by <unknown>
When the wild tides made of the beasts roared close, the destruction of the captives of the Covenant Alliance was already inevitable.
As the battle approached the end, the guards of the Godly Might Prison had to join the battlefield just in order to save a few captives from the crazy felons to be interrogated later.
If they hadn't done it, all the captives of the Covenant Alliance would have been torn into shreds and chewed up!
Of course, when the captives of the Covenant Alliance were almost entirely annihilated, the felons, with their unchangeable nature of killing, began to attack each other. Perhaps they thought that as long as they killed enough people, they could steal the victims' credits, and Lei Chenghu would bring away all the survivors.
Lei Chenghu did not stop the felons from doing that. His connivance almost seemed to be an encouragement for the prisoners.
He even commanded Yun Chenghua to continue sealing the exits of the first and the third districts to the outside world. When necessary, the intensity of the oxygen inside could be lowered, and he could make all the prisoners pass out due to anoxia.
It was not necessary for that yet. The strength of the prisoners could be wasted more first, and their number could be further reduced.
Starting from the moment the assassins of the Covenant Alliance broke his door, only half an hour had passed.
In half an hour, the Godly Might Prison and the Godly Might Fleet had both fallen into the hands of Lei Chenghu!
"Warden Yun, send your most trusted guards to the ground for two missions."
There was no ecstasy on Lei Chenghu's face at all, as if seizing an enormous Godly Might Prison and suppressing the Godly Might Fleet were a trivial matter that was not worth mentioning at all and as simple as taking a toy away from a child. He said casually, "Firstly, search the snowy world in the hundred square kilometers around. I'm highly suspicious that Dongfang Lei, the spy of the Covenant Alliance, was not killed in the explosion just now. His dead body must be found. If he is still alive, kill him immediately!
"Secondly, ask the captains and the key persons on their bridges in the Godly Might Fleet to come to the Godly Might Prison. Tell them that I will praise them for making the right choice fearlessly at the most critical moment, which has saved the lives of countless soldiers. Also, tell them that I will go to the capital in person to ask for accolades for them.
"Furthermore, whatever the price is, repair at least one energy supply base as soon as possible and restore the preliminary defense abilities of the Godly Might Prison. As for the prisoners and captives who are still fighting, there is no need to bother them. Let's just wait until they are all exhausted.
"Lastly, where are the political criminals? You and I can go and set them free together now."
Yun Chenghua and everybody else in the control center found it hard to believe that the entire Godly Might Fleet was suppressed so easily.
It was not until a long time later that the warden finally stood at attention and went to carry out the orders while holding back his excitement.
Lei Chenghu moved his cold eyes to Li Yao and spoke in private, "Alright. You can go to your master and prepare for our negotiation. But until she reveals enough sincerity, I will not go to her starship. If she wants to talk, the graceful queen will come to 'my' Godly Might Prison to talk.
"Rest assured. You are my life-saver after all, and I won't make things difficult for you. As long as you bring the words over, the queen will definitely come to the Godly Might Prison. After all, you should be more anxious than I am right now. With the Godly Might Fleet, I can return to my Astounding Thunder Fleet in the Third Battle Area as long as one of the starships can perform a space jump, but Her Grace has revealed her real forces after lurking in the darkness for so many years. I'm afraid that there is no turning back for her right now, is there?"
Faced with Lei Chenghu who had everything under his control, Li Yao blinked quickly and said, "Well, there is no rush to contact Her Grace. Can I go to release all the political criminals together with General Lei?"
Lei Chenghu was stunned again. Staring at Li Yao, he was even more confused about what kind of person Li Yao was and why on earth Queen Li Linghai sent such a guy for such a critical mission. He asked, "Are you not afraid that your master will lose her patience?"
"First of all, as I said, the queen is not my master. I am absolutely free and only loyal to the true path of immortality and the Imperium of True Human Beings."
Li Yao replied solemnly, "Secondly, before I came, Her Grace reminded me repetitively that I must ensure General Lei's safety. It is my top mission.
"Also, General Lei's charisma and infinite dominance that you demonstrated just now have greatly awed me. I can't admire and worship General Lei more right now.
"The Godly Might Prison is still in chaos. What if there are spies of the Covenant Alliance hiding among the political criminals? So, I have to stay by General Lei's side and protect General Lei with my own life if necessary!
"As for the queen, it doesn't matter to keep her waiting for a while longer. After all, the Godly Might Prison and the Godly Might Prison are both settled right now. General Lei's safety is what matters most right now!"
Lei Chenghu: "You are just hoping to follow me and make friends with the political criminals who will very likely rise again, aren't you?"
Li Yao: "That's your words. Not mine."
…
Eventually, Lei Chenghu failed to turn Li Yao down.
After all, with Li Yao's capabilities, if he glued himself to Lei Chenghu's butt like a sticker, few people could tear him off.
Besides, Lei Chenghu did not want to end on bad terms with Li Linghai. Despite the tough stance he had demonstrated, the two of them were truly in need of each other.
Therefore, the first light of hope that the political criminals, who had once controlled the critical posts of the Imperium of True Human Beings and were once powerful and influential in the capital but who had fallen from the clouds to the abyss overnight because they pissed off the four Kurfürst families, saw after spending decades in the dark, cold dungeons was exactly made of Li Yao, Lei Chenghu, and Yun Chenghua.
They were naturally no stranger to Lei Chenghu and Yun Chenghua. One of them was the legendary "God of War", and the other was the warden of the Godly Might Prison.
Li Yao, however, left a particularly deep impression on them.
After he reached every prison cell, Li Yao would unleash the overwhelming aura of the Divinity Transformation Stage, enshrouding himself in the dazzlingly gold halo and the soul-stirring sound effects, making him look so awesome that he looked like the reincarnation of a god.
Before Yun Chenghua opened the gate, Li Yao would move forward and tear apart the bars, locks, and all the defense rune arrays with his hands that were filled with spiritual energy.
"In the name of the new Imperium, you are now reborn. I, 'Vulture Li Yao', will definitely ensure your safety with my life. Rest assured!"
Chapter 2229: I've Done So Much! |
His determined eyes, his tranquil face, his majestic body figure that seemed to be made of iron, and his brilliant and glamorous crystal suit illuminated by the flames of spiritual energy constituted the image of a "perfect Immortal Cultivator" in the eyes of the political criminals who hadn't seen daylight for a long time.
Aside from the ecstasy, many of them were communicating with each other with their confused eyes.
Who is this 'Vulture Li Yao'? Why have I never heard of him before?
Their surprise was understandable. In the five categories of the trainers, "battle-type" was always the kind with the highest danger and casualty rate. Also, it showed the distinctive feature of "easy to begin but difficult to rise".
In the cruel, hellish battlefields, with enough luck and resources, it was not very difficult for ordinary soldiers to advance into the Refinement Stage and the Building Foundation Stage.
However, after one reached the Core Formation S
tage and tried to advance into the Nascent Soul Stage or even higher, each step would be steeper than the last.
As their training approached the critical checkpoints, their combat abilities might be affected because of their anxiety and impatience after they failed to make a breakthrough after a long time.
Also, as the vanguards or the commanders who were of the highest level in a battlefield, they would be the targets of the enemy's barrage. All the cannons and sniper rifles' top priority was the trainers above the peak of the Core Formation Stage.
Therefore, most of the trainers halted after they reached the peak of the Core Formation Stage or the Nascent Soul Stage. If they wanted to make breakthroughs by force, they would either perish on the battlefield or be so heavily wounded that they could never expect any advancement in the future.
Besides, compared to the other fields such as administration, research, and culture, battle-type trainers were more susceptible to their "longevity".
A research-type Immortal Cultivator could maintain a sharp and agile mind even if they were more than three hundred years old, and they could make up for their drop of computational ability with their abundant experience.
The battle-type Immortal Cultivators, in comparison, would plummet straightforwardly after they passed their prime years. The hidden injuries on their physical bodies and deep inside their souls that were accumulated in the past two to three hundred years would all burst out. Even the best elixirs would be of little help. It was not unusual that some fell from the Divinity Transformation Stage to the Nascent Soul Stage or from the Nascent Soul Stage to the Core Formation Stage.
The elders in the Council of Elders were good examples. They were all famous experts in the Divinity Transformation Stage in name, and they once offered destructive performances one to two hundred years ago. But they were now old and weary and hadn't blown out the maximal force of the Divinity Transformation Stage for decades. It appeared that their souls and their flesh and blood would be burnt out as long as they carried out the strength of the Divinity Transformation Stage for one second, turning them into dry corpses. Could such elders of the Imperium still be referred to as "experts in the Divinity Transformation Stage"?
The natural law to age and die was the cruelest and fairest restriction on all human beings.
Considering all the factors, after a thousand years of bloody battles, few battle-type Divinity Transformation Stage experts in their prime years could be found in the Imperium of True Human Beings.
Every such expert was an influential, strategic weapon that everybody in the entire Imperium knew.
But Li Yao seemed so young and so unfamiliar. He also followed behind the "God of War" closely while preaching for the "new Imperium"…
The big shots of the old days, who were sophisticated foxes, immediately drew a conclusion in their hearts. This "Vulture Li Yao" must be an important warrior of the "new Imperium" and Lei Chenghu's trusted subordinate!
Little did they know that an extremely evil voice was alluring Li Yao in his heart. "Hey, this is perhaps the last opportunity for you to kill Lei Chenghu. If he returns to his own Astounding Thunder Fleet, he will be a tiger that returns to the mountain he belongs to. There will be few chances to kill him when he is in his army in the future. Are you sure you are not going to kill him?"
Naturally, it was the mental devil instigating him again.
Thinking quickly, Li Yao said in a low voice in his head, "Honestly, how good do you think I am compared to Lei Chenghu?"
"About that…"
The mental devil said, "To be honest, 'God of War' Lei Chenghu's personal charisma, abilities of strategic deception, and ruthlessness are all state-of-the-art. He could abandon his own son without any hesitation, knock down a flagship of the Imperium to which he belonged without blinking once, and even took a great gamble, pretending that he was confident of his final victory when he clearly did not have any trump card in his hands. Tsk, tsk, tsk. That is really a man of the time and the out-and-out best expert of the civilization of mankind!
"Compared to him, both your silver tongue and your petty cleverness are just the lousiest, despicable tricks…"
"Hey, should a mental devil be so honest?"
Li Yao paused for a moment and said, "Of course, I also admit that there is a slight gap between me and Lei Chenghu right now. Speaking of which, how good do you think I am compared with Queen Li Linghai?"
"Well…"
The mental devil thought for a moment and said, "Li Linghai seems a little bit paranoid and considers things in a too simple way. She also acts like a gambler who will wager all her chips at any moment. But they are not necessarily her real personality but just a protective camouflage that she has faked.
"Besides, leaving all the scheming aside, she has inherited the legacies of the 'Supreme Emperor', the strongest expert of all time in the history of mankind, and she boasts the terrifying abilities of slaying an expert in the Divinity Transformation Stage in one attack. It is very likely that she has advanced into the legendary 'Divinity Branching Stage'. So, we are absolutely no match for her!"
"Yes. Both Li Linghai and Lei Chenghu are behemoths that we can barely compete with right now."
With a cunning smile, Li Yao said, "That is why I cannot kill Lei Chenghu but have to achieve a subtle balance between Lei Chenghu and Li Linghai. Only if the two monsters are wary of each other will the stability at the center of the cosmos be ensured after the collapse of the four Kurfürst families!
"Besides, didn't you and I have a feeling that something was wrong with Li Linghai, and that she has been keeping something of paramount importance from us? We failed to figure out what it is because of the lack of help.
"You have seen what kind of person Lei Chenghu is with your own eyes. If Li Linghai does have a scheme and is preparing to trick him, she will certainly regret it. What we failed to find out will definitely be dug out by Lei Chenghu!
"How would I bear to kill him right now?"
The mental devil sniffed. "That is a good plan. But be careful not to screw it up. Neither Li Linghai nor Lei Chenghu is readily manipulatable by us. Don't be burnt in the fire that you started!"
"It won't be a big deal even if I screw it up. I've already screwed it up countless times before."
Li Yao sniffed and said, "Judging from the Covenant Alliance's operation this time, it is not hard to tell that they are truly very vigilant of Lei Chenghu and want to eliminate him no matter what. But here comes the question. If the Covenant Alliance has really been crushed and forced to run back to their nest, why did they try so hard to kill Lei Chenghu? After all, the next great battle probably won't take place until decades later!
"So, there can only be one truth. We already made the correct guess when we were still in the federation. The Covenant Alliance never failed as it appeared to be, and they are still planning fatal attacks in secret. Lei Chenghu, on the other hand, is the greatest obstacle in the eyes of the Covenant Alliance!
"The worst future will be that the army of the Covenant Alliance breaks the defense of the Imperium's army, rage at the center of the cosmos, and even release the Pangu Clan that has been sealed for hundreds of thousands of years. I can't get a worse result than that however I screw it up, can I?"
The mental devil fell silent and sank into the deepest part of Li Yao's brain again.
In less than an hour, all the political criminals that were trialed in public, in secret, or not tried at all were set free.
Except for the few "lucky survivors", all the captives of the Covenant Alliance were slaughtered by the criminals.
The search on the ground had a result too. Dongfang Lei was indeed not killed. With the unbelievably tough vitality, he fell eighty kilometers east to the Godly Might Prison with the help of a ragged, stealth escape capsule, catching his last breath in the snowy world.
Naturally, he was as dead as anyone could be right now, without even the slightest remaining soul left.
As the four
reactors in the first energy base were restored, every part of the Godly Might Prison was bathed in the light again, and the defense rune arrays unleashed dazzling electric arcs, recovering the fundamental defense abilities.
At this moment, Lei Chenghu had controlled every main "vein" and "nerve" in the Godly Might Prison. He was able to greet "Li Linghai" as "master of the Godly Might Prison".
Li Linghai, naturally, did not expect such drastic changes in the Godly Might Prison in only half an hour.
Although the Deep Sea Fleet did not need to fight the Godly Might Fleet anymore, which was now under the control of Lei Chenghu, the queen of the Imperium frowned so hard that her face was like a stagnant lake.
The very first question she asked after she reached out to Li Yao was exactly, "What has happened?"
"What has happened?"
Li Yao bulged his eyes and bellowed, "I would like to know what has happened too! Didn't you say that everything and every procedure was under control and nothing could possibly go wrong? Then, I would like to ask you—Where exactly did so many spies of the Covenant Alliance come from?
"Do you have any idea how awkward and dangerous the situation was for me? Hardly had I snuck into the Godly Might Prison when the alarms of the Godly Might Prison were already ringing. The prisoners and the war captives all emerged like lunatics!
"I only managed to rescue General Lei Chenghu at the risk of my life, nearly burning my own soul up. Later, during the emergency, I had to take corresponding measures with the best of my bravery and wisdom when I dealt with the forces in and out of the Godly Might Prison. In the end, I finally reversed the situation on my own and accomplished my mission perfectly!
"I am not saying that I am the only one to be credited, and I am certainly not asking for rewards, but the flawed, dangerous operation has truly consumed my decades of Cultivation. I am now terribly exhausted. There's no telling how many elixirs from the mausoleum of the Supreme Emperor are needed to fill it back.