Him and their stars.

Chapter 2010 So we were just there to make up the numbers?
However, just as these rebel leaders said, although the two rebel organizations inside and outside the Gate of Glory, "Liberation of the Tower" and "People's Integration," are developing rapidly, their actions are still quite covert.

The Tatars are secretly developing in the New World, not only taking in the remnants of the raiders, but also making contact with the Earth fleet, providing the latter with a very important sanctuary.

Without them, Eleanor and Wayne would never have been able to infiltrate so close to the Gate of Glory.

Even so, they didn't actually create any big news that would alert the empire.

The attacks on Imperial supply lines that have occurred in the L3 sector of the New World are all the work of Eleanor and Wayne.

As for Mr. Ai Meng's "People's Integration Organization," none of its leaders are even on the wanted list. If it weren't for the "Cold Harbor Riot" a month ago, the Imperial Army might not even know they existed.

Of course, just as Ai Meng said, it doesn't matter even if they knew. Miss Gongsun stole all the limelight, and she was quite smug about it.

"You're not going to pretend nothing happened and continue being your director after this battle, are you?" Yu Lian laughed.

The Empire's elite civil servant shook his head helplessly and said, "I have indeed thought about it, but that would be too insulting to the Empire's intelligence. After this battle, the organization will choose to lie low, and I will probably have to give up this promising job."

"Is the main area of ​​activity still in Tai Lai?"

"The core of the organization is here. But I should go out and explore, and become an adventurer. This is to learn from Mr. Tan. However, Mr. Tan is not an imperial citizen after all. I was born and raised here, so perhaps I can see things more clearly. All the lower classes are oppressed by the empire, but the suffering they endure is not necessarily the same. The failure of the last major uprising has already sounded the alarm for us."

"I see, so that's what your concept of people's unification actually means!"

"This is certainly an immature idea of ​​mine," he said with an embarrassed smile, then said seriously, "After you leave with the fleet, we will also take action. Please don't worry."

Mr. Tuken added, "There are hundreds of millions of tons of supplies in the warehouse of this fortress, and we will try to take away the valuable ones that we cannot produce ourselves for the time being."

“With 500,000 prisoners here, the Empire will definitely be hesitant to attack. Coupled with the losses suffered recently, it’s easy to imagine that all the Imperial fleets in the surrounding star systems will be in a state of panic. Once they have gathered enough troops, they certainly won’t attack again,” Ai Meng said. “Moreover, the person in front of us is Lieutenant General Jaeger Sobyk. I know his record. Although many people think he is an invincible general of our time, I believe that he is actually a meticulous and cautious strategist.”

"A strategist?" Yu Lian's expression was a little strange.

Well, to be fair, Brother Su is quite intelligent outside of fighting, and he is also very proactive and inspiring. He was able to turn a small coal mine into a large-scale energy base, so he can at least be called a "capable official".

Such a person should at least have the potential to become a wise general.

perhaps……

"I believe that the young imperial general you consider your nemesis will undoubtedly become a pillar of the Imperial Army in the future; he is certainly not a reckless and impulsive fool. However, in this situation, I am not afraid of such well-thought-out caution." The former civil servant still appeared quite confident: "Only three to five days are enough for us to set up the destructive devices in this fortress. We will prepare the mechanisms so that the countdown will be triggered the moment the Imperial army sets foot on the fortress. We will also leave a message informing them of the fortress's destruction time. This time will only be enough for them to rescue all the prisoners of war, but certainly not enough to defuse the bombs."

“These prisoners of war will serve as cover for us. Besides, they have already laid down their weapons, so they shouldn’t be tortured and killed. We Tarans are too poor to support hundreds of thousands of pampered imperial lords. Handing them over to their original units in this way is a win-win situation,” Tuken said.

Although they were all traitors to the Empire, none of them intended to carry out a large-scale massacre of ordinary Imperial soldiers who had laid down their arms. Based on this alone, their character far surpassed that of the other traitors.

However, as long as the Empire loses its basic ability to block the Stargate, even if the "rebels" have failed, they will indeed have much more room to maneuver and teleport.

Those rebel armies that failed in the heart of the empire at least had a way out to the New World.

Even if they cannot establish a firm foothold in the L3 sector, which the Empire has been cultivating for so long, where are not places where the rebels can fight, such as the New World Highway, the Lanza system, the Dawn Route, and even the vast Dawn Starfield?

This is, after all, a technologically advanced age of space exploration. If the only goal is to survive, even finding a structurally stable dwarf planet would at least allow a small rebel force to live.

Belial Rivers and his last followers were probably a large group of rebels retreating from the heart of the galaxy. But Yu Lian believed they would definitely not be the last.

...Of course, if things continue to develop this way, the distinction between the rebels and the pirates will likely become increasingly blurred.

But doesn't this seem to be a historical precedent?

"Hahaha, we rebels are pretty much the same as pirates anyway, we even have the same wanted list," Tuken said. "Last month's updated wanted list had pirates ahead and behind me. But I heard that in the early days of the ancient spacefaring era, all the space fleets of the pioneering cosmic races were originally pirates, right?"

“Yes, that includes the Empire and the Alliance,” Yu Lian said.

"If we lose, we're pirates, thugs, and rebels; if we win, we're revolutionaries," Ai Meng declared loudly. But then he gave a wry smile: "However, General, at least for our generation, we're definitely the former, aren't we?"

“Without a doubt,” Yu Lian said.

"Very well. Then I can give up my fantasies." He still looked worried, like a lowly civil servant assigned an impossible task by his boss.

"Although there was an element of gambling involved, my intuition tells me that we can get away with this. General, farewell."

"Farewell, Jianghu. This path is difficult, and many have already fallen behind, but there are always those willing to join this blood-and-fire expedition. Perhaps it won't be long before I need to learn from you all." Yu Lian waved his hand, and a Bifang, as large as three celestial spheres combined, landed beside him.

"What are you..."

"This is one of the secondary mother machines of the Bifang system. As long as enough materials are encountered, they can be decomposed and combined into Bifang sub-units. Its command limit is 1500."

Of course, the construction speed is limited, and the strength is far from that of the original products produced on the ship, but it is still a standard nanoscale multi-functional robot.

"I heard that after you escaped danger this time, you are preparing to set off to write 'An Analysis of the Contradictions Between Various Races and Classes in the Empire.' Take it with you on the road for self-defense," Yu Lian said.

"But, I, this..." Mr. Ai Meng had, of course, witnessed the effects and performance of Bi Fang firsthand. Even the smallest robots, only the size of children's bouncy beads, could crush a fully armed armored grenadier to death inside his mech.

And wouldn't such an oversized one, which I've never seen before, be able to crush even a Star Knight?
However, he still didn't quite understand why it had to be him. "Perhaps they felt that although you have the face of a liberal arts bureaucrat, you look like you have a special affinity for robots," Yu Lian said seriously.

Mr. Ai Meng's eyes lit up, and he finally revealed an almost overwhelmed emotion. He grasped Yu Lian's hand tightly: "General, how did you know that I won the robotics competition in middle school? I even received an admission letter from Feilin University. I dreamed of working in the robotics department of Tianhuo Design Bureau in the future."

"Who asked you?" Yu Lian wanted to complain, but still asked with interest, "Then why aren't you going?"

The former elite civil servant twitched his cheek, a look of melancholy and regret flashing across his face.

“My family has suffered a misfortune. They say that in old-fashioned Tyrero noble families like ours, there are only two choices: to join the army or to go into politics. The rest are considered idleness. Even if you manage to get into the Tenguin Academy, you'll only be a craftsman. Then, my elders burned my acceptance letter and smashed the championship trophy for the robot competition.”

What kind of standard family drama plot is this? Speaking of which, could the trigger for your becoming a rebel be this kind of family feud?

"Alas, what a misfortune for our family. With a father like this, what can we do?" The rebel leader wiped his eyes, looking at Yu Lian with deep emotion, as if he were speaking to his own leader:
"Thank you for helping me rediscover my dreams, General. I will make good use of them."

Well, whether Mr. Ai Meng goes down in history as a revolutionary or as a villain in the empire's history classes is another story.

Yu Lian just felt that this person, in another timeline, had made headlines with just a set of "Gray Mist Robots." Although the "Gray Mist Overlord" died as a terrorist leader under the siege of the Imperial army, he was highly respected in the underworld. Even the opposing alliance called him a "righteous man who resisted the tyranny of the Empire."

Now, with the Bifang Ci master machine, whose performance and versatility have improved by more than one dimension, Yu Lian is even more excited about its future.

Of course, he did have higher hopes for the future of these two rebel groups. They truly didn't see him as their subordinates, but as equals and seekers of truth, and this might be what determined their ultimate potential.

As for the low level, that probably depends on their luck.

After finishing his pleasant conversation with the two rebel leaders, Yu Lian was greeted by Fei Fei.

"General Yu's diplomatic work is going very smoothly, isn't it? The reason you call it diplomacy is because you don't want to treat them as subordinates."

"They were originally a self-organized rebel group. You can't say that just because the founder read a little bit of the original text, they became our subordinates. Even 'Original Color Interstellar,' founded by Lao Tan, never intended to treat its various affiliated organizations as subordinates."

"But what about the future? Morality and foresight are quite fragile in the face of the tide of time. The Pioneer Party is the most powerful primary organization in the entire universe. Even if we just live in seclusion with New China as our base, the balance of power will still be unbalanced."

Yu Lian admitted that Fei Fei's concerns were valid, but still smiled and said, "But that's a matter for the future. I've been sincere with them now, and they've reciprocated. Ai Meng and Tu Ken plan to lead the rebel soldiers to stay and guard Fortress No. 1 until we've all moved, then they'll blow it up and leave."

He then quickly explained the rebels' plan.

Feifei showed obvious surprise and admiration: "This is not gambling, but taking risks. However, taking risks after careful planning is a sign of great wisdom and courage."

Yu Lian nodded: "Those who dare to rebel with swords are all prepared to lose their heads. In fact, I had already guessed their plans to some extent before this happened."

"Therefore, bombing the No. 2 fortress on the other side and driving away all the surrounding Imperial fleets are all to increase the success rate of our allies."

Yu Lian nodded.

Feifei smiled and reported, "Good news has arrived from behind the stargate. The fleet has wiped out the entire Imperial fleet on the other side, with only three destroyers escaping. Currently, our warships are blowing up all the Imperial military facilities over there, and it should be completed in about two more hours."

Very well, whether it's the Silent Ones or the reinforcement fleet from the New World, they all seem to be addicted to the thrill of destroying bases, but Yu Lian still dares to swear to the Spirit of the Universe that this is their own style and has nothing to do with him.

"Tell them to know when to stop and not get too carried away," Yu Lian instructed. This order, though lacking in substance, would have made him look incredibly foolish if he hadn't given it in such a dramatic manner.

“Understood.” Feifei gave Yu Lian a knowing (doting) smile and said, “Eye of the Sky No. 4 just sent a report that Lieutenant General Jaeger Sobek is leading his fleet and the Glory Gate fleet toward Glory T7.”

That's fantastic! They've traversed two or three star systems in an instant, which perfectly matches my preconceived notions about Brother So.

However, just as Mr. Ai said, those who become pillars of the Imperial Army are probably all prone to being cautious. Yu Lian decided not to mock the other party.

“Brother Su is a sensible man. Since he has already given us space, there is no need to be polite anymore. After everyone returns, we will immediately enter the Glory Channel through the Glory Gate No. 4 Gravity Well, take the G123 branch channel, enter the M Corridor, and move towards the Gaixian direction.”

With Yu Lian's abilities, he could give these instructions without even looking at the star map.

Feifei nodded and began to record Yu Lian's orders.

"After passing through the M Corridor, whether to take the detour through the Gaixian Star Zone or directly charge into the inner ring of the Empire depends on whether the enemy cooperates."

Feifei suggested earnestly, "If conditions permit, we might be able to take a detour from Gaixian to Darenko."

"Darrenko? The Dragon Realm? You're not encouraging me to dig up the imperial family's ancestral graves, are you?"

"Why not? Have you forgotten what our ancestors were? My great-grandfather's biggest regret was not finishing digging up the imperial family's ancestral graves." Fei Fei smiled brightly, but her smile was also dangerous.

“Good idea. However, that place will also be Master’s prey.”

"...Is he heading towards the Dragon Realm?"

"This is one of the alternative battlefields he has chosen for his challenge. Since he is going to challenge the emperor, of course he has to be careful in his selection, and he has to make a special trip to scout out the location and so on. This is the self-cultivation of a Nine-Ring True God and his noble sense of ritual!"

Feifei blinked, then let out a long sigh: "So that's how it is. We were just there to make up the numbers."