Chapter 289: Really Can't Compare

Li Qingsong knew very well that the biggest factor limiting the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity’s combat effectiveness was its low intelligence.

After all, it was just an AI, not a true artificial life form.

Meanwhile, the biggest factor limiting the combat effectiveness of a conventional intelligent civilization like the Harville Civilization was insufficient industrial capacity.

But now, the two had combined, each using their strengths to compensate for the other’s weaknesses, achieving an effect where one plus one was far greater than two.

He himself relied on the zero-latency, cost-free communication between his many Clones to reach the pinnacle of both intelligence and industrial capacity.

And now, the Harville-Mechanical Calamity Alliance, through means different from his own, had also achieved a similar effect.

This was a truly terrifying monster!

It could even be said that, facing such an existence, he no longer had any advantage!

But…

Looking at the dim star in the distant sky, and then at the Lyra G16 Star System behind him, which he had built into a fortress, Li Qingsong gritted his teeth.

At this stage, it was impossible to escape again; there simply wasn’t enough time.

Besides, if he fled and abandoned everything he had built, he would lose what little advantage he had left.

‘I can’t run!’

‘Staying here and fighting to the death is my only way out!’

‘Then let’s fight!’

Based on their current deceleration, it would still take them several years to reach the star system.

This was the last window of time he could use.

‘Then I’ll just keep producing, keep upgrading. I won’t just build more Manned Warships, but also Unmanned Warships, Interstellar Mines, Interstellar Missiles, and every other kind of combat installation. I also need to increase the number of Unified Force Field equipment sets and build more factories. Even if I don’t need them right away, I’ll build them to have them ready.’

‘Not only that, but I also need to increase the number of Clones and stockpile them on different planets. That way, I’ll eliminate the need to move different Clones between planets.’

As he went all-out with production and war preparations, that dim star grew brighter and brighter, eventually shining like a star itself, impossible to look at with the naked eye.

Under these circumstances, the massive fleet that had left even Li Qingsong somewhat shaken entered the star system, parking at a location about 2 billion kilometers from the orbit of Planet Three.

There was a relatively large dwarf planet there.

Although the dwarf planet was poor in resources, it was still a source of replenishment. Something was better than nothing.

Throughout this entire process, Li Qingsong did not dispatch any fleets to harass, attack, or intercept them. He simply watched as they entered the star system and came to a stop.

The reason was simple. In an age of interstellar warfare, due to the unique nature of combat, the so-called strategy of “attacking an enemy mid-crossing” was essentially meaningless and useless.

Even during their deceleration phase, the enemy could still organize a complete offensive and defensive system; there was no such thing as them being “on unstable footing.” Launching a proactive attack would, on the contrary, cause his own side to lose some of the support from its Unmanned Combat System, making it easier for the enemy to exploit.

Only by fighting while relying on the planet-based Unmanned Combat System could he fully leverage his home-field advantage.

For this very reason, neither when Li Qingsong attacked the Harville Civilization, nor now, when the Harville-Mechanical Calamity Alliance’s fleet was attacking Li Qingsong, did the defending side dispatch fleets to attack.

In any case, time was on the side of the defender. The longer things dragged on, the more supplies the attacker would consume, and the greater the defender’s advantage would become. All he had to do was leverage his home-field advantage and patiently wait for the enemy to attack; there was no need for any fancy tricks.

Li Qingsong saw the Alliance fleet dispatch a large number of industrial and combat ships, which fanned out toward various dwarf planets in an attempt to gather resources and replenish their reserves.

For those within 19 billion kilometers, Li Qingsong naturally dispatched fleets to harass them. Even though the enemy couldn’t get much in the way of supplies from the dwarf planets, he would still harass them. Every little bit he could prevent them from mining was a small victory.

As for those beyond 19 billion kilometers, Li Qingsong could do nothing but let them be.

With no pre-war communication between the two sides, small-scale battles had already erupted over the supply lines in the vastness of space.

The Alliance fleet went a step further, dispatching numerous small fleets along multiple routes to begin simultaneous probing attacks on the three major planets within the Lyra G16 Star System.

In this phase, neither side committed too many combat forces; it could be considered a period of mutual probing.

But even for just mutual probing, the total forces committed by both sides exceeded 400,000 Warships.

This was almost equivalent to the entire military force of a normal, conventional intelligent civilization.

Hundreds of thousands of Warships were locked in deadly combat in every corner of the star system—around every dwarf planet, major planet, moon, and large asteroid, or even in the vast emptiness of space where no celestial bodies existed.

The brutality and intensity were in no way inferior to a true large-scale war.

During this long and brutal struggle, both warring parties rapidly deepened their understanding of each other.

“The development potential of this Human Civilization is truly frightening. Compared to a few hundred years ago, their technology has actually improved this much.”

“Fortunately, after forming an alliance with the Black Mountain Civilization, our side can still maintain a certain technological and performance advantage.”

Gazing at the specks of light in the vastness of space, Haimo Lan’s heart was filled with gravity.

On Planet Two, the Clone housing Li Qingsong’s consciousness was also gazing at the star-filled expanse of space.

‘The union of a conventional intelligent civilization and the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity has boosted their overall combat power even more than I predicted…’

‘With Harville Civilization warriors at the helm, their Warships have completely shed their previous tactical rigidity and slow reactions. Their coordination and cooperation have also improved dramatically.’

‘At the same time, with the boost from the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity, their alliance has completely solved the problem of insufficient industrial capacity.’

‘Most importantly, they still maintain a performance and technological superiority over my Warships.’

‘And when it comes to the Unmanned Combat System, I’m afraid I don’t have much of an advantage either; I might even be at a disadvantage.’

‘Although my Wukong AI has been fed with real combat data from hundreds of years of live-fire battlefields, it ultimately can’t compare to the AI of the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity, which was nurtured using the future of an entire civilization as fodder…’

‘There’s no comparison. Truly, no comparison at all.’

‘Wukong AI makes decisions on the battlefield. The main AI of the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity, however, determines the grand strategy for an entire civilization. It’s like comparing the physique of a person who eats nothing but chaff and wild herbs to someone who feasts on meat and fish every day with a fully balanced diet. How could they possibly compete?’

‘Even by feeding Wukong AI with live-fire combat data, at best it’s like upgrading a commoner’s diet of chaff and herbs to one of whole grains. It still can’t compare to the main AI of the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity.’

「Several years passed quietly amid the mutual probing and small-scale battles between the two sides.」

Li Qingsong saw the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Alliance begin a slow tactical adjustment, gradually recalling its fleets scattered throughout the star system. At the same time, around the dwarf planet and Flying Star, large-scale industrial production missions began once more.

Li Qingsong’s heart was filled with gravity.

He knew this meant the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Alliance believed it had finished collecting battlefield data and completed its initial probing.

The real war was about to begin.