Chapter 2589: If You’re Not Coming, I Will!
“Sounds fair enough.”
Lei Chenghu said, “Then, what’s the way out that Marquess Yongchun is looking for? What are your conditions?”
“Good. Straightforward enough. Now that Commander Lei is so outspoken, there is no need for me to beat around the bush. Let’s just cut to the chase!”
Li Wuji said, “Just now, Commander Lei said that I was qualified to be the commander of the four families’ coalition army with my capabilities. That was certainly just a praise. However, if it is just the fleet of the Li family, I’m still confident enough to command it.”
“Are you suggesting that as long as I promise that the fleets of the Li family that are scattered on the battlefield are yours to command, you will be willing to stand on my side?”
Lei Chenghu’s eyes suddenly glittered. “Is that what you are saying?”
“Yes, simple as that. If Commander Lei promises that I will command all the fleets of the Li family, I will help you attack Yun Xuefeng from the back and take him down!”
Li Wuji said, “However, the question is, how can I trust Commander Lei? While Commander Lei is always a man of your words, I am from the four families after all, and I have pissed off everyone. I believe that nobody will defend me if Commander Lei takes down my fleet too after you annihilate Yun Xuefeng’s fleet.”
“That is indeed a problem.”
Lei Chenghu’s eyes were profound. “Then, what are you suggesting, Marquis Yongchun? How can you trust me?”
“Do you dare to come to my flagship, Commander Lei?”
Li Wuji suddenly said, “You can come to my place to discuss the details as a show of good faith?”
“Commander Lei, you must not!”
Before Lei Chenghu said anything, his advisors were already shouting, “It’s a trap!”
Somebody was even glaring at Li Wuji, not convinced by his bulls*it at all.
Lei Chenghu waved his hands in amusement. “I’m very willing to show my good faith to Marquis Yongchun, and I’m even convinced by what you said. However, as the commander of the Astounding Thunder Fleet, my life does not belong to me but to the whole fleet and Imperium! My fleet, my mission, and my duty do not allow me to take such a risk.
“Don’t forget that I just escaped from the Godly Might Prison not a long time ago. If I made the same mistake twice, I might as well be condemned to death. If this is the only way that Marquis Yongchun has thought out, I can only regretfully refuse it. Let’s just meet on the battlefield with our weapons!”
“You…”
Gloomily, Li Wuji pondered for a long time and said, “If Commander Lei is reluctant to come, what if I go over?”
“Huh?”
Lei Chenghu was slightly stunned. “What do you mean?”
“I will go to your flagship ‘Iron Torrent’ in person.”
Li Wuji said, “Commander Lei does not dare to take the risk, but I don’t have a choice. The result will be the same whether or not I take the risk. Therefore, I am willing to go to Iron Torrent and talk to Commander Lei face to face. I believe that Commander Lei is an honorable man who will never trap me with a scheme.”
“Marquis Yongchun is truly audacious.”
Lei Chenghu thought hard for a long time before he asked suspiciously, “However, is it really necessary? Even if the two of us really communicate face to face, what does it prove?”
“Of course it is necessary.”
Li Wuji said, “I have now been pushed into a corner where I cannot trust anything but Commander Lei’s honor and promise. However, the more people know about the promise, the more reliable it will be.
“What Commander Lei wants is to end the battle of Seven Seas as quickly as possible and to gather as many forces as possible under your command. For that, you have to get the support of most of the warlords and miscellaneous troops. To win the support of those guys, you have to maintain the credit of ‘Letter To The Soldiers Of The Imperium’.
“In that case, if I show up on Commander Lei’s flagship and issue some sort of declaration toward the warlords and miscellaneous troops that take up 90% of your enemy together with Commander Lei, letting everybody know that we have reached an agreement, I believe that Commander Lei will not violate the agreement easily, right?”
Lei Chenghu was silent. Broken brilliance flashed in his eyes as he contemplated on the guy’s real purpose.
“Why, does Commander Lei not have the courage to let me board your flagship, no more than you dare to come to mine?”
Li Wuji grinned. “If Commander Lei suspects that I am up to a certain scheme, you can drop your worries. I am willing to go to Iron Torrent on a super-tiny ‘Hummingbird’-level space shuttle. A Hummingbird-level shuttle can accommodate two to three members at best. I will bring only a pilot and no ammunition at all. The arsenal of the shuttle will be the perfect secret meeting room for us. We will talk in a random garage on Iron Torrent. Commander Lei is free to send out dozens of experts with their Colossi to surround the garage so that not a single hair of mine will be left behind should anything go wrong.
“Of course, neither Commander Lei nor I is a pure battle-type Immortal Cultivator. I fear that our combat abilities may be close. If I am determined to die with Commander Lei, it is possible that I may pose a threat to you. If Commander Lei is unwilling to take such a risk, I will have nothing else to say. Just like what Commander Lei said just now, let’s meet on the battlefield with our weapons!”
As he approached the end, Li Wuji tossed the handkerchief to the ground brutally, with brutality all over his face.
As if scourged by his brutality, Lei Chenghu squinted hard and thought for a long time. In the end, he finally nodded slowly and said, “Alright. After I break Yun Xuefeng’s battle formation again, I will be waiting for Marquis Yongchun on Iron Torrent!”
“Alright, I can’t wait to meet Lei Chenghu, the legendary ‘God of War’, in person!”
Li Wuji’s twisted shadow disappeared in the vortex as he ended the communication.
However, the data link between the two parties was not cut off. Further plans were made about the charge later and the route in which Li Wuji was going to fly to Iron Torrent on the Hummingbird-level shuttle.
“Commander Lei, you can’t do that!”
Many advisors were shouting, “Li Wuji will never surrender so easily. It must be a scheme. Chances are that he is trying to play a decapitation strategy or perform an accurate, surgical strike on Iron Torrent!”
“Exactly!”
The captain of guards who was responsible for Lei Chenghu’s safety also roared, “While Li Wuji is not best known for his combat ability, he is more vigorous and a hundred years younger than Commander Lei after all. He hasn’t suffered serious injuries either. Should there be a fight, he will certainly have more advantages. What should we do if he captures Commander Lei inside the Hummingbird-level shuttle in our garage?”
“Enough.”
An expression that nobody could understand popped up on Lei Chenghu’s face as he said casually, “The concerns you’ve raised are indeed problems. However, our situation is no better than Li Wuji’s, and we have been cornered too.
“On the surface, we will crush Yun Xuefeng’s fleet in another few rounds, but don’t forget that the fleets of the Song family, the Li family, and the Dongfang family are still cruising at the edge of the space zone. Song Yushi, the highest commander of the Song family in the frontline, is a real cunning and hungry wolf. He is incomparable for the worthless folks like Yun Xuefeng.
“Even if we crush Yun Xuefeng’s fleet, we will still be faced with perilous battles. It may take us months of struggles before we manage to win. How many sacrifices will have been made by then? How are we going to reinforce the battlefield in the capital, if we still can reinforce the battlefield in the capital at all?
“The situation is intense enough as it is, but a Li Wuji’s fleet has jumped out of nowhere, whose toughness and aggressiveness are as impressive as the strongest opponent we have seen. If the enemy attacks us from the back, will we be able to stick to our original plan and crush Yun Xuefeng’s fleet neatly?
“If we cannot crush Yun Xuefeng’s fleet before the reinforcements of the other three families arrive, we will be doomed forever. Our dream to establish a powerful national army, to renew the Imperium, and to ignite the new hope of the civilization of mankind will be obliterated!
“Now that there is a chance to recruit such an excellent fleet without any cost, even the greatest risk will be worth it. Besides, didn’t you hear what Li Wuji said just now? I will not go to his flagship, but do I not have the courage to welcome him in my own flagship? With so many experts in the Nascent Soul Stage and the Divinity Transformation Stage protecting the garage with your Colossi, how am I qualified to be called ‘God of War’ if I daren’t go to such a meeting?
“All in all, I’ve made up my mind. There’s no need to say anything. Ask someone in our fleet who has met Li Wuji before as well as the Meditation Healers who are good at identifying soul signature to gather on the flagship to check the guy’s identity later.
“Then, focus our attention on Yun Xuefeng and prepare for a second charge!”
“Understood!”
“Understood!”
“Got it, Commander Lei!”
Now that Lei Chenghu’s order was out, the leaders of the Astounding Thunder Fleet had no more objection and carried out the command.
The Astounding Thunder Fleet that was slightly slowed accelerated again. Like a cluster of glittering spears, they charged at Yun Xuefeng’s battle formation that was not sorted through again, further adding to the havoc.
“Li Wuji’s fleet” that should’ve arrived in time, on the other hand, had a minor accident on the way. It seemed that the warships at the center almost protruded into the shield ships up ahead and got too far away from the comprehensive supply ships in the rear, thus unable to provide them with enough protection. As a result, the whole fleet had to lower the speed and adjust itself.
After the brief adjustment, it missed the best opportunity to attack the Astounding Thunder Fleet.
When they finally lunged forward in the momentum of an unstoppable tiger, the Astounding Thunder Fleet had accomplished the second charge. Not giving them any chance of biting or tearing, they continued pressing forward at full speed, getting away from the turbulences of destruction.
The two fleets, like two magnificent icebergs, brushed past each other narrowly.
Li Wuji’s fleet released crystal suits and space shuttles crazily, trying to bite Astounding Thunder Fleet’s bottom, but only tiny sparks burst out in the frictions before Astounding Thunder Fleet broke away at full speed and got rid of all the pursuers.
However, during the brief “frictions”, there was one Hummingbird-level space shuttle, carrying one pilot and one passenger, that set sail for “Iron Torrent”, Astounding Thunder Fleet’s flagship.