Chapter 276: Can't Afford to Fight, Can Afford to Flee

“Continuing these attacks benefits neither of us.

So why don’t we declare a truce and make peace?

The star is yours, and I guarantee I won’t attack you again. Everything outside the star is mine, and you must guarantee the same.

Otherwise, I don’t mind creating more hydrogen-bomb ships and launching another stellar cleansing. Even if you can rebuild, you’re guaranteed to suffer heavy casualties.”

Logically speaking, Li Qingsong knew he was speaking the absolute, unvarnished truth.

You were the ones who attacked me first, forcing me to retaliate.

This war between us has brought nothing but immense casualties to both sides.

No two rational civilizations would ever engage in a conflict like this.

‘It comes back to the same question: why not choose peace?’

‘The star is yours, the planets are ours. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all coexist peacefully?’

Before long, Li Qingsong managed to filter a faint electromagnetic fluctuation from the powerful and chaotic radiation of the Lyra G16 Star.

Clearly, the Electromagnetic Celestial Calamity still communicated by manipulating the stellar radiation.

“Kill, kill, kill!

Exterminate all technological civilizations!

Either you will be utterly annihilated, or we will be!

Even if you flee this Interstellar System, we will follow you. Wherever you go, we will go. This ends only when one of us is dead!”

Li Qingsong sucked in a sharp breath.

‘What kind of grudge is this?’

To be honest, after several failed attempts at stellar cleansing, Li Qingsong had indeed considered abandoning this Interstellar System to develop in another.

It wasn’t to escape the Electromagnetic Celestial Calamity. After all, with the appearance of stellar biological signatures caused by them, my coordinates were almost certainly exposed. Fleeing would be of little use.

The sole purpose of moving to another Interstellar System was to shake off this Electromagnetic Celestial Calamity, so I could develop without interference.

Every now and then, a highly concentrated beam of stellar light would shoot over, and Li Qingsong simply couldn’t take it.

‘How am I supposed to develop like this?’

‘If I can’t beat them, I can run from them. That should work, right?’

‘But now it looks like this Electromagnetic Celestial Calamity has no intention of letting me go…’

‘Once they leave the star, I can indeed destroy them with ease. But if they don’t attack me, and just follow from a distance, hiding… the Cosmos is so vast, I could never hunt them all down.’

‘And when I reach a new Interstellar System, if they decide to rush into its star, there’s nothing I can do to stop them.’

‘Dammit, I’m really stuck with these things…’

‘No wonder the Harville Civilization failed to tame them after more than a thousand years of trying. Are these things all just thick-skulled idiots?’

Li Qingsong gritted his teeth and sent another message: “Are you guys a bunch of fucking idiots? What good does it do you to keep fighting me?”

“Kill, kill, kill… Exterminate all technological civilizations…”

“Fine, fine! You’re forcing my hand, is that it?”

Rage surged in Li Qingsong’s heart. ‘In that case, don’t blame me for what comes next…’

…

In the vast expanse of space, a massive fleet was advancing at 60% of the speed of light.

A pale-yellow Energy Shield glowed around each large vessel, deflecting all dust particles in interstellar space and significantly weakening the high-energy radiation, securely protecting the ship’s hull within.

Over a hundred thousand large residential ships, hundreds of massive Space-Air Carriers, and innumerable transport and industrial vessels made up the enormous fleet.

But despite its size, the fleet looked rather battered. The ships bore obvious signs of damage, some of which hadn’t even been repaired. The affected compartments were simply sealed off, a makeshift solution at best.

Aboard the *Honor*, a multipurpose vessel and the flagship of the vast Harville Fleet, Supreme Leader Haimo Lan stood silently before a massive viewport, watching the river of stars rotate with the ship’s spin.

An aide approached quietly, standing respectfully behind Haimo Lan. It was only when Haimo Lan turned and gestured that the aide spoke. “Supreme Leader, the long-range observation department has detected a second eruption on the Lyra G16 Star. The eruption type is consistent with the previous one, but the energy output was greater.

After comprehensive analysis, our researchers have confirmed that the cause of this stellar eruption was, with high probability, another external Hydrogen Bomb attack. The total yield, however, has increased to approximately 1.5 quintillion tons of TNT.”

Haimo Lan nodded lightly, indicating he understood.

He felt a slight sense of relief at this news.

‘Just as I thought. Faced with the Electromagnetic Celestial Calamity, Human Civilization is now walking the same path our own civilization once did.’

‘But it’s a path that leads nowhere.’

‘It’s impossible to exterminate the creatures of the Electromagnetic Celestial Calamity this way, just as it’s impossible to force them to surrender.’

‘If that path had worked, our civilization wouldn’t have been reduced to secretly sending a splinter fleet into the Star System occupied by the Electromagnetic Celestial Calamity. We just captured a few specimens of Electromagnetic Life and fled. The main fleet never even dared to enter, or even approach that Interstellar System…’

‘Now, Human Civilization is hopelessly entangled in the Lyra G16 Star System, completely unable to break free.’

‘In that case, we no longer need to worry about them catching up. We are finally safe…’

“We can finally select an Interstellar System to rest and rebuild.”

Haimo Lan said calmly, “Convene a meeting with the civilization’s high command. It’s time to select a suitable star as the final destination for our long journey.”

“Yes, sir.”

But before the high command could arrive, another aide burst into his office in a slight panic.

“Supreme Leader, the Interstellar Defense Department reports that just five minutes ago, they observed an unidentified flash approximately 0.1 light-years from our fleet. They suspect it’s an engine flare from another fleet!”

“What?!”

At this, even Haimo Lan, a man who had weathered countless storms, grew tense.

‘Our fleet is already severely damaged. We’re short on Warships, short on supplies, and many vessels have yet to be repaired. Our population losses have been devastating. We simply can’t afford another interstellar war.’

“Order the fleet into silent running immediately! Shut down all engines and external emissions! At the same time, divert all observation assets to that flash. I want their heading, speed, and size confirmed!”

“Yes, sir!”

The entire Harville Fleet fell into a state of tension and panic.

Before long, a more detailed observation report was presented to Haimo Lan.

“The approaching fleet’s velocity is 73% of the speed of light relative to the cosmic microwave background. Their fleet is at least three times the size of ours.

And… they are closing on our position at a relative velocity of approximately 3,000 kilometers per second!”