abnabooks Chapter 428 420 - Weighing Anchor and Entering the Sea
Chapter 428 420 - Weighing Anchor and Entering the Sea
Atop [The High Tower], within [The Throne].
This was the highest seat of power in the Sacred Empire, and also the starting point for the expedition into the Abyss.
A pure golden radiance showered down from the dome, and the sphere suspended high above released an aura of reverence.
Falling feathers, fresh flowers, and sacred notes filled the air, creating a space where it felt as if one's body and soul could be cleansed and purified.
Directly beneath the golden sphere, all eleven seats were already occupied.
[Sacred Engraving I: Firmament]
[Sacred Engraving II: Star]
[Sacred Engraving III: Abyss]
[Sacred Engraving IV: Machine God]
[Sacred Engraving V: Savior]
[Sacred Engraving VI: Civilization]
[Sacred Engraving VII: Flawless]
[Sacred Engraving VIII: Miracle]
[Sacred Engraving IX: Finality]
[Sacred Engraving X: Godslayer]
[Sacred Engraving XI: World]
Below the eleven Imperial [Sacred Seats]—the official title for the Imperial Saints—was a giant, spiraling celestial structure that housed the ninety-nine Apostle seats. Not all [Imperial Apostles] were present in person, but even those with urgent duties had sent their avatars to attend this unprecedented meeting.
Further out from the Imperial Apostles were temporary seats added by the Sacred Empire for the numerous "external participants." In addition to the Self-Annihilators and the Nameless, a large number of followers from other Astral Gods had voluntarily joined, including the Dragonkin, the Genius Society, the Mourning Actors, the Masked Fools, and the Chaos Doctors.
The Abyss was a thing of terror for all civilizations.
But the counterpart to an adventurous expedition was territory no one had ever set foot in, along with endless wealth and knowledge. For this reason, with the permission of their Astral Gods, various factions had explorers "bored with life" who joined the expeditionary force.
There were no freeloaders here.
Any follower of an Astral God who could withstand the trials of the "Quantum Energy Adaptation Serum"—jointly developed by the Empire's numerous science academies led by MEI and Mobius—possessed mental fortitude sufficient to endure the corrosion and temptations of the Abyss.
After all... for individuals who had never experienced quantum energy, that serum truly expressed the meaning of "skin-searing pain" through direct, personal sensation.
Not only that, the "perfectly mirrored" surfaces surrounding the sphere indicated that no fewer than twenty Astral Gods had joined the meeting as observers, projecting their wills into the chamber.
"My subjects, and the civilizations of the endless star-sea."
Within the silent [High Tower], the Monarch's voice finally resounded amidst the anticipation of the masses.
"The threat of the Abyss is upon us."
"Whatever you seek to gain from this expedition, whether born of selfish desire or selfless will, you should all be proud of your actions."
The Monarch's voice was not inflammatory. Every individual gathered here understood the significance of this operation.
"To the limits of mortals."
"With all that civilization has."
"...Hereby, we expedition to the Abyss."
The Sacred Empire and the many civilized powers present were but the vanguard of the expedition... and also the vanguard with the highest risk.
"This is a grand feat that has never been attempted in the countless cycles of the universe of the Tree and the Sea."
Although the Empire had conducted countless explorations of the Abyss during this period, it had not obtained any more intelligence than it had six months ago.
The unknown meant risk.
"This is..."
"An attempt that even the esteemed Astral Gods dare not tread lightly!"
To be the first mortals to step into the Abyss—in terms of willpower and character, the many civilizations present were indeed nobler than the Astral Gods. Many Pathstriders had even deviated from their own Paths, and it was only with the blessing of the Tree that they had not weakened or even regressed.
That was correct.
In addition to helping these external expedition members adapt to quantum energy, [The Throne] had also bestowed upon them the blessing of the Imaginary Tree. Over the past six months, the outsiders who had gradually integrated finally understood another reason for the Empire's strength:
As long as you fought the Quantum Sea, Father Tree would absolutely not treat you unfairly.
"Since you are all eager to begin, I will waste no more words."
"Legions."
"Hoo!"
All ninety-nine Imperial Apostles rose from their seats in unison. Their perfectly synchronized movements and undisguised fervent expressions revealed the true nature of these pillars of the Empire.
"Fleets."
"Chk!"
Following the Imperial Apostles, all eleven Sacred Seats also stood.
"Be of one heart with me!"
Climbing the High Tower, passing through The Throne, the Monarch's voice spread out across the vast domain!
In the next instant, a response like a tsunami answered him—
"Sanctus!!!"
---o---
"Beacon is lit. Path is clear. Jump authorized."
"May your fortunes of war flourish!"
The voice from the central hub of the High Tower echoed across the bridges of countless starships.
With eleven [Sovereignty-class] ships as the vanguard, a dense fleet of starships proceeded in an orderly fashion toward the super-massive stargate at the base of [The Throne]. Even the smallest vessel among them had the tonnage of a standard battleship. The more numerous small and medium-sized functional ships were housed inside "Super-Flagship-class" carriers, equivalent to the "Super-Dreadnought" class.
They would use a preset anchor point to jump directly below the "Fourth Quantum Frontline." From here, the equivalent distance to the front lines where the Empire's [Abyss Legion] (an expansion of the original Quantum Legion) fought the Quantum Sea was less than 300 astronomical units.
"What's the status?"
"Projected contamination ratio is 55%. The single-deployment volume can be increased by another 7%."
At the base of The Throne, in the Stargate control center, a gentle and graceful female voice clearly answered the visitor's question.
White hair, pointed ears, and a vibrant green aura surrounding her—this somewhat unexpected woman hailed from the destroyed continent of Teyvat and now held one of the Apostle seats in the Empire:
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
The Imaginary Branch that constituted [The Throne] could connect directly to the Quantum Sea. This ability was not innate but was the result of the Monarch taking some "seawater" and intentionally watering the branch, based on his experience in Teyvat.
Through this, [The Throne], with a true energy ratio as high as 1:1, possessed characteristics identical to the Quantum Sea. This allowed the Sacred Empire to rapidly deploy its troops to any discovered sea region.
At the same time, to ensure the normal operation of The Throne, the Monarch's main body within it neutralized one-fifth of the quantum energy. The scheduling and detection work for the [Abyss Stargate] was entrusted to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
"Increase it to 75%."
"The curvature of the temporal membrane at the Tree-Sea boundary has already reached 22 degrees."
MEI stepped out from a temporary stargate. Of course, by her official title, she was now [Sacred Engraving VI: Civilization].
"That exceeds my authority."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's words were tactful, but she had made her refusal clear. As an Apostle with special duties, she answered only to the Monarch. A [Sacred Seat] had no authority to issue direct commands to her.
"I am only responsible for monitoring the operation of the [Abyss Gate]."
"Such authority..."
"An imperial edict from the Monarch."
From within MEI's palm, a pure gold crystal that not even an Astral God could replicate slowly floated into Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's hand.
"..."
"Although this is the Monarch's command, I still don't quite understand."
The information flowed into Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's mind as a string of runes.
"A 75% contamination ratio has already surpassed the maximum alert value of 64% permitted by the Monarch. The Abyss could very well use this to spread quantum energy throughout the entire universe."
"Don't worry," Mobius said, stepping out from behind MEI.
"This contamination ratio will help us deploy all eleven [Sovereignty-class] ships into the Abyss at once, avoiding the 'temporal desynchronization' effect caused by the membrane's curvature."
"Maintaining the fleet's integrity is a crucial condition for establishing an anchor point."
"Besides..." Mobius added. "After the contamination spreads, which civilizations do you think will be the first to 'mutate'?"
"..."
"Fishing?"
"Correct."
"Our duty is to attack the Abyss. As for protecting the civilizations of the star-sea or defeating the Outer Gods, that is the work of the other Astral Gods."
There was no quantum energy on the canopy of the Imaginary Tree. There was no easy way to distinguish between a corrupted Astral God's followers and a normal civilization. But once quantum energy appeared on a massive scale, this "bait" would no longer be able to hide.
"If we do this, the losses among the mortal races will be immeasurable," Greater Lord Rukkhadevata said with some concern.
"Do not underestimate the Astral God of Preservation. As one of the oldest Astral Gods, their power far exceeds our imagination," MEI said, speaking for Mobius.
"..."
"Very well—"
As the final rune flowed into her mind, Rukkhadevata acknowledged, "I have indeed received the Monarch's command."
The special, distorted sphere, the [Abyss Stargate] built beneath the base of [The Throne], began to emit an even brighter, deep violet light. The "Unified Joint Linkage Body: Star Ring" surrounding the sphere began to expand wildly, until it enveloped more than half of the starships, including all the [Sovereignty-class] vessels.
"VMMMMMM!"
The entire fleet vanished.
---o---
"Whoosh—"
"SPLASH!"
The sound of a virtual wave echoed.
With the entire [Fleet] and half of the [Legions] as its core, the joint armada, composed of the followers of over twenty Astral Gods, entered the Quantum Sea.
"Report coordinates."
"-11, -242, 1, 0055."
On the bridge of the [Sovereignty-class] Ship No. 9, a woman with medium-length white hair and eyes that shone with the color of rose quartz issued commands in a calm and orderly manner.
"The Third Legion's position..."
The journey was 40% longer than planned. But it didn't matter—the distance of this quantum dive was exaggeratedly long, and the total mass of the deployment was unprecedented. A slight deviation was well within the acceptable range.
"Fleet status."
"Imperial fleet is nominal. All 15,625 starships have arrived safely."
[Sacred Engraving IX: Finality]—If not for her brilliant white hair, one would find it difficult to associate this [Sacred Seat] with her former title based on her temperament alone.
"Allied forces report."
"Lost in transit rate is 6%. Current attrition rate is 1.7%. Estimated total attrition is 2.23%."
"...A bit higher than expected, but it's not a problem."
The fluctuations of the fault space slowly dissipated, and the quantum communicator began to function again—
"Kiana, how are things on your end?"
A communication interface projected in front of the bridge, and a long-unheard form of address came through it.
"The Imperial fleet is fine, but even with the modifications from the science officers, many of the volunteers' ships are having problems."
"Getting lost under these circumstances makes it difficult to catch up... Hopefully, the rescue teams can salvage a few."
"Don't worry," the voice replied. "The support we have this time is very reliable. We just need to focus on completing our mission."
[Sacred Engraving X: Godslayer]—Long, straight black hair flowed smoothly, and those deep, blue-violet eyes, filled with stories, always carried a gentleness that drew you in, as well as a sharpness and decisiveness that was its complete opposite.
"You two, stop chatting on the public channel!"
[Sacred Engraving XI: World].
"Huh? Sis?"
The sudden voice interrupted their conversation.
Clearly, the quantum communicator channel was set a little incorrectly... for both of them.
"Quiet."
This time, a fierce yet cute voice interrupted even Bianka's scolding of her sister. To prevent Kiana and Mei from exposing unnecessary information on the public channel (their authority was high, but sadly their brains hadn't grown along with their power), Bianka had also joined the increasingly chaotic public channel.
Of course, this wasn't really their fault. The number of channels on an Imperial fleet vessel was inexhaustible, but because this was a joint operation with followers of other Astral Gods, the frequency chosen as the new public channel just happened to be one the two of them had used before.
As soon as Cheche spoke, all frequencies fell silent.
On the starship's observation screen, a massive "star beast" several times the size of a [Sovereignty-class] ship appeared in front of the fleet, continuously advancing toward the幽邃 depths of the sea.
[Sacred Engraving II: Star].
Cheche did not command a super-titan. As the commander of the expeditionary force and the wielder of its highest combat power, the amplification effects of a [Sovereignty-class] ship didn't even work on her. Cruising through the Quantum Sea with her physical body had no effect on her at all... in fact, the surrounding quantum energy was constantly replenishing the minuscule amount of energy Cheche used for "swimming."
"Compared to the location Little Snakey mentioned, our course has deviated quite a bit."
Although her voice was still full of "child-like" tones, when Cheche got serious, the terrifying aura of a Grand Monarch that inadvertently surged from her still made every member of the fleet subconsciously tense up.
"All fleets."
"Deviation angle 90.22.147. Reduce engine power to 22.17%. I'm taking you for a ride."
"As you command!"
15,625 points of focus locked onto Cheche in her spiritual world.
Her "X"-shaped pupils began to contract. A breathtakingly beautiful nebula slowly swirled in her eyes, until they converged into a cross-shaped star, symbolizing judgment and adjudication!
"VMMMM—"
"BOOM!!!"
The deep dive was completed in an instant.
But as the sound of entering the sea faded, a scene of devastation instantly filled the vision of Cheche and the fleet.
"Alert."
"ALERT!!!"
Cheche's command was passed down immediately.
The "Fourth Quantum Frontline" was in ruins. The Fourth Legion that should have been stationed here was nowhere to be seen. Even the highly secretive "Sentry Posts," which could only be received by a [Sacred Seat], gave no feedback.
"..."
The fleet was not under attack.
But an unsettling silence crept into the hearts of everyone present.
Until—
"Ping!"
A barely perceptible fluctuation came from the pitch-black depths of the sea.