A tiny butterfly flapping its wings could spark a devastating storm thousands of miles away.
—The Butterfly Effect
The beautiful universe, boundless and infinite, in a distant galaxy hundreds of thousands of light-years from Earth, there is a lovely green planet.
Civilizations take many forms—here, there is no industrial revolution, no computers, yet a highly advanced magical civilization thrives. Humans, orcs, elves, dragons—this planet has a more complex ecosystem than Earth's, along with many different intelligent beings...
But now, the peace of this beautiful planet is shattered.
Boom！
Battle qi surged, magic blazed; the air was thick with choking smoke. In the sky, griffins shrieked, and even mighty dragons soared; knights' lances gleamed coldly. On the ground, hundreds of thousands of troops from humans, orcs, and elves slept on their weapons, ready for battle, swords drawn, bows strung, with powerful mage legions behind them.
The endless army was terrifying, yet at this moment, they could barely hold their ground to a draw, because they faced dozens of outer-space warships.
From the distant colonial army of Tradd！
Tradd is a very advanced civilization in the vast universe, but highly aggressive. They built countless advanced warships, then rode them to conquer one planet after another, enslaving the natives or selling the planets to aliens at high prices.
This expeditionary fleet was part of the Tradd colonial army, but they were just unlucky—during a space jump, a star suddenly exploded. The massive energy storm disrupted the jump, and instead of arriving at their destination, they ended up who knows where.
Having lost contact with their home planet, this powerful expeditionary force could only drift aimlessly through the universe, but clearly this couldn't go on—they needed a base, needed rest, and above all, needed supplies. The only thing they could do now was find a planet with life before their energy ran out, and then, as the Trads often did, conquer it. As long as they had a base, even if they couldn't return to their home planet, they could live well enough.
A large number of unmanned reconnaissance drones were dispatched, searching the vast cosmos for any trace of life. Two weeks quickly passed, and finally, they got the news they wanted—about two light-years ahead, they had discovered a vibrant green planet teeming with life.
The images sent back showed that this planet's technology was very primitive, still stuck in the Middle Ages—no machinery, no electricity, and the military used cold weapons. General Mora, the fleet commander, was overjoyed; conquering such a barbaric and backward planet would be effortless.
They could get supplies, and... beautiful women. After drifting through space for two months, the soldiers were bursting at the seams. When they saw the 3D image sent back by the reconnaissance drone—a tall, slender beauty—even the usually composed staff officer let out a wolf-like howl.
Fine food and beautiful women were the best motivation; there was no need for any war mobilization. The general ordered the fleet to make a short-distance space jump and arrived in the outer space of the green planet.
However, things didn't go as smoothly as expected...
The invincible fleet met with fierce resistance. Hailan was indeed still in the Middle Ages, but they had a highly developed magical civilization and incredibly powerful battle qi.
Facing the vicious visitors from beyond the stars, the intelligent beings of Hailan united for the first time. Humans, elves, and orcs formed a massive allied force, and even the proud dragons joined in.
That was a massive creature tens of meters long. Though before the colossal outer-space warship it was still like an ant, but... magic was not to be trifled with.
Aside from the bow's main cannon, ordinary lasers and energy missiles couldn't break through the dragon's protective barrier. The carrier aircraft were also met with fierce resistance from griffin knights. As for the landing mech warriors, they were utterly overwhelmed by the knights' iron tide.
"Damn it！"
Staring at the screen before him, General Mora viciously smashed the wine glass in his hand. The mighty imperial fleet, the invincible expeditionary force, was helpless against a group of medieval barbarians wielding cold weapons. If word got out, it would be the empire's ultimate disgrace.
What exactly was this magic they talked about? And what was this 'dou qi' thing? Through the screen, Mora saw with his own eyes two precision-guided bombs launched by an FV joint attack aircraft hit the enemy general. But... that guy revered as 'Sword Saint' was unharmed, and instead sliced the fighter jet in half with one sword stroke.
Was this for real? Was he even made of flesh and blood? Even fully armored mech warriors couldn't withstand the power of such bombs. The battle before him completely shattered Mora's understanding.
Mora had served in the Tradestar Colonial Army for over twenty years, conquering countless planets. Yet this was the first time he had encountered such an absurd situation. It seemed that although this planet was in the Middle Ages, it possessed a strange civilization capable of contending with the mechanical age.
He could hardly achieve victory with the forces at hand, but they had lost contact with their home planet and couldn't call for reinforcements. What was worse, the fleet's energy and food supplies were running low. If they chose to give up, their chances of survival in the vast universe were zero.
No matter what, they had to take the planet Hailan！
Mola rose from the bridge commander's seat： "Order the charge, prepare the antimatter weapon."
"Antimatter weapon, General, this..."
"Carry out the order！" A flicker of ferocity flashed in Mola's eyes. "I know the danger, but to conquer this planet, the antimatter weapon is our only trump card."
"Yes, sir."
The staff officer saluted, and the operators began working, entering the activation codes into the computer. The warship started to transform...
Meanwhile, in the alliance's command center, the atmosphere was equally tense. The civilization of Hailan Star had endured for tens of thousands of years, but this was the first time they had encountered such a thing—where did those ironclad monsters come from？
The Orcish Behemoth King was furious. His invincible Behemoth Legion had already lost thousands. Those cold monsters emitted strange beams of light with lethality even more astounding than magic, and his warriors were bleeding.
And besides the orcs, the Dwarven Berserker Corps, the Elven Phantom Archers, the Royal Knights of Humanity, and the Holy Knights—these most elite forces—had all suffered heavy losses.
This couldn't go on. The alliance marshal, Duke Ares, summoned the commanders of each race： "Is everyone ready？"
"Yes."
"Good. Then, as planned, order the mages to prepare the Forbidden Spell and knock down those flying monsters in the sky."
Thousands of mages were called together—unprecedented in Hailan Star's history. Besides the mages of the Human Empire, there were the Holy Priests of the church, the Orcish Shamans, and the Elven Nature Mages. The elements in the air became unusually active as the mages began to prepare a devastating killing magic, the legendary Forbidden Spell.
The Tradestar Colonial Forces had received the commander's order, recalling carrier-based fighters and mecha warriors back into the ship's hangar. The fleet's main control computer emitted a cold voice: "Antimatter energy furnace filled to seventy-five percent, eighty percent, ninety-five percent, preparation complete. Now commencing countdown: ten, nine, eight, seven..."
At the same time, the super magic of the Hailan Star mages had also taken shape: the fire-type forbidden spell, Doomsday Phoenix; the light-type forbidden spell, Angel's Judgment; the shaman witch's forbidden spell, Wrath of the Beast God; and the elf's natural goddess's Redemption...
The unprecedented superposition of four forbidden spells—its power was unparalleled, unimaginable, perhaps even the gods themselves would retreat. And the colony fleet's antimatter weapon, with its terrifying lethality far exceeding the nuclear weapons we know—in this ultimate clash of two civilizations, which would prove superior？
But just then, an accident occurred...
The quadruple forbidden spell superposition and the antimatter weapon, though not yet fired, had already caused spatial oscillation due to the sheer magnitude of the energy. The accumulation of energy surpassed the tolerance limit of this plane, breaking the law of balance. With a sharp tearing sound, a crack appeared in space, and then, under the pull of energy, the crack rapidly expanded.
"Good heavens！"
"What is that？"
……
The mages panicked as they found the elements in their hands completely out of control. With a "bang," the crystal ball exploded, and the magic wand turned to dust. The elements composing the four forbidden spells began to be sucked into the tearing spatial rift.
And the situation on the warship was hardly any better. The warning lights flashed continuously, and the main control computer's cold voice rang out: "Antimatter energy furnace filling decreasing: ninety percent, seventy-five percent, sixty percent..."
"What on earth is happening？"
A soldier must remain unflinching even if Mount Tai collapses before him; as a commander, one needs even more calm and composure. But Mora the Assassin's face turned pale, and a bad feeling crept into his heart.
"General, this is terrible! Besides the antimatter energy furnace, the ship's power system energy is also plummeting. The engines are about to stop running."
"What? Quick, find out what the hell is going on?"
Streams of data were fed into the computer, the screen switched, and looking at the scene before him, Mora's face turned ashen. His body even began to tremble uncontrollably.
Heavens, what is that? A spatial rift? No… it's no longer a spatial rift, but a—black hole！
A black hole, the most terrifying hunter in the universe. All things in heaven and earth, even light itself, cannot escape its pull. And there is only one outcome for those sucked into a black hole—annihilation！
The accumulated energy of the quadruple forbidden curse and the antimatter weapon had shattered the laws of space, creating a black hole.
"Quick! Turn the fleet around! Leave this planet! Move!"
Mora snapped out of his shock, shoved the pilot aside, and began operating the controls himself. Although entering the boundless cosmos lacking energy and supplies meant slim chances of survival, staying here would mean a faster death. Now, escape was his only thought.
But… it was already too late. The newborn black hole was still weak, but as it swallowed more matter, it would grow larger. The ship's energy could no longer resist the magnetic field; it was like a tiny insect struggling in a violent wind, pulled bit by bit into the black hole.
And they were not the only victims. Countless people from the Hailan Star Alliance had already been sucked into the black hole. Before this terrifying cosmic hunter, even ordinary soldiers, Behemoths, Sword Saints, and Dragons appeared so fragile, with not even a shred of room to resist or struggle.
Besides living beings, stones, flowers, grass, trees, and soil—everything was being devoured by the black hole.
Life is full of uncertainties. No one could have predicted that the decisive battle between the Hailan Star Alliance and the Colonial Fleet would end like this.
"No——"
Amid General Mora's desperate roar, the flagship of the expedition fleet was also sucked into the black hole. But something even more incredible happened: out of the all-devouring black hole, a person drifted out, wrapped in a layer of silver light film, as if completely unaffected by the black hole.
Crackle. In the flagship's main control room, a thumb-sized metal sphere detached itself from the supercomputer. Tred Star had a highly advanced civilization; centuries ago, computers had evolved into lifeforms. But later, for fear of threatening humanity's status, this was banned. Still... nothing is absolute. The flagship's supercomputer had evolved into a lifeform—it had just been careful not to let anyone discover it.
Now, in a critical situation, the supercomputer didn't want to be annihilated with the ship by the black hole. This tiny metal sphere was its core, breaking away from the main body to escape.
But... it wasn't that easy. Even light would be swallowed by the black hole. Though the sphere was small, it couldn't escape the pull either. Despair spread through the supercomputer's core. Just then, it noticed the youth drifting out of the black hole—the only one who defied gravity.
This was the only chance. The computer ran at high speed and made a quick decision. It struggled with its remaining energy, drifting toward the youth.
Success. The computer core breathed a sigh of relief, escaping the fate of destruction. Now it would seize this man's body. From the metal sphere, many tentacle-like things extended, wrapping around the youth. Yet, touching the silver light film on the youth's body surface, it was as if scalded.
"Not good！"
The supercomputer sensed danger and wanted to flee, but it was too late—its tentacles began to melt, then its main body. Trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice, the supercomputer was instead absorbed and devoured by that youth.