Those who reincarnate must die.

The Empire's fleet has arrived near Great Dust Star, and the second luminous sphere is poised to launch.

Humanity's defenders were already few in number, and being outnumbered, they lacked knowledge of the enemy and methods to counter their spells. Faced with the enormous sphere of light that grew brighter with each passing second, they could only feel a profound despair.

But at that moment, the Empire's sphere of light stopped growing.

That wasn't an optical illusion, but a report from the detector.

The energy intensity at the center of the Imperial Fleet has stopped increasing!

Has it reached its maximum launch capacity and is it ready to fire? Several warships are preparing to evacuate, but the main force remains motionless.

Because Zhuge calculated that the energy intensity of this attack was only 76% of the previous one, and the energy was disordered and violent, far from being able to be launched stably, he speculated that there was a problem with the Empire's magic attack system!

Therefore, Zhuge immediately manipulated the fleet to form a formation and concentrated fire to attack the imperial fleet!

This time, however, was different. The human fleet's artillery fire encountered no resistance, striking the Imperial fleet directly. The magical shields on the ships were simply too weak and were quickly breached! As for the wooden hulls beneath, although they were constructed using wood characteristic of magical civilizations, they were still far inferior to the alloy materials of technologically advanced civilizations and could not withstand the attacks of human weapons!

This salvo destroyed a large number of imperial ships, created a gap in the magic circle, and the central energy sphere, no longer under control, began to rage!

"This is bad!" The human fleet noticed this. Such a massive amount of energy, if allowed to explode, would not only destroy the Imperial fleet but also implicate the human fleet. Therefore, Zhuge immediately ordered a full retreat and released energy field generators to set up an energy barrier above the Great Dust Star!

This thing can't directly withstand attacks, but it should be fine for dealing with the energy turbulence from the explosion, at least enough to ensure that the surface of Dust Star isn't too affected!

However, after humanity hastily set up a fragile barrier, they found that the expected explosion did not occur. Although the sphere of light in the center of the Imperial fleet surged wildly, it was constantly shrinking and disappeared without a trace in a short time!

What's going on?

Humans don't understand it, and Zhuge Liang didn't find the answer either.

As for the Empire, they too were gripped by genuine fear!

The powerful mages on the fleet could sense that the sphere of light, condensed from magic, had been obliterated!

It wasn't neutralized by some reaction, nor was it devoured by some unknown entity. As a magical race with extremely strong intuition, they could clearly feel that it was being erased! As if it had been wiped away with an eraser!

However, the fact that the attack was thwarted was not the most troublesome thing; what followed was the most terrifying thing!

The soldiers on the imperial ships suddenly felt a chill, a sense of suffocation, and were followed by severe discomfort caused by the change in pressure!

Even their bodies were weightless and floated off the deck!

It started with just one ship, then a squadron, then a battalion, and eventually spread to the entire fleet!

As a magical civilization, the Empire relied entirely on magic to enter space. Magic stabilized them on the deck, magic shielded them from cosmic rays and maintained the temperature, magic generated and maintained oxygen... Once the magic failed, their crew and soldiers would be completely exposed to the space environment!

This would be fatal to almost all carbon-based life forms!

The empire's archmages realized that there was... or perhaps a group of beings capable of erasing magic, roaming freely within their fleet!

The principle behind it is unknown, and how the opponent did it is unknown. Wherever it goes, all magic will fail, and even strategic attacks that have already been formed will be completely wiped out. This incomprehensible ability is simply the empire's nemesis!

These humans actually possessed this ability; according to intelligence, they shouldn't have had any prior contact with magic!

Filled with bewilderment and despair, one powerful legendary mage after another perished in space. Without the power of magic, they couldn't even defeat a regular Zerg infantryman with their bare hands.

From a human perspective, the magical fleet, which had been neatly arranged and shining with brilliant light, suddenly dimmed and began to scatter. The ships drifted aimlessly in all directions, and there was no trace of any formation.

Zhuge immediately ordered an attack. Several more volleys of fire blasted the once invincible magic fleet into wooden scraps, which then turned into cosmic dust orbiting the planet Dust...

At this point, humanity was somewhat bewildered by this unexpected victory. Even Zhuge Liang, after analysis, could only attribute it to the Empire's magic malfunction.

The Empire's invasion is the most serious event humanity has experienced in recent times. Upon confirming the enemy's enchantment, Zhuge immediately dispatched engineering teams to seal the star portal opened by the Empire and recalculated the stability of space. The final result was that the warp had stabilized again, the fluctuations emanating from it had disappeared, and there was no longer any immediate concern about the enemy's unimpeded advance.

This was good news, and at the same time, even better news spread throughout the expeditionary force.

Major General Zhang Lang, the supreme commander of the Third Expeditionary Force, has returned!

This commander was legendary. After the human forces entered the Proon Sector, he left behind a simple battle plan and then vanished without a trace. What's even more absurd is that the humans acted according to his battle plan and initially had a smooth run, capturing a large number of star systems and planets and spreading out their territory in a very short time.

However, after his plan was completed, humanity was plunged into a difficult defensive war due to the counterattacks of various forces. And Major General Zhang Lang remained missing.

Many people believed he was dead, but due to the cruelty of war, a theory circulated among the lower-ranking soldiers.

The initial victory was due to Zhang Lang's plan. Without his plan, humanity would only suffer a crushing defeat. As long as this commander returns, humanity will surely sound the horn of counterattack and reclaim the lost planet!

The brutal war was filled with despair, and even the faintest glimmer of hope in the midst of despair became the driving force that kept people fighting!

Therefore, many rational generals even secretly hoped that Zhang Lang would truly die out there and never return. If he did return but couldn't resolve the current situation, then humanity would have lost even its last hope…

Now, this vessel of hope sat in the command center, reviewing recent battle reports and the current situation, surrounded by generals who had just been rescued. They felt a mixture of joy and worry, looking at Zhang Lang with a hint of trepidation; the atmosphere was somewhat awkward and oppressive…