Cataclysm: Undead Dragons and Zero Empire

Chapter 108 Unknown Visitor

The first batch of clones deployed on the battlefield exceeded Karen's expectations.

These genetically optimized and knowledge-infused warriors have demonstrated astonishing combat prowess. Their reaction speed and power output surpass those of the latest generation of genetically optimized soldiers in the Board's private army, making them tireless war machines on the battlefield.

"Commander, the Clone Legion has made a breakthrough," the commander reported, his voice brimming with barely concealed excitement that something was finally happening. "They've breached the enemy lines and are advancing deep into their territory!"

This was the result Karen had been waiting for, and the reward he had earned with countless resources. "Prepare to deploy the second batch of clone warriors. Order the clone legion to continue its advance and do not give Vickers any chance to regroup or reposition."

After the communication was interrupted, Karen turned to her trusted secretary and asked, "How is the biological brain functioning?"

"Everything is normal, Commander," Leah reported. "The experience data from the first batch of fallen clones has been successfully uploaded and is currently being integrated and optimized. This experience will be available for download to the second batch of clones before they are deployed."

Karen nodded. This was the true value of the biological brain central server. It was not just a knowledge storage device, but an intelligent system that was constantly learning and evolving. Every battle and every sacrifice made the clone army stronger.

"Commander," Lia hesitated slightly when faced with the new information, "There is an urgent report from the Hamborya Consortium star system."

Karen's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise. The Humboldt Alliance, the star cluster overlord whose core territory was destroyed by the Undead Dragon, had seen its rule crumble since that catastrophe, with the loss of its core territory causing its foundation to tremble.

However, the Covenant still possesses the power to overwhelm galactic overlords like the Boros Foundation. They still maintain vast colonial territories, massive fleets, and complete industrial systems in other galaxies within the galaxy cluster, and their every move can still determine the order of the entire galaxy cluster.

More importantly, Karen had already received intelligence that after the core territory of the Covenant was destroyed, the dominant civilization from a neighboring star cluster had officially declared war on the Covenant and dispatched a massive fleet toward the remaining territory of the Covenant, attempting to seize the legacy of this dominant power.

The alliance should be busy dealing with the invasion of foreign enemies and have no time to pay attention to the wars breaking out among other civilizations in the star cluster. Their core star field has become a huge void, losing its anti-observation capabilities, so that other civilizations can cast long-range observations there at any time.

"Commander, we have detected an anomaly in the parent system of the Humboldt Consortium."

"An unfamiliar fleet suddenly appeared in the ruins and craters of the Covenant's home system," the intelligence officer reported. "According to our observations, this fleet did not use any known hyperspace routes, nor did it leave any trails indicating the end of its faster-than-light journey. Instead—it appeared directly there."

Karen's brow furrowed sharply. "Appear directly? What do you mean?"

"There were no signs of spatial fluctuations before this fleet appeared," the intelligence officials, perhaps also finding it hard to believe, tried to explain to the commander-in-chief that this anomaly was "as if—as if they appeared out of thin air, without any process."

Karen paused for a moment, then asked, "What is the size of this fleet? Which civilization does it belong to?"

"The scale is not large, estimated to be only a dozen or so ships based on the signals," the intelligence officer reported. "However, we cannot identify their markings, and their ship design style—like a cross—is inconsistent with any civilization in our star cluster."

Upon hearing the news, Karen felt a sudden sense of unease. The sudden appearance of an unknown civilization in interstellar society was an extremely rare occurrence, but what worried him even more was the technological capabilities displayed by this unknown civilization. What did the arrival of this fleet mean?

Regarding the sudden appearance of this fleet, the research team offered their speculations to Karen. The most likely explanation was that the fleet was equipped with a warp drive, a technology the Foundation had only seen in the fleets of advanced civilizations. They could deduce the principle behind it, but had never mastered the method to translate that principle into reality.

Civilizations that have just entered the interstellar age use hyperspace routes to achieve faster-than-light travel between different star systems, while dominant civilizations like the Foundation often have their own methods to enable ships to reach faster-than-light speeds directly using their own engines.

The warp drive is completely different from these methods. It does not rely on naturally occurring spatial gaps and turbulence. Scientists within the Foundation speculate that this engine reconstructs spacetime between the origin and destination by tearing apart the continuity of spacetime, thereby changing the spatial position so that the ship can reach it.

The essence of this technology is not to make the ship fly to the destination, but to make the ship's current location directly become the destination, creating an "instant teleportation" effect.

The warp drive is a technology that the Foundation has not yet mastered. It has unparalleled advantages, namely that it is not restricted by natural routes and is not countered by faster-than-light suppressors. It can reach any corner of the universe at will. The disadvantage is that it requires knowledge of the spatial structure of the destination.

"If it really is a warp drive—", Karen muttered to herself.

The intelligence officer continued, "Commander, judging from their behavior, they don't seem to be targeting the Humboldt Consortium."

What is the basis for this claim?

"Based on our observations, the fleet cruised through the vast void of the entire galaxy after it appeared, ignoring communications from other civilizations," the intelligence officer said, puzzled. "Their behavior pattern is more like that of a research fleet than a military fleet."

Karen instantly thought of a possibility, "You think they're examining the destruction caused by the undead dragons?"

The intelligence officer nodded. "Commander, this is probably the most reasonable explanation. The core territory of the Humborian Covenant was completely destroyed by the Undead Dragon, and this river system has now become a desolate ruin."

Karen fell into deep thought. If this fleet was indeed here to investigate the destruction caused by the Undead Dragons, it meant that they came from a civilization more powerful than the Humborian Consortium, an advanced civilization with warp drive technology and an interest in the Undead Dragons.

The alliance may know the identity of this civilization, but the existence and intervention of such an advanced civilization will have a profound impact on the entire galaxy cluster's structure.

"Continue to monitor that fleet. I need to know their movements," Karen ordered. "At the same time, strengthen monitoring of our river system. If that unknown civilization is really interested in the undead dragons, they will notice us sooner or later."

"Yes, Commander!"

The intelligence officer ended the communication, but Karen had no interest in focusing on the civil war. He knew that the outcome of this civil war no longer depended solely on the battles on the battlefield; a greater storm was brewing in the wider cosmos.

In this chaotic world, can the Boros Global Foundation survive? And how will the Undead Dragons view all of this?

Karen had no answer; he had to end the civil war as soon as possible so that the Unity Foundation could have a chance to survive in this turbulent era.