by <unknown>
Standing on "Landslide", one of the four Adamantine Super Arsenal Warships and his flagship, and inspecting his troops through the panoramic virtual light beams, Yun Xuefeng couldn't help but feel more ambitious than ever. He was even about to draw his sword and dance in excitement.
As a fleet commander, his life was certainly worth it after having such a moment!
Yun Xuefeng was almost a perfect noble from every aspect.
He was almost two meters tall, strong and handsome. He was the best among his peers since childhood. Nobody ever stayed on top of him in any fight or competition.
In the Imperium's counterattack, most of the nobles were hesitating and dawdling in the rear, waiting to steal the fruits of victory. Yun Xuefeng, on the other hand, considered it a shame to be like them. He commanded his fleet to charge forward and was henceforth known as "Scourging Storm".
Somebody compared him to Lei Chenghu and called them the two pearls of the expedition army. Some even claimed that Lei Chenghu had become an old and toothless tiger, and that the Imperium in the next hundred years would be his.
Yun Xuefeng was not an idiot. He naturally knew that those adulations were not entirely true, but he had always been craving to tower over Lei Chenghu.
Although there was no chance right now, he would certainly be able to collide with Lei Chenghu's Astounding Thunder Fleet after he razed the Seven Seas Grand Market, right?
By then, everybody would know which of them was better, "Yun" or "Lei".
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
When the four Adamantine Super Arsenal Warships, divided into two groups, sailed into the pivot of his fleet respectively, Yun Xuefeng received a communication request from a distant world. The name of the person made him raise his lips in delight.
"Reporting to Commander Yun, my fleet and the 'National Protection Army' are ready. We can launch the first wave of jumps anytime!"
Li Wuji, Marquess Yongchun, appeared on the light beam. With a determined face, he said solemnly, "After the jump, my fleet and the National Protection Army will definitely gather as soon as possible and stall the enemy to buy time for the gathering of the 'Adamantine Fleet'!"
"Good."
Yun Xuefeng sighed and said, "I did not know that there were still men of loyalty and integrity like you in the four families, Marquess Yongchun. Had there been a few more loyal contributors like you, the situation wouldn't have gotten as worse as today at all! Just rest assured and fight without concerns. As long as the battle is won, I will double compensate for your losses!"
"Understood. I will certainly do my best to serve my country and to return Commander Yun's trust and appreciation!"
Li Wuji said in gratitude, "I did not expect that Commander Yun would give me such a high permission in the 'Flying Lightning Command Chain' and that more than 90% of the starships are commanded by me. That's really…"
"Hehe. More than 90% of the starships in our coalition fleet belong to the vacillating warlords and local magnates, who will not move forward at all unless a gun is stuck to the back of their heads."
Yun Xuefeng said gloomily, "Since you are so loyal to me and have such an excellent fleet, I certainly need to release part of the commandership to you. After we jump to the Seven Seas Space Zone, gather those loose cannons well and force them to fight hard. Whoever slacks off and tries to preserve their strength, don't show any mercy on them but punish them according to the martial law!"
"Yes, yes, now that Commander Yun has put it that way, I will not hesitate even if I have to force all the warlords from the peripheral worlds to fight!"
Li Wuji rubbed his hands and declared determinedly. Then, he suddenly hesitated and changed the topic. "However, it's easy to deal with the troops of the regular warlords. I am confident to control and manipulate them. But what about the starships of the Li family, the Song family, and even the Dongfang family? Commander Yun, you should know that they do not consider a minor 'marquess' to be a big deal at all. Even though I have relatively high permission in the command chain, they will not necessarily obey my orders."
"Huh?"
Slightly frowning, Yun Xuefeng said in dissatisfaction, "Everybody knows that you work for me now. Who dares to disobey your orders? Your fleet has such a high combat ability. Are your starships all vegetarians?"
"That being said, if those people really disobey my orders, it's not like I can set up the cannons and bombard them directly, right?"
Li Wuji said with a bitter smile, "I, for one, am determined to annihilate the rebels whatever the losses will be. However, many people from the Li family, the Song family, or the Dongfang family will want to preserve their strength. Just think about it, Commander Yun, will they follow my orders?"
Yun Xuefeng coughed rather embarrassedly. "Then, what's your plan?"
"I'm not suggesting anything else. Even if I have to force those wavering guys to follow my orders with violence, I will not hesitate to do it."
Li Wuji said, "However, my place in my family is very awkward when I am openly siding with Commander Yun without caring about the opinions of my family. If there is any conflict or misunderstanding between me and allies, it will be even more difficult for me to stay in my family. I'll have nothing to defend myself if somebody punishes me for exceeding my authority in the future.
"Therefore, I was wondering if Commander Yun could give me a secret order with a soul signature on it, proving that everything my fleet and I do on the battlefield is authorized by you.
"Then, when I gather the loose cannons, should I encounter the starships of the four families, they would certainly be awed by Commander Yun's prestige and follow my instructions as soon as I show Commander Yun's secret order to them."
"Hmm…"
Yun Xuefeng tapped his fingers for a long time. Looking at Li Wuji's ambitious yet sincere face, he naturally knew what was on the guy's mind. He was merely hoping to seize the opportunity to recruit more starships and expand his strength. When the loose soldiers were "temporarily" gathered by him, they would never be let back after the battle.
However, Li Wuji was his loyal dog right now. With a great war coming near, it would be highly inappropriate if he could not feed a few bones to him.
If he wanted to expand his strength, so be it. It was better to let Li Wuji expand his strength than to let the annoying guys of the Song family expand theirs after all.
Thinking that way, Yun Xuefeng waved his hands. "Alright, I'll give you two secret orders personally and in the name of the 'commander of the coalition fleet'. After we come to the chaotic battlefield, whoever disobeys you after reading the two secret orders shall be executed immediately!"
"Thank you, Commander Yun!"
Li Wuji's eyes immediately turned red, and he was almost choked by sobs. "Commander Yun, you trust and support me so much that I cannot return one-thousandth of your favor even with my life…"
He forwarded exactly what Boss Bai spoke to him a few months ago to Yun Xuefeng without changing anything.
"Haha! Hahahaha!"
Yun Xuefeng had never considered his life above a septic tank before. Naturally, he was unaware of the stinky venom contained in Li Wuji's words. He raised his head and laughed. "Alright, let go of your concerns and fight with your best. After the victory of the battle, our fate will be completely different from the past!"
"Yes."
Li Wuji lowered his head deeply, preventing the guy from seeing the maliciousness overflowing from his eyes, and said in the coldest voice, "I have no doubt about that."
Chapter 2560: A Sacrifice of 99%! |
Three hours before the battle, besides the "Purple Cloud Sector" that was controlled by the Yun family, the military towns controlled by the other three families, as well as the jump points at the edge of the Imperium, had witnessed the final gathering of all the fleets. The four-dimensional jump devices including the "Solar Slingshot" were all activated.
Three hours later, the hundreds of thousands of starships from a hundred Sectors
would be teleported to the tiny Seven Seas Space Zone and completely drown the place.
The battle of Seven Seas was about to begin, and the entire space reeked of the smoke of war. However, the capital, at the center of the turbulence, was as peaceful as the eye of a storm.
Deep below the capital in the Empyreal Terminus Sector, the underground relic that Li Yao and Long Yangjun explored a few months ago had been expanded dozens of times. Finally, an ancient building that looked like a pyramid had been exposed.
The transparent pyramid seemed to be covered in an unpredictable twisting force field on the surface, allowing it to emanate brilliant colors all the time that filled every inch of space below the ground. The darkness here was transformed into an ocean of colors.
The size of the building exposed out of the rock was already as magnificent as a palace. Every edge of the pyramid was at least five thousand meters long. There was still no telling how enormous the size that was buried below the rocks was.
What was most incredible was that the ancient building of such an enormous scale did not have the slightest gap on the surface. It seemed to be a natural and whole piece instead of a building piled up with rocks!
Around the pyramid, countless sophisticated primeval words had been carved densely. Every word was a maze-like cube that contained information a hundred times more abundant than the language of mankind. Under the contrast of the splendid colors, all the words were floating and revolving slowly in the midair.
The scene deep below the ground was like the most bizarre dream that was completely off reality.
At this moment, countless soldiers that belonged to the reformists were continuing the work around the pyramid. A team of researchers was exiting and entering the pyramid too.
Suddenly, the cubic rune arrays floating around the pyramid spread out dim ripples. One of the soldiers screamed and leaped, holding his head.
In his eyes, his skull was cracking and exploding. Even the helmet of his crystal suit could not stop the anomaly of his skull. His head was getting bigger and bigger, unleashing the mental power that felt like a volcano eruption.
"Aoooooooo!"
When his head was twice as huge, even blowing up the helmet of his crystal suit, the soldier finally went mad and attacked his companions around.
His companions seemed to have been used to such accidents. Everybody opened fire without batting an eye. A hundred cannons shot at the same time, blowing the crazy soldier into smithereens. Even his head completely exploded after a huge noise.
His corpse fell to the ground like mud, and spiritual puppets immediately went forth to clean up the mess.
The eyes of the rest of the soldiers were filled with zeal. Not bothering the minor episode at all, they simply continued their work.
Queen Li Linghai, in her form with a headful of white hair that looked like a waterfall, floated at the top of the underground space and observed everything coldly from the high stance.
"Another one who has lost sanity."
She said indifferently, without the slightest emotion in her voice.
"Such sacrifices are necessary for the rise of the new Imperium and for the tomorrow of the civilization of mankind."
Deep inside her brain, Blackstar the Great's voice echoed gloomily.
"Even if—"
Li Linghai was silent for a long time, before she went on again, "Even if everybody in the capital or the Empyreal Terminus Sector has to be sacrificed, will the sacrifices be necessary too?"
"Of course."
Wuying Qi said casually, "The birth of the new Imperium is a miracle like the nirvana of phoenix. How will a brand-new future arrive if the old world is not completely destroyed?"
Li Linghai hesitated. The nonchalant mask on her face that she carefully made fell apart, revealing part of her real feelings without her knowing it.
"Are you still thinking about your son?"
Wuying Qi immediately grasped her subtle change of feelings. He scorned, "The battle of Seven Seas will begin in three hours. Let him play the childish game with Li Yao and the people of the four families in the Seven Seas Space Zone. What we should pay more attention to is the civilization of mankind billions of years later, and how to focus the ambitions, bravery, and strength of all human beings to break out of this narrow, suffocating, tiny universe, right?"
Shivering, Li Linghai couldn't help but nod her head. "… Yes, Your Majesty."
"For billions of years, too many civilizations have been stranded in this tiny universe, including not just the Pangu and Nuwa civilizations but also the ancient civilizations that were even more powerful than Pangu and Nuwa."
Blackstar the Great sighed. "But no matter how powerful they once were, so what? As long as they cannot break out of the tiny universe, they would forever be restrained by the insufficiency of resources. Their doom was as inevitable as their splendor.
"The civilization of mankind is only just born and still in the growth period. Compared to Pangu, Nuwa, and other ancient civilizations, we are naturally rather weak. However, it is exactly because we are just born that infinite possibilities are still ahead of us. We should not walk on the old path of Pangu, Nuwa, and other ancient civilizations since the very beginning. Even if the odds are just one billionth, we should still summon all our courage and rush out of this damn universe not fearing any sacrifices!
"Even if destruction is unavoidable, we should be destroyed in the grand universe that is much vaster, instead of dying without a sound in this dry well!
"This is the greatest reason why I am determined to build a new Imperium. For such a new Imperium, for such a civilization of mankind, and in order to break into the unvisited lands that Pangu and Nuwa never reached, is a minor capital really a big deal?
"Let me tell you the truth. The civilization of mankind does not stand any chance if it goes on like this. For our most magnificent plan, even if half of all human beings must be sacrificed—no, even if nine-tenths or even 99% of them have to be sacrificed, the 1% strongest experts will still survive, break out, and evolve into brand-new forms that are thousands of times stronger than they are today like the legendary gods. Then, for the whole civilization, it will be the greatest fluke!"
Wuying Qi's crazy roars made Li Linghai barely able to catch her breath.
"I understand it now, Your Majesty."
Her mind unsteady, the queen of the Imperium did not dare ask any longer, fearing that she might be completely lost in Wuying Qi's crazy and profound soul.
Looking at the pyramid down below that was glowing in eerie brilliance deeply, she said, "All for the civilization of mankind. I'll listen to you on everything, Your Majesty."
…
There were the last five minutes until the battle.
Deep inside the Seven Seas Grand Market in the Seven Seas Space Zone, an overwhelming light beam had been slowly unfolded in Jin Yuyan's remote command center, displaying the hologram of the entire Seven Seas Space Zone before everyone, including Li Yao.
The spots on the hologram were the locations of the fleets that belonged to the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, the half-fixed space fortresses on the orbit of every planet, and the distribution of the space torpedoes that had filled all the sailing routes.
The light spots were so dense that a new layer of stars seemed to have been added to the sky.
Even though the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors had done all the preparations that could've been done, even though they had been more united than ever after the four families' scheme of assassination was disrupted, and even though the arrival of "Black Wind King Li Yao" boosted the morale to the highest, the smothering tranquility during the last few minutes before the great battle was still tearing their nerves brutally, making everybody in the command center pale and their heart race. Their eyeballs and their sweat seemed to be frozen.
…
Three minutes before the battle, on "Landslide", the flagship-in-general of the coalition fleet, in the Pu
rple Cloud Sector, the most gargantuan light beam was also rising before Yun Xuefeng, manifesting the gathering status of the fleets from the hundred Sectors. The brilliance of the spiritual shields of so many starships that were activated at the same time almost congregated into an ocean of suns, almost too dazzling for him to watch.
Yun Xuefeng grinned and slowly unsheathed the gold command saber, raising it high.
Although it was a meaningless, symbolic movement, Yun Xuefeng still had the habit of doing it before every battle. When he held the command saber tightly in his hands, he had the feeling that he was melted with the million starships and filled with infinite strength.
"All branch fleet commanders, begin the jump now!"
Yun Xuefeng slashed the command saber heavily and declared, one word after another.
For a moment, all the light beams seemed to be involved in gigantic swirls as the pictures on them were blurred and twisted. The starships on them gradually turned transparent, before they were stretched and paved!
The stars were dragged into helical rays by the "Solar Slingshots". The rays were then interwoven into tunnels that tore apart the space and led to a different world. The starships all moved toward the "tunnel of stars" slowly, as if they were "falling" into the invisible wormholes. They were soon gone.
The blind jump and the sudden assault performed by hundreds of thousands of starships at the same time began!
…
"Ahhhhhhh!"
In the command center of the Seven Seas Grand Market, the hologram immediately reacted. Like a pond where it was drizzling, black ripples appeared and spread out nonstop. At first, there were only a few tiny raindrops, but they became a torrential storm very soon. The whole space zone was occupied by intense waves.
"So-So many space gaps that have been ripped by brute force!"
"They're almost everywhere. All the sailing routes, all the space, and all the surroundings of the planets are brimming with space ripples. How many starships have jumped over simultaneously?"