“The Empire still hasn’t seen one thing clearly.”
One year ago, inside the starship of the Lava Space Bandits. The Bishop of Destruction, with his black robe trailing the ground, walked towards Red Dragon under the half-believing, half-doubting gazes of the space bandits on both sides.
“The more humans attack the Crystal Nest, the more soldiers will inevitably die from crystal disorder, and the stronger the Crystal Nest’s power will inevitably become. Humans fighting against the Crystal Nest is like adding fuel to the fire.”
“Even if the Empire’s technology keeps advancing, soldiers keep getting better, and tactics against the Crystal Nest keep maturing, what use is it? The growth rate of crystal disorder deaths might decrease, but the death toll itself will only increase. You should understand my meaning.”
“One day, the Crystal Nest will become powerful enough to activate the crystal particles within all humans. That will be the day of our ultimate advent, it’s just a matter of sooner or later.”
Red Dragon sat with his legs crossed, frowning as he listened in silence.
“So that means,” a burly space bandit scratched his scalp, “if the Empire doesn’t attack the Crystal Nest, the Nest will soon trigger this ‘ultimate’ thing and all humans will kick the bucket.”
“But if the Empire attacks the Crystal Nest, more and more soldiers will die from crystal disorder, and the Nest will eventually grow strong enough to trigger the ‘ultimate’ thing, and humans will still kick the bucket?”
After speaking, the bandit scared himself and screamed. “This means we’re doomed either way, sooner or later!”
The Bishop of Destruction said calmly, “I’ve said before, the outcome of this war was predetermined from the beginning. The Crystal Cult’s efforts are merely about wanting to personally present the crown to the sacred crystal particles, making the ultimate day arrive sooner.”
“Unfortunately, given the current situation, the war between the Empire and the Crystal Nest will continue for a long time. This is regrettable for us, but for Lava, at least before humanity’s extinction, it’s enough time for your brothers and sisters to live freely without having to bow to anyone.”
“Humanity’s extinction…”
Red Dragon turned his face away with a snort. He saw Old Black Sheep standing below, and suddenly said in a low voice, “Some of my brothers have children too.”
Su didn’t respond, just looked at him. As if silently questioning: So what?
The space bandits had always claimed to just live happily in the present. Was the young leader now going to accept the amnesty from their enemies for the sake of providing for future generations?
“…” Red Dragon scratched his hair irritably. By now, he was already caught between a rock and a hard place.
They had already declared irreconcilable opposition with the Empire, and he had made big promises to the space bandits under him. This former partner before him looked dangerous no matter how he looked at it, but what choice did he have?
“What does the Crystal Cult want Lava to do?”
“We don’t need you to do anything anymore,” the Bishop of Destruction shook his head and said, “The Crystal Cult will provide Lava with large quantities of real crystal ore, food, weapons and other resources. We hope Lava will stay away from the battlefield from now on, not surrender to the Empire, not become our enemy, and not leak any information we’ve provided so far. That’s all.”
Red Dragon’s expression finally relaxed a bit. So it was just this – these demands didn’t sound unreasonable.
By now he no longer trusted the Crystal Cult, with suspicion and vigilance taking up more than half his thoughts.
If the Bishop of Destruction still wanted them to fight together, Lava would definitely refuse. But now, his conditions were merely not to surrender to the Empire…
The space bandits wouldn’t suffer any losses, would get resources for free, and even have room to continue observing the situation.
Red Dragon deliberately put on airs saying he needed two days to consider, but in his heart he had already agreed.
Thinking carefully, Silver Big Dipper fighting long-term in the Crystal Nest could indeed tie down the Empire’s forces, which seemed beneficial to Lava no matter how one looked at it.
Even if… one day they really had to accept the Empire’s amnesty, they would have more leverage, and perhaps could fight for more freedom for the space bandits, like the former Glorious Autonomous Dominion.
At least at that time, that was what Red Dragon thought.
…..
“Oh… ohh, so.”
Inside the Tianshuhao, Xie Yuduo deliberately put on a look of sudden realization, “Lava and the Crystal Cult each had their own schemes. So when they clashed of course whoever was stupider would be embarrassed, that’s why Lava got wiped out!”
“Xie Yuduo! You’re asking for death—”
Anger suddenly flared across Red Dragon’s face, his shoulders making a cracking sound as his crystal bones, like fresh blood, instantly materialized.
Immediately, the five space bandits standing behind him also simultaneously revealed their crystal bones, preparing to fight.
“You’re the one asking for death!” Ryann shouted coldly, pulling the back of Jiang Jianming’s chair towards himself. His crystal bones expanded, protecting the fragile non-crystal person completely.
As for Jiang Jianming… since the bowl in front of him almost got knocked over by His Highness’s crystal bones, he gave Ryann a reproachful look during the tense standoff.
“Give it up, you little bandits,” Xie Yuduo twisted his neck, sneering, “If you really had what it takes, would you still be here? The Crystal Cult was spouting nonsense, and you believed it.”
Red Dragon’s shoulders heaved with heavy breathing, his temple throbbing with anger.
Before his eyes flashed the night of the tragedy, when the gray-templed man walked through the corpses. His boots made sticky sounds as he stepped through pools of blood, and the edges of his black robe were splattered with drops of fresh blood.
The new batch of supplies sent by the Crystal Cult had been mixed with death crystals. The space bandits, unaware of this, died in countless numbers from crystal disorder overnight.
In the chaos, Red Dragon fell to the ground, his right eye slashed, blood flowing profusely.
“Destruction!!” he let out a frenzied scream, “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!!”
“No need for anger, I didn’t deceive you, Your Excellency the Young Chief,”
The Bishop of Destruction looked down from above, “It’s true that we want to achieve victory against the Empire’s expeditionary force in the Crystal Nest, and it’s true that the ultimate will come.”
“Lava indeed doesn’t need to do anything. Just dying and becoming the final nutrients for the crystal particles is enough.”
“As for your hatred towards the Empire, rest assured, I will avenge you in the Crystal Nest…”
Inside the starship room, the surviving bandits were all talking at once, spitting as they cursed.
“Those Crystal Cult bastards!”
“When they fall into my hands, I’ll skin them alive!”
“And that son of a bitch Bishop of Destruction, pooh, sooner or later we’ll dig out his brains and soak them in sewage!”
“Anyway, that’s it, I’ve said what needed to be said. From Destruction’s meaning, he’ll appear in the Crystal Nest sooner or later. You’d better hurry and get the emperor to send reinforcements.”
Red Dragon took a deep breath, looking at the digital clock – it was already late.
Dinner time had long passed, and if he went to get military rations now, they would probably be cold.
“I’m leaving. When the Bishop of Destruction appears, remember to save his head for me.”
After speaking, he stiffened his neck and turned to leave, with the space bandits following.
Jiang Jianming, focused on peeling Ryann’s crystal bones off himself, didn’t look up as he said flatly, “Is that all you’re planning to say?”
“That’s it for tonight.”
Red Dragon folded his arms and snorted, “If we tell everything, what if you break your word and kill us?”
As he finished speaking, he had already walked to the automatic door, when he suddenly froze.
The gray-white automatic door, which should have opened and closed through the sensor system, didn’t move.
Red Dragon instinctively tried to push it, feeling great resistance from the cold metal—the automatic door was locked.
“You!!” Red Dragon turned back to face the three, shocked and angry, “What does this mean!?”
In the room, the air had grown cold without anyone noticing. Ryann stood up, his crystal bones slowly extending as he moved forward, positioning himself to completely shield Jiang Jianming behind him.
Though Xie Yuduo hadn’t stood up, he had somehow already taken hold of his service weapon, with a cold smile in his eyes.
“You’re wrong,” the Crown Prince spoke, “Even if you don’t provide more information, I can still kill you.”
Red Dragon was dumbfounded.
“You guys were really fooled badly.”
Xie Yuduo shook his head behind them, “Calculated perfectly from start to finish,” he turned his head, “Little Excellency noticed from the beginning, right?”
Jiang Jianming lowered his eyes, his hands crossed on the table, seeming to think for two seconds before saying, “…Once, when the Imperial Capital Aslan was attacked, I saved a girl.”
“The Crystal Cult members had buried controllable death crystals under her skin, and Bishop Laurent used this to threaten her mother.”
Fearing the Major General would blame himself, he didn’t plan to reveal the truth about Xie Yinxing, casually omitting various details.
Jiang Jianming looked up at Red Dragon, clearly seeing a drop of cold sweat sliding down the youth’s temple, “Now, guess, do you have something like that inside you?”
“The Crystal Cult destroyed Lava, but deliberately let a few space bandits escape, knowing these remnants would inevitably be intercepted by Silver Big Dipper. Out of hatred, Lava would naturally follow the Imperial army to the Crystal Nest. When the time comes, you would become bombs at the crucial moment of the war – this is the Crystal Cult’s real plan.”
The bandits immediately erupted in chaos, frantically feeling all over their bodies. Red Dragon was numb all over, his eyes bulging, unable to speak a word.
Jiang Jianming: “As for the information you provided, about the Crystal Cult wanting to achieve victory in the Crystal Nest, the Bishop of Destruction claiming to come to the Crystal Nest… I’m more inclined to believe he deliberately let you hear this, to make us receive false information.”
He curved his lips slightly, his smile as cold as frost, “It seems we need to strengthen the Empire’s defenses. The Bishop of Destruction is very likely to strike in non-Crystal Nest space, either at Star City or Black Shark Base.”
Ryann stepped forward again, crystal particles in the air faintly beginning to collide.
Red Dragon steeled himself and expanded his crystal bones. “You’re really going to attack!?”
Old Black Sheep’s bronze face turned red, he glared at Jiang Jianming with grief and indignation, stammering, “Little Colonel, didn’t you say…”
Another bandit also shouted. “Our boss trusted you in vain, thinking you were someone we could work with!”
“Shut up!” Red Dragon exploded in rage, “Can’t you see clearly? Imperial people are all treacherous and cunning! Now it’s just a matter of life and death, what’s there to talk about!!”
Jiang Jianming suddenly spoke, “Your Highness.”
“Don’t stop me, keeping such risks around is meaningless.”
Ryann didn’t turn around, saying coldly, “I’ll be the one to act. Whether it’s treacherous and cunning has nothing to do with you.”
“You misunderstand.”
Unexpectedly, Jiang Jianming shook his head, “I only promised to bring the bandits to the Crystal Nest. Now we’ve arrived at the Crystal Nest, my promise is fulfilled, I don’t owe the bandits anything. If Your Highness wants to deal with them, I won’t interfere.”
The bandits all changed color at once.
After all, previously, their hatred with the Imperial Royal Family and Silver Big Dipper was irreconcilable, and the Crown Prince wouldn’t bother trying to persuade a bunch of space bandits to surrender. Only Jiang Jianming had always hoped to resolve the Lava issue in a more peaceful way.
But now, the black-haired officer said without changing expression, “Moreover, the bandits have so many lives on their hands, and they’re the main culprits in the death of Commander Aslan, they deserve death many times over.”
Old Black Sheep said with grief and indignation, “We have nothing now, and we don’t want anything from your Empire, we just want to give our lives to avenge our brothers! If you must eliminate us completely today, then… then we’ll fight you to the death!!”
“…However.”
The words took an abrupt turn.
Jiang Jianming’s tone was unhurried, saying calmly, “I believe we can extract more value from Lava. Killing the bandits here, hmm…seems a bit wasteful.”
This dramatic turn almost sent the group of bandits to their graves. Ryann showed no sign of withdrawing his crystal bones, merely glancing sideways with raised eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
Jiang Jianming: “If we can accurately predict the Crystal Cult’s target, we can design in reverse. But if we kill the bandits here, it would be like startling the snake in the grass, making it difficult to grab the Bishop of Destruction’s weak point.”
Xie Yuduo timely frowned. “But if the Lava bandits really have been tampered with internally, the hidden danger is too great. Little Excellency, we can’t take this risk now.”
Jiang Jianming: “What if I say there’s a way to avoid the risk?”
“I mean, to make the Lava bandits completely avoid the possibility of acute crystal disorder outbreak.”
These words were like a huge stone breaking an ice lake, immediately making everyone look at him. Old Black Sheep blurted out. “What did you say?”
Jiang Jianming glanced at Red Dragon and the others, continuing, “Of course, this will depend on whether the Lava members are willing to cooperate.”
……
After Red Dragon and others left, Jiang Jianming breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Ryann. “That went fairly smoothly. Sorry you had to play the bad guy, Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince let out a light snort, and as he tilted his head, his beautiful hair ends swirled playfully. “I can tell what you’re thinking with just one look.”
Jiang Jianming smiled, reaching out to tuck that unruly strand of Ryann’s hair behind his head, “Your Highness is certainly wise.”
Xie Yuduo: “.”
Xie Yuduo: “Haha, well, shall this humble official go collect the bowls?”
Jiang Jianming pretended not to hear, and casually adjusted Ryann’s hair ribbon again, his gaze falling on the curved window of the room, watching the white swirling atmosphere of the Crystal Nest outside, and the fleet passing through with their burning trails.
“Now, with the bait, fog, and traps all set, we just wait for them to take the bite.”
“Hopefully we can use this good opportunity to capture the last Bishop of the Crystal Cult.”
****
Imperial Aslan Star City, White Jade Palace.
“Speaking of which…Old Marshal Chen, when did you figure out that Ming Ming was Dawn? Zhen never revealed to anyone that our commander was 001 of the Base Body project.”
The Female Emperor held a long sword in her arms as she walked through the back garden filled with blooming golden roses, speaking in a casual tone. The elderly man followed behind, leaning on his cane.
Lin Ge: “Was it during the final stage of the Lan Xishi Battle, when you saw his command style? Or when Zhen told you he was the chain that bound His Highness?”
“Or was it at the very beginning, when he deceived you for your chip right after graduating from military academy and ran off to Far Star?”
Chen Hanke smiled and lowered his head. “This subject doesn’t know what Your Majesty is talking about.”
Lin Ge also smiled, tired of playing word games with this old fox. “Fine, if you won’t say it, you won’t say it. But you didn’t come to chat with Zhen today, did you, Old Marshal? We can discuss the real matter now.”
Chen: “Your Majesty knows well, it’s about the Crystal Nest reinforcement issue. The Commander’s proposal…”
Lin Ge: “Stop right there, why aren’t you calling him ‘little excellency’ or ‘Your Excellency Jiang’ anymore?”
She smiled teasingly, her eyes as brilliant as red hibiscus, “Wake up, you’re the Grand Commander now. Look at Zhen, right? Zhen doesn’t call the Crown Prince ‘Your Majesty’ anymore either.”
Chen was silent for a moment, then carefully confirmed. “You didn’t really call the Great Emperor ‘Your Majesty’ much back then either, did you?”
“Alright, alright.”
Lin Ge waved her hand, smiling as she said, “What was Ming Ming saying again? Oh right, about deploying a large army to station long-term in the near Crystal Nest space domain, right? What do you think?”
“What the Commander thinks is exactly what this subject thinks.”
Old Marshal Chen said, “Establishing humanity’s first space stronghold in the near Crystal Nest space domain, not relying on any planet, will make everything much more convenient in the future.”
At this point, a trace of reminiscence appeared in the old man’s eyes. “This old man hasn’t been to the frontlines for a long time. I really miss the days of fighting alongside Your Majesty and the Commander.”
“Zhen misses those days too.” Lin Ge stretched lazily, tossing the Thief Slaughter Knife in her arms to Chen, “Go handle it then. Also have someone deliver this thing to her, the Chief wanted this thing.”
…
Under wartime conditions, the Empire’s recruitment numbers had clearly increased. After the military reforms early in the year, the current number of active military personnel had exceeded that of the founding period.
Three days later, the Emperor personally deployed troops, drawing fleets from the nine star cities. Two star cities, Aslan and Albourne, each contributed twenty thousand ships, Purple Silk, Watson and Glorious Star City each contributed ten thousand ships, and the remaining four star cities each contributed five thousand ships. Adding to this were small numbers of special forces including non-crystal race, mecha pilots, and crystal particle technology troops. In total, there were one hundred thousand starships, approximately three million soldiers, and countless mechanical weapons.
When the grand army departed from the Empire, the fleet’s trails lit up the sky like gleaming sapphires.
In all nine star cities, without exception, the streets emptied as people gathered to watch. Citizens pointed to the sky, looking up with raised heads to watch the starships carry the soldiers away—
Just as many years ago, the poor people of Blue Mother Star had looked up at the rebel fleet flying toward Woll Star City
