Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 1628
"Boss Bai, what are you trying to do?"
His voice was full of confusion and desperation as he wailed, "I am Marquess Hushan of the Imperium. How dare you do this? You-You can't kill me. If you kill me, you will be killed too! There's no way that you can explain it to the four families!"
"Idiot, do you still not understand what's going on?"
Boss Bai's hologram put on a smile of disdain and mockery. "Everything I do is exactly the instruction of Commander Yun. Do you think that the fleets of a hundred Sectors have jumped to this tiny Seven Seas Space Zone at the cost of tremendous labor and resources just in order to annihilate a bunch of insignificant rebels?
"Hehe, the rebelling reformists are just rats and cockroaches that are not worth mentioning. If the purpose is to annihilate them, they would've been obliterated by nothing more than a gentle sneeze!
"Commander Yun's real purpose, however, is to grasp the army of a million starships in his own hands with the great opportunity and transform it into a loyal, invincible, obedient force that only listens to the command of himself and the Yun family!"
"Ah!"
Song Changlie's eyes bulged as he blurted out, "How dare Yun Xuefeng? How dare the Yun family?"
"If you don't accept fate's gift, you will only be punished by fate. Now that such a great opportunity has been present, why daren't Commander Yun?"
Boss Bai grinned hideously. "After the battle, while the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors will be gone, hundreds of thousands of starships, including the sixteen Adamantine Super Arsenal Warships, will also belong to Commander Yun and the Yun family. By then, who in the entire universe can compete with Commander Yun and the Yun family?
"Hehe, after I make such great contributions for Commander Yun and the Yun family, I will be qualified to be knighted myself. Why can't I explain it?"
"You're out of your mind!"
Song Changlie pointed at the light beam, his hair rising. There was no telling whether he was angry or shocked. "You, Yun Xuefeng, and everybody else in the Yun family are all out of your mind! You… You do not care about the big picture at all!"
"The big picture? Hehe, if the Song family truly cares about the big picture, why are you competing with the Yun family about the choice of the new emperor? If the Song family truly cares about the big picture, why has your fleet been wandering at the edge of the space zone without any intention of marching at the Seven Seas Grand Market? Are you not waiting for Commander Yun's fleet to crash and bleed first before the Song family cleans up the mess? Furthermore, if Commander Yun doesn't crash and bleed, you may even stab him in the back!"
Boss Bai spat and smiled. "Alright, you've wasted enough time. I know that you are secretly preparing escape capsules. It's useless. You know too much now. Go to hell!"
The hundred starships that belonged to the "Coalition Fleet of Pyromaniacs" opened fire at the same time. The ten thousand rays of destruction ignited the dark space again. Powerful spiritual waves ripped ripples in the vacuum, making it look like an ocean that was in the middle of a storm!
Under the collective attack of ten thousand pillars of light, the spiritual shield of "Tiger Roar" endured only half a minute before it turned from green to orange, and from orange to deep red, until it fell apart like glass that was full of cracks.
Without the protection of the spiritual shield, it was impossible for the armor that was made of superalloys inlaid with reflective porcelains to resist the burning when the temperature of almost ten thousand degrees was focused on one point.
Furthermore, the real-entity weapons, including the high-energy particles, the explosion bullets shot from the railguns, and the space torpedoes, hit the target too.
Fireballs burst out like a supernova outbreak. At first, it was just a tiny, insignificant spot of light, but it expanded into a gargantuan object hundreds of meters in diameter in the blink of an eye, enshrouding "Tiger Roar" without leaving a single gap. The plate armor that was several meters thick was ripped apart easily, and tremendous materials, fuel, and even crew members inside were sucked out. Congregating into an overwhelming torrent of debris, they were spurted into the infinite vacuum, making "Tiger Roar" look like a heavily-wounded and bleeding tiger.
The paralysis of "Tiger Roar" marked the end of the brief battle.
Nine out of ten starships chose to surrender to Boss Bai. They did not care who their commander was in the first place, as long as he was enough to bring them better chances of survival and more trophies.
Therefore, the commanders of those starships almost cheered when they joined Boss Bai's side.
Of course, they were more or less nervous since Boss Bai had proved brutal enough to kill a marquess of the Imperium.
However, despite their concerns, Boss Bai would certainly not hesitate to kill the unimportant small fries like them if he was bold enough to kill Marquess Hushan. Who of them was willing to die with Song Changlie?
Only part of the starships that belonged to the Song family, after witnessing the destruction of "Tiger Roar", fled further away to the edge of the Seven Seas Space Zone desperately.
What they were using were the most rapid attack starships that were fast and inconspicuous. When the two parties were a million kilometers away from each other, it was very difficult to catch up with them again.
Boss Bai did not intend to catch them but simply allowed the starships to flee. He seized every moment to regroup the subordinates that he had just subdued.
What he did not know was that, while Song Changlie was unable to get away from the vortex of destruction on "Tiger Roar", he had sent the record of his conversation with Boss Bai to the other starships of the Song family, which had brought it out of the battlefield.
Or perhaps he knew it, but he did not care about it at all.
"Alright, the size of our fleet has reached the limit. If we continue to expand, it will be beyond what we can control and command."
Boss Bai said to Xiao Lishui, his chief of staff, with a smile, "Give the order that all the starships that just surrendered to us should clean the battlefield. Ask them to blow up the debris of 'Tiger Roar' into pieces. Make sure that everyone's hands are stained with blood.
"Whoever dawdles and dare not do it, let the others blow up his starship too.
"I want the most complete regrouping finished in three hours. Then, we will set off and search for our most beloved 'Commander Yun'!"
…
On "Landslide", the flagship-in-general of the coalition fleet of the four families, Yun Xuefeng was pacing back and forth anxiously on the diagonals of the bridge, making the 100,037th step in the past twenty-four hours.
At the center of the bridge, the hologram of the Seven Seas Space Zone was still covered in the dense fog, and the result of the battle was still nowhere to be seen.
A war in reality was entirely different from a game.
In a game, the commanders could learn everything on the battlefield like omniscient gods. Even though they could not see the numbers and movements of the enemies, they could at least see their own forces clearly. Their every order could be delivered to the battle units in the frontline instantly, and the battle units would be absolutely loyal to them and carry out their orders without any hesitation.
A war in reality was far from that.
The universe was so vast that the battlefield was billions of kilometers in diameter, and too many battle units had been scattered in it. Due to the incessant interferences from the enemy, the communication between two battle units was already very difficult, not to mention the cross-connection between Yun Xuefeng's flagship and the other battle units.
As a matter of fact, it had taken Yun Xuefeng thirty hours, but he still hadn't reached out to all of the starships under his command.
The status icon that implied the connection of every starship to the command chain showed 70% of the starships were still dark. It meant that they were still not connected to the battle network yet. There was no telling at which point in the dark universe they were struggling in, if they hadn't been knocked down by the defenders.
Yun Xuefeng felt that he was a lone traveler sitting in the middle of a dark fog, waiting for the starry lights to be ignited around him. Every light was a warship under his command, and he did not know how much longer he had to wait before he gathered enough strength to attack the Seven Seas Grand Market.
The good news was that "Landslide", his flagship-in-general, had finally found a peaceful and quiet rendezvous that had not been discovered by the defenders yet. It could stay here and summon more starships to join it.
Besides, only two Adamantine Super Arsenal Warships were caught in fierce battles after being detected by the defenders. Of the other fourteen Adamantine Super Arsenal warships, ten had been reached. They were all in perfect condition and were summoning the shield warships, the arsenal warships, and the comprehensive supply ships around, condensing into powerful Adamantine Fleets.
Yun Xuefeng estimated that as soon as three to four Adamantine Fleets took shape, he would be able to march toward the Seven Seas Grand Market and suppress the defenders.
The bad news was that, although the ten Adamantine Super Arsenal Warships had been reached, the commanders of those ultimate warships were much more undetermined than he expected. Almost everybody was complaining that abundant garrisons of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors had appeared around him. They reported that they were about to be engaged in fierce battles and were doing their best to escape. Therefore, it was temporarily impossible for them to cooperate with the commander's operation in the next step.
At first, Yun Xuefeng thought that those Adamantine Super Arsenal Warships did meet unexpected enemies.
However, nine out of ten commanders of the Adamantine Super Arsenal Warships that he had reached said the same, which almost made him burst into fury. How on earth could the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors have so many starships to attack ten Adamantine Super Arsenal Warships at the same time?
Chapter 2567: Infuriated Song Yushi |
"Marquess Weiyuan, where is your fleet, and why is it still not coming close to me? What? It is still stalled by the main fleets of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, which probably has more than two thousand warships? You cannot get rid of them but have to ask the allies nearby to reinforce you as soon as possible? You-You-You—
"Then, pack the real-time battle data on the battlefield and send them to me. As soon as I confirm the number and level of the hostile warships, I'll immediately dispatch reinforcements to you!
"What? Due to the strong interference that the enemy imposes on you, your network is on the brink of collapse, and you cannot send out any data? You are even unable to sustain the 'Flying Lightning Super Command Chain' anymore, and you are about to exit the system and fight on your own? Marquess Weiyuan? Marquess Weiyuan!
"Leader Peng, where is your fleet? What? You were at Coordinates 233.343.445 six hours ago, where you gathered more than five hundred starships, and you are still lingering there now? What are you doing exactly, and why haven't you approached me yet? What? You just suffered an assault from the main force of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, and you are in dire need of immediate maintenance due to the heavy losses, which will probably take seventy-two hours? A*shole, tell me, where did the main force of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors show up when you had allies all around you? Have they mastered such advanced short-distance space jump technologies that they are able to be teleported right above your head?
"Elder Zhao, please lead your fleet to join 'Landslide' immediately. I repeat, for the sake of the Imperium, hurry and approach 'Landslide' with your fleet so that we can fight together!"
After every five minutes, Yun Xuefeng would refresh the fleets that were connected most recently on the command chain and yell at the temporary commanders of those fleets, demanding them to approach him as soon as possible or to directly march at the Seven Seas Grand Market when enough starships had been gathered.
It was a pity that most of the temporary commanders hesitated, replying that it was beyond their abilities. Their loyalty to the Imperium, the four families, and to Commander Yun was certainly unquestionable, and they were fearless of death. The problem was that their starships were either seriously twisted and damaged during the jump or hit by the defenders brutally immediately after the jump. At this moment, they were still dealing with the hunting fleets of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, unable to get away at all.
Together with their convincing bulls*it, the bridges of many starships were filled with smoke and even minor explosions, as if they were truly in such a fierce battle that even the flagship had to charge in person.
However, when Yun Xuefeng requested those people to send over the real-time data on the battlefield so that he could learn the battle better, they simply gave excuses like their Spiritual Nexus had been torn apart due to the severe interferences and it was barely possible to keep the basic communication, let alone delivering astronomical information.
When Yun Xuefeng pursued further, those people simply cut off the communication quickly, not obeying Yun Xuefeng's command at all.
Yun Xuefeng was so mad that he was almost smashing the dashboard into pieces. He really did not see it coming that those wretched Immortal Cultivators would be preserving their own strength with no regard to the big picture in such a shameless way!
Thankfully, even though other troops were indifferent, the Yun family's own troops were still loyal and tough.
Of the four Adamantine Super Arsenal Warships that belonged to the Yun family, the other two apart from his "Landslide" had been reached.
The two Adamantine Super Arsenal Warships had also attracted starships of a thousand different models, which formed two temporary fleets around them and were marching at Yun Xuefeng's coordinates fast.
Besides the Adamantine Super Arsenal Warship, the other starships of the Yun family had also been given a very high permission in the "Flying Lightning Super Command Chain". They were, without an exception, the centers of the temporary fleets. Managing dozens of temporary fleets large and small, they joined him from all directions.
As long as those fleets were in position, he would never fail. By then, he would be able to fight a neat battle of annihilation with only the strength of the Yun family and claim all the credit. The guys of the Song family, the Li family, and the Dongfang family would all be dumbfounded and regretful by then!
While Yun Xuefeng was fantasizing, a series of hasty messages suddenly came from the communication channel. It was the commander of another Adamantine Super Arsenal Warship who wanted to speak to him.
"Song Yushi?"
Yun Xuefeng found it hard to believe.
Song Yushi was an elder of the Song family, an earl of the Imperium, an expert in the Divinity Transformation Stage, an experienced fleet commander, and an extraordinary person who was one generation senior to Yun Xuefeng. He was also a strong competitor for the commander-in-general of the four families' coalition fleet.
From many perspectives, Song Yushi, as a battle-tested general, was even more suitable as the commander of the battle than Yun Xuefeng.
However, during the competition for the commander-in-general, Yun Xuefeng was determined to get it, while Song Yushi acted rather indifferent to the outcome. Eventually, he simply gave the job away to Yun Xuefeng.
At first, Yun Xuefeng felt good and thought that Song Yushi's age had worn out his ambitions, making him scared to compete with a "rising star" like himself.
After he did become the challenging but unrewarding "commander-in-general", and especially after he was faced with the mess and the rogue subordinates after he jumped to the Seven Seas Space Zone, he finally realized how hot the potato that he snatched voluntarily was, and how many thorns had been buried in it.
Song Yushi, on the other hand, did reach out to him immediately after the jump. He did not make up any lie that he had encountered massive hostile forces.
However, the fleet commander of the older generation of the four families told Yun Xuefeng coldly that he would search for the hunting fleets on the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors' side after gathering a temporary fleet and fight them immediately in order to ease the pressure of the allies.
In the meantime, he would very likely keep radio silence and the Spiritual Nexus offline. He asked Yue Xuefeng not to contact him unless there was an emergence, and it was possible that he could not be reached even if Yun Xuefeng tried to.
"When Commander Yun was still being breastfed, I was already a general shedding my blood on the battlefield. I have my own plans to annihilate the insignificant rebels. Commander Yun might as well focus your attention on the starships of the Li family and the Dongfang family!"
Song Yushi simply slapped the blunt words on Yun Xuefeng's face.
Yue Xuefeng, however, could barely do anything about the old man who was more experienced than him, had more connections than him, and was as strong as him, if not better. He could only watch the guy's Adamantine Super Arsenal Warship disappearing among the glittering icons of the command chain.
Yun Xuefeng had thought that the guy would be hiding at the edge of the Imperium until the garrisons of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and him were exhausted in the battle. Out of his expectation, the old man had popped up on his own after only thirty hours. What was the meaning of that? Had his conscience got the better of him, and he was finally ready to show his loyalty to the Imperium?
While thinking, Yun Xuefeng activated the communication channel, allowing Song Yushi's hologram to emerge before him.
Song Yushi at this moment, however, did not have the slightest calmness as expected of an experienced general. Instead, he looked like a firecracker that would explode at first touch.
His hair and his beard were rising, as if hundreds of black blades had been stabbed to his head and his chin. Before the hologram took the full shape, he already pointed at Yun Xuefeng's nose and cursed aloud, "Yue Xuefeng, you are truly bold! I did not know that you were as insane as such! Are you out of your mind, or is the whole Yun family? Are you going against the other three families, planning the turn the universe upside down?"
