Previously, Hawke had always thought that the universe was safe except for certain extreme regions, such as black holes, around neutron stars, or quasars, supernova explosions, and the like.
At least, in the solar system, or in the star system of the Epsilon Eri system, where meteor impacts and radiant energy are not too threatening to Hawke, these places are safe. Hawke took it for granted that the next place he would reach, Tenkura V, would also be safe, and not only that, but most places in the universe. However, some words from Lucca II shattered this realisation for Hawke.
For the first time, Hawke realised that the magic and the danger of the universe was far beyond his imagination.
However, what Lucca II said next raised Hawke's estimation of the extent of the danger of the universe by another notch.
Lucca Two continued, "In addition to these dangerous regions, there are also dangerous races in the universe that are collectively known as, the Predator Civilization."
"There is a Predator civilization outside of the Scavenger civilization and the Guardian Alliance?" Hawke asked.
"Yes, the Predator Civilization. But Predator Civilization is just a general term, Predator Civilization, which can be a technological civilization or a fey civilization, regardless of their civilization level, as long as they refuse to join the Guardian Alliance and show strong aggression and have a history of actively exterminating the rest of the civilizations, they can be classified as a Predator Civilization."
"If I remember correctly, it seems that the Guardian Alliance does not allow fey and mechanical civilizations to join." Hawke pondered for a moment and asked a new question.
"Yes, it was because of the difference in evolutionary philosophy that caused the clash between the fae civilization and the technological civilization. But the mechanical civilisation and the Ghosts are the public enemy of all civilisations. Moreover, the Fae civilisations cannot all be classified as predators; if the Fae civilisations did not show aggression but developed themselves at ease, then they would be classified as reclusive civilisations, along with certain technological civilisations." Luca II replied.
"So that's how it is. So, among the fey beast civilizations, are there any powerful civilizations like the Guardian or the Scavenger civilizations?" Hawk asked.
"No." Lucca Two answered very simply, "Although there are Fae civilizations that have developed to level six, the number of Fae of their race is so rare that they are no match for the Guardian and Scavenger civilizations. For example, the most famous Predator civilization within the galaxy is a level six Fae civilization, they are usually called the Python race, in addition to that, the Predator civilization that reached level six, there are also the Crocodile race, and the Tree race. In nearly 100 million years, the number of civilizations wiped out by them, as far as can be documented, is in the thousands."
"Thousands of ... thousands of civilizations that have been wiped out ... in the universe, it's really cruel. I hope, before I have enough strength, I won't encounter these so-called predator civilizations ... It turns out that predators also have the tendency to exterminate the rest of the civilizations, then the ones that exterminate humans are not necessarily the Scavengers. When I am strong, I must investigate this matter clearly and take revenge for humanity, revenge!"
Hawk thought silently.
The long voyage through the universe continued, time passed little by little, and in the blink of an eye another year had passed.
Within that year, Hawke had completed all the construction tasks, all the materials had been built into airships, and a hundred large transports had been dismantled by Hawke and turned into several thousand county and township class airships.
With a total of 120,000 ships and a vastly improved level of technology, Hawke's war effort was several times greater than it had been when he first arrived in the ε Eri star system.
This means that Hawke has truly stepped into the realm of a Level 3 civilisation.
During this year, Hawke's mind was filled with thoughts about the Jupiter Spirits and the Ghost Race. Finally, Hawke couldn't help but ask Lucca Two again, "What weapon has the greatest lethality against the Ghost Race?"
Lucca II replied, "According to the information I know, there is no weapon that can cause more damage to the Ghosts than the rest, that is, the energy weapons of Level 3 civilizations, the force field weapons of Level 4 civilizations, or the weapons of Level 5 or Level 6 civilizations, the damage caused to the Ghosts is not too much, so in the face of the Ghosts, the only way to deal with them is to strike them with massive weapons for a long time The only way to deal with the Phantoms is to use up their energy slowly. The only way to destroy the Ghosts first before they kill all of their own forces."
"This way ..." Hawke pondered silently.
As if sensing Hawke's particular interest in the matter of the Ghost Race, Luca II continued, "There is a rule within the Guardian Alliance that every fleet that sails, no matter what mission it undertakes, must have a Ghost Detector installed within the fleet, a detector that can detect the presence of the Ghost Race within one light hour of its surroundings. "
"Eh? There's such a thing?" Hawke asked, "So that means it's installed on top of your fleet as well?"
"Yes." Luca II replied, "But it was destroyed in the midst of the battle with you. But it doesn't matter, the Guardian civilisation has published the method of manufacturing the Ghost Detector, I'll pass it on to you."
Ten minutes later, Hawke received this short document of instructions. After studying it in detail, but never understanding the exact technology of this manufacturing document, Hawke tried to follow the document's instructions and began the construction process, and without much effort, he was able to create an odd, four-square instrument.
"All I know is that this will create a ghost detector, but I don't know anything about its composition, how it works, or what technology is used. Probably because the Guardian civilization is trying to prevent technology from leaking out." Looking at the instrument in front of him, Hawke speculated in his mind.
"Look at that straight line on the display. If it fluctuates, it means that there is a ghost race within a light hour of you. Here, as it is now, look, it's fluctuating, eh, let's see, the intensity is about level two, an evolved primary, lower kill level ghost race, about thirty light minutes away from you ... off the starboard side of your fleet, they can reach the speed of light, so in about thirty minutes, they will reach your fleet. " Luca II looked at the ghost detectors and respectfully explained for Hawke.
"Oh ... so that's it. Do you guys know how this ghost detector works? According to the instruction document, although I can build it out, its internal principles I cannot parse out."
"We don't know that either. This is the standard instruction document issued by the Guardian civilization, and any civilization that has reached level two can create it according to the guidelines, but to analyze its working principle, I think it must be at least a level five civilization that can do so." Luca II replied.
"There must be some physical phenomenon applied to it that I have not yet discovered. However, I'm afraid I won't be able to parse it out in a short time." Hawke thought silently.
Suddenly, a question was brought to Hawke's mind. Hawke only felt his spirit tense up violently, and reflexively pointed the camera at the four-sided ghost detector.
"If ... I remember correctly, you're saying that ... if this straight line fluctuates, that ... means that there are ghosts around within one light hour, right?" Hawke looked closely at the instrument and spoke slowly to Luca Two.
Luca Two replied, somewhat strangely, "Yeah, there's no way this instrument could be wrong. Hmm? How divine!"
Luca Two and Hawke looked at each other, and then, together, the two spoke slowly.
"There are spectral beings, approaching us!"
"Holy fuck!"
"Holy shit!"
Luca Two's expression turned flustered as he shouted, "It's a Tier 2 Ghost Race! But, even if it's a Tier 2 Ghost Race, it's not something we can fight against!"
"Don't panic, don't panic!" At this time, Hawk maintained his calm in a rare moment. Quickly, Hawke turned on all the ships' shields to maximum power, manoeuvred the ships into battle formation, and all the high-powered detection equipment began to scan towards the starboard side at the same time.
In the midst of all this, Hawke asked Luca Two, "Don't panic! If you panic again, I'll have you executed! Tell me how we can fight the Ghosts! If we can't fight them, can we run away!"
Luca II had already collapsed to the ground, it was full of despair, "It's useless, it's useless, a level 2 Ghost Race, at least a level 4 civilisation can fight it, moreover, with a level 2 Ghost Race, they all move at the speed of light, until we get the ability to travel at FTL, we can't even run away, true God! Is this your punishment for betraying my race?"
"Don't forget, I have 120,000 battle ships!" Hawk yelled through the audio device.
"It's useless, it's useless, you're a mechanical civilisation, so the Ghosts aren't interested in you, but what about us? We still have tens of thousands of our people!" Lucca II said, covering her face and crying out in pain.
"Not interested in me? That's hard to say." Hawke gritted his teeth, "If I have to, I'll just have to fight to the death!"
At this moment, Hawke suddenly noticed that a group of light ink-coloured warships had suddenly appeared behind him, about twenty minutes away. As soon as these battleships appeared, they immediately launched an attack on Hawke.
"This is the ... Luka ship! What is this situation! How come the Ghost Race and the Lucca ships appeared together! Is this, is this a disaster?"
At this moment, Huo Ke's inner heart was filled with bitterness.