Chapter 429 429: A Trap??
Just as Tom had predicted, this group of Star Beasts entered the solar system and immediately launched a fierce attack on the Human-Moraise Allied Forces.
Continuous warfare immediately erupted in the vast starry sky.
The development of events also unfolded as Tom had predicted: under the attack of the Human-Moraise Allied Forces, out of a total of several million Star Beasts, hundreds of thousands were quickly killed. The remaining Star Beasts, facing another full-scale offensive from Tom, decisively chose to flee.
Millions of Star Beasts retreated from the current solar system. For the sake of caution and prudence, Tom did not pursue them.
Although he easily repelled this Star Beast attack, Tom felt no excitement in his heart, only solemnity and doubt.
"Regardless of what these Star Beasts are planning, I must first do my utmost. Unless death truly arrives, I will never give up hope, and I will never surrender to my fate."
Post-war reconstruction work quickly began. Tom swiftly rebuilt the previously affected space-based and ground-based defense systems, replenishing combat facilities such as space mines, turrets, unmanned warships, and manned warships, preparing for the next battle.
The previous attack by that group of Star Beasts seemed to have sounded the bugle call for an offensive. Not long after they retreated, Tom once again detected Star Beast activity.
In the solar system designated C45, a group of slender, stick-like Star Beasts gathered and charged towards Tom's solar system.
Tom once again stood ready.
After a fierce battle, hundreds of thousands of Star Beasts were annihilated by Tom, and the remaining Star Beasts fled again.
"Compared to the last Star Beast attack, this time, the 'technology' level of these Star Beasts is much higher. Although they still can't compare to me, the gap is not far.
Their combat power has also increased significantly compared to the previous group. Could it be… that the true purpose of that Space-level Star Beast is to test my combat power limit?
Could it be that he has some understanding of my special existence form? Is his true purpose me, and the secrets that might be involved behind me?"
At this moment, this strange and special situation made it impossible for Tom not to ponder further.
As if to confirm Tom's conjecture, after this second wave of Star Beasts, a third wave quickly arrived. Moreover, their "technology" level had again improved compared to the second wave, reaching a level roughly on par with Tom.
Correspondingly, their combat power also increased again, roughly equivalent to the group of Star Beasts that besieged the Moraise civilization back then!
If not for Tom, relying solely on the Moraise civilization, this group of Star Beasts might have completely wiped them out.
But now with Tom, the situation is naturally different.
With all conventional forces deployed, this group of Star Beasts once again paid the price of hundreds of thousands of their companions' deaths, and the remaining Star Beasts fled again.
"This is already the third wave. How strong will the fourth wave of Star Beasts be? If I stop the fourth wave, what about the fifth? If I defeat all gravity level Star Beasts, then… will Dark Energy level Star Beasts be dispatched?
Does that Space-level Star Beast want to squeeze out my combat power limit in this way?"
Tom's heart grew heavier.
He felt as if a large net was closing in on him from all directions, and the more he struggled, the tighter it became.
But in this situation, he couldn't stop struggling. Because if he kept struggling, he could temporarily stay alive, but if he stopped struggling, he would die now.
"Moraise Chief, continue with war preparations!"
Tom gritted his teeth and issued the order again.
No matter what, one cannot easily give up until the very last moment!
The fourth wave of Star Beasts arrived as scheduled. This time, the combat power of the Star Beasts surged again compared to before, and their "technology" level completely surpassed that of Tom and the Moraise civilization.
The devices that evolved within their bodies, such as energy cannons, Gravity Cannons, energy shields, as well as propulsion systems and detectors, had completely surpassed those possessed by Tom.
This brought enormous casualties to Tom. Several times, they almost lost planets, and the loss rate of various unmanned combat facilities soared to an extreme.
Often, when a Star Beast arrived, all interstellar missiles, space mines, and military satellites within tens of thousands of kilometers would be swept away. Tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of interstellar missiles would rush towards the Star Beast like piranhas and explode, but they couldn't even break through the Star Beast's defenses, unable to cause them any harm.
Ultimately, it often required a large number of space-based and ground-based anti-aircraft bases, and the prolonged bombardment of countless energy cannon shells, to barely force these Star Beasts back.
When even deploying over 30 Jupiter-class battleships could not guarantee that their defensive line would not be breached, Tom had no choice but to reveal his first trump card.
"Electric Disaster! It's your turn to shine!"
"Yes!"
Under Tom's command, millions of Electromagnetic Life forms, escorted by Tom's fleet, rushed to the star, gathered the stellar energy, and transmitted it across billions of kilometers to the vicinity of the planet currently under siege by the Star Beasts, instantly killing tens of thousands of Star Beasts.
Tom seized the opportunity to launch a general offensive, finally resolving the crisis there.
This wave of Star Beasts retreated again, and Tom once again gained a few years of breathing room.
"Based on the current rate of combat power increase, the next to arrive… should be gravity peak-level Star Beasts.
Although the tactics of these Star Beasts are relatively simple, all of them engage in direct combat with me, unlike the Star Beasts from before who knew how to hide within planets and use various environments to gain an advantage, preventing their maximum combat power from being unleashed, but… can I really contend with gravity peak-level?"
For a mainstream intelligent civilization, gravity peak level means a warp speed of roughly 7 to 8 times the speed of light, an acceleration of hundreds of meters per second squared, ultra-high-strength energy and Gravity Shields, Gravity Cannons with a gravity limit of one thousand times Earth's gravity (or over 2,000 times Earth's gravity in total pull when positive and negative are combined), and projectiles with an exit velocity of up to 100,000 kilometers per second, with interstellar missiles reaching accelerations of over 2,000 meters per second squared…
These rows of data made Tom feel a heavy weight in his heart at this moment.
He was currently, at best, only at the mid-gravity level. Even with all his trump cards, he would be at a disadvantage against an ordinary intelligent civilization at the gravity peak, let alone a Star Beast Disaster, whose combat power is generally higher than intelligent civilizations of the same level!
But…
If he couldn't stop them, he might die!
"Never mind all that, just do my best… Besides following this path, I have no other choice."