474: The arrival of Imperial troops

The Sea Soul Civilization's fleet, like dogs that had lost their homes, fled desperately out of the planet, their ship's energy patterns flickering due to excessive acceleration, and their formation was utterly scattered.

In the underground Command Room, Decision Makers from various countries stared at the hastily retreating fleet on the screen, their faces filled with bewilderment.

"What... what's going on? Why did they suddenly run away?"

Someone rubbed his eyes, suspecting he had seen wrong—how could an alien fleet that was flaunting its power just minutes ago retreat without any warning?

"Could it be... the Xili Group had an effect?"

Someone guessed, his gaze falling on the lone starship in the corner of the screen.

"But with just one starship, how could it force back dozens?"

"Could it be that the Xili Group really has a more powerful alien civilization backing it?"

Discussions rose and fell, a huge question mark hung in everyone's mind, but no one could provide an answer.

Li Yang stood before the starship's porthole, calmly watching the Sea Soul Fleet's pathetic retreat, not stopping them.

He lightly tapped his fingertip, instructing the smart-brain to cut off the connection, as if the confrontation had never happened.

To him, the withdrawal of these alien civilizations was just a minor interlude before the Empire's arrival.

However, as the Sea Soul Fleet had just exited the atmosphere and entered the cold starry sky, a sudden change occurred—

"Crack! Crack!"

Countless ethereal blue spatial cracks suddenly tore open in the starry sky, as if God had overturned a palette, and the energy fluctuations overflowing from the cracks caused the entire starfield to tremble slightly.

Immediately after, giant starships of various shapes slowly emerged, their Imperial markings gleaming under the starlight, and the dense array of ship cannons on their hulls flickered with a chilling, murderous light.

In just a moment, over a thousand Imperial starships had arrayed themselves, forming an airtight encirclement, trapping the recently escaped Sea Soul Fleet firmly in the center.

Sea Soul General was still wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, his heart pounding, when he suddenly caught sight of the vast, sky-obscuring fleet outside the porthole; his pupils contracted sharply, and his mind went blank.

He instinctively wanted to order a turn, but found Imperial starships in every direction, without even a single gap.

"That... that is..."

His lips trembled as he pointed at the starships on the screen, their various shapes, mysterious appearance, and seemingly powerful weapons... every detail spoke of "higher civilization."

His legs gave out, Sea Soul General could no longer stand, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud, his face ashen, cold sweat instantly soaking his Black-Robed Person.

His subordinates behind him were even more terrified, some collapsing directly to the ground, while others clutched desperately at the control console, their eyes unfocused.

"It's... it's over..."

The General's voice was tearful as he looked despairingly at the fleet outside the window, as vast as a sea of stars, finally understanding what a terrifying existence he had provoked.

So-called luck and unwillingness, in the face of absolute strength, all became a joke.

In the Command Room of the Imperial Fleet's flagship, the optical screen clearly locked onto the Sea Soul Fleet, which was frozen in place.

The Commander of the Third Army frowned slightly, his finger circling the outline of the Sea Soul ship on the optical screen.

"Judging by the ship design and energy reactions, it's not a unit within the Imperial establishment."

The Commander of the Seventh Army leaned in for a closer look, his fingertip tracing the rough hull layout of the opposing ship.

"Their technological level is at most Tier 3, like a low-level civilization wandering the surrounding starfields. Never mind why they're here, let's control them first."

He looked up at the communicator, his tone decisive.

"Send the order: take full control of the discovered unknown fleet. If they dare to resist, annihilate them on the spot!"

The order was relayed layer by layer, and the space around the Sea Soul Fleet suddenly solidified, as if bound by invisible chains.

Immediately after, the Sea Soul ship's main control system suddenly popped up a dazzling red warning, the commands on the screen were forcibly overwritten, and the operating system completely failed.

"Alert! System intrusion! Ship has lost power, weapon systems completely paralyzed."

The Sea Soul ship's technician still tried to operate the control console, but only got a string of garbled code.

The next second, several half-meter-wide spatial cracks suddenly appeared on the floor of the flagship's Command Room, and Imperial Soldiers, clad in silver-white battle armor and holding energy guns, streamed out of the cracks.

The battle armor boots made dull thuds on the metal floor, and the energy filaments in the muzzles of their guns hummed and vibrated.

"We are a unit of the Xili Empire's Frontline General Combat Legion..."

The leading captain's gaze swept over the Sea Soul members, who were huddled together in fear.

"To ensure the safety of the unit, everyone please raise your hands and stand against the wall! If anyone dares to move..."

He weighed the energy gun in his hand, and the energy filaments instantly brightened by three points.

"Then don't blame us for showing no mercy with our guns."

Sea Soul General slumped in the command chair, looking at the well-equipped Imperial Soldiers, unable to utter a sound.

A Black-Robed Person fumbled a document in his hand, and it fell to the ground with a clang, making him flinch.

"Don't move, we surrender!"

The members of the Sea Soul Fleet had already been scared out of their wits by the Imperial Soldiers' imposing presence; one by one, they raised their hands and stood against the wall, their fingertips trembling, not daring to entertain any thought of resistance.

The Imperial Soldiers acted swiftly, laser handcuffs clicking, and in a blink of an eye, they had everyone under control.

"Reporting to the Commander, the unknown fleet has been completely subdued. Requesting next instructions!"

The officer in charge of the operation reported through the communicator, his voice firm and strong.

"Detain them for now."

The Commander of the Third Army's tone was steady, his gaze directed towards the planet.

"The top priority is to find Comrade Li Yang."

The order was given, some starships remained to guard the prisoners, while the rest of the fleet arrayed like a flock of geese, their massive hulls cutting through the atmosphere, entering the planet with a low roar.

The starships glinted coldly in the sunlight, instantly taking control of the planet's aerial routes and critical hubs, the entire process smooth and efficient, without any hesitation.

On the planet's surface, people were just breathing a sigh of relief at the departure of the Sea Soul Fleet when they looked up to see an even larger fleet obscuring the sky. The "Xili Empire" emblem on the ships gleamed with a metallic luster through the gaps in the clouds. What was strange was that this emblem was identical to the Xili Group's logo.

The chatter in the streets and alleys abruptly ceased, and everyone looked up, their eyes filled with shock.

In the underground Command Room, Decision Makers from various countries were even more dumbfounded, staring at the constantly refreshing data on the screen, unable to speak for a long time.

"This... another fleet has arrived?"

Someone spoke dryly, his voice wavering.

"Its scale is more than ten times larger than the previous one... Satellite images show at least a thousand ships..."

"Could all of these belong to the Xili Group?"

Someone tried to grasp at the last shred of logic.

"Otherwise, how do you explain the sudden retreat of the previous fleet? Perhaps they were afraid of this new fleet..."

No sooner had he spoken than someone next to him shook his head in denial, his voice filled with incredulous difficulty.

"If that's truly the case... then that's not a 'Group' at all, this is clearly... an alien civilization!"

"Which means, the previous conclusion was true... that Comrade Li Yang, he really is from an alien civilization..."

As the words fell, a deathly silence filled the Command Room.

On the screen, the Imperial starships were systematically taking over various regions. Their strict military discipline and technological level, far exceeding current understanding, all confirmed this alarming speculation.

What was previously thought to be a "commercial group" might actually be a higher civilization traversing the stars—this realization struck everyone's hearts like a massive boulder...