Chapter 1411 Lurkers
In the unexplored universe, Star Alliance capital.
Savignes quickly walked into the office of the Star Alliance Leader.
The Star Alliance Leader was waiting for him. Seeing him walk into the room, he put down the report in his hand, looked up, and slowly said, “How’s the situation?”
“I’ve already sent out the instructions. The lurkers will take action soon,” Savignes said with a deep voice.
“Hmm, this chess piece has been set up for so many years. Now is the time for them to show their value.” The Star Alliance Leader paused for a moment before changing the topic “However, we have to pay attention to the method of providing intelligence. Everything needs to be done under the premise of our existence being hidden. The three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree are both huge threats. If our existence is exposed to them, the dark clouds of war will cover us too. With our strength, it would be beyond our capabilities no matter which side we fight head-on.”
“Don’t worry, we’re all in this together. We won’t joke about the safety of the Star Alliance,” Savignes said solemnly.
“Hmm, you guys have been with the Star Alliance for many years, and we are already one. This operation is not only to eliminate potential threats but also for your revenge.” The Star Alliance Leader nodded.
“That’s right. Back then, we were defeated by the three Universal Civilizations, and only a few of our people managed to escape. It was almost impossible for us to survive, and we became a wandering civilization in the universe. If not for encountering the Star Alliance’s team, our civilization might have died long ago. To this day, we are thankful to the Star Alliance for their help.”
Savignes lowered his head and said respectfully.
When the Lore Civilization had been defeated, his ancestors had gathered the remaining members of their race and united them. It had been difficult for them to survive. Now, Savignes had taken over the authority of his predecessors and was the current leader of the Lore Civilization.
The history of the Lore Civilization was quite ancient, it was once a member of the explored universe. It was one of the compet.i.tors in the exploration era war. Unfortunately, it lost the war, and the civilization was destroyed. Its homeland fell, and only a few survivors escaped on s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps. Because they were worried about being eliminated, they decided to enter the unexplored universe and travel far away, becoming wanderers of the universe.
After many twists and turns in the wormhole, this group of wanderers happened to arrive in the Star Alliance’s territory.
The Star Alliance was a large joint civilization formed by forty-six civilizations. They lived quietly in a corner of the unexplored universe. By chance, they picked up this group of wanderers, and the intelligence brought by the Lore Civilization immediately attracted their attention.
This was the first time the Star Alliance had heard of the existence of a powerful civilization outside their territory. The intelligence provided by the Lore Civilization showed that the three Universal Civilizations were strong enough to destroy the entire Star Alliance, which made the Star Alliance extremely fearful and vigilant. In their eyes, the three Universal Civilizations could bring a calamity to the Star Alliance at any time, and swallowing them up was a huge hidden danger that made them unable to sleep or eat in peace.
Facing an unfamiliar and powerful civilization, the Star Alliance did not dare expose their existence to communicate with the other party. They could only observe silently. Under normal circ.u.mstances, even if the Star Alliance knew that there were strong enemies around, they would be helpless. However, the Lore Civilization provided them with a way.
When the wanderers escaped from their homeland, they had brought along a large number of coordinates. This was a priceless fortune, and the Star Alliance saw an opportunity.
Based on this information, the upper echelons of the Star Alliance finally decided on a strategic operation called the ‘Observer’s Plan’. They sent out lurkers to the explored universe through wormholes. They hid their ident.i.ties, gathered intelligence, and waited for an opportunity while monitoring the actions of the three Universal Civilizations.
The three Universal Civilizations did not have an Information Form warning network like the World Tree. As their territory was extremely large, there would always be gaps in the screening and security mechanisms. As long as the outsiders operated properly, they would be able to successfully infiltrate the three Universal Civilizations. In Han Xiao’s previous life, the World Tree had been hiding like this for many years, gathering enough intelligence before launching a full-scale attack on the three Universal Civilizations.
The Star Alliance knew their limits, and they did not think that their small body would be able to withstand the three Universal Civilizations’ attacks. Thus, they only let the lurkers observe and not take part in any other actions. They were like the lowest level galactic hackers, completely inconspicuous. They only searched for public intelligence on the internet and did not try to obtain any secrets. They were extremely cautious, which was why they were able to remain hidden until now and watch the development of the three Universal Civilizations.
After receiving repeated checks from the Star Alliance, the Lore Civilization finally became a new member. They were able to procreate, but they never forgot their history, and always thought about revenge. They cooperated with the Observer’s Plan and helped the Star Alliance hide in the explored universe.
This time, the three Universal Civilizations were invaded by the World Tree, which gave the Star Alliance a hope of eliminating the threat. They could not defeat the three Universal Civilizations themselves, so they decided to add fuel to the fire.
The Star Alliance Leader rubbed the back of his hand and said, “We can use the World Tree to get rid of the three Universal Civilizations, but the World Tree itself is a new threat. The ideal situation is for both of them to suffer, so we can take advantage.” Savignes nodded heavily. “The three Universal Civilizations’ technology level is very high. If we can take over their achievements, we will be able to advance quickly.”
“However, this is very risky, and we might expose ourselves. We have to think about it carefully… If there’s really a chance, we can’t miss it.”
The eyes of the Star Alliance Leader flickered. He naturally coveted the technological achievements acc.u.mulated by the three Universal Civilizations. Although the risk was high, the benefits were equally tempting.
The three Universal Civilizations had stabilized the situation and blocked the World Tree outside. This was not what the Star Alliance wanted to see. Destroying the good situation of the three Universal Civilizations and bringing the flames of war into the entire galactic society to cause chaos was in line with this third party’s interests.
The Star Alliance Leader did not mind taking advantage of the situation. Under the premise of hiding their ident.i.ty, they secretly partic.i.p.ated in this feast.
Secondary dimension world.
A team of three Universal Civilizations’ expedition army was traveling in the secondary dimension, recording the coordinates.
“This place is not far from the base dimension of the World Tree, and Blessed Race members might appear. Keep your spirits up and prepare to retreat at any time.”
In the c.o.c.kpit, the commander stared at the radar with a serious tone.
In the past few years, as the expedition army explored deeper and deeper, the encounters with the World Tree Blessed Races became more frequent. Fortunately, they ran fast enough, and most of the time, there were no accidents.
However, fleeing the danger was not always an option. The search network of the Blessed Race was extremely dense, and the expeditionary army did not wish to start a conflict. Thus, the exploration progress became slower and slower and there were not many loopholes to exploit.
“If this goes on, I don’t know when we will get results. The World Tree has already reached our territory. We don’t have much time left…”
The commander sighed.
“Wuwuwu-“
Suddenly, an ear-piercing alarm sounded on the radar. It was like a thunderclap, scaring everyone. Not far away, cracks suddenly appeared on the dimensional barrier, and green streams of light shot over.
“It’s the World Tree Blessed Races! Retreat!”
The commander’s expression changed.
The expedition team immediately turned around and locked onto the evacuation route. The shuttle engine buzzed and turned into a stream of light, escaping from this dimension into another.
However, before the expedition team could come to a stop, the alarm on the radar sounded again, and the s.p.a.ce cracks opened. Another group of World Tree Blessed Race members was rus.h.i.+ng over. “This is a premeditated attack!”
The commander immediately reacted. With a heavy expression, he commanded the fleet to continue fleeing.
The fleet pa.s.sed through five secondary dimensions in a row, with the World Tree Blessed Races following closely behind them.
Suddenly, the commander stopped running. He took a deep breath and made up his mind.
“Prepare to self-destruct.”
Hearing this, the crew members in the bridge all felt a chill in their hearts. They did not speak or object, only silently activating the self-destruct sequence.
The soldiers of the three Universal Civilizations could not revive as they wished like the World Tree. Without the protection of the Underworld, they would truly die in battle if they died. All the expedition teams were mentally prepared to sacrifice their entire fleet if the situation turned bad.
The energy core stabilizer disintegrated, and the psionic energy that had lost control began to expand, emitting a strong light.
“I’m honored to have worked with all of you. Long live the Dynasty.”
The commander looked at the determined faces of the crew members, saluted, and then looked at the World Tree pursuers outside the porthole. He closed his eyes and prepared to die.
Buzz!
However, at this moment, everything froze in an instant. All the crew members could not move, and the self-destruction process stopped. The psionic energy that was about to go out of control stopped in an instant.
The Secret Tree King’s figure appeared in the cabin unknowingly. He sized up everyone’s determined faces and sneered.
“Quite unyielding. It’s a pity that I came personally. No matter how determined you are, it’s useless.”
The Secret Tree King maintained the effect of the s.p.a.cetime freeze spell. He rubbed his palm lightly, and the green l.u.s.trous power of the Tree King spread out, turning into a s.p.a.ce crack. From within, a snake-like World Tree Root extended out and penetrated all the battles.h.i.+ps of the expedition team. More and more small tree roots were separated and inserted into the bodies of all the crew members.
Then, these roots absorbed their essence like straws. At the same time, they transformed the team into one of their own by reforming them in the Information Form layer. The expedition team slowly integrated into the World Tree Root and sank deeper.
This process lasted for a long time before the World Tree sucked the entire expedition team in. Then, with a flash of light, it vomited again. However, it was different from before. All the crew members were flowing with green light and transformed into the members of the World Tree.
“Your Excellency Tree King.” The soldiers from the Crimson Dynasty lowered their heads and bowed respectfully.
The Secret Tree King ignored them and focused on the mental network, sharing the memories of these people and the sailing log of the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p. After browsing for a while, the Secret Tree King’s eyes flashed, and he revealed a playful expression. “Heh, so it was here. I found your nest.”
At this moment, the Secret Tree King suddenly felt something and looked into the distance.
“Predicting me?”
A cold look appeared in the eyes of the Secret Tree King. His hand gestures changed, and his magic power surged out, following the mysterious sense of the source.
At the same time, somewhere on Floating Dragon Island.
“Pfft!”
Aesop, who was feeling the sudden premonition, was shocked. It was as if his brain had been hit by a hammer, and he collapsed to the ground with a shocked expression.
A cold magical power shattered the foresight in his mind and damaged his spirit.
Those who could cause a backlash to a Foreseer were basically all Mages. With different foresight abilities, the difficulty of the backlash would also change. Aesop’s foresight ability was not ordinary. In all these years, he had experienced countless pa.s.sive foresight and had also foreseen many Beyond Grade A Mages. The worst-case scenario would be a failure, and this was the first time someone had caused him a backlash.