Cataclysm: Undead Dragons and Zero Empire

Chapter 130 Witnessing War

The Ark Space Station, once a secluded paradise, has become the brain of human civilization, busy and tense.

The lights that never go out, the screens that are always displaying data, the constant stream of reports, and the faint aroma of coffee and the pervasive sense of tension in the air—these constitute the eternal atmosphere here.

The star map occupies the largest portion of the map, with points of light representing the territory of human civilization slowly spreading from the mother star system to dozens of surrounding star systems, like sparks spreading on a dark curtain or fluorescent bacteria growing silently in a night forest.

Howard stood before the star map, his gaze falling on the specially marked coordinates of the galaxy. It was the galaxy where the first habitable planet discovered by mankind was located, right in the space station's dock. The construction of the colony ship "Infinite Frontier" was nearing completion.

Soon, this colossal ship, carrying humanity's dream of interstellar colonization, will be able to leave the dock and take the first group of pioneers to that distant new world.

A large number of reports were laid out in front of Howard. His fingers slid across the screen as he quickly reviewed each document, occasionally signing his name on it.

The reports covered a wide range of topics, including the construction progress of colony ships, the follow-up experimental plans for the "Sky Ring" particle accelerator, a summary of the entire human civilization's mining of mineral resources in outer galaxies, and even a report on the internal purge within the Death Faction. Terence sent him a report on that as well.

Since taking on the responsibility of leading the "Riders of the Dead" and shouldering the burden of human civilization, Howard's responsibilities have become increasingly heavy. He is no longer just a soldier; the military and political power of the entire human civilization rests almost entirely on his shoulders.

When Howard shook hands with Terence in that tin shack, he never imagined that he, who had just taken on the responsibility of building the Rangers Anti-Corruption Company, would be overwhelmed by so many administrative duties in the future. He was just a soldier.

They've really fallen into Terrence's trap.

Just as Howard finished reviewing the fleet expansion plan and signed his name, a piercing alarm suddenly sounded in the command center.

The red warning light instantly cast a dangerous shadow over the area, and the piercing buzzer made the staff stop what they were doing and all look at the bright spot on the star map.

This level of alert is authorized by Howard and is only triggered when human research vessels sent to the edge of deep space encounter extreme situations, signifying that human civilization has finally encountered the unknown world.

Howard dropped everything and immediately took over command. "Bring it in, lock onto the signal source, and report the coordinates and ship number immediately."

The ship's number, Faraway VII, is clearly marked in the upper left corner of the communication interface.

This is one of the research vessels sent by human civilization to conduct deep space scientific research in other star systems. Their mission is to conduct a comprehensive exploration of the planetary resources and galactic environment of other star systems, and to search for potential habitable planets and resource-rich stars.

According to the voyage log, the ship should have just arrived in a new star system via a hyperspace route, taking a step towards the frontiers beyond human civilization.

"Establishing a two-way communication link — signal strength is very weak, our target is being subjected to strong signal interference."

"General! They've been brought in."

The next second, the screen lit up, the image was a little shaky, the background was a scene of the research vessel's cabin, and countless monitoring data were being refreshed rapidly on the screen there.

In the center of the screen, a man in a white uniform with gray hair is pressing his face against the monitor screen and patting it with his hand, trying to repair the monitor with a poor signal. He is Aaron, the captain and ship's scientist of the Faraway VII.

There was no panic on his face. Even with the occasional violent tremors of the ship in the background and the crew's tense reports, his tone remained as calm as if he were reporting daily data in a laboratory. It was as if he was not facing a danger that could destroy the entire ship, but just a routine astronomical observation.

"This is Faraway Seven. Captain Aaron is reporting to Ark Headquarters. Star coordinates—we have encountered a large-scale interstellar war on the outer edge of the star system. Again, a large-scale interstellar war."

Aaron operated the main console rapidly, transmitting sets of real-time monitoring data synchronously to the terminal at the Ark headquarters. The screen showed the first war between alien civilizations that human civilization had witnessed since entering the interstellar age.

The main star still radiated a soft light in the distance, while the star system, which should have been tranquil, was filled with countless beams of energy and the flames of explosions. The wreckage of warships floated slowly like broken metal leaves.

The two sides had distinct styles: one was a mechanical fleet made entirely of metal, and the other was a fleet of strangely shaped organic life forms.

"I will temporarily refer to them as the Party A and Party B fleets."

Aaron said calmly, as the camera zoomed in on the mechanical fleet.

Howard stared intently at the screen. The mechanical warships were so precisely designed that no windows or hatches could be seen on their surfaces. They were arranged in an attack array in space, and when they released their firepower, they were as orderly as the most precise clocks.

Even more strangely, when some warships were hit by enemy attacks and their hulls exploded and disintegrated, the metal wreckage still vaguely resembled the shape of the ships. Then, as if they had their own mobile dock inside, the wreckage actually began to reassemble itself.

Disassembly, remelting, and forging—the shattered warship parts were quickly recast into brand-new warships, which were immediately reinstated into the battle fleet, a truly seamless transition.

"We observed that the A-side fleet possesses real-time battlefield recovery and reforging capabilities, and it is estimated that they can directly utilize their own wreckage to produce combat units. Their battlefield endurance is outstanding. I cannot understand the logic of this industrial production," Aaron's voice finally became serious as he rapidly recorded the data. "Judging from this alone, their materials science and particle physics are more than a generation ahead of ours in terms of technological advancement."

"Report on the situation of the enemy fleet," Howard said in a deep voice. As a soldier who had spent his life on the battlefield, he understood the terrifying nature of such battlefield endurance and couldn't help but feel nervous, thinking of the enemy as a hypothetical one.

"The B party's fleet is estimated to be composed entirely of organic life, with the main body of the ships being biological tissue. It possesses extremely strong group combat capabilities and also has self-repairing endurance capabilities."

As Aaron manipulated the scene, the camera shifted to the other side of the battlefield. Howard, who was used to seeing blood and fire, even frowned and leaned back slightly when he saw this scene, as if something in the scene had crawled out and was rushing towards him.

Those so-called "warships" didn't look like aircraft at all; they were more like giant creatures floating in space. The largest warship looked like a worm, with a thick, dark shell covering its body and huge petal-shaped cavities opening up in its abdomen. Countless small biological carrier-based aircraft, like locusts, were pouring out of them to join the battle.

These warships and carrier-based aircraft maintain a form similar to that of arthropods, using flesh and blood to constrain plasma and propel them to fly at high speeds in space. The corrosive acid they spew from their mouths can even corrode a hole in the alloy armor of mechanical warships in an instant.

These warships were guarding a planet whose surface was completely covered in dark purple, as if the entire planet had been wrapped in a viscous film.

Aaron's ship was relatively close to the planet after leaving the hyperspace channel. From afar, they could see new warships emerging from the planet like dark clouds, as if the entire planet had been transformed into a giant, living nest.

"It has been observed that the B civilization may possess planetary reshaping capabilities and equally strong battlefield endurance, resulting in a situation of attrition and stalemate with the A civilization." The image transmitted by Aaron shook slightly, and a more violent explosion was heard in the background. The crew's exclamations rang out briefly, but he immediately suppressed them.