This was the final battle with the Pegasus Civilization, and it would inevitably be the most arduous one. Because this was the Pegasus Civilization's capital star system, and all the technological backups Xiao Yu needed were stored here, he could no longer adopt that simple and direct method. He could not capture this star system by destroying its star.

If he did that, the star system would certainly fall, but the Pegasus Civilization's capital planet would also suffer a devastating blow. Although at the Pegasus Civilization's level of technology, even if the star exploded there might be ways to preserve important materials on the capital planet, Xiao Yu did not want to take that risk.

The situation was more complex and the difficulty greater, so it was not strange that the operations staffer had suggested a temporary retreat, to return when strength was restored to a certain level and then capture this star system.

But Xiao Yu could not do that. In truth, Xiao Yu did not much believe in intuition and such things. For a scientist, he required a basis and evidence to believe that something was true. Intuition was, after all, a bit too idealistic. Yet his feeling now was very strange, and for Xiao Yu this feeling objectively existed. The sense that this was not a place to tarry, that the war must end quickly and he must leave, lingered in his heart and would not disperse.

Call it intuition, yet it objectively existed. Call it something real, yet it had no basis.

After thinking it through, Xiao Yu could only attribute this feeling to his Specter companion.

"There is a special connection between me and my Specter companion. To this day I still do not know by what principle it exists or by what mechanism it influences both sides. But this connection does truly and objectively exist. Perhaps my Specter companion is influencing my mind through some special mechanism and sending me a warning. Specter companion, I do not know where you are now or how far you have grown. I do not know when we can fight side by side and carve out the reputation of humanity in this vast galaxy."

Xiao Yu heaved a slight sigh.

"No matter what, the war must be ended quickly now. Once I obtain the complete technology tree of the Pegasus Civilization, I will leave immediately." Xiao Yu made up his mind.

What could be used, then, was only the Blood Blade Squad, composed entirely of Guardian Civilization ships. While parsing the Guardian Civilization's technology, Xiao Yu had carefully preserved the integrity of their structures. So up to now, they still retained combat capability.

Within the Blood Blade Squad, the largest ships were County-Class, and there were only two. Considering how, in the war with the Molian Civilization, a single Guardian Civilization City-Class ship had held off hundreds of thousands of ships from the biological army, Xiao Yu had tremendous confidence in the Blood Blade Squad's combat strength. Xiao Yu, after all, was the pinnacle among Level 5 Civilizations. He understood better than anyone the terror of Level 6 Civilization ships.

"I order the fleet to depart. Advance toward the Pegasus Civilization's capital star system. Prepare to launch the attack." Xiao Yu issued the order. Immediately, the biological army together with those ships directly controlled by Xiao Yu surged forward.

The final battle with the Pegasus Civilization was about to begin.

The hundreds of ships of the Blood Blade Squad had been completely disguised by Xiao Yu and mixed into the main force. From the outside, the Blood Blade Squad's ships were no different from the others.

The fleet moved slowly forward and halted thirty million kilometers from the outermost defensive ring of the Pegasus Civilization's capital star system. At this distance, Xiao Yu silently observed the defensive arrangement of the star system ahead, calculating quietly in his mind. Within the biological army, the members of the Military Committee were all in position. Countless operations staffers were busy. Reports of intelligence, collated and organized, were delivered to the supreme operations conference room for Xiao Yu and the committee members to read and decide.

"The Pegasus Civilization's capital star system is very well fortified. We basically have no chance to mount a surprise attack. No matter from which direction our fleet approaches, it will ultimately be detected by the Pegasus Civilization's monitoring forces. Their force deployments are also very rational. No matter from which direction we attack, even from the two poles of the star, we will be blocked by the Pegasus Civilization's warships. As things stand, a frontal assault is the only method." said a member of the Military Committee.

"Yes." Xiao Yu nodded lightly, agreeing with this view. "As a matter of common sense, if we did not have the Blood Blade Squad and we launched a frontal assault with our current strength, then under such perfect defenses in the capital star system of the Pegasus Civilization, it would basically be impossible for us to take this star system. And as long as we suffered one defeat, the routed forces of the Pegasus Civilization wandering outside would surge toward us, plunging us into a situation beyond redemption. In fact, up to now, I even suspect that the four star systems we captured were merely sacrifices they threw out to wear down our strength, and that the capital star system is the killing formation the Pegasus Civilization laid against us. If my guess is true, then the one who laid this formation is truly ruthless and decisive. For the sake of obtaining our Divine Ark Civilization's technology and entering the range of a Level 6 Civilization, he could abandon millions of ships, hundreds of millions of soldiers, billions of civilians, and innumerable precious facilities and resources. In such decisiveness, I am not his equal."

"However, it is a pity. If we did not have the Blood Blade Squad, we might truly lose this war. Unfortunately for them, the Blood Blade Squad is an unexpected force. With this power, I will be able to reverse the entire battlefield." Xiao Yu sighed, as if lamenting the decisiveness of the Pegasus leader, and as if feeling regret for him.

Xiao Yu gave the order. "Here will do. All warships, twist into a single cord and launch a frontal assault."

At his command, all ships participating in the campaign charged forward at once. As before, the Asia, the America, and the Europe, the three Continent-Class ships, served as the vanguard. The ships behind formed their respective battle formations, relying on the Continent-Class ships to engage in fierce combat with the Pegasus Civilization's fleet.

As soon as the war began, Xiao Yu felt a pressure unlike anything before. This pressure was not psychological, it had concrete evidence. Segments of data, such as the ships' own energy consumption rates, the intensity of incoming fire, engine stress levels, and the number of enemy ships destroyed per unit of fire, all showed that this campaign was more intense than any previous battle.

The Pegasus Civilization's fleet, coordinated with the star system's defense system, managed to block the vanguard composed of the three Continent-Class ships for the first time, preventing the Asia, the America, and the Europe from advancing further. If these three ships could not advance, the following fleet could not advance either. In other words, all of Xiao Yu's massive fleet's offensive power was forcibly blocked here.

This was unprecedented. In the previous four star systems, whenever Xiao Yu wished, he could drive the three ships forward, carving out a bloody path and allowing the following ships to advance. Yet in the Pegasus Civilization's capital star system, Xiao Yu's steps forward were obstructed for the first time.

If the Continent-Class ships truly forced their way forward, the opposing forces would have no way to stop them. But it would require being prepared to suffer immense losses. That was Xiao Yu's feeling now. If he continued to push the three Continent-Class ships ahead, under such fierce attack, the major engines supporting the Four-Dimensional shield all had a risk of being burned out. This risk was something Xiao Yu could not bear. So he decisively ordered the three Continent-Class ships to cease their advance.

This position was still tens of billions of kilometers from the primary star of the Pegasus Civilization's capital star system. Here, Xiao Yu's fleet and the Pegasus Civilization's fleet engaged in fierce exchange of fire. The situation quickly became a stalemate, with both sides locked in confrontation.

In the vast void, there was artillery everywhere, explosions and flashes everywhere. There was no air in space and sound could not propagate, yet sight alone sufficed to show how intense this battle was.

Interstellar fortresses and interstellar turrets were like whales cruising in the sea. Under the cover of the forward fleet, relying on ample material reserves and powerful firepower, they lurked in the rear and unleashed ferocious bombardment on Xiao Yu's fleet. Innumerable interstellar mines and interstellar bomb clusters were like schools of piranhas. Whenever they encountered an enemy ship, they would lunge wildly, using their own destruction to wear down the energy of the opposing ships' shields.

The flames of war eclipsed the light of the distant star. This was like a gigantic millstone. It did not grind rice or flour. It ground ships, lives, and flesh and blood.

Countless ships were destroyed, while the survivors continued to grapple with the enemy. They expended all their strength to annihilate the opponent. If they could not destroy the enemy, they themselves would die.

This was the battlefield, a battlefield where large numbers of ships were destroyed at every moment.