Warhammer, I really didn't intend to form a second empire!

Zhang Heng and Zu Chongzhi's team discovered a set of well-structured technical documents in the data layer of the third ancestral core.

Those documents contain a complete description of the principles of "wide-area energy field generation and directional release".

These documents cover the entire process from energy gathering and field shaping to target locking, and include a detailed derivation formula at the end showing the relationship between energy output efficiency and coverage.

This technology was not designed for destruction. According to the functional descriptions in the documentation, it was originally used to clear asteroid belts or interstellar dust clouds in space, clearing the way for interstellar colonization projects.

But this doesn't prevent Zhao Zheng from seeing another possibility.

He carefully read through all the documentation for that technology, repeatedly checked the mathematical models regarding the energy field's diffusion range and intensity attenuation, and then sent the data to the two great sages, Isaac and Albert, inviting them to participate in subsequent discussions on technology transfer.

Less than two days later, Isaac sent a response via encrypted communication.

"The principle of this energy field generation is theoretically feasible. The core difficulty lies in how to transform this huge amount of energy from a single point of concentration into a surface coverage."

"During this process, we must ensure that the energy will not explode as it accumulates, and that our gun barrels are strong enough to withstand the impact of this energy. Moreover, we are unsure of when this energy will be released. If we do not control it properly, our fleet will be the first to suffer."

After reading Isaac's reply, Zhao Zheng gave a brief response in the communication.

"Then let's find a way to solve this problem."

Over the next few weeks, Zhao Zheng, along with Isaac, Albert, and the engineering team at the Qiankun Star Central Research Institute, conducted a series of repeated technical demonstrations.

They broke down the principle description of that wide-area energy field technology into several independent functional modules, and analyzed their adaptability and potential for modification within the existing technology system of the Qin Dynasty.

This is a meticulous project, and each step requires repeated calculations and verifications.

Transforming a civilian device originally used to clean up interstellar dust into a lethal weapon system essentially involves redefining the way energy fields are released and target locking, but the core principles remain unchanged.

Before this weapon can truly achieve its intended effect, one crucial problem needs to be solved.

How can we ensure that the energy is highly concentrated at the moment of release, so that it does not explode prematurely due to excessive energy before release?

Zhao Zheng assigned Isaac to study this part of the problem, and Albert to be responsible for the accuracy of the energy field release. Their mechanical priests and sages all went to help.

Over the next two months, in the newly built specialized laboratory underground in Chiyang City on Qiankun Star, batches of experimental modules were gradually manufactured and then tested multiple times in uninhabited deep space areas far from Qiankun Star.

Early test results were quite dismal. The energy was severely unstable before it was released, the adamantite material could not withstand such a large amount of energy, and it could not form a stable coverage in the predetermined area after the energy was released.

Moreover, on several occasions, the energy field even experienced unstable fluctuations midway, causing damage to some equipment.

Fortunately, the fleets responsible for the experiments were all unmanned, with only a few Ironborn individuals in charge.

Otherwise, who knows how many more lives would have been lost because of this experiment.

Zhao Zheng wasn't in a hurry. After all, the core principle had already been verified, and the remaining issues were just technical. As long as there were enough resources and time, these problems could be solved sooner or later.

Zu Chongzhi's team proposed a new solution for the directional control of energy release. By adding a layer of dynamic shielding nodes to the energy field generating array, the energy can be precisely limited to a preset fan-shaped range during release, reducing the loss of dissipation and diffusion.

Meanwhile, Isaac's team used living metal and refined gold in the structural design to ensure that the equipment itself would not break down due to its limits during the energy gathering and release process.

When the first complete prototype, with structural optimizations and energy diversion improvements, was moved out of the specialized laboratory, it was already the fourth month since the prototype was designed.

The prototype was enormous, almost the size of four Emperor-class Titans. Its exterior was covered with a thick, almost unnatural, composite armor layer of living metal and adamantite alloy, and its surface was covered with dense heat sinks and interface panels.

Zhao Zheng glanced at the prototype machine, then turned to look at Isaac standing next to him.

"What were the test results?"

"The stability of energy convergence has been improved by 40% compared to the previous version. We adopted the energy diversion technology provided by the great sage Zu Chongzhi, and controlled the fluctuation range at the output end to an acceptable level."

"According to simulation data, the effective coverage range after a complete charge and release can reach 6,000 kilometers. Although it is far less than the original version, it is still enough to cover a large-scale alien fleet in a short period of time."

Zhao Zheng didn't say much, he just nodded, and that was enough. He didn't expect to be able to compare with the Golden Age now; that was for the future.

"Arrange a live-fire test, targeting those few pocket empires near the Qin Dynasty that refuse to surrender during the turbulent era. Choose a suitable landing point and observe their actual performance in a real battlefield environment."

Isaac responded and left.

Preparations for the practical testing will be completed gradually over the next few weeks.

Zu Chongzhi and his engineering team installed the prototype machine on the bow of a modified Great Wall-class battleship and carried out necessary expansion and reinforcement of the ship's energy system to ensure that the prototype machine would not put too much burden on the ship itself during charging and releasing.

The target region was selected as a group of star systems about twenty light-years away from the outer region of the Qin Dynasty.

There dwells a human pocket empire that developed after the Age of Conflict, occupying approximately four star systems and possessing a sizable orbital defense platform and fleet.

Marshal Yue Yi had previously sent them a letter of surrender, but their rulers chose not to respond, dismissing the Qin's surrender order with disdain.

This was quite common during the Great Expeditions period.

Many colonial regimes that developed after the Age of Conflict were accustomed to clinging to their own territories and harboring a persistent wariness and hostility toward the outside world.

Because humanity had suffered too much during the previous dark ages, and now that a strange power like the Qin Empire had emerged, they naturally refused to submit.

Zhao Zheng could understand, but unfortunately, the way they refused angered him.

The name of that pocket empire was marked as "Octavia" on the imperial star map. It was a beautiful name, said to be taken from a dark red flower that bloomed on the edge of a volcano on their home planet.

However, the actual situation of this star system is far from as idyllic as its name suggests. Most of the planets in the four star systems are either death zones or barbaric worlds. Even the planets they inhabit are heavily polluted nest cities.

The value of this kind of star system to the Qin Dynasty was actually very low. If it weren't for the possibility that they might retain some advanced technology, Le Yi's methods of persuading them to surrender would definitely not have been so gentle.

When the Qin reconnaissance ship entered the outer orbit of the star system for standard contact several weeks ago, the other side did not make any diplomatic response or open a communication channel for dialogue.

They simply turned the guns of the orbital defense platform toward the Qin reconnaissance ship, and then responded with a precise, directional electromagnetic pulse, burning half of the reconnaissance ship's long-range communication array.

This level of response is not uncommon among human regimes left over from an era of conflict.

Unfortunately, when they attacked the reconnaissance ship sent by the Qin Dynasty to persuade them to surrender, they also included an audio recording.

"The Great Qin Empire? Where did this roadside place come from? Never heard of it. Otherwise, you should all surrender, and I, Octavia, will be magnanimous and forgive your transgressions."

At this time, the Qin Dynasty had just developed the "Shattered Star". After learning this news, Zhao Zheng did not show any emotional fluctuation. He simply told Le Yi not to rush into action and to use the Pocket Empire as a test subject.

In his report, Le Yi mentioned the details of the electromagnetic pulse attack. The opponent's reaction speed was very fast and the aim was very accurate, indicating that the pocket empire's technological reserves and military prowess were at a medium to high level among the remnants of the era of conflict.

The perfect fit is sufficient to test the performance indicators of the Shattered Star prototype in a real battlefield environment.

Preparations before departure lasted for three days.

The modified Great Wall-class battleship, equipped with the Shattered Star prototype, was named "Zhenyue". Its hull was painted with a dark gray matte paint and had no conspicuous markings or signs.

Following closely behind was a support formation consisting of twelve standard Great Wall-class battleships and several Ironborn unmanned ships, as well as a ground force of two thousand Ironborn and one hundred heavy steel-armored Ironborn, led by Isaac and responsible for testing.

Zhao Zheng stood on the bridge of the Lishan, watching the Zhenyue maintain a slightly rearward position in the test formation, with the outline of the prototype aircraft faintly visible below the bow.

The power of the Star Shatterer must be tested on a real battlefield to determine its true strength and to obtain more combat data.

"Order the test formation to first suppress the outer defense platform of Octavia after arriving at the target star system, and then, after confirming the position of the main force of the enemy fleet, the Zhenyue will carry out the first combat release of the Star Shattering Prototype."

"The rest of the ships, remember to keep your distance and do not enter the edge of the energy coverage area."

The test formation cruised at full speed for seven days in subspace, arriving at the edge of the Octavian system on the morning of the seventh day.

At this moment, Yue Yi also received the message sent by Isaac and immediately began to prepare for the attack.

"First, send the Ironborn unmanned ships forward to direct their firepower to the front. Once their attention is completely drawn, the Zhenyue will then cut in from the side and rear to complete the test."

After the order was given, the Ironblood Fleet in the Le Yi Fleet began to advance.

The unmanned ships, controlled by the Ironborn, were arranged in a wedge formation at standard intervals, maintaining their cruising speed as they moved toward Octavia's outer defensive line.

Their engine fire created a series of flickering points of light in the vacuum, and the Octavian defensive platforms reacted even when they were still quite a distance from the defensive line.

The cannons turned in turn, aiming at the approaching points of light. In the first round of test firing, several probe beams were fired, hitting the surface of the Void Shield of an Ironborn frigate and creating a brief ripple.

The Ironborn Fleet did not retaliate, but continued to move forward at its original speed and formation, while simultaneously sending standard-format surrender messages to the enemy via simulated communication links.

Of course, this was unacceptable. The Octavian response was a second round of artillery fire, this time with a higher density of fire than the first. Some beams pierced the Ironborn ships' void shields, leaving several scorch marks on the armored surfaces.

Meanwhile, Octavian's fleet also began to attack the Ironborn fleet.

While their attention was largely drawn to the Ironborn fleet directly ahead, the Zhenyue made its incursion from a concealed angle on the side and rear.

The Zhenyue ship moved silently on the side of the starlight in shadow, with all active detection systems turned off, relying solely on a passive sensor array to maintain awareness of its surroundings.

Its entry angle was precisely calculated by Isaac, and it was located exactly at the edge of a scanning blind spot of the Octavia defense platform's sensor array, ensuring that the Starshatter prototype, which was installed below the bow, was never exposed to the enemy's detection line of sight.

The Zhenyue completed its stop at the designated location. Isaac stood in front of the main control panel and began to check the charging status of the Shattered Star prototype. He watched as the energy readings on the panel gradually increased, and the curves representing the temperature of the living metal and adamantite alloy composite armor layer were also within a stable range.

"Charging complete, energy accumulation is stable, and output fluctuations are within the predetermined threshold."

The mechanical priest's confirmation report came through the communication channel.

Isaac adjusted the view on the holographic tactics panel, confirmed the coordinates and formation of the Octavian fleet, and then nodded to the communications officer.

"Fire."

At this moment, the prototype aircraft, which was covered by heavy armor and located below the bow of the Zhenyue ship, emitted an extremely low hum.

A green arc of light, almost invisible to the naked eye, shot out from the prototype's output end, spreading out in a fan shape in the vacuum, like a light blade compressed to an extremely thin size, sweeping towards the Octavian fleet's formation at an extremely fast speed.

The green arc of light made contact with the void shield of the first ship and then passed through it without encountering any obvious resistance.

The green arc of light left an extremely fine cut on the surface of the ship's armor, and the green light continued to spread, covering most of the area where the remaining ships were located.

The entire process was completed in less than three seconds. The green arc of light gradually weakened and dissipated after passing through the target area, like a layer of mist that had been blown away, leaving no trace.

The Octavian fleet remained unchanged for the next few seconds.

They remained moored in their original positions, their hulls still intact, their engines running at minimum standby power. But after those few seconds, the ships began to slowly disintegrate.

Their outer shells were not damaged, and the internal structure of the skeleton did not explode. It was just that the originally tight joints and welds began to separate layer by layer along the path swept by the light arc.

The entire Octavian fleet was reduced to a vast expanse of fragments scattered in the vacuum in less than thirty seconds, with not a single fragment larger than a human head.

The violent shockwave spread rapidly through the starry sky, significantly impacting the defensive turrets on the main planet Octavia.

The Qin Dynasty's ships were not greatly affected because of their special materials and the presence of void shields.

But everyone from the Qin Dynasty present remained silent.

Isaac paused for a moment in front of the holographic tactical panel, then quickly recovered, looking at the energy field release record diagram marked "completed," and said softly.

"Data recording complete. Retrieve prototype and prepare for withdrawal."

"Marshal Yue Yi, the rest is up to you."

The metal fragments scattered in the vacuum remained evenly distributed, slowly rotating under the faint starlight, reflecting tiny glimmers of light, like shattered mirrors scattered on the dark carpet of space.

After completing its first launch, the Zhenyue began to slowly turn and retreat towards the outer direction along the path it had come from. The Iron Blood Fleet simultaneously tightened its formation and began to rapidly approach from the front.

The Octavian fleet is gone, leaving only a vast expanse of slowly spreading wreckage.

The first practical test of Shattered Star yielded results far exceeding expectations.

Over the next week, Le Yi's fleet completed a rapid sweep and occupation of the four star systems of Octavia.

The ground troops encountered almost no decent resistance after landing. The Octavians, who had lost their orbital defense platform and space fleet, were unusually compliant in the face of the Qin ground forces.

They seemed to be completely terrified by that devastating weapon, because the way the Starshatter attacked made the Octavians realize that if they resisted, the Great Qin was fully capable of destroying them along with the entire planet, completely erasing them from the physical realm.

After occupying the planet, Le Yi's persuasion team quickly entered the planet's surface and their first action was to capture all the high-ranking officials on the spot.

Le Yi originally wanted to kill them to vent his anger, but then he thought of his father's pettiness, so he ordered all these high-ranking officials to be turned into machine servants and thrown into the mining area in the middle of the river.

"Labor reform" is still the most suitable option for this group of people.

Chapter 53 Can I also burn with golden flames?

After the first practical test of Shattered Star, Zhao Zheng was satisfied with the test results, but the data was still scarce and there were still some areas for improvement.

We should have tried it in Octavia to see if we could really shatter a star with a single blow.

Of course, Zhao Zheng couldn't really do that, since the Qin Dynasty needed people and slaves very much.

We can't let these resources go to waste, especially since they contain some technology left over from the golden age.

For example, there are complete STCs such as laser guns, power armor for mortal support troops, and electromagnetic pulses. In short, this battle was another big win.

On its way back to Qiankun Star, Zhenyue and Zu Chongzhi's team had already begun a thorough review of all the data from the prototype.

From the time curve of energy convergence to the fluctuation record at the output end, and then to the actual coverage and penetration depth of the green light arc in the target area.

Each set of data was categorized and archived, labeled with the test number and corresponding engineering parameters, and backed up and sent to the dedicated encrypted database of the Qiankun Star Central Research Institute.

Zhao Zheng spent an entire afternoon on the Lishan ship reading through the preliminary analysis report from beginning to end.

It was confirmed that the performance of the Star Shatter prototype in the actual combat test did indeed meet expectations. At the same time, the data also showed temperature fluctuations in the energy output end of the prototype during the charging process.

The fluctuations are still within a safe range, but they have approached the limits of the current materials' tolerance. This means that if we want to continue to increase the output power of the fragmented stars in the future, we need to further optimize or replace the materials of the core components, or find a more suitable energy source to replace them.