Him and their stars.

Chapter 2157 No Ruthless Emperor Murder, But Protecting the People

That person isn't here!

Sobek couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed. As one of the few in the Imperial Army who genuinely didn't have any bias against the "Dragon," he really wanted to have a proper discussion with the other party about how to coordinate their attacks.

Didn't they cooperate very well when they were fighting the giant tortoise at the War God Festival? This sense of path dependence makes people like him feel very secure.

But if it were Brigadier General Eleanor Bonaparte, whom he had never dealt with before, things would be different.

However, his subordinates all inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, and the one who showed the most obvious relief was Duke Gérard Béan himself.

Sobek even caught a glimpse of the Duke's face out of the corner of her eye. A slight smile involuntarily crept onto her lips, and a subtle sense of relaxation enveloped her, like a corporate slave who had just learned that overtime work was canceled for the night.

Jaeger Sobek was immediately filled with empathy. He quickly took a deep breath and tried to make his voice as steady as possible: "General Bonaparte, we have observed that your ship is engaged in battle with that...unknown monster. It is clear that this is not a monster that can be communicated with in a civilized language."

Eleanor Bonaparte said, "This is a Voidlord that has gone out of control, but the armor and mechanical structure covering its body are clearly military products of your country. Can I understand this to mean that this was originally a secret weapon prepared by your country's high command, but it has gone out of control?"

That must be it! Sobek almost nodded, but at the last second, he forced out a sincere, business-like smile: "This... the origins are a story for another time. In any case, our conflict is a clash of ideologies, a battle for honor. We both share a common responsibility to protect civilians. I propose that we temporarily establish a tactical cooperative relationship to prioritize eliminating this threat. We will deploy our forces around points T188 to Z729, providing full fire support. In addition, our battlecruiser formation will harass the flanks and rear of the guerrilla target in D formation and attempt to divert their attention."

Brigadier General Bonaparte stared intently at the Imperial General, her gaze so sharp it seemed to pierce through the communication channels. After a two-second silence, she nodded decisively and smiled, "No wonder he acknowledges you as his nemesis. Your reputation has already spread among your enemies, even though they have never actually met you."

Sobek felt the gazes of his subordinates around him, filled with undisguised reverence. Yet, he only felt uneasy.

I've already said that I'm not a famous general.

Eleanor Bonaparte, behind the screen, added: "According to calculations, the beam attack of this virtual monster is comparable in power to the level 2 light spear main cannon equipped on the Dreadnought. Please be careful."

These dense beams of light, resembling an anti-aircraft barrage, are almost like those of a dreadnought? Wouldn't that tear the Yutu to shreds in a minute or two? Sobek was stunned and hesitated.

Then, Miss Sellu solemnly declared, "Please do not doubt our determination to defend our homeland!"

Brigadier General Bonaparte chuckled, “Whether you show your resolve or use guerrilla tactics to encircle them, that’s your business. Currently, the target has made us its main distraction, which gives your fleet room to spread out and launch long-range artillery attacks. In addition to being careful of its energy emissions, you must also be wary of its ability to warp space. We are currently transmitting all the data we have collected to you.”

After saying that, the other party hung up the call.

Immediately afterwards, Sobek heard Captain Pegsey's report: "The enemy ghost has sent a compressed data packet through the wide area communication channel."

“We can’t rule out the possibility that there’s a backdoor hidden in the data packet,” Miss Hoshimi said in a low voice. “Maybe once it’s decompressed, our database and central control system will become one-way transparent.”

"If that really is an ancient ship of the Enlightened Ones, even without sending it through the back door, they could still suppress us with their superior computing power. When we actively contacted them, the central control was already open." Duke Garibane said, "...Hey, Jaeger, what's with that look? Although I offended you before, you can't insult me, can you? You don't think that just because I'm a judge, I'm a law student, do you? Although I wronged you before, you can't insult me ​​too much! I, the Grand Commander, am a proper Imperial Marshal with an engineering degree."

The Galactic Empire is indeed a military empire imbued with martial virtue. This virtue extends beyond brute force; it also includes a pragmatic education system. All high-ranking officers in important leadership positions are required to have some degree of engineering education.

Even psychics must be educated, otherwise they are just high-ranking, high-paid henchmen.

Of course, Sobek wasn't really bothered by that; he just felt that the two men's lines should be reversed.

As for Miss Hoshimi, who had no background in science and engineering, she gave the Duke a resentful look, but still objectively stated, "Your Highness is right, this time it is sincere."

She did not deny that she had been being sarcastic just now, and even wanted to emphasize that point on purpose.

Seeing the Duke's constipated expression, Hermisa Star explained further, "Actually, after the Ghost conquered the Gate of Glory and joined forces with the New World's raiding fleet, it always managed to evade our interception and surveillance during its marches. We've long suspected that, besides being familiar with all the sea lanes and military deployments within the Empire, that dragon might also have the ability to eavesdrop on our encrypted command network. So, we conducted astrological analysis and concluded that this possibility is extremely high."

Serlu frowned and said, "But neither the Grand Marshal's Office nor the generals at all levels on the front lines have received any notification in this regard."

“By the time the astrological results are out, the Demon Dragon… Earth Fleet will have already entered Shengyuan. It will be too late.” The astrologist looked completely innocent. “In addition, all astrological results with an accuracy rate of less than 50% will only be reported to His Majesty and the Privy Council. You can ask Princess Gerebean if you don’t believe me.”

As for whether the Privy Council should notify the Grand Marshal's Office, that's not something a mere star-gazing official can decide. That's probably what he meant.

Everyone then turned their attention back to the Duke, the only Privy Council member present. He could only manage an awkward yet polite smile, shrugging as he said, "I haven't been in the Heavenly Realm for many months. Believe it or not, I am indeed just an outsider."

"So, who exactly is this so-called insider?" Hoshimi-kan asked.

The Duke responded with another utterly meaningless smile. If it weren't for the ongoing war, everyone might have been suffocated by this chilling, indescribable atmosphere.

"Open the compressed file and import it into the terminal database." Sobek ordered decisively, or rather, too decisively. "Also, send a message to the Silence... to thank them for their trust!"

Rather than making a firm decision, he was probably just trying to avoid this awkward atmosphere.

"Is the battlecruiser fleet proceeding as planned, conducting guerrilla warfare on the enemy's flank and rear?" Captain Pegsey inquired.

"Of course, we must respect the opinions of our allies. They are the primary stakeholders! I'm not some famous general, so of course I should accept the advice of the real masters!" Sobek shouted, his eyes wide.
"Full fleet, deploy clockwise! Main guns, prepare! Don't wait for my order, find your firing range and fire! Also, launch all sub-light-speed missiles that you can! Hurry! Fire!"

This was perhaps the most grand and imposing order he had given since becoming the fleet admiral. Although it was essentially just to keep a safe distance and fire sniper shots, his overly enthusiastic attitude made it seem to outsiders that he was ordering a full-scale charge to board the enemy.

In short, Admiral So was incredibly charismatic at this moment, and the entire fleet's execution efficiency suddenly skyrocketed.

They didn't look like they'd been marching for days and were exhausted at all; they looked like a well-rested, highly motivated elite force, brimming with killing intent. As for Sobek himself, he felt inexplicably comfortable and happy.

In the past, he would have had to stammer and think of some lines that wouldn't sound so cowardly before issuing such an order. But at this moment, he suddenly realized that when he admitted that he wasn't some famous general, he suddenly felt as if he had opened up a new world, and everything became clear.

"To maintain a safe range, use light spears and railguns! Also, didn't the data the Earthlings gave us just now say that spatial oscillations and high-frequency particle burning might decompose the flesh and blood of the Void Realm?" Sobek turned his head and glared at the Star Judge, now displaying the expression and aura of a battle-hardened tough guy.

"Well, there are too few examples of Void Realm Lords entering the mortal world, so I dare not draw such a conclusion, but we can give it a try." This was the first time Miss Hermisa had answered so fluently, perhaps because she was stunned by Admiral So's sudden imposing manner.

She then saluted and said, "This humble official will begin the assessment immediately."

This, of course, involves astrology. In this regard, both scientific and mystical methods must be used; a two-pronged approach is essential.

Sobek nodded, but then ordered, "Instruct the entire fleet to replace the first batch of sublight-speed missiles with space-oscillation warheads! Also, prepare antimatter warheads!"

As his orders were carried out, the imperial warships began firing their main guns in unison.

The first to fire were the orbital missiles with theoretically unlimited range. These warheads, loaded with high explosives, streaked across the universe, creating a wide-ranging barrage as they hurtled toward the distant behemoth, as if preparing to block all its paths of attack.

Then came an even denser barrage of sub-light speed missiles.

However, before these dense bullets hit their target, the indescribable behemoth seemed to sense something, like an alert predator, and suddenly stopped its journey.

A wild red light flashed on its left side, directly facing the Imperial fleet, like bloodshot eyes, observing the Imperial warships with hostility.

A strange killing intent pierced through outer space, through the armor of the warship, and landed directly on the bridge of the Yutu, and also in Sobek's heart.

It seemed as if it had found itself amidst a vast army.

Sobek felt as if he were being stared at by a demon, feeling a chill run through his body and difficulty breathing. The sinister aura even invaded his internal organs.

He suddenly realized that he had already used up all his strength just by being able to stop trembling and avoid falling.

But he was still standing.

At that very moment, the elegant and massive hull of the Silent Ship abruptly changed its cruising mode.

Instead of weaving through the barrage to maintain distance, it charged headlong into the monster's direction. Before the arc cannons at the bow could even begin their next roar, the muzzles hidden within the side armor unleashed even more intense and precise energy jets, slicing through the monster's steel shell and inner flesh like surgical blades.

Its massive body was even visibly stomped as it was hit.

The chilling, malevolent aura that had enveloped the bridge of the Yutu-class destroyer receded like a tide.

The Silent One's actions just now seemed to be a provocation, telling the monster that it was the greatest threat.

Clearly, the monster listened.

Its massive body suddenly turned around, and those dark red energy focal points, like bloodshot, malevolent eyes, flashed with a chilling killing intent on the outer layer of its armor, locking onto the Enlightened warship that was pouring fire upon it.

A torrent of dark red energy, powerful enough to annihilate an asteroid, mixed with distorted spatial ripples, lashed out at the Silent One like a giant whip of death! The speed and range of this attack almost exceeded the limits of conventional evasion.

Just as the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Fleet were about to cry out in alarm, silver ripples like water instantly appeared on the surface of the Silent Ship's hull. Its outline underwent an extremely bizarre distortion at the critical moment, as if it had instantly transformed into an irregular three-dimensional polyhedron.

The destructive torrent of energy swept past the edge of its twisted hull, turning the void behind it into chaos.

But the Silent One still stood firm. She danced gracefully, once again widening the distance between herself and the enemy.

"The instantaneous deformation of nanomachines, and even the ability to guide the chaotic power of the virtual realm... it's truly unimaginable technology." In the Dragon Palace, the emperor's spirit exclaimed in sincere admiration at this scene on the screen.

He lowered his head: "Compared to a small New Divine Continent, this ship is more likely to become the foundation of humanity's destiny. If it were me, I would definitely find a way to leave the capital and bring it back to New Divine Continent when I obtained it. Miss Fina, if it were Emperor Iwenya, she would definitely make such a rational choice."

“So I am not her.” Fei Fei scoffed. “Besides, I am not an imperial citizen, much less an earl. Where a person belongs is a matter of cultural identity. I am not only an Earthling, but also a legitimate member of the Chinese ethnic group who grew up in Jincheng. I have read the Spring and Autumn Annals, and you, a reactionary slave-owning ruler, could never understand these principles of conduct.”

Brunhilde, who was also a reactionary slave owner, laughed and said, "Ewenya wouldn't either. Deep down, she's an adventurer and a star knight. She might think she has the right to challenge you and do the same thing as Lian Qing."

Indeed, no one present understood Iwenya better than her.

Amida, who was also a reactionary ruler, added: "Of course, in her later years she eventually became a standard emperor, and that's how the Primarch Project came about."

Elisher chuckled, "Sitting in this position for too long, I've long forgotten how to be a true hero, so I've had to choose realism. That's how we ended up in this situation. Ladies, if my pet devoured the Enlightened Warship, what would it evolve into?"

Shirley, who had been hiding in the flower bushes disguised as a red needle flower, couldn't help but say, "That's not your pet, but your clone. Your cells live in symbiosis with it, and your spirit relies on it."

Indeed, no one present understood cells and clones better than the Overmind of the Swarm.

"So, this dimensional monstrous corpse is the manifestation of the malice within your soul, isn't it?" Brunhilde stared intently at the emperor. "Rest assured, all the imperial soldiers who attacked that corpse were not committing regicide; they were merely protecting the people of the capital."