The empire had, in reality, already declined.
Others might not be aware of this fact, but for Wang Mu—one of the four great military families of the Empire and the highest-ranking commander of the Heaven King Fleet—it was painfully clear.
Wang Mu was already middle-aged. Years of relentless expeditions had left him chronically exhausted, resulting in sagging skin and hair loss, which had become the hallmark appearance of an imperial fleet commander.
Yet no matter how hard Wang Mu fought to suppress rebellions across the empire, he could not change the undeniable reality of the Galactic Empire’s decline.
The empire had existed for far too long, its territory sprawling and immense. Over its long history of rule, countless interstellar conflicts had continuously erupted. Although the empire had relied on its superior technological prowess to maintain control, the truth was undeniable: with the rise of emerging powers, the technological gap across the stars had nearly disappeared. The imperial military was stretched thin, struggling to contain the ever-growing flames of rebellion. In the farthest colonial star systems, imperial forces had even suffered defeats. Though these minor losses had not yet caused panic, they were undoubtedly ominous signs.
Since the new emperor’s ascension, due to economic strains and tensions among the nobility, the emperor had become overly reliant on the Senate and the Ten Sword Schools. As a result, sword organizations had become far more influential than the imperial fleet.
Recently, however, the Senate had ordered its controlled Ten Sword Schools to seize several strategic star systems, clearly signaling its determination to rival the emperor.
The Wang family had been assigned the task of seizing control over the Laymon System. Unfortunately, their rising star, Wang Tao, had suffered an unprecedented defeat—he had been killed by an unknown figure named Yang Hao.
Had this merely been a battlefield loss, the Wang family would not have been furious enough to reach the point of desperation. They could have simply dispatched new reinforcements to complete the mission, and as long as the final outcome was favorable, they could have justified the results to the Senate.
What truly terrified the elders of the Wang family, however, was that Yang Hao had taken possession of their ancestral sword—a shocking blow. If the Senate were to learn of this, the Wang family would likely face complete annihilation, as the Senate might well eradicate them entirely.
Therefore, the Wang family had no choice but to deploy its greatest asset and most reliable force within the Empire—the Heaven King Fleet.
The primary objective for the Heaven King Fleet in pursuing Yang Hao was to recover the Wang family’s ancestral sword. This goal was far more important than killing Yang Hao himself. Hence, the Wang family had not reported Wang Tao’s defeat to the Empire, allowing Yang Hao to temporarily escape imperial pursuit.
Yang Hao’s *Doomsday* battleship had indeed given the Heaven King Fleet a great deal of trouble. Although both were battleships, the Heaven King Fleet had more vessels, making it naturally slower and less maneuverable. As a result, the *Doomsday*’s repeated jumps had continuously prevented Wang Mu from finding the perfect opportunity for annihilation.
But now, the opportunity had finally arrived.
The Heaven King Fleet had come to a complete halt, arranging its entire formation into a unique battle array. Every high-energy particle cannon, nuclear cannon, and high-intensity laser was aimed at a dark, gaping exit.
A single coordinated barrage from this formation would be enough to completely obliterate a planet the size of Saint Bear, killing hundreds of millions of people. Yet Wang Mu still felt it wasn’t enough—he had even arranged the fleet into the King’s Formation.
The King’s Formation!
This was the Wang family’s legendary battle formation. In ancient times, the Wang family had established its place among the Ten Sword Schools precisely by mastering this technique. The King’s Formation could unite all swordsmen, allowing them to unleash a power ten times greater than their individual strengths combined.
Back in the Laymon System, Wang Tao had nearly turned the tide of battle with this formation.
Now, Wang Mu had deployed a fleet-adapted version of the King’s Formation. While the Wang family had previously demonstrated only swordsmen-based formations, Wang Mu’s innovation far surpassed that of his ancestors. He had treated each ship as a component of the King’s Formation, arranging hundreds and thousands of warships into a massive battle array.
Such a coordinated bombardment could unleash firepower tenfold stronger than usual.
The Heaven King Fleet had earned its place among the four great military families of the Empire for a reason. What Wang Mu was now employing was his ultimate trump card—an ultimate technique reserved only for the most critical moments.
Without needing military analysts to calculate, Wang Mu himself clearly understood that the upcoming barrage from the Heaven King Fleet would not only completely annihilate the *Doomsday* battleship emerging from the dark wormhole but also trigger a chain reaction that would destroy dozens of nearby wormholes. It would even slightly affect the gravitational fields of twenty nearby star systems, causing hundreds of small satellites to deviate from their orbits and shortening the lifespan of the entire star cluster by billions of years.
But it would all be worth it. As long as Yang Hao and the *Doomsday* were destroyed, Wang Mu could recover the Wang family’s ancestral sword from the battlefield. No matter how intense the explosion, the sword would remain unscathed. This sword was tied to the fate of the entire Wang family. For it, Wang Mu would willingly sacrifice the entire Heaven King Fleet.
Wang Mu gazed at the silent, pitch-black wormhole exit outside the viewport. This wormhole was far from the Saint Bear System and off the route Yang Hao and his crew had originally taken. Yet Wang Mu was absolutely certain—Yang Hao and the *Doomsday* would emerge from this wormhole exit within minutes.
Because he had just received a secret message—transmitted directly from the *Doomsday* itself. On that ship, Wang Mu’s mole had already taken full control, setting the navigation course accordingly.
In just a few minutes, everything would end, and everything would return to order.
And all the universe would have lost would be a single, obscure young man named Yang Hao.
Wang Mu sighed.
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