Him and their stars.

Chapter 2051 Xia Li, Xia Li Goes First

In short, as a projection of will, Brunhilde came as swiftly as he left. This is the benefit of information in a material world.

And so, everything calmed down and the dust settled. Even the spirit fire puppets wrapped in armor that were leaning against the walls of the space remained standing obediently in place, just like a group of dedicated decorative statues.

She didn't even take her distant grandniece with her.

...But then again, if we're really talking about seniority, should she be a granddaughter or a great-granddaughter?
Interestingly, Slein Wang Feilian actually stopped crying, stood up, dusted herself off, wiped the tears from her face, and said with lingering fear, "They're finally gone! Waaah, that scared me to death! I'm so glad I survived!"

So, which side are you on, girl?

"I never imagined that His Highness Prince Brunhilde of Suliuka would be this type," Gongsun Qing said, looking at Feifei and Yulian with a clear, innocent confusion in his eyes.

"She...did she come here specifically to threaten us?"

“She didn’t threaten you,” Fei Fei said with a smile. “With her endorsement, your Gongsun family will at least not be purged.”

"Yes, is that so?" The Sword Saint nodded hesitantly. "So, I should thank her?"

"Who knows? At least her hostility wasn't that obvious or direct." Fei Fei's gaze drifted to the row of spirit puppets still standing at the edge of the space. With a casual wave of her hand, those alchemical bodies, which had already shrunk by more than half, turned into small flames and merged into their shadows on the ground, disappearing in an instant.

Fifi looked troubled: "They really are mine now. Should I also thank His Highness King Suliuka for sending these treasures?"

Why not? Yu Lian was about to add this with a smile when he was suddenly glared at fiercely by Fei Fei.

"It's all your fault!"

"Huh? Is this my fault too?"

"Yes, it's all your fault. Little fish, you'd better remember this: you're the one who raised this most powerful ruling class. Take responsibility as soon as possible! Until you find a way to be responsible, they'll be watching you closely."

Having come this far, what could Yu Lian possibly say in response? He was also desperate. As a mature and emotionally intelligent adult, he certainly knew what he should say at this moment: "I'll try my best. However, even if I find a responsible method, I hope you will continue to keep an eye on things, until the very end..."

"Heh, you don't need to tell me that." Fei Fei snorted coldly, her face showing a certain degree of disdain, but her affectionate gaze was almost dripping with tenderness.

Gongsun Qing finally couldn't help but stomp his foot and loudly interrupt, "You guys better hurry up! What are we supposed to do now? This underground palace is so big, are we going to keep digging? Didn't you say that these talismans are spiritual treasures?"

On the murals on the dome of the underground palace, the warm and gentle light still seems like a flowing stream, flowing gently and naturally, forming a complex and magnificent picture.

Even after the battle and the anomaly, these magnificent psionic arrays remained completely unchanged, and even the murals as a whole did not change color. The outline of the deity in the center was still spectacular, majestic and sacred, making one want to knock it down with two knives to see its quality.

"Well, we've already gained a lot today. If we push things too far, our connection will inevitably end sooner." Fei Fei looked at the magnificent underground palace, a hint of amusement in her smile: "My intuition tells me that this is definitely not the last time I'll come here."

Her tone was somewhat meaningful, and that's certainly how it sounded to those who were paying attention.

At least, Miss Slein, whose emotions were stabilizing, couldn't help but look up at the other person, and seemed to have entered a state of thought, before being tapped on the head by Gongsun Qing.

"Why?" She covered her head and glared at the Sword Saint, her confusion about to turn into resentment and humiliation.

"Don't overthink it, this is for your own good." The Sword Saint gave a serious warning, then added, "However, to be honest, I just wanted to tease you."

Perhaps because this guy was so blatant, the girl covered her head, speechless with astonishment, and even forgot to be angry.

So, out of basic courtesy as mature adults, everyone actually took an elevator back to the surface—don't be fooled by the fact that this enormous royal tomb was built like a giant demon king's palace, it wasn't anti-civilization and still had basic scientific equipment.

Yu Lian did remember that he led Fei Fei and the others down into the underground palace, and the other comrades, following his instructions, also landed "exploration teams" at various important targets on Lie Wang Xing.

This planet is, after all, a sacred planet, and there are many more valuable targets than just a royal tomb.

The information he obtained from that virtual timeline alone included the locations of six zero-element mines and complete data on three planetary-level giant phantom beasts.

Just as he was about to contact other departments, he received a message from the bridge, sent by his loyal and dedicated Captain Nemo.

Less than two hours had passed since their last conversation, but Yu Lian felt as if a lifetime had gone by. Nevertheless, he asked casually, "Is there any big news?"

"Lady 1412 informed us that an Imperial fleet is confirmed to be gathering at the entrance to the Dragon's Nest. She shared her reconnaissance view with us, and based on the current movements of the Imperial fleet, they will be entering the Dragon's Nest soon."

1412? Who is that?
Speaking of which, it seems that Miss 9527 from before has passed away. I had completely forgotten about it.

The captain quickly explained, "After you left, three more Tier 3 Zerg hive warships arrived in the Eight Kings system, saying they were responsible for liaison and cooperation with us. Their... well, their commander is Ms. 1412."

So far, the Zerg swarm has used three types of Leviathan warships, and the Earthlings have adopted the simplest and most intuitive numbering system. The so-called Tier 3 warships may sound a bit unconventional, but they are about the size of light cruisers and are the smallest "warships" in Shirley's Zerg swarm.

However, to be fair, the fact that Shirley has managed to launch a secondary fleet shows that her recent troop production efforts have been very effective.

At this moment, the captain also sent the latest real-time information.

Yu Lian soon spotted an orange-red star, shimmering with a steady and soothing natural light. It was, of course, an ordinary star system in its prime, something you could find anywhere. But who could know that this ordinary star system, known as the "Twilight Gate," was actually the only way to enter the Dragon's Nest?
Yu Lian soon spotted the Imperial fleet gathering in the star system's ring—a mobile fleet of over two hundred warships, including two dreadnoughts and ten battlecruisers.

The two dreadnoughts are a Flame Dragon and a Corona.

The owner of that Corona-class ship should be Vice Admiral Nobof, a veteran of the garrison fleet in the Terai Star Sector. As for that black-painted Flame Dragon…

Damn it, it's Yanlong again. I'm so tired of seeing it.

Of course, considering that for the fifty years following the end of the Seventh Galactic War, this Dreadnought was hailed as the most versatile large capital ship in the entire universe, it's likely that this indescribable fatigue will continue. On the other hand, among battlecruisers, there is the Beast-class, with its very pacifist blue and white paint scheme—who else could it be but the Jade Rabbit?
Wow, Brother Suo, you're like a persistent ghost... no... it's been so long!

You, a mere ordinary person, earning only a couple thousand yuan a month, why are you risking your life like this?

Although Yu Lian wanted to express his feelings, he could tell from the way the Imperial fleet was gathering at Mumen that the enemy had already decided to let him enter the Dragon's Nest.

However, no matter how ruthless the Imperial Army is, it cannot arbitrarily send a large army into the Dragon's Nest to "disturb the eternal slumber of the kings." They need to wait for the Heavenly Realm's approval.

Even through the void, Yu Lian could clearly feel the torment endured by this imperial fleet.

"This is the reconnaissance effect of the swarm," Fei Fei asked curiously.

"Yes, the footage is from 1 hour and 16 minutes ago," Captain Nemo reported. "Our sensors deployed near the Twilight Gate also confirm this."

Yu Lian carefully observed the newly arrived black Flame Dragon-class dreadnought. Perhaps because his thoughts had transcended time, the scene zoomed in, and the short sword emblem on the side of the black ship became clearly visible.

“Oh, the internal security forces of the Grand Inquisition!” Fifi said.

"This, this is the Law Balance! One of the two dreadnoughts of the Internal Affairs Force." The young prince also came over to glance at the screen, his face full of doubt.

Although the Galactic Empire is not a strict police state, it is, after all, a heinous militaristic (meow) state. Because of this, there are necessary checks and balances, and naturally there is an army that is independent of the Grand Marshal's Office, namely the so-called "Internal Guard Fleet".

Although it had the feel of a secret police force, its equipment and combat capabilities were above average, and its size was considerable. The Marine Corps consisted of four reinforced armored grenadier divisions totaling 200,000 men, while the fleet also had a "supervisory" fleet of around 200 ships, with two Dreadnoughts as its flagships, named after the twin gods of judgment in Imperial mythology, "Soul Forger" Ita and "Scales of Justice" Uro.

This is the true value of one of the two poles, and the galaxy's largest military power. Their internal security forces, used to "monitor" illegal activities across the land, are now capable of carrying out most orders to destroy nations.

Of course, that's not the point. The point is that the speed at which the internal security forces arrived always raises questions.

It's important to understand that this army was theoretically only responsible to the emperor. However, a wise emperor would always act as an arbitrator on a higher level, so most of the time, the Grand Tribunal would be in charge of commanding the army.

Speaking of which, who is the current Grand Inquisitor? Oh, right, I remember it's that middle-aged woman named Duke Gérard.

To be fair, I've beaten up quite a few Imperial generals and high-ranking psionicists, but it's rare to find someone who's been beaten up twice.

I wonder if she is still in good health?
“Poor Mr. Sobek,” Fei Fei suddenly sighed.

Seeing that Gongsun Qing and Xiao Siwang were looking at her with suspicion, she explained, "Our commander has always anticipated the enemy's moves and has been invincible. Even if the Privy Council's nerves were as strong as dinosaurs, they would have suspected that there was a traitor in the Imperial Army long ago."

Gongsun Qing suddenly realized: "Indeed, General Suo is also a good friend of the commander! Back during the 'War of Judgment,' the 'Dawn Wolf' was ranked alongside the 'Dawn Dragon.'"

King Slein retorted confidently, "There has never been any equal ranking. The Wolf of Dawn and the Dragon of Daybreak have never been equals. This is just a forced 'equal ranking' by the imperial high command to save face. We all know this perfectly well."

Which side is this guy on anyway?
Feifei looked at the young prince with great interest, as if she were watching a visual spectacle. Then, her gaze toward Yu Lian was filled with deep resentment and blame, as if she were looking at a sinner for all time.

“No matter what, he’s still your friend, and he’s just a minor nobleman, which makes him inherently suspicious,” Fei Fei said.

“If the court really wanted to take action against a mere Sobek, it wouldn’t have needed to deploy the Scales of Justice,” Yu Lian said.

Moreover, although Brother Suo is just a fallen nobleman, he has managed to get to where he is today, and he has no shortage of reputation, connections, or powerful backers.

Thinking of this, Yu Lian said proudly, "Shouldn't we think like this? I, an invincible military god, have already wiped out too much of the Empire's manpower. Their forces are stretched thin, and they even have to send in the internal guards responsible for supervision to fill the gaps?"

“…Well, considering that two-thirds of the Empire’s forces are abroad, and the largest strategic cluster even sat in Femor for an entire war, this statement isn’t exactly arrogant.” Fei Fei shrugged. “However, if I were in the Privy Council, wouldn’t the first person I’d investigate be Prince Su? In terms of personal relationships, who could be better than her? Sure enough, they’re still just a bunch of lackeys of a feudal totalitarian state who only look after who they are.”

Although these words carried obvious resentment, they actually made a lot of sense.

Yu Lian looked at the live feed again and thought it would be better if they could get a closer shot and capture it more clearly.

He had barely had this thought for a few seconds when the image zoomed in again, becoming clearer. With Yu Lian's current eyesight, he could not only clearly see the hull numbers and insignia of those capital ships, but he could even vaguely make out the flames flickering around the fleet.

Who are they fighting?
Before Yu Lian could ask any questions, the captain quickly explained, "Ms. 1412 informed us that the Overlord has launched an attack on the Imperial fleet in the direction of Twilight Gate. The battle is still ongoing."

"..." It's Shirley, when did you become so brave? I still prefer the cowardly and timid you from before, why don't you come back to your old self?

Yu Lian was momentarily at a loss for what expression to wear.

The captain continued, "Due to limited manpower, our allies are indeed at a disadvantage. However, Lady Overlord has already arranged an evacuation route, so you can rest assured. This is, of course, a message relayed by Lady 1412."

Then, at the edge of the scene, large numbers of strangely shaped flying objects, resembling giant crabs, swept across the gloomy and deep void from the edge of the starry sky.

They opened their claw-like organs, the meaning of which was unclear, and sprayed plasma projectiles that condensed into blazing orbs of light towards the continuous strip of lights formed by the Imperial fleet.

"The composition is good. Little Sister Xia Li has a great sense of aesthetics. Even if she can't become the ruler, she can still be a good painter," Fei Fei commented.

Yes, it's probably a talent she inherited from her father.

Yu Lian thought of those paintings of Count Salvin holding Xia Li in his "Stargazing" and felt a pang of sadness.

Thus, before the demigods Yu Lian and Fei Fei engaged the Imperial Army in battle, the Zerg swarm had already begun its operations.

(End of this chapter)