by <unknown>
Chief Mate Fang took out a smooth handkerchief and wiped the saliva on his face slowly. Then he drew the storm bolter from his waist and pressed it against the captain's temple so hard that it almost stabbed into the captain's skull. "I understand your stance now. Do you have any last words, captain?"
The captain stared at the traitors unwaveringly and took a deep breath. Then he shouted at the top of his voice, "Long live the Black Wind Sector! Long live the Imperium of True Human Be—"
Boom!
Before he finished his declaration, Chief Mate Fang already pulled the trigger.
As thousands of electric arcs dashed out, more than half of the captain's head was blown apart. All the brain tissue and fluids splashed and covered the ground up to three meters away.
Frowning, Chief Mate Fang pointed at the mess and said, "Clean it up. We'll say that the captain insisted on carrying out the order to kill a hundred innocent sailors and even decided to punish us by military law when we refused to obey. Having no choice, we were forced to resist and accidentally killed the captain. In the end, we seized control of 'Sirius'."
"Understood!"
The few members on the bridge did not bother looking at the dead body on the ground that had lost half of its head. They saluted the chief mate and left in a hurry.
"Is the communication with 'Green Island' smooth?"
Manager Qin of the engine compartment rubbed his hands and asked hesitantly, "Any updates so far?"
"Same old. Another dozen starships have surrendered, and another hundred starships that did not understand the situation were defeated." Chief Mate Fang sighed and said, "Right. It is said that Vulture Li Yao has returned with his Colossus, the Tartarean Skeleton. He is even stronger than he was in the space battle.
"He seems to be taking the space as his personal training ground and practicing his new techniques with the starships which were too pigheaded to surrender. The starships of the Imperium sabotaged by him alone are more than fifty."
"F—Fifty?" Manager Qin was dumbfounded. "Is he really so unbelievable?"
"That is what the latest version of the letter of persuasion from the federation says. I don't think that there is any need for them to lie about that." Chief Mate Fang smiled bitterly. "On second thought, it does make sense. How could the starships that were riddled with holes and running out of supplies and power compete with a Colossus? And it was not just any Colossus but Vulture Li Yao's, a guy who slew our commander Heiye Ming in a head-on clash!"
Manager Qin swallowed hard. "Then—then we should approach 'Green Island' now!"
"Yes. We will approach Green Island and get in touch with the main troops behind the brown dwarf," Chief Mate Fang said. "According to Green Island, General 'Di Feiwen', the highest commander of the troops on the brown dwarf's side, is already negotiating with the federation. You should know General Di Feiwen's methods clearly. He will certainly get acceptable terms of surrender for us.
"Of course, the more troops General Di has in his hands, the more leverage he will have in the negotiation, right?"
…
On 'Nine Cauldrons', the largest comprehensive supply starship in the Burning Prairie Fleet, inside the super high-gravity and high-pressure training room, Li Yao kept his arms stretched out and his legs together, making his body into an enormous cross.
The training room was in an extreme environment of thirty times the standard gravity and twenty times the standard air pressure. However, Li Yao was floating in midair as if he were not under such effects at all.
Hundreds of thousands of broken pieces of the magical equipment were revolving crazily and unpredictably around him.
Suddenly—
Li Yao's half-closed eyes opened abruptly, and a sniff echoed from his nose. Of the hundreds of thousands of pieces, half of them flew toward him and assembled into a crystal suit in less than two seconds with cracking sounds!
It was not over yet. Hardly had the crystal suit been assembled when it broke apart and exploded. Another batch of pieces rushed close and assembled into an entirely different crystal suit.
In less than twenty seconds, Li Yao accurately distinguished and screened out the components that belonged to five different crystal suits from the hundreds of thousands of pieces of crystal suits which were entirely mixed up. Then, he attracted the pieces and assembled the five crystal suits that were in completely different categories in the blink of an eye!
The powerful perception of spiritual energy, the precise implementation of crystal suits, and the amazing expertise of remote manipulation made everybody inside and outside the training room dumbfounded and soaked in sweat.
Di Feiwen, vice commander of the Black Wind Fleet, a lieutenant general of the Imperium, and the leader of the second largest family of the Black Wind Sector?
Li Yao recited the name in silence and slowly landed.
The hundreds of thousands of components of crystal suits assembled into five crystal suits behind him in clinking noises and smashed on the floor like five iron guards.
Chapter 1860: Choice of the Fleet of Brown Dwarf |
Chi!
The gravity and air pressure in the training room were reset to standard levels. As white mist jetted out, half of the cabin was enshrouded in smoke.
Li Yao was like an enormous beast that breathed slowly and showed up in the mist, which was mixed with the scent of sulfur.
He took the towel that Heiye Lan handed over respectfully and wiped the sweat on his body while looking at everybody casually.
The Immortal Cultivators from the Black Wind Fleet who had witnessed his unbelievable training in front of the training room the whole time felt as if they were faced with a rampant flood. Their faces were pale, and their minds were disturbed. They all grunted and even took a few steps back subconsciously, not having the courage to compete with Li Yao's aura.
Is—Is this the terror of Vulture Li Yao?
The Immortal Cultivators of the Black Wind Fleet could not help but feel as if their teeth were clattering.
They had all just volunteered to surrender with the letters of persuasion from the federation.
However, meticulous scrutiny on their identity, personality, and past experience had to be conducted first to ensure that no wolves were introduced into the federation.
For the Immortal Cultivators whose hands were stained with the blood of ordinary people and whose crimes even included training with living people, extracting the souls of humans to polish magical equipment, or eating the flesh of living humans, the federation would never accept their surrender.
The point had been emphasized in the letters of persuasion.
Not only were the surrenders of such people unaccepted, the heads of those criminals were the most valuable ones. If other Immortal Cultivators could capture them alive or simply surrender to the federation with their heads, it would be possible for the Immortal Cultivators to earn better treatment.
"According to the different crimes that the Immortal Cultivators committed in the past, they will be classified into different levels, mainly those with misdemeanors and those with felonies. Then, we will instigate those with misdemeanors to attack those with felonies.
"This is exactly how the 'chain of suspicion' works. Even if the Immortal Cultivators who have committed lesser crimes are too intimidated by those who have done unpardonable things to fight them, the latter know their own deeds clearly and will inevitably suspect that the former will reap their heads and claim reward in the federation.
"Now that they are escaping in desperation without supplies in space, they are already under tremendous mental pressure. In the cabins that are dim, narrow, and riddled with holes, all kinds of conflicts can break out with the tiniest spark. In order to prevent their own heads from being reaped by other people, the unpardonable guys will certainly take action first before they are attacked.
"You suspect that I will take away your head and claim the reward and therefore decide to attack me before you are atta
cked. I also know that you are suspicious that I will take away your head and claim the reward, so I have to attack you before you decide to attack me before you are attacked.
"In such a case, among the defeated soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet, there will be the geopolitical contradiction between the Immortal Cultivators of the Black Wind Sector and those from the smaller worlds and the brand-new contradiction between the criminals with lesser crimes and the criminals with unpardonable crimes.
"Torn by the dual contradictions, the defeated soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet will be destroyed by themselves without our attack!"
Perhaps her father's death had activated her potential. After recovering from the grief, Jin Xinyue immediately proposed such a strategy, which later proved to be highly effective. The total number of Immortal Cultivators who surrendered to the Imperium in the past month was as great as the previous five months combined.
Nine Cauldrons, the comprehensive supply starship, was the identification agency that the federal army had deployed on the frontline. The Immortal Cultivators who had surrendered to the federation half a year ago and passed the 'loyalty and safety tests' were all stationed there. They were asked to make independent comments on those who surrendered later. When all the comments were cross-examined, it would be possible to evaluate the sincerity and danger level of the newcomers.
Of course, it was of great help to intimidate them and stabilize the chaos to show the dominance of Vulture Li Yao before the vetting began.
In the few months after he rejoined the battle in space, Li Yao had seen too many dumbfounded, overwhelmed Immortal Cultivators from the Black Wind Fleet who feared him as if he were a tiger. He did not bother to waste any time on them.
What interested him more was Heiye Lan, or rather, General Di Feiwen, the Vice Commander of the Black Wind Fleet whom she had mentioned.
Heiye Lan's father, Heiye Ming, had been killed under the collective attack of Li Yao, Long Yangjun, and Yan Liren. But in order to talk the Black Wind Fleet into surrender, Li Yao and the rest of them did not hide the truth about the extraterrestrial devils and made her realize that before Li Yao and the rest of them arrived, Black Swirl had already been turned into a nest of the extraterrestrial devils. Her father's brain had been deeply corrupted by the extraterrestrial devils, too, and he had become an out-and-out 'devilized person'.
Although looked exactly identical to the past, a 'devilized person', or a 'demonic Cultivator', was no longer who they used to be, merely 'devils' that wore the skin of their former selves!
It was common sense in both the Star Glory Federation and the Imperium of True Human Beings.
Even if Li Yao and the rest of them had not attacked, the Heiye Ming in the past had already been killed the moment that the extraterrestrial devils arrived. The attack from Li Yao and the rest of them was actually an extrication for him.
Even if it were Heiye Lan herself, she could only have done exactly the same thing when faced with her possessed father. There was no room for mercy at all.
The Immortal Cultivators were more indifferent about familial bonds than the Cultivators. As an expert in the Nascent Soul Stage, Heiye Lan was certainly not someone who clung to the details. She did not blame her father's death on Li Yao and the rest of them but remembered the name of Lu Qingchen in her heart.
Or rather, the arrival of the extraterrestrial devils gave her a better reason to convince herself to cooperate with the federation and control the Black Wind Fleet, which was the best choice right now for herself, her deceased father, and the living people of the Black Wind Fleet.
In the past six months, Heiye Lan had been fighting on the frontline in space, trying her best to gather the fleeing soldiers. She did an excellent job and saved precious fuel, ammunition, crystals, and invaluable lives for the federal army.
However, for the main troops of the Black Wind Fleet stationed behind a certain mysterious brown dwarf dozens of lightyears away, they were far beyond the range of her influence, and there was little she could do about them.
Part of the fleet near the brown dwarf had entered the space jump state impatiently during the space battle and perished in the four-dimensional storms after the collapse of the space gate.
But quite an enormous, organized fleet remained where it was, unaffected. It was the greatest problem and the last unsteady factor right now.
Only when the fleet near the brown dwarf surrendered would the space war really end.
"What is Di Feiwen's status in the Black Wind Fleet?" Li Yao walked to the medical room with Heiye Lan following him closely. "What's the situation of the fleet near the brown dwarf now? Is he really willing to surrender?"
"When my father was alive, General Di Feiwen was the No. 2 person in the Black Wind Sector, allegedly capable of taking my father's place," Heiye Lan said. "However, he is a pure advisor-type general. Despite his massive computational ability, his own combat ability is not very remarkable. Besides, the capabilities of his family were slightly lower than my family's, too, which made him fail the competition for the 'Sector Master' of the Black Wind Sector. He then joined my father's cause and helped my father govern the Black Wind Sector dutifully.
"How should I describe General Di Feiwen's character? The people of the Black Wind Sector are best known for their toughness and madness in the Imperium of True Human Beings, but he has additional patience and sordidness. For the opponents that he cannot defeat, he will simply wait patiently until they die of old age. That's the kind of person he is.
"Therefore, although he came from a semi-competitive family, my father still trusted him very much and allowed him to be his right-hand man.
"My father's trust in him can be seen by the fact that my father entrusted the main troops near the brown dwarf to him and led only the elites on the most dangerous assault himself.
"My father had no doubt that even if the elites of the Black Wind Fleet were destroyed, General Di Feiwen would certainly command the remaining soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet to find the best retreat."
"Oh?" Li Yao's eyes flashed. "Is he an ambitious man?"
"All Immortal Cultivators are ambitious. We believe that ambition and desire are the source of progress. Those without ambition and desire do not deserve to live in this world," Heiye Lan said. "However, General Di Feiwen's wisdom is enough to guide his ambition. He wouldn't do anything stupid."
"Got it." Li Yao nodded. "So, he did mean it when he offered to negotiate?"
"It certainly couldn't have been a sheer lie," Heiye Lan said. "According to other sources, a serious internal conflict broke out in the fleet near the brown dwarf. The high-level officers from the Fiery Spider Sector, the Purple Fire Sector, and other smaller worlds intended to join hands to seize command of the fleet, only to be exterminated by General Di Feiwen quickly. As a result, his control over the fleet has become even stronger, his position more unshakeable.
"That being said, the Black Wind Fleet is made of Immortal Cultivators from one big world and four smaller worlds after all. General Di Feiwen cannot kill all the Immortal Cultivators from the smaller worlds. Instead, after shattering the mutiny in the most thunderous way, he had to try to pacify the Immortal Cultivators from the smaller worlds.
"The bottom line is, the cause of fallout is still out there. He needs to find a way out for the fleet near the brown dwarf as soon as possible. Otherwise, the fleet that is already divided will soon collapse.
"They still maintain the long-distance communication with the homeland of the Imperium, but returning to the homeland of the Imperium is a dead end. Everybody, from Di Feiwen to the bottom-level Immortal Cultivators, knows that.
"The Imperium will not tolerate failure twice. The weak must be killed. That is the law of the Immortal Cultivators!
"Therefore, negotiating with the federation and fighting for more favorable terms of surrender is the only option for Di Feiwen and the fleet near the brown dwarf now."
"Understood. But I'm still baffled by one other
thing."
Looking at the message just sent by the Burning Prairie Fleet and reading the letter written by General Di Feiwen, Li Yao frowned and said, "Why does he have to negotiate with me and surrender to me?"
Chapter 1861: Surrender Only to You |
"The Immortal Cultivators believe in survival of the fittest and infinite evolution," Heiye Lan explained. "The strong who stand at the peak of evolution are naturally qualified to govern the weak in order to facilitate the high-speed development of the whole civilization.
"If we must surrender to anyone, of course, we are only willing to surrender to the strongest!
"Who else in the entire Star Glory Federation deserves the title of 'the strongest' if not Master Li?"
Heiye Lan and Li Yao were in a very subtle relationship. They were both cooperating and in some sort of chain of command.
Li Yao did not intend to recruit a fourth true disciple right now, nor did he think that Heiye Lan could be compared to Jin Xinyue and his other disciples. However, he had taught Heiye Lan some secret arts of refining of the ancient Cultivators. It was not entirely inappropriate for her to address him as 'master'.
"Is that so?" Li Yao sniffed. "Why do I feel that there are plenty of people in the federation who are stronger than me? I'm only at the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage. Leaving the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators aside, I am not even confident of my victory if faced with Ding Lingdang or Yan Liren when he's drawn his sword of ten thousand kilometers."
"The Imperium pays more attention to practice. The classification of strength does not depend on levels but on accomplishments." Heiye Lan looked at Li Yao in the most admiring way. "At the most critical moment, Master Li defeated the extraterrestrial devil in Hundred Flowers City first before jumping out of nowhere and destroying the space gate of the Black Wind Fleet. Even my father, the highest commander of the Black Wind Fleet, was killed by you in the eyes of most people in the Black Wind Fleet.
