Chapter 236 | Swarm: I Became a Cataclysmic Disaster

“Perhaps ending it like this was a stroke of luck.”

Lin Miao let out a soft sigh as he observed Elise’s fury and the Great Devourer’s state of panic following the massive shock.

In truth, something like this could have happened at any moment.

Originally, the faction of the Goddess Hestia that the Great Devourer had attacked was a civilization that didn’t expand into space, but rather reached out in other directions. That was why tactics like ambushing through the Stargate and using Gaia for rapid world tuning had been effective.

Even so, the Great Devourer had only won because they were attacking a frontier Pioneering Zone with insufficient defensive preparations.

The reality was that the Great Devourer couldn’t even dream of launching an attack on their home base, where technology and troops were fully prepared, even if they activated the Stargate.

【Elise thirsts for knowledge and feels a strong urge to explore the space beyond the high heavens.】

Elise, who knew nothing of the cosmos, seemed extremely anxious in this situation.

Despite all the knowledge she had absorbed, she possessed neither the technology nor the knowledge required to reach space.

“I suspected it, but I didn’t think she would actually hire mercenaries.”

Lin Miao had long known that Hestia hadn’t given up and was searching for allies to support her on the deity forum. She had been complaining incessantly on the forum, and he hadn’t expected her to bring them in so quickly. The spaceship Hestia had brought began inflicting massive damage on his allies from an unknown region beyond the reach of his servants.

“I don’t understand.”

On another screen, Yuno, who was attacking the new Pioneering Zone, muttered to herself. A distorted, rough voice came from her black helmet.

“Based on the memories shared through the hive mind, that enemy ship’s weaponry and firepower are extremely poor for a spacecraft. How can there be no way to stop it? Especially for those who once defeated us with overwhelming force after the world observation ended?”

Until recently, Yuno had been a cadre of the Empyrean Star Guard—the goddess’s personal guard, composed only of the strongest members within the high-tier civilization of the Goddess of Light Association.

She found it strange that the weapons and equipment of the spaceship attacking the Great Devourer were so poor they didn’t even reach the level of a military vessel, yet the Great Devourer was helpless and unable to respond to such an attack.

‘It can’t be helped; this is our first time facing such an attack.’

It was similar to when they first encountered the elves’ Prism Cannons on Terra, or when they first met a powerful magical civilization or a hero strengthened by divine protection.

While the Great Devourer colony possessed an incredible capacity for learning, unlike other civilizations, they had started from a blank slate. There was far more they didn’t know than what they did.

Consequently, when they encountered something unfamiliar, they were prone to suffering heavy losses.

“Then Yuno... no, how would the Goddess of Light Association deal with that absurd mechanical ship? I can’t imagine how one could face it with just a suit of armor and a spear.”

Begrun, who hailed from a lower world and a lower civilization, seemed equally stunned by the space warship.

“No, there are many ways to counter it; it’s just that our colony doesn’t know them.”

Yuno let out a short laugh as she referred to the colony as “ours” in response to Begrun’s incredulous question.

“Even if a warship far more powerful and massive than that one arrived, it wouldn’t dare fire recklessly, let alone enter the atmosphere at will.”

Yuno explained how her former organization, the Goddess of Light Association, blocked and defended against attacks from space powers. Terms that were difficult to grasp, such as Spatial Sealing, Coordinate Interference, and Conceptual Reflection, poured out one after another.

However, listening closely, one could somewhat understand how they countered those seemingly invincible spaceships.

After all, if space civilizations were truly that superior and powerful, the Divine Net wouldn’t be filled with daily debates over which type of civilization was better or stronger.

“We can restrict the enemy ship’s movements through a spatial array that covers the entire planet. We can also use illusion magic to interfere with the ship’s artificial intelligence, causing their bombardment coordinates to deviate, or even use astral formulas to reflect their high-firepower weapons back at them exactly as they were fired. The range of weapons like the large-caliber Heavenly Thunderbolts fired from Sky Island batteries is similar to that of a ship’s cannons, and they are not inferior in terms of bombardment.”

【Elise questions Yuno on why she didn’t share this sooner.】

“Your Majesty, I apologize, but I do not possess precognition, nor can I proactively divulge everything in my head to you.”

Elise retorted, but to Lin Miao, Yuno’s answer seemed correct. The human brain isn’t like a computer where files are neatly categorized; it’s not easy to simply pour out everything one knows.

Perhaps Yuno would reveal everything she knew if someone asked, but it was a paradox to expect someone to ask a question about something they didn’t even know they were ignorant of.

“Investigate everything. Right now.”

Elise seemed to realize this as well, immediately focusing her efforts on extracting technology and knowledge regarding counters to space and space-faring powers from the members of the Goddess of Light Association under her command.

Yuno pushed the task away by saying she only knew of the methods but not the detailed principles, leaving Chief Techs like Kane with no choice but to vomit up everything they knew.

【Elise feels an even stronger thirst.】

But Elise felt it wasn't enough.

Although she had learned some methods to counter space-faring attacks using the ways of the Goddess of Light Association, it was incomplete. Elise wanted to claim that very space for herself.

It was an ambition that could only be born from someone who knew nothing of how vast the universe truly was.

Other civilizations under other deities might have lacked the spare capacity or technology to handle both and would have been forced to abandon one, but the Great Devourer was different.