Chapter 393: Bai Fu's Operation, Triple-Lane Advantage
Crap!
The moment Ignatz was taken away by Bai Fu, the Son of Prophecy instantly realized they had fallen into a trap.
Had Bai Fu seen through their scheme?
Or had Hick, like Dmitri, Buarlo, and the others, secretly defected to Bai Fu?
There was no time to ponder these questions.
He hurriedly ordered those around him to retreat and urgently notified the fleets stationed around the outskirts of the Silent Alliance.
But it was already too late. The moment they failed to realize it was a trap, they were doomed.
The Silent Alliance fleets, hidden in the shadows, swarmed out like a tidal wave, roaring toward the fleets brought by the Initial Accord.
Caught completely off guard, the Initial Accord’s fleets lost a huge number of ships in the very first clash.
"Damn it! Can anyone tell me what the hell is going on?!"
The officers of the Initial Accord fleet all wore expressions as if they had swallowed dung.
They roared in frustration and scrambled for intel, but the information lockdown left them in the dark.
They could only hastily mobilize their virtual units in an attempt to break the blockade.
But this was Bai Fu's home turf.
She had prepared for this war for over ten days.
Attacking the Initial Accord fleets weren’t just astronomical numbers of warships, but also long-range cannons hidden within the Silent Alliance’s territory, void dimensions, virtual dimensions, and even the cracks between dimensions.
Of course, psionic troops were also a given.
Though the Initial Accord’s virtual units were formidable, they still faltered under such a massive siege.
"Found you!"
Crack!
Space shattered, and a Transcendent-rank Psionic Priest of the Silent Alliance burst forth from a rift, sneering coldly at a Network Mechanic who was actively disrupting their fleet.
"You—"
Boom!
A surge of dark energy engulfed the terrified Network Mechanic before they could even cry for help, obliterating them.
"Target neutralized. Where's the next one?"
At the rear command center, Summer Poem maintained a calm expression as she battled the Initial Accord's mechanics in the virtual world while continuously transmitting the coordinates she intercepted to allied Transcendents tasked with cleanup.
"Coordinates sent. The target is attempting to relocate. Intercept immediately!"
"Leave it to me. They won't get away!"
The commotion quickly caught the attention of the Initial Accord’s virtual forces.
Shadowstorm Corona, who was among them, instantly planned his escape after sensing the unfavorable turn.
He had sided with Ignatz because Ignatz held the upper hand. Now that Ignatz was in trouble, he had no intention of going down with him.
Bye-bye!
Corona secretly summoned his Mechanical Divinity.
While the others were still struggling to fend off the Silent Alliance, he slipped out of the ship.
Just as he was about to board the Mechanical Divinity, a streak of black light suddenly shot at him from behind.
The mechanical particles drifting around him automatically clustered together to form a multilayered circular shield, blocking the path of the black light.
Ding!
The shield cracked layer by layer, then quickly reformed, managing to block the black light after several minutes.
"You?!"
Corona’s eyes widened.
He recognized the attacker.
Shadow Fu, a renowned Transcendent-rank assassin under Bai Fu!
No.
It wasn't just Shadow Fu.
His micro-detectors picked up another presence—an eerie eye descending from the void on the opposite side.
It was Eye of Sorrow, another of Bai Fu’s elite generals!
Damn it, Bai Fu wasn’t planning to let him leave.
So what if he had ambushed her before? Did she really have to go this far?
Grumbling inwardly, Corona launched his counterattack.
The Mechanical Divinity went full firepower, unleashing billions of mech troops from the sub-dimensional barracks. Countless mechanical particles formed extraordinary weapons, while exquisitely crafted divine-grade wargear joined the fray.
Corona deployed everything he could muster in the short term.
Unfortunately, his enemies far exceeded his expectations in strength.
They were Shadow Fu and Eye of Sorrow—both repeatedly enhanced by Bai Fu, and destined to grow stronger alongside her!
Already formidable individually, the two of them were terrifying when teamed up.
Eye of Sorrow launched psychic assaults that disrupted Corona’s control over his forces, exposing gaps in their coordination. Shadow Fu, an expert in speed, capitalized on those openings to breach their defenses and close in on Corona.
Not every fragile-class Psionicist had Bai Fu's cheat-like survivability—thanks to countless HP and defensive skills and talents she had learned through the game system.
Corona was a standard Mechanic. His durability came from his gear, not himself.
"Still trying to run? Dream on!"
Shadow Fu's attacks rained down like a tempest.
After enduring wave after wave, Corona, as expected, succumbed.
"Wait, I surre—"
Slash!
Shadow Fu gave no chance to a fickle traitor like him and decapitated him with a single strike.
She and Eye of Sorrow immediately unleashed their ultimates.
With a faint groan, Corona perished without a trace.
Only then did the rest of the Initial Accord’s virtual troops realize Corona was dead.
But none had the luxury to avenge him—they were too busy trying to survive. Who had time to worry about an outsider like him?
"We can't retreat. For the Initial Accord, for the eternal oath—fight them!"
The Initial Accord soldiers let out deafening roars.
Though trapped in a desperate situation, most of them did not flee. Instead, they charged their ships straight into the enemy ranks.
At the same time, the Silent Alliance responded in kind.
Most of them had suffered under the Initial Accord or the Three Universal Civilizations before. Their anger burned hotter than their foes’, and now that they finally had a chance to strike back, they had no intention of holding back.
"Crush them!"
Two overwhelming tides collided in the starry sea, shattering space itself.
Every second, numerous ships exploded into fragments, and countless lives were lost in the blasts.
The Silent Alliance had the upper hand in this battle, though it wouldn’t be easy to secure total victory right away.
By contrast, the Disaster Corps, which had infiltrated the Rebirth Empire, faced a far smoother operation.
"For Fufu!"
"For a better tomorrow!"
"Kill you, kill you, kill you..."
Shouting slogans that ranged from chuunibyou to embarrassing, the Players of the Disaster Corps launched large-scale attacks on several pre-selected targets upon receiving Bai Fu’s all-out assault order.
Not long ago, an attack had already occurred. As a result, the Shimmering Stars orbital cities near the Empire's capital planet had their security levels drastically heightened.
When the players attacked again, they were met with fierce resistance in that region.
However, while areas near the capital planet could repel the players, other regions lacked that capability.
"Stop them! Hurry, stop them!"
"Damn it! Where are these Undying Ones coming from?!"
"Request reinforcements from His Majesty!"
"It’s useless! The capital planet’s under attack too!"
"Then call for help from the Supernova Warband and Titan Industries next door!"
“The Supernova Warband could only dispatch a small fleet, and Titan Industries outright refused assistance under the excuse that their President had just died. Right now, only José from Eternal Investments is willing to lend a hand.”
“Goddammit, these bastards!”
For a time, the entire Empire erupted in flames of war.
Although the number of players in the Calamity Legion was only in the tens of millions…
A large number among them had chosen the Psionic Priest class. Just one of them could easily rival thousands—if not more—ordinary soldiers.
When they unleashed their full power, the Empire was caught completely off guard.
“Forget everything else—mobilize every single warband we can muster, now!”
Audoak was nearly driven to the point of fainting from rage.
What a disaster!
He had thought that with Emperor Ignatz's return, even if he couldn’t become the top figure of the Empire, he’d still get to enjoy endless benefits under the Emperor’s protection.
But who would’ve thought that these good times wouldn’t even last a few years before the Imperial Capital faced siege—twice!
Back when Emperor Ignatz was absent, the Empire had never suffered this badly!
Was this even reasonable? Was it?
Audoak shivered in fear inside the palace.
The Elder who had taken over Buwalo’s position couldn’t come up with any good ideas for the time being and could only try to reassure him, saying it was no big deal—Emperor Ignatz would surely return soon to settle the matter, just like last time.
Besides, even if the Emperor didn’t come back, the Empire’s warbands were no pushovers either.
With the Capital Star’s current defensive capabilities, they would definitely hold out until reinforcements arrived.
…Would they?
Audoak had lost all confidence and turned into a full-on pessimist.
As it turned out, his pessimism was justified.
As time passed, various Transcendents, Dominators, and Fleets from areas near the Imperial Capital Star began returning to defend it.
However, the Calamity Legion also received reinforcements.
Anya, Cersia, the Oathmaster, the Curse Lord, and others who had been sent in advance by Bai Fu now appeared on the battlefield.
Near the relatively small Imperial Capital Star, nearly twenty Transcendents clashed in chaotic combat.
The resulting shockwaves from the battle could tear starships apart with ease.
If Ignatz hadn’t preemptively deployed a ring of spatial stabilizers around the Capital Star, the players would have already rushed in amid the chaos and started slaughtering.
Yet even with those precautions, the Empire’s preparations were far less thorough than Bai Fu’s. Thus, defeat soon loomed.
The matter rapidly became the hottest topic across the entire Explored Universe. Everyone was watching this war, waiting to see how it would end.
What the Explored Universe would look like in the future would, most likely, depend on the outcome of this battle.
…
“Give up. I’ve long turned the surrounding space into Ethereal Realm. You won’t escape. Everyone from the original agreement—except Ignatz—will be finished here!”
Ailijie looked coldly at the panicked Son of Prophecy and the others as sweat dripped down their foreheads.
The aura radiating from her was like the bone-chilling wind of the twelfth lunar month.
The Son of Prophecy dared not make any sudden moves and instead launched a verbal attack: “Ailijie, do you even know what you’re doing? You’re abetting the destruction of civilization! Following Bai Fu will get everyone killed eventually. Wake up—it’s not too late to switch sides!”
Your mom, that is.
Ailijie rolled her eyes.
How to prevent civilization’s destruction? As a survivor of the previous era, and the Administrator of the Ethereal Realm, wouldn’t she know better than these clowns?
Trying to sow discord between me and Bai Fu? Courting death!
Ailijie clenched her right hand in the air, and the entire space began collapsing toward the spot where the Son of Prophecy stood.
This was the Ethereal Realm crushing the Main Space.
Though both were Psionic Priests, Ailijie’s combat style was vastly different from Bai Fu’s—much more direct and brutal—
She wielded the Ethereal Realm like a hammer!
Yeah, that’s just how we Ethereal Realm administrators roll. Got a problem with that? Suck it up!
The Son of Prophecy’s face flushed red—crushed by the overwhelming pressure.
“We’ll split up! They’re fewer than us—we might not lose! Besides, we don’t even need to win. We just need to hold out until the Leader returns… Bai Fu will never defeat the Leader!”
His cry calmed down Ignatz’s hardcore loyalists nearby.
They didn’t think they could kill Ailijie, but if the goal was just to stall her… that might be doable?
Everyone scattered and used their own abilities.
Some engaged Yulia and others attacking alongside Ailijie.
Some coordinated with the Son of Prophecy to try and wound her.
Everyone in the original agreement was a top-tier Transcendent, far stronger than the ones defending against attacks on the Rebirth Empire’s side.
Unfortunately, the bad news was: their opponents were also far stronger than the Transcendents assaulting the Rebirth Empire.
Against overwhelming power, the Son of Prophecy and his allies’ plans became nothing but empty fantasies.
“Am I… going to die here?”
The Son of Prophecy felt despair.
Though he couldn’t directly predict his own death, his prophetic powers usually allowed him to sense danger through foresight about enemies and allies.
It was how he had survived countless crises.
However, when facing Bai Fu and the Undying Ones, his powers completely failed.
He saw nothing.
Even before this operation, he had attempted a prophecy.
Sadly, because Bai Fu was involved, all he saw was blankness again.
Who would’ve thought that within that blankness lay his death?
His mindset collapsed. He cursed Ailijie, cursed Bai Fu, cursed Ignatz—and even cursed the Weaver of Fate, who couldn’t join due to injury.
But no matter how he struggled, under Ailijie’s full-force assault, his body was eventually shattered, leaving only a residual soul.
Just as Ailijie prepared to strike again, a blinding red light suddenly pierced in from the side.
“What is that?”
The scene drew everyone’s attention.
A rift suddenly tore open in the Ethereal Realm, and from it, countless crimson feathers flew out.
Ailijie had to retreat and dodge.
Perfect chance!
The Son of Prophecy was overjoyed.
He had no idea who had attacked Ailijie, but it didn’t matter. He immediately abandoned the others and fled with his damaged soul.
Seconds passed.
Seeing that Ailijie wasn’t chasing, the Son of Prophecy exhaled deeply.
He survived. He survived!
“Ha ha ha!”
He burst out laughing.
At this point, he didn’t care about the others. He barely composed himself and flew at full speed toward the Explored Universe, eager to find a place to recover.
In his rush, he didn’t realize it was a trap.
The person who attacked Ailijie was actually Fei Ye.
While he was being pummeled, Ailijie had secretly placed a tracking curse—crafted by Bai Fu—on him.
“Alright. Now we can take our time dealing with the rest of them.”
Ailijie cracked her knuckles, grinning viciously at the Transcendents from the original agreement.
She had disliked these people for a long time—today, she’d send them all off!
…
At the same time, in a far-off starry sky—
Ignatz had more or less figured out the situation and realized that war was raging across various fronts.
“When did you find out?”
“Take a guess.”
Guess your damn head!
Ignatz was furious.
“You think you can stop me?”
He immediately ignited the Sacred Relic he carried, unleashing power that shook the stars.
In a flash, his Power stat shot up to 90,000. His Agility, Constitution, and Mental stats surged with it.
Bai Fu narrowed her eyes.
Just as she had suspected, Ignatz’s stats weren’t lower than hers—but the difference wasn’t large either, especially with her Ethereal Blessing active.
So… where did Ignatz’s true danger lie?
Even Apostolic Psionic Vision wasn’t enough to fully read his panel—she would have to test him herself.
“If you want to die, I’ll grant your wish!”
Bai Fu activated every burst skill she had without hesitation. This time, she summoned Hei Fu as well.
Together, they launched themselves toward Ignatz, commanding the Void King and Majestic Divine Form.
Five godlike forms clashed in the vast emptiness of space, holding nothing back.