Xyrin Empire
Chapter 429 - Chapter 429: Chapter 429: Capturing Alive

Chapter 429: Chapter 429: Capturing Alive

The battle had already reached a fever pitch.

Sandora once said that space warfare was vast, involving high-speed maneuverable ships with tremendous firepower that usually keep their distance to avoid friendly fire. As war technology advanced, battlefields seemed to become “thinner,” but that was merely a facade. From a higher vantage point, surveying the entire battleground, you would find this world to be even more brutal and heart-wrenching than the primitive eras of bloody hand-to-hand combat.

When the scale of the battlefield was vast and you were engulfed in it, you would feel that the whole world was filled with flames and explosions. The bridge’s holographic projection relayed real-time scenes of external firefights; the intense flashes of exploding ships and the scattering innards of dying insectoids would make one dizzy, even giving me the illusion that the whole world would burn like this forever. Several girls from Academy City had gone from initial excitement to gradually feeling terror. Perhaps Lilina’s words still echoed:

“This is a battlefield, where every spark of flame represents the reaping of millions of lives.”

Now, they could almost imagine it.

Tears and Mikoto were clutching my arms on either side; I could feel the former’s body trembling clearly. It was said that rookie soldiers experiencing their first space battle would have such fears: you were surrounded by a violent sea of fire and death, every inch of space filled with deadly shells and beams time after time, and only a layer of armor and shield–hardly robust against gunfire–allowed you to survive and experience this fear. This feeling would grip your heart tightly, and no matter how thick the armor beside you was, it wouldn’t give you an ounce of security.

Of course, veterans would think of these things, too. Such fear never fades from the hearts of those who fight on battlefields; they’ve just learned to become numb to it.

Moreover, the tense atmosphere pervading the entire command center also put significant pressure on the girls experiencing it for the first time.

A few girls who grew up in Academy City–how calm could you expect them to be in the face of such a war?

“Seven billion, that’s a landmark figure.”

Lilina said with a mischievous grin, leaning in to whisper in a voice just loud enough for everyone to hear.

“What?” I didn’t understand her at once. This girl’s way of thinking was always unexpected. From a certain point of view, even Bai Jing Heizi would seem innocent compared to her.

Mikoto, Tears, and a few others on the other side, who were already scared stiff, shifted their attention, waiting for Lilina’s next words.

“The number of hostile lives that have appeared in the crossfire zone has historically broken through seven billion,” a flash of green light in her eyes, “surpassing the population of Earth–none of them will likely survive, and this is just the beginning. There are still endless enemies entering the battlefield, and this number may even reach several times the current amount.”

I now had ample reason to believe that this girl was psychologically disturbed! Aren’t you supposed to be a priestess of the Life Goddess? Shouldn’t you at least not violate your teachings in this respect?

Stimulated by Lilina’s words, the tour group grew even more nervous. The lives of seven billion, the entire population of Earth, were to be extinguished on the battlefield within just a few days. The feeling of insignificance and helplessness was suffocating. All those experiences, the struggles of Academy City, the darkness of society, human greed, and infighting–even all you cherished, all you detested, and everything you knew combined would not last a single day burning here…

“This place isn’t for you.”

Lilina finally said in a strange tone, “Go back and rest, far from this cruel reality. We’ll handle everything. Your peaceful lives won’t be disturbed–the Imperial Admiral has a nice amusement park. Have a good time there, then go home and enjoy peace…”

“Brother Chen Jun…” Tears gave me one last look, and then let go of my hand. “I’m sorry… I want to go back and rest…”

I patted the dark-haired girl’s small head, knowing it was no longer appropriate for them to stay in the command center. I nodded, then called out to One-Way Street not far away, “Speaking of which, what about you? Allowing your Loli to experience the chaos of war isn’t a good idea.”

“Ugh…” Yifang, the nanny, turned her head away. “Let’s get out of here, kid!”

After those “irrelevant people” left, I finally had a moment to confront Lilina. “Alright, girl, what’s going on? Don’t tell me you’re just reviewing your psychology homework.”

“There are some things they shouldn’t know about–do you think using ordinary methods would convince those curious cats to go away?”

Lilina shrugged her shoulders, facing my displeased expression squarely.

Although I still found the girl’s methods a bit strange, my attention had successfully been diverted.

“The connection between me and Lady Goddess weakened somewhat recently,” Lilina said gravely, “and just now, Lady Goddess informed me that she has been feeling unwell since the day before yesterday.”

“This world is sickening.”

Faced with our initially perplexed expressions, this occasionally diligent chief priestess spoke slowly.

A perfect world under normal circumstances should absolutely not become sick, even if there were serious conflicts between the life forms it harbored. Those should be considered “normal evolutions” within the world. Even if all three races in the Kepulu Star Zone were to die out due to battle, for Dingdang, it would be as ordinary as a chemical reaction. Generally, there’s only one reason for world sickness: the invasion of a pathogen.

Only when external forces attempt to disturb the order would the world experience “sickness,” and the first to react would naturally be the world’s Management God–Dingdang sneezing would have us worried about an Angel Envoy invasion in New Tokyo, just for that reason.

“The situation has yet to be clarified; there’s no damage to the World Barrier whatsoever, and Lady Goddess has checked the existence records of the Kepulu Star Zone and found no abnormal information. However, the branches of the Tree of Life that are changing color are indeed from this star system, so it seems we will need to investigate after all–after all, Lady Goddess is an idiot.”

…Did you just call her an idiot? What exactly is your devotion based on, damn it!!

“If it’s something like that, it won’t matter if Misaka and the others hear it, since they won’t understand anyway.” Qianqian said somewhat unhappily on the side. How should I put it…

It seems this girl has rarely found a few children who could play with her–it’s utterly speechless how naive her mentality is.

Lilina glanced at the Master of Time not far away–who was physically much taller than herself but mentally was probably the opposite–and shrugged her shoulders. “The issue is with the solution. If we can’t resolve the sickness here within two months, we will have to completely destroy the entire Kepulu Star Zone. Any life in this star zone, even an ant, a bacterium, cannot be spared. The number of innocent deaths could be in the hundreds of billions. Although it is due to special circumstances, Lady Goddess can take full responsibility for these deaths. But… do you really think letting Misaka and the others know about… wait a second!”

Just as we were shocked by this sudden emergency, Lilina suddenly furrowed her brow, turned around sharply, and looked in one direction.

“Over there, a very strong life form has appeared and is approaching Pandora at high speed!”

The sudden strong energy reaction had naturally been detected by Pandora’s Energy Radar. The strength of this enemy made the little girl, who was a Leader-level Apostle, serious. She subtly adjusted her troop formation, quietly breaking away from the combined firepower group with Visca.

“What are you doing!?” Visca’s ungracious voice immediately rang out through the Spiritual Connection. “Don’t tell me you’ve drained your energy with just this little warm-up?”

What an impolite sister…

Pandora let out a slight sigh, an emotional gesture she reserved for few occasions, such as when dealing with her stubborn little sister’s impertinence.

“Brother, I’m ready to counterattack.”

Pandora completed her preparations and then cast her gaze beyond the densely packed enemies and crisscrossing artillery fire. Due to the terrifying destructive power of the Leader-level Apostle, enemy forces within tens of thousands of kilometers steered clear of this deadly Sky Curtain. Yet, one powerful being had set its sights on the most dangerous place on the battlefield.

The standard ship-to-ship gun turrets had long been withdrawn into Other Space. Now, a large number of eye-like Floating Cannons were flipping and flying around Pandora. Hundreds of eerie eyes watched every corner of the battlefield with the vigilance of the mythical hundred-eyed giant.

Then, one of these “eyes” suddenly erupted in screeching, dazzling sparks. A nearly semi-kilometer-radius translucent Energy Field abruptly enveloped the Floating Cannon on alert, violently disrupting the mechanized sphere’s Ghost Energy Shield and exterior armor. In less than a few seconds, the latter was already battered and scarred.

Pandora decisively abandoned the Floating Cannon caught in the Energy Storm. The automatic targeting system instantly locked onto the direction of the attack, then hundreds of “eyes” at the front end simultaneously burst forth dim Energy Beams. The ensuing Destruction Net covered all the space in front of her.

A large cluster of enemy troops ABC, inconsequentially involved in the battle in the distance, tragically turned into a sky full of fragments under this indiscriminate firepower network. However, the high energy reaction did not dissipate–it was clear that, although injured by this angle-free attack, powerful energy manipulation had saved it from disaster.

“An extremely strong… Race!”

A voice suddenly rang out, startling Pandora and all of us watching from the bridge–it’s impossible for sound to travel through the vacuum of space. The other party…

“It’s Spiritual Power,” Bubbles’ voice came over the broadcast, clearing up our confusion. “The enemy is broadcasting using Spiritual Power, and I’ve reverse-locked their position… Their Invisibility Field frequency is a bit special; I’m decoding it… Decoding complete, data transmitting!”

The latest anti-invisibility energy frequency was transmitted into Pandora’s cognitive core. She then released an anti-invisibility energy interference, and just a few kilometers in front of her, a figure gradually became clear.

It was a woman–or at least, it looked like a woman; she had a female face and figure but was covered in a chitin shell like Insect Race, with hair that was actually a mass of tentacle-shaped limbs, and a pair of spread Bone Wings about three to four meters long, sparking with energy flames.

This “woman” standing out of nowhere in the vacuum of space could not possibly be Human, yet she could not be simply classified as part of the Insect Race. She was Kerrigan, the Blade Queen, once the most powerful Human Ghost Agent, now the highest ruler of the Insect Race.

The strongest carbon-based life in the Kepulu Star Zone–some even speculated that her power had reached the level where she could single-handedly destroy an entire Human Fleet.

Ah… what a tragedy, the Human Fleet has become a unit of measurement for combat power, you know, like “taking down one Viking equals plus 5” or something…

At the same time, my Spiritual Connection quickly intervened in the mind of Pandora, this little madwoman: “Girl! Don’t kill her! Capture her alive… where’s Reynolds? Bring him to me! Make-up artist, sound system, and costume props, get ready quickly! Tell him to get ready for seduction…”

What a foolish… brother…

Pandora sighed lightly again, feeling more overwhelmed than when facing her impolite sister.

She then ordered her subordinate troops to return to their positions, clearing the battlefield.

The Blade Queen had a large patch of chitin that showed the scorched dark gray of being burned. Her Ghost Energy had not left her unscathed under Pandora’s area attack, but she seemed unconcerned about it. The burned “skin” was also healing rapidly at a visible rate. In a matter of seconds, it was as smooth as new. Glancing at the energy sparks on her Bone Wings, Kerrigan smirked sarcastically.

“I told you,” the spiritual power broadcast was once again received by us, “those amplification devices developed by the Protos Natives are all garbage… They rely too much on their technology, even now failing to realize that their technology is like a baby in the face of the enemy.”

Pandora paid no attention to the other party’s nonsense. With a light lift of her right hand, a huge blue-white laser light burst out from the ship-to-ship Ghost Energy Cannon. Although it was uncharged, the considerable attack power of the beam collided mid-way with a semi-transparent energy cloud, which after a brief and violent reaction, dissipated together in the void.

“The anxious little one,” the Blade Queen said with a solemn expression on her face, but her tone sounded relaxed, “Let’s see then, how powerful the formidable invaders who suddenly appeared in this star zone really are.”

A fierce Spiritual Storm once again erupted from the void, still targeting the Floating Cannons beside Pandora. These bizarre weapons had already annihilated thousands of Battlecruisers and Divine Race carriers in the previous battle. As for the Insect Race units that died under the highly polluted energy, the number was astonishingly large. The Blade Queen naturally saw them as the most threatening targets. In her view, the combat power of this little girl in front of her was entirely embodied in those huge cannons. As long as she could eliminate them, the victory would be assuredly in her hands.

As the strongest being in the entire Kepulu Star Zone, with a level of spiritual power and physical strength from the evolution of the Insect Race that even the Protos Natives couldn’t imagine, the Blade Queen was considered almost a perfect form of life. Although still incapable of contending with the Xyrin People, her tactics had achieved significant destructive results.

Several mechanical Eye Balls shattered under the sudden Spiritual Storm. Despite their ability to perform space jumps, the Blade Queen’s Ghost Energy attacks seemed to be instant space-ignoring strikes. At least, Pandora’s radar system could not accurately predict the energy trajectory when the opponent launched the attack. However, facing the continuous destruction of her Floating Cannons, Pandora seemed to have no concern. She only had one vexing problem.

Her brother’s demand was to capture the opponent alive…

To Pandora, this demand seemed unimaginable: the only tactic the little one knew was to use multiple cannons to bombard indiscriminately, completely tearing the enemy to shreds. She had never considered the option of letting the enemy survive, no matter how weak the opponent. Pandora couldn’t figure out tactics that would incapacitate the opponent without killing them–her brother really knew how to pose a challenge.

Well, as long as they don’t die, that’s fine, right?

After racking her brains to no avail, the little one somewhat resignedly thought this way.

At this time, with Pandora’s passive response, three hundred mechanical Eye Balls had already been largely broken down under the Blade Queen’s attack. Her spiritual power was astonishingly strong, managing repeated use of such intensive Spiritual Storms with ease, and Pandora’s occasional counterattacks during her maneuvers, although hitting the target, were not full-force. And with a constant Spiritual Storm around the Blade Queen acting as a shield, she only sustained minor injuries. With her powerful recovery ability, these superficial wounds were healing at an alarming rate.

“Your strength is just so-so.”

The Blade Queen, seeing that the number of Floating Cannons around the distant little girl was decreasing and seemingly without many effective offensive methods, disdainfully spoke. However, just as her words fell, the scene appearing in the next second nearly caused this ruler of the Insect Race to lose her composure and curse aloud.

Pandora unhesitatingly recalled all the Floating Cannons and then summoned…

More than three thousand reformed Vector Impact Cannons…

Compared to the “Sado Aela” Pan-energy Cannons, which could only manifest three hundred at the same time, the only advantage of these common vector cannon installations was their sheer number–the low-level Original Cannons did not require overly complicated energy dissipation modules. A hundred of these put together took up less processor bandwidth than a single mechanical Eye Ball. But the Blade Queen didn’t know this; she only knew that she had nearly injured herself to eliminate a hundred-plus Eye Ball Cannons, and the enemy hadn’t even blinked before summoning three thousand bigger ones with a wave of her hand!

“Are you mocking me!?”

The Blade Queen, outraged, spread her arms wide. Visible energy ripples swayed in the void, and then, a ridiculous sight occurred.

Three thousand massive metallic blocks made of super alloy, with intense tail flames spraying from their rears, fell like meteors… towards the Blade Queen.

If she gets knocked out, that should do for capturing alive–The tiny Loli General pondered with simple logic.

(As the month nears its end, I boldly ask for your votes!!!) (To be continued, for more go to www.NovelFire.net, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)