Rebirth of the Super Battleship-Chapter 755: Faith

Xiao Yu was carefully observing the situation on this life-bearing planet. Under his control, the optical telescope swept across swaths of jungle, mountain ranges, oceans, and deserts, each in turn entering Xiao Yu’s field of view. Even though he was still tens of millions of kilometers away from this planet, if he wished, his optical telescope could clearly distinguish even a single grain of sand on its surface.

Xiao Yu saw chaotic flames of war, saw bustling cities, and saw tranquil countryside. In this manner, Xiao Yu observed everything on this planet.

“I suppose their civilization still retains memories of me. My image data might have been passed down through ancient traditions all the way to today. When I appear, they might treat me as a creator god and worship me. Hmm, it is also possible that my image data and all memories of me have completely vanished in the long river of history. After all, ten thousand years have already gone by. But that does not matter. No matter how far I have fallen, even if I have only a single Town-Class spaceship left, dealing with a preliminary civilization is still a matter of ease for me.” Xiao Yu thought silently.

In Xiao Yu’s mind, plans were already taking shape. In just a short moment, a scheme to control the entire planet by making use of religion and gods had formed within his thoughts. When facing such a preliminary civilization, strange, unfounded things like religion and gods were the most effective tools.

But an unexpected situation occurred. Xiao Yu discovered that ever since the death of the Specter companion, his luck had truly been abysmal, to an extreme limit.

In Xiao Yu’s optical telescope, a gigantic figure flashed by. Xiao Yu’s heart trembled in shock, and he immediately adjusted the relevant parameters of the telescope, beginning to track that fleeting figure.

His view swept past majestic mountains, vast oceans, and endless grasslands, then all these scenes quickly shrank in Xiao Yu’s sight. This was because Xiao Yu had adjusted the telescope’s parameters. With this change of perspective, Xiao Yu rapidly caught up to that enormous figure.

What Xiao Yu saw made him involuntarily draw in a sharp breath of cold air. He finally saw clearly what that thing was.

It was a lifeform, an Alien Beast. It was roughly ten kilometers in length. Its dark green, irregular body had six limbs in total, which seemed like claws, yet also like tails. Xiao Yu studied its bodily structure, then quickly concluded, “This is a Level 3 Alien Beast.”

A Level 3 Alien Beast, for the old Xiao Yu, had been nothing more than an insignificant existence that could be taken down by deploying at most a single County-Class spaceship. But things were different now. At present, Xiao Yu had only a single Town-Class spaceship, and that Town-Class spaceship had suffered extremely serious damage. Not only could it no longer perform curvature flight, its offensive and defensive capabilities had also been greatly affected.

“It has not discovered my whereabouts yet. What should I do now?” Xiao Yu thought silently. “Do I simply leave here and look for another place to rest and recuperate, or do I rush in and kill it? Because it is constructed with the most advanced materials, this Town-Class spaceship still barely has the ability to take it down, but in the process of its resistance, it might cause additional damage to the Hope spaceship. If my main control computer is harmed, that would be a huge problem.”

“But… there is a preliminary civilization here that has already entered the Age of Nations. Although their level of technology can be ignored, under my command they can still exert a considerable effect. Roughly estimating, this preliminary civilization could at least shorten my recuperation time from several thousand years to a few dozens of years.”

Xiao Yu fell into contradiction. After a long moment, he gritted his teeth. “Do it. What is there to be afraid of, it is only a Level 3 Alien Beast. It cannot stir up any real waves in front of me. I must repair the Hope spaceship as quickly as possible. I am currently in an extremely low Luck Value state. Every extra day I drag this out is one more day of risk.”

Xiao Yu primarily evaluated two risk factors. One was the risk brought by confronting this Level 3 Alien Beast, and the other was the risk of spending several thousand years repairing himself and encountering further unexpected incidents during that span. In the end, Xiao Yu made his choice. He would rather confront this Level 3 Alien Beast than wait several thousand more years.

“It has not discovered my presence yet. Perhaps I can launch a sneak attack on it.” Xiao Yu thought. “If the sneak attack goes smoothly, a single Spatial Bomb or a few attacks of Spatial Rift should be enough to kill it.”

“I do not know why, but this Level 3 Alien Beast has been circling around this life-bearing planet without attacking the life on its surface. But that is even better. If it had already caused severe damage to this life-bearing planet, my subsequent plans would be affected.”

Xiao Yu quietly adjusted the appearance and color of the Hope spaceship, dimming its armor to the darkest possible shade, erasing all traces of himself in the visible spectrum, and then using other methods to eliminate every form of radiation signature and the traces left by the conventional engine. Only then did he begin quietly approaching this life-bearing planet.

—

At this moment, something of great importance to the natives of this planet was happening on its surface.

“Your Majesty, it is time to make a decision. The god has already abandoned us, has even taken away Tianhuang Star. Our nation has lost the favor of the god. The demon has manifested, is coveting us, attempting to devour us all. Which path our nation should choose, we beg Your Majesty to make clear.”

In a palace, a native intelligent being in splendid clothing lay prostrate on the ground, speaking to another intelligent being seated before him on a symbol of supreme power and status.

The intelligent being addressed as ‘Your Majesty’ seemed to be steeped in inner conflict. He lowered his thinking organ and sank into deep contemplation. Many others were present in the palace. At this moment, they were all silent, waiting for the highest authority of the kingdom to make his decision.

“National Preceptor, have you had any sensations recently?” After a long time, the emperor raised his head, looked at a person standing in front of him, and asked.

“Replying to Your Majesty, ever since Tianhuang Star vanished and the god abandoned our nation, I have not received any sensations for dozens of years. But starting yesterday, I suddenly began sensing something again. The difference is that this time, what I sensed was no longer the god, but the demon… The demon told me that if we do not choose to submit to it, it will bring about the end of the world and destroy our entire world…” The intelligent being lay prostrate on the ground, speaking in a trembling voice. “Your Majesty, the god has already abandoned us. If the demon can protect us, then what is wrong with worshiping the demon?”

“National Preceptor, do not spout such alarmist nonsense!” At this moment, another intelligent being with an extremely robust body jumped out and shouted harshly, “We are all children of the god. Our world was also created by the god. For the god to leave us and abandon us, there must be something we have done wrong. Perhaps this demonic incursion is a test from the god. How can we sink into decadence and turn to worship the demon? The nations around us have already been bewitched by the demon. They claim to have received its decree and have launched holy war upon our nation. Hmph, a bunch of ignorant fools. When the god returns, he will naturally punish them. National Preceptor, I ask you, if they are ignorant, must you be ignorant as well?”

After the grand general finished speaking, he turned to look at the emperor in front of him. But the emperor still did not speak.

“Your Majesty, you must not waver!” the grand general shouted. “Our nation is the true kingdom of the divine realm. We absolutely cannot betray the god!”

“I have never wavered.” The emperor shook his head and said calmly, “My faith in the god has always been unwavering and will not change. I have decided that we will once again hold a rite of repentance, to beg for the god’s forgiveness and return. If the god still refuses to return, I will take my own life before the statue of the god, sacrificing my life to plead for the god’s forgiveness on our behalf. As for you, National Preceptor…”

The emperor paused, and the National Preceptor’s body began to tremble slightly.

“Your faith in the god ought to have been the deepest of all, yet now you have wavered and would offer your soul to the demon. You should no longer remain in this world…”

The National Preceptor collapsed completely onto the floor. At that moment, several guards rushed forward and dragged him out. The emperor then stood up and led the assembled crowd once more toward the rear of the palace.

Countless people, including the emperor, the grand general, and the guards, all prostrated themselves on the ground, piously worshiping the statue before them. They maintained this posture for several hours.

One guard happened to raise his head and glance at the sky, and he suddenly cried out in despair, “The demon has come!”

In the sky, the dark green, colossal body of that Level 3 Alien Beast was slowly emerging, and an aura of world-destroying slaughter began to fill the heavens. Chaos erupted instantly upon the land.

“God, do you still refuse to forgive us?” the emperor cried out in despair. “I am guilty. I am willing to give my life in exchange for your forgiveness. I only beg that you do not allow your children to be devoured by the demon…”

The emperor drew a short blade and thrust it toward his own body, but before it could pierce him, the grand general stopped him.

The grand general’s body was trembling. Pointing at the sky, he spoke in a shaking voice, “The god, the god has appeared!”

In the sky, a spaceship whose outer shape was very similar to that of the statue suddenly appeared and then charged straight toward that Level 3 Alien Beast.