Jiang Jianming didn’t ask for many people.
Thirty thousand mecha soldiers, two thousand starships, and corresponding anti-Crystal Nest weapons and tranquilizers along with other supplies.
Even Major General Emma was worried. “Is this amount of forces really enough? The Crystal Nest situation is complicated now, with both the Crown Prince and Xiao Xie trapped inside. Your body hasn’t fully recovered, yet you’re taking such a risk…”
Audrey frowned as she listened. “Jiang, let me go with you.”
Jiang Jianming shook his head. “No, you stay here. Black Shark Base needs Diana.”
“Major General Emma, please don’t worry, I have a plan.”
Jiang Jianming’s eyes were deep with thought. He was indeed very worried about the situation at the Crystal Nest, but he knew better that the more urgent the situation, the calmer one needed to be.
A small fleet rescue mission was definitely not an easy task.
There was actually an inherent contradiction: with more forces, deployment would take time; with fewer forces, movement would be quick, but it might be like pouring a cup of water on a burning cart—not enough, and might even sacrifice the rescue forces themselves.
So the objective had to be clear: this reinforcement mission wasn’t aimed at causing major damage to the Crystal Nest, or even rescuing all the expeditionary forces.
As long as they could contend with the treacherous environment of the Crystal Nest and protect the main force until the imperial army arrived, that would be victory.
That evening, Jiang Jianming put on his Silver Big Dipper uniform after a long time.
Silver Big Dipper’s efficiency truly lived up to its reputation. In just half a day, Major General Emma had quickly assembled the expedition soldiers, waiting for their commander’s address.
Jiang Jianming knew he had to make an official appearance, at least to explain the kicked-open coffin lid.
He put on his military coat, adjusted his cap, secured his holster with the silver-gray Wings of Venus, and finally habitually grabbed those black leather gloves.
Jiang Jianming looked at these gloves.
Now, no one in the military would discriminate against him for being non-crystal, and the mecha control system had been replaced with mental control.
Whether from the perspective of concealing his race or protecting his hands, he seemed to have no need to wear them anymore.
But after some thought, the black-haired youth still carefully put on the gloves.
Whether out of habit, or to remember.
He stepped into the Third Fortress in the sunset glow and gentle breeze of the Omega Alien Star.
—Then found himself unable to move forward.
Inside the fortress, the originally lined-up Silver Big Dipper soldiers completely lost their composure when they saw that handsome figure draped in evening glow.
“Your, Your Excellency Jiang!” someone called out with a trembling voice, eyes wide.
“It’s true, what our Major General said was true…”
“Your Excellency Jiang has really awakened!!”
Actually, Major General Emma had notified them beforehand, but it proved useless.
When Jiang Jianming actually stood before the troops, the scene briefly boiled out of control—the soldiers surged forward like a tidal wave.
Some wailing, some shouting, some quietly saluting with tears; some crowding around to see him, some asking about his health, and some even trying to stop him, begging him not to personally go on the expedition…
Jiang Jianming was initially both annoyed and amused, gently trying to calm them with a few words. But it didn’t work at all.
He was forced to put on an air of authority, coldly barking out two stern commands before finally getting the situation under control.
After hastily finishing his address, Jiang Jianming slipped away with lingering trepidation.
This was happening at the Third Fortress where he had never stayed before, and it was already like this.
When he would go to the Crystal Nest and meet Silver Big Dipper’s First Army, and later return to the Empire to meet the Golden Sun Wheel stationed in Aslan…he shuddered.
“…”
Jiang Jianming’s scalp tingled, and he decided not to think about it.
He had just boarded the starship and sat down in the flagship’s command room when a communication from the Second Fortress came through.
“Little Excellency!” It was Lieutenant General Jin Min. In the projection, the middle-aged general’s face was very excited, “It’s wonderful to see you recovered and awake.”
Jiang Jianming smiled helplessly. “Lieutenant General Jin, I trust you’ve been well. Let’s not say such things, everyone who sees me since I woke up wants to cry first, I really can’t take it.”
“Yes.” Through the communication, Lieutenant General Jin Min gazed at the black-haired young man with peaceful eyes before him, feeling his heart stirring.
A year had passed, spanning time and surviving such a near-death experience, yet the Little Excellency’s tenacity and gentleness hadn’t changed at all…
“I heard you’re leading troops into battle again,” Jin Min said, “I’m being presumptuous to disturb you, but there’s actually a matter concerning the Lava Space Bandits.”
Jiang Jianming: “Lava?”
“Yes, since Lava was destroyed by the Crystal Cult, Old Marshal Chen sent commissioners several times, and finally decided to have the Second Fortress temporarily oversee the remnants of the Lava Space Bandits. It’s basically house arrest, waiting for an opportunity to make use of these cast-offs.”
Jin Min continued. “However, Red Dragon has never let down his guard against the Empire, so we could only keep him confined like this. Until yesterday, when Old Marshal Chen heard you were awake and going to reinforce the Crystal Nest, he suggested I reveal this matter to Red Dragon.”
Jiang Jianming laughed. “Ah, I see. Old Marshal Chen is quite crafty… Red Dragon asked to see me, didn’t he?”
Jin Min: “Just as you said.”
Jiang Jianming: “Alright, patch the projection through.”
By now the night was deep, stars twinkling, and Silver Big Dipper’s Third Armys’ two thousand starships were ready at the starship port.
Jiang Jianming didn’t want to waste time waiting for a small space bandit, and after confirmation, directly gave the order. “All ships, lift off.”
Major General Emma stood below the starship port, with Jiang Sheng beside her.
The night wind stirred both their clothes.
“Aren’t you worried?”
Emma tucked a loose strand of golden hair behind her ear, “Just a year ago there was an incident, and now we have to watch His Excellency Jiang lead troops into battle again.”
Jiang Sheng scratched his head with a bitter laugh. “Ah, how could I not be worried? My lips are about to blister from anxiety.”
“But…” Jiang Sheng lifted his face, saying wistfully, “Who told me to make such bold promises to my child, telling him to do whatever he wanted?”
The fleet took off!
Reinforcing the Crystal Nest naturally required a jump, but for the safety of the fortress and base, they couldn’t open such a large wormhole directly above the alien star.
Major General Emma and Jiang Sheng both solemnly saluted. Under their watchful gaze, Silver Big Dipper’s warships maintained their formation as they rose from the Third Fortress, quickly breaking through Omega Alien Star’s atmosphere.
The fleet left the Omega star region, heading in a straight line toward a stable, open space zone.
It was at this time that the communication from the Second Fortress reconnected to the screen in front of Jiang Jianming.
The figure that appeared was indeed Red Dragon.
But he was completely different from the arrogant, unrestrained youth who liked to laugh while holding a black cat in Jiang Jianming’s memory.
In the projection, Red Dragon’s face was pale, wearing an eye patch over his right eye, and his visible left eye was lifeless.
He wore the Empire’s electronic handcuffs on both hands, and his once flame-like red hair had grown longer, messily piled at the nape of his neck. He completely looked like a cold walking corpse.
He silently looked at Jiang Jianming for a long time, then said hoarsely. “Since neither of us managed to die, we should do what demons who crawl out of hell do, right?”
In the flagship’s command room, the black-haired officer leaned slightly forward, his fingers forming a steeple as he calmly said, “Kid, you seem to have misunderstood something.”
“I never went to hell,” Jiang Jianming said. “My death brought victory to our army, and in the end, I didn’t even die – it’s a fairy tale.”
“As for you, I gave you chances, even advocated for you before the Emperor.”
“It was your wrong judgment that led to your space bandits’ destruction, yet you, the chief culprit, didn’t die – that’s the ghost story.”
“You!” Red Dragon’s face became terrifyingly distorted.
Jiang Jianming pulled out an aerosol tranquilizer from beside him, shaking it to mix, “Now that your space bandits are gone, what do you have to speak to me as an equal?”
Across the screen, Red Dragon’s face visibly reddened, veins pulsing at the youth’s temples, his heavy breathing coming through the communication.
He had probably never been in such a humble position before. After struggling for a while, he slammed his fist on the communicator and burst out. “If you only want to humiliate me, we have nothing more to say!”
Jiang Jianming remained unmoved, instead smiling calmly. “Then hang up.”
After saying this, he actually stopped looking at the communication screen, casually taking his medicine.
“—You!!” Red Dragon glared in fury.
“Your Excellency the Red Dragon, you want to avenge Lava, want to tear Gaius into pieces, don’t you?”
Jiang Jianming glanced from the corner of his eye, his voice coming hazily through the mask. “Then know your place, now you’re the one who needs something from me.”
“I’ll give you some bad news for free – Gaius has merged with the Crystal Nest.”
“I have the Crystal Nest’s star coordinates, and the fleet has already set sail. Convince me of your value, and I might consider taking you to the Crystal Nest.”
Just then, a soldier’s report came through the military channel:
“Report, Colonel! The fleet has reached the target space zone.”
“Radar detection shows no anomalies, space environment stable.”
“Crystal Nest’s three-dimensional star coordinates confirmed.”
“Coordinates locked: (xx, yy, zz)”
Jiang Jianming put down the medicine. Using his left hand wrapped in black leather glove, he pulled over the floating 3D star map while opening the military channel. “Prepare for jump, open wormhole!”
In the projection, Red Dragon’s chest heaved unevenly. Having to curry favor with a former opponent, even “selling” his own value to seek cooperation… this was the ultimate humiliation for him.
His fist was about to smash the communicator’s switch when flashes of blood appeared before his eyes.
“Python” who had been heartily chewing meat one moment and falling to crystal disorder the next; “Kong” who died tragically under the Bishop of Destruction’s hand protecting him; “Thorned Rose” who sacrificed herself in her mecha to take down the Crystal Cult…
Red Dragon’s eyes reddened; to this day, he lived only to avenge his brothers and sisters.
Enduring infinite humiliation, he ground out through gritted teeth. “Hey!”
Jiang Jianming, having finished his orders, cut off the military channel and gave him a look.
“I have S-class crystal bones,” Red Dragon said. “Moreover, these two years, I’ve absorbed many real crystal ores following the Crystal Cult’s methods, my crystal bones are nearly Super S-class.” He said hatefully, “I can, temporarily, cooperate with the Empire…”
“In the Crystal Nest, individual combat power won’t be of much use.”
Jiang Jianming shook his head. “Besides, you’ve absorbed so many real crystal ores, aren’t you just a walking time bomb? Why should I risk taking you?”
Red Dragon choked. “What about L-Hephaestus!?”
Jiang Jianming: “The Empire doesn’t lack high-grade mechas.”
“Lava’s specialized mechas, those blueprints are all lost technology from the old Empire, we can give up… some of them.”
Red Dragon gritted his back teeth, seeing the black-haired officer’s constantly indifferent gaze, and hatefully amended. “…or all of them.”
Jiang Jianming let out a light sigh.
“You disappoint me.”
He stood up under Red Dragon’s shocked and angry gaze, adjusting his collar, “Calm down, I’ll give you a few minutes to clear your head.”
After saying this, Jiang Jianming really left Red Dragon hanging and went out to change into crystal-resistant battle armor, which was very uncomfortable to wear. To conserve energy, he had delayed changing until just before opening the jump wormhole.
The soldier helping him with the armor trembled. “Colonel Jiang, you absolutely can’t act alone this time!”
Jiang Jianming responded perfunctorily. “Mm-hmm.”
When he returned, Red Dragon sat with a dark face, his messy red hair hanging low.
Seeing Jiang Jianming return and sit down, he slowly raised his head, his expression indeed much calmer.
“Right now, you must be looking for the Crystal Cult’s Bishop of Destruction, right? And you can’t find him, can you?”
Red Dragon said hoarsely. “I know about this Bishop, know the Crystal Cult’s battle tendencies.”
“As long as you take me to the Crystal Nest, I can not only be a combat force but also provide you with enough information.”
Jiang Jianming looked at him for a few seconds, finally relaxing his brow.
“At least you have some brains.”
He connected to Jin Min’s communication. “Lieutenant General Jin, have Lava’s remnants come to my side.”
“Your Excelllency Jiang, please reconsider! If there’s a trap…”
“I know what I’m doing.”
A few minutes later, Lava’s remnants jumped over and joined the imperial fleet, positioned to the front left of the flagship.
The once infamous space bandit group now had only one hundred and sixty-two people left, fitting into a single medium-sized starship.
Red Dragon, wrapped in a cloak, walked into the command room. Behind him followed Gao Long’s father, Old Black Sheep.
Instantly, Silver Big Dipper soldiers on both sides raised their guns, eyes full of hostility.
Red Dragon coldly snorted, striding behind Jiang Jianming, “You’re really comfortable letting our starship stay in the middle of the formation, next to your ship?”
“I’ve let you into the command room, what else wouldn’t I dare?”
Jiang Jianming didn’t even bother to turn around, not even hiding the data on the command screen, “Pull up a seat and sit down.”
…Impossible, absolutely impossible, Red Dragon ground his teeth in thought. However arrogant he might appear outwardly, he wasn’t foolish enough to misread the situation.
With Lava’s current bargaining chips, there was nothing that could make the Empire’s His Highness value them this much…
What was this disabled human planning?
“My issues with the Empire and that old woman Lin Ge won’t end just like this!”
Red Dragon sat down with crossed arms, angrily lowering his voice. “After we deal with the Crystal Nest, we’ll settle our scores!”
“Quiet.” Jiang Jianming said in a deep voice, “We’re about to make the jump.”
The wormhole in front rapidly expanded until the twisted alternate space swallowed the starship.
The universe rippled with strange colors, flowing like a tunnel on both sides. The vanguard ship first issued warnings.
“Detected excessive crystal particle concentration ahead!”
“Suspected crystalline life forms approaching!”
The starship broke through the wormhole, and an infinitely unfamiliar cosmic region stretched out ahead.
The snow-white Crystal Nest was already visible to the naked eye, and large groups of crystalline beings were rapidly charging toward the fleet, exactly as Yuan Changze had described.
And this would be the first challenge facing the reinforcement troops—
If they couldn’t break through quickly, they would lose too much force before even joining up with the expeditionary army, and at that point, it would be unclear who would be rescuing whom.
