The boundless energy of the space, forming nebulae, left both the Stingers and the captive enemy forces stunned, followed by lingering fear. It was terrifying.
"Combat machines eliminated 3.8 million enemies, captured 1.2 million, with zero combat machine losses."
"Main cannon eliminated 100 million enemies, clearing all enemy forces within a three-million-kilometer radius."
One shot, 100 million lives!
Though Xiao Li had previously explained the main cannon's power, the actual effect was far more shocking.
"Good grief, while the overall attack power wasn't entirely satisfactory, the explosion radius is rather outrageous," Deputy Officer Liu murmured, exclaiming in awe.
"Power not satisfactory? Old Liu, you've become arrogant since reaching the mid-stage of the Extreme Realm. That last blast was comparable to a full-powered strike from a Monarch Perfection expert, wasn't it? How long can you sustain an attack of this intensity? And how long would it take you to kill 100 million soldiers, even if they were merely Moon Realm?" Deputy Officer Lin scoffed, giving him a disdainful look.
"Alright, you two, stop bickering. Commander, launch the assault!" Zhou Ningdong felt a headache coming on, wondering why he had chosen such idiots as his deputies.
"Understood!" Following the usual protocol, they each led sixty thousand Monarch Realm powerhouses to sweep through the star domain. At their current pace, it would take less than half a day to eliminate all resisting soldiers in this sector. Specialized departments would then handle the follow-up affairs on these planets.
"Xiao Li, I noticed something earlier. The main cannon's charging time seems a bit long, and it appeared to be continuously absorbing surrounding energy before firing. In a full-scale war, can the main cannon's reaction speed keep up?"
After the two deputies and a few dozen squadron leaders departed, Zhou Ningdong turned to Xiao Li, his gaze serious.
"Master, the main cannon's attack involves a process of energy absorption, compression, delivery, and release. The entire process takes approximately five hours. Delivery and release within a million-kilometer range takes only one second, and compression requires thirty seconds. The remaining time is all dedicated to energy absorption."
"Then what happened just now? It only took about two minutes for the entire process."
"Master, this energy absorption is related to the energy present in the surrounding environment. Furthermore, before that, the energy storage compartments of the sixteen main cannons and other auxiliary weapons had been continuously absorbing energy. The energy for that last attack was just a bit short, so the comprehensive absorption function was activated."
"The current energy accumulation required for one main cannon attack in our current space takes about five hours. Therefore, Xiao Li suggests that if there are energy stones available, you can directly recharge the warship. After all, the warship itself consumes energy. Although the power converted from absorbed energy is sufficient, the energy magazines take a very long time to fill."
Hearing Xiao Li's explanation, Zhou Ningdong finally understood. He directly materialized a Holy Stone from the game and handed it to Xiao Li.
"Xiao Li, see if this type of energy stone is suitable."
Zhou Ningdong rarely materialized these kinds of Holy Stones. After all, their effect on improving his real-world cultivation was similar to directly purchasing attribute points in the Heavenly Dao. Moreover, his current strength had reached Quasi-Emperor, and attribute points had very limited impact on his real-world power.
This was also why the Stingers could advance so rapidly; he had distributed his share to his subordinates.
"Master, the energy within this energy stone is too pure. Although we can absorb it, the absorption speed is only about twice as fast as absorbing free-floating energy from the air. The initial estimate is that the energy contained within can fill two energy magazines," Xiao Li said, receiving the Dark Holy Stone with a look of dilemma.
It had not expected its master to possess such a high-level energy stone. The purity of this energy exceeded their absorption capabilities, so they had to continuously dilute it while absorbing the energy from the Dark Holy Stone.
"Is that so? Then let's try this one," Zhou Ningdong said, somewhat disappointed by Xiao Li's words, and handed over the Spirit Stone in his hand.
Dark Holy Stones were items that players could only access after reaching level 100 in the game world. Without Ye Yun's connections, they wouldn't have been able to obtain them. Spirit Stones, on the other hand, were accessible to players who reached level seventy-five. In terms of both level and rarity, they were a tier below Dark Holy Stones, and the energy they contained was naturally much less.
However, he remembered that Xiao Li was, after all, a product of technology, and its definition and usage of energy differed from that of cultivators.
"Master, the energy within this energy stone can fill about thirty percent of one of the warship's energy magazines. The absorption speed can reach about ten times the original rate," Xiao Li exclaimed with joy, receiving the Spirit Stone.
"Alright, I understand. The warship has five energy magazines for the weapon systems, and four energy magazines for the shield systems, power systems, and so on. To fill them all, it will require nearly thirty Spirit Stones."
Zhou Ningdong materialized thirty Spirit Stones from the game, feeling a pang of heartache. Thirty Spirit Stones meant three hundred billion gold coins. For Zhou Ningdong, this was pocket change. What he felt was heartache for were the thirty physical materialization cards; he only had a few hundred of these, and each one used was one less.
However, seeing the power of the main cannon, he knew that this attack system not only provided them with a safe haven for rest but also reduced the time they spent dealing with lower-level enemy soldiers. Therefore, overall, it was a worthwhile investment.
Moreover, the warship itself was continuously absorbing energy from the external space. As long as these nine energy magazines were filled, the thirty Spirit Stones he used would last longer than their actual value.
A ten-fold increase in energy absorption speed meant that, on average, each main cannon attack would require thirty minutes of absorption time. He wasn't sure how many such attacks one energy magazine could support.
Zhou Ningdong watched as Xiao Li moved to the edge of the control console. A platform automatically rose on the tabletop, revealing a box, into which Xiao Li placed the thirty Spirit Stones.
Soon, after the console returned to its original state, Zhou Ningdong saw nine battery-like icons appear on the display screen at his captain's position. These icons showed that they were currently charging, with the current energy levels for each displayed as less than 5%.
At this moment, the Stinger personnel, led by the two deputies, flew out from the top of the warship. They were all wearing goggles that displayed a map of the entire star domain. With a single thought, they could view any situation on any planet or at any location, even down to the level of individual ants on the ground!
As for the captives like Han Yicheng, they were so terrified by the passing Stinger personnel that their legs turned to jelly. He could clearly sense that each of the twelve thousand soldiers who appeared possessed strength far superior to his own!
The captured soldiers fared even worse. Although the Stingers paid them no mind, the sheer aura emanating from them as they passed caused the captives to collapse. They were then picked up, one by one, by robots.