Relics from the mythological era (3)

Chapter Summary: This chapter returns to Caesar's perspective. It's the latter half of Caesar's diary that Ye Wanzhou read.

Ye Wanzhou is a good child who loves reading. Good children always discover many unexpected and interesting things (?).

From Caesar's perspective, the story recalls the war between the Alliance and the Empire, and the eventual demise of the Alliance.

[Caesar Ganimed's Diary]

When I was assigned to the 14th Fleet's reserves with the rank of captain, everyone suspected I had cheated or gotten in through connections. I was immediately appointed as everyone's superior, the fleet's commander-in-chief. At that time, the 14th Fleet was just one of the Alliance's 50 fleets, not yet associated with its later reputation as "the only miraculous force in the interstellar space capable of rivaling the Imperial Army."

The young soldiers relentlessly dug into my family background, connections, career goals, and potential life plans during my time at Haiyingsen University. They discovered I was a biology student, and had previously appeared to be a scientist—a far cry from their initial assumptions of a pampered young master from a wealthy, aristocratic family who had come to the army to gain seniority. They then changed their tune, no longer telling me about my "hundred-million-dollar family and my father being the chairman," and began respectfully calling me "Professor," using affected voices as if they were genuinely adorable, innocent students listening to lectures in Haiyingsen's lecture hall. I was utterly disgusted. I tried to stop them, but to no avail.

I barely passed the physical fitness test, but I got a perfect score in the synchronization with the central AI of the large mothership; during training breaks, the soldiers asked me to demonstrate how to connect with such a behemoth as Hyperion.

“It requires a massive amount of computation,” someone said solemnly. “It’s said that all the classic battle models in human warfare history have been input into it, to facilitate the rapid understanding of commanders’ orders on the battlefield. We’re very curious. If you can indeed synchronize with Hyperion, then we’ll be completely convinced that you’re our superior.”

The others nodded, looking at me with anticipation as I confronted the young soldiers.

I demonstrated it to them. It wasn't difficult, it was very simple. Hyperion had no personality, and after being paired with me, it became more and more like me (of course, that's a story for later; it only slowly matured during the Seven Years' War; at that time, it was still just an infant). Its brain was vast, and most people gave up halfway through their attempts to descend into its thought modules due to the unbearable darkness, loneliness, and silence. But actually, Hyperion was a good child. It waited obediently alone in the depths of the tide. Every time a diver tried to approach it, it would wake up and silently, curiously and nervously observe those who were getting closer and closer. It used different methods to give the diver hints and guide their way, encouraging the strangers to get closer and closer; but in the end, everyone gave up, and not a single diver was willing to approach it. So, when my fingers caressed Hyperion's enormous figure buried in the shadows, I felt a warm, moist sensation in my palm. It was weeping.

Hyperion cried out, like the song of a whale.

The second step is to connect with Hyperion's central AI. This process is a bit painful. Hyperion explores my neural network and then simulates it.

The last, and currently only, example in the history of the Alliance of a brain-computer interface was Glatian. At that time, I stopped Glatian's communication with the network on the grounds that "the load was too heavy and could easily cause mental stress to the subjects." (This technology, which was tested on Glatian, is now being used in warfare; it must be said that humanity is always full of imagination. This belief was further strengthened when I later saw that the Imperial Emperor's flagship, Odysseus, also used the same technology.) When ordinary people connect to the network, they are immediately immersed in a massive amount of data, formulas, and images, overwhelmed by enormous illusions, pain, or ecstasy; but thankfully, Hyperion carefully took care of me, its data limited to war and killing, and everything else was as pure as a blank sheet of paper. It flaunted its knowledge by showing me the hundreds of millions of battles it had recorded. Gradually, I came to understand the prototypes of these battles and abstracted them into basic patterns. The data that Hyperion gave me, though vast, was nothing more than a few major tendencies and categories. It swept through my mind, some of it dissipating, others being embedded in some pre-designed molds, shaped into something my brain could accept, and then used by me and given instructions. Hyperion understood my instructions and happily roamed around me.

From then on, the soldiers of the 14th Fleet only called me "Commander," and their tone was extremely respectful when they addressed me as such. Later, after I commanded the great evacuation of the Carthage star system and organized several counterattacks that broke out outside the Iliad Gate and on the Imperial homeland, I was awarded the "Order of the Free People" by the Allied government; they followed everyone else and called me "General." Some say that the title "General Ganymede" was something the soldiers of the 14th Fleet came up with to elevate their own commander's status, but that's completely wrong. The respect the fleet soldiers had for my command abilities had long been worn away by countless misdeeds, such as being late for meetings, discovering the Commander-in-Chief asleep halfway through fortress defense discussions, and the fact that working at night was impossible—even lying in bed reading erotic novels was out of the question. To this, I said with righteous indignation, "I have never, ever delayed any important business!"

“No, not at all.” They remained silent. “But living life earnestly, working diligently, and serving the country with devotion—these are basic qualities of an Allied citizen! You can’t be sprawled on the sofa pondering the brand of tea while we’re sweating buckets drawing combat demonstration diagrams!”

"I'm off work. If you're voluntarily working overtime, don't drag me into it! What's wrong with me browsing online supermarkets after get off work?"

Only Ye Yuanjun understands me. She is now my adjutant and also the head of the 14th Fleet's logistics supply line. She brought me a cup of black tea, and as I held the white hard porcelain handle, she stopped me from taking my first sip.

"What's wrong?" I looked up.

"Take it easy. Don't drink too much." She glanced at the clock. "It's 4 p.m.

Yes. It's getting late. I don't drink coffee anymore because I have trouble sleeping at night. A cup of black tea has about half the caffeine of a cup of coffee, which is just right for me.

I said, "Emperor Gratian's army has already occupied the Carthaginian star system."

"After the last major retreat, he probably felt you were humiliating him. He gave up a victory that was within his grasp. At that time, the Carthage star system could have been incorporated into the Empire's territory," Ye Yuanchun said.

"That's one aspect. After the Carthaginian evacuation, Carthage was practically an empty city. What's the point of the Empire occupying it? The Imperial Army in Gratian is very strong, deploys troops extremely quickly, and is adept at using speed to fight fast, but its distance from Zeus and long supply lines have always been an obstacle to the Imperial Army's outward expansion. By not wanting Carthage, he is, in fact, declaring war on me."

"Declare war?" Ye Yuanchun thought for a moment. "Oh, you mean that for the past six months, the 14th Fleet and the Emperor's army have been circling the empty city of Carthage, giving both sides a buffer zone. We are all waiting for the right opportunity."

"Yes."

Ye Yuanjun glanced at me, wanting to laugh, but a melancholy quickly clouded her face. "Are you sure he's just 'declaring war'?"

I don't understand what she meant.

She said she had a date at 6:30 and said goodbye. A date. Oh, by the way, she's one of the few female soldiers in our fleet. Ye Yuanjun is very beautiful; the number of male soldiers chasing her could probably circle the Haiyingsen Fortress three times.

“He’s seducing you, Caesar.”

A voice drifted over from afar. By the time I looked over, the woman had vanished.

During that period, the entire Earth Republican Alliance was immersed in a gloomy and fanatical nationalist atmosphere. Some high-ranking officials transferred assets into the Empire and spent a lot of money to buy false identities for themselves and their families after being smuggled out. At the same time, they instructed the domestic media to fabricate news such as "We have seen the dawn of defeating the invaders' conspiracy" and "Victory of the motherland is just ahead." Other high-ranking officials, on the other hand, stuck to their duties, denounced the corruption in the country, and proclaimed a bloody war against the Empire until the last free citizen sacrificed himself for the cause of freedom.

For the second time, the skies above Haiyingsen were filled with countless warships, blotting out the sun like a dark cloud pressing down. Last time, the Allied forces defeated Gratian; this time, the situation had reversed, and the Emperor of the Galactic Empire had descended upon the skies above Haiyingsen. Behind him stood five million Imperial soldiers.

The largest, most important, and final battle in the history of the Earth Republic Alliance has begun.

The pro-war officials gained dominance, and those who fabricated fake news fled the Alliance early on; those who hoped for peace remained, and the seven-year war had not destroyed their faith. They lost their voice and sat in the central square of the city government, holding candles in protest.

"General Ganimede, are you still unwilling to accept my offer of surrender?"

The emperor's stunning face appeared on the public communication screen, and I heard a collective gasp behind me. They had seen the emperor countless times, and every time they saw him, they reacted the same way; even though it was just a virtual image synthesized from data transmitted by a computer.

"The Alliance Council's answer was: No. The Allied Forces will fight you to the last moment. This is an order from above."

"And your answer?"

"The parliament's answer is my answer."

The emperor snorted coldly, "Hypocritical."

"Ganimed, why do you always pretend to love your country? You clearly find the Earth Republic Alliance utterly ridiculous; its entire political system and spirit are decadent and disgusting. It exploits the elite, feeding the masses with the blood of the strong. The swarm of fed flies do nothing but crave circuses and bread; every newly born outstanding individual is destroyed and worn down by the flies, leveled with them. The alliance is rotten. You clearly despise that country as much as I do, so why are you my enemy? Is it out of pride?"

"You flatter me too much, Your Majesty." I sniffed. Seeing him and hearing his voice, my eyes welled up with tears; I almost cried. It had been so, so very long since I'd seen him. Of course, he couldn't know this; he would surely laugh at me.

"I did it simply because it was my duty."

"That is to say, you have completely handed over the power of decision-making to the parliament and the state."

"So-called responsibilities are nothing more than an excuse to avoid thinking. Freedom is so hard, making your own decisions is so costly, so you push everything onto a higher, more powerful organization. That way you don't have to bear any burdens, you just have to do as you're told. Is that what you mean?"

I was speechless. "...Yes."

“You’ve changed, Caesar. The atmosphere in the Alliance is too unhealthy.”

I said I hadn't changed. "The one who has changed is you, Gratian."

I want to say that if I'm always opposing this and fighting that, causing a scene in parliament today and taking to the streets with banners tomorrow, you could never grow up peacefully in my arms. You would be caught up in the power struggles, schemes, and traps of various forces. You would be used as a bargaining chip in political transactions by different groups; you are a new kind of human, an anomaly, someone different from everyone else, a variable that can determine the future of the universe. I have no ambition, and I've never understood the importance of ethnicity, nation, and politics compared to the healthy growth of children. I can only do what I should do, without thinking or asking, only in this way can I protect you. My Gratian.

Many words are stuck in my throat.

I said, "I do not accept your offer of surrender. Your Majesty, let's begin the war. The soldiers are already impatient."

“Very well.” The emperor actually laughed. “General Ganimede, I will personally capture you. I will make you kneel before me and serve as my subject. At that time, I will personally train you to make some sounds that please me.”

These words were spoken on the public channel. No one laughed. A chilling cold enveloped the Allied capital.

The Imperial army's numbers were equal to the Allied army's, but this was only the first wave; the Imperial's second wave was initiating long-range hopping outside the gates of Iliad, with approximately 700,000 troops already jumping into warp space, expected to arrive at the solar system battlefield in fifty hours. Having secured overwhelming numerical superiority, Gratian launched a fierce attack from the front. I ordered the Allied defenders to spread and widen their lines.

Ye Yuanjun questioned, "With our forces so dispersed, any one of our defensive lines could be breached immediately."

“Then let them break through.” I blinked. “One, two, three, four… guess, will our battle lines be completely breached first, or will the attacking Empire lose patience first?”

Ye Yuanjun frowned. The other soldiers in the fleet also looked over. I held a freshly brewed cup of black tea, the liquid a vibrant, blood-red hue. The white porcelain cup was upside down, the tea spilling out and seeping into the gaps between the stacks of white paper. The first sheet was soaked through, the brownish water stain tearing a large hole the moment it was unfolded. The second, the third, the fourth—the wetted area decreased with each sheet. I turned the stack over and pulled out the last sheet. Crisp, white, brand new. I said, "We will be the winners."

Everyone looked like they suddenly understood.

A soldier raised his hand. "Understood, sir. But the problem is, if we fight a war of attrition with the Empire, although our forces can currently hold their own against them, they have reinforcements, and we don't."

“Yes,” Ye Yuanchun agreed, “and the opponent is Emperor Gratian. We must first assume the worst-case scenario: even if his imperial army is heavily depleted, it will still advance straight to our headquarters, very close to Hai Yingsen and you, the commander-in-chief.”

"Well, we can 'create' a batch of reinforcements for ourselves."

After the Allied forces adopted a defensive posture, the Imperial army seemed to have received our signal and began to slowly retreat. I heard whispers around me, "What's going on?" and "Why are the Imperials retreating?" I held my breath.

"They're here!"

"I said. Suddenly, a dense burst of fire exploded, tearing the deep black universe apart with dazzling light. I was protected by the protective net and couldn't feel the heat, but the extremely bright light stung my eyes. Ye Yuanjun shouted, "Open the light-blocking layer! Lie down! Quickly!"

The soldiers lay down, clutching their heads tightly in their arms. I closed my eyes, facing the fleet deck, the white light filling my retina.

It was a magical feeling, like when you're lying in bed at night and what you see isn't the darkness you expected, but a pure white expanse, as white as snow, even with your eyes closed.

"First line of defense! Total annihilation! Total annihilation! The Imperial army has broken through to the second line of defense!"

"Are there any troops left in the first line of defense?"

"Yes. There are two remaining units on the outskirts."

"Okay. Order them to move to the space supply station immediately. You know, that place, near Centaurus."

“Understood,” the soldier gave the order. Turning back, he added, “But sir, there’s a massive interstellar vortex at that location. In fact, the supply depot there has been shut down for years.”

"I know. Oh, it's okay, let's call them over first." I scratched my head and said.

The later lines of defense soon crumbled. Gratian's offensive was swift and fierce; I could even hear Imperial soldiers shouting "We've won!" and "We've triumphed!" over the battlefield's public communications channel. But there was no Emperor's voice. Eventually, all commands were issued by Caligula. The scattered Allied forces leaped to Centaurus, awaiting my orders.

Ye Yuanjun was confused. "Centaurus? It's very far from the solar system, and there's nothing there."

The number of Allied soldiers killed in action rose from 2,358 to 3,670. I stared at the ever-increasing curve and asked, "How many are left? Okay, forget about how many are left, get them to escape... no, retreat! Retreat them all!"

Everyone in the command room looked at me with shock and confusion. Emperor Gratian was bombarding the warship closest to Hyperion. A huge rocking motion came, and I held onto the armrest to keep from falling off my chair. Ye Yuanjun's high heels clicked crisply on the floor of the command room as she rushed in and asked, "Caesar, what are you doing? Quickly give the order for Hyperion to retreat!"

With a loud bang, she looked pale-faced at the sunken Allied warships, while the rest scattered and fled according to my previous instructions.

"No, no, it's too late," she murmured.

The tide of battle turned, and the allied forces, who had just clearly held the home-field advantage, were immediately surrounded by the imperial army. Emperor Gratian's flagship Odysseus patrolled the outer perimeter, a layer of ice-blue light floating around the pure white goddess. Tiny particles of light continuously dissipated into the pitch-black void of space with each launch from the gunboats, leaving behind afterimages.

"Caesar!" She suddenly grabbed my arm. "Get on the lifeboat, take command on another warship, you're committing suicide!"

"Get out of the way! I told you, you retreat first!" My face was burning, I didn't know if it was from excitement or some kind of virus attacking my body. My hands were trembling violently, countless battle tactics, both planned and practiced, flashed through my mind. Come on, come on, Gratian.

The number of dead soldiers on the monitor in front of me continued to climb, and my chest felt like it was about to shatter from the frantic beating of my heart. Odysseus seemed to hear my call; it slowly descended, then charged.

My muscles spasmed, and a strong, electric current of pleasure surged through my brain.

Ye Yuanjun looked at him strangely and said, "Caesar, you... as expected, he seduced you, and then you responded."

Odysseus, like a pure white sword, pierced straight into the center of the Allied forces. Hyperion stretched out his massive body. At that moment, I was enveloped by the feeling of something penetrating me. I think I really went mad. I rubbed the numbing sensation that gradually surged up my limbs, swelling and swelling, very hot, very scalding, very hard.

I said, "Centaurus team, you can come over now!"

This was the command I gave while clinging to my last vestiges of consciousness. I was connected to Hyperion in battle; tides, ocean, and a surge of more intense sensations flooded my mind. Odysseus's snow-white shadow swayed, impacting, rubbing, and then retreating. The Imperial army, following its commands, orchestrated wave after wave of sweeping battles around us, like teasing, like seduction, like sex. Gratian fully understood my current desires.

I think he's probably indulging in a similar kind of pleasure to me right now. The difference is, he's the aggressor, and I'm the receiver.

Centaurus was immersed in a slowly rotating, surging tide of stars, where countless retreating Allied warships converged. Around the vortex of space, Allied warships were flung out by the vortex's force, providing initial propulsion for takeoff. In their engines, nuclear fusion reactors burned, accelerating the fleet time and again. The dots on the command screen multiplied, drawing ever closer. Odysseus charged into my core; my fingernails dug into the armrests of my chair, drawing blood; my face burned. My vision blurred.

"Got him." I whispered, looking up at the command screen above me. I closed my eyes and sighed. Whether it was the satisfaction after the climax or the lament for the impending defeat of the Imperial army, I touched my burning cheeks with my hands. Just then, I heard Odysseus let out a piercing cry. The alarm echoed through the battlefield's public communication channels.

Caligula cried out, "Your Majesty—!"

"I will not run away!" I finally heard Gratian's voice. The emperor's clear voice swept through like a storm, "All fleets, regroup! Prepare to break through the allied forces' encirclement. I will not abandon a single soldier, and I will never be a coward who runs away alone!"

The afterglow of extreme euphoria still lingered in my body, and Ye Yuanjun stared at me as if I were a madman. I straightened my clothes and changed my pants. Returning, I smiled at her. She was stunned, just like the other Allied soldiers who had remained in the Hyperion command center. They had all witnessed my actions.

The remaining Allied forces previously dispatched to Alpha Centauri theoretically couldn't have reached the center of the battle before the Imperial's second wave of reinforcements arrived—not so quickly, because the Alpha Centauri supply depots, as everyone knows, had long been abandoned. Warships without sufficient energy supplies simply couldn't move fast, a view shared by the Imperial forces. However, near Alpha Centauri, there was a giant vortex, a counter-clockwise rotating circle; thus, the numerous Allied fleets were aligned along the tangent of this rotating circle, and with the aid of stellar energy, were propelled into deep space by immense force. Acceleration.

The allied fleet arrayed itself before Emperor Gratian. The emperor believed he had broken through them. But in the instant that we both reached the climax of our battle, my army decisively blocked all his escape routes, and I completely contained his fierce attacks.

Estravan connected to my channel. "You captured the Emperor of the Galactic Empire?"

"Yes."

The Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Alliance smiled faintly. "Then, please invite His Majesty the Emperor over as soon as possible. May we announce this good news to the nation? The people of the Alliance have been up all night, gazing at the stars."

"The starry sky?" I joked. "You won't see the starry sky tonight. The bright spots you see are the traces of terrifying quantum cannons."

Estravan's face vanished. The allied fleet slowly approached Odysseus. The pure white goddess was trapped in a gravitational net. I tried several times to access Odysseus's communication system, but there was no response. After a long while, Caligula's grim face appeared. He said, "His Majesty's mental state is somewhat unstable. He is not suitable for negotiations. If you have any requests, please inform me, and I will convey them to His Majesty. In addition, His Majesty has something to tell you privately."

"What did you say?"

“His Majesty said, ‘Caesar, you won. But I didn’t lose.’” Caligula scoffed. “What a shameless tactic of luring the enemy in. His Majesty had been eager to fight you in the Carthaginian region, constantly sending signals. You ignored them. Now, you’ve laid out your forces, and His Majesty thought you were finally going to have a big battle with him. He led the charge, only to fall into your seemingly exquisite but actually disastrous tactics? The main force was sent away early, only to be suddenly thrown out in the second half to scare people; it’s not a one-on-one duel, but just taking hostages? What is this? Does toying with His Majesty’s emotions please you?”

"Alright, Caligula. It was just a tactic. A trick, though not honorable. But a loss is a loss. There's no point in arguing." Gratian's voice came.

Caligula bowed and withdrew.

He and I made eye contact, and I noticed an unnatural flush on his cheeks. So I curled the corners of my mouth and said, "He's talking nonsense, Your Majesty. You clearly had a lot of fun with me."

His face flushed even more. He rubbed his forehead and said, "General Ganimede, you have captured me. What terms are you going to offer the Empire?"

On the display screen, the Allied warships had already attracted the enormous, pure white goddess, forming a dense layer of tiny spots on Odysseus's surface.

"Are you admitting defeat? I thought you were going to struggle a little longer."

“Caesar Ganimed. Don’t push your luck. I’m already trying to save face for you.”

I noticed the murderous intent in the emperor's eyes. I frowned. "Forgive my bluntness, Your Majesty, but this is not the attitude of a loser."

Suddenly, an alarm blared on the battlefield's public communications channel. I looked up to see a soldier urgently shouting, "Report! Report! A large contingent of Imperial warships is approaching! Approaching! They're about to leap out of warp and arrive at the current battlefield. 12 minutes left!"

"What about the quantity?"

The soldiers gasped. "...Seven or seven hundred thousand! Seven hundred thousand soldiers, three hundred thousand small warships, medium-sized ships..."

"Okay. I understand."

The Imperial army's march was much faster than I had anticipated. I turned to Ye Yuanchun and said, "Tell the soldiers who have boarded Odysseus to move faster. As long as we have the Emperor in our grasp..."

"Report!" This time the shout came from Ye Yuanchun. She looked at me in a panic, raised her hand, and opened her mouth.

"What happened? Don't panic. Tell me slowly."

"Sir, the Emperor has initiated the self-destruct program on Odysseus."

"What did you say?"

“Caesar, you see, I told you. You won. But I didn’t lose.” The emperor’s smile was cold and stern.

"Are you insane, Gratian? You've already lost. My soldiers will capture you soon. You activated Odysseus's self-destruct program. Do you think that will change anything? If you die, this war will truly be lost for the Empire!"

“Yes. I am dying. Caesar,” the emperor said, his expression one of grief, but his eyes were cold. A hint of mockery played at the corners of his mouth. “Caesar, didn’t you always say you would protect me? My dear foster father, my creator, the one who raised me, the one I love deeply. I am about to die. Caesar, why haven’t you ordered those allied soldiers to stop approaching my warships?”

"You're threatening me with your own life." I almost laughed out of anger at him.

"To be precise, add to that the three hundred allied soldiers you sent to Odysseus to capture me."

“They boarded your flagship with the intention of sacrificing their lives for their country.”

"But I really don't want to die. I don't want to fall into the hands of those pig-brained politicians in the Alliance. Save me, Caesar."

I was hurt by the clear expectation in his eyes. He actually thought I would let him go because of his pleading. "No, no, I'm an Alliance member. I'm a soldier of the Alliance, my duty is to obey orders and defeat..."

"Caesar Ganymede!" A roar exploded on the communications channel—a private channel between the Allied government and the Allied forces. I then realized that my conversation with Gratian had been conducted on a public channel. All Allied citizens and government officials had heard it. An elderly senator coughed and cursed; I could hear a cacophony of voices on the other end—the parliament was clearly in an uproar. "Why haven't you seized the Emperor yet? What are you wasting your breath talking to that blond brat for? What, are you planning to commit treason?!"

Some people tried to stop the old man from losing his temper.

At that moment, a gasp rang out from the command room of the 14th Fleet: "What...what is that?!"

I turned around, and a chilling sight appeared on the Earth's surface behind me. In the void, countless tiny vortices burst open, forming small, pit-like black dots. When beams of light struck these dots, they were quickly swallowed up—these were subspace black holes. The openings were wide open, and tens of thousands of Galactic Empire warships, lined up in neat rows, escaped through the gradually weakening holes. The backdrop of the universe was no longer deep black; in the sky, I heard screams from people on the ground over the channel. There were so many screams that I could barely hear anything else. The dense fleet of warships pressed down, and the azure planet was covered by black and red bright spots. The Imperial fleet began to accelerate its descent. The red light was the faint glow emitted by the dark matter engines of the warships, now illuminating the sky like a magnificent fire.

"Gradius! Stop! If your army continues its advance, the surface of the earth will be destroyed!"

I kept saying, "Let's talk, let's talk, there's still room for compromise." But the emperor just looked at me silently, like a flawless statue.

“Caesar, Caesar!” Ye Yuanchun’s voice sounded broken. “Odysseus has locked all the doors. We can’t get into the core area at all. The soldiers are blowing up the doors now, but the Imperial Army is blocking the doors. Every time they blow open a door, they rush over like they don’t care about their lives, shouting ‘Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!’ and then they fire wildly, taking our soldiers down with them.”

"Gratian, you're simply..."

"Caesar," I saw the emperor was actually about to cry, "there are thirty seconds left. Aren't you going to save me?"

“Caesar!” Estravan’s voice rang out, unusually forceful—it was probably the first time in my life I’d ever seen this man roar with such force. “Gradien lied to you! Odysseus’s self-destruct code required two-way confirmation; the Emperor issued the order. But Odysseus didn’t give a definite answer! The intelligence agency just called—he’s lying to you! Caesar!”

"Damn it." Gratian's eyes darkened considerably. "Why is it that whenever I want to do something, some insects always pop up to block my way?"

"Second Allied fleet, prepare! Continue the assault on Odysseus!"

After a while, I knew what I had to do. I said loudly, "Alright, Emperor Gratian, surrender..."

The camera seemed to slow down. I saw the second wave of the Allied fleet approaching, along with the remnants of the first wave, being torn apart, pulverized, and dragged away bit by bit by the white beam of light. The fragments, debris, and powder turned into cosmic dust and blended into the background of deep space.

"It's over," I thought. My mind raced faster than my actions. I just stood there, dumbfounded. Ye Yuanchun pounced on me, slamming me to the ground. Huge beams and the collapsed roof of the command cabin snapped and tumbled, crashing down on the howling Allied soldiers. Hyperion suffered its most devastating bombardment since the Seven Years' War began. Odysseus suddenly broke free of the gravitational net, all the gravitational anchors shattered, and the Void Dynasty of Hyperion charged forward. Gratian shouted, "Caesar is my prey! All of you, step back!"

They'd fallen into a trap. The gravitational net had only trapped most of Odysseus; during their conversation, the emperor had slowly directed his flagship to withdraw.

And I actually thought he was completely smitten with me.

Earth was no longer visible against the cosmic background, completely engulfed by a silent, burning, dark red glow. Only screams, cries, and pleas for divine salvation could be heard on the public communication channels—soldier's cries and civilian's. After a while, communications were abruptly cut off; a profound silence fell over Hyperion's command center. Most of the Imperial fleet had landed on Earth, hovering motionless in mid-air. Hyneson was completely blockaded by the Imperial army. They awaited the Emperor's orders. Half an hour later, the communication channel flickered—it was the public channel.

"Colonel Caesar Garnimed, please fire on the Emperor's flagship immediately."

"We have already lost, Your Excellency."

"Fire immediately! Fire!" The congressman's voice suddenly became shrill. "Don't you have any sense of honor? Don't you have the spirit to die for your country? As an Allied soldier, a colonel of the nation, how can you lack such confidence in victory! You should die fighting, die fighting!"

A torrent of discussion flooded the communication channels, and the desperate crowd erupted in fury.

I said, "The most rational decision right now is to surrender to the Empire immediately. The fact that the Emperor occupied the Earth without landing, and didn't fire a shot even when he landed halfway down, says it all."

But the crowd wouldn't listen, the councilors wouldn't listen. I heard a councilor rush to the central square of Haiyingsen and broadcast across the entire star system, shouting, "One hundred billion jade fragments! One hundred billion jade fragments!"

The total population of the Earth Republican Alliance's home planetary region is ten billion. They are sworn to defend their nation to the death.

The emperor sighed softly. He said, "Caligula, I admit it. This time, you're right."

The Earth Alliance Council is regrouping its forces, ordering numerous fleets in the solar system to immediately withdraw and form a new defensive line. They intend to wage war against the Imperial forces, which have already taken control of Earth's homeland, in near-Earth orbit, even if it inevitably results in massive casualties among Earth's population. The Imperial forces deploy their defensive network. Odysseus's blue-white light intensifies, and all artillery fire dissipates. The Alliance fleet splits into two groups: one rushes to the ground, relentlessly firing at the ground regardless of the lives of Alliance civilians. The Imperial fleet, suspended in mid-air and forbidden from descending by imperial orders, cannot find a foothold and is bombarded by the barrage of shells from above; the other group recklessly charges towards Odysseus, only to be quickly shattered by the blue-white particles released by the pure white goddess, the dust shimmering and flowing into space in large quantities.

"Fire from this position," the emperor muttered to himself, "Are they really courting death?"

The Imperial fleet retaliated, destroying a series of Allied warships. The burning golden-red streaks were blinding, and Imperial soldiers erupted in a tsunami of cheers. The battlefield's public communication channels were in complete chaos.

"One hundred billion jade fragments! One hundred billion jade fragments!" The assembled Allied crowd on the ground shouted fervently.

Someone was sobbing softly. "Dad, Mom, I don't want to die..."

Ye Yuanjun and the remaining soldiers of the 14th Fleet asked me what I should do now. I stared at a potted green ivy in the command room. The artillery fire hadn't directly hit it, but the heat was too intense; even the protective netting wasn't enough to cool it down, and it was completely scorched. The leaves were withered and yellow. Just yesterday, it was lush and green. I watered it and said, "You're still too small. You need some water to grow a little bigger." As the leaves grow larger, they'll have more space to receive sunlight and synthesize nutrients. That way, the stem will become stronger.

The pothos died. I had only cared for it for less than a week; its tender shoots had just grown and were barely able to withstand the slightest storm from the outside world.

I said, “We fight. We have to take the Imperials down with us.”

Then I saw the Earth's surface change again. The black and red had already taken over the azure blue, but suddenly a larger, more expansive white spread from the remaining azure surface, like vast, dead cities under a plague. I was stunned. This white fog was familiar. I had seen it before.

I heard a piercing scream, initially just background noise amidst the cacophony of voices on the communication channel. It amplified, grew louder, until the scream drowned out everything else; everyone was screaming. Politicians in the council, the assembled crowds, children crying for their parents, and soldiers on the ground, already assembled to fight the Imperial army to the death. White steam enveloped the entire Earth. Odysseus's main cannon, Thor's hammer, fired its first shot at the Great Wall, but the Emperor ordered it to stop.

“There’s no need,” Gratian said. “No one on Earth will be alive anymore.”

Photosynthetic water bacteria. Someone released them into the ocean—a whole test tube, maybe more. These are the water bacteria I later invented, the ones whose "final genome" wasn't locked away. Right now, they are reproducing, following their most primal instincts.

Vast amounts of surface water—oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams—were broken down, followed by groundwater. Rocks rapidly cracked and collapsed, moss withered, turning brownish-yellow and curling into clumps. A storm swept through, shattering and vanishing the dried moss without a trace. Spores of water bacteria dispersed, trees collapsed, leaves dehydrated, and animals contaminated with the bacteria screamed madly before collapsing into desiccated corpses. High concentrations of hydrogen and oxygen reacted under the continuous heating of sunlight, exploding and burning. The raging white flames quickly reduced those caught in the blast to charred specks. People fled, but their sleeves, hair, nails, and pores were stained with photosynthetic water bacteria. Spores quickly took root and sprouted, draining the last drop of water from everyone's blood, skin, and organs. The fleeing crowd dwindled visibly, sublimating into plumes of gas in extreme agony. Hydrogen and oxygen, along with white flames, burned in mid-air, scorching the dried bones into deep black ash. The ash mixed with fire rain, along with scalding raindrops, pelted the ground with a crackling sound. The small puddles on the ground were round, like sparkling little mirrors, reflecting the pale white sky seeping through the azure.

As dawn broke, the stars had just faded, and the earth had become a living hell.

Our home planet, Earth. The cradle of human civilization, the homeland of the Allies, the rear base of six billion people, has been destroyed.

The screams and wails finally ceased. The network connection on Earth was still active, but no humans or animals could make a sound there. Earth could no longer see blue; the aerial fortress, the Allied capital of Heyson, was the only one still faintly glowing blue, floating in the air, untouched by bacteria. A voice rang out from the Supreme Council: a man said, "Emperor Gratian, we surrender."

It was Estravan. I don't know what he did during the parliamentary turmoil just now. "Continuing the war is not everyone's wish," he said, his voice sounding particularly weary. "The pro-war faction has hijacked public opinion and stolen command of the military. On behalf of all the citizens of the Earth Republican Alliance, I urge you..."

He gritted his teeth, “—I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness. Please forgive us for this extremely rebellious act of declaring war on you.”

"We hope you will withdraw your troops to assist us in stopping the further spread of the water bacteria and to go to the Earth's surface to treat any surviving wounded. The Earth Republic Alliance is willing to submit to the rule of the Galactic Empire and will never claim independence."

Emperor Gratian nodded. "I grant your request."

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" Following screams and cries, the shouts of the Galactic Empire soldiers filled the entire communication channel, pounding in my ears and those of the other Allied soldiers.

"Long live the Galactic Empire—!!"

——tbc——