Streaks of light flashed across the dark and deep universe, and the wrinkles left behind by the retreating Arcane Church fleet awakened one Imperial space monitoring buoy after another along the way, making no attempt to conceal their route.
On the bridge of the Radiant Sun Class flagship, five Beyond Grade A warriors, including Sagman and Sisko, gathered together, looking solemnly at fleet commander Logo, Logo gaze never left the star map.
"Lighthouse Star is located on the edge of the Dawn Star Cluster, bordering the Desolate Universe Belt. If we maintain full speed and evacuate, we'll be able to escape this restricted area soon," Logo said in a deep voice.
The propagation of energy and light takes time. The spatial scale of the universe is vast, and many long-range detection methods have a certain delay. Detection buoys that use quantum communication to transmit real-time information are a commonly used warning method. However, the universe is too large, and the Empire cannot deploy monitoring buoys in every inch of space. The warning zone is generally extended outward from the stronghold planet, and the density of monitoring buoys becomes sparser as the distance increases.
The Arcane Church had already fled to the outer perimeter of Lighthouse Star's warning zone and was venturing deeper into the Desolate Universe Belt. At this point, every second counted; clearing the space buoys was pointless, as they would still allow them to be located. Logo didn't mind being monitored by the Empire within the warning zone; after all, he wasn't really foolish enough to head straight for the secret stargate.
The plan was to enter Stealth mode in a sparsely populated area of Desolate Universe Belt, thus escaping the Empire's direct surveillance. Then, the forces would split into dozens or hundreds of groups and make their way to the secret stargate.
As a result, a significant portion of the squadrons were essentially sacrificial pawns. By the time their fleet set off, the location of the secret stargate had already shifted, rendering the original coordinates obsolete. However, the star map was not updated with this information, which was known only to Logo, the Beyond Grade A, and a group of trusted confidants. This was done to prevent the squadrons from revealing the location of the secret stargate if they were captured by the Empire.
Of course, these squads were not completely abandoned; they were merely a smokescreen. Once the core forces, such as Logo and Beyond Grade A units, escaped from the Shining Galaxy, the true location of these squads would be revealed. By then, even if the secret stargate was exposed, the impact would be much smaller. The stargate could be destroyed at any time to mitigate the damage, or at worst, these forces could be sent back across the Desolate Universe Belt. Their time was not valuable.
"Let's hurry. Every minute we stay in the Shattered World increases our risks," Sagman said in a deep voice.
"If all you can say is this kind of obvious nonsense, then don't bother. Thanks to you, the risks we're facing now are completely meaningless!" Logo said bluntly, his tone laced with barely concealed anger.
He had just reported the results to the bishops and was scolded. Thinking about his bleak future, he was still angry and didn't want to give these Beyond Grade A who caused the operation to fail any pleasantries.
Having been unfairly targeted, Sagman's face tightened. After thinking for a moment, he decided not to react. The turning point had come from the battlefield of the Beyond Grade A, where they were indeed in the wrong.
The other four turned a deaf ear; they were all in the same boat now, fleeing in disarray on the Empire's territory, and no one cared about Logo's disrespect.
Sisko, standing at the very edge, had the worst expression. The thought of his friend Dilun falling into the hands of the Empire made him extremely upset, and he couldn't be bothered to talk to anyone else.
Seeing that everyone remained silent, Logo snorted and muttered, "The Empire is definitely deploying troops to block our escape route right now, but there's no need to worry too much. This is just a feint, a diversionary tactic. Most of the Empire's available fleets in the vicinity have gone to support Lighthouse Star, and it will take time for them to send fleets from more distant outposts. So even if we encounter an interception, we can easily annihilate them... The only thing to worry about is the Imperial Beyond Grade A pursuers. Judging from the current situation, Tarrokov will wait for reinforcements to act together. It's a pity, I originally thought I had a chance to lure them into a counterattack..."
While Logo was analyzing the situation, Sagman and the others were also discussing things privately through telepathic communication.
"Given the size of the fleet, even if we split up, we'll still be easily spotted. Perhaps we should break away from the fleet and travel in smaller ships; that would be much more discreet," Taylor said.
"We can consider it, let's talk about it after the main force separates."
When escaping Stealth, the survivability and concealment of Beyond Grade A individual acting alone are far superior to those acting with a fleet. As individuals wielding immense power, they are not afraid of the harsh environment of space, and their targets are extremely small. They can simply hide on a desolate planet and no one will be able to find them.
Especially Ninja and Taylor, who had mastered the secret techniques, could teleport unpredictably without any enemies to restrain them.
Logo was worried about being pursued by the Empire's Beyond Grade A forces, so he wanted to bring Sagman and the others with him. Little did he know that Sagman and the others were also considering using the main force as bait to attract the Empire's attention.
In another direction, the Fallen Ark's fleet was also retreating at full speed.
Due to the split at the last minute, the Sorokin's fleet lost contact with the Arcane Church, had no intelligence channels, and was completely unaware of the other side's movements. Faced with disaster, they all fled for their own lives.
However, they had an advantage: they stormed in from the outer perimeter of the warning zone, deliberately destroying many space monitoring buoys along the way, creating a scattered blind spot that facilitated their escape.
In the main ship's command center, Harkison looked away from the star map and glanced at the Sorokin avatar beside him.
The Sorokin's main body has found a secret chamber to evolve, and it is unknown how long it will take. Before it began evolving, it specially created some clones to protect itself and to monitor the fleet's movements.
The Sorokin was always wary of everyone, not even his trusted assistant Harkison, who had been with him for hundreds of years. When his true form was at its most vulnerable, he truly trusted only himself.
"You still don't believe me..."
Harkison's barbed tongue, like a thorny serpent, licked the bright red metal mask covering the upper half of his face, scraping it with a harsh, teeth-grinding sound. He hissed through his nostrils, a sound that resembled a cold laugh.
Before the Sorokin's avatar, Harkison raised his four arms, which resembled withered old branches. Wisps of purple mist seeped from his deep purple skin, condensing into a ball of mist in mid-air, bound by some kind of power, like a bead.
Then, he found a subordinate, handed him the bead, and casually instructed, "Empty a regular warship, remove its energy core, intelligent system, and other components, leaving only an empty hull. Put this bead into the ship, then abandon it and let it drift along our path, so that the Imperial forces pursuing us will find it."
The Sorokin's avatar turned to look at him and coldly asked, "What do you want to do?"
"Heh heh..." Harkison's laughter was sinister. "I'm preparing to contact the Empire..."
Bang!
No sooner had he finished speaking than the Sorokin's clone suddenly grabbed his neck, lifted him up, and slammed him against the wall.
"You want to betray me?"
With his neck being gripped tightly, Harkison showed no fear whatsoever, instead laughing louder and louder. "Hahaha, I'm prepared to cooperate with the Empire. If they can provide us with intelligence on the Arcane Church Arcane Church, we can detach some troops to intercept them—after all, those subordinates are just cannon fodder. We are the closest force to the Arcane Church; with our help, the Empire can more effectively hold Arcane Church."
"There's no need to do that," the Sorokin's avatar said calmly.
"No, it's absolutely necessary. Compared to the Arcane Church, the Empire definitely wants to deal with the latter. They have several Beyond Grade A, which are much more valuable. If we can capture them, the Arcane Church will lose nearly half of its Beyond Grade A combat power. The Empire won't let go of such an opportunity to strike at the enemy. When the Empire focuses its attention on the Arcane Church, Sorokin Excellency, the pressure on you will be less, hehehe."
Harkison's tone was mocking and playful as he continued, "This time, our desertion has earned us the wrath of the Arcane Church. Returning to the Central Galaxy will mean facing a double blow from the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church. Doing this will not only lessen the Empire's anger towards us but also weaken the Arcane Church, reducing the number of Beyond Grade A enemies you'll face in the future. Moreover, if the Arcane Church suffers such a huge loss, they may be too preoccupied to deal with us in the short term."
The Sorokin's avatar remained noncommittal, "How do I know you're not going to betray my position?"
"Heh, if Your Sorokin is worried, you can leave an Sorokin of yourself on that empty spaceship to monitor my communication with the Empire. If you feel I've betrayed your position... heh, I'm right here, you can kill me anytime."
The Sorokin's avatar remained silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "You don't need to handle this matter. I'll send one avatar to stay behind and negotiate with the Empire; you don't need to get involved."
He felt that although Harkison's actions were abrupt and strange, they did make some sense. If he could negotiate with the Empire, it would be beneficial to him. After all, it was just an avatar, and it wouldn't matter if it was destroyed.
"Hehe, that works too."
The hand that had been gripping his neck loosened, and Harkison landed, rubbing his neck. He called over his subordinates, who dispersed the mist sphere they had just created, absorbed it back into their bodies, and continued observing the star map as if nothing had happened.
A metallic mask, its color like fresh blood, was branded onto the upper half of his face. No one could see Harkison's eyes hidden beneath the mask, nor did anyone know what he was thinking... In fact, no one knew how he could see with his eyes covered.
The fierce battle on Lighthouse Star has ended, but the events are far from over. Under Tarrokov's orders, the Empire's fleet across the Shattered World has begun pursuit of the Arcane Church and the Fallen Ark.
Meanwhile, the Legion players who were browsing the forum and reading Meat Bun's post about the battlefield situation were still filled with surprise, shock, and curiosity when new missions popped up on everyone's screen at the same time.
Prior to this, the Black Star Army players only knew that the Imperial outpost, Lighthouse Star, had been attacked, involving about ten Beyond Grade A players in a chaotic battle, with Legion Commander Black Star being one of them. As for the identities of the attackers and the cause and effect of the incident, they knew nothing and were completely clueless.
This task perfectly explains everything, and at the same time, it brought even greater shock to many players.
[Crimson Dynasty's Recruitment Order - Full-Scale Pursuit]
[Mission Brief: Coveting Black Star's Evolution Cube and seeking to incite conflict, the Arcane Church, in alliance with the Fallen Ark, launched a surprise attack on the Empire's outpost in the Shattered World. The enemy possessed seven Beyond Grade A combatants. However, with the help of the Empire's allies Black Star, Milizaus, Beoni, and Austin, an outsider brought in by Black Star, we successfully repelled the attacking fleet! Currently, these two fleets are fleeing within the Shattered World. Therefore, all forces are mobilized to Pursuit the invading enemy and uphold the Empire's dignity—Commander-in-Chief of the Crimson Dynasty Exploration Army Tarrokov]
[Mission Requirements: Track the fleet of the Arcane Church and the Fallen Ark that attacked Lighthouse Star, and find out as much of their whereabouts and eliminate as many of their personnel as possible.]
[Upon completion of the task, you will receive varying levels of reward based on your performance evaluation.]
Upon learning the whole story, the Shattered Star Ring section of the forum instantly erupted in chaos.
"The Arcane Church is attacking the Crimson Dynasty? Are cosmic-level civilizations about to go to war?!"
"No wonder there was such a huge battle between eleven Beyond Grade A, so that's what happened. Is the Legion Commander alright? Is he still alive?"
"Their target is the Legion Commander's Evolution Cube, so was this incident actually caused by the Legion Commander?"
"Holy crap, they were targeted by a cosmic-level civilization and still managed to drive them away, that's impressive!"
"Our Black Star Army is an ally of the Crimson Dynasty. Does that mean the Legion is also hostile to the Arcane Church?"
"I have a feeling something big is about to happen!"
Meat Bun got the inside scoop this time, and countless players flooded his post with replies, building up the thread at a rate of dozens of comments per second, making him as excited as a monkey...
Following Black Star was definitely the right decision; they unexpectedly produced a huge, explosive news story!
After the initial shock, many players became excited. Having gone through three versions, they had figured out the patterns. The events in Galaxy were interconnected and influenced each other, forming an orderly system. Based on intelligence and news from various regions, some possible future events could actually be predicted using logic.
This incident involves Three Universal Civilizations, so it's no small matter. If the two sides were to clash, it would definitely not be a minor incident.
Many people have speculated... perhaps this attack is a harbinger of a future main storyline?
Could this even be the main storyline of the next version?
It's not impossible.
As this theory spread on the forum, some people offered a different suggestion, believing that it might not necessarily be part of the main storyline, but could be an event that occurs during a version update and will appear as background information in the next version. This theory also gained some acceptance.
Because of Han Xiao's consistent actions, Huaxia players in the Shattered Star Ring have developed a habit of speculating on the plot of major updates. Veteran Russian and Australian players from the Constellation Corridor have also joined in the speculation, immersing themselves in the excited atmosphere of the forum.
Various speculations arose, and Black Star Army players didn't just engage in verbal battles on the forums; they all turned to participate in the pursuit.
Although many people are too far away to make a significant contribution, Legion players are used to participating in large-scale faction missions as a group. Moreover, this mission has no failure conditions, so even a symbolic attempt to participate will likely earn them the minimum reward.
The Shattered World is still under information blockade and is not fully connected to the Explored Universe. Apart from the parties involved, no other forces in the outside world are currently aware of the turmoil that has occurred in the Shattered World.
However, the player community was the first outsider to learn of these secrets. Legion players discussed them enthusiastically in the Shattered Star Ring section, and players from other sections also called their friends and flocked to the Shattered Star Ring section to watch and watch the drama unfold.
This time, the forum demonstrated its unique intelligence advantage. While the outside world was still completely unaware of the matter, the player community was already almost universally aware of the Lighthouse Star incident!
The influence of the Three Universal Civilizations is widespread throughout the Explored Universe. Their influence is far-reaching, and any move they make has far-reaching consequences. Players from all star systems have felt the tension of an impending storm from this event, and are secretly looking forward to the huge upheaval that will occur once the news spreads to the outside world!
Meanwhile, Tarrokov's main force set off from Lighthouse Star to pursue the Arcane Church. Han Xiao, Milizaus, Beoni, Heber, and Ravenlaude, five Beyond Grade A, joined forces and traveled together, a rare occurrence.
Not long after they set off, the high-ranking official in charge of the Empire's logistics contacted Han Xiao at Urranrell's request, giving him considerable face and personally inquiring about what Ultimate Knowledge he wanted in exchange.