Chapter 324: The Expedition

The Yunxuji spews a strong airflow, scorching gusts blowing outward in all directions.

Amid fluttering colored flags, the Yunxuji slowly ascends.

Soon after the just‑cleared landing pad, another Yunxuji lands, spins to a halt, and slowly opens its cabin door.

Sunlight streams through the widening gap, piercing the world below; under the sun the scene is an endless plaza like a realm of giants.

Countless black soldiers, mixed with tens of thousands of Astart, and many Fearless, march in one formation after another into the Yunxuji.

Above the plaza, dozens of Yunxuji use tow cables to lift a towering Warhound‑class Titan over the crowd.

The massive body casts a shadow on the ground, accompanied by surrounding flags and mid‑air streamers; a grand expedition ceremony, broadcast live across the entire solar system by the Empire's Propaganda Department, unfolds.

It will also suppress the recording discs and later send them to other Imperial worlds to jointly witness this grand expedition.

As the centerpiece of the whole ceremony, the most camera work naturally falls on Xisi.

At the highest point of the endless plaza, in front of a huge review balcony.

Xisi stands at the front, trying his best to display the bearing of a Supreme Saint; even if he performs poorly, the Propaganda Department will later use technology to make Xisi appear unprecedentedly holy and towering.

But Xisi still wants to give the patchwork, mixed‑system allied force beneath his feet a bit of cohesion.

While Xisi strives to lead by example, behind him, Fanluosi, perfectly hidden behind the review platform, bows his head and quickly reports the paper‑based data before Xisi's eyes.

"Our total number of warships of all grades approaches ten thousand."

"Among them, light cruisers, escort ships, destroyers and light escorts below cruiser class account for ninety percent."

"In the remaining ten percent, Moon‑class cruisers number just over six hundred, and heavy cruisers total two hundred."

"The rest—battlecruisers and battleships—add up to less than one hundred."

"As for flagships, besides the Holy Ship Aolake, our fleet has two Radiant Queen‑class battleships: the Empire's Fist 'Eternal Crusader' and the Fire Lizard 'Flameforge'."

"After reaching the Sacred Star, we will also obtain the Empire's four battle moons."

"The Mountain Formation Vessel and the Dream Illusion Vessel will remain stationed on Terra; Luojia and Kiriman will be garrisoned at Alert Star."

Fanluosi speaks rapidly, while Xisi listens and looks up at the densely packed fleet above his head.

Tens of thousands of warships—this scale of military concentration is extremely rare for the Empire.

At this moment, across the surface of Terra, countless armies that have completed repairs, with fresh armor and equipment, board Yunxuji, crowding densely as they ascend into space.

However, only a small fraction of the soldiers will board warships; the vast majority will enter armed merchant ships or combat barges, vessels specialized for transporting ground troops.

The number of armed merchant ships and combat barges even far exceeds that of warships.

Xisi glances at the fleet sea, then redirects his gaze back to the ground beneath him.

The Yunxuji have been tirelessly shuttling an unknown number of times, yet the dense army below seems endless—no matter how many are shipped up, more keep appearing.

The Black Watch formation stretches to the horizon from every direction.

Data invisible to the naked eye, after Fanluosi quickly flips and pauses the pages, is displayed numerically.

"On the ground forces, our Astart total 350,000, including 200,000 Huaiyaners, 100,000 Empire's Fist, and 50,000 Fire Lizard."

"Together with about ten thousand Fearless units, and three Titan Legions."

"Among them, one full‑strength Titan Legion, and two reduced‑strength Titan Legions."

"Finally, six Knight Families, and the Black Watch totaling about one billion, comprising a thousand groups."

When mentioning the Black Watch at the end, Fanluosi's tone becomes even more solemn than when he spoke of warships or Astart.

Even the surrounding stars glitter, and Volgan and the others standing behind Xisi cannot help but glance attentively.

After all, as commanders who have long fought across the galaxy, the name Black Watch is thunderously familiar to them.

Having once secured the cooperation of a single group felt like the pinnacle of luck.

Now, Xisi has managed to rally a full thousand groups in one breath.

Don't be fooled by the preceding mentions of Astart, Fearless, Knight, or Titan; even Volgan, as well as the heads of the Knight Families and the commanders of the Titan Legions, know that the upcoming battle will truly be held up by the Black Watch, and only the Black Watch.

Because on the Revelation battlefields across the galaxy, the Black Watch charging into Titans, 'bare‑handed' opening the Titan's box—these feats are no longer legends, they're about to become a program!

Recalling the Black Watch's exaggerated deeds, the surrounding crowd's gaze turns uneasy, subconsciously shifting away.

After reporting the full situation, Fanluosi looks at Xisi's back and whispers:

"Sir, it's time to depart."

With a gathering of this magnitude, it cannot wait for everyone to board before leaving; once a certain scale is reached, departure is mandatory.

It can be said that the vanguard has already left the solar system, while the remaining forces still await loading on Terra, which is entirely normal.

Hearing this, Xisi finally lifts his eyes slightly, then looks at Fanluosi and asks:

"Where is the first battlefield along the route?"

Fanluosi doesn't need to consult the report; as the aide he speaks directly:

"It's a Nest City world on the edge of the Solar Sector, heavily populated; whether to prevent the Terrans from advancing further or to stop them from harvesting too much biomass, we must first expel the Terrans from that world."

Fanluosi follows his usual line of thought, and after Xisi hears him, he pauses briefly, then, amid the crowd's astonishment, retorts:

"It's also to save the people."

Save them?

The Imperial high‑command, including Fanluosi, is taken aback; after all, such wording is rarely used by the Propaganda Department, which usually urges civilians to sacrifice themselves, encouraging them to burn to ash to avoid Terran absorption.

Now hearing those two words from Xisi, everyone naturally understands that this expedition, besides repelling the Terrans, likely has another purpose.

Xisi can't simply claim it's to improve the galaxy's pervasive twisted emotions and fundamentally cleanse the Four Gods.

He only uses the sentence to set a tone for the expedition, then turns, raises his hand, and teleports the senior officers to Aolake.

From the bridge of Aolake, looking out the port window at the densely packed fleet, Xisi lifts his right hand again, then swings!

The engines ignite, the void lights up, illuminating an endless sea of light!