535: Pseudo-vacuum decay missile

"Report, Division Commander!"

The scout officer's voice was filled with irrepressible excitement; on the holographic light screen, green dots representing biological signals were densely packed, surging within the nest like a boiling colony of ants.

"Full nest scan complete! The internal biological signal intensity has reached a Breakthrough peak, and the numbers are still surging at a rate of hundreds of millions per second. An ultra-strong energy reaction has been detected in the core area; it is preliminarily identified as the location of the Mother Insect! We are 98% certain that this is the main nest of the insect race!"

Li Yang gazed at the constantly expanding cloud of green signals on the light screen, his eyes devoid of any further hesitation.

After a series of fierce clashes with the insect race over this period, the slight notion Li Yang had initially harbored about subduing and controlling them had long since vanished without a trace.

These insect creatures were like a horde of frenzied demons; wherever they went, they brought devastation and destroyed everything in their path.

They possessed no reason or emotion whatsoever, knowing only endless destruction and slaughter.

In Li Yang's view, it was best to simply and thoroughly eradicate such existences. The Empire was not lacking in biological weapons anyway, and only by clearing these creatures out could the Huanlong Galaxy return to its former tranquility and peace.

"Notify all fleets: free fire coverage!"

His voice was cold and hard as iron.

"Blast this nest until not even a scrap remains!"

"Yes! Free fire coverage order has been issued!"

Naturally, the insect race had already discovered the suddenly arriving Imperial forces.

The alarm deep within the nest had clearly been triggered; the next second, the porous shell layer surged violently like boiling water.

Countless insect creatures swarmed out from the nest, and the number of insect ships was overwhelming.

They varied in form; some dragged tail vertebrae covered in sharp spikes, while others had carapaces covered in bio-crystalline armor capable of reflecting energy. A rough count showed they were seven or eight times more numerous than the previous swarm, and a dark green tide instantly filled the entire starry sky.

"Open fire!"

Li Yang's command exploded in the communication channel.

The cannons of the Imperial Starships spewed flames simultaneously; scorching white laser beams, deep blue particle streams, and high-explosive missiles trailing exhaust plumes poured toward the swarm like a bursting flood.

The energy beams wove into a massive net of light. Wherever it passed, the carapaces of the insect ships shattered one after another, and flying insect creatures fell in droves. Dark green body fluids congealed into viscous clouds in the Void Realm, illuminating the pitch-black Subspace with flickering light.

However, the insect swarm's offensive far exceeded expectations.

Just as the previous wave of insect creatures turned to ash in the gunfire, the next wave immediately filled the gap. Those massive heavy-duty insect ships charged forward, enduring the energy impacts and using their thick carapaces to resist the starship firepower, continuously compressing the Imperial Fleet's defensive perimeter.

On the light screen, the green dots representing the swarm were layered like a tide. One batch was killed, and another surged forward; far from showing signs of slowing down, they were getting closer and closer to the starship group. Some small flying insects had even achieved a Breakthrough of the fire net, colliding with the shields of the foremost starships with a dull, thunderous sound.

"This won't work; the fire suppression is about to fail!"

He Dong's voice was filled with anxiety.

Li Yang stared at the constantly shrinking defensive perimeter on the screen, his eyes turning sharp.

"Notify the troops: prepare to launch the False Vacuum Decay missile! Target the densest areas of the swarm!"

"Understood! False Vacuum Decay missile is in position; launch parameters are being calibrated!"

The response from the other end of the communication channel carried a hint of solemnity.

The hatches at the bottom of several universal-class starships slowly slid open, revealing pitch-black launch ports, their metallic luster gleaming with a cold light in the dark starry sky.

"False Vacuum Decay missile ready."

The operator's voice sounded steadily in the communication channel, carrying a hint of imperceptible tension.

"Safe range designated, avoiding friendly coordinates... 3... 2... 1... Launch!"

Before the words had even faded, several pitch-black missiles whistled out from the hatches like arrows released from a bow. Their exhaust plumes tore through the Void Realm, dragging pale blue energy trails as they shot straight toward the densest part of the swarm at near-light speed.

The trajectories they carved through the air were like streaks of solidified lightning, instantly piercing through the layered insect swarm.

The next second, the missiles detonated with a roar in the core area of the swarm.

There was no earth-shattering roar, only an eerie "annihilation"—centered on the explosion points, nearly transparent vacuum bubbles expanded frantically at the speed of light. Wherever they passed, the physical Laws seemed to be instantly rewritten, and the space rippled with fine undulations.

The originally dense, sky-covering swarm, the moment they were touched by the vacuum bubbles, vanished into nothingness without leaving a trace of struggle.

In an instant, several huge, shimmering-edged voids appeared out of thin air in the starry sky that had been occupied by the swarm.

Inside the voids, there were no wrecks, no body fluids, and not even the smallest particles remained—as if no life had ever existed there. Only pure nothingness remained, forming a shocking contrast with the still-writhing swarm surrounding it.

The vacuum bubbles quietly dissipated after expanding to their critical point, leaving behind voids like scars in the starry sky, silently demonstrating the terrifying power of this weapon.

The surviving swarm seemed stunned by this sudden annihilation; the momentum of their charge visibly stalled, and the dense tide of insects fell into momentary chaos.

The voids torn into the swarm by the False Vacuum Decay missiles were like chunks gouged out of the starry sky, with faint energy ripples at their edges that did not settle for a long time.

The insect tide, which had previously been wave after wave and seemed impossible to fill, clearly hesitated before that void.

The subsequent insect creatures seemed daunted by the terrifying scene of total annihilation; the buzzing sound of their wings dropped by several octaves, their forward surge slowed by more than half, and that void could not be filled for a long time.

Li Yang gazed at the gap on the screen that remained unfilled for so long, a cold smile curling the corner of his mouth, his tone filled with undisguised mockery.

"Hmph, did you really think you were weeds that couldn't be killed? What happened to that desperate charge from just now? After all that, you're nothing but paper tigers."

His fingertips tapped lightly on the control console, bringing up the weapon parameter panel. This False Vacuum Decay missile was one of the trump card weapons of the universal-class starship and would never be used on an ordinary battlefield.

Its most terrifying aspect was never its sheer destructive power, but its ability to briefly distort local spatial Laws, forcing matter to switch between "existence" and "non-existence." No matter how large the swarm was, when encountering an attack that touched the level of the Laws, it had to obediently accept defeat.

As a large number of insect creatures were annihilated under the fierce attack of the False Vacuum Decay missiles, the battle situation turned instantly.

The side that had been struggling to catch its breath under the frenzied offensive of the insect race suddenly gained the upper hand in firepower.

The weapon Systems on each starship fired at full capacity, energy beams pouring out like a dense meteor shower, riddling the insect ships with holes.

The insect race was firmly suppressed, and the numbers that had originally seemed endless, surging like a black tide, finally showed signs of decreasing.

In the starry sky, the wrecks of the insect ships drifted everywhere, like broken black petals floating slowly through the void.