Dawn Sleep

In the undercurrent, two more days passed.

No one knows what strategy His Royal Highness and the generals finally formulated.Until the morning of the third day, the Imperial Army of Alien Beta began to move.

Looking down from the top, the mecha runway in the fortress looks like a scattered chessboard. Soldiers climbed onto the fuselage, closed the cockpit, and slid along the runway to Starship Port.

There, about [-] alloy battleships were closely arranged, doing the final take-off inspection.

When Yuan Nagasawa rushed over panting, he saw Jiang Jianming and Leian Kaios at first sight.

The crown prince stood beside the boarding gate of the starship, with platinum curly hair in a high bundle, and a straight posture.He lowered his eyebrows and said something, but the surroundings were very noisy, and there were metal collisions of mechas landing everywhere, Yuan Nagasawa didn't hear a word clearly.

The next second, Ryan suddenly reached out to hug Jiang Jianming, and kissed the side of Jiang Jianming's neck.The white light of the morning merged the two figures into one.

The hug lasted only two seconds, Ryan let go, and walked onto the starship under Jiang Jianming's watch.

"His Royal Highness Jiang!"

When Yuan Nagasawa ran to Jiang Jianming's side, Laian's back was no longer visible.

He supported his knees and took a few breaths, "I heard you called me... Huh, won't His Royal Highness...not be with you during this expedition?"

Jiang Jianming was still staring at the direction Leian left in a daze, and turned his head only after being called by Yuan Nagasawa - only then did Yuan Nagasawa realize that his face was paler than usual.

"That's not true," Jiang Jianming looked back, "Your Highness is going to fight as a front-line combat force. I will take some people to stabilize the lava, and then I will go to the front line to meet up."

As he spoke, he waved: "Well... Nagasawa, come here."

Yuan Nagasawa took another step forward suspiciously, and saw Jiang Jianming take out something from the outer pocket of the black military coat.

Immediately afterwards, a hard and cold object was stuffed into his hand.

Hara Nagasawa looked down and shivered.

That's a pistol.

"Nagaze," Jiang Jianming lowered his voice and whispered into Yuan Nagasawa's ear, "Listen to me."

Hara Nagasawa became nervous.His Highness Jiang's fingers were cold and strong, and he gripped his hand and the gun together.

"...This time, we took a risky move. The two generals of Leian and Yinbeidou both agreed to give it a go, but it doesn't mean that the risk will be reduced. I dare not leave a final retreat."

"You are the No. 002 base body. Once your current body dies, your consciousness will be pulled back to the original body located in the third fortress."

"You hold this gun close to your body. If everything goes to the worst direction, please end the projection by suicide."

"After waking up, you will be in the Black Shark base. Please inform the leader and the top general of the third fortress, Major General Emma, ​​immediately—is it possible?"

When Hara Nagasawa finished listening to the last sentence, he was already dizzy and palpitations and almost couldn't stand up.His voice was soft: "What... what is the worst direction?"

"This needs to be judged by yourself, just give an example."

Jiang Jianming took two steps back, thought for a while and said calmly: "My Highness and I both died in battle, and the second fortress fell... something like this."

Hara Nagasawa almost didn't come up in one breath.

He squeezed the gun in horror: "Isn't it to welcome the expedition fleet back to the fortress, is the situation so--so serious!?"

Jiang Jianming smiled and patted Yuan Nagasawa on the head: "Military secrets."

The strong wind blew up the silver-black military uniform, and he greeted Gao Long who was waiting a dozen steps away, "Let's go, let's get on the ship."

Three hours later, Alpha Alien.

"Your Excellency the Bishop."

A crystal cultist steps quickly onto the bridge.

He leaned over to report to the man in black robe and gray beard: "Reconnaissance data show that Imperial warships have begun to gather in the Beta galaxy, arranged in a spherical formation, and there are about [-] starships visible."

"There are about a hundred other starships, separated from the main force, and the target seems to be the space where the Lava Pirates are stationed."

The Bishop of Destruction turned his head back, "Arranging formations in the Alien Space near Beta?"

He raised his hand to signal the congregation to silence, and pulled the three-dimensional star map and the long-distance reconnaissance image to his hand at the same time.

The Imperial Army has indeed begun to gather around Beta Aliens.In the image, Yuyu is like a piece of dark blue silk, and the battleship is inlaid with broken diamonds, which are arranged in small dots.

It turned out to be an upright spherical formation, and they didn't even bother to pretend, as if they didn't care about exposing the location of the transition point.

Su narrowed his eyes: "Have you observed any signs of wormholes?"

"No signs of wormholes have been detected, Your Excellency the Bishop."

"..."

The Bishop of Destruction put his hands behind his back and remained silent for a long time.

It should come as no surprise that the Empire would try to negotiate with the Lava Pirates.

After all, Jiang Jianming—perhaps the consciousness projection of Aslan back then—seemed to be a person who would like the classical theory of "surrender without fighting".

The Crystal Sect had just failed its allies, and this time Lava might choose to sit on the sidelines... He had expected this for a long time.

What is incomprehensible is the tactics of the Imperial Army.

About [-] starships, even if the current second fortress received the silver Beidou army that originally belonged to the first fortress, plus the reinforcements from Jinrilun, this is by no means a small number.

What do they want to do, finally choose the simplest "defensive" posture, and prepare to use their strength to break the trick?It's that simple?

"What about the first fortress?"

"Yes. Three of the five defensive main cores of the fortress have been destroyed. The energy station of the main gun has been blocked by the corpses of alien creatures. The interior can be breached tonight or tomorrow morning."

"very good."

"The only difficulty is..."

The crystal congregation recalled for a second, "The so-called 'Heroic Spirit Monument'. The underground palace was blocked by subsidence and has not yet been broken through. But please believe the bishop, it is only a matter of time."

"The Heroic Monument."

Su Zhuo repeated, he quickly remembered.That is said to be the place where Yin Beidou used to store the bones of soldiers who died in battle.

...It's so stupid, Bishop Destroyer thought contemptuously in his heart, it turns out that the majestic first fortress of Yin Beidou, the most solidly built place, turned out to be such a cemetery with no strategic significance.

"Once it breaks through, burn down that underground palace." The black-robed man said indifferently, "Maybe it can anger the empire. Anger is the best poison. It will make human beings lose their minds."

"Your Excellency the Bishop!"

At this time, the second crystal cultivator who reported hurried over: "The latest data shows that a transition reaction has been detected-the imperial army is about to open a wormhole."

The three-dimensional star map in front of the bishop changed accordingly, and a red double circle symbol appeared.

This means that in the space of Beta galaxy, in the central position surrounded by the imperial fleet, the spherical wormhole is slowly expanding.

It will eventually expand to a size large enough to allow starships to pass through, connecting the distant ends of the star sea.

Su snorted darkly.

He still couldn't figure out the intention of the imperial army, and he couldn't believe that the opponent's tactics this time would be so rough.

But the wormhole above the Beta alien planet has indeed opened, and I have to follow here!

"The battleship is preparing for battle, start the preparation for the jump, and open the wormhole."

Su stared at the star map with dark eyes: "Until the expedition fleet on the opposite side is confirmed, no one is allowed to act rashly; but if the expedition fleet appears from the wormhole, it will attack with all its strength—my order is to make a quick decision."

A certain universe outside the Beta galaxy.

The Starfleet of the Lava Pirates and the Imperial starships with only a hundred ships are facing each other across a dense belt of asteroids.

No one thought that the Imperial Army, which had frightened and deceived the Yu Pirate Company not long ago and made him lose face, would dare to bring such a small number of people to negotiate in person.

"Hey--"

Gao Long put his big palm on the porthole, and slapped it straight, "Bastard Dad——Daddy Ai Ai—"

The sound was like thunder, and the reverberation lingered. All the other soldiers in the command room of the starship showed expressions of pain.

Someone turned their eyes for help to the black-haired young man sitting on the command seat.

Jiang Jianming rubbed his forehead, and said helplessly to Gao Long: "Vacuum does not transmit sound. If you really want to shout, you should also shout to the communication equipment on my side."

In the communication screen, Chilong's expression almost wants to kill someone.But the bronze-skinned Gao Dayu pirate, "Old Black Sheep" Kenny Gao, stayed there as if he had lost his soul.

"Son," the old black sheep murmured, staring blankly at Gao Long in the imperial army, "I...my son."

Chilong sneered at the side, grinding his teeth and said: "Ha, I thought my little treasure was such a gentleman, so it turned out to be just a mouse who used the relationship between father and son to use despicable means!?"

Jiang Jianming sighed, crossed his fingers and leaned back: "Little friend, please make it clear that Gao Long took the initiative to join the Yin Beidou army."

"And when it comes to being used," he deliberately raised his lips, "Does Lava hate being used? I see that you are being used by the Crystal Cult, and you seem to enjoy it."

"Oh my god, are you still using such a low-level provocative method?"

Chilong laughed, raised his legs and put them on the bridge, but the cruelty in his eyes became more and more intense: "Do you know that even if I am willing to save the life of the old black sheep's stupid son, there are ten thousand ways to dislike it?" The method of firing cannons to capture you as a prisoner?"

Jiang Jianming was unmoved.

"I didn't come to fight the lava today, and I don't intend to throw myself into the trap."

He said lightly, "But if you insist on arresting me, you can think about the ending of the last person who did this. There are [-] starships of the Empire in the Beta galaxy. Let's talk about it calmly. good."

"...!"

Chilong's face darkened a bit.

In fact, at this moment, as long as the lava orders the entire ship to charge, a space densely packed with asteroids can't block anything at all.He could have captured Jiang Jianming before the imperial army came to rescue him.

However, in the communication screen, the dark-haired officer in military uniform has deep eyes, which makes Chilong fearful—after all, he has suffered too much at the hands of this disabled human being.

"...What do you want to talk about?"

Chilong said bitterly, "It's impossible to negotiate a peace."

On the opposite side, the black-haired officer gave him a slight smile.

"You told me that day that Lava cooperated with the Crystal Cult for his own pleasure."

Jiang Jianming said: "I know what you think."

"You think that the struggle between the Empire and the Crystal Cult will continue for a long time, and the survival of human beings is still a long way off. Lava can take the opportunity to be happy for a while, and it is best to use the Crystal Cult to kill the emperor and avenge his blood. As for the future It’s a matter, and we’ll make a fuss about it later.”

"..."

"But you are wrong, because there is a blind spot in your cognition."

In the opposite starship, Chilong narrowed his eyes slowly: "What did you say?"

Jiang Jianming adjusted his breathing and spoke in a deep voice.

In fact, Ryan's openness before the battle also inspired him from another angle.

Back then on the starship of the Crystal Sect, Gaius and Lauren threatened the truth about crystal particles. They only said that human beings were implanted with crystal particles more than five hundred years ago, but they did not mention the resistance of this race. .

Jiang Jianming immediately realized that the Crystal Sect must have said the same thing when facing the Lava Pirates.

He simply confessed.The first, second and third generations of tranquilizers, the White Bird Expedition, and the Matrix Project.

Emperor Kaios and the 20 golden sun wheel, as well as the little crown prince who buried the bone crystal nest before he reached adulthood.

... As for being heard by the soldiers beside him, whether it will cause turmoil or not, that's not important.

Thinking about it, it was indeed time to confess. His Highness had already taken the first step. What else did he have to worry about?

"Why did the Crystal Sect only start its activities in recent years, because the crystal particles are afraid! Because the crystal particles are about to be defeated!"

"From the old empire to the present, tranquilizers and curing rays have become more and more advanced, alien creatures have been eliminated more and more, the empire's territory has become wider and wider, and the concentration of crystal particles in the territory is higher every year than the previous year Lower, more orderly—"

"Whenever the Crystal Nest accumulates offensive power, the soldiers of the White Bird Expedition will go to their deaths, using their spiritual consciousness to suppress the crystal chaos wave that is about to erupt."

"Don't you understand? Under the resistance of human beings for more than five hundred years, crystal particles have been unable to achieve the 'ultimate' by themselves, so the emergence of the crystal religion, their appearance itself is for the final desperate fight !"

"Now, for the ultimate arrival, the Crystal Cult must create enough crystal-dead human beings, but what if the empire still can't be defeated? Think about it—"

In the end, Jiang Jianming's voice was a little cracked, and he gritted his teeth and shouted: "Think about it! Now that even the Freedom Star Leaders have returned their autonomy, there is no human force in this universe that is not under the protection of the empire, except for space pirates! ?”

"You are livestock raised by the Crystal Sect! If you are still useful, I will use you to gnaw on the hard bone of the empire; if it is useless, I will kill donkeys and slaughter them for meat!"

"……you."

At first, Chilong tried to interrupt and taunt a few times, but the more he heard it, the more exciting his expression became.

Now he asked, "Are you crazy?"

Jiang Jianming laughed lowly, he thought to himself: Why, am I too inconsiderate of the other party's acceptance like His Highness?

"Your Excellency, Young Leader, I want to give you a chance to watch the fire from the other side."

"what?"

"Calculate the time, the war is about to start." Jiang Jianming glanced at the star map on the screen, with complicated emotions in his eyes.

"The empire that has a deep hatred against lava, and the crystal sect that used you and abandoned you... Next, you can hug your black cat leisurely and watch us fight to the death - don't you think it will be very happy? "

"But happiness is only once. After that, you will see the victory of the Empire and the defeat of the Crystal Cult."

"In the future, you will still see that the Crystal Sect who had no choice but to help the empire will eventually point their swords at your back."

"I hope," Jiang Jianming said with sharp eyes, "you can make a timely and correct judgment, Your Excellency, Chief Chilong."

Beta galaxy universe.

Inside the protective encirclement of the imperial starship, the wormhole was fully formed.There is some pitch-black metal object slowly poking its head out of the distorted space.

It was also a starship in the shape of an empire, with the silver Beidou badge on the hull, but it was dilapidated at the moment, and crystal clusters were growing everywhere in the scars.

It's an expedition ship!

It is an expedition ship that once entered the periphery of the crystal nest and returned to its homeland with difficulty.

It is the first miracle in history, and it is also inevitable after the results of so many expeditions, and the sacrifice of the crown prince.

On the opposite side of the imperial array, the universe is distorting.

The second wormhole opened by the Crystal Cult expands rapidly.

"Imperial Ship Confirmed!"

"Reconnaissance data show: crystal clusters on the surface of the hull, and a high concentration of crystal particles around the wormhole. It is confirmed that the enemy ship is a crystal nest expedition ship of Yin Beidou."

The commander of the Crystal Cult Squadron cheered up: "Listen to my order. All ships, march at full speed! Gather energy while marching, and prepare for bombing."

The moment the second wormhole was formed, the battleship of the Crystal Sect jumped over!

The afterimages of the blue tail flames first formed a straight line, like the raindrops of a shower, and then gathered and shrunk into a cone to break through the formation, aiming at the weak point of the imperial fleet.

In the sky above Alien Alpha, the Bishop of Destruction stared intently at the star map.

Their total number is obviously not as large as the imperial fleet, but the formation advantage is obvious.

If all goes well, they will tear apart the Imperial fleet and deal the expeditionary force a head-on blow.If he was lucky, he might be able to shoot Xie Yuduo directly.

but……

In the universe, thousands of imperial warships are like iron walls poured with copper juice, maintaining a spherical formation and standing still.

Not advancing, not retreating, not resisting, so quiet, but giving people a sense of gloom.

It's so unusual.Su frowned, just about to contact the fleet to make it act cautiously.

Suddenly, he sensed something.

It was a tiny pulling force tugging at his clothes, and it was like static electricity crawling across his cheeks.

On the frost-covered surface, someone from the Crystal Cult attacking the fortress happened to raise his head casually.

This gaze pierced through the wind and snow thousands of meters above the sky, and saw the thick and vast dark clouds.

Above the dark clouds is the universe.

In the universe, Su in the starship also raised his head.

His pupils slowly constricted.

He saw a piece of space directly above the first fortress, and there was something that should never appear here.

A rapidly expanding, spherically distorted space.

It was a wormhole.