"Transfer?"
Dark gold brilliance flashed in Li Jialing's eyes. "Where are we going?"
"The few Sectors near the capital are all under our control. Choosing any one of them is better than being trapped here. Or, we can go to the Seven Seas Space Zone under the control of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. Although most of the resources there have been delivered to the capital, a lot of starships are still docked there. If we avoid them for now, we may be able to make a comeback one day."
Li Linghai sighed and said with a bitter smile, "The Holy League is about to block all the jump points around the Empyreal Terminus Sector. We won't be able to leave if we don't leave now."
"The Sectors nearby or the Seven Seas Space Zone?"
Li Jialing smiled. "Then what? Flee to the sea of stars on the boats of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and establish a 'government-in-exile'? Forget it. I'm not leaving. "" We have to leave.
This is not the time to be childish. The combat ability of the main force fleet of the Holy League is far beyond our estimation. The fully-automatic defense system has been battered, and the Imperial Guards are running out of strength. All the defense lines around are about to be torn apart, and the battle on the east front can't be settled in only a couple of days. As for the Federation, given the terrible news a few days ago, it's probably impossible to count on them. Besides, even if they do send out their troops, how many of them can they possibly send? What's the point? "
In a hurry, Li Linghai grabbed Li Jialing's wrist and said quickly, "The more critical the moment is, the more we must not act recklessly. There will be hope as long as we escape. Everybody knows the evilness of the Holy League. Even if the capital falls, they may not be able to digest the resources in the capital quickly. The entire Imperium is still in our hands. We can still —"
"Enough!"
Li Linghai was talking according to his own idea when a bellow that sounded like a furious lion burst out of his son's mouth. Then, his hand was shaken off by Li Jialing.
"You —"
Li Linghai was greatly surprised. One of his hands froze in midair awkwardly, as if he did not know his son at all.
"Empress dowager, let me make one thing clear. I am the emperor of the Imperium of True Human Beings and the dominator of the Empyreal Terminus Sector … and even the entire sea of stars!"
Deep inside Li Jialing's eyes, dark golden flames were burning furiously, almost flowing out of his eyes and melting into his erect eyebrows. The facial features of the young emperor hadn't fully developed yet, but the infinite dominance that was even more dominating than that of Blackstar the Great was already lingering in his eyes. Even Li Linghai, who had also received part of Wuying Qi's heritage, was deeply awed by the golden flames that spurted out of his eyes. She subconsciously stepped back, almost out of breath.
"When I ascended to the throne, I swore in front of billions of people and all the stars in the universe that not only would I renew the Imperium and recreate its glory, I would also revive humanity so that the brilliance of the civilization of mankind would far exceed the peak of the Star Ocean Imperium in the past and establish an unprecedented cause in the past hundred thousand years!
"Your words are still ringing in my ears. In just a few short months, I have to run away like a stray dog with its tail between its legs? How can I face the Immortal Cultivators and the people of the Imperium, and how can I face the billions of stars above our head? How can I face the thousands of martyrs who have sacrificed for the cause of reform? How can I face the unparalleled heritages of the late emperor?
"Hehe. Do you really think that the dozens of Sectors near the Empyreal Terminus Sector are really under our control? The garrisons and bureaucrats in these places were all in shambles. They were people who only knew how to sail with the wind and had no will to fight at all. Moreover, the defense of these places was far weaker than that of the imperial capital. If they couldn't even defend the imperial capital, how long could they last if they escaped? Don't tell me that when the next world falls, I will have to tuck my tail between my legs again and escape to the next world after that?
"As for the Seven Seas Space Zone, it is needless to mention it. It does not produce any resources at all and is purely a transit station for the space trade. Right now, the entire transit station has been emptied. All the mercenary merchants have delivered their resources and even their carriers to the capital to support me and hope that I can win the battle! How could I have escaped to the Seven Seas Space Zone and told the merchants who were counting on me that I had lost all their belongings and that I was the only one who escaped out of the place without any belongings? Tell me! "
Li Linghai swallowed hard, unable to say anything.
"All in all, I have made up my mind. The emperor will guard the gate of the country, and the king will die for the country. I swear that I will live and die with the capital! If anyone dares to say another word, this will be the end of those who disturb the morale of the army! "
When Li Jialing was infuriated, he suddenly unsheathed the sword on his waist and raised it high, slashing at a battle puppet next to him brutally.
With a crack, the battle puppet's metal head and half of its shoulder were chopped off by him. Immediately, sparks flew everywhere, and with a crackling sound, it fell crookedly to the ground.
"Hehe!"
Li Jialing sheathed his daggers. His dark gold eyes seemed to have been heated to a thousand degrees. Two tongues of fire darted out and glanced at the faces of everybody in the command center from Li Linghai.
All the important ministers and generals of the reformists who were intimidated by his eyes were shuddering in fear.
The entire command center immediately fell silent.
"Empress Dowager, you have worked hard day and night in the past few years and made great contributions to the great cause of reform. I think you must be physically and mentally exhausted. If you really can't bear the torment of war and must leave, then leave."
His hands behind his back, Li Jialing stared at the changing data on the light beam and said casually, "You can go to the Sectors nearby or the Seven Seas Space Zone. Take a good rest there and wait for my good news.
"In any case, I firmly believe that …
"I firmly believe that the warriors who are fighting side by side with me on the frontlines inside and outside of the capital planet will shed their last drop of blood!
"I firmly believe that Lei Chenghu, Bai Xingjian, and the elites under their command on the eastern battlefield will certainly annihilate the four families as quickly as possible!
"I firmly believe that the Xing Yao Federation, which gave birth to the Black Wind King Li Yao, will make the wisest decision and realize that we share common interests despite our different stances!
"I also have no doubt that Black Wind King Li Yao himself is not dead. He is lurking somewhere and planning an earth-shattering counterattack!
"I, who have everything, have already seen the dawn of victory through the flames of war. How can I let this hard-won victory slip through my fingers for nothing?
"Is anyone else leaving with the empress dowager?"
Li Jialing paced unhurriedly in the command center and walked past the important ministers and generals of the reformists.
Sweat the size of beans was popping up on everybody's forehead, but none of them were leaving.
Even Li Linghai was dumbfounded for a long time. Looking at her son in disbelief, she said in a low voice, "If you don't leave, I won't leave either, Your Majesty."
"Very good."
Li Jialing nodded his head emotionlessly and said, "Mother, if the enemy does not break into the atmosphere of the capital planet on a large scale, how long can our defense lines last?"
"About thirty-six hours. Forty-eight hours at most."
Li Linghai calmed down and calculated for a moment before she replied quickly.
Before she knew it, the spotlight in the command center had shifted from her to Li Jialing.
"Two days at most is too short. We have to try our best to buy more time for the reinforcements to arrive.
Li Jialing pondered for a moment and said, "How about this? In order to boost morale as much as possible, announce to all the Imperial Guards and the Immortal Cultivators that Lei Chenghu and the rest of them have secured a glorious victory on the eastern front. They have captured the last batch of starships and tremendous strategic assets of the four families and are about to reinforce the capital.
"Contact the Seven Seas Space Zone in secret. Forty-eight to seventy-two hours later, send a batch of carriers or armed business ships to the capital urgently, pretending that they are Lei Chenghu's victorious army.
"If the soldiers can persist for five more days in such a way, I will board a starship and go to the frontline in person. Hopefully, I can buy two to three more days.
"In short, if they can persist for three to five more days, there may be a turning point. Maybe … hope."
"Your Majesty, you are going to the frontline in person?"
Li Linghai was greatly shocked. "You must not!"
"As the leader of the Immortal Cultivators who value the survival of the fittest above all, when did fighting in the frontline in person become something that you must not do?"
Li Jialing smiled. "Besides, it's not like I've never fought in mountains of corpses before."
"That was then, and this is now."
Li Linghai said in a hurry, "Your Majesty right now is the dominator of all the stars in the universe and the hope of the entire Imperium. How can you be involved in such a dangerous situation?"
"It is exactly because I am the dominator of the universe that nothing will happen to me."
Li Jialing seemed to be enshrouded in golden flames. There were immeasurable black holes in his eyes, but his lips curled into a charming and dominating smile. He seemed to be caught in a trance as he mumbled, "If I am really the child of providence, the master of the stars, and the person who is destined to command the true path of the Cultivators and the true path of immortality, it is impossible for me to die at the beginning of my glory.
"On the other hand, if I am killed in the battle, it means that I am not the person who is destined to lead the civilization of mankind. In that case, will I be qualified to call myself a lone Cultivator? I will be nothing more than a monkey wearing a hat, and my death will not be regretted at all!
"This is my belief. Even if the fleet of the Holy League is ten times stronger, it will not be able to obliterate it. Mother and my dear subjects, there is no need to say anything. Just do as you are told!"
While talking, the emperor waved his hands. Not bothering to watch everybody's shock, he simply left the command center and faced the bloody sunset in the sky of the royal palace.
"Brother Yao, you couldn't have foreseen a year ago that your unintentional action would change my life to such an extent and even indirectly change the entire universe."
The Emperor narrowed his eyes, not allowing any of the truest emotions in the depths of his heart to leak out. Under his seemingly indestructible body, there was a slightly trembling heart. "Even so, even if I am now ten times or a hundred times stronger than before, the situation before my eyes has forced me to my limits, to the point where I am almost unable to breathe.
"You can't be killed so easily, can you? You must still be alive and up to some schemes in some dark corner, right?
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.
