Chapter 506: Spectre I
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Most people did not believe him when the former space pirate captain said that the other side of the warp jump point was Spectre. No one had left the vicinity of the planet alive before – this was common knowledge for everyone from Gray Valley.
When Ye Chong inquired further, the captain explained that he and his crew were also shocked to find that they were very close to Spectre after they made the warp jump. They left immediately, and by whatever good luck the Heavens bestowed onto them, their escape went without a hitch. It was after they quietly circled their way around the Research Consortium outpost that they finally felt relieved.
Spectre was a dreadful place, but this sentiment could not be appreciated by Ye Chong, who was not from Gray Valley.
The empty stretch of space they were in was long enough for the ships to accelerate towards the warp jump point.
Everyone held their breaths when the first ship did the jump. On the ship were 500 mech pilots, all in battle gear, ready to engage. They were chosen to go through first out as a safety precaution. No one knew what was on the other side.
The first starship accelerated, then accelerated some more, and finally disappeared in a stream of light.
The second ship went, then the third ship …
Haskel, Ye Chong’s ship, went in fifth.
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Beyond Gray Valley, the situation in He Yue Galaxy was worsening. The entire galaxy was now in a state of unrest. The Three Aristocratic Families were all dragged into the war against the red-tailed beasts. The Ye Family fared the best, but they were all barely holding the line. An army of red-tailed beasts had taken control of the Gateway that led to Gray Valley. No one knew what was happening over there. However, the news was comforting to many of the people in He Yue.
Right now, starships carrying numerous civilians came in waves towards Yi Ju for shelter.
The Sang Tribe, a bloodline with a long history, finally resurfaced into the world. The Colllision Army was no longer the assorted crew that people seemed to believe at first. They were the only army that had ever destroyed a red-tailed beast army. The Collision mech that looked like half fitted junk metal had become the symbol of power, a mech that many dreamed to have.
People who could manage long distance space travelling all went to Yi Ju to seek protection.
The Sang Tribe never rejected these refugees. Yi Ju was secluded, with a sparse population. Massive in-migration led to rapid developments on Yi Ju. Schools with high reputation all relocated to the planet. The Sang Tribe had inherited Ye Chong’s thirst for knowledge, rendering special assistance to any academy that wanted to move to Yi Ju. They had first priority, and would sometimes even be aided by transport ships and escorts from the Sang Tribe.
That was not all. Highly skilled workers could apply for protection through the virtual world. The Sang Tribe would request, out of their strong influence, for the local authorities to send these people to Yi Ju. Nowadays, the Sang Tribe was a dominating force. People could hardly afford to say no to their requests. The routes that led to Yi Ju were cleared. In just a short moment, countless fleets bearing the flags of the Sang Tribe made their way towards Yi Ju.
Almost 70 percent of all the educational institutes in He Yue Galaxy had relocated to Yi Ju due to the Sang Tribe’s policies. The planet was now full of talents in all fields. The once backwards Yi Ju had grown into a planet with a huge advantage in technical skills and knowledge. Plenty of civilians were moved to the planets around Yi Ju. Currently, the seven planets around Yi Ju were under the control of the Sang Tribe. However, the cautious Sang Tribe did not expand its territory too quickly. Rapid expansion of power was dangerous to the Sang Tribe, which did not have enough people to back its power.
Most of the members in the leadership were from the Sang Tribe, such as Sang Pu. Qiu Man was tasked with government affairs. In fact, much of the governing structure came from her suggestions. Her expertise in this area won the approval of Sang Pu and his people, and she was unanimously voted to be the highest authority in matters of governance. On the other hand, Sang Pu was made leader of the Collision Army.
Qiu Man examined her situation expertly. She knew exactly what to do to survive. If she made any funny moves right now, it would be like digging her own grave. Their public enemy number one now was the red-tailed beasts. Who knew when Ye Chong would return! Qiu Man harbored a deep fear for that reserved young man.
Without Ye Chong with them, the Sang Tribe did not sink into a state of chaos. On the contrary, they took the opportunity to expand their forces.
Nevertheless, searching for Ye Chong had become the top most priority for the Sang Tribe. They had sent out massive search parties to find Ye Chong. Little Rock had even set up a cutting edge virtual world laboratory. He had much help from the education institutions that moved in to Yi Ju on this. With access to the virtual world, and Little Rock’s terrifying competency, he had set up backdoors in almost every corner of the virtual world in He Yue. These backdoors allowed him to monitor almost everywhere in the galaxy, except for some central areas of the Three Aristocratic Families. He hoped to find Ye Chong through these backdoors.
Currently, the Sang Tribe faced a dilemma. Of the Three Aristocratic Families, the Xue Lai Clan, which fared the worst, had sent representatives to Yi Ju, requesting for assistance.
To help, or not to help. That was the question.
It was a difficult problem for everyone.
Should they decide to help, they would have to deploy the entire Collision Army. The safety on Yi Ju would be compromised. Besides, the journey over would be long, and the risks too high. They would definitely suffer heavily from this endeavor. Most of the Sang Tribe members were against this option. They would rather not sacrifice their own to help outsiders.
On the other hand, rejecting the Xue Lai Clan was not a simple matter. News of the Xue Lai Clan’s request had somehow spread amongst the common people, invoking a massive uproar. These days, almost all the councillors of the education institutions and people of high status or reputation had come forward to Sang Pu and Qiu Man, asking for them to lend assistance to the Xue Lai Clan. It was not only the survival of the Xue Lai Clan at stake. Living in the vicinity of Xue Lai Clan’s headquarters were numerous civilians.
If the Sang Tribe openly rejected to assist the Xue Lai Clan, the common people would surely turn their backs to them. The Sang Tribe’s long nurtured relationship with the common people would be shattered. This would endanger their future as a whole. This was a conclusion that did not require Qiu Man’s expertise to reach. Even a brute like Sang Tie understood the consequences.
The Sang Tribe was a strong militant organization. Their Collision mechs and outstanding war tactics made them the strongest force on the human side of the war. These were the advantages of the Sang Tribe. Their disadvantages were on the technical side of things. The Sang Tribe’s scientific and technical knowledge were primitive compared to that of the Three Aristocratic Families. These would be the bottleneck of the Sang Tribe’s development moving forward. It was why Sang Pu and the leadership spent so much effort in recruiting the education institutions and high skill workers. They had enough talents for now, but still far from developing a technical edge.
If they did not handle this request properly, all their efforts before will go to waste.
If only their good sir was here! That was probably what most of them were thinking. In critical moments like these, they needed a leader who was willing to make decisions and act on them. However, their leader, Ye Chong was nowhere to be found at the moment.
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After all the starships did their warp jumps successfully, Ye Chong exhaled in relief.
However, it was not time to rest just yet. This place was rumored to be cursed, and it intrigued Ye Chong.
This was a dangerous place!
Ye Chong organized his fleet into groups of starships so that the fleet would not be thrown into confusion if they were under attack.
“Conduct a maximum range scan of our surroundings.” This was Ye Chong’s second order, right after they organized the fleet.
“Sir! Red-tailed beasts sighted!”
Everyone paled when they heard the report. Even Ye Chong looked disturbed. They had rested, but the mech pilots were still far from being at their best. They were not fully ready for battle.
It was terrible news indeed if they encountered any red-tailed beasts right now!
Ye Chong did not panic, however. Calmly, he said, “Show me the feed.”
“Yes sir.”
On the holographic screen were a few red-tailed beasts, floating in outer space, watching the brown colored planet that was Spectre. They were oblivious to the starships that were now behind them. Ye Chong was calm by now. They had no choice but to engage. They were too close to the red-tailed beasts. The odds of escaping were not in their favor. The red-tailed beasts were so much faster than their starships.
Instead of escaping, they should initiate an attack!
On the other hand, Ye Chong noticed that the red-tailed beasts were scattered around in a disorganized fashion. There were not too many of them, about 200 in total. To Ye Chong’s fleet, this was only a tiny army.
Abruptly, Ye Chong stood up. “Zoom in and focus.”
The staff in charge quickly executed the order.
“Zoom in further.”
The image was further enlarged.
“Focus on the red-tailed beast.”
Parts of a red-tailed beast took up the holographic screen.
Ye Chong’s eyes twinkled. He said lowly, “The upper body!”
The camera angled towards the creature’s upper body. The edges were blurry now, but the zoomed in view drew everyone’s attention to something peculiar on the holographic screen.
