Chapter 593: Chapter 344, The Scar of Plague_2
Physical integration.
Fino City moved like a colossal beast of flesh, wrapping its tentacles, every part of itself, around every building and structure of Nest Capital.
Where it enveloped, biological signs of life began to synchronize.
Within just three days, Fino City had devoured the entire Nest Capital along with the hundred million people who had not managed to escape.
Then, it paused, stopping for what appeared to be a week.
It was ‘digesting’.
Today, Gu Hang learned from intelligence gathered on the planet’s surface that ‘Fino City’ had likely finished its digestion and officially resumed movement.
Its next target was Korolya’s largest Nest Capital, also the central city with a population of three billion: Mingyan City.
The two locations were 2,700 kilometers apart. According to the speed of Fino City, it would reach its destination in three months.
Even more terrifying was the thought that it might plan to visit each of the dozens of Nest Capitals on Korolya at a speed of two kilometers per hour, approximately thirty kilometers a day.
It would consume the entire planet.
As Gu Hang watched all this, he felt a profound sense of powerlessness.
He had arrived in Korolya’s orbit today, invited by Nell Lavis.
This Star Domain’s Chief Tax Officer now had an emergency commission granted by the Star Domain Government to resolve the Korolya III issue.
Gu Hang had already learned about the situation on Korolya through star communication.
But reading the report was entirely different from standing on the bridge of a starship in planetary orbit and witnessing the massive sore on this huge planet with his own eyes.
“What’s the solution?”
Gu Hang muttered to himself.
Even he was at a loss.
The Alliance had been growing remarkably fast over the past four years.
Heijian Star’s three industrial hubs had absorbed a huge population, industrialization was rapid; agriculture had essentially been mechanized, further boosting output while significantly reducing the dependent population.
The population on Rage Owl Star grew to 110 million through immigration and pro-birth policies, and productivity kept on rising rapidly along with the increase in population.
The annual output of the two planets had exceeded six hundred million; while quality of life was continually improving, financial surpluses could still reach nearly 150 million a year with annual taxes at only 45 million.
Everything was on the right track. The Alliance no longer needed to pay a human tax; they could even reinvest the abundant output. The future seemed so bright. Given another four years, or perhaps a bit longer, Gu Hang could create two prosperous, powerful planets with his strong technology.
But before that, the neighboring Korolya presented him with a massive debacle.
Gu Hang had considered that if Korolya continued to deteriorate, it would eventually spiral out of control.
But this happened too quickly.
No matter how fast and well the Alliance developed, it was still too small to fill the massive hole left by Korolya.
Of course, this was not his responsibility in the first place.
This is the duty of the Empire.
Actually, it’s not that the Empire really has no way to deal with such things.
Some land forces’ equipment, such as the ‘Grand General Cannon,’ can pose a terrifying threat to Void Shields, overloading even city-level shields after a few shots, and then with one more shot, nearly destroy a city; there are also some powerful bombs that can be carried in to blow up the city.
Not to mention, there is an even more fearsome weapon nearby: starships.
If the Empire were to issue an Extinction Order on a planet, there are actually many ways to do so. The most straightforward is for starship cannons to meticulously, comprehensively, and devastatingly strike the planet’s surface, blasting every inch of it clean, also known as ‘glassing.’
Of course, there are other ways to carry out an Extinction Order. ‘Glassing’ with ship cannons is actually quite costly, as it uses a lot of ammunition, is expensive, and takes a considerable amount of time, so it’s not common. But when an Extinction Order needs to be carried out and no other weapons are readily available, they’ll have to make do with what they have.
However, ordering a fleet to bomb requires ensuring that there is no threat to orbit from the ground; otherwise, instead of executing an Extinction Order, it turns into a shoot-out with the planet’s anti-orbital firepower.
Even with other Extinction Order weapons, like Neutron Purge, Skyburn Torpedoes, or Planet-burst Annihilator… these weapons don’t require as high a level of orbital security, but it’s still best to ensure a certain safety before launch.
Neutron Purge is used to exterminate all organic life forms on a planet’s surface. Its advantage is that after the neutron storm subsides, the planet can be recolonized and used again, but the disadvantage is that it’s expensive and some individuals may find deep hiding places to escape extinction.
Planet-burst Annihilator can directly penetrate the crust and detonate the core, shattering the planet. Of course, this doesn’t mean blowing the planet to smithereens—the matter itself will still exist as gravity will maintain the state of a planet, but this is just astronomical in nature. In reality, the entire planet is shattered and recombined by gravity, turning it into a molten state, making it impossible for anything to survive. The effect of this weapon is the best, but it is also the most expensive and rarest.
Compared with the former two, Skyburn Torpedoes mainly ignite the atmosphere, burning all gases while scorched the planet’s surface; the planet, when seen from a cosmic perspective, will look like a burning amber for several days. However, like the previous weapons, there is also the possibility of individuals deeply hidden escaping extinction; and after burning, the planet is also wasted, but the advantage is that it’s much cheaper.
But even the cheapest Skyburn Torpedoes almost cost as much as a cruiser. The price of Extinction Order weapons themselves is so high, and their breakthrough effectiveness isn’t great—if the enemy has strong anti-orbital firepower, they are easily intercepted.
If intercepted once, an Extinction weapon is written off, and that’s not sustainable.
In short, on an entire Imperial level, if an Extinction Order can be executed, let alone the destruction of a city—even if the Nest Capital is moving.
However, when it comes to the Tianma Star Sector, and especially to Korolya III, there is just no way.
Enacting an Extinction Order on Korolya is nonsense. So many people live on this planet, along with other industries valued at hundreds of billions, even trillions of Tax Currency. Without reaching a completely irretrievable state, such a decision would not be made.
And to obliterate ‘Fino City,’ weapons like the Colossal Cannon or the Light Spear Array on the starships would suffice.
But the problem lies in the inability to resolve the ground-based Void Shield and anti-orbital forces.
Using starships to bombard the ground is foolish; your fleet may be formidable, but the opponent is truly a planet. The firepower that starships can be equipped with is limited, as is the armor and the supportable energy shield. For stronger firepower, thicker armor, or more abundant energy, the starship must be larger, but a larger size means the cost skyrockets exponentially.
However, on the surface of a planet, these problems don’t exist. Firepower? Fit as many cannons as you can; there’s no lack of space; don’t worry about armor, no ship’s armor is thicker than the ground itself; energy shields or Void Shield generators don’t have to consider size—on the surface or underground, there’s ample space to accommodate…
This is akin to a stationary, yet unassailable, starship!
If the Land Forces can’t take out the anti-orbital firepower, the Tianma Fleet can’t wipe out Fino City.
But obviously, the current land forces on Korolya can’t do it.
Unless the main forces of the Tianma Fleet were urgently recalled from the battlefield against the Green Skin Orcs.
Even if they abandon all concerns and immediately withdraw from the battlefield, but… will it be in time? To cross multiple star sectors and return to Korolya might also take three to four months.
By then, Mingyan City would be gone.
If the creeping Nest Capital is greatly strengthened again, the strength of the Void Shield and the Anti-Orbit Sinister Energy Cannon will likely be further increased. By the time the main forces of the Tianma Fleet arrive, the problem may still not be solvable.
If it reaches that point, considering an Extinction Order might be a bit too late.