"Gravity, those threads are actually transmitting gravity!"
Liulian was shocked beyond belief.
Gravity transmission was not uncommon among 2nd-level civilizations and could even be considered a foundation.
However, this type of gravity was still in a relatively primitive stage, much like the difference between ancient humans using fire and modern humans using fire.
Ordinary gravity weapons simply used energy and mass to induce gravity, but what he witnessed was a thread civilization transmitting gravity along a thread.
The phenomenon caused by this transmission was that all objects enveloped by the threads collapsed towards a tiny central gravity point.
It was an extremely small black hole, with a diameter of about 1 meter, but due to the existence of the threads, its gravitational range became incredibly vast.
The immense gravitational force pulled at the Federation's biological spaceship.
The Federation's biological spaceship wanted to accelerate and fly away, but it was impossible.
"Calculate!"
"Quickly, calculate for me!"
Liulian ordered.
He wanted to know the magnitude of the gravity transmitted by those threads.
The calculation didn't take long, and the conclusion was that the escape velocity required for the spaceships to escape the gravitational force transmitted by the threads was 23.24 million km/s, meaning they would have to exceed 77.5% of the speed of light to break free from the gravity pulled out of the black hole by the threads.
This was something the current Federation civilization couldn't achieve.
Those battleships were bound to fall into the core of the black hole.
However, within the cocoon, the thread civilization's own battleships did not transmit gravity, and the gravity of the 1-meter-diameter black hole had no effect on them.
"No wonder they want to engage in close-range combat."
"Although it's a black hole with a 1-meter diameter, if it exists long enough, it can swallow anything."
At this moment, facing the black hole, they were like humans on Earth facing nuclear weapons. There was no way to intercept and destroy it before it detonated, nor could they suppress it after it had been triggered.
There was no other way.
Liulian could only watch helplessly as the battleships were pulled towards the black hole.
"Captain, stay calm."
"Don't forget, we still have a chance. As long as we can cut off the thread civilization's energy source, the black hole won't last long."
At this moment, a voice came through, and although Liulian didn't know who it was, anyone contacting him at this time was most likely a high-ranking officer in the fleet.
With this voice, Liulian calmed down.
The battleship wasn't directly sucked into the black hole's event horizon; it would still take a long time to reach the 1-meter-wide black hole.
Liulian glanced at the time.
February 11, 37120, 11:58:10 PM.
"Is the super-counter-substance transfer device ready?"
"We don't need to fire the restoration beam; this beam carries other things internally, causing the speed of light to be only 90% of its normal speed. I'm not sure if it can be precise."
Any deviation could lead to the failure of the super-counter-substance transfer.
"It's ready. It's estimated to be launched at midnight, and the coordinates and time have been corrected. The estimated success rate of the docking is as high as 98.1%."
The main system performed the analysis, but Liulian couldn't rest easy because it wasn't 100%. Although he knew that nothing could be 100%, if it wasn't 100%, he felt it was bound to fail.
He was deeply worried.
The primary purpose of the full-scale offensive was to create an opportunity for the super-counter-substance transfer and to place the enemy on the path of the super-counter-substance transfer, allowing the transmitted battleship to be right at the center of the thread civilization's fleet.
Soon, countless lights carrying special restoration information were fired.
It wouldn't take long for the two beams of light to meet.
Since the thread civilization's battleship was already close enough to them, only a few astronomical units away, it would take just 2 days to transmit.
2 days passed in the blink of an eye.
The highly concentrated light couldn't be detected in advance, and the thread civilization showed no response at all.
When they observed, a 100,000-meter-class Federation battleship had already appeared there.
This battleship was different from ordinary ones, as it used a modularized main system to ensure the core system was not damaged.
This meant that the main system was composed of tens of thousands of modules, and even if some modules were lost, the system could still operate.
As a result, the battleship could immediately attack after transmission, without the need for repairs or system replacement after transmission.
The moment the battleship was restored, the main system responded.
It aimed at the suspected thread civilization battleship.
The surrounding thread civilization battleships didn't even notice this battleship at this time because it took time for the light to reach them. However, since they were originally there, they were constantly emitting light in all directions, so the transmitted battleship observed them first.
This was a time difference.
The battleship itself did not carry energy but had a device capable of generating energy. This device could absorb surrounding dark energy, accumulate it, and then fire it through the main cannon.
This was a special battleship, and everything about it was disposable because its energy absorption speed was incredibly fast, requiring only 2 hours to complete charging.
The dark energy cannon was fired 2 hours later.
After about 3 more hours, the thread civilization's battleship finally observed the suddenly appearing battleship.
They began to respond.
However, the 2-hour response time was completely insufficient, and as expected, the dark energy cannon struck the core battleship of the thread civilization's fleet.
That battleship was instantly destroyed...
2 days later, Liulian finally received the message of success, and he was so nervous that he ordered all probes to investigate the status of the threads.
Time passed second by second, and Liulian was more anxious than ever.
If his judgment was wrong, not only would all the battleships be lost, but the entire battle could fail.
After 3 minutes and 28 seconds...
He finally saw the threads disappear.
"Success! I was right!"
At this moment, Liulian also received a reminder that his task as a Reincarnator was complete.
[Congratulations on completing the series of side quests 'Total War (3) - Super-Counter-Substance Transfer'.]
[You have received a reward: 100,000 Ability Coins.]
[You have unlocked the next stage of the side quest 'Total War (4) - Defeat the Thread Civilization Fleet'.]
Liulian's face showed no sign of joy, and he said, "Continue with the offensive command."
"Even without the threads, their battleships are still powerful, and we can't let our guard down."
Indeed.
The thread civilization's battleships had combat capabilities far superior to the Federation's.
It was still too early to celebrate. They had to eliminate the thread civilization's battleships completely.
He wasn't doing this for the side quest rewards but to ensure his own survival. Failure in war meant death, and no amount of rewards could change that.
This wouldn't be easy.
For Luliang, the battlefield had already exhausted him both physically and mentally.
Yan Xia, as the commander of the entire silk thread battle, had Luliang's battlefield as one of his concerns.
His gaze encompassed the entire battlefield, spanning a vast starry region of over 30 light-years.
Luliang's guess was correct, which brought Yan Xia great relief. This relief stemmed from the fact that he had made the right choice.
The Federation was currently lacking in such talents.
"Yan Xia, if Luliang's mission truly fails, will you erase him?" Ella asked, noticing the data on Yan Xia's desk.
That data was everything about Luliang.
Yan Xia glanced at the data as well.
"The Death Selection is a military talent selection program, not a real-life death game."
His answer was evident.
Of course not!
Although countless lives had perished in it, the top tier enjoyed privileges, and these privileges were well-deserved.
As Reincarnators, they were not merely pigs standing at the edge of a precipice, nor were they second-generation rich kids born with a silver spoon in their mouths without contributing anything. They had paid a higher price than ordinary Reincarnators to reach this stage, and their survival did not mean a life of leisure. Instead, it came with greater responsibilities.
Luliang was the strongest Reincarnator in the past ten thousand years. Yan Xia had previously granted some privileges to Reincarnators, but some of them couldn't accept the reality and collapsed, while others gradually became complacent after returning to a normal life.
Yan Xia hoped that Luliang would not follow the same path.
"Report on the situation in the other battlefields."
Ella spoke up, "There are a total of 14 battlefields. We have the advantage in 11 of them, but the remaining 3 are not looking optimistic."
"The reason is that there were errors in the decision-making of the ship commanders in those 3 battlefields, and they didn't fully grasp the situation."
"The Silk Civilization didn't launch a direct attack. Instead, they waited in ambush. They became impatient and voluntarily left the star system to engage the Silk Civilization's fleet in the ambush."
Of course, the details were not that simple.
Yan Xia took a look at the information from the three locations and found that the number of Silk Civilization's battleships in these areas was the least, with only 7,000 to 8,000. The strength he had deployed in various places was roughly the same, and in other battlefields, they could capture more enemies with the same number of ships. However, in these three locations, there were fewer enemies, yet they were at a disadvantage.
He pulled up the star map and noticed that these three locations were not far from each other, and they were not the main battlefields.
"This is the tactic of the Silk Civilization. Perhaps there is a high-ranking officer of the Silk Civilization among them."
"It's too late to send our battleships there now. The situation has turned against us, and we can consider abandoning these three locations. The number of escaping battleships is not large, and they won't pose a significant threat to us."
Yan Xia said this, but he still fured his brows, feeling that it wasn't that simple.
"There might be other areas that I've overlooked."
Yan Xia thought about this for half a month.
After exhausting his brainpower, he decided to relax and have a good meal in the cafeteria.
As he walked down the corridor, he saw a robot replacing the paintings on the wall. The new painting was a star map.
Yan Xia asked, "What area is this star map showing?"
It was hard to tell without any markings on a star map because, in addition to the original stars, there were also starlights from farther away, making the entire star map appear as if it were filled with the light of stars.
"The Federation!"
The robot pointed it out to Yan Xia, "This area is the star system we are currently in."
Yan Xia looked at it and suddenly froze.
He carefully examined the star map for a while and then directly used his secondary brain to retrieve a holographic star map for multi-angle viewing.
"So that's the case."
He finally understood the intention of the Silk Civilization.
But if this was their intention, then another condition must be met; the information they had might have been incorrect from the start.
"Ella!"
He called out, and Ella immediately took control of the robot in front of him.
"What did you find? Yan Xia!"
Yan Xia nodded and pointed at the star map, saying, "Look at this line, and this line, and this line..."
"The direction of these three lines should be quite clear."
Ella analyzed it for about 10 seconds and said, "So, you think the Silk Civilization is not trying to open an escape route but is completing an offensive?"
"But we have completely grasped the information about all their battleships. There shouldn't be any omissions."
There were 110,000 battleships, and they were all under their control.
It was precisely because of this that Yan Xia wondered if the information they controlled was wrong.
"What if the Silk Civilization didn't have 110,000 battleships from the beginning?"
"They might have some extra battleships hidden elsewhere, or they might have other means of concealment. I can't confirm the number of their battleships."
"But based on the information we have now, they are very likely to abandon the nearly 100,000 battleships in the other 11 battlefields and directly attack the three major star systems on the border of the Federation. If they succeed, the border of the Federation will be paralyzed."
This paralysis would last for a long time, and these three star systems were also energy supply points. If they were destroyed, the entire border of the Federation would be left wide open.
"We must take this calculation into account."
Yan Xia originally thought that his strategic scope was already broad enough, spanning over 30 light-years, but the Silk Civilization had identified the Federation's weakness in the overall strategic situation, which was terrifying.
It was at this moment that he truly felt like he was facing an entire civilization.
"Vision is too important on the interstellar battlefield. I was a bit too narrow-minded before."
"If I hadn't noticed this and ignored these three battlefields, I would have been facing a dead end."
"Withdraw my previous order and issue a new one. Hold these three battlefields at all costs, and simultaneously support them with some battleships via laser transmission."
Ella asked, "Do we need to send battleships to defend those three major star systems?"
Yan Xia considered it for a moment and shook his head.
"No, it's not possible, at least not at this stage. We must defend the entire border."
"Let me think..."
Yan Xia tried to broaden his perspective and made a decision in an instant.
"Since they want to come, we'll welcome them with open arms."
"Their plan is to capture the three major star systems, but at this moment, we have 11 fleets in the ambush. These 11 fleets have been worn out, so after capturing the three major star systems, what they need to do is not defend them but destroy them and then return to join another fleet to complete the pincer attack on the 11 fleets."
He looked at the rear of the Silk Civilization and suspected that there might be another fleet there.
Yan Xia couldn't think of any other possibilities. If there were no other battleships of the Silk Civilization, then destroying the three major star systems at this time would also sacrifice this portion of their battleships.
This cost was too high. Although it was still more beneficial than harmful to the Silk Civilization, it wouldn't be a stable move. The main force of the Silk Civilization had not yet arrived, and they didn't have the ability to fight quickly and decisively.
If the 11 fleets were to pincer this part of the Silk Civilization's battleships, it would also mean that the 11 fleets had returned to the border of the Federation. At that time, the border of the Federation would have some combat power. If the Silk Civilization's combat was not swift enough, they would be trapped in a protracted war on the border of the Federation, which would be extremely unfavorable for them.
"These three locations definitely can't hold off the Silk Civilization's fleet. Their fleet will definitely come."
"So, we'll evacuate all the citizens and energy from the three major star systems and avoid a direct confrontation with them. This way, our losses will be minimized."
"The other 11 fleets must not be stalemated at this time, as it will give the enemy the opportunity to defeat them one by one. The fleet with a greater advantage should abandon the entanglement with the Silk Civilization and join forces with the other fleets, creating a snowball effect, and eventually, all of them will gather here, in one star system."
"Here, we'll build a stellar-level defense to protect the star from being destroyed. We just need to hold out for 50 years."
"Remember, leave the laser transmission equipment in the original star system..."
This plan was the best solution Yan Xia could think of at the moment. If the Silk Civilization could avoid their observation, the number of hidden battleships would not be too outrageous.
Gathering is also a form of enticement. When the battlefield moves to a single star system, Yan Xia can use these laser transmission devices to transmit the battleships, attacking the Silk Civilization's 11 fleets from multiple directions.
The laser transmission will affect the Silk Civilization's time judgment, and the actual combat will be faster than they anticipated. This time difference is the advantage of the Federation after acquiring laser transmission.