Chapter 2670: Deterrent

　　By the time the Astounding Thunder Fleet and the Arsonist Fleet arrived at the Empyreal Terminus Sector across the space turbulence, the battle in the capital had approached the end.

　　At this moment, 20% of the starships of the four families had been destroyed by solar storms, ending up as burning coffins, and another 30% could not move anymore because their crew had been killed by the radiation or each other.

　　As for the other half starships, even though their crew members had got rid of the nightmares, they were still too dizzy to fight. It was barely possible for them to fly their starships away.

　　Normal troops would collapse after 10% of them were lost. The elite troops such as the four families’ fleet could handle 20% to 30%. However, now that more than 50% of the soldiers could not fight anymore, nothing could possibly support the remaining soldiers to continue the battle.

　　As a result, they simply waited to be captured, without any determination to resist the Astounding Thunder Fleet and the Arsonist Fleet.

　　For the Astounding Thunder Fleet and the Arsonist Fleet, the trickiest thing was not to “defeat” the ace fleets of the four families, but to control all the miserable, ragged, and panicked starships of the enemy when they were terribly outnumbered.

　　They had to be fast because plenty of starships did not suffer any substantial damage although their crew was still under immense mental shock.

　　Once their crew was back to normal, they would definitely flee even though they dare not attack the Astounding Thunder Fleet and the Arsonist Fleet.

　　Although they had foreseen the difficulty and complexity of the mission, Lei Chenghu and Boss Bai still found it tricky.

　　Only with the reliability of Lei Chenghu and the precision of Boss Bai could they accomplish the seemingly impossible mission step by step.

　　They separated the ace fleets of the four families, which were a mess, as soon as possible, before they locked onto most flagships and powerful warships and installed tremendous crystal bombs to the engine compartments of those warships. They also blocked all the cannons and wrecked the turning units on the turrets.

　　In such a way, 90% of the combat ability of a warship would be sealed, and the warship would be completely captured.

　　The process took a very long time.

　　Thankfully, the mental shock caused by the solar storm was too powerful, and most soldiers of the ace fleets of the four families weren’t back to themselves so quickly. Even though some of them did, they knew that it was impossible to turn things around when they saw the messy starships on their side and the well-organized battle formations on the enemy’s side.

　　Only the hardcore supporters of the four families on a few starships woke up in time and led their starships to escape from the battlefield before the arrival of the Astounding Thunder Fleet and the Arsonist Fleet. They had run to the edge of the Empyreal Terminus Sector, ready to run home after they had fully recovered.

　　Lei Chenghu and Boss Bai did not stop the rebels, partly because they did not have enough men to catch every enemy, and partly because the solar storms had seriously damaged the shells of those starships. The chances were small that those starships could run back home through space jumps without being destroyed in the four-dimensional storms.

　　So, Lei Chenghu and Boss Bai simply let them go.

　　The whole capture operation lasted three days and three nights before the flag of the reformists was finally raised on every starship of the ace fleets of the four families.

　　The Battle of Seven Seas was over, and the battle in the capital was about to be. However, another war that was more subtle and complicated had been started without anybody realizing it.

　　…

　　In the Gold Crystal Pyramid below the ground of the capital planet.

　　In the past three days, while the Astounding Thunder Fleet and the Arsonist Fleet were seizing every moment to deal with the remaining soldiers of the ace fleets of the four families, Li Yao had been absorbing all the information on the Gold Crystal Pyramid and reestablishing the defense system and the control modules that solely belonged to himself.

　　The old firewalls were gone in the wind, replaced by new ones that were safer and more unnoticeable. The silent defense rune arrays were activated again, releasing dazzling electric arcs. The thousands of battle puppets around the Gold Crystal Pyramid opened their eyes warily again. They had resumed their patrol in more complicated and meticulous routes. They were the extension of Li Yao’s will. Immortal Cultivators would not be allowed to enter this place without Li Yao’s permission.

　　“Should I hibernate the central modules of the Gold Crystal Pyramid?”

　　At the last step, the mental devil asked Li Yao, “It will be safer and steadier if the central modules hibernate, but if we want to infuriate the sun again, we’ll have to preheat the system for a long time, so…”

　　“So, we might not have enough deterrence?”

　　Li Yao immediately understood what the mental devil meant.

　　“That’s right.”

　　Over the past three days, the mental devil had figured out what Wuying Qi 3.0’s legacy was.

　　As Li Yao’s dark personality, it did not resist the identity as the master of the Gold Crystal Pyramid at all. In fact, it was actually very interested in threatening the whole Imperium of True Human Beings on its own. It couldn’t wait to become the next deterrent.

　　The mental devil couldn’t care less about turning into a vicious dragon. It might even feel that the dragon scales looked awesome!

　　It seemed that splitting his soul so that his dark and evil personality would mess up the mainframe crystal processor of the Gold Crystal Pyramid and that his righteous personality would deal with Wuying Qi 3.0 was the best decision that Li Yao had ever made. Otherwise, he might have been absorbed by Wuying Qi 3.0 on the spot.

　　“That is indeed a problem, but I will never use the lives of all the residents in the Empyreal Terminus Sector as bargaining chips, not even if I’m at my most insane, desperate, and angry state of mind!”

　　Li Yao declared resolutely, “Even though I’m not destroying the central units of the Gold Crystal Pyramid, I have to hibernate them in case anything goes wrong.

　　“However…

　　“The lack of deterrence is truly a problem. How about this? Can you create a simulation system that will make the central units of the Gold Crystal Pyramid seem to be functioning when we have actually turned them off?”

　　“That’s possible, but it will transform ‘strategic deterrence’ into ‘strategic deception’.”

　　The mental devil snorted, “I feel that it’s much less awesome. Also, I need to remind you that successful strategic deterrence must be based on the premise that all your enemies and allies believe that you are an insane lunatic who will make use of the deterrence when necessary. But in fact, you do not boast this convincing power.

　　“For the Immortal Cultivators who are as determined as Lei Chenghu, they might ignore your strategic deterrence and even construe it as strategic deception. In such a way, they would simply continue whatever they’re doing without caring about what you do or say.

　　“After all, not that I’m blaming you, but you’ve tricked too many people for people to trust you.”

　　“What are you talking about?”

　　Li Yao glared at him. “What do you mean by ‘you’ve tricked too many people’? We did it together, alright?

　　“But you’re not wrong. I’m indeed a righteous and benevolent person in public. It’s indeed rather difficult to convince Lei Chenghu and other Immortal Cultivators that I will not hesitate to destroy the Empyreal Terminus Sector if they cross the line.”

　　“That’s right. Strategic deterrence is a battle on determination and madness.”

　　The mental devil said solemnly, “You’re obviously not as crazy as Lei Chenghu. How are you going to play strategic deterrence with him?”

　　“Fine. That’s truly a problem. How can I convince an iron-blooded militarist like Lei Chenghu that an innocent Cultivator like me may be even more brutal and insane than he is?”

　　Li Yao sighed as he watched the mental devil hibernate the central units of the Gold Crystal Pyramid. Scratching his hair, he left the control room. “I need to think about it…”

　　Long Yangjun and Li Jialing were both waiting anxiously. Seeing Li Yao, they immediately approached him and scanned him both concernedly and warily.

　　“What are you doing? Checking if I’ve turned into a vicious dragon?” said Li Yao unhappily while frowning.

　　“That’s right. I have to say that Wuying Qi 3.0 has truly played a sordid move on you!”

　　Long Yangjun rubbed her fists and said concernedly, “In this situation, you have to become the master of the Gold Crystal Pyramid to deter the Imperium. But who knows whether or not you will be lost in front of such immense power? We certainly need to keep an eye on you so that we can ‘wake you up’ when you’re about to be corrupted.”

　　“That’s right. Brother Yao, I’ve been digesting the legacy left by Wuying Qi 2.0 in the past days. I have to say that his power is indeed dark and overwhelming!”

　　Li Jialing also said, “I was almost lost several times even though Sister Long was looking after me. How about you? How do you feel now?”