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

Chapter 455 Clash of Arms (4k)

'As expected, only 215 trimaran warships remained.'

The remaining trimaran warships had already turned around.

Above Pluto, Luo Ji raised his hand.

A flaming spear materialized in his palm, its shaft engulfed in flames capable of tearing through the darkness. It began by extending rapidly in two sections, eventually coalescing into a flaming spear twenty kilometers long. With a flick of its tip, it was already aimed at the 215 trimaran warships whose positions were now completely exposed.

Meanwhile, the 215 trimaran warships floated in the void 2400 billion kilometers away, forming a rectangular arc with 43 ships horizontally and 5 ships vertically, completely surrounding the Foundation Establishment cultivator.

But Luo Ji was not alone.

Behind this Foundation Establishment cultivator, one massive warship after another shattered the void, radiating dazzling golden nuclear fusion light, eventually forming a total of five hundred.

The main combat group of the Solar System Fleet's star-class warships!
Then, this most powerful solar system fleet in human history, spewing gamma laser beams, launched a coordinated gamma laser attack towards the Trisolaran Second Fleet, its light flashing pale blue.

Dense gamma laser beams surged upstream against the million-strong torrent of the anti-hydrogen-4 annihilation bomb!

Separated by 2400 billion kilometers, the two fleets engaged in a fierce battle where neither could hit the other.

Gamma laser beams continued to strike the anti-hydrogen-4 annihilation bomb head-on, causing scattering of photons and antinuclear particles. A phenomenon similar to "marble collision with rays" appeared, with gamma laser beams scattering in all directions. Meanwhile, the core of the anti-hydrogen-4 annihilation bomb remained stable, with only the outer antiparticles being slightly stripped away by high-energy photons.

There is a generational gap between the weapons of the two sides. The gamma laser is faster, but the anti-hydrogen-4 annihilation bomb cannot be destroyed by the laser. However, the purpose of the gamma laser beam is not to intercept these antimatter attacks, but to head straight for the Trisolaran fleet!

Following closely behind the gamma laser beam were the electromagnetic railguns, also numbering in the millions, released by the stellar-class battleship group. These railguns traveled at 0.3 times the speed of light, which in turn surpassed the 0.679 times speed of light of the hydrogen-4 annihilation bomb, also moving against the current!

Since their relative speeds are close to the speed of light, precise interception is impossible. Humanity can only hope that probability will play a role in causing more electromagnetic railguns to collide with and be annihilated by anti-hydrogen-4 annihilation bombs.

To alleviate the pressure on the formation's defenses.

The million anti-hydrogen-4 annihilation bombs were not a one-time trigger, but a million-wave rain lasting two or three hours. Therefore, the strong mutual icy seas in Neptune's orbit only intercepted the first tens of thousands of anti-hydrogen-4 annihilation bombs.

The torrents of energy emanating from both fleets continued to surge forth!

Every now and then, electromagnetic railguns would strike the anti-hydrogen-4 annihilation bombs, emitting blinding white light.

The Solar System Fleet has entered [Advance 5].

The Trisolaran Second Fleet also entered [Annihilation II].
Both sides were maneuvering at maximum speed.

Almost simultaneously, the Zhizi from both sides launched their attacks.

Earth's sophons are locked in a tight grip on the Second Fleet, while Trisolarans are locked in a tight grip on the Solar System Fleet. Both sides are mutually entangled in quantum entanglement, simultaneously acquiring each other's location information.

Although the Trisolarans were able to destroy Earth's sophons, they couldn't withstand the extremely high production of sophons on Earth. Destroying one batch would only result in the production of another. Using the warp drive to eliminate sophons would also be a very risky thing for the Trisolaran fleet.

Moreover, the ice array that humanity used to cover the entire orbit of Neptune also instilled fear in the Second Fleet.

Luo Qing may not be here, but his cultivation method still exists, and his successor still exists.

In the long, drawn-out battle between the two fleets, Luo Ji, holding the Starflame Spear, slowly spoke to a sophon.

"I'm giving you a choice: like those 200 Trisolaran warships, leave the solar system."

"Otherwise, die."

The Starfire Spear danced in Luo Ji's hand, instantly drawing a ten-thousand-foot-long streak of fiery spear light that hurtled forward at the speed of light, shattering hundreds of anti-hydrogen-4 annihilation bombs that were still being unleashed!
At the same time, an Earth sophon unfolded in four dimensions, forming a large screen with a diameter of tens of thousands of meters, which appeared at the bow of the flagship of the Trisolaran Second Fleet, broadcasting this great power of cultivation to the invaders without any hesitation.

This scene made the Trisolarans' thought process tighten.

The Wallfacer, carrying the 20-kilometer-long Starfire Spear, was relentlessly extinguishing the anti-hydrogen-4 annihilation bomb traveling at 67.9% of the speed of light with unimaginable force.

They had no doubt that the spear in Luo Ji's hand could easily pierce through any Trisolaran warship.

Even if the 'Crimson Domain Stasis Field' is activated to enhance the warship's defenses with the power of 'baryons', it would still be absolutely impossible to block the thrust of that star-flame spear!

Previously, it was precisely this "red zone stasis field" based on "baryons" that stabilized the ship's hull, which was about to be penetrated by human gamma-ray bursts, and allowed it to withstand the strongest attack from humanity.

But now, a weapon capable of penetrating the Trisolaran Second Fleet has appeared.

Currently, the two fleets are 1634 AU apart. The Trisolaran fleet only needs to sail continuously for 90 days to approach Pluto's orbit, enter the solar system, and win this war.

Everything is within easy reach.

But now, seeing Luo Ji's ability to destroy the anti-hydrogen-4 annihilation bomb, the Second Fleet hesitated.

The Trisolarans neither understood why Luo Ji could become a cultivator, nor did they understand the principle behind the icy sea in Pluto's orbit that was capable of intercepting and countering the hydrogen-4 annihilation bomb.

The unknown is always frightening.

In fact, as early as 2000 astronomical units away from Earth, the Second Fleet had already fallen into a decision-making split. Half of the warships in the Trisolaran Second Fleet vehemently opposed the Second Fleet Commander's decision to invade Earth. The reason for the opposition had nothing to do with the 'kindness of the Trisolarans'; it was purely out of concern for the Carbon-based Federation and Luo Qingshen's subsequent retribution.

After all, no one can be certain that the Carbon-Based Federation will be defeated, or that Luo Qingshen is definitely dead.

But the commander of the Second Fleet was determined to avenge their home planet. He had witnessed too many horrific scenes in that cold world and the deaths of hundreds of millions of Trisolarans. Perhaps influenced by Earth's cultural sentiments, or perhaps awakening his own emotions, he decided to do it.

A fierce debate erupted within the fleet, which led to the first fleet split observed by the Earth Command through the light cone telescope.

This is a break between reason and emotion.

The Trisolaran Second Fleet was actually divided into two sub-fleets consisting of 215 and 200 Trisolaran warships. The 200-ship sub-fleet, with the tacit approval of the Second Fleet Commander, had already turned around 15 days earlier and was about to fly over the solar system in a large arc towards the Taurus system.

Sixty days later, the fleet will be at least 6000 astronomical units away from the solar system, and will then activate its warp drive to move away from the Oort cloud at the speed of light.

After all, although the Trisolaran world was tormented by the eternal polar night, some remnants of civilization still survived, and exposing Earth's location would mean a death sentence for the home planet. Although the Second Fleet had grown up and left home, it could not do something like 'matricide'.

Luo Ji, having fully mastered the formation, activated the detection array left by Luo Qing and vaguely sensed the movements of all the ships within the Oort Cloud, thus learning in advance of the departure of the 200 Trisolaran warships.

Currently, the only ones truly willing to fight humanity to the death are this Trisolaran fleet led by the commander of the Second Fleet.

After speaking those words to the Trisolarans, Luo Ji charged into the torrent of anti-hydrogen-4 annihilation bombs. His starfire spear danced like a raging flame in the universe, intercepting all the anti-hydrogen-4 annihilation bombs within its attack range. It was as if Luo Ji was holding not a spear, but a fire dragon formed from the true fire of the sun.

The anti-hydrogen-4 annihilation bomb struck the Starfire Spear, emitting a blinding white light, but was immediately engulfed by the flames. Similar matter-antimatter annihilation had occurred thousands of times, but the Trisolarans' attacks had never been able to annihilate the spear formed from the instantaneous total power of the sun.

The 100 million-ton anti-hydrogen-4 annihilation bomb, when it struck that long spear, vanished instantly, like a firefly hitting the moon.

At this moment, Luo Ji, who was at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage, had his combat ability approaching that of Shan Qing, who was fighting against the Devouring Empire, thanks to the manifestation of the power of this formation.

Luo Ji's invincible demeanor was deeply imprinted on the Trisolarans' mind membrane.

Finally, the Trisolaran Second Fleet made an unprecedented move by having its first exchange with Luo Ji.

A three-body proton unfolds in four dimensions, forming a screen tens of thousands of meters in diameter, displaying a line of text in the depths of space:
[Luo Ji, the Wallfacer, let's talk.]

Luo Ji arrived on his sword, alone facing the enormous screen.

"explain."

[You are not Luo Qing Shen. You cannot destroy the Zhi Zi that flies right in front of you. Therefore, you do not possess the power of Luo Qing Shen. Thus, we can kill you.]

"You can try."

Luo Ji's voice was also converted into text and appeared on the Earth Sophon in front of the Trisolaran flagship.

Both sides spoke their own words through their respective sophons.

【Your Luo Qing God destroyed our mother civilization. Based on the principle of reciprocal retaliation, it is reasonable for us to destroy the ecosystem of the solar system.】

"You are the invaders."

[You are unaware of the true strength of the Second Fleet.]

"It seems you don't really want this last chance." Luo Ji lowered his eyes, and the Starflame Spear in his hand began to burn fiercely.

Even across a distance of over 2000 billion kilometers, the Trisolarans could still feel the terrifying heat through the images of the Sophon.

【We too have left behind seeds. Even if you are powerful, my fleet will still be responsible to the mother civilization. In my name as the commander of the Second Fleet of the Trisolarans, I hereby declare to you that the Second Fleet declares to Earth civilization—】

Before the word "war" even appeared, the sudden burst of flames had already engulfed the sophistication particle.

As the sophon burned up, the Trisolaran fleet activated its warp drive once again, creating a slow fog traveling at 99% of the speed of light. Then, using the large number of virtual particle pairs generated during the moment when the slow fog space intersected with normal space, they formed a vast number of proton-antproton pairs, electron-positron pairs, and quark-antiquark pairs.

Subsequently, a technique of capturing and dismantling virtual particle pairs using a magnetic funnel was employed to pry open some of the virtual particle pairs, forming a large area of ​​instantaneous annihilation space.

No particle can escape this instantaneous wave of annihilation.

Ultimately, the Trisolaran Second Fleet used this method to annihilate 76 Earth sophons within a 300 million-kilometer radius.

As expected, the Earth's sophons on the outer perimeter immediately flew at the speed of light to the Second Fleet, filling the gap.

But in those short ten seconds, the Second Fleet's "force field tentacles," covering millions of kilometers, reappeared. The force field beams, originally intended to deflect attacks, now acted like invisible super electromagnetic orbiters, accelerating the ejection of highly compressed spheres of matter that flickered with unstable light.

As for how these matter spheres appeared, due to the lack of those crucial 10 seconds, it may forever remain a mystery to humanity.

215 Trisolaran warships launched 215 matter spheres, their target being none other than the nine planets of the solar system!
No, it's not just the nine planets.

Pluto, the Moon, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Titan are also included in the strike range.

Planetary weapon!
The 215 trimaran warships shone brightly when they launched these matter spheres, rendering even the sunshades ineffective. The Second Fleet consumed most of its antimatter reserves in a very short time, forming an extremely strong force field.

This attack was the ultimate strike by the Second Fleet of the Trisolarans.

The speed of these matter spheres was not the 0.3C or 0.6C previously speculated by humans, but was stable at an astonishing 0.8C. This was the fastest matter strike that the Trisolaran Second Fleet could launch under the limitation of relativistic kinetic energy. Some Earth sophons tried to fly into these matter spheres to find out what was going on, but it was as if they had hit an iron wall.

Sophons cannot penetrate?
Almost instantly, the scientists on the human side had already arrived at the answer.

Those spheres of matter are degenerate matter under extreme pressure!
Moreover, unlike the thin atomic nucleus formed by the strong interaction force field, this thing is solid!

Its density rivals that of a neutron star!

These degenerate matter spheres are surrounded by a violently perturbed force field, which keeps them stable during sub-light-speed travel.

Amidst the bewilderment of the solar system fleet, physicists shouted out the weapon's name over the military channel: "It's a pseudo-supernova bomb!"

This weapon already existed in the concept of human physical military science, but no one expected that the Trisolarans had already realized it!

"What exactly is it?" Commander-in-Chief Qian asked the members of the Science and Technology Committee from his seat on the flagship 'Paradox Engine'.

The Science and Technology Committee member quickly replied: "The fused matter under this extreme pressure has the same internal structure as the star about to explode into a supernova. Under normal circumstances, if it is exposed to the outside world, it will immediately self-destruct, forming a super-small-scale supernova explosion—that is, an explosive ejection of all matter particles outwards. Its power far exceeds that of the largest stellar hydrogen bomb, and even surpasses the anti-antimatter bombs of 'Sea God,' 'Bright Moon,' and 'Godslayer' in the history of dinosaurs."

If it were just these degenerate matter bombs, their destructive power would at most be enough to destroy a dwarf planet like Pluto. But the most important factor is that these degenerate matter spheres are traveling at 0.8 times the speed of light, and the relative kinetic energy from that speed is already terrifying. Combined, these degenerate matter sphere bombs are enough to destroy any solid planet in the solar system!

All the fleet commanders gasped when they heard the introduction of this weapon on the communication channel.

Planetary-level destructive weapon!
The scientist continued to exclaim in amazement, "My God, just how advanced has the Trisolarans' technology become? Is this a Class 1A civilization? This is their true weapon of mass destruction! The previous anti-hydrogen-4 annihilation bomb was merely a test firing!"

"Dr. Luo Ji, can the formation stop it?"

The Commander-in-Chief's voice came through Luo Ji's earpiece, giving a brief introduction to the so-called 'pseudo-supernova bomb'.

Luo Ji pondered: "According to the design standards of the array, there is no problem. The array was originally designed to intercept light particles that are powerful enough to destroy the sun. These degenerate matter bombs that travel at sub-light speed can at most destroy planets like Earth. The scale of the two is far different."

Luo Ji added, "But the strong interaction force ice sea cannot be replenished. If there are enough of these degenerate matter bombs, they can indeed blast a path through the formation. However, even if Neptune's formation fails to block it, there are still defensive formations from Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter behind it, so there is no need to worry."

At that speed of 0.8 times the speed of light, the 215 degenerate matter bombs will bombard the solar system in a maximum of 26 hours.

Qian Mengjian immediately issued the order: "All Sunspear-class laser weapons, as well as the gamma-ray burst on Neptune and all star-class warships, immediately turn around and launch a full-scale attack on these 215 incoming degenerate matter bombs. Forget about the anti-hydrogen-4 annihilation bombs, intercept them!"

(End of this chapter)