Chapter 599: Xi Ding Defense Line
The Gu Family of Tian Luo Galaxy – a widely influential aristocratic family, was now in great danger. As a historical empire of the Tian Luo Galaxy, they had a strong base in the Galaxy, but nevertheless were helpless against the red-tailed beasts. In recent years, the Gu Family began to decline. With the disappearance of Gu Shaoze, the Gu Family lost a technical genius. For Gu Qing, she had lost someone very important to her.
Gu Shaoze was her only younger brother.
The ramifications were complicated. Gu Shaoze was the designated heir to the Family. His disappearance plunged the Gu Family into a state of turmoil. People who meant ill towards the Family began to make their moves. The lower level members of the Family panicked. When Gu Qing had moved past her grief, the Gu Empire was nearly destroyed.
All this while, Gu Shaoze had never liked dealing with family affairs. The one who really ran the Gu Empire was his sister, Gu Qing. In this crisis, Gu Qing commanded the Gu Family’s most loyal servants without hesitation. Few people knew of this powerful group who served the direct line of the family. They existed precisely for situations like this.
Gu Family’s internal affairs were swiftly managed. Gu Qing then took a series of precautionary steps to stabilize the Gu Family’s inner circle. The lower members of the Family witnessed for the first time the determination and austerity behind the mellow facade of the Family’s Eldest Young Miss.
Nevertheless, the Gu Family suffered losses because of the ordeal. Gu Qing faced the situation bravely, but just as the Family regained some of its power, the red-tailed beasts striked.
The invasion of the red-tailed beasts began at Tappero Galaxy. The creatures spread rapidly across the entire Galaxy. Few people managed to escape. Most of the residents in the Galaxy lost their lives in the invasion. The once prosperous Tappero Galaxy fell quickly. People from the other four Galaxies were shocked and afraid. Gu Qing soon realized that they must leave Tian Luo Galaxy as soon as possible.
However, the red-tailed beasts expanded their reach faster than she expected. The Family only managed to pack their most important assets on their starships. They did not even have time to load normal supplies.
Not many people managed to escape from Tian Luo Galaxy, but the Gu Family survived. The Gu Family was not the strongest military presence in Tian Luo Galaxy, but stronger organizations had fallen despite the fact. This was mostly because of Gu Qing.
Gu Qing was a masterful leader. Without her, their fleet would have perished.
After all the hardships they had been through in their escape, all of the Gu Family fell in line behind their Eldest Young Miss. No one imagined that their Eldest Young Miss, who was placed in charge of managing their Empire, was also capable in commanding a fleet. The truth was, the older generation had groomed her to become her brother’s advisor. This gave her the opportunity to learn these skills.
Her military strategies allowed the Family to balance the odds in the war. Her outstanding capabilities as their leader brought them so far. However, the Family had paid a heavy price for their survival. Only a fifth of the starship fleet survived so far in their journey.
Just as they were feeling grateful for arriving in Csebesini Galaxy, the red-tailed beasts appeared.
…
Where did this squad of mechs come from? Gu Qing watched the holographic screen in bafflement. She was surprised by the strength of the newcomers. All of mech pilots were extremely skilled. So far, none of the mechs were damaged or lost.
Besides, they totaled at least 500 in numbers.
Gu Qing had never heard of any organization with this much power. She was very curious about their background.
Appilok was focused entirely in the battle. He was also in good spirits, having been inspired by the performance of the other party’s commander. Appilok led his squad with exemplary skills. The red-tailed beasts were taken aback by his strategies, and were momentarily caught off guard.
After recuperating for a few days from their last intense battle, the students were restored to their best conditions. They had been bludgeoning their way through red-tailed beasts in this new world. This comparably small horde of red-tailed beasts were a walk in the park.
The battle ended quickly.
None of the red-tailed beasts escaped. Ye Chong learned his lesson. If they encountered red-tailed beasts, never let any of them escape alive, or risk being attacked by an even larger hoard of them.
Gu Qing forced herself to calm down. A 15-kilometer long extravagant warship had suddenly appeared behind her. Anyone would be surprised by it. Gu Qing found herself chilled once again by the numerous surprises she had today.
She studied the cold, young man before her carefully. He must the captain of the warship.
Ye Chong took a measured glance at Gu Qing, and spoke after a moment’s consideration. “Are you from the Gu Family of Tian Luo Galaxy?”
Gu Qing was taken aback. Could this young man be related to the Family? She composed herself and nodded. “Yes. I am the current head of the family, Gu Qing. And you are?” Gu Qing spoke confidently and steadily like a true leader, betraying no signs of her anxiety.
“Do you know Gu Shaoze?” Ye Chong shook off his memories and asked. He admired Gu Shaoze deeply. Anyone who could design a highly desirable mech like Guardian must be very talented.
Gu Qing’s expression froze. All the calmness she showed vanished. Her eyes lit up with hope. Overwhelmed with emotions, she reached out to grab Ye Chong’s hands and asked, “You – Do you know where Shaoze is? …” She choked up.
Ye Chong carefully avoided Gu Qing and replied flatly, “You need to calm down.”
Gu Qing felt like she was struck by lightning. She lowered her head and bit down on her lips until they bled.
After a while of silence, she looked up with a calmer expression. The Gu Family’s people around her all looked sorrowful. They knew how close she was with her younger brother.
Ye Chong saw Gu Qing looking calmer, and began to tell her the story of his encounter with Gu Shaoze. When Gu Qing heard him speak of Gu Shaoze taking his last breath, her eyes dimmed with grief. However, the grief was quickly replaced with calmness.
Only when Gu Qing caressed Guardian’s smooth surface that the grief in her eyes surfaced once again.
Rui Bing sighed quietly and consoled her softly. Gu Qing could not help but hugged Guardian tightly and sobbed loudly. The rest of the people left the room to give her space.
With Gu Qing onboard, Ye Chong finally had a better understanding of the situation in the Five Galaxies.
The only place that was considered safe was Csebesini Galaxy. The Galaxy was able to fend off the red-tailed beasts because of the massive establishment of what they called the “Xi Ding Defense Line”.
When the invasion of the red-tailed beasts first started, Csebesini’s authorities quickly began works on the Xi Qing Defense Line.
123 large space stations formed the center of this defense line. All the space stations were always on standby, with enough supplies to assist other space stations or defend themselves. Between the space stations were numerous laser gun satellites that ensured total destruction of any enemies that attempted to trespass.
Compared to the laser beam gun that Ye Chong had used before, these were used on a much grander scale. People from around all around Csebesini Galaxy came together to build this defense line, protecting their home. So far, none of the red-tailed beast hordes had breached their defense line.
The red-tailed beasts could not do warp jumps, so they need not worry about ambushes. Word was when the defense line was almost completed, a horde of red-tailed beasts attacked. They had no choice but to send mechs out for battle. After sacrificing nearly a thousand lives to buy them three more hours, the defense line was finally completed. The first thing the soldiers manning the space stations did was to open fire at full capacity.
More than a thousand red-tailed beasts were shot to ashes. Ever since then, the Xi Ding Defense Line became the strongest defense for mankind. Under its protection, residents of Csebesini Galaxy could live in relative safety.
As more and more people joined Csebesini, the defense line grew larger and larger. Xi Ding Defense Line now consisted of three inner layers and three outer layers of defense. The number of space stations increased from the initial 123 to 360. It was nearly impossible for the red-tailed beasts to breach this defense line.
When Rui Bing heard that Csebesini was safe, she felt greatly relieved.
Gu Qing hoped to seek protection under Csebesini, and Ye Chong agreed to it after some thought. He did not exactly need to enter Csebesini Galaxy for now. The defense line would keep the Galaxy safe from red-tailed beasts, at least in the near future.
Instead, he needed to return to He Yue Galaxy as soon as possible to regroup with the Sang Tribe, and then clear the Gateway to Gray Valley and reunite with Mu/Shang. However, since Darkniss needed to replenish its supplies, he agreed for a trip to Csebesini Galaxy.
Gu Qing was soon grateful for deciding to join Ye Chong’s fleet. They encountered a few hordes of red-tailed beasts along the way, but Ye Chong’s mech pilots made easy work of the creatures.
The mech pilots were strong! They were even stronger than the best soldiers in the Family. Their mechs, on the other hand … As the head of the Gu Family, which was also a large mech manufacturer, Gu Qing appreciated the power and significance behind these mechs. Besides, how did these people manage to hide their massive warship from holographic scanning?
What were these people?
Gu Qing was also pleasantly surprised when Ye Chong agreed to train the Gu Family’s mech pilots.
The results were apparent in the coming days. Gu Qing was not a combatant, bu she could see that her mech pilots were quickly transformed from their training.
Gu Qing wished the journey would go on longer, so that her mech pilots could improve themselves. Given their circumstances, it was highly desirable to have competent military strength.
“This is the Xi Ding Defense Line.”
Gu Qing made the introductions. She behaved carefully on the warship Darkniss. Even though she was head of the family, she was not foolish enough to flaunt her position in front of Ye Chong. She answered all questions from Ye Chong and Rui Bing without reservation, and did not actively seek to understand the warship she as on. Nevertheless, she was still able to deduce some shocking results from the subtles signs around her.
This was a very powerful military organization. They had impressive tech and capable mech pilots. Strict discipline was enforced by an outstanding commander.
Gu Qing spoke frequently with Appilok, but mostly on military strategies. Appilok was eager to learn and experienced in battle. He was also creative but meticulous, making him an excellent commander. This was a truly powerful legion of soldiers, no matter how she looked at it.
However, Gu Qing did not fail to realize that the cold young man was the real person in charge of this warship. In fact, Gu Qing got along well with Rui Bing. They rarely spoke of Ye Chong, but whenever he was mentioned, she always noticed the deep admiration shown by the crew members around her.
What a mysterious young man.
Countless laser gun satellites were scattered along the defense line. The massive space stations were in sight.
It was possible to enter Csebesini Galaxy through spatial warp jumps and bypass the Xi Ding Defense Line. This provided the humans a route inside. Nevertheless, many combatants were stationed at the warp jump points to prevent attacks by space pirates.
“Oh, here comes a big one.” The surveillance staff member whistled. “Luxurious starships are rare these days.”
Another staff member peered at the 15-kilometer long starship on the holographic screen and commented without enthusiasm, “Yeah, but the military’s gonna get a big kick from this. They liked this kind of ship.”
“True. The ship is just the right size to be modified as a warship.”
Ye Chong had ordered for the colloid fungus substance to be removed from the ship’s hull to avoid suspicion.
Finally, they entered Csebesini Galaxy. Skyscrapers and mechs dominated the skies. The Gu Family members were moved to tears upon this familiar sight that once had seemed so far away from them.
Compared to them, Darkniss’s crew members felt very curious instead.
It was hard for a large starship like theirs to avoid attention.
Soon, a mech squad approached them.
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