Him and their stars.

Chapter 2074 Waiting for the Nemesis

As Commander Yu gripped his old knife and entered a state of deep thought, his comrades, who were not lacking in initiative and ability, exchanged glances and, after a brief moment of confusion, quickly and seamlessly switched to military discussion mode.

"Isn't he a civil servant?"

“All electors held military positions. The distinction between civil and military officials among the imperial nobility was not so clear to begin with.”

"To rise from general to prime minister... Ha, doesn't that seem a bit too old-fashioned?"

"The people of the Empire firmly believe that an excellent soldier can become an excellent bureaucrat, and these things are interconnected."

"Okay, although it sounds a bit anti-civilizational, it's still more reliable than being a lawyer or journalist."

Objectively speaking, everyone acknowledges that King Velent was indeed a very capable dragon king.

During the war, he oversaw the empire's military production and mobilization. Although, thanks to a certain invincible dragon, the empire suffered heavy losses on the front lines, its army and warships never diminished, and it maintained absolute pressure on Earth until the latter finally succumbed to that pressure.

...Of course, the above work was actually done by King Wei and Chancellor Valpolis together, but even if he was only serving as a deputy, he certainly had the ability of a chancellor.

Considering that this person is also a top scientist and engineer, he can be described as an extraordinary genius.

If we ignore the overly dazzling queen, this one might be the most outstanding among the current Dragon Kings.

The only problem is that he lacks the military achievements that the Tirelo war-crazed people value most.

"However, I have never heard of him having the abilities of a famous general."

"He was the commander on the Imperial side during Operation Snake Slayer."

"Although that operation was large in scale, wasn't it ultimately just a counter-terrorism operation?"

"And the main credit should belong to Commander Yu, right?"

"Yes, he's just a mascot for the Empire. Let's leave aside the fact that Princess Rainbow Rose of the Alliance is a legitimate Special Executive Officer of the Bureau, but it's hard to say about the King of Wei."

"He participated in actual combat and led from the front."

"Yes, he is, after all, the Dragon King, and he did participate in actual combat. It's impossible that he doesn't even have basic military skills, right?"

"Well, speaking of the Dragon King, we still have one imprisoned on our ship right now," Gongsun Qing couldn't help but interject during the debate.

Everyone looked at each other, speechless for a moment, creating another moment of awkward silence.

So, in the end, everyone had no choice but to reluctantly agree that although they were unsure of this person's background and there was indeed a possibility that "in Shu, where there are no great generals, Liao Hua can be the vanguard," since they had already come all this way, they still couldn't let their guard down.

"In addition, the flagship has been confirmed as the Yuanlong," Deng Zhengqing added.

Like "Xiaolong", it is also one of the eight dragon-shaped deities in the classical mythology of the Empire who are in charge of the feng shui of all worlds and the distribution of the four seasons.

So, it's obvious that this should be a sister ship of the same class as the Titan, the Night Dragon. Its endurance is mediocre, and its maneuverability is even a bit lacking, but its shields are very thick and its firepower is very strong, even exaggerated to the point of being equipped with the main guns of the Fortress class.

"Based on the ship's hull projection we have obtained so far, it is indeed a ship of the same class as the Xiaolong. Moreover, it should have just completed construction and started testing on December 18th of last year."

"Two weeks later than the Sunset Angels that were following us."

"This probably means they haven't even finished the second round of testing."

"Does the Imperial Army think they can fight against our Silent Ship by using mobile fortress cannons?"

"Logically speaking, this is certainly plausible. Our Silent Ship has never fought a Titan ship of the Empire in a one-on-one battle, has it? The Imperial devils must have fantasies about this."

"Why fight them one-on-one? Should we fight soldiers against soldiers and generals against generals? This isn't a storytelling performance."

"However, the firepower of the Xiaolong-class is there for all to see, and that is an objective threat."

"Theoretically speaking, if it really is a large positron cannon from a fortress, it could indeed cause massive damage to the magnetic field and gravitational links of my nanocluster. If I were hit by several shots in a short period of time, the nanomachines' recovery rate wouldn't be able to keep up with the chain reaction of disintegration. If there's any weapon that can inflict direct hard damage on the Silent One, this is one of them." The last sentence was spoken by a certain robot lady.

She was dressed in a military uniform, blending into the crowd, and gave herself a suggestion. If it weren't for the marshal's rank on her shoulder, one would really think she was some tea girl who was just there to make up the numbers in the staff headquarters.

"We must avoid being attacked by the main guns of the Yuanlong."

"The arc cannon is within the effective range of the positron cannon and the light spear cannon. Once we encounter the enemy, we must make the Yuanlong our primary target and we must not relax our vigilance in the slightest."

"Then we must seize the initiative in artillery fire. However, the Titan's size advantage is too obvious, unlike any other type of Imperial warship. We must be prepared that even if we hit it more than ten times, we will not be able to inflict any effective damage."

"Hahaha, this is already an unimaginable feat. No, it's clearly a spectacle on the battlefield. In any major war over the past thousand years, have there not been countless instances of Titans standing firm after taking hundreds of shells without a scratch?"

"In short, we must also guard against the enemy using battlecruiser formations to restrict our operational space."

In conclusion, although everyone felt that it was a bit unreliable for a commander who had never been known to have any military skills to lead a bunch of brand-new warships with still-wet paint and lingering formaldehyde to the city gates, they still could not underestimate the enemy.

Even if we take a step back and assume that this is exactly what the enemy is planning to do to make us underestimate them, it's possible that this is a scheme by the enemy to make us underestimate them.

A truly victorious army, even if it may strategically despise the enemy, will still take them seriously tactically.

"Everyone, please remember this: the enemy before us is still a formidable foe, but it may also be the last obstacle we must overcome," Captain Nemo said.

After the captain's reminder, everyone suddenly realized that as long as they defeated the enemy in front of them, who looked like a ragtag bunch, wouldn't they be facing an empty capital?

The achievements of the Sky Conqueror are thus laid bare before us.

"We are following the banner of history!"

Yes, Commander-in-Chief is the conqueror, and we mere mortals, as followers, will surely also grace the glorious pages of history. Captain Nemo successfully reminded everyone of this once again. Thus, the remaining fleet continued its advance according to the original plan. At this juncture, no change was the best change, a point everyone agreed upon.

Then, after another 72 hours of normal marching, when the Silent Ship was even able to receive military news from the local television station in the Shengyuan Star District, everyone received the latest updates on the enemy fleet.

After King Werrent's fleet entered Shengyuan, it sailed all the way into Chenxiao Fortress and then did not move an inch outside for more than 30 hours.

"Is this a strategy of relying on Chenxiao Fortress's stronghold to fight a protracted war with us?" Yu Lian asked with interest.

Very well, since he is a general who is good at military affairs and military equipment but whose military strategy and command are mediocre, choosing this kind of operation is a traditional skill.

“Indeed, we cannot rule out this possibility.” Deng Zhengqing agreed, and further explained, “How many troops would be needed to sink the Ghost head-on and defeat the Demon… well, defeat you? Even if Emperor Elither himself came here, I’m afraid he would have difficulty giving a definitive answer. One Titan, twelve battlecruisers, and five aircraft carriers—the military might look impressive, but most of them are newly built ships, and their performance cannot be guaranteed. His primary task is to protect the Heavenly Domain, so he might choose the most conservative approach.”

Although the garrison at Chenxiao Fortress has not been at full strength for over a century due to the Empire's military expansion, and many areas have been quietly sealed off, it remains one of the largest fortresses in the Galactic Empire. The Empire can easily restore this massive fortress to its former power by mobilizing garrison troops from various regions.

That all-around, three-dimensional shield with no field of view is a true space fortress. Even against the mysterious properties of the arc cannon, it can withstand it for a long time thanks to its "size advantage".

The fortress's twenty large fortress cannons and tens of thousands of various types of firepower are enough to make any enemy attacking from any direction feel an impenetrable barrage of fire.

Moreover, the King of Wei had a sizable fleet under his command, with ample firepower and mobility, capable of forming a pincer movement with the fortress at any time, making it a force that could both attack and defend.

It must be admitted that if a protracted war were to be fought, Chenxiao Fortress would be the best battlefield.

But is it really that simple?

Yu Lian wasn't the only one with doubts; his comrades-in-arms also shared them. They all felt the matter shouldn't be so simple: "If this is the case, wouldn't the vast Shengyuan star system just be left for us to wreak havoc?"

"Yes, King Velent should at least not be a cowardly and weak person. Such a person could never become the Dragon King."

"Or rather, the Empire is pinning its hopes on the enemy fleet that is coming from behind us."

"We cannot rule out this possibility either... no, perhaps this is the most likely possibility. The only organized force of the Empire blocking our way is the Prince of Wei's army. But behind us, even excluding the large forces still in Femor and the High Seas, there are more than a thousand warships."

Yu Lian gazed at the holographic star map that everyone had already prepared. The red icon representing him had indeed penetrated into the heart of the Galactic Empire, and his military might was indeed pointing towards the imperial capital, Tianyu.

Thanks to his previous series of brilliant and skillful commands, and of course, also thanks to Shirley's feint to draw fire, he had indeed broken out of the Empire's encirclement.

But now, they have finally realized what's happening.

The black icons representing the Imperial Fleet surged in from all directions, densely packed like a swarm of wasps whose nest had been disturbed.

Judging from the star chart, it's only a matter of time before my lonely, fragile, and powerless spark is swallowed up by the vast, boundless darkness.

However, any veteran crew member who has seen many star charts can see that even if the Yu fleet stops here, the nearest Black one will take at least a week to arrive at the scene.

"The closest force to us is still the main force of the Imperial Guard fleet led by Marshal Betaway. They have also entered the Shengyuan Sector. However, considering the composition of their fleet, they need to rest after such a long march."

In fact, the Yu fleet was marching even faster than them, but because of Little Grey—no, the Silent Ship, a flagship with a built-in nano-"self-healing aura," they had far more room to maneuver than the enemy.

Yu Lian's gaze swept across the surging black cursors. In his view, the Imperial Army's seemingly inescapable net was actually full of flaws. Although their pursuit and encirclement tactics appeared overwhelming, they were undeniably tinged with an unmasked sense of panic.

Yes, once the remaining fleet enters the Celestial Realm, it will make history regardless of victory or defeat. And all the contemporary imperial military and political leaders will also be remembered in history, albeit as villains or clowns.

Under the watchful eyes of his subordinates, he pondered for a moment, then suddenly had some new thoughts. Just as he was about to say something, his gaze was drawn to one of the black dots of light.

Apart from Marshal Betaway's fleet, this icon is the closest to him.

Perhaps it was some kind of intuitive understanding. Anyway, Yu Lian just felt that this icon looked the best to him, so he asked with a smile, "What's this?"

He asked a question for only a second before the star map area there was magnified onto a new screen, and clear annotations appeared under the black fleet icon.

"It's the fleet commanded by Lieutenant General Jaeger Sobek. In addition, the Knights' Dragon Ship, the Sword, and the Inquisition's special warship, the Libra, are also accompanying it, perhaps under his unified command," Deng Zhengqing reported.

Wayne replied, "No, if the Ruyi Sword is traveling with us, the true commander should be Duke Gari Bian, the Grand Master of the Knights of the Stars."

In short, they are all old friends.

Looking at that familiar name, Yu Lian was actually quite moved for a moment.

"Ah! It's actually my nemesis who's neither chuunibyou, nor seductive, nor cheap! Wasn't he supposed to be under investigation? Could it be, or perhaps, a twist of fate?"

"You are underestimating yourself. How can he be considered your nemesis? He is clearly a concept created by the Galactic Empire itself. No serious person would consider him your opponent," Captain Nemo said solemnly, even adopting an admonitory expression.

"Yes, it's just like how they insisted on listing Sigir, Monsz, and Mr. Zi as the three great literary giants of the new 9th century." Unexpectedly, it was Ina who said this.

A girl with only a vocational school diploma, who's obsessed with space-themed martial arts dramas, is pretending to be a cultured person here.

Of course, I still agree with the assessment of Yu Lian's generation. This is similar to how American booksellers insisted on making O. Henry one of the three kings of short stories, forcing him to be ranked alongside Maupassant and Chekhov.

Regardless, out of respect for intellectuals, Yu Lian still advised, "Don't spread these words around. Mr. Qi and those two have a pretty good relationship, and they often chat and laugh together."

“Those two have been dead for over ten years,” Ina muttered.

"Precisely because she's been dead for ten years, it's even less likely she'd say anything inappropriate." Yu Lian was quite relieved. This at least showed that the girl's interests had expanded from space-themed martial arts dramas to the realm of serious literature. Wasn't that an improvement in taste and learning? Wasn't that progress?

Yu Lian waved his hand: "Whether or not we force ourselves to be equal in reputation is a matter for later. At least, the Imperial Army did not do anything that would destroy its own Great Wall."

"That's all thanks to you," Fei Fei said with a smile. "Actually, the closer you are to the Heavenly Domain, the safer these high-ranking Imperial officers with primary color tendencies are. From this perspective, you truly deserve to be called a mentor!"

Although it sounded sarcastic, Fei Fei's tone was sincere, so Yu Lian said he was quite pleased. He then traced a line on the star map: "Then let's wait for my nemesis. How about we take a slight detour and let Breeze Shipyard and Skyfire Star Forging Factory burn down?"