A few days later, the battlefield around Dawnstar Starport finally stabilized. Aside from the essential garrison forces, the rest of the allied fleet readied themselves to return to Onia Star for the final victory celebration of the war.
The warships moved silently through the star systems. Inside one vessel, Ace reconnected with Loess via the lightbrain link. On the communication screen, the young man’s face was solemn, his tone unusually steady.
“…Gu Qing said that behind this war, it’s not just a simple surge of demonic energy—other forces have intervened. And… this might only be the prologue.”
Loess was silent for a moment before his expression sharpened. “If that’s the case… then Lord Gu Qing is bound to be dragged into an even greater whirlpool in the future.”
Ace replied softly, “Yeah. He’s not someone who would stand by and do nothing.”
After a pause, his expression darkened, his gaze flickering with unease and contradiction. “Do you think… he’ll tell us the whole truth? I feel like what he shared today isn’t everything. He… must have known the true nature of this war all along. Otherwise, how could he have so conveniently prepared weapons capable of countering the monsters?”
He paused again, his voice low: “Many think those are secret Insectoid weapons, but I know they’re not. He brought them out himself. And with his extraordinary power… I even suspect he might belong to some outside force we don’t know of.”
Loess spoke calmly: “That’s certainly possible. After all, he doesn’t resemble anyone from this world’s Insectoids… But no matter where he came from, Lord Gu Qing has always been helping us. That hasn’t changed. If he doesn’t reveal everything, there’s a reason. And the fact that he’s willing to share some information with you already shows great trust.”
Ace froze for a moment, then looked up at the screen, eyes wide. “You think… he trusts me?”
Loess smiled faintly, voice firm: “If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have said a word. You know how cautious Lord Gu Qing is.”
“…I suppose you’re right,” Ace murmured, a touch of bitterness and self-mockery in his gaze. “He never told me anything before. Never let me know a thing.”
Loess watched him, tone resolute: “Whatever happens in the future, I will follow Lord Gu Qing.”
Hearing this, Ace twisted his mouth slightly, adding a hint of stubborn pride:
“Hmph! That bastard dragged me to the battlefield, now he thinks he can ditch me? Not a chance!”
Suddenly, his cheeks flushed, ears tinged pink. He turned his head slightly, speaking awkwardly: “That… about the expansion at Qingyuan, I… haven’t told Gu Qing yet. I’ve just been too busy… not that I forgot on purpose.”
“…Really, sorry about that.”
Loess couldn’t help but laugh: “It’s fine. We can tell him together when the time comes. I’ll be on Onia Star in a few days.”
Ace’s eyes lit up, sparkling. “You’re coming to Onia Star? Really? When?”
“In a few days, around the same time as you guys,” Loess replied with a smile.
Ace’s eyes widened. “Gu Qing knows?”
Loess smirked, tone teasing: “He actually asked me to bring a few things. Not just me, but other alpha females are coming too. We also forged records of your arrival on Onia Star, so you’ll be able to use your original identities again.”
Ace was stunned, eyes wide. “You… what exactly are you doing?”
Loess only smiled, tone mysterious: “It’s a good thing. You’ll see once you get here.”
Meanwhile, Il, Philip, and Vili were gathered in the ship’s lounge, sitting around a round table, discussing Gu Qing’s words in the conference room.
“My god… who’s really behind this war?” Il paced anxiously. “Who would do something like this? Dragging the entire galaxy into war!”
Vili, in contrast, seemed lost in a different emotion, eyes sparkling, pink bubbles of excitement practically floating around him. “Lord Gu Qing is amazing! So logical, so precise in deduction, and so polite… truly the dream Insectoid of my heart~”
Il rolled his eyes. “Is now really the time to be crushing on him?”
Philip’s voice grew low, serious: “…I’ve been thinking—what if Gu Qing himself is from some outside force?”
Il and Vili froze, turning toward him in shock.
Philip nodded, gaze calm but wary. “Think about it. When the monsters first appeared, he barely showed surprise and immediately countered them. The weapons later revealed by the General? They were actually brought out by Gu Qing first. He immediately deduced that outside forces were interfering in the war… All too coincidental, not like first contact.”
Il’s eyes widened, words rushing out: “If… if he really is from an outside force, what exactly does he want? Are we being played?”
“I don’t know his true intentions,” Philip shook his head, voice heavy. “But I feel… Gu Qing is playing a very large game.”
He paused, then added, “Have you noticed Ace? He’s actually Aisha. Almost everyone in the allied forces knows that name now—military alphas and other races alike respect him for his performance in training and on the battlefield. But remember—Aisha is actually a male Insectoid.”
Vili nodded subconsciously. Il murmured: “I still can’t believe it every time I think about it…”
“And he wasn’t like this before,” Philip continued. “When we first met him, he was just an ordinary male. But now? His psychic power and combat ability are astonishing. His transformation is clearly tied to Gu Qing. Not to mention, Landei and Aisha said from the start that they were brothers.”
Vili’s eyes went wide. “You mean… Gu Qing has been nurturing Ace?”
“Possibly…” Philip continued. “There’s more… Remember the psychic resonance on the battlefield with Silver Crown? It was unusually strong. I think the General had already been marked by Gu Qing, which is why the resonance was so high.”
“What!?” Il practically jumped. “The General… already marked by Gu Qing!? Then… he knew all along?”
Philip nodded. “I think the General knew more than us. From start to finish, he stood firmly with Gu Qing. And the fact that Gu Qing spoke like he did in front of us… I suspect—he did it deliberately.”
Vili gasped. “You mean… Gu Qing was telling us in advance?”
Philip nodded, tone unwavering. “He was releasing information to prepare us for future upheaval. Think about it: if one day Gu Qing isn’t around, who will support the General?”
The three fell silent.
The starlight outside streamed into the lounge, filling the room with an unspoken weight and sense of foreboding.
Philip gazed at the distant nebula, voice low: “We need to be ready. Gu Qing is likely our only hope.”
“If… this war really involves collusion between internal factions and outside forces… the future will be far more dangerous than the present,” Vili murmured.
Il clenched his fists, teeth gritted. “Then what should we do?”
“Simple,” Philip said calmly. “If Gu Qing is here, we help him. If he’s not—then we help the General finish the path he started.”
Deep within the black market, in a quiet yet chilling palace, shadows pooled like tides among layers of gilded carvings. In the main hall, several female Insectoids knelt on the cold floor, heads bowed low, unable to meet the gaze of the figure seated on the throne.
The lead female trembled as she raised her head, voice shaking: “Your Highness… we originally planned to ambush Landei when she went to the Ares battlefield alone. But she used the meteor storm to escape our encirclement… Later, the battlefield went out of control. We couldn’t approach… too many monsters… they were so strong, even our elite lost more than half…”
Caesar, reclining in the throne, red hair like fire, expression lazy yet dangerous, blinked his gold-red eyes. His voice was low, hoarse, and scornful: “So—you couldn’t catch her because of your incompetence?”
He tapped his knuckles on the armrest, tone dripping with mockery: “Yet I hear this war has already ended? Or were you absent from the battlefield, and your intel is behind?”
The lead female paled, bowing deeply, tears mixing with fear as they slid down her face: “Your Highness, forgive me! At first, the Star Alliance kept retreating… but then, somehow, Landei and General Milton joined forces, revealing a… new weapon. The monster armies were suppressed…”
Caesar raised an eyebrow, a glint of interest in his gaze, and spoke lazily: “Oh? Liyou, check on that weapon.”
A blue-white holographic screen appeared. Liyou responded in a calm, mechanical tone: “Young master, data retrieval for the new weapon is complete. Content highly encrypted. Source confirmed as Star Alliance core databanks.”
On the screen, a complex, precise 3D blueprint emerged.
The lead female’s heart stopped, cold sweat soaking her back—this was the legendary Star Alliance databank, a crystallization of all galactic intelligence. How could… it be extracted just like that?
Caesar’s gaze, however, fell on a rune array at the weapon’s core. His pupils narrowed, expression shifting as he sat upright abruptly. “Liyou, that pattern… is it a formation from the cultivation realm?”
Liyou paused, voice still steady: “Young master, similarity to formations from the Immortal Palace exceeds 80%.”
For an instant, the man on the throne threw back his head and laughed, hoarse and unhinged, full of obsession: “Finally—after a thousand years of waiting, I’ve found a clue to the cultivation world…!”
His eyes were cold, voice dark: “This weapon could never have been designed by an ordinary General Milton… But Landei’s strength… does resemble an Immortal Lord. If she truly came from that world…”
Caesar’s gaze went slightly mad, the corners of his lips curling into a dangerous smile: “No wonder you couldn’t catch her. A prey like that… I’d better meet her personally.”
At that moment, Liyou’s voice interrupted his mood: “Young master, the elder master has already decreed—you are strictly forbidden from approaching anyone related to the cultivation realm—it’s far too dangerous.”
Before the words could fully settle, Caesar sprang to his feet, gaze blazing with fanatic fire, low laugh filled with obsession:
“As long as I can find a clue about the Immortal Lord—even if it means stepping into a pit of endless calamity—I will do it!”