Chapter 2914: Deciding Our Destiny!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
It was not that the generals of the four major families had never seen a large-scale space jump before. In fact, they often travelled through the four-dimensional storms themselves, producing beautiful space ripples. But short-distance jumps and super long-distance jumps, especially the super jumps from the edge of the universe to the center of the universe, were two completely different concepts.
It was like throwing a stone from a high place to the surface of a lake. The further away the stone was, the more likely it would splash.
Right now, there was an extremely small angle between the star of the Jade Cauldron Sector and the No. 4 planet. Most of the brightness had been eclipsed by the brightness of the space gate. At first glance, it seemed that the space gate had opened and swallowed more than half of the star, leaving only a hazy gold ring. With the ‘solar eclipse’ as the background, countless golden ‘raindrops’ exploded in the sea of stars, raising bright gold, silver, and colorful ripples. When every ripple blossomed to the maximum, hundreds of glittering light spots would be born in the darkness that used to be empty. They were like the hungry animals that had opened their eyes after a long journey despite their fatigue. It was the surging flames when the spiritual shield and the power unit of the starship were maximized.
Thousands of light spots and starships arrived at the center of the sea of stars!
What was more terrifying was that they were not the first starships to jump over from the edge of the sea of stars.
Three dense square arrays of light spots had been gathered around the star gate. The distance between each light spot was uniform, like a precise cube. In the silence, there was an intimidating aura.
Every point array represented a branch fleet that had been assembled and ready for battle. The super-large space gate had been functioning at full capacity since at least one day and one night ago, guiding batch after batch of unexpected guests to this place. With the cover of the shadow of the No.4 planet, it had completed a fatal jump and assembly!
More or less, that was when Lei Chenghu fell into chaos and began to collapse. “How-how is it possible that we failed to detect such an enormous space gate so close to the Jade Tripod Planet?”
Countless generals of the noble families were whimpering in pain. They were not trying to find out the reason but looking for scapegoats that they could blame.
The enemy was merely playing a small trick by making a batch of unimportant auxiliary starships and captured starships jump near the No. 4 planet, pretending that they were fleeing in a hurry and disrupting the space ripples nearby so that the defenders would not know what was going on.
It was not a very smart trap. As long as the guards and the commanders of the fleet were patient enough to send scouts to explore the back of the No. 4 planet, they would not be fooled so easily.
Even if they could not stop the enemy from jumping, they could at least set up a proper battle formation with the support of Jade Tripod.
It was a pity that Lei Chenghu’s ‘bait’ was so fat and alluring that all the nobles lost their rationality and vigilance and neglected the most basic tactical reconnaissance.
The ‘Highest Co-Communication Meeting’, which had been lively a moment ago, was now as dead as a cemetery that had been abandoned for a hundred years. All the chiefs, ministers, presidents, and presidents were rendered speechless. They could only stare at the ever-changing light beam angrily, especially the ever-surging data on it.
It was—it was the estimated total mass of the crazily expanding enemy.
Judging from the space ripples that the enemy sent out, the total mass of all the enemy’s starships was close to, if not higher than, the size of the fleet. And that was not counting the fleet of Lei Chenghu and Bai Xinghe.
Although the quality and combat ability of a starship could not be equated, generally speaking, the larger the mass of a starship was, the stronger its impetus would be. The starship would have thicker plate armor, more turrets, and more combat units and crystal suits.
The overall mass of the enemy was much higher than that of the fleet, and they showed no signs of stopping. Countless starships were still jumping over and joining the fourth Flash Point Array that was about to take shape. For the fleet that was being attacked from both sides, it was a catastrophe.
Before the nobles reacted effectively, the extremely dangerous uninvited guests had already moved.
The first to bear the brunt was Bai Xinghe’s crescent saber. The destroyers and the assault ships sprinted at full speed, leaving long, narrow exhaust flames that were hundreds of thousands of kilometers long. They were like the blurred shadows when a saber was waving at the highest speed. Three fully-prepared Flash Cubes smashed at the fleet from different directions like three vigorous war hammers.
First, the elites of Bai Xinghe would tear apart the battle formation of the fleet, and then the three war hammers would launch destructive strikes. It was a simple, even unreasonable, strategy.
The entire fleet was in chaos.
Before the two parties docked, the illusive flames of war of the nobles were extinguished by the surging tides inside the stargate.
“How is it possible that such a large fleet appeared out of nowhere?”
“Isn’t the main force to revolutionize the rebels Lei Chenghu, Bai Xinghe, and the old-fashioned imperial guards? Those guys are definitely not the imperial guards. The imperial guards are still resisting the members of the Sanctuary Alliance in the capital city! Who are they? Who are they exactly?”
“Our enemy’s mass. Our enemy’s total mass is still increasing. Oh my god. How many starships are going to jump out of the damn star gate? Are—are we fooled?”
At this point, there were still countless nobles who were struggling with meaningless questions, as if they knew the identity of their opponents and could curse them to death with spells.
However, in order to fulfill their ‘wish’, before the high-energy particle stream, super radiation, and crystal armor-piercing bullets reached them, countless communication waves that contained information crashed into the starships of the Heaven’s Return Team at the speed of light.
“They’ve received the communication in plain language. What are the audacious traitors trying to say? Humph. It’s useless to say anything now. They are merely bluffing. They are doomed to fail!” The nobles were talking nonsense that they did not believe, too, while they opened the messages that they received.
Although the frequency of communication between the two parties was not the same, and the serious interference on the battlefield had seriously distorted the information, the scorching information was still unfolding on the light beams of the fleet because the enemy was transmitting the same simple message through dozens of different channels.
The enemy’s information was just a pattern. More precisely, it was a battle emblem.
The lower half of the battle emblem was a golden ball inlaid with nine stars that represented the entire sea of stars.
However, a raging dragon was hovering on the golden ball. Every scale was glittering in the blood-red aura, as if it were soaring into the sky.
This is
The Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars battle emblem.
The Star Glory Federation!
Is this the legendary center of the sea of stars?
Bai Kaixin, chief of staff of the federal army, stood on the bridge of Prairie Fire and gazed at the wavering fleet of the Heaven’s Origin Sector through the 3D light beam. There was even more distress and helplessness on his face, which had been frowning all day.
He had long felt that, under the leadership of Ding Lingdang, the Speaker of Parliament who was ‘unprecedented and unconventional’, the Star Glory Federation was gradually developing in a certain ‘unrestrained and uncivilized’ direction. But he had never expected that the entire parliament, or even the entire nation, would go crazy together with Ding Lingdang and make the decision to go all in and march to the center of the sea of stars with all the mobile troops.
The Kunlun Fleet, as well as the Burning Prairie Fleet, the main force of the Star Glory Federation, as well as a large number of old starships that were not suitable for super long-distance space jumps or had not been repaired, upgraded, or strengthened yet, had all been armed and joined the most unbelievable military adventure in the history of the Star Glory Federation.
As the chief of staff of the federal army, it was Bai Kaixin’s duty to remind Ding Lingdang. “Speaker Ding, what you are doing is too risky. It’s—it’s insane! It’s impossible for us to assemble the highest-level troops and fleets in only three to five days. A lot of starships are still lying in the docks! The soldiers and the officers are seriously short of hands, too. Many young men who just graduated from the military schools have never seen blood before. How can they fight a war?”
Ding Lingdang, on the other hand, replied unconcernedly, “As many as we can. As many as ten people can jump over, we can’t afford to lose any of them! The most important thing right now is speed, speed, speed! It doesn’t matter if the starship hasn’t been fully modified or if the ammunition and fuel are insufficient. Our target is the Jade Tripod Sector, a famous resource and heavy industry base in the center of the sea of stars. When we occupy the Jade Tripod Sector, we will consider it a forward base for maintenance and supplies!”
“This is too reckless!”
Bai Kaixin still insisted on his opinion. “A military expedition is a major taboo. Besides, it is a hasty one. One moment of carelessness, and the federal army will be wiped out!
“Chief of Staff Bai, you haven’t figured it out yet. It is not a question of whether or not the federal army is wiped out, but a question of the survival or destruction of the Star Glory Federation!
Ding Lingdang’s ‘stubbornness’ was ten times more than Bai Kaixin’s ‘stubbornness’. “This is not an ‘expedition’, but a war to defend our home. Are you still hesitating whether or not the troops and the citizens are ready when the enemy is at our doorstep?
“This is a real national war. The outcome of the war in the center of the sea of stars will determine the fate of the Star Glory Federation and the civilization of Cultivators. Are we going to leave our fate to the Immortal Cultivators and the puppets of the deities and devils?
“The difference in overall capability between the federation, the imperium, and the Sanctuary Alliance is obvious. If the enemy attacks right at our doorstep, it doesn’t matter how well-prepared your federal army is or how well-modified your starship is. The only way to win our precious future is to gamble all our belongings and the glory of the federation with the only opportunity right now!
“There’s no need to say anything. This is not my personal opinion, but a joint decision between the parliament and the citizens of the federation. Therefore, just carry out the command.
“Three days. I can give you three days at most. The Burning Prairie Fleet, the Kunlun Fleet, and the starships that can perform super long-distance space jumps in the defense fleets of the major worlds… If possible, don’t let go of a single sampan. Gather all of them.. We will go to the center of the sea of stars, the Jade Cauldron Sector, and decide the fate of us and the universe!