134: swallowing everything

Inside the Command Tower, in the Senior Officer Lounge.

Qin Weiguo stood alone by the window, watching batches of young soldiers surging toward the assembly point.

Five long lines moved forward in an orderly fashion to receive their full sets of combat armor and weapons.

In the distance.

The Space-Time Bridge's aqua-blue light barrier slowly revolved; this gate would lead them to the frontline base.

He took out his terminal and dialed his wife's video call.

The call connected.

In the video feed, his wife, with graying temples and wearing an apron, smiled and aimed the phone toward the living room.

His three-year-old great-grandson was sitting in the living room playing with an airplane model.

His eldest son sat on the sofa, arms crossed, watching the news broadcast on television.

His granddaughter and grandson-in-law were sitting around the dining table chatting.

Qin Weiguo's expression was solemn, and he spoke softly: "Go inside first. I want to talk to you alone for a bit."

Qin Weiguo's wife frowned instinctively, a bad premonition flashing in her heart, and she silently entered the room and locked the door.

"Is this mission very dangerous?"

"Yes."

"How long will you be gone?"

"Perhaps, I won't be coming back."

Qin Weiguo's tone was unusually calm, as if he were just discussing everyday matters with his wife.

"A'Lan, the compensation will be deposited into your account. With you looking after the children, I am very relieved."

Qin Weiguo's wife covered her mouth, tears instantly blurring her vision.

"Qin Weiguo, you are nearly seventy years old. Why do you insist on overexerting yourself?"

Qin Weiguo: "I'm just an old bag of bones, and I've lived long enough. That's precisely why I should leave the hope of survival to the younger generation."

His grandson's knock came from outside the door.

"Grandma, the food is served. Come out and eat quickly."

Qin Weiguo: "Go now. Don't let the children worry. It's time for me to depart as well."

"Old Qin, let me take a good look at you one last time."

Qin Weiguo straightened his military uniform, standing tall and proud.

"Xiao Lan, I was very fortunate to marry you in this life. But I put you through a lot of hardship; you raised the children all by yourself, and I was never able to help much."

"If I can meet you again in the next life, I definitely won't be a soldier. I will properly cherish you and make you the happiest woman on earth."

After saying this, Qin Weiguo hung up the phone.

He put on his military cap, straightened his spine, collected his emotions, and radiated an air of solemn killing intent, transforming back into the majestic Five-Star General of the Dragon Nation.

When he walked out of the lounge, Fang Wanli was leaning against the corridor wall.

"Are you finished with your arrangements?"

Qin Weiguo nodded slightly and walked downstairs side-by-side with Fang Wanli.

"Old Fang, after I leave, please look after my family for me."

Fang Wanli: "Don't worry."

Qin Weiguo: "Understood."

... A-5 Star Field.

Within the asteroid belt stretching for tens of kilometers, a massive meteorite with a diameter exceeding ten kilometers quietly floated.

The inside and outside of this meteorite had been specially modified, turning it into a natural war fortress.

In the middle layer of the meteorite, a pitch-black cannon barrel emerged. The exposed barrel alone was three hundred meters long, its massive muzzle resembling an abyssal behemoth opening its mouth.

Millions of [Jiaolong] medium drones were docked on the surface of the asteroid belt like a swarm of bees.

Higher up.

Two thousand [Yinglong] Guerrilla-type mechas floated in the depths of space, ready for battle.

Inside the Command Center, Qin Weiguo stood by the observation window, gazing at the boundless dark universe.

"Drones, launch."

The moment the order was given, the indicator lights of millions of drones lit up simultaneously, scattering like a swarm of stars, rapidly forming a massive net that pushed forward at full speed.

Qin Weiguo boarded the fifth-generation mecha [Dragon Soul] and departed the base.

Two thousand [Yinglong] Guerrilla-type mechas switched to aerospace fighter mode, divided into twenty small groups, and flew toward their respective predetermined mission routes.

Each mecha was flanked by three wingmen, the [Xuan Nu] aerospace unmanned fighters.

The Dark Element Giant Cannon initiated its charging sequence. Large areas of space around the muzzle began to twist, as if even light could not escape its gravitational pull.

Inside the meteorite base.

One thousand high-level Dark Element Elementalists, dressed in black robes, had energy conduits connected to their bodies.

These energy conduits were connected to the cylindrical Dark Element Core Energy Hub in the center of the hall.

"Target coordinates A736. Begin charging."

The command from Xi, the Federation's Supreme Commander, came through the communication system.

All the Elementalists, almost simultaneously, took out a syringe containing black liquid from their waist and skillfully injected it into the veins of their forearms.

[Dark Element Charging: 5%, 7%... 20%]

As the charging progress increased, the entire circular hall began to shake violently.

[75%, 80%, Charging Complete]

Inside the circular hall.

As the charging ended, one thousand Dark Element Elementalists successively collapsed onto the floor, their faces pale and bloodless.

Logistics personnel quickly rushed forward, skillfully retrieving them and sprinting toward the Space-Time Bridge on the side wing of the hall, which glowed with an aqua-blue light barrier.

When the last logistics personnel carrying an Elementalist stepped into the Space-Time Bridge, the hall was completely empty except for a few smart robots responsible for operation.

"Fire!"

The space around the muzzle began to twist, and countless dark purple lightning bolts erupted around it.

Finally, a beam of pure darkness erupted from the muzzle. This was absolute darkness capable of swallowing even light; were it not for the massive dark purple lightning surging around the black light, its existence would not even be visible to the naked eye.

Wherever the black light passed, the meteorites, cosmic dust, and even starlight along the way were completely swallowed by this darkness. Like an absolute domain, anything that came into contact with this area would be reduced to nothingness.

Hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.

Operators on three Hai Star scout ships detected abnormal energy signatures and were about to issue a warning, but everything happened far too quickly.

When the darkness descended, the three scout ships, along with the forty-seven Hai Star personnel aboard, and the entire nearby asteroid belt, were completely reduced to nothingness, leaving no trace of their existence.

The black light's speed did not slow down at all, instantly crossing over two hundred thousand kilometers, heading straight for the Hai Star fleet.

"Scout ships have lost signal!"

"Detecting ultra-high energy signatures!"

"Activate energy protection system! Initiate emergency evasion!"

Inside the Hai Star fleet, waves of alarms sounded.

Ninety-seven warships scattered, simultaneously deploying pale blue energy shields, forming a brilliant curtain of light in the depths of space.

When the darkness touched this light curtain, the shields—which were strong enough to withstand the residual energy from a stellar explosion—shattered like bubbles upon contact.

Wherever the black light passed, the shields, warships, and even space itself were swallowed up, and not even the flash of an explosion could bloom in this darkness.