Xingchen already knew that we were coming. The moment I stepped out of the teleportation gate, I saw him leading a group of acquaintances waiting at the plaza of the Glorious Court. Now that the Empire and the God Realm frequently interacted with one another, it was as convenient for both sides to visit each other as going upstairs and downstairs. Furthermore, Xing Chen and I were both casual people who were afraid of trouble, so there was naturally no need for any guards of honor or anything of the sort. Other than the God race soldiers standing guard in the plaza, the ones who received us were a few of the highest Main Gods, as well as high-level strategists by God Father's side. Uncle Kowain was one of them.
I went up to greet a bunch of old friends, and before the Dragon God opened his mouth, I decisively grabbed God Father's hand and shook it vigorously. "Long time no see, long time no see. Did the experts that we sent earlier come in handy?"
God Father chuckled. "It's all thanks to them. They came in handy. There aren't many in the God Realm who have experience fighting against the Fallen Apostles."
At this moment, a palm-sized little bean popped out from God Father's collar and waved at us enthusiastically. "Ah, you're here?"
Just as I smiled and was about to greet the Goddess of Life, I heard a small voice from my chest. "Hello, Goddess! Jingle is back to play! "
— So it was the two of them greeting each other. Both God Father and I had a three-inch nail with us, so when the latter suddenly appeared to greet us, it was too much of a diversion.
I chuckled awkwardly. Icetis had already gone over to greet her father. Uncle Kouyin chatted with his daughter for a while before rushing over. "Where's my granddaughter?"
Bindis was so angry that he jumped up behind Khuyin, "Dad, can you be serious?! How many times have I told you that I didn't give birth to that lass!? Your daughter isn't even married yet, okay?! Even if your daughter marries, it's impossible for her to give birth to a spouse! Do you even have a granddaughter!? "
It was really rare to see a situation that could make Bryndis go crazy. It could be seen that her relative was indeed the only person who was completely helpless against this female hooligan. Uncle Khuyin was unmoved by Bryndis's yelling. He even chuckled, "I know. Isn't this to give myself some psychological comfort? Besides, I quite like that little girl. Can you recognize her as your goddaughter?"
Icetis rolled her eyes. "She doesn't lack anything, especially not a mother."
Uncle Kouyin's passionate gaze made the little puppet uncomfortable. The latter only persisted on my shoulder for a few seconds before slipping down. Then, using me as a foothold, she began to squirm around to avoid that 'weird old man' (although he didn't look old). In the past, I didn't expect this little fellow to be so agile. She was just like a little monkey as she squirmed around my upper body. Before I got dizzy, I caught hold of this quick-witted little fellow. Then, looking at Uncle Kouyin in front of me who still looked like he was ready to play with his grandchild, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Uncle, you scared Little Lamp okay? The only psychological pressure for her coming to the God Realm is you."
Papa Bing was taken aback. Then, he saw that everyone except for the two Three-Inch Nails were looking at him helplessly. Even Papa Bing didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He could only mutter as he walked to the side. "It's so troublesome to have a daughter … Forget it, I'll just make another one for her mother when the time comes …"
Everyone was speechless.
Icetis covered her face and ran to the side. It seemed like she wanted to pretend that she didn't know who the uncle was. I reached into my personal space and took out a small gift for God Father. As for what the gift was, there was no need for everyone to think too deeply about it. God Father only had one taste anyway. Then, we arrived at the Temple of God Father. We were here for official business. After taking a seat in the guest hall, we went straight to the main topic. God Father placed a scroll-like object that was emitting a faint light on the table. After the scroll unfolded, a holographic image appeared in midair.
Those images were none other than the wreckage of the Fallen Apostles' battleships that were destroyed by the Protoss during the previous invasion. They had already been roughly categorized and carefully scanned. The image released by the scroll kept changing. God Father explained the current situation by the side, "These spaceships are only a small portion. I won't talk about the specific level. Anyway, you're more familiar with them than me. According to the analysis of the experts you sent, the scale of the invasion this time should be an entire army, and it can only be more, no less. They moved quickly and had a clear goal. After attacking, they fled. Our garrison troops only had time to protect our God Kingdom. They had already bombed most of the surrounding star systems. Then, in the midst of the chaos, they snatched away the Heart of the World. "
I already knew most of the situation, but I didn't expect the scale of the Fallen Apostles' invasion to be at the level of an army. Such a large army was actually able to carry out a lightning raid and then safely retreat when the Protoss army attacked. It seemed that the leader should be another formidable enemy. However, I couldn't figure out which one it was. It seemed that even Halland didn't have a clue about it.
At this moment, the door to the guest hall was pushed open. Two people wearing the uniform of the Imperial Army's commander walked in. I recognized both of them. One was Vincent Carlo, and the other was Carter Carlo. The two of them had arrived a few days ago with the thirty military experts who had come to the God Realm to assist in the investigation. When it came to fighting against the Fallen Apostles, there really weren't many experts who could compare to these two brothers. After all, they had been soldiers in the Fallen Apostles' camp for tens of thousands of years.
"Alright, now that the military experts are here," I waved at the Carlo brothers. "Don't be so formal. Let's get down to business. Have you found anything over the past few days?"
The two brothers were reporting the situation right next to me. Carter Carlo turned on the MDT and displayed another set of holographic images. "Your Majesty, these are the insignias we found on those spaceships."
I glanced at them. Of course, I didn't recognize them. However, I was a little curious. "How can we not know which side they are from with the insignias?"
Vincent Carlo looked very serious. "That's the problem. These insignias don't belong to any army."
"Don't belong to any army?" I could hear the deeper meaning in Vincent's words. "Are you saying … that the invading army isn't from the Fallen Apostles' camp?"
"The spaceships have traces of being infected by the abyss. It's obvious that they came from a polluted area. However, the insignias on the spaceships are very abnormal. We have stayed in the Fallen Apostles' camp for many years and are familiar with the insignias of every army. However, this insignia is very unfamiliar … We don't remember any of the Fallen Apostles' armies having this insignia."
I looked at the image on the holographic projection. An unfamiliar insignia was slowly rotating on the image. This insignia was blood red in color, the most commonly used color scheme of the Fallen Apostles. It looked like two crossed fists with a continuous cross pattern around the insignia. It didn't look very special from the outside, but the Carlo brothers, who were once Fallen Apostles, had said that they had never seen this army insignia from their 'old employer'. This situation was a little thought-provoking.
"Could it be that you've been away from the group for too long and the Fallen Apostles have established a new force?" I looked at Carter Carlo. Carlo said, "Aren't they always busy scheming against each other? Moreover, there are forces that annex them. "
"Even if there are forces annexing each other, the new warlords that emerge wouldn't necessarily have to change their military insignia, right?" Carter Carlo shook his head. "There are indeed cases of warlords annexing each other within the Fallen Apostles. Sometimes, a few weaker forces will merge to form a new army. However, under normal circumstances, no matter how the forces change, they will continue to use their own military insignia. Under normal circumstances, these military insignia cannot be easily changed. This is of great significance to a soldier. Of course, there is also the possibility that a new force has appeared within the Fallen Apostles. Some low-level apostles have suddenly been promoted and formed their own army … However, the possibility of this is even lower. Promotion isn't that easy. We haven't been away from 'that side' for a long time. From what I remember, there shouldn't be any warlords with the potential to develop in the past few years. "
"Speaking of which, did you really not notice any signs before this invasion?" I raised my head to look at God Father.
"This is the garrison officer who was stationed in that world." God Father raised his finger and pointed at an unfamiliar Protoss sitting across from me. It was a valiant and formidable-looking golden-haired woman. She was wearing a gorgeous female armor. Although the style was different, the details of the armor seemed to belong to the same army as Elson's dazzling golden outfit. "War Goddess Gillia? Dazzling Left Wing. You can ask her about the details. "
"Oh, Gillia? Dazzling … "I nodded. Just as I was about to speak, I suddenly froze." Dazzling Left Wing? Do you know someone called Elson? Elson? Dazzling Left Wing, Jingle's team. "
The golden-haired War Goddess on the other side of the table had a solemn expression. She looked like a person of action who didn't like to smile. However, when she heard Elson's name, she revealed a smile. She bowed slightly and replied meticulously, "Yes, Your Majesty Schilling. Elson is my fourth uncle."
I said, "… Big Sister, let's not joke around."
The War Goddess's expression didn't change at all. She was solemn as though she was announcing an important national matter. "I am not joking. Elson is indeed my fourth uncle. According to seniority, this is how I rank him."
I blinked and turned to look at Icetis. "Other than direct blood relatives, don't you Protoss not rank seniority with anyone else?"
"Most of them don't pay attention to this. However, there are some who seriously think that ranking seniority isn't against the law, right?" Icetis was lying on the table and whispering to a puppet. At this moment, she waved her hand nonchalantly. "I even know a guy with terminal OCD. He spent hundreds of years ranking everyone he knew and his family's genealogy. When the forest is big, there are all kinds of Jingle. You can't do anything about it. "
I was speechless. "…" Alright, let's not talk about this anymore.
Gillia was still waiting on the other side of the table with a straight face. Our discussion here seemed to have nothing to do with her. When she saw that my conversation with Icetis had ended, she nodded and continued her report. "The world that I am stationed in is located in a relatively peaceful area at the border. From the information shift, it seems to be far away from the polluted area of the Abyss Empire. At the same time, there are no other major sources of pollution in the area. Thus, we only maintain the necessary garrison. Before the invasion, we even conducted a routine patrol to confirm that there were no abnormalities within the range of a jump. "
"What was the Core of the World like after it was stolen?" I immediately asked.
"The carrier was a mountain range, located on a planet near the God Kingdom. After the war, we discovered that the planet that carried the Core of the World had been torn to pieces. The fragment that contained the carrier was the only one that was missing. Thus, we determined that the enemy's initial target was the Core of the World. "
The 'Core of the World' was actually a point of information entanglement that contained all the information in the universe. It itself had no physical body, so it was usually attached to a single entity in the world in stages. During this stage, it could be a person, a rock, or even a fleeting flash of light in the universe. So, when I heard that the Core of the World was a mountain range, I was not surprised. I was just a little curious. "Don't you usually keep the Core of the World safe or artificially transfer it to the World Management System? Why is the Core of the World floating outside the God Kingdom? "
Gillia replied indifferently, "The World Management System happened to be undergoing a routine upgrade. Because the firmware did not support it, I first bound the Core of the World to another place. Fortunately, I was able to hold on until the reinforcements arrived. The invading army initially attacked the God Kingdom by force. Later, when they discovered that the Core of the World was reacting to another place, they split up midway, which delayed them for some time. "
I could not help but look at Father. "That, why does your World Management System always have some problems no matter what model it is? I thought that Jingle was the only one using a weird version. "
Father raised his head and looked at the ceiling. "Actually … In the past, this wasn't a big deal. Something like the Heart of the World is completely useless outside of this universe. Before the Fallen Apostle, no one had ever fought over this thing!"
After that, I asked the Carlo brothers and Gillia for more details, ascertaining the scale of the Fallen Apostle's invasion and the course of the battle. But the most important question was, whose army was this, but I still had no clue. Now, the God Realm had organized an army and was preparing to launch an attack on the Abyss Empire. The scale of this army was still unknown, but one thing was for sure: Don't be fooled by the Protoss's magnanimity, Father was also a good guy. If you really pissed them off, these Gods were definitely not to be trifled with!
Other than asking about the Fallen Apostle's ambush, there were two other things I wanted to ask about in the God Realm. One was the progress of the Protoss's deep diving, and the other was the progress of deciphering the Ancient Divine Artifact. After the Carlo brothers and Gillia left, I brought up the matter of the discontinuity. Father seemed to attach great importance to this topic. "We have also observed the discontinuity. But as you know, the God Realm's deep diving project has just begun, so we should know less than you do. But we have built many deep diving ports, and after testing them at the same time, we have confirmed one thing: the discontinuity under every Gate of the Abyss is the same thing. And after precise calculations, we have also confirmed that the discontinuity is at the same 'distance' relative to each Gate of the Abyss. In other words, it really comes from the bottom of the Abyss, and it is spreading towards all the worlds of Order at a uniform speed."
"The Fallen Apostle is also doing deep diving," I exchanged information with him. "And their progress seems to be faster than ours. Previously, they had already built a ship that can travel under the Gate of the Abyss. Now, I don't know how much this technology has developed. You better be careful. If they come out of the Gate of the Abyss to launch a surprise attack, it will be really hard to defend against. Those bastards are best at scaring people."
Father rubbed his nose and chuckled. "Don't worry, we have already made preparations. All the Gates of the Abyss have been set up."
"That's good. In short, don't be careless." I laughed. Then, I suddenly thought of something. "Also, should we consider a joint attack? When you attack the Abyss, we can put pressure on the Fallen Apostle from another front. Most of their territory is distributed according to the old Empire's territory. Plus, I have an Independent Abyss Regiment on my side. Our intelligence sources are more reliable, and we know which line of defense is the weakest. The results of a joint attack should be very good. "
"The Protoss has this plan." The one who spoke was Sauvarey, who was sitting next to Father. He was known as the number one butler of the God Realm … the number one assistant of Father. This unsmiling old handsome man would only speak when needed. It seemed that he was the person in charge of this attack. "Actually, even if you hadn't come, we would have sent an ambassador over in two days to discuss the joint attack. The Lord wants the Protoss to attack first. I hope that you can hold back your troops for the time being and let the Fallen Apostle think that we are not carrying out a joint attack this time. Wait until the majority of their attention is attracted to the Protoss's battle line before you make your move. Since there is going to be a big operation, it is best to cripple the opponent in one go and do everything possible to maximize the results of the battle. Of course, if possible, it is best to take this opportunity to completely eliminate this threat. The day of the expedition is coming. It is really unsettling to have such a huge hidden danger like the Abyss at our doorstep. "
I looked at this old handsome man with an indifferent expression and thought to myself, As expected, even an irritated rabbit will bite. The Fallen Apostle had really poked a hornet's nest this time.
However, Sauvarey's plan to wipe out all of the Fallen Apostles in one go was still unlikely in my opinion. As the saying goes, a centipede dies but doesn't fall down. A stupid person is still better than Jingle. This analogy wasn't too suitable, mainly for the sake of rhyming. In short, no matter what, the Fallen Apostles were a colossus. They also had the ability to transmigrate between worlds. They belonged to the type of enemy that you could scatter but would find it difficult to completely kill. Even if the Protoss and the New Empire joined forces to carry out a big operation, they would only be able to heavily injure them. Moreover, the Protoss's expedition was imminent. A portion of the soldiers had already set off ahead of time. The remaining soldiers also had to do their best to avoid being drawn into the bottomless pit of the "war against the Abyss." The military strength they could mobilize was still limited.
However, there was one thing that Sauvarey was right about: Do everything possible to maximize the results of the battle.
After all, it was very likely that the Protoss and the New Empire would only have this one opportunity to join forces to attack the Abyss. The next time, either the Fallen Apostles would already have fortified their strongholds, or the Protoss would have already begun their expedition. The timing wouldn't be too suitable.
At this moment, Liliana, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly muttered, "Speaking of which, why didn't anyone think of joining forces to attack the Abyss a few years ago?"
When Liliana said this, everyone was immediately puzzled. I thought for a long time before coming to a realization. I slapped the lass's head and said, "Nonsense! A few years ago, the resources of the New Empire added up wouldn't even be enough to form a patrol! "
The Empire had developed rapidly in the past few years. I had almost forgotten about the national strength that was stretched too thin at the beginning. Speaking of which, I actually felt that it was a bit too early to attack the Abyss. If it wasn't for the Fallen Apostles suddenly courting death and forcefully attacking the Protoss, pushing the situation to the boiling point, I really would have wanted to wait another two years.
Now, there was no other way. The arrow was already nocked on the bowstring and had to be released. I had to verify whether the resources that the New Empire had accumulated over the years were enough for a grand battle!
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.
