Barren Star – Chapter 75
by Little PandaAnnihilation.
The queen of the Insect Race resides deep within the palace on Insect Star, dwelling in the mental sea of every insect, which allows her to connect with her people without needing to engage in live broadcasts like the monarchs of Da Xia. Moreover, this pure white queen, having been imprisoned by the Wings of Betrayal for many years, is difficult for ordinary citizens of Da Xia to recognize. When she followed Hua Zhuoyu and Ning Buyi onto the temporary airborne fortress, the soldiers only glanced at her briefly, mistaking her for someone from Mountain and Sea Star.
When Hill appeared in front of them, Ying Jingqiu’s nerves involuntarily tensed, and the atmosphere between them became charged with tension. It was hard for her not to think of her comrades who had died in battle against the Insect Race, causing her to have an instinctual aversion and dislike for them. Hill, however, was indifferent to Ying Jingqiu’s attitude. When Hill looked up and met Ying Jingqiu’s tense expression, she smiled slightly and said, “I need a trade permit with Da Xia.”
Upon hearing this, Ying Jingqiu’s pupils suddenly contracted.
It was known that even trading with the Beast Race was not considered large-scale in Da Xia, let alone with the Insect Race. In Da Xia, doing business with the Insect Race was criminalized, as it was considered an act of aiding the enemy.
Ying Jingqiu’s silence was expected by Hill, who gently said, “Don’t misunderstand, we don’t need Da Xia’s military equipment or anything else, just interactions with Mountain and Sea Star.” She did not care about the official stance of Da Xia, but Ning Buyi insisted on the trade permit, so she couldn’t act beyond Da Xia’s government.
Ying Jingqiu suddenly turned to look at Ning Buyi and Hua Zhuoyu. Although Mountain and Sea Star was a territory of Da Xia, its planetary master had significant autonomy. This planet was particularly unique; after Xia Sang took control of the government, they directly rejected plans to exploit Mountain and Sea Star for profit, allowing it to become a truly autonomous planet. She knew a little about the interactions between Mountain and Sea Star and Hill, but she wasn’t sure how far their “trade” had progressed. Her brows furrowed with concern.
Ning Buyi met Ying Jingqiu’s gaze and replied calmly, “Insect Star also needs plants.”
The “Greening Plan” is applied uniformly across the entire Greedy Wolf Star System. If the insect territories remain barren, devoid of any vegetation cover, even under the queen’s rule, they might resort to old ways.
Ying Jingqiu was also aware of this. After a long silence, she finally said, “What if Da Xia disagrees?”
Hill smiled meaningfully and said, “You wouldn’t want the Insect Race to become interstellar marauders, would you?” After a pause, she added, “Regardless of that, I’ve come here, and the monsters below still need dealing with.” In the Mythical Forbidden Zone, Ning Buyi and Hua Zhuoyu had given her the Drop of Life, and she had to repay this favor.
Ying Jingqiu pressed her forehead and exhaled deeply, saying, “I can’t give you an immediate answer right now.”
Hill said gently, “No rush, we can take our time to discuss.”
A covenant [ηη΄ | mΓ©ng yuΔ | an agreement or pact] is not something that can be achieved in a short time, but the monster below cannot be left unchecked. Although the flesh mountain has stopped growing, its mental pollution is becoming increasingly severe, affecting even those in the fortress above. Perhaps knowing that there would be no “prey” to lure itself, the monster changed its strategy, and the flesh mountain below is now shrouded in a dense gray fog.
“Compared to that pile of things below, the mental attacks of the Demon Phantom Star Pirates are child’s play.” After finishing one topic, Ying Jingqiu immediately brought up the issue of the monster with Ning Buyi and the others, expressing her deep concern, “Currently, those who are polluted can suppress it with mental potions, but as the fog thickens, the suppressive power will gradually weaken. More than one person has reported hearing some kind of call from below.”
“That mask is a forbidden object, a relic from the Myth Era. The gods in the Divine Court have long fallen, leaving behind only madness.” Hua Zhuoyu gazed at the image in front of her and spoke calmly. This thing is far less massive than the “Divine Corpse” in the Divine Court. After all, it was transformed by the residual power on the mask, not a true “Divine Corpse” imbued with fallen divinity. “I’ll go down and take a look,” Hua Zhuoyu added.
Ying Jingqiu was silent for a moment before saying, “The doctors are already researching new mental potions.”
Hua Zhuoyu replied, “No need to worry.”
Ying Jingqiu turned to Ning Buyi, who was silent, seemingly hoping she would speak up to stop them. However, Ning Buyi did not do as Ying Jingqiu expected, instead saying, “We’ll go together.” After the dissolution of the Star Court, Hua Zhuoyu’s ability to devour increased speedily, first consuming several judges and finally herself. Even without complete eradication, little power could be exerted. But Ning Buyi was different; after the Mountain and Sea Atlas activated the “Greening Value”, the “Dark Pollution” transaction method was not closed, indicating it could absorb pollution.
The gray mist devoured the light, and the wind faintly carried a foul, bloody stench. Perhaps sensing the presence of living beings, the flesh mountain twisted rapidly, its swollen blood vessels pulsating wildly. Limbs extended and writhed like frenzied snakes, and red and white eyes emerged from the cracks. Hill flew gracefully in front, each silver thread darting like arrows, piercing the monster’s “eyes” with a splattering sound, leaving a trail of bloodstains.
Ning Buyi and Hua Zhuoyu maneuvered their mechas swiftly through the fog, landing on the monster’s “mecha skeleton” and swiftly cutting with their swords. The monster had a formidable regenerative ability, but the twisted “mecha skeleton” was an external implant and could not regenerate.
As they got closer, the call from an unknown place became clearer. After the bizarre, twisted limbs disappeared, a dark space emerged, with a Rose Throne [θθηεΊ§ | qiΓ‘ng wΔi wΓ‘ng zuΓ² | a symbol of authority or power] floating within, surrounded by grotesque servants of the gods. If they could have servants like elves, it might be tempting, but the servants below were hideous, their limbs entwined like swollen tumors, extremely ugly and repulsive, impossible to avoid quickly enough.
Ning Buyi exhaled deeply, suppressing the urge to retch, and contacted Hua Zhuoyu via the intercom. It was difficult to determine direction in the dense fog; she had been traveling with Hua Zhuoyu, but now she couldn’t find her anywhere. The intercom was filled with static noises, seemingly affected by the fog. Ning Buyi frowned and had to give up, focusing instead on the Divine Authority Mask atop the flesh mountain.
Ning Buyi hadn’t expected to be the first to reach the “peak” of the flesh mountain, where the bizarre half-golden mask was within arm’s reach. A voice emerged in her mind, tempting her to wear the golden mask and share in the divine power of the “Divine Authority Era”. With a peculiar expression, she looked down at the heaving flesh mountain, thinking that if this was the “divine power,” it might be better to simply abandon it. She steadied herself and raised the mecha’s arm to grasp the half-mask firmly attached to the monster’s face. The moment she touched the mask, she was thrust into a vision of that epoch’s civilization’s destruction.
In that era, the ancestors wore bronze masks, dancing around bonfires in sacrificial rites. They threw one captive after another into the sacrificial flames, hoping to appease the gods. Eventually, the gods descended; one was enormous, wielding a sword in the left hand and a shield in the right, with a golden mask on its face, seemingly the war god worshipped by that era’s ancestors. With the war god’s power enhancing them, these ancestors were naturally invincible. But other civilizations and races had their own deities, and they too began to worship the gods.
In short, following this sacrifice, the Divine Court became involved, and the spreading flames of war swept through all lands of faith until every last creature’s blood and flesh were drained. Though lower civilizations perished in war, the storm within the Divine Court did not cease. The so-called “gods” were born from faith, responding to the prayers of mortals. Now that the faith sustaining them had vanished, they immediately descended into madness.
The flames of war ended that epoch, ending the people themselves.
It felt like a long journey through time, but when Ning Buyi awoke, she realized that only an instant had passed.
“Ningning?” a voice called out faintly, as if carried from a distant wind. Ning Buyi was in a daze, her mental sea seemingly overwhelmed, unable even to maintain the mecha’s combat state.
Hua Zhuoyu emerged from the gray fog and spotted “Yaoguang”, but in the next moment, saw the cockpit automatically open, and Ning Buyi falling out. Her pupils suddenly contracted. The monster devoured through dark pollution, and if she fell onto those jagged spikes, she wouldn’t survive or would be gravely injured! Hua Zhuoyu’s expression was grave, and Pojun swiftly moved like lightning to catch Ning Buyi in its embrace.
“Got it? The monster is collapsing. The artillery and ammunition fragments it swallowed might explode.” Hill’s voice came through the intercom, carrying a tone of worry and urgency. She had originally exited the gray fog but rushed back in upon realizing Ning Buyi and Hua Zhuoyu were missing.
Upon hearing Hill’s voice, Hua Zhuoyu received the mecha’s warning. The residual energy within the monster was extremely active, and an explosion could rival sequence weapons. “Go!” Hua Zhuoyu had no time to open the mecha compartment for Ning Buyi to enter; instead, she piloted Pojun to fly out. The previous struggle against mental pollution had drained much of her mental strength, and now her head throbbed faintly as if someone had struck it hard.
The earth-shattering explosion occurred in an instant, with shockwaves sweeping across the land, surging in all directions.
The distance covered by Pojun was still insufficient, and in a flash, it was engulfed by dark red blood mist.
Hua Zhuoyu increased the mecha’s defense to its maximum. She sensed the exhaustion of her mental strength, knowing that once it was completely depleted, her connection with Pojun would be severed. Without Pojun’s protection, she and Ning Buyi would likely be blown to bits in the explosion!
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