Chapter 451: Qingliu’s Calculations
Silent Vale was part of the insectoids’ sacred land, and no one could enter without the authorization of the Golden Tent. On a windless night, Xia Fei swiftly followed along Silent Vale until he reached the entrance.
This entrance was cramped, only able to accommodate three hovercars pa.s.sing through side by side. The Black and White G.o.ds had been carved into the two sides of the cliff walls, their statues of over a thousand meters tall looking all majestic. Same as all the statues that he had seen before of the two, both were wearing masks, which made it impossible to see their facial features.
Further away was a densely packed insectoid regiment. Security was heavy as countless spotlights kept the gra.s.sy plains lit as if it were daytime. Armored tanks were parked in the dark night like silent metal beasts, waiting for the expedition Uti was leading to make it back from Silent Vale, but what none of them knew was that the emperor of the Golden Tent had already lost his life in the Holy Realm, and Uti was most likely at the gates of h.e.l.l right now.
Xia Fei followed along the cliff edge. As it was not time for the scheduled opening of the Holy Realm, the guards here by the valley were lax, and Xia Fei barely broke a sweat getting past the checkpoints along the prairie and making it to the Golden Tent before going straight south toward Goldshard Lake, where Consort Qingyan resided.
Qingliu and Xia Fei had made prior arrangements for Xia Fei to make contact with two loyal family retainers at a location 1600 miles east of the Golden Tent, where it was said that the guards were fairly lax.
However, Xia Fei did not make contact with them and, instead, opted to head straight for Goldshard Lake, Qingyan’s personal abode, as he sought to look around the place. Getting over the walls, he directly entered Qingyan’s residence.
The residence did not cover too large an area, so it was not a problem in terms of distance and size for Xia Fei’s speed. Following along the shadows moving swiftly, using his Breath Control to avoid all the imperial guard patrols, Xia Fei took only a handful of minutes before he located Qingyan’s study.
Figures were swaying within, and Xia Fei squatted by a corner to eavesdrop. The room had specialized soundproofing, so no matter how keen his hearing was, there was no way for him to find out the contents of the conversation within. Smiling, Xia Fei reached over to the window and knocked twice.
Qingyan and Qingliu were originally having a private conversation in the study when they suddenly heard the sound of someone knocking at the window. Qingliu opened the window with great uncertainty, only for Xia Fei’s figure to leap through it instantly.
“Xia Fei, you’re back!” Qingyan was completely caught off guard, her two hands clutching her chest, having received quite a scare over Xia Fei’s sudden appearance.
Xia Fei quickly covered her mouth with his hand before she could say another word, and Qingyan’s exquisite face promptly flushed when their skin touched.
Putting a finger on his lip, Xia Fei gestured for Qingliu to shut the window before Qingyan yelled anymore.
Qingliu showed panic in his eye as he came over to Xia Fei’s side and asked in a hushed whisper, “Why are you suddenly here? Why didn’t you follow our previous agreement?”
Xia Fei smiled and took out October Flying Snow. Patting its cold blade on his palm lightly, he lightly remarked, “If I’m not mistaken, by following your laid-out plan, my body would’ve been cut up into several pieces.”
The expression of the father-daughter pair changed yet again. ‘Only the dead keep secrets.’ Especially when they were plotting to usurp the throne, Xia Fei being alive only meant that they would never have a peace of mind. This was why they had planned a heavy ambush—dozens of elite warriors, whose abilities would naturally counter speed ability users, would lie in wait for Xia Fei to walk right into their trap—at the agreed-upon rendezvous point.
However, now that Xia Fei was standing before their very eyes with the top speeds this human possessed, there was no doubt that Qingyan and Qingliu would first lose their lives before either could call for reinforcements. Qingyan had the habit of sending all her guards away when she was having a private talk with Qingliu, which ironically made it that much easier for Xia Fei to infiltrate her abode.
Besides, Xia Fei made it out four days in advance, and this caught Qingyan and Qingliu even more off guard.
“Ten days ago, your s.h.i.+p suddenly blew out the landing ap.r.o.n with its laser cannons and departed. I’m afraid that you probably arranged for that as well, right?”
Xia Fei nodded, not denying the fact.
“I don’t enjoy b*llsh*t, so let me speak and you listen,” Xia Fei coldly remarked, a fierceness flas.h.i.+ng across his eyes.
“First, Uti’s your Immortal rank expert, Tuifu. Now that Uti’s dead, Tuifu’s dead, too. Tohme, Fini, Nimuni, Bellal, and the twin brothers Grux and Gruy are dead. Halleh and all one hundred thousand insectoid elite warriors are also dead.”
Shock!
Extreme shock!
If Xia Fei and Halleh both finished off the one hundred thousand elite warriors, that would have been an acceptable conclusion, but a feeling of unparalleled shock overwhelmed both Qingyan and Qingliu when they heard all those renowned names included in the count!
Could Xia Fei have killed them all?
Both Qingyan and Qingliu went pale to the point that there was hardly any color on their faces. They could not imagine just what could have happened in the Holy Realm, but they were certain that Xia Fei was sure to have a hand in it.
Xia Fei paused for a while before continuing. “Second, the Silent Vale will close again tomorrow afternoon, so you and your people had better get ready. When the time comes, I hope that you’ll successfully seize usurp the throne as planned.”
This was the result that Xia Fei and the two birds had discussed. Since there was no one else in the Holy Realm anymore, it made sense for them to close it at once the moment he left. However, having considered that he needed time to make plans accordingly, he told Blackie to close it up a little later.
“Third, I have evidence and recordings of you guys plotting the ousting of Uti, so when you become the emperor of the Golden Tent and fail to stop this war as previously agreed on, the proof and several footage in my possession will be uploaded unto the insectoid internet for everyone’s viewing pleasure at once. You and everyone in your faction will forever be branded as traitors by the insectoid race.”
Qingyan and Qingliu were speechless. Normally, a warrior’s combat suit would have recording functions available so that it would be convenient for a warrior to play back a previous battle and search for areas to improve on. They had already thought of Xia Fei recording their plotting; in fact, this was why they wanted to have him killed. It was just that none of them had expected Xia Fei to guess that he would be plotted against and preemptively take action against it. Not only did he avoid the trap they had set up, Qingliu and his Guild of the Wise also ended up being restrained by Xia Fei.
A surly smile crept up Xia Fei’s mouth as he frigidly stated, “You all planned to have me eliminated, making me your enemy. I’ve never once shown mercy to my enemies, but today I’m ready to let you two off. You should be thanking your lucky stars from this point alone; I won’t kill you two, so don’t disappoint me.
“Whether we meet again or otherwise, I’ll let you decide that yourself.”
*Whoos.h.!.+*
Xia Fei suddenly disappeared like a ghost from Qingyan’s study with that line, leaving just the sound of wind blowing through the now open window.
Qingliu could not help but have an internal fight. The expression on his face went through a myriad of changes. He simply could not understand how Xia Fei had managed to get out of the Holy Realm four days earlier, and now all his plans were in a mess.
Qingyan was somewhat fl.u.s.tered. “Father, what do we do now?”
Qingliu paced around the room several times. “Given how the chips have fallen, there’s nothing else we can do anymore. I’ll go and make arrangements right now. Everything shall be settled by tomorrow.”
“What about Xia Fei?”
“He can do whatever he wants. He’s a smart man, and it’s very easy doing things with smart individuals. He won’t stand to gain from our failure, so as long as we reconcile our relations.h.i.+p with the Panhuman Alliance, I doubt that Xia Fei will betray us,” Qingliu said heavily. “Meet again or otherwise? Someone like Xia Fei… it’s best that we never meet him again.”
……
*Whoos.h.!.+*
Xia Fei rapidly departed from the consort’s residence and followed along Goldshard Lake due south. In a lush pine forest about forty miles away, Xia Fei bashed his way in and knelt down, activating a communicator on his arm.
Vampire promptly descended from the sky after receiving the signal. The landing bay swiftly opened its hatch and Xia Fei boarded his wars.h.i.+p. Vampire shut the hatch soon after and the Estamel cloaking device made it turn invisible as the s.h.i.+p broke away from the planet’s atmosphere in the quickest fas.h.i.+on and under the aid of the overclocking chip. At the same time, a stealthed wormhole was opened, and in twenty more minutes, Xia Fei was already fifty thousand lightyears away from the insectoid imperial capital!
There was not a moment of hesitation in this sequence of actions, and it was apparent that everything had already been prepared prior.
Xia Fei heaved a sigh of relief as he entered the command deck. Pod immediately dashed forward and held Xia Fei tightly. “Master, Pod did as you instructed and blasted the landing ap.r.o.n with the laser cannons nine days after you left, evading the heavy patrols to arrive here at the imperial capital and await your return. Pod has fulfilled all your instructions!”
Pod relayed his report to Xia Fei in a hurry, and everything was of course what Xia Fei had instructed him in advance. Only when one held their own lives in hand would they be the safest; if Xia Fei had to hand his fate over to someone else, he would rather trust the speaking robot by his side than any of those insectoids.
Xia Fei did not have any plan to succeed at first. No one had included into their plans the fact that the imprint, which the Black G.o.d of Night had left on his left arm, would allow him to pa.s.s through Serenity’s Gate and return four days in advance, and that made it much easier for him.
If anyone were to learn what Xia Fei had done, they would surely deem him as deranged. Robots were the common enemies of mankind, yet Xia Fei had trusted his life with one fully. How terrible was that?
Xia Fei hugged Pod back. “To fetch me here in the insectoid imperial capital, so many lightyears away from the b.u.t.terfly species’ home planet, you’ve done very well. Thank you.”
Pod’s electronic eyes sparkled excitedly as if being praised by his master was a huge honor.
“Master, are you hungry? I’ll go make you some fried paste noodles!’
Xia Fei nodded slightly, and Pod rushed into the kitchen. The sound of pots and pans cooking could be heard.
Actually, what Pod minded most was not danger or hard work. After experiencing the catastrophic destruction of humanity, what Pod was afraid the most was Xia Fei suddenly leaving, which was why Xia Fei’s return had made him extra happy.
Phantom commented, “Everyone keeps saying how evil robots are, how they mercilessly brought devastation to the ancient human civilization, but after all the time I’ve spent getting to know Pod, I’m beginning to suspect the veracity of such a narrative.”
Xia Fei nodded. “I agree with your sentiment. Perhaps there’s some sort of misunderstanding here. Who knows?”
“So are we returning to the Panhuman Alliance now?” Phantom asked.
Xia Fei shook his head. “Not just yet. I want to see what means Qingliu and the Guild of the Wise under his leaders.h.i.+p will use to inherit the throne after Uti’s death.”
“What if they fail?”
“Then we’ll use our final Star of Ruin,” Xia Fei lit a cigarette and said.
The imperial capital was the hub of the insectoid race. Destroying the capital in one go would at least throw the entire race into chaos, thereby easing the pressure on the Alliance’s end. Of course, the best outcome of this was for Qingliu to ascend the throne, ordering the insectoid army to disband.
“You told Qingliu that you’re out of Star of Ruin, so he won’t be afraid of the threat of a superbomb.” Phantom frowned. “Besides, there’s also High Priest Ryun, who is at inscrutable levels of cultivation, staying here.”
Xia Fei laughed/”Do you know what’s the flaw of the intelligent?”
“What?”
“Smart men will always be highly suspicious of everything. The more I tell him that I don’t have a Star of Ruin, the more he will believe thaI hold such ultimate power.”
Addressing the other matter, Xia Fei scrunched up his brows. “As for High Priest Ryun, there’s no way for us to consider his mysterious existence right now. We’ll still have to do it whether he’s there or not; there’s no way for us to achieve great things if we worry too much about every little thing.
“We still have time right now. Let’s repair the Black Bat radar and establish communication with the Alliance first. I wonder how things are going on their end?”