Chapter 1221: The Final Choice of the Fengqi Star Alliance

Jaghatai was silent for a few seconds.

Then he asked.

"How much time?"

Yingzhou did not answer.

He raised his head and looked toward the cabin's porthole.

Outside the window, Shenyuan Star was burning.

"Jaghatai, do not let word of today's events spread."

Jaghatai looked at him.

"Father?"

"Do not let any faction know that the supreme ruler of the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance was wounded by two curses from another world after closing a rift.

If they knew, the situation would only become worse."

Jaghatai knew.

If those factions currently watching from the sidelines—the Canaan Star Alliance, the Ash Star Alliance, and the Daikong Star Alliance—knew that the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance also feared the mirror rift, what would they do?

They would study that rift even more frantically.

They would treat Valken's "Last Resort" as a true lifeline.

They would spare no cost to open a new passage and summon those existences.

"I understand."

Jaghatai said.

Yingzhou nodded.

"There is one more thing."

He raised his hand, and psychic energy condensed in his palm, forming a tiny ball of light.

Within that ball of light, some images could be vaguely seen: the rift, the radiance, those two twisted faces.

"This is the image I captured when I closed the rift."

Yingzhou said.

"I need you to remember those faces. Luojia's, Horus's. If one day in the future, they truly appear in this world..."

He did not finish.

But Jaghatai understood.

If one day in the future, those twisted monsters truly stepped out from a new rift, they would have to face them.

"I will remember."

Jaghatai said.

Yingzhou retracted the ball of light and closed his eyes.

"Now, let me rest for a while. You go handle the cleanup work on the ground. We leave in six hours."

Jaghatai stood up and walked to the door.

He looked back once.

Yingzhou sat there, the black wound on his chest particularly glaring under the dim light.

His father was bearing it all alone.

Jaghatai clenched his fists and turned to leave.

The cabin door closed behind him.

At the same time, on the Capital Star of the Fengqi Star Alliance.

The main hall of the Supreme Military Command Center.

Three days ago, this place was still a busy war hub; officers shuttled back and forth, communications soldiers constantly reported frontline combat situations, and the holographic star map was marked with dense troop deployments.

Now, it was deathly silent here.

The holographic star map was still on, but there were no longer any troops to mobilize based on the light points upon it.

One-third of the fleet had been destroyed, one-fourth of the fleet had lost its commander, and the remaining ships were mostly trapped on various planets, not knowing who to listen to for their next move.

In front of the control consoles, only a few duty communications soldiers remained, staring blankly at the information constantly jumping on the screens.

"Acting Director!"

A communications soldier suddenly shouted.

"Emergency communication from the Parliament! They demand you go there immediately!"

The Acting Director of the Information General Bureau raised his head, his three eyes filled with exhaustion.

He said with a bitter smile.

"The Parliament? How many people are left in the Parliament to hold a meeting?"

The communications soldier did not answer.

Because everyone knew the answer.

Within three days, nearly a hundred high-ranking officials had "died accidentally."

The chain of command for seven key departments had completely broken. The emergency meeting at the Parliament Building had been forced to be postponed three times because they could never gather a quorum.

And now, even the Speaker himself was "absent due to illness."

The Acting Director stood up and straightened his uniform.

"Tell them I am on my way."

He walked out of the Command Center and boarded a hovercar.

Outside the window, the streets of the Capital Star were still busy, but that busyness was permeated with an eerie quality.

In the shop windows, holographic advertisements were still playing, but the content had changed from consumer goods to official slogans like "Unite as One" and "Overcome Hardships Together."

No one believed those slogans.

Because they all knew that something enormous and incomprehensible was happening.

Those "accidental deaths" were not accidents, and those "breaks in the chain of command" were not coincidences.

Someone was purging them.

And they did not know who was next.

The hovercar stopped in front of the Parliament Building.

The acting director got out of the car and walked quickly toward the entrance.

The building's security check was three times stricter than usual.

Every Fengqi was afraid, afraid of becoming the next "accident."

He met General Geke at the entrance of the conference hall.

The old soldier stood by the door, his three eyes looking toward the end of the corridor, wondering what he was thinking.

"General."

The acting director nodded in greeting.

Geke turned his head to look at him, his expression complex.

"Go in. You are the last one."

The two walked into the conference hall together.

Beside the oval conference table, a dozen people sat sparsely.

Some were deputies of various departments, some were junior councilors, and some were temporarily appointed representatives.

Most of the powerful figures who should have been sitting here were now nothing more than corpses.

The holographic projection in the center of the conference hall was on, showing the real-time situation map of the front line.

But that situation map no longer had any meaning.

The red Human fleet arrows were advancing toward the Capital Star, and the blue defensive markers were disappearing one after another.

"Everyone is here."

The interim Speaker sat in the main seat; he was originally the third deputy speaker of the parliament.

"Then, let us begin. There is only one agenda item for today..."

He paused and took a deep breath.

"Whether to surrender to the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance."

There was dead Silence in the conference hall.

No one spoke. Not because of opposition, but because they did not know what to say.

Twenty-four hours ago, they were still discussing how to strengthen defenses, how to mobilize more troops, and how to hold out until the last moment.

But now, those discussions seemed so ridiculous.

"I... I propose we first listen to the latest report from the military."

A young councilor said cautiously.

"Perhaps there is still a turning point..."

Geke stood up.

Everyone looked at him.

"There is no turning point. The southeast defense line has collapsed, the northeast defense line has collapsed, all defense lines have collapsed, Capital Ship losses exceed sixty percent, and Reserve mobilization has reached its limit. It is over."

He put down the Data Pad in his hand.

"Twenty-four hours ago, we lost our last contact with Shenyuan Star. Commander-in-Chief Valken... is missing."

The interim Speaker said.

"So, General, what is your recommendation?"

Geke was in Silence for a long time.

Then he said.

"I recommend surrender."

He looked at everyone present, his three eyes full of exhaustion.

"Not for us. It is for the soldiers who are still alive, for the children who are still waiting for their parents to come home, and for this civilization to continue to exist.

Continuing to resist will only bring more death, more destruction. And the result... will not change."

The conference hall fell into Silence again.

Then, a voice sounded.

"I second the motion."

It was the acting director of the Information General Bureau.

Everyone looked at him.

"The assessment results of the Information General Bureau are consistent with the military."

He said, "We have no possibility of victory. And..."

He paused.

"Even if there were a miracle, we are already... unable to continue internally. You know what I am talking about."

He knew, and everyone present knew.

Those "accidental deaths."

They did not know who those people were, how many there were, or if it would continue.