Chapter 437: Chapter 436: They Must Pay the Price
The numerous soldiers suffered heavy casualties.
And after the fierce battle, the battlefield needs reconstruction, so the soldiers were quickly evacuated...
Although both Gu Xi and Lie Fenglei wanted very much to meet Xu Lingjun, unfortunately, he had already been directly dragged into the highest command room by Hao Yuntun.
At this time, the supreme command room was already filled with commanders from various military districts, clearly indicating the magnificent scale of this battle, which almost mobilized all elite forces of the Polar Star Battlefield.
"This battle was won thanks to you!"
Xu Liang didn’t know Xu Lingjun and the others, but after Bai Yunrui’s introduction, he knew these people were those sent a few months ago to excavate the Void Gold, and they were absolutely trustworthy.
Among them was even the son of Your Majesty.
He nodded contentedly, feeling assured in the thought of having worthy successors.
He laughed: "Just by looking at the bullet marks and shelling on the Sea King, one can tell what kind of risks you faced. But your risks were entirely worthwhile, in this battle, you were the greatest heroes!"
Upon hearing this,
Xu Lingjun and the others displayed strange expressions.
Shelling marks?
Indeed, it was extremely dangerous. If it weren’t for the numerous upgrades made by Old Gor over the years, vastly enhancing its durability, the Sea King would have long been sunk by the enemy.
But this wasn’t about danger; it was because the four of them were utterly incapable of maneuvering this super warship.
After Xiaoya left, the warship hadn’t budged an inch...
In Bai Yunrui and the others’ eyes, this was the Sea King helping them by drawing the enemy’s fire, risking itself selflessly for their sake.
But only Xu Lingjun and the others knew their own situation.
"Now, even I can’t help but be curious about what you experienced on this trip."
Xu Liang chuckled and said, "What exactly did you go through, to return piloting the Pirate King’s warship? I can’t help but want to know what happened to you..."
"It was indeed a perilous journey."
Xu Lingjun and the others exchanged glances, seeing the lingering emotions in each other’s eyes.
Indeed.
Since arriving on Xuyun Star, they had been under the shadow of death, and only now had they truly emerged into the light.
Thinking back now, even with miraculous weapons like the Mecha, their escape owed much to sheer luck.
Xu Lingjun then recounted their journey in detail.
Except for concealing Sun Yangwei’s actions...
Although they could speak of him to Sun Lingli as they did after the fact, portraying him as a true hero,
but ultimately, Sun Yangwei committed an unforgivable mistake. To make him a hero, not to mention Han Yun City and Liu Dong would disagree,
even Xu Lingjun wouldn’t be able to justify it to himself, so let him just be a hero to his daughter.
Thus, Xu Lingjun had already negotiated this matter with Han Yun City.
They merely mentioned that they accidentally discovered the warship’s engine had been tampered with and might not sustain long journeys. Coincidentally, they had killed the new Pirate King Roger Sparrow and found a star map on him, which marked the location of Siria Planet, not far from Xuyun Star.
So, they decided to target Siria Planet, instigating both sides into a bloody battle leading to mutual destruction.
They spoke lightly of it, but to the ears of the military district leaders, it was clearly a journey disturbing enough to shake anyone to their core.
The hidden threat on Xuyun Star was a terrifying conspiracy that could obliterate the entire Polar Star Battlefield.
The intrigue on Siria Planet... Upon learning that Xu Lingjun and Han Yun City jointly killed Old Gor, who had achieved the status of a Supreme Grandmaster decades ago,
those who were previously tasked with assisting Xu Lingjun, like Yuan Tiesheng and Zhao Ziqing, showed subtle changes in their expressions.
Clearly, even if they joined forces, they couldn’t confidently claim to be able to kill Old Gor. These two young individuals, while not yet Grandmasters, already possessed the capability to threaten their very lives.
Instantly, the pent-up frustration from months of waiting disappeared without a trace.
The others listened, entranced as well.
When Xu Lingjun finished recounting his tale,
"So, your contributions were not just in helping us win the battle, but you also protected the Polar Star Battlefield from the harm of Xuyun Star. The achievements you’ve made are truly magnificent!"
Fang Lie, Commander in Chief of the Megrez Military District, looked at Xu Lingjun and the rest with immense satisfaction, especially at Xu Lingjun, seeing in him a reflection of his own younger self.
He stated earnestly, "Rest assured, the Polar Star Battlefield will reward its heroes, Li Cheng and Sun Qinglong will be posthumously honored as martyrs, and you will receive the rewards you deserve as well."
Before Xu Lingjun, his screen began to refresh once more.
In an instant, the commanders from various military districts had contributed over 3,000 points of Source Value to Xu Lingjun.
Adding to the continuously accumulating Source Value from the soldiers, the total had exceeded the thirty thousand mark.
Hao Yuntun voiced concern, "Now that Xuyun Star is destroyed, what about the Void Gold then..."
"We’ve already obtained a significant amount of Void Gold, enough for the Great Xia Empire’s use for a century. After that... let’s hope we’ve found an alternative by then. Under the circumstances, we had no other choice!"
"Indeed."
Xu Liang sighed, "Unraveling the conspiracy to destroy Xuyun Star, wholly annihilating the Cosmic Pirate Group that had dominated the cosmos for nearly a century without suffering any losses... Gor Sparrow’s lifetime of dominance, never would he have thought his end would come at the hands of two young individuals. With the Sea God returning to the Polar Star Battlefield, our humiliation has finally been cleansed."
Seeing the confused looks of Xu Lingjun and the others, Hao Yuntun smiled and said, "You two probably still don’t understand the significance of the Sea God to us. It was a tremendous humiliation, and thanks to you two, our Polar Star Battlefield has scrubbed away the disgrace... your achievements are immense, determining your reward is beyond our capacity, but Your Majesty will certainly ensure you’re not wronged, rest assured about that."
"Yes."
"Ah, there’s one more thing."
Han Yun City added, "In fact, when we were on Xuyun Star, we were surrounded by the Shilin Race. It was thanks to an anonymous Shilin tribesman who suddenly alerted us, allowing us to be warned... and through him, we learned about the conspiracy on Xuyun Star, and it was also through him that we had enough time to escape from Xuyun Star!"
"Oh? The Shilin Race helped you?"
"He was once a member of the Suicide Squad, the predecessor of the Baoyan Army Legion."
Han Yun City stated, "Thanks to him, we learned that he had been infected with Shilin Poison, living in a stupor for many years, until he saw us and finally regained his senses. But after he saved us, he was killed by the Shilin tribesmen."
"There’s such a thing?"
Xu Liang exclaimed, "Then this person truly saved our Polar Star Battlefield as a hero."
"We never learned his name at the time,"
Han Yun City said, "But we knew that the reason he was in a stupor, cooperating with these Shilin people, was entirely because he fought desperately for the Polar Star Battlefield on the front lines. Yet the death benefits that should have been allocated were embezzled, resulting in his parents dying of illness without money for treatment, and his wife and daughter becoming destitute and dying on the streets..."
"There’s such a thing?"
Hearing this, everyone in the various military districts involuntarily straightened their backs.
Hao Yuntun even cursed softly and said angrily, "There’s no shortage of these leeches anywhere... dammit, even daring to embezzle our death benefits."
Han Yun City said earnestly, "I will report this matter to the emperor."
"No need for you to report!"
Fang Lie shouted angrily, "We will report this to Your Majesty. If the emperor cannot give us an explanation regarding this matter, we will not let it rest. Those pen-pushing bastards, each one pointing fingers and giving directions, if we followed their assured words, the Mysterious races of the heavens would already be trembling under our guns, and we would’ve conquered the cosmos long ago!"
"Investigate, it must be thoroughly investigated!"
"If we can’t satisfy the thousands of soldiers, we won’t agree either!"
Everyone was instantly filled with righteous indignation.