At this moment, the Molian Civilization’s defeat was already sealed, impossible to reverse. This war, which had lasted for more than a hundred years, was about to draw to a close.

Under the restraint of Xiao Yu’s Specter companion, the Molian flagship, that massive Nation-Class starship, had lost at least half of its combat power and had completely lost its mobility. In fact, it could only float quietly in place, unable to move at all.

“The Molian Civilization’s technological level is higher than mine. During the last war, even their Province-Class ships were equipped with Modular Shield technology. This Nation-Class ship certainly possesses it as well. That means as long as I avoid its key energy supply sections, I can attack it without restraint. In that case, I’ll follow the same tactics I used when capturing their Province-Class ships: create a breach, then seize control from the inside!”

Once the Specter companion gave Xiao Yu the one-hour time limit, he quickly formulated his strategy. Under Xiao Yu’s command, hundreds of large ships and tens of thousands of small ships swarmed toward it like a dense swarm of locusts.

The larger a starship’s size and mass, the more equipment it could carry and the more energy it could store, resulting in stronger shields. Now, standing before this Nation-Class starship, Xiao Yu fully grasped this reality.

Tens of thousands of ships attacking a single ship! And yet, the battle didn’t immediately turn as Xiao Yu had hoped. Despite the siege by tens of thousands of ships, the Nation-Class starship’s resilience was astonishing!

Countless cannons and various types of beams rained down on the Nation-Class starship’s outer shield, with barrages of both visible and invisible firepower. But it remained motionless!

Half an hour had already passed, and in that time, Xiao Yu’s only progress was dimming the brightness of its shield slightly. On the contrary, his fleet had already lost at least several hundred ships to its counterattacks, including one County-Class starship equipped with a Four-Dimensional Shield.

“The combat strength of a Nation-Class starship truly cannot be underestimated! I’ve still underestimated its power.” Xiao Yu was secretly alarmed as he watched this scene.

“Hurry, I can’t hold on much longer!” At that moment, Xiao Yu received his Specter companion’s slightly anxious message. “If this continues, I will take serious damage!”

“Is that so? I’ll think of something immediately!” Xiao Yu gritted his teeth. “There’s no other choice! In the battle to plunder Azure Market, I used City-Class ships to self-destruct and break through their Province-Class shields. Now it’s time to send in the Province-Class ships!”

This was a difficult decision. Every Province-Class starship was extremely precious to Xiao Yu. Losing even one was a great loss. After losing the Henan, Xiao Yu was left with only nine Province-Class ships.

But the reward for success was equally enormous, enough for Xiao Yu to risk losing one or two Province-Class ships.

A Nation-Class starship! Constructing such a vessel wasn’t simply a matter of piling up materials; the larger the size and mass of the ship, the more advanced the technology involved. The technological content of a Nation-Class starship far exceeded that of a Province-Class ship. This was precisely why Xiao Yu had been unable to build one himself for so long.

It was certain that every aspect of the technological tree would be reflected in this Nation-Class ship. By studying it, Xiao Yu could achieve massive technological advancements, not just in military technology, but across the board.

The temptation was overwhelming.

Xiao Yu quickly reviewed his remaining nine Province-Class ships and made his decision.

“The Shandong has sustained the most damage! And its modification level is the lowest. Let the Shandong go in!”

After making his decision, Xiao Yu piloted the Shandong, braving the intense barrage and rapidly closing in on the Nation-Class starship.

When a ship equipped with Four-Dimensional Shields self-destructs, the power doesn’t come from the ship’s own explosion, but from the enormous energy released at the moment the Four-Dimensional Space collapses into Three-Dimensional Space. This energy was immensely powerful; by Xiao Yu’s estimation, it would take at least a Level 6 Civilization to develop a weapon comparable in unit power. As for Level 5 Civilizations, they still fell a bit short.

After all, this was the legacy of a Taihao Civilization, something ordinary civilizations couldn’t compare to.

“Come on, the stronger the bombardment, the better! The more energy supplied to the Four-Dimensional Shield, the more powerful the self-destruction, and the stronger its defensive capacity becomes. Relying on my own weapons to break the Shandong’s Four-Dimensional Shield would still be troublesome!” Xiao Yu thought to himself, completely disregarding the rain of firepower pouring down upon him as he maneuvered the Shandong closer, closer, and even closer!

Until the two ships could no longer approach each other due to the barriers of their shields! At this distance, the Nation-Class starship’s firepower reached its maximum. The Shandong blocked the Nation-Class ship’s attacks head-on while still receiving the intense supporting fire from Xiao Yu’s fleet behind it.

Even under such fierce assault, the Shandong held out for more than ten minutes, fully demonstrating the power of its Four-Dimensional Shield.

After ten minutes, the Shandong’s Four-Dimensional Shield finally could no longer withstand the overwhelming attacks. The moment it reached its critical point, the entire ship exploded with a deafening roar!

A Province-Class starship was at least five kilometers long, meaning its self-destruction should have affected at least a five-kilometer radius! But unexpectedly, the breach blown into the Nation-Class ship was not five kilometers wide but only four hundred meters in diameter.

Yes, it was just as Xiao Yu had anticipated. The Shandong’s self-destruction had finally shattered the Nation-Class ship’s shield system, creating a massive hole four hundred meters wide!

“Its performance is far more formidable than I expected… but the stronger it is, the better, because in the next moment, it will be mine!” Xiao Yu felt neither sadness nor anger over the destruction of the Shandong. Instead, he was overjoyed.

One Shandong exchanged for a Molian Civilization’s Nation-Class starship, it was a trade well worth it.

“With an opening like this, everything becomes much easier!” Xiao Yu thought as he piloted ships loaded with armed robots rapidly toward the breach. Meanwhile, the rest of his fleet continued their heavy bombardment, pinning down its firepower and preventing the breach from being repaired.

Modular Shield technology combined with nanobot repair technology was a perfect match, and naturally, this Nation-Class starship was equipped with nanobot repair systems. In fact, though the breach looked massive at four hundred meters wide, if Xiao Yu didn’t intervene, the nanobots would fully repair it within three hours.

But of course, Xiao Yu would not allow that. Under his fleet’s continuous suppressive fire, the repair process had effectively stalled. Several internal corridors had already been exposed behind the breach.

Xiao Yu’s armed robots would follow these corridors and seize control of the entire starship.

Dozens of ships packed with armed robots had already arrived. Over a million combat robots surged inside like a tidal wave of ants, sweeping through without resistance, nothing could stop them.

This Nation-Class starship likely contained several hundred energy supply modules. These were Xiao Yu’s primary targets. The reason was simple, once these modules were secured, the ship would lose its ability to self-destruct, freeing the Specter companion from having to restrain it any longer.

Everything proceeded exactly as Xiao Yu had anticipated. The process of capturing this Nation-Class ship was almost identical to his previous capture of a Province-Class ship. Xiao Yu’s robots entered any corridor they found, blasted through any obstacles with brute force, and either killed or stunned any living Molian they encountered. Without the protection of the starship’s outer hull, the Molian intelligent lifeforms were just as fragile.

“Energy modules secured! The ship no longer has self-destruct capability. My comrade, you may disengage!” Xiao Yu sent this message to his Specter companion thirty minutes after opening the breach.

“Excellent! I can no longer assist with the rest, it’s up to you now! Oh, and try not to kill these intelligent beings. Save them for me. The brains of Level 5 Civilization beings are far superior to those of lower civilizations, their mental energy is extremely rich and will benefit me greatly!”

“Don’t worry!” Xiao Yu laughed heartily, feeling immensely satisfied as he readily agreed.

At this moment, the interior of the Nation-Class starship was filled with screams and wails, but Xiao Yu felt no sympathy. He remembered clearly that these beings had once laid a massive trap for him, one that had nearly cost him his life. He also remembered the teachings of the now-deceased Elder Specter.

In this dark universe, all compassion and morality were unnecessary, useless burdens!

“Finally, I’ve taken control of this Nation-Class starship!” Xiao Yu let out a sigh of relief as he occupied the control room and knocked out the Molian fleet commander. His heart was filled with emotion.

“This Molian Nation-Class starship will become my first Nation-Class ship! Hm… it needs a name. I’ll call it All Nations Pay Tribute!”

“All Nations Pay Tribute! One day, the number of civilizations under my rule will exceed ten thousand, and this name will live up to its meaning!”

Xiao Yu silently made this vow.