Chapter 343: The Black Tide Strikes, Total War
“Your Excellency, Supreme Apostle, the new routes connecting all regions had been opened as required, the expeditionary force had also been fully prepared, and now we awaited only your command.”
The assistant respectfully reported to the Supreme Apostle.
The Supreme Apostle stared at the vast star map unfurled before him, flames of conquest flickering in his eyes.
After a long while, he slowly stretched out his right hand, pointing at a cerulean planet ahead.
“Notify everyone, I will give a speech on Origin Star in the Apostolic Holy City.”
“Yes!”
The assistant gave a grand salute, then hurried away.
A day and a half later, all the upper echelons of the Apostolic Holy City gathered on Origin Star.
Before everyone, the Supreme Apostle delivered a speech themed “Without Advancement Comes Ruin,” calling upon all to participate in an all-out war against the explored universe.
In his speech, he mentioned Bai Fu and the Original Pact many times.
Bai Fu was the greatest enemy of the Apostolic Holy City—not because she herself was so strong, not because she was so hard to kill, but because as long as she was given enough time, she could use her guidance ability—greater even than the Crystal of Revelation—to forge one after another of towering enemies for the Apostolic Holy City.
Thus——
“Bai Fu must die!”
The Original Pact was likewise a great enemy of the Apostolic Holy City. This was not only because the Apostolic Holy City had shown power greater than that of the three universal civilizations, but also because, in the Battle of the New Route, the Original Pact had slain countless Apostolic Holy City Sovereigns and Transcendents. Such a blood feud could not go unavenged.
The Supreme Apostle’s speech stirred fury in everyone present.
But what truly pushed the atmosphere to a climax was the other announcement he made—that the Holy Land directly under his command, as well as the True Spirit Palace and the Tribunal now belonging to him, would all commit themselves fully to the war.
Except for the necessary garrison, there would be no reservation.
This time, the Supreme Apostle was indeed wagering everything.
As he himself said—without advancement, there would be ruin.
“Was this triggered by what happened before?”
People whispered beneath the stage.
Yet they did not oppose it; on the contrary, they wished for the Supreme Apostle to go all-in.
If the gamble succeeded, everyone would gain massive benefits; if it failed, and the Supreme Apostle was ousted early, that too was an acceptable outcome for them.
Other than the Supreme Apostle himself, no one truly believed failure would spell the destruction of the Apostolic Holy City.
“This meeting is over. Everyone return and make your preparations.”
Not long after the mobilization conference ended, the Supreme Apostle once again returned to the hidden chamber deep beneath the Holy Land.
He stood before a small tree.
If Bai Fu had been here, she would have recognized it at once—it was the very tree that had appeared in the version 3.0 preview.
Compared to the last time he came, the tree showed no change.
The Supreme Apostle knelt on one knee before it. He stretched out his right hand and stroked the leaves as tenderly as if caressing an infant.
“I have waited nearly two centuries. I will make you bloom the most resplendent flower, even if it costs the entire Apostolic Holy City!”
……
The next day.
10 a.m.
This was the hour set for the expedition.
When the temporary dimensional anchors of the last Star Ring Fortress were calibrated, the Eternal Infinite—his Excellency’s God-Image-class flagship—erupted with surging waves of dark energy.
Under the wash of dark energy, the thousands of Pilgrimage Roads trailing along the equatorial arm of the Holy Land were all dyed in stirring shades of violet-black.
“Depart!”
The Supreme Apostle’s resounding voice rang across the central tower channel.
In that instant, the dark-energy engines of billions of warships roared at once.
Centered upon the Eternal Infinite, nine sacred fleets spread in wing formation, each with a God-Image-class mothership at its heart.
From their sterns stretched dark-energy wakes a million kilometers in diameter. These black energy vortices entwined with one another, weaving a colossal net across the star sea, spanning tens of light years, enclosing all ships and equipment of the expedition.
“Present the star map to the Supreme God!”
Amid thunderous shouts, countless temporary dimensional gates bloomed in succession before the fleet, each crowned with the phantom of an ancient star chart.
They were projections of the 273 superclusters conquered by the Apostolic Holy City over tens of millennia.
They were the past glory of the Apostolic Holy City.
They were the very foundation of its dominion to this day.
As the star map array extended, the vast dark-energy net surged. The No. 1 Cathedral God-Image-class mothership at the vanguard was the first to pierce the dimensional gate.
Szzzt——
The dark-crystal armor sheathing its hull sparked with black lightning upon contact with the gate.
Then, billions of ships burst through the thunderclouds, surging into the gates without pause.
The black lightning grew ever fiercer, like a void thunder dragon roaring in rage, shaking the entire galaxy where the Holy Land lay.
“Let us depart as well.”
Inside the command dome of the Eternal Infinite, the Supreme Apostle thrust his scepter into the dark-energy core.
Boiling energy coursed through countless void conduits, transforming the entire fleet into a spear of shadow, plunging deep into the void.
Behind the spear blazed a black corona devouring stars; before it, beneath the shattered dimensions, countless galaxies awaiting conquest trembled in fear.
……
“Bad news, bad news!”
The routine senate meeting of the Rebirth Empire was abruptly interrupted. The Grand Commissioner of Border Affairs kicked open the doors and rushed in panic-stricken, shouting half-incoherent words as he ran.
“What happened?”
Boislo stood, motioning the senator at the podium to pause.
The commissioner panted heavily: “The forward bases we built along the frontier were attacked by the Apostolic Holy City at the same time! Every base was wiped out, and none inside survived!”
As he spoke, he played the distress video sent from the front lines.
A hammerhead from the Wall of Guardians thrust his huge head before the camera, shouting hoarsely about the base’s plight.
“We urgently need support, urgently need World’s End Light strikes, urgently need—”
Boom!
Before he finished, the roof behind him exploded. A towering figure dropped down, and with a light squeeze of five fingers, crushed the hammerhead into a pulp of flesh.
“Well then, allow me to explain the situation.”
“This is… the Palace Lord of the True Spirit Palace of the Apostolic Holy City?!”
Dimitri rose in alarm.
The uninvited guest smiled and nodded at the camera: “I am Zoriel, Palace Lord of the True Spirit Palace of the Apostolic Holy City. On behalf of the Apostolic Holy City, I deliver to you of the Rebirth Empire this final ultimatum. If, before the 4th of February in your Imperial Calendar, you submit a formal letter of unconditional surrender, we will magnanimously allow Emperor Odoacre to continue governing Vast Continent. Otherwise, the Apostolic Holy City will sweep across the entire Rebirth Empire in the cruelest fashion, casting all who resist into the abyss of eternal damnation!”
“Such arrogant drivel!”
At Zoriel’s words, Dimitri flew into a rage, kicking the table before him to ash.
“Contact the Supernova Warband and Titan Industries at once! Also notify the Forged-Arrow Legion, Rust Legion, and Matrix Legion to enter standby, ready to march to the frontlines at a moment’s notice!”
None opposed Dimitri’s orders.
No matter their true thoughts, at least here in the senate, they could not show dissent. They had to stand united with Dimitri, answering the Apostolic Holy City’s haughty demand with furious iron fists.
【The Black Tide Strikes!】
【Humiliated in defeat after defeat, the Apostolic Holy City now lashes out in shame and fury, mustering its entire strength to duel the Empire!】
【Apostolic Holy City? At the border, Saintess Bai Fu of the Moving Wall crushed them instantly!】
Even before the senate adjourned, the news had already spread across the explored universe.
Some were excited, some panicked, some rushed to enlist, others packed to flee.
And of all who felt fear, none had higher rank or station than Odoacre, Emperor of the Rebirth Empire.
“Though we destroyed the Apostolic Holy City’s new routes, though we eliminated several bases of the Original Pact in succession, can we truly withstand the pincer strike of both the Apostolic Holy City and the Original Pact?”
The Emperor’s Chief Guard looked solemnly at Odoak.
“Your Majesty, please trust the pillars of the Empire, please trust Saintess Bai Fu, and please trust everyone who fought for the glory of the Empire!”
Odoak remained silent, only nodding repeatedly.
No one knew whether he had truly taken in the Chief Guard’s words.
…
Headquarters of the Original Pact.
The Leader watched the two reports placed before him with great interest.
The first report stated that the Apostolic Holy City had launched a direct offensive against the Three Universal Civilizations.
The second report said that within the Shadow Legion under the Original Pact, a very popular psionicist among the Undying Ones, Élisée, for some unknown reason had suddenly gone to Bai Fu’s Garden of Silence, and had even replaced Yulia as the new Chief Secretary of the Garden of Silence.
“Can you see the strings of her fate?”
The Leader turned his head to the Child of Prophecy beside him.
The Child of Prophecy shook his head.
“Unfortunately, I can only vaguely glimpse her past. As for her future…”
“You can’t see it?”
“It doesn’t seem to be a simple case of not being able to see it. Rather, it’s as if she doesn’t have a future at all.”
“Oh? And what is the meaning of that?”
“Generally, there are two possibilities. The first is that she is already dead. The second is that her fate has been stolen.”
“Which possibility do you lean towards?”
“The first, I suppose.”
The Leader made no comment.
Compared to Élisée, what truly concerned him were the Players.
Because the report stated, “The Undying Ones seemed to know Élisée’s true identity. But whenever they tried to say that word, their speech would automatically turn into something completely irrelevant, or even meaningless sounds.”
The Leader was deeply intrigued by this mechanism.
At first, he thought that the Undying Ones had been interfered with by Bai Fu, which caused this. But now that Bai Fu was already dead, why were they still being interfered with?
He wanted to uncover exactly who the “person” interfering with the Undying Ones was.
“Child of Prophecy, I’ll leave this task to you.”
The Child of Prophecy’s mouth twitched.
Great, another new mission for him.
“Don’t worry. Once you figure out the principle behind it, I’ll give you a long vacation.”
The Child of Prophecy clearly didn’t believe the Leader’s words.
A long vacation?
Now that the Apostolic Holy City and the Three Universal Civilizations had gone to war, with the situation so tense, would you really give me a vacation?
The Leader spread his hands.
“I don’t plan to step onto the battlefield for now.”
“Hm?”
“Bai Fu is dead. The threat of the Three Universal Civilizations will no longer be a concern in the short term. I want to carefully observe and see what the true trump card of the Apostolic Holy City really is. Only then will I decide whether to cooperate with the Apostolic Holy City against the Three Universal Civilizations, or to side with the Three Universal Civilizations first to strike down the Apostolic Holy City.”
Fine, fine. Whatever you want.
“Then I’ll inform the others of your decision?”
“Go on.”
The Child of Prophecy cupped his hands in salute and departed.
…
Meanwhile, in the Esper Garden.
“Still no good.”
Looking at the slowly healing Dimensional Rift before her, Bai Fu shook her head helplessly.
According to Élisée’s talent description, she had tried synthesizing Ethereal Particles with a 9:1 ratio. Yet no matter how hard she tried, she could never find the true balance point.
It seemed that solving this problem could only be left to either a flash of genius or Élisée’s direct instruction.
Still, although she had failed to synthesize Ethereal Particles, during this time she had managed to obtain many useful things from Élisée.
Up to now, she had already mastered five Psionic Attributes: 【Gloom】, 【Revelation】, 【Blazing】, 【Iridescent】, and 【Gray Mist】.
If not for the sudden outbreak of war, she probably would have soon stolen all nine attributes from Élisée.
What a pity…
She would just have to wait.
Élisée was a treasure. With just the slightest reach of her fingers, Bai Fu could dig out plenty of valuable things.
But a full-scale war between the Three Universal Civilizations and the Apostolic Holy City was not a bad prize either.
Though Bai Fu had no plans to reveal herself for now, as a Psionic Priest she lacked no means to carry out her missions.
On the very day she received news from Demetri, she immediately sent Shadow Fu, Eye of Sorrow, Black King, White King, and others carrying large quantities of Prayer Cards and Psionic Cores to urgently rush to the Raya Civilization.
That’s right—Bai Fu once again intended to use the “base-swapping” tactic against the Apostolic Holy City.
Tactics didn’t need to be novel—only effective!
With Sui Xi acting as an insider, Bai Fu believed the probability of her plan succeeding was very high.
But this time, she overlooked one problem.
The resolve of the Supreme Apostle.
“No advance means annihilation.” This was no joke.
From the very moment he uttered the words “Set out,” the Supreme Apostle had already embraced the mindset of “the first battle will decide all.”
“Supreme Apostle, the Raya Star Region has once again come under attack. The attackers are once more those frenzied followers of the Apostles. This time, their target seems to be the Holy Land. Shall we dispatch a force back to reinforce them?”
The Supreme Apostle’s expression remained calm as he gave a faint “Oh.”
“There’s no need to concern ourselves with them for now. As long as the Holy Land Star does not fall, it is fine. Our current focus is the Three Universal Civilizations. This war, I expect, will not last long.”
His words drew sidelong glances from the others.
Good heavens, he was really gambling everything!
Excellent, excellent. In that case, they too ought to be a bit more excited.
“What? The base-swapping tactic didn’t work?”
Bai Fu froze upon receiving the news.
If base-swapping failed, then the only option left was a direct showdown with the Apostolic Holy City.
But with their current strength—could they truly triumph in a head-on clash with the Apostolic Holy City?