Chapter 380: Grand Expedition — The Glorious Path of the Players
Human strength had its limits.
Especially when one dared not to touch taboos — to cross that dividing line between man and god.
If Ignaz were allowed to fully unify the Three Universal Civilizations, even with the Double Helix Tree completely fused, Bai Fu didn’t think she could win against a combination of the Original Pact and those civilizations.
Therefore, she had to disrupt Ignaz’s plan.
After receiving contact from the Supernova Warband, Bai Fu immediately sent Hei Fu out.
However, she didn’t let Hei Fu rush in and duel with the people of the Original Pact directly.
Ignaz had already realized that the reason she was like a cockroach that refused to die was because she possessed a soul-type Cosmic Treasure.
Since he already saw through it, there was no telling whether Ignaz had prepared countermeasures.
Out of caution, it was best not to confront Ignaz head-on for now. Once the fusion progress of the Double Helix Tree increased, she would find a way to send him on his way.
After all, even without appearing herself, she could still cause trouble for both the Original Pact and the Rebirth Empire.
After all — she was a Summoner.
With Hei Fu’s arrival, the crisis faced by the Supernova Warband was temporarily alleviated.
Those star-pirates and interstellar villains who had secretly cooperated with the Original Pact were beaten to a pulp the moment they showed themselves, by the True Spirit Lifeforms summoned by Hei Fu. They had no choice but to quickly retreat back into hiding.
When the small tricks failed, the Empire and the Original Pact could only hasten preparations for a full-scale war.
“You plan to relocate the Chief Warband of the Supernova Warband to my side?”
Hearing Chief Fitz’s words, Bai Fu was stunned.
Fitz gave a bitter smile. “To be frank, the Supernova Warband cannot possibly win against the alliance formed by the Original Pact, Rebirth Empire, and Titan Industries. I’m doing this to leave behind a spark for the Warband. As long as the Chief Warband survives, the Warband still has the hope to reclaim its homeland.”
Bai Fu nodded — that much was true.
“What about you, then?”
“I won’t go,” Fitz said, shaking his head. “I’m the Chief of the Warband. I’m its symbol, its will made flesh. Anyone can flee — except me. If even I run, how could the Warband still call itself a Warband? The glory accumulated through tens of thousands of years of history and hundreds of generations of Chiefs must not be destroyed in my hands!”
Bai Fu’s lips parted slightly.
Since Fitz had said so much already, what else could she say to persuade him?
Just then, Fitz spoke again. “But there’s one thing I’m worried about.”
“What is it?”
“I’m worried there may be traitors within the Chief Warband. If they reach your side, they might expose your whereabouts — putting you at risk.”
Ah, that?
Bai Fu waved her hand dismissively. “No need to worry. Catching traitors and spies is what I’m best at. When the Chief Warband arrives, I’ll have the Undying Ones perform a full screening. I promise not a single rat will slip through.”
Fitz let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good.”
“Anything else you need my help with?” Bai Fu asked.
Help, huh…
Fitz fell into deep thought.
He was going over the plan he had recently devised.
To execute that plan, he needed warriors who were truly unafraid of death — ones who would never waver even if the enemy offered the most tempting olive branch.
“I need a legion of Undying Ones!”
Bai Fu agreed instantly. “No problem. How many do you need?”
Fitz said, “No fewer than five million — the more, the better.”
Bai Fu made a rough estimate of her current player count. It was close to forty million.
“I’ll give you thirty million.”
Fitz smiled. “Then I’m relieved.”
He proceeded to explain his plan.
It was simple in concept. Fitz knew the Supernova Warband couldn’t win on the front lines — not even with Bai Fu’s support. The enemy’s numbers were simply overwhelming. So he intended to compensate from another direction.
They would use the Supernova Warband as bait to draw Ignaz and the others’ attention — then strike straight at the Original Pact’s headquarters.
“A base-swap tactic?”
Bai Fu was startled.
It sounded simple, but the biggest challenge lay in whether one had enough strength to actually break through the enemy’s base. Otherwise, a base-swap became nothing but a suicidal charge.
Could the Supernova Warband breach the Original Pact’s headquarters?
If Ignaz wasn’t there — and neither were the Fate-Weaver and others — there might be a chance.
The problem was, even if they succeeded, what then? Without hurting Ignaz or the Fate-Weaver, the overall situation wouldn’t change.
Seeing her misunderstanding, Fitz hurried to clarify.
His goal wasn’t to destroy the headquarters or eliminate Ignaz and the others. His true target was the Program that Bai Fu had once mentioned when they communicated earlier.
That program — discovered by the founders of the Original Pact in the Void — was suspected to be related to the mechanism of the Reaper’s Descent, perhaps even the ultimate answer to everything.
Since the Original Pact had never been able to decode it, Fitz intended to steal it and hand it to Bai Fu.
If she could crack the program and solve the Reaper’s Descent crisis at its root, then even in death, he would die with purpose.
“As the Chief, I will ignite a broad road toward the future for the Warband — just as every Chief before me has done. I will be no exception!”
Bai Fu’s eyes widened.
She had coveted that program the Original Pact retrieved from the Void for a long time but had never found an opening. To think Fitz now proposed a feasible plan on his own!
Look at that, look at that.
Even among leaders of Universal-scale civilizations, the gap between the Warband’s Fitz and the Empire’s Odoacre was like heaven and earth.
“I have a way to make sure you don’t have to die.”
Bai Fu immediately took out the Ark of Heaven.
With such a reliable ally as Fitz, she couldn’t possibly let him die in vain.
As long as he lived, he would remain a banner — one capable of rallying the Supernova Warband to fight on to the very end.
“There’s such a thing as this?” Fitz was stunned.
Bai Fu said, “I’ll have one of my avatars head to your side as soon as possible. Also, I’ll gather those thirty million Undying Ones for you right away.”
“Then I’ll trouble you for that,” Fitz replied.
After finalizing their plan, the two went their separate ways.
…
The Silent Alliance—an organization spearheaded by Bai Fu and built upon the backbone of the Garden of Silence—brought together the Anti–Apostolic Holy City Alliance, defectors from the Apostolic Holy City, refugees from Titan Industries, a few who refused to submit to Ignaz from the Rebirth Empire, members of the Star Covenant, the Arcane Library, several Transcendents affiliated with Yuan Yi, forces from the Ethereal Realm, and numerous medium and small-scale factions.
This alliance was founded the day after Titan Industries’ president, Delano, was assassinated.
Its headquarters was established in the farthest reaches of the Dark Zone Starfield, even more remote than the Apostolic Holy City, with its capital located in the Esper Garden.
The Silent Alliance became the fifth true Universal Civilization within the boundless Star Sea.
Its top-level combat power was in no way inferior to any of the existing Three Universal Civilizations, and even compared to the Apostolic Holy City at its peak, it was only slightly behind.
However, as a newly formed force, its foundations—such as population, economy, war potential, and territory—were far less developed than those of the four long-established Universal Civilizations.
But all of that was temporary.
With countless Transcendents at its core, vast stores of knowledge and wealth, and a determined leader, the Silent Alliance was destined to rise as a colossal power to be feared—so long as it didn’t collapse from within or get crushed prematurely by stronger civilizations.
On the day the alliance was founded, Bai Fu—acting as its supreme leader—issued the Grand Construction and Great Exploration initiatives, aiming to grow the Silent Alliance during the ongoing internal conflicts among the Three Universal Civilizations.
At that moment, players who had followed Bai Fu into the Silent Alliance naturally received their main quest for Version 3.1—
【Pioneers】
From that day on, tens of millions of players piloted starships and began exploring the galaxy.
Their strength now far surpassed what it had been during the Dark Zone Exploration Program, and their progress was several times faster than before.
The endless exploration quests ensured that players in the Silent Alliance never lacked for experience.
However, doing exploration missions endlessly got a bit dull.
【When are we going to get some real fighting?】
【I wanna fight! I wanna fight! I wanna fight!】
Just as players were getting restless, a new mission suddenly appeared.
—All players above Level 100, report immediately to the Dark Zone Exploration Outpost No. 1!
The quest was personally issued by Bai Fu, and the wording was urgent. Everyone knew—something big was about to happen.
【Could it be… we’re going to war with the Original Pact and the Empire?!】
The players were thrilled.
When they first learned that the leader of the Original Pact was none other than the Empire’s former Emperor, and that the Empire had betrayed Bai Fu, they were shocked.
What the hell kind of plot twist was this?!
But players were still players. They quickly adapted to the new situation and eagerly awaited the day they could face off against the Original Pact and the Empire.
In recent days, players from both factions had been arguing nonstop across the community forums.
Although the Silent Alliance had a numerical advantage, their players couldn’t get the upper hand in debates—after all, the Original Pact and Empire sides had far stronger NPCs to back their claims.
So, since they couldn’t win with words, they could only look forward to winning on the battlefield.
If we can’t outtalk you, we’ll outfight you!
And with Poster Girl Fufu leading the charge, victory was certain!
Bai Fu looked at the sea of players crowded before her—tens of millions gathered together—and nodded in satisfaction.
Alright. It was time for her speech.
She didn’t reveal the true goal of this operation. She merely said that the players being summoned would soon be dispatched to join the Supernova Warband, and that they should cooperate fully with it.
Heading to the Supernova Warband now—what else could that mean but war?
The crowd below erupted into cheers.
Soon, the community was filled with posts declaring war.
Prepare to die, scum of the Original Pact and Empire factions!
Their morale was sky-high.
“Good,” Bai Fu murmured, turning to the Beast God trapped inside the Ark of Heaven.
“It’s your turn to shine.”
The Beast God trembled with rage and nearly fainted.
Damn you, Bai Fu! You said you needed a small favor, and that small favor turned out to mean boosting the power of thirty million S+-rank Undying Ones all at once?!
What do you take me for, a tireless machine? Even machines wear down eventually!
Be human for once, Bai Fu!
Bai Fu ignored his glare completely.
“What? After what you’ve done before, you should be grateful I didn’t kill you. Quit whining and get to work!”
With an abundance of supplied materials, every time the Beast God felt he was about to lose consciousness, he was forcibly jolted awake again.
Enhance.
Enhance.
Enhance again…
He had long since lost count of how many times he repeated the strengthening process.
When the final round of enhancements ended, he collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud—motionless.
He wasn’t dead.
But he certainly looked dead.
“Not bad,” Bai Fu said with a satisfied smile.
What kind of power could thirty million players at near– or fully–Calamity-rank levels unleash?
It was time for Ignaz and the others to witness the full potential of this new force she had cultivated.
Truth be told, players in this version still weren’t at their peak.
When the next version arrived—that would be the moment they truly spread their wings.
“Go!”
“Go forth and shine with the light that belongs to the Undying Ones!”
“Let the stars know that you are not merely fragments of a puzzle—you can be the spear that pierces the heavens!”
“Stand atop the galaxy itself, and show them what kind of beautiful, powerful wings you possess!”
At Bai Fu’s command, fleets of ships began to rise—one after another—departing toward the far edges of the Star Sea.
The players aboard were ecstatic.
This was the greatest expedition they had ever embarked upon—one that belonged wholly to them.
And this time, they weren’t following some NPC army’s orders; rather, it was the NPCs who would rely on their strength.
Bai Fu was just as exhilarated.
Watching the departing ships, she felt a rush of pride—like a mother watching her children grow up and set off to explore the world on their own.
From the day Beyond the Stars had launched its open beta until now, decades had passed.
That span of time was nothing to the mighty beings of the Star Sea—but to her, whose former mortal life had barely lasted that long, it felt like a lifetime.
And for these players, wasn’t this journey just as long and momentous?
What thrilled her even more was the knowledge that, if this operation succeeded, she might finally tip the balance of victory in her favor.
“What truth lies hidden within that code? Could the Reapers actually be the game’s developers? Or… are the developers themselves one level above the Reapers? Am I living in a virtual world—or a real one?”
Bai Fu’s heart was filled with countless doubts, all of which she burned to unravel.
Days later—
Under the wary surveillance of the Original Pact and the Rebirth Empire, and with Fitz’s personal welcome, thirty million players arrived at the Supernova Warband.
Fitz wasted no time. After merging forces with the players, he immediately began executing his plan.
Two days later, the combined forces of the Empire and Titan Industries launched a massive offensive against the Supernova Warband.
Four days later, Fitz led an elite task force and a player fleet toward an inconspicuous space outpost.
According to a high-ranking spy embedded within the Empire, this base had a direct connection to the Original Pact’s headquarters.
To deal with the personnel inside the base—and the headquarters itself—Fitz had prepared two special artifacts.
First, the Crimson Vortex—a tool that could dig into memories, designed to locate the Original Pact’s headquarters.
Second, the Domain of Battle-Will—the spiritual crystallization of the Supernova Warband’s will, capable of pulling all combatants into a realm where only pure courage and iron resolve would decide victory.
This battlefield would, without question, be the stage most suited for the Undying Ones to demonstrate their might!
“Go,” Fitz declared, “and let Ignaz witness why the Supernova Warband continues to burn bright across the Star Sea—why its flames never die!”