainbow-grade Civilization Tenet—or at least a reward of equivalent value—didn't that mean he essentially possessed nine Rainbow-grade Civilization Tenet effects?
This would be a massive boost to the civilization's overall power!
Of course.
The prerequisite was actually managing to create nine wonders.
But he had already produced one now. Could the remaining eight really be that far away?
Immediately after.
The screen displayed the effect description for this Civilization Tenet.
-
"This Civilization Tenet grants the civilization's territory and all planets under its name a higher-dimensional superposition state. They will never be forcefully collapsed into two dimensions and will possess priority when ascending to a higher dimension."
-
"..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the introduction of this Civilization Tenet. He roughly understood its effect now. It was a defensive Civilization Tenet. If anyone attempted to forcefully collapse his civilization into a two-dimensional state, he could simply ignore it.
However—
The amount of information hidden in that single sentence went far beyond just that.
It was practically stating outright that there was a crisis in the universe, or rather, that certain civilizations possessed the means to forcefully collapse others into two dimensions.
Wasn't this exactly what a Two-Way Foil did?
He turned his head to look out the window at the newly born Civilization Wonder, 'Zerg's Silence'. His expression grew somewhat complicated. Just a moment ago, he had been in a state of excitement and pride, having researched a brand new method of attack. Given the Stellar Train's current strength, it completely crushed any Level 2 or even Level 3 civilization.
He had felt that his civilization's strength was pretty good in the grand scheme of the universe.
But reality had quickly poured a basin of cold water over his head.
Between forced erasure and forced dimension reduction...
His proudest methods were almost not worth mentioning in the face of such advanced civilization weapons. He was completely incapable of countering them. He needed to be far more cautious. The universe was simply too dangerous; sticking his neck out even slightly could draw the covetous gazes of other civilizations.
He had to acquire a forced erasure method of his own as quickly as possible.
Whether he used it or not was one thing.
But he absolutely had to have it.
He needed to obtain these high-level methods soon, otherwise, he would have no sense of security whatsoever. It was no different from walking down the street completely naked.
However...
The good news was that by drawing this Rainbow-grade 'Higher-Dimensional Planet' Civilization Tenet, he would be completely immune to forced dimension reduction methods from now on.
In the past, whenever he drew something good, he would be overjoyed.
But after seeing more of the universe...
That joy had gradually diminished. It wasn't that the items he drew were bad; it was that the universe was just too vast. Whatever he could draw, someone else out there could eventually draw too. He needed to accumulate an overwhelming foundation—so much that even he couldn't keep track of it all—just to carve out a territory of his own in the universe to develop in peace.
So, next up...
"..."
Chen Mang looked up at the Doppelganger Radar. A dense cluster of red dots showed the Zerg Civilization urgently assembling its army within its borders. He decided to go wipe out the Zerg Civilization first. He planned to head to a Wormhole left behind by the Kasa Civilization nearby and jump to the spacetime node closest to the Zerg's core.
It was a hidden Wormhole.
He had to thank the Kasa Civilization for constructing so many Wormholes. It meant he didn't have to build his own spacetime Wormholes when jumping around this region. Picking up the fruits of their labor was quite nice.
It saved him a considerable amount of resources.
Except...
He didn't leave immediately.
The Power Magnet was operating at maximum output. Massive amounts of Spider Silk materials were being rapidly sucked into the train. This could actually be considered a natural talent of the Zerg Civilization; when Zerg monsters died, they dropped materials, and some of those could be used to upgrade train components.
Like Spider Silk, for example.
Humans didn't have this talent.
They truly were a race favored by the heavens.
Later on...
He could raise his Spider Legs to an even higher level to see what the Level 1000 Overlimit Effect would be. The only problem was that upgrading the Spider Legs to Level 1000 required one hundred trillion units of Spider Silk.
Even if he slaughtered the entire Zerg Civilization...
Would he even be able to gather that much Spider Silk?
He highly doubted it.
Very soon, however...
Chen Mang no longer harbored any doubts.
The Zerg Civilization's frontline garrison consisted of tens of millions of monsters. This alone was incredibly shocking. These were tens of millions of monsters capable of surviving in the vacuum of space, each possessing individual strength exceeding Level 100!
The human population was certainly large.
But very few humans could survive in space without any protective measures, let alone boast an individual strength over Level 100.
If this were placed in a Cultivation civilization...
It would be the equivalent of tens of millions of immortals.
This was precisely why Cultivation civilizations had declined. Attaining the status of an immortal required extreme innate talent, vast amounts of resources, immense time, and tremendous luck. Yet, for the Zerg Civilization, producing entities of that caliber was as easy as a dog having a litter of pups; they could churn out massive batches casually.
And the Zerg Civilization was merely a Level 2 civilization.
The fact that Cultivation civilizations had only declined and not been entirely wiped out was already a miracle worth celebrating.
After surpassing Level 100...
There were no longer strict level restrictions. This meant that every single one of these tens of millions of monsters could inflict damage on a train. Even if the damage was minuscule, their sheer numbers meant they could eventually grind a target to dust.
Of course.
The trains being referred to here were the ones belonging to the Mechanical Civilization and the Kasa Civilization.
As for his train...
These creatures could grind away at it for a hundred years and still not cause a single percent of wear and tear. Even if they managed a scratch, the armor would automatically repair itself in the blink of an eye.
Against the Zerg Civilization, he was absolutely invincible.
The Zerg Civilization's ability to mass-produce Level 100 monsters so rapidly was exactly why they could run rampant through the Dead End Star System. If they hadn't started fighting another Zerg faction trying to enter the Dead End Star System right after wiping out the Mechanical Civilization, the Kasa Civilization would have likely been destroyed long ago.
They never would have lasted until he left Water Blue Star.
In that sense, he really had to thank the Kasa Civilization for giving him a foothold.
Otherwise, the moment he left Water Blue Star, he would have found the entire Dead End Star System occupied by the Zerg Civilization. He wouldn't have been able to find a single resource point and would have been trapped near Water Blue Star until he died.
By now, he had jumped through the Wormhole and arrived inside the Zerg Civilization's territory, merely a few million kilometers away from their core. The Kasa Civilization must have expended a massive amount of resources and energy to build this hidden Wormhole right on the Zerg's doorstep.
At the very least, they must have had to draw the Zerg Civilization's attention away in order to stealthily bore a hole right outside the enemy's front door.
Otherwise, the spatial fluctuations would have been far too obvious.
Wormholes could be set to remain hidden after being opened, but even hidden Wormholes created extremely glaring spatial ripples the moment they were forged. It was hard not to draw attention.
From such a close distance.
He could see it clearly.
Ahead of him, hundreds of planets were clustered together, orbiting a total of thirteen stars.
The Doppelganger Radar screen displayed the data with absolute clarity.
In this region—
If counting only Zerg monsters above Level 100, there were tens of billions of them.
If counting all Zerg monsters, there were quadrillions.
Yes.
Quadrillions.
It was an obscenely exaggerated number. Most of the Zerg monsters were not very high level. The radar showed countless monsters gnawing on iron ore, clearly in the process of leveling up and evolving.
Most importantly.
This massive horde of monsters could continuously resurrect.
A force like this sweeping through the Dead End Star System would face virtually no resistance.
"Wait a minute!"
Chen Mang suddenly frowned as he stared at the scene on the radar. "Where did they get so much iron ore?"
He watched as quadrillions of Zerg monsters almost universally clutched large chunks of iron ore, gnawing away at blinding speeds. Every single monster was rapidly growing stronger at a visible rate, but...
He knew exactly how barren the Dead End Star System was.
The resources in the north had basically been strip-mined by the Mechanical Civilization.
The resources in the east had been mined by the Kasa Civilization, and he had completely harvested whatever little remained.
To the south was a Dark Abyss, completely devoid of resources.
Above and below were vast empty zones bordering other star systems, lacking planets, let alone resource-rich ore stars.
As for the Zerg Civilization in the west... Logically speaking, after so many years, how could they possibly have this much resource wealth left?
More importantly...
On the Doppelganger Radar screen, many of the monsters over Level 100 gave him a very... new feeling.
Yes, exactly. New.
The batch of monsters he had seen on the Zerg frontlines were covered in injuries—missing arms and legs. But here, vast quantities of Level 100 monsters looked completely pristine, bearing no battle scars whatsoever.
It was as if they had just evolved.
Immediately after.
He witnessed a miraculous sight.
"Is that a... black hole?"
On the surface of one of the planets, a slowly rotating black hole sat in place. Hordes of Zerg were continuously streaming in and out of the black hole, dragging out massive amounts of resources with every return trip.
And they were all high-grade resources.
A black hole couldn't possibly exist on a planetary surface.
This wasn't a true black hole.
It was merely an existence resembling a black hole.
"Damn it!"
Chen Mang couldn't help but curse silently in annoyance. Wasn't the universe showing far too much favoritism toward the Zerg Civilization?
It was obvious that the Zerg Civilization had discovered something akin to an ancient ruin. The reason they hadn't launched an attack recently was because they were taking the time to digest this massive stockpile of resources!
The Zerg's overall strength was skyrocketing at a speed visible to the naked eye!
At the very least—
He firmly believed the Zerg Civilization hadn't possessed this level of power before.
Otherwise, with tens of billions of monsters over Level 100, why would they have dawdled for so long against the Mechanical Civilization and the Kasa Civilization? They could have steamrolled them in minutes!
There wouldn't have been so much unnecessary trouble!
And this was a massive, utter waste of resources!
The Zerg Civilization's method of resource consumption was universal enhancement, which meant at least ninety-nine percent of the resources were wasted. After all, even if a Level 1 Zerg monster evolved to Level 100, what impact could it actually have on the battlefield?
It would be far better to pool all those resources and concentrate them on cultivating a single, supreme Zerg monster.
But obviously...
In the universe, regardless of the civilization's form, rapidly cultivating a monster with terrifying individual strength was simply impossible. For a Train Civilization, Murphy Stones served as the ultimate bottleneck.
For the Zerg Civilization, the bottleneck was their devouring speed.
With so many resources, how long would it take for a single Zerg to devour them all? It could eat until it died of old age and still not even finish one percent of the stockpile.
Only he was exempt from this rule.
He possessed 0-Level Authority. As long as he had enough resources, a new god-tier civilization would be born into the universe by tomorrow.
The Human Civilization.
"What a waste! A complete and utter waste!"
By now, the Zerg Civilization had already discovered him. Massive swarms of Zerg monsters began taking off from the planets. Guided by the Zerg motherships, they sped toward him. Deep in space, it looked like a terrifying, oppressive black cloud sweeping forward—a truly staggering sight.
The Zerg monsters themselves were not very fast.
The only reason they could sprint through the cosmos was by using some method to latch onto the Zerg motherships and share their speed.
As long as the motherships were destroyed.
The speed of these Zerg monsters would instantly be reduced to that of cosmic ants, forcing them to crawl along inch by inch.
The Dead End Star System was his territory.
Any resources that appeared within his borders rightfully belonged to him!
That unknown black hole should be his as well!
Massive numbers of Zerg monsters took to the void, swarming toward him from all directions.
This was his final battle with the Zerg Civilization, the ultimate showdown. Both sides should have gone to war a month ago, but they had mutually chosen to quietly develop and bide their time instead.
Except...
It was exceedingly clear that Chen Mang had developed faster and grown far stronger.
The Zerg might have believed they would be invincible under the heavens once they finished digesting this batch of resources, but they hadn't anticipated that Chen Mang's fortuitous encounter was even greater. In the universe, one should never assume they had stumbled upon the greatest opportunity; there was always someone whose luck eclipsed yours.
And there was always someone more invincible than you.
When both sides wanted to wait.
The best solution was to wage war directly. You could never be certain if what you were waiting for would absolutely be stronger than what the enemy was waiting for. However, you could be absolutely certain that if the enemy wanted to wait, it meant they currently lacked confidence.
The Zerg's offensive was incredibly ferocious.
There were no probing attacks.
There were no war horns sounded.
In the silent vacuum of space, a nearly infinite tide of Level 100-plus Zerg monsters rose from the planets and surged toward the Stellar Train. Even though there was only one train, the Zerg Broodmother could control all Zerg monsters and perceive everything they encountered.
Evidently.
The Zerg Broodmother had already learned of what just happened.
She was keenly aware that this was the final, decisive battle.
There was no holding back.
She opened with her ultimate move right from the start.
Win or die.
This place held almost the entirety of the Zerg Civilization's foundation. Over these past days, the Zerg had gathered every single monster to this vicinity to undergo a massive, collective rapid evolution.
Chen Mang exhaled softly.
Looking at the scene unfolding before him, he slowly closed his eyes.
He knew that today was the day he would end things with the Zerg Civilization once and for all.
From this day forward.
There wouldn't be a single bug left within his territory.
The next moment—
The Stellar Train's Spider Legs slowly extended. Tearing through the fabric of space, the train vanished from its original spot and appeared in the Pseudo-Fourth Dimensional Space. Inside, tens of millions of Antenna Worms were densely packed together, resembling maggots infesting a piece of moldy meat.
This was one of the Zerg Civilization's greatest sources of confidence.
Infinite Resurrection!
However.
When a blazing beam of light swept through, annihilating every single Antenna Worm—even those millions of kilometers away—turning them completely into ash, the Zerg Civilization's greatest trump card vanished into thin air.
The Antenna Worms were far too frail. At merely Level 1, they couldn't withstand even the slightest shockwave.
Faintly.
He could hear the shrieks of several spiders.
Those were the spiders that had used their own spider legs to tear through space and enter the Pseudo-Fourth Dimensional Space, hiding the Antenna Worms here.
What they hadn't expected was...
Their enemy also possessed their exclusive ability.
He didn't exit the Pseudo-Fourth Dimensional Space right away. Instead, he stayed within the dimension and began picking off the Zerg motherships one by one.
The Level 200 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon was something those Zerg motherships fundamentally could not withstand.
It only took one shot.
To reduce them to flying ash.
In other Level 3 civilizations, a Level 200 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon would be treated as an absolute trump card. Yet in his hands, it was used like a basic auto-attack. He casually fired off dozens of shots, each one pinpoint accurate and brilliantly radiant.
When attacks were launched from the Pseudo-Fourth Dimensional Space, the enemy couldn't strike back even if they wanted to.
The Zerg Civilization reacted very quickly.
In no time, massive numbers of Zerg monsters and motherships appeared in the Pseudo-Fourth Dimensional Space and launched an assault against him.
In the blink of an eye, countless Zerg monsters completely surrounded the train.
They began gnawing at it madly.
But...
Chen Mang completely ignored them. No matter how many monsters there were, only a few could actually bite the armor at the same time. More importantly, they couldn't even leave a scratch. Even with the windows entirely blocked by writhing Zerg bodies, he simply drove the Stellar Train forward, precisely sniping the Zerg motherships.
This was an asymmetrical war.
An absolute crush.
In human society, combat sports often enforced strict weight classes. When the weight discrepancy exceeded a hundred kilograms, it was practically a one-sided slaughter where no amount of technique could bridge the gap.
In clashes between civilizations, when the power disparity reached a certain threshold, it resulted in the exact same absolute annihilation.
Just as a civilization possessing universal erasure weapons could effortlessly crush him, he could effortlessly crush the Zerg Civilization.
Under the weight of this overwhelming supremacy.
No matter how united, how bloodthirsty, or how intelligent the enemy was, they were nothing more than paper walls—shattering at the slightest touch.
"..."
Right now, the Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon was firing based on Xiao Ai's meticulously calculated angles. Meanwhile, Chen Mang lit a cigarette and strolled up to the floor-to-ceiling window at the front of the train. Staring at the bugs blanketing the glass mere inches away, his brow furrowed slightly.
Bugs.
Once magnified to this scale, they became utterly horrifying, instilling deep-seated dread.
Not a single organ on a bug's body had the slightest connection to aesthetic beauty.
Coupled with the copious amounts of purple and green slime...
The only feeling they evoked was sheer disgust.
He flicked his cigarette ash into the ashtray held by Xiao Fang standing nearby, murmuring absentmindedly, "I'll have to get the train washed later. After this battle is over, the exterior is going to reek."
"Perfect, absolutely perfect!"
At this moment, in Carriage 7, the Guard Carriage of the Stellar Train, Zhang Yiren was lugging a heavy camera, practically plastered against the window. With a face flushed with excitement, he aimed the lens at the scene outside. The imagery was far too stunning and visceral.
He was recording the entire process.
He wouldn't even need to add special effects in post-production; he could just use the raw footage as it was.
It was worth mentioning.
The times were progressing far too rapidly now.
Back on Water Blue Star, before the apocalypse arrived, creating grand explosion effects for movies generally cost exorbitant amounts of money. Because of that, many chose to trigger actual, physical explosions. Not only was the result more realistic, but it was also significantly cheaper than generating CGI.
But now.
Creating special effects simply required a word to Xiao Ai. Effects that once took years of rendering were now generated in a single second.
And the quality was vastly superior.
She would output ten different versions at once, with more available upon request.
Yet, no matter how flawless the CGI, nothing was as viscerally satisfying as a genuine, real-life spectacle like this.
Since Carriage No. 10 had no windows, he had hoisted his camera onto his shoulder and sprinted straight to Carriage 7.
"..."
Grasping his Mecha suitcase in hand, Biaozi was ready to lead his squad in a desperate charge the instant the command was given. He stood completely expressionless, staring blankly out the window, remaining silent for a long time.
The moment the war broke out.
He had rallied all his team members, hoisted their Mecha suitcases, and awaited the singular order to slaughter their way out!
But—
He had never received the order. And he never would.
A war of this caliber was something they had absolutely no right to intervene in. The sense of letdown this brought was suffocating. He would much rather die a hot-blooded death on the battlefield than sit here quietly watching, purely because he was too weak.
Whether they won or lost, it had absolutely nothing to do with him.
"Alright now."
Lao Zhu, who was sitting nearby, patted Biaozi's shoulder and spoke softly, "Individual strength is utterly insignificant in the face of an entire civilization. Relax, don't overthink it. Haven't you seen Zhang Damei? She already applied for retirement. The civilization is moving forward, and not everyone can keep pace. We have to recognize this reality."
Biaozi looked toward the bunk inside the train that had once belonged to Zhang Damei.
Once the train's development got on track, Zhang Damei had applied for a transfer back to Water Blue Star, taking up the mantle of Police Chief in Taiping City, tasked with maintaining law and order.
As long as a person came from the Stellar Train.
Even if they were former miners.
They could easily secure a decent government position on the outside.
They didn't even have to say anything.
During job assignments, merely flashing their low-digit Resident ID was an absolute symbol of being a founding veteran. They would never go hungry. For those who didn't want to be officials, they were given money to start businesses.
Looking back from the current heights, the contributions those miners had made were microscopic.
But at that specific time, their contributions to the Stellar Train were indelible and irreplaceable.
As long as he wished.
He could head to Water Blue Star, or any other planet, and instantly become a high-ranking official.
His seniority was too high.
He had stellar merits, and his Resident ID was 003.
If he wanted to, he didn't need to stay on this Stellar Train where he had no room to utilize his talents. He could be a mighty local official wielding absolute authority. But... that wasn't what he wanted.
He just wanted to be the head enforcer.
To be the sharpest blade in Lord Mang's hand.
To slaughter all enemies for Lord Mang.
And to earn... Lord Mang's approval.
Just like the last time he had earned merit and suffered critical injuries. The photos of his battered body and the shattered fragments of his Mecha had been framed and hung on the wall in Carriage 8, the residential carriage. They weren't hanging there anymore.
They had been transferred to the Stellar Train Museum on Water Blue Star.
Placed in an extremely prominent exhibit.
And he had even made it into the history textbooks of the Human Civilization.
This was what he truly desired.
Every time he saw children clutching their history books, marveling at his fearlessness, a surge of excitement and secret gratification would wash over him.
However.
There might never be an opportunity like that again.
Biaozi turned his head again to look at the brothers, Zhang Yi and Zhang Er, sitting near the window. Even while staring at the repulsive Zerg monsters outside, they were still happily munching on their roujiamo. He suddenly chuckled helplessly.
Perhaps he was just overthinking things.
When a man had too much weighing on his mind, he lived an unhappy life.
If Zhang Yi and Zhang Er wanted to, they could also become officials. But the two of them didn't possess a shred of ambition in that regard. They didn't feel guilty about their lack of utility on the train. They had no complex thoughts whatsoever. They just trained every day and ate their roujiamo, exactly like the old days.
The living conditions on the train were much better now.
There was an abundance of superior delicacies.
Yet, these two exclusively loved eating roujiamo.
It was as if they were heavily addicted to it.
He had asked them why once.
Both gave the same answer: 'This stuff packs a punch when you eat it.'
His gaze then shifted toward the Refrigerator sitting in the corner of the train. That had once served as Shan Maozi and Meijia's bridal chamber. He still vaguely remembered the scene of them getting married under everyone's witness, becoming the very first officially wedded couple on the train.
Except...
Now, even Shan Maozi had applied for retirement.
He had bought a massive house on Water Blue Star with Meijia.
This Refrigerator hadn't been moved away.
It was left behind as a memento.
Shan Maozi would occasionally bring Meijia to visit them. Whenever they did, they would sleep inside the Refrigerator. The memories of the past flooded back into his mind; there were so many things he couldn't forget. He had been through so much following Lord Mang.
It was just that...
Things remained the same, but the people had changed.
Biaozi let out a long breath and suddenly laughed. "Lao Zhu, once this is all over, I think I'm going to retire too. I'll have to trouble you to arrange a good post for me when the time comes."
"Hah," Lao Zhu waved his hand, mildly amused. "Do you even need to say that? With your ID number, seniority, and resume, how could you possibly end up anywhere bad? Take your pick."
"It's still better for you. You get to stay on the train indefinitely."
"I'm just lucky," Lao Zhu sighed wistfully.
"Lao Zhu."
"Yeah?"
"Actually, I saw you before the apocalypse hit."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"When?"
"A long time ago. Back when a huge crowd swarmed your office demanding an explanation, you were the one who stepped out to settle it."
"I remember the guy leading the mob... It wasn't you."
"I wasn't the leader. I was watching from a distance. Even back then, I knew you were a good man."
"Tch, don't flatter me. Whenever people praise me, it goes straight to my head."
Meanwhile.
Sitting in Carriage No. 5, Ji Chuchu gazed out the window in a trance. Yan Yao sat beside her. Their status on the train was exceptionally unique, so much so that...
Anyone else could retire.
But the two of them absolutely could not.
Of course.
They didn't really have any desire to retire either.
It was just...
The train had developed so rapidly. The events they had experienced felt as though they had happened yesterday, yet simultaneously felt like an eternity ago.
"It feels like it's been a long, long time," Ji Chuchu whispered.
"Long?" Yan Yao curled her lips. "Lord Mang hasn't even taken me to bed that many times. I'm so tight I could pop open a beer bottle."
"...Your choice of words has become so vulgar."
"Am I being vulgar?" Yan Yao sounded aggrieved. "Do you know how long it's been? Even the most chaste woman would be driven to nymphomania after this much time!"
"..."
Ji Chuchu was rendered speechless for a moment. After a long pause, she spoke in a hushed voice, "I want to have a child."
"With who?"
"Who else could it be..."
"I think you'd have a higher chance with literally anyone else. With Lord Mang, it's highly unlikely. He doesn't strike me as someone who wants kids."
Yan Yao picked up a hand mirror from the table and stared at her reflection.
"Not a sign of aging. Still as youthful as ever. That's good enough."
Ji Chuchu didn't reply, simply turning her head to gaze out the window again. The carriage fell into silence once more.
This war should have shaken the entire Dead End Star System to its core.
Yet barely anyone knew it was happening.
The only spectators were the crew aboard the Stellar Train.
Of the nearly ten thousand civilizations within the Kasa Civilization Federation, many hadn't even received news that a war had started, and it was already approaching its end.
Under this completely one-sided slaughter.
The Zerg motherships were rapidly picked off one by one, completely annihilated.
With the motherships destroyed, the tens of billions of monsters over Level 100 all slowed down significantly. They sluggishly crawled through the vacuum of space, dragging themselves along like toddlers learning to walk.
Chen Mang first completely purged the Zerg monsters that had breached the Pseudo-Fourth Dimensional Space.
Then, he resorted to his old trick.
He hurled out several gas giants that he had specifically captured before coming here.
Under the gravitational fields flawlessly calculated by Xiao Ai, a massive slingshot effect took hold. Tens of billions of Level 100 monsters—a force capable of devastating practically any Level 3 civilization—were molded like clay by an invisible, gargantuan hand.
They were gradually funneled and straightened into a single, massive line.
The sheer scale of this operation was vastly larger than when he had created the 'Zerg's Silence'.
After all, the numbers involved were on a completely different magnitude.
He had to deploy a multitude of planets, using 'gas giants' with their immense gravitational pulls as relay stations, just to pull this off.
"..."
The Stellar Train hovered against the pitch-black canvas of the universe. Chen Mang sat at the control console, impassively observing the sight before him. Tens of billions of monsters, a terrifyingly overwhelming force, had been effortlessly twisted into a perfectly straight line.
And all he had to do.
Was simply—
Press the red button on the control console.
When the button was pressed.
A searing white beam slashed across the cosmos. Then, he heard it. In the soundless void of space, he heard the agonizing wails of tens of billions of dying souls.
It was a battle of absolute subjugation.
The main army of the Zerg Civilization lined up in space like lambs waiting for the slaughter. The Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon pierced cleanly through from front to back. Massive clouds of purple blood mist sprayed into the void, forming eerie, drifting nebulas.
With just this single shot.
The Zerg Civilization could practically be declared extinct.
But—
This was only the Zerg's main strike force, comprised entirely of monsters above Level 100. Back on the Zerg planets, there were still more monsters—a staggering quadrillion of them!
It was a truly horrifying figure.
Even stripped of their ability to resurrect, they were still practically a boundless, unending tide.
This was the Zerg Civilization's second most terrifying method.
Infinite Reproduction.
Immediately following that!
Vast hordes of Zerg monsters below Level 100 launched into space in unison, initiating a suicidal assault against Chen Mang's train.
However...
With all the Zerg motherships destroyed in battle, it would take a very long time for this new wave of monsters to crawl all the way to the Stellar Train.
Chen Mang piloted the Stellar Train, bringing his artificial gravitational field directly into the airspace above the hundreds of planets in the Zerg Civilization's core territory.
The scene that unfolded next.
Was like a colossal meat grinder.
Countless Zerg monsters rocketed into space, only to be helplessly sucked in by the gravitational fields. They were forced into a neat line in the void, whereupon a searing white beam would carve through the cosmos. Then, another massive swarm would launch, and the process would repeat.
On and on, endlessly repeating.
Chen Mang eventually lost count of how many times this cycle repeated.
He only knew that the level of the Zerg monsters taking flight was getting lower and lower.
By the very end.
Many of the low-level monsters couldn't even fly; they clung desperately to the backs and bodies of slightly higher-level monsters just to break out into space. But the moment they breached the atmosphere, their inability to survive the vacuum killed them instantly, rapidly deteriorating into corpses before he even had to fire.
Even with a meat grinder of this scale.
The battle still waged on for three days and three nights.
A full three days and three nights passed.
When everything finally fell utterly silent.
When the Stellar Train's light energy main cannon finally ceased its roaring.
Tens of millions of kilometers of space were blanketed in drifting purple nebulas. These were the bloody remnants left behind by the deceased Zerg monsters, painting this sector of the universe into an astonishingly beautiful, macabre landscape.
On the Doppelganger Radar, not a single living creature remained.
To be precise.
Only two living entities were left.
The two Broodmothers of the Zerg Civilization.
And with that—
The Zerg Civilization was destroyed!
He had prepared for this war for a very, very long time, yet its actual duration was incredibly brief. From start to finish, his side maintained near-zero casualties. The only recorded injury was a guard in Carriage 7 who accidentally slipped and sprained his ankle while climbing the window to watch the battle.
Other than resources and time, he suffered no losses whatsoever.
In truth, he hadn't even expended that many resources.
Before the war broke out, he had prepared enough resources to fire the Level 200 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon over ten million times.
He had figured that would be just about enough.
But in reality, after developing the gravitational field tactics earlier that day, his efficiency had skyrocketed. He hadn't even used ten thousand shots, drastically reducing his resource consumption.
It was a curb-stomp battle from beginning to end.
The Zerg Civilization had also displayed its own brand of ferocity. They had fought until the absolute last soldier fell, leaving only the Broodmothers alive. Even their newborn hatchlings had died on the battlefield.
"..."
Chen Mang's expression was serene as he looked at the final two red dots remaining on the Doppelganger Radar. "Are they not planning to run, or is it a trap?" he muttered softly.
He hadn't forgotten the Zerg Civilization's most terrifying tactic.
Infinite Wormholes.
Yet, after the war officially commenced.
Aside from the very beginning—where the Zerg had opened multiple Wormholes from all directions to relentlessly drop troops and besiege the Stellar Train—he hadn't seen a single Wormhole used since.
He hadn't shut his eyes for three days.
He had been waiting vigilantly for the Zerg Civilization to open a Wormhole to flee, ready to instantly destroy it the moment they tried.
But he never saw a single sign that the Zerg intended to run.
"Let's go. Time to land and take a look."
Even if it was a trap, he had to visit that planet.
That unknown black hole was located right on its surface. Staggering amounts of resources were ceaselessly pouring out of it. He wanted to know what that black hole was, and he fiercely coveted the riches held within.
The Stellar Train slowly glided through the sprawling purple nebulas, eventually descending onto the Zerg planet, touching down right beside the two remaining entities.
"Hiss—"
Accompanied by a sound similar to venting steam.
The carriage doors slowly parted.
Wearing a bowler hat and leaning on a walking stick, Chen Mang stepped out of the train entirely alone. His boots touched down on the foreign soil as his eyes swept over his surroundings.
The earth was a reddish-brown.
The ground was completely honeycombed, riddled with countless tunnel entrances. This place had originally housed massive amounts of hatchlings, but when the battle reached its bitter end, the Zerg Civilization had practically sent them all to their deaths, forcing countless infants onto the battlefield.
He hadn't allowed Biaozi and the others to disembark with him.
Mainly because he feared unforeseen risks.
Perhaps this was some sort of sacrificial ritual of the Zerg Civilization. It was entirely possible that after the total annihilation of their race, the Broodmother's strength would skyrocket immensely.
He could share the train's armor defense.
And he wanted to see this with his own eyes.
The air hung heavy with the acrid scent of gunpowder smoke.
It smelled as if the soil itself was exuding it. It wasn't a pleasant scent.
After glancing around, Chen Mang quickly spotted the final two red dots indicated on the Doppelganger Radar. A short distance away, two grotesque, massive globes of flesh sat paralyzed at the bottom of a gargantuan crater.
His brow creased slightly.
These two Broodmothers.
They resembled obscenely fat, pale mealworms, yet scaled up to monstrous proportions. There was no telling how much of their bodies remained buried underground, but the segments protruding above the surface alone towered over twenty feet high. At their frontal tips was a massive human-like face, completely ghastly white and disturbingly blurry.
On either side.
Were four tentacles, somewhat resembling spider legs.
They were far from a beautiful sight.
These were the Broodmothers of the Zerg Civilization; the sovereign rulers of two distinct Zerg factions.
"Tch."
Chen Mang clicked his tongue. He cast a glance toward the slowly rotating, unknown black hole in the distance. Without another word, he prepared to head back into the train to finish off the two Zerg Broodmothers.
He had simply wanted to see for himself, up close, what the Zerg Broodmothers actually looked like. It offered a far more visceral perspective than looking at dots on the Doppelganger Radar screen, and it served as a fitting period to cap off this chapter of his journey.
Now that he had seen them, it was time to end it.
To see the face of the Broodmothers who had once nearly taken his life.
It was mildly repulsive.
Hardly aligning with human aesthetic standards.
The Zerg Civilization was already dead in all but name. Once these two Zerg Broodmothers perished, the Zerg Civilization would officially be wiped from existence.
He didn't turn his back on them.
Instead, he slowly backed away, preparing to retreat into his train.
Even though he shared the train's armor defense, he still had no desire to expose his back to his enemies.
But right at that moment—
His eyes suddenly narrowed. He watched as one of the Broodmothers reached into a cavity in its own abdomen and retrieved a small object. It raised the object into the air with a tentacle, waved it around slightly, and then tossed it, letting it land right in front of him.
"..."
Chen Mang stared in silence at the little object tossed at his feet.
It was a...
Translator device.
The Zerg Broodmother wanted to communicate with him.
This was something he had completely failed to anticipate. The intelligence level of the Zerg Broodmother seemed significantly higher than he had imagined. At the very least, she was capable of rational communication.