Hao had truly gone through too many twists and turns today, and had displayed too many miracles. So much so, that he actually forgot the original mission he had standing on that tiny planet.
Although Wang Mu had died, his death was merely his own personal defeat. It was Wang Mu who had lost, not the Imperial Army. In the orbital space above, more than a thousand warships still remained, poised and ready, waiting only for the commander’s order to unleash their final barrage.
The Imperial Swordsmen Corps was a close-combat force, but the true might of the Galactic Empire had always lain in its massive fleet and the heavy artillery aboard those ships. This had been an unchanging truth for centuries.
When the young warriors of the Wang family, who had been rescued at the cost of Wang Mu’s life, returned to the flagship and delivered the news of Wang Mu’s death to this vast army, the entire Tianwang Fleet, and even the entire legion, was deeply shaken. The young Wang warriors were furious, practically itching for revenge, eager to tear Yang Hao apart to avenge their fallen leader.
Yet, there was one person who not only felt no grief, but actually felt a quiet sense of satisfaction.
His name was Luo Dongjie, the deputy commander of the entire Imperial Army. Within this legion formed around the campaign for Saint Bear Star, the main force was naturally the Wang family’s Tianwang Fleet. However, nearly half of the army had been mobilized from over a hundred nearby star systems, and Luo Dongjie was the commanding officer of those forces. Yet upon being integrated into the legion, he had only been given the position of Wang Mu’s deputy. This had greatly irritated him.
Within the Empire, the Privy Council and the Elder Senate had always been at odds. If not for the Emperor’s restraint, their conflict would likely have erupted long ago. The Privy Council had always emphasized technological advancement, relying on high-tech weaponry and massive ship-mounted cannons as the backbone of the Imperial Army. This large fleet approach had brought tremendous success during the Empire’s early expansion, making the Privy Council extremely powerful, effectively controlling the majority of the Imperial military. In contrast, the Elder Senate was quite different. Composed of a group of mysterious old men, the Elder Senate claimed to be composed of cultivators and controlled many cultivation families throughout the Empire. The Wang family was one such example. The Elder Senate had not held much power in the past, but with the integration of the Swordsmen Corps and the Martial Combat Corps into the military, their strength had risen rapidly, even reaching a level where they could rival the Privy Council.
As a rising young general from the Privy Council faction, Luo Dongjie had always been entrusted with important responsibilities. Although this star system was relatively remote and rebellions were not frequent, being appointed fleet commander before the age of thirty was already an extraordinary achievement. It was even rumored that certain members of the Privy Council had proposed promoting him to Rear Admiral after another successful mission, which would make him the youngest Rear Admiral in the Empire. In the future, he might even reach the prestigious position of Chief of the Privy Council Cabinet.
However, since Luo Dongjie was forced to be integrated into the legion dominated by the Tianwang Fleet, it was almost like being demoted. This assignment frustrated him greatly. What angered him even more was that the overall strength of the Tianwang Fleet was far inferior to the elite Imperial forces he commanded.
Within the Empire, the military was divided into several factions. The most powerful was the Emperor’s personal guard system, which consisted mostly of ground and long-range combat forces, but lacked strong expeditionary capabilities. Each family’s private army was composed mainly of family members and descendants. Due to bloodline restrictions, these forces were usually small in number and weaker in strength. However, because their core forces were made up of elite family combat units, they often proved to be the most effective in battle.
The true mainstay of the Imperial military, however, was the Imperial Direct Forces under the Privy Council. These were the absolute power behind the Galactic Empire’s conquest of the universe. The Direct Forces controlled more than seventy percent of the Empire’s battlecruisers, and their numbers of admirals and soldiers were staggering. All regional garrisons and conquest armies across the Empire had to be based around these forces.
Luo Dongjie’s fleet, the “Sunset Fleet,” was an important garrison force stationed in this region, responsible for deterring nearly a hundred star systems. Originally, when potential rebellion broke out on Saint Bear Star, Luo Dongjie was naturally expected to lead the suppression. But no one expected the Elder Senate to interfere, insisting that the Tianwang Fleet, already stationed at Saint Bear Star, should be the core of the newly formed legion.
In Luo Dongjie’s eyes, what kind of elite force was the Tianwang Fleet? It consisted of only a few battleships, and even its past victories were merely due to luck. Trained in a military academy, Luo Dongjie believed that a good fleet required a well-rounded composition of ships. What good was having only powerful battleships? Without cruisers, destroyers, small vessels, and large supply carriers, it was nothing more than an empty shell.
Luo Dongjie’s “Sunset Fleet” was different. With nearly a thousand massive warships, it was considered one of the most professionally equipped fleets in the Empire. It not only possessed powerful battleships, but also a large number of frigates. No matter what mission was assigned, Luo Dongjie was confident he could complete it thoroughly.
But the greatest asset of the Sunset Fleet was its possession of a colossal warship known as the “Sunset” Titan—a super-heavy battleship so rare that even the Empire’s strongest fleets rarely had access to one.
According to legend, Titans were ancient giants, as tall as mountains. In the world of warships, the Titan-class vessel was also a giant, nearly ten times the size of a standard battleship. Its weaponry was astonishingly powerful. It even carried five newly developed Light-Hunting Weapons, along with countless massive cannons. In short, the Titan was a weaponized behemoth. With its “Final Barrage,” it could match the entire Tianwang Fleet on its own.
With such terrifying firepower, Luo Dongjie naturally had no respect for Wang Mu. Therefore, when the news of Wang Mu’s death came from the Wang family’s Swordsmen Corps, Luo Dongjie felt a hint of joy. According to Imperial military regulations, if the legion’s commander-in-chief died, command would automatically transfer to the deputy commander—regardless of how unwilling the Tianwang Fleet officers might be.
Luo Dongjie had long believed that Wang Mu’s final ultimatum to Saint Bear Star was a complete waste of time. He couldn’t possibly understand the importance of the three ancient swords Wang Mu sought. In Luo Dongjie’s view, he would have opened fire with every weapon on every ship long ago, reducing Saint Bear Star to nothing more than stardust.
Now, the opportunity had finally come.
Quickly seizing command, he ignored the remaining officers of the Tianwang Fleet and ordered all ships to activate their reverse-core devices, channeling all energy into preparing the final barrage against Saint Bear Star.
Saint Bear Star was a technologically backward planet. Although the Bear People had a strong affinity for the Force, when it came to space warfare, they were little more than primitive tribes. Luo Dongjie was confident that a single barrage would reduce the planet to nothing more than cosmic debris, with no possibility of retaliation.
At the same time, Luo Dongjie issued another order: to detach the Titan-class “Sunset” from the main barrage formation and instead aim its firepower at the small satellite known as Poo-Poo II, where Yang Hao was located, for a so-called “Titan Barrage.”
Although the small satellite had already experienced a chain reaction of explosions, killing nearly all life within its atmosphere, the core of the satellite remained intact, and the surface was still relatively stable. This suggested that Yang Hao and his group might still be alive.
Luo Dongjie had his own motives. He wanted to use the Titan to destroy the satellite and prove that what Wang Mu of the Wang family had failed to accomplish, he, Luo Dongjie, could achieve with his fleet and high-tech weapons. Once he achieved such a great feat, the rank of Rear Admiral would surely be his.
The sheer size of the Titan-class “Sunset” was beyond words. When its hundreds of reverse-core devices were activated and the ship slowly rotated in space, even the flow of nearby stars was altered, and the orbits of many planets were affected. The Titan’s mass was so immense that it even attracted nearby small satellites into orbit around it, becoming its own miniature planetary system.
In essence, the Titan was nearly the size of a medium-sized planet. Its invention and construction were unprecedented achievements in the Empire. Wherever the Titan appeared, it signified that the local population must submit to the Empire—or face annihilation.
Moreover, the Titan was equipped with the newly developed Light-Hunting Weapons, a weapon system said to surpass even particle cannons and death-ray cannons, destined to become the primary weapon of future fleets.
The Light-Hunting Weapons aboard the “Sunset” were activated. In an instant, these towering, eight-story-high devices were charged with electricity. Several oddly shaped antenna-like structures extended upward, and between them quickly formed a black vortex.
This was a black hole created by intense electromagnetic effects. According to established research, black holes possessed immense gravitational pull, capable of even drawing in light. Thus, the Light-Hunting Weapon used this unidirectional black hole to absorb light energy, converting it into massive destructive power.
As the supermassive black holes activated, the light from nearby planets and small satellites instantly dimmed. Even meteors streaking across the sky lost their brilliance as they passed by. But the Light-Hunting Weapons were not merely draining light from nearby objects—they were drawing energy from the three silver suns in the Saint Bear Star system. Although these suns lacked high heat, they emitted powerful light energy, providing Saint Bear Star with a continuous supply of light, making it a lush and beautiful world.
But now, with the Light-Hunting Weapons fully activated, the black holes greedily devoured all available light energy, even from the silver suns themselves. Against the dark void of space, three distinct silver light streams emerged, and countless rays of light were pulled into the black holes, eventually becoming the energy source for the Light-Hunting Weapons.
The infinite cosmos, with its dark backdrop, seemed lonely and silent, yet the dazzling sea of light converged into an unstoppable force aboard the Titan. The heat and light energy of stars, which could last for hundreds of millions of years, were now being compressed and unleashed in a single, devastating blast. This insane attack would not only produce an explosion far greater than any particle weapon, but would also alter the entire order and ecology of this star system.
To put it simply, after a particle weapon strike, a planet might be destroyed. But after a Light-Hunting Weapon strike, it would not only obliterate planets—it could reshape entire star systems, even dozens of them. The stars would vanish, planetary environments would collapse, and advanced life forms would be thrown back into the crucible of nature, forced to begin a new evolutionary cycle.
Therefore, the Empire had imposed strict restrictions on the use of such powerful weapons in external warfare. But for others, not for Luo Dongjie, who relished such overwhelming firepower.
When the Sunset Fleet and the Titan-class “Sunset” had fully gathered their energy and aimed their cannons at their respective targets, Luo Dongjie felt an unprecedented surge of excitement. His fingers hovered over two buttons, hesitating over which to press first, since either would unleash a breathtaking spectacle that would be unforgettable for a lifetime.
This dilemma lasted only a few seconds before Luo Dongjie made his decision—he would watch the Titan’s performance first. The Light-Hunting Weapon’s energy collection had already reached its final stage. With just a flick of his finger, the unstoppable beam of light, faster than a dragon’s strike, would pierce into the small satellite, instantly annihilating everything on it, and causing massive orbital shifts across nearby planets.
Just as Luo Dongjie smiled and placed his finger on the button, on the small satellite known as Poo-Poo II, Yang Hao and Hun Yuanzi believed the danger had long passed, and were happily chatting and dreaming about the wondrous future of their cultivation journey.
They could never have imagined that, after surviving so many life-threatening situations, the greatest danger of all was now upon them—just a single finger’s distance away.
That elegant finger, so accustomed to caressing the softest skin of a woman, lightly touched the button like a dragonfly skimming the water.
The Titan roared to life, and the Light-Hunting Weapon was truly activated.
As Yang Hao and his companions clung to their fragile lives, the satellite and planets around them began to violently collapse.
In the age of the cosmos, who would truly care?
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