Volume 5, Chapter 12-2 – The Version Theme Is on the Way(Part 2)

“They caught a Night Owl agent?”

“Mm. He’s being interrogated right now.”

“It’s been a long time.”

A long time since they had last caught a Night Owl agent.

It had been ages since anyone from Night Owl had appeared in Sea Blue Forest. Of course, that did not mean there were none at all, but they were like stones sunk beneath the water, never surfacing to act.

It was not only like this on Kleber Star. The same was true elsewhere.

“The enemy is ve~ry, ve~ry cunning. He refuses to admit anything, but he looks like he’s undergone special training.”

“Bring in the most advanced equipment!”

“Yes, sir!”

The most advanced equipment was still on its way when they received news from another location.

Another Night Owl agent had actually been captured.

Huh?

They had not caught a single one in decades, so how had they suddenly caught two recently?

Had the other side’s professional standards declined, or had they finally lost patience and begun exposing themselves?

Anything abnormal had a hidden cause. Surely the enemy had not come out just to feed them free kills.

Unfortunately, bad news arrived one piece after another.

Good things never came in pairs, but bad things certainly did.

First, near the end of March, news suddenly spread that the Emperor of the Empire had fallen ill. The revelation immediately shook many regions.

The Emperor was the symbol of the Empire and the one who held its power.

In such an extreme regime, the moment the Emperor’s health failed, the military’s morale would naturally become unstable, especially among the expeditionary armies currently at war.

The situation of the Ninth expeditionary army was still unknown, but everyone in the Second and Third expeditionary armies, which were confronting the Galactic Free Alliance, had become deeply worried.

The commanding generals of both the Second and Third expeditionary armies supported the Third Prince.

As far as Sea Blue Forest was concerned, Governor Fitch was delighted.

That damned current emperor, Ignatz Elimeria, had clung to life for more than five hundred years. At last, ravaged by a severe neurological illness, he was finally about to die!!!

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Oh-ho!

Fitch’s family were loyal supporters of the First Prince. Once the First Prince inherited the throne, the family would reap enormous benefits, and Fitch himself would finally be able to leave this wretched place.

To the civilians of Sea Blue Forest, even the extinction of the imperial family would have nothing to do with them. What mattered was something else.

After a Void Projection of the insect race was discovered on Frost Island, traces of the insect race began appearing in other places one after another.

Some had even hidden aboard spaceships and infiltrated Human territory. Although they had already been exterminated, what would happen if a Void Projection of the insect race appeared on an inhabited planet?

Everyone was gripped by panic.

This was not the sort of matter people could dismiss with a few words and then forget.

And did anyone think the insect race could not cross the sea of stars?

That would be wishful thinking. Although the lowest members of the insect race had no brains, the broodmothers possessed extraordinary intelligence.

…

An exceptionally dazzling orange beam suddenly shot out from the distant depths of space and slammed into one of the space fortress’s connecting struts in an instant.

The outer energy shield resembled a woven mesh. Under the impact of the high-powered gamma laser, it immediately rippled like the surface of water.

Viewed from afar, even a raging ocean tide would have been insufficient to describe the violence of the surging energy.

Then one orange beam after another struck different parts of the space fortress.

The deployed energy shield continued struggling desperately to resist.

“Beep, beep, beep, beep. Energy in Sector A27 is rapidly declining to 65%.”

“Beep, beep, beep, beep. Energy in Sector C19 is rapidly declining to 54%.”

Inside the central control room, similar alerts never stopped for even a moment. Everyone stationed there felt as though their heads were about to explode.

Red warning lights bathed the entire control room in an apocalyptic glow.

“What happened to the forces on the front line? We can’t contact them at all.”

“We didn’t have much energy left to begin with. At this rate, we won’t last much longer.”

They would not last much longer.

Everyone knew it.

They had known it ever since the previous defeat.

Rеad oո КαtReαⅾiոɡCαfе

Supplies from the rear had still not arrived, and most of their previous reserves had already been lost in the war. There was no way they could hold out for long.

Even if they possessed more advanced ship-mounted cannons and better-trained troops, without energy and without functioning cannons, everything was merely decoration.

This was the second defensive line.

The first defensive line had long since been engulfed by Night Owl’s artillery fire.

Now that the enemy’s attacks had extended to the second defensive line, did that mean the front had completely collapsed?

“Boom!”

It was a thunderous explosion without sound.

Through the transparent wall, they saw a breach suddenly blasted through the energy shield of the orbital ring at the edge of the planet. Immediately afterward, a high-energy plasma sphere tore the orbital ring into two sections.

Countless fragments scattered from the orbit and turned to dust.

Even floating debris merely grazed by the high-energy plasma sphere was instantly reduced to powder.

One breach opened, followed by many more.

The orbital ring that stretched around nearly half the planet collapsed.

For the people stationed upon it, the end of the world had arrived. The planet it encircled was also left riddled with wounds beneath the continuous bombardment.

To those inside the space fortress, this was nothing less than a declaration of the apocalypse.

Warships continued rushing out, but in the end, none could escape the fate of becoming space debris.

The numerical disparity could no longer be overcome through superior quality.

Even if they possessed weapons capable of piercing a planet, they could not hit enemy ships that were not clustered together. Furthermore, such weapons required long charging times and enormous amounts of energy.

“Beep, beep, beep, beep. The energy shield in Sector B31 has been destroyed!”

“Beep, beep, beep, beep…”

Crash!

At last, after the long wait, the space fortress began to collapse.

High-energy plasma spheres, gamma rays, armor-piercing shells fired from rending cannons…

The succession of attacks made the hastily constructed fortress begin to shake, begin to weep, and begin to wail in despair.

Rеad oո KаtRеаⅾіոɡCаfe

It was the most dazzling and colorful display of fireworks.

A long-range bombardment across planets.

It was like a merciless supernova explosion. Although it marked the end of a star’s life, it could also become the most brilliant story in the universe.

“Boom!”

This time, even the people inside the fortress could hear the sound clearly.

If they did not leave now, everything would be over.

“All personnel, withdraw to the Star Gate.”

At last, the order from their superiors arrived.

A full retreat.

They were to retreat while the front line still retained a little power to resist.

Major General Vesa of the Ninth expeditionary army boarded an evacuation vessel. The price of retreat was devastating.

The situation they faced was far more severe than they had previously imagined.

Those on the front line would not be coming back. As the retreating forces were about to reach the Star Gate, every fortress and space structure in the second and third defensive lines behind them was detonated.

There were many reasons for this defeat.

Perhaps they had grown arrogant. Perhaps there had been tactical problems. Perhaps the enemy had studied them too thoroughly. But the group commanding them from the rear was unquestionably guilty as well.

Yet the first group forced to bear this suffering would ultimately be the Ninth expeditionary army itself.

Flames burned in Vesa’s eyes.

Finally, one ship left behind destroyed the Star Gate.

The immense energy radiated far into the distance. Every planet swept by it became barren, while the small celestial bodies nearby vanished from the world entirely.

…

“Ding!”

“Bzzzz…”

“Ding!”

“Bzzzz…”

Rеаⅾ οn КаtRеаⅾiոɡСafе

What the hell?

In the dim room, a figure lay curled into a ball on the bed. The blanket was strewn about haphazardly, and long hair lay scattered in disarray, making the figure look utterly unkempt.

Apart from that spot, however, the rest of the room remained neat and tidy.

A cleaning robot stood in the corner, resting quietly.

“Bzzzz…”

What the hell was that?

Li Zhuying turned over with difficulty. She looked haggard, having remained in this dispirited state for about a week.

She could no longer remember exactly how many days it had been.

It was the bracelet on her wrist vibrating.

The thing had come free with the game helmet. She had even forgotten to take it off.

Annoyed, Li Zhuying reached to remove the bracelet. She had already lost all interest in this lousy game.

Previously, she had contacted the administrator of the official account, only to be told that nothing could be disclosed. After that, Anran had never appeared again.

Anran was gone.

What meaning did the game have without her?

“You have received a private message. View it?”

Li Zhuying pushed herself upright, pressing one hand against her aching head. A notification from the bracelet? A private message from inside the game?

What use was that? Could it bring Anran back?

Take it… take it off…

But her wavering hand accidentally tapped the floating “Yes” button.

A message from Zhou Jieyu appeared.

Her vision was still blurry.

What the hell did it say again…

Huh?!