by <unknown>
"We have to say that the Covenant Alliance chose the best timing."
Lei Chenghu said gloomily, "I thought that they would attack when the Battle of Seven Seas or the battle in the capital was most heated, but they waited patiently until two emperors were confronting one another in the Imperium.
"The confrontation of two emperors means that it's impossible for the reformists and the four families to negotiate. They have to destroy each other and will never work together to resist the Covenant Alliance!"
Li Yao was silent. He had to admit that Lei Chenghu was right.
Royal power was supreme in the Imperium of True Human Beings. Even the four Kurfursten had to exert their dominance through the royal power.
The Immortal Cultivators could compromise in their beliefs. For example, Lei Chenghu could cooperate with Li Yao even though Li Yao was a Cultivator.
After all, Li Yao represented the Star Glory Federation, which did not have an emperor but only a "Speaker", which was not competitive with the crown and would not jeopardize the brilliance of the royal power.
During the battle of the capital and the Battle of Seven Seas, the reformists and the four families hadn't elected their emperor yet, and there was still room for negotiation.
If the Covenant Alliance had attacked back then, chances were that the reformists and the four families would have reached a truce and fought the common foe first.
It was definitely the last thing that the Covenant Alliance would like to see.
But now that both parties had elected their emperors, they could only fight each other until they destroyed their enemies even though they knew that the Covenant Alliance was coveting them.
"The Covenant Alliance certainly knows the best timing because the whole Imperium has been compromised by them. The intelligence on the military, politics, and economy of the Imperium is delivered to the Covenant Alliance on a daily basis. There are too many spies for the Association of Demon Hunters to catch," said Long Yangjun.
Since she had helped the new emperor ascend the throne, her job as the president of the Association of Demon Hunters had been restored. Furthermore, as Yue Wushuang, the head of the other special agency of the Imperium, was involved in Wuying Qi's scheme and being secretly investigated, Long Yangjun's rival was gone, and she became the sole leader of spies of the Imperium.
She did not need her fake name, Dongfang Mingyue, anymore. After all, Dongfang was not a popular name among the reformists. She was described to be the reformists' agent that was sent to the Dongfang family for special missions, and now that her missions were done, she had picked up her old name.
Now, Long Yangjun's main job was to deal with the spies that the Covenant Alliance had sent to the Imperium. She was doing quite a good job.
Li Yao had seen the spies of the Covenant Alliance on Kunlun more than a hundred years ago. Those spies were emotionless but could simulate the feelings of human beings, and they managed to pass the Imperium's tests again and again.
The corruption and darkness of the Imperium created the best environment for the spies of the Covenant Alliance. For the people of the Imperium mired in blood at the bottom of the Imperium, it was not the worst option to join the Covenant Alliance!
Therefore, the spies of the Covenant Alliance had never been cleared, and they caused severe harm.
On the other hand, because of the social structure of the Covenant Alliance and the Path of Ultimate Benevolence, it was barely possible for the agents of the Imperium to sneak into the Covenant Alliance.
Previously, the military of the Imperium had sent many strong and determined agents into the Covenant Alliance, but few of them could stand the Covenant Alliance's repetitive brainwashing. They all ended up as real members of the Covenant Alliance and confessed a lot of secrets of the Imperium.
As a result, the Imperium did not know the Covenant Alliance much even though they had been at war for a thousand years. It was also an important reason as to why the Covenant Alliance remained undefeated after a thousand years when it was in remote worlds and had few resources.
"All in all, it's impossible for us to negotiate with the four families in this competition of legitimacy. No matter how aggressive the Covenant Alliance, we have to carry on our previous plan!"
Lei Chenghu bashed the table and declared, "His Majesty has personally announced the mobilization order against rebels. He would be a joke if it's never carried out. Also, our army has been making military preparations since half a year ago, and there is no way to stop right now!"
Li Yao was silent. He also knew that the war between the reformists and the four families was inevitable.
It was not just about the authority of the emperor but also about the implementation of the new policies.
On one hand, the four families were not dead yet, and they were trying to heal their wounds. They were getting stronger each day.
When they were healed, it would be very tricky to deal with them.
On the other hand, the pardon order, the abolition order, and the reformists' other policies had to be carried out with the fat from the bodies of the four families!
Abolition was more difficult than it sounded. Liberating and educating the people required money. The city that Li Yao, Xiaoming, and Wenwen established in the Great Iron Factory below the ground of the capital planet consumed astronomical investments, and there were too many hominoids and more Great Iron Factories all over the Imperium that were in dire need of help.
As a Cultivator, Li Yao definitely supported the reform of the Imperium. He certainly couldn't try to get money from the reformists like Lei Chenghu, Li Linghai, or Li Jialing. If they did not kill the four families and acquire their money, where could they find the investments for their reform?
Without money, the pardon order, the abolition order, and the subsequent reform policies would be jokes, and the foundation of the reformists would be changed. Eventually, even the national interests of the Star Glory Federation might be at risk.
So, Li Yao could only agree with Lei Chenghu that the battle against the four families had to be carried out even if the Covenant Alliance was turning the newly-recovered area upside down!
"So, we're going to fight on two sides at the same time?"
Looking at the map behind Lei Chenghu, Li Yao asked, "To be faced with the military pressure of the Covenant Alliance and the four families simultaneously?"
"Yes. In the best-case scenario…"
Lei Chenghu said, "If the expedition army can stall the Covenant Alliance in the newly-recovered area, and the army that I command can crush the last capable troop of the four families, we'll be able to take our time to deal with the Covenant Alliance."
"However, now that the Covenant Alliance has emerged at such a tricky moment, they certainly wouldn't watch us finish off the four families."
Li Linghai coughed and said, "I'm very suspicious that the Covenant Alliance's target is the newly-recovered area. If they really wanted those Sectors, they wouldn't have burnt those Sectors to the ground when they retreated a few years ago.
"Is the debris of any significance to them even if they can get it back?
"General Lei Chenghu said in his report to the Council of Elders that the Covenant Alliance was implementing a strategy, hoping to win the war once and for all. I agree with him. If it's true, the Covenant Alliance's target won't be the newly-recovered area or the expedition army; it might be the capital!
"That's right. Skipping the hundreds of Sectors in the middle and stabbing the heart of the Imperium sounds like a suicide strategy and will never work out at other times.
"However, now that most of our forces have to be deployed to eliminate the rebels of the four families, and the remaining forces are scattered in the dozens of Sectors in the newly-recovered area, the capital will be unprecedentedly undefended when the final battle between us and the rebels of the four families begins, and it will be the best moment for the Covenant Alliance to cut our throat!"
Chapter 2698: Super Jump Point! |
Li Linghai was the empress dowager of the Imperium of True Human Beings right now, but in front of her allies, she considered herself the former leader of the reformists and did not cover her sharpness at all.
While talking, she displayed the defense of the whole Empyreal Terminus Sector at present.
Once upon a time, the Empyreal Terminus Sector was the most impenetrable stronghold. Every inch of it was armed to the teeth.
Pitifully, when the four families attacked the Empyreal Terminus Sector, all the defense lines apart from the capital planet were destroyed, and the solar storm that happened later further ruined them. In the following half a year, the reformists had been too busy reorganizing themselves to repair the defense lines.
The capital had never been more lightly defended in the past thousand years.
If Lei Chenghu was to mobilize the best fleets to launch an expedition at the four families' territory, the capital wouldn't have enough troops to resist the assault of the main forces of the Covenant Alliance.
"That's it?"
Looking at the map of the capital, Li Yao was deep in thought. "So, the Covenant Alliance's ultimate purpose is the capital? I remember that General Lei Chenghu told me that the Covenant Alliance had been an uncreative, abnormal country that lacked the vigor of a real society. They must be bordering on collapse after a thousand years and have to fight a final battle with the Imperium.
"Assuming that the Covenant Alliance's target is the capital, even if they can take it, so what? Most of the Immortal Cultivators would never surrender to the Covenant Alliance. They would keep on fighting in other Sectors until the last soldier on the last planet of the last Sector dies. Even the four families wouldn't surrender either. The war would last for at least decades.
"If the Covenant Alliance is bordering on collapse, occupying the capital won't help. Can they keep attacking for a hundred years?"
"So, as I've told you before, I'm suspecting that the Covenant Alliance's ultimate target is not the capital, but the entrance to the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum."
Li Linghai said, "The Covenant Alliance unexpectedly occupied the Thick Soil Sector to wreak chaos on the expedition army, which will create an opportunity for them to attack the capital. However, attacking the capital is just another distraction. Their real purpose is to occupy the space zone where the entrance to the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum is located. It's somewhere around here…"
Several strange maps appeared on the light beam. Among the sparse stars were several dot lines and blips.
"The entrance to the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum is like a ghost island that surfaces in the ocean regularly. It has been a year and a half since the mausoleum last showed up. If my calculation is correct, it will appear again three months to half a year later."
Li Linghai said, "Based on the previous experience, the entrance will be steady for a long time. If the Covenant Alliance are really planning to sneak into the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum, this will be their best opportunity over the past hundreds of years.
"I believe that you've all realized that the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum is not just the place where the Supreme Emperor is buried, but also the place that countless primeval experts are sleeping in. The Covenant Alliance, on the other hand, is a fanatic organization that worships the primeval experts rather than a normal country. Their goal is to wake up all the primeval experts!"
Everybody was shivering when they heard about that.
One could only infer what their enemy wanted to do when their enemy was normal, but who could tell what a bunch of inhumane lunatics would do?
"I'm still confused. How can the entrance of the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum be so unpredictable?"
Frowning, Li Yao pointed at the map and said, "The possible location of the entrance crosses two Sectors. That's a wide range! Also, you said it would appear three months to half a year later. Is it going to be three months or half a year? Why is the entrance to the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum so mysterious? Can you explain it in a more reasonable way?"
"Of course. While the entrance to the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum is mysterious, it can be explained with natural laws, as long as you break the stereotype in your head and understand it from a higher dimension."
Li Linghai grabbed a piece of paper and two pens. She shook the paper and said, "Let's assume that this paper is a universe."
Then, she rolled the piece into a round paper ball.
"Now, it's a high-dimensional universe."
She then drew a black circle around the paper ball with one of the pens. "This is the trajectory of a certain object that is moving at an even speed in this high-dimensional universe. Look at the trajectory. It's clear and patterned. As long as you know the location of an object and its speed, you can calculate where it will be in the next second. For example, if I draw a red spot here, it will always move along with the black circle, right?"
"Yes."
Li Yao observed it carefully. The math was pretty easy even for elementary school students. But he still did not understand what Li Linghai meant. "So?"
"So…"
Li Linghai smiled and unfolded the paper ball. All the wrinkles were removed, and it was a piece of paper again.
On the piece of paper were countless black spots that used to be part of the black circle.
However, they were now sparse and disorganized, like the doodling of a little child.
The red spot, on the other hand, appeared on one of the black spots independently.
"What about now?"
Looking at Li Yao, Li Linghai asked, "Assuming that the moving pattern of the red spot does not change, can you still tell me where it's going to be next?"
Li Yao was lost for words.
Of course, he could not predict it.
But he more or less understood what Li Linghai meant now.
"The entrance to the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum is like this red spot. It has a fixed pattern of movement, but the pattern is not a three-dimensional one but comes from a higher dimension."
Li Linghai said, "When the pattern of the higher dimension is projected into our universe, it becomes the black spots on the paper that seem to be randomly distributed.
"At first look, the entrance to the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum is unpredictable and completely violates the laws of our universe, but actually, it has its own patterns, although we can barely conclude the patterns. After all, we're nothing more than ants on this piece of paper.
"Thankfully, the Blood God and the Supreme Emperor grasped part of the patterns with the files on the entrance to the mausoleum from the primeval age, so I can roughly estimate the range of the next black spot.
"That's right. Back in the primeval age, the ultimate experts of the Pangu Clan and the Nuwa Clan had grown interested in the entrance to the mausoleum. Of course, it was not a mausoleum yet, but more likely a super jump point."
"A super jump point?"
Li Yao asked, "What's that?"
"Normal space jumps are like this."
Li Linghai folded the piece of paper in halves.
"A super space jump, or a multiple space jump, is like this."
Li Linghai folded the paper again and again until it was only the size of her fingernail.
"You're saying that…"
Li Yao thought quickly and immediately understood it. "If we can fold the space again and again, we'll be able to jump tens of billions of lightyears away.
"Furthermore, with our current space jump technologies, we'll end up in the tiny pond that is the Pangu universe however we jump, but if we find the super jump point, we might be able to jump over the goddamn black wall into the multiverse outside?"
Everybody was shocked to hear that.
"Maybe."
Li Linghai said, "All in all, the mausoleum must've been unimaginably mysterious even for the primeval civilizations. That's why the primeval experts chose to bury themselves there. If your guess is correct, their deci
sion would be reasonable. Because the mausoleum is a super jump point to the multiverse outside of the black wall, the ultimate experts of the primeval era had to defend it and would never allow anyone to jump out from there!"
Everybody was frightened as they listened to Li Yao and Li Linghai's conversation.
"Everything so far is just your speculation. It would be best if your theory could be confirmed by the intelligence from the Covenant Alliance."
Frowning deeply, Lei Chenghu sighed and asked, "We'll still have to fight in a dark fog if there's no detailed intelligence but only questionable speculations. Right, Black Wind King, what's the response of the Star Glory Federation? Will you send reinforcements to help us eliminate the rebels of the four families?"
"About that…"
Li Yao coughed and said, "You all know that the Star Glory Federation is a democratic country. It's an important decision whether or not to intervene in the civil war of the Immortal Cultivators, and the parliament is still discussing it. However influential I am back in the federation, I cannot stop the parliament from making a democratic decision, can I?"
Chapter 2699: Research Institute of Severe Mental Diseases |
"Brother Yao, say no more. We all know that it's an outrageous request to ask the Star Glory Federation to assist the Imperium of True Human Beings."
Biting his teeth, Li Jialing said, "If any of us were the leader of the federation, we would barely be able to persuade the people to make such a risky decision.
"If the federation decides to ignore the conflicts at the center of the cosmos, that will be completely understandable.
"I can only say that if the federation does send their troops to the center of the cosmos, I'll always remember the friendship, try my best to protect their safety, and meet your demands. Anything will be negotiable.
"Besides, the reformists and the Star Glory Federation are on the same boat at this moment. Once the reformists collapse, whether the four families or the Covenant Alliance wins, they will definitely consider the federation their next target. Or even worse, if the Covenant Alliance finds the mausoleum and wakes up hundreds of primeval experts, it will be the doom of mankind. Can the Star Glory Federation survive it?