Yang Hao closed his eyes, contemplated for a moment, and then proposed an even more radical plan.
“Order all fleets to surround the Lotus Nebula Arm and launch indiscriminate long-range attacks on all defensive planets and Death Star fortresses.”
“What?” Long Yun exclaimed, unable to believe his ears.
If the previous idea was the worst possible plan, then Yang Hao’s suggestion clearly claimed the title of the worst.
Anyone with even a shred of military knowledge would never go this insane.
It’s common knowledge that whether heavy spacecraft or defensive structures, all possess energy shields to absorb attacks. Unless a concentrated barrage is used, the shields won’t be breached until their energy is completely depleted.
Previously, Long Yun and his forces had planned to focus their fleet’s energy into concentrated barrages specifically to pierce the shields of a few planets and destroy them.
However, Yang Hao’s plan was essentially abandoning the chance for concentrated barrages altogether, resorting to chaotic, random firing. What was being contested wasn’t the number of ships, but sheer energy reserves.
Everyone knew that the idiot general had accumulated an immeasurable amount of energy over the years, all stored within the arm of the nebula.
The entire Lotus Nebula Arm possessed an inexhaustible supply of energy.
But Long Yun’s fleet was different. The consequence of being far from their base was a severe energy shortage. Once the battle began, if it wasn’t resolved quickly, maintaining the energy shields for such a massive fleet would require an astronomical amount of energy, which would be quickly depleted.
At that point, the entire fleet would truly become isolated boats in space, unable even to flee.
Long Yun voiced the strongest opposition, but Yang Hao remained confident. Although this was his first battle as commander, Yang Hao was clear—he would only win, never lose.
When the battle began, even General Huage couldn’t understand what was happening. He couldn’t believe what he saw on the screen. The United Federation forces were like three-year-olds, firing randomly from a distance without any specific targets. This aimless combat style couldn’t possibly break through the nebula’s defenses.
Although the enemy’s attacks were scattered, their sheer numbers were overwhelming. Across the cosmos, countless particle beams and tiered weapons formed glowing attack lines like rainbows, illuminating the entire cosmic background like daylight.
In this high-density, chaotic barrage, Huage’s only choice was to activate the energy shields and order all defensive planets, including the inner Death Star fortresses, to retaliate.
Of course, the retaliation was equally chaotic and disorganized.
After more than ten hours of fighting, the situation became bizarrely comical.
Despite the dazzling fireworks and surging energy, neither side suffered any losses.
The so-called “Cosmic First Battle of Attack and Defense” was, so far, nothing more than a joke.
But that wouldn’t last long.
Amidst the chaos, Yang Hao had already quietly left the *Doomsday* battleship, floating in the shimmering expanse of space. Naturally, in the midst of such a massive, chaotic battle, no ship would notice him.
Because now, every part of the nebula’s defense was firing wildly, essentially shooting back at whoever attacked them, with no strategic planning or unified command.
This was exactly what Yang Hao wanted. Only in the greatest chaos could he accomplish something unimaginable.
Now, Yang Hao faced one of the most arrogant defensive planets in the Lotus Nebula Arm. Calling it a defensive planet was almost an insult to its grandeur, for its entire surface was densely packed with countless turrets.
It housed hundreds of thousands of interstellar missiles, half a million railgun turrets, and a million each of particle and laser cannons. In fact, apart from the weapons, there was practically nothing else on this planet. It was the strongest offensive force in the entire defensive chain. During the chaos, it alone accounted for the firepower of several defensive planets combined, a true offensive powerhouse.
But Yang Hao chose it precisely because of its strong offensive power. Strong attack usually meant weak defense—a timeless truth.
This was the very spot Yang Hao had targeted. Floating like a god in the air, his eyes ignored the raging battlefield around him, focusing solely on his objective—a planet spewing out relentless fire, completely unaware that death was about to descend upon it.
Ripples of energy surged around Yang Hao as he began to employ the secret technique passed down by the Dan Ding Sect—the method taught to him by Tian Xuanzi, capable of absorbing stellar energy.
This method was not easily executed. Otherwise, the Supreme One wouldn’t have needed to spend so much time supporting the Galactic Empire’s expansion and establishing the powerful Senate.
The secret art of drawing stellar power had a major flaw.
That was—the practitioner was extremely vulnerable at the beginning of the ritual. Even a Celestial like the Supreme One would be as fragile as paper while absorbing the energy of even a single planet, perhaps even vulnerable to being killed by a single missile.
The Supreme One would never take such a risk, which is why he only performed the energy absorption ritual on completely unthreatened planets.
That’s exactly why he went to great lengths to have the Galactic Empire conquer half the galaxy, clearing out entire regions before extracting energy without any risk.
But Yang Hao didn’t have that luxury now. He faced the largest war in history, with countless ships and turrets forming an impenetrable network of firepower.
Thus, Yang Hao could only use this method. He needed to use indiscriminate attacks to distract the enemy’s attention. Only when no one noticed his divine presence would be the best opportunity.
That moment was now.
Yang Hao wore the black uniform of a United Federation Marshal. His tall figure appeared even more magnificent amid the blazing battlefield. He coldly extended his hand, aiming at the planet below, which was spewing fire uncontrollably.
Suddenly, Yang Hao’s entire body trembled violently. His face turned pale, and his strength seemed to vanish.
But something even more terrifying happened—the planet below began to shake violently, completely reversing its rotation. Then, a stream of silvery, radiant energy rapidly flowed out from the planet and poured into Yang Hao’s palm.
The entire battle in the Lotus Nebula Arm gradually ceased. The intense exchange of fire between hundreds of thousands of ships and massive planets, once deafening and chaotic, slowly quieted down.
Because everyone witnessed an astonishing, unbelievable scene.
The once-mighty defensive planet, under Yang Hao’s influence, rapidly withered.
Whether viewed on screens or with the naked eye, the planet’s white atmosphere quickly dissipated. Its plants and limited animal life died instantly. All the energy from the countless turrets flowed into the stream of radiant energy, completely drained by Yang Hao.
Within minutes, the entire planet was utterly desiccated, becoming a lifeless, energy-devoid husk.
To the Galactic Empire’s soldiers, it was as if Yang Hao had simply waved his hand.
The Undying War God waved his hand, and an entire planet was destroyed—what kind of power was that?
General Huage had just lit a cigarette when he saw this mind-blowing scene. He sat there, stunned, fingers trembling, until the cigarette burned his fingertip, snapping him out of his trance.
It was too powerful—Yang Hao was too powerful. This was something no human could do. Only a god in the cosmos could wield such power.
General Huage had always been confident in his defenses. He knew his nebula defense belt was an unbreakable fortress. Even if the enemy managed to tear open the outer defenses at great cost, they still couldn’t completely eliminate the entire defensive empire.
But now, he began to doubt his confidence.
Because what he faced wasn’t merely an army—it was a god, a god’s wrath.
When Huage saw Yang Hao transform into a golden streak, passing through the now-dead defensive planet and entering the nebula’s interior through the breach, he finally jumped up, screaming hysterically: “Death Star! Quickly deploy the Death Stars to stop him! Kill him!!!”
Although panic spread through the Galactic Empire’s forces, Huage’s orders were still carried out without hesitation.
More than fifty Death Star fortresses were dispatched in a fan-shaped formation toward Yang Hao’s entry point.
Even though Yang Hao was fast, he couldn’t directly cross the entire nebula. He was flying through a massive barrier, and the immense friction at speeds exceeding light created flames trailing behind him like a comet’s tail, making him highly visible.
Destroying that defensive planet not only boosted morale but more importantly created a breach in the defenses, allowing Yang Hao to fly toward the core of the nebula.
Long Yun’s plan wasn’t impossible to execute, but the executor was different.
Small assault fleets couldn’t accomplish such a critical mission—they would be wiped out by Death Star fortresses.
Therefore, Yang Hao decided to take on the entire fleet’s mission himself. He would fly to the very core of the nebula, destroy Huage’s command ship, and paralyze the entire defensive arm.
Just as Yang Hao’s long trail of flame was about to reach the core of the nebula, two Death Star fortresses finally arrived.
As these two Death Star fortresses unfolded into battle formation before Yang Hao, the Galactic Empire’s forces finally felt relieved. They knew no one could pass through the defense of two Death Stars.
Death Star fortresses were specialized combat structures bristling with powerful weapons. Unlike regular ships, which required coordinated teamwork and high maneuverability, each Death Star was a formidable force on its own. Equipped with powerful internal energy sources, they could maintain full-strength energy shields for an entire month. Covered with various turrets and offensive weapons, and propelled by dozens of antimatter engines, they were essentially flying fortresses capable of operating in space.
According to Imperial military doctrine, two Death Stars together could withstand an entire fully equipped fleet, even including battleships.
Yet now, these two Death Stars faced only one man.
To ordinary observers, even if Yang Hao possessed the power to drain an entire planet, he might not be able to break through this checkpoint immediately. If he slowed down even slightly, and the remaining fifty Death Stars arrived, even a god would be destroyed.
And indeed, the two Death Stars opened fire almost simultaneously. Particle cannons, railguns, and laser cannons fired like waterfalls, striking Yang Hao’s protective barrier with such force that even he was pushed back a few steps.
Their goal wasn’t to kill Yang Hao—it was an impossible task. They merely aimed to stall him for a few minutes. Once the Death Star reinforcements arrived, the battle would be decisively won.
War was all about time.
Yang Hao gazed at the two Death Stars from afar, a surge of intense killing intent rising in his heart. This kind of killing intent was something he had never possessed before. Once upright and kind-hearted, Yang Hao now understood clearly that as a true leader, the only way was to stop violence with violence.
A long silver axe appeared in Yang Hao’s hand. The radiant glow of the God’s Axe illuminated the entire nebula in an instant.
Before the light had even faded, Yang Hao had already appeared like a celestial god above one of the Death Stars.
“Roar!!” Yang Hao roared, swinging the axe down without flourish. A silver axe beam dozens of kilometers long erupted from the God’s Axe, crashing down like thunder onto the Death Star’s surface.
Boom!! BOOM!!!!
Incredible energy poured from the God’s Axe, shattering the Death Star’s energy shield almost effortlessly. The entire alloy-reinforced Death Star was completely split in two by the silver axe beam.
Sparks and intense arcs of electricity illuminated the void as the massive Death Star slowly split apart, all its turrets falling silent. The cosmic starlight paled in comparison to the brilliance of the Death Star’s explosion.
Yang Hao, axe in hand, stood atop the fiery explosion, not even glancing sideways. The silver axe swept again, unleashing a dragon-like roar. The shockwave swept the remaining Death Star off its orbit, sending it tumbling through space several times before the sound wave penetrated its interior, causing it to explode from within.
In the blink of an eye, the two seemingly indestructible Death Star fortresses were destroyed by Yang Hao.
The two massive fireballs, though insignificant in the vast cosmos, were like death warrants to the Galactic Empire’s forces. They couldn’t even imagine such power existing in the world.
The Undying War God’s name would shine across the universe once more after this battle.
“What!!” Huage saw the explosion on the screen and jumped up like he’d been electrocuted. “How could this happen? Who is that person?”
“A god,” a figure with a silver axe appeared on Huage’s command ship the next second, saying calmly, “You may call me a god.”
Huage’s face turned pale. His uniform wasn’t even properly fastened, his collar open, looking utterly defeated. He already knew who stood before him.
A very young officer, wearing the shoulder insignia and white cape of the United Federation’s highest commander, was none other than the legendary Undying War God himself.
Though filled with fear, Huage’s professionalism made him stand straight and salute Yang Hao: “Marshal!”
As the highest authority of the United Federation and concurrently the Marshal of the United Federation Army, Yang Hao nodded, then looked at the glowing buttons on the command console and asked, “You are the defensive commander of the nebula arm, General Huage?”
“That’s me!” Huage had his particle gun at his waist, but for some reason, he had no courage to draw it, as if the person before him truly was his marshal.
Yang Hao nodded: “Your defenses were well-placed.”
But to Huage, this sounded more like mockery. He smiled bitterly: “Marshal, you flatter me. Compared to you, it’s like child’s play.”
“No,” Yang Hao shook his head, stepping directly in front of Huage, his sharp gaze locking onto him. “You’re wrong. Your efforts were not child’s play.”
“En?” Huage was surprised.
Yang Hao pointed at the screen, where the battle had almost completely stopped. All the imperial defenders had seen Yang Hao rush into the core base, and without orders from their commander, almost no one dared to retaliate.
Long Yun, also concerned for Yang Hao’s safety, had ordered a temporary ceasefire.
Thus, the entire universe suddenly became quiet.
Yang Hao smiled faintly, then said to Huage: “General, you faced a force more than twice the size of the entire Galactic Empire’s fleet. Yet you did not retreat or give up. Your courage has proven that you are a true soldier.”
Huage’s lips trembled, but his heart was stirred.
A true soldier—this term seemed so distant to Huage.
Ten years ago, a line of young talents walked through the gates of the Empire’s highest military academy. The first five were noble-born elites who had entered the Imperial Military Academy with the best scores of the year. In the following years, these five lived up to expectations, becoming the most brilliant generals in the Empire, serving as high-ranking officials in the Privy Council and commanders of major fleets, gaining increasing prestige.
But no one noticed the thin young man at the very end of the line—Huage. He was just a commoner’s son, without any powerful family background. His exam scores weren’t good either. Among the students that year, he was the worst.
By all logic, such a cadet would be lucky to join the Imperial Army, and reaching the rank of major general would be considered a blessing from his ancestors.
Under everyone’s skeptical gazes, Huage silently worked hard. He abandoned the most popular choice—fleet command—and instead focused on defensive tactics. Over the years, he not only mastered the entire defensive warfare theory of the Empire but also wrote several tactical treatises himself.
But in reality, birth was crucial for an officer.
Despite his academic achievements, Huage was still assigned to command the most remote Lotus Nebula Arm as a rear-base general, a rank of major general more like a consolation prize.
Huage never had the chance to prove his abilities. He never got an opportunity to show that he, too, could be one of the Empire’s most brilliant generals.
This was why Huage refused to give up resistance. He wanted to seize this one and only chance in his life. Even if it meant dying in this war, he wanted to leave his name in history.
“No one will forget your name, General Huage,” Yang Hao seemed to know what Huage was thinking. He extended two fingers and gently pressed them against Huage’s major general insignia. “The history of the universe will record your name. You will become famous for this battle alone. Everyone will know that you are the first and greatest defensive officer in the universe. You live up to the title of a great general.”
“Am I really a great general?” Huage struggled to hold back tears welling up in his eyes. He lifted his head, holding back the tears. Until now, his defenses had failed to function. Yang Hao had easily broken through. In this battle, he seemed to have lost, and lost easily.
“You certainly are,” Yang Hao nodded. “In just one year, without Imperial support, you built this great defensive line by yourself. The defenses you deployed couldn’t be easily broken by anyone—not even your seniors, teachers, or predecessors. The United Federation’s General Staff had even proposed a plan stating that breaking your defenses would require sacrificing half the fleet. Looking at the entire Empire, who could stop my fleet? No one but you.”
“But I still lost,” Huage felt defeated. He realized he still hadn’t grasped his one and only opportunity in life. He knew the Empire would decline, but he still gambled one last time—and lost.
“No one can fight against a god,” Yang Hao said, his divine radiance shining from his body, even penetrating the command ship and spreading into space. He wasn’t boasting. He continued to stare at Huage calmly.
“In the battle of Yuanlaoshan, I lost to the Supreme One. I lost, but I didn’t truly lose. As long as life continues, we still have chances.”
“Even against a god?” Huage’s eyes lit up again.
Yang Hao smiled. He reached out, fastened Huage’s unbuttoned uniform collar, and even smoothed out the wrinkles in his uniform. Huage was older than Yang Hao, but during this series of actions, he felt like he was back at the academy, receiving instruction from his superiors.
“General Huage, I can let you go,” Yang Hao said naturally, even though he could destroy this base in an instant. “Take your men and leave. Rebuild your defenses two thousand light-years away. I’ll give you a month. Then, we can fight again.”
After saying this, Yang Hao turned to leave, as if he had just done the most ordinary and simple thing, as if he hadn’t just let go of someone who had caused him so much trouble.
Yang Hao seemed to have forgotten that if Huage escaped this predicament today, his next defensive layout would be even tighter, perhaps even so tight that Yang Hao himself couldn’t break through.
Then, would there really be other ways?
But Yang Hao didn’t change his decision. In his eyes, this war had long ceased to be about winning or losing.
After taking a few steps, Huage suddenly spoke: “Marshal, am I really a great general?”
Yang Hao, with his back to him, said: “A great general doesn’t need others to say it. Because you already are one.”
Huage was stunned. A bitter yet excited smile slowly appeared on his pale face.
In that instant, he suddenly understood everything. Since that morning ten years ago when he entered the academy, he had always tried to prove himself. He worked harder than others, strived more than others. Even after being exiled to the frontier, he stubbornly tried to prove himself.
Even knowing the Empire was destined to lose, he still fought this battle, treating it as his last chance to prove himself.
But Huage had overlooked one thing—he had already been recognized as a great general in others’ eyes. Even Long Yun, who often called him a fool, couldn’t help but acknowledge Huage’s strength. If he was already a recognized great general, why did he still need to prove himself?
Why waste the lives of millions of soldiers just to satisfy his own obsession?
Huage’s face regained its former glory—the same glory he had when he stood at the end of the line of cadets, stepping through the academy gates. He stood straight, saluting Yang Hao’s back with the most standard military salute: “Marshal, the Lotus Nebula Arm Defense Force is willing to pledge allegiance to you!”
Yang Hao was silent for a moment before turning around to look at Huage: “Have you decided?”
Huage’s expression was solemn: “I have decided. I should have made this decision long ago.
I do not support the Senate. We both know that you represent justice. The glory of the Empire can only be restored by you. All the soldiers refuse to support those who murdered Emperor Yinglie. We fought because we had no choice but to fight. A year of hard work building defenses was not for surrender. No matter how reluctant, we must maintain the dignity of a soldier.”
“But now it’s different,” Huage’s face lit up with a smile. “As you said, we no longer need to prove ourselves. Our dignity, our value, should be on the side of justice. We should be fighting to win this universe.”
“To win this universe?” Yang Hao was surprised by Huage’s words, but after a moment’s thought, he realized that this newly surrendered general had spoken a truth.
Why did Yang Hao launch this war? Why did Emperor Yinglie challenge the Senate?
They weren’t driven by personal ambition, nor were they trying to prove anything. The only reason was exactly what Huage had just said.
To win this universe.
Only this reason could justify Yang Hao’s massive campaign, only this reason could make Emperor Yinglie’s death honorable, only this reason could make generals and officials in this battle willingly sacrifice their lives.
But now, victory was already in Yang Hao’s grasp.
Just as Yang Hao was preparing to order Huage to dismantle all defenses and formally accept the United Federation’s military command, the radar in the command cabin suddenly began to scream frantically.
Not only that, but the radars on every warship in the entire Lotus Nebula system began to wail wildly, their piercing sounds echoing across the cosmos like waves of the sea.
Red warning lights flashed in the command cabins of every warship.
The highest-level red alert, which had just arrived with peace, now exploded again.
Huage immediately tensed up. Even with the United Federation’s forces pressing in, they hadn’t triggered a red alert. He rushed to the command console and roared: “What’s happening?”
“General! Twelve o’clock direction!!” The soldier’s voice sounded desperate.
Every space warrior knew what a red alert meant. It was a level higher than the blue alert, which was only triggered when facing an unbeatable enemy. This meant the AI judged that the fleet was about to be destroyed by an enemy they couldn’t resist at all.
An enemy that would destroy them without resistance!!!
In the Lotus Nebula system, there was the best defensive officer in the Empire—Huage, who had painstakingly built the defensive chain, and the powerful fleet from the Three Crystal Sea system.
It was practically the most invincible force in the universe.
But the upcoming attack was so overwhelming that even these forces couldn’t resist being destroyed.
Through the large screen, Yang Hao and Huage simultaneously saw the scene at twelve o’clock. But at this moment, there was no major disturbance in space—only a wormhole about dozens of kilometers wide suddenly appeared.
This alone was shocking enough. There had been no wormhole in this region before.
Of course, some experts in the Empire who understood spatial rules could open small wormholes, but only for a person’s size. Yet in that direction, a wormhole dozens of kilometers wide was flashing with dazzling colors.
“What… will come out?” Huage listened to the frantic alarms on the ship but clearly began to calm down gradually.
Yang Hao’s evaluation of him as a great general was completely accurate. This general in his early thirties possessed the most important quality of a commander—remaining calm in chaos.
Standing in front of the command cabin, Huage issued a series of orders in a surprisingly calm voice. First, he shut down all red alerts on the defensive array, then ordered all defensive firepower to target the wormhole.
Huage’s orders essentially abandoned resistance against the United Federation forces and began establishing a defensive line against whatever might emerge from the wormhole. He at least had confidence in his defensive capabilities. In his mind, nothing could make this nebula defense arm powerless to resist.
But Yang Hao issued a completely opposite command.
Retreat.
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