Those who reincarnate must die.

Time flies, and more than two months have passed since Zhang Lang entered the subspace.

During this period, humanity was constantly fighting against the counterattacks of several other major forces.

Thanks to Zhang Lang's previous sweep of various star systems, although it did not fundamentally damage them, it greatly depleted the strength of other forces, making their counterattacks less intense.

Moreover, the star systems Zhang Lang had previously chosen were all contested by different races. This wasn't a random selection; he chose these places for two reasons: firstly, locations in turmoil made it easier for humanity to reap the benefits; secondly, even if these forces retaliated later, they would likely fall into further conflict, making it difficult for them to unite in an attack against humanity.

Therefore, although humanity was in a disadvantageous situation, it was able to hold out for a little over two months, losing only four star systems. Moreover, it still managed to occupy one or two barren planets in each of these star systems as its last stronghold, leaving behind the seeds for a counterattack.

But that's all there is to it.

In the Red Manco star system, on the planet Dust, inside the flagship, Katarina frowned as she looked at the star map of the human sphere of influence.

In the past two months, she felt like she had aged several years.

Because of the multi-front warfare, battle reports were coming to headquarters almost 24 hours a day, with battles taking place every moment. Even with Zhuge Liang's computing power assisting in command, Katarina, as the decision-maker, was expending a tremendous amount of energy!

The commander's orders are absolute, but Katarina was skeptical of Zhang Lang's plans from the start.

The pace of progress is too fast; humanity simply has no time to rest and develop!

Of course, when she saw those forces and races reduced to mere remnants by an unknown force, Katarina's heart still held a glimmer of hope. Perhaps the commander possessed information and power unknown to her, allowing this absurd plan to proceed smoothly. All she had to do was follow the orders left by the commander.

Initially, everything went smoothly. But after they had conquered twelve star systems and hundreds of planets, the plan came to an end.

Since then, the commander has never contacted them again, nor has he given any further instructions or plans. Katarina, guarding such a vast territory, has to face the wrath of numerous forces alone.

"Major General Zhang Lang, what exactly do you want to do?" Katarina stared anxiously at the screen filled with battle reports and the flames of war raging across the star map, clutching her blond hair. "I really can't hold on much longer... humanity can't hold on much longer either..."

Just then, a warning message popped up on the screen.

"What's wrong, Zhuge?"

"Turbulence has been detected between the third and fourth orbits of the Red Manco system, indicating that a new star path is expected to be opened up!"

"Between the third and fourth orbits?" Katarina's eyes widened. "Isn't that near the Great Dust Planet? How is that possible?"

It's no wonder Katarina couldn't believe it. While the human expeditionary force initially made rapid progress, conquering many rich star systems and habitable planets, these were the first places attacked after the counterattack. For safety, the human flagship and command headquarters eventually retreated to the Red Manco system and Dust Star, which they had initially occupied.

Firstly, this is the earliest place occupied by humans, and the foundation of humankind is most solid here.

Secondly, the area is resource-poor and has a harsh environment, making it relatively safer as it is unlikely to be coveted by other forces.

Of course, as the main base, humanity has put a lot of effort into this place, with various defense facilities being very comprehensive, including a space shielding field.

A spatial shielding field is a device that stabilizes space within a certain range. It is mainly set up to prevent other races from opening up new star paths.

After all, your army is out fighting wars, and they can just open a starway over your home planet, teleport their army over to raid your base, then there's no point in fighting, it's over.

In the Red Manco system, humanity has long deployed a large number of space shielding devices. The nearest teleportable area is outside the sixth orbit and near the third orbit, so it should be impossible for enemies to invade!

"Zhuge, is there something wrong with the detector?" Katrina questioned.

"The detector is working properly," Zhuge replied after a few seconds of self-checking. "Based on our analysis, it's because of an unknown subspace fluctuation that the spatial stability was affected, and our shielding field was unable to completely stabilize the surrounding space."

"How could this be?" Katarina exclaimed in surprise. "What is the scale of that spatial turbulence? What level of star system is it expected to be, and how many troops can it carry through at once?"

"The scale is enormous; opening up such a star path would require a massive amount of energy," Zhuge analyzed. "The fact that they would deliberately expend resources to open it up suggests that the enemy must have prepared a sizable army!"

"Then what are we waiting for!" Katarina slammed her hand on the table and stood up. "Quickly increase the power of the spatial shielding field and do everything in our power to stop the opening of the star path. At the same time, notify all troops in this system to assemble between the third and fourth orbits and be on high alert!"

Zhuge immediately relayed Katarina's order, and the space stabilization device began to operate at full capacity. The human army also mobilized in an instant, preparing for war with all its strength.

Finally, after hours of struggle, the space shielding field could not withstand the raging turbulence. Under the watchful eyes of the assembled human fleet, the vast expanse of space seemed to have been torn open. Then, a huge wooden ship's prow, carved with monstrous patterns, emerged!

"A wooden boat?" Katarina, who was constantly monitoring the battlefield, was taken aback, then realized, "It's the Empire!"

The so-called empire is a magical civilization established by a race with powerful spiritual energy. This race resembles humans in appearance and has relatively primitive technology, but they have devoted thousands of years to the study of magic and can even use powerful magic to travel through the universe in primitive wooden warships!

Katarina did not underestimate this race, because magic is a novel power completely different from technology. Although their equipment looks primitive, with the blessing of magic, it is no less powerful than technological weapons. What is even more terrifying is that some magic that cannot be explained by science can bypass the defenses of technological civilization and cause mystical destruction. It can be said to be ubiquitous!

The moment Katarina saw the Imperial fleet, she ordered an attack. The human fleet lined up and began a volley of fire!

However, after a round of concentrated fire, the Empire's fleet was completely unharmed, and wooden spaceships emerged somewhat incongruously from outer space!

Whether it was kinetic energy projectiles or laser weapons, they were all perfectly blocked by the Empire's magical shield!

"A formidable opponent!" Katarina gritted her teeth, about to order a continued attack, when a dazzling light appeared in the center of the Imperial fleet!

The counterattack from the magical civilization has begun!