The action of the Battle Droids pressing the button did not escape Eric's observant eyes. As a genius of the younger generation, his strength was by no means something to be underestimated. Although he possessed a certain degree of arrogance, that arrogance came from genuine ability.
Eric narrowed his eyes slightly and stared intently at the Battle Droids in front of him, trying to discern their intentions. Yet despite carefully observing them, he could not see anything unusual.
"What are they trying to do?" A cold smile appeared on Eric's face, followed by a mocking sneer. "Do they intend to self-destruct and take my unit down with them?"
Puppet self-destruction was an extremely common tactic. By activating the energy stored within their bodies and detonating themselves, puppets could unleash tremendous destructive power in an instant, killing or severely injuring nearby enemies. Some Cultivation Civilizations even possessed similar techniques of self-destruction. The power released at the moment of detonation was naturally terrifying.
However, in Eric's eyes, such a tactic was still far too weak. It could not have much of an impact on the Demon. With the fearsome physique of a Demon, unless they were killed directly and completely, they could recover from even severe injuries given enough time. The Abyss Demons, after undergoing group evolution, were no longer comparable to the creatures that had existed millions of years ago.
Eric's eyesight was indeed sharp as he had already realized what the 5,000 Battle Droids had activated. It was a self-destruct program. But this self-destruction was not meant to simply detonate the energy within their mechanical bodies. Instead, each Battle Droid carried a terrifying weapon inside its body, a Nuclear Bomb.
After the Ancient Star Battlefield, as increasingly powerful Supernatural Beings began appearing one after another, ordinary weapons gradually lost their effectiveness. Recognizing this terrifying trend, countless scientists joined forces and began developing a new generation of Conventional Weapons.
Ordinary ammunition had long since been eliminated from consideration. Even the Electromagnetic Gun, once considered an incredibly advanced weapon, had gradually become powerless against increasingly powerful Supernatural Beings. So, what kind of weapon could pose a greater threat? The answer was simple: the most reliable partner of the military throughout their history: Nuclear Weapon.
Terra has experienced technological development across virtually every field, and weapons have also begun to display increasingly fantastical, almost science-fiction-like characteristics.
Compared with the Earth of the past, Terra was incomparably more advanced. The Nuclear Fusion Project had already achieved its initial success, and humanity had begun taking its first genuine steps toward the vastness of space.
However, when it came to pure destructive power, the Nuclear Bomb remained the most fearsome weapon they possessed. Even the Electromagnetic Gun and the various futuristic weapons developed afterward could not surpass the Nuclear Bomb in terms of sheer destructive potential.
It was not because the Nuclear Bomb itself was the strongest weapon imaginable. Rather, under the current technological level and existing conditions, the Nuclear Bomb was simply the weapon most suited to becoming a Conventional Weapon.
During the finals of the All-Stars Competition, the horrifying destructive power of the Nuclear Bomb had been demonstrated in exquisite fashion. The Five-Headed Dragon, a creature possessing astonishing vitality, had been completely obliterated beneath the explosion, its body reduced to ashes. That scene had left a deep impression on countless people.
However, many scientists were even more aware of the Nuclear Bomb's true significance. For Supernatural Lifeforms, the greatest threat posed by a Nuclear Bomb was not merely its enormous explosive yield; it was the terrifying instantaneous temperature produced at the moment of detonation. The moment a Nuclear Bomb detonated, its core could reach temperatures of hundreds of millions of degrees. Such an astonishing temperature was enough to melt almost anything.
However, this terrifying phenomenon also came with a fatal weakness. The extreme temperature could only exist for an incredibly short period, and almost immediately after reaching its peak, the temperature would begin to fall rapidly.
Furthermore, the region capable of reaching the most terrifying temperature was concentrated around the center of the detonation. This placed extremely high demands on the accuracy of Nuclear Bomb deployment. If the bomb detonated too far away from the target, even a weapon with terrifying destructive power could fail to produce the desired result.
Therefore, after the finals of the All-Stars Competition, the most elite research teams were carefully selected and assembled. Their primary objective was to find a way to extend the duration of the Nuclear Bomb's terrifying high temperature. If that could be accomplished, the destructive effect against Supernatural Beings would increase dramatically.
The scientists worked tirelessly.
They conducted experiment after experiment.
They performed countless calculations and simulations.
Yet after a long period of research, they eventually reached an uncomfortable conclusion: this was an extraordinarily difficult problem.
The detonation process of a Nuclear Bomb was inherently uncontrollable. Under the current technological conditions, controlling the extreme temperature produced during detonation and deliberately extending its duration was almost impossible.
After realizing this, they changed their direction. If the problem could not be solved by extending the duration of the high temperature, perhaps another aspect could be improved. For example, miniaturization.
The miniaturization of Nuclear Bombs could greatly reduce production costs while simultaneously improving their flexibility on the battlefield. If a Nuclear Bomb could be made sufficiently small, it could potentially be deployed as a Conventional Weapon without having to worry excessively about the loss of a single weapon.
Compared with the miniaturization of the Electromagnetic Gun, reducing the size of a Nuclear Bomb was actually a more feasible and valuable path. However, there was one indispensable prerequisite. The terrifying high temperature produced at the moment of detonation had to be preserved; otherwise, miniaturization would only reduce the weapon's destructive capability.
The various resources obtained from the Ancient Star Battlefield also played an extremely important role in this research. The Tree of Wisdom and the Tree of Epiphany were especially valuable to Scientists who had become stuck at critical bottlenecks in their research. For researchers standing at the very edge of a breakthrough, even the slightest inspiration could be priceless.
As a result, the technological development achieved during the past years has surpassed that of almost any previous decade. Under such circumstances, the successful miniaturization of the Nuclear Bomb was not particularly surprising.
But another problem immediately appeared. If a Nuclear Bomb was going to be used as a Conventional Weapon, its radiation had to be taken into consideration.
For Supernatural Beings, radiation was naturally not much of a concern. Their powerful physiques could withstand levels of radiation that would be fatal to ordinary humans.
But for the Astra Militarum personnel, radiation was an entirely different matter. It was deadly. A Nuclear Bomb might be able to destroy the enemy, but if the weapon contaminated the battlefield afterward, the Astra Militarum would also pay a terrible price.
Fortunately, the emergence of the Battle Droids provided a possible solution as mechanical bodies did not fear radiation.
They did not breathe.
They did not suffer from radiation poisoning.
They did not require biological protection.
As long as their mechanical systems remained functional, they could continue operating on a contaminated battlefield.
Thus, after carefully considering all the relevant factors, the scientists finally eliminated one obstacle after another. The miniaturized Nuclear Bomb could be produced.
Its cost could be controlled.
Its radiation problem could be solved through Battle Droids.
Its destructive temperature could be preserved sufficiently to remain effective.
But one final question remained. How could the accuracy of a small Nuclear Bomb be guaranteed if it was going to be used as a Conventional Weapon?
The scientists discussed the problem repeatedly.
They considered countless possible solutions.
They calculated trajectories.
They studied guidance systems.
They examined targeting mechanisms.
Yet after countless discussions, someone eventually proposed an extremely bold idea. If improving the accuracy of the weapon itself was too difficult, then why not eliminate the need for accuracy altogether?
Rather than attempting to make the Nuclear Bomb more precise, it would be better to allow the Battle Droids themselves to carry the weapons directly to the target and detonate them at point-blank range.
The Battle Droids would become the guidance system, and they would become the delivery mechanism. And, ultimately, they would become the detonators.
5,000 Battle Droids.
5,000 miniaturized Nuclear Bombs.
All detonated simultaneously.
What exactly did that mean? Even Eric, who had initially believed that the Battle Droids were merely attempting to self-destruct, could not have imagined the answer. Because this was no ordinary self-destruction, this was the simultaneous detonation of 5,000 Nuclear Bombs.
And when 5,000 Nuclear Bombs exploded together, what kind of terrifying force would be unleashed?