Rebirth of the Super Battleship
Chapter 181: The Cage

Xiao Yu understood that ever since the Taihao Civilization had broadcast across the entire Milky Way Galaxy, summoning the Guardian Civilization to join the battle, this war was no longer a private matter between the Taihao Civilization and the Sweepers. It had escalated into a major event affecting the entire Milky Way Galaxy.

The participation of the Guardian Civilization marked the climax of this war.

In Xiao Yu’s mind, he couldn’t help but imagine the scene.

In the vast, empty expanse of the Milky Way Galaxy, countless warships were being mobilized. Some directly entered Faster-than-Light Travel, while others gathered within safe zones and were transported to this sector by the Guardian Civilization using a method that Xiao Yu still did not understand.

Countless civilizations, warships, and various weapons swarmed toward this location like ants, joining the war against the Sweepers.

How many civilizations existed in the entire Milky Way Galaxy?

Xiao Yu didn’t know. But, by rough estimation, there had to be at least 10,000 Level 1 or higher civilizations, those that had at least mastered chemical propulsion. Among these 10,000 civilizations, at least 1,500 were Level 4 or above, all of which had mastered Faster-than-Light Travel technology.

The Milky Way Galaxy contained nearly 200 billion stars, stretching across a distance of 100,000 light-years. In this vast sea of stars, only about 1,500 Level 4 or higher civilizations had emerged. On average, it took more than 100 million stars to give rise to a single such civilization.

Moreover, these civilizations weren’t all Technological Civilizations. Alien Beast Civilizations and Mechanical Civilizations were included as well.

Over 1,500 civilizations, under the leadership of Taihao and the Guardian Alliance, launched a full-scale war against the Sweepers.

How many warships would 1,500 civilizations have? How many powerful weapons? How much space would so many warships occupy?

Even a star, when faced with this force, would probably be crushed instantly.

What an enormous force this was!

But then, one sentence from Taihao made Xiao Yu’s heart turn cold, filling him with a sense of despair.

“Little one, I failed.”

The Taihao Civilization had failed. The Taihao Civilization and the Guardian Alliance together, plus 1,500 other civilizations, all joined forces against the Sweepers.

And yet, they had failed.

“To face off against the combined might of the entire Milky Way Galaxy. What an unimaginable height that is…”

“One single droplet-shaped probe from the Guardian Civilization—even now, I have no certainty of defeating it. Yet even the Guardian Civilization was defeated.”

“Could it be that the Sweepers are a Level 7 Civilization? Why are they so overwhelmingly powerful?”

The development of a civilization inevitably comes with the expansion of its sphere of influence. For example, in ancient human times, a single valley could support an entire civilization. But once a civilization reached the level of a Level 3 Civilization, it would step beyond its home planet to occupy an entire star system.

Level 4 Civilizations truly entered the era of interstellar colonization. A single star system could no longer satisfy a Level 4 Civilization.

However, expanding one’s sphere of influence also meant increasing the chance of exposure. In other words, as long as Xiao Yu continued developing, he would eventually clash with the Sweepers. Both the Sweepers and the Guardian Civilization were enemies of Xiao Yu. They might not be now, but sooner or later, they would be.

But… how could the Sweepers be so powerful? Even the combined might of the entire Milky Way couldn’t topple the single Sweeper Civilization?

Xiao Yu’s heart was icy cold. He waited for the Taihao Civilization’s second sentence.

“The Sweepers are incredibly powerful. They are unquestionably the number one civilization in the Milky Way Galaxy. A tiny Large Magellanic Cloud simply can’t compare to the vastness of the Milky Way.”

“Only the ocean can nurture giant whales. In a small muddy pond, at best, a few little loaches might grow. In the Large Magellanic Cloud, I was invincible. Now, defeated by the Sweepers, I can’t say I was wronged.”

“My four-dimensional structure was shattered by the Neutron War Star. The Guardian Civilization truly deserves its reputation after entangling with the Sweepers for tens of millions of years. They possess outstanding talent in retreat and concealment. They suffered massive losses but ultimately managed to escape the Sweepers’ pursuit and fled.”

“A total of more than 700 Level 4 and Level 5 civilizations participated in the war. There were also two Preliminary Level-6 Civilizations. But we all failed. The power of the Sweepers was beyond our imagination. No, to be precise, it was the power of the Neutron War Star that exceeded my imagination. I alone could rival their entire civilization, but they had the Neutron War Star.”

“One hundred and fifty-six years after the war began, when the Neutron War Star emerged from Faster-than-Light Travel for the first time, I knew I had lost. Not only had I failed, but I couldn’t even escape.”

“The collision of civilizations truly is the best way to promote development. In the moment before death, I found a way to break through my current bottleneck. But I no longer had time to achieve the breakthrough. The Neutron War Star has already destroyed my four-dimensional structure. I will completely fall into the three-dimensional world. Due to the loss of the fourth dimension, my body structure has been severely damaged. I am about to end my life of more than 200 million years and enter complete death.”

“Little one, before I die, let me give you one last gift. A fragment of my body is about to reach the star system where you are hiding. This semi-four-dimensional fragment will completely cover the entire star system, blocking all external observation and preventing any light from leaking out from within. It will grant you absolute safety but will also imprison you, making it impossible for you to leave this star system.”

“Because of assimilation into the three-dimensional world, this four-dimensional fragment will continuously shrink. If you cannot find a way to escape the cage within 200 years, you will be crushed into the star and die completely.”

“If you do find a way to escape, then you will master Four-Dimensional Space Shield technology, greatly enhancing your defensive capabilities. This… counts as my final gift to you.”

“If one day in the future, your technology advances to a high enough level, remember to avenge me. Also, I ask you to make a trip to the Large Magellanic Cloud and help me fulfill my final wish…”

“And remember: before you have the ability to counter the Neutron War Star, do not engage in a decisive battle with the Sweepers.”

“Little one, farewell.”

Xiao Yu leaned back against the enormous star, listening blankly to the words echoing in his mind.

After the word farewell was spoken, Xiao Yu’s mind fell silent. No more messages came through.

“Taihao… actually died? It just died like that? It was so powerful, its four-dimensional structure could evade all attacks from the three-dimensional world. How could it die? How could it die?”

Xiao Yu murmured, his mind full of shock and confusion.

It was like a creature from a two-dimensional plane killing a creature from the three-dimensional world. That was basically impossible.

But the Sweepers had done it.

From Taihao’s words, Xiao Yu had keenly picked up on a critical term.

Neutron War Star.

“Again, the Neutron War Star… It seems the Neutron War Star is far more than just a hollowed-out neutron star. Without the Neutron War Star, the Sweepers would at most be evenly matched with Taihao. But with the Neutron War Star, the Sweepers managed to defeat the Taihao Civilization, the Guardian Civilization, over 700 Level 4 and Level 5 civilizations, and two Preliminary Level-6 Civilizations.”

“Why is the Neutron War Star so powerful?”

Xiao Yu muttered to himself.

“The Taihao Civilization is dead. The Guardian Civilization ran away. Over half of the 700-plus civilizations were wiped out… This is the Sweepers: the strongest civilization in the Milky Way Galaxy.”

“It’s predictable, the future Milky Way will be a quiet Milky Way. Before, at least the Guardian Civilization resisted them in secret. Weak civilizations unwilling to be exterminated by the Sweepers could at least trade their development potential for survival. But from now on, the Guardian Civilization will definitely keep its head down. In other words, it will no longer offer protection to weak civilizations. Any weak civilization discovered by the Sweepers will meet a tragic end.”

“At the same time, the Milky Way Galaxy will become even darker. Apart from the Sweepers, wars between other civilizations will also become increasingly frequent. All civilizations will desperately try to strengthen themselves, and war is the best way to do that. The Milky Way is going to fall into chaos.”

Xiao Yu sighed.

He turned his gaze beyond the star system. To his surprise, he saw a faint red barrier.

This barrier was enormous, filling his entire field of vision. In fact, it wasn’t just his field of view, through the omnipresent satellites, Xiao Yu found that the entire star had been completely wrapped up.

It emitted a soft red glow, illuminating the entire star system.

The starlight from outside had completely disappeared behind this barrier.

“What… what is this?! Could this be the four-dimensional fragment from Taihao’s body that it mentioned?”

Xiao Yu stood there in shock.

“If you cannot find a way to escape the cage within 200 years, you will be crushed into the star and die completely. If you do find a way to escape, then you will master Four-Dimensional Space Shield technology, greatly enhancing your defensive capabilities.”

Xiao Yu recalled Taihao’s words.

“So, I’m trapped by the four-dimensional fragment around this star? And I only have 200 years? If I don’t find a way out in that time, I’ll be crushed into the star and die completely?”

Xiao Yu piloted his fleet, beginning to move toward the red light screen.

Everywhere he looked; front, back, left, and right—he saw the shadow of this red light screen. It was like the shell of an egg, wrapping him completely inside.

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