Returning Like Lightning

At bases throughout the Broken Isles, sirens wailed, and people scrambled onto trucks, which sped off towards the airport with drivers flooring the accelerator.

Miners, scavengers clearing rubble and digging for valuables, military guards, and even captured Azure Fleet crew members—everyone was shoved into vehicles by the blaring alarm. The vehicles jolted and shook, and everyone looked utterly bewildered, unaware of what was happening.

The only thing they knew was that the usually lovely and gentle Miss A Fu announced in an unprecedentedly sharp tone that the Broken Sea had been raised to the highest alert level.

She conveyed His Highness Kang De's orders.

He ordered all people in the Broken Isles to immediately proceed to the airport and evacuate.

Everyone obeyed without hesitation.

"What exactly happened?"

A scholar voiced what everyone was thinking, but no one could answer the question.

A series of loud bangs echoed through the sky. Everyone looked up and saw three aircraft hurtling past, their belly-mounted weapons gleaming menacingly. Someone who recognized them shouted, "Armed helicopters!"

Look over there!

Everyone looked in the direction the speaker was pointing, and dazzling portals of light were flashing across the island. The scholar shouted, "Phase Gate —His Highness Kang De is deploying war platforms via warp!"

He paused, a look of shock on his face. "Another war? With the Azure Fleet?"

"Make a long story short, what happened?!"

When Malegith found Kang De, the Fire Thief were deploying weapons to various firing positions across the island. Hearing this, she said without turning her head, "Something's happened! The God of the Star Palace and Yilan-Tai'er seem to be in cahoots!"

The previous Phoenix King's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in surprise, "How is this possible!"

After discovering the Star Palace's whereabouts, the worst-case scenario that Kang De and Malegith envisioned was that the God of the Star Palace would wipe out all the descendants of Yilan-Tai'er. There was nothing to say about that; there were several peerless experts on the Distant Harbor side, and they could just have a righteous three-on-one fight to take him down.

How could such a thing happen?

The Parrot, unable to hide its shock, asked, "Are you sure you're not mistaken? How did you know?"

Kang De raised his hand in a gesture, and spatial beacons activated everywhere, with heavy firepower falling from the White Mist World. He casually replied, "The God of the Star Palace is hanging out with a bunch of Yilan-Tai'er, and everyone's soul fire looks incredibly vibrant. For a long time, not a single one of them has died—they're all hanging out together, not fighting each other. If this isn't a case of them pissing themselves in the same pot, then what is it?"

Malegith frowned and said, "Did the Star Palace use force to coerce them into obeying?"

Kang De shook his head. "It doesn't look like it."

Upon hearing this, the Parrot whispered, "Unbelievable."

After its fall from grace Yilan-Tai'er's Civilization, nation, and people were wiped out by the Star Palace, leaving only the last survivors who eke out a living in Shelter, waiting for the future. In reality, they are not much different from the magical creatures.

Malegith projected her own experience onto others. Kang De, having spent a long time with the magical creatures, and as former and present rebels, could not possibly have imagined the current situation—after despairing destruction and a long wait, the last descendants carrying the last hope of Civilization were bowing down to the cruel Destroyer.

The Parrot was still reeling from the shocking news. "Something must have gone wrong."

"We'll know the answer soon," Kang De said calmly.

Hearing the murderous intent in her words, Malegith, "... What are you going to do?"

The Fire Thief replied, "Although there have been unexpected changes, things are still under control... Let's proceed according to the plan."

Previously, from the unusual behavior of the Council, he guessed that there was more to the Yilan-Tai'er Ruins than met the eye. However, the Council seemed to have an intelligence source he was unaware of. Therefore, after careful consideration, Kang De sold three tons of the ruins' materials to the Mage Kingdom and happily made a hefty profit.

After all, only the Council knows the method to unseal the ruins. If the materials for the ruins are not provided, the Council's plan will certainly fail, and the secret of Yilan-Tai'er will never see the light of day again.

So Kang De took the opportunity to extort money from them and devised a plan to intercept them—that is, to rob them after the Council lifted the seal, making those mages lose both their money and their lives.

If you can't snatch it, you can keep a calm mindset—after all, you've already taken a huge cut, and the Council received gifts and benefits from Yilan-Tai'er, as well as increased national strength, which will be beneficial for fighting against the Star Palace together in the future. Thinking about it this way, everyone has a bright future, so you won't be too disappointed if you can't steal it.

Today, the hijacking plan is about to begin. Kang De arrives at the Broken Isles and begins to plan the next robbery mission. As a pessimist, he naturally imagines all sorts of worst-case scenarios.

For example, the ruins of Yilan-Tai'er have been taken over by sea monsters, which have come out and wreaked havoc everywhere.

For example, the Yilan-Tai'er Ruins imprisoned a group of warmongers who went on rampages after they were released.

For example, Yilan-Tai'er quickly reached a consensus with the Council and then went around causing trouble.

Kang De boldly envisioned all sorts of bad scenarios, and then carefully planned for them, whether it was negotiation, intimidation, deterrence, or attack and annihilation, he had his own contingency plans for each.

But human wisdom has its limits. Even with Kang De's pessimism and caution, he could not have imagined that not long after the Starry Firmament Bridge shattered and the Nuclear Light Lance shook the starry sky, the God of the Star Palace would still have the audacity to descend and cause trouble.

--Because according to the Parrot, since the Starry Firmament Bridge is broken, the God of the Star Palace will find it difficult to return to the heavens. Moreover, the Nuclear Light Lance is too terrifying, so those cowardly guys will probably hide and try to repair the Starry Firmament Bridge, then summon their companions back to the Star Palace, and only after gathering their forces will they dare to descend again.

Not only did the God of the Star Palace dare to descend, but he also bypassed the protective dome erected by the entire Yilan-Tai'er clan and directly entered the interior of the ruins. That's just outrageous.

The most outrageous thing is that the survivors, who carried the last hope of Civilization, actually knelt before the Destroyer.

After all, he was too young, and even as Akatum's chosen one, he still did not understand the power of time.

--But it's okay.

"Essentially, it's just a combination of two scenarios: 'the remnants of the Yilan-Tai'er were war profiteers who went around causing trouble' and 'among these war profiteers, there was actually an incredibly powerful and unparalleled fighter.'"

Kang De glanced at the silent Parrot, patted her on the shoulder, and comforted her, "It's just two problems combined, but they can still be solved separately."

He pointed to the churning sea in the distance. "I've already evacuated the people on the island back to the Distant Harbor. If the Yilan-Tai'er come out to cause trouble, the war platforms are already deployed. Horus and A Fu can just bomb them. If they can't beat them, I'll just use a Mass Projection to kill them. If that doesn't work, I'll use two. If that still doesn't work, I'll just go back to Earth and serve the elders in the sea, and borrow a few hydrogen bombs."

"The God of the Star Palace is yours to handle. I brought you here to deal with things like this. You, A Xing, and Dong Xiansen, three against one, it'll be a breeze—see, isn't that all arranged perfectly?"

Seeing that the Parrot was still lost in thought, he reached out and pinched her smooth, white cheek. "What are you thinking about?"

Malegith sighed wistfully and said subconsciously, "No, I was just thinking about some things from the past."

She took two steps forward, gazing at the rolling waves. "Yilan-Tai'er... this once glorious and mysterious ancient Civilization that we yearned for so much, is it destined to perish completely today?"

Even the Phoenix King, who once stood at the pinnacle of the continent and reigned supreme over the world, could not easily let go of this—it was the last hope of a civilization, the only remaining descendant of a Civilization. The roar of cannons and the falling of Forbidden Spell erased not only a Civilization, but also the last story of a race.

"There's nothing we can do about it."

Kang De gazed at a passenger plane roaring off and heading east, "On this plane are seventeen natives of the Broken Isles, leading a search party of over a hundred people to excavate and clear the ruins, searching for valuables, as well as forty-seven miners and twenty-five soldiers."

"They are not very familiar with me, and none of them are from Valentan, but they answered my call, called me Your Highness, and came here to work for me, bringing me benefits and value. They are my subjects, and they also have their own families and children; they are all my subjects."

"Objectively speaking, people like them are everywhere, like weeds that keep growing back after being cut down. They are far less precious than the remnants of the Yilan-Tai'er. If I don't withdraw them today and don't deal a fatal blow to the extremely hostile Yilan-Tai'er, then Yilan-Tai'er might kill them, or escape and kill many people like them..."

"I'm not familiar with them, but I don't want to see them die because they trusted me, nor do I want to see their wives and children cry. I'm not familiar with them, but I'm definitely more familiar with them than with Yilan-Tai'er... I don't know how to do math, but I have one lesson I remember very well—when it's time to act, you must never be soft-hearted."

The Parrot remained silent, then sighed softly, "We don't even know what happened to Yilan-Tai'er."

"That's not important; what matters is what they did."

Kang De replied, "As long as they show hostility and launch an attack, we must respond with the most thorough counterattack and not give them any chance to escape."

In fact, the premise of "showing hostility and launching an attack" is somewhat redundant.

What else is there to say about hanging out with the Star Palace?

"I just think it's such a shame," Malegith whispered.

Just as Kang De was about to speak, A Fu's voice came through the communicator.

"Father, the Azure Fleet refuses to leave!"

Kang De frowned. "That fool who doesn't know his own limits... What did Nixiyasi say?"

A Fu's tone was blank. "She smashed the communicator!"

"What the hell?" Kang De snapped. "Where's Dong Tianming? Send him to check..."

"Your old minister is here!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Dong Xiansen returned from afar on a cloud, "Your Highness summoned me back, what has happened?"

Kang De stared at him, then suddenly slapped his forehead.

Damn it.

The God of the Star Palace and Yilan-Tai'er have fallen in love, and they can't care about the special envoy Osko anymore. Kang De urgently summons Dong Tianming back to prepare for the upcoming battle, but unexpectedly, the Azure Fleet...

A Fu asked timidly, "Father, what about Sister Nixiyasi?"

Just as Kang De was about to speak, Horus urged, "Father, they're coming out soon!"

"... Fuck you!"

Numerous troubles arose, and the Fire Thief cursed, "I'm not her father! She brought this upon herself, what does it have to do with me? -- A Fu, give me one last warning: everyone prepare for war!"

In the corridor of the Azure Fleet, with its flagship surrounded by stars, Nixiyasi's tone was as cold as ice.

"I smashed the communicator! Let my father go!"

Envoy Osko, holding a short wand against Anthony Syracuse's neck, leaned against the wall, his face contorted with hysteria. "What, you want to kill me? Are you sure? Are you sure?!"

Anthony cried out in a panic, "Nixiyasi! Help me!"

The admiral gripped her wand. "... What do you want?"

Osko said coldly, "It's simple. I want you to take command of the fleet, issue orders, deploy into formation, and proceed to my designated positions to prepare for rescue and assist any creatures emerging from the water!"

"This condition seems absurd," Nixiyasi frowned and asked, "Who is that?"

The envoy roared, "How the hell should I know! Are you going to do it or not?!"

As he spoke, he tightened his grip, causing his wand to glow intensely. "If you don't do it, your father will die!"

The admiral frowned and said, "You've already taken control of the fleet, why should I give the orders?"

"Stop talking nonsense! If you don't do it, I'll kill your father right now!" Osko roared. "Stop asking so many questions! What are you hesitating for?"

Nixiyasi recalled her conversation with A Fu earlier. Kang De had said there was danger underwater, and Osko had asked her to lead the fleet to rescue people... What was going on?

She said coldly, "I need to know the details, otherwise..."

"No details! Just damn promotions and riches! You've seen the Council's promises! Complete the mission, and everyone will have a bright future! What are you hesitating about? Your men can't wait! Do you know what they're saying about you?"

Osko roared, "They say you're a whore who flirts with Kang De! You hooked up with Kang De and never have to worry about anything again, then you give those of us who struggle to climb the ranks and seize every opportunity a hard time, talking about fleet honor and soldier's glory. It's easy for you to talk when you're not the one suffering. When you were slutting around in bed with Kang De, were you still holding onto fleet honor and soldier's glory?!"

The admiral's daughter was so angry that she trembled all over.

Osko poked Anthony in the neck with his wand. "Speak!"

Anthony shouted, "Nixiyasi! Just this once! Listen to me! You carry out the Council's orders, and after that, I'll never care about you again! You can do whatever you want!"

The special envoy shouted hoarsely, "I'll count to three!"

Her father's roar filled her ears, "Nixiyasi!"

"Immediately!"

"Good daughter!"

"What are you still hesitating for!"

Think of your mother!

The admiral closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her eyes were filled with coldness.

Yes, what are you still hesitating about?

My father only knows how to use me, the Council my loyalty as leverage, my subordinates no longer respect me, everything in my life has lost its meaning, and then there's Kang De... I've lost all dignity and face in front of the Cathayan, how can I stand before him again?

Where else can we go?

Nixiyasi let out a breath and said slowly, "Okay, I'll go."

Grabbing Anthony, Osko took two steps back. "Fine, fine, I'll take your father to the teleportation pod. No matter what happens, he'll survive, I promise you."

Nixiyasi ignored this, looking at her disheveled father in silence.

After a moment, she said softly, "That's fine, everything's alright."

Then she turned and walked towards the other exit.

"Phew." Osko let out a breath, pulling Anthony back. "Alright, let's go."

He wanted to live.

Because Kang De had threatened him with death.

Just like Congressman Aokexindun said...

"Do you think Kang De would go back on his word after making such a public statement? Do you think, given Kang De's cruelty and ruthlessness, he would let you off the hook? Besides, you've greatly offended Nixiyasi."

That's absolutely true.

But Congressman Aokexindun gave him a way out.

"Do as I say... I'll arrange for you to have a new face, a new name, and a better life, completely escaping Kang De's pursuit. Go, earn your own way to survive."

Thinking this, Osko grabbed Anthony and pulled him back. "Let's go see the congressman."

Anthony staggered backward, watching his daughter's retreating figure, and fell silent.

In the luxurious cabin, the senator, having received the news, smiled with satisfaction, picked up a wine glass from the table, took a sip, put it down, and stood up. "Go wait by the teleportation array."

Kang De's warning to the Starry Sky Council also reached him, and he shared the same view as the councilors. Councilor Aokexindun was somewhat unsure—he didn't know if Kang De was bluffing and preparing to hijack the plan, or if there was a real danger hidden in the ruins.

If Kang De was merely bluffing, then if the warnings were heeded and the fleet was ordered to retreat, the remnants of Yilan-Tai'er would fall into Kang De's hands, something the Council could not accept.

But if it's true, then the Azure Fleet will suffer enormous losses...

Aokexindun has the best solution to this dilemma.

Ignoring Kang De's advice, he still ordered the fleet to stand by and prepare for rescue.

If Kang De is bluffing, then the Azure Fleet will rescue Yilan-Tai'er, the operation will be successful, and Senator Aokexindun will be credited with the leadership. According to the rules of the Starry Sky Council, he will get the biggest slice of the pie.

If this is true, Azure Fleet suffered heavy losses after being attacked...

The Shadow the corridor concealed the senator's sneer.

--That's because the traitor Nixiyasi Syracuse colluded with Kang De, causing the Azure Fleet to be in deep danger and suffer heavy losses. Senator Aokexindun is far away in Distant Harbor and has nothing to do with any of this.

Let's wait and see.

Let's wait and see.

The Eternal Tower rises from the ground, growing ever higher, its spire piercing through the dome of the Shelter and penetrating into the deep sea, where ancient underwater ruins stand atop the tower.

From inside the Jiaolong Kang De gazed into the distance and asked, "Are all the mines in place?"

"They're in place, almost there," Horus replied. "I guarantee they'll be blown up the moment they come out."

"Okay, then when they crawl out, I'll say blow it up, and you... fuck!"

In an instant, violent shockwaves surged from the deep sea, the tower spewed forth raging waves, even scattering and collapsing the city ruins. Pre-placed mines were tossed about in all directions, and the Jiaolong was blown sideways. Kang De could barely make out the scene outside the spherical cabin—

Dazzling golden rays shot out from the top of the tower, carrying streaks of water, and soared upwards at an incredible speed. The city ruins cracked open, and towers gradually emerged. More and more golden rays shot into the sky, like a group of Templars leaping in unison. In the silent, dark depths of the sea, a lost Civilization returned like lightning.

"Damn, we can't play dirty tricks anymore—get ready to fight!"