Chilling brilliance of aggression beamed out of Heiye Lan's swollen eyes.
The brilliance stung Li Yao's heart like a venomous bee.
Meng Chixin listened to their conversation in silence. His face had been cold and gloomy, and there was no telling what was on his mind. It was not until this moment that he finally said slowly, "In your opinion, we have to join the Imperium of True Human Beings?"
"Do you have a second choice?"
Heiye Lan smiled with her swollen face. "You have been hiding in the dark nebula for hundreds of thousands of years without being discovered by the outside world. The odds are one in a billion!
"But right now, since the Black Wind Fleet has explored this place on behalf of the Imperium and discovered Firefly, which is of paramount importance, we will certainly not give up on the conquest of this space zone.
"Also, the Xing Yao Federation, a local force, has also expanded to the vicinity of the dark nebula. They boast the ability to colonize across the sea of stars. It is impossible for them to stop their invasion, either!
"In any case, you cannot hide anymore. You cannot live a peaceful life in paradise like you did in the past hundred thousand years!
"You don't have a choice at all. If you do not want to wait for countless starships, Exos, and Colossi to fall from the sky like a meteor storm, you have to take the initiative to attack and embrace and integrate into the boundless, real great world of the universe!
"Despite the vastness of the universe, there are only two superpowers of human beings. They are either the Imperium or the Holy League. As I said, the 'demi-humans' in the Holy League are all puppets of flesh and blood that are devoid of humanity, feelings, and free will. They are not even real 'human beings'. You wouldn't want to have a taste of that, would you?"
Meng Chixin and Wu Suiyun looked at each other. The two of them had more or less tasted the feeling a hundred years ago. It was obvious that they were unwilling to turn into cold machines of flesh and blood again.
Seeing that the two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators were wavering, Heiye Lan bulged her eyes even more. Bloodshot streaks were almost bursting out of her eyeballs. She breathed heavily and said, "Perhaps the poor people living at the bottom level of the Ancient Sages Sector think that it doesn't matter even if they abandon their feelings, thoughts, and will as long as they can live a peaceful life!
"But you are all Yuanying and Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators. You are the elites who represent the evolution of mankind! You can't possibly abandon your Dao heart, will, and thoughts, can you? You will want to expand your Dao heart, will, and thoughts to the entire world, the entire universe! "
"The Imperium of True Human Beings welcomes elites such as yourself most. Where can you go if you don't join the Imperium?"
"Join the Imperium and become a noble and glorious Immortal Cultivator. This is your only way out and the only hope of the Ancient Sages Sector. Cough, cough, cough!"
Li Yao was burning with anxiety. He couldn't help but want to refute, but considering the current delicate situation, he resisted the impulse.
As he expected, even if he did not say anything, somebody else would. It was none other than Long Yangjun!
Long Yangjun looked at Li Yao with a vague smile at first. Then, she turned to Heiye Lan and said, "If what you said is true, the Alliance of the Holy Covenant is out of the question. But what about the Xing Yao Federation? Since they were able to defeat your fleet, they must be rather capable, too. Why can't the Ancient Sages Sector consider joining the Xing Yao Federation? "
"The Xing Yao Federation?"
Heiye Lan chuckled. "The Xing Yao Federation is no good. The Xing Yao Federation is just a barbarian country that can be seen everywhere at the edge of the cosmos! Maybe they have occupied a few planets or even a few Sectors, but so what? The Imperium of True Human Beings has shattered too many small countries of such a scale in its history of development. The Black Wind Fleet alone has annihilated quite a few of them!
"Let's put it this way. If the Imperium of True Human Beings is the Great Qian Dynasty and the Alliance of the Holy Covenant is the Dark Cloud Ghost Qin, then the Xing Yao Federation is at best a small tribe in the Southland of Sorcerers.
"It is understandable that you join the Great Qian Dynasty or the Dark Cloud Ghost Qin in troubled times. But who would be idiotic enough to join the Southland of Sorcerers and fight for the world?
"Now that you are all willing to open your arms and join a certain force in the sea of stars, of course, you will join the strongest force! Join the Xing Yao Federation? It is impossible for them to offer as good an offer as ours, nor can they guarantee your safety. Chances are that you will be annihilated by the Black Wind Fleet the next day after you join the Xing Yao Federation. You will only be buried together with the poor people of the Federation! "
Long Yangjun glanced at Li Yao again and asked with a smile, "That's not right. You haven't had much contact with the Xing Yao Federation at all. How do you know that it is just an insignificant country? If the Federation is really so weak, how could they have defeated your fleet? "
"I'm a warrior. I don't know how to negotiate, nor do I know how to lie!"
Heiye Lan gnashed her teeth. "Everything I said just now was true, including my own brutal failure and the formidableness of the enemy's Colossus. I told you everything dutifully!
"It's true that we were defeated by the enemy, but it was only a claw fleet that fought a bloody battle with Firefly first. It was greatly drained!
"The enemy, on the other hand, was a fleet of an enormous scale with abundant supplies and soldiers. They were well-prepared and launched an assault from our back. How could we not have failed?
"Such a tactical failure is just like the loss of a scout squad before the strategic final battle between the Dark Cloud Ghost Qin and the Great Qian Dynasty. Is it really a big deal for the big picture?
"As for my claim that the Xing Yao Federation is not strong, it is not nonsense. The reason is simple, because this is the edge of the cosmos! Since ten thousand years ago, planets with too many resources have been discovered. There are not many planets that are habitable for human beings. The spiritual energy here is not very dense, and there are not many important heritages here!
"In the universe that human beings have explored, this place is a barren land. It is like the Southland of Sorcerers or the Desert North that is full of smog, heat, and forests. Perhaps one or two experts such as' Master Spiritual Vulture 'can be born here by chance. But generally speaking, how can a powerful country emerge out of nowhere?
"According to our war experience in the past, a small country at the border such as the Xing Yao Federation can only control five or six Sectors and almost ten habitable planets at best. Also, they are all inferior worlds with poor quality, low population, and insufficient resources. How many starships and experts can they assemble?
"The Black Wind Fleet, on the other hand, boasts not just the Black Wind Sector but also the refugees from the other four worlds that have been occupied by the Holy League. We are ten times stronger than the general third-level legions. The formidability of the latest starships is beyond my description and beyond your imagination!
"We are all rootless duckweeds. We all crave to make great contributions so that we can march back to our hometown and reclaim our homeland and glory. Therefore, we are all determined to fight!
"The Xing Yao Federation is no match for our main fleet at all. If they do not surrender obediently, they will be completely shattered by us in one year at most!" Long Yangjun chuckled softly.
"There's no need to exaggerate. The enemy has a Colossus, too. They also have Blazing Tyrannosaur, an expert who can pilot the Colossus!"
Heiye Lan lowered her head and looked at her shadow. "There is a difference between Colossi and Colossi, just like the difference between flying swords and flying swords. You know the gap between an inferior flying sword and a primeval sword better than I do.
"I — I was too young, and I did not have much experience. I was not qualified to use a Colossus. It was only because I was the daughter of the commander of the Black Wind Fleet that I was given a Colossus that was in the worst state and had the highest metal weariness."
"Blazing Tyrannosaur can defeat me, but it doesn't mean that she can defeat the other experts in the Black Wind Fleet, especially the Colossi piloted by experts in the Divinity Transformation Stage such as my father!
"Please believe me. Please believe in the formidability of the Black Wind Fleet and the Imperium of True Human Beings! You don't have a choice at all. You can choose the Imperium or perish! "
Long Yangjun grinned, baring her sharp teeth. "Are you threatening us?"
"It's not a threat but a fact."
Heiye Lan's voice was both hollow and deep, as if it were not coming from her throat but from a place far, far away in the sea of stars. "The Imperium is not interested in threatening anyone or any force. It is only telling you what is going to happen so that you can make your own choice.
"The Imperium has accepted countless worlds and planets that are willing to cooperate with us. It has also destroyed countless small countries and civilizations that are unwilling to obey us. You are not the first, and you will not be the last. Whatever you choose, the Imperium doesn't matter. It doesn't matter!"
Her words cast the Yuanying and the two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators into a long silence again.
"Wait!"
Li Yao suddenly said. "You have been saying that you are the daughter of the commander of the Black Wind Fleet. Then, if we torture you like this, won't you hold a grudge against us and infuriate the commander of the Black Wind Fleet? Will he accept our cooperation sincerely? Chances are that he will destroy the entire Ancient Sages Sector in his fury to avenge his daughter. "
"Hehehehe!"
Heiye Lan laughed weirdly. "Master Spiritual Vulture, you don't understand the mindset of the people of the Imperium. Now that my plan has failed and I have fallen into your hands, it proves that I am weak. Isn't it only natural that the weak are tortured and savaged by the strong?
"Besides, you are only doing this because you want to elicit valuable intelligence from me and make sure that I am not lying.
"This is purely a business matter, not a personal grudge. If I were one of you, I would use the same method to interrogate the target! What's there for me to hate? If I really want to hate, I should hate myself for not being strong enough and not being cautious enough! "
Li Yao secretly cursed in his heart. Frowning deeply, he asked, "Do you really not hate us at all? Do you really not care about the excruciating physical pain?"
"As long as you choose the Imperium," Heiye Lan said.
"I believe that your participation will be good for the Imperium. What is good for the Imperium of True Human Beings is good for the civilization of mankind!"
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