Beastmaster of the Ages

”The Exterminatus Army has departed!” Many people in Ebonia watched as the divine astralships of legend rose into the sky. Nothing so grand had happened in quite a while. Even though not many people could see the ships themselves, the disturbance of their engines could be clearly felt.

It was the second expedition for the ebons. Their first had been one of arrogant injustice, which caused many people to root against them. This time, however, was different. Ebonians all over cheered the Exterminatus Army as they departed, which came as quite a surprise to the troops themselves.

”I didn’t think that these minor clans we’ve oppressed for so long would come to sympathize with us after we lost one time.”

”Shh! Don’t say things like that without thinking! We’re in the right this time around. We’re supposed to be meting out rightful justice in the name of the Infinitum Bodhimanda!”

”Hahaha....”

Fifteen years was an incredibly short time, yet it was enough time for people to forget about the lawless actions of the ebons. People even began feeling bad for Shenxi Xingtian, who had been a tyrannical first rex mundi during his reign.

The Exterminatus Army’s fleet soared above the black cloud layer as countless people prayed for their triumphant return. Their deployment meant that battle was inevitable! All kinds of announcements and notices were sent all over the place. Even people from heliacal-class worlds knew what was going to go down.

News reached the Infinitum Swordsea days in advance, and they immediately sent word back to the Sun. They even sent out deific-class astralships to tail the enemy fleet from a distance.

The Exterminatus Army’s vanguard included the Ebonfiend, but they set the pace of their cruise to match the slowest of their ships. If they were really in a rush, they would have had the Ebonfiend cruise ahead. As such, it was crucial for the Infinitum Swordsea to find the perfect opportunity to leave. These days, discussions between the Sun and the council hall of the Lin Clan centered around that very issue.

”Xiaodao said that as the Ebonfiend and near a hundred ether-class ships are within the fleet, our survival might be under threat. To ensure that they won’t get the upper hand, we have to wait for them to reach the Sun and start their attack before we strike back. We might even have to wait until Xiaodao has the enemy engaged so that they suffer enough casualties to no longer be a significant threat,” said a figure atop a gold transmission stone. ”It would be less risky to let the Sun face the Exterminatus Army by itself. There’s nothing we can do on our side to help.”

”The scale of the Exterminatus Army is terrifyingly large. How can an ether-class world possibly stand up to it?” Lin Xiao furrowed his brows and pulled his beard so often in worry that it would fall off sooner or later.

”That’s right! They don’t have that many ether-class ships over there. It’d be too huge of a burden for them to bear the risk,” Dongshen Yue said, filled with concern.

”Second Patriarch, I’m only the messenger. I’ll relay what you said back to them. However, those on the Sun did say that they have something they can count on, but it wouldn’t do for them to reveal it. All of you just have to have faith in them and do as they say,” the messenger relayed through the transmission stone.

”Alright, let’s trust in their plan,” Lin Changkong said, yet what could possibly make them feel confident about repelling the invasion?

”I feel that the only advantage that we possess is that everyone in the Exterminatus Army is a death-fearing coward! They’re only fighting for the sake of profit, while we’re fighting for survival. Apart from the ebons, the other Infinitum Regal Clans don’t really want to fight with their lives at risk. Perhaps they’ll scatter when the situation turns dire,” Dongshen Yue said.

”That’s right. That’s the edge we have. The levels of our dedication are different. That rabble of an army won’t be able to survive any hard blows,” Lin Xiong said.

”Changkong, how’s the cooperation of the others?” Lin Xiao asked.

”Xiaodao and Feng’er inspired enough confidence. I spread word about a potential new infinitum-class world and kept the Flameyellow Bloodsoul under wraps, yet that was enough to convince many people. Xiaodao gave us three months to finish our move, which is enough time to pack up all the ancestral guidance steles and caeli. As for which ships we should use for what, it’s something we’re still coordinating,” Lin Changkong said.

”What do you mean?” Everyone in the council hall paid close attention to the answer.

”The main goal of our move is to transport a billion people from the Infinitum Swordsea. The rest of us are mostly scattered in distant places, so the ebons aren’t too concerned with them. They’re far too widely dispersed for any persecution to be effective. As long as their stars don’t close down, they’ll be able to leave in time. As such, the safety of the people here is our priority,” Lin Changkong said.

Everyone agreed.

”There’s only two ways to transport that many people, one of which doesn’t require us to squeeze them tightly together. We just have to use our ether-class, sanctuary-class, and deific-class ships to do so. The advantage of that would be that we won’t suffer too heavy casualties if some are shot down. The disadvantage would be that the deific-class ships are about the same kind as most of the ships of the Exterminatus Army, which would make it hard for us to outrun them if we’re surrounded.

”The other way is to squeeze them into our twenty ether-class ships, nine of which are of the larger variety. That would be enough to transport a billion people for a short time. As for the ancestral guidance steles and caeli, we can use sanctuary-class ships to transport them. That would prioritize people over our legacies, making it more likely that we’ll lose our treasures. Not to mention, if our ether-class ships get shot down, we’d see casualties in the tens of millions. However, the fleet would be able to respond in a more agile fashion. Even if we lose our cargo, our people would be able to reach the Sun alive. What do you all think?” Lin Changkong waited for their deliberation to finish.

”I believe we should give up on deific-class ships and below and employ the second option. The sub-deific-class ships aren’t suitable for a speedy exodus. However, we can still try to see if it would be possible to send them adrift in the astralscape so they may one day reach the Sun,” Lin Xiao said.

”I agree with the Second Patriarch. While we’d lose many people if the ether-class ships are shot down, that’s a really unlikely scenario. If we’re to move, we have to be fast and responsive. Our people are the foundation of our legacy, so survival is of the utmost importance! Without them, who’d put the ancestral steles and caeli to use? Their lives are priceless.”