Chapter 316: Spacetime Displacement Theory

The intensity of this battle far exceeds all wars in human history.

Even if the final outcome is a smooth victory over the Saint Pu Empire and the successful destruction of the Spacetime Portal linking to it, after the war the world will likely need a long time to regain its vitality, and it may even cause societal development to regress by dozens of years.

But this is already the best outcome.

Shangguan Ying has gone more than a week without closing her eyes; the mental and physical drain beyond ordinary imagination has made her lose a great deal of weight, her cheeks and eye sockets are sunken, and her face has almost lost all color.

The supreme command group she leads encompasses dozens of Huaxia's top generals, and even though those generals can occasionally rotate rest, they too have been worn down to the point of losing their humanity.

"Supreme Commander Shangguan, the higher‑ups want you to get some sleep," a subordinate said quietly as he approached her, "You really should rest; among everyone, you're the only one who hasn't taken a break from start to finish."

Shangguan Ying stared at the screen without responding, as if she had become a gaunt, sharp sculpture.

"Supreme Commander… if you fall, then…" the subordinate shouted again.

Shangguan Ying moved the cracked corner of her mouth, "Hmm, I understand. The current situation is within controllable limits. I will go rest now. If any problem arises, remember to wake me up. Also, if you locate the thing we need to destroy, be sure to wake me as well."

The subordinate let out a breath, stood at attention and said, "Yes! Supreme Commander!"

The same day, midnight in the Western Hemisphere.

The capital of the Saint Pu Empire was breached, and the empire's core high officials fled in panic.

Even though they tried hard to conceal their movements, the United Defense Force still detected their activity.

The United Defense Force did not launch a direct capture operation; instead, they used military satellites together with stealth Drones to keep watch on the group.

Because up to now, the Saint Pu Empire's sea, land, and air have been completely sealed off, the empire's core high officials cannot escape this area, so they can only flee to what they consider the safest place.

For the present Saint Pu Empire, the safest place is certainly also the most important place.

Besides the location where they have a Spacetime Portal to another world, what else could it be?

A few hours later, at dawn.

The Saint Pu Empire's core high officials numbered thirteen, and together with a protective unit of over two hundred, they arrived at the Empire's Statue Island.

This place was originally a famous landmark of M Guo, formerly called Freedom Island, located in the bustling district of M Guo's former largest city; in the middle of a wide river that runs through the city stood a river island bearing a nearly hundred‑meter‑tall sculpture.

The goddess statue that once symbolized M Guo's spirit no longer existed, replaced by a male sculpture.

The male sculpture wore a long robe, and a mask covered its face.

The entire statue stood over 180 meters tall, entirely gilded, dazzlingly splendid, and exuded great oppression.

Even though the thirteen imperial high officials were in a hurry to escape, when they reached the foot of the golden statue, they had their attendants fetch a dozen white robes and solemnly put them on.

The backs of the white robes each bore a mask‑man pattern embroidered with golden thread.

After changing, they knelt respectfully before the golden statue, chanting prayers.

At that moment, an inconspicuous spot at the base of the golden statue suddenly opened a door.

A man also dressed in a white robe stepped out, opened his mouth to scold, "Without permission, how dare you come here! Don't you know you'll be exposed?!"

Among the thirteen, the leading man said with a mournful face, "The capital has been breached… we… we truly have no choice but to flee here, pleading… pleading for the Descending Assembly's protection…"

The white‑robed man, his face full of anger, glanced up at the pitch‑black night and snarled, "Roll in!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

The thirteen Saint Pu Empire high officials were ecstatic, rolling and crawling through the door.

The white‑robed man ordered the protective unit of over two hundred, "Guard the outside; anyone who approaches, kill on sight."

Having said that, he turned around, and the door closed again.

A few minutes later, a rocket suddenly appeared in the night sky.

Boom!

The top‑level protectors beside the two hundred officials hadn't time to react and were blown to pieces on the spot.

Surprisingly, the explosion caused no damage to Statue Island; not even a scratch on the golden ground.

The United Defense Force also noticed the anomaly and launched a few more rockets with greater power.

The result was the same: the ground wasn't even cracked.

A reconnaissance squad descended with parachutes, landed on Statue Island for on‑site inspection, and discovered the entire island was constructed from some ultra‑strong unknown material.

It looks ordinary on the surface, but its defensive strength is extremely high.

The squad used ultra‑high‑intensity Blasting tools to try breaking a few spots, yet it was still ineffective.

The United Defense Force, upon learning this, ordered the squad to withdraw and then launched a small hydrogen bomb.

When the mushroom cloud dissipated, the river water around Statue Island had evaporated, the river channel and a large surrounding area were flattened, yet the statue and the island itself remained exactly where they were.

However, this level of attack was not entirely without effect.

The Defense Force's deployed Drones quickly, in the now unshielded area, discovered a several‑meter‑wide crack beneath the island.

The once‑impervious Statue Island finally had a breach opened.

The ground combat battalion moved immediately, fully armed, surrounding Statue Island, using the crack as a breach to prepare entry.

At that moment, atop the massive statue, the mask suddenly opened, and white‑robed silhouettes leapt out, falling to the ground like meteors.

They plunged directly from nearly two hundred meters high.

Such extraordinary physical condition stunned the United Defense Force.

When over a thousand white‑robed figures wearing golden masks landed, the statue's mask closed again.

"Open fire!" the ground combat battalion commander ordered, and instantly a hail of Bullets surged toward the white‑robed men.

But after a round of fire, it only shredded the white robes into rags; the wearers themselves were unharmed.

Immediately, the white‑robed men discarded the tattered robes, revealing combat suits of gold and white, drew twin swords strapped to their shoulders, and charged the ground combat battalion like lightning…

…

Inside Statue Island.

The thirteen Saint Pu Empire high officials knelt in a massive palace‑like chamber, trembling.

In front of them stood a ten‑meter‑tall wall, its entire surface covered with portraits of the masked man; beneath the portraits stood a middle‑aged man in a golden robe, holding a golden scepter.

This person is exactly the chairman of the Saint Pu Empire Advent Association.

He stroked the scepter, his face grim, and slowly said: "You acted without permission, ignored my orders, and came here on your own, directly exposing the headquarters' location. According to the association rules—"

"Honorable Chairman, please spare our lives!" the high-ranking members of the Saint Pu Empire exclaimed in panic.

"We really had no choice but to do this; otherwise… otherwise we would surely be killed!"

"Honorable Chairman, for over ten years we have diligently followed all your orders, completing any arrangement you set! Please look at our merits and spare us; in the future we can continue to serve you in ruling the empire!"

Hearing these words, the Advent Association chairman suddenly laughed.

"Hahaha! You bunch of stupid pigs! You let the monsters we ourselves released run onto our territory and even destroyed the electronic shield base! Now the Saint Pu Empire is gone! Do I still need you to rule the empire for me?!"

The empire's high-ranking officials sweated profusely, stammering as they tried to defend themselves.

But before they could finish explaining, the chairman had already ordered them all executed.

Several Advent Association enforcers appeared at once, walked up to them, and with a swing of the blade, thirteen heads rolled to the ground.

The chairman killed these thirteen people but still not appeased his hatred, and he also had the enforcers chop the corpses into meat paste.

"Not good, chairman!" a subordinate rushed over, stepping straight into the meat paste, and cried out in terror, "Our people can't hold them off!"

The chairman's cheeks twitched as he glared and said: "Those are the strongest genetically modified warriors sent by Lord Ning, a hundred times stronger than those enhanced humanoid monsters! How… could they not be stopped?!"

The subordinate wiped cold sweat and said: "They are indeed strong, but we can't withstand the United Defense Army's numbers, weapons, and fearlessness. I estimate the outer defenses will be breached before dawn, and our inner Advent Association Guard Army can hold out at most a few more hours. Chairman, you should quickly seek aid from Lord Ning!"

"You think I don't want to?" the chairman paced back and forth anxiously, "These past two days I've sent multiple signals requesting the opening of the passage, but… the spacetime portal hasn't opened. What do you want me to do? We here also can't open the passage!"

The subordinate's face turned pale: "Could it be that Lord Ning has abandoned us? Or… you could try sending the signal again."

The chairman, also having no other option, turned and inserted the scepter into a mechanism beneath the mural, turned the scepter's handle, and immediately the huge mural glowed with light.

He devoutly knelt, palms together, and continuously prayed before the mural.

Just as he was about to fall into utter despair, a ring of rotating light appeared in the center of the mural, and he couldn't help but be overjoyed.

That side finally agreed to open the passage!

He patiently waited until the entire wall became a huge light ring, then hastily tidied his clothes, approached with utmost reverence, and stepped inside……

……

The Advent Association chairman finally met the person he wanted to see.

At this moment, the honorable chairman, who could stand above the rulers of the Saint Pu Empire, lay prostrate before Ning Hai like a dog, wagging his tail and begging, tears and snot streaming as he recounted recent events.

The mask on Ning Hai's face reflected a dazzling golden light, making his expression unreadable.

After hearing the chairman's report, he calmly said: "The military development speed and leadership command ability of Huaxia Guo truly astonish me; given the current situation, even if I mobilized all my forces, I would not have a hundred percent chance of victory."

The chairman found it hard to believe the passage: "How could that be? You not only have advanced weaponry, but also so many genetically modified monsters and super soldiers… how could there be no chance of victory?"

Ning Hai said: "You don't understand Huaxia Guo's combat strength and fighting spirit; not to mention my military technology hasn't yet reached the level to overwhelm Huaxia, even if their troops only had the most backward weapons, they'd still dare to fight us to the death, and this nation's people have throughout history faced countless life-or-death crises, each time encountering opponents far stronger than themselves? For thousands of years… the Huaxia people have never truly been defeated……"

As he spoke these words, a long-lost sense of pride suddenly welled up deep within Ning Hai's heart.

After all, he was originally a native-born Huaxia person.

But this emotion was quickly suppressed by him; nowadays he belongs to no nation and possesses a powerful force under his own control.

And yet the ultimate opponent he will face is precisely that nation he understands.

This forces him to treat the situation with caution.

"'Even… even you are this afraid of Huaxia Guo?' the chairman blurted out."

"'You're looking for death?' Ning Hai suddenly shot a sharp glare at the chairman."

His voice wasn't loud, his tone not obviously emotional, but that aura almost made the chairman lose control of his bladder on the spot.

"'Sorry, Lord Ning! I spoke without thinking, I deserve to die!' The chairman, while apologizing, fiercely slapped himself, drawing blood after just a few strikes."

All right, Ning Hai stood with hands behind his back, chin slightly raised, "I must wait until I am absolutely certain before acting; in war against Huaxia, we cannot rely on luck, nor can we gamble."

The chairman spat blood, tears in his eyes, and said: "Does that mean you're abandoning us? After over a decade of our efforts, and the heavy price we've paid, all we hoped for was your return—what does this... what do these amount to?"

Ning Hai gave a light chuckle and said: "Heh, why the rush? When did I say I was giving up?"

The chairman froze for a moment, hope appearing in his eyes, "You mean..."

"In the Time-Space Traversal Project, we have developed the spacetime dislocation theory." Ning Hai, hands behind his back, paced slowly before the floor-to-ceiling window, speaking leisurely.

The chairman was bewildered, "Spacetime dislocation theory? What does that mean?"

Ning Hai said: "The world I have come to is a parallel world of the original world; not only is the space different, but the era is different as well—that is spacetime dislocation. This means that, as long as I master sufficiently advanced technology, I can connect this side to any point in time of the original world."

The chairman remained dazed, his eyes wide and round, his face full of question marks.

Ning Hai gave a glance like that of a gorilla, then continued: "Simply put, I can spend several decades or even centuries here before opening the spacetime portal to link with the original world, whereas if you remain in the original world, perhaps only a few hours, or even less, would have passed for you."

"Ah... I think I'm getting it," the chairman, after pondering hard, asked, "So if you wait here until your time-travel technology is advanced enough to selectively link to points in time of the original world, does that mean you could, decades or centuries from now, choose to return to the original world at a time when Huaxia Guo hasn't yet developed? In that case, wouldn't you be able to destroy Huaxia Guo with just a sneeze!"