Chapter 229: Final Battle, the Funeral Bai Fu Prepared for the Secret Tower
Since she had fully figured out the truth behind the so-called Secret Tower traitor, Bai Fu no longer needed to play the role of a bystander.
When the time came to strike, she struck.
She summoned Manu and Mitchell immediately.
Over the past days, she had come to know quite a few high-ranking members of the Alliance, but only these two she could say with absolute certainty had no ties to the Secret Tower. Otherwise, the price Secret Tower paid to gain her trust through them would have been far too steep.
Upon meeting, Bai Fu shared with Manu and Mitchell the intelligence she had just gleaned from the players.
Of course, she didn’t claim it was her own deduction. Instead, she credited the discovery to the Treasure Digger, saying the Treasure Digger had piercing insight and instantly spotted the issue.
Manu and Mitchell had no doubts.
They weren’t familiar with the Treasure Digger personally, but they often saw her around Bai Fu or surrounded by groups of players, so they naturally assumed she held a "leader" status among the players.
【Ordinary Undead were already special. Would it be surprising for a leader among the Undead to possess eyes sharp enough to see through the Secret Tower’s tricks at a glance?】
Clearly not.
Manu and Mitchell swiftly accepted the narrative Bai Fu had crafted and understood why she had shared the information with only them.
Doubt and trust!
Doubt—toward others.
Trust—in them.
Being trusted by the Saintess of the Dark Zone—there was an inexplicable sense of pride in that.
Manu cleared his throat and got to the point: “So the current situation is that this is a massive trap meticulously laid by the Secret Tower. From this perspective, I deduce the next move will be for that spy to further provoke more intense conflict between us and the Secret Tower. Then, at the most critical moment of the conflict, the Secret Tower will use the Undead they returned to us as a springboard to launch a surprise attack from the rear.”
Mitchell’s hair stood on end.
The Secret Tower still had two Calamity-levels left, and besides them, they had the Dark Zone Insect Swarm as external reinforcements.
It was hard to say how many Calamity-levels the Dark Zone Insect Swarm had, but definitely at least one.
Three Calamity-levels launching a sudden attack from the rear...
If Bai Fu hadn’t informed them in advance, this situation would have been extremely dangerous!
Fortunately, with Bai Fu’s help, the initiative was now completely in their hands.
“We can turn their scheme against them and make the trap set by the Secret Tower into the grave they dug for themselves!”
Countless plans flashed through Manu and Mitchell’s minds in an instant. But for any of them to succeed, the most important thing was secrecy.
For them, veterans of the Star Web and the Tiane Eye Alliance, this wasn’t a challenge.
“Since everything is now clear, it’s time to put an end to the Secret Tower’s history!”
Manu and Mitchell’s faces brimmed with confidence like never before.
...
Yes.
Confidence.
Inside the Secret Tower’s conference room.
Everyone present wore the same confident expression.
Their plan had succeeded!
At least up until now, everything was proceeding exactly as they had envisioned.
“Remember, in this operation, our primary target is the Sanctification Order, the second is Bai Fu, and only lastly do we deal with those warships!”
A glint flashed in the eyes of the Chief Steward.
Not long ago, he had received critical intel from the Master of the Secret Tower—that the former queen Sypris, who was backstabbed to death by the Dark Domain Insect Queen, had likely been resurrected with Bai Fu’s help.
Because of this, he revised the plan on the spot, no longer putting all their hopes on the Undead and the Dark Zone Insect Swarm.
The Dark Domain Insect Queen had confidently claimed that Sypris hadn’t retaliated because she hadn’t fully recovered her strength yet, so there was no need for concern. But the Chief Steward still believed that any risk should be avoided, or at least planned for.
The contingency the Chief Steward designated for the Secret Tower was the 【Spear of Lamentation】 plan.
After so much planning, many would assume the Secret Tower was preparing for a final desperate gamble.
In reality, the Secret Tower hadn’t fallen to that level of despair. As long as they could seize the True Spirit Pillar held by the Sanctification Order, even if they abandoned all peripheral members, the Secret Tower headquarters they had operated for years, and all cooperation with the Dark Zone Insect Swarm, they still had a chance to carry out the vengeance they had awaited for centuries through the 【Spear of Lamentation】 plan.
“Those scum would never guess that we have this move with the Sanctification Order.”
“If we succeed in taking the True Spirit Pillar, then next, we’ll see whether there's an opportunity to eliminate Bai Fu.”
The Chief Steward thought of those Secret Tower members who had perished at Bai Fu’s hands.
Then he thought of Cecia, who had been swayed away by Bai Fu.
Who knew how Cecia was doing with Bai Fu now—was she being bullied by Scarlet Leaf? Mocked by others?
Even though Cecia had defected, she had once been part of the Secret Tower. Her current circumstances probably weren’t very good.
...
Time passed.
It had been twenty days since the Secret Tower traitor defected.
At this moment, the main storylines on all the Newbie Planets had finally concluded, and all the players on these planets were eagerly awaiting the official arrival of Version 2.0.
While waiting, they casually took on small quests and followed updates on the happenings in the Star Sea through livestream rooms, community threads, and recap videos on various platforms.
【New update, latest update! Just heard from Fu-fu that the Alliance has located the main fleet of the Secret Tower. The final battle is upon us!】
In the livestream room, the Treasure Digger excitedly raised her right hand.
【I originally thought Version 1.5 would open with the final battle. Who would’ve thought the Secret Tower could hide for so long—they managed to survive another month. But this is the limit. Once Fu-fu makes her move, no matter what demons or monsters, they all have to die!】
Her words drew waves of support from Fu-fu Faction Players.
Reality had already proven—Fu-fu was unbeatable!
Back then, wasn’t the Truth Society terrifying enough on Origin Star?
And still, Fu-fu had soloed them.
Now, the deterrence of the Secret Tower in the Initial Gate Galaxy Cluster was probably on par with what the Truth Society had on Origin Star. Plus, this time Fu-fu wasn’t alone—she had a whole team. So victory was assured.
But many players still felt that the Treasure Digger was talking too big.
Bai Fu's background was undeniably impressive, but after all, she wasn't the only true protagonist. There was no such thing as guaranteed survival until the end—besides, in some games, even protagonists could die.
Just as the Treasure Digger was praising Bai Fu, she suddenly appeared on the livestream camera. She had come to deliver a pre-battle speech.
It wasn’t really necessary, but considering the massive viewership of the Treasure Digger’s stream, not showing her face would’ve been a waste of that popularity—and would have also wasted the official team's intention of making her the lead in the second half of the new promotional video.
Bai Fu didn’t say anything emotional—forced sentiment never worked. Instead, she shouted something adolescent and passionate like, “For all that breathes, there is no retreat in war. Our bodies shall block the sky.”
This move was extremely effective.
Many players played the game precisely for such adolescent power fantasies. Bai Fu’s performance perfectly struck a chord in their hearts.
They were fired up.
Their fighting spirit was ablaze.
Especially after the mission prompt for launching the final siege against the Secret Tower rang out, the players around the Treasure Digger who had been listening to Bai Fu’s passionate speech all gripped their weapons tightly.
【Charge, charge, screw the damn Secret Tower!】
【Fight for the Initial Gate, for everything good!】
【Fu-fu, I’m rooting for you, yessir!】
Inside the fleet, nearly two million players erupted with high-spirited battle cries, an awe-inspiring sight that left the surrounding NPCs dumbfounded.
What was going on?
Oh well—regardless of why these Undead were so fired up, now was not the time to be distracted.
“Target sighted.”
“Maintain surveillance. Wait until they enter the ambush zone.”
“Understood!”
In the command flagship of the joint fleet, high-ranking commanders from four different civilizations were all tense as they stared at the giant screen before them.
They had waited too long for this moment. Just thinking that the decisive battle with the Secret Tower was finally about to happen made it feel almost unreal.
This time, it was truly thanks to Bai Fu. If she hadn’t provoked the Secret Tower so aggressively, things wouldn’t have tilted so heavily in their favor. Also, the crucial intel—that the Secret Tower traitor was actually an undercover agent—was secretly provided by Bai Fu. Considering there might be moles in the fleet, she had deliberately kept it low-profile.
If they really managed to eliminate the Secret Tower this time, Bai Fu deserved the highest credit!
“Is everyone in position?”
“All units ready!”
“Good. Execute the plan!”
As the Secret Tower fleet finally stepped into the trap, the flagship issued the highest command. In an instant, over ten thousand ships moved simultaneously, surging from all directions toward the Secret Tower fleet, their engines trailing arcs of light.
Within just a few seconds, the two fleets collided.
Fire!
The well-prepared joint fleet began mercilessly bombarding the Secret Tower fleet.
Over ten thousand warships opened fire at once. The scene was so overwhelming that in the blink of an eye, deep space became a web of lasers in various colors. Occasionally, explosions from space torpedoes, kinetic rounds, and nuclear warheads lit up in brilliant bursts of sparks.
【Holy crap, amazing!】
Onboard the ships and in the livestream rooms, every player watching the scene cried out in amazement.
Some players had actually piloted ships in space battles themselves, but no one had ever witnessed a space war of this magnitude until today.
“This firepower, this output—even a Calamity-level wouldn’t dare take it head-on. But then again, Calamity-levels wouldn’t just stand there dumbly. The strength of a galactic-level civilization’s warship isn’t enough to contain a Calamity-level. On the contrary, they’d just end up getting blown apart in return.”
Bai Fu squinted slightly.
Everything was ready. What move would the Secret Tower make next?
“Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Alert the Chief Steward immediately!”
Inside the Secret Tower’s command ship, the commander was drenched in sweat from panic.
They had been ordered to trigger a Flood Disaster to divert the Alliance’s attention. But unexpectedly, before even reaching the designated point, they were ambushed—and by a large-scale attack from the enemy, no less. If they weren’t careful, they’d all be buried here today.
Soon, the Chief Steward of the Secret Tower received the intel.
“It’s started. Let’s go.”
He turned to look at the Master of the Secret Tower beside him.
It had been many years. They hadn’t fought side by side in ages. Back then, he wasn’t yet the Chief Steward, and the Master wasn’t yet the Master of the Secret Tower.
That last time, they had achieved a great victory. What about this time?
He didn’t know. He only knew that many would die today.
Kill!
In an instant, the Secret Tower’s forces, who had been lying in ambush, charged toward the Sanctification Order headquarters like ravenous wolves.
The high-end combatants of the Sanctification Order—such as the Pope, Elron, and Sui Xi—had all followed the joint fleet to besiege the Secret Tower. What was left at headquarters were small fry, utterly incapable of resisting the Secret Tower’s elites.
Even if the Pope and the others had remained, they wouldn’t be a match for the Chief Steward and the Master of the Secret Tower—but it wasn’t as if the Sanctification Order had no trump cards.
“Kill them all. Leave no one alive!”
Wherever the Secret Tower forces passed, blood splattered and limbs flew.
In just a few minutes, the Sanctification Order headquarters was slaughtered from end to end. The Secret Tower members then ransacked the place and found the Fake True Spirit Pillar that Elron and Sui Xi had commissioned the Backer to craft in order to test Bai Fu.
“This is the True Spirit Pillar?”
The Master of the Secret Tower and the Chief Steward held their breaths.
They had never handled a real True Spirit Pillar. To be precise, they had never even seen one in person—only in videos, books, and research documents. So they couldn’t tell if it was real or not.
In terms of appearance, the fake and real True Spirit Pillars were indistinguishable.
In terms of energy perception, this fake also exhibited the traits of a real True Spirit Pillar—and it felt much more genuine than the one they themselves had crafted.
With all this evidence before them, the Master and Chief Steward no longer had doubts.
They had done it.
Haha! They had finally obtained the True Spirit Pillar they had dreamed of!
“Now, it’s time to send Bai Fu on her way!”
Fire burned in the Master of the Secret Tower’s eyes.
“Chief Steward, you escort the True Spirit Pillar back to headquarters. I’ll personally take care of Bai Fu!”
The Chief Steward didn’t argue for the opportunity.
Nor did he worry about the Master getting into trouble. The Dark Domain Insect Queen would be accompanying him. Two Calamity-levels, plus a large number of S-ranks and S+ ranks, suddenly ambushing from behind—all to kill one S+ rank Bai Fu—how could they possibly lose?
...
At the same time, in the joint fleet—
“What?!”
The Pope of the Sanctification Order, Elron, and Sui Xi all widened their eyes upon receiving news that their headquarters had been attacked.
The Master and the Chief Steward of the Secret Tower hadn’t appeared on this battlefield—they had gone to strike the Sanctification Order’s headquarters instead. What madness was this?
They were shocked and furious.
Others in the fleet didn’t take it any better.
No one could figure out what the Secret Tower was thinking.
But soon they didn’t need to.
Because the Secret Tower made its move.
Toward the rear of the fleet, the Master of the Secret Tower and the Dark Domain Insect Queen suddenly appeared with a massive force.
“Hahaha, Bai Fu, today is your death day!”
The Master of the Secret Tower laughed wildly—but his laughter quickly died.
Silence.
A dead silence.
Beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead.
He looked around and saw Calamity-levels from the Tide Civilization, the Tiane Eye Alliance, and mercenaries hired by the Kast Civilization, as well as Bai Fu, Cecia, and a host of unfamiliar faces.
These people formed a circle—some standing, some sitting, some smiling, some glaring—but without exception, every pair of eyes was locked onto him.
“Welcome.”
Bai Fu greeted him with a smile.