Him and their stars.

Chapter 2206 Crossing the Vacuum
This "Regency Council," which could temporarily represent the highest decision-making power of the empire, came to an end. After communications were cut off and everyone's projections left the conference room, a soft, androgynous voice echoed from the shadows.

"The nobles of Tirero are actually pragmatic. If the war goes against them, or if you initiate any reforms that affect their fundamental interests, they will not hesitate to support the true wise emperor back to the loyal capital to stabilize the situation. At that time, you will become a clown in the historical context, while they will remain an indispensable cornerstone of the empire."

It was a boy who appeared indoors, possessing androgynous, inhuman beauty, but his presence was rather faint, like a shadow hidden in a secluded corner.

That was the snake head codenamed "The Lawbreaker," the representative of the alliance leaders.

King Werrent gazed out the porthole at the bustling crowds of the space city. Only two weeks had passed, and the citizens of the capital had already returned to their usual routines. Most of them were also completely unaware of what had happened at the edge of the celestial realm.

He turned to look at his former colleague: “The military aristocracy of Tyreiro are neither realists nor cornerstones. They are just goats in sheep’s clothing. They always think they can do it, always think they can achieve greatness on their own after breaking away from the rule, but in reality, they need to be disciplined. They need a strict, powerful, and wise father.”

"Your words sound more like you're describing a haughty, two-faced girl," the Lawbreaker chuckled.

“Yes, the true nature of the military nobles and citizens of Tireiro is not that of brave and fearless conquerors, but rather that of a teenage girl. They reject their fathers’ strictness, but they need a wise and powerful father,” King Wei said with a smile.

“You are referring to the nobles of Tirero, but not the people of Tirero.”

“The Dragon King is different from them. The Dragon King is the father, the Dragon King is the true conqueror.”

"So, are you that kind of father?" the Lawbreaker asked.

King Wei said proudly, "You know I'm not cut out for this. However, I do have the ideals of a ruler, and I will try my best to achieve them. In this way, I will at least not lose the hearts of the people because of arrogance, and I will not repeat the mistakes of the late emperor."

"And what about the people?"

This time, King Velent remained silent. His silence spread across the viewing window like a cold fog.

Beneath those high-up portholes, the artificial galaxy of the capital city still shines brightly, and the countless points of light representing the vibrant life trajectories continue to operate as usual.

"The people?" It took Werrent a full minute to finally process the word in his mind before a slight smile appeared on his lips.

He seemed to be laughing, but it was a heavy laugh. He was vaguely mocking, but he was definitely mocking himself.

"What luxurious words. What dangerous words!"

"Your awareness is already greater than that of all the nobles of Tireiro." The Spellbreaker bowed slightly, his posture respectful yet detached. "I have come to bid you farewell. However, please believe me, although you have left the organization, we will always be true allies in our ideals of 'balance' and 'evolution.' You are also the only collaborator of the Serpent of the Rings within the Empire."

"Don't expect too much from me." King Werrent raised an eyebrow, a strange sense of detachment and relaxation creeping into his expression. "Even I don't know what I'll become in the future."

The androgynous "young man" sighed with an air of premature wisdom: "After all, this is a great era. Even I don't know what the snakes will look like in the future. The changing of the Void Crown is just the prelude. The old order is shaking amidst war and ideologies, while a new order is being conceived amidst ruins and nebulae. In such an era, neither destroyers nor conservatives will have a good end. Someday in the future, we may need your protection. But please understand, our stance has never changed."

"Is that so? Come to think of it, I've been the Red King for ten years, and I still don't know what our stance really is?"

"All spirits are real, all things are vanity, all are..."

"Actually, you don't know either, right?"

"Of course, it's about happily observing and guiding the history of civilization."

"..." King Werrent suddenly withdrew all his expressions, and his whole demeanor became low.

"I have lived happily for a thousand years, I have walked through the history of the void, my life has been joyful and fulfilling." The Lawbreaker patted his chest, his eyes were quite bright, and this time his smile was suddenly full of bright youthful spirit: "Your Highness, this is enough to prove the Serpent's position."

The air inside seemed to stagnate suddenly due to the comical fermentation.

So King Velent walked back to his seat, took out a bottle of Holy Venerable from under the long table, and gulped down most of it in one go, which finally calmed him down a little.

He pondered for a moment, then looked up at the other person again and said thoughtfully, "So, will you choose to cooperate with him?"

The perfect, inhuman smile faltered noticeably, and the Lawbreaker gave an awkward, bitter smile: "Don't make such a terrifying joke. That is the core of the cosmic storm. We've already exhausted all our courage and energy just by hiding to the side and observing it cautiously."

He was describing what seemed like a walking natural disaster.

“We’re still referring to him as ‘that person.’ No matter how we try to rebuild morale, he will be the Knights of the Stars’ worst nightmare for the next century. But I think the organization’s nightmare is probably more serious.” King Wei let out a hearty laugh.

This was the happiest moment of his day, even though it did nothing to help his current situation or circumstances, but at least it had great emotional value!

Of course, as a mature politician, King Wei did not allow his emotions to linger for long. He drank the remaining holy wine in the bottle in one gulp, swallowing that brief moment of pleasure as well.

"Well then, before we say goodbye, do me a small favor." He spoke slowly, his voice regaining its usual steady and penetrating quality: "The most dangerous thing in the universe is a black hole, but we always build laboratories where black holes are located."

Before the other person could finish speaking, the Breaker's pretty face showed helplessness and even a hint of panic: "Oh no! What should we do? How could you do this? We can't do this. Please, please!"

“But only you can do such things.” King Werrent completely ignored this clownish performance.

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes fixed intently on the other person, his tone calm yet sharp: "Don't play dumb. The organization will definitely maintain informal communication channels with that person. I never expected to reach any cooperation agreement with him through you. However, as long as you can make him think in some necessary situations that there are no eternal enemies in this world, that will fulfill our past camaraderie."

The lawbreaker remained silent for a moment, a subtle glint in his inhuman eyes. Finally, he nodded slightly, the movement so light it was almost imperceptible.

The boy sighed, "We're really conflicted."

“Yes, it’s really frustrating, but what can we do when we’re not the kind of people who wield power?” King Werrent said. This time, he didn’t hide his jealousy.

At that moment, the figure of the Spellbreaker faded away quickly, like an erased sketch, blending into the light and shadow of the room itself, as if it had never existed.

King Werrent stood alone in the now-empty conference room, his gaze once again sweeping out the porthole towards the direction of the Sacred Tree Palace. However, he quickly withdrew his gaze, took a deep breath, and retrieved his personal folder from his terminal to begin reviewing it.

The standoff at Femor, the stalemate in the New World, the sit-in war along the mountain and sea routes, the dragons' rampage over the Empire, the wounds left by the rebels in various regions, the blow to morale after the Emperor's death, the shifting loyalty of the peripheral sectors and various vassal states, the attitudes of the nations, and the subsequent diplomatic challenges—as the chief of the Regency Council, he had a lot to do!
……

The massive Imperial fleet, like a group of silent, metallic whales, glided smoothly across the tranquil Milky Way along its predetermined course.

This was the Imperial fleet led by Marshal Betaway, one of the largest strategic groups stationed on the Imperial homeland. They had spent six months on a grand armed parade traversing half the Empire's territory, mobilizing a massive force and exhausting themselves, yet they hadn't fought a single proper battle. Because they hadn't fought a single battle, morale was low and the army was demoralized.

Of course, it was also because they had never fought a single battle, yet their fleet was well-organized and imposing.

The dreadnoughts moved forward in unison, like a moving fortress blocking out the sunlight. The artificial glow constantly flashing on their hulls left long trails in the vacuum, far brighter than natural starlight.

Inside the command center of the massive flagship, officers and soldiers are focused on monitoring the waterway and maintaining the fleet's formation, with all sensors pointing in the direction where they may encounter hostile forces.

They have received orders from the capital to open fire on the "Dragon" fleeing the capital. If necessary, they don't even need to worry too much about the safety of the old Rainbow Dragon, Ancaragan.

However, it was merely a report from the Regency Council. While described as an "order," it was filled with elements of "suggestion," as if the Regency Council itself lacked any real authority.

Marshal Betaway understood the reason, and was therefore more willing to cooperate with the capital's orders. This weary veteran could do nothing more now.

"Report from the front: Prince Ancalagan's gravitational signal has been detected?" the Marshal inquired.

“Yes, He didn’t make any special effort to conceal His presence,” the adjutant replied. “If the intelligence is correct, we should be able to intercept Him here… and that person.”

However, no alarms sounded in this galaxy.

Even the most sensitive mass detectors can only capture the regular pulsations of the star itself and the background noise of distant celestial bodies.

As for the fleet's navigator and star-gazer, they both said they had gained nothing.

Marshal Betaway instructed, "Do your best."

He was like a methodical old bureaucrat. Of course, this had always been the attitude of this old marshal. He had served in the military for fifty years, but had not served as a commander of an actual combat force for more than three years, constantly moving from administrative and staff positions to the next.

He is very good at this, and he is also very good at getting his subordinates to reach a consensus.

Therefore, the Betaway fleet slowed down and maintained a state of high alert for more than twenty hours in the star system before continuing its journey back to the capital.

Marshal Betaway and his generals were probably completely unaware that their target was simply sailing leisurely past their detection range.

That area is close to the edge of the star's hot corona, enough to cause maximum interference to the most sensitive detection of gravity, mass, and heat sources.

That was the Primordial Rainbow Dragon Ankaragan, and the passenger on its back.

They didn't even bother to pay attention to the Imperial fleet's reaction, and calmly passed through the core region of a star system.

Here, the light of stars is no longer a source of warm life, but a violent torrent of energy, a high temperature capable of vaporizing all known matter.

However, the rainbow-colored light enveloped the dragon's body, forming an absolute barrier that distorted the concept of physics. The deadly heat was blocked outside the barrier, keeping every cell of the dragon absolutely safe.

However, this does not include the passengers on His back.

Yu Lian also sat cross-legged on the dragon's spine, his body enveloped in a shield that seemed almost tangible. The vast spiritual energy of an eighth-ring demigod also formed his own shield, stubbornly resisting the endless cosmic radiation from the outside world and dissipating the high temperatures that could melt through warship armor and the erosion of absolute vacuum.

To put it bluntly, we are all theoretically at the same level of psionicists, so why should we show weakness?

"This is my indestructible golden body!" Yu Lian said to himself.

Of course, to traverse the vacuum with one's physical body, besides absolute defense, endurance is also very important. Yu Lian had to admit that in this respect, he was truly no match for the Primordial Rainbow Dragon.

Therefore, when a star occasionally experiences a particularly violent flare or ejection of matter from its surface, the psionic shield will also ripple violently, placing a greater burden on the body.

At this time, a small clump of silvery-gray liquid would always flow out from inside Yu Lian's clothes.

It can either quickly extend into a small, curved shield to deflect impactful psionic energy, or occasionally transform into a flexible tube to probe into the void, helping to absorb or channel certain energy.

Yu Lian said that having a cheat code to help him replenish mana was really great. He never imagined that Little Grey would have such a function.

"Thanks, Little Grey. By the way, doesn't this prove that you can cooperate with psionicists in battle?"

“I’ve never denied that,” the robot girl chuckled. “But her duty is to guide psionic energy; after all, she can’t take sides.”

She's such a fair and good robot!

"Of course, I must admit that this journey reminded me of my travels with the Creator between the years of the Prohibitions."

"Oh, the Enlightened Ones also traverse galaxies in physical form?"

"This is basic. And there are many ways to do it."

"Then they'll repair the ship."

"You can literally live on air now, so why waste food?"

That seems to make a lot of sense.

"You can dive into the deep sea and take a bath by yourself now, so why do you need to buy a yacht and a villa?"

“I did not buy a yacht or a villa,” Yu Lian solemnly stated.

Little Grey continued, "Besides, even in that era, only a few could pull off such an operation. This is, of course, to prevent everyone from becoming obsessed with individual brute force. Anyway, don't be shy, this is an opportunity to understand the true nature of the universe, remember to hand in your homework!" A wave of pleasure, audible only to Yu Lian, rippled briefly before fading into silence.

Of course, Yu Lian might be the only one who could hear it, but he was certainly not the only one who could sense it.

“This is not a fair contest.” Ankara’s voice echoed directly in Yu Lian’s mind, grand and steady, making it impossible to discern whether it was a statement or some ancient grievance.