Three hours before the battle …
Other than the "Purple Cloud Sector" that was under the control of the Yun family, in the military towns and the jump points at the edge of the Imperium under the control of the other three families, fleets had finished the final assembly. All kinds of four-dimensional space jump devices, including the "Solar Slingshot", were gradually activated.
Three hours later, hundreds of thousands of starships from a hundred Sectors would jump to the tiny Seven Seas Space Zone and completely drown the place.
The battle of Seven Seas was about to break out. The entire sea of stars was filled with the smell of gunpowder. However, the capital at the center of the swirl was more peaceful than the eye of the storm.
Deep below the ground of the capital of the Imperium in the Empyreal Terminus Sector …
The underground relic that Li Yao and Long Yangjun explored a few months ago had been expanded dozens of times. Finally, an ancient building that looked like a pyramid was revealed.
The transparent pyramid seemed to be enshrouded in a complicated, twisted force field on the surface, which made it emit glamorous colors all the time and filled every inch of the space below the ground. The darkness deep below the ground seemed to have been transformed into a colorful ocean.
The volume of the pyramid that was exposed to the rocks was already as enormous as a magnificent palace. Every slope of the pyramid was at least five thousand meters long, and there was no telling how enormous the volume that was still buried below the ground was.
What was unbelievable was that there was not the slightest gap on the surface of such an enormous ancient building. It did not seem to be piled up with rocks but was a work of nature!
Around the pyramid, countless complicated primeval words had been carved. Every word was like a cube in a maze that contained information a hundred times more abundant than that of the civilization of mankind. Illuminated by the glamorous lights, all the words were floating in midair and revolving softly.
The scene in the depths of the underground was like a bizarre dream that was completely detached from the real world.
At this moment, countless soldiers of the Imperium who belonged to the reformists were continuing their construction around the pyramid. A team of researchers was entering and exiting the pyramid.
Suddenly, the three-dimensional rune arrays floating around the pyramid emitted dim ripples. One of the soldiers of the Imperium screamed and jumped high. Holding his head, he screamed at the top of his lungs.
In the middle of his roar, his skull was cracking. Even the helmet of the Crystal Suit could not stop the anomaly of his head. His head grew larger and larger, unleashing mental power that was like a volcano eruption.
"Aooo!"
When his head expanded to twice its original size, and even the helmet of the Crystal Suit was blown apart, the soldier finally went crazy and attacked his companions around.
His companions seemed to be used to such an abrupt change. Everybody opened fire without blinking. Almost a hundred crystal cannons and mystic ray cannons swept at the same time, riddling the crazy soldier with holes. Even his brain completely exploded after a 'bo' sound.
"Pata!"
The body fell to the ground like a pile of mud. Spiritual puppets immediately stepped forward to clean up the mess.
Flames of passion were flashing in the eyes of the remaining soldiers. Not bothered by the minor episode at all, they continued their work.
Li Linghai, queen of the Imperium, maintained the appearance of her white hair that looked like a waterfall, floating at the top of the underground space and observing everything coldly from the high stance.
"Another one has gone crazy."
She said indifferently, without the slightest emotion in her voice.
"For the rise of the new Imperium and for the future of the civilization of mankind, such a sacrifice is necessary."
Deep inside her brain, Blackstar the Great's voice echoed gloomily.
"Even if —"
After a long silence, Li Linghai finally couldn't help but ask again, "Even if everybody in the capital has to be sacrificed, is such a sacrifice really necessary?"
"Of course," Wuying Qi said casually.
"The birth of the new Imperium is the miracle of the phoenix's rebirth. How can a new future arrive if the old world is not completely destroyed?"
Li Linghai was about to say something, but she hesitated. The mask of indifference on her face that she carefully made cracked, inadvertently revealing some of her real feelings.
"Why? Are you still thinking about your son?"
Wuying Qi immediately grasped her subtle mood changes. He sneered, "The battle of Seven Seas will begin in three hours. Let him play the childish games with Li Yao and the four families in the Seven Seas Space Zone first. What we should pay more attention to is how the civilization of mankind gathers the ambitions, courage, and strength of all human beings to break out of the narrow, suffocating little universe in billions of years, doesn't it?"
Li Linghai shivered and couldn't help but nod. "… Yes, Your Majesty."
"For billions of years, countless civilizations have been trapped in the tiny universe. Not just the Pangu and the Nuwa civilizations, there are also ancient civilizations that are even more powerful than the Pangu and the Nuwa civilizations."
Blackstar the Great sighed and said, "But what can they do however powerful they are? As long as they cannot break out of the tiny universe, they will always be restricted by the barren resources and cannot escape the control of the cycle of civilization. They will be born in glory and die in silence.
"The civilization of mankind is still in the growth phase that has just been born. Compared to the Pangu, the Nuwa, and the other ancient civilizations, we are naturally rather weak. However, it is exactly because we have just been born that infinite possibilities lie ahead of us. We should not have walked on the old path of the Pangu, the Nuwa, and the other ancient civilizations since the very beginning. Even if there is only a one billionth chance, we should summon all our courage and charge out of the wretched universe without fearing any sacrifices!
"Even if we are to be destroyed, we should be destroyed in the vaster grand universe instead of dying soundlessly in this dry well!
"That is the biggest reason why I am determined to build a new Imperium. For such a new Imperium, for such a civilization of mankind, for the exploration of the extraterrestrial domain that even the Pangu and the Nuwa have not reached, what is a mere capital worth?
"To tell you the truth, the civilization of mankind has no future if it continues to develop in such a way. For our most magnificent plan, even if half of mankind — no, even if ninety percent, or even ninety-nine percent of mankind are sacrificed, as long as one percent of the ultimate experts survive and evolve into a brand-new form thousands of times stronger than right now, like the legendary 'gods', it will be the greatest fortune for the entire civilization!"
Wuying Qi's crazy roar made it difficult for Li Linghai to breathe.
"I understand, Your Majesty."
The queen of the Imperium did not dare ask any more questions, fearing that she would be completely lost in the depths of Wuying Qi's crazy and profound soul.
Looking at the pyramid that was blinking in weird brilliance down below, she said, "Everything is for the civilization of mankind. I will do as you say, Your Majesty."
…
Five minutes to go before the battle.
Deep inside the Seven Seas Grand Market in the Seven Seas Space Zone, an overwhelming light beam was slowly unfolded in Jin Yuyan's remote command center, displaying the hologram of the entire Seven Seas Space Zone to everybody, including Li Yao.
On the hologram, the spots were the locations of the fleets that belonged to the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors right now, the coordinates of the half-fixed space fortresses on the orbit of every planet, and the distribution of the space torpedoes that filled every sailing route.
The dense light spots seemed to have created a new layer of space above the starry sky.
Even though the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors had made all the possible preparations, even though they had foiled the assassination scheme of the four families and made them more united than ever, and even though the arrival of "Black Wind King Li Yao" boosted their morale to the maximum, the suffocating silence in the last few minutes before the battle was still pulling their nerves hard. Everybody in the command center was pale, their heart was racing, and their eyeballs and sweat seemed to be frozen.
…
Three minutes to go before the battle.
In the Purple Cloud Sector, on "Landslide", the flagship of the coalition fleet, a gargantuan light beam also appeared in front of Yun Xuefeng, projecting the assembly of the fleets of the hundred Sectors to him. The brilliance of the spiritual shields of countless starships congregated into an ocean of suns, which was so dazzling that he could barely open his eyes.
Grinning, Yun Xuefeng slowly unsheathed his golden saber and raised it high.
Although it was a meaningless, symbolic movement, Yun Xuefeng was still willing to do it before every battle. Holding the saber in his hand, he felt that he had been melted with the million starships and was filled with infinite strength.
"All the branch fleet commanders, listen up. Begin the jump!"
Yun Xuefeng slashed the saber down heavily and said, one word after another.
In a moment!
"Swish! Swish!
Shua! Shua! Countless light beams seemed to have been involved in an enormous swirl. The picture was blurred and twisted. The starships on the picture gradually turned translucent before they were elongated, extended, and unfolded!
The stars in the universe were dragged into helical rays of light by the "Sun Slingshot". The rays of light interweaved and tore apart the space, turning into tunnels leading to an alternate world. The starships all moved toward the "star tunnels" slowly, as if they had "fallen" into a nonexistent wormhole. Very soon, they disappeared.
The "beach landing and blind jump assault" performed by hundreds of thousands of starships at the same time began!
…
"Ahhhhhhhh!"
In the command center of the Seven Seas Grand Market, reactions were immediately displayed on the holographic map of the space zone. Like a pond in a drizzle, black ripples were popping up and expanding nonstop. At first, there were only a few raindrops, but very soon, there was a storm. The entire space zone was occupied by the intense ripples.
"So — so many space cracks that have been torn apart by brute force!"
"They are almost everywhere. All the sailing routes, all the spaces, and all the planets have space ripples around them. How many starships are jumping over at the same time?"
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