by <unknown>
"Secondly, the officers and sailors.
"The Burning Prairie Fleet has its own talents base, Burning Prairie Military School, which educates the most distinguished students in the seven Sectors. All of them are the elites of the elites and the most rarely-seen prodigies. The tradition has lasted a hundred years. It means that the best talents of the federation have all been harvested by the Burning Prairie Fleet!
"The best talents all join the Burning Prairie Fleet, and none of them are willing to go to the not-so-reputable Big Bai Fleet, whose commander happens to be a weirdo. What can he do then?
"Bai Xingjian has resorted to his old tricks. He works harder to search for the 'former space pirates' who have just been released from prison. Meanwhile, by Jin Xinyue's mediation, he tries to free some of the captives of the Uranian Ring Sector whose performance was relatively distinguished in the war before. The more terribly they beat the Burning Prairie Fleet in the war, the more Bai Xingjian likes them!
"Right. Other than the Uranian Ring Sector, although the Nether World Sector, the Water Crystal Sector, and the Forest Ocean Sector joined the New Federation in peace, there was a lot of opposition in those worlds, too. Those opposing factions are reluctant to work for the federal government, or at least not for the Burning Prairie Fleet. There's no telling how Bai Xingjian persuaded them, but he has got a whole bunch of them into the Big Bai Fleet!
"All in all, in contrast to their pure-white camouflage, which seems to imply their brightness and gravitas, the personnel of the Big Bai Fleet are, in short, crazy fiends!
"The equipment is lesser, and the crew is just a mob that was thrown together. How can the Big Bai Fleet's combat ability reach one tenth the Burning Prairie Fleet's?
"However, it is perfectly normal. The Burning Prairie Fleet is an ace troop of the federation. No other troop is qualified to challenge the Burning Prairie Fleet in the first place. It is already a miracle that Bai Xingjian led the Big Bai Fleet from a ragged 'garbage fleet' to what it is today. We can only say that he does not have enough luck. It is quite a shame!"
Li Yao's interest was aroused. "How so? Hasn't his performance been always good?"
"If he weren't so arrogant and extreme and had stayed in the Burning Prairie Fleet to follow Bai Kaixin's command, his achievements would've been much greater with Bai Kaixin on his side. It must be noted that Bai Kaixin is already the Chief of Staff of the Burning Prairie Fleet, only secondary to the General Commander. He also has a lot of shares in the Glorious Sunlight Group, and he is a close friend to the big shots who were with Li Yao before!
"Yes. It's true that Bai Xingjian's performance in the war against the Uranian Ring Sector can be summarized as creative and unpredictable. However, tricks and schemes do not always get their way in the military. You cannot expect to win every battle with unexpected tricks!
"Perhaps because he's hung around with the 'former space pirates' for too long, Bai Xingjian's command has gradually mixed with the distinctive features of the space pirates. He sells feints and moves agilely after every battle.
"Such a tactic is truly very effective in guerilla warfare and harassment battles when leading a small-scale fleet, but that is the best it can do!
"In a strategic battle between the real main-force fleets that will decide the destiny of two superpowers in the sea of stars, such a tactic, which is similar to the bite of a bug, matters little. It can only serve as a complementary, ancillary approach!
"The antecedent of the Burning Prairie Fleet is the coalition army of the main sects of the Flying Star Sector. As a civilization of starships, the Flying Star Sector's legacy includes profound arts on commanding large fleets. The most distinguished person in that regard is doubtlessly Yan Xinjian, who is known as the best fleet commander in the thousand years of history of the Flying Star Sector!
"Although he was an ancient person who perished hundreds of years ago, and his entire life is not a good example for other people, his commanding arts were truly 'terrifying'. I have read many books that he left on the command of starships and analyzed a lot of his battle cases. Both the battles in which he annihilated the space pirates as the vice-commander of the coalition fleet of the six sects of the Heavenly Saints City and the battles where he resisted the coalition fleet of the Cultivators as the 'commander of the space pirates' after he defected to Spider Den amazed me. I did not know that such an extraordinary person would have been born at the edge of the cosmos!
"It is a pity that Yan Xinjian was born at the wrong time and perished too young. He failed to witness the great era where Kunlun was developed, the seven Sectors were fully integrated, and super starships are cruising in the sea of stars like dumplings!
"The Burning Prairie Fleet has inherited the arts of command of the 'Flying Star School' represented by Yan Xinjian. That is the rightful military strategies to win a war in the universe. Even I felt greatly enlightened after reading a lot of textbooks of the Burning Prairie Military School!
"Instead of learning such marvelous military strategies, Bai Xingjian walks on the wrong path and learns from the space pirate's tactics with his petty cleverness. Isn't it penny wise and pound foolish?
"The space pirates' tactics might work for a while in a lone world such as the Uranian Ring Sector, but the Black Wind Fleet is definitely not something that the fleets of the Uranian Ring Sector can be compared to!
"This is what I feel most sorry for. Bai Xinghe has already demonstrated such a brilliant performance in the war against the Uranian Ring Sector, leading a garbage fleet after his mental derangement and the plummet of his level. I couldn't help but wonder—if he had contained himself more and listened to Bai Kaixin's command obediently years ago, after he advanced into the Nascent Soul Stage smoothly and fully absorbed the military strategies epitomized by Yan Xinjian, how tough would he have been?
"What a great shame! Bai Xingjian could've become a notable general that raged in the universe during the counterattack against the Imperium. However, he chose the wrong path and walked deeper into it. His great gifts and potential were wasted just like that!
"Leading a random mob that is temporarily gathered to play tricks as the commander of the mediocre 'Big Bai Fleet'. That's probably where Bai Xingjian's future ends!"
Firefly was a super amalgamation of hundreds of starships. Therefore, Tang Dingyuan was both the captain of Firefly and the commander of the 'Firefly Fleet'. He earnestly felt pity for Bai Xingjian. Shaking his head in regret, he could not have been sadder.
Scratching his chin, Li Yao somewhat felt sorry for the young man Bai Xingjian, too, but had it not been for the guy's misfortune, his little disciple Jin Xinyue would not have been able to recruit such a 'weirdo' in the first place. Pondering for a moment, he asked, "What level is this Bai Xingjian at right now?"
"Bai Xingjian's Cultivation plunged once because of mental derangement," Tang Dingyuan replied. "It is terribly difficult to come back. In the past thirty years, Jin Xinyue has provided tremendous resources to help him train himself because he is one of the few generals on her side that is familiar with the arts of commanding starships. With all the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, he finally managed to break into the Nascent Soul Stage. Right now, he should be at the beginning level of the Nascent Soul Stage."
"Oh? A pure admin-type one?" Li Yao knew that the commander of a troop was often an admin-type Cultivator. If they were from a ground troop or an Exo Society, they might also have talents in combat, but the commander of a fleet might be different. "How is his personal combat ability? Can he fight?"
"He should be a pure admin-type Cultivator," Tang Dingyuan said. "Bai Xingjian was an apprentice maintainer in the Burning Prairie Fleet. But he was soon transferred to the management in the bridge and has been working there since. He is the purest admin-type Cultivator! As for exactly whether or not he can fight, he does not seem to have fought in person before. Besides, it is unreasonable to ask a captain of a starship or a commander of a fleet to fight in person. I think that
his combat ability… should be unattractive, shouldn't it?"
"Alright!" Cui Lingfeng had listened to the two of them communicating with each other at a speed ten times higher than normal. After Tang Dingyuan basically explained Bai Xingjian's background to them, he finally concluded, "Captain Tang, let's pause the interrogation and deal with our 'ally' first. Tell the Big Bai Fleet that they are allowed to stop at the outermost docks of Firefly for maintenance, but they have to wait for one day, because we have some trouble to take care of after just dealing with a rebellion of the Immortal Cultivators that wasn't serious.
"If they are short of anything, we can send a batch of supplies to their starships first.
"Captain Lin, you will take two members of 'Team Red Lotus' to Bai Xingjian and inform him of the latest updates on Firefly. Make it clear that the riot has been perfectly resolved under the timely reaction of Team Red Lotus. We do not need the help of an 'ally' who is best at sneaking and smuggling. They'd better stay outside in case of any 'misunderstandings'. Any problems?"
Li Yao smiled. "None at all."
He rubbed his fists and almost could not wait to meet the great general under his little disciple's command.
Tang Dingyuan, however, was still sighing. "Why can't allies never trust each other?"
"Captain Tang," Cui Lingfeng said casually, "ever since human beings invented 'war', 'allies' have always been more troublesome than 'enemies'. Are you still not used to that?"
Chapter 1639: Dominating Lin Jiu! |
In the underground fortress on Spider Den, the deep, dim palace looked like a palace immersed in darkness. The starry brilliance on the dome was the bloodshot eyes of the silent, ferocious beasts that had been opened. They stared at the two people who were burning furiously and confronting each other in the darkness without blinking.
Li Yao was wearing a Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit. The crystal cannons on his shoulders and every piece of aggressive magical equipment had been triggered to the maximum. Countless lightning balls were circling around him.
What he was faced with was Bai Xinghe in the Dragon King Battlesuit, the dominator of Spider Den and the overwhelming, unchallenged Pirate Potentate!
"Stop insisting on your folly, Bai Xinghe. You have been greatly fooled by the Immortal Cultivators. They've been deceiving you since the very beginning. Just open your eyes already!" Li Yao declared solemnly and righteously!
"Hehehehe. This is Spider Den. This is… Boss Bai's world! Nobody can dominate Spider Den except for me! Not the Immortal Cultivators, and certainly not a Mr. Nobody like you!"
Bai Xinghe cackled loudly. The scales on every rising dragon head on the back of the Dragon King Battlesuit were standing up, triggering the most dazzling sound and visual effects.
"Die now, boy!"
"You leave me no choice!" Li Yao gritted his teeth. The balls of lightning on the surface of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit were continuously expanding and spreading out, enshrouding almost half of the dark palace in thunderstorm. He shouted, "I'll show you the invincibility of the superlative height of the Core Formation Stage!"
The two of them turned into two streaks of brightness almost at the same time. After an ear-splitting collision that was even more violent and exciting than a supernova outbreak, more than half of the dark palace collapsed. Bai Xinghe screamed in excruciating pain. Dragging his bloody, broken body that was riddled with holes, he struggled painfully in the middle of the debris, uttering the last moan before his death.
"Superlative height of the Core Formation Stage? What level is that? Why is it so tough?
"Who are you? Who is this Mr. Nobody? Why has everything come to this? Why?
"You won! You killed me. You killed Boss Bai, the Pirate Potentate of Spider Den! Hehe. Hehehe. But it is useless. Absolutely useless! You don't know that the real master of Spider Den is not me but the legendary 'Supreme Pirate' Yan Xinjian! Even I have been controlled by him. He is the one manipulating everything behind the curtain…"
As Bai Xinghe's voice grew more and more feeble, another aura that was even more powerful flowed out of the fractures of the dark palace and gradually condensed into a black fog that looked like an abyss. Then, it crawled into Bai Xinghe's broken body bit by bit, causing him to have unbelievable mutations in the middle of screams!
An extremely gloomy, creepy, and weird voice echoed from Bai Xinghe's incessantly expanding body, but it was no longer Bai Xinghe's tone and accent. "Who is it that is bold enough to disrupt my training in seclusion while I'm trying to break into the Divinity Transformation Stage?"
In front of the behemothic creature, with no knowing whether it was Yan Xinjian or Bai Xinghe, shrouded in the hazy fog, Li Yao took a deep breath and gritted his teeth on the verge of collapse. He slightly squatted and made preparations for the last battle!
The crystal dome was still cracking and falling nonstop, adding to the mess and anxiety of the atmosphere for the final battle about to come!
Suddenly, the picture froze.
Li Yao in the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, the terrifying existence who could be Bai Xinghe or Yan Xinjian, and the broken pieces of crystals that were collapsing from the ceiling of the Star Prier's House all came to a stop.
Tiny, glittering words jumped out from the two of them who were all prepared to attack each other. "Yan Xinjian, the most dreadful 'Supreme Pirate' five hundred years ago has finally shown up. Before the federation entered its training boom, he had been the well-deserved strongest expert of the three Sectors who far exceeded everybody else in his generation. He also found out the ways to break into the Divinity Transformation Stage after studying on his own!
"Is Li Yao capable of defeating such a formidable enemy? Let's give Li Yao a hand! During the promotion, all of the items and equipment below will enjoy a thirty percent discount, with double complimentary points. For fifty thousand points, you will be able to redeem the most magnificent 'ship-cutting saber'!
"Grand Recovery Pill, originally five hundred star coins, 350 star coins during promotion. Help Li Yao return to full health!
"Ultimate version of the Blood Moon Dragon Chasing Saber, originally one thousand star coins, seven hundred star coins during the promotion. The most extraordinary artifact that boasts infinite blood-sucking ability!
"Space fight form of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, originally 10,000 star coins, 5,600 star coins during the promotion. This is the best Mystic Skeleton in the universe!"
Pa!
Before the myriad of other pills and magical equipment were introduced, the light beam was shut off cruelly. The black virtual mirror reflected an ugly face that apparently could not tolerate it any longer.
"Damn! What kind of trash game is this?" Grimacing, Bai Xingjian mumbled to himself. "The cinematics are an utter mess. Didn't Li Yao only break into the superlative height of the Core Formation Stage after a few years of hard training when he absorbed the essence of Yan Xinjian's legacy inside Yan Xinjian's ultimate residence? How on earth was he in the superlative height of the Core Formation Stage when he was confronting Boss Bai? Also, why is the old fart Yan Xinjian popping up here? The battle with the Immortal Cultivators on Spider Den didn't have a damn thing to do with Yan Xinjian!"
When he was feeling ridiculous, the light beam suddenly blinked and displayed the picture on the bridge. "Commander, Firefly has replied!"
Bai Xingjian's eyes immediately spurted out light and heat like a volcanic eruption, making him a totally different person from before. The highest commander of the Big Bai Fleet picked up his wrinkled hat and stepped out of the captain's office, striding toward the bridge of his flagship 'Infinite Fire', modified from 'Flawless Light', a main-force warship of the Uranian Ring Sector previously.
While he was on his way, a few high-level officers of the fleet joined him in a hurry.
"Firefly has agreed to our request to dock for maintenance. We will be docked between the No. 12 port and the No. 14 port."
"The defense and the vulnerable pa
rts of Firefly have been scanned. To this moment, they still do not have the vaguest clue about what we have come for!"
"Firefly has been keeping radio silence internally. None of Cui Lingfeng, Tang Dingyuan, and Ding Zhengyang have shown up. There's no telling what is going on inside."
"It doesn't matter." Bai Xingjian smiled. "Have our brothers prepare for a big fight. This time, we are going to save the day!"
On the bridge, the enormous circular light beams overlapped each other, constituting a glinting palace and making the bridge of 'Infinite Fire' seem directly exposed to the boundless universe.
It could clearly be seen that dozens of starships that had been painted pure white were slowly compressing from the battle formation to the anchoring formation. With the help of the navigators and the barges that Firefly sent out, they slowly approached the rings of circular orbit.
It was very regular porting and anchoring work. The command system of the two parties had kept effective communication. No accidents seemed to have occurred at all. Everything was going on smoothly.
Holding his arms, Bai Xingjian stared at the ordered, undisrupted scene. At first, he was wearing a confident smile, but as time went by, especially when the barges and carriers that belonged to Firefly were gathering after the white starships drew close to the orbit ports, his smile gradually vanished, replaced by thoughtfulness.
"Hiss, hiss." His nostrils flapped quickly, like a viper that was collecting the smell of danger in the air after extending out its bifurcated tongue. "Neither Tang Dingyuan nor Ding Zhengyang have shown up so far?"
"Not yet. It is said that some minor riots took place on Firefly," an advisor of the fleet replied. "But they'll be taken care of soon."
"Minor riots…" He gazed at the brilliant exhaust flames in the dark space that were dragged by the barges, carriers, and his own warships that had been completely mixed. The brilliance interweaved into an overwhelming web deep inside his eyes. His face suddenly turned extremely awful. Gritting his teeth, he commanded, "Ask all the starships that haven't entered the ports to stop and maintain the battle formation. Make sure that the assault teams are all in position and ready for boarding battles anytime!"