by <unknown>
They were here to feed the workers as a charity for the sake that they were all the compatriots of the Imperium!
When they were shameless enough to say those words, the cocky lords had completely forgotten that it was exactly because of a hundred years of goods dump and the following sordid tricks that the local sects and magical equipment factories were destroyed and billions of workers reduced to destitution.
However, the lords were not saying that based on nothing but speaking in the bridge of the heavy warships. Even when they landed, they would bring a whole crystal suit legion to "protect the factories". What could the workers in the Red Nimbus Sector do?
The healthy and strong workers of the Red Nimbus Sector who worked diligently in a magical equipment factory under the banner of the four Kurfürst families, to the point of blood-vomiting and even emphysema, would still be unable to feed their families. They had to ask their wives and daughters to go overseas and "work" in the entertainment locations at the center of the cosmos established by the noble families. Such tragedies were constantly happening in the Red Nimbus Sector in the past hundreds of years.
The noble families from the center of the cosmos had even extended their hands to the agriculture of the Red Nimbus Sector. The "spiritual rice" and "spiritual wheat" that had been genetically refined, as well as the foreign crops, replaced the local rice and wheat of the Red Nimbus Sector.
Because the "spiritual rice" and "spiritual wheat" had a high yield and a good taste, and they contained abundant nutrition and heat, and because the food groups controlled by the four Kurfürst families gave high subsidies so that the workers who earned little money in the factories could only afford the food that they provided, the foreign food groups expanded very fast in the Red Nimbus Sector. In only a hundred years, they had acquired all the food groups large and small in the Red Nimbus Sector and purchased tremendous land from the farmers—exactly like what they did to the magical equipment industrial system of the Red Nimbus Sector.
While the Red Nimbus Sector had nominal "autonomy", it was part of the Imperium after all and could not set up independent laws to prevent the conquest of the foreigners. It could only watch the foreign food groups dominate the planet.
After most of the land and seeds were controlled by the foreign food groups, they finally revealed their true intentions. Waving the law as their weapon, they secretly changed the genes of the spiritual rice and the spiritual wheat so that all the seeds could only be harvested once but could not be sowed again.
In other words, the Red Nimbus Sector lost all their own seeds of crops. If they wanted to sow them again, they had to purchase from the foreign food groups.
Even if the people of the Red Nimbus Sector wanted to develop their own seeds through secret experiments, they discovered, to their surprise, that the "alien cash crops" that the foreign groups offered them as gifts and purchased the fruits of such crops at a high price actually boasted the function of changing the elements of the soil!
After being polluted by the foreign cash crops for a hundred years, the most fertile land of the Red Nimbus Sector was only suitable for the seeds of the foreign food groups. The other seeds would only wither on a large scale, if they could sprout at all.
In the beginning, when the foreigners purchased the bitter and sour "fruits of the cash crops", claiming that the wealthy people at the center of the cosmos liked the flavor best, the people of the Red Nimbus Sector laughed hard at the queerness of the wealthy guys.
At this moment, the people of the Red Nimbus Sector finally realized what the "bitter fruits" tasted like.
What the wealthy people at the center of the cosmos tasted was not the juice of the fruits but their blood.
But the epiphany came too late.
From industries to agriculture and to the entire training system, everything had been invaded and destroyed by the foreigners from the center of the cosmos. The whole world had fallen into their hands.
Even if the Sector Master of the Red Nimbus Sector still had the nominal "autonomy", what was the point?
It was even worse than direct aggression, because a government had to be founded after direct aggression to administrate and secure the local people.
But right now, everything was about economics and done by civil sects. They swallowed all the benefits, and the "obligations" were still in the hands of the dumbfounded Sector Master.
The life and death of the people of the Red Nimbus Sector did not concern the center of the cosmos. It was all because the local Sector Master was too ruthless and tyrannical. When the trouble was too huge, the four Kurfürst families would throw certain leftovers as reliefs. Nothing more.
The ordinary people of the Red Nimbus Sector lived such an insecure, struggling life.
The Immortal Cultivators fared no better than the ordinary people did.
Before, when it still had an independent industrial and agricultural system, the Red Nimbus Sector needed the support of Immortal Cultivators in every field. The position of the local Immortal Cultivators was high, and they were the unquestionable dominators.
But right now, as the foreign capitals and technologies flooded over, the first to be crushed were the dignities and dreams of the local Immortal Cultivators.
Their own sects were squeezed to bankruptcy by foreign corporations, and yet they had to swallow their anger and work for them. But even if they worked dutifully for their entire lives, they would still be the bumpkins in the foreigners' eyes. They could never enter the management of the great corporations that were almost made of the people who skydived from the center of the cosmos!
It was exactly the destiny of the Immortal Cultivators of the Red Nimbus Sector in the past five hundred years.
Chapter 2237: Can't Take It Anymore! |
Only on one condition would the noble families from the center of the cosmos be nice to the Immortal Cultivators of the Red Nimbus Sector, which was the time they needed the soldiers, or to put it more frankly, the cannon fodder, of the Red Nimbus Sector.
Not only would they satisfy the local Immortal Cultivators' demands, but they would also make countless empty promises.
Although the expansion of the Imperium had gradually stopped, it did not mean the end of the war. The edge of the cosmos and the world fragments required exploring, and there were occasional conflicts among the noble families. The battles against the Covenant Alliance never ended either. The occasional skirmishes were even crueler than a massive war, and the honorable descendants of the four Kurfürst families were certainly not born for such meaningless fights.
The lowborn "bumpkin Immortal Cultivators" from the Red Nimbus Sector, as well as hundreds of other small worlds, were destined to lubricate the enormous machines with their flesh and blood now and then.
It couldn't be helped. Being an Immortal Cultivator was a burdensome mission.
When one became an Immortal Cultivator, the resources they consumed every day would be dozens of times more than an ordinary person would.
Also, after one awakened the spiritual root and mastered spiritual energy, they would not be happy to work in a factory, listen to their bosses in the office, or sweat hard in a farmland under the scorching sun.
Their massive spiritual energy had no place to be devoted to in their barren homeland. They did not even have their turn to exploit the ordinary people, because the ordinary people had long been squeezed up by those from the noble families.
They had no choice but to board on the tanks of the noble families to fight for the unpredictable opportunity in a foreign land, craving to distinguish themselves.
It was a pity that, although the dead bodies of countless Immortal Cultivators of the Red Nimbus Sector were spread out in the unknown parts of the dark universe, and not even a piece of their crystal suits returned to their homeland, no more than one percent of them truly escaped their destiny and became a powerful and dominating high-level Immortal Cultivator.
The invisible glass ceiling had blocked th
em from the noble families at the center of the cosmos for five hundred years. They had never seen a tiny gap on it at all, much less destroying it!
The Imperium's counterattack this time was probably the last roar of the Red Nimbus Sector as well as a hundred small worlds.
They truly had enough of the oppression, humiliation, and ubiquitous prejudice. They could not take it anymore!
They yearned for glory, land, infinite resources, and real power!
It was exactly because of such hysterical lust that they established small fleets after gathering all the resources in their barren hometown. Like hungry wolves joining into a pack, they occupied dozens of new worlds unstoppably in one decade.
Of course, they suffered all kinds of injustices in the meantime. For example, they were dispatched to the most dangerous frontline for the most arduous missions, but when the trophies were distributed, they could only wait behind the fleets of the four Kurfürst families.
In short, what they were given was dog food, but what they were asked to do was the job of tigers and lions.
But was any battle in the past five hundred years different? They had long been used to it. As long as there was a slim chance of a comeback, they were willing to do anything!
Besides, there was still General Lei, the "God of War"!
To be able to serve under Lei Chenghu's command was perhaps the greatest luck of the Immortal Cultivators of the Red Nimbus Sector.
"God of War" Lei Chenghu was the only admiral of the Imperium who was willing to fight side by side with them and launch a suicide attack together.
He was also bold enough to argue with the arrogant guys in the base of the expedition army for their interests.
There were even several times when General Lei stopped the assets that were to be shipped to the fleets of the four Kurfürst families and supplied them to the miscellaneous troops in priority.
It was General Lei Chenghu who let them know for the first time that the "miscellaneous troops" such as them could also rage unstoppably in the sea of stars.
It was General Lei Chenghu who let them know for the first time that "Imperium" was not just a synonym of exploitation and blackmail but stood for real honor and glory.
It was General Lei Chenghu who let them know for the first time the mission on their shoulders and the sacred significance of the war. They were not just fighting for the survival of the Red Nimbus Sector but also for the billions of people of the Imperium. Otherwise, everybody would be doomed together!
It was exactly under the command of General Lei Chenghu that the Red Nimbus Fleet and dozens of other local armed forces were trained from rookies into seasoned warriors and took over the vast area in the Third Battle Area!
Right now, the dawn of victory was slowly rising; the dawn that was exchanged by countless sacrifices of the hundreds of miscellaneous troops such as the Red Nimbus Fleet. It was time to fulfill the promises of the four Kurfürst families before the war!
The Immortal Cultivators of the Red Nimbus Sector did not hope to occupy a certain Sector in the newly-recovered territory. The Red Nimbus Sector, their nest, was too far away after all, and the consumption of spiritual energy on every space jump was astronomical. Economically speaking, the cost to maintain the close connection of two distant worlds was too high. Any resource development or commercial activity would have been defeated by the inestimable cost.
The Immortal Cultivators of the Red Nimbus Sector knew the situation very well. They only wanted to exchange more than ten years of blood and sacrifices for some permanent favorable policies, or the participation in the great development of the Imperium in the newly-recovered worlds, for example, part of the shares in the development company or the monopolization rights of a certain field. Nothing more.
It was a very fair requirement and not greedy at all. General Lei Chenghu promised them that he would definitely make sure that they got it!
The Immortal Cultivators of the Red Nimbus Sector believed in Lei Chenghu.
Therefore, even though they were cleaning up the messes left by the Covenant Alliance on the scorching resource planet that had magma everywhere, with victims falling into the craters after every step forward, they simply gritted their teeth and persisted for the beautiful life soon to come!
However…
Broken. Their beautiful dreams were all broken!
Deceptions, schemes, another betrayal, another bridge-burning!
The four Kurfürst families did not intend to fulfill their promise before the war at all. Why else would such an uncanny assassination of the Blood Oath Alliance have taken place? Also, soon after the demise of the elder, many members of the "special investigation committee" were sent to the various battle areas in the frontline aggressively, entering deep into every fleet to investigate "radicals in the military". They were causing quite a fuss!
Their intention was elsewhere. On the surface, they were looking into the incident of the Blood Oath Alliance and capturing the radicals in the military, but in fact, they were trying everything they could to diminish their power and separate them for following procedures. With all kinds of shameless schemes and tricks, they were going to overthrow their prewar promise and kick the local troops back to where they belonged without offering them any reward.
The senses of the Immortal Cultivators were very keen. They detected the scheme behind the incident of the Blood Oath Alliance at the earliest time.
They wanted to discuss with General Lei about what to do, but they received a piece of shocking news—General Lei went missing on the way to the capital. It was very possible that he had been arrested or even secretly trialed by the Council of Elders. Even the Astounding Thunder Fleet might be dissected and swallowed by the four Kurfürst families!
Could there have been a more absurd and shameless thing in the world?
"God of War" Lei Chenghu had done the most exhausting work and made the most contributions in the Imperium's counterattack. He deserved to be called a pillar that supported the Imperium. But not only did he fail to be given the honor and status that were due, he was about to be secretly trialed by the scoundrels in the rear when the war just got into hiatus!
The Immortal Cultivators of the Red Nimbus Sector were more than angry, but there was little they could do. They had to admit that, faced with the iron walls of the four Kurfürst families, the "bumpkins" that had no leadership such as them were utterly insignificant. They could only be butchered like pigs!
"General Wei, have you read it carefully? This is the list of the members of the Blood Oath Alliance and the radicals hiding inside the Red Nimbus Fleet. Tsk, tsk, tsk. What happened to your fleet? Why have the radicals infiltrated it so badly?"
On the bridge of the flagship of the Red Nimbus Fleet, the 3D light beam was condensed into a sharp-mouthed, pale-faced short man who had the skeleton badge of the "special investigation committee" on his chest. With disdain and coldness beaming out of his eyes, he said coldly, "The Third Battle Area is the battle area that is most seriously infiltrated by the radicals. All the fleets deployed in the Third Battle Area must examine themselves thoroughly and hand over all the radicals and people who are involved with the Blood Oath Alliance. None of them are to be kept back whatever rank they are in!
"Remember, you have twenty hours to prove your loyalty to the Imperium and the Council of Elders. In twenty hours, I want each and every person on the list to arrive at my starship.
"If any of them is missing, I will be highly suspicious that the radicals have spread to the higher level of the Red Nimbus Fleet. For example… those around you!
"General Lei Chenghu is already receiving the secret investigation by the Council of Elders. I believe that it won't be long before he shows up in the capital and expresses his support for all the decisions made by the Council of Elders and the special investigation committee. General Wei, make a judicious decision and do not get yourself or other people around you hurt!"
The short man did not even salute before
he disappeared on the light beam.
BOOM!
Hardly had he vanished when a deafening explosion echoed from the control panel.
It was because Wei Guanghui, the commander of the Red Nimbus Fleet, gnashed his teeth and smashed the control panel so hard that smoke was popping up from his finger gaps.
"Damn it. A scoundrel in the Core Formation Stage who has come to my fleet on one starship is bold enough to talk to me in such a way!"
Blushing in fury, Wei Guanghui felt that the veins jumping on his temples were about to explode. "If you push me too far, I'll just cut you apart, mince you into pieces, and—"
At this moment, the leader of the Red Nimbus Sector, in his humiliation, truly had the idea of "slaying the envoy from the special investigation committee and leading the brothers to join the Covenant Alliance".
Chapter 2238: Let's Fight Them! |
Of course it was not a feasible choice but just an outburst of anger.
However harsh the Imperium treated the miscellaneous troops from the remote worlds, they would never betray them to the Covenant Alliance, because the price of joining the Covenant Alliance was to give up all their feelings and the dominance of their self-will, which would be more miserable than killing them.
Besides, there were only different roles within the Covenant Alliance that did not have a hierarchy. They called each other "brothers" and "sisters" and regarded themselves as "lambs, tools, and missionaries of the gods". Even the super experts who were capable of turning the world upside down would be equal to the weaklings who could not catch a chicken.
Wei Guanghui was a seasoned expert in the Nascent Soul Stage after all. As the dominator of the Red Nimbus Sector and the highest commander of the Red Nimbus Fleet, he was an ambitious Immortal Cultivator full of intense desires. How could he abandon everything he had for the monotonous life in the Covenant Alliance?
It was impossible for Wei Guanghui to defect, so was it for the heads of other miscellaneous troops and local forces too. The four Kurfürst families were well aware of that. That was why they were exploited and taken advantage of blatantly, manipulated like dogs and pigs. They really had enough of it…