This is not mechanical ascension...

Chapter 297: The sudden influx of the dark tide of the star stream and the "recruitment" of the Bloody Duke

But now, it seems that a third person has intervened. Although we don’t know what he is going to do, it should not deviate from their ultimate goal.

"On the contrary, it saves me a lot of energy." His eyes flickered: "However, there is still a chance to detonate it."

…………

"Why are the coordinates flying all over the sky?"

In the Coyle, Benny stared at the virtual screen in front of him, trembling all over, with bloodshot eyes: "And this detailed description of the core relics, who spread it out!?"

Ulrich glanced at him indifferently, and no one paid any attention to him.

"Qinglong, where is Lord Qinglong? He hasn't shown up for more than ten days." Benny looked around like a madman.

"You called us here for such a short matter?" Sandro muttered in dissatisfaction: "If you want to know the answer, go find it yourself."

"I..." Benny's face turned red. Monroe said calmly, "Your Excellency Qinglong will show up when it's time. Just wait patiently."

"Wait...?" Benny's heart twitched, staring at Monroe, but helpless.

This guy suddenly appeared and no one knew his origins. After Qinglong disappeared, this guy took charge of all matters on the main ship.

It would be fine if the coward Cornette had no objection, but Theo and the other three guys actually had no objection either.

He really couldn't figure out what was going on and he couldn't leave. The suffocating feeling almost drove him crazy.

"Old man, the core ruins are right in front of us. If there are any changes, we will be the first to know. Look how panicked you are." Sandro sneered and was the first to leave.

Others left one after another.

.........

"Your Excellency Admiral, I have been in and out of the Red River Star Stream hundreds of times. I am as familiar with this place as home."

On the dark golden deck of the Trident, a hunchbacked old man with a beard came down from the spaceship and stood timidly in front of Antonio.

Antonio looked at him with a dignified expression, then looked at his men beside him and said coldly: "Is this the method you said to break through the combined fleet?"

"Blackbeard!" the subordinate shouted hastily, "Stop keeping us in suspense and tell us your method."

Blackbeard nodded and flattered, "Your Excellency Admiral, since I was a child, I have followed my father to make a living in the Red River Star Stream, and have experienced dozens of tidal periods..."

As he was speaking, Blackbeard shuddered and saw Antonio's murderous gaze. He hurriedly stepped to the point and said in a trembling voice: "I have a way to trigger the dark tide of the stars!"

"Hmm?" Antonio looked slightly surprised and looked up and down at Blackbeard: "Star Stream Dark Tide, just you?"

"Of course I don't have this ability. I can only create a star stream under extremely harsh conditions. If the environment allows, I can make it continue to expand and move in a specific direction."

Antonio frowned slightly. The dark tide of the star stream is an extremely dangerous disaster near the Red River Star Stream. It is a dark energy tide flowing in the mezzanine space.

If the scale is large enough, it is indeed possible to cause great damage to the immobile Combined Fleet, or at least create an opportunity for attack.

He still looked skeptical, but he thought he might as well give it a try. "Okay, the entire army, including me, will cooperate with you. If you succeed, you will gain tremendous wealth. If you fail, I will kill you."

Blackbeard's face turned pale and full of bitterness, "Yes... yes..."

……

"Yes, father..." Gabriel looked respectful as he stood in front of the table. The smart terminal above reflected a black virtual screen, with only white sound waves rising and falling. His voice was low and mellow:
"We should be tolerant of this kind of special talent. Don't care what he says. As long as the gene lock is engraved, he will definitely be used by us. In order to take care of their self-esteem, it's okay to say a few nice words."

"You discovered him, and he will be of use to you in the future..."

Gabriel's expression was gloomy and unreadable. "I will convey your intention to him. I believe he will feel extremely honored by your favor."

……

"drop--"

The blockade light turned from red to green. Li Ming looked up unexpectedly and glanced at the virtual clock on the wall. It was not yet time for free activities.

The cell door opened, and the soldier in charge of guarding the cell poked his head out and said, "Sir, His Highness Ford is here to visit you."

"Fred?" Li Ming nodded thoughtfully.

When I went out, I saw Fudeguo standing not far away. He was wearing a proper military uniform, standing straight with his hair combed back.

There are seats in the common area of ​​this special detention area.

"I didn't expect that the scene would be like this when we met again." Ford sighed after sitting down.

"So, how do you feel seeing me become a prisoner?" Li Mingze said with a smile.

"Nothing." Ford smiled bitterly, scratched his hair, and couldn't help asking, "How did you get caught? You were so careless."

"I'm not omnipotent. It's normal to be caught." Li Ming shrugged.

Ford was speechless and sighed: "It doesn't matter. With your terrifying development potential, no one will do anything to you even if you are caught."

"What do you think? The Bloodthirsty Duke is very interested in you. I heard that if he wasn't afraid that you would be kidnapped by Azure Dragon, he would send you away immediately."

Li Ming was slightly surprised. He really underestimated the impact of this development potential.

Level 46 was a level he had chosen specifically to suit his own development progress.

Fortunately, it was not higher, otherwise instead of sending the joint fleet, he would be sent directly to the Xingyuan Empire.

"But Gabriel has a grudge against you, or more precisely, your teacher. He has been holding a grudge against you ever since he was fooled by your teacher last time." Ford reminded carefully:
"It is said that Gabriel was going to search your memory directly, but your potential for development was too terrifying, and Ronan also stopped him, so he had no choice but to give up."

"Earlier, Asmara specially opened a communication line for Gabriel. It seems that his father has received an order. I guess it has something to do with you."

"He might come to you and tell you the price, or even try to pressure you. Don't pay attention to him. Be patient and wait until you meet the Bloodthirsty Duke."

Li Ming looked Ford up and down, shook his head and said, "If someone is being nice to you for no reason, he is either a traitor or a thief."

Ford's face suddenly became awkward, and he said awkwardly: "We are old friends, and I am just concerned about you."

"Of course, it would be great if you could take care of me in the future if you have the chance."

Li Ming laughed, his meaning unclear: "Are you so sure that I will submit to the Bloodthirsty Duke?"

"Do you... have any other choice?" Ford was shocked and couldn't help but advise: "Brother, don't do stupid things. Don't waste such high development potential."

"Haha..." Li Ming shook his head and asked, "How are things going over at the core ruins?"

"You still care about this?" Ford looked surprised and said speechlessly: "It has been initially materialized and is undergoing finishing work. It should be ready in a few days."

Li Ming seemed to be thinking about something, then he stood up and said, "Okay, thank you for your reminder." Ford hesitated, looking at Li Ming's back, and added, "That's the Bloodthirsty Duke, it's not shameful."

There was no response, because Li Ming had already turned around and walked into the cell, and Ford shook his head helplessly.

He had some understanding of Li Ming. Although he seemed nonchalant, he actually had a strong sense of pride, but he didn't show it much.

I made this trip specifically because I was afraid that he would be provoked by Gabriel who was venting his anger and suffer in vain.

Sure enough, less than two hours later, Gabriel arrived.

This time, Li Ming did not go out, but just sat on the bed casually.

In the narrow cell, Gabriel stood expressionlessly in an open space, followed by his personal bodyguard Ronan.

"How do you feel?" He said in a calm voice.

"It's okay, but the suppressor on my body is not very comfortable." Li Ming said casually.

Seeing the other party like this, Gabriel didn't know why he thought of Qinglong again, and suddenly he became angry and no longer wanted to pretend to be nice. He said in a cold voice:
"My father asked me to tell you that as long as you are willing to carve the gene lock and work for him, he can give you everything you want."

"Everything you want?" Li Ming couldn't help but grin, "Tsk tsk..."

Seeing his nonchalant look, Gabriel became more and more dissatisfied. His father was the Grand Duke of the Empire, a big shot that countless people wanted to see but could not.

He said coldly: "Isn't this your purpose? You are fearless when you are caught. You also know how valuable you are."

"Why bother being so reserved now? I might as well tell you that your whereabouts were leaked by Cornette. The consequences of your teacher's mess fell on you."

Gabriel's eyes were cold: "Whether you agree or not, you will eventually be engraved with a gene lock, which is jokingly called a "dog chain". You have no choice."

Li Ming stared at him and suddenly asked, "How old are you?"

Gabriel frowned, his eyes became colder, and Ronan whispered, "Your Highness."

Gabriel snorted coldly, "You don't know what I'm talking about."

He did not wait for Li Ming's answer. He left after saying these words. After the cell door was closed, Ronan said hesitantly:
"Your Highness, your attitude is a little too intense."

"I've read his information and psychological profile. He has a sense of pride that needs to be worn away," Gabriel said expressionlessly.

Ronan sighed helplessly.

.........

Just five days later, countless warships of various types gathered outside the combined fleet's reconnaissance area. They all looked very old and uneven, and some even had signs of repairs on their hulls.

"It's just like what you said. It will take a lot of energy to kill all these guys." Several commanders in the Star Crown Guard were chatting casually.

This situation has been going on for several days, and in the coming days, it can be foreseen that more fleets will gather.
"I heard that the core ruins are almost ready. If we delay any longer, some big guys might come from far away."

"Not sure, we just need to follow orders... Huh?" A human commander was suddenly surprised, and he pointed at the fleet that suddenly scattered on the screen.

"What happened to them?" he asked subconsciously. Before he finished speaking, a shrill alarm suddenly sounded in the entire command room.

"Warning, we have detected a large-scale energy tidal fluctuation and a gathering of interlayer energy. The model is consistent with the suspected star stream dark tide. Please avoid it as soon as possible!"

The commanders looked at each other, their faces suddenly became extremely horrified, Star Stream Dark Tide! ?

After receiving the news, Asmara has rushed over urgently, and all the senior executives have gathered in the command room. Now they have no time to care about why such a huge star stream is coming towards them.

The virtual screens went dark one by one, and various reports continued: "The peripheral probes have been destroyed. The estimated collision time is thirty-four minutes."

As soon as the words fell, there was a sound of gasps. Their probe had spread to three days beyond the range.

Even if the jump voyage takes three days, this star stream dark tide can come in thirty minutes. It is really terrible.

Asmara looked solemn and responded quickly, saying in a deep voice: "Within the next thirty minutes, shrink the formation with all your strength and run all the joint shield generators at full power."

"All bombers and main ship gun turrets are charged and aimed at the direction of the star stream dark tide to carry out the first wave of reduction."

"In addition, with the Ring Star Crown Guard as the center, we will provide multiple layers of protection!"

No one dared to delay, and orders were passed down layer by layer with sweat on their foreheads. The loose formation of the combined fleet began to shrink rapidly.

Time passed minute by minute, Asmara stood at the porthole with a gloomy face and a feeling of doubt in his heart.

She was worried not only about the dark tide of stars, but also about what might happen afterwards.

The dark starry sky was filled with astonishing energy reactions, like an area with a bug, flickering non-stop.

In the visualized energy spectrum, it is like an overwhelming wave, surging at a seemingly slow but actually extremely fast speed.

The dilapidated warships along the way were trying their best to avoid it, but in the face of this interstellar disaster, everything seemed so powerless and was quietly caught up in it without even a spark.

In the command room, everyone held their breath and waited patiently.

"Already within the designated range, ready to bomb!"

"3, 2, 1!"

boom!
The fully charged turret gushed out a blazing beam of light, a colorful torrent of energy roared out, the dazzling light illuminated the entire area, and under everyone's attention, it rushed into the dark wave.

boom!
Everyone was imagining the sound in their minds. Ripples like water appeared in the space, and the void was distorted. Within the coverage area, even the stars in the distance disappeared in an instant.

This is the space being distorted to the limit, forming a closed state, isolating the inside and the outside, even light is no exception, and continuous explosions can be seen from extremely far away places.

Immediately afterwards, as if ignited, bright blue fire lines spread out in all directions from the point of impact, as if lifting up an endless and magnificent sky, and the entire joint fleet seemed insignificant in front of it.

The interlayer energy was detonated and turned into a substantial torrent. It looked terrifying, but its power was greatly reduced.

"The impact is coming!"

The flaming blue sky collided with the thick energy barrier, instantly triggering a violent chain reaction with continuous ripples.

All shield nodes were running at full power and humming continuously.

“Drip—drip—”

The lights flickered, the hull was shaking violently, and the command room was silent. The energy magnetic field brought by the star stream dark tide made all the detection equipment ineffective, and cold sweat broke out in everyone's palms.

In the special detention area, Li Ming looked up and saw the lights flashing, his heart was filled with emotion, "Is it finally starting?"

(End of this chapter)