CHAPTER 563: CHAPTER 562: IDEOLOGICAL WEAPONS

"We do indeed have a secret weapon, but this was their choice after finding out!"

The Wandering Alliance did not deny having a secret weapon, but denied that Black Hole Civilization’s choice was related to it.

This is mainly because the Black Hole Civilization and others had just recently joined the communist camp, and knowing about the Information Virus too early might provoke resistance; thus, it was better to wait till after the crisis had passed.

In fact, the choice of Black Hole Civilization and others from Battle Star was indeed influenced by the Information Virus. After the Wandering Alliance defected the Black Hole Civilization, they controlled the Information Virus to shift towards targeting other civilizations in the Pure Element Camp.

The Wandering Alliance arranged it this way because they feared that it would alert the Pure Element Stellar Group and the Antimatter Civilization too soon.

Because unlike the collective of Black Hole Civilization, the Antimatter Civilization and Pure Element Stellar Group are decentralized. To assimilate so many Battle Stars with the Information Virus requires a certain amount of time, and this process would certainly alert these experienced fifth-level civilizations, as just demonstrated by the doubts raised by the Pure Element Stellar Group and Antimatter Civilization.

But the Black Hole Civilization did not have to consider this issue. Being a collective and clearly isolated from external areas, once infected, the entire Black Hole Civilization would transform simultaneously, unlike the distributed mode where each Battle Star would transform one by one, raising alarms.

Therefore, to be safe, the Wandering Alliance decided to first defect the Black Hole Civilization, taking over this collective target first, and then try to influence the Battle Stars of the other two civilizations. In this way, even if the later effects weren’t very clear, they had at least defected and taken over the Black Hole Civilization.

That is the main reason why the Wandering Alliance treated the Black Hole Civilization as their primary target for defection.

"This choice was our own decision, after all, surviving is the ultimate goal. We once thought that your Pure Element Camp could achieve this goal, but currently, not only are you unable to eliminate the communist camp, but you also can’t find a way to escape the universe, so it’s not surprising that we made this choice!"

The Black Hole Civilization was quite clear about their choice, it seems their decision might have been influenced by the Information Virus, but more so by their own will. They must have been wavering internally, and it was the Information Virus that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Subsequently, the Black Hole Civilization vigorously propagated: "Considering our past alliance, I urge you to join the communist camp quickly, while they are still open to accepting you. We, the Black Hole Civilization, can assure you that the communist camp indeed has found a way to compensate for the Cosmic Material. This is no lie; their chances of survival are extremely high, so stop resisting stubbornly."

"Additionally, let me speak sincerely, if your civilization does not consider joining the communist camp, then they simply do not prioritize your lives. So, I urge every Battle Star on the battlefield to think about the purpose of your war, whether it is to fight for the interests of the rulers of civilization, or to survive. If it’s to survive, then join the communist camp, the communist system is one of the most suitable systems for the living community!"

With these words from the Black Hole Civilization, many Battle Stars not yet affected by the Information Virus began to waver.

Furthermore, with the Information Virus spreading wildly, an increasing number of Battle Stars from the Pure Element Stellar Group and Antimatter Civilization defected and joined the embrace of the communist camp.

Initially, it was just over a hundred Battle Stars, then it became two hundred, then it increased to three hundred, four hundred...

The scale of defection seemed unstoppable, just like opening the floodgates. Watching more and more Battle Stars defect, it completely shook the military morale, and the Pure Element Stellar Group and Antimatter Civilization finally realized they had lost the high ground in ideological warfare; the secret weapon of the communist camp was likely in the realm of ideology.

This concept had just dawned on the Pure Element Stellar Group and Antimatter Civilization.

Although they knew the importance of ideology, they had never thought of researching weapons in the direction of ideology, so their research and defense against it were totally lacking, their only method of fostering ideology internally was traditional education and cultural propaganda.

But now, attacked by the ideological weapons of the communist camp, they collapsed instantly, completely overwhelmed!

The ideological high ground warfare is so cruel, a zero-sum game. In traditional warfare, there could be draws, more wins, less loss, etc., but in ideological high ground warfare, there are only total victory and total defeat, no other outcomes. If you cannot hold it, the enemy will undoubtedly completely occupy the ideological high ground.

The most typical example is the former Soviet Union. Influenced by the United States’ peaceful evolution strategy, the ideological mindset of the public, and even the ruling class’s ideology, was occupied by the West, which directly led to the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

"No, we cannot just sit and wait to die, we must immediately strike back with full force!"

Realizing the severity of the situation, even with their extensive assets, if this situation continued, both civilizations were bound to be destroyed. Thus, they united once again, ordering the Battle Stars not yet affected to launch attacks and demanded the scientific community to immediately identify what the communist camp’s ideological weapon was and to find specific plans for defense and counterattack against ideological weapons.

Thus, the remaining Pure Element Stellar Group and Antimatter Civilization had no choice but to make a final stand in defense of their civilization unity!

Their allied forces launched a heroic counterattack, including some that were tantamount to mutual destruction, which was highly admirable!

Sadly, under the massive wheel of historical torrents, all their efforts appeared insignificant; they had no way to defend against the Information Virus. Although they had timely set up related research projects, lacking sufficient talent and research infrastructure, it was impossible to come up with any plan in the short term. Even if they had developed a plan, with the loss of logistical support, they couldn’t sustain a long fight, and failure was inevitable.

In the end, many of the Battle Stars who initially thought of mutual destruction, unbeknownst to themselves, were infected with the Information Virus during the charge, underwent a massive shift in their thoughts, and from mutual destruction... transformed into embracing the enemy!

As the existing Battle Stars of the Pure Element Stellar Group and Antimatter Civilization continued to be infected and joined the communist camp, the alliance of the Pure Element Camp was officially dissolved, and this final battle to maintain civilization unity lasted less than a day before it collapsed utterly in defeat.