The farce came to an end. That night before bed, Ryann adjusted the dosage of the nebulized medication and placed the inhalation mask on Jiang Jianming’s face.
“Will you be able to sleep well tonight?” he asked softly.
Jiang Jianming pretended not to understand.
Ryann spoke again. “That phrase…”
“Zhen did say it, but Zhen won’t say it to you anymore in the future.”
The platinum blonde curls flowed like a stream under the lamplight. His Majesty’s face was stern, his voice low, truly resembling a harsh emperor.
Yet what he said was. “But if the Commander really wants to hear it, desperately wants to hear it… then that could be a different matter.”
Jiang Jianming lay in bed, his eyes curving slightly, his voice hazy. “But if you don’t say it, how would I know?”
Ryann let out a soft snort.
Jiang Jianming knew that His Majesty wasn’t angry, but pleased. He caressed Ryann’s arm with his slightly cool fingertips. “Get some rest early. You don’t need to watch over me. There will be difficult times ahead.”
Ryann leaned down, his hands gripping the disabled human’s shoulders through the blanket. “Will you stay by my side?”
Jiang Jianming reached up, touching his cheek. “I’m waiting to witness your great achievements.”
****
It was in these days that the fires of the final battle finally engulfed Yongle Garden Star City.
There was no suspense left.
The rebel warships passed through the stars, and Kaios strode up the gangway. As he walked, the holograms standing on both sides bowed their heads, hands on their chests, calling out “Your Majesty.”
The universe sparkled in the distance. It had been ten years since the young prince began his uprising from the Blue Mother Star.
In these ten years, there had been dozens of battles, large and small. Old friends had died in battle, and new generals had surrendered.
Among the star cities conquered by the rebel army, some submitted, while others fiercely resisted.
The most representative was the Watson Star City uprising in the 60th year of the old imperial calendar. Taking advantage of the rebel army’s difficult battle in Albourne Star City, several noble factions in Watson, who had ostensibly surrendered, plotted to regain control of the star city. They launched a rebellion and even gained the upper hand for a time.
At that time, both the emperor and the commander were on the front lines in Albourne. The nobles were smug, waiting to negotiate with Kaios – they demanded to maintain Watson’s original power structure. They didn’t care who the emperor was, but nobles should always remain nobles.
The negotiation letter, spanning ten thousand words, was sent over but sank like a stone.
Kaios didn’t even bother to respond.
At the time, he was busy arguing with the commander about the next strategic direction. When he saw this, he waved it off. Negotiate? Not a chance.
The general guarding Watson requested reinforcements, only to be scolded harshly by His Majesty: The front lines were so tough that everyone wished they could split themselves in two, and you have the nerve to ask for reinforcements while guarding the rear?
Get lost, figure it out yourself. If you can’t solve the enemy, let the enemy solve you!
In the end, it was the rebel army in Watson who, with a do-or-die attitude, managed to suppress the nobles’ rebellion.
The rebels were ordered to be executed without exception. It was said that the stench of blood at the execution grounds didn’t disperse for ten days.
After that, everyone lived in fear, and Watson, famous for being a “retirement home for nobles,” finally stabilized.
Ryann stepped onto the bridge, lifted his cloak with a flourish, and sat down in the highest command seat.
Though more than a decade had passed in the blink of an eye, he was still young and vigorous. He was no longer the little monster who huddled in the depths of the laboratory, observing the human world with inorganic eyes.
He was now the iron-blooded rebel leader, the interstellar emperor of humanity. Future history books would call him the great pioneer who opened a new chapter of civilization.
“Your Majesty,” Chen Hanke stepped forward and saluted.
“Yongle Garden Star City is just ahead. Please give your orders, Your Majesty.”
“Understood.”
Ryann half-closed his ice-green eyes indifferently. He pondered, the fate of this star city hanging on the tip of his tongue.
Yongle Garden Star City no longer had the ability to resist, and more than 80% of its residents were self-proclaimed “upper class” and corrupt individuals.
If he were cruel enough, a full-scale bombardment would be a good way to demonstrate power. However…
He contemplated, while the holograms below waited silently on both sides.
The wait didn’t last long. About ten seconds later, Ryann opened his eyes.
“Send a letter of surrender first.”
An hour later, Yongle Garden Star City received the rebel army’s letter of surrender.
The young emperor wrote in it: Enough blood has been shed in the ten years of war, Zhen does not desire the corpses of more compatriots.
This letter of surrender gave hope to the cornered nobles. They flocked to the palace, tearfully begging Odin II to surrender.
It was dawn at the palace when, accompanied by a burst of maniacal laughter, the second emperor emerged.
His eyes flashed with a strange ferocity, wearing a jewel-encrusted imperial crown and holding a scepter as tall as a person – yet he wore a nightgown, was barefoot, with disheveled hair and beard.
“Good morning,” he said, raising his scepter, “Zhen’s subjects.”
Andrew Odin – this incompetent and tyrannical second emperor had completely lost his mind.
He refused to surrender, taking a stance of mutual destruction, and even threatened to blow up Yongle Garden Star City if the nobles and rebel army didn’t back down.
An emperor threatening to blow up his own imperial capital to deter rebel forces – it sounded utterly absurd.
But in fact, as early as the Battle of Albourne, the rebel army had set a precedent of choosing a more difficult strategic approach to avoid civilian casualties.
When the news of Andrew’s refusal to surrender reached the flagship, Ryann leaned back in his command seat, recalling what Jiang Jianming had once told him.
“Your Majesty, throughout our uprising, in terms of military power, technology, or resources, which aspect could we match the Empire in? It’s only by winning the hearts of the people that we’ve achieved today’s results.”
“War can never avoid sacrifices, but now that we have other options, we shouldn’t gamble with people’s lives.”
“Who made Blue Mother Star bloom with golden flowers, who turned every street corner in Woll into an ambush point? An individual’s power is always limited, but the power of millions can create history. Please… reconsider this matter.”
Someone angrily said, “Your Majesty, Odin has become this arrogant!”
Ryann’s expression remained unchanged, but a hint of cold amusement flickered in his eyes.
He said, “Wait a little longer.”
That night, Ryann was awakened by urgent military intelligence coming through the communicator.
“Your Majesty!”
The voice on the other end was excited. “The nobles of Yongle Garden have betrayed! We’ve detected that all the star city’s defense systems have been shut down, the starship port is unsealed, they’re welcoming us to take control!”
……
“Execute the foolish ruler Odin!!!”
“Don’t let any of the Odin royal family escape, they are humanity’s sinners, history’s villains!!”
“Where is Andrew Odin, we can’t let the foolish ruler escape!!”
The bitter cold of deep winter was piercing, and gunshots shattered the uneasy night. The flames of rebellion had reached the palace, and it was the nobles’ private guards who wielded weapons and revealed their crystal bones.
To save their own lives, these cornered nobles finally turned their swords towards the holy emperor they had always praised, offering the Odin royal family as a token of allegiance to the rebel army. Even Andrew Odin’s youngest child – an eight-year-old princess – died tragically under gunfire.
It was the end of the sixty-third year since the establishment of the Holy Human Empire. It was the eve of a new year in the imperial calendar.
“Traitors, all traitors… traitors to the Holy Human Empire!”
“Zhen, Zhen will… heh heh… execute, execute them all…!”
Abandoned by all, Andrew Odin escaped from the palace through a secret passage. His face was streaked with tears and mucus as he fled desperately into the night.
Suddenly, he began to sense light above his head.
Andrew panted heavily. As he ran, he looked up to see a large fleet of starships descending upon the star city.
A person can never outrun a starship.
Years ago, the people left behind on Blue Mother Star had cried out as they chased after departing starships, never able to catch up.
So tonight, as the emperor tried to flee from the starships landing in Yongle Garden, he naturally couldn’t escape either.
Finally, Odin fled into the long-sealed Gray Owl Laboratory.
A few hours later, when the rebel army’s troops surrounded it, he let out a strange cry and detonated this most secret research institute of the empire.
The flames of the explosion engulfed the mad emperor, and countless crystallizations of wisdom and sweat were reduced to ashes.
“It’s over…!”
Outside the burning Gray Owl Laboratory, Lin Ge’s face turned ashen. She suddenly released her crystal bones, wrapped herself up, and prepared to rush inside.
Her subordinates desperately held her back.
“General Lin!”
“No, no…”
“There are chain reactions of explosions inside, and we don’t know if any highly toxic substances will spread. General, you absolutely cannot go in!”
Lin Ge gritted her teeth so hard they creaked, and she slammed her fist against a nearby wall. “I… fucking Odin!”
Although she wasn’t well-educated, she understood how important knowledge was.
Moreover, the Gray Owl Laboratory had been researching crystal particles.
If the data inside could be given to Sylph to continue the research, perhaps the crystal particle tranquilizer could be further improved, and Jiang might be able to…
Even setting aside this personal connection, it was still the hope for millions of chronic crystal disorder patients. Now, who knew how much of the data and information inside could be salvaged.
Lin Ge spat viciously. “Fucking despicable, worse than beasts!!”
Suddenly, she remembered Sylph’s eyes shining when talking about her grandfather’s laboratory before they set out.
Ah, the little girl was probably going to cry.
……
The local setback did not affect the overall victory.
As the rebel army took control of Yongle Garden, Kaios immediately set about reorganizing the star city and enforcing strict discipline. In less than a day, the fire in the palace had been extinguished.
In an instant, wild winds howled, and the enormous Holy Royal Flag that had hung for over sixty years came crashing down in the decadent dusk.
At that moment, a great cheer erupted from this star city, reaching a fever pitch, signaling a complete renewal.
History, the future, the road ahead, the journey home.
At the moment the royal flag fell to the ground with the dust, everything was redefined.
Jiang Jianming stood on the palace wall, his shadow elongated by the sunset.
He had come up here alone, avoiding others.
Looking down from here, Yongle Garden’s densely packed buildings were submerged in a red pool of the setting sun, all visible to those standing on high.
At this moment, Jiang Jianming recalled many things, including those he thought he had forgotten.
He remembered his mother’s eyes, the porthole of the White Dove Red Leaf Society’s starship, the red blanket, and the campfire and stormy winds in the wild areas.
He remembered apples, and how he had carved open his own flesh with a sharp knife, the characters he had written while waiting for Ryann, and the sound of life fading away.
There was also the rainstorm starship, the first time he touched the cockpit of the Crown of Golden Dawn, and all the battles and star seas along the way.
Jiang Jianming blinked slowly, a strange, eerie feeling growing in his heart.
He felt that at this moment, he should leap from here, plunging into that blood-red pool of the setting sun to find his final resting place.
Why? It seemed that certain missions had been completed, certain obsessions had dissipated, and what remained was just a body lingering in pain, and he had been in pain for too long.
Jiang Jianming thought for a moment.
The setting sun cast a red glow on his pale face.
He raised his wrist and used his wrist communicator to call Ryann.
The other side answered immediately. He called out, “Your Majesty.”
“I’m here,” came the reply, “What’s wrong?”
“Where are you?”
“Where are you?”
Jiang Jianming sent his location.
He leaned against the wall for a while, and in less than five minutes, he saw Ryann hurrying up.
Needless to say, His Majesty must be incredibly busy right now.
But as soon as he called, Ryann came to find him.
“What’s wrong?”
Jiang Jianming pointed to the sunset behind him. “I thought the scenery here was beautiful.”
Ryann glanced at it, then wrapped an arm around his waist, lazily resting his chin on Jiang Jianming’s shoulder. “Hmm, it is indeed beautiful. Shall we build a viewing platform here?”
Jiang Jianming couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t be silly, this is a historical site. It’s the palace of humanity’s first interstellar empire.”
Birds flew across the vast sky.
Jiang Jianming asked softly, “What are Your Majesty’s thoughts for the future?”
“It’s still far off,” Ryann held him tightly, his gaze fixed on the distance, “At the very least, I want this empire to be able to call out your real name when they cheer for the Commander.”
Jiang Jianming was stunned for a moment.
Then he nodded. “…Yes, it’s still far off.”
