Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 358
Through the special crystal cameras for cosmic wars with super-high resolutions, the picture of the center of the battlefield was magnified and displayed on the light beam. Flowers of flames blossomed silently one after another, each consuming countless Exos and turning them into dust.
Although the light beam was quiet, Fengyu Zhong seemed able to hear the desperate screams, the crazy roars, and the noise of metal and fists colliding.
The sounds made him flush in excitement. He suddenly experienced a shortness of breath.
Although he had witnessed the black tide of death sweeping across the sea of stars countless times, Fengyu Zhong still felt that he was back to when he stabbed a rusty knife into someone else's heart when he was eleven. The thrill of murder was swirling around in his mind and didn't die down until a long time later.
This were the seventh large-scale clash over the past three days between the two parties.
The Cultivators finally couldn't bear it any longer and showed signs of failure. Before they beat the Exos of Storm Prison back, some of them had already retreated into the defenses of the starship.
Including Gold Horn, the crystal warships of the Cultivators barraged crazily and managed to maintain their formation.
However, in the eyes of an experienced hunter such as Fengyu Zhong, such a decision was merely a waste of resources, indicating that they had no better choices.
As long as the war of attrition continued, the enemy's resources would run out very soon, and barely any crystal suits would be able to be deployed.
By that time, when the final attack was launched, the three starships would be swallowed from skin to bones. There wouldn't be the slightest trace of them left.
"Finally—"
Taking a deep breath, Fengyu Zhong felt that his growing ambition had puffed up his body, giving him unparalleled pleasure.
Annihilating the Great Horn Exo Society would be a perfect full stop for the battle that marked the rise of the Temple of Immortals from darkness.
Although the Great Horn Exo Society was unimportant per se, the symbolic significance of destroying them could not be underestimated.
Half a month ago, crystal warships from dozens of Cultivation sects, a handful of Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, and abundant Core Formation Stage Cultivators had surrounded the Great Horn Exo Society, partly hoping to ambush Storm Prison and partly to protect the Great Horn Exo Society so that the Exo Society, which had just completed a legendary crusade, was not reprised.
But right now, by the deceptive plans and careful arrangements of the Temple of Immortals, many Cultivation sects had found their homes on fire and had to return to resolve the crisis immediately.
If the Great Horn Exo Society was eventually demolished, the entire world of Cultivators would be disgraced. More Cultivators would inevitably doubt themselves.
"Even three Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and dozens of Core Formation Stage Cultivators failed to protect the Great Horn Exo Society. Are Cultivators as strong as we thought it to be?"
The self-suspicion was exactly what the Temple of Immortals needed.
On the other hand, Fengyu Zhong needed to establish his authority on Spider Den.
Not all the space pirates on Spider Den were Immortal Cultivators.
Some of the space pirates were better than the rest. But most of them were simply mobs.
The Temple of Immortals had been lurking in darkness for hundreds of years and knew the importance of confidentiality better than anything else. If everybody on Spider Den knew about the existence of such an organization, some of them were definitely going to leak it to the public when they were captured and interrogated by Cultivators.
The Temple of Immortals was not ready to walk in broad daylight yet.
Therefore, the Temple of Immortals were even more prudent when recruiting Immortal Cultivators on Spider Den than converting normal Cultivators.
Only the really brutal, experienced space pirates who had bloody grudges against Cultivators would be in the Temple of Immortals' eyesight after they were thoroughly investigated in secret.
Most space pirates, including most of the middle- and low-level space pirates of Storm Prison, did not know about the Temple of Immortals at all.
In the foreseeable future, Spider Den would still be the representative that fought against Cultivators on the surface.
Fengyu Zhong had gathered so many space pirates for the mission under the pretext of avenging his only son.
If he went back in disgrace, it would be a great strike to his prestige. He would find it harder to expand his forces on Spider Den in the future.
Therefore, the Great Horn Exo Society had to be destroyed!
Right then, a slender, pale young man walked up to Fengyu Zhong quickly and said in a low voice, "Behemoth-19 has arrived!"
The young man, who looked innocent but was in fact cold-hearted, was his advisor and also a member of the Temple of Immortals.
Fengyu Zhong was refreshed.
After three days of fierce battles, many crystal suits of Storm Prison had been seriously damaged. Behemoth-19, which carried a master of refining and an expert of assassination, had finally arrived to reinforce them. It would be a great help to finish the enemy sooner.
But the advisor had a weird expression. "But Behemoth-19 seems to have had an accident. Their telepathic thought transmission chamber is down, and they can only communicate with us through semaphore. They claim that they suffered tremendous internal explosions in which several important figures, including Huangpu Shiyi, were seriously wounded. They are hoping to dock to Blood Rain and deliver the wounded for better treatment ASAP."
"Explosions? Huangpu Shiyi was seriously wounded? What happened?" Fengyu Zhong's eyes immediately narrowed, his nose flapping like that of an old dog that had smelt something wrong.
"Semaphore is just for emergency communication. Detailed information cannot be transferred. They want to be docked first and talk about it later," replied the advisor.
Deep in thought, Fengyu Zhong looked at the battlefield and said a moment later, "Tell them that Red Lightning has just been upgraded with the most advanced med bays and maintenance equipment. Ask them to dock at Red Lightning! In the meantime, prepare all the main guns and lock onto Behemoth-19. If Behemoth-19 remains on its current trajectory toward us in three minutes, accept its dock request and, when it reaches the best distance for attack, blow it up!"
Red Lightning was the furthest crystal warship away from Blood Rain, the flagship, on the battlefield.
The advisor was dumbfounded. He stammered, "General Feng. But Huangpu Shiyi is still on Behemoth-19!"
Fengyu Zhong smiled vaguely. "If they don't change their route in three minutes, Huangpu Shiyi is no longer on Behemoth-19!"
Chapter 529: Such a Fool |
The advisor gasped and mumbled, "Has Behemoth-19 been hijacked? That's impossible! There was nothing wrong with their authentication tokens!"
Authentication tokens were a special method to determine the status among space pirates. Before their every mission, they would change their authentication tokens and mix them into their messages. Outsiders wouldn't notice anything abnormal.
Only the space pirates could discover the authentication tokens from the messages and decide whether the messages were sent under coercion or at free will.
Authentication tokens could be included in the semaphore, too.
The authentication tokens of each starship were different. Only the leadership such as the captains and vice-captains knew what they were. Even if other people hijacked the starship and threatened the captain or vice-captain to send out messages, the hostage could mix an authentication token that represented danger into the message before sending it out. The space pirates who received the message would immediately know what to do.
However, the authentication tokens in the semaphore that Behemoth-19 had transmitted were clear and consistent. There was not the slightest error in them.
Fengyu Zhong said coldly, "It is precisely because their authentication tokens were good that I gave him three minutes. Otherwise, I would've issued the command to blow it up a moment ago!
"Right, give me a detailed file on Behemoth-19. This is a carrier. There are not any fatal weapons on it, is there?"
The advisor quickly retrieved Behemoth-19's files from his crystal processor and shook his head. "No. Behemoth-19 is a legal business starship registered under the Thunder Cloud Sect and has been annually examined in its headquarters. To avoid unnecessary suspicion, it was not deeply modified. There are only a few regular crystal cannons on it. Also, since it was carrying out a recruitment mission in the Skyhill Domain, the starship was naturally kept as normal as possible.
"It is just the most ordinary half-armed carrier with barely any firepower."
Fengyu Zhong pondered for a moment and nodded his head slightly. "That's good. Ask all the soldiers on Red Lightning to put on their crystal suits and be prepared to fight. When Behemoth-19 is docked, scrutinize everyone on board from inside to outside. Remember, their identity must be a hundred percent confirmed!
"I have every reason to doubt that someone has broken into Behemoth-19 and pretended to be wounded in order to sneak into Blood Rain with the carrier as a platform!
"Ask the soldiers to pay special attention to the wounded!
"Also, when everyone is off the ship, with hygiene as an excuse, flood Behemoth-19 with the deadliest venomous gas and the nerve-paralyzing gas that can make Cultivators lose the ability to summon their soul power. The process will last an entire hour and must not be one second short!
"After that, perform a thorough examination of Behemoth-19. Pluck every toilet and see if someone is hiding inside!"
The advisor stood straight, admiration beaming out of his eyes, as he shouted, "Understood! Wise decision, General Feng! After that, it's impossible for even a mouse to sneak into our starship through the carrier!"
…
Inside the cockpit of Behemoth-19, Li Yao was somewhat startled. He looked at the crimson light spot that was still very far away on the light beam in a daze and asked, "Say that again?"
The vice-captain of Behemoth-19 said, "We've received a reply from Blood Rain. The med bay on it was hit in the battle previously and is still unrepaired. The medical treatment that it could provide is limited. In the meantime, Red Lightning has just been upgraded with the most advanced medical devices and bountiful Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures before the operation. Therefore, we have been asked to dock at Red Lightning instead!"
"Where is Red Lightning?"
"Please take a look at the star map. This is Red Lightning!"
Li Yao's pupils suddenly shrank to the size of two needles.
Red Lightning was the furthest crystal warship from the flagship, Blood Rain.
Fengyu Zhong was indeed a cunning fox. No wonder he had survived the ambushes of Core Formation Stage Cultivators so many times. His sense of danger was indeed sharp!
What to do now?
Li Yao had originally planned to draw close to Blood Rain with a pretext. As long as the distance between them was short enough, he would be out of the best attack range and even enter the blind angles of the cannons on the starship.
When he was out of the best attack range, even if the cannons were still able to fire, their firepower would be greatly undermined due to the limited time and distance. The spiritual shield on the carrier should be enough to last dozens of seconds.
Within the dozens of seconds, the carrier would accelerate to the maximum speed and crash into Blood Rain brutally!
With the explosion techniques that Huangpu Shiyi had taught him, Li Yao had planted a great number of bombs on every corner of the carrier, especially the engine compartment and the arsenal.
Once the serial explosion was triggered, the carrier would turn into a terrifying super bomb. The flagship would definitely be seriously damaged, if not blown up on the spot.
Li Yao was aware that the Great Horn Exo Society's distress signals had floated in the sea of stars for a long time.
At this moment, countless crystal warships of Cultivators were coming to the location from various directions.
Fengyu Zhong needed to seize the moment and take down his enemy as quickly as possible.
If his flagship was greatly damaged, he wouldn't be able to destroy the Great Horn Exo Society in a short time. Then, Fengyu Zhong's only choice would be to withdraw from the battlefield as soon as possible.
The longer he delayed, the more likely he would be surrounded by Cultivators instead. If he was unlucky, the scheme that the Cultivators had made in the beginning would become reality!
It was Li Yao's original plan.
But the plan had been seen through before it was implemented.
No, it was not seen through. But Fengyu Zhong, as a sly, seasoned space pirate, smelled the scent of danger from him.
What to do now?
Li Yao pondered whether or not he should pretend that someone important, say, Huangpu Shiyi or Su Jiuzhen, had burst into a rage and dashed at Blood Rain, ignoring the orders.
But in the next second, when he stared at Blood Rain in the sea of stars, which was as tiny as a freckle, he suddenly quivered and abandoned the idea.
Fengyu Zhong would open fire. He definitely would.
Chances were that he would even accept Behemoth-19's obligatory dock request 'helplessly' and, when it reached the best attack range, order a barrage to blow it up ruthlessly!
In this unpredictable war, Fengyu Zhong was at an overwhelming advantage. He had five warships, with countless space pirates under his command, not to mention that he was a Core Formation Stage Cultivator himself!
But Li Yao had a great advantage, too.
He knew Fengyu Zhong.
It was even safe to say that, other than Fengyu Zhong himself, Li Yao was the one who knew him best in this world.
Such a merciless, astute, brutal bandit who had escaped countless pursuits and traps had never revealed his true thoughts to anyone. It was possible that his personality, emotions and fighting style were all faked.
He had opened his heart to only one person, his only son Fengyu Ming.
Fengyu Zhong had written his knowledge of plundering, escaping, and surviving in 'Stormy Sword'. In order to make his only son grow into a distinguished space pirate sooner, he had poured a lot of effort into the notes. His real personality and emotions could be felt in between the lines.
However, 'Stormy Sword' had fallen into Li Yao's hands. While he had learned many space pirate tactics, Li Yao had a much deeper understanding of the infamous bandit now!
Therefore, Li Yao realized that, if he continued marching on without altering the route, Fengyu Zhong's suspicion would be confirmed. He would stand no chance at all!
But what about Red Lightning?
Li Yao studied the data more carefully and realized that, not only was Red Lightning furthest to Blood Rain, it was much smaller than the flagship, too. It was only approximately half the weight of Blood Rain.
Damaging Blood Rain seriously would be able to push the space pirates to stop the battle and retreat.
However, even if Red Lightning was blown up, the situation still wouldn't be reversed.
Currently, three starships on the Great Horn Exo Society's side were half wrecked. The casualties of the Exos were severe, too. Even if Storm Prison only had four crystal warships, they could still finish the battle within one day if they were determined to and retreat into endless darkness comfortably before the reinforcing Cultivators arrived.
Cold sweat appeared on Li Yao's forehead, as he said in a low voice, "What's the battle situation now?"
The vice-captain was ecstatic. "It is definitely in our favor! According to the latest report, the two starships beside the Great Horn Exo Society did not stay to protect it on purpose. It was because they experienced a serious space storm ten days ago. The shells of the starships were torn open by the meteoroids, and they were not able to perform a space jump.
"The headquarters of the sects that the two starships belonged to were both on the other side of the Flying Star Sector. Without a space jump, it would have taken them more than two months to cruise back.
"Since the journey was too long, there was barely any difference whether they went back in a hurry or took their time. They chose to stay with the Great Horn Exo Society and planned to find a port to repair the shells of their starships. But they were blocked half way through!
"The firepower of the starships was not strong enough. The Exos on board are mediocre warriors, too. After being attacked repeatedly, they are now on the verge of collapse!
"Also, it has just been confirmed that Lei Dalu, captain of the Great Horn Exo Society, suffered heavy wounds. He may already be dead right now. Haha!"
"What!"
Li Yao squinted, coldness shining in his eyes, as he asked, "How was it done?"
The vice-captain grinned hideously. "It was his own folly! In the battle just now, the Great Horn Exo Society was not able to resist and prepare to fall back. Some of the injured Exos volunteered to cover the retreat so that the rest of them would be able to run back into the defenses of their starship!
"The injured that stayed would've died for sure.
"However, as the captain of the Great Horn Exo Society and the supreme commander of the three starships, Lei Dalu charged out with a bunch of guys and tried to rescue the soldiers who had stayed!
"Naturally, he was heavily besieged!
"The guy was brutal enough for a Cultivator in the beginning level of the Core Formation Stage. He slayed more than forty space pirates within a breath.
"But when there are enough ants, they can bring down an elephant. Under the consecutive attacks of several Building Foundation Stage Cultivators and Core Formation Stage Cultivators, his crystal suit was almost blown off, and he was seriously wounded!
"The injured who had stayed in the first place were mostly killed. Only one tenth was eventually rescued by him!
"Hehe. General Feng hasn't acted yet, and the commander of our enemies has already nearly killed himself just for several injured persons. He is truly the biggest fool of the Flying Star Sector! I am very curious. How did such a clown end up being a captain of the Exo Society?"
