CH 106

"Careful, captain!" Zhang Xingxing yelled.

Starpath abruptly descended, barely avoiding the incoming laser beam.

"Immediately activate the defensive shield," commanded the captain.

"Reporting to captain, shield deployment successful," replied the pilot official.

Three additional massive green beams came after the first attack. The beams struck the shield, but the powerful shield was able to absorb all the attacks. The beams rippled out into light waves that gradually faded away.

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"Captain, do we counterattack?" asked an official.

"Dodo, can we contact the Blue ships with our communication channel?" I asked.

"No. All our frequencies have been blacklisted. I tried earlier. No connection is available," said Dodo.

"Do not open fire rashly. That is a fleet from the Interstellar League. Can you let me try to send a light signal to them?" Zhang Xingxing asked.

Wesex gave Zhang Xingxing a glance and said, "Request an immediate ceasefire, or we will start hitting back."

Zhang Xingxing rapidly entered the codes into the system before requesting that the intelligence officer transmit it using light signals.

"What is that?" asked Domo.

"Idiot. That's Morse code. Any Blueling should understand it," sneered Zhang Bao'er.

"Do you understand?" asked Domo.

"The team leader probably requested a ceasefire and informed them that we're envoys of the empire," said Zhang Bao'er.

The Morse code soon displayed its result; the league battleships had stopped their assault. A Poseidon-class battleship approached us, and its lights lit up to transmit some sort of information to us.

"What are they saying?" asked Wesex.

"They are requesting more information pertaining to our identity," said Zhang Xingxing. "Please reply that I am Major Zhang Xingxing of the Interstellar League and am currently representing the Divine Empire in engaging the Interstellar League in peace talks."

The intelligence official immediately sent the message out. The other party replied promptly, "A shuttle will be deployed to initiate a docking process with the battleship."

"Deploy the docking process," said Zhang Xingxing.

A small shuttle separated from the battleship. Soon, it reached us and connected itself with our docking bridge. Three heroic-looking Bluelings walked through the bridge. The one in lead was a young woman. From the stripes on her shoulders, she was also a major like Zhang Xingxing. She stood with her back perfectly straight, her long blonde hair cascading down her back. With excitement on her face, she walked toward Zhang Xingxing.

"Kelly, I did not expect to see you here!" exclaimed Zhang Xingxing.

"Xingxing, I'm glad to see you safe. I immediately requested to be the one to come when I saw your message," said Kelly joyfully.

The two women held hands and exchanged greetings.

"Alright, alright, we're not here for personal talks. Who is this?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"This is the daughter of General Edward. She was probably Zhang Xingxing's classmate in university," said Old Du.

'Yet another noble,' I thought inwardly.

"Why are you here?" Zhang Xingxing asked.

"I should be the one asking you that question. I came on a mission with my father," said Kelly.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you later. Your father, General Edward, is here as well? Is he here for war?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"I'm not sure. Father is only carrying out the league's orders. I'm not privy to a lot of information. I am now the vice-captain of a Poseidon-class battleship, so my presence is required for the mission," said Kelly.

"Wow. A vice-captain of a Poseidon-class battleship at such a young age? Comparing myself with her will make me feel inferior," muttered Zhang Bao'er.

"Why don't you look at her temperament? There's a big gap between you and her," said Domo.

"Congratulations! You have improved greatly!" said Zhang Xingxing enviously.

"Sigh, if it wasn't for the incident you were in, you would probably be a captain already with your qualifications," said Kelly.

"Lord envoy, let's focus on our business here," Tasse reminded.

"Oh, yes. Kelly, we're here as envoys of the Divine Empire. We hope to engage the Interstellar League in peace negotiations," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Understood. Prior to coming, I had asked the grand commander of the Divine Sword Operation for advice. Due to your unique identities, we will temporarily stop enforcing your wanted status," said Kelly.

"Divine Sword Operation?" Zhang Xingxing asked doubtfully.

"Yes. That is the name for this operation," said Kelly.

"Divine Sword Operation. Sounds like a military operation," I said.

"Looks like the league is determined," said Zhang Bao'er.

"Who is the grand commander?" Old Du suddenly asked.

"Duke Yidon of Planet Gliese," said Kelly.

"Good lord, even Duke Yidon is here?" Zhang Bao'er exclaimed.

"Who's that? Why the reaction?" asked Domo.

"Duke Yidon is a Gliesen general who has never lost a battle. He has participated in over a hundred campaigns in his life and has never suffered defeat. He must have an important mission if the league is sending him here," said Old Du.

"Then take us to meet Duke Yidon," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Alright," Kelly replied. She then sent a message back to the Zeus-class battleship, and we immediately received a reply.

"Your battleship can't continue onward. All envoys will be escorted to Akko by a shuttle provided by us. Fighters will be deployed by the league to protect the envoys," said Kelly.

Zhang Xingxing looked at Tasse and Wesex. The two gave it some thought before agreeing.

"Captain Wesex, please remain on Starpath. I'll go with the envoys," said Tasse.

With Kelly leading the way, we boarded the shuttle. Under the escort of four unmanned fighters, the shuttle headed toward Akko. As we approached, I was able to observe the planet better. I could see that just outside the atmosphere, some sort of odd flying animals were actually flying around.

"This life form can actually fly in outer space? Amazing," said Zhang Bao'er.

"This is an interstellar beast, a life form unique to Canis Major. Due to the amount of carbon dioxide in Akko's atmosphere, the planet has a high temperature. This life form can freely fly through the atmosphere to reduce its body heat," introduced Master Crystal.

"Flying out of the atmosphere just to reduce heat? The power of evolution is incredible," remarked Dodo.

The shuttle moved quickly and did not take long to enter Akko's atmosphere. The friction created large sparks all around the shuttle.

"So you're Li Canyue," Kelly, who was seated opposite me, suddenly said.

"Yes. How may I help you, madam?" I replied respectfully.

"So you're the one our Zhang Xingxing had decided to follow into the life of a fugitive. You must be quite a charming one," said Kelly.

"Hey, hey, hey! Watch what you say! Canyue was the one who had contributed the most all this time," said Zhang Bao'er.

"Soldier, please keep our ranks in mind before you speak," said Kelly.

Zhang Bao'er was at a loss for words. Although we were officially no longer part of the league's military, the habits instilled in him to obey superiors caused him to shut his mouth.

"Kelly, I was the one who caused the team to become fugitives. Don't blame them. They are true warriors," said Zhang Xingxing.

"This little girl is quite an unfriendly one. She started blaming us without even bothering to find out the truth," Zhang Bao'er whispered to me.

"Rank is everything. Let her be. The truth will always be in our hearts," I said.

As the atmosphere turned uncomfortable, the shuttle suddenly slowed down. A palace appeared in our vision.

"We have arrived," Kelly said.

Everyone looked out and saw a beautiful palace. The palace was actually painted in multiple colors. The palace complex was slightly circular in design with square roofs, looking like something out of a fairy tale.

"Wow, what a beautiful palace," praised Zhang Xingxing.

"The palace here can't compare with the imperial palace, but it is still unique in style," said Old Du.

The shuttle slowly landed on an ash-gray grassland. When the door opened, we saw Prince Toruse waiting for us outside.

"Haha, prince, how are you?" greeted Zhang Bao'er cheerfully.

"I heard you were coming. I've been waiting here for quite a while," replied the prince cheerfully.

Everyone stepped forth and gave the prince a hug while laughing heartily.

"I did not expect the emperor to send you as envoys. What a surprise," said the prince.

"We had no choice. Prince, why did I hear that you intend to start a war with the empire? What's going on?" I asked, becoming somewhat impatient.

The prince blanked out slightly before answering, "It's a long story. Let's enter the palace first. King Xido is waiting inside."

Everyone followed the prince into the palace. The palace was beautiful with many small animals, making the surrounding environment comfortable. One could hardly relate this scene to the fact that a war was imminent. The palace wasn't too large, so we soon reached the audience hall.

"The hall is filled with high-ranking officials. Canyue, are you ready to face them?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"We had fought together for so long, and we had not committed any wrongdoings. If we don't even fear the emperor, what's there to fear from these people?" I said firmly.

Zhang Xingxing nodded at us before we walked into the hall with our heads held high.