255: The asteroids were shocked: How could they possibly escape!

At the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, on the event horizon of the Sagittarius A* black hole.

The dark purple "Void Collapse" ripple, carrying world-ending might, finally swept across the coordinates where the human fleet had been.

In that instant, this small patch of the universe seemed to be violently clenched by an invisible giant hand and ground into powder. The spatial structure disintegrated in microseconds; the matter, radiation, and even the vacuum itself that once existed were reduced to the most primitive quantum soup.

This was the confidence the Star Devourer race relied on to dominate the galaxy for hundreds of millions of years.

In their logic, war was simple: find the prey, release the collapse wave, then open their mouths and wait for the shattered energy soup to flow into their stomachs.

There had never been an exception.

In the massive, cold, and greedy collective consciousness of the Hive Mother, this was just another unremarkable meal. It had even prematurely secreted digestive fluids, preparing to enjoy this "takeout" from the distant Orion Arm.

However.

One second passed.

Two seconds passed.

The expected massive energy feedback did not appear.

The wave of destruction, powerful enough to flatten a star system, was like striking a pocket of air; nothing happened except for a few meaningless spatial ripples.

No wreckage.

No energy burst.

Not even the slightest whimper of matter being annihilated.

Utterly empty.

???

If it had a physical body, the giant red crystal brain entrenched on the edge of the black hole would likely have had its eyes popping out right now.

An emotion named "confusion" instantly spread throughout the entire swarm via the neural network.

[Target lost?]

[This is illogical.]

[Calculation error? System malfunction? Or an illusion?]

The Hive Mother's thought core began to spin frantically. Hundreds of millions of neural synapses worked under high load at this moment, attempting to analyze this phenomenon that violated universal common sense.

According to its database records, those "carbon-based monkeys" with only Level 0.73 civilization status could not possibly possess the technology to withstand an attack of this magnitude. Even their proud "Energy Shields" should pop like soap bubbles in the face of dimensional collapse.

So, where did they go?

Did they evaporate into thin air?

Just as the Hive Mother fell into a massive logical deadlock, Sol, the commander of the Galaxy Guardians patrol team who had been observing secretly from afar, suddenly leaped out of his chair like a cat whose tail had been stepped on!

"Detector! Quickly raise the detector's elevation angle!"

"Stop staring at that empty plane! Idiots!"

Sol's tentacles frantically danced across the console, his voice becoming sharp and grating due to extreme fright.

"They are not there!"

"They are above!"

As the detection angle was adjusted, a scene that made both Sol and the ancient Star-Devouring Hive Mother feel their souls freeze appeared on the holographic screen.

"Above" the area where the wave of destruction had just swept through.

In the fourth dimension, which three-dimensional beings should not be able to reach.

One hundred thousand human battleships, completely black and emanating a faint golden aura, were silently suspended there, like a host of deities looking down upon the mortal world!

They were completely unharmed.

Not even the energy reading of their shields had dropped by a single percentage point!

That posture, that lofty composure, was like an adult watching ants clumsily waving toothpicks in a mud pit beneath their feet.

Mockery!

This was blatant mockery!

[This is impossible!]

For the first time, a fluctuation named "terror" appeared in the Star-Devouring Hive Mother's thought waves.

[Dimensional Ascent?!]

[That is a forbidden technology that only Level Five civilizations might master! How could these primitive creatures, who haven't even left their home star system, possibly grasp the mysteries of dimension?!]

[Cheating! This is definitely cheating!]

The Hive Mother was enraged, and also terrified.

Although ancient, it was not stupid. It clearly understood what "high-dimensional striking low-dimensional" meant. It meant all defenses were useless and all attacks were futile.

It was like a warrior stripped of its armor, exposed naked beneath the enemy's blade!

"Is this your trump card?"

Lu Chen stood on the command platform of the expedition, looking down at the massive crystal flashing wildly with red light, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"I regret to inform you, your attack missed."

"Now, it's my turn."

He slowly raised his hand, like a judge about to pass sentence.

"heavenly craft, lock onto that red core."

"They just treated us to a fireworks show; now we return the favor."

"Give it a central burst!"

[Yes, Master! Coordinates locked!]

heavenly craft's voice carried the satisfaction of vengeance fulfilled.

[Cross-dimensional strike channel established!]

[dragon gall Star Destroyer Cannon array, full volley launch!]

"Boom—!!!"

Although sound cannot travel in a vacuum, the energy burst in that higher dimension triggered a visible storm!

One hundred thousand golden beams passed through no flight trajectory, meeting no resistance from any three-dimensional matter.

They were like divine punishment appearing out of thin air, directly traversing spatial distance, abruptly, violently, and unreasonably appearing deep within the Star-Devouring Hive Mother's core!

That is to say—inside the giant red crystal brain!

This was like performing surgery: while others were still figuring out how to cut the skin and saw the bone, Lu Chen directly teleported a bomb into the heart of the tumor!

[No—!!!]

A piercing psychic shriek instantly swept across the entire Galactic Center region.

That was the Hive Mother's wail, and its final testament.

The next second.

The terrifying brain that controlled billions of swarms and devoured countless civilizations exploded from the inside.

Dazzling white light instantly swallowed everything.

No fragments scattered, because all matter was instantly reduced to elementary particles under that terrifying high-energy focus.

The massive Hive Mother shell lost its core support and began to collapse like a sandcastle. Beneath those shells, countless worker ants instantly lost command, crashing and exploding haphazardly in space like kites with broken strings.

With just one strike!

The overlord that had occupied the center of the Milky Way Galaxy for countless ages was instantly rendered brain dead by this heavy punch from the high dimension delivered by human civilization!

"Gulp."

Sol, observing from afar, swallowed again. He felt his legs turn weak, even wanting to kneel.

"One-hit kill."

"Is this the Earthlings' way of war?"

"It's so damn terrifying!"

With trembling hands, he typed a line into the Alliance's highest-level encrypted channel:

[Warning! Extremely Dangerous Civilization confirmed as 'Earth'!]

[Assessment: Possesses high-dimensional strike capability, tactics are extremely brutal. Recommendation:]

[Immediately classify as 'Do Not Provoke' target! The entire Alliance must steer clear!]

Meanwhile, aboard the expedition.

Watching the fireball slowly dissipate, Lu Chen's expression showed no sign of relaxation.

He turned around and looked at the Super Soldiers behind him, who were so excited they were nearly fainting, and coldly poured a bucket of cold water over them.

"Don't celebrate too soon."

"That was just a brain."

"The real big trouble is yet to come."

He stretched out his hand, pointing toward the deepest part of the black hole's event horizon on the holographic star map.

There, a fluctuation that was more subtle, yet far more terrifying, was slowly awakening.

"If you hit the dog, the master should come out."

"Get ready to welcome..."

"...the true War of the Gods!"