Chapter 53
Five Cloud Knight armies from the Cangcheng set out this time, each heading to different worlds overrun by abominations according to their assigned orders.
Even at the maximum speed of March-class warships, it would take dozens of days to reach the target star system.
The first intelligence reports sent back by scout ships left the leading Vanguards grim-faced.
The Divination Commission had been correct.
This campaign would be perilous.
The various Borisin hunting packs had claimed the worlds along the route. After devouring the conquered civilizations, their numbers and combat strength had grown explosively.
If the Cloud Knights followed the original plan of separate frontal assaults, the fighting would quickly fall into a stalemate.
The emergency military meeting lasted six system hours.
The final strategy was set: a "sharp knife" tactic.
The most elite forces from all five armies were pulled together under Tomomu Kanzaki's command to form a strike fleet. They would attack the fallen worlds one by one.
The goal was to weaken the abominations of abundance as quickly as possible and throw their forces into disarray.
Abominations of abundance came in many species. Without a powerful leader to unite them, they often turned on one another.
If not for the terrifying speed at which Yaoshi created new abominations, the creatures might have wiped out half their own numbers through internal conflict before the Xianzhou ever arrived.
The Cloud Knights intended to exploit that weakness and strike before the enemy could react.
After more than a year of rest and reinforcement, the core elite units of the Cloud Knights were far stronger than before.
The remaining forces were merged into the other four detachments. They would split up to pin down the abominations on the other worlds, launching feints and harassment operations to prevent any reinforcements from reaching the planets Tomomu Kanzaki targeted.
A life-and-death war of attrition had officially begun.
Bloody battles had a way of making time blur together.
Tomomu Kanzaki led his forces in the conquest of four abomination worlds in succession. When the battle reports reached the Cangcheng, the atmosphere aboard the ship grew steadily more tense.
Over a year earlier, the Xianzhou Yuque had issued a warning: within the next three years, a catastrophe no less severe than the Yueque Disaster could strike the Cangcheng.
After months of joint calculations by the Divination Commissions of Yueque and Cangcheng, the source had been narrowed to the Emanator of Abundance, Shuhu.
Just over four months after Tomomu Kanzaki departed, the Divination Commission finally detected fresh traces of Shuhu's activity.
The calculations showed the location overlapped exactly with the star system where the Cloud Knights were fighting.
The news was relayed to the highest levels of the Xianzhou Alliance through the Huangzhong Resonance System and caused an immediate stir.
After an emergency session, the Xianzhou Yaoqing—which had originally planned to travel alongside the Cangcheng—changed course and raced toward Tomomu Kanzaki's location at full speed.
The General of the Yaoqing personally oversaw the operation. To guard against any diversion, he ordered his Sword Champion to proceed to the Cangcheng and assist with its defense.
With General Teng Xiao and two Sword Champions now protecting it, the Cangcheng had become an impenetrable fortress.
The neighboring Xianzhou Luofu had also entered full combat readiness, prepared to dispatch Cloud Knights at a moment's notice.
An ironclad defensive formation was in place. No matter which side Shuhu chose to strike, the Alliance would be ready.
The most urgent task now was to pinpoint Shuhu's exact location.
If this Emanator made a move, the Cloud Knights currently fighting in that star system could be wiped out entirely.
That was why the Yaoqing was rushing to their aid at top speed.
Just as Tomomu Kanzaki prepared to lead his army against the fifth abomination world, urgent new intelligence arrived.
"Shuhu may be lurking in this star system…?"
The short message made the air in the command cabin turn ice-cold.
Tomomu Kanzaki spoke at once, canceling the attack order.
"Signal all three armies: maintain blockade formation and lock the target planet inside the fire network. Hold position and await further orders within three system hours."
"Understood!"
Tomomu Kanzaki stood by the viewport, staring at the distant planet swarming with abominations.
Behind him, Mo Tingquan stepped forward and stood at his side.
"If Shuhu is really here, why hasn't he shown himself? We have already crushed four worlds. If that creature simply watches without acting, isn't it letting us weaken its own forces?"
Mo Tingquan's question echoed Tomomu Kanzaki's own doubts.
"Unless… it wants us to take these worlds," he offered a bold possibility.
Mo Tingquan looked stunned, unable to grasp the logic.
If Tomomu Kanzaki was right, what deeper purpose could Shuhu have?
"Could the divination be mistaken? In star calendar year 5749, during the Second Abundance Plague War on the Yueque, the Divination Commission failed to foresee the disaster in time."
"This latest intelligence was jointly calculated by the Divination Commissions of Yueque and Cangcheng. Military orders are absolute. Until we have more reliable information, we can only wait," Tomomu Kanzaki said, shaking his head.
Mo Tingquan pulled up the data stream, his brow furrowed.
"The report says the traces are recent, but it cannot confirm whether Shuhu is still present."
"It could also be a deliberate trail," Tomomu Kanzaki added.
He fell into thoughtful silence before continuing.
"If I were Shuhu and faced five Cloud Knight armies, I would not bother with tricks. I would strike the moment we met. The Xianzhou flagship would never arrive in time to save us."
Mo Tingquan stroked his chin. "Maybe he wants to wait until the final world and wipe us out in one blow?"
Tomomu Kanzaki said nothing.
Shuhu might have such a plan, but he doubted it was the main reason.
At the Xianzhou's speed, the ship would reach this system in less than two months.
The Yaoqing's support fleet would arrive even sooner, in about one month. If the main Hunt expedition fleet were sent at full speed, it would take only ten days.
In previous brutal battles, Shuhu had kept the Xianzhou Generals occupied while his minions launched massive assaults.
But if he lost billions of minions to pin down the Cloud Knights, Shuhu alone would stand no chance against two Xianzhou Generals.
Three system hours passed quickly.
The new orders arrived on schedule.
"Maintain formation and await reinforcements. Estimated arrival: ten days. Remain at maximum alert during this period."
"If the abominations of abundance attempt to break out, use the fire network to drive them back."
"Until further authorization is received, surface combat on abomination worlds is strictly prohibited."
After Tomomu Kanzaki finished reading the orders, the Vanguards in the command cabin exchanged glances.
It seemed the Alliance had decided to let the Yaoqing's elite forces arrive first. Once the two armies linked up, they could sweep through the remaining two worlds like a scythe through dry grass.
Yet Tomomu Kanzaki felt a faint, lingering unease.
The battles of the past months had gone relatively smoothly. The enemy was dangerous, but Cloud Knight casualties had stayed low.
That did not match the dire predictions from the Divination Commission.
And Shuhu's traces had been detected at precisely the right moment… It felt as though an invisible hand were guiding events forward.
With so few clues, however, he could only follow orders.
"Signal all ships to maintain the encirclement. Rotate guard shifts and keep every crew member alert. Run the detection radar arrays at full power. Report any anomaly immediately."
"Yes!"
For long-lived species, ten days was not a long wait.
March-class ships and countless combat starships hung motionless in the silent void.
Inside every vessel, Cloud Knight soldiers remained on edge, weapons never far from reach.
The radar arrays swept every corner of the star system, yet they detected only the familiar signals from the abomination worlds.
There was no trace of Shuhu.
Several large abomination coalitions tried to break out on multiple occasions, only to be forced back by the fire network.
Ten days passed with nothing more than minor skirmishes.
Everything remained strangely, unnervingly calm.