Chapter 108: War Erupts
Chapter 108: War Erupts
The unending sounds of explosions grew louder and louder.
"Kelly, check what's happening," commanded General Edward.
Kelly rushed out of the palace and returned shortly after.
"This is bad! The Divine Empire launched a sudden offensive! An intense battle has started outside the planet!" she reported anxiously.
"See? The sly Fille has clearly made use of these foolish kids," said Principal Sosse.
Everyone was at a loss for words. The change had come so suddenly, and this wasn't a twist inexperienced youngsters like us could easily wrap our heads around.
"Everyone, return to your positions. Prince Toruse, you'll be in charge of protecting the king, the duke, and the other officials. As for these envoys, place them under temporary arrest," commanded Edward.
Kelly shot Zhang Xingxing a sullen glance before rushing off. Edward and Angela left next.
"Team Leader, Canyue, come to my palace. I'll have to inconvenience you guys for a bit," said Toruse apologetically.
"I understand. This change is too sudden. We also need some time to think," said Zhang Xingxing.
About twenty soldiers stepped forth to escort us. Toruse would lead us all to his palace. Before leaving, Zhang Xingxing and Old Du gave King Yido and Duke Yidon a bow to show their respects. Everyone followed Prince Toruse to his personal palace.
"Canyue, I'll look for a chance to release all of you. I won't hand you guys to the Interstellar League no matter what," whispered the prince to me.
"Thanks, brother. I'm not worried about that at all. I am, however, disgusted and sick of these politicians and their schemes," I said gloomily.
"You need to get used to it. These people have way too complicated thoughts. I am also having a hard time adapting to them. But for the kingdom, I can only force myself to learn," said the prince.
Soon, we arrived at the prince's palace. The palace was actually located beside the audience hall.
"Canyue, Team Leader, I'll have to trouble you to stay here for a bit. I need to head to the command and learn more about what's happening," said the prince, clearly in a hurry.
"Go. We'll be fine," said Zhang Xingxing.
The prince then rushed off.
"Canyue, I checked. There are only six guards outside. We are still fully armed. He is obviously creating an opportunity for us to run," said Zhang Bao'er the moment the prince left.
"How should we escape? Which side are we on after escaping? We don't even know the status of the battle," said Old Du.
I walked to the window and looked out at the sky. Vague silhouettes of massive battleships could be seen moving around while the bright explosions outside the planet were visible all the way to the surface of the planet.
"The battle is probably very intense," said Master Crystal, standing beside me.
"Without a ship, we can't do anything," said Dodo.
"If possible, I would rather join the league and fight the Eternals with them," said Titan.
"It's not like those from the league are good guys. All of them are unscrupulous people who only care for benefits," said Domo.
"We can't lump everyone together. General Edward and Kelly are both good people," said Zhang Xingxing.
"Tasse, what exactly is the emperor planning? He tricked us to set off as envoys while planning an assault at the same time. Is he trying to get us killed?" demanded Zhang Bao'er as he grabbed Tasse's collars.
"I don't know, but I believe there is something we don't know at work here," said Tasse.
"Bao'er, don't trouble him. I feel like he is also clueless," I said.
"Canyue, what should we do now? The battle out there is becoming very intense, yet they have warriors like us locked here? What is the meaning of this?" Zhang Bao'er was becoming agitated again.
"Team Leader, based on our current circumstances, I propose that we think of a way to escape before thinking of what to do next," said Old Du.
"How do we escape? We don't even have a ship," said Zhang Xingxing.
"I don't believe a big kingdom like this won't have a single battleship. Just knock one of the guards out and question him," said Zhang Bao'er.
"No, that isn't proper. There is no need to create needless conflict. I have an idea," I said.
"What do you have in mind? Out with it already!" said Zhang Bao'er, growing visibly excited.
"Domo, I need to borrow your cloak of invisibility yet again. I'll use my thrusters and your cloak to leave with you and Dondon and scout around. Everyone else, wait for me here," I said.
"No! I want to go too! Why are you always the one getting to play hero? I'll report you if you don't take me as well!" Zhang Bao'er threw a tantrum.
Everyone did not know whether to laugh or cry. He was actually throwing a tantrum like a child during a moment like this.
"Alright. Canyue, take him with you. You can look out for each other. We'll cover your departure here," said Zhang Xingxing.
"Roger," I answered.
The four of us immediately approached the window. Domo took out two cloaks and handed them to me and Bao'er.
"Go invisible. Prepare to move out," I said after lifting Dondon up.
"Wait, I'm not working with this fatty. He's not capable enough to be my partner," protested Domo.
'Great. Who can I complain to for having these two on a mission with me?' I thought to myself.
Not wanting to keep arguing, I lifted Domo. He draped the cloak over us, and the cloak immediately projected our surroundings to make us invisible. Meanwhile, I slowly dropped to the ground from the window with my thrusters working at minimum capacity.
"Bao'er, are you here?" I asked through the communicator.
"I'm on the ground," said Bao'er.
The battle outside the planet was exceptionally bitter. I could even see the broken piece of a destroyed battleship entering the atmosphere before burning brightly.
"There seems to be an exit at the wall ahead. Let's take a look," I said.
We ran toward the exit. While running, I noticed something odd. Despite the intense battle, it was extremely calm and quiet in the palace. In fact, not a single person was spotted around us.
"Canyue, why is this palace so empty? I can't see anyone," asked Zhang Bao'er.
"I'm wondering the same, but ignore that for now. Focus on looking for a flying vehicle," I said.
Before long, we reached the exit. Since no guards were in sight, we took off our cloaks. Surprisingly, we found that the exit was locked by a dual-layered electromagnetic system upon approaching it.
When we looked up, we saw countless electromagnetic muzzles at the upper section of the wall. These muzzles were constantly releasing invisible electromagnetic waves, forming a powerful defensive system that served to prevent any intrusions.
"My god, this is a top-tier defensive system. It feels almost as good as what the imperial palace has," exclaimed Zhang Bao'er.
"No wonder they don't need guards here," I said.
"That's no trouble at all. Don't you have your morph-capable shields? Just walk through it," said Domo.
"Stupid dwarf. Our shields are morph-capable, but look at the electromagnetic waves. They cover every single angle and leave no openings. How are we supposed to morph through something like that? Why don't you volunteer to walk through?" said Zhang Bao'er.
Domo, who didn't understand how our morph-capable shields worked, had practically opened himself up for this abuse. He decided to shut his mouth in fury.
"Domo, I remember you said that your time door relies on the electromagnetic system of Planet Lidu. Can you make use of the system here? It's so powerful, after all," I asked.
"What bullshit electromagnetic waves are these? My transportation system is very energy intensive. The energy here will be far from enough. Unless..." Domo trailed off.
During that pause, an even louder explosion came from the sky. The constant explosions were causing all of us to slowly turn impatient.
"Unless what?" I asked with impatience.
"Um, for this, well, 10 gold coins," Domo slowly said.
A loud "bang" rang out, startling Dondon, who was sneakily snacking on some crackers, and causing him to drop the pack of crackers.
"You damn dwarf! Gold coins are completely unrelated to energy! Why are you thinking about money all the time?" Zhang Bao'er raged.
"Gold coins are greatly related to motivation. Motivation is a type of power as well," argued Domo.
"Deal. I'll pay you 10 gold coins," I replied.
"Excellent! I'll get to it immediately," replied Domo in excitement.
"You're letting him scam you all the time. From now on, I'll start charging for work as well," grumbled Zhang Bao'er.
Because the explosions in the sky were intensifying, I wasn't in the mood to be bothered with Zhang Bao'ers antics. With his device, Domo attempted to produce a time door. He did not lie. Unlike Lidu, this planet was not fully covered by an electromagnetic system. Just the little bit of electromagnetic energy on the wall was rather insufficient to create a time door. However, Domo was still rather capable despite how greedy he was. It did not take him long to activate his device. A time door appeared before us.
"Go through quickly! My energy won't last long!" said Domo.
I was the first to rush through. The rest followed behind me. After leaving the palace, we were faced with an expansive grassland of ash-gray grasses. At the end of the grassland, I could actually see an airport housing all the fighter crafts. There, the Akko army's bird-shaped fighters could be seen taking off and landing continuously.
"Good thing we managed to get out! There really is an airport nearby!" said Zhang Bao'er in excitement.
"We have limited time. Move immediately. Our goal is to snatch two fighters from the airport." I added, "Dondon, send the coordinates of the airport to Team Leader Zhang Xingxing immediately."
"Roger," Dondon answered before contacting Zhang Xingxing with the communicator.
We prepared for the operation. After donning the cloaks of invisibility, we rushed toward the airport.
"Canyue, I can't contact the team leader and the others. Only static sound is coming from the communicator," said Dondon.
"What's going on? We're not even 100 meters away from them. Why is the communicator not working?" I asked doubtfully.
"It must be the electromagnetic system around the wall. It is stopping signal transmissions," said Domo.
"That's likely. We can't do anything for now. Get moving. We'll get the fighters before coming back for them," I decided.
And thus, the mission began. The airport was roughly three kilometers away. With the help of our thrusters, we were able to move rapidly. Right as we were about to reach the airport, a massive sound came from the sky. We raised our heads and saw countless Milky Wayclass battleships from the Divine Empire entering the atmosphere.
"This is bad. The league has been defeated. The imperial fleet has probably broken through their defensive line," Zhang Bao'er exclaimed with worry.
"There will probably be a chaotic battle once they reach the surface. We need to get the fighters promptly and ensure the team is safe," I said.
The four of us started making a plan to snatch the fighters we needed.