High-Yield Hydrogen Bomb

“If they miss, things will get ugly, won't they?”

“Yes. Relying solely on surface-level target identification technology is unreliable. While the laws of technological development are quite similar across the universe, the specific details vary greatly between civilizations, even at the same stage. For example, controlled nuclear fusion—while not rare in the universe—isn't the only way. There are civilizations that use fission-based propulsion for interstellar travel.”

“Fission?”

“The thrust-to-weight ratio of controlled nuclear fission is lower than that of fusion, and launching within a planet's atmosphere risks severe contamination. However, if a massive fission device is built in space, it can be pushed to a few percent of the speed of light. When supplemented with hyperspace technology to meet long-distance travel requirements, it is actually a viable path.”

“I see.”

Xia Jin had never considered that such a possibility existed.

In fact, to the people of Earth, controlled nuclear fission was a relatively simple technology. But it was far inferior to fusion, required massive amounts of cooling, the reactors were enormous, and the efficiency wasn't particularly high. That was why they were usually placed by the coast.

For a starship, if a problem occurred during launch and caused a self-detonation, the resulting contamination would be environmentally catastrophic.

“Looking at it this way, biological civilizations still have a massive advantage.”

Or rather, the Zerg had a massive advantage.

Where else could one find a creature capable of carrying out fusion reactions within its own body?

It was foreseeable that once a civilization built a large-scale fusion reactor, the difficulty of miniaturizing it would be astronomical.

Furthermore, 'controlled' did not mean 'reliable.' It wasn't uncommon for engines installed in starships to suddenly malfunction and explode.

...

Ultimately, Xia Jin decided to give up on targeting that starship for now.

For the moment, her side needed stable development. The ground war was only so large, and the enemy only had one small ship; it was already impossible for them to truly exterminate the Zerg.

Let them drop their nuclear bombs as they pleased. Even if they kept bombing forever, how many bugs could they actually kill?

Although this nuclear strike was relatively concentrated on the Zerg, the actual damage to the Dawn Empire itself was far greater.

Many of their soldiers were bound to be exposed to the radiation zones.

However, the empire's warriors were now generally above Tier 5. Even if they were exposed to radiation, they could hold out for a short while as long as they kept their vitality released. But once their energy was exhausted over time, they would still face a dead end.

Following the attack, sirens blared throughout the entire city.

The eerie sound filled the combatants with a sense of despair.

“I get the feeling these sirens are meant to intimidate the Swarm, but the people of the Empire are the ones who truly feel the despair, aren't they?”

While the Zerg continued their offensive without much interference, a group of scouting mosquitoes flew into the main hall of the Imperial Palace.

“The Goddess of Dawn has activated her divine art. What a pity...”

The power was immense, but the effect was limited.

In the core of the nuclear blast, casualties were heavy; some bugs were instantly vaporized, while those slightly further away were shredded into a bloody mess.

But the intended deterrent effect of such an attack seemed non-existent.

Instead, many imperial citizens had their vision affected to varying degrees by the sudden, intense glare.

Even those twenty or thirty kilometers away from the blast center had been blinded the moment they faced the brilliant light.

“Let the brood lords act as line-fillers more often. Disperse the main force a bit. Taking concentrated hits like that is still a bit painful.”

After Xia Jin issued the order, the fat rocket positioned in space suddenly began to move.

Upon receiving the news, her expression shifted slightly as she directly shared the vision of an overseer located on the moon's surface.

Although the bugs' current reconnaissance methods were limited, there were still ways to detect such a device from hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.

At that moment, the object was accelerating toward the airspace above the Zerg territory.

“Have the bugs disperse and burrow.”

The hives were hidden deep underground anyway, making it very difficult for the enemy to discover them.

After the fat rocket accelerated to a certain point, it maintained a constant velocity for a period until it reached the southern airspace above the Border Forest.

The hatch below opened, and ten missiles trailing intense light suddenly launched, streaking toward the ground at a speed of thirty kilometers per second.

“Hiss—”

Even without considering the explosive power, the sheer kinetic impact at that speed would cause an explosion of staggering proportions.

These ten missiles were aimed at different locations. After flying for several minutes, they spaced themselves out at an average distance of four hundred kilometers and detonated in an airburst five kilometers above the ground.

The sky suddenly flared with blinding brilliance.

In an instant, ten fireballs, each reaching five kilometers in diameter, materialized.

Even standing hundreds of kilometers away and witnessing this scene, one's eyes would be instantly blinded.

The light almost completely blotted out everything visible.

Xia Jin remained silent.

One of her projections had been destroyed.