Xyrin Empire
Chapter 418 - Chapter 418 Chapter 418 Conflict

Chapter 418: Chapter 418: Conflict Chapter 418: Chapter 418: Conflict “I can’t believe Dingdang would entrust such vast authority to Lilina,”

Despite always keeping a respectful distance from the hair-raising conceptual knowledge of mysticism, I learned quite a bit about gods from living in close quarters with one for so long. Resurrecting a target that has not only died completely but whose soul has also dissipated is definitely not something that can be accomplished in a game, with a ten-second reading bar and a flash of golden light – it has touched the limits of the world and even the prerogatives of gods.

That means, under normal circumstances, only a True God could possess the authority to freely bestow new life to the dead. Apart from that, even a deputy of a god would need to go through a complicated approval process to perform such a rule-breaking act. Of course, those who typically serve as deputies are great scammers who have a way with words in God’s presence, so such approvals can generally be… cough cough… easily obtained.

But, watching Lilina effortlessly resurrect a dozen Protos Warriors with just a few words, I couldn’t help but wonder if Dingdang had truly given such a significant privilege to this sharp-tongued fake lolita?

Could it be because Dingdang couldn’t personally interfere with this event and could only let her deputy “supervise” and act as an enforcer on the side, hence finding every possible loophole to strengthen us?

Dingdang, this god you certainly are… extraordinary!

“This girl is our most powerful priestess,” I said, bringing Zeratul, who was busy conversing with his recently resurrected kin, back to his senses. “She can grant new life to the dead – a miracle achieved with the help of god’s power, so you need not worry about any repercussions from such a resurrection.”

“Mighty and mysterious Xyrin Emperor, please accept my sincere respect and gratitude–”

Zeratul placed his hand over his chest and began a solemn gesture of courtesy towards me, but I stopped him.

“There are more pressing matters to handle now, like the over ten million insects outside.”

When I led the fully rejuvenated Protos Warriors and Zeratul to the temple’s front courtyard, the battle was still raging on.

The insects seemed endless, assaulting us non-stop with a monotonous yet psychologically taxing approach. The surging magic energy filled the air, igniting numerous unique chemical reactions within the bodies of the incoming Insect Race, covering the entire Arcane Barrier outside the temple with layers of corpse fragments. Consequently, the Azeroth Magic Masters and Xyrin Soldiers had to vaporize these grotesque “carpets” with Flame Novas or Ghost Energy Pulses to fortify the defensive line. Since the Scorpion Soldiers, masters of charging into close-range melees, couldn’t stray from their positions, they transformed into semi-fixed artillery, plunging their mechanical limbs deep into the ground and unleashing relentless Photon Cannon fire upon the enemy hordes.

They really harbored a great resentment for long-range attacks.

“Ah, casting spells really is physically demanding… I’m not learning magic anymore,”

Qianqian suddenly mumbled next to me, prompting my curiosity. But following her gaze, I had to concede that casting spells indeed was a demanding task…

Two Tauren Shamans stood back-to-back, close to the Arcane Barrier, wielding air hammers (don’t ask why Xyrin equipment included such primitive tools!) and driving them into the ground. Several totem poles, carved with mystic runes, were already askew around them.

I acknowledge that the crystal ground here is indeed a bit too sturdy, but is it really alright to be drilling holes in the temple’s floor? And without air hammers or drills in Azeroth, how on earth do these shamans usually fight, damn it!

I later learned that these shamans typically use their affinity with the earth element to set up their totems. Unfortunately, in this cave full of alien crystals, those elements didn’t give a damn about them. They found the conventional methods of placing totems less reliable than using a wind hammer…

“It’s time to leave,”

Looking out at the vast insect swarm pushing its way towards us, I took a deep breath, gathered my focus, and prepared to unleash an area of effect (AOE) attack that would incinerate the entire cave.

“Leave it to me,”

Lilina suddenly stepped forward, interrupting my action. I noticed that there was still something unnatural on her face, but more so was a defiant look.

“Just now was so embarrassing, now I absolutely have to regain the upper hand–in the name of the Goddess!”

Our Lady Priestess said through gritted teeth.

Why don’t you save some face for your own temple, Dingdang? Has she never organized her own doctrine?

“The number of insects here is quite large; with our current combat power, it would be very difficult to break through.”

Zeratul still habitually used conventional combat methods to analyze our strength and then came to the above conclusion, but Lilina just curled the corner of her mouth and slowly closed her eyes.

A secretive fluctuation began to spread.

That was not energy, I could be one hundred percent certain. It was like some kind of thought, or to be more precise, some kind of “meaning,” radiating from Lilina in all directions. If I really had to describe what this spreading thing was, it was like the vision that light brings you as it disperses, the subtly pleasant feeling brought by a gentle breeze, a sensation everyone could feel that something was wandering around here but no one could articulate what it was. Divine Technique, the ultimate “magic” that completely defies description by conventional words–this was also the first time I saw Lilina fully reveal the power after completely fusing with this god-made body, and my immense curiosity had me holding my breath in anticipation of a miracle.

From the outside look, the process had no extravagant lights and shadows, no complicated rituals. It was plain and unremarkable, with an increasingly substantial green glow moving on Lilina’s now emerald hair, little sparks of light fluttering from her locks. Like… I’d affect the aesthetic if I said it.

After a while, Lilina opened her eyes and gently said to the insects, “You’re dead.”

And then, ten million members of the Insect Race really died.

You can’t comprehend the tremendous shock this silent scene brought. Just a second ago, the boundless swarm surged in crazed motion, attacking the temple in an overwhelming manner. But under the power of just one sentence, they were instantly turned into a still image and then in slow motion, slowly fell to the ground, peacefully closing their eyes at the same time.

As discordant and morbidly curious as it sounds, I really got the impression: these insects were like children obediently going to sleep upon their mother’s command, surrendering their lives without resistance due to a single command from Lilina.

I quietly watched Lilina floating in the air from behind and suddenly felt that I really should re-evaluate this person who always presents herself as a poisonous-tongued, scheming character…

“Ha ha! You’re done for~ How dare you embarrass me just now, now you’re all finished, huh! Let me tell you! I am the chief priestess of the Life Goddess! In her holiness’s name… Ow, that hurts!”

I brought down Lilina from mid-air with a karate chop, then tucked this unimpressive fake lolita under my armpit, breaking into a cold sweat.

I really shouldn’t have any normal expectations for this bunch of abnormal people around me!

“You girl, having such a powerful move, why didn’t you use it earlier?”

Only after recovering from the bizarre scene just now, did I think to question Lilina. If she had such a miraculous Divine Technique that could instantly kill ten million members of the Insect Race, using it earlier would have saved us so much trouble!

“I was scared at first and couldn’t concentrate,” Lilina admitted honestly, “and there’s also a limit to Divine Techniques like commanding death. There were too many insects just now; even if I used Divine Technique, I wouldn’t have been able to kill them all. The law doesn’t offer a compromise–it’s either established or it’s not. There’s no way the Divine Technique would fail and leave all the insects half-dead… Hey, put me down!”

Lilina had only then realized the embarrassment of being caught under someone’s armpit, and she flailed to break free from my “magic clutches”.

Fine, let’s just trust this guy–for now–I mean, trust that she’s really scared. This one’s clearly from the dead-duck-stubborn lot; getting her to admit that she’s gotten scared isn’t easy.

“Now we can leave.”

I reached out and touched Zeratul, who had turned into a stone sculpture. Involuntarily, he shuddered before realizing that the Insect Race, which had besieged his people for days, was now entirely dead.

Then came an even deeper shock and reverence for this mysterious race with a human appearance, each of whom was absurdly strong, especially the harmless “Emperor” who’d been hanging around doing nothing. If his small “Priestess” had the power to destroy millions of Insect Race with a single word, how powerful must he be?

We gathered our three squads, with Scorpion Soldiers taking point and hundreds of Xyrin Soldiers on alert at the rear and flanks, rapidly moving towards the cave exit. The ground along the way was thickly littered with Insect corpses bearing no wounds whatsoever; in fact, it was as if every cell in their bodies was intact, leaving Zeratul quite perplexed. He couldn’t comprehend the principle behind “setting a target’s attribute to death,” which sounded absurd.

“Is this where you guys came in?”

Upon seeing us confidently heading for the entrance to the Crystal Jungle, Zeratul asked with a look of surprise on his face.

“Yeah, is there a problem?”

Zeratul hesitated before explaining, “Actually… the real exit of the cave is elsewhere. This Crystal Jungle is one of the temple’s defense systems. Once the temple is activated, the entire Crystal Jungle forms an energy resonance that instantly kills any life that enters, unless they are ‘Divine Race’ warriors with shields. It should be a very dangerous defense barrier.”

I was taken aback, unsure of what expression to put on my face. “A defense system, huh? Indeed, it did interfere with our communicators… but we have… um, communicators with higher power.”

Typical Xyrin Units boast Ghost Energy Shields far superior to those of the Divine Race, and those of us who don’t rely on Ghost Energy Shields are superhumans beyond the standard measurement. The Crystal Jungle’s defensive capabilities were indeed a joke.

I couldn’t see Zeratul’s expression hidden behind his mask, but the look on the faces of the dozens of warriors he had brought with him… do Protos ever get egg on their face?

In no time, we smoothly traversed the vast Crystal Jungle and just as we entered the familiar black cavern passageway, an emergency communication from the Mother Ship suddenly cut into the channel.

“A Protos Fleet?”

After receiving the message from the Captain of the Mother Ship left in orbit, I was a bit surprised, then turned my inquisitive gaze towards Zeratul.

“What happened?”

Zeratul obviously couldn’t hear our telepathic conversation and was merely curious to see my expression change suddenly and my gaze rest on him.

“Our fleet in orbit has been surrounded by a massive Protos Fleet; they seem quite aggressive.”

“Fleet?” Zeratul was also startled, “Shakuras has never sent a fleet here; if possible, I’d like to meet with the Commander of that ‘Divine Race’ fleet.”

“Deputy Officer, prepare to receive the spatial coordinates; we’re heading back.”

Minutes later, we had teleported back aboard the Mother Ship, and other landing parties that were exploring the planet, along with the scientific vessels that had begun scanning the Protos Temples, were ordered to stand by.

“Phew,” I whistled, gazing at the holographic projection that displayed the distant fleet, and remarked, “This is a really grand scale.”

Qianqian’s sigh was clearly directed elsewhere: “Wow! Protos warships are all so shiny and golden! Ah Jun, Ah Jun! Let’s shoot them down and sell them for scrap!”

Often, I don’t know what kind of attitude to adopt towards Qianqian’s sudden bizarre statements. This girl seems to be serious about every unreliable idea, and when she looks serious… that idea usually doesn’t survive in her head for more than three minutes.

The captain of our mother ship had already sorted the enemy’s intelligence and presented it before us. The displayed numbers convinced me the other party didn’t come over for friendly discussions.

The leading three of the enemy’s largest warships were all concentrated in front of our mother ship. They boasted nearly thirty kilometers of majestic stature, with streamlined golden alloy shells below with wide openings. Through these openings, covered with protective barriers, one could vaguely see the constantly shuttling automatons and something like assembly lines akin to a factory. The rounded main structure was dotted with shield generators emitting blue light–these must be the legendary Protos aircraft carriers, right?

It is said these things were refitted from the “Divine Race’s” heavy factories. Although I don’t know if this claim is true, if we disregard those out-of-spec warships of the Xyrin Empire, these mother ships were indeed admirable– it was unexpected that Protos advanced warships were also moving towards the design direction of “mobile military cities,” though the Xyrin People did it more thoroughly.

In the empty space behind these three giant warships, thousands of shuttle-shaped warships were suspended. They were much smaller than the aircraft carriers, only a few kilometers long, their fronts made up of several curved structures resembling mechanical arms. Through the scans of the Eternal-class mother ship’s main computer, we found that these devices possessed quite sophisticated energy-gathering modules. Based on their structural strength, the mother ship’s computer concluded that “after a long period of energy accumulation, this type of warship possesses the power to injure Xyrin warships.” It was designated as the second-highest threat target after the “Divine Race” carriers, with at least three targeting reticles labeled “Lockdown” above each image of these enemy ships.

Apart from these somewhat threatening targets, the remaining Protos warships numbered a few thousand; they were peculiar spaceships we couldn’t recognize at a glance. It seemed impossible to judge the real StarCraft units based on the experience gained from the game. Although these peculiar spaceships were numerous, they had been categorized by the mother ship’s computer as non-threatening: basically, they were things that could be easily defeated by single soldier fighter jets.

“Are these not your ships?” I turned to ask Zeratul, whose face showed no hint of deceit as he shook his head and said, “The ships from Shakuras would bear the exclusive markers of our Dark Templar.”

“Get me on the public channel.”

I frowned and ordered the captain to establish communication with the opposing side.

A Protos Commander, wearing alloy armor with a gaunt face, appeared on the holographic projection.

“Desecrators! You dare to step on this sacred land of our ancestors without permission! And you have disturbed the peace of the holy land! You must pay the price for this!”

The Protos Commander started with such harsh words that puzzled me.

“Uh… It seems you bear hostility towards us, but it doesn’t seem that we have destroyed any Protos relics on this planet, right? The Insect Race were the ones causing destruction here, and we have eradicated them; you should be grateful to me.”

What I said was true, but it was met with a contemptuous snort from the other side: “Hmph, such arrogant words! Look at what your soldiers are doing to our ancestors’ temples!? And you have even stolen that sacred, inviolable Divine Artifact–do not try to deceive me; I can feel the Divine Artifact’s power calling out for its true master within your fleet… Hand it over!”

I turned to look at Zeratul, and without a doubt, he was the one being referred to, currently having the item in question with him.

“My kin, it seems you have misunderstood these outsiders,” Zeratul didn’t shirk his responsibility, stepping forward to the communication device and speaking, “That Divine Artifact is still in Protos hands, my warriors and I have merely accepted the rescue of these friends and are temporarily staying on their spaceship.”

“Dark Templar Zeratul!” Upon seeing Zeratul suddenly appear on the communication device, the other party immediately showed a somewhat surprised expression, and it sounded like even Zeratul, as a fellow Protos, could not soften the tone of this strange Protos Commander.

“Zeratul, I am Prothos, an Executor from the Taldarim. Why are you with these Alien Race who have infringed upon the holy land?!”

Upon hearing the other party was from the Taldarim, I felt that trouble was brewing.

This was the most xenophobic group among the entire Protos! Their stubbornness and disdain for the weaker Race were well-known, and more importantly, these slightly neurotic and violent individuals didn’t seem too fond of Zeratul–they always viewed the Dark Templar as heretics!

(To be continued. For further story, please visit www.NovelFire.net. More chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)