Xyrin Empire
Chapter 423 - Chapter 423 Chapter 423 Crazy All Crazy

Chapter 423: Chapter 423: Crazy, All Crazy Chapter 423: Chapter 423: Crazy, All Crazy I felt like Monsk and those Protos Natives’ brains had gotten squashed in a door–they had nothing better to do than to launch a combined attack on us?!

Human battlecruiser fleets and those mysterious Protos fleets, as if they had conspired together, suddenly emerged en masse from the edges of the Empire-controlled territories. The former assembled a large force to ambush our patrol units, while the latter used their high-tech warships capable of holding up under Imperial Army attacks to carry out relatively large-scale assaults. And judging by their fleet formation–it was clear that they had organized these numbers after becoming well aware of the Imperial Army’s formidable combat power.

The current situation was that we, coming from afar, had to deal with hundreds of billions of enemies with interstellar war capabilities… and their tactics were still so disgustingly annoying.

As the first to launch the assault, the Independent Federation fleet uncharacteristically chose guerrilla warfare, which did not align with their usual style. Massive battlecruiser fleets merely chose to attack isolated Imperial patrol units. They braved the minimal damage from small Xyrin units, swarming in hundreds to unleash a volley from the Great Harmony Cannons, then turned tail and ran without regard for the outcome they achieved, leaving behind thousands of expendable escort ships to blind our sight. This tactic proved exceedingly effective when cost was no object. Despite the Xyrin Army’s overwhelming combat power, where even a high-level Apostle could single-handedly wipe out an entire battlecruiser fleet, an assault ship used for patrols couldn’t possibly withstand a hundred battlecruiser volleys from the Great Harmony Cannon–they weren’t at the level of being impervious to bullets and blades yet.

In the initial skirmishes, two patrol units were thus dealt heavy blows; there was even a Subordinate Commander who chose to self-destruct because of this.

Besides the seemingly deranged Independent Federation Army, the Protos Natives attacked the Imperial forces as well. It was hard to imagine that the Protos, who traditionally employed a policy of elite units, could assemble so many fleets–in some cases, hundreds of carriers leading tens of thousands of spaceships ambushed two or three Imperial outposts. The defenses in the East Sky Zone were weak due to it not being a main Insect Race territory, and no one expected the Protos to treat it as a breakthrough point for their attack. The vast “Divine Race” forces used space jumps to seize control of two critical planets there like lightning and began establishing a base. The problem was, our main forces were still sweeping through the remaining Insect planets in the Star Zone. If we diverted the main forces to deal with humans and the “Divine Race” launching a joint attack, our previous efforts would likely be in vain. To avoid senseless losses, we withdrew our forces from the East Sky Zone, forming a temporary standoff with the Protos fleet while hunting down the Independent Federation’s fleet with all our might. Comparatively speaking, eliminating Monsk’s forces was much easier than dealing with those Protos with plenty of advanced technologies.

After completing the replication of the main military modules, the core area of General City already disassembled and ascended, transforming into the “Imperial Admiral” class mother ship. We have now arrived within the borders of the East Sky Zone, with the Protos Natives camped in the Proxima Star System right here, less than 0.3 light-years away from our temporarily established Planet Fortress–we were essentially within reach for either side to crash the other’s party at any moment.

“They still haven’t responded, and we can’t confirm their identities. However, according to the data Zeratul left us, we found no marks of Shakuras in their base. Our initial guess is they must be an extreme faction from the Protos, like the Taldarim.”

“Even their identity is unclear…” After listening to Sivis’s brief, I felt somewhat gloomy. “Tell me, we didn’t do anything outrageous, right? How come all the races in the entire Star Zone have banded together to attack the Empire?”

“Indeed, they have launched a joint attack.”

Sandora’s expression was somber, her gaze fixed on the star map in front of her with a grim look.

“Human forces are harassing and raiding the Western Sky Zone, the main force of Protos is aggressively attacking and establishing bases in the Eastern Sky Zone, and the Insect Race is employing swarm tactics in other directions, continuously tying down our main forces. Ah Jun, look at the distribution of forces on the star map–even though they show no clear signs of coordinated actions, their way of attack is just too consistent with the characteristics of a joint offensive…”

A three-race alliance against the Empire? What kind of melodramatic plot twist is this?

“Reynolds, what do you think the chances are of the humans and the Insect Race teaming up?”

The sudden and dramatic change left Uncle Reynolds–the man who usually reeked of alcohol–without a hint of drink on his breath. His eyes gleamed sharply, his tone low and serious: “If it’s an opportunist like Monsk, he would ally with anyone for gain. If he thinks you pose a threat to his rule over this star system, even joining forces with the Insect Race wouldn’t be out of the question. And Kerrigan… I don’t understand her current line of thinking, but lately, your Imperial Army has wiped out hundreds of billions of her people. She must realize the significant threat you pose, and allying with humans to resist would be a good choice.”

“Then… what are the odds that both of those races team up with the Protos?”

“It’s just like talking nonsense.”

This time, the response came in the voice of a young girl. I looked down to see Lilina standing not half a meter in front of me with an unhappy expression on her face.

From the beginning, this little girl seemed to have been raising her hand to speak, but it seems we had all failed to notice…

“Why have you been ignoring me from the start? I am the inspector of this war, you know!”

No sooner had Lilina finished speaking when Pandora gave me a headbutt from the side: it seems that the fake lolita priestess was not the only one being overlooked.

“Alright, alright, my Lord Priestess, do you have any brilliant ideas–hey, little war maniac, keep it down! Even you dare to propose a plan to exterminate every species in the entire star system!”

Pandora’s grey, dull eyes were utterly unflinching; she simply tilted her head slightly and then lightly kicked the ground with the tip of her foot.

Immediately, the entire bridge shook–this is our flagship, you little madwoman! Can’t you sulk in a more normal fashion, please?

“Yesterday, I contacted the Lady Goddess,” Lilina said with her small face lifted up, proudly posturing for credit, “The Lady Goddess used her power to search for all life in the entire star zone and found that the three races here have all begun to mobilize. The Humans are the fastest; the entire fleet of the Independent Federation is rallying in our direction. Monsk has almost pulled out his reserve troops, and they’re desperately fighting the Imperial Army. Although the Insect Race looks fierce in their attack, only half of their forces have been committed to battle, their main force still hunkering down on their Fortress Planet as if they’re observing the situation. The Protos’s participation is the least, with mainly the Taldarim and other extreme xenophobic members of the Protos positioned in the East Sky Zone. Is this information useful?”

“Extremely useful!” I showed a surprised expression, then praised her by rubbing Lilina’s small head, which only made her roll her eyes in frustration, “It seems that the main problem lies with the Independent Federation, but why Monsk can make both the Divine Race and the Insect Race go crazy with him… Anyway, wasn’t Dingdang not supposed to be involved in this event? Is it really okay for her to use her Divine Power to scan this area?”

“The Lady Goddess found a little loophole, she did it under the guise of a routine inspection of the territory,” Lilina gestured an OK sign to me, “And before she did that, the Lady Goddess had already written an apology letter, there’s totally no problem!”

God help us, we’ve got a big problem!

Why the three interstellar races suddenly united against the Empire remains a mystery; they still refuse to communicate with us to this day. But the situation is getting worse–the Imperial Army does indeed have strong fighting capabilities. If all goes well, eradicating the Insect Race here with our power is not a problem, especially with fantastic weapons like the All Realms Expeditionary Army that are specifically effective against the Insect Race. However, our enemies now are not just the Insect Race, but all of the Humans in the whole star zone and a bunch of Protos with unclear intentions. To deal with the Alliance Army with conventional warfare, although we could still win, the losses would be unjust. As for unconventional warfare… Do we really sign an Extermination Order against all species in the entire star zone, as suggested by Pandora?

“Now we have two options,” Sivis stood upright in front of the holographic star map, his face solemn, “Either we continue to deal with the inhabitants here using the Empire’s superior forces, suppressing the enemy’s attack until we find out the reason for the war, or we immediately launch a war of extermination. The destructive weapons we have assembled have reached a sufficient number to extinguish all life in this entire star zone within seven days. However, doing so could likely displease the Divine Race, and if the number of non-hostile Protos exceeds thirty percent, it does not meet the conditions for carrying out racial extermination–but whatever the case, your command will decide whether the Empire declares war on this star zone, my Emperor.”

Indeed, worthy of being called “Pandora’s external thinking circuit”–look at that analysis! How many times better than that perpetual meter-two tall little madwoman who just opens her mouth and talks about slaughter, such vision!

To be honest, the provocations of the various races here came so suddenly, and especially Monsk’s military, which has tested my patience not once but many times. It’s definitely impossible to say that I don’t have a fire burning inside me, but before launching a major offensive, I am really concerned about why they united against Xyrin?

“Commander! We have detected an off-duty Xyrin shuttle approaching the defense zone.”

While I was deep in thought, Vega suddenly came to the bridge and saluted me.

“Off-duty… Xyrin shuttle?”

I was surprised–a Xyrin spaceship that’s “off-duty” in this area? Could it be that an unfamiliar Xyrin Apostle had just awakened?

However, we quickly realized that the visitor was not a Xyrin person but a Dark Templar whom I had met only once before and had parted ways with not long ago.

Zeratul–he had come alone, piloting the shuttle we had lent him, slipping through the front lines of the Protoss and the Xyrin Empire in reverse phase, and hurriedly made his way to us.

After being granted permission to enter the “Imperial Admiral,” Zeratul immediately rushed to the bridge, and only after seeing me did he let out a sigh of relief.

“I hope I’m not too late, mighty Emperor.”

“It’s hard to say,” I shrugged. “Your kind has already declared war on the Empire, and we were just discussing which weapon would be more cost-effective to annihilate this star zone.”

“…That joke is chilling, mighty Emperor,” Zeratul paused for a long time before he confirmed we were joking, then spoke in a low tone, “They are not rational, nor do they understand your power, but the revelation from the Void made me sense the danger of opposing you. Before you make your final decision, I hope you will hear me out.”

“Go ahead, I’m curious why the races in this star sector seem to have gone mad and attacked the Imperial Army.”

“Due to some kind of revelation,” Zeratul’s eyes gleamed uncertainly, “that revelation told those people that the incoming Xyrin Empire is the most dangerous invader in the universe. The only purpose of the Xyrin People here is to occupy, conquer, and slaughter. The revelation foresaw the entire star sector shattered by your hands, and it also revealed your plan–that eliminating the most aggressively attacking Insect Race is merely a decoy. The real objective is to destroy each resisting force one by one, with humans being the next civilization to be crushed… Under the bewitchment of this revelation, the human rulers might have secretly contacted the Blade Queen and part of the Taldarim extremists. Despite their usual contempt for humans, they clearly are more willing to follow the revelation to eliminate a more foreign threat.”

After listening to Zeratul’s explanation, we finally felt a sense of enlightenment. Revelations? Such superstitious stuff could motivate the three races of the interstellar war to declare war on us?

In an instant, I thought of the Abyss–if it were the erosion of Abyss Power, it indeed could provoke such an irrational melee. But very quickly, I discarded that assumption: using a meticulous revelation to instigate a war didn’t seem to fit the usual methods of the Abyss, which in my experience, would be more mindless.

I smelled a conspiracy–though isn’t that a rather cliched thing to say?

“Speaking of revelations, why weren’t you affected? Why do you trust us outsiders so much?”

Sandora fell silent for a moment before suddenly looking up into Zeratul’s eyes, her tone slightly chilly. Her eyes shimmered with golden halos as if she was trying to peer into the soul of the Dark Templar warrior before her.

Zeratul showed no hint of wavering, shaking his head indifferently, “As a revelation, this prophecy is too precise–it feels more like a vicious tale that has been crafted with care. I admit that at first, I too felt an inclination to accept this revelation, but after a brief meditation, I shook off the intrusive currents that had surged into my soul. It seems the more resolute the soul, the more it doubts the content of the revelation. We do not understand the mysteries within, but at least the natives of Shakuras ultimately remained lucid. It was only the extremist faction of the Taldarim who, under the influence of the mental poison and having lost their ability to judge right from wrong, chose to become slaves to their souls, while the human armies mobilized en masse…”

Zeratul paused, glancing in the direction of Reynolds before concluding, “All I can say is that their rulers’ souls are too fragile, and from the beginning, Akatoros Monssk was probably inclined to expel you from this star zone. His governing style makes it all too easy for that race to be swayed.”

At this point, Big Sister suddenly realized something, then clapped her hands fiercely, “So, in this ‘revelation,’ the Insect Race is the only one unaffected!”

The mention by Big Sister made me think of this too: the Insect Race, due to their form of life, should be considered a collective. All of the Insect Race are unified and controlled by the spiritual power of the Blade Queen. This means that as long as their Queen remains clear-headed, the entire Insect Race is essentially unaffected. Perhaps this explains why the Insect Race, which should be in all-out war with us, is instead choosing to watch from the sidelines–Kerrigan must be very curious about what’s happening and wants to see what benefits she can derive from the situation?

“‘Revelation,’ what is it? How did it appear? Where did it first emerge?”

Sandora asked Zeratul, frowning.

“I… cannot explain…”

After pondering for a long while, Zeratul could only offer an ambiguous answer, “From its manifested form, it seems to be a kind of thought wave. At the same moment, those who learned of your arrival simultaneously developed doubts about you in their minds. This initially wasn’t clear hostility, but soon, people began to make various assumptions about your purposes uncontrollably under the influence of some force. These assumptions almost naturally became the mainstream public opinion, and the whole process seemed perfectly normal. If you were in the midst of it, you might not even realize how your thoughts had been subtly manipulated by some power. According to the intelligence I have gathered, this revelation appeared simultaneously in the minds of all sentient beings throughout the star zone, with the strongest intensity being in the ruling hearts of the three major races.”

“It’s as if public opinion itself had gained the intelligence to determine its direction, or rather, everyone’s thoughts began skewing in one direction like a compass needle affected by a magnet,” I whispered to myself before asking Sandora through the spiritual connection, “Sandora, is this a form of spiritual manipulation?”

“Close, but on a larger scale with a weaker effect–a steadfast Protos warrior can realize the shift in their thoughts with just one meditation session. It appears not only to influence minds but also seems to change certain facts… There’s definitely a conspiracy behind this, but our immediate priority is how to handle the enemy before us.”

To this, I wholeheartedly agreed.

It seemed certain doomsday weapons, which had been under preparation, would have to be revealed sooner than expected. They were originally intended to intimidate the Blade Queen…

After arranging for Zeratul to rest temporarily on the “Imperial Admiral,” I contacted several fortress planets established by the Imperial Expansion Army, where our true trump cards lay hidden. Although at first, I thought their construction was a bit over the top, now it seems…

Pandora’s militarism came in handy sometimes, huh…

(I think, active solicitation for monthly tickets is still necessary…)

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