Him and their stars.

Chapter 2254 The Last Battle of the King of Wei

July 19, 854 AD, at the border of the Empire's Broken Light Star Region, in the Ameza Galaxy.

The fierce battle had ended three hours ago, but the battlefield was still burning.

To be precise, it is the energy that cannot be recovered that is constantly burning in the vast space of this galaxy.

The wreckage floats in space for hundreds of thousands of kilometers—warships, fighter jets, assault boats, robots, automated turrets, and even space fortresses. Some are still slowly rotating, while others are frozen in time.

An electric arc occasionally flashed among the broken steel fragments, like the final twitch of a dying person.

Uncontrolled fuel and electromagnetism burst into flames in the vacuum. There was no temperature, no sound, only light that was sometimes deathly pale and sometimes eerily green.

Even in the mass graves outside the city, the will-o'-the-wisps were unusually dense.

Half a day ago, an armed group calling itself the "Galactic Empire's Orthodox Allied Forces" gathered more than two thousand capital ships on this remote planet. The reason for such a number is thanks to the "Second Terra War," which has led to research on miniaturizing warships throughout the universe.

In fact, more than half of the warships in this massive fleet were built after the Terra Wars and during the Omnic Wars.

The old-fashioned behemoths, resembling mobile fortresses, and the newer warships, like knights, complement each other quite well. This harmonious pairing of old and new should continue for some time until all the giant warships retire from the historical stage.

However, this no longer matters to the Galactic Empire's legitimate allied forces. This fleet was their most important and last major force, but now most of it has been reduced to wreckage.

These shattered warship remains vary in size.

Some were as large as mountains, others as small as dust. Some of the debris still bore traces of identification signals, intermittently sending their final, pre-destruction messages to the entire universe.

Meanwhile, the victorious Galactic Empire's Imperial Fleet is regrouping.

They also feature a mix of new and old models.

The giant silver-gray ships slowly adjusted their posture, shifting from combat formation to alert formation.

Their shells are, of course, covered with scars: melted, deformed, and twisted armor plates, broken dents, bullet holes, and burn scars, but their posture is calm and proud.

As the victors, they have the right to adopt such a posture.

The new "smaller warships" tirelessly traversed the battlefield, searching among the enemy's corpses for survivors.

Of course, this was only part of the battlefield cleanup. Their comrades, the warships in better condition, remained like armored soldiers on high alert, maintaining their battle formation and tightly surrounding the airspace in the center of the battlefield.

Surrounded there was the eighth ship of the Dawn Angel-class Titans, named the "Edict of the Gods." She was the flagship of the Orthodox Allied Forces and also the flagship of King Gerald of Velent.

Even in an era of miniaturized warships, this massive, mobile starship remains one of the Empire's most advanced war machines.

Any one of the twenty main cannons could deliver the fatal blow to a Dreadnought-class behemoth. The combination of energy shields, mystical shields, and six layers of physical shields allows her to effortlessly navigate through fleet-level attacks.

However, there are limits to this.

The Dawn Angel-class was once considered the most beautiful warships in the entire universe. They were all dignified, imposing, elegant, and stunningly beautiful female war goddesses. But this goddess now is probably the battle-damaged version.

Yes, it perfectly matches the battle-damaged version of the goddess that appeals to the general public.

The Imperial Messenger had long since lost all its power and its shields were destroyed, leaving it to withstand endless attacks on its own. As a result, the armor on its port side, which was comparable to the walls of a space fortress, had been torn open with a huge gap, allowing a direct view of the internal compartments, like the exposed internal organs after being gutted.

The main engine at the stern and the forty sub-engines on the sides had long since shut down. Only the secondary propulsion was still working weakly, but rather than propelling the ship, it was merely maintaining the basic operation of the warship, keeping it barely alive.

Only in this way can the already damaged warship be prevented from being completely torn apart by the nearby gravity.

But no matter what, it still exists.

Twelve Imperial Guard battlecruisers (older models) and thirty fast battleships (newer models) formed a perfect spherical encirclement, with all their bow guns pointed at the dying Titan, ready to blast it into the most basic particles at any moment.

Of course, the Imperial Fleet didn't actually do it.

This is a Titan ship belonging to the Empire, a "Divine Messenger" of the same class as the Imperial Army's flagship, the Dawn Angel, and seated atop it is another Dragon King.

She deserved a more dignified end.

Hundreds of smaller assault landing craft were positioned close to the giant ship. In the past hour, they had shoved over ten thousand armored grenadiers and more than twenty elite Astral Knights aboard.

Onboard the Titan "People's Knight," Marshal Jaeger Sobek, one of the Imperial Army's highest commanders in this battle, awaits the outcome.

"How long have you been logged in?" he asked instinctively.

“Three hours.” The reply came from the projection of another supreme commander, Marshal Farrell. He himself was still on the Vulcan Airan, directing the fleet to deploy the second layer of encirclement from an astronomical unit away. Of course, the two marshals maintained constant communication.

In fact, throughout the entire campaign, the enemy was unable to disrupt the communications of the fleet command in any way.

"The last battle report was an hour ago," Marshal Sobek sighed again.

Marshal Farrell nodded: "That's normal. Every large warship is a layered city; if the enemy wants to hide, they can hide for a long time. But so what? We have already won this civil war. Time is on our side."

Marshal Sobek had to admit that his senior made a lot of sense, but he sighed again: "It's really tragic! He had no chance of winning this civil war. Her Majesty the Empress didn't take action herself, and didn't even use the most powerful New World Group."

Marshal Farrell laughed, "So, this is how Prince Heros achieved his illustrious military exploits. That's why some people say that this civil war was clearly a stage designed specifically for Prince Heros. Aha, only twenty years old! Hasn't this achievement already surpassed that of his parents?"

Yes, the other commander in this battle was the young King Herod of Bedor.

Outsiders might think that choosing an emperor was merely a mascot to gain military merit, and that the two decorated marshals were the real commanders. However, the latter knew that the situation was quite the opposite. These two old men were simply serving as deputies to the decisive young men.

The Dragon King of the Dawn Royal Family embodies the duality of madness and genius. Clearly, this young King Heros of Bedor is the latter.

Considering his biological father, the imperial elites have even higher expectations of him than of the current Empress Brunhilde.

“I’ve heard the rumor,” Marshal Farrell said in a low voice. “Her Majesty the Empress has decided that after fifty years on the throne, she will abdicate in favor of Prince Heros. This will become the norm. In this way, the three-thousand-year tradition of the Galactic Empire will be completely over.”

"Your Excellency, Senior..." Is this something I can just listen to? Sobek shuddered involuntarily, feeling as if the ruby ​​inlaid on his marshal's scepter was scrutinizing him with the same dead fish eyes as the cardinal judge.

Marshal Farrell continued, "In the past, nobles and citizens could maintain a certain degree of checks and balances on the Void Crown through land selection, but now they have nothing at all."

"The Void Crown is gone..." As Brunhilde's confidant, Sobek knew some of the inside information.

"Huh? What did you say?"

"There's nothing there. I just misspoke because I'm getting old. People really do like to ramble on as they get older."

Marshal Farrell didn't pay any attention and remained lost in his own thoughts: "However, if this matter really becomes a settled matter, it means that the emperor's lifespan must be extraordinary! If the future imperial throne continues to alternate among the nine-ringed true gods, then it is indeed not up to us mortals to comment."

Yes, he really was just reminiscing. He seemed completely unconcerned about this possible future.

Sobek finally remembered that he was a marshal, so he could only put on his trained business smile and solemnly said, "In short, it's all rumors. Didn't His Majesty Brunhilde also ascend the throne through a legitimate electoral ceremony? We are soldiers, and we should enjoy real victories."

Marshal Farrell pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly: "You're right. Anyway, I'm about to retire, and even His Majesty isn't a tyrant. He probably wouldn't punish an old soldier for a few disrespectful remarks. But you, Jaeger, after this battle, you can enter the Privy Council, right?"

Is someone like me even qualified to enter the Privy Council?

He bared his teeth and shook his head vigorously: "I will also try my best to transfer to the reserves."

Tianyu is a terrifying place, really not suitable for me.

Marshal Farrell glanced at him with a slight hesitation: "I know you and Countess Serlu have settled down in Sheng Garden, and your four children are all attending school there. It's quite unexpected. You were practically promoted by His Majesty himself, so what are you afraid of?"

"Of course I'm afraid of the younger one!" Sobek thought. "The younger one is much harder to deal with than his mother." Sobek muttered.

"I heard that."

“So once I leave this place, I will not admit it.” Sobaike sighed. “Marshal, I do own a property on Green Ocean Star and have bought a hunting ground. After this battle, I would like to invite you to be my guest.”

Just as he was about to say something more, he suddenly received a report from his adjutant: "Your Excellency, His Highness has found Commodore Holmmai, the captain of the Order Messenger. He has led the last of the ship's guards to lay down their weapons and has pointed out the location of the rebel leader to us, in the second observatory at the stern of the ship."

“Very good…” Sobek looked at his adjutant’s expression and immediately guessed what was going on. He couldn’t help but ask, “But what has His Highness done now?”

“…He, he went in.” Sobek pressed his temples, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Marshal Farrell’s communication projection also showed an expression that said, “I knew it, I knew it.”

"He's alone?"

"No, he brought his special advisor with him."

Marshal Farrell sighed: "That's alright, at least the two of them can look out for each other."

“Not good at all,” Sobaike said. “With his younger brother cooperating, that prince might just be thinking of beheading the Prince of Wei—no, the leader of the rebel army—on the spot. But have you forgotten? His Majesty was captured alive by us.”

"..."

“During the Privy Council meeting, His Highness Heros clearly expressed his opposition. He even thought His Majesty was being ‘womanly insensitive.’”

"Womanly compassion?" Marshal Farrell exclaimed in shock, "No matter what, even if they are mother and son, this is extremely disrespectful!"

"Hey, you were there too. That's exactly what they said!"

“You know I always slack off at Privy Council meetings… So, we’ve become part of Prince Heros’s adolescent play, haven’t we? In an imperial country, that’s common sense. But, His Highness’s advisor, is he actually his younger brother? And who is his son with?” Marshal Farrell thought of a possibility and subconsciously hissed.

……

The outer armor of the second observatory was no longer there. Its thick dome had been ripped open by an orbital missile, leaving a gash. Thus, the starry sky and the vacuum of space simultaneously fell into this enclosed room.

When King Herod of Bedo, along with his younger brother Weiyang, used a force field flash to pass through the sealed armored door and arrive at this vacuum room, they saw King Gert of Velent, who was already at his wit's end.

He wore a golden heraldic armor, wielded a large red sword, and was helmetless, his face exposed in the vacuum of space. His face was stained with dirt and blood, but his eyes were remarkably calm, even smiling.

“You’ve come,” Gert said.

“As you wish, we have come.” Heros stood in front of him. “I should have come by myself, but my brother is here, and I have no defenses against him.”

“That’s because he can’t possibly threaten your position.” King Werrent’s gaze swept across Wei Yang’s face: “You look just like your father.”

Because it was in a vacuum, everyone was speaking aloud.

Wei Yang then looked puzzled: "So, why a vacuum? Such a small gap can be repaired with third-generation nanotechnology, right? Don't tell me that your armor's fluid metal layer hasn't been infused with a third-generation nanotechnology self-healing system yet."

“No. We ran out of supplies after the civil war started. After all, we're a bandit army.” Jert gave a sad smile, but said quite frankly, “Besides, we are all psionicists, and our extraordinary abilities can only be revealed in a vacuum environment. That’s also the more suitable place for me to die.”

“Then you’re doomed to disappointment. You won’t die,” Heros said.

Wei Yang added, "Yes, you shouldn't die now."

Gert paused slightly, then chuckled. "Yes, Brunhilde wanted me to live. But you objected at the Privy Council meeting. Heros, you want my head to demonstrate your military prowess. A dragon proves its strength only by devouring another dragon. Just as your mother did, just as you are doing now."

Wei Yang shrugged: "You're so pretentious. My father said that Prince Wei is actually a genius who excels in both literature and martial arts, but unfortunately he's just too pretentious. Pretentious like a woman."

King Wei's eyes lit up.

"Marshal Yu...did he really say that?"

He seemed to have received praise from his idol, unable to hide his excitement.

"Is this a compliment? The important thing is the last sentence!" Wei Yang said helplessly.

Heros added, "A genius who looks too far ahead will never see the path right beside him."

"Did Brunhilde say that?"

Heros shook his head: "Mother only said that I should bring you back to the Heavenly Realm. Of the ten Privy Council meetings she convened recently, five were about the war situation in the New World, four were about domestic economic recovery and diplomatic negotiations for cooperative development of the New World, and only the last one was about you. That's right, the one where you received the intelligence."

King Wei must have been greatly shocked, for his face immediately fell.

"How could you do this? I rose up in rebellion to uphold the glorious traditions of the Galactic Empire. At the very least, that could be considered a glorious and sacred ideological struggle. As for me, at least as nourishment, I can ignite the glory of your mother's era, right? And yours, right?"

“Yes, I thank you on behalf of my invincible mother, Uncle.” Heros expressed his gratitude sincerely.

“She knew,” King Velent said. “From the day the war began, I knew we would lose. She knew, I knew, and she knew I knew.”

Both young men were intelligent and knew what he was talking about.

"So, why did you hit it?" Wei Yang asked curiously.

“Because the war is there! The late emperor was actually a boastful charlatan who left the empire with so many hidden dangers.” King Velent’s smile was very strange, with a hint of pride amidst his madness: “He left behind too many failures in his life, and he made too many compromises with too many people. He inexplicably obtained the title of emperor by virtue of his lifespan and the brute strength of the nine rings, but he should have been sitting at the same table as Boro III.”

Wei Yang calmly added, "They're already sitting at one table. Thanks to my father."

"Yes. Thanks to your father, he is so suited to be the Holy Hero of the Empire! The only mistake is that he's an Earthling." King Wei sighed, "Of course, Brunhilde is too. She will become one of the greatest emperors in the Empire's history. She will unite citizens and commoners, suppress the feudal lords, lead the Empire out of the shadow of the Omnic Wars, mend the conflicts between the Empire and the Galactic Nations, and lead us into the New World. She even thinks she can get those rebellious Primal Rebels to cooperate with the Celestial Realm..."

“She did it,” Heros added. “So that you may know, Uncle, I personally negotiated with the Primal Color Organization entrenched in the Glory Sector. They are willing to surrender to the Celestial Domain and establish an autonomous territory.”

"The original-colored autonomous territory that kneels before the crown of the empire?"

“Why not?” Heros shrugged. “They are all respectable pragmatists. Besides, they all recognize my face, and my brother’s as well.”

He patted Weiyang on the shoulder.

King Wei immediately guessed that these diplomatic achievements must have been negotiated by the young elector king, who brought his brother along.

He couldn't help but sigh, "The empire will reach its peak in her hands, but it will truly shine in yours."

King Bedo wiped away non-existent tears, clearly aroused, and raised his hands, saying, "Let the Empire be even greater!"

Wei Yang glanced at her biology brother with a slanted eye, making no attempt to hide her contempt.

"The empire will surely enjoy at least a thousand years of greatness." King Werrent's eyes suddenly sharpened, and the emotion in his voice became quite gloomy: "Then, the empire will perish."

He thought his words would at least make the two brothers serious for a few minutes. However, they only exchanged a glance, their faces expressionless, as if they were suppressing laughter.

"If you don't say something, I'll feel really awkward."

Wei Yang shrugged: "Dad said that we psionicists always like to think about things a thousand years in the future, which is why we've made the universe so messed up. We should have known our shame long ago."

King Velent covered his face, revealing a rather distorted smile, seemingly self-mocking, yet also quite sad, even carrying a sense of emptiness and loss as if his entire worldview had been overturned: "Yes, I should have known shame long ago."

Heros stepped closer, looking directly at King Velent: "Your mother won't see you. Of course, she's too lazy to kill you anyway. She just wants you to go to the capital and face a fair trial in a military court."

King Velent listened quietly, looking as if he had already resigned himself to his fate.

“But this is so boring.” King Bedor grinned mischievously. “You should continue to contribute to the Empire and civilization. So, go to the New World, with your loyal followers. Continue exploring the stars. Then, return to the Serpent and be a proper Serpent Head.”

King Werrent hesitated for a moment, about to say something, when Wei Yang said, "Wait, this is different from what we agreed on. Aunt Brunhilde said she wanted to take him back, and Father meant the same thing."

Heros nodded: "Yes, that's why I find it boring. It's precisely because my mother said so, and my invincible father agreed, that I'm determined not to let them have their way!"

Are you going through puberty?

"Yeah, what's wrong with me going through puberty? What's wrong with kids from single-parent families having a longer puberty?"

"However, King Wei must face a just trial. This is for justice and for the people's hearts. This civil war has cost your Galactic Empire another hundred million lives."

"My innocent brothers, they are dead. For a more prosperous future, I must plan ahead! That's only fair!"

So, am I part of your brotherly play? King Wei watched as the two brothers started arguing and began to fight, but he himself didn't dare to run away at all.

He felt like a clown, but perhaps that was the truth.

In short, when the brothers' spears of light clashed once again, this civil war, which once again determined the future of the empire, came to an end.

From then on, the empire would enter a prosperous era of great openness!
That's wonderful news!