Chapter 2560: A Sacrifice of 99%!

　　Three hours before the battle, besides the “Purple Cloud Sector” that was controlled by the Yun family, the military towns controlled by the other three families, as well as the jump points at the edge of the Imperium, had witnessed the final gathering of all the fleets. The four-dimensional jump devices including the “Solar Slingshot” were all activated.

　　Three hours later, the hundreds of thousands of starships from a hundred Sectors would be teleported to the tiny Seven Seas Space Zone and completely drown the place.

　　The battle of Seven Seas was about to begin, and the entire space reeked of the smoke of war. However, the capital, at the center of the turbulence, was as peaceful as the eye of a storm.

　　Deep below the capital in the Empyreal Terminus Sector, the underground relic that Li Yao and Long Yangjun explored a few months ago had been expanded dozens of times. Finally, an ancient building that looked like a pyramid had been exposed.

　　The transparent pyramid seemed to be covered in an unpredictable twisting force field on the surface, allowing it to emanate brilliant colors all the time that filled every inch of space below the ground. The darkness here was transformed into an ocean of colors.

　　The size of the building exposed out of the rock was already as magnificent as a palace. Every edge of the pyramid was at least five thousand meters long. There was still no telling how enormous the size that was buried below the rocks was.

　　What was most incredible was that the ancient building of such an enormous scale did not have the slightest gap on the surface. It seemed to be a natural and whole piece instead of a building piled up with rocks!

　　Around the pyramid, countless sophisticated primeval words had been carved densely. Every word was a maze-like cube that contained information a hundred times more abundant than the language of mankind. Under the contrast of the splendid colors, all the words were floating and revolving slowly in the midair.

　　The scene deep below the ground was like the most bizarre dream that was completely off reality.

　　At this moment, countless soldiers that belonged to the reformists were continuing the work around the pyramid. A team of researchers was exiting and entering the pyramid too.

　　Suddenly, the cubic rune arrays floating around the pyramid spread out dim ripples. One of the soldiers screamed and leaped, holding his head.

　　In his eyes, his skull was cracking and exploding. Even the helmet of his crystal suit could not stop the anomaly of his skull. His head was getting bigger and bigger, unleashing the mental power that felt like a volcano eruption.

　　“Aoooooooo!”

　　When his head was twice as huge, even blowing up the helmet of his crystal suit, the soldier finally went mad and attacked his companions around.

　　His companions seemed to have been used to such accidents. Everybody opened fire without batting an eye. A hundred cannons shot at the same time, blowing the crazy soldier into smithereens. Even his head completely exploded after a huge noise.

　　His corpse fell to the ground like mud, and spiritual puppets immediately went forth to clean up the mess.

　　The eyes of the rest of the soldiers were filled with zeal. Not bothering the minor episode at all, they simply continued their work.

　　Queen Li Linghai, in her form with a headful of white hair that looked like a waterfall, floated at the top of the underground space and observed everything coldly from the high stance.

　　“Another one who has lost sanity.”

　　She said indifferently, without the slightest emotion in her voice.

　　“Such sacrifices are necessary for the rise of the new Imperium and for the tomorrow of the civilization of mankind.”

　　Deep inside her brain, Blackstar the Great’s voice echoed gloomily.

　　“Even if—”

　　Li Linghai was silent for a long time, before she went on again, “Even if everybody in the capital or the Empyreal Terminus Sector has to be sacrificed, will the sacrifices be necessary too?”

　　“Of course.”

　　Wuying Qi said casually, “The birth of the new Imperium is a miracle like the nirvana of phoenix. How will a brand-new future arrive if the old world is not completely destroyed?”

　　Li Linghai hesitated. The nonchalant mask on her face that she carefully made fell apart, revealing part of her real feelings without her knowing it.

　　“Are you still thinking about your son?”

　　Wuying Qi immediately grasped her subtle change of feelings. He scorned, “The battle of Seven Seas will begin in three hours. Let him play the childish game with Li Yao and the people of the four families in the Seven Seas Space Zone. What we should pay more attention to is the civilization of mankind billions of years later, and how to focus the ambitions, bravery, and strength of all human beings to break out of this narrow, suffocating, tiny universe, right?”

　　Shivering, Li Linghai couldn’t help but nod her head. “… Yes, Your Majesty.”

　　“For billions of years, too many civilizations have been stranded in this tiny universe, including not just the Pangu and Nuwa civilizations but also the ancient civilizations that were even more powerful than Pangu and Nuwa.”

　　Blackstar the Great sighed. “But no matter how powerful they once were, so what? As long as they cannot break out of the tiny universe, they would forever be restrained by the insufficiency of resources. Their doom was as inevitable as their splendor.

　　“The civilization of mankind is only just born and still in the growth period. Compared to Pangu, Nuwa, and other ancient civilizations, we are naturally rather weak. However, it is exactly because we are just born that infinite possibilities are still ahead of us. We should not walk on the old path of Pangu, Nuwa, and other ancient civilizations since the very beginning. Even if the odds are just one billionth, we should still summon all our courage and rush out of this damn universe not fearing any sacrifices!

　　“Even if destruction is unavoidable, we should be destroyed in the grand universe that is much vaster, instead of dying without a sound in this dry well!

　　“This is the greatest reason why I am determined to build a new Imperium. For such a new Imperium, for such a civilization of mankind, and in order to break into the unvisited lands that Pangu and Nuwa never reached, is a minor capital really a big deal?

　　“Let me tell you the truth. The civilization of mankind does not stand any chance if it goes on like this. For our most magnificent plan, even if half of all human beings must be sacrificed—no, even if nine-tenths or even 99% of them have to be sacrificed, the 1% strongest experts will still survive, break out, and evolve into brand-new forms that are thousands of times stronger than they are today like the legendary gods. Then, for the whole civilization, it will be the greatest fluke!”

　　Wuying Qi’s crazy roars made Li Linghai barely able to catch her breath.

　　“I understand it now, Your Majesty.”

　　Her mind unsteady, the queen of the Imperium did not dare ask any longer, fearing that she might be completely lost in Wuying Qi’s crazy and profound soul.

　　Looking at the pyramid down below that was glowing in eerie brilliance deeply, she said, “All for the civilization of mankind. I’ll listen to you on everything, Your Majesty.”

　　…

　　There were the last five minutes until the battle.

　　Deep inside the Seven Seas Grand Market in the Seven Seas Space Zone, an overwhelming light beam had been slowly unfolded in Jin Yuyan’s remote command center, displaying the hologram of the entire Seven Seas Space Zone before everyone, including Li Yao.

　　The spots on the hologram were the locations of the fleets that belonged to the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, the half-fixed space fortresses on the orbit of every planet, and the distribution of the space torpedoes that had filled all the sailing routes.

　　The light spots were so dense that a new layer of stars seemed to have been added to the sky.

　　Even though the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors had done all the preparations that could’ve been done, even though they had been more united than ever after the four families’ scheme of assassination was disrupted, and even though the arrival of “Black Wind King Li Yao” boosted the morale to the highest, the smothering tranquility during the last few minutes before the great battle was still tearing their nerves brutally, making everybody in the command center pale and their heart race. Their eyeballs and their sweat seemed to be frozen.

　　…

　　Three minutes before the battle, on “Landslide”, the flagship-in-general of the coalition fleet, in the Purple Cloud Sector, the most gargantuan light beam was also rising before Yun Xuefeng, manifesting the gathering status of the fleets from the hundred Sectors. The brilliance of the spiritual shields of so many starships that were activated at the same time almost congregated into an ocean of suns, almost too dazzling for him to watch.

　　Yun Xuefeng grinned and slowly unsheathed the gold command saber, raising it high.

　　Although it was a meaningless, symbolic movement, Yun Xuefeng still had the habit of doing it before every battle. When he held the command saber tightly in his hands, he had the feeling that he was melted with the million starships and filled with infinite strength.

　　“All branch fleet commanders, begin the jump now!”

　　Yun Xuefeng slashed the command saber heavily and declared, one word after another.

　　For a moment, all the light beams seemed to be involved in gigantic swirls as the pictures on them were blurred and twisted. The starships on them gradually turned transparent, before they were stretched and paved!

　　The stars were dragged into helical rays by the “Solar Slingshots”. The rays were then interwoven into tunnels that tore apart the space and led to a different world. The starships all moved toward the “tunnel of stars” slowly, as if they were “falling” into the invisible wormholes. They were soon gone.

　　The blind jump and the sudden assault performed by hundreds of thousands of starships at the same time began!

　　…

　　“Ahhhhhhh!”

　　In the command center of the Seven Seas Grand Market, the hologram immediately reacted. Like a pond where it was drizzling, black ripples appeared and spread out nonstop. At first, there were only a few tiny raindrops, but they became a torrential storm very soon. The whole space zone was occupied by intense waves.

　　“So-So many space gaps that have been ripped by brute force!”

　　“They’re almost everywhere. All the sailing routes, all the space, and all the surroundings of the planets are brimming with space ripples. How many starships have jumped over simultaneously?”

　　“Are the four families really so determined to win the battle?”