191: Show your cards

Howling Canyon, Dark Star Empire's Eleventh Outpost.

The sentinel on night duty yawned, tightened the armor around his collar, and braced against the knife-like night wind in the canyon.

Everything was as usual.

They had been much more at ease since Commander Valerius ordered a full defensive posture.

The Blue Star Alliance's mad dogs, after hitting a few walls and shedding enough blood, finally slowed their offensive.

He idly gazed into the depths of the canyon, where an unceasing black mist lingered year-round.

Suddenly, within the black mist, a faint, eerie blue light quietly flickered to life.

The light rapidly expanded, like a window opening out of nowhere.

Outside the window was another world.

Before the sentinel could even react to what it was, a torrent of violent energy erupted from the “window.”

Streaks of lances, wreathed in lightning, tore through the night sky, piercing all the base's defensive towers and energy nodes.

Deafening explosions merged into one continuous roar, and the energy shield on the base's perimeter collapsed without even a chance to flicker.

Following that was a flood of steel.

Tens of thousands of Abyssal Thunder Dragon Riders, riding Storm Dragon Horses with thunder dragon scale patterns etched into their breastplates, charged out from the light portal.

Their hooves shattered the earth, and electric currents surged through their ranks, forming a moving domain of thunderous storms.

“Enemy attack!”

An Imperial officer had just roared the words when he was engulfed by the sweeping lightning net.

More Imperial soldiers rushed out of their barracks, many not even getting a clear look at the enemy.

They were directly crushed into flesh and bone by the charging torrent.

Su Jin stood above the Void Gate.

He calmly overlooked the canyon below, which was being consumed by lightning and flames.

Behind him was a steel forest formed by the Wanren Halberd Guards, and a shield wall bastion constructed by the Furnace Iron Guards…

They were steadily marching out of the teleportation portal in an endless stream, transforming this area into Infinite City's landing zone.

The battle in Howling Canyon was just a microcosm.

At this very moment, across the Dark Star Empire's southern defense line, from the supply hub of Scarlet Flame Forest to the troop transfer station of Lingdukou, and then to various command nodes and logistical hubs of all sizes—three hundred and seventy-two meticulously placed teleportation anchor points were simultaneously activated.

The Blue Star Alliance's deepest hidden fangs launched a full-scale assault in a way Valerius never anticipated, striking at the heart of his territory.

…

“Dark Star Throne,” Command Hall.

Valerius was holding a glass of red wine from the Empire's home world, leisurely admiring the holographic star map.

He watched the blue dots representing the Alliance futilely depleting themselves against his own defense line.

“General, the Blue Star fools seem to have finally run out of steam; there hasn't been any decent offensive on the front line for over six hours.”

A subordinate reported with a barely concealed lightness in his tone.

Valerius swirled his wine glass, and the crimson liquid traced a graceful arc on the glass wall.

“A trapped beast's struggle will eventually exhaust itself. Their blood is almost dry.”

No sooner had he spoken than a piercing alarm blared throughout the hall.

On the holographic star map, within the vast red area representing his own faction, over three hundred red dots simultaneously extinguished without warning.

In their place appeared over three hundred dazzling blue dots, signifying the highest threat level.

These blue dots were like poisoned nails, firmly driven into the arteries, nerves, and joints of his entire southern defense line.

“What's going on?”

Valerius slammed his wine glass onto the table, spilling wine.

“Report, General! The Eleventh Outpost has lost contact!”

“Report! Scarlet Flame River Warehouses Three, Five, and Nine have suffered violent explosions, signal interrupted!”

“Report! The Bauman Plains teleportation array has been destroyed by unknown energy; over eighty thousand reserve soldiers… are unreachable!”

“General! Our supply lines… have been cut! All nodes attacked simultaneously!”

Panicked reports came one after another, and the previous ease in the command hall vanished.

Incredulity was etched on every Imperial officer's face.

This is impossible!

The Windbreak Corridor was destroyed, so how did the Blue Star Alliance forces bypass the impregnable frontal defense line and penetrate deep into their territory?

And such a large-scale, precise, multi-point simultaneous surprise attack.

This… How could this be?

“Silence!”

Valerius roared, forcefully quelling the chaos in the hall.

His face was as hard as iron, but his constantly twitching eye betrayed his inner unease.

“It's spatial teleportation. The Blue Star Alliance deployed teleportation anchor points within us.”

A staff officer tremblingly stated the only possibility.

“But…”

“When did they…” Valerius's voice carried a chill.

He recalled the past few months, the Alliance forces' seemingly insane, casualty-indifferent “piecemeal” assaults.

Each charge left piles of corpses on his defense line.

Could it be that these charges masked countless subtle spatial fluctuations?

They actually used the lives of millions of soldiers on the front line as noise and cover?

Under his very nose, they laid out this inescapable net.

He thought he was the chess player, but he didn't know when he and his twenty million strong army had become pieces on the board.

“General! The front… the front line…” The communications officer's voice was tearful.

Valerius looked up at the star map.

That steel defense line, which he had once been so proud of and intended to use to wear down his opponents, was now under an unprecedentedly fierce assault.

The long-dormant main force of the Alliance's Southern Territory, like an awakened behemoth, pressed forward on all fronts.

The light of artillery fire illuminated the entire southern border as brightly as day.

…

Blue Star Alliance, Southern Command.

Lin Yuan also quietly watched the star map before him; unlike the chaos at the “Dark Star Throne,” here it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

He watched those blue arrows, like red-hot brands, fiercely imprinted on the Empire's territory.

Each arrow represented the bloody struggle of countless soldiers.

His hand gently traced the cold metal surface of the command console.

The night the Windbreak Corridor was destroyed, he stood here, sleepless.

It felt as if a piece of his spine had been forcibly ripped out.

As the supreme Commander of the Southern Territory, he was largely to blame for the Windbreak Corridor incident.

Inquiries from the High Command, the sympathetic glances of his colleagues, and the silent grief of the fallen soldiers' families—all transformed into heavy mountains, weighing on his heart.

He offered no excuses, silently accepting all the blame.

Then, he poured all his energy into this plan, named “Lighthouse.”

He used the most brutal feints to deceive the enemy.

He used the most costly sacrifices to set the chessboard.

He endured immense pressure, waiting for the most opportune moment.

Now, the time had come.

He closed his eyes, and General Wei's troubled old face appeared in his mind.

He saw the soldiers, bandaged all over, still saluting as they rotated out.

The blood of the soldiers must not be shed in vain.

He opened his eyes, his gaze once again sharp as a blade.

“Transmit my order.”

His voice echoed through every corner of the command post.

“Phase two of the ‘Decapitation’ plan, activate.”

“I want Valerius to watch his forces, how they are annihilated inch by inch under the iron hooves of my Southern Territory soldiers.”