Xyrin Empire

(Continuing to shamelessly ask for votes, does anyone have a guess on what's inside the Shadow Space of the Revenge Army—it certainly isn't a babe)

The super explosion at the Edge Fortress shook a Sky Zone three light years long, shocked two to three mid-sized Constant Star systems, shattered 562 Eternal-class warships of the Revenge Army along with countless escort fleets, but within the Mobra society it didn't even cause a whisper—they can't see it, never will in their lifetime.

Of course, considering the turmoil in this society, perhaps it doesn't even need to be shaken here.

I did not personally participate in this battle, the most direct impression I got was from the battlefield holographic footage sent back by the 1.2-meter sisters. From the video, we can clearly sense the sisters' preferences: aside from explosions, you can't see anything, I feel their battle report shares the same style as the footprints from the Beijing Olympics, just denser.

But I must admit, the strength demonstrated by the 1.2-meter sisters in this independent combat made quite an impression on me, enough to slightly change my perception of them. Counting the ensuing explosion that swept through several Constant Star systems (that's the main event, 70-80% of the enemies perished in the spatial collapse), during one battle they destroyed over 500 Eternal-class Mother Ships and about ten times that number of escort fleets, and the army they brought was less than one-third of those numbers—this is the victory of explosive artistry. I began to take seriously the war brains that these lolis long considered little madmen with only nitroglycerin in their heads have accumulated over the past tens of millions of years. It's undeniable, they are still the kind that rushes to the front lines impetuously when blood heats up and are unqualified as generals, but now I don't dare underestimate these 1.2-meter madmen's stock of tactical strategies.

After the battle at the Edge Fortress, the situation finally began to change.

The Revenge Army seemed finally hurt by this heavy and inexplicable defeat, they shifted from the previous stealthy Shadow Space, occasionally popping up to ruthlessly bite the enemy with a sudden assault tactic, to starting attacks on all our bases.

Or rather, began "preparing" to attack all our bases.

The initial anomaly occurred on the second day after the Pandora Sisters' triumph, when three far-distant Space Fortresses simultaneously reported unidentified Ghost Energy signals within their alert zones. The patrolling Mirror Battleships immediately went to investigate, they had unpleasant encounters with several scattered Revenge Army patrol teams, exchanging fiery holes on each other's presence—in terms of thin-natured Single Soldier Fighter Jets, the holes on the opponent might have been bigger, thus they were obliterated.

At first, the battle analysis systems didn't realize what it meant for these three unconnected bases to be simultaneously scouted, it was treated as a commonplace Revenge Army "surfacing" event, and a bunch of Space Internal Bombs were thrown at the enemy coordinates, because within these three forts are genuine Imperial Bases, several important arsenals of ours are working overtime inside, having fierce battles nearby is not a good idea. But three hours later, alarms from other forts immediately elevated the Imperial Army's overall war preparedness alert levels by several tiers: at least 27 Space Fortresses reported unidentified Ghost Energy signals within their alert zones.

The command center, since the Big Nebula Campaign, entered full mobilization status again, but everyone sensed too abrupt a feel of impending decisive battle, as the Revenge Army had always engaged with us mysteriously with sudden attack warfare, their escalation was too sudden.

Reports and orders echoed endlessly in the command hall, yet without a hint of confusion. Well-trained Imperial Officers maintained an inexplicable sense of coordination while exchanging orders, knowing how to use Spiritual Connection and conventional commands for directive execution on two different levels at maximum efficiency. So that information flowed through the hall like laser signals on countless optical fibers, despite being so close to each other and innumerable, never colliding or interfering, rather merged into something rhythmic. Pandora once said she liked this tense command sound, sounding like music—at the time I tapped a tune on the little girl's head, but as time passed, now I slightly agree with her sentiment.

At least no American blockbuster would find such a thrilling atmosphere, because by merely thinking you'll feel everything as so exciting yet unreal: millions of War Machines operate under the hall's control, crushing everything.

Now it's been twelve hours since those three Space Fortresses reported alarms, and the number of scouted outposts has reached 34, and it's still rising. The military control area in General City elevated the alert level from A (war starts) to SS (full-scale war), one step short of life-and-death duel. Roads connecting the Satellite Zone to the core military zones have been blocked and severed, actually for the protection of the latter. Due to General City's special modular structure, only the central military area is the Imperial Admiral hull, surrounding Satellite Zones can separate, convert into various giant transport ships, advance severing the communication between the two areas can ensure immediately packing up lightly defended Satellite Zones in emergencies.

Of course, this is merely a war preparation status, not suggesting General City might suffer direct attacks, but we know what's going on, some people nevertheless began feeling uneasy.

As alert levels rise, a large group of Mobra scientists still remains at Mist God Star Base, they are among the few Mobrans not much despised by other Servant Armies; it's because of their scholar status and the enthusiasm fitting a qualified scholar displayed when learning knowledge, both praiseworthy within an Empire-run society. The alarm echoing throughout the base and the transformational changes of numerous functional buildings are obvious, and nobody intends to hide anything, thus these Mobra scholars started getting alarmed: they are not scientists from the Civilization Community or New Eden Federation, the latter accustomed to researching Star Burning Bomb's four ways of disassembly in the war zone smoke, while the former remain unused to someone nearby splattering brain matter while writing—which from our War Technicians' viewpoint appears quite gentle.

Communication between Mobra Main Star and Mist God Star Base was partially regulated, some harmless information confirmed by fortress host detection can be sent from the base's civilian zone back to Mobra, thus after the scholars were scared, Mobra promptly learned the change (despite the warped tech tree, Mobrans although didn't master superluminal observation technology, they did have delay-free communication equipment). The Holy Pope hastily requested contact with Mist God Star Base; however, given his low priority across the entire link, Sandora and I were only able to deal with this "civil communication" nearly an hour later, by then the Pope was almost planning to personally ride a shuttle across—I could imagine his crazy quivering ping pong ball appearance beneath the smooth mask: in this volatile situation, the unprecedented full-power operation at Imperial Military Base is enough to make him nervous.

I frankly told the other side, full-scale war was imminent, and advised him to publicly announce this news to all Mobrans, with a final message: "The Holy Sage likely doesn't have time to protect you this time."

Upon receiving this message, the Pope hesitated for a long time, so long that at one point I thought the network was lagging.

I knew this would surely stir another wave in Mobra society just slightly recovering from the Brown Earth Star calamity, but now nobody has the leisure to carefully tend those sheep, the Empire's War Machines are ready for ironclad confrontation with the enemy, and Mobra—the Pope's time to fulfill his founding promises has come, find a way to guard this world.

"If this is your will." The holographic projection of the Pope quickly regained normal composure, now he has become one of only about ten Mobrans within their civilization knowing what to do in such a situation; after three hundred years, the colossal bitter fruit of past errors has matured: he now faces the workload akin to over a hundred thousand clerks in a normal civilization by himself.

"Hopefully, this storm allows you all to grow swiftly," Sandora remarked lightly, her sentiment towards Mobra civilization slowly cooling, the concern originally carried over from ancestral connections hasn't turned into aversion amid successive disappointments already a simple feat, "What do you plan to use to invoke Mobran courage."

When the entire world collapses before one's eyes, wanting to live a little longer requires more than just courage, but it is at least necessary.

"It's Zaku's suggestion, I've significantly downsized the Government Army," the Pope said in a low tone, not concealing the fact that he had secretly taken over the United Government, "We have formed a new rank-and-file military using all the explorers, relic scholars, and battlefield scavengers we could find, with Church Knights secretly replacing the original officers of the Government Army. These new recruits are hard to manage, but at least they know how to use guns, and they won't run away at the sound of gunfire. Half of them have seen blood before, even if it was while fighting guardian machines in ruins… I think if a rebellion breaks through the defense line, these new recruits should be able to hold on until civilians escape, so they're not completely useless. If I had more time, they could probably be more…"

Sandora impatiently interrupted him: "In a cage, no amount of time can train a fierce beast, what they need isn't time but a crisis. At least they only have to deal with revolts among their own people, which is much safer than what our servants facing the Imperial Army have to deal with."

The Pope remained silent, but I think he has undergone a huge change recently. Initially, even though he complied with our orders, it seemed he wasn't fully aware of his mistakes deep down. But now, after witnessing firsthand the disgraceful performance of the Mobra Civilization in the face of doomsday (though many citizens of the Empire's vassal civilizations don't consider it doomsday since they've faced worse), this somewhat paranoid Pope has finally started to genuinely atone for his past actions, which has slightly improved my impression of him.

"I can feel he is trying to rekindle the fighting spirit and courage of his compatriots and is taking action towards that, but I don't know exactly what he plans to do," I said to Sandora after ending the communication with the Pope.

"Same here." Sandora simply responded, her attention already refocused on the command hall below.

Today, Sandora still wore her favorite sky-blue long gown, but even in the same attire, she exuded a completely different aura. Currently, she was filled with a surging force field, making those around her feel a strong sense of inevitable victory. This is the aura Sandora has developed through countless years of war, reflecting her unparalleled control over warfare. This aura cannot be gained through slaughter, victory, or defeat. Although I am not short of Imperial Soldiers with similar war experience around me, only by Sandora's side can I feel this atmosphere of "confidence" and "faith." Perhaps this is why Sandora is called the "Battle Song Princess."

"Ah Jun, what are you looking at?"

Noticing the gaze beside her, Sandora suddenly turned to ask.

"Nothing," I shook my head, "Just relieved to see that you're back in high spirits."

"Sometimes, there is no choice," Sandora gently shook her head, "I realized this a long time ago. Only those who survive the battlefield have the right to worry. Right now, we just need to do one thing. Knowing that they are just animated shells does make you feel a little relieved. After all, in the Xyrin Apostle's worldview, the soul is far more important than the body."

"We have destroyed most of the Revenge Army's patrols and detonated Space Internal Bombs near the space coordinates they left behind. For a short time, they cannot enter the material world on a large scale," Big Sister said with some concern, "but they have mobilized their entire force, and patrols are increasing in number. We won't be able to intercept them all in time."

"Then prepare the battlefield," Sandora quickly marked a series of coordinates on the star map, "As long as we avoid these places, we have the capital to engage in an open battle with them. Pandora and Visca did make too big a commotion, which misled the Revenge Army into thinking that the Main Material Plane had already been surrounded by a massive army. Those two little girls… They are very good at combat skills, but their strategic vision is not very farsighted. However, it's also fine. Since it's bound to happen sooner or later, starting the war before the situation gets worse might have its advantages. How is our Celestial System Fleet?"

The last question from Sandora was directed to the command hall, where Sivis was assigning forces responsible for blocking the enemy's space rift from her command seat. Hearing Sandora's inquiry, she immediately responded: "The fleet has set sail, but the beacon system of the outpost is still charging. It will take forty-eight hours to complete charging and pull the fleet over. We need at least forty-eight hours!"

"Forty-eight hours, just two days," Sandora seemed completely unpressured and even smiled, "Fill every Space Fortress except for those genuine bases with reactors and explosives. I suddenly realize that the reckless tactics of Pandora and Visca are quite useful after all."

With that line from Sandora, it seems this war is destined to end with a fireworks display.

Six hours later, the first Space Fortress to suffer a fierce assault from the Revenge Army since the Edge Fortress battle sent back an alarm signal. The signal contained only one short sentence: "Enemy sighted, large numbers… have entered real space."

The Revenge Army's rising from Shadow Space to reality coordinates is entirely random. They cannot control their point of appearance, nor can we. Thus, as long as they have enough numbers, they will inevitably find a breach close to one of our Space Fortresses and coincidentally within a blind spot of our warning system. A patrol like this found a newly completed Space Fortress with insufficient defense. This time, they were smart enough not to rashly approach the fortress, instead retreating half a light year before opening a space rift. Only when the fortress came under attack did we realize all this, so no fleet had time to support it. Luckily, the fortress was also merely a Phantom Base. Apart from a batch of Mirror Fleets, it contained nothing but countless explosives. The Revenge Army, with minimal casualties, quickly defeated the Mirror Fleet and was then greeted with fireworks from the fortress's self-destruction.

But just minutes after this possibly good news came back, we detected something else: a universe-wide broadcast, encapsulated within the cosmic background radiation.

Such a familiar thing, I immediately recalled, this was the scanning technology used by the Revenge Army when they locked onto the Constant Star System after we triggered the Sky Corridor in Mobra.

The base's alert level was finally elevated to SSS status. The city districts where Mobra scientists and other vassal army researchers resided broke away from the Mist God Star Base, transformed into massive transportation ships, and either submerged into space folds or were sent to other safe places. Large fleets departed from their respective starports, heading for the nearest Jump Acceleration Device, preparing for high-speed jumps to support some crucial bases accidentally found by the enemy. The enemy's tactics clearly aimed for decisive battle in real space. They've abandoned the excellent concealment of Shadow Space and went all out. Sandora deduced that they must have established an unprecedentedly massive space rift somewhere in the universe, scanning our Space Fortresses with full-spectrum scans. Even though these scans can't reveal which fortress is real, they do expose all our bases under the enemy's watchful eye.

"Your phantom plan paid off this time," I said to Sandora after the full-spectrum broadcast ended, "Now all our bases are likely scanned, but ninety percent of them are 'straw men.' Let the Revenge Army search for them."

"From the start, those bases were intended for them to scan. The Old Empire's technology is very advanced, and it's only a matter of time before they used these means to search. But there's still one thing within our plans," Sandora replied while pointing at the star map, now entirely red and marked everywhere with 'High Alert' signs. There's a spot that happens to be in a crevice between all these danger zones. "The opponent still hasn't discovered our Giant World Gate. The Celestial System Fleet's trump card is still safe." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations, monthly tickets, your support is my biggest motivation.)