Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 1648
"By then, the capital planet and the No. 5 planet will be relatively close to each other on their orbits. At the same time, the No. 5 planet will be at its perihelion.
"You know that the four families have conquered the No. 5 planet and regarded it as an advanced base to attack the capital. I have received solid intelligence that tomorrow will be the time of their general attack.
"By then, 80% of the main warships of the four families' ace fleets will have gathered around the perihelion, and they will have to face the sun defenselessly. The mainframe crystal processors and the power units on board will be running at the highest efficiency. All the magical equipment and crystal chips will shoulder the greatest pressure. A lot of crystal suits and Colossi would even be projected outside of the starships and float in space in their ignorance.
"When the solar storm sweeps over, they will naturally suffer the heaviest blow.
"Our army, on the other hand, is the defender. I have ordered most of the fleets to stay back within the atmosphere. The thick and dense atmosphere of the capital planet is the hardest 'shield' to resist the magnetic fields, the radiations, and the high-energy particles. They are enough to offset more than 90% of the power of the solar storm.
"On the other hand, I will order all the starships to turn off their mainframe crystal processors and power units when the solar storm takes place and ask all the soldiers to crawl into the protective gel and the starships to raise the spiritual shield of a special frequency.
"The so-called 'solar storm', as a matter of fact, is a mass of high-intensity waves. As long as we learn the frequency in advance and set the spiritual shield to the corresponding frequency, it will be enough to offset 90% of the damage.
"In such a way, at most, the blow of the solar storm that our army suffers will be 5% that of the enemy's. When the solar storm is over, it will naturally be easy for us to move forward and capture the enemy in bulk."
"Simple as that?"
Lei Chenghu asked, "There are no side effects at all? No damage will be caused to the surface of the capital planet by the orbits that pierce through the atmosphere or to the space towns connected to the orbits?"
"Marquis Liaohai, I don't want to lie to you."
Wuying Qi sighed and said, "The stellar magical equipment is too horrifying when it is on a rampage. How can there be no side effects or sequela?
"I can order the Imperial Guards and the soldiers of the Deep Sea Fleet to crawl into the protective gels in advance as a precaution. However, for confidentiality, it is certainly impossible to evacuate or warn the residents on the capital planet, much less the space residents that are not under the protection of the atmosphere. The outbreak of the solar storm will indeed affect them. Some of them whose body and soul are weak may even… die.
"Neither can I guarantee that all the soldiers of the ace fleets of the four families will only pass out but not die. Who knows whether or not their brains had any conditions before, or if their starships were seriously damaged in the previous battles, or if they would do anything unreasonable when they are panicking?
"This is a war. How can there be no victims in a war? If we do not resort to a secret weapon like the Gold Crystal Pyramid but fight in a regular way, will nobody die? Considering the style of the four families, will they not massacre the people after they occupy the capital? Does your Astounding Thunder Fleet only injure the enemy but do not kill them in the battles in the Seven Seas Space Zone?
"I can only guarantee you that, according to my accurate calculation, the casualty rate of the solar storm is 5% at most. Also, the victims will be the weakest and the least determined people. By the law of the Immortal Cultivators, such people are not qualified to survive in the first place, are they?"
"No…"
Lei Chenghu pondered for a moment and said, "A death rate of 5% is indeed an acceptable figure. Our army will be the sure loser in a regular battle. In the massacre after the four families occupy the capital, as well as the plagues and famines that will come with the massacre, the victims will definitely be more than 5%.
"In order to settle the civil war, build a new Imperium, and deal with the Covenant Alliance, the price of several billion people is not unacceptable. Did Your Majesty keep it a secret from me because you suspect that I would hesitate?"
"Absolutely not. I have never doubted Marquis Liaohai's loyalty and determination. However, our plan depends on the outbreak of solar activities to achieve a 100% effect."
Wuying Qi said, "The cycle of the solar activities in the Empyreal Terminus Sector is fourteen years. If we miss this year, we will have to wait for fourteen years for the next best opportunity.
"Once my plan is leaked, all the four families need to do is to wait patiently for a year and a half and attack the capital from the aphelion. Then, the Gold Crystal Pyramid will be useless.
"Do you understand my concerns, Marquis Liaohai?"
"I…"
Lei Chenghu took a deep breath; his eyes slightly red. "I fully understand it!"
Right then, the Grand Illusionary Land was twisted weirdly. The vivid holograms gradually disintegrated into greenish data that flew away in the air.
"Our mobile secret communication base has been detected by the enemy. It is suffering the blanket bombardment from the four families' ace fleets."
Slightly frowning, Wuying Qi said, "It seems that the real-time communication cannot last any longer. Thankfully, I have already told everything to Marquis Liaohai frankly. Do you still have any questions, Marquis Liaohai?"
"Not at all. I hope that Your Majesty can annihilate the four ace fleets of the four families smoothly!"
Lei Chenghu's neck and his face were both flushing. Suddenly, he recalled something else and changed his expression. He said worriedly, "Right now, you must be wary of the cunning thief Li Yao. Since he knows the underground hole, he may know a thing or two about the Gold Crystal Tower.
"Considering the guy's behavior in the past, it is very likely that he will sneak into the capital and crawl below the ground to sabotage the Gold Crystal Tower.
"I have sent a lot of ships to the capital over the past few days. Considering Li Yao's combat ability in the Divinity Transformation Stage, I really cannot guarantee that he hasn't hidden on one of the starships and snuck into the capital!
"The greatest dam may be compromised by a tiny ant's nest. You must be careful, Your Majesty, in case the scoundrel ruins your cause!"
Chapter 2600: Torn Planet! |
Not far away from the capital planet, in the chaotic stone belt, a mobile secret communication base moved here and there like a clumsy tortoise, trying to dodge the predators behind with the help of the flying meteorites.
However, the predators from the ace fleets of the four families were apparently much faster and more agile than the secret communication base. Very soon, they bit its tail and gnawed at its spiritual shield, swallowing the spiritual shield completely very soon.
The highly-explosive bombs that carried abundant marrow crystals fell on the secret communication base like raindrops, blowing the whole base into smithereens. Everything was knocked over and split apart in the wreath of scorching fireballs.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty—"
Inside the secret command center in the royal palace on the capital planet, Lei Chenghu's hologram seemed to have something more to say to Wuying Qi. However, as the communication base in space collapsed, the Grand Illusionary Land that connected the two Sectors also turned into highly unstable rays of light. He extended his hands at Wuying Qi, only to become a frozen statue. Very soon, the statue turned into digital sand and fell to the ground into nothingness.
Holding his forehead while facing the empty darkness, Wuying Qi thought for a long time.
Then, his hands danced agilely, drawing hundreds of black threads, while he retrieved abundant data from the mainframe crystal processor.
There was one thing that Lei Chenghu couldn't have known.
Wuying Qi had more sources of intelligence in the Seven Seas Space Zone than Lei Chenghu.
In the Seven Seas Space Zone, the Astounding Thunder Fleet, or even "Iron Torrent", Lei Chenghu's flagship, Wuying Qi had deployed plenty of spies.
As the battles grew more and more intense in the past few days, the Spiritual Nexus in both the capital and the Seven Seas Space Zone was under severe interference. Almost all the communication of information had been blocked.
However, a few days back, when the interferences were not as strong and he still controlled a few remote communication bases, he had obtained abundant information and raw data of the command chain from the Seven Seas Space Zone.
He also had a head-on clash with Li Yao in the internal district of the Seven Seas Grand Market earlier. Therefore, his understanding of Li Yao was a hundred times more profound than Lei Chenghu.
Wuying Qi browsed through the waterfall of data. Based on the raw data a few days ago, he checked the battlefield information that Lei Chenghu sent to him today.
After checking carefully for a long time, Wuying Qi reached the conclusion that Lei Chenghu was not lying to him. The data he provided should be true.
Unless Lei Chenghu boasted super crystal processors above those in the capital, he couldn't have the massive computational ability to fabricate the massive data of the entire battle of Seven Seas.
Besides, considering the strength of the Astounding Thunder Fleet and the garrison fleets of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, it was already their best to take down Yun Xuefeng's fleet neatly when they joined hands. It was impossible for them to finish the fleet of the old cunning fox Song Yushi so soon.
Compared to the proud, tough generals like Yun Xuefeng, Song Yushi, as an experienced general, might not have a high combat ability, but he had intuitional abilities to preserve his strength.
Therefore, Lei Chenghu was still confronting Song Yushi. Without ten to fifteen days or even longer, there would not be an outcome in the battle of the two seasoned generals.
Lei Chenghu's intelligence about Li Yao should be good too. If Lei Chenghu were not completely loyal to him, it would've been unnecessary for him to reveal the incident or to remind him that Li Yao had very likely snuck to the capital or even into the underground world.
Lei Chenghu did not betray him. The only problem was Cultivator Li Yao.
"Li Yao! Li Yao! Li Yao!"
Wuying Qi turned off all the data and closed his eyes, before he rubbed his nose heavily. "Why can such a cockroach never be killed? I detonated the brain of a super Meditation Healer. Did it not wound you at all? What kind of human being are you exactly?"
He landed on the ground and paced for a while. He suddenly clapped his hands.
Two officers in the most original uniform of the Imperium's army immediately showed up in the darkness. Their temples and their foreheads were protruding high, as if they had grown horns. Their eyes were as dark as ink, and the whites were barely visible. Not many feelings of a human being could be found in them, except for their admiration and reverence for Wuying Qi.
"Double the defense of the Gold Crystal Pyramid. Move the Blood Swallow Legion and the Abyss Wolf Legion over and monitor every inch of space around the Gold Crystal Pyramid. There's still the last day. The future of the Imperium—no, the future of mankind is about to be turned to a new page. I will not allow any trouble at such a moment!"
Wuying Qi said coldly, "Pay special attention to the annoying flies and cockroaches. Do not let them crawl into the Gold Crystal Pyramid in any case!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The two officers replied rigidly and turned around like a machine.
"Wait—"
When they were about to step out of the command center, Wuying Qi stopped them rather uneasily. "I'll go in person. I'm really hoping to see the look on the cockroach's face when he sees me!"
…
"Hey, what do you think the look on Wuying Qi's face will be when he sees us?"
At the same time, in the narrow gaps close to the underground hole below the capital planet, Li Yao dug forward like a hybrid of a cockroach and a marmot while he asked the two people behind him with a smile, "I believe that he will look more awful than being forced to eat s*it, right?"
Behind Li Yao, Li Jialing silently carried out his bone-shrinking techniques, almost squeezing himself into a thin piece of paper, before he managed through the gaps.
Long Yangjun, however, bulged her eyes and said, "Yes, he will definitely look very awful. However, after that, he will burst into fury and knock each of us out in one punch! What's wrong with you that makes you think you can break into Wuying Qi's most important weapon base with only the three of us? And what's wrong with me that makes me agree to go on such an adventure with you?"
"Don't put it that way. While Wuying Qi is terrifying, he is stalled by the ace fleets of the four families after all. Didn't we see the overwhelming troops of the four families when we jumped over stealthily? Wow. What a fabulous lineup it was! I'm drooling whenever I think about it. Even I couldn't hold back the urge to surrender to them."
Li Yao swallowed and said, "Judging from the mobilization of the four families' ace fleets, they should be launching a general attack at the capital planet in a few days, shouldn't they? We are taking advantage of Wuying Qi's most pressured moment to sneak in. How can we be so unlucky as to run into him in person? Chances are that our mission this time will be very simple, and we will reveal his scheme without any accident.
"Is any mission with a cursed man like you ever 'simple'?"
Long Yangjun mumbled. Her breasts squeezed by the sharp rocks, she demanded angrily, "How are you leading the way? Only earthworms and cockroaches are fit for such narrow tunnels. What kind of shortcut is this?"
"That's not my fault. The underground world of the capital planet is your turf. The map was drawn by you last time!"
Li Yao said innocently, "This tunnel was exactly the route through which we retreated after we scouted the underground hole last time. It was very spacious at that time and could allow two people to move forward shoulder by shoulder. Who knows that it will become like this in only a couple of months? This is very close to the underground hole. I fear that Wuying Qi has set up some alarm magical equipment that can detect feeble quakes, so I cannot shatter the rocks with drills. As a result, we can only squeeze forward slowly."
"That's strange."
Long Yangjun said, "By logic, there shouldn't be such drastic tectonic changes in only a few months. What happened?"
Hardly had she finished her question when intense quakes echoed around. The rocks above and below them further pressed toward them, as if they were going to close and squash the invaders.
Li Yao, Long Yangjun, and Li Jialing were all greatly shocked. They were about to summon their crystal suits and drills of mystic rays to dig a way out when the movement of rocks came to an abrupt end.
The three of them looked at each other in surprise.
"Somebody seems to have planted abundant crystal bombs in the faults of the shell and is detonating them in a pattern."
As a bomb expert, Li Yao thought for a moment and said, "They are trying to change the tectonic structure or even to tear apart the land, thereby creating a huge artificial canyon.
"It must be Wuying Qi's doing, but what does he want?"
Long Yangjun pondered for a moment and said, "Wait. Changing the tectonic structure with crystal bombs, unleashing massive energy, tearing apart the land, and creating a huge canyon… It sounds exactly like what the Supreme Emperor and the Blood God did ten thousand years ago. Does he have any nefarious purposes?"
"About that…"
Li Yao scratched his chin hard, unable to think it through yet.
"I… have an idea."
Li Jialing suddenly said, "Brother Yao and Sister Long both said that Wuying Qi has a certain powerful secret weapon deep inside the capital. However, the enemy he needs to deal with is the four families' ace fleets in space.
"In my opinion, however powerful the secret weapon is, it cannot directly annihilate the enemy in space when it is buried deep below the ground, right?
"Therefore, the first thing Wuying Qi is going to do, and what the Supreme Emperor or the Blood God did first ten thousand years ago, is to find a way to tear apart the planet so that the secret weapon may rise to the surface of the planet."
"That's right!"
Li Yao slapped his forehead and said, "That should be it! Jialing, I didn't expect you to be growing so fast. After only one year, you're almost as smart as me!"
"Change the tectonic structure, tear apart the planet, and make the secret weapon rise to the surface?"
Long Yangjun, however, shuddered in coldness. "When the Supreme Emperor and the Blood God did it ten thousand years ago, it resulted in the permanent changes of the environment on the surface of the capital planet. There's no telling how many people got killed. Today, ten thousand years later, the population of the capital planet has expanded tenfold. If the tectonic structure is changed again, leading to a global earthquake or volcano eruption, there will be no telling what kind of living hell the capital planet is going to be turned into!"
Chapter 2601: News Below the Ground |
"Wuying Qi is truly out of his mind!"
Li Yao also mumbled, "Today is different from the past. The crust of the capital planet already changed drastically ten thousand years ago. It is now in a man-made unstable state. If he makes things worse, it is possible that the whole continent will sink into the ocean, and the bottom of the ocean will be heaved by several hundred meters, transforming into a new continent.
"When such huge changes take place on the surface of the planet, it remains to be seen whether or not the residents living in the cities could survive, but the ten billion residents living below the ground, including the people of the Great Iron Plants, will certainly be killed in the accident. Will Wuying Qi really be heartless enough to do that?"
