Chapter 1453 The Final Negotiation
The crowd was wavering, and the team seemed to be on the verge of collapse.
Ke Zhan looked at Zi Yan with a wry smile and said, “Moon Empress, do we still have any hope?”
“Hope…” Zi Yan was silent for two seconds. She spoke as if she were talking to herself, “Yes. My husband will pick me up. Yeah.”
She came to her senses and said in a determined tone, “We still have hope. Although I’ve never said it, that’s the truth. My husband will come to pick me up.”
“May I know who your husband is? What cultivation level is he at?” The others’ expressions changed slightly.
Even those who were complaining had stopped.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Ziyan.
No one saw the expression on her face under the black robe, but her tone gave people hope. “I don’t know the specific realm, but when my husband was cultivating, an accident happened. The s.p.a.ce was torn apart. I was teleported a long distance to come here…”
Zi Yan was telling the truth, but what she said was ambiguous.
However, everyone present was a little shocked. “He created spatial rifts during cultivation? What kind of strength does he have?”
“He can’t be a Supreme Expert, right?!”
“Moon Empress’s husband is definitely not ordinary!”
“Does this mean that… we still have a chance?”
Zi Yan nodded and said, “Yes. As long as my husband gets here, we will be safe.”
They had some hope in despair. It shut the complaints of those who were complaining.
“Call for all the aircraft. I’m Ke Zhan. We’ll escape to the surface. We still have reinforcements and hope. Moon Empress’s husband is on his way here. When he arrives, we’ll be safe!”
Ke Zhan sent the message to many aircraft.
They had hope again.
In this place, although some people formed alliances quickly, there were still some people who were loyal.
The moment they heard the news, they all laughed. Someone joked, “So our Moon Empress has a husband.”
“Moon Empress’s voice is particularly pleasant to the ear. She should be a beautiful lady. I used to believe the rumor that Moon Empress is ugly.”
“How powerful is Moon Empress’s husband? She didn’t say what realm he was in.”
“Anyway, we have reinforcements. Let’s buy some time on this planet.”
“…”
Everyone’s idea had changed from “no way to escape” to “how to buy time on this planet”.
The fleet was vast and mighty.
On the way, everyone was worried about whether the enemy’s fleet would launch a bombardment.
Unexpectedly, they came to the surface of the planet very smoothly.
The fleets in the void of the universe looked at them quietly as if they were deliberately letting their prey escape first before continuing the game of hunting.
Some people also noticed that the enemy’s fleets were sending out a lot of aircraft to seal off the planet.
Five hours pa.s.sed.
“Your Majesty, the blockade is complete.”
One of the Fifth Heavenly King’s subordinates reported.
The Fifth Heavenly King didn’t even raise his eyes and said in a flat tone, “Begin the bombardment and force them to a continent.”
Several of his subordinates were already used to his means. Bombarding a planet could totally destroy it. The Fifth Heavenly King had bombarded many Barren Stars as well as civilized planets before.
When Emperor Ao of the Blackhill Empire heard the news, he burst out laughing.
“Send out all the king vessels to a.s.sist in the bombardment.”
In the void of the universe where the planet was located, king vessels were lined up in a certain area.
“Ion Energy Cannons are prepared to charge.”
The countdown for the bombardment began. 60, 59, 58…
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Huge light beams began to fall from the sky to the ground.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A large-scale bombardment was launched.
The ground cracked, huge stones flew in all directions, and ashes began to wreak havoc on the ground.
“They’ve begun bombarding the planet.”
Many people around Zi Yan began to speak.
“As expected, their first wave of attacks is to bombard us and force us to a certain place.”
“We still have a few choices. First, go to a cave under the glacier. Second, go deep into the sea. Third, go to an underground cave that’s deep enough. Fourth, stay on the surface and wait for them to finish bombarding the continent. Then, we’ll go back and forth to hide. No matter which way we use, we’ll be able to buy some time.”
“I suggest that we divide into several teams and hide separately. Except for a few people like the Fifth Heavenly King, we don’t need to be afraid of most of them.”
They a.n.a.lyzed and considered all kinds of situations.
However, to their surprise, the bombardment lasted for a whole day and night. The enemy blew up the planet three times.
After the bombardment of the king vessels was over, some KW3019 bombers got to the surface one after one.
“Alert. Underground Energy Bombs detected.”
This time, many people’s expressions changed. “They’re going to bombard the planet further? Aren’t they afraid that the planet will explode?”
If they really blew up the planet, they would also suffer heavy losses, and even most of them would not be able to escape.
Under normal circ.u.mstances, even if they were chasing after enemies, they wouldn’t blow up a planet so decisively. Moreover, they were clearly aware that Moon Empress still had the legendary Roc in her possession. So, how could the Fifth Heavenly King possibly make such a bad decision when he had taken a fancy to the Roc?
Many people knew that even if the other party bombarded the planet like this, it was just their means. Before the Fifth Heavenly King got the Roc, it was impossible for him to kill the people of the Purple Moon Empire.
However, they were still scared.
“What should we do?”
Many of the people from the Purple Moon Empire were at a loss.
Many of them were injured by the explosion, and those who were unlucky even died directly.
“It can’t go on like this.”
An old man, one of the core members who couldn’t hold it in any longer, suggested, “Since the Fifth Heavenly King wants us to gather, let’s just do it. We can take this chance and negotiate with him. Moon Empress’s husband is not an ordinary person. The Fifth Heavenly King would be more or less wary of him.”
“That’s right. Let’s gather. If this goes on, no one can take it.”
“We can indeed negotiate with the Fifth Heavenly King.”
“We have no choice. When our s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps ran out of Energy Stones and couldn’t move forward, we had already lost. Even if we lose, we have to see the reality.”
These words resonated with the crowd.
It was true that when their s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p couldn’t move forward, they had lost completely and simply.
The only and most important bargaining chip they had now was Moon Empress’s Roc.
Ke Zhan was silent.
The general trend could not be stopped. Judging from the reactions of the dozens of high-position officials present, almost 90% of them agreed with this decision.
It was as if they were forcing Moon Empress to abdicate. He knew very well that the ultimate price might be the sacrifice of Moon Empress alone, but how could they, the high-position officials, escape?
“This won’t work.”
Ke Zhan did not say anything. He did not have much of a say in any decisions in this group.
“Inform all the teams to gather in the plain area here.”
Some people overstepped their boundaries. They didn’t even ask Zi Yan, Ke Zhan, and a few other decision-makers before directly giving the order.
The others did as they were told and informed their subordinate teams one after another.
Around the planet, many teams began to rise to a low alt.i.tude and quickly gathered in the plain area where Zi Yan was.
“Your Majesty, they’ve a.s.sembled!”
One of the Fifth Heavenly King’s subordinates reported.
“So soon?” The Fifth Heavenly King finally opened his eyes, which were s.h.i.+ning. “When they gather together, send out everyone to seal off the area.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The men of the Fifth Heavenly King began to take action.
Countless aircraft densely flew to the ground and began to set up an encirclement.
After hearing the news, Emperor Ao of the Blackhill Empire immediately stood up from his seat.
He stared at the screen and waved his hand, saying, “Drop the Hurricane Bombs at the gathering place to blow away the dust. Next, I want all the forces in the Star Area to witness what will happen to the Purple Moon Empire!”
Just as the Fifth Heavenly King’s men took action, dozens of artillery sh.e.l.ls exploded in the sky.
The violent wind howled and blew in all directions from the explosion point.
A clean place appeared on the planet with foul air.
However, this land seemed to be about to face an even greater disaster.
Just six hours later, the people on Zi Yan’s side gathered on the plain.
There were too many combat aircraft around, and the enemy forces were gathering there.
It was as though a great battle was about to begin.
“With the Fifth Heavenly King here, we have no chance to escape.”
Even a few core subordinates of Zi Yan thought of this.
“I thought I could buy some time, but the Fifth Heavenly King’s means are too fierce. For us, the safest way is to hand over Moon Empress.”
“As long as the restrictions are appropriate, nothing will happen to us. We’ll see if Moon Empress can…”
“No one wants to die,” someone rejected. “Moon Empress is very decisive in the killing.”
“Haha, after such a long time, we have also figured out Moon Empress’s cultivation realm. It is nothing more than the Void-refining Realm. To tell you the truth, Emperor Ao of the Blackhill Empire is a master in the Integration Realm.”
Everyone seemed to have their own thoughts. They formed cliques and waited for the arrival of the Fifth Heavenly King.
“Start the live broadcast now!”
Before Emperor Ao of the Blackhill Empire was about to depart, he gave his subordinates the order.
On their special website, a live broadcast was on.
“What kind of live broadcast is this? The destruction of the Purple Moon Empire? Is this happening?”
“It seems to be a barren planet on the camera.”
The number of viewers gradually increased. Even some of the n.o.ble families in the Star Area where the Blackhill Empire was located couldn’t help but gasp when they saw the Fifth Heavenly King on camera.
“It’s been a year, and the Fifth Heavenly King is still hunting those people down. What did the Blackhill Empire do to win the Fifth Heavenly King’s favor?”
“Looks like we’ll have to have a completely new appraisal of the Blackhill Empire’s power.”
The effect was not bad. It was almost the same as what Emperor Ao had expected.
But at this moment, Emperor Ao was standing beside the Fifth Heavenly King, looking very well-behaved.
The group of people flew through the void, with the Fifth Heavenly King leading the way. Behind him were a few of his core subordinates, as well as Emperor Ao and the others.
Behind them were many aircraft.
It was a vast and mighty army pressing down.
From the sky, they could see the Purple Moon Empire’s aircraft legion and the core members standing in the center.
“Hahaha. Purple Moon! How do you feel now?”
Emperor Ao laughed out loud. From a distance, he said arrogantly, “How dare you challenge our Blackhill Empire? The Purple Moon Empire has committed a grave crime. The so-called Moon Empress, your leader, has not been recognized. Even the three magnates have agreed to destroy her. As the remaining evils of the Purple Moon Empire, you’ll die today! The Fifth Heavenly King is here. Why aren’t you kneeling yet?”
He was extremely arrogant.
However, in the eyes of Ke Zhan and his men, the winner had the right to be arrogant.
Even so, no one paid any attention to Emperor Ao.
They all knew that the decision-maker was the Fifth Heavenly King, so Emperor Ao had nothing to do with this.
“I really didn’t expect that a small force could keep escaping under my nose for a whole year.”
The Fifth Heavenly King suddenly spoke.
He looked at Zi Yan and said flatly, “It is said that no one has ever seen the face of the Purple Moon Empire’s Moon Empress. Now that you have become a prisoner, take off your tattered black robe and show me your face.”
“There’s no need for this. Fifth Heavenly King, just tell me what you want,” Zi Yan said calmly.
She was very calm at this time. In the face of such a situation, she knew that she had to be calm.
“It’s simple. Hand over what I want,” the Fifth Heavenly King said bluntly.
“What if I don’t hand it over?” Zi Yan said.
“You don’t?”
The Fifth Heavenly King smiled. His smile was a little playful, but there was a cold light in his eyes.
He flicked his sleeve.
Rumble!
He grabbed a mountain from a distance and threw it into the air. The invisible energy magnified the mountain dozens of times and smashed it into the crowd of the Purple Moon Empire.
“AAAAH!”
More than ten thousand people were killed or injured in a single strike.
Many people began to panic.
No one had expected the Fifth Heavenly King to be so ruthless and make a move as soon as he spoke.
“Will you hand it over now?” the Fifth Heavenly King asked again.
“No.” Zi Yan’s palms trembled slightly.
This feeling was simply too terrible.
Rumble!
Another powerful attack killed thousands of people.
“Will you hand it over now?”
“No.”
Zi Yan closed her eyes.
There were already a lot of words lingering in her ears.
“Moon Empress, hand it over! We won’t die if you hand it over!”
“Many people have died. They are all your brothers who have fought with you for your empire!”
“Moon Empress, everyone’s lives and deaths are in your hands.”
Some high-position officials even said, “Fifth Heavenly King, don’t kill us. We can persuade Moon Empress.”
“Hmm?”
The look on the face of the Fifth Heavenly King became more playful. He smiled faintly and said, “Okay. I’ll give you 10 minutes.”
At this moment, the Fifth Heavenly King was like a G.o.d that controlled life and death.
What he didn’t know was that a series of fleets were speeding over from the secondary s.p.a.ce not far away.