When the Pegasus Civilization’s Expeditionary Army discovered this fleet, it had already closed to within less than three days’ travel. Ahead lay Star System Number 1, where a large number of warships were also gathered, so advancing was impossible. Behind them pursuers were blocking the retreat, so withdrawing was impossible as well. They chose another direction to flee. But their speed was only thirty times light speed, whereas Xiao Yu’s fleet could reach thirty-five times light speed. They could not escape Xiao Yu’s pursuit. What was more, the Expeditionary Army no longer had enough fuel to support too long a journey.

In short, during this expedition they encountered two surprises. First, the combat power of Xiao Yu’s ships was so formidable. Second, there were these ships Xiao Yu had deliberately hidden. With these two surprises, the Expeditionary Army’s mission was basically doomed to fail.

They could not flee, and they could not win. What now.

If not for the five million warships that appeared behind them, the Expeditionary Army could have carried out a retreat. Although they would have suffered certain losses under pursuit by the garrison forces in Star System Number 1, if they single-mindedly fled, most of their strength could still have escaped. Once they reached a place where the Pegasus Civilization had established bases, they could rely on those garrisons and await reinforcements. Now, however, the sudden appearance of these five million ships completely disrupted their plan.

“Leader, urgent report. Five million unidentified ships have suddenly appeared to the rear of the Expeditionary Army. Preliminary judgment based on construction style indicates they are the Divine Ark Civilization’s hidden strength. The Divine Ark Civilization did not hide five million ships, but ten million, ten million.” On the communications channel, the frontline commander let out a heart-rending cry.

Ten million warships. What did that mean. With the single-ship combat power of the Divine Ark Civilization already beyond the Pegasus Civilization’s expectations, and the enemy’s number of warships suddenly doubled, such a huge blow was something no one could bear.

It was as if the Pegasus Civilization’s Expeditionary Army’s frontline commander fell from heaven to hell in an instant. Faced with this situation, he was at a loss for a moment. Just two hours earlier, he had set out toward Star System Number 1 with confidence of certain victory. Yet now, two hours later, the situation had undergone a staggering reversal. They had instantly changed from hunters to prey. This abrupt change in status left him unable to adjust for a moment.

At this critical moment, however, the leader of the Pegasus Civilization remained absolutely calm. After a brief consideration, he immediately responded, “Immediately maneuver the Expeditionary Army to fall back. Fight a breakout battle against the second Divine Ark Civilization fleet that has appeared and try to flee. As many as can escape, escape. Quick, at once. If you can hold out for one year, you can reach the A58 system. In that system we have certain star system defensive structures. With the help of the star system’s defense system, you can hold for at least twenty years. Twenty years will be enough time for our civilization to come to your rescue.”

A sense of regret arose in the Pegasus Civilization leader’s heart at this moment. For such a massive military operation, it was impossible not to make thorough preparations before beginning. In fact, the Pegasus Civilization had collected information on the combat power of the Divine Ark Civilization’s ships through every channel available to them. The Expeditionary Army had prepared to deal with space weapons, and they were even prepared to fight a hard battle and, at the cost of losing more than half of their own ships, still defeat the Divine Ark Civilization’s fleet if necessary. What they had not anticipated was that Xiao Yu had hidden so deeply.

Circumstances shifted too quickly, as if in one instant a docile little kitten turned into a man-eating tiger.

With slightly trembling hands, he wiped the sweat from his brow, closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, then opened them again.

“Issue orders to immediately concentrate ships to encircle and suppress the one million ships that have entered our encirclement. This concerns whether we can obtain the Divine Ark Civilization’s technology tree. There can be no mistakes in this operation. At the same time, cancel all rescue plans. All key industry, population, and resources must be gathered with all speed within the capital star system’s defensive circle. Accelerate shipbuilding once again and soldier training once again. Abandon all outer planets that are not easy to defend.”

“Leader, are you going to abandon the Expeditionary Army?” The assistant standing by turned pale with fright, and even dropped the communicator in his hand.

The leader of the Pegasus Civilization closed his eyes and nodded lightly.

“You, you must not do that.” The assistant’s voice began to tremble. “Those are soldiers of our civilization. A full two hundred million soldiers. Seven million warships, which make up more than half of our standing military strength. You cannot abandon them.”

“Carry out the order.” The leader’s eyes snapped open, his tone even more severe.

The assistant, trembling, picked up the communicator and, with a parched voice, transmitted the order to the outside. He did not notice that the leader had again closed his eyes, raised his head to the sky, and moved his lips slightly.

“You will not understand. For the sake of our civilization, what is there that cannot be cast aside. These seven million warships can at least inflict losses of three million ships on the Divine Ark Civilization and hold them for at least several decades. Several decades are enough for me to make the capital defensive circle into an iron barrel. As long as we can capture that one million, no, as long as we can capture three hundred thousand of those one million warships, we will have a great hope of completely deciphering all the Divine Ark Civilization’s technologies. Then, within the tightly defended capital defensive circle, we will analyze their technology and continue to develop our strength. With more advanced technology, defeating the Divine Ark Civilization will no longer be a problem. This concerns whether our civilization can advance to Level 6. For that goal, what sacrifice is unacceptable. A mere seven million warships and two hundred million soldiers, what are they worth.”

The Pegasus Civilization leader’s resolve was this ruthless. A full seven million warships. Even Xiao Yu, who, as a combination of mechanical and technological civilization, could build any number of ships given sufficient resources and time, would feel as if his flesh were being cut if he lost seven million ships. Yet the leader of the Pegasus Civilization discarded them without the least hesitation.

Hundreds of light-years away, the Expeditionary Army naturally did not know they had been abandoned. The leader’s words stirred the last faint hope in their hearts. Under the drive of survival instinct, they rallied once more.

The two fleets had already come into contact. One side had five million ships, the other seven million.

In terms of overall strength, Xiao Yu’s fleet was stronger, but only slightly. At most they could defeat the Expeditionary Army, but not rout it. Xiao Yu clearly understood this. Therefore, what he needed now was to delay, to wait for the fleet from Star System Number 1 to arrive. Only by attacking from both sides could he crush the Expeditionary Army and capture a sufficient number of ships for technological analysis.

Corresponding to Xiao Yu’s objective was the Expeditionary Army commander’s plan. Though he still had fighting spirit, all of it was focused on how to break out and how to escape. One side wanted to flee, the other to intercept. Under such conditions, the first massive battle involving tens of millions of ships between the Divine Ark Civilization and the Pegasus Civilization erupted.

In the pitch-black outer space, after the first Town-Class ship was destroyed and the first flash bloomed, the void immediately turned lively. Innumerable ships threaded through the boundless universe, like birds freely soaring. Some birds were larger, with more ferocious combat power. They charged through the battlefield, shredding anything that dared to block them. Some birds were smaller, flitting freely across the battlefield, either using numerical advantage to oppose the larger birds or relying on stronger mobility to flee wildly across the field.

Five million ships could not truly block the Expeditionary Army’s seven million. At least for now, after three hours of engagement, the defensive line Xiao Yu had laid was already in a precarious state.

“That is it, that is it.” The Expeditionary Army commander murmured to himself. Having regained his calm, he fully displayed his military talent. Orders were issued one after another and faithfully carried out by the Expeditionary Army’s fighters. Under his command, the Expeditionary Army surged like a raging flood, pounding ferociously at the dike ahead. The dike already showed dangers in many places and had become precarious.

“You want to leave. It is not that easy.” Xiao Yu smiled slightly. “Since you dared to come and launch a sneak attack on me, you cannot leave without paying a price.”

Facts proved that when two forces are roughly equal in strength, if one side’s entire mindset is to flee, the other side will not be able to hold them. The defensive line Xiao Yu had set was finally broken by the Expeditionary Army. At the cost of more than three hundred thousand ships destroyed and more than twenty thousand captured, the Expeditionary Army’s warships burst through the dike before them like a flood.

But something unexpected occurred. In the midst of this surging flood, one enormous ship stood like a pillar in midstream, utterly unmoving. It simply waited for its enemy. Upon seeing a Continent-Class ship appear ahead, this ship immediately surged forward to block the way.

The ship that went forward to block was the Asia.