Rebirth of the Super Battleship
Chapter 180: Rise, the People Suffer; Fall, the People Suffer

After receiving this message, Xiao Yu’s heart clenched tightly.

This message was undoubtedly broadcast by the Taihao Civilization. Within it, Xiao Yu sensed a trace of urgency. The tone of the Taihao Civilization was no longer as calm and detached as before, no longer exuding that aura of dominance, as though the entire universe was under its control.

“Did the Taihao encounter danger during its battle with the Sweepers?” Xiao Yu thought anxiously, uncertain. “Even such a powerful Taihao Civilization isn’t a match for the Sweepers?”

From this message alone, Xiao Yu was able to deduce a lot of intelligence.

“It seems the Taihao doesn’t know where the Guardian Civilization is located, so it can only use this method of broadcasting across the entire sector to notify the Guardian Civilization. But… the battlefield is at the tail end of the Orion Arm? Isn’t that close to me? No, I need to get farther away. If I’m discovered by the Guardian Civilization, or even just by a Level 5 Civilization coming to watch the commotion, I’d be in serious trouble.”

Xiao Yu thought quickly, maneuvering his fleet to close another 1.5 billion kilometers toward the red giant star. Now, Xiao Yu was only 500 million kilometers away from this star.

That distance might sound far, but compared to the massive size of the red giant, it was practically nothing. The Sun’s diameter is about 1.4 million kilometers, while this star’s diameter was 60 million kilometers, it was over 40 times larger than the Sun. In terms of scale, being 500 million kilometers from this red giant was equivalent to being less than 12 million kilometers from the Sun, roughly one-fifth the radius of Mercury’s orbit.

At this distance, the star Xiao Yu saw spanned over a dozen meters in diameter, nearly filling his entire field of vision.

Xiao Yu hoped that the star’s brilliance could conceal his presence, preventing other civilizations from discovering him.

While filled with anxiety, Xiao Yu carefully monitored his surroundings, waiting for the next piece of information.

After a full day passed, Xiao Yu received the second spatial broadcast.

This time, it was sent by the Guardian Civilization.

“All Level 3 and above civilizations under the Guardian Alliance, please immediately abandon your current missions and gather in your respective safe zones. We have opened a temporary teleportation channel here. Please travel with us to the tail of the Orion Arm to participate in the battle against the Sweepers.”

“All civilizations within the Milky Way Galaxy that can receive this message, please immediately import it into your central computer. Alien Beast Civilizations, please immediately follow the instructions below to build Superluminal Communication devices and contact us, so we can determine your locations. All civilizations, whether Technological Civilizations or Alien Beast Civilizations, whether Predator Civilizations or Reclusive Civilizations, please step forward and join the battle against the Sweepers. This is the best opportunity to eliminate the Sweepers.”

“As everyone knows, in the past nearly 10 million years, at least several thousand civilizations have been wiped out by the Sweepers. We all live in the Milky Way Galaxy and should coexist peacefully and develop together. There should not be a sword of extinction hanging over our heads at all times. Now, on behalf of the entire Guardian Alliance, I ask you all to bravely step forward, fight courageously, and eliminate our common enemy!”

“Or, if you do not trust our Guardian Alliance, and if you possess Faster-than-Light Travel capabilities exceeding 100 times the speed of light, you may proceed directly to the battlefield to participate in the fight. The battlefield coordinates are as follows…”

“A powerful Taihao Civilization from the Large Magellanic Cloud has already joined the battle against the Sweepers. The Guardian Alliance will arrive in three hours. All civilizations living within the Milky Way Galaxy, the final moment has arrived. Once we wipe out the Sweepers, we will usher in precious peace and a time for development. We will no longer have to fear the constant threat of annihilation. Please join us, stand bravely, and fight!”

This broadcast from the Guardian Alliance was unprecedentedly long. However, Xiao Yu watched the entire message with a cold sneer.

Xiao Yu had long since seen through the true nature of the Guardian Alliance. The Sweepers were no saints, but the Guardian Alliance was no better. This was a war between two evils. If the Sweepers were wiped out, the Guardians might well become the next Sweepers.

Still, Xiao Yu had to admit that the broadcast by the Guardian Alliance was extremely inciting. Xiao Yu predicted that quite a few civilizations that had been on the fence would now choose to step in, or at least send forces to observe from the fringes of the battlefield. Either way, the tail of the Orion Arm was destined to become the busiest region in the Milky Way Galaxy in the near future.

“The Guardian Alliance is truly sinister,” Xiao Yu thought silently. “The Taihao Civilization is so powerful. I’ve already taken initial steps into the realm of a Level 4 Civilization, yet it could easily kill me. And even so, it still isn’t a match for the Sweepers. In this situation, what role can a Level 3 or Level 4 Civilization play if they rush to the battlefield, other than throwing their lives away?”

“Perhaps the Guardian Alliance is planning to wipe out the Sweepers first, and then clean up all the civilizations that arrive at the battlefield afterward? …That seems highly likely. Ruthless, far too ruthless.”

Xiao Yu sighed to himself and once again adjusted his orbit to move closer to the star.

He would rather endure the scorching heat of this star than risk even the slightest chance of being discovered by other civilizations.

“This isn’t something I can meddle with. I’d better keep hiding and wait until the battle’s outcome is clear before making a move.”

Xiao Yu made up his mind, keeping an even closer watch on the situation around him.

The battlefield coordinates had already been broadcast by the Guardian Civilization. By converting the star map, Xiao Yu determined the precise location of the battlefield. It was about 500 light-years away from the star where Xiao Yu was hiding.

That location was a patch of empty space, with the nearest star at least 20 light-years away. Except for the necessary security and observation equipment, Xiao Yu had aimed all his observation instruments at that sector. No signal, no matter the frequency, could escape Xiao Yu’s monitoring.

“I can be certain that if the Sweepers are eliminated, the Guardian Alliance will have no reason to exist any longer. The Guardian Civilization will definitely reveal its true, ferocious nature. The first to suffer will be those weak civilizations that joined the Guardian Alliance. At that point, their sweeping methods won’t necessarily be any more merciful than those of the Sweepers. In the end, strength is the only true power.” Xiao Yu thought with a bitter smile.

“It’s been over 300 years since I parted ways with Taihao. I don’t know how long Taihao has been fighting the Sweepers. This must be a long, drawn-out war. During this period, I’d better just stay put and do nothing. Anyway, with the replenishment from stellar energy, I barely need to dip into my stored fuel.”

By now, Xiao Yu’s fleet of over 100,000 ships had fully dispersed, spreading out around the star. Each ship was equipped with observation instruments, either arrayed radio telescopes or advanced optical telescopes that were working tirelessly to collect information from the surrounding space.

After filtering out the interference from the star behind him, Xiao Yu’s view of the universe became pitch-black and quiet. But Xiao Yu knew that beneath this darkness and silence, who knew how much danger was lurking.

Perhaps countless civilizations were already en route to the battlefield, and many of them were likely far more powerful than himself.

All of this danger was hidden beneath the veil of cosmic darkness. To Xiao Yu’s eyes, the universe seemed unchanged. The stars were still dazzling and beautiful, and the universe was still quiet and pitch-black.

“I wonder who will win in the battle between these three forces… but no matter who wins, it won’t change my predicament.”

At that moment, Xiao Yu recalled an ancient poem from Earth:

“When the nation prospers, the people suffer; when the nation perishes, the people suffer.”

Whether the civilization standing at the pinnacle of the Milky Way Galaxy was the Guardians, the Sweepers, or the Taihao Civilization, the universe remained as dark as ever. These powerful civilizations were like the ancient rulers of Zhuolu in Earth’s history. The rise and fall of dynasties only changed who was doing the exploiting. It didn’t change the suffering of the common people.

Xiao Yu had set all his ships to radio silence mode. All communication between ships relied exclusively on Superluminal Communication. At the same time, any experiments that could cause significant disturbances had been suspended. Even the elemental decay experiments were halted because if something went wrong with an elemental decay test, it could trigger a massive explosion, an explosion that might be detected by some alien civilization.

Time slowly passed. Xiao Yu had now been hiding here for over 50 years. During these 50 years, everything had been quiet and uneventful, no incidents, no movements.

But Xiao Yu knew that the light carrying the news of that earth-shattering war was probably still traveling through space. That battlefield was over 500 light-years away, and it had been less than 400 years since he parted ways with the Taihao Civilization.

In other words, at the earliest, it would take just over another hundred years before Xiao Yu could observe signals from that battlefield.

Gradually, another 50 years passed.

Xiao Yu finally detected some movement.

This message was still sent via spatial broadcast, but it differed from typical broadcast signals. This message seemed to be a targeted transmission, meant only for him, with no one else able to receive it.

“Little one, I failed.”

From the familiar tone alone, Xiao Yu instantly realized that this message was from the Taihao Civilization.