Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

Bai Yixuan raised his hand and gently tapped the spherical defensive line.

Swish!

The holographic image rapidly magnified, revealing specific information about the defense line.

A dense array of red dots appeared in front of him.

Those were warships of various types.

Since the probe was only observing from a distance, it could only get a brief look at the surface "structure" of the spherical defense.

"Initial estimates suggest there are 100,000 warships..."

Bai Yixuan sneered, "They seem to value us quite a bit."

"They've emptied the entire alliance's coffers!"

As he spoke, he turned to look at the holographic image on the side: "Zijie, what are your thoughts?"

In the scene, Zhao Zijie frowned slightly: "A defensive line composed of 100,000 warships..."

"Our expeditionary fleet only has 10,000 warships, a tenfold difference in manpower. This is a tough nut to crack."

"Especially since the opponent has the advantage of playing on home ground, this battle will be tough!"

Bai Yixuan nodded with a slightly solemn expression: "It is indeed not easy to fight."

"Perhaps we could choose to take a detour?"

"No," Zhao Zijie interrupted Bai Yixuan, "We need to conquer this alliance with an absolute victory."

"This is Professor Lü's request."

"The Human Federation needs these lower-level civilizations to enrich the Pan-Human Federation."

Hearing this, Bai Yixuan frowned even more deeply: "In that case, we'll have no choice but to fight head-on..."

"However..." Zhao Zijie chuckled and gestured lightly around the massive defensive array that covered ten light-years, "With such a large defensive array, the defensive strength per unit area is inevitably weak."

"I think a long, single-line formation might be a good choice."

Bai Yixuan turned his head with some surprise and glanced at Zhao Zijie: "A long snake formation..."

"Not bad." Zhao Zijie's eyes were filled with a smile. "After verification by the detectors, it can be basically confirmed that the enemy's warships are far less maneuverable than ours."

"In addition, the defensive strength per unit area is weak, which is simply the best opportunity for a long, single-line formation."

"Moreover..." Zhao Zijie manipulated the holographic projection beside him.

Under his control, the star map in the command center began to change.

"Did you see that?"

"...You mean those two star systems?" Bai Yixuan asked uncertainly.

"certainly."

Zhao Zijie nodded in affirmation: "These two Hengxing systems, which are surrounded by defensive formations, can be basically confirmed as the enemy's supply points."

"From this angle, the fleet can strike directly at the enemy's core supply point..."

"After destroying the two supply points, the fleet will turn and plunge straight into enemy territory!"

"If we move fast enough, they can only watch helplessly as the capital falls!"

"What if..." Bai Yixuan hesitated for a moment, then raised a question, "What if the fleet is surrounded?"

"That's their territory after all."

"What if the opponent has hidden power..."

"Have you forgotten about Chi You?" Zhao Zijie said in a low voice. "Although this guy's sailing speed is a bit slow, I estimate that by the time you break through this defensive line, it should have reached the front line."

"Let those warships deal with it then."

……

An order was issued from the Titan Mothership.

In the starry sky, the massive fleet, like a cosmic behemoth just awakened, began to stir!

The Golden Crow battleships that were originally surrounding the Titan Mothership began to gradually increase their speed.

The Xuanwu frigates spread out in all directions, firmly protecting the Titan Mothership and the Taotie supply depot in the middle.

The shape of the fleet gradually changed from the original square shape to a slender "cone".

At the same time, a large number of shipborne drones flew out from the open hatches of the warships, forming a constantly rotating cone-shaped defense network on the outermost layer of the fleet.

This is the long, single-line formation of the interstellar era.

Like a sharp arrow, it pierces straight into the core area of ​​the target!

……

Alliance Command Center.

"They slowed down!"

The leader, who had been staring intently at the tachyon radar, suddenly shouted, "10c, 5c..."

"They've broken free of the curvature!"

"Enemy ship is 0.1 light-years away!" came the report from someone nearby. "The preset detector has successfully detected enemy images!"

An image quickly appeared on the large screen.

A massive fleet, accompanied by a few scattered searchlights, suddenly appeared silently in the starry sky.

Good luck.

The fleet appeared right next to the probe.

The distance between the two is only one million kilometers!

The Enroget civilization's probes looked like laughable little toys in the face of this fleet.

Seeing the scene before them, the alliance leader's heart leaped into his throat.

It was almost certain that an attack would soon strike and completely destroy the detector!

They will also lose valuable observation opportunities as a result!

Something unexpected happened.

The human civilization's fleet sped past the Alliance's pre-set detectors without making any move.

It seems... the other party doesn't even bother to touch this tiny detector!

Similarly, they didn't care about the Enroget civilization's spying!

The opportunity to observe remained, but the alliance leaders' expressions quickly turned grim.

This is blatant contempt!

"Enemy ship numbers confirmed; current speed: 0.5c!"

"Enemy ship's route has been determined!"

A hurried report came from beside me.

"Observational anomaly! No gamma rays detected; the target's conventional driving method is not an antimatter engine!"

No sooner had the words been spoken than a commotion broke out in the command center.

Although both are Level 5 civilizations, the other party adopted a different, unknown conventional driving method.

In an instant, everyone present felt a chill run down their spines.

"...It is a new type of warp drive technology."

A researcher slowly raised his arm, pointed towards the tachyon radar image, and murmured to himself, "The tachyon radar is still working..."

Upon hearing this, the leader of the Enroget Alliance slowly raised his head and looked at the tachyon radar that should have stopped working.

Tachyon radar can only passively detect nearby spacetime fluctuations.

This means that once a warship is out of warp drive, the tachyon radar becomes blind.

But that's not the case right now.

On the tachyon radar image that should have returned to complete calm, an extremely low, subtle peak appeared.

The leader's expression changed slightly.

An even worse situation has emerged.

The gap in technological levels between the two sides seems to be far greater than he imagined!