In the sky of the capital, the setting sun was as red as blood. Pale holes were appearing nonstop in the bloodstained atmosphere. Countless remnants of starships, high-explosive bombs, and landing cabins were falling like shooting stars, leaving the space that looked like black spots behind them.
On the ground, thousands of anti-air bases were guarding the central administrative area where the royal palace was located. Hundreds of thousands of crystal cannons were spurting fire into the sky at the same time, blowing the "shooting stars" into pieces in the atmosphere.
However, there were too many mass weapons that were projected from the orbit with high kinetic energy. Also, the scanning and locking systems of more and more anti-air arrays were paralyzed, and fatal loopholes finally appeared in the dense fire net. More and more "shooting stars" fell to the ground. After deafening noises, the mass turned into destructive blasts that savaged every inch of the capital planet like burning tides, especially the central administrative area and the royal palace.
Holding the city wall, Li Jialing looked at the mushroom cloud that was rising in the southwest. It was like a black god that rose into the sky and trampled on his land, his people, and his pride mercilessly.
After days of fierce battles, the last days of the collapse were delayed one day after another. The little emperor was on the brink of exhaustion too.
His black hair, which originally had a few strands of golden hair, had now become ghastly white and waxy yellow. His two eye sockets were deeply sunken, and his eyeballs were like will-o '-the-wisps that could be extinguished at any moment. His thick veins were like earthworms that were exposed to the sun, and they occupied both sides of his temples, causing this energetic and full of vitality young Emperor to look like he had suddenly aged ten or twenty years. He was like an evil spirit that had crawled out from the depths of hell, looking wretched and hideous.
His Crystal Suit was stained with intense smoke and blood. There was no telling whether it was his own or somebody else's, but he did not have the time to clean himself as an emperor. Several batches of enemies had tried to break into the central administrative area. In order to boost the morale of the Imperial Guards, he had to lead the charge and kill all the enemies in person.
However, such resistance could only push back the time of total collapse by one day, half a day, one hour, or one minute.
"Your Majesty!"
Li Linghai, whose face was also covered in smoke, rushed over from the command center. "Our entire Spiritual Nexus is still under the enemy's attack of the highest intensity. About 70% of the functions are paralyzed. It will take at least one to two hours to be repaired if it is not interfered with.
"Right now, we've lost contact with the remaining fleets on the orbit, the legions on the ground, and the Gold Crystal Pyramid below the ground!"
Li Jialing's lips twitching. He asked in a hoarse voice, "Is there any news from the east?"
"It's been a long time.
Li Linghai said with a bitter smile, "Since a week ago, the Holy League has destroyed all the hyperspace communication facilities that we deployed at the edge of the space zone and released tremendous jamming cannonballs, blocking our communication with the outside world. Even if Lei Chenghu does have any good news, it can't be sent in.
"Besides, it has only been a week, or at most ten days. More than ten days ago, Lei Chenghu failed to completely conquer the Jade Tripod Sector. The four families still boasted a rather elite 'Heaven Returning Fleet'. Even if the captains of the hundred thousand main-force warships of the Heaven Returning Fleet were all pigs, it would still be an impossible mission to capture a hundred thousand scampering pigs in the boundless universe, wouldn't it?
"So … So …"
Li Linghai sighed and could not go on.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Boom! Right then, intense explosions and crossfire suddenly echoed from the southeast of the royal palace that was right next to them.
Very soon, a general of the Imperial Guards hurried to report that the control system of a troop of battle puppets that was stationed in the royal palace had been hacked by the enemy and had 'betrayed'.
A lot of Crystal Suit members of the Exo Society that managed the troop of puppets had been infected by the enemy's virus and were all paralyzed. The virus that the enemy implanted could secretly turn on the self-detonation system of the Crystal Suit and blow up the Exo together with the master inside before they realized what was going on!
Li Jialing's eyelids were cramping.
"Command all troops to turn off the external data interfaces of the Crystal Suit and all the magical equipment. Enter the individual combat mode and fire freely."
Li Jialing gnashed his teeth and issued such an order that was not exactly an order.
Of course, he knew how terrible the order was. The greatest difference between an army and a civilian was not magical equipment or level but a high degree of organization and discipline. Also, organization and discipline had to be carried out by means of communication, namely the Spiritual Nexus. If the Spiritual Nexus was completely cut off, the most elite troops would be in a state of disunity in a moment.
Besides, with the current situation, even such an order that was not exactly an order could barely be delivered to every troop in the frontline.
Looking at the inside and outside of the royal palace that was on fire, Li Jialing suddenly felt that he was in a trance. He even felt that his head was dizzy and that he might fall at any moment.
Li Linghai hurried to extend his hands and hold the emperor's shoulder.
This time, the little emperor did not refuse.
"Mother …"
Li Jialing's face that was full of exhaustion finally revealed a hint of confusion. "Did I do something wrong?"
"… No."
After a long silence, Li Linghai suddenly smiled. "Your Majesty, you did not do anything wrong. This is perhaps the best ending for the Imperium that has lasted for a thousand years.
"Nobody knows what Blackstar the Great, our founder, did, including his clandestine deals better than you, Your Majesty.
"Although the establishment of the Imperium of True Human Beings is not glorious at all, at the very least, the country that was born in injustice can die in the most valiant and glorious way instead of in shame, so that the last Immortal Cultivators like us can hope that somebody will remember the last courage of the country and avenge us in the near future."
"Is that so?"
After a long daze, Li Jialing suddenly smiled and strode to the gate tower. "You do have a point, mother. Then, let me fulfill my promise and welcome the most glorious ending!"
The little emperor strode to the spaceport on the south side of the royal palace.
In the spaceport, "Glory of the Imperium", his personal starship, was ready to set off. His Colossus had been shipped to the starship too, and it could turn into a rainbow that pierced through the sky at any moment!
The last thousands of Imperial Guards had been waiting in the spaceport for a long time. Seeing that His Majesty had arrived in person, they were all boiling with passion and courage to die together with him.
"Long live Your Majesty! Long live the Imperium! Long live the civilization of mankind!"
The Imperial Guards roared at the same time.
However, right when Li Jialing was about to board the starship and charge at the enemy's formation, the meteor shower in the sky suddenly became denser and a hundred times more precise.
BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Almost a hundred enormous remnants of starships and the high-explosive bombs mixed in them seemed to have grown eyes and focused their fire on the spaceport inside the royal palace.
However dense the anti-air firepower around the royal palace was, quite a few of them still escaped and lunged at the ground, enshrouding the entire spaceport in scorching fireballs and destructive blasts.
Even Li Jialing was blown away by the blasts and fell to the ground heavily after hundreds of meters away. Despite the protection of the Crystal Suit and the spiritual shield, his internal organs were still displaced by the crash. He vomited a mouthful of blood crazily, and his eyes were seeing stars. His ears were humming like gongs and drums.
After he finally suppressed the surging tides of blood, he focused all his spiritual energy on his eyes and looked forward through the smoke and mist. The royal spaceport was already a mess. Not only were all the launch platforms twisted into a mess, but the flat ground was riddled with bumps and hollows. Countless Imperial Guards had been burnt and vaporized before they realized what was going on. Even his "Glory of the Imperium" had been blown apart and collapsed on the ground like a rotten whale that had been beached.
It seemed that a high-explosive bomb had directly hit "Glory of the Imperium", which had yet to raise its spiritual shield. Together with the Colossus inside, it was blown into smithereens. It couldn't be activated without major maintenance.
Such a precise and intense attack suggested that the enemy was not shooting at random but had controlled the geosynchronous orbit tightly. They had even reached the edge of the atmosphere and were about to land on a large scale.
Li Jialing narrowed his eyes and stared at the boundless ocean of blood in the sky.
Amidst the bloody flames, he vaguely saw five Gods and Devils baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, recklessly releasing their most ferocious light.
They were … the five Supreme Fortresses of the Holy League!
The five Supreme Fortresses had all broken into the atmosphere of the capital planet. To some extent, they had become "artificial satellites" of the capital planet, which made it easier for them to interfere and suppress the entire capital planet.
Staring at the magnificent shadows of the five Supreme Fortresses reflected in the atmosphere, Li Jialing stared so hard that his eyes were almost bleeding.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
Li Linghai and the Imperial Guards lunged close and asked in shock, "Are you alright, Your Majesty?"
"Of course I'm fine. How could anything happen to me?"
Li Jialing spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with broken teeth. He slowly drew the golden saber that had broken teeth and put on a brilliant and confident smile at Li Linghai. "I'm a man who is going to hold all the stars in the universe in my hands!"
"What are you going to do?"
Li Linghai sensed that his son was getting more and more arrogant. He said in a shivering voice, "'Glory of the Imperium' has been seriously damaged. It is impossible for it to fight again!"
"So what? Did you not see that the main force of the enemy has already invaded the atmosphere? There is no need for assault warships or Colossi at all. The Crystal Suits can fly up and annihilate them."
Li Jialing looked around and said casually, "What kind of 'Glory of the Imperium' is that tiny boat? I am the real Glory of the Imperium. I will not allow the infinite brilliance of the Imperium of True Human Beings to die out just like that! "
He closed the helmet of the Crystal Suit and turned into a dazzling lion again, pointing his saber at the shadows of the five Supreme Fortresses in the bloody sky!
However, the tip of his saber was shivering slightly.
Naturally, it was not fear or excitement, but another emotion that could not be described but seemed to be vaguely resonating with each other.
It was fury.
It was the fury of being infected by a certain powerful and violent being deep inside the sea of stars. It was similar to telepathy.
"Strange?"
The little emperor mumbled, "Why does the core of the enemy's formation seem to be in chaos all of a sudden, as if … as if an unprecedented super crystal bomb has exploded brutally?"
"High-energy reactions. We have detected high-energy reactions and super powerful space ripples from the periphery of the space zone. It's a space jump of an incalculable scale. Countless starships have jumped over from various directions without the guidance of space gates, Your Majesty. Your Majesty!"
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