Tai Hao held ten Water Drop detectors in his hands.
Leaving two Water Drops to protect important imperial facilities and his own safety, the other eight were all dispatched to space. They would orbit the Origin Star, accelerating their speed to the maximum, increasing their power to the maximum, and preparing for a full attack.
Faced with the current era's Leng Bing and the Demon Civilization she led, Tai Hao dared not be careless. After all, the current Demon Civilization was no longer the same as it was during the era of the Great Sword of the Galaxy, with only a handful of members.
The Demon Civilization was now a powerful god-making civilization capable of confronting the Angel Civilization head-on.
Tai Hao had already made the worst preparations.
If a war broke out with the Demons, and the Empire unfortunately perished, Tai Hao would lead the civilization's seed onto a Blood-Iron Battleship and flee into the cosmos, starting anew on another planet.
The Blood-Iron Battleship he had obtained last time possessed the ability to open space wormholes and perform spatial jumps. That was enough to escape the Demon's pursuit.
However, the Empire wasn't without the possibility of defeating the Demon Civilization, or at least deterring them.
Because Tai Hao still held two trump cards in his hands.
A Stellar-level Particle Accelerator.
A Spatial Curvature Engine.
One could create a miniature black hole.
One could flatten space, creating a black zone that slowed down the speed of light.
Faced with these two cosmic disasters, even the Demon Civilization would be helpless.
Most importantly, there was transparency in intelligence. Tai Hao knew the Demon Civilization's combat methods and technological direction, while the Demons were completely unaware of Tai Hao's trump cards.
Tai Hao also thought that, at this point in time, the Demons seemed to be in the midst of a major war with the Angels. Perhaps the Demons were merely passing through and wouldn't pay attention to a small, space-faring civilization.
Thinking about this, Tai Hao suddenly felt a tremor in his heart, and his expression instantly turned grave.
Tai Hao muttered to himself, "Perhaps a Demon invasion isn't the worst outcome. If we are caught in the crossfire between the Angels and the Demons, that would be true despair!"
Realizing the true danger, Tai Hao immediately issued orders, putting the Empire on full combat alert.
Upon entering Level One Combat Readiness, the Empire's information dissemination speed reached a terrifying level.
In an instant, everyone in the Empire received Tai Hao's order.
Although the Empire's management was clueless, they unconditionally obeyed Tai Hao's commands. The Empire began to operate at high speed, transitioning to a wartime state.
All cities were placed under martial law, with ground forces taking over security. Retired soldiers were recalled, and reserves were expanded.
Eleven aircraft carriers soared into the sky, tens of thousands of aerial fighters took to the air, and millions of AI cruise missiles began their patrol flights.
Three deep-sea spherical combat platforms were put on standby for strategic strikes. Ten old-era carrier battle groups were pulled out of the graveyard, underwent modernization using nanotechnology to quickly replace their weapon systems and auxiliary systems, and then immediately sailed into the ocean.
On the ground, more than 50 million AI combat robots were loaded with live ammunition, working alongside ground forces. A total of 1 billion combat drones were distributed across various regions of the Empire.
9,500 space-based weapons, from low Earth orbit to geostationary orbit, were prepared for launch.
Ten planetary-class spaceships converged on the Origin Star, protecting space defense.
At the same time, all types of air routes across the globe were taken over by the military to ensure smooth wartime air traffic.
The Empire's central quantum computer array began to operate at full capacity, its massive computing power assisting Ultron in allocating resources across the entire Empire.
All civilian intelligent factories were taken over, and military data chains linked to the factories' AI, shifting production to the military sphere.
In just a few minutes, with the assistance of the central quantum computer array, the Empire completed its combat mobilization.
The Empire's 500 million citizens were also buzzing with discussion, engaging in lively debates within the virtual world.
"Damn, what's going on? Why did the Empire suddenly go on full combat alert, and at Level One to boot?"
"It could be an alien invasion!" someone answered the previous question.
"Maybe it's a machine uprising? Those AI's have developed self-awareness and are planning to overthrow human rule!" someone proposed a seemingly plausible guess.
"Very likely!"
"The Empire achieved global unification a hundred years ago. By the 70th year of the Cretaceous Epoch, there was only our Origin race on the Origin Star. There are no internal enemies on the planet. The possibility of an alien invasion is too low, it must be a machine uprising!"
A three-legged crow landed on the Bronze Divine Tree, speaking human words.
"Damn, it's a heretic from the Beast Faction!"
In the virtual world, a constantly rotating gas planet with a large eye suddenly spoke.
"Humph, you trash from the Planet Faction. I don't want to talk to you!"
The three-legged crow finished its words, grabbed the Bronze Divine Tree beneath its feet, and disappeared from the virtual world.
"Damn, the Beast Faction are all cowards!"
The gas planet sneered with disdain, then left that region chain, flying towards another region.
"Those idiots who are immersed in fantasy are so funny! They could be real people, but instead, they change their virtual avatars into animals and spheres."
A man with a receding hairline said with a hint of jealousy, but his eyes were filled with envy.
To change one's form in the virtual world requires a significant amount of money. For the previous two people to completely detach from their human forms, they would need at least ten million Origin coins.
"Yeah, I wonder what family's spoiled brat it is."
"Be careful, maybe they are a noble scion!"
Hearing this, everyone in that region chain immediately fell silent.
Ordinary people stayed in the virtual world to chat and discuss, while in reality, the Empire's ruling class boarded flying vehicles and arrived at the Cretaceous Palace, ready to listen to Tai Hao's sacred teachings.
With the advancement of technology, the Empire's travel conditions became increasingly developed. Even in the farthest West Continent, one could reach the Imperial Capital in half an hour.
On the Xuan Niao Tai, Tai Hao, as he had done a hundred years ago, sat high on the throne, looking down at those below.
All the ministers present were filled with excitement, bowing to Tai Hao in greeting.
Tai Hao ignored these devotees, directly revealing the news about the Demon Civilization.
Just as the Origin Star was discussing the Demon Civilization, 3.7 light-years away, Demon One, through its dark data reading of the Azure Civilization, became aware of the Origin Star's existence.
"Holy crap! That Tai Hao Civilization is too interesting. I absolutely have to go check it out!"