by <unknown>
Therefore, they were not the videos that the people on the spot recorded casually but had been long-planned!
Even more unbelievably, the media that belonged to the Li family managed to interview an elder of the Li family in only a few minutes!
"… I feel very sorry that such an event has taken place, but we cannot blame the generals and veterans who are caught in desperation now. Instead, it should be the highest authority that needs to reflect carefully. Why do the generals and soldiers who made remarkable achievements in the frontline and sacrificed everything for the Imperium have to express their voices in such a way?"
Faced with the crystal camera, the Li-surnamed elder said solemnly, "Mankind is the strongest fighting species in the entire universe—such a declaration has been passed on to this day from the age of the Star Ocean Imperium and has become our belief. The army is the cornerstone of the Imperium. If the cornerstone collapses, the Imperium of True Human Beings and the entire civilization of mankind will be no more!
"In the past ten years, we secured glorious triumphs in the frontline, and all the people are happy about our success. But the unprecedented victories were earned by the sweat and blood of those generals and soldiers. Right now, we have only reclaimed our lost territory. One day, we will have to march to the Covenant Alliance's nest and completely destroy it to unite the universe again. When that day comes, won't we still count on those generals and soldiers to make greater contributions to mankind?
"If the generals and soldiers are chilled because of their unjust treatments, who will devote themselves to the country in the future? I think that this is what the Council of Elders, and especially Dongfang Wang's cabinet, should consider and take care of properly!"
The reporter asked the Li-surnamed elder whether it was his personal attitude or it was the stance of the Li family. The Li-surnamed elder simply smiled and said, "This is an unexpected event. I only received the news just now. So, it is naturally only my own attitude. However, I do believe that everyone who is considering for the Imperium and the civilization of mankind sincerely, be they from the Li family, the Yun family, or the Dongfang family, will have the deepest sympathy for the wailing, heartbroken generals and disabled soldiers that have gathered in the Emperor's Mausoleum, and the most indignity for the culprit that let all this happen!
"Seriously speaking, this is shaking the foundation of our country. Shouldn't somebody be responsible for the event? Let's just wait and watch how the highest authorities and Prime Minister Dongfang Wang are going to settle and completely investigate the issue! I can only solemnly promise all the citizens and fellow Cultivators that I will fulfill my sacred duty as an elder of the Imperium and supervise the cabinet to settle it properly!"
Even though Dongfang Wang had been the leader of the Dongfang family for forty years and the prime minister of the Imperium for twenty years, and he was certainly not a person to be pissed off easily, he still almost burst into fury this time.
That was because he remembered clearly that the Li-surnamed elder was the first one to jump out to complain, unwilling to offer a single coin, when the Department of National Defense raised a proposal that the four Kurfürst families should provide a sum of money and give it away as "special subsidies" to the retired generals and the disabled veterans so that they would not cause any further trouble before the incident of the Blood Oath Alliance was completely settled.
When the Li-surnamed elder boycotted the proposal, the elders of the other families naturally supported him. Even the elders of the Dongfang family did not show any approval. Dongfang Wang was greatly embarrassed, and the proposal was postponed indefinitely.
It never occurred to him that the Li-surnamed elder would be shameless enough to declare to the citizens that he would "fulfill his sacred duty", or that he would be blatantly insinuating Dongfang Wang's cabinet. The prime minister was so angry that he almost couldn't hold back the urge of killing him.
However, after the momentary fury, he felt coldness to the bones. The Li-surnamed elder was obviously not saying it without thinking. His words represented the attitude of the Li family. What was going on exactly?
Like a fat Buddha that was meditating, Dongfang Wang pondered emotionlessly, until two pieces of news came over.
Firstly, the source of the million disabled veterans was found out. It was impossible to cover the traces of such an overwhelming crowd at all. The Dongfang family's intelligence organizations soon discovered that they came with the Li family's fleet, landed on the defense area that the Li family was responsible for, and marched all the way into the Emperor's Mausoleum under the protection of the Li family!
Secondly, "Silver Fox" Li Jiande, leader of the Li family, had "yet another" attack of diseases. It was said that he was unconscious right now. Li Mingxuan, his seventh son, was now the temporary leader of the family.
Slightly dazed, Dongfang Wang sighed.
With everything coming to this point, he knew clearly what was going on now.
"Family Leader."
A tall, brawny guard walked into the office and declared aggressively, "Our troop has been gathered on the east side of the Emperor's Mausoleum. We can march in and suppress the insubordinate rebellions at any moment!"
The guard was his trusted subordinate that he brought from the family. Therefore, he called Dongfang Wang family leader instead of prime minister.
"Idiot!"
There were not too many concerns in front of his personal bodyguard. Dongfang Wang glared at him and said, "Stand by and do not act rashly. Remember to be wary of the enemy's intentional provocation. Absolutely do not attack!"
Known as the prime minister of iron and blood, Dongfang Wang was never a man hesitant to use violence.
If all the links between the Emperor's Mausoleum and the outside world were cut off, and the Spiritual Nexus and the media were under his control, Dongfang Wang would have probably really settled the riot in the quickest way.
However, it was obvious that the Li family was behind the curtain. If he made a wrong decision, the four Kurfürst families would completely fall out. For the prime minister of the Imperium, it was definitely the last thing he wanted to see.
Besides, why was the Li family confident to challenge him at such a moment? This equaled a comprehensive attack on the Dongfang family. What was the Li family's reliance? Did they have other backup moves? He had to figure out those things first.
The most important thing was that, since the media and the Spiritual Nexus of the other three families had been blocked, the Li family was the only source of information. If conflicts did break out, what would the outside world see and hear? And how would he be vilified as the prime minister of the Imperium?
While Dongfang Wang was hesitating if he should send the Dongfang family's own media to follow, another piece of astounding news came over.
A small fleet was breaking into the Emperor's Mausoleum by force!
"It's not our guy!"
His personal bodyguard hurried to connect the live picture, which, naturally, came from the media of the Li family too. "Our troop is confronting the Imperial Guards on the east side of the mausoleum. We absolutely obeyed the family leader's orders and did not have any conflict with them. Ah, this is—"
In the bodyguard's exclamations of disbelief, Dongfang Wang narrowed his eyes and stared at the sky of the mausoleum in the picture.
Under the contrast of more than ten low-altitude starships, a gold giant grew bigger and bigger. Soon, it demonstrated the most majestic and awesome appearance in the cloudless, blue sky.
It was a pure gold and unbelievably eye-catching Colossus.
The violent flames of spiritual energy spurting out of the Colossus formed gold wings almost a hundred meters long on two sides. There were even words on the wings that said—
"Gold Vulture!"
"Vulture Li Yao!"
…
Before the gigantic statue of Blackstar the Great in the axis of the Emperor's Mausoleum, be
fore the Colossus that seemed to be entirely made of gold appeared, the fury of the generals, soldiers, and people reached the highest point, because they all saw the starships with the emblems of the Dongfang family flying over from the Council of Elders confronting the rusted, outdated starships of the Imperial Guards.
It seemed that the aggressive starships of the Dongfang family would've marched into the Emperor's Mausoleum without the blockage of the Imperial Guards!
"Are the Dongfang family so arrogant that they dare to stomp on the Blackstar the Great's place of rest?"
There was no telling from which corner the exclamation came, but it soon spread throughout the entire Emperor's Mausoleum. The members of the royal family cried even harder, and the atmosphere was more poignant than ever. The surplus generals who led the crying ceremony in the beginning seemed to have envisioned their outcome.
Right when the two parties were at loggerheads, a small fleet was let in by the Imperial Guards from the west side of the Emperor's Mausoleum, and it was not discovered by the crowd until it glided to the top of the crowd.
Then, a gold, glittering "seed" erupted from one of the starships and grew larger and larger in midair, turning into a Colossus that looked like the reincarnation of a god!
"This is—"
Zhao Zhenwu looked at the sky in astonishment. As a seasoned warrior, he had cooperated with Colossi in battles dozens of times, but he had never seen such a glamorous, dominating, and majestic Colossus before!
The Colossus was still standing at an altitude of hundreds of meters, but it was releasing the waves that stirred the soul of everybody. The waves were not filled with any killing intent at all but were full of vigor and determination to resist!
"It's the Gold Vulture, one of the strongest Colossi of the Imperium!"
"I'm told that its user, 'Vulture Li Yao', is also one of the super experts of the Imperium. However, he has been working in the secret frontier, engaged in espionage and sabotage work against the Covenant Alliance. That is why he is known by only a few people. But Vulture Li Yao made great contributions to the glorious triumph of the Imperium's counterattack too!"
"Yes, I've heard about the guy before too. He is a devoted patriot, a purest Immortal Cultivator, and a loyal believer of Blackstar the Great. He must be on our side!"
The rumors that Zhao Zhenwu had never heard before burst out from every corner of the Emperor's Mausoleum the moment Li Yao showed up!
Chapter 2271: Fuel on Fire! |
Some rumors said that "Vulture Li Yao" was the strongest "secret weapon" of the Imperium's army, and that he had been fighting arduous battles against the super experts of the Alliance of the Holy Covenant in the dark, desolate space zones in the frontline.
Some rumors claimed that "Vulture Li Yao" was an expert from the royal family and that his ancestors had protected the emperors dutifully for generations. They had been defending the throne since the age of Blackstar the Great. So, they were the first-generation Immortal Cultivators.
This time, His Majesty simply could not hold it back anymore and therefore asked him to protect the generals, veterans, and people who were in the crying ceremony.
The rumors were so vivid and elaborate as if somebody did see this "Vulture Li Yao" raging unstoppably in the frontline or in the royal family.
Encouraged by the rumors and instigated by certain people, countless people were already raising their hands at the gold Colossus and shouted, "A Colossus! His Majesty has sent a Colossus to protect us! His Majesty supports our effort. Long live His Majesty! Long live the Imperium!"
Zhao Zhenwu was both dumbfounded and grew suspicious. As someone who experienced the Imperium's counterattack in person, he had never heard anything about "Gold Vulture" or "Vulture Li Yao" in his ten years of battles.
On the other hand, the Imperium's counterattack involved four battle areas, dozens of worlds, and hundreds of resource planets. The battlefield spanned thousands of lightyears and far exceeded the observation of any individual. Nobody was confident to say that they knew every war in every space zone.
Therefore, if the guy was really a secret warrior from the dark frontline, it wouldn't be unusual that he had never heard the name before.
But one thing was certain at least. Judging from the overwhelming gold flames of spiritual energy, both the Colossus and the user were incredibly strong. He was indeed qualified to be called a super expert of the Imperium!
A super battle-type Immortal Cultivator, using a Colossus that was exceptionally extravagant from whichever perspective, couldn't have appeared out of thin air, right?
Therefore, chances were that he was really a secret weapon of the army, or a bodyguard who was responsible for His Majesty's safety!
Zhao Zhenwu peeped at Chu Tianhe next to him, only to discover that Chu Tianhe was staring at the gold Colossus in the midair in obvious astonishment too.
However, the organizer of the crying ceremony soon calmed down. Lowering his voice, he spoke to Zhao Zhenwu, "Brother Zhenwu, do you believe me now? It is very possible that we can win the gamble. If we wager everything on the game, everything we lost will come back to us after we win!"
Zhao Zhenwu realized that it was true. The fire of desire flowing in his eyes was burning more vehemently than ever, and he clenched both the fist of flesh and that of iron.
Chu Tianhe was quite right. With everything coming to this point, there was no need to consider if they were taken advantage of by somebody else. To be taken advantage of meant that they still had value but were not garbage that could not be used at all!
There was no need to bother where the Colossus came from as long as the Colossus was on their side. After all, they only needed to make things big, and he would have his everything… and his wife back!
"Long live His Majesty! Long live the Imperium!"
Zhao Zhenwu waved his arms hard at the Gold Vulture in the midair and roared desperately.
The roars of thousands of generals, veterans, and common people seemed to have been condensed into the purest fuel that was injected into the Gold Vulture, allowing the awe-inspiring Colossus to release the most glamorous gold waves.
Letting out earsplitting explosions in midair, the Colossus lunged at the fleet of the Dongfang family that was deployed on the east side of the mausoleum in a streak of brilliance on its own!
The dozens of kilometers in between meant nothing more than a breath for a Colossus.
The million people on the ground only felt that something flashed before their eyes before the Gold Vulture stopped before the Dongfang family's fleet majestically. The gold saber cut forward and raised an aura more than ten kilometers long, which turned into a gold wall and blocked the Dongfang family's fleet from moving forward.
"Ah!"
A competition between a Colossus and a fleet above the Emperor's Mausoleum!
For most of the people, it was the first time in their lives to witness such a thrilling and splendid scene. They couldn't help but all exclaim in shock.
The Dongfang family's fleet was immediately disrupted.
The troop that had come to the Emperor's Mausoleum for suppression had only the low-altitude assault starships that were designed to deal with ground targets. Resisting a Colossus was not within their battle requirements.
Besides, the most important thing for starships to resist a Colossus was to keep a distance of at least hundreds of kilometers, so that they could block and stall the Colossus with their incessant firepower.
Right now, the two parties were only one kilometer away from each other. For a Colossus, it could march to the middle in 0.1 seconds or even break into the starships for sabotages. Also, their starships were so close to each other that the Colossus could directly sprint from the inside of one starship to the inside of another!
In short, their battle formation right now was not suitable to resist a Colossus at all. Dealing with the most advanced Colossus at such a battlefield would not achieve a good result whatever gory prices t
hey paid.
The arrival of Li Yao with his gold Colossus disrupted their plan, forcing them to retreat for several hundred kilometers and set up defenses again.
Also, Prime Minister Dongfang Wang strictly forbade them from opening fire. At first look, it was almost like Li Yao threatened a whole fleet of the Dongfang family on his own!
Thunderous cheers and ovations burst out inside and outside of the Emperor's Mausoleum. Everybody applauded Li Yao for his "valiant performance".
Even the rusted, outdated starships of the Imperial Guards blew their cannons for Li Yao to show their utmost respect for the "loyal Immortal Cultivator" and "Blackstar the Great's most avid follower"!
…
Inside the Gold Vulture, Li Yao was having mixed feelings and almost filled with tears.
The mental devil said, "Are you serious? You are not moved to tears by them, are you?"
Li Yao: "Of course not. I am moved by myself! A long time ago, I said that my dream was to arrive at the capital of the Imperium of True Human Beings majestically with the strongest Colossus to demonstrate my power in this place!
"And today, after my arduous efforts and determined work, my dream has come true. I can even pee and s*it on the head of the statue of Blackstar the Great! Is this what they say 'God help those who help themselves'? I have come such a long way!"
The mental devil: "… Do you know what my biggest dream is right now?"
Li Yao: "What is it?"
The mental devil: "I truly hope that the enormous statue up ahead will split apart, and Blackstar the Great's tomb down there explodes, so that Blackstar the Great will crawl out of his coffin and slap the shameless you on the face!"
Li Yao: "Well, however shameless I am, I cannot be compared to her, right?"
The mental devil: "That… That is very true."
…
After forcing the Dongfang family's fleet into retreating, Li Yao returned to the top of the mausoleum on the Gold Vulture right before Blackstar the Great's statue.