Humanity Is Gone, but I Have Billions of Clones

A strange look crossed Li Qingsong's face as he read the message and the attached list of demands: "100 million tons of deuterium, 1 million tons of tritium, 1 billion tons of pure water, 5 billion tons of high-carbon steel," and so on.

'Do you really think the Solar System is your personal backyard, that you can come and go as you please?

I already gave you a chance.

If you had agreed back then, I might have actually given you these resources. But now... do you really think I'd still agree?

Can't leave without the supplies? Then don't leave at all!'

Li Qingsong immediately drafted and sent a reply.

"I'm done wasting words on you. Even if you wanted to leave now, you couldn't!

I won't even bother asking for compensation for the damage you've caused. After I defeat your civilization, your people, your technology, and your ships will all be mine. I demand your entire civilization as reparations!"

The power of the Blutuk Civilization was undeniable.

The performance and combat strength of their warships far surpassed his own.

In truth, Li Qingsong had no real confidence he could win this war.

But...

'But he had to fight anyway!'

'By what right!'

'By what right do you get to mistake my prior goodwill for weakness? This could have all been settled peacefully, but you just had to come barging into my home.

Now that you see I'm not to be trifled with, you think you can just extort some resources, dust yourselves off, and leave? Life doesn't work like that in this Cosmos!

Now, even if you want to leave, I won't let you!'

After centuries of tireless, all-out effort and one technological breakthrough after another, he had developed weapons that, while still inferior, were now enough to pose a genuine threat. Most importantly, buoyed by his recent victory, Li Qingsong's heart now surged with fighting spirit.

...

On the flagship of the Blutuk Civilization. Seeing the reply from Human Civilization, the senior leadership all leaped to their feet in a rage.

"The sheer arrogance of this Human Civilization! After one minor victory, they actually think they can defeat us?"

"We were considering letting their civilization's legacy survive, but they dared to mistake our goodwill for weakness... Fine, so be it! We'll annihilate them!"

Amid the uproar, a strange smile touched Heirwe Supreme Leader's lips.

"If they don't want peace, then we'll give them war."

"War! War!"

"War!"

...

After waiting outside the Supreme Leader's office for over a day, the door finally opened. Heirwe Supreme Leader stood calmly before Harir.

Behind him, the faces of the senior leadership were etched with anger.

"Harir, stand."

Harir immediately rose, forcing his body ramrod straight. He struggled to maintain his last shred of dignity as he awaited his civilization's judgment.

"The blame for our defeat in this campaign does not lie with you. On the contrary, it was your decisiveness that prevented us from suffering even greater losses.

You are not only blameless, you are to be commended."

After placating Harir, Heirwe Supreme Leader continued, "The senior leadership had previously decided, unanimously, to negotiate for peace with Human Civilization. We were prepared to grant their request for peace, provided they agreed to our demands: severely punish the culprits in their ranks, provide reparations for our dead, and hand over the requested supplies."

A flicker of disappointment passed through Harir's eyes.

'So they negotiated for peace... What a shame. I suppose I'll never get the chance for revenge against the humans in my lifetime.'

"But... Human Civilization refused."

'What?!'

Harir's head snapped up, and he stared at Heirwe Supreme Leader in utter disbelief.

Such a possibility had never even crossed his mind.

'By what right? By what right do you humans dare refuse the peace we grant you?

Does that one minor victory give you the right to be so arrogant?'

Heirwe Supreme Leader looked at him calmly. "I have decided to appoint you as the commander for the second campaign as well."

Harir was stunned once more, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"But... the people..."

"The pressure is indeed immense, but you don't need to worry about it. I will bear it. I will deal with any and all opposition."

Heirwe Supreme Leader said calmly, "All that matters is that I know you are an excellent commander."

Harir's eyes suddenly welled up.

"Supreme Leader, rest assured. I will lead this second campaign to victory. I will—I swear I will—deliver the... punishment that Human Civilization deserves for trampling on our peaceful intentions."

"Very well. Now, tell me, what is your plan of attack?"

"Supreme Leader, I have analyzed our defeat repeatedly. I believe the primary reason we lost the first campaign was that we declared our target in advance. This gave the enemy too much time to mobilize and concentrate their forces on Planet Seven.

Ultimately, we underestimated our enemy.

For the second campaign, I will not select a primary target beforehand. Instead, I will first enter the Star System, closely monitoring the enemy's troop movements to identify a weak point for our main assault.

Our fleet has superior mobility. Once a weak target is selected, we can maneuver into position and launch our attack with greater speed.

The enemy won't have time to respond!

By doing this, we can quickly capture a major planet to serve as a base of operations for our main fleet."

Heirwe Supreme Leader gave a slight nod. "Very good. Then go.

This time, I am giving you a force of 300,000 warships."

'Three hundred thousand warships... That's 75% of the civilization's entire military strength!

Aside from the forces needed to guard the main fleet and escort industrial and transport ships to distant dwarf star systems for resource collection, the Supreme Leader had just entrusted him with nearly every mobile military asset the civilization possessed!'

"Yes!"

Harir accepted with solemn gravity.

The reply from Human Civilization was eventually made public. In an instant, the entire Blutuk Civilization was plunged into a state of stunned disbelief.

This shock was followed by an indescribable fury.

To spurn our goodwill, to trample our mercy... this Human Civilization... deserves a thousand deaths!

Wipe them out! We must wipe them out!

No, enslave them first! Make them produce the resources for our civilization's interstellar migration. Once they've served their purpose, kill them all and annihilate their civilization completely!

Since the blame for the first campaign's failure doesn't lie with General Harir, and since General Harir is an excellent commander, then...

General Harir, wipe them out!

The cries of countless individuals merged into the prevailing roar of their civilization, a roar that settled upon General Harir, making him feel the immense weight of his responsibility and mission.

"Let the Supreme Leader rest assured! Let the people rest assured! I, Harir, on this campaign... will not fail the trust you have placed in me!

Warriors! By my command—launch!"

A fleet of 300,000 warships of all sizes, accompanied by numerous freighters and logistics vessels, converged. The light from their countless engine flares seemed to set the very sky ablaze.

The vast armada slowly pulled away from Planet Huishen, heading toward the bright Stellar ahead.