Chapter 430: Aftermath of the Disturbance

Return Star Central Star System, Conference Hall.

Ever since the intelligence about The Council tearing up the alliance treaty and launching an attack on the Guixing Expeditionary Force was transmitted back, Vimala urgently convened a meeting.

This news caused a sensation among the Gui Xing High Command, and almost everyone reacted extremely strongly to it.

"Were the brains of that group of Divine Spirits of The Council eaten?"

"What benefits can tearing up the alliance treaty bring them? What a bunch of Idiots!"

"..."

No matter what internal contradictions they had, at this moment they were completely united against outsiders.

The first message transmitted back by the Guixing Expeditionary Force stated that The Council tore up the alliance treaty at a critical moment of Returning Star's attack. Although the Star Glory Empire then chose Sitting On The Mountain To Watch Tigers Fight and didn't continue to attack,

To some extent, it could be considered a pincer attack by both, and the situation could be described as extremely critical.

Even if they could block The Council, they couldn't block the Covetously Staring Star Glory Empire, and numerous senior generals had a high probability of being captured alive.

What they were focusing on discussing was what kind of attitude they should express regarding this matter.

"The Council tearing up the alliance treaty has caused us severe losses. We absolutely cannot let this go."

"Retaliation is necessary, but why would they break the alliance treaty? Without sufficient interests driving them, they couldn't possibly do such a thing."

"But the Expeditionary Force hasn't transmitted any valuable intelligence back recently."

"..."

Vimala's expression flickered, as if thinking of something, but she brought up another topic:

"That's right, this is a severe provocation against us. If we don't retaliate strongly, I'm afraid our prestige will be swept to the ground, and our other Allies will also be in a state of panic."

This was not an ordinary Interstellar War, where having back and forth, victories and defeats were completely normal.

As long as it wasn't a too shocking battle record, it wouldn't cause too big of a disturbance On the interstellar stage.

But this method of tearing up an alliance treaty was extremely despised and hated; it was simply slapping Returning Star's face repeatedly.

If they didn't show some reaction, did they still want their face?

"It's just... this current point in time is not a good time for retaliation."

"..."

However, there were also different opinions expressed among the High Echelon. Many High Echelon members believed that before figuring out the opponent's goal, they shouldn't blindly retaliate.

Moreover, if the intensity of retaliation was not well grasped and set off a large-scale war, the losses might outweigh the gains.

While the crowd was arguing endlessly, a series of urgent intelligence reports arrived from the Expeditionary Force.

The High Echelon members, who were arguing until their faces were red and necks were thick, immediately stopped talking and looked at the latest intelligence.

The urgent intelligence was concise and to the point, summarizing the general situation in one sentence.

"Battle ended, The Council's attack failed, losses are still within a controllable range, safe evacuation completed."

Seeing the briefing, the expressions of all the High Echelon members changed slightly, revealing a hint of astonishment.

Damn, is the Expeditionary Force this fierce?

Not only did they repel The Council, but they were also able to safely evacuate from the subsequent pincer attack by the Star Glory Empire. Horus, did you use cheats?

The briefing was just to let everyone know the final outcome in the shortest possible time.

More specific news and intelligence were still contained in the massive amount of information that followed.

And as the specific information unfolded, the expressions of the numerous High Echelon members changed accordingly.

They all noticed the cause of this battle, and also the person who played a key role in the battle—Li Yu!

Tying down Rohan, cooperating with Horus, and most crucially, that abruptly appearing Interstellar Fortress destroying the Solar Diadem, making The Council's plans fall through.

Forcing them to cooperate with Returning Star again to resist the possible attack from the Star Glory Empire.

It's him again!

These three words surfaced in the hearts of many High Echelon members. This guy was the center of attention no matter where he went.

Not long ago in the Amethyst battle, this guy was in the limelight, and this time he played an even more crucial role.

It could be said that without Li Yu, without that suddenly appearing Interstellar Fortress, Returning Star would have probably suffered severe losses and been Utterly Disgraced this time.

Sure enough, there were rumors recently that Li Yu's Status in the Dimensional Camp was extraordinary. As expected, it wasn't baseless wind.

This Interstellar Fortress was enough to verify this point.

Titus, who had been quite quiet recently, raised his head, looked at the intelligence on the Holographic Screen, took a deep breath, and his expression looked very complex.

Why are the rumors I spread becoming more and more real?

However, the few big shots sitting at the very front showed more deep thought in their eyes.

The Council tore up the alliance treaty, paying such a great price and preparing so fully, just for Li Yu?

What did they want to get from Li Yu?

Vimala's eyes narrowed slightly. Both the cause and the result of this battle surprised her very much.

But judging by the current result, the benefits Returning Star obtained were far greater than their losses.

Defeating The Council and calmly evacuating with the Expeditionary Force, although they didn't achieve any battle results on the frontal battlefield against the Star Glory Empire.

But from a side perspective, this was already the limit of what the Expeditionary Force could achieve.

At the same time, it was also a perfect answer sheet belonging to Horus.

Moreover, the role Li Yu played in it was also not small; this was all Merit.

Such a situation already met Vimala's psychological expectations.

Cutting losses in time and drawing in Li Yu, she indeed hadn't made a mistake. Vimala was quite satisfied in her heart.

Furthermore, they might be able to genuinely try to cooperate with the Dimensional Camp. Of course... not in the name of Returning Star.

She thought for a moment, but none of these emotions were displayed. She still looked indifferent and said in a deep voice:

"Tell the Expeditionary Force to prepare for evacuation, and at the same time, launch an inquiry against The Council, publicizing the fact that they tore up the alliance treaty."

............

Regarding this battle, where some rejoiced, others worried.

The Council, Sun Temple. Azkana sat on his divine throne, milky white spheres of light wreathing around him, from which holy sounds of chanting could occasionally be heard.

Bizarre creatures stood on both sides of the divine throne, difficult to distinguish their gender, their bodies covered with golden Scale Armor, and their wings possessing pure white feathers.

Holding metal sun discs, they lowered their faceless heads, incomparably respectful.

At this moment, he slowly opened his eyes, the golden light in his pupils flashing past.

The crown was activated, the battle should be almost over.

No matter who you actually are, in the face of absolute Strength, it is of no use.

Last time when he Conned Li Yu, his name was directly called out, which made him brood over it, always feeling some conspiracy was brewing behind the scenes.

Although he temporarily reached a cooperation with that unknown guy, as he probed deeper and obtained more intelligence.

Li Yu's Divine Arts that had never appeared before, the Glove, and the people behind him, whether it was the "Old Ones" or the Dimensional Camp, gave him a very bad premonition.

So his thoughts also changed accordingly. Let's put aside the issue of opening the Galaxy Veil for now, and capture Li Yu first.

That Old geezer Digor didn't know life from death, forcibly controlling the Titan's power. He had held on long enough...

Who knows what this great Divine Spirit was pondering again, but as the Power of Faith in the Void trembled.

A cluster of resplendent Fire abruptly shot up in the temple, forming a virtual figure, which was exactly Havard.

The moment he saw Havard, Azkana could feel Havard's complex emotions.

A grand and empty voice reached Havard's ears: "What happened to make your emotions fluctuate so greatly?"

"My Lord!"

Havard lowered his head in shame: "I didn't complete the task you entrusted to me, which makes it hard for me to speak."

Failed?

Are you trash?

Azkana frowned slightly. He hadn't not considered the possibility of failure. After all, the other party also had people behind him.

But exactly because of this, he gave his crown to Havard.

He even knew that the Nightmare Knight also secretly gave his shield to that God of Flesh and Blood.

This was fundamentally to guard against the people behind the other party making a move.

But... still failed?

"What exactly happened?" Azkana's tone didn't reveal joy or anger.

"...The target's methods are endless. After the Solar Diadem was destroyed, Rohan believed we couldn't continue fighting..."

Havard hadn't even spoken two sentences before being interrupted by Azkana.

"The Solar Diadem was destroyed?"

This great Divine Spirit rarely felt a sense of absurdity in his heart.

He previously anticipated the people behind Li Yu forcibly intervening, and there might be a very small probability of failure.

But even in that case, they could deduce some clues from the way the other party intervened, not to the extent of Gaining Nothing.

But he didn't anticipate he would lose an Interstellar Fortress.

Even if they couldn't attack successfully, self-preservation was definitely not a problem. How could they lose an Interstellar Fortress?

To him, an Interstellar Fortress was not yet worth him getting angry, but this was a loss that fundamentally shouldn't have occurred.

A large expanse of Fire split off from Havard's body, forming a screen that played the scene at that time.

"At that time, the Space Blocking Devices didn't suffer any Disruption and were operating normally. The only thing that changed was the Spatial Coefficient." Havard kept his head down, biting the bullet to explain:

"As for exactly why this Interstellar Fortress appeared there, we don't know either."

"Don't know... why..." Azkana looked at Havard. No one knew what this Councilor was thinking right now.

Even though his Divine Name contained the word "Fire", Havard now felt bursts of chilling coldness.

As if this wasn't the Palace of the Sun God, but the Nightmare Knight's execution ground.

"I know, you can leave!"

After a long time, Azkana finally spoke. Although his tone was still icy, it let Havard breathe a sigh of relief.

After Havard's projection disappeared from here, Azkana's expression finally changed slightly.

The space in front of his face distorted, and an exquisite Ring-shaped mechanical creation emerged, with an eye-like part inlaid in the center.

The outer Ring operated in a unique trajectory, and got faster and faster.

............

Not long after the battle ended, Returning Star's Expeditionary Force was cautiously on their way evacuating.

The other senior generals all went back to pacify their Subordinates and tally their losses.

Li Yu was kept back alone by Horus, sitting opposite each other. Horus took out two Glass Cups from a wine cabinet, and poured Li Yu a cup of turbid black liquid.

"Old Thor?"

Li Yu stared at that mottled wine bottle, which had a big-headed old man with a flushed face and a long beard, styled rather extravagantly.

"Didn't expect the famous Black Knight would actually drink this kind of wine."

This was a specialty wine from a Remote Star System in Returning Star. Because its taste was too crude, it wasn't well-received by people.

If he hadn't been mingling with Otto during this time, he really wouldn't have recognized the origin of this Glass Cup of wine.

"Didn't drink Otto's wine for nothing, you actually recognize such an obscure wine." Horus rarely teased him, coughing twice at the same time. His face was pale, evidently his injuries hadn't recovered.

"Got used to drinking it, can't quit..." He held onto the back of the metal chair and sat down, crossing his legs, slowly sending the liquid down his throat, his eyes slightly hazy.

Li Yu took a sip, it indeed scratched the throat a bit. The taste was too crude, fundamentally incomparable to what Otto mixed.

However, it was Horus's favorite wine after all, so he didn't spit it right out.

"Any interest in introducing me to get in touch with the faction behind you?" Horus shook the Wine Glass and inquired.

I knew it... Li Yu was instantly Speechless. After this battle, the Dimensional Camp would definitely be brought up again.

After careful study, one could discover that the appearance of the [Death Star] wasn't any spatial teleportation method at all.

And that kind of brand new, never-before-seen technology would definitely be coveted by numerous factions.

See, here comes Horus to probe. This probably wasn't his own idea, but highly likely Vimala's instruction.

"I can try..." Li Yu knew explaining would be useless now, so he could only stall for now.

"Mhm..." Horus was quite satisfied with Li Yu's answer. At least it wasn't some obvious lie like "the Dimensional Camp doesn't exist at all" or "those are all rumors..."

This showed that he was gradually acknowledging him. This was a good start.

Horus nodded to himself, deciding to reciprocate, and said: "Your Merit in this battle is paramount. When I go back, I will definitely recommend you with all my might."

"Go back?" Li Yu heard the second half of the sentence, and his heart skipped a beat.

Horus nodded, looking a bit emotional: "That's right, the Queen has already announced the order to return voyage. Our battle in the No Man's Land is over."

I don't want to go back! Li Yu hadn't forgotten that a great war could break out in the Return Star Central Star System at any time. Wouldn't going back now be Walking Into a Trap.

Moreover, the situation of Gensokyo in the No Man's Land was still unknown. Li Yu very much coveted this mobile Base.

"Are we just going back so easily?" Li Yu's words carried a probing tone.

"Otherwise what? You still want to retaliate?" Horus shook his head: "Retaliation is not our task."

"I understand..." Li Yu nodded, hesitating for a moment before saying: "I heard that Gensokyo will appear in the No Man's Land recently."

"You heard? How come what I know doesn't seem to be like this..." Horus looked at Li Yu with keen interest.

Evidently, Horus also knew about Li Yu using his privilege to fish people out, and that matter involved Gensokyo.

Li Yu had a thick skin, calmly meeting Horus's gaze.

Horus shook his head, not paying much mind either: "The head of the intelligence organization did talk to me a few times, but there's no specific order passed down, so I didn't pay too much attention to it..."

He was a standard old military man. He was bound by duty, and where his duty lay, he wouldn't shirk. Things outside the scope of his duties were another matter.

(End of this chapter)