Chapter 264: Chapter 263: Iron Law
At this point, the number of warships Li Qingsong had committed to the battlefield had completely surpassed that of the Harville Civilization.
Although the Harville Civilization had always possessed a larger total fleet than Li Qingsong, and had been mass-producing warships with all their might for the past several decades, the number of warriors they could field was ultimately limited.
Even after several rounds of military expansion, the Harville Civilization could only control a total of 600,000 warships at any given time. But with Li Qingsong’s complete industrial system now established and engaged in all-out mass production, the number of warships he had thrown onto the battlefield had reached 800,000!
Even for Li Qingsong’s Clones, operating 800,000 warships required approximately 50 million pilots, plus an additional 500 million Clones to serve as a sentience supplement.
Given the high-intensity mental labor involved, a four-hour shift followed by an eight-hour rest was essentially the limit for the Clones.
Li Qingsong therefore required three full crews for rotation, bringing the total number of Clones needed to 1.65 billion.
But Li Qingsong had a unique advantage.
The Clones on their rest cycle did not require him to maintain a conscious link!
Li Qingsong could maintain over three billion conscious connections at any given moment, allowing him to keep his combat strength at its absolute peak at all times!
Under these circumstances, even on the battlefield of Planet Two—the front the Harville Civilization prioritized most and defended with all their might—they could no longer maintain an advantage, forced to rely on their more advanced technology just to hold a stalemate.
But this was only the beginning for Li Qingsong.
After another period of all-out production, Li Qingsong amassed another fleet of approximately 10,000 warships.
Instead of using this fleet to reinforce the Planet Two front, Li Qingsong dispatched it directly to Planet Three, where the Harville Civilization’s main fleet was stationed.
This forced the Harville Civilization to withdraw some of its forces, reallocating pilots from Planet Two to Planet Three to mount a defense.
A mere ten days later, a second fleet of ten thousand warships was completed and set off for Planet One.
As a result, the number of Harville warships on the Planet Two front dwindled yet again.
Although those warships still lingered at the edge of the battlefield, they could no longer be committed to the fight.
Back at their rear control bases, the Harville Civilization no longer had enough qualified warriors to pilot them remotely!
Following this, Li Qingsong maintained his pace of producing a new fleet of ten thousand warships every ten days, continuously deploying them to various fronts.
He began dispatching fleets not only to Planet One and Planet Three, but even to larger dwarf planets, moons, and into the depths of interstellar space!
Li Qingsong wasn’t just attacking planets; he was also constantly harassing their supply lines and attacking their transport fleets!
In just a few short years, the number of warships under Li Qingsong’s command throughout the Lyra G16 Star System had skyrocketed to a staggering two million.
And every single one of them was under his direct control, unlike the Harville Civilization, which could only field 600,000 of its million-plus warships at any given time.
And so, a truly massive interstellar war erupted.
Within the Lyra G16 Star System, war raged on every major planet. Every transport convoy in space, every logistics fleet, even reconnaissance and passenger fleets—all came under attack by Li Qingsong.
The fires of war blazed, spreading throughout the entire star system.
The entire Harville Civilization mobilized for total war.
The elderly who should have been enjoying their retirement, the wealthy who should have been enjoying their lives, the students who should have been studying in peace—everyone answered Supreme Leader Haimo Lan’s call. They went into the factories, entered the control bases, or became transport personnel, all contributing their strength to the fullest.
The entire Harville Civilization had unleashed its full, absolute power.
They even increased their average daily production of Manned Warships to 200 vessels; at this rate, they could amass a massive fleet in just a few short years.
They even raised the number of frontline warriors to 600 million, allowing them to field 200 million pilots at any given time, even with shift rotations. The number of warships they could control simultaneously skyrocketed from the initial 400,000 to a new high of 1.6 million!
These numbers, just by looking at them, were enough to leave the entire high command of the civilization, including Haimo Lan, in awe.
‘We never imagined that, when pushed to the brink, our Harville Civilization could unleash such immense fighting power.’
‘This is the great Harville Civilization!’
But…
The developing situation, however, quickly shattered that faint glimmer of pride in Haimo Lan’s heart.
They watched in horror as, beyond the two million warships already on the field, the enemy’s numbers continued to grow. They had thought their foe had reached his limit, that he couldn’t possibly deploy any more, but the increase in his warship count was still relentless!
In a short time, it rose to 2.6 million vessels, and… it was still climbing relentlessly!
Their lofty ambitions and burning passion were swiftly crushed by this brutal reality.
‘Why? Why… Why, when our civilization has been pushed to its absolute limit, can we… can we still not measure up to our opponent…?’
Gazing out at the sea of stars, Haimo Lan’s eyes were filled with the sight of countless new “stars” suddenly flaring into existence, only to vanish just as quickly.
The birth of each new star signified a violent explosion. The dimming of each one meant that at least one of their own warships, built at immense cost, had been lost to the sea of stars.
Now, these “stars” filled every inch of the sky he could see.
‘We can’t win. We really can’t win this fight.’
「In Conference Room One.」 Facing the silent high command of the civilization, looking at the intelligence reports showing the exhausted and numb faces of the populace in the factories and control bases, Haimo Lan spoke with immense difficulty. “We must retreat… Flee this star system. Flee this enemy.”
‘If we keep fighting, the civilization will collapse.’
‘By then, we won’t be able to escape even if we want to.’
But…
A high-ranking official spoke with difficulty. “Can we even escape? Don’t forget, the moment we choose to flee, we’ll become the side lacking supplies. If our opponent gives chase, our resources will be massively depleted, even if we succeed in escaping.
Under those conditions… can we still feed our people? Can we even make it to the next Interstellar System?”
It was an ironclad rule that one could not carry extensive supplies during Interstellar Travel. That law applied to their enemy, and it applied to them as well.
They had once used this very rule to force their opponent into the Star System. They never imagined that they would now be shackled by it themselves.
A look of grim resolve flashed in Haimo Lan’s eyes. “I have decided… to activate the Celestial Calamity Plan.”