As Li Qingsong watched intently, the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet stirred once more.
In that instant, more Warships, large and small, detached from the Space-Air Carrier's berths. They formed up in the vastness of space and charged toward the Inner Star System.
The fleet was so enormous it stretched for tens of millions of kilometers. Countless engine trails ignited at once, their glow so brilliant it completely illuminated a massive gas giant. The light then reflected into Li Qingsong's observation equipment, appearing before him as bright as a star!
Even ignoring the engine trails, the starlight reflecting off the Warships alone made it seem as if millions of new stars had suddenly appeared in the void, hurtling toward Li Qingsong like an unstoppable meteor shower.
At this moment, even Li Qingsong—a man who had reached the pinnacle of an Electroweak Civilization and was confident he had no peer of his tier in the entire Milky Way Galaxy—felt a profound sense of awe.
Like an ant before an elephant, like a bug before an eagle!
Even Li Qingsong couldn't help but think, 'Using such a massive fleet to deal with me... talk about using a cannon to kill a mosquito...'
Li Qingsong knew he absolutely could not withstand this.
Not only could he not resist it now, but he wouldn't be able to withstand an attack from such a massive Strong Core Level fleet even if his own forces were a hundred or a thousand times larger.
He might be able to fend off a small fleet of just tens of thousands of Warships by relying on sheer numbers and accepting devastating casualties, but that was his absolute limit.
But now, the sheer increase in numbers had created a qualitative change. The difference was, this qualitative leap had occurred on the enemy's side, making them impossible for him to resist no matter what.
The space around any single warship is finite. This meant that no matter how many offensive options he possessed, he could only bring a fraction of them to bear in the same place at the same time. And that fraction of firepower couldn't even breach the defenses of the enemy's Warship clusters.
If that was the case, the enemy could rampage through his territory unopposed. No matter how many Warships he had, he couldn't stop them.
How could he possibly fight this?
It was an impossible fight!
Li Qingsong recognized this with perfect clarity. And yet, instead of feeling panic or dread, he grew excited.
'This is it! This is exactly what I needed! For you to mobilize your entire force and attack me with everything you have! Only then do I have a chance!'
At that moment, not only did Li Qingsong not retreat, he pushed even more of his forces to the front line.
Aboard the Supercomputer Carrier, another message flashed through the Red Dog AI's logic processing unit.
'The Prey Civilization has clearly resolved to launch a suicidal attack. Based on this, we must exercise greater caution. We cannot allow this valuable intelligent life to die so easily.'
...
Thanks to the Strong Core Civilization fleet's extraordinary coordinated acceleration, two million Warships arrived just outside Li Qingsong's defensive perimeter in no time.
The situation on the battlefield shifted once again.
But the change was not the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity easily crushing Li Qingsong's fleet. Instead, for a time, it was Li Qingsong who appeared to have the upper hand!
The scene was so unbelievable that even Li Qingsong himself found it eye-opening.
Li Qingsong watched as, across the vast battlefield, his own weaker and outnumbered Warships seemed to be pressing the attack, unleashing a furious barrage of fire against the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity's fleet.
Meanwhile, the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity's Warships, despite being more numerous and far more powerful, were passively taking the hits. They seemed to be relying on their superior defenses to weather the storm, one might even say they were taking the beating without fighting back.
Even when they did return fire, it was only with a few token projectiles or a couple of laser beams. If they failed to achieve any results, they would cease fire immediately.
On the surface, Li Qingsong held a major advantage in the battle.
But looking at the details, Li Qingsong noticed that many things were off.
Indeed, very few of his Warships had been outright destroyed in this phase, but...
...during this period, the number of ships with destroyed Thrust Devices, leaving them dead in the water; with destroyed scanning radars, leaving them blind to their surroundings; and with destroyed Electromagnetic Cannons, leaving them unable to attack, was increasing at an alarming rate.
The Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Warships were indeed constantly on the defensive, maneuvering and evading. Yet, nearly every single one of their attacks managed to surgically destroy an Electromagnetic Cannon or a radar system, and so on, all while leaving the Warship's hull intact.
'They want to capture us alive!'
Perhaps in their eyes, these Clones of his were already their assets. They already belonged to them.
Killing these Clones wouldn't be his loss, but theirs!
That's why they only targeted weapons, not the Warships themselves!
In a battle of this magnitude, involving millions of Warships and weathering a constant hailstorm of fire, to then be able to surgically strike only weapons systems without destroying the ship itself...
The difficulty of achieving this was countless times greater than simply annihilating his forces.
What kind of impossibly precise coordination would that require? This was no longer just dancing in chains; it was like walking a tightrope over a chasm ten thousand fathoms deep.
But even if it was a tightrope walk, the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity was very nearly pulling it off.
At the very least, the current situation was rapidly tilting in their favor.
The sheer power of the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet was once again made terrifyingly clear to Li Qingsong.
'You want to capture me alive? Fine by me.'
A cold smile touched Li Qingsong's lips, and with a hint of madness, he issued another command.
All Warships that still have maneuvering capabilities, full retreat!
Fall back closer to the Pegasus V432 Star, closer to that planet! Regroup there!
Aboard the Supercomputer Carrier, another message flashed through the Red Dog AI's logic processing unit.
'The Prey Civilization is beginning to rally at its main base, likely to mount a final resistance.
Note: We must prevent our opponent from committing mass suicide or self-destruction, as this would cause us significant losses.
If necessary, we can intervene with direct force.
Now, fleet advance. Lock onto the target.'
Li Qingsong retreated, and the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet advanced.
Within the Asteroid Belt, both fleets maneuvered at high speed until nearly all of their forces were gathered within a ten-million-kilometer radius of the rocky planet where Li Qingsong was located.
'Excellent. Excellent. You've all finally arrived.'
Without hesitation, Li Qingsong activated his communications array and broadcast a message into the vastness of space.
"Since you refuse to let me go, then we'll all be destroyed together! Mutual destruction! If I'm going to die, everyone dies! Everyone!"
Following this slightly crazed message, as if in perfect concert with Li Qingsong's broadcast, a minuscule point of light suddenly erupted on the surface of the immense and dazzling Pegasus V432 Star.