IWYTBW - Chapter 58
Chapter 58
The Entrance Speed and Exit Speed Are the Same, Here’s your Lunch Box.
“It is us! It’s us!” She Xin stared at Yi Zhen, astonished, as if seeing him clearly for the very first time. “You… you’re incredibly strong!”
In She Xin’s relatively brief three-thousand-six-hundred-odd years of existence, he had rarely encountered anomalies like Yi Zhen—someone whose physical attributes and mental power didn’t exceed A-rank, yet could leverage equipment and unique abilities to shatter the barriers of level and species, instantly annihilating three members of a notoriously dangerous interstellar pirate crew.
Yi Zhen offered a faint smile. Li Youdeng, leaning heavily on her wooden staff, hobbled up from behind. “Hey, slow down… Gods, it hurts!”
She Xin turned quickly. “Are you injured?”
“No, just haven’t stretched properly in ages. Pulled some muscles, that’s all,” Li Youdeng waved a dismissive hand. “Speaking of, what about that Aivan Azoth kid? You didn’t kill him, did you?”
“No,” Yi Zhen turned, kicking the three corpses aside forcefully. “And now I deeply regret it.”
“He’s really the one colluding with the Golden Hind?” Li Youdeng gaped. “That makes no sense… He’s still an imperial prince! Even if he’s trying to outmaneuver his brother for the throne… or secure it for himself, surely he wouldn’t get mixed up with scum as infamous as star pirates?”
“He possesses too much,” Yi Zhen stated, his face devoid of expression. “Because of that, losing a little means nothing to him. He’ll just see it as a minor, necessary sacrifice for victory. I genuinely hope I’ve misjudged him. That way, I won’t have to draw my blade, and he won’t have to die. A fair trade, really. It all depends on whether he’s willing to sign on the dotted line.”
Neither Li Youdeng nor She Xin spoke. Yi Zhen’s tone was unnervingly calm, almost detached, like a world-weary executive sighing over a troublesome client. Yet the words themselves seethed with a furious undertow. He spoke of, and decided, the life or death of a royal heir.
The trio moved quickly deeper into the ship. All six pirates guarding the auxiliary craft, inside and out, were dead. They didn’t know the pirates’ communication methods, nor if the desperate men had managed to send any information to their comrades before dying. Time was critical; they had to seize every second.
As they walked, they rapidly exchanged the information they currently possessed.
“Tannhäuser’s Crown…” Yi Zhen mused. “So, on the surface, that’s what the Golden Hind pirates came for.”
“Seems likely,” Li Youdeng agreed. “If Aivan colluded with the Scourge of the Seven Seas, the Crown would be the most obvious form of payment.”
“So where would it be now?” She Xin pondered.
“Well, the Dragon Palace crashed on Longhua Star. If the Crown isn’t still aboard the wreckage, then survivors must have taken it and hidden it somewhere on this planet.”
“Right now, let’s find the image of their target,” Li Youdeng said decisively. “I want to see just who they went to all this trouble for.”
She Xin pressed the bloody fingerprint of a dead Bonecrusher onto the control console, accessing the ship’s system, and began decrypting the black box data.
Streams of information flooded the three holographic screens that unfolded. Li Youdeng turned to Yi Zhen. “What’s your plan now?”
“The pirates attacked the elimination points on Longhua first,” Yi Zhen reached out, plucking embedded fragments of a Blood Tribulus dart from the bulkhead wall. “So, I’m going after those sixteen pirates. Taking them out is the priority.”
He looked down, retrieving two sleek, silver syringe-like devices from his Mustard Seed Leopard Pouch, placing them before She Xin and Li Youdeng. “These are hidden weapons – ‘Five Misery’ Needles. Excellent paralytic effect, with a range ofabout eighty to a hundred meters. Simple to use, but requires accuracy. They’re extremely thin. Against Bonecrushers, they’re useless unless you hit them squarely in the eye, but it’s better than nothing. I only made two injectors’ worth, 144 needles total. Use them sparingly.”
He then laid out twenty Blood Tribuli. “Made thirty of these. I’ll keep four; the rest are for you. You know how they work. If you run into any contestants fleeing for their lives, and they’re at least half a decent person, give them one. Might save their life.”
Li Youdeng asked, surprised, “What about you?”
Yi Zhen smiled faintly. “I have plenty of ways to stay alive. Don’t worry about me.”
“Got it!” She Xin exclaimed. “Found their targets! Since it was distributed to everyone, they didn’t seem to encrypt it heavily… Look!”
Yi Zhen and Li Youdeng immediately turned to the central screen.
Two three-dimensional images, resembling wanted posters, materialized before them. On the left, a young woman with voluminous black hair and striking features. On the right, a young man with brown hair, green eyes, and three distinct tear-shaped moles beneath the corner of one eye.
“The Valkyrie of the Red Dragon, Natalia Rauðr Dreki…”
“...and the grandson of the ‘Little Prime Minister,’ Eugene Hall.”
She Xin spoke suddenly, “Then it fits. Grand Duke Norst apparently backs the Emperor’s seventh illegitimate son. Toran Hall hasn’t officially declared his allegiance in the succession race, but his family previously introduced a renowned mecha master from the Azoth system to the Emperor’s eleventh illegitimate daughter.”
“They’re the two most influential ministers at court, yet neither favors the legitimate eldest prince!” Li Youdeng realized with a jolt. “So, when their most valued heirs just happen to be assigned to the same preliminary competition planet…”
“...Aivan Azoth saw what he believed was a shortcut to victory,” She Xin finished grimly.
Yi Zhen remained silent. Li Youdeng and She Xin were reeling, caught in a whirlwind of shock, excitement, anger, and apprehension at uncovering such a monumental secret. But Yi Zhen… he was simply quiet.
[Player,] Tai’a’s voice whispered in his mind. [Do you regret it?]
Yi Zhen couldn’t articulate the storm of emotions swirling within him.
The plotline was completely derailed. How had it gone so wrong?
—Because of him. Because he refused to remain shackled by the original novel’s script.
From his first explosive encounter with Rong Hongxue, where he’d even burned a precious Invincibility buff; to shattering the weak, timid persona of the original “Yi Zhen,” openly mocking Rong Hongxue as a caged bird, a puppet dancing on the strings of plot and character settings; then defending Ai Ling without hesitation against those high-status youths; his relentless pursuit of strength, his obsession with absolute freedom from constraint, his overwhelming desire for power… he would kill anyone who threatened this world, even if they were the legendary, nigh-omnipotent Twelve Arbiters…
And so, he had met Natalia. He had met Eugene Hall. He had met so many people he wasn’t supposed to meet, people the original Yi Zhen never would have known.
Now, Yi Zhen had arrived on Longhua Star, and the world’s plot pivoted accordingly. With him as the focal point, all the supporting characters connected to the protagonist had been drawn to this single planet. This intricate chain of events… was ultimately a consequence of his own actions.
So, the dead students, the pirates appearing far too early… the fuse for all this chaos… was Yi Zhen himself.
He clenched his jaw, teeth grinding. Like a roaring hurricane, he burst from the ship, hurtling in the direction the Bonecrusher squad had taken.
There’s still time. There has to be time. He could make amends… He *had* to make amends!
“Yi Zhen!” Li Youdeng cried out. “Where are you going—”
She grabbed She Xin’s arm. “...Forget it! Let’s follow him!”
*
*8th Imperial Legion Command Center*
General Astra Starling presided over the rear command. She stared intently at the vast holographic map of the nebula battlefront, her mood decidedly foul.
Seven hours had passed since the Golden Hind seized control of Longhua Star, yet the situation remained a tense stalemate. The “Starlight Disrupter” facility shimmered around the planet like a delicate, glittering veil – beautiful, yet lethally dangerous.
The Golden Hind had secured hostages first. Over a million contestants were trapped on Longhua Star, and they weren’t mere pawns the Empire could sacrifice. Far from it – among them were students from elite universities, heirs of powerful noble houses. Two, in particular, possessed statuses nearly equivalent to legitimate princes or princesses. This left the military dangling precariously, hesitant to launch a full assault for fear of collateral damage, forced instead into negotiations with the pirates.
The appearance of the Scourge of the Seven Seas had further complicated matters. A single Ultra S-class powerhouse could single-handedly dictate the outcome of a battle. His presence meant any attempt to ‘scatter the pirates by taking out the leader’ was now impossible. Any lesser force sent against him would be annihilated. Only an S-class could confront an S-class.
“Their demands haven’t changed?” Astra pinched the bridge of her nose, irritation etched onto her features.
“No, General,” the deputy commander replied in a low voice. “Tannhäuser’s Crown goes to them. Additionally, they demand high-grade mithril ore or premium star seal stones equivalent in weight to all the hostages combined.”
“Damn him to the void!” Astra shot up, pacing the command deck, her posture ramrod straight like forged steel. Her dove-grey eyes were chips of ice. As one of the Empire’s most powerful women, years commanding border defenses had ingrained in her an expectation of absolute obedience; her every word was law. Few things could truly vex her, but now, fury simmered. She desperately wanted to unleash her legions, to smash the Golden Hind’s defensive line.
“Mithril and star seal stones equal to the hostages’ weight… What madness is the Scourge spouting? If he wants ore that badly, why doesn’t he go pick a fight with Great Dark Sky?!” Astra raked a hand through her hair, taking a sharp breath. “Where are Rainbow Alice and Saint Quadrivirtue? Still en route?”
“Affirmative, General,” the deputy commander confirmed concisely. “The Executioner of the Black Dragon is also inbound.”
“Three S-class units,” Astra arched an eyebrow. “If the Executioner is coming, he’s undoubtedly here for the little princess of the Rauðr Dreki clan.”
Outside the main viewscreen lay the silent vacuum of space, punctuated by the sparse, ancient light of distant stars. Astra stared out, her brow suddenly furrowing.
“Is that… a warp signature?” she asked, suspicion coloring her tone.
As she spoke, a massive wormhole tore open in space like a waking eye. From its depths leaped a colossal mecha, clad entirely in black, almost vanishing against the void!
Almost. The mecha’s armor, crafted from some unknown material, shimmered with subtle, flowing lines of gold within the black, giving it an aura of regal majesty, like a king leading his armies to war. It flexed its wings—wings that weren’t rigid structures, but moved with the fluid grace of living appendages, unfurling from emitters crackling like contained lightning. The sheer scale of them could easily obscure the heavens.
“The Black Dragon’s—” the deputy commander began, then corrected himself sharply, “No! Great Dark Sky! That’s Great Dark Sky!”
“What?!” Astra exclaimed, startled. Speak of the devil indeed. One moment she was railing about the Scourge avoiding Great Dark Sky, the next, the legend himself had traversed light-years to appear above the battlefield.
The deputy commander spoke with conviction. “There’s no mistake. He hasn’t been seen publicly in years, but his piloting technique… it’s utterly unique, impossible to replicate!”
A low buzz filled the command center. Hundreds of high-ranking officers, scribes, and data analysts involuntarily looked up, straining for a glimpse of one of the Empire’s mightiest warriors.
One scribe murmured, awestruck, “Are… are those wings? What are they made of?”
“They aren’t wings in the conventional sense,” the deputy commander explained hushedly. “That is his materialized mental power. No one else in the Empire has ever sustained a heavy mecha using mental power alone. To this day, only Mahakala can achieve such a feat!”
Astra snatched the comm unit, hailing the black mecha. “Great Dark Sky, this is General Astra Starling of the 8th Imperial Legi—”
She didn’t even finish her name. Mahakala flared its immense wings and surged forward, accelerating towards the front lines at impossible speed. It had paused there brazenly, as if merely taking a brief respite before continuing to its true destination, utterly indifferent whether it was interrupting a Legion’s command center or the Emperor’s private garden party. The pilot’s legendary arrogance remained unchanged; he acknowledged no one.
Under the stunned gazes of the entire command staff, Great Dark Sky ignored everything else and charged directly towards the Golden Hind’s flagship!
“—Would you just fucking let someone finish speaking first!?” Astra slammed the comm unit down in frustration.
From the Golden Hind’s capital ship, three squadrons of interceptors launched. Bristling with missiles, they streaked towards Mahakala, intending to halt its advance through suicidal collisions. They were fast; but Great Dark Sky was faster. The black wings lashed out like colossal tentacles, like coiling spears. Against their thorny, piercing assault, even an army of thousands would be shredded.
Debris from shattered interceptors rained across space. Mahakala tore through them as effortlessly as a tiger shredding silk.
It continued its relentless advance, closing the distance at breathtaking velocity. The Golden Hind’s orbital particle cannons fired; massive escort cruisers moved to intercept; waves of kamikaze fighters launched by the hundreds. Yet, none could inflict even superficial damage upon the god-like mecha. Attrition failed. Swarm tactics were meaningless. Every strike by Rong Hongxue resulted in death, while every attack launched by the Golden Hind was merely a suicide run.
He was like a legendary blade capable of toppling nations. Just as a peerless beauty’s radiance could captivate the world, a peerless blade’s edge could bathe it in blood!
From the Golden Hind, another heavy mecha, identical in class to Mahakala, finally emerged. Radiating immense killing intent, it surged forward, sword aimed at Rong Hongxue’s cockpit.
“Dōjigiri! Here to teach you a lesson!”
The S-minus class mecha, Dōjigiri. As one of the Scourge of the Seven Seas’ chief lieutenants, Dōjigiri was renowned throughout the Golden Hind and across the galaxies for its blinding attack speed. When it wielded its long katana, it was said that not just enemies, but time itself could be cleaved in two.
Yet, Dōjigiri’s first slash was contemptuously blocked by Mahakala’s hand. Bone-chilling killing intent radiated outwards. Through his own golden visor, Dōjigiri’s pilot thought he saw eyes staring back… eyes filled with utter tyranny!
“Scram!” Rong Hongxue’s voice crackled over the open channel, sharp and venomous. His sheer ferocity made it difficult to distinguish who was the truly bloodthirsty desperado. A spike of foreboding pierced Dōjigiri’s pilot. As he instinctively tried to disengage, a sharp, black tendril erupted from Great Dark Sky, punching violently through Dōjigiri’s cockpit like an industrial drill, with the merciless determination of a wood chipper sucking in a helpless stray branch, ripping and tearing through the pilot’s brain matter.
In a single exchange, the S-minus mecha Dōjigiri went limp, its
limbs and wings deactivated. Its katana drifted from its grasp as the
machine floated silently, lifelessly, in the cold vacuum of space.
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