Humanity is missing, luckily I have billions of clones.

Chapter 385 Star Beast Catastrophe!

There is no doubt that a full-scale gravitational war is taking place in that star system.

It is true that the two sides involved in the war were indeed at the gravitational level.

However... those two entities can only be described as existences at the gravitational level, not as two gravitational civilizations.

Only now did Li Qingsong realize that one of the parties involved in the war was not a gravity civilization at all, but a group of star beasts! A star beast catastrophe!
Li Qingsong had only heard of Star Beast Calamity, a creature that only undergoes physical evolution and can rival warships and cannons with its physical body, but had never actually seen one before.

The strange birds we encountered in the solar system could at most be called interstellar life forms, and could barely be considered the original version of the Star Beast Catastrophe, but not the real Star Beast Catastrophe.

Now, I've encountered it myself!

Li Qingsong couldn't make out the exact appearance of those star beasts, but judging from the various characteristics they exhibited, they were undoubtedly star beasts.

Meanwhile, countless star beasts were converging around a rocky asteroid, bombarding it relentlessly. The asteroid, in turn, activated a massive protective shield that enveloped the entire planet, with numerous spaceships and unmanned combat equipment doing their utmost to defend it.

Judging from the battle situation, it is clear that this force of Star Beasts has suppressed that orthodox intelligent civilization and is besieging it on the periphery of the planet. The Star Beasts have a great advantage, and it is probably only a matter of time before they destroy that intelligent civilization.

The technological strength of that orthodox intelligent civilization was roughly equal to, or even slightly superior to, its own.

Li Qingsong's mind raced.

Without a doubt, this Star Beast Calamity possesses extremely powerful combat capabilities.

Although based on its various trump cards, its true combat power surpasses that of that intelligent civilization, the combat power of this Star Beast Calamity does not seem to have been fully revealed.

Li Qingsong clearly saw that there were also a large number of star beasts around the other planets, but they did not participate in the siege.

So……

Should I enter this star system, fight against the celestial beasts and natural disasters, and save that intelligent civilization?

After some thought, Li Qingsong made a decisive decision.

withdraw!
Abandon this goal!

Just to get a gravity civilization to help him keep an eye out for the Grey Worm civilization's whereabouts—and that's all—he would risk a full-scale war against a Star Beast Cataclysm. Even if he ultimately won, Li Qingsong felt it was a huge waste.

Extending goodwill to other civilizations is something Li Qingsong is happy to do. But if such behavior would bring him risks, then he'd rather not.

I am merely a benevolent civilization, not a saintly one.

At this moment, it's almost impossible for either side to discover me. In that case, I'll just slip away quietly and make a quick getaway.

But at that very moment, the gravity detector suddenly detected a faint gravitational fluctuation billions of kilometers away.

That is clearly caused by changes in the curvature of space.

There appears to be a smaller object undergoing warp drive there, and its trajectory is also towards this star system!

It discovered that it didn't have it?
The moment Li Qingsong noticed this faint fluctuation, this was the first question that came to mind. But after careful consideration, Li Qingsong concluded that the probability was low.

That was clearly just a small target. Since the target was small, it couldn't possibly contain much deep-space exploration equipment. Meanwhile, their fleet maintained a normal inertial navigation state throughout this period, emitting virtually no radiation.

The next question is... how come there are small targets here conducting interstellar travel?
After careful analysis, Li Qingsong gradually understood.

This target should belong to one of the two sides currently at war within the star system.

Thanks to the tremendous advancements in quantum mathematics, gravitational forces can now achieve long-distance communication across star systems, meaning that gravitational warfare is no longer limited to a single star system but could potentially involve multiple star systems.

It's possible that the main battlefield is in this star system, while the resource base is in another star system, and small-scale skirmishes may break out at any time in the vast space.

Since that's the case... let's take a look.

Li Qingsong then pointed numerous large deep space observation devices in that direction.

Within curved space, the momentum of matter is also preserved, and so is the momentum of light.

This means that once it leaves the curvature space, light and radiation will continue to propagate along their original direction and momentum. There will be no situation where the speed of the light emitted backward is canceled out because the light source itself is moving at a speed faster than light, and the direction of its motion is also the same as that of the light source.

Therefore, it becomes possible to detect light and radiation emitted by faster-than-light sources. However, due to the influence of warp drive, this light and radiation will exhibit very special properties, requiring extremely complex decoding and reconstruction to obtain the information it carries.

Fortunately, Li Qingsong has a deep technical background in this area.

After some observation, Li Qingsong indeed saw that, just as he had guessed, it was a small fleet consisting of only a dozen or so large transport ships.

Since it's a fleet, it clearly belongs to an intelligent civilization. Judging from its tonnage and mass, it's probably transporting some metallic elements.

Perhaps... the main body of civilization is trapped in the main battlefield, besieged by star beasts and unable to escape, and unable to obtain enough supplies within this star system, so it can only obtain supplies from other star systems to sustain the war?
After observing quietly for a while, and waiting until the small target gradually moved away and could no longer detect their movements, Li Qingsong made up his mind to leave.

But at that moment, the data analysis system extracted more information from previous observations, and the specific appearance of those large transport ships gradually became apparent.

Li Qingsong glanced at it and was startled again.

He noticed a significant and numerous use of C-shaped lines on the spaceship's exterior, and the overall construction style was quite rounded with few sharp angles...

Although the construction style of the Grey Worm Civilization, which was originally given to them by the Recorder Civilization, is not completely consistent with it, it is at least 60-70% similar!
Li Qingsong's heart gradually grew heavy.

This gravitationally advanced intelligent civilization, even if it is not the Grey Worm civilization, must be related to it!
Could it be... that what you've been searching for has come to you effortlessly?

Li Qingsong's decision immediately changed. He continued the preparations he had made for the voyage, but his course was now directly aimed at this star system.

Since there are clues related to the Grey Worm civilization, then this Star Beast Catastrophe... might have to be dealt with!

Traveling at 3.3 times the speed of light using warp drive, Li Qingsong's massive fleet rapidly approached the star. They only abandoned warp drive and switched to conventional navigation when they were only 1.6 light-years away from the star.

Then, the fleet's overall deceleration maneuver immediately began. Countless engines lit up simultaneously, ejecting high-temperature plasma traveling at speeds exceeding 20 kilometers per second, propelling the entire fleet to rapidly decelerate.

Such a fierce tail flame could surely be detected by the two entities inside the galaxy. But at this moment, Li Qingsong no longer cared.

Since we're going to get involved in this war anyway, let's do it openly and honestly!

Given the current mobility of Li Qingsong's fleet, it would only take about three years to enter the interior of the star system.

During the violent deceleration maneuver, Li Qingsong observed that within the star system, in the war raging around the rocky planet, the star beast horde remained unchanged, while the intelligent life forces suddenly became more cautious.

They abandoned their attempt to break out and open a passage between the planet and the outside world, and instead strengthened their own defenses.

Li Qingsong was well aware of their plans.

It's simply that at this moment, they don't know who is friend or foe, so they're observing and waiting for things to change.

"Even if this is truly the Grey Worm civilization, and they have indeed been infected and transformed into Demon Eyes, as long as they still possess basic intelligence, their next move should be to try to communicate with me..."

Li Qingsong thought calmly, "In any case, my outward appearance is that of a legitimate intelligent civilization, not a star beast. Given their absolute disadvantage, it is inevitable that they will choose to join forces with me, their powerful ally, to seek a chance of survival."

At this moment, the two sides are still far apart, and because they have not exchanged long-range communication terminals, they cannot communicate at a distance.

But a team of Star Beasts arrived first.

Only then did Li Qingsong truly see what those star beasts, which were worthy of being called natural disasters, actually looked like.

When they curl up, they look like round asteroids; when they stretch out, their bodies resemble birds, with huge structures that look like wings, bodies, and heads.

But whether that was the actual head and body, and what role it played within the Star Beast's body, Li Qingsong didn't know for the time being.

Their bodies are generally over 200 meters long and weigh at least several thousand tons. The larger ones are even several kilometers long and probably weigh tens of millions of tons, comparable to Li Qingsong's wooden star-shaped warship.

In the distance, Li Qingsong also saw an even larger star beast.

They are so large that they can be seen by optical telescopes even from a distance of hundreds of billions of kilometers. Extrapolating from this, their body length is likely tens of kilometers, and their mass tens of billions of tons!

This is comparable to a real small planet.

However, the star beasts that came this time were not that huge; the largest was only a few kilometers long, and the total number was only a few hundred.

Li Qingsong tried sending messages to these ferocious and enormous star beasts, attempting various communication methods, but failed to receive a response.

"Perhaps these star beasts truly lack intelligence and possess only instinct, or perhaps they do possess intelligence, but it is beyond the comprehension of beings from our orthodox intelligent civilizations..."

Regardless, since communication is impossible, the only option left is to fight.

Millions of kilometers apart, these star beasts stretched out their bodies, and tumor-like structures emerged from various parts of their bodies. Suddenly, the tops burst open, and scorching energy projectiles with speeds of up to tens of thousands of kilometers per second bombarded them.

Some of the tumors emitted laser-like beams of light and gravitational fluctuations invisible to the naked eye. Even more ferocious star beasts, without pausing or launching any attacks, charged directly at them.

Some star beasts violently trembled, and wisps of mist-like substances emanated from them, as if they possessed their own life and intelligence. Some silently lurked in the starry sky, while others swept towards Li Qingsong's fleet.

Those tiny substances seem to contain enormous energy; is this... a star beast version of an interstellar landmine?
Some star beasts did not develop tumors on their bodies, but rather finger-like structures. Once fully grown, these "fingers" would burst forth with intense flames and rush towards Li Qingsong's warship at extremely high speed.

The various unbelievable attack methods broadened Li Qingsong's horizons.

In his first encounter with a real star beast calamity, Li Qingsong remained sufficiently cautious.

The warships positioned on the outer perimeter of the main fleet activated their energy and gravity shields, protecting themselves while also providing sufficient protection for the remaining ships further inward. A fleet of 3000 ships, led by a Mars-class warship, charged forward, launching an attack on the massive star beasts.

Endless explosions erupted in this cluster of stars, and in the violent collisions and energy releases, several warships were instantly destroyed.

"The attacks of these star beasts are quite fierce."

The attack from Li Qingsong also poured onto those star beasts.

Li Qingsong did not see the light of the energy shield, but the extremely powerful projectiles failed to penetrate the flesh and blood of these star beasts.

Even the gravitational pull of the gravity cannon failed to cause any damage to the star beast.

"Relying solely on physical strength to withstand the attack? No, it's impossible. No material can stop such an attack, not even high-strength nuclear materials."

"Hmm, I see... This is actually also an energy and gravity shield, except that it's fused to their surface, integrated with their bodies."

Li Qingsong narrowed his eyes slightly and continued to observe the battlefield.

He saw dozens of significantly "stronger" star beasts break into his fleet of ships. One collision sent a Mercury-class warship tumbling and flying tens of thousands of kilometers away, its hull severely damaged.

The other enormous star beast grew something resembling hands and claws, grabbed a warship, and snapped it open, instantly destroying it.

Some star beasts, under their fierce attacks, had their surface defenses broken through and were then torn apart by violent explosions.

The battle with these hundreds of star beasts lasted for several days, and ended with more than 80% being annihilated, and the remaining few escaping.

The escaped star beasts did not go too far, but continued to harass and attack from a distance of some distance from the main fleet.

More scattered star beasts from all over the galaxy are also converging here.

"Overall, these star beasts are quite powerful in combat. From the perspective of an intelligent civilization, their level of 'technology' is no less than ours."

But that's alright. While technological advancement is important, it's not important enough for me to determine the outcome of a total war..."

While responding to the situation, Li Qingsong carried out the deceleration and maneuvering mission without being affected at all.

(End of this chapter)