Chapter 563: Clearing the Path
The Rashudia Race’s subtle maneuvering was more of an open secret. Their deployment strategy wasn’t lost on the other outer races, who were no fools. However, the current situation left them with little choice. Strength favored the Rashudia, and resistance was futile. After a few futile protests that went unanswered, the outer races reluctantly fell in line.
Yet, behind the scenes, the alliances and connections continued. Mid-ring civilizations reached out to the outer-ring civilizations behind them, urging them to maintain as much distance as possible from the frontlines and to spread out their formations. This would make it easier for the mid-ring forces to retreat if necessary.
The outer-ring civilizations readily agreed, as they wanted nothing more than to stay as far from the battlefield as possible. However, the Rashudia overseers ensured that this distance didn’t become excessive. Given the technological disparity between the mid and outer-ring civilizations, if a full-scale retreat were to occur, it was unclear whether harmony could be maintained.
As time passed, the Swarm finally began to react to the approaching Interstellar Confederation forces. Large groups of Primordial Bodies awoke from their dormant state, turned their cannons toward the Confederation fleet, adjusted their positions slightly to form a rudimentary formation, and then fell silent once more.
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The Swarm’s actions further supported the theory of a stellar bomb plan. Only by drawing the battlefield as close to the star as possible could the Swarm maximize the effectiveness of this superweapon.
“Open fire!” Coordinating a fleet composed of nearly a hundred different races was nearly impossible. With over 3.5 billion ships, simply maintaining formation and advancing to the Swarm’s First Star System took more than two years.
In the 82nd year of the New Era, the Confederation fleet reached the outermost asteroid belt of the First Star System. Adhering to the principle of destroying everything in sight and minimizing interference during their eventual retreat, Conradus gave the order to attack.
Energy beams based on controlled fusion and dark energy systems shot toward the asteroid belt in various forms. This massive belt, spanning over 3 billion kilometers in width and encircling the entire star system, contained countless celestial bodies. The largest were over 2,000 kilometers in diameter, while the smallest were no bigger than a fingernail.