Those who face the wall, but are in the Nascent Soul stage.

Chapter 332 Jupiter's Rings (3k)

The secondary explosions spread rapidly in Jupiter's orbit like cancer. Within just two hours, the original fleet parade formation had been completely turned into a sea of ​​fire. After each secondary explosion, dust clouds formed by metal fragments and instantly vaporized matter slowly drifted above Jupiter's orbit.

The destruction of nearly two thousand star-class warships and about six thousand planetary warships covered Jupiter with a faint band of light, similar to that of Saturn.

In Jupiter's orbit, the destruction of 3000 star-class warships and 6000 planetary warships created a magnificent graveyard of billions of tons of warship wreckage. Fine metal fragments spread out in Jupiter's gravitational field, forming a thin halo layer. As Jupiter rotates, the fragments slowly flow and eventually condense into a "new Jupiter ring" that spans the sky, similar to Saturn's rings.

Larger pieces of ship debris are scattered like reefs, resembling star rings on a band, or dense areas similar to a military parade formation, forming thick folds in the band, ultimately connecting to create this man-made band.

The accumulation of nearly a century of human progress since the Great Depression has come to an end with a ring around Jupiter.

After nearly half of the star-class warships were destroyed, the remaining star-class warships have gradually reached speeds exceeding one percent of light, and the solar system fleet has become increasingly sparse.

The orbital defense firepower carried by Jupiter's moons was also completely destroyed, and Fleet International's command network was paralyzed due to the destruction of dozens of quantum computers, leaving the remaining warships in a state of free command by their captains.

After the initial despair, surviving instincts drove the survivors to try to save themselves. Commands, pleas, curses, and sheer noise filled the communication channels. Occasionally, small lifeboats could be seen drifting through the Jupiter Belt, rescuing one after another crew member who had jumped ship to safety.

After the droplet destroyed a thousand star-class warships, all means of attack proved ineffective. The fleet command issued an order to abandon ship and escape, a crucial order that saved the lives of the vast majority of space force personnel.

Otherwise, the death toll would likely have risen by another order of magnitude.

Lifeboats obviously can't hold that many people, but fortunately, humans are physically strong enough to endure for a long time in a vacuum.

Beyond Jupiter's orbit, clusters of blazing orbs of light continue to explode.

Given the accelerated state of the remaining thousand star-class warships, and the siege efficiency of the nine droplets, not many will be able to escape alive.

"It can't be penetrated! Nothing can penetrate it!"

"The water droplets are coming soon, let's jump ship."

"The warship has reached 1.32% of the speed of light. At this speed, jumping ship would mean that any meteorite could kill us!"

"Let's gamble with our luck; staying here is the same as dying anyway."

As the droplet approached 500 million kilometers, the entire crew of another star-class warship aboard jumped ship.

Qian Mengjian stood on the bridge of the "Paradox Engine" ship, looking at the droplet detector that was constantly bombarded by the six light prism cannons, yet was bathed in light and remained unharmed. His lips turned a little pale.

"Commander Qian... let's jump ship... otherwise it will be too late." The adjutant's voice was hoarse.

How many star-class warships are left?

"Of the 713 ships, the 'Paradox Engine' is only 1.42% of the speed of light, and it is being chased by the droplet."

"Organize everyone to jump ship. Those who can wear spacesuits, put them on. After jumping, everyone will glide at 1.42% of the speed of light, a speed that even planetary warships can't catch. I don't know who can save us..."

"Perhaps... Luo Qing?" The adjutant's voice carried a hint of hope.

"He's in the rings, or on Earth. It would take him 6 hours to reach Jupiter's orbit at 10% of the speed of light. If he sets off immediately, he's only gone halfway. The remaining warship obviously won't last three hours... Jump ship. A few more hours of life is still life."

And what about you?

“That old man Vitalis is already dead. I need to stay here. In any case, the Paradox Engine's Prism Cannon Array is a weapon that can slightly slow down the droplets, and warships need someone to operate them. After this battle, the European Fleet should cease to exist, so there's not much point in me staying.”

"Everyone, evacuate the Paradox Engine. This is an order."

Three thousand space force soldiers and sixty-eight glowing creatures jumped out of the ship one after another, gliding towards the dark universe at 1.42% of the speed of light.

The adjutant was clearly unwilling to leave, so Qian Mengjian took advantage of her inattention to knock this confidante unconscious, put a spacesuit on her, and threw her out.

After confirming that the Paradox Engine was empty, Qian Mengjian stared at the tactical star map. The nine death points representing the droplets were clearing the blue markers representing human warships on the map at a suffocating speed.

There are 706 ships remaining.

The Waterdrop probe is less than 200 kilometers away from the Paradox Engine!

Frankly, this former NATO leader still hasn't quite grasped the reality. Is this really the end? Is humanity's last vestige of space power about to be crushed like an insect in Jupiter's shadow?

['Paradox Engine' account: Lao Qian, to be honest, I always feel like I'm missing something?]

As Qian Mengjian prepared his own burial document in advance, he said, "You're just a shipborne AI, what more could you possibly need?"

['Paradox Engine': I had a dream. I dreamt I had a time-stopping system and a hyperspace teleporter. I could teleport troops anywhere in the world at will, and I could also activate time stop to trap that son of a bitch droplet and then kill it. But now, I have nothing.] Qian Mengjian: "Human technology isn't up to par yet. Future warships will have the chance to realize your dream... Wait, you're an AI, and you can dream?"

['Paradox Engine': I miss Dr. Siegfried.]

Qian Mengjian: "That sounds familiar."

['Paradox Engine': He was my designer and creator, a brilliant German scientist, and a student of Einstein... I wonder how he's doing on Earth now.]

Qian Mengjian: "Is he hibernating?"

['Paradox Engine': I've spoken with 'Foghorn' and 'Black Forest', so he should still be alive... The droplet detector is less than 50 kilometers from Paradox Engine!]

Qian Mengjian: "It's coming."

['Paradox Engine': That would hurt too much; I'd rather stay headfirst on Earth!]

A single, dazzling golden light flashed! It pierced the water droplet that was inches away!

Through the vacuum, the sword's cry resounded, clear, high-pitched, and echoing throughout the "Paradox Engine".

Damn it!!!

The water droplet was directly blasted away by the terrifying kinetic energy contained in the alloy sword!
The next second, a hundred thousand golden streaks of light burst forth from the dark universe! These alloy iron swords arrived with a thunderous roar at a terrifying speed of fifty percent of light.

A rainstorm made of swords!

Countless alloy iron swords, with their simple and unadorned designs and covered in a jumble of logos, hurtled towards the water droplet like living golden fish.

Its brilliance even temporarily overshadowed the devastating flames of the nuclear explosion!

Approaching the Paradox Engine droplet, it was simultaneously repelled by the 100,000 iron swords!

The water droplet is invincible, but not super armor.

"You son of a bitch, could you be any later?" Qian Mengjian cursed at a certain cultivator.

['Paradox Engine' account: Holy crap, I'm alive! I'm alive! I'm alive...]

"Stop yelling, run! Luo Qing isn't here, these swords can't damage the water droplet detector!"

The crew members who jumped ship to safety looked bewildered at the Paradox Engine, which should have been destroyed by the water droplets but was now unharmed and continuing to accelerate its escape.

So what was their decision to jump ship and escape? Was it to reduce the load on the USS Paradox Engine to accelerate?

In the eyes of all the crew members who jumped ship, the Paradox Engine accelerated further and soon flew into the depths of space.

The other warship that escaped was the "Lake Baikal" star-class warship. Just as the droplet was about to succeed, three golden longswords arrived first, forming a triangular shape and firmly nailing the droplet's path forward.

The sound of jade is transmitted through the surface of water droplets!
The water droplet was also knocked away.

Then, a torrent of sword-like rain relentlessly bombarded the droplet.

Unfortunately, there were no crew members left on the "Lake Baikal". Under the guidance of its onboard AI, the warship continued to flee into the distance at a constant speed.

Countless such collisions occurred simultaneously, completely engulfing the water droplet in a boiling golden energy storm!

The same scene was playing out simultaneously in nine other locations on the battlefield!

The nine water droplets were subjected to a saturation interception by the alloy iron sword.

Nine water droplets were struck by countless sword beams and fell onto the surface of Jupiter, some even being driven into the star's core and penetrating it to reach the other side of Jupiter.

With only 706 warships remaining, posing no further threat in the short term, they began to accelerate again.

The only pity is that more than 200 of the remaining 700-plus star-class warships had already carried out the ship-hopping operation, and the crew members adrift in space could only watch helplessly as the unmanned warships, now only equipped with shipboard AI, escaped into the distance.

A warship like the "Paradox Engine," which has a single captain, is a complete anomaly.

Qian Meng walked alone inside the Paradox Engine, asking the ship's AI, "Something's not right... Luo Qing's sword is here, but where is he?"

(End of this chapter)