The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

Chapter 2711 The Last Hope
2711, The Last Hope
Cal Kestis struggled desperately, but to no avail. The Force in Oggs's hands grew stronger and stronger, making it impossible for him to resist.

He said with a ferocious expression, "We gave you everything! Everything! But you lowly people are ungrateful. What use are people like you? You should die now!"

"Let him go!" Ella Sekula rushed up, grabbed her lightsaber, and stabbed it at Oggs' back.

However, the situation was completely under Oggs's control. He threw Karl to the ground and then swung his sword back! Caught off guard, Ella Sekura was pierced through the abdomen by the sword!

Even so, Ella Sekula lunged forward, grabbing Yorgos by the shoulder and yelling, "Run! Run!"

Carl Kestis was almost completely stunned; he didn't know what to do. He got up from the ground, feeling pain all over his body.

"Run!" Ella Sekula shouted with her last strength, "We can't let Tang Xiao get that memory! Run!"

After a struggle, Karl-Kestis finally stood up, but the instant he stood, he met Yorgos's incredibly ferocious and terrifying gaze. "You. Trying to run. Do you think you can get away?"

Carl Kestis gritted his teeth, knowing he was now in dire straits. Suddenly, a power from an unknown source surged forth, and he let out a long howl as a powerful burst of primal force erupted from his head!

The force was so powerful that even Oggs was caught off guard and had to retreat repeatedly.

He reacted quickly, kicking the dying Ella-Sekura aside. He then picked up his lightsaber and slashed fiercely at Calcastis.

However, in that instant, he suddenly remembered the highest order from Tang Xiao—to spare Karl-Kestis's life!
In that instant, Yorgos's sword slowed down by 0.1 seconds. In that 0.1 seconds, the little robot BD-1, who had been with Cal-Kestis, pounced on Yorgos's back without him noticing and stabbed him hard in the spine with a stun gun!

"Ah!!" Eugers screamed and froze for a moment.

In that instant, Cal Kestis seized the last chance and swung his sword down! Instantly, Yorgos' right cheek and entire right hand were severed!

"Hurry up!" Carl-Kestis helped the barely alive Ella-Sekura to her feet, grabbed a car from the side, cleaved open the cockpit with a single sword strike, skillfully connected the circuitry, and drove the hovercar away.

Soon, several other members of the Star Squad, also dressed in blue, ran over. Seeing Oggs with half his face and his entire right hand severed, a woman exclaimed, "Quick, the captain's injured! Call a doctor!"

"Where's the medical robot? Come quick!!"

While they were frantically trying to catch up, on the other side, Zhang Xucheng, codenamed Sky Eye of the Sky Squad, sighed and said, "I lost them. Where's Tania?"

“Hmm.” Shen Yuanhao said slowly from the side, “Kunlan-Worth also got away. But he’s not doing well either; he’s injured and probably won’t get far.”

“In that case, let’s tighten the encirclement. Although Oggs is seriously injured, this time we won’t let them escape,” Zhang Xucheng said calmly.

Meanwhile, inside one of the most advanced hospitals on the planet Anagi, a furious roar echoed: "Karl-Kestis, I'll kill you! I swear, I'll kill you! Even if you run to the ends of the galaxy, I'll kill you!! I swear, you must die!!!"

……

Carl Kestis hid the nearly dead Ella Sekura in a damp warehouse, a place used for storing fruit. Carl fed Ella a few apples, which restored some of her strength, but her condition remained dire.

That night, Cal Kestis sneaked out and stole some medical supplies from a hospital run by the Umbrella Corporation. He then used these supplies to try and alleviate Ayla Sekura's injuries. However, this was a lightsaber wound, a penetrating one, and the plasma blade was imbued with the powerful Force of Yorgos. It was a miracle that Ayla Sekura had survived; her extensive experience navigating the most dangerous places allowed her to avoid the most fatal wounds at the last moment and protect her vital organs with the Force, thus ensuring her survival.

Even so, she was already close to death. The emergency sprays stolen from Umbrella Hospital could only temporarily seal the wounds and slow the infection, but they could not remove the Force burns remaining in her body.

Carl watched helplessly as Ella Sekura's breathing grew weaker and weaker, and dark red cracks began to appear beneath her skin—signs of Oggs Force corrosion. He gripped her hand tightly, closed his eyes, and tried to use his own Force to heal those hidden wounds.

He understood that Ella-Sekula was injured to give him a chance to escape. Whether the purpose was to save him or to prevent the Keber Crystal he was carrying from falling into Tang Xiao's hands, it was still a great favor.

As the Force was injected, the Force burns in Ayla Sekura's body eased... However, the terrifying battle where she had just escaped death was still vivid in her mind. Soon, Cal Kestis was consumed by fear, her whole body trembling, and her Force became chaotic.

At that moment, he felt a cool sensation in his palm and heard Ella Sekura's weak yet firm voice: "Don't be afraid... Kestis, the Force is with you." She barely opened her eyes, and a wisp of pure Force slowly flowed into his body. Carl shuddered, the chaotic Force gradually calmed down, and his breathing became steady.

Carl-Kestis breathed a sigh of relief and resumed repairing Ella's burns. Finally, Ella-Sekura's breathing stabilized, the dark red cracks began to fade, and the emergency spray finally took effect. However, she still needed further treatment; such injuries couldn't be easily healed. She needed to be placed in a bakta can for complete recovery.

As night deepened, the sound of the wind outside the warehouse mingled with the distant echoes of alarms. Ella Sekura had gradually fallen asleep. Carl Kestis stayed by her side, pondering for a long time. Finally, he took out his communicator and entered a familiar frequency code—Zhang Guomin.

However, just as he was about to press the send button, a hand suddenly reached out from the darkness and grabbed his wrist, the force steady but without hostility.

“Sending a distress signal now will only attract more pursuers.” A deep voice echoed from the shadows as Quinlan-Vos slowly emerged from the darkness. “The Twilight Covenant has laid a tight net; such reckless communication will expose our position.”

“But…” Carl was about to say something when Quinlan-Worth interrupted him.

“I’ll handle it. I have some resources that should be able to help you with an encrypted communication,” Quinlan-Vos said, taking out a personal micro-terminal and starting to operate it.

Outside, a spaceship that was constantly playing advertisements flew by in the sky. Quinlan-Vos pressed the key on the keyboard, hijacked the advertising signal band as a cover, and instantly embedded an encrypted frequency band into it, and the communication was established.

“The signal has been spoofed, and the communication window is only three minutes,” Quinlan-Worth said in a low voice, his eyes fixed on the interference waveform on the terminal screen.

Carl took a deep breath, quickly switched to the channel, his lips moved, and finally he spoke, his voice incredibly dry: "Boss...it's me..."

[Karl? Are you insane? The entire planet Anagi is now under your arrest... What are you doing?]

Hearing Zhang Guomin's deep voice, Carl-Cestis almost burst into tears, but she managed to compose herself and said through gritted teeth, "I'm currently in the Machika district, Passion Fruit Company's C fruit warehouse."

As he gave the address, Quinlan Worth's eyes flashed with murderous intent, but he quickly sighed and walked away.

“I think my bounty should be substantial. The Dawn Kingdom always does this, and they'll definitely pay it,” Karl-Kastice said. “With that money, you can buy a new hovercar… Don’t forget to send Mark and the others their bonuses…”

"Tell me what you want, child..." Zhang Guomin sighed.

“I obtained a crystal… a relic of the ancient Sith Empire. Tang Xiao wants it, along with the evil secrets recorded within it…” Karl-Kestis said briefly.

The situation is much better; I can take care of myself now. It's just that I can't sleep at night; the pain is constant no matter where I put the acupoint.