Chapter 325: That Moment, Bai Fu Became Light
Bai Fu had not set off that fireworks display to kill people; she had done it to intimidate the Holy City of Apostles, to make them believe someone had broken in and force them to temporarily contract their defenses.
Therefore, when she chose prayer cards she had deliberately picked some that were middling in power but had enormous area of effect and looked flashily ornate.
The result was that the star sector administered by Cathedral Number Four briefly looked as if a few hundred supernovas had detonated at once.
The shockwaved psionic light illuminated the whole stretch of starry sky.
From the edge of the sector to Cathedral Number Four’s headquarters, almost the entire sector plunged into communications blackout at the same moment because of the psionic impact.
“'It… it’s gone?!'”
The headquarters of the Holy City of Apostles.
A few seconds after the assault, the director of the comms center stared in shock as the star sector managed by Cathedral Number Four had simply vanished from the communications map.
This was an unprecedented event since the founding of the Holy City of Apostles. The director dared not delay; while reporting upward he urgently tried to contact the Fourth Sector to ascertain what on earth had happened.
But no matter how hard he tried, every message he sent sank like a stone into the sea — there was no reply.
This was bad, very bad!
Had the entire Fourth Sector been erased from the starry sea by some super-disaster?
The Supreme Apostle who received the report was so stunned his eyeballs almost popped out.
Just as he was arranging people to investigate, he received a distress message from Sui Xi sent from the Rayas civilization.
“'Supreme Apostle, something big happened. Those apostle followers who caused trouble in the Rayas civilization have popped up again and are making chaos everywhere!'”
Bam!
Even the usually composed Supreme Apostle slammed his hand hard on the table this time.
“'So it was you who caused this!'”
Those people had earlier suffered a setback in Rayas and then gone into hiding.
Now that they had reappeared abruptly, they were surely trying to seize the opportunity while he had sent away a large number of transcedents to the Explored Universe — to launch an assault and eliminate the Fourth Apostle who stood behind the Holy City of Apostles.
“'Which Apostle are they following?'”
No.
It did not matter.
As long as they were not following that legendary First Apostle, he had nothing to fear!
Even if the Apostle himself had come personally, he would be completely unafraid.
“'I am not afraid of you showing up — I’m only afraid you won’t. If you really dare to come, I’ll take this chance to remove a hidden danger!'”
The Supreme Apostle turned to his assistant.
“'Strengthen defenses everywhere. Report any sign of the enemy to me immediately!'”
The assistant hurriedly nodded. “'Supreme Apostle, should we notify the servitors who have already gone to the Explored Universe?'”
The Supreme Apostle contemplated for a moment and said, “'No need. This is a small nuisance; they do not need to return.'”
Although an unexpected event had occurred, he did not want to interrupt his fishing plan.
……
While the Holy City of Apostles was bustling with activity, Bai Fu received a reply from Ying Fu’s side.
“'Everything went smoothly? Good — thank you for your efforts!'”
Bai Fu nodded.
Ying Fu, Anya, Yulia and Sui Xi had executed the task perfectly; now it was her turn to perform.
Bai Fu lifted her head and glanced at the temporary stargate in the distance, wrapped by a dozen anti-dark-energy barriers.
That was the objective of this operation.
Since they had arrived, the allied forces of the three Universe-scale civilizations and the Holy City of Apostles had clashed more than a dozen times, yet had never truly reached the temporary stargate.
With the Holy City’s reinforcements arriving one after another, the allied morale had nearly fallen to rock bottom.
No one knew what to do next.
Anxious emotions spread.
Dmitri and the others had wanted to say something several times but had ultimately swallowed their words.
In the heavy atmosphere, crisp footsteps suddenly sounded in the cockpit.
Those who had remained in the cockpit — the Domination and the transcended — turned toward the sound, and then a streak of bright white rushed straight into their vision.
It was Bai Fu!
Why had she suddenly come out now?
Bai Fu stopped in front of the virtual display and lightly tucked a stray silver lock behind her ear.
“'I really did not expect it. Even though we already figured out where the enemy came from, the situation still turned passive like this.'”
“'From the current situation, lingering here and entangling with the Holy City’s forces carried too great a risk. The best option was to withdraw quickly. But the Holy City would certainly not watch us leave; they would pursue. So to retreat smoothly someone needed to stay behind to cover the rear, otherwise many would die during the withdrawal.'”
Dmitri silently nodded — he agreed.
When he saw the warm, winter-sun smile suddenly appear on Bai Fu’s face, a bad premonition unexpectedly rose in his heart.
“'Then let me cover the rear. As long as I am alive, I will never let…'”
“'No!'”
Dmitri shouted, cutting Bai Fu off.
His face turned extremely ugly. Whether as a friend or from the Rebirth Empire’s interest, he would not allow such a thing.
When he took the lead, even those who inwardly thought Bai Fu staying to cover the rear made sense still voiced their agreement.
“'Dmitri is right. You cannot stay.'”
Bai Fu retorted, “'Then who do you say is best suited to cover the rear?'”
This…
Her question silenced the people around her.
Bai Fu said, “'The one who covers the rear cannot be weak. If they are weak, that is not covering the rear but walking to their death. Also, the rear-guard must have a steadfast will — they cannot suddenly flee while holding the line and betray others’ trust. Everyone agrees on these two points, right?'”
Still silence.
“'I think you all know I am the most suitable candidate. Enough talk — time is pressing. Arrange it quickly. We will feint an attack to draw the Holy City’s attention, then I will go alone to lure the enemy; you will use that chance to escape…'”
“'No!'”
Just a few lines in, Dmitri interrupted her again.
“'What you say makes sense, but you ignored one very important problem. We are withdrawing so that later we can better handle the Holy City. If you die here, how can we ever handle them better? Your tactical guidance is crucial to us. Let me cover the rear.'”
Bai Fu’s eyelid twitched lightly.
Hey hey, though you played your part well just now, you were stealing the spotlight.
Step aside — don’t steal my highlight moment!
If this mission succeeded, she would not only wash up a lot of favors from the three Universe-scale civilizations but also craft for herself a gilded reputation, turning herself into a paragon of the righteous. Then anyone who opposed her she could brand a villain and let the players deal with them harshly.
Thinking this, Bai Fu shook her head at Dmitri. “'You cannot. Your strength is great, but what matters for rear-guard duty is not killing technique but restraint skills and how long one can endure under siege — in those, you are not as good as I am. Still, your worry is not entirely groundless. I will write down the aspects you need to improve and hand them to you now. If you train in those directions you will not be worried about hitting a bottleneck and failing to improve.'”
She used Apostle Psionic Vision more than a dozen times in succession, scribbled a large pile of notes in a flurry, and then sent them to the corresponding people.
Seeing Dmitri still about to speak, she immediately stepped forward and cut the chant short preemptively.
“'My mind is made up. You do not need to continue persuading me. We truly have little time; every extra second could make the situation worse. If —'”
If the Holy City’s forces suddenly all withdrew, how would she still be able to show off?
Ahem.
“'If the Holy City sends reinforcements again, we will all die. Go — the earlier you leave, the greater my chance of survival, and the greater your chance of successful retreat!'”
Bai Fu’s gaze was extremely resolute, so much so that even Delano, the Titan Industries chairman who had long harbored dissatisfaction toward her, could not help but tremble inwardly.
What he saw was not Bai Fu but a beam of light!
In the vast star sea, heroes were never in short supply.
Heroes would spill blood for strangers; heroes would give their lives without hesitation in a crisis.
But someone like Bai Fu — whose power had reached Transcendent II yet who still would not hesitate to sacrifice herself for others — he had never seen anyone like her before!
Delano was deeply shocked.
He had laughed at Bai Fu as foolish, but beneath the mockery his admiration rose naturally.
Greatness needed no further words!
“'Since you have made your decision…'”
Delano suddenly took out Titan Industries’ universe treasure Home of the Lost and the Titan Holy Shield.
“'These two items should greatly increase your survival odds. As chairman of Titan Industries I guarantee them — keep them with you for now.'”
He set a good example; others followed, taking out whatever items or equipment they had that added defense, HP/MP regen, or damage reduction.
Within a dozen seconds, the pile of things placed before Bai Fu had grown into a small mountain.
“?”
Bai Fu was stunned.
Was there such a surprise?
These things could not be bought with money.
Indeed, being an actor had the brightest prospects!
She solemnly tossed all the items into the Eternal Night Pure Land.
Then she turned away, afraid she would not be able to hold back her laughter.
But in everyone else’s eyes, that turn was the final farewell.
“'Friends, we shall meet again if fate allows!'”