Chapter 804 Main Body
A couple of days later, in the desolate universe belt, the small spaceship with Han Xiao and the others on it approached a large Crimson Dynasty fleet. This fleet belonged to the dynasty’s border defense army, the 36th Division. This was the team tasked to eliminate the Fallen Ark. They were waiting to rendezvous with the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As.
After checking the various passes and confirming their identity, the small spaceship entered the fleet’s formation and connected with the square Soldier Grade Heavy Main Ship that looked like a coffin.
Whoosh!
The path opened, and Han Xiao and the rest entered the main ship’s cabin. Officers were there to welcome them.
“Your Excellency Black Star, Your Excellency Incineration, and Your Excellency Dragon Emperor. I’m Commander Murraky’s deputy, here to welcome you guys,” an officer said respectfully.
Although Ames was not the dynasty’s ally, she was a neutral Beyond Grade A who had followed Han Xiao there, so the dynasty would not treat her badly.
Han Xiao nodded. The group followed this deputy. After walking for a while, they realized that they walked into the resting area, not the command room.
“Is the commander not meeting us?” Beyoni wondered.
The deputy smiled apologetically and said, “The commander means to let you guys rest first. He will take care of the strategy, so you guys don’t have to worry.”
Han Xiao raised his brow. “Doesn’t he want to discuss it with us?”
“The commander is currently busy discussing with the staff. You guys will be notified once the strategy is complete. The enemy might escape any time. We can’t stay on standby for too long. We will be departing and engaging the enemies very soon. Please rest well. We will need your strength then.”
Han Xiao and Beyoni exchanged looks and both shook their heads. It was clear that this Commander Murraky was not willing to let them interfere with the strategy planning, not even discussing with them.
“Then we shall rest.” This was the first time that Han Xiao had marched into battle with the dynasty’s army. Seeing that Beyoni did not say anything, he did not oppose the arrangements.
Seeing that the three Beyond Grade As did not have any objections, the deputy looked relieved. He then told his subordinates to make sure that Han Xiao and the others were settled before bidding farewell. He headed right back to the command room.
It was quiet in the command room. The commander, Murraky, stood before the enormous star map and observed it with his hands behind his back. The staff sergeants around him were all silent.
The deputy approached and reported, “Commander, the three Beyond Grade As have settled down.”
Without turning back, Murraky said, “Did they have any objections?”
“No.”
“Hmm, good. I don’t like people who object.” Murraky nodded faintly. “Announce to the entire fleet that we will depart immediately.”
He was responsible for this elimination. His troops waited for a very long time for the Beyond Grade As of the dynasty arrived, which Murraky was very displeased about. However, the Beyond Grade As’ position was very high, and they were not soldiers of the dynasty, so there was nothing he could say.
He did not like those Beyond Grade As who did not directly belong to the dynasty. As the commander of the fleet, he looked at matters from a strategic point of view. In his eyes, despite those Beyond Grade As having very high positions, they were just powerful destructive tools on the battlefield without their National Pillar titles.
Murraky did not want those Beyond Grade As to share his commanding power. The dynasty had given those tools to him, so they were for him to use. Therefore, he did not think that there was a need to waste time discussing strategy with the Beyond Grade As.
No matter how high their position was outside, one fleet could only have one commander—the Beyond Grade As just had to follow and obey his orders.
He had told his deputy to meet the Beyond Grade As because he was too lazy to give them a perfunctory welcome. He did not even want to see those Beyond Grade As step into his command room.
Under Murraky’s command, the fleet started moving. They turned into streams of light dashing across the desolate universe belt and headed in the enemies’ direction.
...
Inside the cabin, Han Xiao, Ames, and Beyoni were casually chatting.
“The commander of this fleet doesn’t seem to like us.” Ames shook her head.
Beyoni neither agreed nor disagreed. “The dynasty’s military takes discipline extremely seriously. The Beyond Grade As, however, usually don’t obey orders unconditionally. The words of the commanders are usually not taken seriously at all, so there have always been some dynasty officers who don’t like to let us Beyond Grade As interfere with the overall strategy.”
After a pause, Beyoni then said unhappily, “Despite all that, this guy named Murraky is way too arrogant. He doesn’t even want to come to welcome us personally and even told us to just wait for his orders. Does he think us National Pillars are his soldiers?”
If it were an outsider who dared to act so arrogantly in front of some Beyond Grade As, he would have been killed easily. However, this guy was a soldier of the dynasty, and they could not do anything to him, which Beyoni was very displeased about.
Han Xiao, however, did not mind it too much. He waved and said carelessly, “He’s the commander, after all. It’s understandable for him to want to uphold his authority. One army can’t have two commanding voices. Although our positions are high, there’s nothing wrong with him treating us like the others. If we’re just allowed to casually make suggestions, he won’t be able to deal with them easily. Therefore, he simply divided our tasks clearly from the start so that we don’t interfere with his command.”
Beyoni glanced at him. “You really don’t think of yourself as a Beyond Grade A.”
Han Xiao shrugged.
Some senior Beyond Grade As were used to being high and mighty, not allowing the slightest disrespect. His attitude was different; he did not have such unnecessary pride.
After all, Murraky was a professional commander, so he was not willing to be told what to do by amateurs. Nonetheless, Han Xiao also felt that Murraky was indeed arrogant.
No matter what, it would not be asking too much for him to at least respect the strongest bunch of people in the universe. Never mind if he did not want to woo them, did he need to act so disrespectfully? Did he think he was the dynasty’s marshal?
Shaking his head, Han Xiao did not want to bother about it anymore. They would most likely meet EsGod’s main body this time, so he needed to think.
EsGod deliberately attracted the dynasty’s army. He definitely intends to test me.
EsGod had once proposed to do one thing for him unconditionally in exchange for the use of the Evolution Cube. Han Xiao had to admit that he was tempted, but after careful consideration, he realized that this was not a pit that he could jump into.
EsGod was not a kind person—the deal itself was already a trap. Given the fact that anything that had to do with EsGod was a sensitive topic, if he really agreed to the deal, he would have left a weakness for others to possibly exploit. Since EsGod could live in between the three civilizations right under their noses, Han Xiao absolutely did not believe that EsGod had no connections with the three civilizations. If he agreed to EsGod’s request, EsGod might expose this to the dynasty.
After EsGod finished using the Evolution Cube, he could disobey the agreement anytime he wanted. After all, he had never been known for having integrity. The uncertainties were too severe. Even if EsGod does live up to the promise, he would have plenty of ways to force Han Xiao into the opposite side of the Lawful Factions. EsGod was not afraid to do bad things, so it would be way too easy for him to drag Han Xiao down.
Han Xiao had another worry—EsGod had stolen the Evolution Cube from Psyker, exposing the fact that he had information about the Evolutionary Civilization, and now Han Xiao could use the Evolution Cube too, so it would be very easy for people to assume that they might have some sort of connection. People had definitely started to suspect him long ago. The Crimson Dynasty did not question him about this, so it might be because they had secretly investigated him and decided to trust him. However, if EsGod really wanted to drag him down and did something, it would affect him.
He would not be able to delay this matter forever. EsGod would not be willing to keep waiting, so he would definitely act once his patience ran out. If he was not in the Central Galaxy at that time, it would be very difficult for him to prove his innocence.
Being an ally of the dynasty would give him long-term benefits, so why risk it? He had made up his mind and decided that some things had to be made clear. He was certainly not going to jump into this pit. Since EsGod would not let him go, he was going to make it crystal clear that EsGod was his enemy!
Some things might look tempting and delicious, but inside, they were poisonous!
...
“Your Excellency EsGod, we have detected that the Crimson Dynasty’s fleet has appeared behind us. According to our current speed, they will catch up with us very soon. Should we accelerate and get rid of them, or turn around and fight?”
Inside the main ship of this Fallen Ark fleet, the EsGod doppelganger listened to the report from his subordinates and waved his hand.
“Turn around and engage.”
The very reason he had ordered this fleet to loiter around the dynasty’s border was to attract the dynasty’s army. Of course, he was not going to flee.
The Fallen Ark consisted of tens of millions of spaceships, and there were still many hidden bases in the desolate universe belt making new spaceships. Using one fleet as bait was not significant to EsGod at all.
If Black Star did not come, EsGod planned to capture some Espers during this battle so that he would not return empty-handed.
The Fallen Ark fleet turned around and faced the direction the dynasty’s fleet came from, preparing for battle. Not long after, the 36th Division Army of the Dynasty Border Guard Army appeared on their radar.
Although Fallen Ark was made up of undisciplined brutes, they were not powerless. They fired right away at the dynasty’s army from far away, at the same time, turned the thrusters’ performance to their maximum and charged right at the dynasty’s troops.
The three civilizations and EsGod were old enemies, there was no need for any words when they met, the battle erupted instantly.
The two fleets quickly charged toward each other and penetrated into each other’s formation.
Spaceships exploded in the cosmic space one after another, turning into colorful and bright fireworks, beautiful and cruel.
There was a desolate planet at the side of the battlefield, wreckages of the spaceships turned into meteors and crashed onto its surface, creating craters all over.
The Soldier Grade main ship of the 36th Division Army fired all its weapons. Dark red energy annihilation beams shot out nonstop and destroyed Fallen Ark’s spaceships one after another.
Murraky looked at the 3D battlefield map, observing the entire battlefield. He stared at the enemy’s main ship and said coldly, “Strike first, have those three Beyond Grade As engage at the same time and force EsGod out!”
The order sounded on the communication channel. Beyoni frowned and said with a deep voice, “All three attacking together? Won’t that expose our full capability immediately?”
Murraky heard the reply in the channel and said with an indisputable tone, “My orders are not for you to question. Execute them!”
Alright, this guy really is stubborn... Han Xiao sighed with resignation.
Almost everything about the Crimson Dynasty was good except this. Their civilization was too powerful, so it gave some of its government members too big a sense of superiority and confidence.
A tint of dissatisfaction flashed through Beyoni’s eyes. This was not the right time to argue, so he endured it, kept silent, and jumped out of the hatch right into the battlefield, heading toward the enemy main ship where EsGod was.
Ames was a little unhappy, too. She shook her head and was about to step into the battlefield. This time, Han Xiao suddenly stopped her and sighed.
“Sorry, I didn’t know the commander would have such a trash personality and made you endure this with me.”
Ames’ footsteps stopped. She turned around and glanced at him. The tiny bit of unhappiness in her eyes disappeared, and she teased, “Am I a kid to you? Does it look like I need you to comfort me, hmm?”
Then, Ames flew onto the battlefield and headed to EsGod’s location from another direction.
Smiling with resignation, Han Xiao followed right after.
As soon as the three of them entered the battle, the situation changed. Everywhere Beyoni passed, groups of enemy battleships started burning out of nowhere and were covered in flames of all kinds of colors. Even the highly heat resistant alloys were burning and turned into liquid. Entire ships melted and exploded.
Ames directly grabbed countless battleships with her force field and swept left and right, creating countless empty areas. Those battleships that got too close were instantly crushed by the force field’s pressure.
These two were both good in AOE abilities. They were weapons of mass destruction on the battlefield!
Han Xiao did not even need to put in any effort. He was happy to slack off behind the two of them with his mechanical army, only casually finishing some enemies off to complete some missions.
The three of them approached the enemy’s main ship. Inside the main ship, the EsGod doppelganger saw Han Xiao and was surprised.
“So, you’ve actually come...”
Hum!
The next moment, he disappeared and teleported right before the three of them. Without even looking at Ames and Beyoni at all, he stared right at Han Xiao and sent a private psychic voice message with a tone filled with anticipation.
“Black Star, you really do understand me well. Have you decided to make the deal with me?”
Bang!
Han Xiao fired with countless psionic cannons at the EsGod doppelganger without hesitation, slamming it onto the surface of the desolate planet.
The three of them followed right after and hovered in the sky of the desolate planet. Ames dragged the EsGod doppelganger who crashed into the ground up with her force field and compressed it into a twisting black shadow. She then pulled it right toward the three of them.
Beyoni raised his hands and aimed at the EsGod doppelganger. Suddenly, flames erupted from within the EsGod doppelganger’s dark body.
Han Xiao activated [Gene Liberation], and the mechanical army fired at the EsGod doppelganger continuously.
Psh!
Dark blue beams penetrated the EsGod doppelganger time after time like a thunderstorm, followed the gravitational force of the desolate planet, and disappeared in the cosmic space.
Pa!
The EsGod doppelganger exploded into a black fog and slowly dissipated.
Even Psyker could easily eliminate two EsGod doppelgangers alone. One EsGod doppelganger with limited energy would only be completely thrashed in the face of three Beyond Grade As.
“Not bad.” Murraky, who was in the main ship far away, nodded.
Now that the EsGod doppelganger had been eliminated, he just had to wipe out the enemy fleet.
Just as he was thinking that, a space energy vortex suddenly appeared where the EsGod doppelganger had been eliminated. An ordinary ugly man wearing a hood stepped out of it.
As soon as this person appeared, as if he had brought an immeasurable amount of pressure with him, the spacetime around him seemed to freeze for an instant.
At this moment, Murraky’s expression changed drastically.
Beyoni’s relaxed body tensed up instantly.
Ames frowned tightly.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.
This was no longer a doppelganger but EsGod’s main body!
The notorious brute feared by many Beyond Grade As!
EsGod stared coldly at Han Xiao and spoke slowly with a cold tone.
“I’m... very disappointed with your response.
“But... when rejecting me, you shouldn’t have been so close to me.”