“Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, the green grass stretches to the sky~~~”
Yu Lian carried a large package, singing as he walked through the ruins of Sero Ancient City. Although there was no hotpot, and the Red Card Void Order he had captured last time had officially completed its historical mission, he was still very happy.
The items in the package could be shared with his companions or sold directly. As for the things he couldn't let his companions know about, they were, of course, already stored in his ring.
The only real pity was the hidden treasures buried beneath the ruins. Flores Wanda, though a common man, was a common man with taste. Both the fine wines and the high-quality pipe tobacco and cigars were all Yu Lian's favorites.
Unfortunately, they were all gone, and many of them were even discontinued, exquisite items!
But no matter what, this slight unpleasant interlude ultimately couldn't affect his good mood. When he was about to walk out of the ruins and arrived at the meeting point as planned, he saw his companions gathered around a bonfire, gnawing on field rations, which made him even happier.
Feifei was naturally fine, and the Marines Yu Lian brought were also unharmed, with a few more equally unharmed companions, such as Miss Ina Hilika, and so on.
In addition, there was a Lumina person lying on the ground, whose style didn't quite fit. On closer inspection, wasn't it the legendary Lumina savior, the rebel in the hearts of everyone at Red Maple Factory, the so-called General Bai "Ke'ermo"?
Of course, this guy wasn't white at all now; he was missing a leg and an arm, covered in dry blackish-brown bloodstains and dust, and his carapace was riddled with scars, some even clearly torn off, looking painful.
He looked like a fiend who had just crawled out of a battlefield of corpses and blood. However, considering that he was currently lying on the ground, his life unknown, it was also very possible that he had just suffered a miserable torture.
This was not good; mistreating prisoners of war was also a violation of the Interstellar Convention. Although various countries had never really abided by it, a convention was still a convention.
Yu Lian didn't deliberately hide his footsteps or suppress his aura; everyone should have noticed him already, and they weren't particularly on guard.
When Feifei's gaze swept over, Yu Lian quickly reined in his almost drooling grin, revealing a graceful, calm, and composed smile—this was a new expression he had just learned from "Count Salwen" in the spiritual treasure trove.
“Seeing that everyone is safe and sound, I am relieved.”
Feifei seemed very interested in this new expression and stared at it for a few more seconds: “It’s a pity Flores Wanda escaped. Fortunately, we finally captured Ke'ermo.”
“Are you sure it's him?” This was, of course, a rhetorical question; Yu Lian had great confidence in Feifei and his companions' abilities. However, as someone within the system, certain procedures still had to be followed.
“It's definitely him!” It was Simon Vayali who spoke. Before entering the Military Academy, he had served in the Far Shore Star Region and had even reached the rank of sergeant major. He had fought several battles against the Lumina Rebels who roamed the surrounding star systems, and had even sniped spiritual energy users. He was considered a local expert here and had a certain understanding of these important Lumina Rebel leaders. Although Ke'ermo was a junior who had only emerged in recent years, Simon had seriously read the former's information.
“There aren't many white-armored Lumina people, but I would never mistake Ke'ermo's appearance. What's more, he possesses such strength!”
Appearance! Yu Lian immediately looked at him with respect. He truly couldn't distinguish the appearances of Lumina people. If he didn't rely on spiritual energy to sense life magnetic fields, he probably wouldn't recognize anyone. He had always felt that Babalu and Ke'ermo, aside from one being black and the other white, and the former being 1.5 times thicker and wider than the latter, really had no other differences.
“Very good! As for over there…” Yu Lian glanced at the ruins of Sero Ancient City behind him: “Almost all the cultists and Lumina Rebel leaders are there, everywhere.”
“Marshal Paris once said that if you succeed in this operation, the Commonwealth will not have to worry about the security of Lumina Planet for ten years,” Feifei said.
…Ten years? Indeed, if one only focused on superficial issues like violent rebellion, being able to manage it for ten years would be considered a good achievement. However, if I can't bring thirty years or more of long-term stability to this star system, then coming to Lumina would have been in vain.
As for a longer period, it's impossible; the course of history does not always shift according to human will.
However, the prerequisite for all of this was that the external environment of the Lumina Star system could at least remain relatively stable. Thinking of this, Yu Lian looked at Ke'ermo, who was lying on the ground. He had lost an arm and a leg, and was lying on the ground with only a faint breath, his body still large, but appearing hunched and even somewhat timid, like an old dog with a broken spine.
He naturally noticed Yu Lian's arrival, so he raised his head and squeezed out a smile on his carapace, a smile mixed with pleading and flattery.
The facial expressions of Lumina people were naturally different from humans, but Yu Lian could still perceive the other party's emotional changes with spiritual energy. This indicated that Ke'ermo, the spiritual energy user, had no defenses whatsoever; he was truly surrendering, and truly begging for mercy.
“This, is this really Ke'ermo?” Yu Lian couldn't help but ask again.
This Lumina Rebel leader probably died too early, and the records he left in history books in the future would not exceed a single paragraph. However, after all, he was an outstanding individual among the children of Red Maple Factory, and the Empire would use him as a collaborator, so he could at least be considered a figure. Yu Lian had thought that this guy would at least "show" some backbone.
“It really is him.” Simon said helplessly: “So, your subordinate thinks this might be a trap.”
“But he… is so cooperative, he should be given humanitarian prisoner treatment.” Meng Jiao tried his best to suppress his disdain, still speaking from the perspective of a conscientious and excellent military officer.
“Cooperative?” Cooperative with what? Cooperative with you guys for prisoner play?
“He is very cooperative. He answers almost everything asked. I have recorded all his confessions since just now. The higher-ups should be able to use them.” Feifei said with a smile.
Ina, on the other hand, was full of disdain: “Really, he’s far worse than Kaz Khan! Since he’s a leader of the Lumina Rebels, shouldn’t he have some backbone? Does the Galaxy Native Land really have native rebels that are inferior to the New World?”
“I still think this is a trap,” Simon Vayali said.
“Then cut off two fingers and ask again. Or tear off half his carapace?” Ina began to look eager. Yu Lian felt that this girl probably wasn't that kind of yandere; she was just stirring up trouble for no reason.
“We cannot do that; it would violate military regulations.” Meng Jiao reluctantly upheld the conscience of a professional military officer.
Yu Lian leaned down, looking directly into the Lumina person's eyes, and said gently: “Mr. Ke'ermo, right? You can see that we Commonwealth soldiers are not devils after all; we always emphasize learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones. I am in charge here for now. You don't mind telling me again what you just told everyone, do you?”
The legendary General Bai's broken carapace twitched, and he let out a bitter laugh from his mouth, saying: “…I was entrusted by the Empire. A very important person in the Empire needs the life core of the sky god, which is that Myriad-Headed Beast, so they entrusted me to participate in this plan throughout.”
“…” How pitiful! That Void Realm Behemoth.
“In exchange, the Empire promised to increase its support for the Lumina people's independence movement and to incorporate the Lumina people as a vassal state.”
“That's quite sincere,” Yu Lian nodded and said.
In the Empire's political system, although the citizens of vassal states had little status, they were at least "foreigners," which was much better than those true second-class races in the homeland who couldn't even obtain national rights.
Once diplomatic relations were involved, even imperial nobles would restrain themselves threefold; even if they wanted to oppress, they had to do so in a reasonable and appropriate manner.
Besides, who said a vassal state wasn't a diplomatic relationship? This was clearly a high form of alliance!
If the Lumina people could truly become independent and a vassal state under the Empire, their lives should be much better than during the previous period of Imperial colonial rule.
“Furthermore, you might even be able to take advantage of the Empire’s expansion to swallow the entire Far Shore Star Region and establish a regional power belonging to the Lumina people. Is that right?”
The other party chuckled but said nothing, essentially acknowledging it.
This was indeed the ultimate goal of the Lumina separatists in later generations.
It should be known that since the last independence movement, insightful people in the Empire realized that it might be unrealistic to re-dominate the Commonwealth and Earthlings. Instead, it would be better to completely dismember it, which could form a strategic buffer zone between the Empire and the Alliance, and would not irritate the fragile nerves of the Alliance and other major powers.
Or rather, the various nations would be happy to see it happen.
Once the Commonwealth was dismembered, the relatively remote Far Shore Star Region would be one of the separated pieces of meat.
However, with the Far Shore Nebula and three or four vassal states in between, it was unrealistic for the Empire to directly rule it. Handing it over to other vassal states might lead to one country becoming overly strengthened, causing an imbalance of power.
Instead of that, it would be better to give this star region to a newly joined, hungry but loyal new dog.
Anyway, since they were going to be dogs, why not find the most powerful and generous master?
“As for me… because I received a great favor from Marquis Odgar, I have become a squire of the Star Realm Knight Order. If this goes smoothly, I can become a full Star Realm Knight,” Ke'ermo continued.
“Marquis Odgar? The one who just succeeded to the title?” Yu Lian frowned slightly.
Seeing the other party nod, Yu Lian thought to himself, 'As expected.'
Yu Lian was about to ask how the other party planned to connect with the Empire, when he saw Meng Jiao next to him, seemingly receiving an external message. He pressed his earphone, and his face immediately darkened.
“Sir, Mist Capital 14 in outer space just reported that a fleet has warped into the Lumina Star system. It's confirmed to be… Morda's Black Flag Army.”
Ke'ermo's cheek twitched again, and the muscles beneath his broken carapace were spasming, making his distress truly obvious.
“Coming to meet us? These guys? Can their broken ships pass through the Far Shore Nebula?”
The so-called Morda's Black Flag Army was one of the few Lumina Rebel forces with space capabilities. Of course, rather than calling them Lumina Rebels, they were more like a group of pirates operating under the banner of "uprising." Their leader was Morda, a very rare naval leader among the "home-loving" Lumina race. At its peak, his command consisted of hundreds of ships of various sizes and tens of thousands of pirates. They usually operated from the Far Shore Nebula, truly a major pirate lord who gathered forces across the stars.
The "Lumina Rebel" fleet that Wien's classmate destroyed during his internship was under this guy's command.
However, to be fair, Morda's Black Flag Army were truly just pirates disguised as rebels. Morda was a Lumina person, but most of his subordinates were not.
Of course, the supplies and foreign aid received by the Lumina Rebels were basically transported by them, so they weren't wronged if they got beaten.
However, disguising themselves as "rebels" to earn smuggling money was one thing; taking chestnuts from the fire for their "rebel partners" in front of the Commonwealth's regular fleet was another.
Moreover, with the Black Flag Army's broken ships, treating the Far Shore Nebula as a rat hole was not a big problem, but trying to pass directly through the entire nebula to reach the Empire's sphere of influence was too unrealistic.
To put it bluntly, mountain bandits could certainly hide in caves to avoid government soldiers, but they couldn't really cross snow-capped mountains!
“…This was all arranged by Marquis Odgar. According to the original plan, I was indeed supposed to deliver the Myriad-Headed Beast's life crystal to Morda. I truly only know this much.”
Ke'ermo was indeed overly cooperative, no wonder his companions were still suspecting a trap.
Yu Lian ignored the other party and said to Ina: “Please contact Senior Sister… Colonel Bonaparte, and approve our boarding!”