Chapter 231: The Weapon of Gods, the Fear of Mortals

Inside the bridge of the Star Sea Divine Church's flagship Holy Words, on the distant edge of the battlefield.

The Grand Archbishop and all the senior clergy around him stared fixedly at the massive holographic star map.

On the star map,

The dense cluster of red dots representing the main fleet of the Silicon-based Union vanished completely in an instant just moments ago.

It was not a retreat, nor were they destroyed; they simply disappeared into thin air.

In their place appeared a vast black region marked by the system as a 'Dimensional Anomaly'.

"What... happened?"

A cleric's voice was dry; he could not believe his own eyes.

"The probes have returned the last data stream... currently being analyzed..."

Another cleric in charge of technology flicked his fingers across the console at high speed, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

After a few seconds, a reconstructed image appeared before everyone.

It was a painting.

A painting that used the real starry sky as its background, turning tens of thousands of Silicon-based warships and that mechanical planet into a flat image.

In the painting, the metallic sheen of the warships, the energy circuits on the planet's surface, and even the flames lingering from exploded warships were all clearly visible.

But they had no thickness.

They had become sheets of paper.

"This... this is..."

"A Dimensional Strike..."

The Grand Archbishop's lips twitched slightly as he uttered these four words. His unchanging expression of ten thousand years vanished, replaced by a fear that rose from the depths of his soul.

As a high-ranking member of a Third-level Civilization, he of course knew what a Dimensional Strike signified.

It was a legendary weapon of cosmic law that only god-like civilizations of Fifth level or higher could master.

A 'rubber eraser' used to wipe out low-level civilizations.

Such a weapon exists only in the most ancient, forbidden mythic texts of the Star Sea Divine Church Civilization.

He never imagined that he would one day witness it with his own eyes.

And it was used by a civilization he had always regarded as a 'promising Second-level Civilization'.

The Human Federal...

What exactly are they?

How could they possibly possess such a weapon? Where did it come from?

Countless questions, like frantic electric currents, surged through his mind, causing the 'God Heart' forged from his faith to begin cracking.

He forced himself to calm down, his brain racing.

The Human Federal employed this weapon, then immediately withdrew all personnel.

What does this indicate?

It indicates that they, too, do not wish to be drawn into two-dimensionalization.

It indicates that using this weapon is also a tremendous cost and burden for them, possibly even their last trump card.

But that no longer matters.

What matters is that they possess it.

They possess a divine weapon capable of easily erasing an entire Third-level Civilization fleet.

That is enough.

"Convey my orders!"

The Grand Archbishop's gaze became immensely complex, filled with fear, awe, and a hint... of fervor?

"All fleets, cease all military operations immediately! Dispatch an envoy fleet to the coordinates where the Human Federal fleet last gathered!"

"Tell them that the Star Sea Divine Church is willing to pay any price to strengthen our 'friendship'!"

"Moreover,"

He paused, then added, "Transmit everything that happened today to the Holy Church's homeworld via top-level encryption! I want His Majesty the Church Leader to see this himself!"

Meanwhile.

In a safe void tens of trillions of kilometers from the battlefield.

The Human Federal fleet gradually emerged from a space jump.

Inside the Command Center, everyone remained in a dazed state.

They only knew that Qin Hao had ordered a retreat; as for what had happened on the battlefield, they were completely unaware.

"Report! We have already left the danger zone."

"How is the situation behind the battlefield? Has the Silicon-based Union given chase?" Zhang Xianzhong asked immediately.

"Report, Commander-in-Chief... rear... there is no signal from the rear."

The observer's voice was full of confusion: "All our long-range probes, just now, lost contact with the rear battlefield along with us."

"What does that mean?" Zhou Shaoqing frowned.

Just then, Qin Hao's weak voice sounded.

"No need to scout."

He slumped into his chair, his face as pale as paper, yet a faint smile touched his lips.

"They... will not pursue."

He raised his hand and lightly touched the holographic star map.

An image appeared before everyone.

It was a magnificent and terrifying two-dimensional scroll.

Dead silence.

The entire Command Center was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone opened their mouths wide, their eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

They looked at the picture, at the thousands upon thousands of silicon-based warships that had turned into sheets of paper, their minds going blank.

"You used the two-dimensional foil from Three-Body?"

Zhang Xianzhong asked, his tone somewhat uncertain.

"Well, only this could pose a threat to them, forcing them to retreat."

Qin Hao explained concisely.

Indeed, not long after his words fell, the Silicon-based Union side, having lost its main brain command system, fell into brief chaos,

but it was quickly taken over by the secondary command system, which issued a retreat order.

【Warning: Main brain destroyed, target temporarily abandoned, all forces retreat!】

……

Watching the Silicon-based Union fleet, the remaining tens of millions of warships slowly disappeared; Qin Hao and Zhang Xianzhong did not order to block them, because they could not.

Soon after, everything returned to calm.

Only then did everyone gradually recover from that extreme shock.

"Xiao Qin, how much energy did we use this time?" Zhang Xianzhong asked.

"Over a million energy units, about a third! High-tech weapon consumption is indeed terrifying."

Qin Hao stated a number.

"So do we count as winning now?" Zhang Xianzhong still felt somewhat unreal.

"I guess so!"

Qin Hao looked at him and smiled: "At least for the short term, the Silicon-based Union won't dare come looking for trouble."

"They need time to understand and analyze what just happened."

"This period is our golden age of development."

Just then, a communication request came through.

It was the Star Sea Divine Church Civilization.

"Put it through." Zhang Xianzhong said immediately.

On the holographic screen appeared a high-ranking priest of the Star Sea Divine Church, namely Ka En Ti from before.

At that moment, his face bore a smile never seen before.

"Respected Qin Consultant, Commander Zhang,"

As soon as he spoke, his tone changed, leaving both of them stunned.

"I act under the order of His Eminence the Grand Archbishop, to convey our highest respect."

"We apologize for our hesitation on the battlefield; it's because we were tightly held by the main force of the Silicon-based Union and could not spare any more strength."

"We hope to hold a formal high-level meeting with you."

"For an unbreakable friendship between our two great civilizations."

"We... are willing to offer all our sincerity."

Ka En Ti's attitude underwent a great change.

Inside the Command Center, everyone stared at each other.

They looked at Ka En Ti's attitude on the screen, then at the frightening two-dimensional scroll beside it.

In an instant, everything became clear.

Fists can truly earn respect.

When your fist is big enough to easily crush your opponent, their attitude becomes especially sincere.