ABRIWMTHM Chapter 134

As soon as the two important pieces of news were announced, the venue switched from orderly to chaotic in an instant.

Chi Yao and Shi Xing exchanged a glance; this reaction was within their expectations.

The meeting was convened by the Alliance, with the initiative on their side. Ren Yan Yong and Wei Zhen swiftly negotiated with the Alliance. Before long, Dai Xing forcibly closed the audio channels of all other planets to allow the Empire to finish speaking.

“Everyone, please remain calm. The Empire has just started with their news.”

“Let the Empire finish speaking before we engage in discussions.”

The Prime Minister of the Alliance said, strongly redirecting the focus back to the Empire.

There was a lot to be said about the King Beasts, Blue Star, and the new clans before them; it was not a matter to be quickly wrapped up in just a few sentences.

Chi Yao and Shi Xing sat down. The Elder Council had drafted several scripts over the past few days. Following this, Ren Yan Yong delivered a more formal and official statement, avoiding the informal narrative style and making it concise, official, and easy to understand.

Once Ren Yan Yong was done speaking, Shi Xing uploaded the data analysis.

“This shows the energy fluctuations of the beast horde that the Empire encountered at the boundary line.”

“Since the appearance of these energy fluctuations, the speed at which the horde approached has increased.”

“Two days ago, the same data was detected at the Empire’s boundary line. Everyone can take a look.”

Subsequently, Ren Yan Yong’s speech and the monitoring data on the beasts were uploaded to the public platform for leaders of other planets to access, and the Prime Minister of the Alliance also took a copy.

“Please sit.”

“They will also need a little time to accept this, along with the verification process; it won’t be resolved in a hurry.”

Chi Yao said from behind Shi Xing.

Shi Xing hesitated, and Chi Yao took Shi Xing’s hand. Shi Xing attempted to refuse and pushed away twice, but Chi Yao would not let go. Fearing that their struggle might look bad, he was eventually pulled down to sit by Chi Yao.

Shi Xing whispered, “Your Highness, this is a galactic conference!”

All the leaders from various planets are present; it’s a public occasion!

Originally, Chi Yao had no such intention, but upon Shi Xing’s mention, he gazed into those blue eyes for a moment, and the hand he had just released was once again grasped by him; Chi Yao didn’t let go.

Shi Xing: “!”

How can he get more and more brazen!

Chi Yao’s expression was indifferent, “So what if it’s a galactic conference?”

His tone was somewhat lazy and unconcerned, “Normally, everyone manages their own areas, clearing the snow from their own doorsteps. As long as it’s unrelated to the overall interests of the galaxy, not even the Alliance could dictate the Empire?”

Shi Xing: “……”

Fine, that was a rebellious thought.

Shi Xing tried to pull his hand free again, but Chi Yao didn’t let it go as he wished.

Shi Xing called out softly, “Your Highness.”

Chi Yao squinted his eyes and retorted, “Did I embarrass you?”

His words unexpectedly turned sharp.

In their gaze, Chi Yao’s eyes were steady. Shi Xing sighed inwardly and ultimately shook his head.

Sensing that the conversation was taking a wrong turn, afraid Chi Yao would become displeased, he gave up struggling and took the initiative to hold Chi Yao’s hand.

Noticing the change in their fingers, Chi Yao’s posture remained unchanged, but the corners of his mouth lifted into a pleasant arc once again as he turned his gaze back to the conference.

Bi Shu, who took everything in, chose to look away.

A single man’s sudden marriage can lead to some striking changes.

Recalling Xu Jin’s earnest teachings, Bi Shu remained motionless.

After the Empire finished their speech, the audio channel was reopened, and the background noise became several times louder than before, with leaders from various planets speaking in hushed tones.

They waited for half an hour, with Chi Yao remaining calm while Shi Xing endured some discomfort.

Out of boredom, Chi Yao had already begun to play with Shi Xing’s fingers.

From rubbing to pinching, then to gently caressing… the actual contact was fine, but the feather-light touches were hard not to overthink, feeling imbued with hidden suggestion…

Yet Chi Yao’s expression was quite serious, as if he simply had nothing to do and was idly passing time with small gestures.

Shi Xing felt restless within.

“Are we… done yet?” Unable to bear it anymore, Shi Xing asked.

Chi Yao then changed his posture, pulling Shi Xing’s hand down onto his thigh without looking and called out to Wei Zhen.

“Go and ask the Alliance what they think. If everyone still needs more time to process the information and data, it might be better to continue the meeting after lunch?”

Wei Zhen went to negotiate.

He received a response from the Alliance’s diplomat saying, “Please wait a moment.”

Not long after, the Alliance began to solicit opinions. A few minutes later, various planets expressed the need for an emergency meeting regarding the two pieces of information provided by the Empire, thus the galactic conference would be postponed until the afternoon, as Chi Yao had expected.

After exiting the virtual world, Chi Yao finally allowed Shi Xing to release his hand.

Shi Xing sighed with relief, but as the other planets held meetings, the Empire, as the source of the announcement, could not afford to relax either; they needed to address the questions raised by the various planets in the afternoon meeting.

Therefore, before the afternoon conference reconvened, Shi Xing and Chi Yao were still engaged in meetings.

However, concerning the Q&A, the Elder Council had already made thorough preparations. They just needed to confirm the drafts, ensuring there were no unintended messages released.

For example, internal news related to Blue Star.

After lunch and a short break, the galactic conference reconvened.

As expected, once online, they were immediately met with questions from the major planets.

Chi Yao had always had little patience for these segments, leaving them to Shi Xing and the Elder Council to manage.

After some back and forth, a few key points were clarified.

“So, the beasts are mutated due to the influence of Blue Star’s environment, and subsequently gained the ability to attack the mental seas?”

“The King Beast is still alive, trapped on Blue Star, and the goal here is to capture an imperial sovereign, requiring His Highness Shi Xing’s abilities to bring it away from Blue Star?”

“Lastly, the main force of the horde will arrive in this galaxy in three days?”

The Alliance diplomat summarized the most critical points.

Ren Yan Yong addressed each one in turn.

“Yes, we believe the mutation ability of the beasts is indeed caused by the environmental influences of Blue Star.”

“After all, in this galaxy, as well as the neighboring galaxies and the currently known allied galaxies, only Blue Star humans have the ability to infiltrate the mental seas of others, so the mutation of those beasts can be seen as a variation of this characteristic.”

“The King Beast is indeed still alive.”

“Regarding the arrival time of the horde, the Empire’s technical personnel have confirmed it multiple times, and we can assure everyone that, yes.”

Silence filled the room.

At this point, all private messages between the planets were released, made public, and consolidated.

Undoubtedly, the information from the Empire was the most substantial.

After another ten minutes of discussion, planets began to stand up one after another to speak.

The initial few merely confirmed the messages and were not too pointed, handled by the Elder Council in terms of Q&A.

In no time, the representative from Tian Yuan Star stood up. Chi Yao raised an eyebrow and sat up straight.

“The representative from Tian Yuan Star: ‘So, in fact, this beast tide is entirely aimed at the sovereign of the Empire?'”

Chi Yao smiled.

Because the question was laughable.

He waved a hand, causing Ren Yan Yong, He Zhuang, and Xu Mi Rou to step aside. This was a question Shi Xing could not conveniently answer, and Chi Yao was too lazy to stand up. After a moment of silent confrontation with the representative, he finally said, “That question is somewhat interesting.”

Without answering anything, he displayed an attitude of disdain.

The representative from Tian Yuan Star evidently felt insulted.

Adding to the previous diplomatic incident, the Empire had already embarrassed Tian Yuan Star within the Alliance.

With old grievances and new resentments, the attitude was naturally not pleasant. “Please don’t divert the topic,” came the implied suggestion that the Empire didn’t want to acknowledge.

But Chi Yao remained unfazed.

“Does it really matter whether it is or is not directed at the Empire?”

“Surely no one here believes that this is merely a matter concerning one planet of the Empire?”

He lightly tapped his long fingers on the armrest, which slowly fell and then once again covered Shi Xing’s hand.

Chi Yao leaned slightly forward as he spoke solemnly.

“Three hundred years ago, when the resistance battle began, it was precisely the group of the King Beast that launched their attacks. For a century, the Twin Star Galaxy united as one to establish the boundary line, wholly utilizing the strength of the galaxy to eradicate the beast horde and inflict heavy damage on the King Beast.”

“Everyone paid a tragic price.”

“The prime minister of the Alliance died less than ten years after the war, the royal family of the Empire suffered injuries, and even after a prolonged period of treatment, they did not live to reach the average lifespan of higher beings within the galaxy, passing away one after the other.”

“As for the King Beast, that goes without saying; leading the final group, fewer than fifty beasts escaped in a panicked flight, reluctant to openly attack Blue Star, needing to stealthily infiltrate the galaxy decades later.”

“It has been trapped on Blue Star for over a hundred years now, and prior to that, its glorious horde was destroyed by our galaxy. Now, after enduring the hardship of recovery, it has established a new horde, which is even stronger than before, yet it remains trapped and unable to escape. Do you think it would only attribute the root of its predicament to just one planet of the Empire?”

“Everything is so dire that if let loose, with the grudging nature of these beasts, anyone here affiliated with the Twin Star Galaxy, who could escape that fate? Who among you did not exert efforts during the resistance war?!”

“And even those who contributed the least, the main planets of the Twin Star Galaxy have all perished; would the horde let the asteroids off the hook?”

This barrage of words struck with a solid impact, leaving not only the representative of Tian Yuan Star speechless but also rendered the other planets mute.

Chi Yao sneered. “So whether it targets the Empire or the galaxy, what difference does it make? Since the establishment of the boundary line, we have been one body. If there is vengeance, it will only take the galaxy as a unit.”

“Do the planets here wish to distance themselves?” He smiled down, a contemptuous laugh, “Sorry, it’s too late.”

Not a single vulgar word, yet it mocked them to the extreme.

After waiting for a while, as no planet seemed to respond, Chi Yao slowly stood up.

“Since we’ve come so far into this topic, I don’t mind making the situation clearer.”

“Let all planets have a baseline.”

“What’s not needed is to ask some ambiguous questions that waste precious time that should be directed towards preparations for battle.”

“First, the King Beast’s demand is to leave Blue Star; once it has departed, do you all really believe that it will spare the Twin Star Galaxy, the very entity that caused its current predicament?!”

“Secondly, the objective of this resistance battle, when compared to three hundred years ago, has not fundamentally changed; it remains to eradicate all beast hordes, up to the King Beast.”

“The scarcity of therapists in this galaxy has already caused tremendous inconvenience to all planets.”

“More critically, the emergence of mutated beasts means that as long as the King Beast remains on Blue Star, as long as it lives, a continuous influx of mutated beasts will arrive in our galaxy, posing immense pressure on the military of all nations.”

“Recently, the Empire has struggled increasingly with the resistance against mutated beasts, and if their levels rise further, significantly diminishing the combat effectiveness of our planetary forces, I don’t believe that other planets will suffer losses lower than what the Empire currently bears.”

“Only through unity, establishing a consistent front among the planets, and unifying operational objectives can we effectively respond to this beast tide.”

“Also, this is the only way out under the massive assault of mutated beast hordes.”

Chi Yao sat back down.

For a long while, no planet dared to speak.

The representative from Tian Yuan Star, whom Chi Yao had long since disregarded, stood there with a red face but found himself powerless against Chi Yao.

Nothing more than a topic change; no one cared about the minor friction between Tian Yuan Star and the Empire.

Even if Tian Yuan Star sought to regain lost face, no one wished to engage.

Most critically, the Empire’s assertions were things that Tian Yuan Star, as a military planet, could not possibly misunderstand; in fact, they understood all too well, and knew that Chi Yao was right.

The current situation mirrored that of three hundred years ago; the Alliance still had a shred of hope, while fragmentation would lead to a dead end.

Due to the cumulative array of factors, they found themselves unable to come down gracefully. The representative, unwilling to simply sit down, stood stubbornly for quite a while without uttering a single word.

Yet, no one paid them any mind.

Chi Yao resumed fiddling with Shi Xing’s fingers. Shi Xing had no choice but to yield, afraid that Chi Yao would be in a bad mood due to the disturbance from Tian Yuan Star, and did not stop him.

The Prime Minister of the Alliance stood up, yet it was not on behalf of the Alliance.

“The Fairlight Star agrees with the Empire’s viewpoint and is willing to join the galactic coalition to combat the external threat.”

Shi Xing did not expect the Alliance would fragment into numerous planets at such a time.

Chi Yao seemed to sense what he was thinking and whispered, “The Alliance itself is an economic body. They have merely gotten used to being together; in reality, it is not a military community at all.”

As his words fell, a mechanical voice echoed, “[Dai Xing Super Mind ut65, b308, iue001 calculated and agreed with the Empire’s viewpoint, willing to join the galactic coalition for a unified effort against external threats.]”

Dai Xing was a high-tech planet with an extremely sparse population; AI technology covered the entire planet, and their governance was formed by the convergence of several super minds.

The two main planets of the Alliance took the lead in expressing their opinions.

Before long, it was like a snowball effect, with more and more planets standing up, and their perspectives were unanimous.

Once the number of large planets crossed halfway, the remaining large planets found themselves with no real choice, forced to follow the current and join in. The large planets expressed their opinions uniformly, while those small planets, primarily under protection, found even less reason to resist, and soon expressed agreement to establish a united front in their external defense.

Leaving only the odd situation of Tian Yuan Star.

The representative from Tian Yuan Star was devastated. “Even if it’s a united war effort, there must be a countermeasure, right? Since it was proposed by the Empire, what do we do in the face of so many mutated beasts? Are we supposed to directly confront them? With the Empire leading the way?!”

Shi Xing replied, “Direct confrontation would consume the military capabilities of the Twin Star Galaxy. Many planets have yet to fully recover from the resistance war three hundred years ago.”

Shi Xing continued, “Clearly, preparations for war are essential; however, whether we will confront them outright is not certain.”

The representative from Tian Yuan Star: “?”

Chi Yao said, “In this battle, if everyone is willing to listen to the Empire, the Empire can lead the charge.”

“However, the approach may not be the same as the head-on clashes of three hundred years ago.”

The representative from Tian Yuan Star was dazed. “If we don’t confront them head-on, do you mean the beasts will negotiate with you?”

Chi Yao chuckled. “One can never be too sure.”

The representative from Tian Yuan Star: “???”

The various planets murmured: “???”

The conference went on into the evening before it finally concluded.

As soon as it ended, all planets began to adjust their military deployments, and the Empire was no exception.

That night there was yet another military corps meeting.

The state of each planet in the Twin Star Galaxy was quite unchanged from three hundred years ago, which meant that in this battle, the functions of each planet followed the divisions established in the previous resistance war.

In other words, those with troops would deploy their forces, those with resources would provide their resources, and those with technology would contribute their tech.

Everyone showcased their strengths, united as one.

The meeting continued until midnight, ultimately determining which corps would go out to battle and which would remain on guard.

Based on combat strength, the First Corps and the Seventh Corps naturally took on the role of the vanguard.

After details were discussed, the sky began to lighten slightly.

Shi Xing rubbed his eyes and stood up to look out the window.

After shutting off the projection, Chi Yao approached and touched his cheek, asking, “Are you tired?”

Shi Xing shook his head.

At such moments, one hardly feels tired.

Especially…

“The beast hordes are getting closer to us.”

Shi Xing’s sensitivity to the clans had grown sharper recently.

“Yes, don’t worry.”

Shi Xing smiled, “I’m not worried, just a bit surprised.”

From a distance, one couldn’t feel anything.

The closer he got, the more Shi Xing sensed the breath of Blue Star, and reflecting on where these beasts originated from made him feel uncomfortably uneasy.

It was an emotion that felt both nauseating and helpless.

Chi Yao reached out a hand to Shi Xing, who recognized the gesture and embraced his partner.

Chi Yao stroked Shi Xing’s back and softly said, “Shall we rest for a while?”

Shi Xing shook his head. “No, there’s still a meeting today. I’ll stay with you.”

Looking up, he revealed a smile, “Next will be the administrative meeting; you probably won’t enjoy it too much.”

“Moreover, President Ren has sent me the materials. He and Chairman Wei are still waiting for me.”

At that moment, Chi Yao realized that unbeknownst to him, Shi Xing had already attained a considerable level of prestige within the Elder Council and the Senate, gaining their trust and reliance, to the point where Ren Yan Yong and Wei Zhen occasionally bypassed him to directly contact Shi Xing.

Gazing a moment longer, Shi Xing noticed, “What’s wrong?”

Chi Yao shook his head. “Nothing, just… suddenly realized that you’ve fulfilled a promise.”

Once, Shi Xing had said he wanted to share the administrative pressures that Chi Yao disliked.

Now, it had been achieved.

And done exceedingly well.

Shi Xing: “Is that so bad?”

Gently touching Shi Xing’s cheek, Chi Yao softly replied, “Not at all. I’ll have to trouble you, little noble.”

Shi Xing teased, “Aren’t you afraid I might overstep?”

“Would you?”

Chi Yao countered, the gray hues of his eyes carrying a hint of amusement, unwaveringly fixated on Shi Xing.

Between their gazes, there was a thick sensation that lingered.

After a moment, Shi Xing conceded defeat, “I wouldn’t.”

How could he possibly act against Chi Yao?

This earned a victorious smile from Chi Yao.

As Zheng Changyue had just cracked the door, he caught sight of the two kissing by the window, hastily closing the door again, standing quietly at the door, preparing to wait a bit before entering.

On the second day of preparations for battle, Shi Xing suddenly sensed a familiar energy fluctuation, the type of mutated mental force that Chi Yao had previously spoken of, exceptionally aggressive.

When he asked Chi Yao about the characteristics of the beasts that had hurt him, Shi Xing made a trip to the two imprisoned beasts, confirming that among the leading four beasts, there was indeed one that was golden.

It was birthed by the King Beast.

High combat strength.

Its pupil was consistent with what he had seen during treatment—round and black.

The two beasts had been held for a period, and Er Ya had become well-acquainted with their basic information.

Neither had lived past fifty years; they were lazy, and while their offensive capabilities were decent, they did not enjoy moving around, relying on Blue Star’s energy for survival, and had not left Blue Star before this mission.

Confirming they hadn’t consumed humans, Er Ya would continue to make sure they were fed other things.

As a result, each time Shi Xing went to absorb energy, the two beasts would beg to know what the Empire was feeding them.

Er Ya had mentioned it several times and was tired of explaining.

Having discussed with Shi Xing, as long as these two beasts did not cause trouble and cooperated, they could potentially be released in the future.

After all, their ranks were low, and if they returned to the Twin Star Galaxy, the soldiers at the boundary line could deal with them.

That evening, with everything prepared, they rode the battleship toward the boundary line to greet the impending beast invasion the next day.

Chi Yao and Shi Xing had been at it for two continuous days without much discomfort aboard the mothership, falling asleep as soon as they hit the bed. The next day, they got ready and discussed the defense arrangements with the Alliance.

As night fell in the Imperial Capital, the alarm at the boundary line finally sounded.

Countless motherships were stationed behind the unmanned battleships and mechas of Dai Xing and Dekar Star.

With two layers of defensive barriers.

Once the beasts entered the attack range, they were targeted by energy cannons that struck dead on.

However, the density of the energy cannons was not set too high, serving more as a warning; aside from careless or low-ranked beasts, the horde sustained little damage.

The main purpose was to remind them that there were people behind the barriers.

As expected, as the daunting horde of beasts arrived at the fortress, they hesitated to move forward.

The frontmost motherships belonged to military planets; Tian Yuan Star and Galia Star had never encountered such a formidable horde of beasts and felt their scalp itch. They immediately called for the help of the Empire’s motherships.

Shi Xing had no intention of minding them, and simply stated, “Release those two beasts.”

Not long after, all the planets watched in trepidation as two beasts descended, trembling, from the Empire’s mothership, their eyes wide in shock.

As the two beasts looked at the array of battleships around them, they shrank back even further.

“Aw.”

One of the beasts gave a shout, and the energy flowed through the sensors into Shi Xing’s and Er Ya’s equipment.

You aren’t really going to do anything to us, right?

Shi Xing: “As long as you translate properly, nothing will happen to you; otherwise, I think your clan will be the first to end you.”

The communicative beast: “Aw aw.”

You are too despicable.

Er Ya: “Thank you.”

The two beasts: “qaq”

Helpless, caught between a rock and a hard place, the two beasts cautiously ran in front of the drones and then halted behind the barrier to start negotiations.

As soon as they appeared, the energy waves exploded, as the leaders of the clan of beasts questioned them about what they were doing.

The two beasts huddled together, terribly frightened, but since other beasts couldn’t breach the defensive barrier, they did not receive the lesson of a surprise attack, and soon, they spoke more fluently.

The Marshal leading Tian Yuan Star: “What are they doing?”

Chi Yao: “Did I not say that beasts can communicate with each other? Have you forgotten?”

The Marshal of Tian Yuan Star was speechless: “So, what are they communicating about? Can they reach a peace agreement?”

Shi Xing: “Well, you’re not wrong.”

Shi Xing: “If the conditions align, we’ll go with them.”

The Marshal of Tian Yuan Star: “?”

The others from Tian Yuan Star: “??”

Leaders of other planets in the galaxy: “???”

Wait a minute, you are you, and your Empire is your Empire; this ‘we’—who is that?!

It wouldn’t include all the armies they currently possess, right?!!

Overwhelmed by shock, before any planets could ask in the communication channel, it appeared that the beasts had already reached some sort of agreement, and slowly, the beast horde began to pull back, and the barrier allowed the entry of two beasts—a golden one and a silver one.

Upon seeing the golden beast, Chi Yao’s eyes narrowed, but he remained silent.

Once the two beasts entered the barrier, after the barrier released several unmanned drones, it slowly closed once again.

They were directed in front of the Empire’s mothership.

The front of the mothership became transparent, and the control booth was revealed.

Even though it was no longer necessary, the captured communicative beasts still diligently translated.

“Aw aw.”

They agreed to negotiate, asking what the conditions would be.

Shi Xing stepped forward a step, confirmed the position of the golden beast, and stood firm. “First of all, I need a beast.”

He directly communicated the energy, and having finished speaking, he didn’t need the communicative beast to translate—Shi Xing raised his hand.

The speed was too fast, a surprise attack, catching everyone off guard, including Chi Yao.

In plain sight, the golden beast was instantly beginning to disintegrate.

The higher the rank of the beasts, the higher their intelligence; at their level, with only the King Beast, their cognition was nearly indistinguishable from that of humans, so its companion, the silver beast, reacted in the same shocked manner—astounded.

In those mere seconds, the golden beast’s chance of survival was sealed.

When the golden beast’s body had disappeared by a small portion, the two communicative beasts were terrified, cowering together in fear.

Meanwhile, the silver beast and Chi Yao simultaneously reacted, unleashing an offensive in the cosmos, the air that had been released previously was still coalescing under Chi Yao’s mental force, not dissipating, transforming into blades that blocked the silver beast’s attack.

In a breath, there were several rounds of exchange.

The silver beast hadn’t anticipated the presence of the gas, so it halted, evading most of the attacks, but its leg was pierced, oozing thick blood.

Looking back at the spot where the golden beast had been…

Hmm, the cosmos was barren, as if it had never existed at all.

It had been completely obliterated by Shi Xing’s devouring ability.

“Aw—”

The silver beast roared in anger.

The sound waves couldn’t carry over, but the energy fluctuations reached Shi Xing’s ears.

What about the promised negotiation?!

Er Ya translated in real-time for everyone.

Shi Xing, slow yet composed, but with an unyielding tone stated, “That’s right, it’s a negotiation.”

“My first condition is the life of this golden beast.”

“And now, I’ve gotten that.”

The Tian Yuan Star personnel at the mothership were left dumbfounded.

Chi Yao shot a glance at Shi Xing, confirming the other side already knew, knowing that this golden beast was the one that had heavily injured him many years ago.

Taking a deep breath, realizing the key point, he even curled the corners of his lips upward.

Shi Xing: “There are other conditions, but there’s no need to kill a beast for that.”

“If you are still willing to negotiate, we’ll continue. Rest assured, I will let you go back.”

The silver beast exploded in fury: “Awoooo!!”

What if I don’t agree?!

Chi Yao raised his hand.

In an instant, all surrounding energy cannons, unmanned battleships, drones, and even the unmanned mechs turned toward the silver beast.

The communicative beasts huddled even closer: “…” Afraid, they didn’t dare to speak.

The silver beast: “…”

Chi Yao’s voice was not loud, but he stated with indifference, “Then we’ll kill you first, starting the war, and won’t stop until your clan wants to negotiate next time.”