by <unknown>
"Blackstar the Great already died in the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum a thousand years ago. The only thing left was part of his remaining soul, which lurked for a long time before it finally ran into the young Li Linghai. It then attached itself to her and returned to the Imperium.
"That's Wuying Qi and Li Linghai's side of the story.
"However, during the thousand years of hiding and wandering, what if the remaining part of Wuying Qi's soul was corrupted and contaminated by something else? What if it was completely deformed, with all the beliefs twisted? Could it have been enslaved by something more powerful?
"Those mysteries are not resolved, yet you are already kneeling before him and pledging your loyalty to him just because he claims that he is Blackstar the Great, Commander Lei? How injudicious! He says that he is Wuying Qi, but I'll say that I am actually Wuying Qi. After all, having swallowed the strength of the Imperial Fire Pearl, I can spurt out a few mouthfuls of the dominating purple flames as well. Neither of us has 100% convincing proof!
"All in all, I am not objecting to your loyalty to Blackstar the Great. Really, as a real Immortal Cultivator, it's perfectly normal that you want to serve the ancestor of the Immortal Cultivators! I am only kindly suggesting that you should figure out whether or not the guy who is up to nobody knows what in the capital at present is the 100% Wuying Qi from a thousand years ago, and whether or not he deserves your allegiance and devotion when the fate of the Imperium and the future of mankind are at stake!"
Lei Chenghu's eyes and lips were slightly trembling.
"Such sophistry of yours is truly a headache."
He said coldly, "It's impossible to find answers to the questions you raised. His Majesty was revived from part of his remaining soul. Naturally, he is not 100% the Wuying Qi from a thousand years ago. It is not strange that his personalities and even beliefs have slightly changed. However, is there a better option than him at this moment?"
"There is, and that's you!"
Li Yao rubbed his hands and said, "The so-called 'Wuying Qi' has malicious plans right now. God knows if he is another false Immortal Cultivator or something even more terrible than the Immortal Cultivators. This universe must not fall into his hands.
"However, Commander Lei, you are undoubtedly a pure Immortal Cultivator who is capable of running the Imperium.
"Of course, I understand that it is not your goal to be a dictator of the Imperium. So, we will continue our deal in the past and carry on the renewal of the Imperium as 'rightful reformists' to stop Wuying Qi's scheme. In the end, we will select a young emperor that you've taught and raised in person, and he will be assisted by you while he reigns over the Imperium. Everything will be good in such a way!"
"After that, your Cultivators will be able to mix into the team of reformists and corrode the ideology of the Imperium without alerting anyone, starting a war of minds where nobody dies."
Lei Chenghu sneered, "Is that the case?"
"If the true path of immortality is really invincible, you wouldn't need to worry about a war of ideology at all!"
Li Yao said frankly, "Even if a few Cultivators blend into the team of Immortal Cultivators, shouldn't they be corrupted and transformed by you easily? Why are you so vigilant of the path of the Cultivators as if it is a ferocious tiger or a venomous scorpion?"
Chapter 2593: All Arrows Are Shot! |
Lei Chenghu closed his eyes. Leaning his head to the dent on his seat, he was caught in a deep and disturbing thought.
"Even if—"
Pondering for a long time, he finally said cautiously, "Even if we really want to find out what's going on in the capital, or even to stop His Majesty's operation, it is still technically impossible.
"First of all, with my Astounding Thunder Fleet and your tiny fleet, it is impossible to soothe the chaos in the Seven Seas Space Zone. If the chaos here is not restored to peace, we will not be able to mobilize enough forces to interfere with the battle in the capital.
"Even if we find a way to stop His Majesty's operation, we will still be faced with the ace fleets of the four families as well as the enormous fleet of the Alliance of the Holy Covenant. The military pressure will be too huge for us to resist.
"Therefore, I stand by the conclusion just now. At this moment, only His Majesty can save the Imperium and the civilization of mankind. Our reckless moves will bring nothing but disasters."
"No, Commander Lei, you are mistaken. If we join our hands, it will be absolutely possible to crush the main force of the four families' coalition fleet, including Yun Xuefeng and Song Yushi, in three days and to unite all the warships scattered in the Seven Seas Space Zone with a network that is more effective and robust than the Flying Lighting Super Command Chain!"
Li Yao hesitated for a moment but decided to take his chances. "If I'm being completely honest, Commander Lei, our strength is much more than what you have seen. Quite a few branch fleets of ours are still hiding in the dark. Also, we boast—we boast the cyber technologies above the best level of the Imperium, which can combine a tray of loose sand into the most indestructible iron instantly!
"As long as we let go of our disagreement for now and work together, we will definitely be able to dig such a great trap that all the commanders of the four families in the frontline, including Yue Xuefeng and Song Yushi, will fall in. Their starships will be seized and built into the national defense army you have in mind.
"Look at me in the eyes and trust me, Commander Lei!"
Li Yao and Lei Chenghu's gazes met in the narrow space.
As if two giant cannons had barraged each other, electric arcs and magnetic fields were rising.
Neither of them was planning to move their eyes away. An indestructible bridge was formed between them.
"The first time I saw you, I had this strange feeling that you were utterly unfit for the world around you and that you were no ordinary Immortal Cultivator."
Lei Chenghu sighed and said, "At that time, I really took you for a dark warrior that the queen raised in secret. I thought that your unique vibe was because you were isolated from other Immortal Cultivators for too long.
"At that time, I could never have thought that you were one of the Cultivators who had vanished for a thousand years, or that the Cultivators still had such enormous strength after a thousand years.
"Tell me, Cultivator Li Yao, why do you want to cooperate with me? Are you scared that you will be killed by me in the end after all your trump cards are revealed? Your decision seems a bit… idiotic!"
"That's right. We, the Cultivators, tend to be silly sometimes. It can't be helped. All the 'smart people' have joined the circle of the Immortal Cultivators, but you have seen the world that they have built up yourself, Commander Lei."
Li Yao said, "Therefore, I think human beings, as individuals, should be silly once in a while so that humanity, as a whole, will enjoy a better future, right?
"I do not deny the disparity between Commander Lei's beliefs and mine. We are indeed enemies, and our paths will collide brutally sooner or later, but not necessarily now.
"There are many kinds of enemies. The primary ones, the secondary ones, the dangerous ones, the shameless ones, the negotiable ones, the sworn ones… Cooperating with the secondary enemies to deal with the primary enemies first, or cooperating with the enemies who are less dangerous to deal with the enemies who are most dangerous, aren't they perfectly normal options?
"At the very least, despite our different beliefs, I believe that Commander Lei and I share many things in common."
"Is that so?"
Lei Chenghu couldn't help but ask, "What things do we have in common?"
"We are both determined, stubborn, forthright, and we never bother to use shameless tricks."
Li Yao said, "Most importantly, we have both dropped personal and lowly interests. We are men of integrity and charisma, who have the whole universe in our mind. We are fighting for the future of mankind and for the peace and unity of this universe!
>
"All in all, we share the same target, except that our methodologies to achieve the target are polar opposite. While I cannot agree with Commander Lei's approaches, I have also made certain decisions that may prove to be horrible in the future. Therefore, I find what Commander Lei thinks and does understandable.
"In short, Commander Lei and I are both great heroes, and we should cherish and appreciate each other. It's already a shame that we cannot be sworn brothers. How can we not cooperate well?"
"Is that so?"
An indescribable expression popped up on Lei Chenghu's face. Perhaps in his two hundred years of battles and conquests, he had never encountered such a unique enemy… or ally like Li Yao, and he did not know how to react for a moment.
"There's no need to doubt me. It's absolutely true!"
Li Yao waved his hands and declared resolutely, "This is all I want to say. You can make a decision now, Commander Lei!
"There are only two ways ahead of you, Commander Lei. You can either walk out of this space shutter and order your subordinates to shoot me into a beehive. I guarantee that I will not dodge or resist. I will not even activate my Cosmos Rings. When I took the gamble, I was already braced for failure!
"Or, after you walk out, Commander Lei, you can drop our conflicts for now and work with the Cultivators' fleet. We will settle the Seven Seas Space Zone first and the capital later before we create a brand-new Imperium!
"If Commander Lei needs to think about it, you can consider it carefully after you're out. I'm not persuading you to betray Blackstar the Great right now; I'm only asking you to give the new Imperium an opportunity, give peace an opportunity, and give the future of mankind an opportunity!"
While he talked, Li Yao truly took off all the Cosmos Rings on his fingers and tossed them to the ground heavily, before he looked at Lei Chenghu sincerely and earnestly.
Lei Chenghu's thoughtful eyes blinked for a long time. Finally, he heaved a long sigh and was ready to walk out.
Li Yao clenched his fists; his Adam's apple moving up and down. His forehead was beaded with cold sweat, but he did not stop Lei Chenghu.
From the perspective that he could not see, astonishment beamed out of Lei Chenghu's eyes. He pondered for a long time, but he still left the space shuttle without saying anything.
"Commander Lei!"
His advisors and his guards all moved to him. Seeing that he looked solemn but remained unhurt, they were all relieved. They asked, "What about it? Is Li Wuji willing to surrender?"
Lei Chenghu was silent. After several steps, he couldn't help but turn around and look at the Hummingbird-level shuttle again.
Despite the alloy shell, he could still sense Li Yao's eyes that were as scorching and dazzling as a supernova outbreak.
Cultivators were truly enemies that he had never seen and could never understand!
"No."
Lei Chenghu said, "Fire and take him down!"
…
While the battle in the Seven Seas Space Zone was heated at the edge of the cosmos, black waves that looked like bottomless abysses were also raised at the edge of the Empyreal Terminus Sector at the center of the Imperium.
As the waves entangled and combined, the stable three-dimensional space was soon torn apart, connecting two locations that were supposedly tens of thousands of lightyears away.
Abundant materials traveled through the tunnel whose length was close to zero. After passing the brief stun phase, they emanated destructive brilliance again.
After only three days, more than ten fleets that belonged to the four Kurfürst families finished the teleportation, including the ace fleets that the four families relied on to dominate the universe.
The battle in the capital was officially on.
It was a campaign beyond the expectation of all forces.
Almost at the same time when the Astounding Thunder Fleet mysteriously disappeared from the heartland of the four families, the leaders of the four families reached the consensus to march at the capital and start a strategic battle with the reformists.
It was now or never. Faced with the glory and the desire to reclaim the capital, the four families were unprecedentedly united and effective. Many new warships that were loyal to their families had already jumped over when the situation in the capital was not entirely clear.
At first, the battle in the capital was almost a duplication of the battle of Seven Seas.
The ace fleets of the four families did not control the space gate of the Empyreal Terminus Sector. Therefore, they were unable to jump over in an organized manner. When the space jump was completed, every starship was randomly distributed in the entire boundless Sector, like dandelions blown by the wind.
The Imperial Guards loyal to the emperor and the Deep Sea Fleet loyal to the reformists attacked everywhere like rabid dogs that had been injected with excitants, hunting the invaders scattered in the entire space zone and trying their best to prevent the regrouping of the invaders. Many blood-boiling and cruel tragedies had already taken place in space during the few days.
However, the coalition fleet of nobles, with four ace fleets as the cores and a dozen main fleets as the skeletons, were multiple times stronger than Yun Xuefeng's fleet that invaded the Seven Seas Space Zone.
The determination of the soldiers in the fleets to die for their families was much greater than the border warlords who each had their own malicious plans too.
Even though they had only one starship, they still did not hesitate to charge at the enemy when faced with overwhelming defenders.
Thanks to the incessant resource support from the heartland of the four families, abundant logistics and engineering troops had leaped to the Empyreal Terminus Sector. While the defenders were moving in exhaustion, they occupied the planets and space fortresses at the edge of the space zone, establishing their own temporary space gates.
When three temporary space gates blossomed at the edge of the Empyreal Terminus Sector slowly, unleashing the brilliant light that could illuminate dozens of Sectors, the battle did not seem to have any suspense anymore. For the reformists who were lurking in the capital and resisting doggedly, the situation was escalating beyond their control.
Chapter 2594: The Critical Information! |
Under the navigation of three space gates, more and more fleets that belonged to the four families jumped over in an organized way, blocking and suppressing the reformists like an iron wall. Tremendous ultra-huge engineering warships that carried infrastructural resources had jumped over too. Seven days after the battle began, there was even a whole space fortress that appeared at the Empyreal Terminus Sectors after six hours!
Receiving the support of sufficient resources, the fleets were gathered into solid battle formations, and the army of nobles pressed forward unstoppably one footstep after another.
The Empyreal Terminus Sector was the heart of the Imperium after all. Countless defense lines in space had been constructed and strengthened in the past thousand years. Almost every solid planet, satellite, and stable asteroid had been set up with abundant bases and cubic defense bases. Even though the four families had the absolute advantage in combat ability, they were not in a hurry to break the core of the Empyreal Terminus Sector—the capital.
They pressed forward step by step, clearing every obstacle on the way to the capital planet and conquering all the fortresses and bases in space. After every defense base was conquered, they would immediately dispatch their own fleets to garrison it. A lot of materials were also shipped over to start heated construction works.
It was a war of a hundred Sectors versus one. The four families boasted enough time and resources to play a crushing game without taking the slightest risk.
On the twentieth day of the battle in the capital, the No. 5 planet closest to the capital planet was occupied by the four families, turning into the best platform for them to attack the capital planet.
It meant that the hands of death that grabbed the throat of the reformists
had been completely closed.
The final attack was about to begin.
Faced with the aggressive, dominating performance of the four families, the reformists were naturally unwilling to wait to be killed.
The Deep Sea Fleet and the Imperial Guards organized a few counterattacks, only to be blocked by the four families' dense battle formation, solid defense, and overwhelming troops.
Even though the warriors of the reformists had the courage and combat ability to defeat multiple times more enemies, it was useless when they were faced with the enemies that significantly outnumbered them.
There were simply too many enemies, and they were too formidable!
One month after the battle started, the greatest problem that the reformists were faced with was in fact not the competition on the battlefield but the full blockage of communication. It was barely possible for them to reach out to the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and the Astounding Thunder Fleet, the other two main forces in the Seven Seas Space Zone at the edge of the cosmos.
The Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors represented the strength of countless warlords and the capitals of the Imperium.
The Astounding Thunder Fleet, on the other hand, could be used to win the support of the expedition army that was still keeping neutral.
The two main forces were the only hope for the reformists, however dim.
However, it was very difficult for two worlds tens of thousands of lightyears away from each other to communicate. Their real-time communication depended on the "Hyperspace Communication Bases" established at the edge of the space zones, which allowed information and data to also jump through the four-dimensional before they were delivered to the recipient.
If the messages were sent in regular ways, they could only be received after ten thousand years even if they were kept at the speed of light, which would've been pointless.
However, the dozens of "Hyperspace Communication Bases" that the reformists set up at the edge of the Empyreal Terminus Sector had all been discovered, occupied, or destroyed by the ace fleets of the four families.
