The physical appearance of the Molians hadn’t exceeded what humans on Earth could imagine; their bodies still conford to a recognizable frawork. Xiao Yu could easily distinguish which part was the head and which was the torso.
At this mont, the Molian commander slumped crookedly in the chair, his head drooping weakly. In the center of his brow, there was a pitch-black hole, and a fluid resembling blood was steadily flowing from it. One of his arms dangled limply beside the chair, and on the floor beneath it lay a weapon that resembled a handgun.
It was clear upon seeing the inevitable fall of the entire ship, he had committed suicide.
“He was a true soldier,” Xiao Yu thought. “But was it really necessary? If you had been willing to submit to , I would have granted you imnse honor and status.”
Looking at the dead Molian, Xiao Yu couldn’t help but feel so regret.
The occupation of the command room signified that Xiao Yu had truly brought this flagship under his control.
After driving out all the Molians and concentrating them in several open zones under heavy robot guard, Xiao Yu began a systematic takeover. He sent robots to all critical areas, such as the weapons control room, ship control center, and other vital systems, where they modified Molian circuitry and, using superluminal communication technology, linked directly to the Yanjing’s central computer. For systems that couldn’t be controlled through data access, robots were stationed to operate them manually. As for places requiring authentication, he simply forced his way through. In short, Xiao Yu was determined to take full, unchallenged control of the entire ship.
The flagship’s external attacks finally ceased entirely. Its fall ant that the more than one hundred thousand ships previously held back could now be freed. Xiao Yu imdiately directed them to depart and reinforce the other battlefronts.
Their arrival once again accelerated the pace of war. Xiao Yu saw that across various skirmish zones, Molian ships under siege were being destroyed one after another. Each destroyed Molian vessel freed up dozens of Xiao Yu’s ships, which could then rejoin the fight elsewhere. This, in turn, sped up combat on the remaining fronts even more…
Thus, the battlefield entered a new phase.
Most critically, Xiao Yu discovered that the fall of the Molian flagship had delivered a severe blow to their morale. Both their offensive and defensive effectiveness had dropped by at least five percent.
“Maybe… I should try persuading them to surrender,” Xiao Yu considered. “Every Molian soldier, every Molian ship, they’re all incredibly valuable assets.”
Among the Molian fleet, only this Province-Class flagship had adopted modular energy shield technology. In other words, Xiao Yu’s boarding strategy could not be applied to their other ships. Otherwise, he would have gladly sacrificed a few County-Class ships to blast breaches in City-Class vessels for boarding operations.
“Among you,” Xiao Yu asked, directing one of his robots toward the group of detained Molians, “who holds the highest rank?”
A Molian stood up. “Has the commander perished? Then that would be . I’m the deputy commander of this ship.”
“Excellent,” Xiao Yu said, as he had a robot approach and press a high-energy laser rifle to the being’s head. “I need you to do sothing. I want you to help persuade your fellow Molians to surrender, to abandon resistance and submit to .”
“No. That’s impossible. I will never beco a traitor to my civilization,” the Molian replied firmly, shaking his head. “Our soldiers will never yield. According to our civilization’s constitution, when an entire ship is captured, military personnel may choose to temporarily submit and await ransom or exchange by our civilization. That’s why we’ve surrendered, for now. But to actually serve you as a collaborator? That’s out of the question.”
“You’ve seen the situation,” Xiao Yu said calmly. “If they refuse to surrender, their only fate is death at my hands. But if they lay down their arms, then even if they are temporarily captured, they may be ransod or exchanged in the future and return to serve your civilization once again. Which option better serves your people, you know the answer.”
“This concerns the honor of a soldier,” the Molian still refused Xiao Yu’s proposal. “We soldiers of the Molian Civilization cannot voluntarily surrender to the enemy, let alone to a Predatory Civilization as infamous as yours. So give up this notion. Our warriors will fight to the bitter end.”
“Infamous Predatory Civilization?” Xiao Yu let out a cold laugh, his tone laced with sarcasm. “If your civilization hadn’t detained my fifty thousand ships and refused to let leave, why would I have had to pretend to be a Predatory Civilization just to launch this war? In this conflict, you have no moral high ground to stand on.”
The Molian officer’s expression changed. “Those fifty thousand warships… they’re yours?”
As soon as he said that, he moved with lightning speed, pulling out what appeared to be a communicator from his waist and shouted urgently, “Alert! Alert! Reporting to main base—”
“It’s useless. Stop,” Xiao Yu interrupted him without rcy. “All communication modules on this ship are under my control. Your ssage isn’t going anywhere.”
The Molian officer lowered his communicator, his eyes filled with despair.
“There’s no need for morals when dealing with external civilizations. The interests of our civilization override everything,” he said firmly. And with that declaration, the other detained Molians in the hall echoed in unison.
“The interests of the civilization override everything!”
“Very well, then die.” Xiao Yu spoke coldly. He commanded the robot to press the trigger. A beam of high-energy laser shot through the Molian’s skull, extinguishing his life.
“Now, who among you holds the highest rank?” After executing the deputy commander, Xiao Yu directed the question again through the robot.
“It’s . But my answer is the sa as the deputy commander’s. I will never beco a traitor to serve you. If you want to kill , go ahead. The Molian Civilization does not submit to force.”
Another Molian soldier stood and declared loudly.
“Fine, then you die too,” Xiao Yu said, and had the robot step forward and fire another laser, piercing the being’s skull.
“Who’s next?” Xiao Yu asked.
“It’s . I’m the chief tactical officer of this ship. My answer is the sa. The Molian Civilization does not submit to force.”
Another Molian soldier stood up and replied calmly.
Xiao Yu looked at these Molian soldiers with a headache forming. For the mont, he had no viable options.
“These guys… one is more stubborn than the next. If I want to turn them into sothing obedient like the Luka Civilization, it’s going to take a lot of ti… But that can wait. Slowly re-educating them… one day, I’ll change them.”
With that thought, Xiao Yu gave up on executing the next soldier.
“Just because you won’t cooperate, does that an my surrender plan is finished?” Xiao Yu thought irritably. He then used his fleet to broadcast a ssage to the more than one thousand Molian ships still engaged in the many small-scale battlefields.
“Respected mbers of the Molian Civilization, I have sothing to say to you. Though we are now enemies, it does not an that our conflict must be resolved through war. I have seen your integrity, your honor, and I have no intention of insulting these things. I only want to say, there is a way to resolve this without further bloodshed. If you are willing to temporarily surrender, I guarantee that you will be treated in a manner befitting your dignity. You will be held with respect until your civilization arranges your ransom or exchange. When that ti cos, you may return to serve your people once more.”
“Your flagship has already fallen into my hands. You have no chance of victory. Surrender, and you may live. Continue resisting, and only death awaits you.”
After sending out the ssage, Xiao Yu began to wait.
“At present, there are still a little over a thousand Molian ships remaining,” Xiao Yu thought. “Surely so of them fear death? At the very least, a few dozen ships should be willing to surrender, right? No civilization has that kind of cohesion.”
But the responses ca quickly.
“When facing the enemy, the only answer is blood and steel. As long as we can fight, we will fight.”
“To die for our civilization is the highest honor.”
“There are no cowards who surrender to the enemy within our ranks.”
—
Within ten minutes, Xiao Yu received over a thousand replies, so ships even sent two responses.
Not one of them surrendered. Refusal. Rejection. Denial.
Over a thousand ships, despite facing certain death, not a single one was willing to yield.
“This is your integrity? Your honor?” Xiao Yu stared at the ssages, both impressed and coldly resolute. He imdiately issued new orders.
“All ships, hold nothing back. Maximum firepower! Attack! If I can’t take you as my own, then I’ll destroy you.”
“You won’t submit in spirit? Then I’ll annihilate you physically!”
The surrender plan… had failed.
[T/N: Xiao Yu has so excellent one liners, it gets pumped lol.]
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