Chapter 1613: Chapter 1613

War, once begun, could never truly come to a halt. The central battlefield seemed like a massive vortex, endlessly drawing more people into its maw. In the starry sky, beams of light crisscrossed back and forth, more dazzling and colorful than any grand fireworks display.

Yet beneath these radiant bursts, countless lives were obliterated. Controlling the space fortress and large-scale fleets wasn’t solely the work of machines or Biochemical Men—many natural humans were involved here.

Especially when it came to interstellar fortresses, each one of these fortresses was its own planet, inhabited by countless ordinary people.

Even though many ordinary civilians had been relocated for the sake of war, it was impossible to move them all in such a short period of time. As a result, many ordinary people still remained on those interstellar fortresses, left with nothing but prayer.

Each interstellar fortress operated under strict military governance. If civilians dared to gather and create disturbances, within less than an hour they would face large-scale slaughter. Thus, even voicing complaints was beyond their courage. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒·𝗇𝗲𝘁

"Look, the large-scale fleets—although they’re not combined battleships, their sheer scale is still quite something to see."

Lin Yucha pointed toward the starry sky, and Du You followed her gaze. The confrontation between the two sides had escalated into large-scale combat.

At this very moment, both sides had deployed several enormous fleets simultaneously. Each fleet boasted over a thousand Tier-6 warships, not to mention a countless number of Tier-5 auxiliary vessels.

The scene resembled a massive school of fish in the ocean, its scale breathtakingly grand.

Even Du You couldn’t muster such fleets at present. These massive formations were the fruits of time and effort, the accumulated resources of the Blood-colored Empire and the Blood-colored Alliance, gathered over countless years.

Using his sharp vision, Du You could even discern that quite a few warships in the fleets were far from new. Some war-worn models from unknown eras had joined the stellar battlefield, positioned in spots where they were particularly vulnerable to enemy fire.

These were essentially meat-shields, meant to extend the survival time of the more advanced vessels.

Du You had no idea whether natural humans were aboard these old warships, but he was certain the fleets contained a significant number of them. In this starry sky environment, assembling so many people for what amounted to a suicide mission was undoubtedly no easy feat.

He couldn’t help but wonder what methods they had used to achieve this.

Then again, in a vast starry expanse , people of all kinds could be found, making the assembly of such armies not entirely inconceivable.

Next, the enormous fleets from both sides charged directly at each other like suicide squads. Even before colliding, long-range attacks began to rain down in earnest. Every warship had its weapon systems operating at full capacity.

Saturation attacks became the universal tactic. After all, no one could guarantee their survival before their energy reserves ran dry. Faced with concentrated volleys, even a warship’s formidable defenses stood no chance.

The warships designated as escorts, placed at the front lines, were the first to bear the brunt of the enemy’s focused fire.

Yet, even these thick, tortoise-like escort ships failed to hold out for more than a few seconds. They were instantly reduced to space debris. In a single instant, the exchange of firepower sent countless vessels from both sides into oblivion.

Next, the fleets collided head-on, their formations overlapping in the chaos. Many warships physically slammed into one another, their onboard navigation systems utterly incapable of charting clear paths amidst the chaos.

The density of spacecraft was staggering—just imagine two massive schools of sardines smashing into each other. Ensuring no individual ship made contact with another was practically impossible; that was the reality of the battlefield now.

In an instant, the battlefield evolved from fierce confrontation to a deadlock. Alliances blurred, chaos reigned, and ships belonging to the same faction often erroneously fired upon one another. The spectacle had even taken on a near-comedic absurdity.

"Who the hell is commanding this? How could things devolve into such a mess?" Du You looked on, utterly bewildered.

"Maybe neither side has experience with this kind of battle. Large-scale warship combat has never appeared in the history of this world," Lin Yucha replied. She never failed to dig into world histories for useful information, and this was no exception.

"Still, if things stay this way, the fighting might grind to a halt."

Du You had barely finished speaking when he found himself suddenly contradicted.

On the upper class side of the Alliance, someone jumped up in frustration. "Damn it, how the hell did this happen? We clearly had the upper hand, and now it’s descended into utter chaos. I’ll personally ensure that idiot commanding this battle sees the hangman’s noose!"

"This isn’t the time for that—what we need now is a plan. At this rate, we’re just burning through resources on both sides!"

"Deploy the interstellar fortresses! Push them forward. Once they sense the threat, they’ll disperse themselves. We can’t let them retreat now, or it’ll turn into a full-fledged rout," someone proposed, their eyes lighting up.

"Good idea. Let’s deploy immediately." For the first time, deploying the interstellar fortresses was decided so straightforwardly. Meetings and discussions were typically the norm, but with lives on the line, no one had the luxury for bureaucratic squabbles.

With the stakes so high, failure meant death for everyone involved. Concerns about protocol vanished entirely.

Thus, the Alliance’s interstellar fortress began its advance. Almost simultaneously, the Blood-colored Alliance reached a consensus, deploying its own interstellar fortress alongside the Starry Sky Transformed Beasts. The battle had escalated to a fever pitch.

As the colossal fortresses approached, their Tier-7 weaponry was unleashed in full fury, raining devastation upon the enemy.

The sheer volume of Tier-7 attacks unleashed incredible energy that caused the entire starry sky to quake.

Suddenly, a fissure appeared at the center of the battlefield. Though it vanished in an instant, Du You keenly perceived it—a space rupture. The overwhelming energy had grown strong enough to tear through the fabric of space itself.

No—once the space compression cannons were deployed, the very fabric of space would truly shatter.

The starry sky, once like a vast canvas, now had holes ripped through its expanse, and those tears were multiplying rapidly. At this rate, it seemed inevitable that spatial storms would form.

The entire starry expanse appeared fractured. As the combatants pressed on, their surroundings were increasingly consumed by collateral devastation. Even unlucky planets caught in the crossfire were utterly annihilated on the spot.

Du You witnessed firsthand as some individuals hidden on these planets—whether natives or Professionals—were obliterated in an instant. Their deaths seemed unbearably unjust, robbed of meaning or worth.