NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 601-607(END)
Chapter 601: General Xi Ding
On the holographic screen, one could see countless mechs heading their way towards the mysterious warship. The tens of thousands of mechs were accompanied by over a hundred warships. The Five Galaxies had always banned research on warships until the red-tailed beast invasion began.
These warships were clearly influenced by the Three Aristocratic Families from He Yue Galaxy, but it was a mixture of influences from the Three Families that failed to achieve their core qualities. These warships were like trash in Ye Chong’s eyes. Ye Chong believed that these warships must be the work of the Three Aristocratic Families’ employees sent to the Five Galaxies. Besides, the warships were modified from normal large starships, which had a very different structure compared to a proper warship.
Without further delay, Ye Chong ordered Appilok to fire.
The first weapons up were Darkniss’s ship cannons. Ye Chong always believed in the importance of ship cannons, especially in a battle between warships. The ship cannons could determine their very survival. The few warship battles Ye Chong had seen left a deep impression in him. An individual’s strength was almost negligible in a battle between warships.
All of the ship cannons on Darkniss were made from the extremely rare Belfang metal alloy. Belfang metal alloy was usually reserved for high precision mechanical parts. It was never used to build ship cannons, not even in He Yue Galaxy.
Five thick laser beams shot out from the ship cannons. People only saw a bright flash that momentarily blinded them.
The five warships were hit instantly. Their thick hulls did nothing to shield them from the laser beams. The ships exploded into pieces under the attack.
Boom! All five warships exploded simultaneously into five dazzling fireballs in space that engulfed the metal carcasses. The explosion sent out fragments of metals flying outwards at high velocities, which then hit the mechs surrounding them and sent those mechs crashing down. A few of the mechs exploded immediately in midair. Ye Chong knew exactly how to destroy a warship. Traditional ship cannons usually did damage by piercing the target’s hull. Unless the cannonfire hit something vital like the engine or energy cell storage, the enemy ship would not be heavily damaged.
The ship cannons on Darkniss fired laser beams and spheric photon grenades. This highly unstable weapon would explode with the slightest amount of contact, and cause great damage to the enemy ship.
The devastating firepower from Darkniss shocked the viewers and combatants alike.
It felt like their hearts stopped beating for a short moment. They had expected conflict of some kind, but not for the warship to actually fire at them so ruthlessly.
Ye Chong’s actions had surprised them so much that they were momentarily paralyzed.
The local authorities who were following the incident closely were also shocked. They looked at each other in fear, for they expected such an unyielding opponent. Nothing like this had happened ever since the invasion of the red-tailed beast.
If the other party had not presented themselves so professionally, they would have looked more like space pirates.
Suddenly, the comm device on their desk rang.
They jolted out of their surprise and activated the comm without thinking.
“You imbeciles! Who the fck ordered them to attack? Are you blind? Do you not see how powerful the opponent is? Are you dragging me into your fcking act of suicide?”
A man roared through the comm device loudly, threatening to bring the place down.
“General … General …” Someone in the room tried to explain. The man yelling at them was not someone they should mess with. He was the person with highest authority in Csebesini’s military. Xi Ding Defense Line was his handiwork. It was because of him that Csebesini Galaxy became the last haven in the Five Galaxies. His reputation in Csebesini Galaxy was unrivalled.
“Don’t ‘General’ me. Let me tell you ssholes, I’ve allowed you to make your little profits all this while, so who the fck caused this huge mess? Which f*cker ordered it?” General Xi Ding continued to blast at the people without reserve.
The meeting room was dead silent. General Xi Ding was a man with a temper. No one in their right mind would dare to speak against him when he was mad.
The General cut the line in rage. After that, his personality changed completely. All the rage vanished, replaced by a deep coldness. Deep wrinkles carved into his stone-like face. His hair was snow white, but his cheeks were a blushing red.
“Do we have a background for the warship?” The General asked as he looked at Darkniss on his holographic screen.
His assistant shook his head. “None. The fleet is the Gu Family of Tian Luo, but we have checked their records and found nothing about a warship like this.”
“The Gu Family of Tian Luo?” The General chuckled coldly. “They’re not capable enough to build this warship. They are a dying empire, a mere shadow to their past. Get Hua and his people in here.”
The assistant quickly activated his comm device and spoke a few words. After a moment, a few men entered the General Xi Ding’s office. This was a group of roughly a dozen people of different build.
“Do you know this warship” General Xi Ding asked without preamble and pointed at Darkniss on the holographic screen.
The group directed their attention to the screen.
After a while, a pale young man spoke up, “General, that warship is probably not from the Five Galaxies. It seems to be influenced by the Xue Lai Clan, where I’m from, but the overall design is different.”
Another thin man said, “Hua is mostly right about that. The warship is definitely not from the Five Galaxies, but there seems to be some characteristics of my clan, the Ye Family.”
General Xi Ding looked towards a woman, who spoke respectfully, “I agree with them both. Regrettably, I see no signs of influence on this warship from my tribe.”
These people were the highest level personnel sent by He Yue Galaxy to the Five Galaxies. The invasion of the red-tailed beasts affected both Black Cove and the Orbits. If even He Yue Galaxy was faced with the threat of these creatures, how could their outer branches hoped to survive unscathed? They escaped from their headquarters and finally reached Csebesini Galaxy. In the end, they were caught by General Xi Ding, who had kept an eye on them from the start, and chose to cooperate.
General Xi Ding considered their words for a moment. “So the warship is not from the Five Galaxies. If it came from your home galaxy, then how did it arrive in Csebesini Galaxy? Didn’t you say that the Gateways were overrun by red-tailed beasts?”
The group looked shocked, but Hua finally spoke up for them. “We don’t know how they arrived here too, but it’s true that we lost the Gateways. Perhaps they managed to bring the Gateways back under control?”
The group felt encouraged by this possibility. They were resident of He Yue Galaxy, and missed their home. They had chosen to cooperate with General Xi Ding so that they could live to return home one day. However, they had received no news from their main families back there so far.
“Do you think this warship is capable of taking back the Gateways?” General Xi Ding asked as he replayed Darkniss’s ship cannon attack and the warning shots on Wei Zheng’s squad on the holographic screen.
“Impossible!” Everyone in the group gasped in surprise. General Xi Ding was greatly surprised by their reaction. Could this amount of power be insufficient to bring the Gateways back under their control?
General Xi Ding had heard of the story about the “homeworld” for mech pilots. It was said that everyone there was strong, and that the best mech models were made there. He had no ulterior motives towards He Yue Galaxy. Any one of the organizations here could easily overpower his own. It was simply not his place to even consider the possibility.
The abilities of these people in his room further convinced him of his decision. These people were extraordinarily capable, but they were only considered average in that place called He Yue Galaxy. Besides, their technology far surpassed what was available in the Five Galaxies. When the invasion of the red-tailed beasts first started, Hua and the others had provided invaluable technical knowledge that ensured the survival of Csebesini Galaxy.
However, since the group had described how powerful their main families were, General Xi Ding had hoped that they might be able to annihilate the red-tailed beasts. He knew that Csebesini alone could not hope to win the war against those creatures.
As time passed, the red-tailed beasts grew stronger. Csebesini was progressing, but the time needed to develop and incorporate the necessary technology to survive was too long. The red-tailed beasts were expanding too rapidly.
Csebesini Galaxy might not live to see the day these creatures were defeated. General Xi Ding was old, but he hoped to leave behind Csebesini Galaxy as a safe and peaceful place for the younger generation.
When General Xi Ding heard the group’s reaction, he looked deeply disappointed. Hua quickly recovered from his surprise and explained, “General, I think you misunderstood. We’re saying that is’t impossible for this warship to be so powerful. Even our main family’s warships cannot achieve that amount of power.”
General Xi Ding looked towards the other members of the group. They all nodded in agreement.
“Then, do you mean that they are capable of taking back the Gateways?” General Xi Ding asked carefully.
“Absolutely!” Hua replied with certainty. He looked up and said, “General, I’d like to speak to them.”
The reinforcements sent to Wei Heng were ordered to stand down and wait for their next orders. Everyone in the reinforcement troop felt relieved. They saw the attack earlier, just like General Xi Ding. They were mightily intimidated, but they could not disobey orders from their superiors.
Ye Chong received a request from the party to negotiate a truce. This was a first for him. The other party had also ordered for their army to retreat 130 kilometers back as a sign of goodwill.
Having encountered this situation for the time, Ye Chong was unsure what to do next. Should he continue firing, or not?
He looked at Gu Qing, who smiled back in understanding. “Looks like their higher-ups have a more accurate assessment of their situation. They must be intimidated by your strength to have asked for a truce. The one who gave the order should be the real mastermind behind Csebesini.”
A truce was the most desirable outcome that Gu Qing hoped for. She knew that if Ye Chong were to attack without reserve, the 10 thousand soldiers around them would not survive the battle. Csebesini could not afford this loss, so a truce was the natural conclusion to this incident. The only thing that surprised her was how accurate the other party’s leader was able to gauge the strength of their warship with just a few shots from their ship cannons. It was very fortunate for both sides. As the last haven in this world, Csebesini did not lack capable personalities.
Thus, members of public watched how the arrogant soldiers restrained themselves. Was this really Csebesini’s army? People rubbed their eyes and watched in disbelief.
Regardless, the warship Darkniss left a very deep impression. No one would have imagined that the next time the warship appeared before them, it would bear news of victory and hope.
The results of the negotiation was not know to the public, but the warship quickly left and disappeared from sight. It had appeared mysteriously, and left in similar fashion. The Gu Family fleet was left behind, but the incident had won them celebrity status in Csebesini Galaxy. They became the only aristocratic family to enter Csebesini Galaxy without being torn apart, a feat envied by many.
Chapter 602: Saving Xue Lai Clan
‘Sir, we are approaching the Gateway,” Hua said respectfully to Ye Chong. In He Yue Galaxy, the strong earned respect from the people. Ye Chong’s strength was enough to earn respect from them all. They also hoped that he would be bring them home with his warship.
Once outside Csebesini, they were constantly interrupted with red-tailed beasts. Hua and the others also felt shaken by what they saw.
Where did this warship’s crew come from? Hua and his people always broke out in cold sweat whenever they saw them in action. Were these people still humans? They killed the red-tailed beasts like a hot knife through butter. Words can barely describe their strength. Even those crew members who looked so weak and fragile managed to surprise Xi Feng Tribe’s Feng Yan.
She knew that mentalists of their level were considered geniuses in their Tribe, and yet there were hundreds of them on this warship. Since when had such masterful mentalists became so common? Besides, these people were so young … How could this possibly be true?
As the warship Darkniss advanced, they encountered more and more red-tailed beasts. Hua and his people went from greatly surprised to being numbed by their battles. In fact, any casualties the combatants suffered would have surprised them even more.
The presence of Hua and his people did not come as a surprise to Ye Chong. As someone who had seen all the best fighters from the Three Aristocratic Families, these branch members could hardly surprise him.
The main reason Ye Chong allowed them to come along their journey was because they knew where the Gateway to He Yue Galaxy was. Based on what he knew, there were three Gateways that led from the Five Galaxies to He Yue Galaxy, each controlled by one of the Three Aristocratic Families. Ye Chong had spent time in the Orbits and Black Coe before, but he did not know the way to these Gateways. Fortunately, he now had people from all the Three Aristocratic Families to lead the way.
Rui Bing wanted to visit her mother and Grandpa Qian, but she held back. Now was not the best time to visit them. Xi Ding might just take advantage of it.
In the end, Ye Chong chose the MPA to help him. They traveled using the Gateway under Xue Lai Clan’s control. This was the closest Gateway to Csebesini.
“This is the Gateway to He Yue. We controlled this Gateway, but the red-tailed beasts were too strong. In the end, we had to retreat to Csebesini.” Hua spoke with mixed emotions. He was secretly worried. He never doubted the Clan’s power, but it had been a long time since the red-tailed beasts took over the Gateway, and there was no news from the Clan ever since. They did not send any reinforcements to the Gateway, which was a worrying sign.
He feared that the Clan was in danger as well.
Here at the Gateway, Ye Chong and his people were met with strong resistance. There were far more red-tailed beasts here than anywhere they had been. This suggested to the humans that the red-tailed beasts were intelligent, such that they knew to guard their important assets.
There were casualties daily, but only with minor injuries. So far, the battle still leaned towards Ye Chong. His mech pilots had experienced countless battles in a short period. They were now true war veterans, honed sharper and sharper by their battles.
The improvements in the shooters were particularly obvious. No shooter had ever fought so intensely and frequently. The fact was, battle experience was tremendously helpful for them to improve. This was especially true for shooters at Level 7 and 8. Ye Chong could appreciate better now why Mei Wu chose to stay in Darkniss.
To conserve their overall strength, Ye Chong would sometimes join the battle with Celest. Whenever this happened, the students who were not assigned for combat would enjoy his performance, occasionally offering commentaries on the side.
Compared to the group battles by the other mech pilots, Ye Chong’s solo fights were more interesting. His preferred style was close range combat, fought with a mixture of cold calculation and explosive power. The students were always engrossed in his fights. If the warship had viewership records, Ye Chong’s fights would definitely hold the highest record.
On the other hand, disciples of the Ye Family could only watch with astonishment. The Ye Family, famed for close range combat, could not hope to compare with this average looking young man.
Finally, they made it through the Gateway!
Hua and his people were overwhelmed by emotions.
However, the deserted view before them caught them off guard. The base was an abandoned wreck. Buildings were damaged everywhere, and covered by a thick layer of dust that suggested long absence of its previous occupants.
“Impossible!” Hua gasped with a trembling voice. The view had left him shaken.
50 thousand soldiers were stationed at this base! The Clan placed great importance on this place – he knew that very well. Nevertheless, the base was now empty.
He knew that with only a small group of people guarding this narrow Gateway, the red-tailed beasts would no be able to pass through. He also knew that the elders in the Clan could see this too.
So why, why did the Clan abandon this place?
Perhaps the situation escalated far beyond his imagination. His chest tightened at the thought.
They were finally in He Yue Galaxy. Everyone, including Ye Chong, Rui Bing and Sang Kan, felt greatly relieved. They must now quickly make contact with the Sang Tribe.
Ye Chong did not notice Hua’s emotional turmoil. He was focused entirely on reaching out to the Sang Tribe. It was a simple task – as long as they had access to the virtual world or a place with pulsed signals, they would be able to get in touch with the Sang Tribe. After all, they had the infinitely capable Maverick, Little Rock, on Yi Ju.
However, things were made difficult for them. All the infrastructure around them was thoroughly destroyed.
Darkniss headed towards Yi Ju. They were now crossing Xue Lai Clan’s territory.
“Sir, we have a situation.” Someone reported succinctly. After surviving so many battles, the crew members were no longer easily unnerved.
“Ah!” Hua gasped. His body was shaking.
In front of them was a beautiful light blue colored planet, but it was deep in war.
All around the planet, laser beams were fired here and there. Mech squads accompanied by their warships fired against the red-tailed beasts with great tenacity. The red-tailed beasts were fast, and the mech pilots could barely aim at their target. The creatures did not fight with any visible strategy, bu they were gaining the upper hand. The battle was at its peak. Occasional laser beams shot on Darkniss’s hull, igniting sparks.
Just a short distance away from the planet was a huge cloud of purple mist.
“Sir! Please, I beg you! Please save our Clan!” Hua suddenly turned to Ye Chong and kneeled down heavily as he begged. Tears streamed from his eyes. He never imagined that his ride home would end with him seeing the planet like this.
The other members of the Xue Lai Clan quickly went down on their knees as well and asked Ye Chong for help.
On the holographic screen, laser beams intertwined while mechs and red-tailed beasts pursued each other madly. For a moment, Ye Chong was lost in thought.
Appilok looked towards Ye Chong with a tilt in his head. He waited for Ye Chong’s signal.
Ye Chong quickly recovered himself. It had only been a few seconds. Suddenly, one of the mechs on the screen caught his attention.
“Siva!” Ye Chong gasped.
Hua jolted, and looked up hopefully. “Sir, do you know Master Siva?”
Siva dodged left and right, avoiding all the attacks from the red-tailed beasts. However, the strength from a single mech was limited, and not enough to turn the situation around. When Ye Chong saw Siva, he could not help but remembered about the young boy. Rui Bing looked towards him, and Ye Chong saw her sharing his thoughts.
Did his mother belong to this Tribe? Ye Chong felt a mixture of emotions rising in him. A strange bitterness silently crept inside his heart.
Soon, Ye Chong composed himself and studied the battle on the holographic screen with a calm eye. He made his decision quickly and nodded at Appilok. “Prepare for battle!”
Appilok was expecting it. In fact, before Ye Chong gave his order, all the combatants were already in position. Since battles became more frequent out here, they had chosen to eat and rest near their stations.
Hua and his people were overjoyed that Ye Chong agreed to readily. They always thought of Ye Chong was a cold man.
However, Ye Chong’s next words chilled their burning enthusiasm. “Our target is the purple mist. Full speed ahead!”
Ye Chong knew the red-tailed beasts like no one else did. In some ways, he was more of an expert than Fei Si, an expert on the red-tailed beasts.
The flesh nest was the core of the red-tailed beasts. Only by destroying the flesh nest could they get rid of the red-tailed beasts thoroughly. The flesh nest was crucial to the growing population of red-tailed beasts and their evolution.
It was a drastic measure, but also a very risky one.
Ye Chong knew that once he started attacking the flesh nest, the red-tailed beasts would rush towards it. If they did not destroy the flesh net completely before the creatures arrived, they would never have a second chance. They must leave the purple mist before the red-tailed beasts arrive so that his mech pilots could be put to use.
With the colloid fungus substance spread on the warship’s hull, Darkniss flew unnoticed towards the purple mist.
Everyone felt nervous. Besides Ye Chong, no one else knew what was in the purple mist.
The ship cannons were charging now, but the real weapon Ye Chong relied on was the 600 shooters on the ship.
Once they entered the purple mist, all holographic systems would be down. When that happened, they could only rely on the shooters, who had parapsychic abilities.
The purple mist had no effect on them.
Chapter 603: Heaven and Hell
It was not the first time they entered purple gas cloud zone, yet Ye Chong still was affected by the intense atmosphere. It was rare to see him this tense. This was in contrast with the calm crew members, who would probably never understand what encounters their captain had on his first visit here. This was the place where Ye Chong met a 6-toed red-tailed beast and obviously it turned out to be a close battle that haunted him as if yesterday.
The purple cloud this time was a lot larger than the one on Planet Yi Ju before. And Ye Chong was very aware of how it went directly proportional to the size of the red-tailed beasts clan.
The war also raged on at the galaxy between planets. Be it the red-tailed beast or the Xue Lai clan, they were both having a hard time in the war. The Xue Lai clan had deployed their best soldiers armed with the classic beam firearms. It might be a classic model yet remained as lethal to the red-tailed beasts. It was only natural to Ye Chong as the Xue Lai clan had the most technological talents among all the 3 aristocratic families. I mean, even the consortium could produce an impeccable weapon like the G-Z.
However, the foes were not too weak either. So it remained as a difficult fight ahead for the Xue Lai clan.
Ye Chong’s soulless eyes fixed upon the lively war-field, like a killer he was.
He was looking for a target.
He had just found one.
Darkniss then launched itself into the purple cloud.
Back at the main control room, a shooter was assigned to lead the way. The ship was dead silent, as the crew members kept their mouth shut and let the professional do the job.
“Target: Radius Vector at 25 degrees. FIRE!”
“32 degrees, NOW!”
The beams struck at the joints of the nest like lightning.
A large explosion occurred and the purple cloud nest had turned chaotic. Certainly it was the work of the highly compressive grenades. Not even the hardened joints of the nest could withstand the explosion.
The damage the grenades had caused was beyond Ye Chong’s imagination. He watched the large area of the nest blowing up as a single grenade fell like a shooting star.
Darkniss eventually passed the purple cloud zone and hit the interior of the nest. “Photon mode!” That was when Appilok noticed the effectiveness of these grenades on the tendrils.
The tendrils were turned into splashes of disgusting fluids. No sound was heard yet the explosions were convincingly epic. Fluids were discharged from the tumors of the tendrils and flooded the place.
The capability of the grenades was a joyful sight to the crew members. They had been long terrified by the horrendous-looking tumors which hung like a resting monstrosity. Ye Chong had to admit that there were more tumors compared to his adventure on Planet Yi Ju.
The tumors were the breeding chamber of the red-tailed beasts after all. There were at least 100,000 of them.
In the midst of explosion, Ye Chong was at first relieved, till he saw something ahead.
There were suddenly a pack of red-tailed beasts sprinting towards Darkniss, about a thousand of them. The grenades rained upon the red-tailed beasts, sending them backwards, yet not even a scratch could be seen on them, while they seemed to have been enraged.
Their previous victorious experience had them convinced that nothing was undefeatable as long as they launched their piercing tails together. They strongly believed that this giant piece of scrap would once again, like the other scraps they had destroyed before, be pierced into ashes.
They were given the light treatment again, as they turned blind for a moment. They were unperturbed however, as they had experienced similar occurrences before and they were unharmed in the end.
They evaded the attacks as usual and they were planning to make their attack.
SPRINT!
Wait…uhh…
Something felt strange on the neck…
Uhh…how…why is it getting darker…
I can’t…feel my toes…My tail was…hitting something?
…(What actually happened?)…
Brahmara, also known as Siva, danced with its blade on the war-field, even though its grand debut had yet caused to turn the tables on the situation.
“Chief, we are not in a good situation now.” Reported an elderly.
A middle-aged woman nodded. She could see the situation as clear as the elderly. She was the chief whom the elderly was reporting to after all. Nonetheless, she could not think of a solid plan, not just yet. The war with the red-tailed beasts had lasted much longer than she had imagined. The situation of her clan had only worsened each day. Their territory had shrunk and the war with the red-tailed beasts had only grown larger.
This was the only planet left for them. It was such irony that an animal was able to corner them.
The Xue Lai clan, unlike the theoretical outcome due to their technological advancement, was actually the worst among the all 3 aristocrats.
Still, it was this stress of being cornered that had initiated their potential.
It was a retreating fight at first, as the Xue Lai clan army retreated from the vigorous attacks of the red-tailed beasts. They might be weak but they were sure tenacious, much more tenacious than the red-tailed beasts had expected. The retreating wave soon stood still and braced the attack well.
The chief continued watching the situation.
She had been a chief for over 20 years. Her days as a chief passed restlessly. She was ever-cautious, knowing her responsibilities. If she was given the choice, she would not have sat on this bed of rose. Unfortunately her sister disappeared one day out of sudden, so, being the sole heir she was, she had to hit the throne.
It was god-blessed for she never made a wrong decision as a chief. The people liked her all these years. It stirred her a little as she realized her caution for the entire term.
“Chief, please look. Something had happened!” Notified Lady Xue, one of the servants.
Lady Xue might be known as her maidservant, but she was treated as her own daughter. Lady Xue was intelligent and probably the most talented person among the younger generation. Though not as talented as Yu Shan, her son. However, Yu Shan was accursed by his top-notch intelligence as his growth had ceased as a child. Despite being 24 years old, he still had a body and mind of a 7 to 8 years old child.
It was as if a sign of envy from god, to show all humans were equal. Yu Shan was gifted with his amazing intelligence in mechanics yet was probably “handicapped” since he was born. Nonetheless this did not stop him from his great contribution to the clan.
One would never know, the top player of the Xue Lai clan, the creator of Brahmara turned out to be a boy from Neverland.
Ever since Shang had disappeared with the chief’s sister, the Xue Lai clan had lost its greatest player, but well, fate was capricious, as if god would like to watch dramas, almost simultaneously, the top pilots from the other families had disappeared too. Ye Luo from the Ye family vanished while the top pilot of Xi Feng had been murdered in the free space zone.
Yu Shan had watched the growth of Brahmara ever since it was created. They were like brothers and the chief, being the mother, was proud of them. Yu Shan was talented but that did not assure him a good chief. Well, at least he had Brahmara, so he was rather invincible.
Only if Shang was there, it would feel more like a family.
The chief missed both Shang and her sister. Shang should be still in this world, perhaps, even though she was sure that her sister was no longer the owner. The new owner was some boy named Ye Chong. All these while she had been trying to figure out the relationship between Ye Chong and her sister. She would want to lift the cover and check Ye Chong out but Ye Chong turned out to be a rather ferocious and hostile person. It was supposed to be a reunion yet it ended with bad blood as both of them were quite hot-tempered at first too.
The puzzling part was the fact Yu Shan seemed to be have grown fond of Ye Chong, while Ye Chong took good care of him. Yu Shan was a nitpicker and he technically had no friends in the clan. It was almost surprising when she heard him confessing his fond over Ye Chong. Ye Chong had also asked Yu Shan about Shang before. Well, that justified one thing – he owned Shang.
Brahmara was a production based off of Shang’s design by Yu Shan, while it involved more of the newer technologies, even though the materials involved remained inferior.
Brahmara was probably as strong as Shang in the past, though the chief was never competent as her sister. The chief’s sister was a firm figure, a supportive leader and she missed her.
“Chief!”
And she put her sentiments away, shifting her focus back onto the battlefield.
“What’s the issue now?” She said grimly. Being a chief for so long, she had mastered the skill of hiding her emotions.
“The red-tailed beasts seemed to be retreating!” Reported Lady Xue, in a bit of confusion.
“Retreating?” The chief was bewildered as well. The red-tailed beasts were indeed leaving the place… hurriedly… but why? What had triggered their fear so much?
She knew the beasts well after battling them for so long. The red-tailed beasts might have launched their attacks frantically but they fought on orderly rapports.
They might be locked in a stalemate but the red-tailed beasts were obviously winning. There was no point for the red-tailed beasts to retreat.
So why, what made them?
Could there be a plot twist?
Clusters of red-tailed beasts scurried from the scene as they ran towards the purple cloud zone in fright.
The chief rolled her eyes, “Send orders to Brahmara — Hold the beasts back, no matter what! They can’t leave just yet!” The chief could foresee their plan, and she would certainly not allow it to happen. She might not be unsure of the situation inside the purple cloud nest, but she would not allow them to get what they want!
Well, that was what she could do anyway. They must do something!
The pilots sent the order promptly, as they were also aware of the sudden change among the red-tailed beasts. They would not confront the red-tailed beasts, instead they would confuse them with strange attacks.
The pilots launched their mechs upon the red-tailed beasts, chasing after them, shooting beams from all sorts of direction to knock the beasts off the track. The beasts were struggling to run away.
This was where the superiority of ranged attacks of the Xue Lai clan shone.
The beasts were killed one by one by the crimson beams. It was not because of the impeccable accuracy, it was because the beasts were struggling to protect their nest by taking the beams themselves.
It took about 30 minutes for them to arrive at the nest.
That was probably the countdown to the fall of their nest ironically.
Why they were trying so hard to protect the nest?
Had they lost their mind?
The entire Xue Lai clan was not sure of what had happened to the red-tailed beasts, but one thing for sure, it was a golden opportunity to fight back.
It was no longer a battlefield for the clan. It was instead a training ground for them to practice shooting, an easy training too, as the red-tailed beasts were too frantic to perform any proper evasion. They were not even trying.
It was probably the most thrilling battle ever. No more strategy, no more tricks, no more counter attack, no more piercing red tails, no more evasion, it was just shooting.
It was a release of fury accumulated over the past few weeks of warring the red-tailed beasts for the Xue Lai clan.
The wave of red-tailed beasts was shrinking drastically while the living ones still ran towards their nest in panic.
It was a dense wave at first, once countless. But in less than 10 minutes, about only a thousand remained.
That was when something actually happened at the nest.
Chapter 604: A Warning Shot
For long, the purple cloud zone had been a landmark of space, haunting the intergalactic travelers like a lump of aggressive horror as if there was something that sucked the entire space in.
It almost felt like an absolute truth of eternity till the Xue Lai clan witnessed the changes occurred.
The purple clouds were boiling, vigorously rolling. With a diameter of more than a few thousands kilometers, the sight was shocking.
People of the Xue Lai clan were stunned, “W-what’s going on?” Whispered the chief as she watched the sight in disbelief. Her men were the same, bewildered.
The pilots screamed, overjoyed a moment later, though they had no idea what had actually happened. It seemed like a great chance to fight back and they decided to launch themselves upon the red-tailed beasts that headed to rescue their compatriots.
Ye Chong, in the meantime, had discovered a simple way to clear the crowd.
High compression grenade.
The classic which had been long forgotten by history, had resuscitated in Ye Chong’s hands as it would devastate the entire structure of purple cloud area. One single explosion could clear a large area of the bush. This was a much better alternative than beam firearms which hardly penetrated the tendrils.
The shaking explosion wrecked the whole area, as fluids sprayed the space rocks, the shreds of the unborn red-tailed beasts filled the space. Even the most wicked monster would be the most fragile at their infant stage.
Ye Chong looked at the screen again after the grenades were hurled.
A 6-toed red-tailed beast was making the evasion clumsily in the midst of explosion, its body was tainted by the dried fluid from its prematurely dead offspring while a piece of meat from an unknown part of its compatriot also dangled on one of its shoulders.
Sha Ya was the first person who discovered the escaped beast. Whispers passed quickly among her mates and all the crosshairs went upon the running beast immediately.
The target was clearly of a high rank. It had six toes after all! That was one exciting dummy for shooters to practice aiming! The shooters traced the beast quickly with their weapon. The anticipation brewed on as they wanted to make that outstanding headshot to impress the others, till Ye Chong, in a cold tone, ”All fire at once.”
Sha Ya knew the captain well. The captain was never a person who liked to have things done rather than being entertained. The orders were passed through whispers again.
Reformation occurred as the shooters spread into 2 batches of 300 each, where one would clear the incoming pack of red-tailed beasts while the other, under Sha Ya’s command, would make massive fires at the 6-toed elite.
The waves of parapsychic attack ambushed the elite like a roaring shock-wave.
Ye Chong could see the raging fear inside the frozen pupils of the red-tailed beast. It was biting its teeth as it stumbled upon the attack.
As the leader had said — kill it right off and no more messing around, Sha Yan executed the order flawlessly.
The fired beams rained upon the beast like a giant bar of glowing fence that sealed off the beast entirely. There was no gap to escape. The red-tailed beast would soon be killed.
And then they missed.
Strangely, they did. Against the law of physics, they did.
The beast unleashed its potential as its body distorted itself to fit into the gap of fence. It was close but the red-tailed beast managed to survive with only a few beams that brushed against its body, of which one charred a 5 centimeter deep wound on its shoulder.
The shooters were of course stupefied. The strategy they just employed was one specialized for handling a dexterous target like red-tailed beasts and adjustments had been made from time to time to improvise, yet this red-tailed beast hacked its way through their light fence attack.
The red-tailed beast then further twisted its body.
“It’s running away!” Whispered one shooter sharply. Their experience told them that a wounded beast would make its runaway frantically. They were quite right, a hint of fear could be discerned in the bloodshot eyes of the red-tailed beast.
Right when the light fence passed through the surviving beast, an additional set of beams were fired, like the three musketeers dived through the gaps of the fence, penetrating the body of the beast.
The center of the forehead was bleeding, the throat was bleeding, the heart blew up. The distortion remained on the anatomy yet the soul was lost in the fierce eyes of the red-tailed beast, glowing dimmer each second.
It was Sha Ya who launched the arrows. She predicted the escape and added the shots.
The one plot twist after another had excited the Xue Lais as they first tasted victory of overcoming the beasts. The army of red-tailed beasts had further shrunk into a measly hundred.
The anticipation grew stronger!
The purple cloud had begun fading away as the supporting tendrils broke down. The shooters managed to knock out most of the red-tailed beasts yet a few tens of them were approaching their destination.
The beams could not reach them!
And Sha Ya was puzzled thinking of a way to hold the beasts.
That was when a bursting flock of laser beams smashed the remaining beasts.
The field was silent.
What… just happened? The purple cloud area should have been the nest of the beasts.
“HOLY!” One person was screaming at the communication channel, “What the heck is that! Guys, switch to photon mode!”
Then they finally saw it, a giant warship.
No one would actually craft a gigantic warship. A simple spaceship could have been more superior because of its speed and dexterity. Only lunatics would make a warship this giant. Sha Ya believed this was by far the largest warship she had seen in her entire life. The most ridiculous part was how they were literally blind to this whale-sized monster the whole time.
The body of the ship attracted attentions. A Zika-ranked ship body that fired laser beams that landed the fatal spots of the red-tailed beasts accurately. The warship traveled slowly in grace, like a king on his debut to the peasants at the street. For some reason, the running mechs ceased moving and went into a hostile position.
A few mechs were then zooming towards the mech out of nerve-wrecking curiosity.
It was only natural for humans to react with aggression towards the unknown.
…(On the ship)…
Everyone knew whose ship that was.
Appilok was on it, giving a new order, with an indifference one had seen countless times on their supreme leader. “Perform warning shot.”
And the next barrage of laser beams crossed the void.
The bewildered Xue Lai clan was terrified.
“Enemies?!” The old chief was feeling unease, her army was already drained and no way they could take another wave of attack.
The beams were reaching the mechs.
It was too fast! The plot twist was too fast! The Xue Lai clan never saw it coming.
It was the same flock of beams that broke the red-tailed beasts completely in one go. No doubt, they would be doomed!
The beams landed, yet fortunately they only hit the ray guns the mechs were holding.
The ray guns exploded.
A warning shot in fact it was.
Xue Lai clan, once excited by their victory, was again chilled to their bones.
Chapter 605: Return of Legend I
The modern hologram detection system clearly could not capture the appearance of this giant in space. It was shocking to the crew when they saw the warship through photon detection mode. A few crew members started estimating the distance between both parties. That was quite far for beams to even hit the mechs, let alone to hit them with such accuracy. All 10 shots made contact at the joints between the ray gun and the mech itself! None of them missed.
Sniper? Sniper mech pilot!
That was the first phrase that popped up in people’s mind.
That did not look good, thought the chief of the Xue Lai clan as colors were drained from her face, “Order! Do not attack until further notice.” She could tell the missing hostility of the foes. Well, if the foes were hostile, the entire clan would have been toasted instead.
It was a warning shot, obviously.
No one was foolish enough to move a muscle even without her order, especially when the immense fatigue that raided them after the biggest threat in their career had been eliminated. The accuracy of the beams convinced them to have their hands off the interface too.
So, Ye Chong finally met the chief of the Xue Lai clan. It was a private meeting only involving both of them, as demanded by Ye Chong.
She looked at Ye Chong at the strangest curiosity. The young man appeared to be fairly ordinary for the leader of a gigantic warship. He did not seem trained judging by his slender physique, but it was that indifferent charisma of him that convinced her his identity.
Ye Chong scanned the chief in a fickle disbelief, for he could not imagine such a feeble woman to be the chief.
The chief never knew the name of this indifferent young man before her, though she had given countless missions of capturing the person named Ye Chong.
She never thought of it.
It was not far-fetched for that to happen to be honest. Over the years Ye Chong had changed, a part of his graceless nonchalance had been coated with an unknown charisma. That was why the chief did not recognize him, “I am Ye Chong.” till he introduced himself.
The chief had lost the colors on her face again. She knew that name, she knew that name too well. She had been given lots of reports regarding this man disgraced by her people before the red-tailed beast incident.
She frowned as corners of her eyes wrinkled in dismay, Ye Chong could not help but sigh at her reaction of suppressed fear.
Perhaps… perhaps… she could be related to his mother.
Sadness filled him as he thought so, though his expression remained unchanged.
The chief was expecting to be killed for what she had done before, she closed her eyes and prayed for a peaceful death, “Hey.” And Ye Chong gave her a microchip, “Load this.”
Her eyes went wide as saucers when she opened her eyes. That was a pretty ancient microchip, justified by the model number printed on it – about one decade ago.
But why? Of all times? An outdated microchip?
In slight confusion she inserted the chip to the processor.
The Xue Lai people were getting restless on their ship. Their chief had been somehow “led” to the suspicious-looking warship that almost killed their people just now. It was not a good feeling as they felt they had just fed the chief to a hungry tiger.
Back on Darkniss, Appilok glanced at Sang Kan, “Kan Kan, how do you think?” Said he as he looked at the Xue Lai clan, “Our leader asked us to wait.”
“Yeah, what else can we do?” Sneered Sang Kan, “Like what could they do anyway? Remember what they did to our teacher? They are fortunate to have yet encountered us back in the He Yue galaxy.”
Appilok went completely silent as he knew he had just opened a wrong conversation.
“Shhh, careful with your words.” Scowled Rui Bing, “You don’t know the entire truth, Sang Kan.”
Rui Bing was right, she had seen the visual, she had checked out the logs. She knew the actual connection between Ye Chong and the Xue Lai clan, and certainly it did not feel good to hear something offensive from an outsider who knew nothing like Sang Kan. She believed she would not be able to face this meeting if she was the one instead.
Sang Kan pulled a funny face at Appilok and went quiet.
A moment lapsed and Ye Chong returned, with a loss of vitality that never had occurred to him in front of the people before him. “We are staying here for the next few days, keep your guards up.” He gave a quick order and stormed into his room. Rui Bing sniffed and followed.
Appilok and Sang Kan were confused, while the shooter team led by Sha Ya were bloodthirsty enough to fire those Xue Lai clan members into beehives any second.
“What the hell is going on?” Sha Ya could not help but curse.
Meanwhile, the Xue Lai clan were joyful to hear the news, as the chief announced Ye Chong’s identity.
“It’s the descendant of Ms. Yu Yu! That explains A LOT!” Ye Chong’s chivalry had been justified as the senior members hurrahed.
The Xue Lai clan was feeling pumped as they knew Ye Chong being the offspring of two greatest legends from the different aristocrats.
Ye Chong ignored the joyous calls of Xue Lai however. In the next few days he never left Darkniss. Possibly because of the fact that his mother belonged to the clan, he did not perform any kind of execution on them, despite all the things they had done before. But that did not mean he would like them, since he felt no emotional connection to any of them other than the little boy. Same goes with his feeling at Ye family, he probably would only talk to Ye Luo.
He was too tired to entertain the family “reunion” as he lingered on Darkniss.
Sang Pu was working at the deck, till the communicator woke him up from his mundane routine, but who would that be at this timing?
The number appeared to be strange to him. Confusing enough.
“Hello?”
…(Meanwhile)…
Sang Tie had been officially assigned as the commander of the Collision army, and he was conducting training with the new trainees now. These were the members newly transferred from the Sang Family village.
“STAY UP! WORK HARD! THE SANG FAMILY HAS NO TRASH!”
The family today was grand, “…all thanks to our teacher… he would certainly be pleased if he sees how great our family has become today…” There was sentiments in his eyes. It had been depressing news when Ye Chong disappeared along with Rui Bing.
The communicator rang at his waist, it was Sang Pu.
“What is this fella calling at this time?” He took the phone.
“Uh huh… Really?? I don’t know what to say… this is…” A joyful news it was, that Sang Tie’s hands were shaking, “Alright! I’ll be there soon!”
The new trainees were bewildered at their commander’s expression. It was never seen before. “Everyone gather up. Call the rest of the trainees. All be here in 30 seconds or I’ll break your legs for sure!” Shrieked Sang Pu.
Half a minute later, the Collision army rolled to the center…
…(At another place)…
Sang Ling led the sixth army which guarded the front line, which was the boundary of planet Yi Ju. The Collision army had been the main defense force of the Sang tribe and they had impressed the world after that fight against the red-tailed beasts. Many different forces had formed alliance with them that they managed to expand their territory to all the surrounding planets. They were great but they were low in number, so they forced six different armies that camped on different planets to combine. The sixth army was ranked the last but they offered the greatest offense, though most people remembered the sixth army merely because how most of the members were lassies.
“Meeting now.” Sang Ling stormed into the meeting room, her subordinates were astonished by her panicked reaction.
The intense ambiance was shattered by her speech after a moment of adjustment, “I had just received an order from Mr. Sang Pu.” Both Sang Pu and Sang Ling might have been brother and sister but Sang Ling would formally address her brother at the workplace. Sang Ling seemed to have matured a lot after her marriage with Sang Fan.
“So regarding this…”
The people anticipated.
Chapter 606: Return of Legend II
“We are going to pick up someone this time.”
Her subordinates were intrigued – picking up someone? Who? With an army of such size? Wait!
A few of the subordinates seemed to have realized the only person who was capable to grab such attention from the leader, as excitement tinted their expressions.
“The first, third and fifth army would be joining us too.”
Four out of the six armies scattered across the surrounding space zone of Planet Yi Ju had been called up for the big mission this time. This was probably the largest operation in the entire history of the Collision army, the soldiers were astonished by the details, wondering what man of what galaxy could waver the armies so easily.
“Also…” Sang Ling, as if the news was not shocking enough, decided to give a few more juicy details, “I have just received updates, that, the Collision armies had departed, while there were also armies sent by the 12 other smaller tribes, following our lead.” The so-called smaller tribes were ethics who had close connection to the Sangs, the Jin Gui tribe for example.
“Oh…” The subordinates were quiet, as it was quite the overwhelming information for them.
“All departments get ready. Departing in 4 hours. Destination : Planet Xue Hui.” Sang Ling looked at her subordinates, “Dismiss.”
…(Meanwhile, at the laboratory on Planet Yi Ju)…
The Core Mathematics Laboratory was the most advanced mathematical laboratory on Planet Yi Ju, as well as the known facility in He Yue galaxy, led by certainly none other than the boy genius, Little Rock with his group of professional researches.
“Ahem…” Little Rock initiated, as he cleared his throat, “Everyone, put down your work in hand. We have a situation here. ” Both Little Rock and Zhu Ling were already happily married for two years by then. Although Little Rock remained as a shrinking violet, he had turned more vocal throughout these years.
“We need to take over all the cameras hovering between Planet Yi Ju and Planet Xue Hui. I also need a few men to keep an eye on any suspicious activity on the Virtual World. All these is to make sure the transmission is smooth.”
…(Meanwhile at Qiu Man)…
The great lady was negotiating with a major cooperation which was having different opinions in their upcoming deal. “No, I’m not giving in for this, and you know that.” Qiu Man’s tone was strong as her personality, as well as her gaze, till her secretary stormed into her office and whispered a few words into her ears.
Her expression changed, “What?” Gasped she, “Sorry, no more deal today. Some other time maybe.” And she left the office.
Planet Yi Ju had become the most developed planet in the entire He Yue galaxy by then. It was also the safest planet due to the powerful army led by the Sangs which annihilated the whole wave of red-tailed beasts nearby.
The planet was peaceful for months, till today, people were gasping out of astonishment as they spotted countless gigantic mech units zooming by the sky. It looked as if a prelude to a war.
“Wowie, what’s going on today?”
“Such army, Is there something happening?”
“I h-h-hope not.” The person, as if terrified by the wartime before, replied hesitantly, “B-b-but well! Even if there is something going on, our Collision army is unbeatable!” His statement went proudly.
“True that.”
“Well, check out the news, and we’ll know.”
Having that said, this day was bound to be the historical day in the galaxy.
The massive army movement had alerted the residences in the galaxy, that the Sangs had to pass out announcement promptly to clarify that the movement was merely an escort trip, not one that marched to a war.
But wait, they are going to Xue Hui?
Isn’t that the home of Xue Lai clan? When did the Sangs have something with Xue Lai clan?
On record the Sangs had once coldly declined all requests from the aristocrats and this totally contradicted their current movement.
So why? Who or what had caused the army to make such a drastic move?
This was the first time the Sangs left the Planet Yi Ju area, with an official document announcing the purpose of their trip.
The mysterious figure was sure great.
The tribes around fancied the authority the Sangs built up over these years and they had provided ample supplies for their journey. This was probably the only golden opportunity they could get to butter up this strong army to ally with them since the Sangs were the extremely low-profiled group among the others.
Different tribes contributed their own elites to join the fleet led by the Sangs and the fleet grew over time. The residents were anticipating the mystery to be revealed, regarding the master behind the entire scene. That was when a microchip was sent to the Ye family under the escort of the elite of Xue Lai clan, the very elite himself, Brahmara.
The microchip stirred up a storm at the Ye family who was already troubled by the hurricane of red-tailed beasts shower.
The Ye family immediately sent off a fleet to Planet Xue Hui, by where they met the representatives from the Xue Lai clan as they zoomed their way to Xi Feng tribe.
The development caught the attention of people again, as theories brewed, regarding this figure that had the ability to gather the forces around under his lead.
The aristocrats had joined each other, fighting against the red-tailed beasts.
The red-tailed beasts were terrifyingly formidable, that the aristocrats had to retreat on almost every occasion. If it was not the Sangs, the people would not have survived.
The Sangs were as if the silver lining in the sky, though victory remained far, far away from them.
The unity of the aristocrats, would that signify a real peace? A true victory?
Zuo Mi was a sailor who worked really hard at the ship, and somehow, as if fueled by something, there was not the slightest fatigue discernible on his face, as he walked in and out of the corridor constantly to get his tasks done.
Countless fleets arrived by to load themselves with the necessities, Zuo Mi was assigned to guide the ships to the port. The number of mechs and giant warships had kept him pumped somehow, “Wow, we actually still have so many allies around us!”
It was the confidence that fueled him, he realized, confidence towards the future of humanity.
The mass media was promoting the movement, of the growing army all traveling towards the same destination – Planet Xue Hui.
Zuo Mi was exhausted by the work as he fell asleep after his meal, only to be waken up by the noises, “The Xi Feng is here!” One of his colleagues shouted.
He got up and ran towards the window to witness the arrival of this great ally which signified the completion of the intergalactic alliance of aristocrats and it had certainly attracted participation of more forces around.
Chapter 607: [Chapter 607?]
p>Chapter 607: Finale. New life and where things ended.
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The brewing movement outside did not affect the crew in Darkniss the slightest. To Appilok and his subordinates, the He Yue galaxy was somewhere beyond their reach and they certainly did not bother to follow the news. As long as they got their tasks done assigned by their leader, they thought. Team Ye Chong resumed their routine, they were undisturbed as usual, unlike the Xue Lai clan.
The clan had guests.
TOO. MANY. GUESTS.
They had to supply their workforce with untrained youngsters by shoving them to the front desk straight away to greet each massive group of guests, like the newly surfaced Collision army which arrived at Planet Xue Hui first, as they were rather eager to reunite with their master, Ye Chong.
“Sir!!” That was what Sang Tie screamed upon seeing Ye Chong again. He was very, very excited, that he could not contain that emotion in him as he spoke, “H-H-How have you been?”
The rest of the family was stunned, a majority of them was the former army trained by the master himself back at the Sang family village, in which a few of them even had hand-in-hand Collision mech tutorial with the master. The respect or more precisely the worship had grown into a profound passion in them, towards Ye Chong.
Ye Chong stared at Sang Tie and rested silently, sentiments sprouted in him, as he almost could not recognize Sang Tie at first glance. He looked a bit more different than Ye Chong remembered. Things had changed apparently, not only Mu, Shang and Rui Bing had changed, the Sangs too had grown. That was joyful news indeed.
Little Ye Chong knew, again, what he brought to the world hundreds of chapters ago, the grand gathering he caused was a major historical event in the chronicles of the galaxy. The adjectives towards the event might be all “great”, “grand”, “amazing”, “never-before-seen”, but only the people who were fortunate enough to be participating the event itself would know how exciting it was.
“Mhm…” A moment of silence and Ye Chong asked, “Have you all contacted Mu and Shang?” The juniors were confused, but the higher ranked Sangs knew what the master was talking about.
Sang Tie shook, “Nope, I imagined them with you.”
Ye Chong was quiet again, his mind ran fast.
If Mu and Shang did not join the Sangs, they must be still at the Gray Valley.
Oh Mu and Shang, how are both of you? I miss those days…
Thought Ye Chong.
…(Meanwhile)…
Reporters from all corners of the galaxy had arrived on Planet Xue Hui, only to see the one person who was able to wield the few aristocratic forces across the universe so easily. But they had no luck, the hunt might be just a wild goose chase as the mysterious figure never really showed up in person. The reporters, having their hope sank, were feeling agitated by the lack of development of newsworthy stories. They knew where the figure was, yet they could hardly do a thing. There was only one last place, of the entire galaxy, where the reporters had never been to – the same mysterious gigantic warship that came out of the nowhere, the Darkniss. Juicy information was perceived from the Xue Lai clan on different interrogations with them, claiming how destructive Darkniss was, as well as how the mysterious figure led the entire crew of sniping Shooters.
The reporters waited on as they observed the formation of an alliance between the aristocrats under the lead of Sangs.
…(Two weeks later)…
The He Yue galaxy alliance had been officially established, which only familiar names were involved — the Sangs (the majority of the alliance, about 20%), the aristocrats (15% each) and the leaders of other minor groups. The authority of the Sangs was once again perceivable in the eyes of the people, they were the newly emerged force that had overtaken the three aristocrats.
The reporters were opening their eyes wide as they skimmed through the list. No. No…? There was not a single name that seemed to have association with the mysterious figure, and Darkniss had never attended the alliance meeting and formation ceremony – the ship did not even have its gate opened once.
This alliance was much stronger than any of its former, as it took up 3/4 of the whole military force in the He Yue galaxy and certainly they would need a commander befitting to its greatness – Sang Pu. He was called and rushed to Planet Yi Ju.
People were very intrigued of this new force as high hopes were given upon them to clear out the pack of red-tailed beasts destroying the galaxy. The residents were very aware of the fact that this very army shall determine the fate of the He Yue galaxy.
That was when Darkniss stealthily departed, with 10 Sangs’ warships under his lead, on which 400 pilots boarded each.
…(Meanwhile, at Team Sang Pu)…
“We finally got it through.” Sang Kan breathed in relief as he glanced at Sang Fan, who joined Sang Pu from their home planet to command the army of 4000 Collisions. Sang Pu felt more secure if they were able to allocate more men in the rescue mission of Lord Mu and Shang, but their teacher, Ye Chong, disapproved for the teacher felt the number was more than enough.
In this vast galaxy, probably only Mu and Shang could provide Ye Chong such security. Mu and Shang was so capable that even Ye Chong felt more confident in their works than himself. Mu and Shang might be facing the fearsome red-tailed beasts, but he believed that the artificial intelligence and indulgence could clear the wave effortlessly as long as they had their turn to attack.
From the Xue Lai clan, Ye Chong had already obtained the firsthand information regarding Mu and Shang’s whereabouts in Gray Valley. His machine buddies were much more stronger than their former self 20 years ago, not even the new ace of the Xue Lai clan, Brahmara, could be competent in terms of performance. However, it might still be a different story if it was a one-on-one. Technically, Mu and Shang was a far better all-rounder than Brahmara.
It was a smooth sail for the following days, as the alliance, under Sang Pu’s lead, managed to clear out several nests of red-tailed beasts.
All thanks to their great teacher, Ye Chong who shared his experience with Sang Pu while pointing out the exact ways to get rid of these pests.
And the Xue Lai clan finally had the time to catch their breath, as they began producing their new weapon, the Red Vapour III. The clan was still an aristocrat for a reason. They only needed a short period to recover and grow stronger.
The fragile nest made out of tendrils had become the fatal weakness of the red-tailed beasts. Humans could disrupt the reproduction of these beasts immediately by destroying the nests, though it still was a trouble to face the beasts themselves.
The beasts were running to all corners, while the alliance were unable to stop these running monstrosities. The people were pleased however. It was a form of victory after all. It would be only a matter of time till the red-tailed beasts had their justice served.
Nevertheless, the clusters of red-tailed beasts that escaped to all corners of the galaxy were rather impossible to be completely eliminated. So one had to admit that the galaxy would no longer be as peaceful as it once was.
Meanwhile, Ye Chong did not bother much about the galactic war happening out there. He had his own war to fight. Darkniss, under the escort of his fellow 4000 Collisions, was traveling safely from one stop to another.
The pathway to Gray Valley was not as dangerous as he imagined, the waves of red-tailed beast were far less frequent.
But how?
Right in the midst of confusion when Ye Chong activated the portal to Gray Valley, one of Sangs’ fleet stayed behind and joined Xue Lai’s army at the entrance to the free space zone.
This separate team had a different mission, which was, to retrieve a sunken vessel under the navigation of Old Jalopy and Fei Si.
Why the vessel?
Well, something was in there.
Coraplatinum, the essential material to repair Mu and Shang.
So the one fleet parted ways with Darkniss at the portal to Gray Valley and certainly the two ships had to test their transmission.
“Is it working? Was there any signal?” Asked Ye Chong to Sang Fan.
The little warship of the Sangs might not be as grand as Darkniss but it had a far superior communication system created by the Core Mathematics laboratory, one led by Little Rock and his team of researchers. The system was very powerful in capturing communicative signals and it clearly had convinced people the power of that one boy genius.
…(Meanwhile somewhere at Gray Valley)…
Yang Ming was heading to Planet Vincent. He was no longer that apprentice under Harrell the Great thanks to his continuous effort in mastering the mechanics. By then he had become the foreman leading his own group of mechanics to Planet Vincent where the front line was pleading backup repairmen in fixing their broken armory.
Even though Sir Jay (Ye Chong)’s disappearance had once caused a bit of trouble in his fleet, he and his men managed to build a new miracle under the lead of Lord Mu and Shang.
They had been strengthening their fortress, utilizing the ample resources found on Planet Spectre where they founded their main base too – all thanks to the impeccable plan by Lord Mu and Shang.
And it was that one accident occurred during their fight with red-tailed beasts which exposed the beasts’ vulnerability – the nest.
Because of that, they managed to safeguard their territory by wiping out all nests in Gray Valley, as about 30% of the red-tailed beast population remained. The red-tailed beasts were less threatening without their nest. They were nerfed, and had become the training monsters for pilots to farm their contribution points.
The name of Lord Mu and Shang the Great was heard again throughout Gray Valley.
Mu and Shang had seized control of the majority of areas in Gray Valley and in no time they would taste the real victory, the end of the war once they opened up the pathway to the He Yue galaxy.
The catch was, for some reason, despite being one step before victory, Lord Mu and Shang insisted on not leaving Planet Spectre, and the men knew the lord was waiting for Sir Jay. And this capricious lord had been very, very mysterious to even his own men, that only Sir Xi Qing and Sir Shu had met the lord in person, yet they were forced an oath of silence whenever the lord was mentioned.
When would the waiting days end?
The men were anticipating the finale.
“Sir! We had detected signals!” Reported one member to Yang Ming.
“What kind?” Frowned he as he muttered, “Impossible… we have controlled everything here, how can there be new signals?”
“I don’t know sir…” Responded the crew member.
“Hmmm…” He then made his decision, “Report to the base on Planet Vincent. Try performing a transmission with the signal after that. Stay on guard.” He would not want to risk as he was leading not a warship but an ordinary spaceship, filled with ordinary repairmen which were under guards of a small group of pilots.
…(Back to Darkniss)…
“Sir!” Ye Chong was alerted by the visual, he could not believe he actually encountered an ordinary spaceship in Gray Valley. A few more glances and he noticed the name of the ship painted at the body – FLEET JAY: G-044.
A spaceship that started with the code “G”, it had to be a spaceship for the maintenance team, but the name “Jay”? Ye Chong finally remembered something as he had an awkward smile. A hint of joy filled his head.
Seems like Mu/Shang had quite some fun here, eh?
The transmission prompted!
BEEP BEEP
“Jajajajaja! If it wasn’t our boy!” The familiar beeping tone prompted.
…(Back to Team Sang Pu)…
The army was winning! The wave of pilots gradually engulfed the purple cloud zone. It was a strategic move as they tried luring the red-tailed beasts to leave their nest, only to demolish their nest using highly compressive grenades after the beasts had reached a certain distance.
The red-tailed beasts panicked but the army did not fight them directly yet. The army decided to drag the run to wear the beasts out so they would have an easy kill in the end.
Of course, it worked like a charm.
It was an idea by our protagonist, Ye Chong, after all.
He Yue Calendar Year 2455 April 14th – Lord Mu/Shang officially resigned from his position in Sir Jay’s fleet. Both Xi Qing and Shu took over the position. All system remained unchanged.
He Yue Calendar Year 2455 June – the very last nest of red-tailed beasts, destroyed.
He Yue Calendar Year 2456 – the alliance of the 3 aristocrats and Sang family joined the Xi Ding defense line on Planet Csebesini in the Five Galaxies to launch full attack at the homeless red-tailed beasts.
He Yue Calendar Year 2457 – the situation in Five Galaxies grew stable, making the finale of the apocalypse.
Throughout the years, the human population on both He Yue and Five Galaxies slumped. He Yue galaxy suffered 70% loss in the figure while Gray Valley lost about 50%.
The Five Galaxies had the worst, where only 20% of the population remained, while having a number of planets in barren.
It was as if a wipe of civilization.
Humanity only regained bit of the former peace before 3 years later. Under the motivating policy by the governments, people started reliving the barren planets. Nonetheless, there were still clusters of red-tailed beasts out there, so they were obliged to migrate in groups, guarded.
That was where pilots shone again.
It was another golden age of pilots.
The apocalypse had ended for so long yet Planet Blue Ocean was deserted, in an ironic forgotten situation being a developed trading planet before. Its resources had been long drained so it lacked the basic attraction to the people in the outer space. Those who returned to the planet were actually because of either the nostalgia or the sense of responsibility. No one would consider visiting planet otherwise.
Well, fortunately, as society regained its vitality, Planet Blue Ocean retrieved its spotlight due to its strategic location. The population improved, so was the infrastructure. A mini trading center was even established at a few spots across the planet.
…(And at that one shop by the street)…
The children were running happily, chasing the torn puppets which looked like the red-tailed beasts with their mech action figures. Columns of steam could be discerned from one side. There was an aroma wafting in the air, of delicious beef. The sound of dough slapping the board could be heard.
An indifferent young man, in the robe white as the uniform of his beloved, was rolling the dough. A gorgeous girl, in her white garb, waving her long, dark hair occasionally as sweated slightly, was slicing the braised beef pulled from the bowl. An old man was resting at his bamboo chair, breathing serenity.
“Ye… Umm…” The thin slice of beef fell into the steaming bowl of pork stock, “I still want a daughter…” Mumbled Rui Bing, biting her lips.
“OKAY!” Said Ye Chong, spirited, as he slammed the dough to the board, “I’ll work on that tonight!”
BEEP BEEP At the lawn, a handicapped mech was grabbing the vacuum cleaner with his only arm, “Rating – Cleanliness: 7, Humidity: 3, Dust Amount: 2. Plan B: Executing.”
At the attic, a row of cradles stood peacefully… “WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!” till a piercing cry of child broke the silence. “WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! BOOOHOOO! BOOOHOOOOO!” As if a prompt by the conductor of an orchestra, the rest of the children joined the music. Sha Ya, formerly in her meditation, opened her eyes wide and sent the children into mid-air. The children were floating, as if gravity was lost, as they began giggling, grabbing the air.
They gradually swam towards Sha Ya, as they, in great curiosity, made strange cries.
And being the fairy godmother of these children, Sha Ya knew the children wanted their entertainment again.
“Oh well, it’s time for the magician to perform again! Hiya!!” She waved, in excitement of a party clown, as she whispered, “Sigh, I should have joined Weidong and the other mercenaries…” That was probably the 1520th time where Sha Ya made the same remark.
And upon hearing the conversation happening at the front kitchen, another remark which occurred also the 1520th time was heard again, “They sure are the couple in combat. Fight great in field, fight great in bed… We are going to run a dojo soon at this rate.”
“GAHH! GAH GAH GOO GOO! TCH!” The 4 little devils were brandishing their meaty arms, furrowing.
“Sigh… alright alright…” Sha Ya turned to them and waved her hands, “Here we go again.”
The fairy godmother started her magic show again.
And they lived happily ever after.
…
Fin.
Credits:
Translators:
Jack – the sarcastic bad boy
Mole – the sincere kind gal
Editors:
Sporesan – the funky editor
Tscvanessa – the quiet editor
(We also have a shadow editor earlier and we missed her, she did such a great job)
THANK YOU FOR READING!
Translator’s live reaction to the ending:
What???? That’s it?
What happened to red-tailed beasts? They did not clear them entirely?
What happened to the whor- I mean, the other waifus? What happened to Xue Ling? Rui Bing’s sister? I wanted some group “activities”.
Basically the author just spent 3 to 5 paragraphs describing, again, how amazing Ye Chong was as he brought historical movement and the whole world was showering him attention, and they formed alliance, and a timeline skip, and the end?????
My whole life has been a lie. I don’t want to live on this planet anymore.
Author’s note regarding the ending and reader’s feedback:
Hah~ I saw how all my beloved readers not accepting this ending, well, that’s quite a conundrum isn’t it?
As much as you want to say it sounds rushed, I actually had plotted this ending way back, like … last year (Fun fact: this book took the author about 2 years to hit this ending, so he probably meant he thought of this ending somewhere back on Year 1). It was not a rushed ending that came out of nowhere.
Back when I was also a reader, reading other amazing stories like you, I always hoped that the epic tale would never ever end, but when those authors put up a rather unsurprising ending, I felt quite disappointed actually.
The story started off tempestuous and certainly at some point, the storm would subside and all it’s gonna end rather plainly. It’s a pretty natural way to write a story, in my opinion. This is the kind of ending I imagined way back.
Well, a few readers commented that I still got a lot of holes uncovered. Regarding that, I believe that it is impossible to clarify everything, to cover every ground in a book. So, it’s fine, as long as the major issues get covered.
Moreover, I felt a lot with this ending, as it provides readers the space for imagination. The 8-toed red-tailed beast leader has not been caught, while clusters of red-tailed beasts lingered on every other corner in the galaxy. The peace had not really arrived, a war could still happen. Don’t you think it’s interesting to end the story at a point where there’s still a lot of potential everywhere?
At least, the story could still continue, in its own way, in the heart of the readers.
Phew, and I’m finally done. Such a chore for me, but well, haha, such a chore for everybody. A writing that lasted for about 2 years, it would be a big lie if I say I still have that strength (Translators: US TOO).
Well, it’ll be a period to catch a breath. I do feel much more relieved, though I’ll be going into another war soon.
(The author then promotes his next novel, wow, this is literally heart-dead writing)
Translator’s Note II:
The author did a bit poorly for the ending as he technically briefed through several rather important scenes where I felt he could have put in lots of feelings in them to stir the emotions of the readers.
Those scenes could be made more impulsive.
So yeah, again, I juiced them up. I also added the author’s note, I hope that those could lighten up your sentiments leaving this novel LOL. I had extended this chapter as much as I could.
We are also here to promote our next novel. If you have liked my odd satire on the author’s writing and liked mole’s decent translation, we would like to invite you to the our upcoming project.
Stay tuned!