206: Get a little closer

"Look, this is the Gamma Galaxy. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Peacock stood in the wilderness of the night sky, dressed in military uniform.

In the Video Call, he had specifically woken Tu Nan up, wanting her to see this magnificent sight.

There were two giant moons; one was pale gold, and the other was a gentle pink.

"It's beautiful." Tu Nan sat on the windowsill, enjoying this moment of relaxation.

"I knew you would like it."

Kong Jiamu's expression as he looked at the starry sky was very gentle, and his gaze toward Tu Nan was even more so.

The Children had long since fallen asleep at this time, missing out on this scenery.

Kong Jiamu was too busy; as soon as he landed, military affairs filled all his time, and this small bit of leisure time at night was almost squeezed out.

Several spots of light suddenly exploded in the distant sky.

Kong Jiamu calmly turned the camera away.

"What was that just now?" Tu Nan saw it anyway and asked.

Kong Jiamu remained silent.

"Let me... take another look," Tu Nan pleaded.

The range of the Video Call returned to that patch of starry sky, where more spots of light were exploding one after another.

Peacock sighed.

"...A battlefield." Tu Nan had a realization. "Is it a Star Worms battlefield?"

"Yeah. It's still a bit of a distance from here, but it indeed is."

"Are you going?"

"No need." Seeing that Tu Nan had already noticed and wasn't afraid, Kong Jiamu simply watched that spot with her.

"Look, based on the scale of these explosions, it's not a large-scale battle."

"At most, they've encountered a group of wandering small swarms, not their main colony."

Was this still considered small-scale? The sky in that direction was already being gradually lit up by the flames of war.

"Artillery fire?" Tu Nan asked

"Energy cannons on starships, Star Worms being ignited, or... a starship exploding."

"All are possible."

Silence Spread.

"The Capital City is safe, don't be afraid; you won't encounter these things," he comforted Tu Nan.

"But you are at the front lines, and there are millions of others; they are all there."

War inevitably involves everyone.

"No one can stay out of it; everyone has relatives and friends. I saw the reports with Your Majesty; the daily casualties are very..."

"Staggering." Tu Nan was shocked by the magnitude of those numbers.

But The Emperor seemed to have grown accustomed to it, always able to look at them calmly.

"Where exactly do the Star Worms come from, and when did they appear?"

Tu Nan had wanted to ask for a long time.

Kong Jiamu's expression turned serious. "Everyone wants to know how the Star Worms appeared, but no one knows."

"According to records, they suddenly appeared one day over five hundred years ago."

"They appeared on the Capital Star; there weren't many, and they weren't hard to eliminate. After the initial shock, everyone thought the matter was over."

"But it wasn't; they became more and more numerous..." Tu Nan spoke of the current situation.

Kong Jiamu nodded.

"That's right. Our situation grew worse and worse, and the entire Empire was in chaos for hundreds of years. It wasn't until recent years, when we developed the method of using nodes to build a defense network, that the interior of the Empire basically stabilized."

Tu Nan knew about this; this was why the Empire placed such importance on S-ranks.

"So, S-ranks are all registered." She suddenly realized something. "When you say 'recent years,' you don't mean..."

"Yes." Kong Jiamu was very proud; he saluted across the distance toward his Your Majesty.

"It was Your Majesty who discovered it. During that great battle at the border, he found that the Star Worms were wary of S-ranks—more accurately, he could intimidate low-level Star Worms."

"Unlike us, high-level Star Worms always hide behind countless low-level ones. In places where an S-rank Male Beast appears, the Star Worms' deployment sequence becomes chaotic."

"Can you command low-level Star Worms?" Tu Nan asked.

Kong Jiamu was full of question marks.

"Of course not. We aren't even the same species. It's that they feel fear, freeze up, and retreat."

"What are you thinking? When you encounter a wild beast, aren't you also afraid? It's the same reaction."

Oh, that seemed to make sense.

Mainly, she hadn't faced the Star Worms head-on, and her understanding of the Beast World wasn't deep.

"I was just letting my imagination run wild~"

"Stop talking nonsense like that; it's a bit disgusting, as if we S-ranks have some connection to them."

"Sorry~"

Tu Nan coaxed the bristling Peacock from across the screen.

"Let's not talk about that. Let me tell you about a coincidence. Do you remember that Chaotic Beast I mentioned to you, the one named Li?"

Kong Jiamu didn't notice Tu Nan's silence. He stroked his chin, finding it very interesting.

"See, last time I asked him if he wanted to serve under me, and he said the Military Court wouldn't allow him to leave the Border Star."

"This time, he's quite well-informed. While I was still on the starship, he had someone send me a message."

Peacock thought about what happened a week ago.

"Major General Kong, I received a strange message for you." One of his Messengers seemed undecided.

Kong Jiamu was surprised; this Messenger was newly assigned to him by the Sixth Legion.

Unlike the soldiers he brought himself, who were more lively, this one was so rigid it was almost boring.

What could make him feel that he couldn't handle it according to the rules?

"How strange?" His interest was piqued instead.

"It's a private message sent from the front lines, from a Field Hospital. He said you once promised that he could exchange a 'life-saving favor' for one request."

While the warship was on a mission, such random private messages shouldn't be forwarded.

But the location and the 'life-saving favor' stumped the Messenger.

"Ah!" Kong Jiamu blinked and reached out his hand.

"Where's the number?" he asked the stunned Messenger. "Don't delay my repayment of the favor."

What? Someone actually managed to make the S-rank Major General Kong owe them a life-saving favor?

The Messenger dizzily handed over the contact number left by the other party.

***

"Is this Li? This is Kong Jiamu."

"Major General... Kong."

When the communication rang, Li had been waiting almost to the point of despair.

"Hahaha, don't be so formal. So, what do you need my help with?"

Li had repeatedly checked the Military Laws over the past few days. He knew he still couldn't go directly to the capital, but... "I saw that you were transferred to the front-line battlefield of the Gamma Galaxy," he said.

"Yes, I'm in flight, I'll be there in another week. I'm glad you're still doing well, good!" The attrition rate of the Suicide Squad was too high; it was the best news that this Male Beast was still alive.

Li didn't say anything for a moment.

Kong Jiamu remembered the Messenger saying the call came from a Field Hospital, and seeing the silence on the other end, he was shocked.

"Wait, are you really okay?" He became more cautious.

"I can still go to the battlefield."

Fearing that Kong Jiamu would look down on his combat strength, Li quickly stated his request.

"Since you're at the front lines, the Sixth Legion will be arranging subordinate troops for you, right? I was thinking, since we're both in the front-line combat zone, if I could serve under you."

He added, "I can stay in the Suicide Squad; I'm very useful. You can check my files; I've completed four A-rank missions, and one of them was almost an S-rank."

Kong Jiamu sucked in a breath of cold air.

As far as he knew, this person had only been in the Suicide Squad for four months?

One A-rank mission with an attrition rate of over 80% per month?

He struggled his way out of a meat grinder.

"...Is it possible?" Li asked carefully.

Getting close to Kong Jiamu was the most likely way he could think of to get close to the Imperial Palace.

Although he might only be able to hear a few snippets of news.

"Come on, who wouldn't want a talent like you!" Peacock laughed heartily. "It'll probably take some effort to snatch you away, but don't worry."

"I, Kong Jiamu, have never failed to snatch someone I wanted."

Li softly exhaled the breath he had been holding.

After waiting for a long time, he was finally... one step closer to Tu Nan.