94: Chapter 94 Arrival!! A Tit-for-Tit Legion

Li Yuan looked at the '+' on the panel, then at the string of numbers in his account that was getting a bit excessively long, and calmly clicked it.

One million essence deducted.

There was no earth-shattering pillar of light, nor any space-tearing fluctuations. Just a warm current surged through his entire body, and his mind gained more refined knowledge regarding the control of light energy, as well as...

He tried to summon.

One hundred Light Guardians appeared silently within the simulated training ground, silver armor and light swords, standing in silent solemnity. There were ninety more than before.

Ten Light Mages floated in the rear, the light patterns on their robes becoming even more intricate.

And a... new unit.

Light-Bathing Battle Spirits.

Her appearance was that of a very beautiful short-haired female elf.

Floating in mid-air, she was about 1.7 meters tall, with two pairs of light wings as thin as cicada wings behind her back. She wore elf-style light breastplate and a short skirt, revealing slender legs and arms, looking agile and ethereal, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.

But the information Li Yuan perceived through the summoning contract told him: this thing was actually a heavy-armored magic tank, the kind that was hundreds of times tougher than a Light Guardian, the type of existence that could take a stroll inside a star as if it were on vacation.

Ranged attacks (Light Feather Scattering) dealt damage to enemies while triggering area healing for allies. It came with 'Life Link' to share damage for teammates, and its own toughness was more exaggerated than cruiser battleship armor.

Very strong.

Extremely strong.

Placed in any human army, it would be a strategic-level support unit that would make frontline soldiers cheer and commanders treat it like a precious treasure.

But Li Yuan looked at this new summon, then looked at Laya nearby, who was secretly using his terminal to play Match-3, and fell silent.

“Master? What's wrong?” Laya noticed his gaze, looked up, and blinked her eyes.

“...Nothing.” Li Yuan closed the summoning interface and sighed, “I just feel that after having you, many designs seem a bit... redundant.”

Laya didn't understand, but she felt he was probably praising her, so she happily lowered her head to continue poking at the screen.

Next was the [String-Controlling Weaver].

This class's rank advancement was so cheap it made Li Yuan doubt life—the second rank only required one thousand essence. He clicked it casually.

The direct change was even less obvious, which was why he hadn't upgraded it before. It was just a few more 'Law Weaving' ideas in his mind, and his control over energy arrows became a bit more refined.

What truly made his heart skip a beat was the actual test.

He didn't dare try it on the Dijiang-class—the surveillance sensors everywhere inside the ship's hull were no joke. He had a Light Guardian take a newly condensed 'Battlefield Magic Arrow' and fly secretly to a nearby asteroid belt.

Li Yuan 'watched' remotely through the soul link.

The Light Guardian let go.

That seemingly ordinary arrow shot silently toward an asteroid cluster about several hundred kilometers in diameter.

The moment of contact—

There was no explosion, no fire.

Only a field of azure blue, centered on the arrow's point of impact, spreading out silently.

The asteroids swept by the blue light were instantly covered in a thick layer of ghostly blue ice, and then... like glass struck by an invisible giant hammer, they shattered inch by inch, disintegrating into countless tiny ice crystal dust particles.

In just a few seconds, that area was empty.

Clean as if those asteroids had never existed.

Li Yuan: “...”

The Light Guardian sent back confirmation: attack coverage radius, approximately fifty kilometers. Energy consumption: 10 points.

Li Yuan looked at the '+1.25 energy per second' prompt on his panel, then thought about the clearing effect just now, which was comparable to a small-scale natural disaster. Only one thought remained in his head:

Ten points of energy consumption is nothing! This cost-performance ratio is simply cheating!

If he had known the second-rank String-Controlling Weaver was this insane, he would have upgraded earlier. That way, when he was fighting the Zerg Queen, why would he have needed to use grenades to give Olivia a scratch? One magic arrow probably would have solved it.

Of course, he only thought this in his heart. If he really used it at North Star, he'd probably be not far from the day he'd be caught by the research institute to be sliced up for study.

The most useful thing was still the [Intent of the Northern Darkness].

The physical enhancement brought by dual cultivation was continuous and significant. Li Yuan could feel his strength, speed, and reactions slowly but steadily increasing.

The numbers in the lifespan column had long since lost their meaning—they only increased, never decreased.

As for energy, his natural recovery rate had now stabilized at over 1.25 points per second. Calculating it, he could gain nearly forty million points of energy for free in a year, getting stronger even while lying down.

Moreover, it had unlocked dual cultivation, an ability that enhanced both power and physical and mental health.

He even tried to click the fourth-rank promotion for [Lord of Light].

One hundred million essence was instantly deducted.

And then... no reaction.

The class rank was still third rank, and the '+' on the system panel had turned into a grey '(Promoting)'.

Li Yuan called out the customer service.

【Ding~ host sir!】 Number 1518's voice was still full of energy,

【The fourth-rank promotion needs a tiny little bit of 'body strengthening' time! After all, it's the key threshold from 'battlefield-level' to 'strategic-level.' Your body needs to adapt to more massive energy and more complex summoning contracts! Don't worry, the process has loaded. Once 100 million life essence optimizes your physical fitness, it'll be fine!】

Li Yuan: “...Are you sure it's not a system bug?”

【How is that possible! Our system is very professional!】 The customer service promised solemnly, 【host sir, just wait for the surprise with peace of mind!】

Li Yuan curled his lip and cut off the communication.

He always felt this customer service was a shady merchant who only cared about selling and not after-sales service...

...

Time passed quietly amidst navigation, training, occasional gossip, and continuous improvement.

When a soft, yet distinctly exclusionary milky-white light gradually appeared in the starry sky ahead of the fleet, everyone knew—

The Holy Alliance had arrived.

“Attention all units, prepare to exit curvature state. Each ship check diplomatic identification and standardize communication channels.” Major General Zhao Yu's command echoed on the bridge, “Remember, we are here for a visit, not for war. But—”

He paused, his voice deepening slightly: “Don't forget, we are soldiers of the Blazing Dragon Federation.”

The 'purple subtlety' was the first to slide out of the curvature tunnel, followed closely by fifteen xihe-class battlecruisers, and those two ruler-class planet battleships that looked like mobile metal mountain ranges.

And greeting them...

Was a fleet with equally strict military discipline but a completely different aura.

The 'Minerva-class' Glow Cruisers, pure white with elegant lines like works of art, had pale gold energy patterns flowing on their hulls, arranged in a neat wedge formation. The larger 'Caesar-class' Radiance Battleships were like mobile crosses, and on their towering bridges, one could even see energy projection windows resembling stained glass.

And at the very front of the fleet were three exceptionally large flagships.

“Holy Judgment-class” Star Fortresses.

They were not pure metal planets like the human Sovereign-class, but rather creations somewhere between biological and mechanical—their surfaces were covered in bone armor as white as jade, with shimmering crystal clusters growing between the armor gaps, the overall silhouette carrying a holy yet eerie biological aesthetic.

This Holy Alliance greeting fleet was not inferior in scale to the Blazing Dragon Federation's escort group.

The fleets of both sides slowly approached in the void, finally coming to a simultaneous halt at a distance of about five light-minutes.

There were no expected welcome signals, nor any polite communication greetings.

There was only a silent, cold silence, carrying the weight of scrutiny.

Although all the gun ports of the opposing fleet's ships were retracted within the armor layers, those energy arrays emitting pale gold light were clearly in a semi-activated state. Sensors could clearly capture high concentrations of psionic fluctuations flowing between the enemy ships, forming an invisible, oppressive sensory network.

What made it even more uncomfortable was the opponent's posture.

Through high-magnification observation windows, one could see those crystal clusters on the surface of the 'Holy Judgment-class' fortresses slowly adjusting their angles, like countless cold eyes focusing on every ship in the Blazing Dragon fleet. Especially those two Sovereign-class ships, which bore more than seventy percent of the opponent's 'gaze.'

“Tsk.” Chu Xinghe crossed his arms, leaning against the bridge railing with an unlit energy bar in his mouth (smoking was prohibited on the bridge), “This welcome ceremony is quite unique.”

Luo Lan stood beside him, his gaze sweeping over the enemy fleet's formation: “Wedge assault formation, psionic fluctuation synchronization rate over 97%... This is clearly telling us they can fight at any time, and they can fight very fast.”

Sai Wei snorted coldly, his gaze sharp under his blonde hair: “Playing God.”

“Student Sai Wei,” Major General Zhao Yu's voice came faintly, “Watch your diplomatic language. We are civilized people.”

Sai Wei curled his lip and stopped talking, but the fighting intent in his eyes didn't diminish at all.

Li Yuan stood before the viewing window, quietly watching the pure white fleet opposite him.

Laya gently held his hand and whispered, “Master, they seem... not very friendly.”

“It's not just 'seem'.” Li Yuan patted the back of her hand, his gaze landing in the direction of the opponent's flagship bridge—

There were no sparks.

Only an unmasked—

Confrontation.