Him and their stars.

Chapter 2087, Chapter Two Thousand and Eighty-Five: Even before his spiritual power is exhausted, he may not be able to take down the fortress.

Considering that His Highness the Duke's current tone sounded like that of a typical psychic charlatan with an unstable mental structure who was prone to outbursts, and considering that he had already demonstrated this quality in the "Alienation Project," Sobek had no choice but to pretend that he didn't understand and retreated for the time being, completely bewildered.

So, just as the army began to form its battle lines with its backs to the river, and as the armed merchant ship from the Heavenly Realm dropped its last mine, everyone also received news that the Demon Dragon Fleet had arrived at Chenxiao Fortress.

Then came the performance, and just as Sobek had predicted, the atmosphere became awkwardly tense, making one want to scratch their feet, and the Duchess's own expression became quite interesting.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! There are a million people there! A full million people! Where did he get the guts to launch a surprise attack on the fortress?" She waved her arms and shouted loudly, like a flamboyant third-rate stage actor.

Isn't this just going too far? Sobek looked at the Duchess, who was baring her teeth and claws and had lost all semblance of dignity, and felt as if he were looking at an indescribable monster.

By this point, he was completely confused about the attitude of the imperial leadership towards the dragon's expedition.

My intuition tells me that since it's something that's terrifying to think about, I shouldn't dwell on it anymore. That's a good thing for me.

However, he still silently turned on his terminal recorder, preparing to record all his experiences and doubts so that he could discuss them with the Viscountess and the others when he got back.

In addition, it must be relayed to His Highness Brunhilde.

If there was one of the Dragon Kings of the Empire whom Sobaek completely trusted, it would undoubtedly be the one who was still dealing with the "rebellion" of the Ketai people and had not yet entered the Empire's homeland.

Tsk, it just so happens that she would encounter an attack by the Kaitai rebels at this very moment. Don't you think it's too much of a coincidence?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look at his new colleague, Lieutenant General Gong Xiao. Strictly speaking, he, the former pirate king, was personally recruited by Prince Su, who also personally wrote the guarantee. In a sense, the two should be considered partners in their official careers, and could basically be considered as one of the prince's own people in the shogunate.

Then, Sobek saw with his own eyes that this imperial general, who had a bright future because of successfully repelling the dragon, was sitting upright and focused, but his eyes were completely vacant and he was starting to stare blankly.

Then he heard the Duke calling his name loudly.

"What do we do? Should we go and help? Jaeger, what do we do?" The near-demigod psychic looked at him with a bewildered expression, as if he were a pitiful, helpless woman who couldn't go on living.

"Should we go to support Chenxiao Fort immediately? No, no, you're right, it's too late. What's the point of doing anything now?"

It's definitely too late. We're four or five hundred light-years away; by the time we get there, it'll be too late. We might as well hope that Lieutenant General Nobof and Duke Barryen can arrive with reinforcements in time.

"However, what do you mean I'm right? I didn't say anything!" Sobek widened his eyes, wanting to refute, but he couldn't get a word in edgewise at the duchess who was completely absorbed in her own world.

"In short, it's impossible, absolutely impossible! Yes, it's a false alarm! Investigate again and report back immediately!" the Duchess commanded loudly, appearing completely unable to accept reality.

……

However, at the same time, on the Chenxiao Fortress, King Werrent, looking at the flashing warp signal on the screen, also expressed his disbelief: "Impossible, absolutely impossible. The Grand Marshal's Office has already emphasized to us that the Demon Dragon cannot attack our Chenxiao Fortress. That person only has thirty-odd ships. Even if he has the Ghosts of the previous era, it is absolutely impossible for him to break through Chenxiao Fortress."

Of course, compared to the outburst of his distant relative 450 light-years away, King Velent, who had been the chosen emperor for twenty years, still valued his dignity. Although he was surprised, even somewhat horrified, he remained relatively calm overall.

After briefly expressing his disbelief, he composed himself and ordered the entire army to prepare for battle. He also issued a warning to Tianyu and all friendly units.

"Now that things have come to this, there is no other option but to fight." King Velent summoned his men and began to make tactical arrangements.

“But isn’t this a good thing?” Fortress Commander General Huron Yelik appeared confident. A general who had risen through the ranks of the grenadiers and served entirely domestically, he had never experienced the hardships faced by that opposing dragon. More importantly, the state of Chenxiao Fortress and its history indeed gave him ample confidence.

"The Grand Marshal's Mansion had great confidence in the defenses of Chenxiao Fortress, which is why they thought the demonic dragon would take a detour. But now, it has still come. Let's meet it here. His Majesty the Emperor of the Heavenly Realm will witness our victory!"

King Wei also revealed a confident yet seemingly meaningful smile, then calmly nodded: "Yes, I will witness it!"

"But how could he approach here silently? And only be discovered during the leap?" A general still couldn't understand.

The speaker was Admiral Parosson, the fleet's vice commander, a small but experienced veteran.

As is well known, King Werrent was an outstanding military scientist. His main task in the Privy Council was to oversee large-scale military engineering and high-tech research, and to liaise with various top universities, as well as the Heavenly Palace and the Wisdom Palace.

As for commanding troops... the deeply ingrained cultural attributes of the Tirelo people dictate their stringent requirements for their leaders in military affairs; a dragon king who cannot fight is certainly not a good dragon king. However, objectively speaking, His Highness Prince Wei does lack experience in this area, hence the presence of this experienced assistant.

Most of the time, this veteran was the true commander of the fleet.

His ancestors were also immigrants from Earth, but that was three generations ago. Six months ago, his official position was the Dean of the Imperial Royal Fleet Academy. During the war, he repeatedly applied to go to the front lines to command troops, displaying a fanatical devotion reminiscent of a convert, as if he wanted to bury his past.

Now, General Parossun has finally gotten his wish to take to the battlefield, but not necessarily in the way he wants.

In short, as an experienced academic general, Admiral Parosson said he couldn't understand the "dragon's" actions at all.

"The Dragon's fleet has been operating in the Prosperous Garden Sector. It attacked Breeze, Skyfire, and even burned down Green Court's agricultural warehouses. In just one month, half of the strategically valuable targets in the sector have been attacked. They always manage to easily wipe out our garrison, and after completing the attack, they disappear into the vast sea of ​​stars. It's as if the enemy knows all the shipping lanes and defenses in the entire sector. Is this merely due to the performance of advanced ancient warships?"

Admiral Parosson even suspected that if it weren't for the fact that Fort Chenxiao was equipped with the most powerful detectors and the latest active gravity source radar, and if the mass reaction of warship warp was an astrophysical characteristic that could not be concealed, the fortress might have already been hit by the enemy's arc cannons by the time he discovered the enemy fleet.

Having suffered so many losses, even the most shrewd Imperial Army leaders should have realized that the invisible energy cannons, which vaguely possessed spatial jump and shield penetration capabilities, were the legendary Arc Cannons still in testing.

But what good is knowing? Without resolving the issue of stabilizing space dissociation energy, this weapon is still a long way from being officially deployed. Of course, this isn't the veteran's main concern right now.

What he could never accept was how the other party had managed to move so freely through the heart of the Empire's Shengyuan region.

In this way, wouldn't his and the Prince Wei's act of hiding in Chenxiao Fortress with their fleet appear particularly cowardly? Shouldn't they be held responsible for the Shengyuan soldiers and civilians who died under the Demon Dragon's cannon fire?

Anyway, there will definitely be people in Tianyu who will find fault with this.

"I'll probably never get to receive the marshal's baton in my lifetime," General Parosson thought, his voice tinged with sadness.

Admiral Yelik reassured him, "There's no doubt that he successfully evaded our reconnaissance network, which allowed him to move the fleet here smoothly. It's clear that over the past few years, our country has been thoroughly infiltrated by the dragon's claws. The Inquisition is already investigating the mole, and hopefully there will be good news later."

"Yes, the word 'original' should have been banned long ago. It's a very dangerous idea."

"The Ministry of Truth has already listed it as a banned book."

"It's too late, and the measures are far from sufficient. We need to increase the penalties. For example, anyone who maliciously spreads the original should be charged with treason. That evil book! Yes, everyone who has printed more than 100 copies of that evil book should be executed, and their immediate family members should be exiled to the Hellows to be enslaved by the Pilgrims."

Most of the imperial generals present were of traditional noble birth, and naturally they hated a certain ideology that could be called the root of all evil with a vengeance, but they quickly shut their mouths after only starting to speak.

Now is not the time to discuss these things.

"We should send the fleet out!" said the diminutive Admiral Parosson. "At the very least, we should deploy the fleet at Cosmic Point X to form a pincer movement with the fortress, which will also block the entrance to the stargate."

“Yes, that’s right. But we just need to maintain our formation. No matter what provocations the enemy fleet makes, we must not advance rashly,” King Velent quickly added.

It was clear that, as the last guardian of the Heavenly Gate, he had no intention of leaving the fortress. Of course, no one present asked him to do so.

The short but dignified and energetic old general saluted King Velent before leaving with his men.

As for General Yelik, whose physique was the complete opposite of the former, he took a few steps closer to His Highness and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness! We can use the fortress cannons to attack now."

"Attack? They're not even within range!"

"It's indeed out of effective range, but we must strike first to deter them! At the same time, we need to observe the true nature of the Demon Dragon and that Ghost Ship! Legend has it that the Ghost Ship not only comes and goes without a trace, but is also impervious to swords and bullets. If that's true, why should we resist?"

The burly general, as imposing as an iron tower, was now ashen-faced, but his voice remained loud and clear: "Fire with the fortress cannons and see their reaction! If both sides are truly forced to engage in a direct confrontation with their main guns, we can certainly hold out much longer!"

He was vague, basically saying he'd fire a shot first, whether there were any or not. Anyway, there were plenty of fortress cannons on Chenxiao Fortress, and they hadn't been fired in many years.

If we don't launch a fierce attack when faced with such a formidable enemy, wouldn't it be a waste of the engineers who built the fortress cannons?
"Alright, let's do it that way!" King Wei readily agreed. He had always been such a humble and wise king, especially adept at listening to the opinions of others.

After a brief pause, he added, "Also, have everyone in the fortress put on their armor. In addition, summon Knight Commander Midgard and Standard Commander Devontrey to see me immediately."

Although the Empire was left with virtually no troops due to the dragon's "central breakthrough," it was not lacking in extraordinary combat power. Not counting the King himself and his retainers, this fortress and the fleet there had a total of forty-eight Star Knights, eight Inquisitors, and three Star Sighters.

Elsewhere, the fifty-odd psychics here, working together, would be enough to fight against an army of a million, or even overthrow a medium-sized or larger country.

What do you mean by the mystical reserves of a three-thousand-year-old cosmic empire?

However, among so many psionicists, there wasn't a single demigod. The strongest was Knight Commander Mikaela, a "veteran seventh ring" who was already 105 years old this year.

His seniority was even greater than that of Duke Sadoulan and others who had already gone to the Spirit of the Universe. He had been retired for more than thirty years and was enjoying his grandchildren on his estate, tending to his flowers and plants, and occasionally teaching some disciples.

But now, he still resolutely returned to the battlefield, precisely because he wanted such an old horse still eager to run.

Unfortunately, while the death rate of the Empire's psionicists in this war wasn't exactly crippling, the number of those who perished above the Saint level was enough to make the Herald Academy weep for the next century.

Of course, because of his high-ranking psionic status, this old Knight Commander Migaka was still in good spirits and full of energy. He was still burly and agile, and could eat half a roasted lamb in one meal. It was as if he could kill an entire division of enemies with one hand while holding his penis to pee.

However, he is not a demigod after all.

Therefore, the fortress's mystical combat power appears formidable, but upon closer examination, it seems somewhat fragile.

Of course, in response to this question, the old Knight Commander Midard comforted the King of Wei in this way: "The most threatening one is undoubtedly that exceptionally talented dragon. Perhaps there's also the young lady from the Gongsun family, but she's still young, and there are several excellent knights who can deal with her. Apart from that, there are only a handful of human psionicists on Earth, who are not worth mentioning. After all, Chenxiao Fortress is our home turf, and the various mystical mechanisms within are under our control. Three hundred years ago, it was able to weaken the psionicists under the Five Kings Alliance, so how could it not suppress that dragon?"

King Velent nodded earnestly, looking as if he had found a pillar of support.

The old knight commander continued, "Now that I have returned to the battlefield, I am prepared to risk my life to defend the dignity of the Heavenly Realm from infringement. As long as we are inside Chenxiao Fortress, and as long as we activate the Silent Domain, we will have the ability to fight him. Before his spiritual power is exhausted, he may not be able to take down all fifty-odd spiritualists in the fortress."

King Wei spoke with righteous indignation: "When the time comes, I will also don the Dragon of the Blazing Sun and personally go into battle. At least I can hold my own against him for a few rounds."

The old knight gazed at the King of Guards, nodded slightly, and smiled with satisfaction: "Now that's a true dragon king."

This statement sounds a bit like someone taking advantage of their seniority, but considering the old knight's age and experience, it's quite normal.