These past few days, Qi Zhimu had barely closed his eyes, repeatedly deducing various possibilities.
Assuming Shuhu was hiding in the shadows, from which direction would he launch a surprise attack, and which fleet would he strike first?
As for how to defeat Shuhu, that was not within his scope of consideration.
Without the General, it was absolutely impossible to contend with Shuhu with their current military strength; if everyone charged in together, it would certainly be like throwing a meat bun at a dog—a one-way trip with no return.
The Yaoqing Expeditionary Team arrived as scheduled, bringing the subsequent orders from the Xianzhou Alliance.
—Attack the remaining Abomination worlds with full force.
In less than twenty short days, the Cloud Knights allied forces liberated the remaining two worlds occupied by Abominations.
The battle report consisted of only two words.
Great Victory.
Within the planet named Nus-V, the massive Cloud Knights fleet hovered high in the sky.
On the surface, countless Cloud Knights who had not yet returned to the fleet shouted in unison, singing praises for the victory of this expedition.
The deafening sound echoed through the sky.
The crisis had dissipated, and almost everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
In about another month, the Star Skiff at the rear would be able to sail to this location and safely pass through this sector of space.
The Yaoqing Xianzhou was faster; it was currently in a deceleration phase and was scheduled to moor here in two days to wait, preventing any accidents from occurring.
That is to say, guarding against Shuhu.
Regardless of whether the deductions of the Divination Commission were precise or whether they would become the future, the Alliance would never relax its vigilance.
It was better to believe it might happen than to assume it wouldn't.
No one could bear the price.
Mo Tingquan let out a long breath and looked at Qi Zhimu, who was standing at the front of the warship's deck.
"Should we choose to sail back later, or stay behind to rendezvous with the Yaoqing and the Azure City?"
"The General's order is to stay behind, but I want to sail back," Qi Zhimu frowned.
"Why?"
"I can't quite say."
"Uh..."
Mo Tingquan gave a helpless smile.
This was the first time he had heard Qi Zhimu use the phrase "can't quite say" to describe the current situation.
"How many indigenous humans remain in this world?"
"Most were transformed into Abominations by the Borisin Nest Fathers or became food... less than a million remain," Mo Tingquan said with a frown.
Civilizations plundered and enslaved by Abominations of Abundance almost all met their end in this manner.
"Sleeping Snow, Clear Cold."
Qi Zhimu suddenly spoke.
"Your subordinates are here."
The two sisters stepped forward from behind and knelt respectfully.
On the surface of their armor, there were still traces of blood splattered from the Abominations.
"Make arrangements to transfer all those survivors to the containment ships and send them to the Azure City immediately."
"As you command!"
Sleeping Snow and the other immediately set off.
The ecology of this world had been almost entirely destroyed by the Abominations of Abundance; it was nearly impossible for humans to continue surviving here.
Every time the Xianzhou Alliance liberated a world, they would temporarily transfer the indigenous refugees and find a suitable civilization to settle them in during the voyage.
All the aftermath work was proceeding in an orderly fashion, only waiting to start the containment ships' engines to return to the Azure City.
The dust had settled, and the allied forces rested on the spot, waiting for the flagship to arrive... Late at night, in the starry sky of the universe.
Through the window, Qi Zhimu gazed in the direction where the Azure City was located.
He didn't know how his mother was doing at this moment; the time for her to fall into the Mara-Struck state was likely within these few years... However, Qi Zhimu was not too worried at the moment.
If his mother was about to be led into extinction by the Ten-Lords Commission Judges, Teng Xiao would have someone bring him the news immediately.
At least... he would be able to see her one last time.
Clang—
Qi Zhimu drew the long sword from his waist and gazed at it quietly.
The silver blade reflected his face.
This was the sword his mother had once used, forged by his father's own hands.
He was not fighting alone.
"Mother, I'll be able to return soon..."
Just as he finished speaking, Qi Zhimu's expression suddenly changed drastically.
In the starry sky, several planets that had long been silent were converging toward the center, their speed terrifying to the extreme.
In almost just a few breaths, they collided with a roar, swallowing the vast majority of the Cloud Knights fleet stationed there in the process.
Space twisted and shattered like torn silk.
A massive shadow emerged from the colliding planets—
It had no specific form, but was a mass of constantly writhing and shifting flesh.
Soon, the flesh transformed into a giant tree walking through the starry sky, its branches and buds extending, blooming with faces full of eerie smiles.
"Shuhu!!"
Qi Zhimu gave a sharp order without a second thought.
"All remaining ships, enter combat status! Contact the Xianzhou flagship and request immediate support from the General!"
The unease in his heart had finally become a reality.
This time, Yueque was right, and the Divination Commission was also right.
No wonder they couldn't find any subsequent traces of Shuhu; he had been hiding within the five worlds attacked by the Cloud Knights.
Qi Zhimu saw half of the process before Shuhu appeared.
It was simply appalling.
Those five planets had actually grown terrifying tumors, and after crashing together, they fused rapidly, finally becoming Shuhu.
In other words, during this campaign that lasted several months... they had all been jumping around on Shuhu's face.
"Communications are being interfered with! Signals cannot be sent out!"
An anxious report came from behind.
"Repeatedly send coordinates and distress signals to the flagship! All weapon systems, commence attack immediately, and at the same time, pull away to a safe distance at full speed!"
Looking from afar, Qi Zhimu could even see familiar faces on Shuhu's body.
Most of them were comrades he had fought alongside!
Damn it!
Qi Zhimu understood everything.
The five worlds occupied by Abominations, those resistances that didn't seem like big trouble, were all traps.
Shuhu had split into five Abomination worlds, using the Power of Abundance to spawn Borisin and other Abominations to lure the Cloud Knights to come on an expedition.
Every life that died became nourishment for him to strengthen himself.
And now, he no longer needed to hide his true face.
"All remaining ships, hear my command—"
Qi Zhimu's voice spread through the surviving fleet via the internal frequency.
"Disperse and break through at full speed!"
But it was too late.
The giant tree's branches extended rapidly, slicing through space at an unspeakable, terrifying speed, entangling, piercing, and devouring warships and starships.
The energy shields were like thin paper before those branches, and the ship hulls were easily torn apart.
Screams, explosions, and the screeching of twisting metal blended together.
The ship Qi Zhimu was on was pierced by three branches, and the alarm sound pierced his eardrums.
"Guard Qi! The power compartment is destroyed! We..."
"Abandon ship!"
Qi Zhimu was decisive.
"All Cloud Knights, enter the emergency escape pods! All Vanguards, activate the cangxing battle armor and follow me to cover the retreat!"
Including Qi Zhimu, there were only five Cloud Knight Vanguards left who could still be contacted.
By the time they rushed out of the command cabin, the ship's hull disintegrated instantly.
Suspended in the starry sky, Qi Zhimu swung his sword to sever the incoming branches, fighting and retreating with his comrades to protect the evacuating Cloud Knights.
His gaze swept across the surroundings, and his expression turned extremely grim.
The vast majority of the Cloud Knights allied forces had been devoured by Shuhu, and the casualties were extremely heavy.
Even the most elite Cloud Knights had no power to resist an Emanator of an Aeon.
Qi Zhimu had known this for a long time, and had even witnessed such cruelty.
But seeing it again after several hundred years, a towering fire of hatred still ignited in his chest.
"Eh... is it you?"
On a branch attacking Qi Zhimu, a face suddenly manifested.
"Mu'er, it's father. Do you know how much father has missed you..."
"Get lost—"