Chapter 26
◎The Crow of the Empire, Its Heart is Blacker Than a Crow◎
Lan Hua didn't actually say much, but the amount of information she conveyed was substantial, and Luo Ying hadn't yet recovered from what Lan Hua had just said. He had come to this universe with the prince, and he thought he knew far more than Lan Hua about the so-called "gods," the historical origins of the two past universes, and the struggle between humans and "gods."
The Philosopher Stone is the core link between the two universes, and he possesses the bloodline of the ancient god "Chong." In the mission His Highness bears, he plays a central and irreplaceable role. This is also the reason for his confidence in Shang Lanhua.
And now, his last and most important comfort has vanished without a trace, all thanks to Lan Hua's nonchalant words...
"How do you know? Did His Highness tell you everything?" Luo Ying asked. He would rather believe that His Highness told him than believe that Lan Hua had drawn this conclusion herself based on clues.
“Regas wanted to explain, but I already guessed it. Let’s talk about something else.” Lan Hua put away his sunglasses. Without the glasses to shield him, the firelight pierced through the protective ring and fell on his face, making it so bright it seemed to sting Luo Ying’s eyes. “Instead of wasting time like this, you might as well do something meaningful, like having sex or something.”
Speaking of which, after he arrived and learned that this was all arranged by that bastard Regas, he was thinking that he would settle accounts with Regas when he had time. After all, his perfect and tragic love was ruined by Regas. Regas pretended to be gentle and harmless during that time, which made him a little weak in love now. He only felt that love was boring and dull.
Luo Ying: "..." This person is really shameless! Is this something a child should listen to?
Lan Hua stood up. "If you don't want to die or implicate others, stay inside the circle." This protective circle is a miniature version of the planet's defense system. If those "gods" don't go crazy and rush over to attack it, this circle is the safest place on the planet.
"You're going out?" Luo Ying was somewhat incredulous. After all, before the great battle and at the beginning of it, Lan Hua had been lying comfortably on the recliner as if on vacation. No matter what he said, Lan Hua remained unmoved, making him give up hope. Could it be that Lan Hua had a change of heart and was now going to help His Highness?
"Hmm." Lan Hua hummed in response, but her gaze was not fixed on the main battlefield.
"Are you going to help His Highness?" Luo Ying wanted a definite answer so he could feel more at ease.
"No," Lan Hua replied crisply.
Luo Ying: "..." So you went there just to watch the show up close? I knew this guy wasn't that kind-hearted, he's cold-blooded and ruthless!
Lan Hua turned to look at Luo Ying, as if she had heard Luo Ying's thoughts, "Don't pin your hopes on others. My presence here is just a variable. If success requires my participation, then why should Regas bear that responsibility? Are you overestimating me, or underestimating Regas?"
Luo Ying: "I'm just worried..."
"Worried?" Lan Hua smiled. "This is completely unnecessary and useless. If you trust Regas, then follow his arrangements; if you don't trust him, then you shouldn't have come along in the first place."
"Of course I believe in His Highness," Luo Ying quickly explained. He clearly held His Highness in the highest esteem, so how did his conversation with Lan Hua suddenly turn into one of disbelief in His Highness's abilities? This person was truly a silver-tongued devil; one had to be careful when talking to him, otherwise, one would easily fall into his trap. So exhausting…
"What are you going to do?" Luo Ying looked at Lan Hua's movements and realized that he was about to leave. For some reason, she felt flustered, and that inexplicable sense of security gradually disappeared.
“Let’s go pick up a bargain,” Lan Hua smiled, “and maybe have a fight.” Since love had withered and dopamine was no longer available, he could only rely on adrenaline to rekindle his long-lost passion. His life couldn’t be without passion, otherwise he really would have to go to the Stafal Sanatorium for depression treatment.
Luo Ying: "..." So, it's all about fighting, what's the difference between this and helping Your Highness?
Luo Ying thought that Lan Hua was worried about His Highness, but he wouldn't admit it in front of him, and that he was actually still concerned, so he went to the battlefield to fight the enemy together. But when Luo Ying saw what Lan Hua was doing, he realized that Lan Hua wasn't just being stubborn...
Lan Hua stepped out of the protective circle and then took out his private warship, the South Wind God, from the particle space.
"The God of the South Wind..." Upon seeing the warship that suddenly appeared outside the protective circle, Luo Ying was so shocked that he could only murmur the name of this famous warship in a low voice, unable to say anything else.
Although the God of the South Wind was Lan Hua's private warship and not affiliated with the Southern Fleet, its fame was so great that even Luo Ying, who was just an ordinary college student at the time, had heard of it. Since coming into contact with Lan Hua, his unspeakable feelings for His Highness, as well as Lan Hua's wicked personality and strange views on love, made him subconsciously ignore Lan Hua's true identity, including all the legends surrounding him.
The Silver Glow Empire forbids private fleets, let alone private warships. However, this only applies to ordinary people and common nobles. Powerful families in the Four Domains can legitimately possess private fleets, not to mention their core figures owning their own private warships. However, ostensibly, the Four Domains fleet also belongs to the Silver Glow Empire, guarding its borders. In reality, everyone knows that the Four Domains fleet is simply the private fleet of the Four Domains families.
The royal family has neither the power nor the means to intervene. While the other three domains may not be as powerful as the royal fleet, the Southern Domain's strength is something even the royal family greatly fears. Although the four domains are not closely connected, the power structure of the four domains plus the royal family is tacitly established. Moving one part can have far-reaching consequences. Without absolute certainty, if the emperor were to touch any of the four domains, even the weakest one, it could provoke retaliation from the other three. After all, this would mean the royal family is going to use the four domains as a pretext, and no one can guarantee who will be next.
Although the God of the South Wind is Lan Hua's private warship, it is a super-star-level warship, making it a flagship and the most advanced warship even among the top fleets. Its main control panel is controlled by an AI, which is connected to Lan Hua's personal computer. Therefore, even though it is a behemoth-like super-large warship, Lan Hua can easily pilot and operate it alone through the AI system.
The South Wind rose to fame during the Battle of Raven, a war between the Silver Empire and the Galactic Federation over the ownership of the newly formed Raven system.
The cause of the Raven War was simple: the collision and merging of the barred spiral galaxy, the Rabbit Galaxy, belonging to the Silver Empire, and the spiral galaxy, the Sparrow Galaxy, belonging to the Galactic Federation, formed a new elliptical galaxy—the Raven Galaxy. The two nations vied for ownership of this newly formed supergalaxy, thus sparking the Raven War.
The Battle of the Ravens initially went back and forth, but in the end—
The Southern Fleet claimed to be supporting the Imperial Fleet, stating that the Raven system was the closest to the Southern Fleet among the four regions. The addition of the Southern Fleet turned the battle from a stalemate into a one-sided affair, with the Southern Fleet almost overwhelming the Galactic Federation.
The primary reason for this, besides the formidable strength of the Southern Fleet itself, was the South Wind's incredibly skillful and unpredictable maneuvering, achieving the effect of an entire fleet with a single warship. After all, limited by the tonnage and size of super-star warships, never before had a super-star warship navigated with such agility and imaginative skill… This not only astonished onlookers but also forced all major powers possessing super-star warships to re-evaluate their warship deployment strategies. The entire universe watched the South Wind's dazzling maneuvering, and ultimately, its maneuvering during the Battle of Ravens became a mandatory course in every nation's highest military academy.
Without a doubt, the War of Ravens ended in an Imperial victory, and the Raven system naturally fell to the Silver Empire's... Southern Region. The Southern Wind God became famous overnight, and Lan Hua, commander of the Southern Region fleet, was hailed as the Eagle of the Empire by the people. However, within the Galactic Federation, Lan Hua was reviled as the Raven of the Empire, his heart blacker than a raven.
Therefore, Luo Ying naturally recognized the renowned South Wind God. He never imagined that he would actually see this legendary warship with his own eyes; he was utterly awestruck.
Luo Ying watched Lan Hua disappear through the hatch, and watched the God of the South Wind rapidly cleave through the chaos and fly towards the Philosopher's Stone.
"Welcome back." As soon as Lan Hua entered the command center of the God of the South Wind, the AI Notos spoke.
"Hmm, long time no see." Lan Hua sat down in the command seat, with countless large screens in front of him, and smiled. "It's been a long time since we've had a match. I really miss it."
After saying that, he commanded the God of the South Wind to rush straight towards the Philosopher's Stone. If it weren't for his strong will, he would have long been driven insane by the Philosopher's Stone, which made him somewhat unhappy.
Although the number of "gods" guarding the Philosopher's Stone is slightly less than before due to the previous reinforcements, the Philosopher's Stone is the hope for these "gods" to fulfill their wishes, so the number of "gods" guarding it is still large.
Originally, the battle was deadlocked between Regas, the reinforcements, and the "gods," while the Philosopher's Stone, though heavily guarded, had not been attacked again. The appearance of the South Wind God disrupted the balance of the war.
“The ‘God-Men’ are stronger than I expected,” Lan Hua said, though her expression remained calm. The ‘God-Men’ guarding the Philosopher’s Stone swarmed out, engaging the God of the South Wind in fierce combat. Despite its massive size, the God of the South Wind was just as legendary—its movements were agile and unpredictable, making it a ship that the ‘gods’ utterly detestable. The ship itself wasn’t damaged much, but the number of ‘God-Men’ attacking it was significantly reduced by more than half.
Inside the command center, Lan Hua's expression was gradually becoming serious; he needed to concentrate all his attention to dodge the dense barrage of attacks.
At this moment, Lan Hua suddenly smiled because he had found an opening. "This is it." Without hesitation, he pressed the beam cannon attack button.
In the light screen, the Philosopher's Stone, which, despite its dense cracks, still maintained its enormous form, was blasted into countless fragments by the beam cannon attack.
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-08-19 20:05:42 and 2022-08-21 19:56:55!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Jiangshan┵ 10 bottles;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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