Chapter 390: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada
Seeing Bai Fu and the Child of Prophecy leave one after another, the tense atmosphere aboard the Titan Industries command ship immediately relaxed.
Apart from those few trusted aides of Xiaoquan, not many actually thought Xiaoquan’s death was a bad thing.
Of course, on the surface, everyone still maintained a sorrowful expression.
The act still had to be played.
“We... what should we do now?”
The President’s Assistant asked nervously, looking at the various Transcendents in the command ship.
Leimingdao shook his head and sighed, getting up from the ground: “At this point, let’s just retreat—head back to the Explored Universe. Now that the President’s dead, I don’t think the Original Pact would reject our request.”
No one else objected.
After sending a request to Ignaz, Leimingdao and the others immediately abandoned part of their fleet and left the Apostolic Holy City without looking back.
In fact, Leimingdao’s original plan was to “reluctantly” surrender to Bai Fu after she killed Xiaoquan.
But perhaps because the Child of Prophecy suddenly showed up, Bai Fu actually withdrew right away—leaving only a group of Undying Ones to continue attacking the Titan Industries fleet.
He had no choice but to return to Titan Industries and figure out a long-term plan.
Very soon, what happened to Titan Industries spread throughout the Explored Universe.
The death of the President was impossible to hide.
The entire Explored Universe was in an uproar.
The capital star of the Rebirth Empire had been besieged and was on the brink of collapse—this alone was shocking enough. But now, another powerful force had appeared?
Was this Bai Fu’s counterattack?
Truly terrifying!
For a time, many who had recently defected to Ignaz due to his rising power began to waver again.
This ship called “Ignaz” didn’t seem as steady as it looked.
……
“Leader, the situation is getting a bit tricky.”
The Child of Prophecy conveyed what Bai Fu had just said to Ignaz.
Ignaz narrowed his eyes: “Looks like Bai Fu still has cards I don’t know about. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be speaking so boldly. Then again... maybe not. Perhaps she’s just trying to provoke me, hoping I’ll lose my temper and expose a weakness.”
The Child of Prophecy nodded in agreement.
“Leader, there’s another matter. Hick contacted me just now—after the news of Xiaoquan’s death spread, some people are starting to get restless.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Ignaz’s tone remained calm, showing no anger at the betrayal.
There was nothing to be angry about.
Those people had once come to him because of his power. Now they could easily run to Bai Fu if she seemed more promising.
Of course he could see through that.
What he felt now was excitement.
This... was an opportunity!
“Have Hick keep monitoring them. Don’t expose anything. Let them make the first move and contact Bai Fu.”
The Child of Prophecy immediately understood Ignaz’s meaning—he was setting a trap.
Bai Fu had just won two major battles. If she got cocky, she might take the bait.
And even if Bai Fu didn’t bite—what about her subordinates?
As long as one fish bit the hook, Bai Fu would be finished.
Three hundred sunsets from now you’ll send us off, huh?
I’ll be knocking at your front door tomorrow!
Ignaz folded his arms: “Even if they can’t lure Bai Fu out, just catching them conspiring with her gives us all the reason we need to eliminate this group of fence-sitters. Hahaha, Bai Fu’s actions really caught us off guard this time—but she’ll never expect that everything she did just handed us the perfect breakthrough point!”
The Child of Prophecy couldn’t help but want to applaud the Leader’s quick thinking.
6!
The Leader wasn’t wrong.
After all that, the only real damage Bai Fu caused was killing Xiaoquan.
And the thing was—Xiaoquan was the kind of person whose death didn’t matter. It had no real impact on the Original Pact’s overall plans.
“I’ll inform Hick of the plan right away.”
“Go. I’ll take care of the Empire’s mess first, then join you. Even if you find Bai Fu’s hiding place, do not act rashly.”
The two ended their conversation swiftly.
Before long, the Child of Prophecy found Hick.
“Keep your eyes on those people. Also, don’t forget the few others I told you to monitor earlier. The Leader trusts them, but they’ve always had close ties to Bai Fu. When it comes down to it, who knows what foolish things they might do.”
Hick nodded solemnly.
“Leave it to me. With me here, they won’t cause a scene!”
……
When news of the Empire being attacked and Xiaoquan’s death spread, Bualois, like everyone else, was so shocked he doubted his own ears.
It wasn’t until he contacted Leimingdao that he confirmed it was all true.
“Bai Fu’s strength...”
Bualois grew visibly excited.
He wasn’t at all repulsed by Bai Fu attacking the Empire’s capital star—in fact, he became even more eager to contact her.
The strength Bai Fu displayed gave him hope—hope that the Empire might finally be liberated from the grasp of Ignaz, who should’ve long become a relic of history.
“Even if I expose myself... I must find a way to contact Bai Fu and tell her that secret!”
Bualois clenched his fists tightly.
Then, he forced himself to calm down and put on an indifferent facade.
He was waiting.
Waiting for the right moment.
And that moment came much sooner than expected.
Titan Industries had urgently withdrawn after Xiaoquan’s sudden death. The Supernova Warband was still regrouping from previous heavy losses.
So, the only fleet still rampaging through the Apostolic Holy City was the one sent by the Empire.
Naturally, this made them the target of the Players’ attacks.
When the Players, enraged by the virtual army’s strikes, charged toward the Imperial fleet, Bualois immediately put on a furious expression.
“Those bastards! How dare they launch a sneak attack on the Empire’s capital amidst the chaos! I’m settling this score today!”
After a round of “furious” roaring, Bualois—who rarely took action himself—led a group of trusted aides and stormed out of the mothership.
His emotions were perfectly played. Almost everyone believed he was genuinely furious over the attack on the capital star, and that Emperor Odoacre had been scared half to death—everyone except Hick, who hid in the shadows.
Bualois was among the individuals the Child of Prophecy had marked for special attention.
Following orders, Hick had split off part of his body to infiltrate the Imperial mothership’s communication network.
These past few days, Hick had been monitoring Bualois’s every move—analyzing every message he sent to others.
And yet, he had found nothing suspicious.
He had almost stopped suspecting Bualois altogether.
Until just now.
Bualois’s outburst seemed reasonable—but was it really?
No!
If Bualois truly cared about the Empire’s image, if he truly cared about Odoacre’s dignity, then he should’ve shown extreme anger and humiliation the moment he received news of the capital’s attack.
But he didn’t.
So Hick could be certain—Bualois was acting!
The Undying Ones were invading, and instead of focusing on defense, Bualois staged a theatrical performance right in front of everyone. If there was nothing shady about this, Hick would eat his own body.
Of course, this only proved Bualois had secrets—it didn’t necessarily mean he was betraying the Empire.
The specifics still needed further observation.
As an intelligence operative, Hick had always been meticulous. He would never falsely accuse someone without proof.
After Bualois left the mothership, Hick followed discreetly to observe.
He saw Bualois charging into the Undying Ones.
He saw Bualois fiercely fighting with them.
He saw Bualois risking his life to save Imperial citizens in danger.
He saw Bualois use a special item to restrain the Undying Ones, buying time for the endangered Imperial citizens to escape.
Then, he saw Bualois suddenly stop attacking. Instead of killing the Undying Ones he had trapped, he began talking to them.
——Stop, I'm not your enemy!
——I have important intel for Bai Fu. Please help pass it along. If Bai Fu can't meet me in person, then let Demetri come!
Bualois did not directly reveal the secret he wanted to tell the Players.
He feared the Players might be careless—or that there could be a mole among them—and the message might leak before it even reached Bai Fu.
After hearing Bualois's conversation with the Players, Hick's gaze grew sharper.
“Bualois, as the noble representative of the Imperial Senate, as the widely respected loyal subject of the Empire, you're really going to betray the Leader who brought unmatched glory to the Empire?”
Hick found it incomprehensible.
He struggled to understand Bualois’s thinking, because he couldn’t figure out what Bualois could possibly gain from this.
And there was one more thing that baffled him.
“Did Bualois just mention Demetri? But wasn’t Demetri killed by Bai Fu during the Battle of Origin Star? Why... does that mean Demetri never died?!”
Hick didn’t dare delay—he quickly reported his discovery.
The news of Bualois attempting to betray the Empire didn’t particularly enrage Ignaz.
What truly broke Ignaz’s composure was the fact that Demetri was alive—and very likely still by Bai Fu’s side.
“No wonder... no wonder all three of my contingency plans failed during the Battle of Origin Star. In the end, it was Bai Fu who outplayed me. Demetri—it was you all along! You had already secretly defected to Bai Fu!”
Ignaz was about to vomit blood.
Stray Qi Surge burst uncontrollably from his body, whipping up a fierce wind and causing the entire palace to tremble.
After his furious outburst, Ignaz immediately summoned Odoacre.
He insulted him without the slightest restraint.
“Trash. You worthless trash. Look at what your Empire has become under your leadership!”
Whether it was Demetri or Bualois, both were among the top five most powerful figures in the Empire—yet they had both turned traitor and joined Bai Fu.
How absurd was that?
Ignaz grabbed Odoacre by the throat and lifted him into the air.
If he didn’t already know Odoacre’s true nature, he would have suspected even Odoacre of secretly defecting to Bai Fu.
Odoacre’s face turned bright red from suffocation.
But he didn’t dare struggle, nor did he dare show even a trace of anger.
Even though he was already seething with rage inside.
So what?
Since Ignaz’s return, he might still hold the title of Emperor on the surface, but the Senate had stopped reporting to him altogether.
The only Senate member who still acknowledged him was Bualois—and absurdly, Bualois had already betrayed the Empire.
What a curse!
Odoacre was on the verge of a breakdown.
After quite a while, Ignaz flung Odoacre aside.
Forget it.
Killing Odoacre now would serve no purpose.
At least now he had figured out one of the reasons for his defeat. The next step was obvious—revenge. He would give Bai Fu a most unexpected surprise.
“Give Bualois the opportunity. Let him successfully meet with Bai Fu or Demetri.”
At Ignaz’s command, Hick and his intelligence department moved into action at once.
……
While Ignaz was lecturing Odoacre, Bai Fu was discussing with Demetri how to respond to Bualois.
Both felt it was an opportunity—but also suspected it could be a trap.
Even though they were both on good terms with Bualois, this matter concerned the Empire’s core interests. It was hard to say whether Bualois might betray them at a critical moment.
After some discussion, Demetri felt they couldn’t pass up the chance just because of doubt.
“I’ll go meet Bualois. He probably suggested meeting me instead of Bai Fu because he anticipated we might be wary.”
Demetri was determined to go. After trying to dissuade him a few times, Bai Fu said no more.
With the evolved Ark of Heaven in hand, as long as they were cautious, even if it was a trap, nothing too bad should happen.
Several days later—
The Players once again launched an assault on the Imperial Fleet.
Amid the chaos, Bualois received a response, safe and sound.
The one who contacted him was Demetri, who gave him an address and told him to find a way to get there.
“Once you're there, I’ll contact you again.”
At last.
Bualois felt immense relief.
He had no idea everything was already under Ignaz’s watchful gaze.
After the battle ended, he didn’t act immediately. He remained busy with fleet affairs for several more days before using a trip to the rear repair base as a pretext to leave the fleet.
This time, Bualois traveled light and alone.
Meanwhile, behind him, having been alerted by Hick, Ignaz, the Fate-Weaver, the Child of Prophecy, and others were fully armed.
They all flew toward a location far from the Apostolic Holy City.
Along the way, the ship made three warp jumps.
A full day passed before Bualois arrived at the location Demetri had given him.
There, he met the Excavation-Princess.
The Excavation-Princess told him where Demetri truly was.
“Thanks.”
A relaxed smile finally appeared on Bualois’s face.
Only now did he feel the heavy burden on his shoulders finally lift.
Once he told Demetri the secret, he would simply follow him to Bai Fu’s side—no more need to stay in the Empire and continue acting.
Soon after—
Bualois met Demetri at the designated location.
“Haha, Demetri, it’s been a long time.”
Bualois opened his arms, intending to give Demetri a hug.
At that moment, Demetri’s expression changed drastically.
“Watch out!”
But it was already too late.
A figure formed behind Bualois. By the time he sensed something wrong, a terrifying force had already struck him.
He didn’t even have time to cry out before his body was pierced through.
“Ignaz?!”
Demetri stared straight ahead, eyes locked.
Ignaz smiled at Demetri.
“Thanks to Bualois, we found you.”