This was a corridor near the core area of the Empire Admiral. Since most of the soldiers were on standby during the warp jump, this corridor seemed especially deserted. However, I saw someone walking towards me.
It was a young girl dressed in black with long, straight blond hair. Her skin was fair and her eyes were deep red. She wore long black silk gloves on her hands. From her clothes, she did not look like a soldier of the Empire. However, when I saw the small silver-white metal plate hanging on her chest, I knew who she was: Xi Ling.
"Schilling?" I quickly walked up to her. "Why are you here?"
This internet ghost seemed to be wandering aimlessly. She was startled by my sudden appearance. The girl in black jumped half a step back like a bunny. "Ah … Oh, it's Her Majesty the Emperor."
"Why are you daydreaming?" I noticed that her behavior was a little strange. Schilling was usually a little absent-minded. However, as a group consciousness with super high processing speed, it was rare for her to be daydreaming to this extent. Furthermore, she appeared on a battleship that was heading towards the border. It was even more surprising. "Didn't I tell you not to wander out? This ship is heading towards the border of the Empire. It's not safe for you there."
Schilling looked around curiously. She looked like she had a sudden realization. "Oh, so this is the inside of the spaceship."
"…" Did this girl sleepwalk in here?!
"I feel fine." Schilling chuckled and looked at me. "My main body is on the entire network. This body on the spaceship is just an interface to interact with the outside world. This small focal point of information doesn't affect the overall distribution by more than one ten-thousandth. As long as the Empire's network covers the area, it's the same no matter where I am."
Schilling's words made sense. It seemed that I had to use the way of thinking in the real world to imagine the life of an internet ghost. However, I was still curious. "Don't you usually hang out with Tawil in the City of Shadows? Why are you wandering here today? "
"I don't know." Schilling shook her head honestly. "I suddenly wanted to come out and take a look. Then, I downloaded the interface to this place. I was just wondering where this place is. It looks really different from the City of Shadows."
"You suddenly want to come out and have a look?" I looked suspiciously at the black-clothed girl in front of me, who seemed to be in a daze. I kept feeling that something was wrong. Seeing my expression, Xi Ling nodded vigorously in my direction, "Yes, yes, I just suddenly wanted to come out and take a look …"
I hurriedly stopped her. "Alright, alright, your hair is flying all over my face … Since you want to come out and take a look, then go ahead and wander around, but don't leave this ship. Also, you have to download the map of the Admiral of the Empire and the rules of the ship's movements. This is the flagship, so shouldn't it be like home?"
Xi Ling nodded happily, and then, like a wandering ghost, he hummed an unknown tune and wandered off to some unknown place.
I watched the strange girl disappear at the end of the corridor. I suddenly had a doubt. Could this girl's abnormal behavior be related to the Fallen Apostle? Or … could it be related to the problem with the Abyss Schilling?
I couldn't blame myself for being overly sensitive and paranoid. The main reason was that we were in an unusual situation. The Fallen Apostle was obviously in trouble, and Schilling and the Abyss Schilling were of the same origin. Back then, the rift on the network had already proved that these two network ghosts, who should have been completely separated, were actually still in contact. Now that the Abyss Schilling might have gone out of control, I was worried that the influence would affect Schilling.
With this thought, I immediately lost the mood to relax. I quickly turned around and returned to the bridge. Sandora, who was in the control room, saw me return to the officer's platform with a grave expression. She immediately came over and asked curiously, "What's wrong? Why do you look so serious? "
"I met Schilling," I said as I slapped Liliana, who was rubbing against my leg. "Her condition is a little strange. She is wandering around the spaceship in a daze. I suspect that she has also sensed the chaos on the Fallen Apostle's side."
Sandora was exceptionally intelligent. Of course, she immediately understood what I meant. "Are you talking about her being of the same origin as the Abyss Network?"
I nodded and told Sandora about my conjecture and the details of my encounter with Schilling. The latter thought for a moment, then shook her head. "We have no way of restricting Schilling's activities. You and I are her activity points, so we can only let her continue to wander around the spaceship … However, she is very obedient. Since you said that you can't let her leave the Empire Admiral, she shouldn't be running around. As for whether she was summoned by the Abyss Schilling … I can't say for sure. It might be possible, but as long as you are on the network, Schilling will be protected by a firewall. If the Abyss Schilling dares to come into direct contact with Schilling, it will be a disaster for the Fallen Apostle instead. "
"Actually, you don't have to worry too much." Sandora paused for a moment before adding, "Schilling is right. Her activities in the real world are just one of her interactive interfaces. Her body is always distributed throughout the entire network. Even if there is a problem with the interactive interface, at most, a portion of the nodes will be temporarily malfunctioning. Schilling's vitality is probably as strong as the entire New Empire. You don't have to worry too much about this. "
"I guess that's the only way." I smacked my lips helplessly. "Why are there so many troublesome people around me … Xiaoxue, can you read my fortune for me?"
"Dad, you have to maintain some respect for the profession of prophet. Do you understand?" Not far away, the brat king stuck his head out from the back of the chair. "We are quite close to the Abyss now. We can indeed see some things … Schilling seems to have been attracted by the Abyss. However, it's harmless. As long as we don't die, we will have a smooth journey. As long as we don't die, we will live forever. Don't worry."
I took a deep breath. Half a second later, I reacted and jumped up. "Isn't that obvious?!"
Xiaoxue reacted quickly. I had barely finished my sentence when she slipped into Sandora's embrace. "Second Mama, save me!"
Although I felt that the unruly brat dared to spout nonsense in this kind of situation, it seemed that thanks to the brat, the uneasiness in my heart quickly dissipated. I raised my head to look at the commander's seat below. Just as I was about to ask how much longer it would take to reach our destination, I heard a steady and gentle broadcast from the mainframe of the spaceship. "Attention all units. The final jump has been completed. The spaceship will be entering the material world. All captains, prepare to report your situation … Countdown to entering the material world: 10, 9, 8 …"
Accompanied by a faint tremor, the spaceship's void engine module shut down. The starship's propulsion system switched to the coordinate engine used for navigating in the material world. The dozens of control seats in the command hall that had been on standby the entire time entered working mode. The various departments began to report their situation and exchange information. Sandora turned on the independent holographic device on the officer's platform, and the scene outside the spaceship appeared before everyone's eyes.
This was a borderline world, very close to the Abyss. Like all borderline worlds, this universe by the edge of a mountain of blades and a sea of flames was a complete military fortress. There were no civilian facilities or colonies in the entire universe. Most of the celestial bodies and mass density zones in space had been cleared to prevent them from becoming a springboard or 'hotbed' for the contamination of the Abyss. The remaining celestial bodies had been turned into Empire bases or modified into large weapon carrying platforms. The fleet was anchored at the largest military port in the universe. It was located at the edge of a dense, dark-yellow cloud cluster. It consisted of four defensive-type planetary fortresses, an artificial star, and thousands of spaceports and heavy-duty factories orbiting these celestial bodies. The space cloud with a radius of hundreds of thousands of light-years was still undergoing intense star creation. The higher energy levels and active fusion reactions made it very bright, and if you were far enough, you would notice that it looked like a sparkling space marshmallow. But since the military port was right beside the cloud cluster, and the air in space could not possibly be as dense as the 'fog' in most people's minds, we, who were within the range of the cloud cluster, could only sense an abnormal dark-yellow luster in space.
The Royal Fleet was anchored at the high orbit of the planetary fortresses at the outermost edge of the artificial star system. After a series of military movements, the First, Fourth, Sixth, and Seventh Fleets, in addition to a few other reserve echelons that were previously sent to other outposts, totaling nearly seven military forces, had been gathered in this universe. The massive fleets were anchored above the four planetary fortresses of the artificial star system (with another two echelons on standby at another spaceport further away). They were now only waiting for the command to head to the frontlines and conduct a large-scale battle against the territory of the Fallen Apostles for the first time in history.
And we were waiting for the best opportunity to arrive.
Seeing tens of thousands of starships gathering in front of us was, of course, a very exciting thing. But I had been a lot more excited in the past two years, and now I had experienced a lot of wind and waves, so I was no longer shocked by honor or disgrace. I looked at the busy but orderly command hall below, and turned to Sandora. "It seems that we won't need the servant fleet this time."
"Everyone has their own duties." Sandora's face was calm. I noticed that the closer it was to a large-scale battle, the calmer and more indifferent she appeared. "The servant army can help patrol and defend, or help the Imperial Army take care of some secondary battlefields. But this time, we are going to charge directly into the Abyss, and it will be difficult to convert the quantity of the servant army into quality. If they are contaminated by the local environment and become enemies, it will be even more troublesome."
Icetis was also sitting on the military officer's platform, and just like us, she had a holographic device and a tactical analyzer in front of her. But I reckon that this female rogue could not do much other than use them to watch a movie. She was poking around with her own Protoss standard crystal terminal, maintaining contact with the frontline troops in the Realm of Gods.
"Right now, the frontline is fighting fiercely with the Fallen Apostles, and it is as chaotic as it can get." Icetis noticed my gaze, and without waiting for anyone to speak, she took the initiative to report the situation. "At first, it was very smooth. They only encountered small scattered Fallen Apostles, and it seemed like they were scattered. Those scattered fleets were easily destroyed, but the enemy reacted very quickly. Currently, the Protoss army is facing a large number of integrated fleets, and the Fallen Apostles should have activated strategic weapons similar to the Garden of the Departed or the high-level planetary battleships. The frontline reports that the various rules and universal constants on the battlefield have become very strange, and the environment is becoming more and more unfavorable to the Protoss."
"It is a planetary battleship, similar to the Warsong," Sandora immediately deduced. "Something like the Garden of the Departed can only be created by coincidence, and the Fallen Apostles don't have it. If the planetary battleships are on the battlefield, it seems that the enemy's attention has indeed been drawn there. "
The big sister immediately asked, "Then, when do we take action?"
"How many troops have the Protoss deployed so far?" Sandora looked at Icetis.
"This … The calculation of the Protoss's combat power is slightly different from that of your fleets. It might not be easy to convert the military power directly. You can think of it as roughly equivalent to the military power that you have gathered in this place. Yes, slightly stronger, but not by too much. This is already the limit of the military power that we can muster without affecting the expedition plan or weakening the defense of the various worlds. "
I was a little surprised. "So there are only so many? Is the expedition plan really that influential? "
Icetis waved her hand. "What do you think? If it wasn't for the expedition, we could have ten times more military power than we have now! Every expedition, the Protoss will clear out all the void areas that they can reach. The scale is so large that it can shock you. However, there are quite a number of expedition teams that have already set off, and those that haven't are also making preparations. You can't possibly let Father throw the soldiers that are going to be sent to the battlefield tomorrow into another battle in advance, right? "
I nodded as I listened. At the same time, I was secretly surprised by the Protoss's strength. As expected, only the Shiring Apostles of the old Empire could pull out a troop that was about the same size as the Protoss. Although the New Empire was developing rapidly, compared to those old moneybags … there was still a huge gap.
Of course, if Father heard this, he would definitely chuckle and say, "The gap isn't that big. If we work hard, we will catch up …"
Sandora didn't think too much about it. She was only thinking about the march. After pondering for a while, she shook her head. "Let's wait a little longer … The Fallen Apostles have only been lured over, but they haven't been trapped yet. They can easily return to defend. Let's wait a little longer."
Sandora was waiting for an opportunity. She was waiting for the Protoss to completely tie up the Fallen Apostles' troops on the other side of the battlefield. Then, she would launch an attack from this side. That way, we would be able to break through the iron wall of the Abyss with the fastest speed and the lowest price we had to pay. However, there was no telling when this opportunity would come. It could only be an hour or two, or it could be a day or two. But no matter how long it took, as long as we could achieve the results of a direct assault, everything would be worth it.
I looked at the mighty Empire's fleet on the holographic image. Suddenly, I raised my head and looked at Sandora. "If we can scan the Abyss, the Fallen Apostles can also scan the Empire. They should know that we have already sent more troops to the border. At the very least, they should be prepared, right?"
"Of course, they are just unsure of the exact number. I had the Garden of Separation block the Void Route of the Empire as much as possible. So, the number of fleets that the Fallen Apostles can scan should only be about half of the actual number." Sandora smiled nonchalantly. "Actually, it doesn't matter whether they can scan it or not. If I were the commander of the Fallen Apostles, I would have thought that the Empire would stab me from the side the moment I started the battle with the Protoss. It's just that even if they knew that there would be a stab, they wouldn't be able to avoid it. Both sides of the battle aren't fools. Whatever plans the other party has in mind, their respective commanders would more or less have thought of it. Especially when we are facing a bunch of fellows who know the Empire's tactics like the back of their hands … Now, we are just waiting so that the Fallen Apostles will be forced to give up a battle line. Either they will be defeated by the Protoss, or they will be breached by the Imperial Army. There is no other choice. "
I looked at Sandora's figure. All of her attention was currently focused on the holographic projection in front of her. The faint light emitted by the projection device floated on her face, outlining the side profile of a focused Princess Warsong.
Sandora's meaning was very clear. She wasn't worried that the Fallen Apostles would find out about the Imperial Army's movements. Because the situation had already developed to this stage, the Fallen Apostles didn't have many choices to begin with. They could just watch as the Imperial Army and the Protoss gather at their respective borders. However, they could only defend one of them. According to my and Father's plan, the Protoss, who had the ability to fight continuously, would be responsible for pressuring the enemy. The Imperial Army would be responsible for breaking through. That was why we had to wait here until the Protoss's pressure on the other side of the battlefield reached its limit. Then, the Fallen Apostles would have no choice but to give up on this side of the line of defense.
The situation seemed to be going so smoothly that it was a little unexpected. It was hard for me to believe that the Fallen Apostles would fall into such a dangerous situation so easily. They had clearly grown so strong that the New Empire couldn't even catch their breath over the past few years.
Was this enormous Abyss Empire going to suffer the consequences of their own actions just because they had been courting death several times in a row over the past two days?
"Ah Jun, what are you thinking about?" Sandora's voice suddenly sounded from not too far away. I snapped back to reality and voiced out the uneasiness and bewilderment in my heart.
"Indeed, I am also thinking about this." Sandora nodded. "If we could really defeat … No, even if we could only cripple the enemy, I would still feel that all of this is too unreal. They shouldn't be defeated so easily. Just based on the fact that they used to carry the name 'Schilling', they shouldn't be defeated so easily either. So, we have to be careful. Even if we break through the barrier of the Abyss, we can't get carried away. "
Xiaoxue sat on a chair not too far away and closed her eyes to rest. She didn't reply to anyone's questions. She seemed to be accumulating her energy, or perhaps she saw an unstable future path. Thus, she needed to reduce the activity of her "high-level observer" as much as possible in order to reduce the chances of the future collapsing. Lin Xue would often suddenly sink into silence like this and ignore everyone. That was why I wasn't too worried about Xiaoxue's state.
As long as she didn't raise any alarms, it could be considered good news.
Of course, there was also another possibility, and that was that this brat had really fallen asleep …
We didn't have to wait for too long. After a few hours, Xiaoxue suddenly opened her eyes. "It's time to move."
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