There was something that both of us were well aware of, but none of us were willing to mention it. It was something that Sandora and I would only discuss under special circumstances, and that was how much sin those insane Fallen Apostles had committed after the destruction of the Old Empire.
None of them would be willing to see their former comrades fall from glorious warriors into cruel and twisted executioners, especially for the Shiring Apostles who viewed the destruction of the Abyss and glorious battles as the greatest honor of their lives. Being controlled by the power of the Abyss and turned to slaughter their former comrades or other warriors who fought against the Abyss was the greatest shame and filth they could think of. That was why whenever the destruction of the Old Empire was discussed, the thing Sandora was most unwilling to mention was how many worlds that had once belonged to the Old Empire's faction were destroyed by those insane Fallen Apostles. Even if those worlds were not part of the great armies led by the Empire, they were still worthy of being called comrades based on their actions against the Abyss. But after the Shiring Apostles became insane, those "comrades" were the first to suffer.
The Old Empire was vast and ruled over millions of worlds. Not all of those worlds were military zones, but there were many colonized worlds, resource worlds, logistics worlds, or simply home worlds of vassal races. The Old Empire had set up countless military stations and space fortresses in those worlds. In the past, those military stations were the sturdy line of defense that protected the universe, and a world could develop peacefully thanks to the military stations established by the Empire. No matter how ruthless the Iron Empire was when it came to military matters, the civilians of those worlds at least saw those military stations as a symbol of peace and survival.
But with the outbreak of the Great Calamity, those former guardians instantly became demons of slaughter. Calamity hence spread from those military stations that were once great walls of steel just a moment ago.
Countless worlds were destroyed by the cannon fire of the Fallen Apostles, and the majestic country that the Old Empire had built over millions of years crumbled at an unbelievable speed. Many vassal races were slaughtered, star systems were set ablaze, and universes were deleted … Almost all the cross-world passages were under the Empire's control, and the ordinary races in the universe had almost no chance of escaping. Worse still, some of the weaker races had also turned into monsters under the influence of the Abyss, embarking on the path of destroying others and themselves. It was a rapid and despairing chain reaction. Almost overnight, everything was blasted into ruins under the impact of the Abyss that was broadcasted to the entire Empire network. Just like the land that Sandora had once ruled, there were only desolate and distorted space fortresses and broken starships left in the universe, as well as the few descendants of the vassal races who had survived the calamity, and the twisted stories passed down from generation to generation.
Of course, the storm of destruction did not just destroy the Empire. In many worlds near the Empire's ruling zone, the impact of the earth-shattering calamity was no less than that within the Empire's borders. The Fallen Apostles who had destroyed their own country did not stop, and when they realized that there were no more physical worlds to destroy within sight, they decisively turned their eyes to other worlds in their memories — those that had not joined the Empire's faction, fought the Abyss as a third faction, or remained neutral.
Because the upheaval within the Empire's borders was too rapid, and the Empire itself had implemented an extremely tight military lockdown on its own ruling zone, no one knew what had happened in the few days that the unprecedentedly powerful civilization suddenly fell silent. Even the ordinary civilizations that bordered the borders of the Empire's ruling zone and even had trade relations with the latter could not imagine what terrible scene was happening on the other side of the world passage that had suddenly fallen silent amidst the clamor. When the Imperial Army's dark warships charged angrily from the Void, unleashing cannon fire and death upon every innocent world that appeared in their sight, all the civilizations that suffered the attack were confused and could not react at all. The apocalypse had come so quickly that many civilizations quickly and painlessly welcomed the end of the world in confusion …
Those that reacted were powerful advanced civilizations. The Void was vast, and the Abyss attacked every orderly world indiscriminately. Naturally, it was not limited to the territories of the Protoss and the Xiling Empire. The civilizations that fought against the Abyss were certainly not limited to the Galacticus and the Schilling Faction. Many powerful ordinary civilizations were also fighting against the Abyss, and those that were qualified to fight against the Abyss had at least reached the level where they could transcend universes and modify the laws of mathematics. Such civilizations had suffered heavy losses in the face of the Empire's sudden attack, but they still held on and had a chance to catch their breath.
The Fallen Apostles, who had attacked other worlds in a frenzy, were slightly hindered by these powerful stragglers and stragglers. That was how the Phantom Fleet came to be — they were the survivors who had seized the last chance to escape from their own universe during the apocalypse.
After all, no matter how powerful the ordinary civilizations of the Third Faction were, they could not compare to the behemoth that was the Xiling Empire, especially when they were a bunch of crazy Empire soldiers whose brains had been seriously fried. Under the almost frenzied attacks of the Fallen Apostles, no matter how powerful the defense line was, it did not last long. The independent armies of the various worlds that were hastily organized did not hold out for long on the frontlines before they had no choice but to arrange for fleets to cover the last survivors of their races as they escaped from their own universe.
It was a mass evacuation of many worlds at the same time. Countless fleets of Void escape from their home universes that were on the verge of collapse under the relentless pursuit of the Fallen Apostles, plunging into the equally treacherous Void. The fleets were huge in scale, but their numbers quickly decreased. The huge loss was not only due to the pursuit of the Fallen Apostles, but more importantly, the dangers of the Void. Many civilizations did not have mature Void navigation technology. They might have the ability to use the Void as a bridge to leap into another world, but they definitely did not have the technology to survive in the Void for long. However, the situation at the time was that almost every world they could find was already shrouded in the Fallen Apostles' bombardment. There was not a single world on the battleship's navigation map that was safe. No matter where the fleets anchored, they would only be greeted by the fleets of the Empire that would arrive in an instant.
As well as the cannons that would also arrive in an instant.
A portion of the fleets risked their lives and jumped into the universe that they believed to be relatively safe. Most of the fleets that made such a choice were torn to shreds by the Empire's extra-dimensional firepower. The remaining ones wandered in the Void, and when their energy was exhausted, they slowly disintegrated.
In the end, the fleets that could persist in the Void for a long period of time, all the way until they escaped the area of influence of the Fallen Apostles, were less than ten percent of the fleets that had initially evacuated. Moreover, almost all of the fleets were severely damaged.
The council told us this part of history. Due to the mutation of her life form, she was directly connected to the starship's database. When she narrated these matters, there was almost no fluctuation of emotion, as if she was narrating a story.
"The fleets used close to a thousand years to temporarily escape the pursuit of the Imperial Army. The survivors were less than a tenth of what they had when they first set off. A portion of the fleets were already unable to continue. The majority of the fleets did not have any extra starships or resources to continue supporting them. They could only take the risk of jumping into the main material plane before the starships disintegrated. Most of them ended up in some desolate universe, lacking resources and population. They also did not have any essential basic industries. These stragglers, who were fortunate enough to be left behind, hurriedly found a new home and started their own civilization from the beginning. They used the remaining Void equipment on their warships to maintain contact with the majority of the fleets that were still wandering for more than a thousand years. The final records showed that many of them had already fallen into planetary civilizations, and some of them were destroyed by the universe's environment. The remaining fugitives continued to wander in the Void, because no one knew how long the Imperial Army would pursue them. You … They never knew what it meant to give up. Faced with such an army, no one dared to stop. It was after the last batch of starships that had fallen behind terminated their communication with the Yonad people that they carried out a complete fusion, forming the council. Otherwise, we, who had been heavily damaged by the Imperial Army when we set off, would have been one of the stragglers.
"After wandering for a long time, even the most powerful civilization began to run out of resources, and the number of starships that could continue to operate dwindled. While the Empire's warships seemed to have given up on the pursuit, the wandering fleets were about to be devoured by the Void. The once massive fleet of starships regrouped again and again, until there were only five Combined Fleets left. The five highest commanders finally discussed and decided to split up, drifting endlessly towards five unexplored Void 'quadrants' until the entire fleet ran out of resources and left the Void on the spot. What universe they landed in was entirely up to fate. We firmly believed that there would always be a 'quadrant' in the vast Void that not even the Empire could find.
"After that, tens of thousands of years passed. Although the five fleets had split up, we still tried our best to maintain contact. During that period, our fleet, the Fourth Combined Fleet, went through the largest and most risky reorganization: abandoning all of our warships and using all of our remaining resources to support the Toberu starship fleet. The Toberu, or rather, the higher Toberu insectoids, were the civilization with the highest technology and productivity in the fleet. They were also the only lifeforms that had the talent for psionic energy. When they realized that the fleet's efficiency was getting lower and lower, and that their ability to continue developing in the Void was zero, the council determined that only lifeforms like the Toberu, who were not afraid of psionic radiation and had mastered the technology of the Void Laboratory, could promote the development of the colony. They tried their best to prolong the fleet's endurance. In the end, as you can see, there was only one type of starship left in the wandering fleet, and that was the Toberu's starship. That was the history of the Fourth Combined Fleet. "
I was silent for a moment before I asked softly, "There are still four fleets left, they are now …"
Actually, I didn't have to ask that question because the young soldier had revealed the fate of the other fleets.
"The First, Second, and Third Fleets encountered the Imperial Army and were destroyed." A hint of pain flashed across the council's face, but it quickly calmed down. "The situation of the Fifth Fleet is unknown, and in the end, only the Fourth and Fifth Fleets survived. We still maintained communication until six hundred years ago, when they had already wandered to a faraway region in the Void that no one had ever reached before. They were in a large, desolate world, and the communication between us had been intermittent for more than ten years. In the end, we still lost contact, and we don't know if they still exist. I hope that they are still alive — the population of the Fifth Fleet was almost twice that of the Fourth Fleet.
"In other words, within the known Void, you are the only exiles left alive," Joshua said with a smile.
Sandora sighed softly and looked at the council with a complicated expression.
The other party nodded silently.
"Right, I also remembered something." I suddenly remembered a detail that I had been concerned about. "When I came over just now, I saw some Empire symbols in this fortress of yours, as well as the remnants of Empire equipment and the like. What's going on? Is it the Fallen Apostle warship that you captured in the crossfire? "
"No, it's something brought by the 'survivors'." The council shook its head. "Even though the Imperial Army is our mortal enemy, we have to admit that their technology far surpasses the Combined Fleet's. To survive, we will use everything we can, including the enemy's weapons."
"Survivors?" The elder sister could not help but repeat the word. "What survivors?"
The council closed its eyes. "The former Empire minions. When the catastrophe happened, the Empire's soldiers attacked all targets, including their original servants. However, under normal circumstances, the Empire minions have very sophisticated Void navigation technology. These technologies came directly from the Empire, which gave them a higher chance of escaping. Many Empire minions escaped from the Empire's territory. They brought along a large number of technologies and warships, and joined up with the Combined Fleet. At first, a short battle broke out between us. Then, we understood what happened in the Xiling Empire's territory, and the battle ended. Both parties formed an alliance, and the Empire's equipment that they brought with them were used to fill up the Combined Fleet's warehouse. "
The Parliament's explanation enlightened me. No wonder there were traces of the Empire in this planet's fortress. It seemed that not all vassal races were as unlucky as the natives of Mobrador when the Great Calamity broke out. Some vassal races that possessed superior technology and a greater amount of the Empire's equipment were fortunate enough to escape. After that, they met up with the fleeing fleet. I think that the Empire's initial position in the Combined Fleet must have been very awkward.
My guess was immediately confirmed by the council. Although the descendants of the Empire's survivors were no longer discriminated against in the Combined Fleet, in the early days, the Empire's survivors and the exiles were full of conflict. The conflict mainly stemmed from the latter's hatred and fear of the Fallen Apostles, and the Empire's minions were treated as the devil's spokesmen. This conflict lasted for nearly a thousand years, until basically all the first generation of Empire's survivors and exiles had died. After a few generations of new citizens, the relationship between the two sides was greatly eased. The Empire's survivors used the Void technology that they inherited from the Empire to greatly extend the Combined Fleet's endurance in the Void, while the exiles worked hard to help the survivors correct their technology tree and rebuild their ability to develop. As we all know, under the control of the Empire's technological shackles, the vassal races would basically deviate their technology tree. Once they left the Empire's "blood transfusion", it would not take long for them to become a group of primitive people who only knew how to flip the switch on a ready-made machine.
We had a general understanding of the Wraith Fleet. Sandora muttered to herself for a moment before saying, "I basically understand. What do you think about our information?"
"The credibility is less than a hundred percent, but it does not seem to matter whether we believe it or not." The Congress was as straightforward as ever, pouring out the most serious questions like a narrative. "Right now, the coalition fleet cannot affect the operation of the Imperium's army much. We can only guarantee that we will launch an absolute counterattack when you attack."
"In other words, as long as we don't attack you, you won't cause trouble, right?"
Sandora's expression softened as she asked, and the council immediately answered with certainty. "There's no need to hide this issue. The Combined Fleet does not have the power to attack the Imperial Army."
"So, what do you plan to do in the future?" Miss Lin, who had been silent all this while, suddenly spoke. "Continue to drift?"
"If possible, the Fourth Combined Fleet will continue to drift. We will drift into the depths of the Void until we have no choice but to stop. Of course, the premise is that you can really let us go. "
"I'm afraid I have bad news for you." Liliana suddenly jumped over and made a ruckus. "After many years of silence, the Fallen Apostles have actually resumed their activities. The place where you are now is within the attack range of the Fallen Apostles. The reason you are still alive is that this place is also the Protoss's surveillance zone and the New Empire's territory. In other words, if the fleet in exile continues to move forward, once you leave the Empire's and the Star Region's line of sight, you will immediately be attacked by the Fallen Apostles — just like the time when you were forced to leave your home many years ago. "
It had to be said that a person with a background in psychology was indeed different. Liliana's words immediately poked at the other party's scars.
The council immediately fell into a state of confusion. Obviously, her logical judgment told her that the credibility of our words was relatively high. However, another logical judgment also told her that when it came to matters related to the Empire, even a one percent mistake could be a fatal factor. Even if the credibility of our entire family was 99.9 percent, the remaining 0.1 percent of untrustworthiness was enough for her to ponder for a long time. Shallow Shallow was an impatient person. When she saw that the other party had begun to calculate again and dawdled for a long time without making up her mind, she immediately stomped her feet and shouted, "Why are you still drifting? It's so dangerous out there! Our house is huge. We can let you live there! "
As the matriarch of the Empire, Shallow Shallow was currently arrogant. She was clearly satisfied with just a three-bedroom apartment, but now, she dared to make a big fuss and bestow land to the other party. Heh!
"The ultimate goal of the fleet in exile is to find a stable home, right?" I tried to move the council's emotions. Although I didn't know if the other party's emotional state was still the same as a normal person's, I spoke very sincerely. "Although I dare not say that the territory of the New Empire is absolutely safe, it is at least safer than the void. The Fallen Apostles have indeed started to move again. If we continue to drift in such a situation, not to mention that we are leading so many seriously aged Specter Ships that can't even fit a crew, we will be facing a calamity at any time."
"Emperor of the Shiring Apostles, what you mean is that you want the Allied Fleet to settle down in the territory of the Empire?"
The council's face was expressionless as she asked in a very serious tone.
At this moment, I also realized that I might have spoken too rashly. This invitation didn't seem like much to me, but to the crew of the fleet in exile, it seemed a little too sensational. Not to mention anything else, after the end of World War II, if you tried letting a Jew stay in an old Nazi's house, it would be a natural phenomenon to see who would beat the brains out the next day …
But at this moment, I couldn't take back my words. I could only bite the bullet and nod. I hoped that the council, who was a super intelligence formed from tens of thousands of souls, could use pure logic to think about this. This was indeed something that I couldn't accept emotionally, but if I were to think about it logically, I really couldn't think of a safer solution than this.
After waiting for a full ten minutes, the council seemed to have finally completed her logical calculations. Under our expectant gazes, she reluctantly nodded. Then, she added, "I can pass this proposal, but I will be broadcasting all the information to the entire Allied Fleet. Their future will be decided by them."
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.
