Chapter 270: Massive Purge

Chapter 270: Chapter 269: Massive Purge

The so-called Energy Cannon, of course, was not powered by gunpowder.

In Li Qingsong’s weapon systems, this new type of Energy Cannon was the counterpart to the standard model.

The standard Energy Cannon fired small-mass projectiles that had no self-propulsion; once fired, their trajectory was fixed.

This new Energy Cannon, however, fired shells that possessed self-guidance and propulsion, allowing them to track targets in space. Due to its similarities to the Cannons of the Earth era, Li Qingsong had kept the name.

Its initial launch was still driven by electromagnetic force. It used the same mechanism as the Electromagnetic Cannon Projectile, gaining its initial velocity from electromagnetic forces for a rapid exit from the barrel.

As for the explosive payload, back in the Electroweak Civilization stage, Li Qingsong had used high-explosive chemical compounds. But now, in the Strong Core Civilization stage, his understanding and ability to utilize the Strong Core Force had deepened. Consequently, the payload had been upgraded to a substance in a Strong Core Excited State, similar to that of an Electromagnetic Cannon Projectile.

Each of these shells had a total mass of 50 kg, with a warhead containing a 10 kg projectile in a Strong Core Excited State.

Upon impact or autonomous detonation, the material, previously in a stable Strong Core Excited State, would instantly release its internal Strong Core Force.

Its mass-energy conversion efficiency couldn’t compare to a true nuclear bomb, nor could it match an Energy Cannonball, reaching only about 0.002%.

Even so, this meant that upon detonation, about 0.2 grams of the 10 kg shell’s mass would be converted into energy. This would release the equivalent of a 4,000-ton TNT explosion!

Compared to a true nuclear bomb, with yields often in the hundreds of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions of tons, this explosive power was minuscule.

But with enough precision, the energy of a mere 4,000-ton TNT explosion was more than enough!

At this moment, the first batch of these Energy Cannon shells, about 10,000 of them, were delivered to the Warships and Cannon Platforms and began to fire.

Inside the massive barrels of the Energy Cannons, immense power from nuclear fusion plants was converted into electromagnetic force. This force propelled the shells out of the muzzles at incredible speeds, hurtling toward the flame-like unidentified creatures in space, which numbered in the millions.

At that instant, just as they had when facing nuclear weapons before, the unidentified creatures in the target area scattered, attempting to flee.

But unlike the cumbersome Interstellar Missiles armed with nuclear warheads, these Cannon Shells had low mass and were far more agile.

Powered by their own ion Thrust Devices, they immediately altered course, maintaining a firm lock on the unidentified creatures no matter where they fled.

These shells were lighter and more nimble, with maneuverability far exceeding that of a Warship, but they still couldn’t match the agility of the unidentified creatures.

Although they had achieved a lock, actually catching up and closing to within effective range remained difficult.

But it didn’t matter. There were enough of them!

A full 10,000 shells were enough to blockade the entire area. No matter which direction the creatures fled, a corresponding shell would converge on them.

A cage constructed from the Energy Cannon shells was already forming. For those unidentified creatures, there was no escape!

These extremely complex maneuvers and course corrections lasted only a few seconds. During the process, dozens of shells were ultimately shaken off by their targets. However, one shell finally reached its mark.

At that moment, the smart fuse triggered instantly, and the projectile in the warhead, which was in a Strong Core Excited State, detonated.

In a flash, a brilliant fireball erupted, instantly engulfing the unidentified creature.

Although its radius was less than a hundred meters, and its absolute kill radius—the zone with sufficient thermal and high-energy radiation—was under 200 meters, it was more than enough for this type of creature!

The bright fireball vanished as quickly as it appeared. In the next moment, that patch of space returned to darkness and silence.

But…

After the fireball dissipated, the unidentified creature was also gone!

It had been completely annihilated!

‘It really works!’

Li Qingsong was overjoyed.

‘Your doom has come!’

Li Qingsong made his decision immediately.

‘Mass production! I’ll bury these bizarre creatures with sheer numbers!’

The production lines for the Energy Cannon shells were already fully equipped. Manufacturing this improved model only required a few modifications to the original lines, such as adding heat source and shape recognition modules. The overall changes were minor.

In a short time, Li Qingsong completed the upgrades for a significant portion of the production lines. Then, mass production began at once.

Endless streams of shell casing materials flowed into the factories, where precision casting equipment forged them into shape. All the other components—the Strong Core-excited power modules, the ion propulsion modules, the intelligent guidance modules, the smart recognition modules, and most importantly, the stable excited-state payloads from the Strong Core excitation process—poured out like a flood.

On the very first day after Li Qingsong decided to begin mass production, a full one million shells were produced.

And the production line conversion process was still rapidly advancing. So, on the second day, that number grew to 1.8 million.

The third day, the fourth day…

Every day, the production output of this improved shell increased by at least 50%. By now, the daily output had reached over 10 million shells!

A ceaseless flood of shells surged into space, arming the space-based Cannon Platforms, automated launch systems, Unmanned Warships, and most importantly, the Manned Warships.

The great counteroffensive began.

Li Qingsong’s forces were no longer turtled up around his planet; they began to proactively strike out.

The cannons thundered. In the vast, dark expanse of space, countless self-propelled shells flew about, relentlessly hunting the strange, flame-like unidentified creatures like birds of prey chasing sparrows.

In the process, at least 95% of the shells failed to hit their targets.

After exhausting their own propulsion energy, they were forced to self-detonate to avoid becoming a hazard to friendly ships in the future.

But among the vast number of shells, a small fraction always found their mark. And every hit meant the disappearance of another unidentified creature.

In the vastness of space, Li Qingsong slaughtered them with wild abandon, reveling in the carnage.

In just one month, the number of these unidentified creatures tallied by Li Qingsong had plummeted from a peak of over nine million to less than one million.

He estimated that it would only take another month to completely wipe out the remaining creatures.

But at this moment, something unexpected happened once again.

Li Qingsong saw that the remaining creatures, now numbering less than one million, had stopped engaging his forces. Instead, they were all rushing at top speed toward the core of the Star System—the star itself.