1211-1220

Chapter 1211 Beauty Trap?

"Granda sending out god-class operators also represents Granda's stance on the war. Although Granda is the Twilight Empire's allied nation, in reality they are just a pet Caesar was keeping on a leash. A pet that would bite whoever Caesar told them to." After receiving the news, Lingtian Independent Army's brigade leaders were all gathered together like usual and discussing this information.

"Although Caesar hasn't announced that they themselves will join the war, with Granda's appearance, it means that as long as they have fully prepared themselves, they would definitely go against the Federation," Qi Long said with a concerned expression on his face.

"A new intergalactic war may very well be happening soon…" Han Jijyun felt the situation was dire. If the Federation's allied nations were not in position, the Federation could easily get into a situation of facing enemies at two different fronts. The outlook of the whole situation was not too good.

"It's not a matter of 'may', but most definitely happening," Li Lanfeng said with determination. "Caesar ordered Granda to activate two of their god-class operators to probe the number of god-class operators the Federation can send in."

"What do you mean?" Compared to everyone, Li Yingjie was a little slow on the uptake.

'Can't he just make it clear the first time?' Li Yingjie despised using his magnificent brain power to think.

Li Lanfeng glanced at Li Yingjie. Li Yingjie seemed to feel Li Lanfeng's mocking glare. He opened his eyes wide and glared back in full force.

This was why he hated that bastard Li Lanfeng. He had that constant scheming look on his face and was overall not a good person. What was worse was that Elder Brother Shiyu was actually fooled by that person's fake demeanor. Shiyu actually trusted him completely.

However, he couldn't let his Elder Brother Shiyu continue to be fooled. He would one day definitely rip that mask off the evil man. Li Yingjie made a decision in his mind. The next time they had time to go back home, he would go to the archives and investigate Li Lanfeng's background. Li Yingjie would definitely not admit that he was jealous of Li Lanfeng.

As for Li Yingjie's angry look, Li Lanfeng only smirked slightly and then stopped staring. However, wanting to give his dumb little brother an out on the situation, Li Lanfeng began to explain, "Let's take a look at the Federation's boundaries."

As Li Lanfeng was speaking, he put up the Huaxia Federation's star map on the large virtual screen in the back of the conference room.

"Here, here and here…" He pointed at a few points near the Huaxia Federation's intergalactic boundary. "These points were all nations that are allied with Caesar which are also our enemies. If these nations worked together, there would be three god-class operators. However, you all know that Caesar is involved, and Caesar has 11 god-class operators, only one fewer than us."

Everyone all nodded after hearing those words to show that they agreed with him. Li Yingjie heard the explanation and became even more confused. After adding everything up, did their number of god-class operators not match with the total number combined by all these nations?

Li Lanfeng controlled the optical supercomputer once again. Not long after, a new star map appeared on the large virtual screen.

"Now, let's look at Caesar." Li Lanfeng pointed at the star map and said, "Here, here, here and here, are all the nations near Caesar who are our allied nations and also Caesar's enemy. Add them all together, they have six god-class operators in total. Then that means Caesar can only use four of their god-class operators. If they go over that amount, they would have a hard time defending against the attacks by those nations."

"Similarly, we must be on guard against Caesar's four god-class operators and the three god-class operators from the other nations. The number of god-class operators we can move out is five maximum. If we go past that, we would have the same concerns as Caesar and the Federation would be in danger of being invaded. The opposition used Granda, which is far from our intergalactic space boundaries, and took out two god-class operators from there. In addition to the Twilight Empire's three god-class operators, it would put the Federation at their limit. There doesn't seem to be any other reason other than to get one more god-class operator over the Federation's limit to force our forces to retreat. However, let's not forget that there's a big problem in the Federation. That problem is whether the oldest god-class operator Supreme Dragon can join the war. Caesar is trying to probe this information." Li Lanfeng smashed his hand onto the table, "If the Federation were to retreat because of this, then that would prove that Supreme Dragon is longer able to pilot a god-class mecha and join the war. The advantage that we have with numbers will then no longer exist."

Li Yingjie was shocked after realizing the situation. He knew well that after Ling Xiao returned to the Federation, Caesar was kept in check because of their advantage in numbers of god-class operators. If it was confirmed that the advantage was gone… The entire galaxy would change. The neutral nations who originally sided with the Federation might become neutral once again or even perhaps side with Caesar.

"The military headquarters will be able to see through Caesar's plan and will definitely send in god-class operators to aid the army," Han Jijyun stared at Li Lanfeng, with his eyes full with confidence. Now that he had grown up, he no longer feared Li Lanfeng suspecting his judgment.

Li Lanfeng calmly used his hands to gesture for Han Jijyun to speak his mind.

Ling Lan, who was sitting on the main seat, saw this gesture and raised her eyebrows. She looked at Li Lanfeng with a thought in her mind.

Feeling Ling Lan's gaze, Li Lanfeng smirked and gave a look to her telling her to praise him. This made Ling Lan become completely speechless. She just stopped staring at him. Li Lanfeng had less and less of a moral compass recently. Ling Lan missed the old Li Lanfeng who would act and perform perfectly in every aspect. Although the perfect act made her uncomfortable, it was at least better than looks he gave her that were perverse and hurt her eyes.

Of course, Ling Lan's speechlessness in Li Lanfeng's eyes was just coldness and indifference. He put his head down with a disappointed look on his face. In the next second, he lifted his head again and returned to normal.

If that iceberg was so easily broken through, he wouldn't have to think so much about it and use all the tricks in the book.

Li Lanfeng made a promise to himself. If nothing else works, he will have to use his ultimate technique, beauty trap. He had always hated his face. He didn't think that one day it would become something that would save his life. It was the first time Li Lanfeng was grateful to his parents for giving him such an otherworldly face… With his previous experiences, it would probably be effective.

Every time he showed his face, Ling Lan's endurance against him would be lower. As expected, men all cared about looks… Luckily, Ling Lan still hadn't forgotten this instinct.

Ling Lan didn't know that Li Lanfeng was already out of techniques, so he only had the beauty trap left… Ugh, let us pray for Ling Lan and hope she can successfully get past the test of the beauty trap!

Han Jijyun saw Li Lanfeng's gesture and spoke up, "If we can think of these problems, then the military headquarters' staff officers also will be able to predict it. No matter if Supreme Dragon can join the fight, the Federation will still send a god-class operator to the frontline army attacking the Twilight Empire. That is because the war this time represents the Federation's dignity and public image, and one that they could not afford to lose."

After hearing those words, Ling Lan nodded. Han Jijyun, who received his Boss's recognition became even more confident, "Intergalactic war will happen, but it wouldn't occur everywhere in an instant. Even if Supreme Dragon cannot join, the Federation will still have enough time to handle the situation when the actual intergalactic war erupts."

Chapter 1212 A Villainous Plot?

"We just don't know which god-class operator the military headquarters have sent to participate in the war." Han Jijyun had a pondering look on his face. Although the Federation had eight other god-class operators and could send any one of them, in reality, it wasn't as simple as it seemed. Our enemies predict how many god-class operators are left and quantify their overall battle potential within the Federation after taking a look at the god-class operators we send out as god-class operators have their own strengths and weaknesses. One poorly made decision might allow our enemies to uncover the hidden truth.

"That's for the military headquarters to figure out. You don't have to use your mind for that." Qi Long saw Han Jijyun pondering deeply about the issue and told him to stop.

Hearing this, Han Jijyun shook his head in resignation. "Indeed. This has nothing to do with us, but it's a good practice. I want to simulate being in an actual war. Although the military headquarters had given us a three-year grace period, I'm very sure that at the end of it, we will have to go to war. When that time comes, everything will be through personal judgment. If I can practice more and increase my knowledge, it will be good for our future as an independent army."

"We don't have three years," Ling Lan suddenly said solemnly.

All of the brigade leaders were all surprised by the sudden statement and looked towards Ling Lan.

Ling Lan calmly said, leaving no room for doubt, "We may have to go into the battlefield in the near future."

She didn't forget the reminder her father had given her before leaving for war. The spy who was recently caught wasn't the prized fish her father seeked. The spy who had hurt her father was still at large.

"How soon?" Yang Mingzhi had a grave look on his face as he asked.

He finally understood why the logistics department was running in full force and why they were rampantly increasing their numbers of their army. Moreover, he knew now why Lingtian was taking in more established mecha clans and difficult-to-handle veterans, than new recruits who had potential and had admiration for Ling Lan and her army. If their army still had that three-year grace period, taking in those recruits were the most obvious and correct choice as they had potential to grow to the top performers of the army while also being loyal to Lingtian.

However, with that grace period gone, their commander had no choice but to recruit those stubborn veterans soldiers. The burden of the survival of Lingtian Independent Army was on Ling Lan's shoulders. She must have refused to take in those new recruits because of their own good. She hoped that they would have time to grow in a safe environment to just be cannon fodder on the battlefield.

Without those three years, most of the new recruits would perish if they were immediately sent into the battlefield. Although war could allow new recruits to grow much quicker, becoming elites of war, the price for such hardened elites was a very high mortality rate.

His commander, Ling Lan, was although cold-hearted and seemingly merciless and ruthless, but every decision he made was through much careful thought, no matter if it was for new recruits or veterans.

Yang Mingzhi was moved. If the chief who led him at his downfall thought things through like Commander Ling, could his comrades have came out alive from that trap?

A wave of regret rushed into Yang Mingzhi's heart. He was lucky to meet this new commander, but unfortunately, his comrades weren't as lucky as him.

"It will depend on when General Ling Xiao achieves a huge victory in the war." Ling Lan's cold and clear voice forced Yang Mingzhi to toss the regret and sadness to the back of his head as needed to think about his current comrades now. Ling Lan's words caused a frown to form on his face. He could smell the plot thickening in the air.

"Someone is planning on going against General Ling Xiao?" Yang Mingzhi looked at Ling Lan with his widened eyes in hopes that his commander could give him an answer.

"It's a high possibility. That's why one huge victory would make it all clear." A coldness flashed before Ling Lan's eyes for a moment.

If the military headquarters were to actually give an order for Lingtian Independent Army to enter the war against the Twilight Empire, then no matter what the reason was, there would definitely be a top ranking individual who wanted to go against her father. However, using her as a pawn to trap her father still needed her approval first.

Ling Lan's words made all the brigade leader's faces darken. Ling Xiao was the idol of every soldier in the military. They couldn't accept the fact that someone wanted to plot against the general, and the fact that person was a high ranking official from the military headquarters.

At that moment, the military headquarters was in a state of rage after receiving news of Granda's god-class operators appearing on the Twilight Empire's battlefield. After an emergency meeting, they immediately sent the god-class operator who was closest to the Twilight Empire to join the war. At the same time, the Federation's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was putting down Granda for becoming involved in the war between the two nations… The Intergalactic United Nations once again turned into a large debacle of who's right and who's wrong. The Federation's most valued ally had actively participated in the argument, declaring that they were going to war as well. A war between two nations now became a war between four nations. The flames of war began to spread.

"The Federation sent the closest god-class operators to the Twilight Empire… They made a really good choice. We are now unable to determine if Supreme Dragon has fallen from grace." At that moment, in the military headquarters of the Caesar Empire, a few high ranking officials were sitting and discussing about the imminent intergalactic war..

"According to the intel our spies have given us, out of the eight god-class operators, three of them are within the military headquarters and the other five are at locations here, here, and here…" A white-haired general from Caesar pointed at the mini virtual screen in front of him and five red dots followed afterwards, indicating where he had pointed.

"Everyone can see that there are two points that although seem to be of opposite directions, but they are both closest to the Twilight Empire's battlefield. For god-class mechas, such distance can be neglected." said the white-haired general as he pointed at the two dots close to the Twilight Empire.

"The Federation sent out the god of close combat, Dominant Sword King, Wang Shang. He's considered to be in the middle of the pack in the Federation," said the general sitting opposite towards him.

"So he's ranked around the middle." Another general who was sitting at the side of the white-haired general, guffawed.

"Yes. According to the spies' intel, his rank is seventh." said the white-haired general. "The other god-class mecha operator they sent is ranked 4th, Master of the East, Dong Xiangnan.

After hearing that name, many people felt their eyes twitching and felt a bit nauseous.

Ling Xiao came up the ranks quite recently compared to the large interval of ascensions of god-class operators. He was considered by all the nations to be the Federation's number one god-class operator after he had returned because his piloting was perfect with no weaknesses and he was adept in both close combat and long range combat. However, before Ling Xiao had returned, what made the other nations have headaches was not the top three strongest individuals in the Federation. It was instead this Dong Xiangnan, who was always 4th no matter what.

When talking about Dong Xiangnan, any god-class operator who had fought with him, would cuss and insult him as despicable and shameless. His existence was essentially a disgrace to all god-class operators.

The Federation's god-class operators usually fought fairly and would always use their abilities to push against their opponents. However, Dong Xiangnan wasn't anything like that. No matter if the opponent was strong or weak, he wouldn't fight them head on. He would constantly hide and ambush them, and that was the norm for him. He would even use perverted techniques that no one dared to even mention. Moreover, his arsenal was full of those perverted techniques.

No one knew Dong Xiangnan's real capabilities was. That was because those who went against him would usually die from a trap before he showed his real potential, not to mention anyone forcing Dong Xiangnan to put in all of his effort into the fight. In reality, except for the prime Supreme Dragon, Mountain King of the South, King Muqi and Ling Xiao who came recently, Dong Xiangnan was the only undefeated god-class operator from the Federation. This was why he could maintain the fourth position for so long.

Chapter 1213 Profound God-Class

"If Supreme Dragon is still able to operate a god-class mecha, the Federation wouldn't have sent the Master of the East," The white-haired general stated plainly.

"Do you mean we can now ignore Supreme Dragon?" One of the lieutenant generals was excited. The ambition in his eyes was obvious.

"A starving camel is still larger than a horse. No one knows how much strength Supreme Dragon can release when the pressure is on. However, we can be sure that Supreme Dragon isn't as powerful as he was in the past." The white-haired general felt fearful when he remembered the scene he saw in the past. He closed his eyes to calm his furiously beating heart.

He placed so much emphasis on Supreme Dragon because he had seen Supreme Dragon entering profound god-class before. It was a frightening experience. He felt as though nine dragon gods had descended on earth. Just spectating the experience had caused a devil to form in his heart. He has never been able to sleep peacefully since then.

He could vividly remember the terror he had felt back then. Just one attack from Supreme Dragon disintegrated one of Caesar's god-class operators. From then on, Caesar had been suppressed by the Federation until Supreme Dragon's ability deteriorated and Ling Xiao 'dying' from their scheme. However, their good times didn't last long as Ling Xiao came back and Caesar was back to being suppressed again.

Caesar was a proud nation. They couldn't stand being second to another nation. Thus, they used every method in their grasp to implant spies into the military headquarters of the Federation, just so that they could achieve their goal of being the most powerful nation again.

The reason why Huaxia had been able to suppress them for so long was because of Supreme Dragon and Ling Xiao. The former had reached profound god-class while the latter was a flawless god-class mecha operator. Moreover, the latter had also killed a god-class operator before, increasing his danger level in their minds.

However, only Caesar and Twilight knew about this fact. The newly advanced god-class operator, Gongteng Yuanwang, died before anyone knew he was a god-class operator. He perished in the explosion of Planet Zuojing.

Twilight despised Ling Xiao for destroying Planet Zuojing but they hated him more for killing their youngest god-class operator. They spent much effort to groom a god-class operator only for him to be a corpse in space. They used up almost 50 years of their national resources to groom such an operator. That meant that they had to wait another 50 years before they could produce their next god-class operator.

When Caesar heard about this, they chalked it to just Twilight having horsesh*t luck as Gongteng Yuanwang died on his home planet the moment he became a god-class operator. No one expected Ling Xiao to use Divine Punishment the moment he willed to destroy Planet Zuojing. What was worse was that he aimed Divine Punishment at the place where Gongteng Yuanwang was celebrating his advancement. Gongteng Yuanwang didn't even have the time to react before he was turned into dust.

Thus, Twilight viewed Ling Xiao as their eternal enemy. Ling Xiao thought that they hated him because he destroyed Planet Zuojing but there was another deep-rooted reason behind it.

Twilight wanted to kill Ling Xiao but Caesar wanted to kill Supreme Dragon. The upper echelons of Caesar felt that a god-class operator who hadn't reached the profound god-class was nothing to be afraid of, but profound god-class operators were just another entity on their own. The moment they ascertained that Supreme Dragon wasn't at profound god-class anymore, Caesar would enter the war.

Of course, they would still target Ling Xiao. If they were able to kill the most powerful god-class operator of the Federation, they would be able to step over Huaxia like ants. After all, they had a profound god-class operator itching to come out.

"Do we inform Twilight that we're entering the war?" An old but stern man opened his mouth.

The white-haired general smiled. "The president feels that we should wait a while more."

"Wait?" The old man raised his eyebrows in doubt. He couldn't understand the decision.

"The time isn't right." He didn't know when was the right time too but he just repeated the president's words.

The time isn't right?' The lieutenant generals and generals in the meeting were puzzled. However, since their president had already made the decision, they could only follow it through. They just hoped that they wouldn't have to wait too long.

At that moment, Qi Yaoyang was having a close shave with death. He tried his best to evade the attacks but the difference between an imperial operator and a god-class operator was too vast, even for the god-like Qi Yaoyang.

Federick underestimated Qi Yaoyang at the start so Qi Yaoyang was able to dodge his early attacks. However, after tuning his mentality, he no longer looked down on his opponent. He started treating his opponent seriously.

Even when he wasn't serious, Qi Yaoyang wasn't his match. If it wasn't for King Muqi's help, Qi Yaoyang would have died a long time ago.

However, the help didn't last for long. Lord Jindao exerted more pressure on King Muqi so he wasn't able to help Qi Yaoyang anymore. Just as Qi Yaoyang was about to die under the hands of Federick, another god-class operator charged towards the battlefield at the speed of light.

"Ah, another god-class mecha had come." Twilight noticed the incoming god-class mecha too.

"Damn it, it's from the Federation!" The Twilight soldiers gritted their teeth when they saw the appearance of the god-class mecha.

"It's our god-class operator!" The soldiers from the Federation cheered out loud.

"It's Dominant Sword King!" Some soldiers shouted excitedly when they saw the familiar mecha.

"It's our king of close combat."

Dominant Sword King was a close combat god-class mecha. Most of the god-class mechas are close combat god-class mechas but Dominant Sword King made a name for himself out of the masses by being a fearless close combat warrior. He wasn't like the other god-class mecha masters who used god-class techniques and all kinds of defense systems to prevent themselves from getting hurt. Dominant Sword King only attacked. He had no defensive technique. He believed in the dharma 'offense is the best defense'.

That meant that every attack he made was powerful and filled with risk. He would get hurt along with his opponent. At the end, the one who survived was the one who could last longer. This was definitely a battle of luck and endurance.

Federick wanted to kill Qi Yaoyang but he suddenly felt a chill on his back.

He raised his beam saber and turned around.

Clang! The residual force from the collision could be felt from his cockpit. He felt uncomfortable around his chest.

He quickly moved his mecha back a few hundred meters and saw a god-class mecha looking coldly at him with a sword in each hand.

Chapter 1214 Divine Punishment.

At Three Stars Lock, the starships from the 23rd division aimed their cannons at Planet No. 1. They received an order to raze the planet to its core.

They waited silently for the huge and holy-like mecha in front of them to initiate the battle. Once it did, they would follow.

Ling Xiao said coldly, "Activate Divine Punishment."

The twelve wings behind the mecha unfurled, making the mecha akin to a messenger from heaven. Every wing started congregating energy at its tips. This was the most powerful offensive system of (Belief). None could hinder its path except god-class mechas.

The twelve wings were all locked in one location, Planet No. 1 of Three Stars Lock.

Ling Xiao's gaze was cold and ruthless. He knew that once he launched his attack, millions of people would be pulverized instantly. Countless innocent lives would be implicated too. His current image now was no longer Lan Luofeng's loving husband or Ling Lan's doting father. He was the ultimate weapon of the Federation, Ling Xiao.

He pressed the button calmly and the twelve wings ejected their energy, congregating towards one direction. Divine Punishment was activated.

"Fire!" All the captains of the starships shouted simultaneously.

Multiple beams, along with Divine Punishment, shot towards the unsuspecting planet.

The inhabitants of Three Stars Lock knew that they were in danger the moment their radars went haywire. All the soldiers were already prepared for the worst. Some mechas had already been ejected into the vast space. Once they spot any signs of their enemies, they would stop them at all costs, even if the cost was their lives.

Only if their signal wasn't blocked, they would have contacted the central command center for help.

The higher authorities of Twilight were aware that Ling Xiao wanted to sneak an attack on their capital planet. Hence, they laid many traps and waited for Ling Xiao to step inside.

The head of the logistics department at Three Stars Lock knew about this plan so giddy just at the thought of the possible death of Ling Xiao. However, when he realised that the signals at the Three Stars Lock were blocked, memories entered his mind of the time when Ling Xiao tried to sneak through the death wormhole. He could feel his heart dropping to the pits of his stomach. Did Ling Xiao give up on the capital planet just to complete his mission 25 years ago?

It had to be said that his judgement was very accurate.

"Head, a huge energy wave is detected in the direction of Planet No. 1." One of the soldiers in the command center received feedback from the energy detectors on Planet No. 1 and quickly reported to his head.

"We detected it too," Another soldier in charge of the radar exclaimed.

"What's the figure?" The head asked anxiously.

"It has exceeded the maximum range of the radar," The soldier shouted in fright. The screens in front of him were all blinking in red. The blaring sound of alarm pierced his ears.

Everyone in the command center noticed the commotion too. They stopped what they were doing and prayed that it wasn't too big of a problem. The head rushed to the soldier and stared blankly at the red alerts on the screen. His face was pale as the freshest sheet of paper. He lost strength in his legs as he slumped down powerlessly. "It's Ling Xiao. It's really Ling Xiao."

Besides the Divine Punishment system, what else could create such a huge amount of energy?

"Planet No.1 is finished." The head looked at the direction where the block of energy was heading towards. His heart bled as he predicted at the faith of the inhabitants of Planet No. 1 with lifeless eyes.

Planet No. 1 might be able to handle one round of Divine Punishment but they wouldn't be able to handle the subsequent attacks from the starships. The cannons on them might not be as powerful as the Divine Punishment system but with the amount of firepower those thousands of cannons could churn out, it was nothing to scoff at.

After two rounds of Divine Punishment, even their biggest planet would be half-destroyed. Planet No. 1 was the smallest planet among the three planets at Three Stars Lock.

Planet No. 1 was where all their goods and materials were stored. The logistics headquarters was erected on Planet No. 3. If Ling Xiao wanted to destroy the logistics headquarters, he would've attacked Planet No. 3. However, he must have known that based on the power of his starships and (Belief), he would need at least three rounds of Divine Punishment before he could destroy Planet No.

The cannons and Divine Punishment needed time to replenish their ammo and energy. If they couldn't finish their opponent in one attack, their opponent would have the chance to resist.

The three planets at Three Stars Lock were able to rotate safely because they had reached a state of equilibrium. Once this equilibrium was broken, the three planets would be in danger of falling out of orbit. Ling Xiao wanted to break the balance of the three planets. That was why he attacked the under-defended Planet No. 1.

Boom! Planet no.1 exploded. Inhabitants thought the apocalypse was coming. Multiple escape pods ejected out of the base on the planet before the explosion occurred. However, it was up to fate whether they were able to escape the range of the explosion.

"Beep beep beep. An unknown flying object has appeared." The ace mecha masters at the frontline heard the warning from their mechas.

"Prepare for battle!" All the regiment commanders and the team leaders ordered their members.

They were prepared for this. They knew that the moment they attacked Planet No.1, their whereabouts would be exposed soon. Their enemies would definitely not be like a sitting duck and take their beating.

Ling Xiao's wings finished accumulating energy again. He aimed them at the mechas from Twilight and fired, pulverizing anything and everything in its oath

It left nine empty roads of death in the formation of the incoming Twilight army.

However, it didn't give him any joy as Ling Xiao frowned as he looked towards the center of the army. A huge mecha had appeared in front of him. Three of his beams had been blocked by the shield of this mecha.

Only a god-class mecha could block Divine Punishment. That's right, this mecha in front of him was a god-class mecha too. The appearance of this mecha caused the mecha operators in the middle three lanes to escape death.

"It looks like Caesar has already started helping Twilight. So, this is where you were hiding." Ling Xiao sneered as he looked at the familiar mecha in front of him.

"Immortal Bird Ling Xiao." The person tried his best to speak the Huaxia language.

"Duke Allomone," Ling Xiao replied calmly.

The god-class operators of Caesar were given feudal ranks based on their capabilities. This person in front of him was the fifth among the god-class operators in Caesar.

The strongest god-class operator from Caesar was King Paro. It was said that he had fought Supreme Dragon on equal footing. However, that happened a long time ago. There was not much news of him now. As for this Duke Allomone, he became famous 60 years ago. It was due to the constant news coverage of his heroic acts, painting him as the selfless hero of Caesar which turned him into the most respected god-class operator in Caesar.

But, the most famous god-class operator in the human universe was Ling Xiao.

He 'died' for 16 years before coming back alive. Then, he was recognised as the most powerful god-class operator. His operations were said to be perfect too. His legendary experience made him famous in the whole universe. Many god-class operators were unhappy about this as they felt Ling Xiao had stolen their limelight. Duke Allomone was one of those jealous sods. He always felt that Ling Xiao only knew how to create hype around his operations while in actuality, being just average.

Chapter 1215 Duplication!

"Immortal Bird, you've come. Now, come here obediently like the dog you are and let me chop your neck." Duke Allomone mocked as he slashed his sword at Ling Xiao.

Ling Xiao moved his mecha and somersaulted backward to evade the blade.

Allomone kept his sword and sneered. "You don't dare to fight me head-on? Aren't you the number one god-class operator of the Federation?"

Ling Xiao furled his twelve wings back into his mecha. He reached behind him and took out his sword. He twirled the huge sword and said coldly, "Please."

Allomone narrowed his eyes in anger. The way Ling Xiao twirled his sword was similar to what he did. This was blanket provocation to him.

He raised his giant sword slowly. This movement seemed simple but behind the movement, his mecha's arm was vibrating at a breakneck pace. The vibration from his arm moved towards his sword, turning his sword into a meat grinder. This was one of Allomone's ultimate sword techniques, Vibration of Death.

If his enemy didn't notice anything and tried to receive the sword attack, he would be injured by the vibration within the sword. The mecha would be injured and his opponent's sword would shatter.

Ling Xiao smiled as he raised his sword in the same way.

Both their actions were the same which caught the attention of the spectating soldiers from the Federation.

"Are they going to have a close combat battle?" The soldiers were stunned. In their minds, their general had always used Divine Punishment to defeat his opponents through kiting and harrassing. They had never seen him engaging in close combat before.

Ling Xiao was known to have flawless operating skills but most soldiers felt that he was much more adept in long-range techniques rather than close combat techniques. The person who was able to utilize Divine Punishment to its fullest potential was Ling Xiao.

"Duke Allomone is one of the most powerful close combat mecha operators of Caesar. Will the general be alright?" Some soldiers started worrying. They were confident about their general's long-range techniques because they had seen it in action before but Ling Xiao never had displayed his close combat techniques before them. Hence, they were worried about him.

"Why don't you look at the technique the general is using." An experienced soldier was able to notice the minute details of the ongoing battle better than the younger soldiers, so he decided to teach the younger soldiers.

"Technique? Isn't he just doing the same action as his opponent? Is he using one of his techniques?" Someone was puzzled. Not everyone was able to see the secret of the movement.

"What is it? Tell me…" A lot of people couldn't see through the movement. Hence, they gathered around the experienced soldier in hopes that he would give them an answer.

"Who knows what techniques the general has?" The experienced soldier felt speechless. Most battles between god-class operators were done in secret. Not many people had the chance to watch it. Most people felt that Ling Xiao's long-range techniques were more powerful because he used Divine Punishment when he came back alive many years ago.

"Tsk!" Everyone glared at the experienced soldier. They had high hopes for him but his answer was disappointing.

The experienced soldier quickly continued, "I don't know what his techniques are but I remember the general's powerful innate talent."

"Innate talent?"

"Duplication!"

Everyone thought about the same thing and shouted in unplanned unison.

They looked at the screen again. When they saw the same movements from the two mechas, they felt excited. They had full respect for Ling Xiao. It was rumoured that General Ling Xiao was able to duplicate any techniques he saw. It meant that he could duplicate the technique of the other god-class operator, right?

While the soldiers were gushing over Ling Xiao's prowess, Allomone slashed his sword at Ling Xiao. He had finished congregating the vibrations in his sword.

Ling Xiao struck his sword at Allomone too.

Bang! The two swords collided. Allomone suddenly felt a huge force creeping up to his shoulders.

The two mechas flew back for a few metres. Both the huge swords were wobbling in their hands.

"That's impossible. How could it be Vibration of Death!" Allomone looked at Ling Xiao with a dumbfounded look. The techniques of every god-class mecha master were all distinct in their own way. Even if they thought of the same technique, the application of the technique was different for every mecha operator. For instance, many people might have similar techniques like his Vibration of Death but the way they used it was different from him. Hence, you could say that the techniques of every god-class mecha master were unique.

He had sparred with many god-class operators from many different nations but had never met someone who had the same technique as him. He felt that his opponent had dug his brain out to replicate the technique perfectly. This made him quite flabbergasted and nervous.

However, despite his initial nervousness, Allomone regained his senses quickly. He was unwilling to accept the fact that Ling Xiao had copied his technique. He wanted to try again, so he took out another sword from behind him.

As an advent pursuer towards the pinnacle of close combat, Allomone never just carried one sword with him. Many of his real battle techniques required him to combine the two swords together. The battle technique was known as Death Whirlpool.

Allomone placed his hands together and combined the handles of the two swords. He turned it into an even bigger sword where both ends were blades. He grabbed the middle of the sword and started spinning it, and a whirlpool quickly formed around him. Energy started congregating in the whirlpool.

The mecha operators around him felt a huge sense of crisis. All the mecha operators, whether they were from the Federation or Twilight, stopped their fights and moved away from the two god-class mecha masters. They moved as far away as they could. They knew that once they got hit by the god-class mecha masters, they would most probably be dead.

Ling Xiao repeated whatever Allomone was doing.

(Belief] carried many things on it to accommodate its master's innate talent. There were two giant swords behind him as well as two thin lightsabers at the side. There were also two giant long-range beam guns strapped to its side. Two beam handguns were placed near his waist. A few high-frequency blades were stuck on the thighs of (Belief). It was loaded with weapons.

Ling Xiao moved as quickly as Allomone. In the eyes of the bystanders, both of them were moving simultaneously. While Allomone finished combining the two swords, Ling Xiao had finished combining his too. As Allomone spun his sword, Ling Xiao started spinning his too.

Chapter 1216 Ling Xiao, You're Vile!

"It's the same technique again!" The soldiers from the Federation who were watching the battle were on the edge of their seats. At that moment, everyone knew that the general was using his duplication innate talent to its fullest and had successfully copied his opponent's battle technique. However, a copy was only just a copy. Could its final power be as strong as the original?

Bang! The two large whirling swords clashed once again.

The two swords stopped spinning after smashing into each other. The two mechas seemed to have been stopped in time, as they were just pushing against each other with none of them budging a single inch.

'Their strength is on par?'

Right as everyone thought that was the case, a mecha was suddenly sent flying out from the clash.

"Ah, it's the general!" It was Ling Xiao's (Belief).

"The general?" Soldiers from the Federation were shocked as they shouted in surprise. Could it be that their general had lost?

"Ah, the huge swords!" Suddenly, someone exclaimed in shock.

As those words were spoken, the two swords that were stuck to each other suddenly cracked into pieces, shattering in all directions. Ling Xiao's (Belief] perfectly evaded all of the pieces of the swords because he had flown out of the way beforehand and somersaulted in space.

Allomone on the other hand, did not move from his spot. Faced with the broken sword pieces, he didn't dodge. His mecha just shined brightly to block the sword pieces.

After blocking the pieces, the mecha's original shining light turned dim. However, god-class mechas had a core that could quickly replenish the energy. One second was all that was needed for the god-class mecha's shield to replenish to its full power. In other words, Allomone was in the most danger during that one second time frame. However, in this case, even though the god-class mecha's shield was still not completely yet depleted, it could still block a top-level battle technique.

Allomone was also not an idiot who would just stand there and take a beating. He quickly piloted his mecha to back up and was preparing to safely pass through the one second down time. He was going to let his shield recharge and then continue his barrage of attacks. A god-class operator would never let himself be in a dangerous situation.

Allomone's idea was good, but it would have to depend on whether Ling Xiao gave him the chance to do so.

In that instant, two white lights cut across the space around them and ruthlessly struck Allomone's mecha.

Allomone couldn't evade at all and could only use his shield to forcefully block them.

The light on the mecha finally disappeared. The attack completely depleted the energy of the god-class mecha's god shield. The mecha instantly became as dark as space itself. At that moment, everyone saw that the two white lights were actually Ling Xiao's two beam sabers.

However, Ling Xiao's retaliation didn't stop there, as his two hands held two beam handguns. The power of the beam handguns were not comparable to beam rifles, but the advantage was that it didn't need to gather much energy to fire at a rapid pace.

As expected, after the beam saber hit, a barrage of beam projectiles came towards Allomone. It perfectly covered the field, encapsulating Allomone completely so that he would be hit no matter where or how he chose to evade.

However, the power of the beam handguns was not enough to harm a god-class mecha. It could only deplete the energy of the god shield that was still recovering, forcing the shield to stay at its lowest energy state. The shield could block the beam projectiles of the beam handguns, but high impact weapons would definitely cause damage to the god-class mecha.

The situation undoubtedly showed that Allomone was at a disadvantage and Ling Xiao seemingly had control over the field. A few younger soldiers from the Federation couldn't help but shout happily. The experienced veterans on the other hand had concerned expressions on their faces. That was because they knew that once Ling Xiao stopped controlling the field and gave his opponent one second of time, then Ling Xiao's advantage would be gone and everything would return to the stalemate beforehand.

No, it might even be worse than that. It should be known that Ling Xiao had already lost all of the strong weapons for close combat purposes. His large swords burst into pieces and his beam sabers were tossed away into the depths of space. He only had two long range rifles left. The beam handguns he was using to attack could be considered as close range weapons, but it wasn't as strong as the other weapons as the handguns were mostly used to interfere with high-frequency blades.

The opponent on the other hand, had only lost his large sword, while still having a strong beam saber on his back. Once they fight in close quarters, the general will definitely be at a disadvantage. In terms of long range, just the general's handguns were not enough to severely damage his opponent. He also couldn't switch to the long range sniper rifle because it would give his opponent time to replenish the god shield. In the end, the results were not in favor of their general.

During that moment, at a location where no one could see, the 12 wings hidden behind (Belief) that furled back into the mecha, slowly gathered energy. The tips of the wings began to give off a dim light.

Se

Another few minutes had passed, and Ling Xiao was still perfectly in control of the field. He was still accurately depleting Allomone's god shield's energy, never giving him that one second time frame. This was clearly a battle of endurance. Out of the two of them, Ling Xiao's spiritual power was being depleted at a much quicker rate than Allomone. The reason for such rapid depletion was the calculations he needed to churn out about the impact of his projectiles, along with his opponent's movement. He must calculate it perfectly and not make any errors, which had caused quite a strain on his mind.

Even those newbie soldiers, who didn't have enough battle experience, knew their general's overall situation wasn't as good as they had previously thought. It was actually not good at all. All of the soldiers in the 23rd Division were concerned and were worried for their general. They didn't know when their general would make the eventual mistake or error. When that happened, that would be Allomone's chance to turn the tides around.

After some time, Ling Xiao's perfect and accurate beam projectiles suddenly went off course. Many of them landed around Allomone, while only a small amount went towards Allomone. For a god-class operator, the small amount that was left could be completely evaded.

Finally, after such high intensity calculations and field control, Ling Xiao's spiritual power had reached its limit. Ling Xiao finally made a huge mistake.

Seeing the situation, the soldiers from the 23rd Division all screamed out in shock.

Allomone's eyes shined brightly as an opportunity had appeared in front of him.

However, in the blink of an eye, his face instantly turned pale. He then screamed out uncontrollably, "NOOO!"

He didn't know when, but the wings of the Divine Punishment system were unfurled. All of the tips of the wings were pointed towards him. As he screamed in agony and regret, the 12 wings shot 12 bright lights simultaneously.

Even if the god shield was at full power, it was impossible for a god-class mecha to not pay any price in order to block all 12 wings. Not to mention, Allomone's god shield was now completely depleted by Ling Xiao's constant barrage of beam projectiles. If he couldn't dodge the attack from the 12 wings, then the final outcome would be death.

At that moment, Allomone understood Ling Xiao was just buying his time to recharge his Divine Punishment system. He didn't want to just defeat him, but rather, keep him there forever and let him become a corpse in space.

"Ling Xiao, you're vile!" shouted Allomone. His spiritual power suddenly increased exponentially. On the brink of death, his finger speed suddenly broke through his previous limit. With his newfound peak spiritual power, he wanted to pilot his mecha and get out of the situation alive.

Chapter 1217 Death!

Right as he spoke, a beautiful lotus bloomed in space. It unfurled its petals to reveal more layers. After unfurling eight times, the light finally began to fade as images of the stalk began to fade into the scene.

At that moment, even the people from the Federation and the Twilight Empire, couldn't help but look towards the center where the lotus faded away as they silently waited for the final result.

Boom! Suddenly, the engine of a mecha erupted. The Twilight Empire began to cheer. That noise meant that Allomone was not dead.

They were very much aware that if Allomone were to die, they would not be able to get out of the situation alive as no one could take on Ling Xiao's Divine Punishment.

Finally, a broken mecha flew out from the center of the faded lotus.

"Ling Xiao, just you wait!" Allomone's vengeful voice was heard on the public channel. This loss was definitely a disgrace for him. He would definitely return this lost a hundred fold.

Boom! Another explosion erupted from Allomone's mecha.

This time, parts of Allomone's god-class mecha began to explode in tandem. The revving of the engine that was originally there, was now gone. The currently limbless mecha slowly floated in space silently.

Ling Xiao slowly put down the beam sniper rifle he had in his hands. In the crucial moment, he performed perfectly. In less than a second, he switched to his sniper rifle and used his strongest sniping technique to send Allomone to his grave.

The entire battlefield was dead silent. Everyone was shocked by what they saw. In the last few hundred years, there hasn't been any god-class operator who had perished in a one-on-one battle. However, what was in front destroyed that peaceful record in its entirety, they actually saw a god-class operator die with their very own eyes. This made everyone feel like they were in a dream.

"Ha! General! General! General! General!" After that mind-numbing moment, the soldiers from the Federation's 23rd Division could no longer control themselves, as they began to chant excitedly with their arms up in the air to show their excitement.

"Duke Allomore died? Impossible!" All of the soldiers from the Twilight Empire couldn't believe what they had just seen. A Caesar god-class operator, Duke Allomore, who they believed to be invincible, was so easily taken out by Immortal Bird Ling Xiao?

Taking out Duke Allomore actually took a lot out of Ling Xiao. He used all of his techniques and expended all of his tricks, making it a very tough fight for Ling Xiao. However, in the eyes of bystanders, Ling Xiao had the upper hand from the very beginning. No matter if it was when he used his Divine Punishment to hit Allomone, or when he shot using his sniper rifle, all of his actions seemed to be perfectly executed. It pictured the image that Ling Xiao was just overwhelmingly stronger than Duke Allomore.

Ling Xiao took a deep breath and then recharged the twelve wings once again. He pointed them towards the army of the Twilight Empire. Although he took out the god-class mecha, the battle was not yet finished. He must quickly take out the rest of the Twilight Empire's resistance and completely destroy Three Stars Lock.

Although Three Stars Lock had one of its planets completely destroyed, the situation wasn't as bad as Ling Xiao had previously thought. Although the two planets had fallen out of orbit, it still quickly managed to reach an equilibrium with each other. It seemed the Twilight Empire had already planned ahead in case something happened to one of the planets. From the current outlook, the results were quite effective.

However, Ling Xiao wouldn't just give up on something he wanted to do. If destroying one planet wouldn't let him achieve his goal, then Ling Xiao would prepare to destroy the second planet.

If he wanted to mount a full assault on the second planet, he must take out the Twilight Empire mechas standing in his way. Otherwise, they would definitely use their bodies to block his attacks without any care for their own lives. As for why Ling Xiao wasn't using the starships to do that, the 23rd Division was currently on their own, so they were limited in terms of energy cells and weapon supplies. Ling Xiao didn't want to waste the starship's main cannon on just mechas.

Boom! Divine Punishment was seen again. It could not be blocked. The places where the 12 beams of light had hit were completely wiped away from the face of the galaxy.

Ling Xiao then aimed at the Twilight Empire's mecha army with his large beam rifle and coldly commanded, "Front-line mecha operators, full assault!"

After hearing Ling Xiao's orders, the ace operators on the front-lines all put up the weapons in their hands, shouted angrily and pounced towards the Twilight Empire's mecha army.

A large mecha battle began.

Ling Xiao then ordered for all starships to change directions to move them past the mecha battlefield. All main cannons were ordered to be targeted at Three Stars Lock's second planet.

At the same time, (Belief]'s 12 wings gathered enough energy once again and pointed themselves towards the second planet that no longer had anything guarding it.

"What? Ling Xiao appeared at Three Stars Lock?" The Twilight Empire's main military headquarters finally received news from Three Stars Lock. Everyone had a grave look on their faces.

"It's fine. A Duke is guarding Three Stars Lock. He could definitely keep Ling Xiao at bay," said General Black Wing, as he put a slight feeling of worry into the back of his mind.

"No matter what, we must not let Allomone fight alone," suggested another general.

"Since we have confirmed Ling Xiao is there, then we should send him the surprise we have prepared for him." The general sitting on the main seat, no longer had his mild-mannered demeanor but instead had a coldness in his eyes.

"Yes, lord general!" Everyone stood up and responded in a serious tone.

Afterwards, everyone went to do their own things. In order to take out Ling Xiao, they had to make many arrangements and give out many orders.

Not long after, a starship fleet flew out from within the Twilight Empire and towards Three Stars Lock.

When they arrived at the outer boundary of Three Stars Lock, their eyes were filled with sights of mecha debris floating in the vast space before them.

The starship fleet quickly sent out mechanics to carefully clear the debris that could cause fatal damage to their starships. Caution must be exercised when clearing these debris and rubble because no one knew whether the debris had unstable or possibly explosive energy sources. No one wanted to take the risk of losing their lives.

Before long, they finally managed to arrive at Three Stars Lock. The generals saw that the originally beautiful and bright Three Stars Lock only had one planet that was not completely destroyed. It was the last planet, still burning brightly, illuminating their darkened expressions.

"Damn it!" One general angrily smashed his control deck, "We're too late."

"Put everything into searching for Ling Xiao and his damn 23rd Division." This order was given out by all of the generals. They wanted to immediately find Ling Xiao and his 23rd Division, then kill them to take revenge for the Three Stars Lock.

"I'm sorry, but the thermal readings around this area cannot give us any useful information." Every staff member of each division reported this information to their generals. The battle at the Three Stars Lock was very recent so there were many energy signals which caused their radars to lose their effectiveness on thermal readings.

"Bastard!" Despite being angry, these Twilight Empire's generals all knew they could do nothing about it. In the end, they could only give the order to search for survivors. Of course, they also want to get some answers for their doubts from the survivors. Doubts such as: Where Caesar's Duke had gone off to? Why couldn't he go with the plan and hold Ling Xiao here until they got here?

This was a question that the Twilight Empire and Caesar weren't able to figure out the answer to. Even if the Duke was weaker than Ling Xiao, they would definitely not think that he would die by Ling Xiao's hand. After all, when god-class operators used god-class mechas, they wouldn't die unless there was an underlying factor that could not be avoided. After all, the god shield system and its short recoverability completely eliminated the possibility of death.

Chapter 1218 It's Coming!

"President, there's a new piece of news from Twilight. Duke Allomore has disappeared." General Adam came in with bad news.

Adam was the superior of the white-haired general who was observing the battle between Twilight and the Federation.

The president frowned. "What happened?"

"Ling Xiao didn't attack the capital of Twilight. He chose to attack Three Stars Lock instead." Adam's expression was dark. "Duke Allomone was stationed at Three Stars Lock based on our plan."

"It means that Ling Xiao has succeeded." The president lowered his eyes. No emotions could be seen on his face.

"Yes. Three Stars Lock is completely destroyed. If Twilight doesn't receive any replenishment of supplies from the other nations, it will collapse." Adam smiled bitterly. They wanted to use Twilight to probe the Federation to see what the Federation's limit was. Yet, now, no harm seemed to be done to the Federation and one of their god-class operators was even missing because of this. Was he captured by their enemy or was he dead?

Adam quickly kicked the latter thought out of his mind. How could a god-class operator die? He must have surrendered and volunteered to become the Federation's 'guest'.

"Did they find Ling Xiao?" The president was concerned about Ling Xiao's movements.

"No. Twilight was a step too late. Ling Xiao managed to escape." Adam gave a forced smile.

"He didn't escape. He retreated safely," the president calmly replied.

"Yes. Twilight can only use such words to cover up their failure." Adam felt the same way too.

The president sighed. He leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes.

The room was dead silent. The silence lasted for a few minutes. Adam could stand it anymore so he promptly asked in a soft voice, "President, are we going to continue waiting?"

Caesar was prepared to fight the Federation. They were just waiting for the order from their president. This meant that an intergalactic war was just a single approval away from starting. Caesar hoped that they could use this chance to defeat the Federation to become the sole ruler of all nations.

The president opened his eyes and stood up slowly. He walked to the virtual map of the universe that was displayed on the podium opposite of him. He looked at the two nations with the largest landmass. One was Caesar and the other was Huaxia. A complex expression flashed past his eyes.

After a few seconds, he said, "Yes… the time is not right."

"When is the right time?" Adam said impatiently.

The president turned and glared at him.

Adam felt his heart dropping. He hurriedly lowered his head and kept quiet.

The president's expression softened. He replied indifferently, "Don��t be anxious. Glory would only award the patient."

'Must I bear with it?' General Adam sighed in frustration. However, he didn't dare to say otherwise. The president was the most powerful figure in Caesar. Both the government and the military had to listen to him. The president could only be impeached by the Legislative Council if he did anything to harm the nation or made any fatal mistake. If the impeachment was successful, he would then be removed from office.

"We must only fight when we have enough benefits to gain. It is just not enough right now." The president was an ambitious person.

General Adam started pondering. He thought of something

"Tell the people below to hold their temper. Once the time is right, they can release all their anger at once," the president spoke calmly again. His tone was indifferent but the words he said were ruthless.

General Adam trembled as he quickly answered, "Yes, president."

At Base Nebula, Little Four managed to intercept the news that Ling Xiao had successfully destroyed Three Stars Lock and retreated unscathed. He immediately told Boss about it.

"Boss, good news. Father managed to destroy the logistics headquarters of Twilight at Three Stars Lock. This is a huge merit." Little Four excitedly danced in Ling Lan's mindscape.

Ling Lan wasn't as excited as Little Four. She seemed worried instead.

Little Four's heart dropped. His cheering arms froze in mid-air. He asked curiously, "Boss, what happened? Is this a bad thing?"

Ling Lan shook her head. "It's not bad. It's just that someone might get impatient."

Her father's enemy wouldn't let him climb to the peak so smoothly. Maybe they were already planning something against him. Her mother belonged to the Lan family which was based on Planet General. Even if they didn't recognise her publicly, they wouldn't let anyone harm her, so it would be easy for her father's enemy to target her mother. On the contrary, she was at the Nebula Boundary with no one supporting her, making her an easy target.

That was why her father told her to get prepared before he left. If she was right, the Lingtian Independent Army would receive a new order soon.

After some time, the news that Ling Xiao successfully destroyed Three Stars Lock spreaded across the galaxy.

The war on Qi Yaoyang's side had come to a standstill. No one was able to win or lose. However, after knowing that Ling Xiao had ambushed Three Stars Lock, Twilight suddenly gave up their frontline and the planets on their borders. They met up with the divisions that recently came from Three Stars Lock and prepared for retaliation.

Qi Yaoyang didn't dare to act rashly as he only had one division under his command. Even if he had four god-class operators, it would be almost impossible for him to fight against five divisions and four god-class operators.

Since Ling Xiao's 23rd division was already exposed, the 4th division stopped hiding and quickly joined the 13th division. The 7th division continued to fight against two divisions and one god-class operator.

Qi Yaoyang immediately reported the situation to the headquarters and asked for reinforcements. The headquarters moved quickly too and sent new divisions out.

The war between Twilight and the Federation was paused for a moment. Instead, the battlefield changed to the meeting of the Intergalactic United Nations instead. The representatives from Twilight condemned Ling Xiao for killing innocent citizens of their nation. They wanted the Intergalactic United Nations to punish Ling Xiao.

The representatives from the Federation scoffed at their statement. They were at war. No one cared about humanitarianism at such times. Were they hoping that the soldiers from the Federation would stick their necks out voluntarily and let them chop it? Three Stars Lock was the logistics headquarters of Twilight. Where did the innocent citizens come from?

The representatives from the two countries argued furiously. Sometimes, they would curse each other and maybe even do some warm-up exercises to flex their strength. The foreign relations officers from the Federation were well-versed in physical skills so it was easy for them to occasionally throw some files and cups over. They might even occasionally throw a table or a chair for dramatic effect.

Chapter 1219 Against The Rule?

The cries from the officers of Twilight sparked the compassion of the officers from their alliance nations. They stood out and supported them in condemning Ling Xiao. The alliance nations of the Federation couldn't sit still and watch their buddy getting bullied. They stood up and supported the Federation. In the end, no consensus was reached. Both sides were angered and they decided to fight for their own twisted sense of justice.

A war was inevitable. Of course, since Caesar didn't make their stand, a few strong alliance nations decided to be bystanders too. Hence, the intergalactic war didn't grow to a wider scale. Even so, all of the nations on the Federation's side prepared beforehand in case Caesar decided to participate in the war suddenly.

A new order reached Ling Lan who was at Base Nebula.

In the meeting room, Ling Lan leaned against the comfy cushion of the commanding officer's chair as she half-closed her eyes. She placed one hand on the side of her head and asked calmly, "What do you all think of this order?"

All the upper echelons of Lingtian were gathered in the meeting room. Although Ling Lan had reminded all of them to be prepared, they were still in shock when they received the order.

"It looks like the spy in the military headquarters has started his plan," Yang Mingzhi said in a serious tone. He put his head down as a look of uncertainty flashed passed his eyes. If someone wanted to harm General Ling Xiao, why did they let him reach such a high position in the first place?

"Can we push the timing back by telling the headquarters that we are just a newly formed independent army?" Some brigade leaders expressed their opinions. Lingtian Independent Army had only formed for a few months. They had enough manpower but the cooperation and cohesiveness of the brigade members were still lacking. This wasn't a good time for them to go to the battlefield.

"It's almost impossible. The order said that we're going there to take a look at the battlefield to gain some experience. We're not going there to fight. The military is giving every new soldier a chance to visit the battlefield. We were informed we should be thankful to the military for letting us have the chance to gain some merits without doing any work." Han Jijyun smiled bitterly.

This order was definitely given after much thorough planning. No loopholes could be used in their favour. If Boss hadn't told them that someone might want to use Lingtian to scheme against Ling Xiao, they might never see the killing intent behind this order.

"We should still try to delay it as much as possible." Liu Furong said, " If an "unfortunate" event were to befall us on the battlefield, they might blame it on us for being too cocky."

"That's right. We can't let them have any chances of blaming us." Everyone agreed.

"Even if we didn't give them any chances, they will still think of ways to send us to the frontline," Li Lanfeng said coldly. If someone wanted to scheme against them, they wouldn't be able to stop it no matter how careful they were. Ling Lan was Ling Xiao's only son. They wouldn't be able to evade this.

"The fewer the openings we give them, the fewer the opportunities they will have to harm us." Han Jijyun looked at Li Lanfeng directly in the eye as he spoke. However, he wasn't as confident as he was previously.

"No matter what happens, it's always better to be prepared. I agree with Leader Han," Li Lanfeng was surprisingly supportive of Han Jijyun's statement.

Han Jijyun retracted his gaze after gaining Li Lanfeng's approval. He looked down with confusion. Ever since they came to Base Nebula, Li Lanfeng wasn't as overbearing as he was before. He stopped criticizing him and he even sometimes gave him the chance to perform in front of Ling Lan. Han Jijyun believed that Li Lanfeng could easily think of his ideas too. However, why the sudden change in attitude? Did he miss something?

Everyone freely expressed their opinions on the order. No matter what order the military gave them, they would just do what they were supposed to do and remain calm through it. Once they noticed something was amiss, they would try to drag the time. After all, they were a newly formed independent army. It was normal that there were mistakes when passing down orders.

After everyone was prepared, Ling Lan sat up and looked at everyone casually. However, her presence said otherwise as it turned nail-bitingly cold in an instant.

The change in her presence silenced the entire meeting room. They sat up straight too and turned serious.

"Everyone, this is my final decision!" Ling Lan said coldly.

Everyone stood up and waited for their commander's decision.

"Base Nebula will head towards Twilight three days later at 8am sharp." Ling Lan took her military cap and left the meeting room after speaking

After Ling Lan disappeared, everyone started talking

"Our commander said that Base Nebula will leave… Was I mistaken?" Yan Three was shocked. He tried to dig out the wax in his ears that was causing him to hear pretty nightmarish stuff.

"You're right. Our commander said that Base Nebula will leave for Twilight three days later at 8am." The brigade leader beside Yan Three confirmed that he didn't hear wrongly.

"Didn't the military stationed Base Nebula at the Nebula Boundary? Is our commander breaking the rule?" Some brigade leaders were worried.

"Since Boss already made the decision, it means that he has found a way around the problem." Luo Lang smiled brightly. He had complete confidence in Ling Lan.

"Yes. Boss will never make unwise decisions." Qi Long trusted Ling Lan completely too. Ever since he was young, Ling Lan had proven to Qi Long that his confidence in her was correct.

Luo Lang believed Ling Lan just because he wanted to while Qi Long trusted Ling Lan because of his experience. The sources of their confidence were different but the result was the same.

"This must be his way of retaliating." Han Jijyun muttered to himself. He was still in deep thought about the holes around Li Lanfeng's personality.

"With Base Nebula, we can choose to attack or defend. This is a good decision," Li Lanfeng complimented.

He had been trying to think of a way out of this but he couldn't find the perfect solution. He had thought of moving Base Nebula out but Base Nebula was always stationed at the Nebula Boundary. If he moved it, Ling Xiao's enemy might use it as a reason to punish them. Thinking back, he was too timid. Even if he didn't move Base Nebula, their enemy would also try to harm them. In that case, it was better to provide Lingtian a better ride.

As for what would happen after that, he would just have to wait and see.

Chapter 1220 What's Their Background?

All the citizens of Huaxia were elated when they heard that General Ling Xiao had destroyed Three Stars Lock. Although an intergalactic war was inevitable, none of them actually blamed Ling Xiao for it.

Some might be unhappy at Ling Xiao's reckless decision but their voices were drowned out by the excitement of everyone else.

The entire Federation started busily preparing for war. The battlefield of the intergalactic war was at Twilight.

There were only two ways for the war to end. The first way was to have Twilight be destroyed in its entirety. That way, the alliance nations of Twilight wouldn't have a reason to fight anymore. The second way this war would end was to have the Federation spend all their resources on the war, and thus retreating in defeat.

None of them wanted to lose this war. This meant that the war would definitely be bloody and brutal.

The Federation activated their military spaceports and entered DEFCON 1.

The goods shipment military spaceport was busier than ever before. This spaceport was in charge of the transportation of logistics. More than half of the logistics required for the battle was quickly transported out from this spaceport fleet by fleet.

The fleets in charge of the transportation of logistics were Logistics Fleet 017, Logistics Fleet 018, and Logistics Fleet 019 of the logistics headquarters. These three fleets had already rushed to the spaceport. They would leave once the goods were fully loaded.

A few hover cars suddenly stopped beside the mothership of Logistics Fleet 017. They slowly lowered their altitude until it was capable for the passengers to walk out of the car.

A few guards stepped out of the hover car, then made a semi-circle formation protecting their superior who was still in the car. Then, a major ranked guard carefully scanned his surroundings before opening the car door.

A major general around 40 years old stepped out of the car. A senior colonel, who was waiting at the entrance of the mothership, rushed over when he saw the major general. He promptly saluted and said, "Major General Qiu, the commander is waiting for you. This way please."

Major General Qiu was about to open his mouth but the distant sounds of approaching hover cars attracted his attention. He turned to look to his side to see the new arrival.

A few hover cars were finally revealed in the distance.

Major General Qiu turned and smiled. "Major General Xu is coming. Let's wait for him."

"Yes, Major General Qiu." The senior colonel didn't dare to reject him.

As they were speaking, the hover cars had already landed on the ground. A major general with bristly white hair stepped out of the car with a stern face. He looked around 50 years old.

Major General Xu saw the incoming figure and nodded at him. "Major General Qiu, long time no see."

Major General Qiu smiled and replied, "Indeed. We've been truly busy with our own missions. I suspect we haven't met for three years."

"Well, the Federation is constantly at war." Major General Xu kept a straight face.

"It can't be helped. Our nation has never learned the word 'surrender'. We will only retaliate." Major General Qiu didn't mind the unfriendly expression on Major General Xu's face. They had been working together for many years so he knew this old man's temper. If it wasn't for the help of the head of the logistics department, Major General Xu wouldn't be able to be promoted to this high of a rank.

"All in all, the Federation is still not strong enough. That's why people still dare to provoke us," Major General Xu replied coldly.

"But, we are getting stronger, right? We just need to take things slowly. Stop having such high expectations," Major General Qiu replied helplessly.

"I know. I'm just commenting," Major General Xu replied in a perfunctory tone. However, Major General Qiu knew he was speaking the truth.

After the two major generals had ended their conversation, the senior colonel, who was waiting at the side, saluted and said, "Major General Xu, Major General Qiu, our commander is waiting for you inside. This way please."

The two of them followed behind the senior colonel before finally arriving at the control room.

Once they entered the door, they saw a major general standing with his back facing them. There was no one else in the room. He seemed to have waited for a long time.

The major general turned around when he heard the door opening and saw Major General Xu and Major General Qiu. He smiled.

"Major General Qiu! Major General Xu!" "Major General Di!"

The three of them greeted each other before sitting down.

"I invited you this time because I want to discuss the matters about Lingtian Independent Army with you as they will be the ones escorting us for our next deployment." Major General Di went directly to the point.

Major General Xu and Major General Qiu exchanged glances at each other. All three of them belonged to the logistics transport fleet but they had their own missions so they seldomly interacted with one another, causing their relationship to remain as acquaintances. Thus, they had their guards up when Major General Di suddenly talked to them about such important matters in an upfront manner.

Major General Di noticed their hesitance and smiled bitterly. "I know that it's suspicious to talk about such important things with you the moment you come in. However, the order is too weird. The Lingtian Independent Army hasn't contacted me yet so I feel a little worried."

Major General Xu frowned. "Explain."

Major General Di replied, "I've done my research about Lingtian Independent Army. They are just a newly formed independent army. Normally, newly formed independent armies would only be given missions such as this escort mission after three years from their formation. However, this escorting mission is an important war mission. Why did the higher authorities give the Lingtian Independent Army this mission?"

It was understandable that Major General Di would worry. This supply run was extremely important for the war. There must be no mistakes. Whether it was the 4th division, the 7th division, the 13th division, the 23rd division, or those reinforcements that were going to the battlefield, they would have a shortage of logistics supplies soon. If it wasn't replenished in time, the result of the war would be greatly affected. The advantage that General Ling Xiao had created would be lost too.

Major General Qiu didn't reply as he just glanced at Major General Xu. Compared to Major General Di and him, the head of the logistics department trusted Major General Xu more. Maybe Major General Xu might have inside information on this issue.

Major General Xu was unhappy when he noticed Major General Qiu and Major General Di's blatant stares. His expression darkened. However, since they were old colleagues, he decided to answer their queries. "Maybe they are coming to gain merits."

Major General Xu was also worried when he received his order. Hence, before he left, he asked his head about it. This was what his head replied to him. It allowed him to understand that the Lingtian Independent Army wasn't a simple independent army.

"What's their background?" Major General Qiu and Major General Di were very smart people so they immediately deduced the crucial factor on the issue.