Chapter 261: These Armies—Born from the Earth? (Part 2)

Beta‑Garmond Star Region.

As the outermost system entering the Solar Starfield, this is the Solar System's final gateway.

Holding this place means fully controlling the passage to Terra.

In other words, if Garmond falls, any faction's subsequent travel to Terra will be unimpeded.

At this moment, in Garmond's core system.

Ships swarm back and forth, and the void is filled with crowded radio and star‑language communications.

A massive Rebel Forces fleet threads through the entire sector; the sheer number causes occasional traffic jams in the crowded lanes.

Even in the core system where Helusu personally commands, warships keep arriving from behind; after entering the system they cheer for Helusu before being urged to press on quickly, leaving the passage for the larger forces behind.

And this scale is why the rebel side grows more confident as they fight.

After all, the army Helusu has gathered now, even after being heavily drained in the Terra War and the ensuing tens of thousands of years of attrition, still retains massive size.

So not only can Abadon always pull people out of the Eye of Fear, but Xisi, on his first trip to Terra, could also pull people from the Eye of Fear.

One could even say that if it weren't for the Emperor's boarding duel, which caused the rebel army to lose its commander and scatter, the force Helusu wields would have crushed Terra outright!

Had Helusu not chosen Terra as his coronation site, such a fleet would have already bombarded Terra into mineral +Zero!

Indeed, with Zero, those three mineral points would be shattered.

It can be said that from start to finish, the loyalist side has never directly defeated Helusu's forces.

Instead, by galactic convention, all tactics are beheaded and any advantage erased when the commander falls.

At this moment, as the commander of this massive army, perched on the Vengeance Soul beside the Garmond star, Helusu sits high upon the Throne, watching the endless fleets passing outside the port window, indifferently reviewing the reports delivered by his subordinates below.

Unlike the talent decay of the Abadon era, Helusu now summons five Original Bodies at once.

Had Xisi not taken Magnus and Luo Jia away, the number would have risen to seven.

Including Helusu himself, that makes a full eight Original Bodies.

Moreover, unlike the loyalist Original Bodies that still retain their real‑universe forms, beneath Helusu now, the Emperor's son Original Body Fogrim and the Devourer Original Body Angelon have fully become demon Original Bodies.

One has become a pink‑purple humanoid "long worm", the other a blood‑red double‑axe berserker.

In terms of combat power, they far outclass the loyalist Original Bodies.

Yet this lineup does not make Helusu show much joy; he silently studies the data in his hand, and only after another fleet passes in the distant void outside the port window does he lift his head.

He doesn't even glance at Fogrim or Angelon; among the Original Bodies present, Helusu looks directly at one of the few he still acknowledges, who remains in normal form and rejects—or even despises—the demon form of the steel‑warrior Original Body Petulabo.

Although Helusu oversees the great rebellion, the detailed military commands are almost entirely carried out by Petulabo.

Moreover, unlike other rebel Original Bodies—some busy pleasing the gods, some sleepwalking without purpose, others still hesitating at this point.

One can say Petulabo is among the few who steadfastly intend to square off with the Empire's Fist and have a proper fight as a "neutral rebel faction!"

What is a neutral rebel faction?

I am neutral in this uprising, but I support the rebels.

As for the reason......

Who says the Empire's Fist is the loyalist side?

To be able to fight the Empire's Fist, I, Petulabo, don't mind being a rebel for a while.

Of course, if the Empire's Fist also raises a banner of rebellion, I, Petulabo, will instantly become the Empire's most loyal legion!

After all, if I kept being a rebel now, I couldn't beat the Empire's Fist!

This situation shows that despite Helusu's massive subordinates, they're a scattered bunch; among the few usable ones, none are even determined to go all the way against him.

"Has Motarian's legion still not acted?"

Petulabo looks at the message Helusu sent and, with equal cold dissatisfaction, speaks.

He then returns the report to Helusu while glancing at the sand‑table projection he has planned countless times.

"To attack Terra, I still need his death guard to hold the front line, sharing casualties for my main forces."

"If he doesn't come, the dead will be our own!"

Petulabo's displeasure deepens, though he does not cherish his own offspring at all.

But after fighting the Empire's Fist, if he sees that the steel‑warrior dies more than the Empire's Fist, doesn't that imply my steel‑warrior is inferior to the Empire's Fist?

How could Petulabo accept such a thing?

Helusu, facing Petulabo's discontent, also frowns at Motarian's hesitation, but after glancing at the news about Motarian, he files the report away and picks up another.

And this report is not the first time Helusu has examined it.

As Helusu lifts the report, not only does Petulabo look over, but several other Original Bodies below, looking almost sick, also glance at it.

Among them is even Angelon, already deep in Terror's endless rage.

"Has anyone been sent to verify this information?"

Helusu looks at Alfaris; as the spy corps under Helusu, Alfaris handles intelligence.

Facing Helusu's question, Alfaris hasn't spoken yet, but Angelon beside him, panting with suppressed fury, grits his teeth and says:

"Regardless of whether the previous info is true, with our current army we fear no force!"

"Whatever numbers they bring, I will cut them down!"

Angelon says this while frantically swinging his double axes; beside him, Fogrim lazily coils his long‑worm body, a sickly smile spreading across his face:

"I actually look forward to the new tricks they might bring~"

Rumors about the loyalist army have already spread throughout the galaxy.

They have begun to cause many rebels to hesitate, no longer fully backing Helusu as before.

Yet the Original Bodies present remain indifferent; after all, even if a loyalist army truly exists, they doubt any force in the current galaxy could defeat their own legion head‑on.

Meanwhile, Alfaris stays silent, pulls out a projection, and, in front of everyone, opens it.

The projected light reflects on the faces of the Original Bodies, and Helusu, seated on the Throne, is taken aback.

Fu Ge Rui Mu finally stopped writhing his long worm-like body.

Even Angelon, silently stunned in place, after holding his breath for a good while, finally opened his mouth in a hoarse, croaky voice:

"Want......"

"Or should we send some...... no, send a few main forces to stall for a bit?!"

And Helusu stared blankly for a long time, and after a while suddenly straightened his posture, his face full of doubt:

"These troops."

"Could they have emerged from the ground???"