The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

Chapter 2660 My Path
2660. My Path

"You must inform His Majesty personally? Hmph!" Qi Jian's face turned icy. "What are you trying to do? Are you trying to cause me trouble?"

He came to the Elru people to ensure that nothing else happened on Mordel Star, so that he could send more fleets to reinforce the northern battlefield. But now it seems the Elru people are planning something else for him?

Do not make jokes!
If it were a Serari or a Given, he would try his best to meet any request. Even if it were a Gran or a Salest, he would seriously consider the request.

But the Elru? This race has a history of betrayal?

Qi Jian said coldly, "His Majesty has been unwell recently. If there's anything you need, please speak to my secretary." He stood up, as if to see the guest out.

"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff!" The representative of the Elru people quickly stepped forward and said respectfully, "Please give us a chance... The oracle of the Bird Spirit is truly of utmost importance..."

"I don't have time to listen to your baseless myths, that's enough!" Qi Jian waved his hand.

The representative of the Airu people panicked and quickly stepped forward to block Qi Jian's path, shouting, "Your Excellency, the Chief of Staff! The Bird Spirit's divine decree is truly important!"

Seeing that she was blocking his way, Qi Jian's expression turned somewhat ugly. Without him even giving any orders, two guards rushed in from outside and instantly pinned the representative to the ground.

But the representative of the Elru people was still shouting from the ground, "Your Excellency General Staff! Please give us a chance... Bird Spirit... The Bird Spirit God comes from the same place as you!!"

Qi Jian's heart skipped a beat. He waved his hand, signaling the guards to release her and leave. He walked up to the representative and coldly asked, "What place are you talking about?"

“It should be on…Dawn Planet…” the Elu representative said cautiously.

On the mothership Glory? Qi Jian frowned and said in a deep voice, "I will inform His Majesty of this matter. As for how he will deal with you, I cannot guarantee."

"Thank you very much, Your Excellency. I believe His Majesty will certainly take this matter seriously." The representative of the Airu people bowed in respect.

……

Meanwhile, on the planet Mullinster, on Abora Island.

This was once the site of Darth Pregus's Dark Altar, and the place from which Darth Malthael inherited the most forbidden knowledge. Even though Darth Malthael rarely comes here now, the Dark Altar on Abora remains one of the darkest places in the galaxy.

Darth Malthael was meditating with his eyes closed in the dark altar. On the altar, seemingly inexhaustible blood flowed continuously through the mysterious symbols drawn in the ancient Sith language. The immensely powerful dark force gathered here, as if coalescing into a ferocious demon.

Near the island, one could see one terrifying monster after another roaming around. These monsters ranged in size from tens of meters long to hundreds of meters long! And without exception, they were all ferocious and terrifying, with barbed bone spikes, sharp claws and long teeth, and rows of scarlet eyes that emitted a murderous light.

Because the Dark Altar is located below the sea surface and has been corroded by the dark forces for a long time, the marine life here has mutated into terrifying dark monsters. They crave killing and destruction, but they are unwilling to leave the area of ​​the altar, so they can only stay here, greedily bathing in the nourishment of the dark forces.

To prevent these monsters from causing even greater destruction, Darth Masaiel has ordered the Muen to build a powerful electromagnetic barrier, completely isolating the sea area hundreds of kilometers around Abora Island.

If anything were to intrude, even a warship, it would likely be torn to pieces by these monsters in the ocean, along with its crew!

Now, if viewed from space, the sea surrounding Abora Island appears as a vast expanse of black, resembling a rotting scar on the planet.

The dark side of the Force roared through the void, even extending terrifying claws to grab Darth Malthael, as if trying to drag him into the endless darkness.

But eventually, the almost fully formed Dark Side Force gradually became atomized and diluted, and was then absorbed into Darth Masaiel's body.

In the end, the resentful dark side of the Force still emerged from his face, tearing fiercely at the void, but ultimately vanished without a trace with a miserable howl.

Darth Masair opened his eyes, only to see a jade-green dagger hovering between his brows. He turned his head to the other side and said coldly, "What? You haven't decided to kill me yet?"

A girl wearing a white low-cut dress, with a head of lush green hair, and a beautiful and holy appearance, who seemed to be radiating a divine light, suddenly appeared less than a meter away from Tang Xiao and raised her hand to grasp the divine weapon—the Mortis Dagger.

She simply stood there, and the dark forces that had accumulated over many years at the Dark Altar were almost completely dispelled. The dark monsters around her sank to the deepest part of the sea, lying on the seabed trembling.

This is natural, because this girl is the one who inherited the mantle of the gods, the essence of the Force, one of the Trinity, representing the light side—"Daughter".

She sheathed the dagger at her waist and said calmly, "On the contrary, you have shown me another possibility. You... may become the dark side of the Force, you... may become, 'Son'."

“I remember saying I wouldn’t consider that possibility,” Darth Masaier replied with a cold laugh.

"Becoming the dark side of the Force won't affect your current plans. You want to kill Darth Sidious, destroy the Galactic Empire, and rule this galaxy—there's no conflict between them. After all, we've done things like that before. Otherwise, how do you think the Kyric Swarm rose to power?" "Daughter" said calmly.

“I really want to know how they rose to power,” Darth Masaiel said bluntly. “This is a rare opportunity, why don’t you tell me now?” “Daughter” paused for a moment, then said, “I can’t tell you the specifics; it’s a sealed memory.”

Darth Masaiel stood up and stood face to face with his "daughter," saying, "But I know perfectly well what became of the Kilik swarm. They once stood at the pinnacle of the galaxy, wielding the power of the gods, even manipulating the stars at will. But what was the result? Now the Kilik swarm is nothing more than a swarm of primitive insects clinging to trees, sucking their sap."

He continued, “I have absolutely no interest in getting involved with you. I do want to know what exactly happened during the Ragnarok 100,000 years ago, and I am researching it, but that doesn’t mean I’m interested in becoming a part of it. On the contrary, my research aims to prevent the same thing from happening again.”

He waved a finger on his head and said, "You say your memories are sealed, which isn't surprising, because 'son's' memories are also sealed. But who sealed your memories? 'Father' is dead, yet you still can't break the seal with your own power. This can only mean that someone else placed this seal, or rather..."

His expression turned somewhat strange, then he softly uttered a single word, "God..."

The "daughter" shook her head and said seriously, "Whether you like it or not, the gears of fate have been turning ever since you entered Mortis. You plotted to kill the 'son,' but the 'father' did not really punish you because he also saw this possibility at that time."

“Now, every time you use the power of your ‘son,’ you get closer and closer to him. But you can’t stop using it.” The ‘daughter’s’ expression was somewhat mocking. “Because the dark side cannot suppress its inner desires. You should have already understood that you cannot govern a country, be a good king, and at the same time fight against Darth Sidious. He can wage war and slaughter trillions of lives for his own power. Can you do that?”

Darth Malthael scoffed, "I thought you'd step in to stop this massacre. How about we try a different approach? You help me kill Darth Sidious, and I'll stop using the 'Son's' power. After that, we'll go our separate ways, and you can do whatever you want. What do you say?"

“I’m more concerned with restoring balance to the Force than with Darth Sidious,” the “daughter” said. “And making you the new ‘son’ is an important part of that.”

“Then why don’t you go find the Chosen One? If you can’t find him, I can show you a way,” Darth Masaiel said. “The Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker, oh yes, he’s currently leading the Death Fleet in the Dron system, guarding the gates for the Galactic Empire.”

“If it were ‘Father,’ he would be interested. But I don’t believe that someone who can’t even face his own heart is the chosen one to balance the Force. To put it bluntly, he has talent beyond everything, but he is not worthy,” the “daughter” said.

Just then, the communicator suddenly rang.

Tang Xiao frowned, picked up the communicator, and saw that it displayed the name of Chief of the General Staff Qi Jian. A hint of displeasure rose in his heart. This guy had just told him to draft the battle plan, and less than an hour later he was sending this message. Did he really want to go mining on the Kosher satellite?

"Your Majesty, the representative of the Elu people just came to see me. She claims that they received a divine message from the Bird Spirit God and wants to tell you about it in person..." Qi Jian said carefully, because even he himself found the matter utterly absurd.

"Get them out of here. And send that representative to mine on the Kosher satellite." Tang Xiao was still annoyed by his argument with his "daughter," and his face darkened as he spoke coldly.

"Your Majesty, but they claim that the Bird Spirit God... comes from the planet Dawn..." Qi Jian said.

Tang Xiao frowned, and then a possibility came to mind!
When Orega awoke before, there was no warning either; he just suddenly appeared and almost took control of the Glory mothership. If it hadn't been for timely intervention, it could have been a disaster.

And now, could this so-called 'Bird Spirit God' also be a 'Prisoner' level being like Orega?

If that's the case, then it must be dealt with immediately!
"Wait here, I'm coming right away. Tell the Elru people to get ready. I'll give them five minutes to explain this 'Bird Spirit God' thing!" Tang Xiao said, getting up and walking towards the entrance of the Dark Altar.

Qi Jian hadn't expected Tang Xiao's reaction to be so strong. He was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Yes, I'll arrange it immediately."

Tang Xiao walked past his "daughter," but caught a glimpse of the "I knew it" expression on her face. A nameless rage surged within him. He abruptly turned back, glaring at his "daughter" and gritting his teeth, saying, "I have no interest in your paths! I am who I am! I will never submit to any so-called fate, any so-called arrangement! Do you want to know why I killed my 'son'? Because I want to control my own destiny!"

The "daughter" put away her mocking expression and said seriously, "Your idea is good, but have you thought about it? You may think about it, but what about the person who controls your destiny right now?"

Tang Xiao's heart skipped a beat!
That's right! The being that allowed me to travel through time!
And... the being that Darth Preggs saw when he named himself 'Darth Malthael'!

There has indeed always been an invisible hand seemingly controlling everything. While this hand may not have significantly influenced Tang Xiao's choices, there's no doubt that, up to this point, it is the mastermind behind it all!
"What do you know? Who is he? Why did he bring me here?!" Tang Xiao suddenly jumped up and grabbed his "daughter's" shoulders, roaring loudly.

However, his hands suddenly felt empty. His "daughter" effortlessly broke free from his grasp and appeared several meters away. She said earnestly, "Indeed, you really do have a problem. Just as 'Father' said, you are the biggest variable in this universe."

"What exactly do you know?" Tang Xiao's expression turned ferocious.

“I don’t know anything.” The daughter shook her head. “That’s the biggest problem.”

"Hmph!" Tang Xiao snorted heavily, walked towards the door, and left with a sentence, "What kind of gods are they talking about, what kind of Ragnarok? Don't try to drag me into this! I am who I am! I have my own path!"

The "daughter" ignored him, seemingly lost in thought, before her figure gradually disappeared.

The bright red fighter jet took off and quickly disappeared into the horizon.

At that moment, in the empty, dark altar, came the "daughter's" soft sigh, "What you have experienced is something that even the gods... could not do."

Thank you Kirito from Sword Art Online 3 for the 500 Qidian Coins!