Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 1635
The red light ball must be the main force that Yun Xuefeng commanded.
Judging from the blinking and changing data nearby, Yun Xuefeng had gathered quite a few Adamantine Super Arsenal Warships. The torrents of destruction were about to take shape!
Almost all the blue spots were rooted by the red spots, making it impossible for them to stop Yun Xuefeng before his fleet completely took shape. They could only watch Yun Xuefeng's fleet proliferate like an abnormal tumor.
However, Li Yao noticed something uncanny. Not far away from Yun Xuefeng's fleet, on the orbit of a planet whose back was against the battlefield, a few triangular light spots were shining rapidly, and the three triangular light spots constituted a new triangle.
It was a sign that a space gate was being gradually opened!
In such a crisis, the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors had opened another space zone. Who were they navigating to reach this place? Could there be more reinforcements?
If it were the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors' fleets in other places of the cosmos that needed to jump back, wouldn't they be blown up immediately after the jump, considering that they were so close to Yun Xuefeng's main force?
It was certainly suicide. What were they doing exactly!
Li Yao leaped to Jin Yuyan in two steps and pulled him aside, before he asked in a low voice, "Director Jin, what happened? Why have you opened a new space gate? Who are you directing to jump to this place? Even if there are reinforcements, aren't they too close to the enemy's main force? In such a distance, they will be discovered and destroyed by Yun Xuefeng the moment they are teleported!"
Jin Yuyan's eyeballs moved rigidly. Stunned for a long time, he finally put on a helpless expression and said in a low voice, "They won't. Perhaps other reinforcements will be blown up by Yun Xuefeng's Adamantine Super Arsenal Warships, but not this fleet. They are the last chance for us to win the battle of Seven Seas!"
Li Yao's eyes bulged as he shouted, "Are you serious? Does the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors have such a remarkable garrison fleet? Who's the reinforcement?"
"It's not a garrison fleet of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors but Lei Chenghu."
Jin Yuyan said solemnly, "Lei Chenghu's Astounding Thunder Fleet has come to our aid in person!"
"What?!"
A flash of lightning burst out inside Li Yao's head, illuminating his every brain cell. Wuying Qi, Li Linghai, Lei Chenghu, the real Immortal Cultivators, the loyal Immortal Cultivators, and the Immortal Cultivators who were devoted to Blackstar the Great. Many clues and pieces were entangled. He seemed to understand everything, only to be confused in the next second. Before he figured out the general picture, he cried subconsciously, "No! You cannot allow Lei Chenghu's fleet to jump over! Close the space gate now! It's a scheme!"
Chapter 2578: Fatal Loophole! |
Jin Yuyan stared at Li Yao for a long time sullenly and asked, "What kind of scheme?"
Taking a deep breath, Li Yao tried to calm himself down first before he said quickly without any stop, "I don't know if you have captured the culprits of the serial explosions, but no matter how many criminals you have captured, they all point to the same person—the mastermind behind the whole thing is none other than Blackstar the Great himself!
"Wuying Qi remotely controlled your wife by some sort of super-remote telepathy. Perhaps he had been lurking next to you since a couple of years ago, if not decades ago. He knows about your details and the internal operation of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors as well as he knows his own fingers. That's why he could hack the internal network of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors easily, erase the core data, and slander you. Fine, technically, it's not slander. But the bottom line is, the whole thing is Wuying Qi's trap!
"Think about it, why has Wuying Qi been doing what he has been doing? He tried to assassinate you first. When it failed, he hacked the internal network of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, modifying the data and ruining your reputation. Does he not know that it will result in the complete chaos of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and the failure of the battle of Seven Seas.
"No, he must've seen it coming. It is exactly his purpose. He has been trying to press the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors to the hopeless corner and force you to accept the assistance from the outside world, the assistance of Lei Chenghu!"
As he continued, Li Yao was yelling more than talking.
Jin Yuyan's eyes were hollow, and his face showed no reaction. There was no telling if he heard what Li Yao said.
"You must believe me. I swear to god that everything I said is true. I just fought Wuying Qi hard and heavily wounded his soul, forcing him to flee in a panic with his remaining soul, although I was more or less injured and unconscious for half a day. What I saw and heard was firsthand information!"
Li Yao continued anxiously, "Although Lei Chenghu joined the reformists after you and I did, and the queen and he have been merely using each other, don't forget that he is a 'real Immortal Cultivator'!
"As the guy who rescued Lei Chenghu from the Godly Might Prison in person, I was in a not bad relationship with him and communicated with him many times. He expressed his disgust toward the four Kurfürst families, his disdain for the selfish 'false Immortal Cultivators', and his hope that the Imperium could be restored to the age of Blackstar the Great many times.
"Can't you see? Lei Chenghu is an avid admirer of Wuying Qi. As long as Wuying Qi identifies himself and introduces his bulls*it theories of a new world of Immortal Cultivators that is full of 'justice, openness, and fairness', it is very possible that Lei Chenghu will follow his command without any hesitation!
"In conclusion, Wuying Qi must have malicious plans now that he has asked Lei Chenghu to jump to the Seven Seas Space Zone at such a moment.
"The Astounding Thunder Fleet's strength is certainly unparalleled, and it will possibly change the whole battle. However, if it is the Astounding Thunder Fleet that saves the day in the end, the warlords' fleets scattered in the Seven Seas Space Zone will surrender to Lei Chenghu and accept his command. Even the garrison fleet of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors may be stolen by Lei Chenghu. Blackstar the Great will essentially be swallowing them all.
"In other words, although the battle is won, the fruit of victory will be picked by Wuying Qi, and the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors will still be dead for sure.
"Yes, this is exactly their scheme, this is Wuying Qi's purpose! Director Jin, please consider carefully!"
Jin Yuyan listened quietly without saying or doing anything.
He was silent for such a long time that Li Yao almost couldn't hold himself from slapping him and refreshing him too. It was not until then that he said gloomily, "Vulture Li Yao, if you think that I opened the gate allowing the Astounding Thunder Fleet to jump over in organization without noticing the anomaly of the incident at all, you would be thinking too little of me as the director of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors.
"It's too coincidental. A few days ago, I suffered a dual assassination, and a series of explosions took place a few days later. Hardly had the flames of the explosions died out when our internal network was compromised and the data were changed, which immediately reversed the situation on the battlefield.
"Then, when the situation had just been reversed, and we were in the greatest crisis ever, the Astounding Thunder Fleet was already prepared to reinforce us and could jump over anytime. Do you think that I'm a three-year-old who could not see the shadiness?
"However, you must've seen the tension and depression outside when you were on your way here, didn't you? The Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors had lost its unity. How can I keep it together with violence? Such a method could only buy us a few days, or even only 24 hours.
"If I cannot find any chance to change the situation in 24 hours, I might as well draw my sword and kill myself!
"Therefore, tell me, when Lei Chenghu sent us a message that he could reinforce us, what choices do we have except to accept it in ecstasy and open the gate for them?
"'Vulture Li Yao, Black Wind King'… Maybe your Black Wind Fleet can come here in 24 hours? If the Black Wind Fleet can miraculously show up, I will shoulder all the pressure and shut the space gate, blocking the Astounding Thunder Fleet from the battlefield!"
"About that…"
Li Yao was lost for words.
"Yes, the Black Wind Fleet cannot arrive in time, and your 'good friends' lurking in the coalition fleet of the four families cannot just declare war on hundreds of thousands of starships around them fearlessly. Then, what can we do except for counting on the Astounding Thunder Fleet, our 'last chance'? Keeping our eyes open while we are being slaughtered?"
Jin Yuyan smiled bitterly. "Even if Lei Chenghu is truly Wuying Qi's guy, we do not have a second choice. Right now, I can only place my hope on Lei Chenghu's integrity and his subtle stance.
"After all, Lei Chenghu was from the peripheral worlds of the Imperium too. He was a rather special warlord. The construction and maintenance of the Astounding Thunder Fleet, as well as his marvelous performance in the Imperium's counterattack, couldn't have been accomplished without the secret resource support and the trophy businesses of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors.
"Let's hope that Lei Chenghu still remembers the old times and does not go too far!"
Li Yao opened his mouth, only to come up with nothing.
A silver tongue couldn't compare to tens of thousands of state-of-the-art warships, which were loaded with countless experts and Colossi!
"Also, I think that the scheme you inferred had a huge loophole."
Jin Yuyan stared at Li Yao thoughtfully. "If the whole thing is Wuying Qi's scheme and that he wants to watch the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and the four families destroy each other before letting the Astounding Thunder Fleet claim the fruit, don't you think that it is too soon? Shouldn't he have postponed the havoc in the Seven Seas Grand Market for a day or two and waited to activate his plan when we were vehemently fighting against Yun Xuefeng?
"More critically, now that Lei Chenghu's fleet has jumped to the Seven Seas Space Zone, what about the capital?"
Li Yao was stunned again. He almost couldn't hold himself from slapping his forehead. How could he have neglected such a crucial question?
Among the reformists, Lei Chenghu's Astounding Thunder Fleet was, without a doubt, the best troop. Neither the Imperial Guards who were being regrouped and trained in the capital nor the garrison fleet of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors was a match for the Astounding Thunder Fleet.
However, when the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and the four families planned for the battle of Seven Seas, neither of them took the Astounding Thunder Fleet into consideration.
It was not because of the commanders' mistake, but because the Astounding Thunder Fleet would never have left their base by logic.
In the game between the reformists and the four Kurfürst families, the most important battlefield was not the Seven Seas Space Zone; it was the capital.
The fleet made of sixteen Adamantine Super Arsenal Warships was definitely not the "ace troops" of the four families either. The most elite forces of the four families were still waiting to launch a critical strike at the capital at the right moment.
At this moment, there was nothing but the rookies who had just joined the reformists in the capital besides the Imperial Guards. However talented Blackstar the Great was at commanding and training, it was impossible for him to train the Imperial Guards and the rookies into battle-tested warriors in only a couple of months.
The Imperial Guards alone couldn't stop the ace fleets of the four families at all.
The reason why the four families hadn't attacked the capital was something else. It was partly because of the conflicts of the four families regarding the new emperor and partly because of the Astounding Thunder Fleet.
The Astounding Thunder Fleet was like a cutthroat dagger that had been placed on the neck of the Li family, hamstringing the ace troops of the Li family.
The subtle conflicts among the four families, on the other hand, led to a chain reaction that hamstrung the ace troops of the other three families.
Lei Chenghu was known as the "God of War". Who had the courage to summon the best forces of their family to attack the capital when the God of War was coveting them?
Even though the Imperial Guards were no match for the ace troops of the four families, it would still be possible for them to delay the enemy for a couple of months with the iron defense of the capital.
A couple of months were more than enough for Lei Chenghu to cut the guts of the four families in their heartlands with the Astounding Thunder Fleet.
The reason was very obvious. The Astounding Thunder Fleet and the ace fleets of the four families were stalled and locked by each other. That was why a war started at the Seven Seas Space Zone at the edge of the Imperium earlier than the one started in the capital.
However, the Astounding Thunder Fleet had left the location that was most in their favor. Moving the poisoned dagger away from the Li family's throat, they had jumped into the Seven Seas Space Zone, diving into the gigantic mess.
It was easy to leave the heartland of the Li family, but it was impossible for the Astounding Thunder Fleet to jump back in an organized way. There was no way that the Li family was going to open the space gate to the Astounding Thunder Fleet again.
It meant that the shackles that confined the ace fleets of the four families had been shattered. They no longer needed to worry about the Astounding Thunder Fleet's threat and could launch an attack at the capital without concerns, and the whole situation was exactly Blackstar the Great's plan!
Chapter 2579: Unstoppable Thunder! |
"However strong the Astounding Thunder Fleet is, it is terribly outnumbered after all. It's easy to crush the four families' coalition fleet, but they cannot be destroyed or swallowed overnight."
Jin Yuyan analyzed calmly, "It must be noted that Yun Xuefeng is commanding a fleet of a million starships. Even if Yun Xuefeng is a pig whose subordinates are a million pigs that can breathe and fly in the vacuum, how long will it take Lei Chenghu to completely capture and butcher them?
"Also, according to your theory, Lei Chenghu is not just crushing and swallowing Yun Xuefeng's fleet but also taking the opportunity to control the fleets of the many warlords from the peripherical worlds of the Imperium and even the garrison fleets of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. None of the goals can be achieved anytime soon. Can Lei Chenghu completely control the Seven Seas Space Zone given one month?"
Li Yao was lost for words.
Having been through the battle between the Black Wind Fleet and the Star Glory Federation in person, he knew that it was much easier to defeat an army in the boundless space than to annihilate or capture the enemies.
With the Astounding Thunder Fleet's sudden arrival and unexpected assault, it would naturally be invincible and unstoppable.
However, as time went by, the shining saber would be sinking into the mud, and it would not be easy to draw it out.
Jin Yuyan claimed that it would be a month, but Li Yao felt that it was an overestimation of the Astounding Thunder Fleet's abilities.
Like Jin Yuyan said, even if everybody in the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and the coalition fleet of the four families were pigs, as long as they were capable of breathing and wandering in space, it would take Lei Chenghu at least a couple of months before he finally got the Seven Seas Space Zone under control.
In other words, the moment Lei Chenghu's fleet jumped over, it would be stalled by the four families and the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors who each had their own plans, thereby losing mobility.
Without the threat provided by the Astounding Thunder Fleet, the capital would be wide open. As long as the highest commanders of the ace fleets of the four families were not dumb and blind, they would never let go of such a rare opportunity!
"I believe I do not need to explain which between the capital and the Seven Seas Space Zone is more important."
Jin Yuyan continued coldly, "If I were the highest commanders of the ace fleets of the four families, and I discovered that the Astounding Thunder Fleet had disappeared to reinforce the Seven Seas Space Zone, I would certainly not be chasing after the Astounding Thunder Fleet like a dummy, joining the war of attrition in the gigantic, messy swamp that was the Seven Seas Space Zone.
"I would certainly seize the momentary opportunity and drop the conflicts with the other few families for now. We would launch our ace fleets at the same time toward the capital, destroy the nest of the reformists, and capture Li Linghai, Yue Wushuang, and the other rebels in the 'Reform Committee of the Council of Elders'!
"If the 'Reform Committee of the Council of Elders' is annihilated and the capital falls back to the four families' control, it would be the doom of the reformists. By then, even if the reformists secure a minor victory in the battle of Seven Seas, it would be useless. Everybody would be inclined toward the four families. Even the expedition army would not stand behind Lei Chenghu. Everything would be over.
"Vulture Li Yao, if you were the highest commander of the ace fleets of the four families, would you find my previous analysis reasonable?"
Thinking for a long time, Li Yao struggled to reply. "Fair enough, the Astounding Thunder Fleet is truly the key to stop the four families from attacking the capital. Now that the Astounding Thunder Fleet has volunteered to leave the heartland of the four families for an insignificant battle at the edge of the cosmos, if I were the highest commander of the ace fleets of the four families, I would certainly attack the capital without any hesitation!
