Skyfire Avenue - Chapter 732

Chapter 732

Chapter 732: You’re All Still Young

Lan Qing heaved a sigh, staring at his father on the screen for a long while . He offered a firm nod . “I understand . ”

“Then do what you need to do . ” Jue Di waved his hand in dismissal . Lan Qing cut the connection .

“Father . ” Lan Jue called to him for a third time .

At last, Jue Di looked his way and smiled . “I’m old, you’re all still young . ” He patted his sons’ shoulder with a calloused hand, then left his side .

Lan Jue felt he saw a slight stoop in his father’s back 1 . Jue Di’s persona was as iron-hard as ever, but Lan Jue knew his father was getting old .

His lips tightened in a hard line, and his fists clenched . If he had another chance, he’d have worked harder in his younger years, focused more on cultivation . If only he had, he’d be able to support his father better!

ζ

The Northern Alliance had fallen into disarray in a matter of days .

Chu Cheng was perched on a seat, watching the towering man before him . Today the Chu family representative was dressed in a smart military uniform with three golden stars on his shoulder .

His record of military service certainly didn’t warrant general status, but Chu Cheng had risen to become the North’s second Paragon . He had become one of the most important people in his Alliance almost overnight .

In normal times Chu Cheng would have perhaps been a one-star general . After all, military ranks were not so easy to achieve typically . Anything beyond that would have been difficult with his qualifications . However, these were special circumstances and the North needed heroes to raise up their populace . Their propaganda campaigns were successful, they were good at advocating for heroism .

However the dark news of disaster had stolen Chu Cheng’s thunder . An unprecedented panic had swept the worlds of man, and only the North’s prominent military presence had kept things from dissolve into outright chaos .

Things as they were, the Northern leadership found themselves with their backs against the wall . They had rapidly begun to lose the trust of the people, and their soldiers were facing a threat they weren’t sure they could overcome . Despite being humanity’s mightiest Alliance, with a military that made the universe tremble and seven Bastions to their name, there were on the cusp of collapse .

In a matter of a few short months things had changed dramatically . Arachnid was gone, Heron was no stronger than a Capital ship . Terminator – praised as humanity’s greatest technological achievement – was brought low by those hellish living planets . Indeed the North had suffered more than anyone .

All throughout these awful days, the North had had no time to catch a breath . Their Bastions had been reduced from seven to four, and their flagship had succumbed to the enemy . Two more were in the making but would not be ready in time . In a blink, the North had fallen into a dark pit they could not claw out of .

“The army has made up its mind,” Chu Cheng said in a low voice .

“Mnh . They don’t have a choice . If we didn’t lead the charge our government would be dissolved . The people are scared, they need something to believe in . War has to be where their hope lies . ” Depression darkened the Terminator’s face .

He had completed his breakthrough, achieving the strength he’d dreamt of for so long . It also meant his life would be extended another few dozen years . After all, he wasn’t like the Clairvoyant who continually suffered the scourge of constant protogenia use . Now that he had achieved Nirvana, he could lead the North for at least another half century .

But that was under normal circumstances . These were not normal circumstances .

“I will be taking command of Tyrannosaurus . You will command Heron 2 . ” The Terminator said .

“Alright!” Chu Cheng responded right away . He couldn’t be said to take military matters as seriously as many other commanders, but he was a general now and had to follow his commander’s orders . Besides, victory would be won through cooperation and unity against the aggressors .

The Terminator smiled and nodded . “A miracle will come when it’s needed . You might think I’m kidding, but the Clairvoyant was a man I had total faith in . If he said your man will lead us through this darkness, then he will . ”

Of course Chu Cheng knew who the mountainous man was referring to . A smile emerged on his face . “Yeah! He’s annoyingly good at miracles, that guy . But he still hasn’t become a Paragon, and I’m not sure when he will . ”

A cold light flashed through the Terminator’s eyes . “Believe me, the longer he delays the better . When he does break through the results with shake the heavens . The darker the night, the brighter the dawn . Come, our forces are already gathered . Our presence is an important symbol to our people . ”

Chu Cheng chuckles . “Suddenly I feel like a mascot . ”

“That’s exactly what we are,” the Terminator replied . “Do you think you and I can face those monsters ourselves? No – in this battle, victory or defeat rests on Star Division . ”

“Yeah . ”

ζ

Zeus-1 closed in on Luo, and approached its appointed position . Lan Jue stared out of the window, hardly believing the scene unfolding before his eyes . He’d seen Bastions larger than planets, and fleets that stretched farther than the eye could see . But what he witnessed just outside the hull of his tiny ship was hard to describe .

A planet . A whole other planet silently hovering in space near Luo . Its surface was pock-marked with craggy rocks and deep crevices, no different from the times he’d seen it before . But out here? In Northern space? Impossible!

It was planet An Lun – the whole thing . How in the heavens had it made the trip all the way from the East? Lan Jue was at a total loss .

“Are you here?” Lan Qing’s face appeared on Zeus-1’s screens once again .

“Yeah . ” Lan Jue muttered . “That’s An Lun…”

When he saw the surprise on his little brother’s face, Lan Qing smirked . “Now we call it Middle Heaven . ” 3

“Middle Heaven?” Suddenly it made sense . Middle Heaven… Peerless Light emperor of Middle Heaven . A bastion ship named after Lan Qing . An Lun had been completely remodeled under the East’s unique vision . Now it was a weapon of war .

No wonder… No wonder there had been no new bastions for ten years . It wasn’t because the East couldn’t, it was because they were building this .

Ever since their establishment the Eastern Alliance had been an inferior position . It’d had only two Bastions to its name . Without Jue Di as a deterrent, the North likely would have swallowed the small Alliance up years ago . Even despite the threat of retaliation by the Paragon the North had continued to harass its neighbor .

Things were better for the West, they were somewhat shielded from Northern aggression so they paid them little mind . But the East was different – it was established from the foundations of the mysterious and powerful country of China . It had been a place of boundless secrets and mystical knowledge the North feared . So, though they did not dare attempt the East’s destruction they worked to keep the Alliance from gaining strength .  4 This was compounded by an unceasing march of sanctions against them economically, militarily and technologically .  5

If the East wanted to get out from under the North’s thumb, they would need a show of force . Bastions were an important tool for just that purpose .

The East was the first Alliance to suffer from the alien incursion, but it had thankfully suffered the least . Vital crystals pilfered from the enemy had purchased a whole new fleet for the East, while the North was forced to abandon their shadowy war of attrition . They needed Eastern support now, in the face of a foreign enemy .

Because of this the East did not need to hide its hand any longer . Their newest, strongest bastion was revealed to all .

Middle Heaven’s name was a testament to Lan Qing’s status among Eastern stratocrats . He was also the newest bastion’s admiral . Surrounding were was a massive host of five interstellar fleets! Although the East had only dispatched one of its bastions, its support ships constituted the bulk of the East’s smaller vessels . Only one fleet remained behind near Skyfire .

A ship appeared before Zeus-1 to guide it toward Middle Heaven . As he was led closer to the re-forged planet he could see it clearer . Things certainly had changed .

Its surface was still a landscape of craggy rock, but interposed among the peaks and valleys were the dark barrels of cannons . Middle Heaven was hardly a beautiful thing to look upon – especially compared to the likes of Tyrannosaurus – but it used to be a planet! It was larger than Tyrannosaurus, as far as Lan Jue could remember, and likely of higher quality .

The sheer cost it must have taken to build this thing was staggering .

Under the direction of the guide ship, Lan Jue urged Zeus-1 through the defensive line Middle Heaven’s fleets had arranged and on to the bastion itself . As he came upon the familiar surface Lan Jue couldn’t help but inwardly sing the planet-ship’s praised . He didn’t know the East’s technology could achieve such a thing . To arrive in the North so quickly, it meant the ship was also fast . Its energy source and engines had to be something special .