The First Consul of the Papal States was the former Federation Chairman, Jean Joann. A month ago, Jean Joann used the pretext of visiting the Federation’s frontline troops to emigrate with his entire clan to the first star in the Thirteen Star System. The Chief Political Officer of the Gods’ Federation was the former Deputy Chairman of the Federation Military Department, He. Koms, who had been overseeing the war effort on the front lines, foregoing even the time to emigrate.
The bearded Colonel sneered, pointing at the six Major Generals, “Both traitorous nations claim territory on Earth, and these fleets are here to protect their claimed ground!”
“D Blood Claws!” Gu Wuchen’s eyes narrowed, and he commanded with cold ruthlessness, “Then it’s an enemy relationship. Everyone, fire upon all enemy ships of the Papal States ahead!”
The outer armor of the twenty fully charged Roman warships suddenly ignited with a layer of nearly tangible energy shield, nearly a foot thick. Over twenty thousand energy cannons, large and small, fired simultaneously. Under the control of the improved fire control system and comprehensive battlefield command system modified by Ducat and Xiao, every single one of the three hundred and six ships ahead was struck by over sixty high-energy cannons at the exact same moment. None of the warships even managed to let out a final mournful cry before being shattered in mid-air.
The fire was still spreading across space. The Papal States’ main fleet, which had been so imposing and arrogant just moments before, was utterly annihilated.
The bearded Colonel’s jaw popped out of its socket with a clack. He stared blankly at the empty expanse of space ahead, then vigorously rubbed his eyes.
“Aoooh~~~ Ahhh!” After making several bizarre noises, the bearded Colonel snapped his jaw back into place. He waved his hands frantically and roared, “What kind of warships are these? Damn it, what warships are you using? Heavens above, three hundred of the Papal States’ ‘Archangel-Class Main Battleships’ destroyed by a single volley?”
Gu Wuchen said magnanimously, “Like them? I can send you hundreds to play with, no problem. Hmm, I plan to equip ten of those super-dreadnoughts for the Hardwood Corporation, provided we have at least twenty million skilled soldiers and bridge crewmen. Uncle Beard, that’s twenty million, not two million!”
The bearded Colonel jumped with excitement, roaring with laughter, “Twenty million soldiers and crewmen? Ah, that used to be a real problem, but in another two months, it won't be an issue at all. The Poison Wolf has been pushed so hard he’s preparing to order martial law across the Federation; all eligible youths must join the military for conscription. Forget twenty million soldiers; if he gets really ruthless, we could have two billion!”
The flagship of the Hardwood Defense Company rapidly approached, soon docking with the Primordial-Class dreadnought. The bearded Colonel almost hopped all the way as he walked inside. The moment he saw Gu Wuchen, he gave him a forceful bear hug, squeezing with all his might, “You rascal, I nearly cried myself to death over you! Hey, why did you fake your death?”
A heavy punch landed squarely on Gu Xiechen’s chest. Gu Xiechen chuckled, his muscles twitching slightly, absorbing all the force of the bearded Colonel’s blow.
The bearded Colonel tilted his head, suddenly spotting Fuya.Ming. He exclaimed in surprise, “Whoa! There’s a beautiful dame too? I don’t recognize this one?”
Fuya.Ming graciously shook the bearded Colonel’s hand and introduced herself with extreme brevity: “Fuya.Ming, Queen of the Yaffek Kingdom, a Four-Star Civilization in the Star Alliance, and Wuchen’s girlfriend.”
Jin quickly bounced forward, giggling sweetly, “Jin. Jin.Dolo.Yalo, from Skestahn, Dultro, Broken Hook. The second-ranked powerful individual in the Star Alliance, Young Colonel. Xiechen, Brother Gu’s fervent admirer and pursuer. Uncle Beard, your beard is quite commanding.”
Upon meeting, Jin showered the bearded Colonel with praise, making him extremely pleased.
After a while, the bearded Colonel suddenly realized what was happening. He jumped back a large step, pointing at Fuya.Ming with horrified astonishment, “Kid, you married an alien?”
Fuya.Ming’s face flushed slightly, and she demurely turned to look at the command console's screen.
Gu Wuchen forced a dry laugh and quickly interjected, “Our genes match perfectly; we are the same species, absolutely the same species—uh, our genes have zero differences. Let’s head to Paris first, Paris! Hahaha, my master said the Poison Wolf is in trouble and asked me to lend a hand. Hey, Uncle Beard, I brought you quite a few good things.”
Putting an arm around the bearded Colonel, Gu Wuchen whispered to him about his gains in the Star Alliance. He watched as the bearded Colonel’s face grew redder and redder, blood rushing to his head. Making gurgling sounds in his throat, the bearded Colonel grabbed Gu Wuchen, taking a long moment to catch his breath: “What? That many super-dreadnoughts? Hundreds of them? That many super-warships built by the ancestors of the Roman people? At least ten thousand? My God, how many soldiers do we need to pilot this fleet?”
Not long after recovering from his shock, the bearded Colonel tapped into the essence of his former self as the founder of the Hell Angels Mercenary Corps. He bellowed at the top of his lungs, “That Star Alliance has hundreds of thousands of member civilizations? Those advanced civilizations must have at least dozens of administrative planets? How vast is that territory! We must seize it! Seize it all!”
Stomping his foot fiercely, the bearded Colonel roared, his eyes flashing green, “Forget population control! Push all population policies aside! Give birth, give birth like crazy! The Federation should subsidize formula and diapers, give high bonuses for childbirth! One child per year… no, use bio-agents for regulation, making every birth twins—two a year! If Earth could manage three billion people working relentlessly for thirty years… Hee-hee-hee!”
At this moment, the bearded Colonel seemed possessed. He waved his arms wildly and laughed aloud, and a faint aura of blood-red light could even be seen spurting from his body.
Gu Wuchen patted the bearded Colonel’s shoulder vigorously, laughing along with him, “Uncle Beard, the universe is vast; we have boundless potential!”
The bearded Colonel’s face was contorted with laughter. He screamed maniacally, “Boundless potential! Boundless potential! Brothers, grab your gear! Rob money, rob land, rob women… wait, no—of course, we can’t touch Queen Fuya’s Yaffek Kingdom! Hahahaha, even pirates have a code; we don’t touch our own people’s territory!”
Fuya.Ming’s face froze.
Jin tilted her head pitifully and mumbled quietly, “Are we the pirates, or is the entire Earth Federation the pirates?”
The warships landed at the Hardwood Defense Company’s main base in the suburbs of Copenhagen.
As soon as he disembarked, Gu Xiechen sensed the atmosphere around him was wrong. The metal perimeter walls near the base had been raised at least three times higher and thickened four times more than before. The walls were covered densely with gun emplacements, and the number of soldiers inside the base was at least three times greater than when he had left two years prior. The soldiers’ combat uniforms and weaponry had clearly undergone an upgrade: deep grey uniforms, sleek black firearms, and dark black helmets—everything shimmered with a faint metallic luster, making the base look like a surging tide of steel.
“Extraordinary times, brothers are on high alert!”
Flipping the Major General insignia on his shoulder proudly, the bearded Colonel said contentedly, “Hey, the Poison Wolf has had a rough couple of years; internal strife and external threats. Luckily, I held the line with a group of brothers. That old guy is loyal enough; I donated a hundred Nantianmen-class heavy battleships to the Federation military, and he immediately gave me independent conscription rights and the rank of Major General.”
The officers from Fuya.Ming’s Yaffek contingent stared in shock at the dense swarms of soldiers moving rapidly within the base, looking like ants. Every soldier shared the same expression, the same look; they moved like robots stepping off an assembly line, executing their commanders' orders with precision. Apart from the scurrying soldiers, there was no one else in any other attire to be seen.
When the bearded Colonel stepped out of the hatch, thousands of soldiers nearby and far away simultaneously snapped to attention. With a sound like a sudden gust of wind sweeping across the land, all soldiers rendered a perfectly synchronized salute to the bearded Colonel. Then, without the slightest hesitation, they resumed their activities as if their momentary pause had been an illusion.
“These little guys have been drilled well!” Gu Wuchen’s eyes grew warm as he watched the soldiers. “Uncle Beard, how many people do we have now?”
The bearded Colonel grinned mysteriously, “The Hardwood Defense Company now handles the defense of the Earth Federation’s European Sector, taking over from the former European Military Region. How many brothers do you think we have now!”
“Oh?” Gu Xiechen exclaimed, “Then, the former European Military Region…”
The bearded Colonel sneered, “They are now the European Branch of the Papal States’ Earth Homeland Army… They are currently rushing to move everything they can carry to the Thirteen Star System. Damn these sons of bitches; they didn’t even leave us the condoms in the supermarket vending machines!”
A convoy of heavy magnetic levitation armored vehicles rumbled toward them. The bearded Colonel beckoned Gu Wuchen and the others aboard. Protected by nearly a thousand magnetic levitation tanks and over a hundred fighter jets, the convoy of twelve armored vehicles sped toward Paris.
Fuya.Ming stared, shocked, at the impenetrable circle of tanks and fighters completely surrounding them. She asked dryly, “Beard… Uncle Beard, is it necessary to deploy such a massive army?”
Looking at the tanks and jets outside, Fuya.Ming couldn’t help blushing slightly. When she fought the rebels, the maximum deployment was a dozen light armored vehicles. Here, merely traveling required nearly a thousand huge, heavy tanks as escort. Hearing Fuya.Ming address him as ‘Uncle Beard’ after Gu Wuchen did, the bearded Colonel’s eyes narrowed into slits from grinning. He slapped Gu Xiechen’s thigh forcefully and roared with laughter, “Good girl! Ah, truly a good girl! When you two are done with your business, Uncle Beard will give you some good things! Ha! I never thought I’d have a Queen call me Uncle in my lifetime! Hahahaha!” After laughing heartily, the bearded Colonel explained the situation to the blushing Fuya.Ming.
It wasn't that the bearded Colonel enjoyed putting on a show; it was because, without deploying large armored forces, none of the high-ranking officials from the three factions dared to show their faces. Since the Church and the God Alliance jointly assassinated the Dao Alliance Grandmaster, Federation military and political officials had been subjected to sporadic assassinations. Especially two days ago, after Gu Wuchen brazenly appeared on Paradise Star with the Shield of Yaffek, an entire heavy mechanized brigade launched a brazen night raid on the base commanded by the Poison Wolf’s son. After a night of fierce fighting, the Poison Wolf’s son was gravely wounded, and the special operations battalion protecting him was nearly wiped out. “When it comes to open assassination like this, if I don’t bring plenty of men, I really don’t dare show my face on the street!” the bearded Colonel sneered. “Now, when I go out, at least eighteen navigation satellites follow me, and two strategic missile bases are on standby for support. If anyone dares to use a large force to confront me head-on, don’t blame me for not being polite!”
Gu Xiechen burst out laughing, putting his arm around the bearded Colonel’s shoulder, “Then I actually hope someone comes looking for trouble!”
What were two strategic missile bases compared to the thirty-six Celestial Immortal-level puppets Gu Xiechen carried with him? He genuinely hoped someone would come looking for a fight.
The convoy moved extremely fast, finally reaching the outskirts of Paris close to nightfall. Paris had completely transformed into a military fortress. Along the avenue where Gu Xiechen and his group were advancing, the troops on the left displayed the Earth Federation military flag, while those on the right hoisted the Silver Cross banner. Several heavy fighter jets flying overhead had conspicuous silver wolf-head emblems painted on their underbellies.
The large contingent of vehicles attempting to enter Paris caused both armies lining the road to deploy nearly a full company of soldiers simultaneously, signaling a halt.
The convoy slowed to a stop. The bearded Colonel poked his head out of the window and roared a few commands at the Second Lieutenant leading the Federation troops. The Federation soldier hurriedly pulled his unit back to the roadside, and the Second Lieutenant saluted, signaling the convoy could proceed. However, the Papal States’ Second Lieutenant rolled his eyes, pointed at the bearded Colonel, and shouted, “Target Fifteen, execute!”
Gu Xiechen grabbed the bearded Colonel and yanked his head back inside the vehicle.
With two muffled bangs, two rounds from large-caliber armor-piercing sniper rifles slammed into the vehicle chassis near the window. If the bearded Colonel’s head had still been outside, those two rounds would have been direct hits.
The bearded Colonel roared angrily, “These bastards!”
Gu Xiechen’s eyes turned cold. He made a grasping motion in the air with his right hand, and the Five-Water Dragon Whisker Fan materialized, accompanied by ripples of water vapor.
With a loud whoosh, Gu Wuchen brandished the fan fiercely toward the Papal States’ position. Five true waters—black, white, cyan, blue, and indigo—erupted from thin air with a deafening roar, instantly surging over the Papal States’ line. Nearly two thousand soldiers, dozens of armored vehicles, and hidden snipers were swept up by the five streams of true water—some heavy as Mount Tai, some sharp as knives, some chilling to the bone, some hot enough to melt metal, and some exploding like thunder. In the blink of an eye, they were reduced to a wisp of green smoke and vanished.
The rampaging true water surged nearly a thousand meters forward before slowly dissipating. The former position was now a massive sinkhole nearly a hundred meters deep.
“Insolent fools!” Gu Xiechen scoffed, casually retracting the Five-Water Dragon Whisker Fan.
The bearded Colonel stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly grabbed Gu Xiechen, “Kid, with you backing me up, I’m going to turn Paris upside down!”
Gu Xiechen sneered arrogantly, “Naturally. Anyone who dares to bully our people must pay the price!”
Gray-white divine light shot out several feet from his eyes, and a chilling aura swept the surroundings. Jin, who was usually lively and playful around Gu Xiechen, was terrified and huddled in Fuya.Ming’s arms.
Under the almost frenzied, adoring gazes of the Federation officers and soldiers, the main force roared into Paris.