"Ding ding! Ding ding ding ding ding ding! "
Two bullets that were engraved with mysterious and complicated patterns that looked like sword balls, dragging two streaks of brilliance, one red and one white, chased and collided with each other. Sometimes they gathered, sometimes they separated, outlining complicated patterns that looked like a maze in midair.
When one of the white bullets was about to run out of energy and was about to be shot down by the red bullet, two more white bullets suddenly flew over from both sides and joined the battle, making the red and white polygonal lines, curves, straight lines, and arcs even more complicated.
When he observed more carefully, he discovered that it was not four bullets but a hundred red and a hundred white bullets that were dancing crazily in the sky. It was like a three-dimensional chessboard or a soul-stirring and magnificent space fleet battle.
Every bullet was a chess piece and a starship. The collision of the bullets was like the chess pieces devouring each other and the starships destroying each other.
The spirit energy around the red bullets was obviously more abundant, which allowed them to be faster and stronger. In a one-on-one battle, the white bullets were often beaten to a pulp.
However, the formation of the White Bullet contained the profound principles of fleet command. Once they were gathered and formed, there were thousands of changes. All kinds of formations bloomed one after another, but they were able to drag the Red Bullet into a predicament where they were surrounded by enemies from the front and back.
The two parties fought back and forth with their respective advantages, and their speed was getting faster and faster. In the end, only two blurry rays of light could be seen. The rays of light collided and penetrated each other, penetrating each other's "defense line" almost at the same time and shooting toward the commander behind the scenes.
The two commanders moved at the same time and performed the art of remote manipulation to the maximum. First, they cut the enemy's field of spiritual energy control. Then, they captured all the bullets with their own force field and condensed them into four scorching and exploding metal balls in their palms. They tossed them to the center in two deafening explosions, and the blast almost destroyed the entire training field.
The blast wave and the smoke gradually dispersed. The two commanders, Li Yao and Boss Bai, laughed at the same time.
"More than a hundred years ago, when I first saw you, I only thought you were a cunning, wretched, and fearless little thief. I didn't expect you to achieve what you have today!"
Boss Bai patted away the metal scraps in his hands and looked at the ground that was riddled with holes because of the shrapnel.
"I never thought that I would see Boss Bai again one day, and that you would have such a … fortuitous encounter."
Li Yao said sincerely.
The feelings were not just for Boss Bai, but also for Yan Xinjian, the other remaining soul in Boss Bai's body.
Deep below the ground of Spider Den, Li Yao had attempted to break into a new level with the help of Yan Xinjian's training logs. It was not until five years later that he finally broke out of seclusion and completed the first critical leap of his life.
Therefore, Yan Xinjian could be considered half his master.
Since he had such a relationship with Boss Bai, their relationship was naturally unusual.
It had been a month and a half since they occupied the Blue Sky Market. The construction of the Coalition Fleet of Pyromaniacs had been basically completed, and various battle missions had been issued. The tactical deception and intelligence collection in the outside world were being carried out in an orderly manner too.
The war outside of the Blue Sky Space Zone had already begun, and the flames of war at the edge of the Imperium were gradually burning. The four families had urged the "National Protection Army" that was resting in the Blue Sky Market to fight time and time again. It was time to march out and show the Immortal Cultivators of the Imperium to the toughness of the "Pyromaniacs"!
Li Yao would leave for the "Seven Seas Grand Market", the nest of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, the next day. That was why he had the time to have the last competition with Boss Bai in the training field.
"Li Yao, my memory is not very good right now."
Looking at Li Yao, Boss Bai said, "Remind me. Did I ever say 'thank you' to you for saving Bai Kaixin?
"Forget it. It's only right that I thank you twice for such a thing. Thank you, Li Yao. Also … it's nice to see you again, really."
When it came to his son, the head of space pirates who craved to roam the multiverse became gentle from his eyes to his voice. He looked at Li Yao with unexpected sincerity.
"I'm glad to fight side by side with Boss Bai again!"
Moved, Li Yao couldn't help but say, "Why don't you go to the Seven Seas Grand Market with me tomorrow? After all, A Boxing Champion, Xiaoming, and Wenwen are already capable of simulating the basic fleet tactics. It shouldn't be a problem if we don't fight any unpredictable battles. It will be more likely for us to persuade Jin Yuyan if Boss Bai goes with me!"
Boss Bai was rather moved too. "No!"
Li Yao: "…"
Patting Li Yao's shoulder, Boss Bai said solemnly, "Li Yao, your skills in infiltration and your silver tongue are best known in the sea of stars. You are sure to win if you go alone. Besides, you have also tricked — no, persuaded Li Jialing to go with you. If I follow you, wouldn't it be an insult to your performance if I don't trust you? "
Li Yao was suspicious. "Is that so?"
"Yes. Alright, let's not talk about it. We have guests waiting outside of the training field!"
Boss Bai waved his hands and removed the defense shield and the soundproof system next to the training field. His eyes suddenly turned sharp as he stared at the "guests" who were waiting outside respectfully. He said coldly, "Marquess Yongchun, you are truly a man of your word. You have really come back to report. Thank you for your hard work!"
It was exactly Li Yao, Marquess Yongchun who had been loyal to the four families, who was observing the competition between Boss Bai and Li Yao.
Li Yao did not conceal his existence in front of Li Wuji.
It was because he had chopped off the head of the flagship of the Flying Rainbow Fleet in front of everybody's eyes during the battle to suppress the Flying Rainbow Fleet.
As long as they did not intend to kill Li Wuji, the incident was bound to be learned. So, they might as well show their existence openly and further intimidate Li Wuji!
As it turned out, Li Yao's deterrence was rather effective.
It was because it was not the first time that Li Wuji had heard the name "Vulture Li Yao".
Early on, when the reformists rose unstoppably and broke into the capital, the golden signboard of "Vulture Li Yao" had been hanging high. Everybody in the four families knew that "Vulture Li Yao", who rode the Colossus "Gold Vulture", was the best warrior of the reformists.
Of course, Li Wuji, who was well-informed, also knew that the notorious brutal man, the best warrior of the reformists, and the super expert who rose miraculously from nowhere, had become a wanted criminal of the reformists.
The reason that the reformists wanted Li Yao was quite hilarious, too. It was said that he had defected to the four Kurfürst families' side.
It was quite confusing for Li Wuji. He could not figure out the stance of Li Yao, Boss Bai, and the rest of them and the current situation at all.
Although the four families were cooperating, they were still different interest groups. Perhaps another family had instigated this "Vulture Li Yao" to defect but did not inform the Li family. It was possible that they had their own plans.
All in all, for Li Wuji, who was caught in desperation, the arrival of Li Yao, the "traitor of the reformists", was not a bad thing. At the very least, it was clear that his boss was not lying. They were indeed not on the reformists' side, and there was still a lot of room for cooperation.
One's worst fear was not being able to think things through. Once they thought things through, they could do anything.
When Li Wuji was thinking above the septic tank, he had already thought everything through. He had lost all his troops and encountered such a tough guy as "Vulture Li Yao". He could not defeat the guy, and he did not want to die. What choice did he have except for cooperation?
Getting to the bottom of it, they were all on the same side. This was a civil war of the Imperium. Whoever won or lost would still be the meat in the pot. As long as he could ensure that he was given a bowl of meat and that his head could be eaten, nothing else mattered.
All in all, after talking with Boss Bai and Li Yao for a night and negotiating the terms, Li Yao returned to the territory of the four families with the "trusted soldiers" that Boss Bai selected for him. He worked hard for the "National Protection Army" and helped them collect the latest intelligence. He even returned to the Blue Sky Market dutifully a month later.
Li Wuji worked very hard for the "National Protection Army" and did not have any second thoughts. With his feeble strength right now, he was not qualified to play any tricks.
The moment he returned to the Blue Sky Market, he witnessed the high-level competition between Li Yao and Boss Bai. It was both a warning and a reassurance. For the standard Immortal Cultivators such as Li Wuji, submitting to the strong was their natural instinct. The stronger Li Yao and Boss Bai were, the more loyal he would be.
"It's not hard at all to serve Fellow Cultivator Li and Commander Bai."
Li Wuji bowed at the two of them in a very humble way and said with a smile, "I've been lucky enough to accomplish the work that you entrusted me with. I've got the key intelligence such as the marching map of the four families' coalition army, the distribution of the troops, and the time to regroup!"
According to Li Wuji, the flames of war at the peripheral worlds of the Imperium had been ignited a long time ago, but it was not a quick battle of fleets but a protracted war of attrition and plunder.
As for the four families, they had just lost the capital a few days ago, and even Emperor Shenwu had passed away. Until the new emperor ascended to the throne, there was still the problem that they were leaderless and unsteady. Fearing that the reformists in the capital would ambush their territory, they were unwilling to launch an elite fleet to jump to the peripheral worlds of the Imperium recklessly to suppress the rebels.
The reformists in the capital, on the other hand, seemed to be in a good situation, but they were suffering from too few troops. They could only win but not lose. Even the attrition was unacceptable. Therefore, they were unwilling to launch an attack easily.
On the other hand, a lot of elite troops of the Imperium were still distributed in the "newly-recovered areas" that had just been reclaimed from the Holy League. They were the so-called "expedition army system".
The expedition army was almost the most capable force in the entire Imperium. Both the reformists and the four families were sparing no effort to win them over. However, the expedition army's attitude was rather ambiguous, and they were vaguely showing signs of forming their own faction. It was very likely that they would stay in the newly-recovered areas and watch the tigers fight each other until the outcome was clear.
The expedition army was an enormous, complicated group. The branch fleets came from everywhere and did not have a leader at the beginning. However, many young officers of the expedition army regarded Lei Chenghu, the highest commander of the Thunder Fleet, as their leader.
Lei Chenghu was theoretically an important general of the reformists. After he listened to Li Linghai's orders, he was like a nail that was stabbed into the heartland of the Li family brutally. However, he did nothing for half a year later, as if he had vanished into thin air.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
