Chapter 359: Across Billions of Light Years, Igniting the Star Sea
After exiting the virtual conference room, Bai Fu immediately called Fei Ye, Jin Lu, Yulia, Shadow Foxtail, and Black King together for a grand meeting.
A very serious one — the kind of meeting that had nothing to do with academic research.
At the meeting, Bai Fu explained her plan to everyone.
This plan received unanimous praise.
This battle was one that would decide the future course of the entire universe, and also one that would determine the fate of the Quiet Garden and all its members!
Thus, everyone present, including Bai Fu herself, was in high spirits.
The one who reacted most strongly was none other than Yulia, who normally always behaved with calm indifference.
In her ice-blue eyes, the light flickered like a boiling sea.
Her position within the Quiet Garden was extremely stable. Even if Shadow Foxtail, Fei Ye, and the others surpassed her one after another in strength, she was still undoubtedly the Quiet Garden’s number two — “the first beneath Bai Fu.”
But though her position was stable, she still had that tiny trace of competitiveness in her heart.
She wasn’t saying she had to be stronger than Shadow Foxtail or Fei Ye, but at the very least she had to break through to Transcendent. Otherwise, wouldn’t she just be dragging everyone down?
Unfortunately, her talent truly wasn’t high enough. Even with Bai Fu’s guidance, her advancement speed couldn’t be called fast.
Thus, she could only place her hopes on the True Spirit Remains of the Third Apostle.
This battle — if they could achieve victory, if they could successfully gather all the fragments of the True Spirit Remains, if she could inherit the Third Apostle’s power — then not only would she gain overwhelming strength, she would also become like a near-infinite-energy, super fast-charging “power bank,” achieving complete complementarity with Bai Fu — mentally, physically, and in abilities — realizing a truly seamless connection!
The ones second-most excited after Yulia were Fei Ye and Jin Lu.
They had finally advanced to Transcendent, and furthermore, had grasped the abilities of the Void Sovereign. They couldn’t wait to showcase themselves.
They couldn’t always just eat Bai Fu’s food, drink Bai Fu’s drink, and use Bai Fu’s stuff, could they?
Occasionally, they had to switch roles a little!
In contrast, Shadow Foxtail and Black King were much calmer.
Big Sister would handle the command. They only needed to charge forward. That was all.
“Alright, begin the preparations!”
With Bai Fu’s shout, everyone left the conference room and began preparing for the expedition.
The Three Universal Civilizations had already promised they would provide fleets. But the pilots of those fleets would need to be arranged by the Quiet Garden themselves.
That was not difficult.
Pilots?
Just let the Players do it.
The only problem was that because of the previous wars, most of the Quiet Garden’s Players were currently stationed on the frontlines. Bai Fu would need time to summon them back.
【You have triggered Main Quest［Burning Across Billions of Light Years · A Diversion to the East］】
【Quest Description: …】
【Quest Objectives:
Branch 1. Blood Stains the Stars — Assault the Fourth Apostle Holy City Fleet. Rewards determined by the extent of damage dealt to the Fourth Fleet of the Apostle Holy City;
Branch 2. Fatal Gravity — Continue attacking the Fourth Apostle Holy City Fleet until reinforcements from the Apostle Holy City arrive. Rewards determined by duration of assault and the strength of reinforcements dispatched;
Branch 3. Sacred Fall — Annihilate the Fourth Apostle Holy City Fleet. Rewards: Cathedral God-Image-class Mothership Blueprint *1, Dark Energy Grid Blueprint *1, Skill［Mind Over Matter, Transcendence Descends］.】
【Notes: Directly destroying both the Fourth Apostle Holy City Fleet and their reinforcements will cause this mission to fail, but will trigger a Hidden Quest.】
Just as Yulia and the others stepped out of the conference room, Bai Fu received the new quest prompt.
As a key mission that would determine the course of the war, the rewards for this quest were extremely rich.
Even the minimum reward for Branch 1, the base quest, was 20 billion XP. If contribution were raised higher, then the rewards would be truly astonishing.
The three rewards of Branch 3 were even more enticing.
The power of a Cathedral God-Image-class Mothership went without saying. The Dark Energy Grid, though little known by name, was in fact an ultimate security system that combined reconnaissance, defense, long-range strikes, and cross-regional cooperative defense into one. Its value was no less than that of a Cathedral God-Image-class Mothership or even the Esper Garden.
The skill 【Mind Over Matter, Transcendence Descends】 was a divine ability whose value was completely on par with the most powerful offensive skill in Bai Fu’s current arsenal — 【Entanglement of Light and Darkness】.
As a supportive skill, 【Mind Over Matter, Transcendence Descends】’s effect was to enhance all designated individuals within an ultra-large range. This enhancement was multi-faceted — from HP and MP, to offense and defense, to resistance, to recovery, to damage reduction, to communication, to resonance-triggered attribute boosts…
The effect of this one skill was equivalent to dozens of auxiliary skills.
【Mind Over Matter, Transcendence Descends】 also had a special effect: all units receiving the enhancement would be regarded as the caster’s 【Legion】.
Since they would be considered a Legion, all those Legion-buff skills Bai Fu had would finally be put to use.
Bai Fu made a rough calculation. With this combo, she could temporarily boost the battle strength of her “blessed” Legion by five to six times.
Of course, there was a limitation. If the targets of the skill were already at Sovereign tier, the bonus would be much lower.
“I must find a way to get this skill!”
Bai Fu clenched her fist.
This skill was simply a perfect match with Players.
At the current stage, tossing tens of millions of Players into an interstellar war wouldn’t stir up much of a wave. But give it one or two more versions, when the level cap rose to 110 — then the situation would be completely different.
With just one 【Mind Over Matter】 chain combo, she would instantly command tens of millions of Undying War Maniacs on par with weak Calamity-tier beings.
She didn’t know if others would find that terrifying, but she herself was so excited she nearly began humming.
Wouldn’t anyone hum in joy at this point?
Bai Fu continued reading, and when she saw the quest note, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
Defeating the Fourth Fleet was already extremely difficult. And on top of that, destroying the Apostle Holy City’s reinforcements? Oh, you must think very highly of me.
Closing the quest panel, Bai Fu glanced at the time. Almost ready. She sat back in her chair and once again put on her silly-Bai-Fu act.
While Bai Fu was playing with Élisée, the Quiet Garden Players stationed at the frontlines received a new notification at the same time.
【Quiet Garden Tier-1 Command: All Undying Ones receiving this message must immediately withdraw from the frontlines and return to Origin Star. We have a more important mission ahead!】
Along with the notice came a new Main Quest.
This announcement sparked a tidal wave of heated discussion among Players.
Since joining the Quiet Garden, this was the very first time they had ever received such an order.
【Digging-Treasure, Digging-Treasure, what’s going on here?】
Excavation-Princess: 【I dunno】
【Why don’t we ask Fu… oh right, I forgot, Fu-fu became Silly Fu. Sigh, how did it end up like this?】
【Could it be the Quiet Garden got attacked again, and we’re being summoned back as reinforcements?】
【Don’t joke. With our strength, what reinforcements could we even provide?】
【Then maybe the Quiet Garden’s relations with the Three Universal Civilizations broke down, so they’re urgently calling us back?】
【It could be a fallout… but honestly, not very likely.】
【Exactly. The Three Universal Civilizations aren’t idiots. Falling out with the Quiet Garden now would do them no good at all.】
Gradually, a flood of conspiracy theories began to appear in the Community.
Players across the entire Star Sea set aside whatever they were doing, occasionally checking the Community for updates, wanting to know what was really going on.
After all, this could very well concern the future direction of the game’s story.
Amidst the chaos, some Players with connections tried to use them to find out the truth in advance so they could prepare their strategies. Yet no matter how hard they tried, they gained nothing at all.
Not even someone as well-connected as Excavation-Princess was an exception.
【Forget it. If we can’t guess it, we won’t. They said it’s an important mission, so the rewards will surely be generous. I’m heading back first.】
【But we just picked up a very lucrative quest here at the frontlines. Giving it up like this is such a loss. Damn, I’m not going back. I don’t believe the Quiet Garden’s quest rewards will surpass what I have in hand right now.】
In the end, the majority of Players chose to return to the Quiet Garden, while a minority remained on the frontlines.
“Only 19 million Players returned? That’s enough. Anyway, this operation doesn’t require them for deep-space combat — they just need to protect the warships.”
Upon receiving Yulia’s report, Bai Fu immediately had her organize all the Players, divide them into formations, and familiarize them with the battleships provided by the Three Universal Civilizations in preparation for the decisive battle.
The days of waiting were long.
As the returning Players spent their time learning ship controls and earning XP from daily welfare quests, those who had stayed at the frontlines were having the time of their lives.
They fought side by side with the allied forces of the Three Universal Civilizations, battling in blood and starlight. Each day, they were either being heroes themselves, or witnessing the rise and fall of heroes.
They were sparks burning along the battlefront that stretched across billions of light years.
They always shone brightly.
Of course, that brilliance was also accompanied by the blood spilled as both sides pulled and tore at each other in the conflict.
Whether for the Apostolic Holy City or for the Three Universal Civilizations, this was the hardest battle they had ever fought so far.
Both sides invested countless top-tier weapons, countless Cosmic Treasures, countless Sovereigns and Transcendents, waging back-and-forth offense and defense on a vast battlefield where lives burned as fuel.
For NPCs, this was the prelude to the apocalypse.
But for Players, this was an era of blood-pumping passion.
The Players who had returned to Origin Star, upon seeing this, couldn’t possibly say they didn’t feel envious.
But their envy didn’t last long.
Half a month later, when Bai Fu was already able to “recognize people” under Élisée’s care, an urgent message arrived from Lite.
【Under the command of the Supreme God’s disciples, the Fourth Apostle Holy City Fleet is mobilizing on a large scale. They plan to shift from the Empire’s side to Titan Industries. It seems the Apostle Holy City believes Titan Industries’ great mechanical legions and Titan Arrays are the most pressing threats. Our opportunity has come!】
Yes, the long-awaited opportunity had finally arrived.
Bai Fu recalled the year she had first obtained a fragment of the Third Apostle’s True Spirit Remains — back then, she hadn’t even left Origin Star.
And when she finally had the chance to gather all the fragments, more than twenty years had already flown by.
“The Star Sea has already entered a noisy age of chaos. Our Quiet Garden need not remain quiet any longer. Depart!”
Bai Fu’s voice reverberated through the virtual conference room.
A few minutes later—
The news that the mission had begun spread across Origin Star.
The Players stationed there boarded the ships provided by the Three Universal Civilizations. Under the command of Yulia, Fei Ye, Black King, and Shadow Foxtail, millions of secondary flagships and over a hundred million escort ships leapt into the heavens, tearing apart the starry sky amidst rippling waves of dark energy.
Billions of ships, crossing billions of stars, rushing toward a battlefield billions of light years away!
At the same time, in an unknown and hidden battlefield—
Lite quietly led the Anti–Apostolic Holy City Alliance into action. Sui Xi silently lay dormant on Holy Land Star. Bai Fu’s true body, carrying Jin Lu, White King, and the Eye of Sorrow, slipped through the dead silent void dimension like an unseen wind, heading toward Rufas’ location. Anya, Xia Shi, Cecia, and the countless “Protagonists” Bai Fu had gathered over the years through every means were all monitoring the every move of the Rebirth Empire in their own ways.
Each one burned at the correct place.
And when those flames came together, they became a Divine Light surpassing the stars!
“Everyone is acting according to plan. Next, once all are in position, Jin Lu and Fei Ye will use their innate talents to establish a long-distance teleportation channel, and then we can launch the full-scale assault!”
Inside the fleet advancing toward the Fourth Fleet, Hei Fu silently gazed out at the kaleidoscopic colors beyond the window.
Aside from the very few who knew the truth, no one knew she was inside the fleet—just as no one knew where their true strike was aimed.
“Has the Quiet Garden begun its operation? Where are they targeting?”
“I don’t know.”
The answers received by the Supreme God’s disciples, the Fourth Apostle, and the leader of the Original Pact were all the same.
At present, the focus was still on the frontal battlefield. And with Bai Fu having been beaten into Silly Fu by Rufas, none of them had spent much effort investigating the Quiet Garden’s movements.
“We must succeed!”
On the other side, the insiders among the Three Universal Civilizations were silently praying in their hearts.
Only if Bai Fu’s side succeeded could their “Long-Range Trap” plan close the net properly.
Praying too, at the center of the storm, was Sen Lan.
Ever since secretly contacting Lite, he had been in constant unease, afraid his actions had already been exposed.
But days had passed with still no one investigating him. That meant… he hadn’t been discovered yet?
No—hard to say.
Maybe the people of the Apostolic Holy City were just letting the bait run long to catch a bigger fish.
Tch.
At this point, there was no use thinking about it. He was already on Bai Fu’s ship. The only thing he could do was hope Bai Fu struck soon.
As long as Bai Fu launched the assault, everything would turn out fine!
Sen Lan’s face stayed tense. And like that, two more days passed. Two days later, just as he nervously saw off a comrade at the door, the Dark Moon’s Eye Prayer Card he carried gave a slight tremor.
It had come. Finally, it had come.
Sen Lan fixed his eyes on the Prayer Card.
Don’t answer… no—answer!
Strike them! Strike through the Apostolic Holy City!
…
Buzz—
Bai Fu lowered her head and glanced at the message transmitted back from the Dark Moon’s Eye Prayer Card.
“Almost time.”
She sent the notice to everyone in the virtual conference room.
Then she stepped out, walking through the broad corridor of the command flagship. Under the gaze of countless Players, she entered the bridge.
Holy crap, how is Fu-fu here? And looking like that? There’s not a shred of “Silly” in her!
Soon, Bai Fu’s speech was broadcast to every Player within the fleet.
Bai Fu didn’t waste words. She simply stated the target of their assault—
The Fourth Apostle Holy City Fleet!
“What we must do is simple: Break the silence, ignite the Star Sea, and tear them apart!”
Cheers thundered.
Thunder rolling together became the war cry that pushed the fleet forward.
Charge!
Fight for the greatest interstellar war since the game opened!
Fight for the most important mission they had ever personally taken part in!
Fight to become legends of the Star Sea!
The torrent of starships surged toward the gap Sen Lan had deliberately left open in the Fourth Fleet’s defenses.
Before the Fourth Fleet could react, the breach had already been ripped wide open.
“Enemy attack! We’re under enemy attack!”
“Quick, regroup the fleet!”
“Report to command at once, hurry!”
“Find out who’s attacking—damn it, who dares… no, don’t bother investigating, I saw it clearly. Yes. She’s out there. See for yourselves!”
Amidst the nebula-strewn star battlefield, one figure, frail in form, shone billions of times brighter than the Cathedral God-Image-class Mothership at the very heart of the Fourth Fleet.
It was Bai Fu.
She stood upon Kabaye’s shoulder. To her left roared the Prayer Angel, to her right howled the Shadow Lord, and above her poured an endless torrent of annihilation!
“Wasn’t she beaten silly by Rufas? Why is she here? Does that look like a fool to you?”
A person’s name carries weight, just as a tree casts its shadow. How much more so when Bai Fu herself had come to kill. The Apostolic Holy City soldiers blanched in terror.
The commander of the Fourth Fleet didn’t hesitate a second before contacting the frontline command.
“It’s Bai Fu. Bai Fu is attacking! Request to activate the Artificial God at once—if we delay, it will be too late!”
Huh?
The Supreme God’s disciples and the Fourth Apostle were stunned.
Bai Fu?
What the hell was happening?
No matter how confused they were, there was no room for hesitation now.
Bai Fu or not, they could argue later. For now, the priority was to send reinforcements to the Fourth Fleet. This was very likely the true focus of the Three Universal Civilizations’ offensive.
Under the direction of the Supreme God’s disciples and the Fourth Apostle, the great secret ritual to summon the Artificial God was activated.
Across countless star regions, a power nearing divinity suddenly descended.
In the starry sea, a colossal figure with ten faces emerged from the clouds, facing Bai Fu from afar.