Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 1421
"However…
"Although I am the warden of the Godly Might Prison and the Godly Might Fleet is under my command theoretically, the fleet is in fact very independent. General Dongfang Lei, the highest commander of the fleet, has always been loyal to the family and is only here to gain more experience. He will certainly persist to the end without surrendering."
A warden and a commander of a fleet were absolutely different.
A warden needed to master the professional but otherwise useless abilities. They were essentially the seneschals of the desolate land. The future of their career was very gloomy.
In most cases, one day as a warden meant a lifetime of being a warden. Even if he was no longer the warden of the Godly Might Prison and sent to somewhere else, he would still be managing a bunch of wretched prisoners. What else was he capable of doing?
Besides, after spending enough time in a prison, one would be familiar with every brick, every rock, and every wood, as well as the psychological state of all the prisoners. So, there were even fewer reasons for their superiors to change them.
Quite a few wardens of the Godly Might Prison had died of old age in their post or retired with empty hands when they were so old that their Cultivations had plummeted.
Therefore, when Lei Chenghu gave him the opportunity, Yun Chenghua did not struggle much before he grasped it.
However, the commander of the fleet would be changed every few years. The young officers from the four Kurfürst families would accumulate experience in the place first, learning how to command an entire fleet. A few years later, they would have opportunities to be dispatched to other fleets, sometimes from the near-planet orbit defense fleets to the deep-sky fleets that could travel to thousands of lightyears away, in which case their future would be nothing but promising.
As long as there was the slightest hope, who would ever completely break apart from the four Kurfürst families and join Lei Chenghu who had nothing at all in his hands?
Therefore, Warden Yun Chenghua might surrender, but Dongfang Lei, the highest commander of the Godly Might Prison, would never do so.
"Got it."
Pondering for a moment, Lei Chenghu said, "I remember that a rather tough anti-air fire net has been established on the ground for the defense of the Godly Might Prison, which can even reach beyond the atmosphere. I believe the anti-air troop should be under the control of your hands, right?"
"Yes."
Yun Chenghua replied quickly, "Since the beginning, what the Godly Might Prison has worried most is the external attacks. Therefore, the anti-air fire net is an important focus. Nobody ever thought that the enemy would activate the magma and earthquakes below the ground, which, naturally, is absolutely useless aside from creating chaos.
"But the greatest problem right now is the serious instability of energy supply. Because most of the spiritual energy is supplied to the defense system in the different prison cells, several of the most powerful 'Heaven Battering Cannons' on the ground have been paralyzed due to the shortage of energy."
"It doesn't matter."
Lei Chenghu said, "Now, pass my orders. First, reduce the energy consumption on the defense system in the underground prison cells as much as possible. Focus every drop of spiritual energy on the anti-air fire net on the ground, especially the most powerful 'Heaven Battering Cannons'. Make sure that the Heaven Battering Cannons can perform at least one barrage. As for the other anti-air magical equipment, it will be fine as long as they can pretend that they have locked onto targets.
"Second, contact the flagship of the Godly Might Fleet and inform them that the worst situation has already taken place. A large batch of prisoners and captives are about to escape to the ground. Ask the fleet to approach the ground to suppress the runners. Tell them not to kill the runners if possible.
"In any case, make the flagship and the main-force warships of the Godly Might Fleet reach as close to the ground as possible. When they approach to the point that you are confident of the barrage, lock onto the flagship of the Godly Might Fleet with the maximal firepower!
"Third, prepare to turn on the broadcast system of the entire Godly Might Prison and make as many people as possible hear it. I will speak to the prisoners!"
"Concentrate all the spiritual energy on the anti-air fire net? Lock onto the flagship of the Godly Might Fleet?"
Greatly shocked, Yun Chenghua immediately realized what was going on. He stammered, "You-You want to shoot down the flagship as well as Commander Dongfang Lei? B-But to achieve that, we will have to drain all the spiritual energy down below, and the defense system will become an empty shell. All the defense rune arrays will stop working, and they cannot let out a single electric arc. The prisoners will likely crush the defenses!"
"That's why I need to speak to the prisoners."
Lei Chenghu glanced at Yun Chenghua coldly. "Warden Yun, just carry out the orders!"
"… Understood!"
Shuddering, Yun Chenghua did not dare to ask any further but operated on the mainframe crystal processor quickly.
Very soon, half of the light beams were displaying the pictures that the anti-air firing points in the snowy world were secretly turning directions and aimed at midair.
The other half of the light beams, in the meantime, were manifesting the rampant, crazy beasts in the underground prison cells.
Lei Chenghu observed for a moment and said, "Open all the prison cells in the first district."
Yun Chenghua was slightly dazed. But he did not argue this time and simply carried out Lei Chenghu's order.
Clang!
Before this, many prison cells at the corners and the ends of pathways in the first district had not been activated yet. The prisoners who were dizzy in their ecstasy did not notice it either. It was not until this moment when the iron bars as thick as arms slowly descended to the ground that the most ferocious prisoners were all released.
"Aoooooooooooo!"
The thirsty roars of the inhuman beasts immediately came over from the surveillance picture.
"Open all the channels between the first district and the third district, including the ventilation tubes. All the channels!" Lei Chenghu said coldly.
Yun Chenghua blinked his eyes and immediately realized what Lei Chenghu was trying to do. But he found it hard to believe that Lei Chenghu was capable of doing that!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The gates that were tightly closed before slowly opened, revealing ways leading to the unknown before the rampant beasts of the first district. The roars and explosions coming over from the ends of the pathways were natural temptations for the bloodthirsty beasts.
"Brothers of the Godly Might Prison who have long been caged, this is Lei Chenghu, the highest commander of the Astounding Thunder Fleet, speaking to you from the highest control center of the Godly Might Prison next to Warden Yun Chenghua!"
Lei Chenghu's voice that was tougher than superalloys echoed in every corner of the Godly Might Prison, making the ears of the beasts hum hard. "My army has occupied the entire Godly Might Prison. As the new master of the Godly Might Prison, I pronounce that you are free now!"
The words were even louder than the earthquakes and the volcano eruptions. All the beasts were dumbfounded. The district that was as obstreperous as hell a moment ago was caught in dead silence.
All the ferocious beasts turned into statues, except that their lips were shivering and repeating the same word, "Freedom!"
"However, you should all be aware that the precious freedom is only temporary!"
Lei Chenghu's voice was mixed with undeniable solemnity as he continued, "Even if you tear down the entire Godly Might Prison, so what? You will still be killed if you run to the snowy world outside. You may even be captured like a pig or a dog and suffer humiliations again!
"Now, I can give you the real freedom!
"But only the strongest warriors are entitled to such freedom!"
Chapter 2226: Kill For Freedom! |
The cruelest thing in the world was not to lose freedom, but to regain freedom after losing it for decades, only to watch it slip through the fingers once again!
All the beasts—the bodacious robbers, serial murderers, and perverted arsonists and explosion maniacs—craned their necks with dirty saliva flowing out of their lips as they listened to the broadcast rune arrays in all directions full of eagerness.
"Right now, the Godly Might Prison is in serious turmoil. The gates wide open before your eyes lead to the third district, where the captives of the Covenant Alliance caused all the chaos in the beginning. Their ultimate purpose is to detonate the four energy bases and completely activate the hibernating volcanoes below the ground so that the simmering magma will swallow the entire Godly Might Prison. All the guards, and of course, you, will die together with them!"
Lei Chenghu continued roaring, "Hundreds of my starships are breaking into the atmosphere, but there is still some time to go before the brave soldiers march to the bottom level of the Godly Might Prison. Right now, you are the only people who can save the Godly Might Prison as well as the lives of each other!
"Look around. Do you see the high-precision crystal cameras in the entire Godly Might Prison? They can capture your faces and your every move clearly. Charge forward now, and kill all the captives of the Covenant Alliance in deep-red uniform. As long as the surveillance cameras verify that you have killed one captive from the Covenant Alliance, I will pardon you and enlist you in my army.
"My army is stationed in the most prosperous Sectors in the newly recovered territory. It is the paradise on earth that had just been conquered by the Imperium, with inexhaustible wine, beauties, and crystal mines waiting for the enjoyment of my soldiers! Even a cook under my command lives a more extravagant life than the city masters in the worlds in the rear!
"How long has it been since you last enjoyed a woman? If you do not want to live the rest of your life in the snowy world where even your c*ck is frozen in front of each other's butts, fight for freedom, sunshine, beauties, and wines with your fists! I don't care what kind of unpardonable crimes you have committed. As long as you take down one person of the Covenant Alliance, I will pardon you and lead you to the paradise in the frontline!
"You can choose not to trust me, but look at your companions who are simmering in impatience. Remember, there is only a limited number of captives from the Covenant Alliance, which means that I will bring a limited number of people away. You will lose nothing if you finish one of them before your companions do. Remember, everybody should kill only one captive from the Covenant Alliance and leave the rest to your companions!"
His words completely aroused the bloodthirstiness of the animals.
The heavy breath of thousands of beasts gathered together, letting out deafening explosions like the power units of the space warships.
Of the thousands of prisoners who were to spend the rest of their lives in imprisonment, perhaps only one-tenth believed what Lei Chenghu said.
But as long as the one-tenth, or even two or three people, for that matter, started to move forward at the same time, the crushing tide would be completely unstoppable.
Better safe than sorry!
There was only a finite number of captives from the Covenant Alliance. They were not captives in crimson prisoner's uniform, but single tickets to the paradise on earth!
If they did not take action immediately, the people of the Covenant Alliance would completely activate the underground volcanoes, burning all of them in the boiling magma until nothing was left!
So hot, and it was getting hotter. Magma was truly flowing from downwards. It-It was true!
That was the voice of "God of War" Lei Chenghu. General Lei was quite right. They could never get away. They would not lose anything if they gave it a try. It was better to take the gamble than to wait to die here!
Sunshine, wine, and beauties!
The beasts with tightened pants immediately congregated into an overwhelming tide that drowned the pathway leading to the third district.
Under Lei Chenghu's command, Yun Chenghua gave them all the help they needed. Not only were all the gates on their way opened, but there were even giant arrowheads made of visible rays of light that guided their way.
In the third district, the captives of the Covenant Alliance were dispersing to all directions, hoping to create greater turmoil.
However, other than those in the first district, Yun Chenghua had sealed all the pathways and ventilation tubes. They did not have any heavy magical equipment and could only crash the gates and walls with their bodies of flesh and blood. Even though they had smashed a few holes on the wall, few people could crawl in at the same time.
Most of the captives of the Covenant Alliance were still wandering in the third district.
Many of them heard the roars of the beasts and searched in the directions of the first district, only to run into the burning tide head to head.
"Aooooooo!"
The surveillance cameras did capture the collision of the two parties clearly. Even the protruding veins on every prisoner's face was clearly visible.
It was barely a battle, or even a massacre. Before the three captives of the Covenant Alliance realized what was going on, they were already swallowed by the tides of beasts, and when the tides passed, not a residue of them was left behind. All the prisoners had extended their hands at the captives of the Covenant Alliance crazily, biting them hard despite the lack of weapons and ripping apart their dead bodies even if they knew that the captives were long dead. They did not disperse in dissatisfaction and look for the next target until the captives of the Covenant Alliance had ended up in a cluster of blood.
Nobody cared about Lei Chenghu's order just now, that everybody should kill only one captive of the Covenant Alliance and leave the rest to their companions.
First of all, the lights were so dim, and the situation was so chaotic. Who knew if the surveillance cameras captured it clearly?
Secondly, so many people attacked at the same time. Who could tell which of them killed the captives of the Covenant Alliance?
Therefore, it would be safer to kill a few more!
In the control center, the battles on the surveillance picture seemed to be taken from the primeval age tens of thousands of years ago.
Most of the people in both parties were barehanded. They did not have weapons, much less crystal suits, and they were only fighting with their teeth and fists.
The captives of the Covenant Alliance were cold machines, but the prisoners of the Covenant Alliance were raging beasts.
The cruel pictures, with the broken limbs and the exploding internal organs, made even a lot of seasoned soldiers in the control center pale in fear.
"Their morale is rather high. This is a useful troop!"
Looking at the blood on the surveillance picture that was being shed in tons, Lei Chenghu nodded in great satisfaction. "Warden Yun, remember to analyze the pictures carefully and identify the warriors that we are to pardon. We will bring them away when we evacuate."
"Are you really going to pardon them?"
Yun Chenghua blurted out, "They are all the most disobedient bandits. However high their combat ability is, they will only be the black sheep in the army!"
"My promises have never gone unfulfilled. Now that I said they would be pardoned in public, there is absolutely no way that I will go back on my words."
Lei Chenghu glanced at the warden and said casually, "If you are worried that those disobedient guys will become the black sheep, you don't need to. I only promised that I would lead them to the frontline; I did not say which troop they were going to join.
"I have a daring team under my command that is in dire need of the participation of the valiant and bloodthirsty warriors like them. Trust me. If those warriors can survive one year in my daring team, they will certainly repent of what they did and be better men.
"Right. Where is the Godly Might Fleet right now? How well has your anti-air fire net been prepared?"
Yun Chenghua breathed heavily. He opened the configuration map of the anti-air fire net and the map that marked the location of the Godly Might Fleet. Pointing at the maps, he said, "General, please take a look. I have transmitted 80% of the remaining spiritual energy in the entire Godly Might Prison to the four most central 'Heaven Battering Cannons' in the anti-air fire net. In the meantime, most of the warships of the Godly Might Fleet have descended to below the atmosphere and are still dropping, ready to carry out the suppression battle. I have reset the friend-or-foe identification system and secretly locked onto them."
"Very good."
Lei Chenghu said, "What about the flagship of the Godly Might Fleet?"
"That is exactly the problem. The flagship is still in the atmosphere and has not arrived completely. There's no telling if it has grown suspicious."
"We can't wait anymore."
Lei Chenghu said, "Considering the location of the flagship right now, is it possible to shoot it down in one round of barrage?"
"It is. The cannons based on the continent are a hundred times more powerful than the cannons loaded on warships after all."
Yun Chenghua replied, "But the interferences in the atmosphere are very serious. In order to make sure that the target is destroyed in one barrage, 95% of the spiritual energy must be focused on the Heaven Battering Cannons, and the Heaven Battering Cannons will probably overload and crash after the attack.
"The result will be that our spiritual energy runs out after the barrage, the anti-air fire net will be nothing more than adornment in the next hour, and the cores of the cannons may be completely melted. But the Godly Might Fleet that has lost the flagship will still be able to bombard us free at will. What can we do then?"
"Tell me—"
His eyes glittering, Lei Chenghu asked, "Is anyone on the Godly Might Fleet aware of the situation?"
Slightly dazed, Yun Chenghua shook his head.
"Then—"
Lei Chenghu continued, "Even if the Godly Might Fleet bombard us crazily, so what? Is the Godly Might Prison, which is buried hundreds of meters into the ground, unable to withstand a blanket bombardment for several hours? Or, is the Godly Might Fleet, which has lost their leader, bold enough to send their soldiers to break into the prison that is a complicated maze and fight over the quarters against us in the cruelest way?
