Xyrin Empire
Chapter 409 - Chapter 409 Chapter 409 Welcome

Chapter 409: Chapter 409: Welcome? Chapter 409: Chapter 409: Welcome? “We’re going to build a city right here!”

This was my spirited declaration, standing atop the starship with the fervor of a tiger swallowing the myriad miles, after the “Imperial Admiral” was firmly planted into the ground, forming a towering, grand cross.

Consequently, the hundred-kilometer-class starship began to disintegrate on cue.

The enormous cross starship’s hull instantly fell apart in every direction, segmented into complex building components by predetermined design, and countless micro-engines attached above propelled them downward to the ground. Assisted by the thousands of “Builders” who were ready and waiting, they began self-assembling into massive war factories and imperial docks. Our starship was already integrated with a plethora of military modules, which freed up over eighty percent of the Xyrin host’s computational capacity. Now, the only thing they had to consider was how to rapidly expand the silvery ground around themselves and feverishly work on my land grabbing campaign in the shortest time possible.

The majestic starship descended like a collapsing mountain to the ground amidst a series of golden flashes and the sounds of mechanical friction, then spread into a highly developed military stronghold. The ecological balls that had been installed on the “Imperial Admiral’s” arms fell directly into the center of this city, forming two green self-contained towns like decorative dots. The deafening roar, accompanying the swift disassembly of the “Imperial Admiral,” never ceased, while at the same time, a vast city began to take shape beneath our feet.

This was just a part, as the other mother ships that descended with us had also hovered to their predefined heights and began the disassembly program mid-air, transforming into various functional buildings and then descending with micrometer precision into the planned empty spaces of the city below.

The entire process lasted less than twenty minutes. A city with a radius of three hundred kilometers, hexagram-shaped, with well-planned and complex structures fully capable of being appreciated as a modern tourist attraction, er, city, was “painted” onto the surface of this planet, which had just endured a catastrophe.

While at the center of the city, the once towering warship had completely disappeared, leaving only a blue crystal tower thousands of meters high, adorned with a mysterious halo, standing there. Hundreds of projected screens floated around the crystal tower, looping recruitment advertisements from Pandora.

…That militaristic diehard brat!

But compared to these blood-and-iron recruitment ads, it’s that King of Fighters transition animation that’s wedged in that’s really infuriating, damn it!

You, a fanatic gamer lost in eternity, chose Magong Athena, you idiot…uh, crap, I’ve said too much.

During the “Imperial Admiral’s” transformation into a war stronghold, the platform beneath our feet continually descended until now we stood atop the blue crystal tower on a silvery-white terrace. From this vantage point, we could clearly see the magnificent sight of magma erupting on the distant ground outside the energy shield.

After desperately hypnotizing myself for a good while to ignore Lianna bouncing around on the floating screen twenty meters to the left and trying hard to forget the “ready? go!!” next to my ear, I patted Reynold’s shoulder, who had become as still as a statue: “Alright, now we have a city–if you don’t catch up, I’m afraid you’ll have to find your own way down.”

Having said that, I waved my hand in the air: “Taxi!”

The approaching transport that was about to pick us up nearly plummeted down right then and there.

Reynolds, suddenly jolted awake by my fierce pat, blinked and nudged Tex, who had once again dropped his cigar into his collar and still hadn’t noticed: “Hey, old buddy, I think this time we’ve truly run into some big shots.”

Tex, with smoke coming out of his neck (fortunately, or unfortunately, his cigar finally lit this time), muttered blankly: “I have a feeling…those insects are about to fall on hard times…Jimmy, if I were you, I’d be swearing loyalty to these bigwigs right now…it’s definitely a lucrative opportunity…”

Reynolds shrugged and stepped forward: “As soon as the army is regrouped, we’ll take our leave immediately. Your advice isn’t bad, but I don’t think we have the lives to play with that.”

“How about it? The city?”

Walking along the wide and immaculately clean central city streets, I proudly looked around and asked the bearded uncle beside me.

Yeah, this is a bragging post–so what!

The bearded uncle, reeking of alcohol, was already seeing double. He was deaf to my questions, desperately looking around, trying to spot anything he could understand, like a streetlight or something…

This place wasn’t the “Imperial Admiral” flagship anymore; it should be called “General City.” Of course, those roaming the city weren’t civilians but masses of fully-armed Imperial Soldiers and nimble single-soldier vehicles. Although this was a military fortification type of city, it didn’t have the oppressive and rigid atmosphere one would expect. By that measure, Bubbles had done her job quite well.

The main body of General City was formed by the dismantled flagship and other mother ships, while Builders, directly controlled by a Xyrin Host in the Mother Nest at the city center, had already begun to explore beyond the energy shields of this vast silver land. They would establish countless War Factories, letting Pandora’s militaristic dreams flourish everywhere–this was the first time I had completely indulged that girl’s insane war plans.

Once we knew that this Star Zone was infested with the most dangerous Insect Race from the StarCraft universe, we became vigilant. Despite holding absolute advantages in technology and personal strength, the Insect Race’s billions in number and their physically evolved state, capable of interstellar warfare, meant they weren’t just some enemies we could steamroll over. Take, for example, the planet under our feet–the Brain Worm actually managed to survive the explosion of planetary bodies and Ghost Energy Radiation of EOP-03. Although a large part of it was due to it mobilizing a mass of Low-Level Insects as a meat shield at the last moment, it’s undeniable that it was a pity that the creature didn’t heed Athena’s call to transform into a Saint Fighter.

Pandora and Visca personally dealt with that Brain Worm. It wasn’t a difficult task; first, while the Brain Worm had some cognitive abilities and a higher status among the Insect Race, its combat strength wasn’t impressive. Second… with two Leader-Level Xyrin Apostles competing to scatter Floating Cannons across the sky, aside from the legendary Blade Queen, I seriously can’t think of any force that could survive such an attack.

Seeing the somewhat longing looks on the faces of those two little ones after their return, I knew how that one-sided slaughter had casually come to an end.

However, the two little girls did bring back a concerning piece of news–strictly speaking, it was Pandora who brought back this message. Despite both being hot-blooded warmongers, Pandora was still a bit more militarily minded than her frenzied sister.

That Brain Worm had already begun to evolve before it was wiped out.

It was attempting to adapt to the sudden high temperatures of the entire planet and the deadly Ghost Energy Radiation in the air. It had even created a “prototype” worm that could briefly survive in magma. Although it was unlikely to evolve into steel-like resistance against Ghost Energy Radiation, that exaggerated mutation and adaptability were alarming enough for us.

“Now, the Blade Queen must have learned of your arrival,” Reynolds said abruptly as he walked the streets of General City. “Even though I still don’t understand the extent of your strength, don’t underestimate the Insect Race. They are absolutely one of the most dangerous species in the universe. The ones you’ve eliminated today… are almost negligible…”

“I know,” I replied, shrugging nonchalantly, “which is why we are rapidly expanding our power. Like–look at that.”

Following my gesture, Reynolds saw Xyrin Soldiers marching out of a newly assembled Imperial Barracks, ranks and files, each one armed to the teeth, their individual Hand Cannons thicker than their waists.

Although they weren’t as tall as humans in Power Armor, you’d have to admit, those Xyrin Soldiers were born to make children stop crying in the night.

Reynolds stared blankly at the newly assembled barracks, which had just been a pile of metal panels, now spewing out soldiers in formation. After a long while, he cautiously said, “It seems… in some respects, you truly are the natural enemy of the Insects… Uh, what’s that?”

I curiously followed the direction of Reynolds’s pointing finger, then went pale and pounded the ground.

If that massive thing up ahead were to develop a bit more, it could probably be a Ferris wheel…

Tex scratched his face: “Is that an exclusive art piece of your race? A city sculpture or something?”

Before I had the chance to respond, a small white figure rushed over like a gust of wind from a distance, accompanied by a string of “yi yi ya ya” random syllables no one could understand.

“Wuah ah ah!!”

Dressed in a white princess dress, Little Baobao skillfully hung herself around my neck, then gleefully pointed a tiny finger at the twisted, oval-shaped massive mechanical structure in the distance. She swayed back and forth, brimming with excitement–clearly, the little one was extremely proud of her grand creation.

At least I could be sure of one thing: the evolvable Xyrin Host indeed possessed tremendous creative power.

Originally, I hadn’t planned to bring Little Baobao along, considering that eliminating the Insect Race millions of light-years away didn’t sound particularly safe. However, I had previously promised the little one that I wouldn’t leave her at home next time. Fearing my daughter’s crying tantrum, I reluctantly chose to surrender–though with the layered protection of the millions of Imperial Soldiers, surely no one could harm the little princess, right?

“Is that your wife?” Reynolds asked, staring agape after catching a glimpse of Baobao through the holographic projection. The sudden appearance of such a little angel in an otherwise stern and iron-clad alien base was odd enough, but it was even stranger that this angel was the same one who had recently threatened to throw him into the reactor…

“My daughter,” I said with an awkward smile, then frantically tried to detach Little Baobao from my neck.

While I wrestled with the koala-like Little Baobao, Lilina wandered over, cheerfully greening the entire city. As she passed, pines and cypresses lined up, grass and trees burst into life with lush greenery, and the superalloy ground was bizarrely covered in blooming flowers–all as if she were a can of highly efficient fertilizer on legs, though she claimed it was the footstep of a spring fairy.

“Hey, boss! How is it? Building a Central Park here is pretty nice, right? I’ve already had Little Baobao help with designing the playground!” Lilina shouted without any regard for the situation.

Embarrassed again, I turned and gave a silly smile, “My… sister…”

Tex and Reynolds looked stunned for a moment before chorusing, “Are you really here to deal with the Insect Race?”

I was suddenly at a loss for words: damn it, too used to vacationing!

Landing on this planet named Black Egg by Qianqian had already been three days.

Should I be making snarky comments about the name “Black Egg”?

Well, back to the point, it had been three days since we landed here, and our development had been quite smooth. Ninety percent of the factories and functional buildings in General City had been put to use, continuously replenishing our regular troops. As Reynolds had said, this place was barren and remote, but barrenness was utterly meaningless to a Xyrin Apostle. In urgent need of resources, they could even convert anything they needed from any kind of atom. The advantage of being remote was that we didn’t have to worry about unwanted disturbances.

By the way, the Central Park established by Lilina and Little Baobao was officially opened for business–bluff!

Reynolds had already expressed his intention to leave yesterday morning, but we still needed a local guide like him, so I managed to keep him around. Plus, after getting along for the past two days, his initial wariness of the Imperial Army had considerably dissipated. Once he realized we were quite friendly, he unabashedly settled in for a temporary stay. Of course, a big part of the reason was that his soldiers, especially the female ones, had been completely conquered by the bizarre entertainment facilities created by Little Baobao–I discovered for the first time that my clumsy little daughter actually had a talent for soft conquest.

Mornings on Black Egg Star were quite lengthy. Sandora and I were taking Little Baobao for a walk near the park. Normally, this would continue until Sandora got hungry (I had almost come to use her stomach as a clock). However, it seemed something was going to happen today. A rapid metallic scraping sound interrupted Sandora’s and my debate over which was tastier, Jingde Town ceramics or Mexican barbecue.

Scorpion-shaped Vega dashed over from afar, then stopped before us with a teeth-gritting screech of brakes.

“Vega, what’s going on?” I frowned and asked.

Scorpion Sister quickly straightened up her appearance, then snapped a crisp military salute, “Reporting, Commander! Our detector has discovered a beacon signal in low Earth orbit! We suspect hostile invaders approaching our planet!”

A gust of wind swept by my side, accompanied by a series of whooshes through the air. I turned my head to see that Pandora and Visca were already decked out and standing before me, eyes measuring a mere millennium-old meter in diameter, practically emitting intense concentrations of helium-3.

Was the fight with that Brain Worm earlier not satisfying enough, leaving our blood desperately in need of cooling?

The unidentified ship was getting closer. Although we were not yet at the point of blind hostility to just throw a Gravity Trap their way and strangle them off, the entire Imperial Army still instantly went on combat alert. The defense forces lingering in space all entered a state of invisibility and, with utterly shameless tactics, began to scatter Space Dark Mines throughout the area. It was obvious that the troop, commanded by Uncle Hei Chao, had developed a very sneaky combat habit from years of contending with city management. What was once the infamously aggressive Pandora Heavy Equipment Corps had degenerated to this extent, making one lament the significant harm caused by the pirated goods industry.

We gathered at the Crystal Tower in the center of General City, which had become the command center for the entire planet’s defense system. The large, system-wide projection in the center of the hall was clearly from the bridge of the former “Imperial Admiral” ship, now streaming to us a high-definition broadcast of the situation in low Earth orbit.

A vast fleet–though not as colossal as the entire Imperial First Legion, it was still substantially larger than the pack of Protos who had recently been just passing through. With all the Imperial Battleships in space concealed, the huge Mother Ship Group was spread out over the ground like a city. This fleet of over a thousand ships still looked quite menacing.

“The style of humans.”

With just a glance, Bubbles identified the race to which this fleet belonged.

“Twenty-two Battlecruisers, three hundred Heavy Escort Ships, and over a thousand Light Escort Ships and Assault Ships. To speak in the context of interstellar warfare, such a force could only be considered a small detachment. It seems this place is too remote for them to have had the chance to prepare a substantial army.”

In other words, an opponent with no threat–without even having to resort to our hidden Imperial Fleet, just dispatching any Leader-Level Angel Envoy would suffice to handle these fragile, primitive forces. In space combat, the power of the Xyrin People geometrically explodes.

“It’s Monsk’s military…” Reynolds’s face grew solemn as his knuckles turned white from gripping so tightly, “They sure have sharp noses.”

“After all, the noise from our recent operations has been a bit too loud,” I shrugged. “Even if this place is remote, it was about time they showed up.”

Right then, Bubbles suddenly interrupted, “Daddy, they’re sending a communication request.”

I nodded for her to connect the call, and the holographic projection immediately displayed a tall Caucasian man in the uniform of the Independent Federation, with a stern expression. From the background behind him, it looked like he was on the bridge.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, friends from afar. I am Commander Dan Dun Senti of the Independent Federation, and on behalf of the Great Emperor Monsk, I welcome you all.”

The unfamiliar commander seemed perhaps slightly surprised by our human appearance, but his military calm quickly covered it up as he spoke formally.

Welcoming us with twenty-two Battlecruisers?

“Commander of the Human Empire,” I nodded, “I am the Emperor of the Xyrin Empire. However, before we begin our conversation, have you realized that you have now entered the Empire’s airspace?”

Although I was still unclear about the purpose of their visit, it was not a good idea to appear weak in our first meeting.

The expression of the commander named Dan Dun did not change. Instead, he replied rigidly like a soldier, “It may seem so from your perspective, but I must clarify one point: this Star Zone was first the territory of the Independent Federation… Of course, the planet you’re currently on is without sovereign claims, and that is not the purpose of my visit today. As I said initially, on behalf of the Great Emperor Monsk, I extend a welcome to our distant guests.”

No matter how you look at it, the sincerity of this welcome was quite limited, more of a probing of us newcomers than a genuine greeting. Unfortunately for them, since our fleet was all hidden within space folds, and a city on the surface posed little threat to an external space fleet, this officer named Dan Dun was overconfident. (To be continued. For more information, please visit www.NovelFire.net. More chapters are available and we encourage readers to support the author and read genuine copies!)