Catching up

In short, they‌⁠‌⁠‍⁠‍‍‌​‌‌⁠⁠⁠‍​‌​⁠​‌​⁠ did end up “catching up,” and Huo Xianfeng also informed Jiang Ci that they would need to meet some familiar faces afterward. Jiang Ci was truly overwhelmed by how Huo Xianfeng always chose to discuss serious matters at such moments. Even when he was about to lose all rationality, he had to desperately pull back his thoughts and keep up with Huo Xianfeng’s thinking.

“What… what?”

Jiang Ci’s face was almost buried deep in the pillow, his posture resembling a kneeling cat, and his intermittent voice was somewhat muffled.

“The First Legion is here too???”

Back when the Forbidden Abyss was surrounded by the Zergs and then sank underground, Jiang Ci didn’t see the tens of thousands of troops that followed.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Jiang Ci had never expected that Huo Xianfeng would also summon the Imperial Army, but how did he manage it?

“So they… where are they now…?”

There was supposed to be a signal block on Holy Dew Planet, right? Even Jiang Ci, an insider within the military, couldn’t contact the First Legion, yet Huo Xianfeng not only made contact but even managed to get Zhou Jiuya to bring the entire legion over.

“Oh, I just told the Forbidden Abyss to have them wait for now. It’s… not convenient at the moment.”

Jiang Ci: “…”

This was truly… a social death.

Jiang Ci felt that whenever he was with Huo Xianfeng, all sorts of situations would arise. However, after everything was over, Jiang Ci, with his rationality restored, guessed Huo Xianfeng’s intentions.

Involving the Empire was necessary because the Zergs now needed to replenish energy, and the larvae required time to undergo their metamorphosis and temporarily seeking an ally for this war seemed necessary at the moment.

Moreover, the Illusory God Church had been at odds with the Empire from the very beginning, and many wars had been fought until about a century ago when things finally started to settle down.

At the same time, even from the perspective of the First Legion, they wouldn’t give up on the Zergs as a powerful ally.

If the Zergs’ original intention wasn’t to invade Earth but to avenge their King, then their only true enemy now would be the Illusory God Church. And with the battlefield on Holy Dew Planet, tens of thousands of light-years away from the Empire, it seemed like the best time and place to act.

Jiang Ci organized the information in his mind, closed his eyes, and after a long while, spoke:

“The Illusory God Church… is very strange.”

Because of the kidnapping incident when he was thirteen, Jiang Ci had specifically studied ancient Earth history related to the Illusory God Church during his time at the military academy.

He had also read scholarly papers on the topic, though such materials were banned in the Empire—Jiang Ci had only managed to get them secretly.

“Logically, in such a technologically advanced interstellar era, a religion worshipping a deity shouldn’t exist.”

But the Illusory God Church did exist. Despite its belief in a deity, it possessed technology far ahead of its time.

“Unfortunately, although their technology is advanced, they suffered heavy losses during the great war three hundred years ago. They only managed to take the top experts from Earth, which left massive gaps in mid- and low-level technology, and they’re extremely short on people—every sector, every field is lacking.”

In the past, the Alliance had supported them, compensating for these weaknesses. But ever since the Alliance was overthrown by Pei Changyun, these fatal flaws were immediately exposed.

“The Illusory God Church has excellent weapons but lacks competent commanders and leaders, so their overall military strength is significantly reduced. They possess knowledge beyond this era but lack the manufacturing industries and other sectors needed to fully utilize it, so the advantages of the former are hard to fully leverage.”

It’s as if—

A being with an abnormally large brain, yet a body too frail to support it.

Read at Mizushi Novels

One was a small town that seemed straight out of the medieval era of ancient Earth, and the other was a massive, high-tech military factory—both coexisting on the same planet.

Visit Mizushi Novels

Support the original translation

Moreover, since the Empire was established based on the foundation of the Dawn Legion, its political system was heavily infused with military influence, as the vast majority of high-ranking officials who held significant power came from the military and were unwaveringly loyal.

Read on Mizushi Novels

Don't scrape

The Empire and the Church are like two barrels; the former’s planks are all of moderate length, while the latter has only one long plank of technology while the rest are short planks. This disparity means that even though the Illusory God Church has the technological upper hand, it still falls behind in the struggle against the Empire and is forced to lie low.

Don't copy

Read at Mizushi Novels

“Wait—”

Visit Mizushi Novels

Support the original translation

A thought flashed through Jiang Ci’s mind. He remembered that the starship speeded out from the blockade of countless mechas.

Read on Mizushi Novels

Don't scrape

He looked up at Huo Xianfeng and his gaze was slightly serious as he softly asked,

Don't copy

Read at Mizushi Novels

Long-range attacks with large-scale thermal weapons are the Church’s specialty and their least costly form of attack.

Visit Mizushi Novels

—Why?

Huo Xianfeng was silent for a few seconds before speaking,

“…Well, it’s because I anticipated the Church’s immediate retaliation and attacks, so I preserved Bright City’s energy barrier.”

This was also the main reason he had the larvae send a message to Ye Shu, calling the First Legion here at the same time.

Bright City’s energy barrier shares the same origin as Earth’s Skynet and is considered absolute defense. Even the Forbidden Abyss’s world-destroying blow couldn’t break through it.

So Huo Xianfeng deliberately kept it intact to deal with any potential counterattacks from the Church.

But now, eight hours have passed, and there’s still no movement.

Huo Xianfeng narrowed his eyes slightly and sensed a hint of conspiracy in the air.

“Yeah… it really is too quiet…”

However, this tense atmosphere only lasted for a few minutes before Jiang Ci was suddenly lifted up.

“We’ll check it out later. Let’s take a bath first.”

After a pause, Huo Xianfeng glanced up at the mechanical tendrils above his head, which seemed hesitant to speak,

“Tsk, your uncle is so annoying, he’s already reminded me three times. Tell him to wait—we haven’t even had breakfast yet.”

Jiang Ci: “…?”

What does that mean?

His uncle… reminded him three times?

Jiang Ci froze for a few seconds, and then suddenly recalled that Huo Xianfeng had indeed casually said something to the Forbidden Abyss earlier, but Jiang Ci hadn’t been clear-headed at the time and didn’t pay much attention…

“…!”

“!!!!!!”

So that was a call from his uncle just now?!!!

An overwhelming sense of shame instantly flooded Jiang Ci’s mind.

“Huo Xianfeng—!!!”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!!!”

Little Theater by me

#What should I do if I ghosted my uncle three times because of my bae? Asking help online#