Chapter 723: The Ultimate Battle

Chapter 723: The Ultimate Battle

Chapter 723: The Ultimate Battle

After the meeting concluded, over ten thousand Annihilator Ships quickly reappeared in the sky above the Floating Continent. As the Annihilator Ships soared into the sky, the three hyperdimensional flagships remained unseen.

In the secluded space, nearly twenty Flame-Ember Starships still lingered.

Apart from the three hyperdimensional flagships, there were also representatives from the Beidou Seven Star Hall, including the Tianlang Hall Master and the Gumen Hall Master, as well as two Galactic Ship Captains from the Xianqin Heavy Industries Group. Additionally, two princes of the Chiyu Divine Empire's Ji Imperial Family were present.

Although the Ji Emperor of the Chiyu Divine Empire did not participate in the Civilization War this time, it was not due to a lack of willingness, but because he needed to oversee the Human Mythic Land. Each of the four Great Emperors of the Human Flame had a flagship with near-mythic combat power. With the aid of the majestic Human Emperor City, they could even unleash mythic-level strength.

To ensure the safety of the Human Emperor City, one of the four Emperors had to remain behind. This was not a matter of choice but a necessary measure to safeguard the core strength of the Human Flame civilization.

Additionally, there were four more individuals in the secluded space, each commanding an Annihilator Ship.

Who else could they be but the four members of the Spine Dragon Song Family?

"Spine Dragon Song Family, I must ask you, are the intelligence regarding the Veritas Mechanica and the Stellar Giant Ape Civilization truly reliable? This concerns the future of the Human Flame, so think carefully before you speak."

"Your Majesty, every word I've said is true, and we have recordings from our Flame-Ember Starships to prove it. The Song Family would never dare to lie!"

In response to the inquiry of the ancient Xianxia Empire's ruler, Song Wujian's tone was incredibly respectful, speaking with utmost sincerity and without any concealment.

"Project the recordings!"

Upon hearing this, a beam of light shot out from Song Wujian's flagship, the Dinghai Longxiang, and projected a special screen in the center of the secluded space.

The screen displayed footage recorded by the family's Shadow Department over the past few years, capturing scenes from the Veritas Mechanica territory and the frontlines of the Civilization War.

Once the video finished playing, the three Human Emperors from the hyperdimensional flagships nodded in agreement.

"Excellent, they are indeed two relatively ordinary top-tier civilizations. If I'm not mistaken, those Star Sea giant apes should be descendants of the peak species, the Chaos Demon Ape."

After confirming this, they also inspected the spatial wormhole generator component on the Dinghai Longxiang. If the plan were to be implemented, a stable transfer channel would be crucial. Otherwise, the vast distance of trillions of light-years would make large-scale relocation extremely difficult.

"Very well. If this plan succeeds, the Spine Dragon Song Family will be credited with a great achievement. There will be ample rewards, but for now, you must not disclose any information!"

"Alright, you may all leave now!"

...

No one knew the specific agreements reached between the three Human Emperors of the four great empires and the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon civilization. However, during the subsequent decade of preparation, the Human Flame fleet gathered outside the Eight-Armed Demon God Floating Continent did not suffer any attacks.

Time passed swiftly, and ten years flew by.

During these ten years, the Human Flame fleet, numbering only a few million, made final preparations. Each faction was preparing their trump cards.

One of the immortal noble families, with a legacy spanning ten thousand years, brought out a golden-grade group defense enhancement component capable of binding up to a million warships. They cooperated with their allies, and within half a month, all the binding slots were allocated.

Another immortal giant faction brought out a black-grade component that doubled attack, defense, and speed attributes. Although it only had ten thousand binding slots, it attracted significant interest from many factions.

As part of this elite fleet, the Song Family naturally revealed their trump card: the Azure Dragon Star Map.

This golden-grade strategic component, after being upgraded to level 80, could bind up to ten million warships. Given the Song Family's current resources, they could only equip it on a sixth-tier Dreadnought. However, with the most elite Captains from the four Divine Empires, the situation was different.

After the Song Family released the relevant information, many factions quickly approached.

Among the first to seek them out was the Tianlang Hall Master from the Beidou Seven Star Hall. Due to the strict recruitment requirements, the Beidou Seven Star Hall had never pursued a mass recruitment strategy. The main hall and seven sub-towers combined had only a few hundred members, so the Song Family readily agreed without hesitation.

Additionally, the Song Family offered two command positions for secondary Azure Dragon Fleets.

At level 80, the Azure Dragon Star Map could divide into ten secondary Azure Dragon Fleets once the number of bound warships exceeded five million. Including the main fleet, there were eleven command positions in total. After reserving four for the Song Family's Annihilator Ships, seven remained. Offering two to the Beidou Seven Star Hall was more than generous.

Indeed, with tens of millions of elite Flame-Ember Starships, the minimum binding requirement for the Azure Dragon Star Map has been raised to the Cruiser class.

Of course, among the tens of millions of warships present, the lowest class is the Cruiser, with no Escort Ships or lower Flame-Ember Starships.

This means that the highest binding warship can be further upgraded to the Annihilator class.

In this way, under the special abilities of the Azure Dragon Star Map, each sub-Azure Dragon Fleet can independently confront an Eighth-Rank Eight-Armed Serpent Demon. Additionally, the attribute enhancements provided by the star map to the bound warships will significantly boost their combat power and enhance their safety.

Recognizing this, once the Song Family released the news about the Azure Dragon Star Map, visitors began to arrive in a steady stream.

Following the Beidou Seven Star Hall, the Xianqin Heavy Industries Group soon followed. Unlike the Beidou Seven Star Hall, which operates with an elite model, the Xianqin Heavy Industries Group has a vast number of members. This time, they came and immediately requested a million slots from the Song Family.

Naturally, the Song Family was unwilling. There are only ten million slots in total, and other factions are also vying for them.

The key is that these other factions are not just talking; they understand the potential of the Azure Dragon Star Map. By securing more slots, they can significantly increase their subsequent merit acquisition, thanks to the Azure Dragon Phantom's enhancement.

This great battle is the final showdown between two top-tier civilizations. To maximize the enthusiasm of their Captains and factions, the four empires, besides verbal encouragement, have chosen to incentivize with tangible rewards.

At the end of the meeting involving ten thousand Annihilator Ships, the four empires jointly established a merit treasure vault, which was then made public.

They also introduced a corresponding merit system.

This merit system is calculated independently; the merits earned during the thousand-year-long Civilization War are not included. All Captains and factions start from the same starting line.

Only the kills obtained in the subsequent great battle will be counted as merits. The higher the merits, the earlier the priority for redemption.

The main reason for the enthusiasm of the various factions is the items in the merit treasure vault.

Even with Song Chi's discerning eye, he was deeply attracted by the items in the vault.

The four empires have placed four lower-level colored components in the vault, along with thirty black components and over a hundred golden components.

Among these are the Golden Apple, the Silver Apple, the Sovereign True Spirit, ore vein cores, and special resources for warship Ascension, as well as additional resources for warship Ascension. From the commanders of Galactic Ships to the commanders of Cruisers, all have been deeply motivated.

Song Chi, of course, is most interested in the four Mythical Artifacts.

One of them is very familiar to him: the Chaos Energy Generator he had seen before.

The Skygale of Tianxu already has the Mythic Pulse Energy Shield, so his interest in this component has waned. The other three are a Mythical Armor, the Primordial Celestial Silver Hull Armor, a spatial component, the Void Warehouse, and a Mythical Star River Cannon, the Arrow of Holy Retribution.

Primordial Celestial Silver Hull Armor (Level 0)

Quality: Colored/Lower

Trait: True Defense

Trait 2: Hull Armor Protection Increased by 200%

Trait 3: Dual Layer Armor

Trait 4: Hull Strength Increased by 200%

Trait 5: After taking damage, the hull armor will automatically recover 5% of the damaged armor per second

Trait 6: Thorny Celestial Silver

Trait 7: Absolute Defense

...

Void Warehouse (Level 0)

Quality: Colored/Lower

Trait: Warship cabin space increased by 200%

Trait 2: Spatial Resistance +1500

Trait 3: Void Body

Trait 4: Warship speed increases based on the abundance of external spatial energy

Trait 5: Purify the spatial energy within the warship, significantly increasing the speed of comprehending spatial secrets, Space Law, and the Spatial Path

Trait 6: Void Storage

Trait 7: Void Warehouse

...

Arrow of Holy Retribution (Level 0)

Quality: Colored/Lower

Trait: Main cannon power increased by 300%

Trait 2: True Damage

Trait 3: Power of Holy Light

Trait 4: Main cannon attacks will always trigger triple critical damage

Trait 5: Main cannon attack speed, cooldown, and energy build-up time will be doubled

Trait 6: Holy Light Mark

Trait 7: Holy Retribution

...

Of these three Mythical components, the Primordial Celestial Silver Hull Armor conflicts somewhat with the neutron star core armor, but Song Chi genuinely wants the other two.

The Arrow of Holy Retribution aside, as the Skygale of Tianxu still has a long way to go before reaching the Galactic Ship class, considering the Star River Cannon now is not too early, but it can wait a bit.

The Void Warehouse component, however, has no such restrictions. As soon as he can redeem it, he can immediately install it.

Moreover, some of its attributes are particularly suitable for the Skygale of Tianxu.

{Void Body: A large amount of void energy will surround the outer hull of the warship, with a 10% chance of dodging external attacks.}

{Void Storage: Consuming 1,000,000 Spiritual Energy points, actively collect a specified inanimate object within the line of sight, and the collected object will appear in the Void Warehouse.}

Void Storage: When equipped on a battleship, it creates a special dimensional space that can be used as a storage area or a prison for the ship.

For an ordinary Ember Captain, this component's attributes would be considered top-notch. However, for Skygale of Tianxu, who has the Pantheon Market as a backup and doesn't lack storage space, it was merely decent.

Especially the "Void Hull" characteristic, which, when combined with the "Inner Chaos Oracle" characteristic of the Chaos Divine Core component, significantly increases the chance of evading external attacks.

The "Void Retrieval" characteristic is a telekinesis ability that, when paired with the Mirage Dragon Pearl and Void Membrane, becomes an incredibly useful skill for secretly picking up items.

Finally, the "Void Storage" characteristic, Song Chi thought, was also quite useful.

He was already aware that the Pantheon Market might not function on the Chaos Divine Land. Having a dimensional space attached to the ship would be extremely beneficial.

...

Despite the Song Family's persistent reluctance, only willing to offer 500,000 slots, the envoy from the Immortal Qin Heavy Industries Group had to present three Ninth-Rank Golden Apples.

His intention was clear: two and a half apples would still be exchanged for the Mechanical Overlord, while the other half would be used to secure one million slots for the Azure Dragon Battlestar, and they also requested two fleet commander positions.

Song Wujian did not refuse this time and agreed.

The Mechanical Overlord was handed over to the Immortal Qin Heavy Industries Group, and they successfully obtained three Ninth-Rank Golden Apples.

Three Ninth-Rank Golden Apples, one of which was used on the Azure Dragon Star Map, doubling the maximum number of ships that could be bound, from ten million to twenty million.

Azure Dragon Battlestar Map Level 90

Quality: Black

Characteristic 1: Azure Dragon Battlestar

Characteristic 2: Azure Dragon Star Formation

Characteristic 3: Azure Dragon Law Domain

Characteristic 4: Double the effects of Characteristic 1

Characteristic 5: Wrath - Azure Dragon World Destroyer Breath

...

Effect: When equipped on a battleship, it becomes the core of the Azure Dragon Star Formation. When the number of surrounding Azure Dragon Battlestars exceeds one million, five secondary Azure Dragon Fleets of 100,000 ships each can be appointed. When the number of surrounding Azure Dragon Battlestars exceeds ten million, five primary Azure Dragon Fleets of one million ships each and twenty secondary Azure Dragon Fleets of 100,000 ships each can be appointed. The primary fleets have greater combat power, but both can fight across ranks. If the fleet's numbers are reduced by more than 30%, the enhancement effects of the Azure Dragon Fleets will disappear.

...

Azure Dragon Battlestar: Consumes 5,000 points of Spiritual Energy. Under voluntary conditions, binds a designated battleship of at least four ranks higher to become an Azure Dragon Battlestar. Currently, a maximum of 20 million can be bound.

Unfortunately, even after being strengthened to the Ninth Rank, the "Azure Dragon Battlestar" characteristic's requirement that the bound ship must be at least four ranks higher than the host ship remained unchanged.

As a result, it could not be loaded onto a Galactic Ship, as even though the Flame-Ember Starships gathered here were elite, they had not yet reached the million-ship level of Huntships.

After all, the majority of the Flame-Ember Civilization's forces were still billions of light-years away, and they needed a large number of mid-rank Flame-Ember Starships to lead them. Otherwise, if they were suddenly attacked by the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon, the loss of low-rank Captains would be too great, putting the entire Flame-Ember Human Civilization at risk of a generational gap.

For a top-tier civilization actively expanding its territory, this was absolutely taboo.

After completing the evolution, the Azure Dragon Star Map almost encompassed half of the elite fleets gathered here. Although the various parties would still divide into more than twenty teams for their missions, the benefits the Song Family gained were substantial.

The remaining two Ninth-Rank Golden Apples were used as follows: one was used on a golden ascension flame source, allowing Ancestor Song Wujian to successfully evolve his Flame Seed into a black one.

Combined with the large amount of resources and Sovereign True Spirits scavenged from the Truth Floating Land, Song Wujian directly upgraded several components on his flagship to Level 90, significantly enhancing the combat power of the Dinghai Longxiang.

The last apple was given to Song Chi.

He had discovered Veritas Mechanica and had paid a great price to resolve the Lord of Truth. No matter how you looked at it, he was the greatest contributor.

Not to mention this Ninth-Rank Golden Apple, the core members of the Song Family had already decided that all the merit points earned in the subsequent battles would be prioritized for Skygale of Tianxu, allowing Song Chi to exchange for the highest-value items.

After the Immortal Qin Heavy Industries Group, the third party to approach was an acquaintance.

None other than Cui Yulong, also a member of the Yaoguang Star Tower.

She represented the Changsun Family, specifically seeking 500,000 slots for the Azure Dragon Battlestar and one fleet commander position.

The Changsun Family's chosen fleet commander was Changsun Yu, who had successfully completed his Ascension.

With Cui Yulong taking the initiative to approach, Song Chi naturally could not refuse and quickly agreed.

Originally, according to his intention, all these slots were to be provided free of charge, as acquaintances were always different.

However, in the end, he could not resist the insistence of Cui Yulong and accepted a thread of golden ascension fire source offered by the Changsun Family.

Apart from the forces of the Xian Qin Divine Dynasty, the other three major Divine Empires also had significant presence.

For example, the Hedong Pei Clan of the Xianxia Empire brought two strands of eighth-tier sovereign blood and one Ninth-Rank Sovereign true spirit, showing ample sincerity. Additionally, both families shared the lineage of the Dragon Spine Tyrant Whale, so the Song Family naturally would not refuse them.

There were also the Green Hill Guild, the Williams Family of the Saint Federation, and the Dantai Clan of the Chiyu Divine Empire.

These were all renowned top-tier powerhouses, and they were not stingy with their offerings. The Song Family agreed to all of them.

...

“Sir Song, all previous conflicts were due to the faults of our Fusang Dynasty. We hope your esteemed family will not hold a grudge. Here are three [Octopus Snake Fruits] from the Sato Family and the Fusang Imperial Family, which provide significant boosts to seventh-rank Guidance Techniques.”

“We do not ask for much, just eight hundred thousand slots for the Azure Dragon Warships and command of one fleet…”

In the starry sky, at the Song Family's base.

Several Annihilator Ships hovered in space, engaged in discussions.

However, while the two Annihilator Ship captains from the Fusang Dynasty spoke softly, what they offered was rather meager.

While the [Octopus Snake Fruits] had decent effects, they paled in comparison to the offerings from other major powerhouses.

Song Wujian sneered, “Where is Lord Sato? If you truly mean to apologize, how can the main person not be present?”

“King Dinghai, is your Song Family worthy of a Galactic Ship captain personally coming to apologize? Some things are better left unsaid!”

“Ha, the number of top-tier powerhouses our Song Family has received recently is more than a dozen. What is your Fusang Dynasty? Do you dare to consider yourselves more prestigious than the major powerhouses of the four empires? If you want slots for the Azure Dragon Warships, let Sato come in person, or else scram!”

Under Song Wujian’s firm stance, the representatives from the Fusang Dynasty had no choice but to leave in disgrace.

However, this completely put them at odds with the Fusang Dynasty.

Song Family encrypted communication group chat:

Song Shiyuan: “Order the Shadow Department to elevate all tasks related to the Fusang Dynasty by one level. Given their vengeful nature, they will not let this go easily!”

Song Wujian: “We have already been on their radar since the last conflict. Who will be hiding from whom in the future, we’ll see!”

Song Yan: “Once the [Mechanical Battle Star] is fully completed, the Fusang Dynasty won’t amount to much.”

“By the way, the Shang Family of Shangdang has also sent someone. Xiao Chi, should we reject them?”

The Shang Family of Shangdang had a conflict with Song Chi early on. During the demon snake floating land operation, they were outmaneuvered by the Skygale of Tianxu and a few other Ship Clones. After the Song Family’s involvement was exposed, a certain level of conflict arose.

Hence the question.

Upon hearing this, Song Chi pondered for a moment and then shook his head, “If they show sufficient sincerity, we can give them regular slots for the Azure Dragon Warships. As for the fleet command, it’s already mostly allocated. Some other forces will be coming later, so we can say the slots are full.”

Currently, the conflict between the two sides was limited to the incident where the Shang Family was outmaneuvered. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a major grudge.

If they were too overt, it might trigger unnecessary issues.

The fact that Song Chi killed Shang Jie in the Secret Realm was a secret, and the Shang Family did not yet know he was the culprit. There was no need to be overly hostile.

After settling this matter, the Song Family began collaborating with other forces.

After all, there was never a rule saying that joining the Azure Dragon Fleet would prevent the use of other group enhancement components.

The intensity of the upcoming battles would far exceed imagination. Any additional attribute boosts now would ensure greater safety later, and no one would complain about having too much.

Time passed slowly in such a routine.

In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed.

On this day, tens of millions of Flame-Ember Starships were poised and ready, having made all necessary preparations for the battle.

At the forefront of the fleet, three ultra-dimensional flagships hovered silently. Behind them were dozens of Galactic Ships, followed by tens of thousands of Annihilator Ships leading multiple fleets.

On the hulls of these fleets, various light projections could be seen, either enhancing laws or providing group buffs. These light projections tightly bound the fleets together, maximizing the power of every warship within.

Compared to the Ember Flame Civilization, behind the super-floating continent’s shield stood countless Eight-Armed Serpent Demons. They did not need such methods; the essence will of a peak Ninth-Rank Floating Continent was enough to surpass everything.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end