Chapter 14: Mechanical Civilization, Section 9

Planet Taraton, Interstellar Fleet Headquarters.
Everyone was in an uproar. Watching a video just transmitted back by the Blue Lightning Fleet from the 31st Star Region, they were shocked.
A planet that could move on its own and possessed super firepower!! This existence shattered everyone’s understanding. Although they had long known the 31st Star Region to be an extremely dangerous place, they still hadn’t expected that their first exploration would encounter such a terrifying thing.
According to the information sent by the Blue Lightning Fleet, upon arriving at the edge of the star region and before starting their search, they encountered a pirate-specific blackwarship-class warship. Judging from its behavior, it was likely on a reconnaissance mission. So they immediately began pursuing it, trying to find the group behind thiswarship-class ship to ensure the safety of subsequent fleets.
This was a common practice under the Interstellar Fleet’s regulations. With the most powerful forces in the universe, they always acted dominantly, allowing no other armed ships to exist in their path. In everyone’s understanding, the Interstellar Fleet represented the ultimate military power and was the foundation for humanity to deal with all hostile forces. Such dominance was necessary.
But they never imagined that the invincible Interstellar Fleet could also face a fatal crisis.
The pursuit went smoothly. The Blue Lightning Fleet, indeed the fastest vanguard of the Interstellar Fleet, quickly cornered thewarship-class ship with no escape. But then, suddenly, things changed!! Another fleet appeared out of nowhere and attacked them.
All the warships in this fleet were painted black, with a blood-red wolf head symbol clearly visible on their sides. Although most of them were ordinarywarship-class ships, there was one giant monster among them that was completely different. The firepower of this monster-class warship was actually stronger than that of their entire fleet. Just one encounter severely suppressed the Blue Lightning Fleet’s pursuit momentum, splitting the lead Short Sword-class destroyer in two!
Oh, God!! This was an unimaginable outcome!! Commander Mosen of the Blue Lightning Fleet certainly couldn’t allow such a defeat in his fleet. So, in a fit of rage, he ordered an all-out counterattack.

But this order also brought about unimaginable consequences. Heaven knows who was controlling those Blood Wolf warships—their agility far exceeded that of ordinary warships, more akin to that of mechs. In the vast universe, they could perform numerous unconventional maneuvers such as flipping and sidestepping. Even more astonishingly, these small Sardine-class ships had firepower on par with, or even surpassing, that of the Starfleet’s Shortsword-class ships!!
This was simply illogical. Everyone knew that the Sardine class was the smallest type of warship, with thin armor and weak firepower, its only advantage being speed—hence it was often favored by pirates. Yet what unfolded before their eyes completely overturned all fleet members’ assumptions. The Blood Wolves had only eight Sardine-class ships, yet they clung to the Starfleet fleet like stubborn stickers, threatening to penetrate its underbelly at any moment and cause catastrophic chaos!!
Meanwhile, two distinctive mechs appeared in the enemy fleet, further intensifying their attack. One was blood-red, the other deep blue, both masters of energy firearms. The blood-red mech excelled at close-range firepower suppression, while the blue one was skilled in long-range sniping. Their coordination was astonishing; upon appearing, they disrupted the Blue Lightning fleet’s entire formation. An entire fleet was thrown into disarray by just two small mechs. Meanwhile, the enemy’s terrifying Monster-class warship took advantage of the situation to unleash a barrage of fire, leaving the entire fleet in agony.
Shame—absolute shame!!
Throughout the long history of the Starfleet, there had never been a battle so humiliating for them. Blue Lightning, with its forty-five Shortsword-class destroyers, was now forced to bow its head by just nine mysterious armed ships. Such a scenario was beyond anyone’s imagination. At that moment, Blue Lightning’s commander, Major General Mosen, almost considered suicide.
In such a frustrating situation, Major General Mosen’s emotions bordered on madness. Ignoring his subordinates’ requests to retreat and regroup, he issued another order for a full-scale assault without regard for losses, ordering all Blue Lightning ships to abandon their defenses and concentrate their firepower on destroying the enemy!!
Unfortunately, by then his mind had been consumed by rage, making him unfit to be a fleet commander. He didn’t even notice a planet silently appearing in the distance on the battlefield.

God only knows how such a massive planet appeared there, but its presence undoubtedly changed the course of the entire battle. If Blue Lightning had indeed carried out the assault order, they might still have failed, but at least they could have wiped out the enemy’s Sander-class ships and saved some face. Yet the appearance of this planet completely altered the outcome.

There was no need to explain what happened afterward—the videos sent back by the fleet explained everything. With such terrifying military power, no one believed Blue Lightning had a chance of victory. The fact that they could return at all was already a great fortune amidst misfortune.

Even after losing half of their fleet’s strength—twenty-five Saber destroyers in total.

The atmosphere in the conference room of the Interstellar Fleet headquarters was suffocatingly tense. The 160 officers present stared at each other in blank silence, none able to speak. Cigarettes burned to the end in their hands, filling the room with choking smoke.

“Let’s hear your thoughts, everyone. What do you think about this suddenly appearing force?” finally spoke an old man seated at the head of the room, two crossed golden swords draped over his shoulder. He was the supreme commander of the Interstellar Fleet, the legendary Marshal Wick, known as the Guardian. At 79 years old, he had joined the army at age eight, starting as a lowly mechanic and having fought in over 1,320 battles, earning great military honors. All his former comrades had gradually died, yet he remained unscathed, not only without any wounds but also ascending to the highest position in the Interstellar Fleet.

“Your Excellency, the Marshal, I see no need to say much about such a force. The Interstellar Fleet is humanity’s hope—we cannot allow any obstacles in our path. If necessary, we must spare no effort. I believe we should immediately send three more main fleets to Sector 31, conducting a thorough search centered on the battlefield coordinates, to locate that mysterious force and destroy it mercilessly!” A young officer suddenly stood up and spoke loudly under everyone’s gaze.

Shaking his head, Marshal Wick sighed inwardly. Looking at the passionate young officer before him, he felt somewhat disheartened.

Young people these days are so reckless. Even the elite unit he led was no exception. They dare to make such declarations without any investigation—do they really think they’re invincible in the universe?

Too eager to act, but lacking in caution…

“Very good, Colonel Slok. Please sit down. I have a question and I wonder if you can answer it for me.”
“Please make it clear, Your Excellency the Marshal,” said the young officer, bowing respectfully and speaking in a low voice.
“Well, you’ve seen the video just now. So, could you tell me whether it’s possible for us, with our current capabilities, to create such a powerful planet?” The Marshal ignored his respect and spoke slowly, spinning his marshal’s cane gently in his hand.
“It’s impossible. We cannot create such a planet, Your Excellency the Marshal,” the young officer replied in a soft voice, his expression turning grim.
He understood what the Marshal meant. If even an interstellar fleet couldn’t create such a planet, then the forces behind them were truly formidable.
Everyone knew that a weapon, no matter how powerful, wasn’t truly terrifying. What was terrifying were those who possessed and created those weapons. If they could create such a terrifying planet, then there must be a vast force behind them, one whose power far exceeded human imagination—perhaps even greater than all the star systems under human control combined.
Technology, industry, resource collection, and military strength—all were interrelated; none could exist in isolation. After understanding the Marshal’s words, everyone present immediately realized the severity of the situation.
God! That was a force even more powerful than human society, hidden in the mysterious 31st Star System. If such a discovery were made public, the shock would be no less than the destruction of a planet! Even a powerful organization like an interstellar fleet could never bear such consequences.
For a moment, all the officers were speechless, and the conference room fell into a heavy, oppressive silence.
Satisfied with the effect of his words, a faint smile gradually appeared on the Marshal’s aged face.
“Everyone, there’s no need to be so depressed. In fact, we should see something positive in this. It’s very advantageous for us.”
What!? All eyes turned to the Marshal, and the officers showed expressions of anticipation.
“Have you noticed that after defeating Blue Lightning, they didn’t pursue them? What does that mean?”
“It means they don’t have the capability to pursue—they’re not strong enough!”
“It means they lack logistical support and don’t have the ability to travel long distances!”

The officers immediately started talking all at once, and the atmosphere finally became lively. They were all experienced fleet commanders who had fought in many battles to conquer other races, each with excellent combat skills. So they quickly identified the key issue.
“No, it’s not just that,” the Grand Marshal’s smile grew even wider. He raised his marshal’s staff and pointed at the large video crystal behind him.
“Here!! Have you noticed? The star map here shows no planets in the vicinity!! Do you know what this implies?”
“Well…” The officers were at a loss for words. After a long while, one of them tentatively said, “Could it be that they’re also an expedition fleet?”
“Wrong!” The Grand Marshal slammed the table, his voice rising sharply. “Not only are there no planets, but there aren’t any other celestial bodies either. Don’t you find it strange in such a vast area? Well, I can tell you that this situation isn’t common, but once it occurs, it must signify something.”
“That is, there must be a hidden black hole nearby. Because of it, no celestial bodies can exist there safely. That’s why there’s a blank spot on the star map.” The Grand Marshal smiled and took a sip of water. His tone gradually softened. “In the wars I’ve been through, such a situation has happened before. We also encountered a blank area. At first, nothing seemed abnormal as the fleet entered, but the further we went, the more pervasive gravity we detected. Yet we couldn’t find the source of this gravity. By the time we realized it, it was already too late!!”
“A hidden black hole isn’t the same as a real black hole. They can’t be detected by any instruments. It disappears when unseen, and everything seems normal, but once it appears, it’s no different from a real black hole. Seeing the star map sent back by the blue lightning, I’m now certain that such a hidden black hole must exist there!”
Chaos erupted in the conference room. All the officers were stunned. This existence, beyond ordinary comprehension, shocked them deeply and excited everyone. Yet they still couldn’t understand what the Marshal meant—what connection could such a terrifying existence have with that armed planet?

Noticing their doubts, the Grand Marshal’s smile grew even wider. “I forgot to tell you that around such a hidden black hole, it’s not completely empty—it contains a special celestial body, which serves as the coordinates of the hidden black hole. It’s also what it appears to be when it’s dormant. So I believe that’s likely their base! And the fact that they haven’t pursued us means they don’t have the strength to protect that base while carrying out this mission!”
“In other words, there’s likely a forward base of some mysterious force there!”
So that’s how it is! All the officers understood the Grand Marshal’s reasoning and showed expressions of admiration. Unfortunately, they didn’t realize that although there was a planet there, it was far from as simple as they thought. And behind that massive armed planet, there was no mysterious force at all—it was merely a reward for Blackhair.
Such a mistaken understanding naturally led to a wrong decision. The Grand Marshal believed that such a mysterious force had a detrimental impact on human society, so it had to be contained. Establishing a robust defense line was therefore inevitable. That’s why he proposed sending an attack fleet.
Unlike that young officer, in his proposal, the number of main fleet ships wasn’t just three anymore but had been increased to ten. Moreover, its commander-in-chief was the most respected veteran in the interstellar fleet—the three-star general known as the Eternal Star… Birito!!