by <unknown>
Could there be a better ending to witness the invincibility of the Colossus of the Imperium before death?
Helian Lie was followed by almost five comrades of the Heaven's Origin Fleet, who were all the survivors he had found when he was cleaning the battlefield searching for magazines and engine units from the remains of crystal suits. All the survivors were as heavily wounded as he was and would not last long. They were only struggling to breathe under the support of bionic stitching gel and strengthening drugs, like a few candles who had been burnt up but refused to die down.
They floated in space like clusters of unattractive junk. Seeing that the federation had already been beaten into a mess in the war and nobody was coming to save them, they decided to give them a quick and gratifying death against the fiercest bombardment instead of waiting to die in the cold, lonely iron cans.
The surviving soldiers who had the same purpose established a suicide squad under the lead of Helian Lie. They marched forward facing the radiance of ten thousand suns and reached this place ahead of the Colossus of the Imperium.
The surviving soldiers chuckled in the small-scale communication channel established temporarily.
'Rabid Dog' Helian Lie had never been a man who opened his heart easily. Most of the time, either when he was in the army or at home, he appeared taciturn and seemed ready to bite somebody.
But sensing that his life was fading away drop by drop, and seeing the vortexes of flames revolving fast in all directions, he could not help but become a chatterbox like all the other surviving soldiers. He spoke a lot and heard a lot.
Now, he could distinguish the identities of the surviving soldiers from different chuckles. He could tell the young fellow who just graduated from the officers' school and was eager to earn a medal, the veteran who was still concerned about his unmarried child although his heart had been half blown up, and the lieutenant who planned to get married in his hometown after the war.
They were all common people, who had never thought, nor were capable, of becoming any sort of heroes. They were like millions of other common soldiers on the space battlefield like dandelions.
But now that fate had pushed them to this point and led them to the front of a Colossus of the Imperium, at the very least—they did not chicken out.
Helian Lie looked at the central battlefield one last time.
On the heated, crimson battlefield, the flagships of the Burning Prairie Fleet and the Black Wind Fleet, the unparalleled experts of the federation and the Imperium, and the dominating, invincible big shots were having the most magnificent competition. The outcome of this war would eventually be decided by them, would it not?
So what? The big shots had the big shots' war, and they had theirs. This was his battlefield, and he would never retreat!
"Major Helian, what are you waiting for? It's just a Colossus!" the surviving soldiers roared in the communication channel. "You are a man who is bold enough to beat Vulture Li Yao!"
Indeed.
Helian Lie grinned.
The iron skull of the Colossus of the Imperium seemed to have changed into Li Yao's face. After all those years, he could no longer remember what Li Yao looked like exactly in his teenage years. It was probably like the righteous, resolute, and keen-sighted appearance on the propaganda, was it not?
He spat a mouthful of blood in disdain. Together with all the surviving soldiers, they shot out everything on them that could be shot.
"Open your eyes and watch closely, b*stards. This is the Heaven's Origin Sector; this is the Heaven's Origin Fleet of the federal army!"
The stormy attack successfully caught the attention of the Colossus of the Imperium. The violet scorpion as well as more than ten accomplices dashed toward them.
They shot out the last magazine and the last bullet in great satisfaction. Thankfully, there were still chainswords, vibration sabers, fists, and teeth.
When the Colossus of the Imperium slashed him in half from the left shoulder with a saber more than ten meters long, Helian Lie felt that he had settled scores with the wretched heavens about the grudge in the past hundred years.
His only regret was that the enemy's violent killing intent locked every muscle on his body and stopped him from uttering any sound.
Of course, even if he did have the ability to roar, he seemed to have forgotten to think of a few presentable and heroic words because he was too occupied by the plain, everyday stories of the other surviving soldiers from just now.
Was my life worthwhile?
Helian Lie was an expert at the peak of the Core Formation Stage after all. Although his fleshly body was cut apart, his broken soul could still struggle for a few minutes. He reflected on his life in the several minutes, not noticing Fishbone that pretended to be a remnant avoiding the blockage of the Colossus of the Imperium because of their suicidal attack and rushing toward Black Swirl from the flank!
On Silver Moon, Jin Xinyue could not help but cover her mouth when she saw the massacre that the Colossus of the Imperium performed on the surviving soldiers of the Heaven's Origin Fleet. She almost shouted out.
"We have entered the range of strike. Detonation is ready. We will enter the range of absolute destruction in five minutes!"
All the people who heard the propitious announcement took off their military hats. There was no telling if they were soothing their anxiety by rubbing the hats in their hands or paying homage to the anonymous soldiers of the Heaven's Origin Fleet!
Deep inside Black Swirl, restless devils were jumping crazily. Images of the battlefield were swallowed, analyzed, and combined in their energy waves.
Suddenly, one of the waves turned into sharp sawtooth and rose up!
"Not good!" Lu Qingchen did not sound so anxious and desperate even during the head-on bombardment against Burning Prairie. "We've been fooled! Urgent dodge! Block and destroy it!"
Like a bull that was stung by a venomous scorpion, Black Swirl 'jumped' high in space, altering the direction crazily without considering the cost, having no time to consider the battle formation or the internal structural damages.
Countless starships of the Imperium shifted their cannons and aimed at Fishbone. Destructive light was ready to go!
But starships were not fingers after all. From the analysis of situation, the dissemination of the orders, to the reaction of the battle units on the starships, it would take billions of times longer than it would take for the bioelectricity to be transmitted from the brain to the nerve endings.
When the firing blockage finally took shape, Fishbone was already within a hundred kilometers of Black Swirl!
On Silver Moon…
"The enemy has discovered Fishbone. Black Swirl is now accelerating and changing course. There's no time to keep moving forward. Detonate it now!"
Jin Xinyue made the call immediately. She almost smashed her hands on the control panel!
Bo!
In the depths of space, at the center of interconnected firing lines, surrounded by countless iron beasts of the Black Wind Fleet, an insignificant bubble exploded.
In the first millisecond after it was born, it was just a bubble no larger than a cell at the core of a deep gray metal ball, without any sound or radiation.
But one millisecond later, it expanded abruptly at a speed unimaginable for human beings. Infinite ripples surged out and swept to all directions unstoppably!
Spiritual shield, disruptive force field, composite armor, crystal suits, space shuttles, starships… Nothing could resist the invisible tides at all because it was not 'damaging' but merely 'twisting' and 'transferring'. It had just opened a temporary gap between this side of the universe and another side, and all the items that happened to be on the top of the gap could not help but 'fall' into the gap!
At that moment, an unforgettable scene for many people appeared on the battlefield.
Including part of Black Swirl, a lot of crystal suits, Colossi, and even starships of the Imperium turned transparent all of a sudden, as
if they were made of the clearest glass. Even the internal organs of the Immortal Cultivators in the Nascent Soul Stage hiding inside the Colossi were visible.
Soon, the 'glass' began spinning and distorting, turning into a gigantic swirl.
Some starships tried their best to get away from the attraction of the swirl, only to be disintegrated into pale light and fall into the deepest part of the swirl like noodles. The small crystal suits, space shuttles, and Colossi could not even struggle before they were consumed by the void in desperate cries and screams.
The swirl was like a voracious beast. After receiving tremendous sacrifices, it was still expanding crazily as a visible speed.
Helian Lie's remaining soul was not entirely obliterated. It was within the radius of destruction of the wormhole bomb.
He could not run away from it, nor did he think of struggling. He simply perceived the most glamorous and splendid view of the universe in a way that was completely different from living people.
The chaotic spiritual waves from the Black Wind Fleet made his remaining soul somehow realize that the colorful, monolithic swirl seemed to be caused by a certain new weapon of the federal army.
Also, the fatal blow seemed to have something to do with him, too.
But none of that mattered now.
Everybody had their own destiny, and their future path had long been paved before they realized it. He was glad that he could clearly see the path that he had been walking on and the path that he was going to. His life had definitely been worth it!
In the last moment before his remaining soul perished, the Rabid Dog finally put down the knot in his heart that had haunted him for a hundred years. He was Helian Lie. Whether someone was a vulture or a pheasant, did it have anything to do with him?
"Li Yao, go f*ck yourself."
Helian Lie's remaining soul shook slightly and extended like blossoming petals when he faced the overwhelming tides of space and time in utmost tranquility and the most beautiful ending.
Chapter 1818: Another Two Hours! |
The space ripples raised by the wormhole bomb expanded into a gigantic swirl more than eighty kilometers in diameter in only ten seconds. Together with all the 'impurities' that were enshrouded inside, it was crystalized first and then became an ivory light ball. The light ball then perished in a moment, reducing into a singular point that was unobservable in the three-dimensional universe.
Centered at the singular point, all the materials within thirty kilometers vanished. They were either teleported to the other side of the universe billions of lightyears away or paved evenly in every corner of the universe, leaving a spherical area of 'vacuum' true to its meaning. It was so dark and so pure that the area was the best example of 'obliteration'.
The materials between thirty to fifty kilometers from the center suffered severe space-time twisting, too. Parts of them were teleported.
In terms of starships, it was often the case that the heads of some starships were still in the Heaven's Origin Sector, but the rears had vanished. It was also possible that the engine compartment stayed where it was, but the stabilization system was gone, which immediately resulted in a series of dull internal explosions.
In terms of the human bodies protected by crystal suits, if the internal organs and even part of the brains were teleported, even the experts in the Core Formation Stage and the Nascent Soul Stage would find it hard to maintain their normal combat ability with the remaining body tissues, if they could survive at all.
The starships more than fifty kilometers away from the center of explosion, and some even a thousand kilometers away, were all affected by the shock, too. They were swallowed by the surging tides when the three-dimensional space was ripped apart by brute force.
The starships shook violently. The crystal suits flew randomly like headless flies. Tremendous magical equipment lost their functionality. The power rune arrays and the spiritual energy of a lot of people lost their colors at the same time. Both the common warriors and the high-level Cultivators felt that more than ten of themselves overlapped at the same time, like the high-frequency vibrations of the metal rod after it was hit by a tuning fork!
The battlefield, which had been more heated than ever a moment prior, fell into a weird silence because of the unexpected space-time explosion.
"Was Black Swirl… blown up?"
On Silver Moon, on Burning Prairie, and in the highest command center on the ground, countless pairs of eyes were focused on the surveillance light beam, trying to see through the hazy ripples and get the situation of the flagship of the Black Wind Fleet.
Finally—
The battlefield, which was silent for a moment, began to run like a mechanical slaughterhouse whose springs were fully-wound. Passing through the twisted space and knocking away countless broken starships, Black Swirl leapt out like a wounded beast!
A shocking round wound appeared at the center of the starship, as if it had been bitten hard right in the middle by a huge, invisible mouth. Tremendous important cabins, components, and magical equipment units were gone. Countless parts and even crew members were spurting out, forming quite a few weird metal streams. But the damage was as smooth as a mirror, without the slightest sign of ripping. Had it not been for the fireballs that were bursting out one after another, the starship would have left the impression that it had been produced exactly in such an appearance.
The terrible space beast was not completely teleported away and even kept part of its combat ability!
Lu Qingchen's keen reaction at the last moment had saved both Black Swirl and the Black Wind Fleet.
The wormhole had not detonated in the range of absolute destruction, and Black Swirl had performed crazy dodging in advance. Therefore, it had only lost about twenty percent of the body, and none of the critical parts were damaged.
Such behemoths that could serve as flagships of the expedition armies were all unbelievably thick and sturdy. They might not be knocked down after being bombarded for three days and three nights.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
The 'Gai'-level super crystal processor in the highest command center of the Defense Counsel of the Federation analyzed and calculated quickly. After only one moment, it sent the latest analysis report to Burning Prairie, Silver Moon, and other command starships in the federal fleet.
"By preliminary estimation, the hyperspace shock just now destroyed at least five 'Storm'-level arsenal starships, three 'Iron Dome'-level heavy shield starships, and two Colossi. In the meantime, the space-time ripples cast certain interference to the space gate being established at the rear of the enemy's fleet, too.
"But Black Swirl did not suffer a fatal blow. By estimation, it has lost twenty-five percent of its speed and thirty percent of its firepower. Nothing more.
"By comprehensive evaluation, the hyperspace shock has delayed the assembly of the enemy's space gate for approximately two hours, which is not long enough for the Burning Prairie Fleet to break the Black Wind Fleet's defense and destroy the space gate.
"Based on the situation on the battlefield, it is very possible that the enemy will have reinforcements in three hours. On the other hand, the three space gates on our side are so badly damaged that it will take at least ten hours' maintenance before they can navigate the reinforcement to arrive!"
After all the trouble, sacrifice, desperation, and lucky coincidences, the wormhole bomb had finally detonated successfully, but all that was earned was only two more hours.
It would take more than ten hours for the reinforcements of their side to arrive. What could they do in two hours?
Such a result cast both Silver Moon and the highest command center into bitter silence. Their hearts that had been soaring a moment ago all hit rock bottom.
For Bai Kaixin and other leadership of the Burning Prairie Fleet on Burning Prairie, they did not even have the time to feel sorry for themselves because the ear-splitting alarms each louder than the last suggested that more Colossi of the Imperiu
m had broken into the flagship of the federal army!
Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Rumbling noises were echoing from deep inside Burning Prairie. The pictures on every surveillance camera were devastating messes.
The few Colossi of the federation immediately retreated for defense.
But they had all fought for a long time. In terms of crystals, ammunition, and storage of spiritual energy, they were utterly incomparable to the well-prepared, high-spirited Colossi of the Imperium that had just been released from Black Swirl.
The federation had fewer Colossi in the first place. The consequence of the few Colossi retreating to defend the flagship was that the most powerful weapon against the Colossi of the Imperium in the space field was lost. The space battlefield immediately turned into a slaughterhouse for the Colossi of the Imperium.
In such an impasse, it was barely possible to break Burning Prairie and other main-force warships of the federation away from the chaos, not to mention breaking the defense of the Black Wind Fleet!
Time passed by one second after another.
Black Swirl went on a rampage in space like an animal that grew even more ferocious after suffering heavy wounds.
Behind it, the space gate was already taking shape. It opened slowly like an enormous eye of a fiend.
…
"What do we do?"
On Silver Moon, mist filled Jin Xinyue's eyes, but a moment later, it was ripped into shreds by her passion and determination. "All demon troops, march toward Black Swirl right now. We don't have a choice. The federation doesn't have a choice. We will either be obliterated or immortalized!"
…
"Chief Advisor!" On the bridge of Burning Prairie, an officer whose face was blackened and bleeding staggered in and shouted, "The enemy's Colossi are close to the bridge now. Please evacuate through the emergency teleportation array!"
"Evacuate?" Bai Kaixin's face that was always filled with sorrow now put on a scornful smile. "Are you asking me, the commander of the Burning Prairie Fleet, to abandon the flagship?
