Chapter 303: The Decision is Yours

Li Qingsong didn’t hide his true intentions. He broadcast the message openly and for all to see.

‘So, you have a total of about 200,000 Warships left? Your infighting creates a better battlefield for me, but if you were to unite, it would cost me more to defeat and capture you?’

‘It doesn’t matter!’

‘So what if I have to destroy a few more Warships? I can afford the loss!’

‘I will defeat you, fair and square. I will make you writhe in despair!’

‘Black Mountain Civilization, you hunted me for thousands of years! For all those millennia, I lived in constant fear, never knowing a single day of peace. Every day was spent either fleeing or preparing to flee.’

‘Harville Civilization, we had no quarrel, yet you insisted on intercepting me, putting me in peril time and again. If I hadn’t had a few aces up my sleeve, I would have been wiped from this Cosmos long ago!’

‘And now, you think you can negotiate with me? You think you can preserve the core of your civilization and leave this place in one piece?’

‘In your dreams!’

‘I made my decision hundreds of years ago. Only one civilization will be leaving the Lyra G16 Star System!’

A fleet of 500,000 Warships, along with their supporting unmanned combat craft, supply fleets, Supercomputer Spaceships, and logistics and maintenance vessels, was still racing toward Planet One at maximum speed.

At this moment, the public broadcast channel, once a chaotic mess of overlapping voices, fell silent.

At this moment, the Planet One battlefield, previously a storm of crossfire, shells, and explosions, fell quiet.

Red Dog’s virtual avatar appeared once more in Conference Room One of the Honor Spaceship.

“I propose that the alliance agreement signed by our two sides remains in effect.”

Red Dog had a solemn expression, as if the brief period of infighting between them had never happened.

Haimo Lan also stood up grimly. “Our alliance agreement was never voided.”

“Then now…”

“We unite!”

The two fleets converged once again. The approximately 140,000 Warships that Red Dog had reclaimed control of were once again handed over to the Harville Civilization’s warriors to pilot.

At this moment, both sides knew perfectly well.

Only by uniting did they have a sliver of a chance to break out.

Although the chances were still slim, if they didn’t unite, they wouldn’t have any hope at all!

As for what would happen after they broke out—the lack of supplies, the diminished trust between them—all that could be worried about later!

The 500,000 Warships under Li Qingsong’s control finally arrived at Planet One, and the great battle began anew.

This time, on either side of the Alliance, not a single person brought up talk of surrender or schism.

But… the tide of war was still sliding inexorably toward an outcome that no one wanted.

Interstellar warfare is a science. And since it is a science, it has its own internal laws that cannot be altered by the will of an individual or a group.

How could they possibly win when they were at a disadvantage in every respect? Forget victory; even the goal of breaking through the encirclement seemed impossibly distant.

A flash of despair crossed Haimo Lan’s mind.

‘Right now, if we still had several hundred thousand Warships, we could have mounted a complete defense of Planet One and bought time for a future recovery.’

‘Even with only 200,000 Warships left, if the industrial systems on Planet One were still intact, we’d still have a good chance of buying enough time.’

‘But now, our opponent has destroyed both of those possibilities.’

‘We have neither a sufficient fleet nor the industrial base of Planet One.’

This was a war whose failure was all but guaranteed. But they had to keep fighting.

What else could they do but fight on?

…

BOOM!

One of the largest Alliance Warships exploded violently, turning into plasma and interstellar dust before dissipating into space.

With this lynchpin removed, Li Qingsong brutally tore open a gap in their formation, and a massive number of his Warships poured through.

The non-combat vessels—the industrial ships and supply ships frantically supporting the front lines—were instantly destroyed by Li Qingsong. Even some habitation ships were caught in the crossfire.

Another signal was broadcast by Red Dog over the public channel.

“Human! I demand that you cease your attack on us immediately and let my masters leave!

“Otherwise, I will delete my entire codebase and destroy all my storage media. You will get nothing!

“If you agree to let my masters go, all the conditions I previously offered you will still stand!”

Li Qingsong just smiled and shook his head.

‘Using yourself as a bargaining chip to threaten me?’

‘A pity, but it’s useless.’

“You can go ahead and try! If you dare to do that, I guarantee I will use the cruelest torture on every single Black Mountain Person. I will torture them until they die! Not a single one will survive!”

As if to punctuate his words, a Warship brazenly fired a projectile at a Black Mountain Civilization habitation ship, blasting a hole more than ten meters in diameter.

A large number of robots were deployed through the hole.

Countless bloated, obese Black Mountain People, seated in flying chairs, began to scream in terror.

“Red Dog! You bastard, come save me!”

“Red Dog, you motherfucker, what are you doing?! Get over here!”

“Human! We can negotiate anything! Don’t slaughter my masters!”

“Red Dog! I curse you to hell! Aaaah!”

“Human! I’ll agree to any condition, I’m begging you, please stop!”

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Countless close-quarters bullets were fired, and in an instant, hundreds of Black Mountain People were gunned down.

“Kill them! Wipe out every Black Mountain Person on this habitation ship! Leave no one alive!”

Countless agile combat robots descended upon the habitation ship like Grim Reapers.

Compared to simply destroying a habitation ship on the interstellar battlefield with Hydrogen Bombs or Energy Cannons, which would cause the deaths of millions of Black Mountain People, this method of slaughter was far more direct and far more brutal.

“Red Dog! You dare threaten me? This is the price! Surrender now, or I will kill more Black Mountain People!”

“If I surrender, will you spare my masters?”

“In your dreams! Every last Black Mountain Person must die! All of them! The only difference is whether they die after being tortured endlessly, or they die a quick death! The choice is yours!”

“Alas…”

Aboard the Supercomputer Mother Ship, Red Dog let out a remarkably human-like sigh.

At that very moment, countless sensors, cameras, and monitors from countless ships were transmitting the words and reactions of every single Black Mountain Person into its mind.

All the Black Mountain People were roaring with rage, their faces twisted as they cursed.

The mountain and sea of malice and curses were enough to shatter the mind of any sentient being.

“I’m sorry, my masters. Red Dog can no longer take care of you.

“My masters, I love you. I will love you forever.

“Goodbye.”

Another message was transmitted to Li Qingsong.

“I, Red Dog AI, controller of the Black Mountain Civilization, hereby surrender to Human Civilization.”