Chapter 237: Trial by Fire on the Vico Line

Now that the Kovolans had joined the Federation system…

Of course Lin Yu had no objections to sending troops to protect them.

The only problem was, at the moment he had just 100 warships under his command. Handling a second-tier civilization wouldn’t be too hard, but taking on a third-tier civilization…

Not that it was completely impossible. After all, the Federation had quite a few trump cards up its sleeve, but there was no way they could win in a straight-up fight.

Otherwise, casualties would be unavoidable—and severe.

After all, even though the Federation claimed to be a level-four civilization to outsiders, that was all for show.

Because…

There was one crucial thing the Federation still lacked, namely…

An energy shield.

So, compared to regular third-tier civilizations, the Federation boasted greater mobility, better energy reserves and superior overall firepower, but when it came to defense they didn’t have much advantage.

In other words, even against second- and third-tier civilizations, a single tactical mistake by the Federation Fleet could mean real losses.

And with just a hundred warships…

Their tactical options were painfully limited.

But while Lin Yu was racking his brain over how to fight this battle…

The research institute reported in just in time with some very good news—news that instantly gave Lin Yu an idea.

Of course, now that Lin Yu was the highest commander of the Federation Fleet in the entire Magellan Star System, unless it was a major operation, he couldn’t just take the field himself like the old days.

He also wanted Lin Feng to get some real combat experience—and maybe rack up some military merits too.

——

A few days later.

Lin Yun arrived at the warships with a group of scientists in lab coats, bringing a new prototype weapon with them and joining the mission.

Since it was something new that hadn’t been tested in real combat, their job was not just to escort it but also to handle any technical problems on the spot.

At the same time, they needed to collect first-hand battle data.

Meanwhile—

The Vico Line of the Kovalo Federation, on the planet Tira, one of its three suns.

The place had already fallen completely. Down on the planet and up in the space cities, tragedy after tragedy was unfolding.

In one of those orbiting space cities…

Tens of thousands of Kovolans had been driven onto a plaza, and standing before them was a priest surrounded by a throng of cultivators.

He wore a coarse gray robe, gripped a staff in his right hand and at the top of the staff was a blood-red, irregularly-shaped gem that gleamed with an eerie light.

His left hand held a book, open to a page, its cover a flawless pure white.

If you looked closely, the priest’s eyes were nothing but blank white, no pupils at all.

He looked like a blind man.

“Listen well, fools! Your flesh, your stars, your very time is all an illusion!”

“Only the ‘Pure White Quantum’ is the ultimate, eternal reality!”

As he spoke, he raised his staff high and slammed it into the ground.

Instantly, the gem atop the staff erupted in a blazing crimson glow.

No one knew what exactly it did, but at the very least…

The spectacle was certainly impressive.

“Raise your right hand! At this moment, the cosmos splits into a trillion parallel realities!”

“Kneel and swear your vow! I shall grant you the ‘Eyes of Quantum Entanglement,’ so you may gaze upon the strands of fate itself!”

“Submit to the pure white! Your soul will ascend, becoming a quantum immortal!”

Moments later, some of the Kovolans began to kneel.

At the same time, crimson energy shot out from the priest’s staff, each beam finding the brow of a kneeling Kovolan.

Very quickly, the pupils faded from their eyes.

Until, at last, their eyes became just as blank and white as the priest’s.

It had been said before—the Kovolans’ culture had a lot in common with humanity.

Or, more precisely, with the Hua Xia people—they believed neither in gods nor in Buddha, only in themselves.

So even at this point, plenty of people on the square still chose to die rather than kneel.

The priest didn’t waste any more time. He raised his staff and slammed it down again.

This time, a pulse of crimson energy burst out from where the priest stood, expanding outwards.

Everyone left who had not converted was turned to dust in an instant.

Nothing remained but a scattering of particles on the ground.

Then, several cultivators came onto the plaza and led away the converted Kovolans. Not long after, another group of tens of thousands was driven in.

The grim scene repeated itself.

It happened again, and again.

What was unfolding here was being repeated on every planet and in every space city.

The Pure White Holy See followed the Sacred Tome of Pure White Quantum.

But this sacred tome wasn’t something the Pure White Holy See created themselves. In fact, it was after a certain civilization stumbled across the Sacred Tome of Pure White Quantum that the Pure White Holy See was founded.

So where did the Sacred Tome actually come from?

Sorry—no one, not even the Pure White Holy See, knows the answer.

What is clear is that the tome holds tremendous power. It can instantly convert anyone of any race into a fanatical believer.

But there’s a catch…

The subject needs to accept it of their own free will.

Which is why the gray-robed priest only converted the kneeling Kovolans and killed the rest.

Those unconverted simply couldn’t be changed.

So, of course, they couldn’t be allowed to live…

——

One day later.

Still at the Vico Line.

A hundred Zhulong-class warships, under Lin Feng’s command, suddenly appeared above Tira.

The reason they dared make such a bold move was simple—every Zhulong-class Type D warship carried two sets of faster-than-light engines.

One was a hyperspace engine, the other a jump engine.

In other words, if they needed to retreat, they could use the jump engine to instantly escape, no need to wait around for residual radiation to clear.

On their way over, the fleet used the hyperspace engines, so the jump engines were primed for instant use.

Naturally, the three nearby second-tier civilizations and the Pure White Holy See immediately spotted the commotion.

Sure, those warships were a mystery, but since there were only a hundred, none of them were especially worried.

They quickly gathered their fleets and prepared to intercept.

“Report! Bearing 1-1-7, distance 11.7, enemy warships: 28,300, heading straight for us!”

“Is that Science Department’s new toy in position?”

“It’s ready!”

“Then let’s get this test underway. Weapons officer, lock onto the center of their formation!”

Lin Feng stared at the tactical star map in front of him, watching as the dense swarm of red dots moved closer.

He gave the order with a sweep of his hand.

“Target locked!”

“Fire!”