The nobles and noble families at the center of the cosmos were only nice to the Immortal Cultivators of the Red Nimbus Sector. They were even generous enough to meet part of their requirements and make countless empty promises.
That was when the Red Nimbus Sector had to send out troops, or to be more straightforward, when they needed abundant cannon fodder.
Although the expansion of the Imperium had gradually stopped, it did not mean the end of the war. The edge of the cosmos and the world fragments needed to be explored. There were occasional conflicts between the nobles and the noble families. The conflicts with the Holy League were incessant, too. The sporadic wars were even crueler than large-scale wars. The noble descendants of the four Kurfürst families, on the other hand, were not born for such meaningless battles.
In the Red Nimbus Sector and the hundred smaller worlds just like the Red Nimbus Sector, the "bumpkin Immortal Cultivators" of humble backgrounds were destined to serve as the lubricant for the enormous machine of the nobles and their capital with their flesh and blood.
It couldn't be helped. It was truly difficult to be an Immortal Cultivator.
After becoming an Immortal Cultivator, the resources that they consumed every day would be ten times more than that of ordinary people.
After a person awakened their spiritual root and mastered spiritual energy, they would not be willing to work obediently in a factory, nor would they be willing to sit in a cubicle in an office and listen to the orders of their superiors, nor would they be willing to sweat in a field under the scorching sun.
They had immense spiritual energy, but there was no room for them to utilize it in their barren hometown. It was not even their turn to exploit the ordinary people, because the ordinary people had long been exploited by the nobles and their capital.
They could only hitch a ride on the tanks of the nobles and noble families and go to a distant, foreign land, fighting for the one-in-ten-thousandth chance, hoping to rise to the top in one step.
It was a pity that the bodies of countless Immortal Cultivators of the Red Nimbus Sector were scattered in the unknown depths of the dark sea of stars. Even the tiny remains of their crystal suits could not be returned to their hometowns. Not one percent of them could really get rid of the sad song of fate and become the high-level Immortal Cultivators who could summon the wind and summon the rain.
The invisible, transparent ceiling had been between them and the nobles at the center of the cosmos for five hundred years. Not to mention breaking it, not even a gap had been seen!
The empire's counterattack this time was perhaps the final roar of the Scarlet Cloud World and hundreds of smaller worlds.
This kind of oppression, this kind of humiliation, this kind of pervasive discrimination, they had had enough. They couldn't take it anymore!
They thirsted for glory, for land, for endless resources, and for true power!
It was exactly because of such hysterical craving that they risked their lives and looted their barren hometowns and established small fleets with everything they had. Like a pack of hungry wolves, they swept across the enemy and occupied dozens of brand-new worlds unstoppably in only a dozen years!
Of course, they had suffered a lot of injustices in the meantime, including when they were sent to the most dangerous frontlines to carry out the most arduous sniping missions, and when the assets were distributed, they could only stand behind the "A-class fleets" of the four Kurfürst families, and so on.
In short, they were eating dog food, but they had to do the work of tigers and lions.
But which war in the past five hundred years was not like this? They were already used to it. As long as there was a chance to make a comeback, they were willing to do anything and risk everything!
Besides, there was still General Lei and "God of War" Lei Chenghu!
To serve under Lei Chenghu was perhaps the greatest fortune of the Scarlet Cloud Fleet and the Immortal Cultivators of the Scarlet Cloud World.
"God of War" Lei Chenghu was the only general of the Imperium who was willing to fight with the miscellaneous troops like them.
He was also bold enough to glare at the arrogant guys in the base of the expedition army in the rear and smash the tables for their interests.
Many times, General Lei even led the fleets in person to intercept the assets that were shipped to the fleets under the four Kurfürst families and supply them to the miscellaneous troops like them first.
It was General Lei Chenghu who let them know for the first time that the "miscellaneous troops" like them were invincible in the sea of stars.
It was General Lei Chenghu who let them know for the first time that the "Imperium" was not just a synonym for exploitation and blackmail but also boasted real glory and brilliance.
It was General Lei Chenghu who let them know the destiny on their shoulders and the sacred significance of the war. Not only did they have to find a way to survive for the people of the Scarlet Cloud Fleet, they had to find a way to survive for the millions of people of the Imperium. Otherwise, everybody would be screwed!
It was exactly under the command of General Lei Chenghu that the Scarlet Cloud Fleet and dozens of miscellaneous troops, local armed forces, and mixed fleets were polished from mobs into battle-hardened soldiers and conquered the vast space in the Third Battle Area!
Right now, the dawn of victory was slowly rising on the other side of the sea of stars. More than half of the dawn was paid for by the countless sacrifices of the hundreds of miscellaneous troops like the Scarlet Cloud Fleet. It was time to fulfill the promise of the four Kurfürst families before the war!
The Immortal Cultivators of the Red Nimbus Sector did not expect to occupy a certain Sector in the newly-recovered area. Their nest, the Red Nimbus Sector, was too far away after all, and the spiritual energy consumed for a space jump was astronomical. From the economic point of view, the cost to maintain the close connection of two distant worlds was too high. Any resource exploitation and business transactions would be defeated by the inestimable cost.
The Immortal Cultivators of the Red Nimbus Sector knew themselves very well. They only wanted to trade for some permanent preferential policies with more than ten years of blood and sacrifices and the destruction of countless disciples' souls, or to have a share in the great development of the newly-recovered worlds in the Imperium. For example, part of the shares of the development group or the franchise of a certain field. Nothing more.
It was a very fair condition that was not greedy at all. General Lei Chenghu had promised them that he would get it for them!
The Immortal Cultivators of the Red Nimbus Sector believed in Lei Chenghu.
Therefore, even though they were working hard to clean up the mess left by the Holy League's "scorched earth strategy" on the scorching resource planet where countless disciples fell into the magma and turned into dry bones after every step forward, they gritted their teeth and persisted, just for the beautiful new life in the near future!
However …
Shattered. Their beautiful dreams were all shattered!
Deceit, conspiracy, betrayal, betrayal, and burning the bridge after crossing the river again!
The four Kurfürst families did not intend to fulfill their promise before the war at all. Otherwise, why would such an uncanny "incident of the Blood Oath Alliance" have broken out? Soon after the elder was assassinated, a lot of members of the "special investigation committee" went to the battle areas in the frontline aggressively and investigated the "radicals in the military" in the fleets, raising quite a fuss!
On the surface, they were investigating the incident of the Blood Oath Alliance and capturing the radicals in the military, but in fact, they were trying to diminish their strength, divide them, and process them slowly. With all kinds of sordid and shameless schemes, they would overturn the promise before the war and kick them back to their hometowns. There would be no chance that they could get anything from them at all.
The Immortal Cultivators of the Red Nimbus Sector had keen senses. They detected the scheme behind the incident of the Blood Oath Alliance very quickly.
They wanted to ask General Lei Chenghu for advice, only to hear the shocking news that General Lei Chenghu had gone missing on his way to the capital. It was possible that he had been imprisoned or even tried in secret by the Council of Elders. Even the Thunder Fleet might have been dissected and swallowed by the four Kurfürst families!
Could there be anything more absurd and shameful in the universe?
"God of War" Lei Chenghu, the general who made the most contributions and did the most dirty work in the Imperium's counterattack, not only did he not receive the honor and position that he deserved, he was about to be secretly judged by the scoundrels in the rear the moment the war came to an end!
The Immortal Cultivators of the Red Nimbus Sector were more than angry, but there was nothing they could do. They had to admit that, faced with the iron walls of the four Kurfürst families, the headless "bumpkins" like them could not raise any trouble at all. They could only be butchered like pigs and dogs!
"Lieutenant General Wei, have you seen it clearly? This is the list of the members of the Blood Oath Alliance and the radicals lurking deep inside the Red Nimbus Sector. Tsk, tsk, tsk. What's wrong with your fleet exactly? Why has it been infiltrated by the radicals to such an extent?"
On the bridge of Red Nimbus, the flagship of the Red Nimbus Sector, a 3D light beam was condensed into a short, pale-faced man who was wearing the skull badge of the "special investigation committee" on his chest. His eyes were scornful and cold as he said, "The Third Battle Area is the one that has been most seriously infiltrated by the radicals. All the fleets deployed in the Third Battle Area must be examined strictly. Hand over all the radicals and those who are related to the Blood Oath Alliance, no matter what level they are involved in!
"Remember, you have twenty hours to prove your loyalty to the Imperium and the Council of Elders. In the next twenty hours, I want to see everybody on the list on my starship without missing a single hair.
"If half of them are missing, I'm very suspicious that the radicals have spread to the higher levels of the Red Nimbus Sector, for example … around you!
"General Lei Chenghu is already under the secret investigation of the special investigation committee. I believe that he will show up in the capital very soon to support all the decisions of the Council of Elders and the special investigation committee. Lieutenant General Wei, take care of yourself. Don't make any mistakes!"
The short man with the monkey-like face did not even salute before he disappeared on the light beam.
Boom!
Hardly had he disappeared when a deafening explosion echoed on the control panel.
As it turned out, it was Wei Guanghui, the commander of the Red Nimbus Sector, who had gnashed his teeth and punched the control panel hard. Smoke was popping up from every gap between his fingers.
"Idiot. A scoundrel from the Jin Dan generation is bold enough to talk to me like that after coming to my fleet on a starship!"
Blushing, Wei Guanghui was so infuriated that the veins on his temples were almost exploding. "If you piss me off, I'll cut you into pieces and —"
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