Li Linghai could turn a blind eye to Li Yao’s pestering, but she could not ignore the Godly Might Prison that had been armed to the teeth as well as the Godly Might Fleet that was completely undamaged apart from the flagship. Eventually, she still “demeaned” herself and came to meet Lei Chenghu in the Godly Might Prison in person.

The secret meeting room in the Godly Might Prison was scanned inside and outside by Li Yao. At this moment, Li Yao, Li Linghai, and Lei Chenghu were the only three present.

A meeting that could possibly change the course of the Imperium of True Human Beings or even the civilization of mankind at the center of the cosmos began in the underground secret chamber that was somewhat gloomy.

Li Yao blocked the door like an iron tower, but his eyes were glittering, with the left one staring at the ambitious white-haired witch and the right one focusing on the ruthless one-armed general. The competition of two top Immortal Cultivators was too spectacular a show to be missed out!

“Lei Chenghu is privileged to meet Your Grace!”

The wounds all over Lei Chenghu’s body had long been recovered under the crazy proliferation of cells. Now that he had put on another military uniform that was clean and neat, he appeared even more majestic. His left sleeve, empty, waved by his side, while he smashed his chest with his right fist and bowed in respect at Li Linghai.

“Marquis Liaohai, you have been heavily wounded, and such courtesy is unnecessary. Please stand straight.”

Naturally, the formalities couldn’t be saved. Li Linghai paused for a moment and said earnestly, “In the capital, I, as the queen of the Imperium, will soon be announced to have unfortunately been killed in an assassination by lethal poison. In the Godly Might Prison, the God of War and Marquis Liaohai that His Majesty knighted in person, is likely to die an uncanny death exactly like I did. The two of them share rather similar experiences. The universe is a large place, but there is no room for us to stay in. Why do we have to keep the manners of ‘queen’ or ‘Marquis Liaohai’?

“In the eyes of countless powerful lords and elders, the two of us are people who should not live in this world anymore. We are nonexistent ghosts. In that case, why don’t we drop all the burdens and vanities and just call each other ‘fellow Cultivators’ in order to exchange what is on our minds straightforwardly?”

Lei Chenghu smiled and said, “As you wish, Fellow Cultivator Li!”

Li Linghai’s eyes shone as she said, “Fellow Cultivator Lei, you truly deserved to be the greatest general of the Imperium. To be honest, I’ve been admiring Fellow Cultivator Lei for your feats for a long time. If I had not been trapped inside the royal palace living a life that I could not control, I really would’ve fought side by side with Fellow Cultivator Li at the fiercest frontline as a common soldier of the Imperium to defend the glory of the Imperium and accomplish what Blackstar the Great failed to accomplish a thousand years ago.”

“You haven’t given yourself enough credit, have you, Fellow Cultivator Li? Just because one is in the royal palace does not mean that they cannot accomplish something great.”

Lei Chenghu sneered, “Take Fellow Cultivator Li for example. You never showed anything extraordinary, and everybody simply regarded you as a common queen of the Imperium. They thought that you did not surpass the limits of the queens in the past even if you had some ambitions. Little did they know that you established such an enormous fleet in secret and even raised… such a rarely-seen and unconventional genius like ‘Vulture Li Yao’!

“I wonder, what is your purpose exactly now that you have made such great achievements?”

“The Imperium is now at doomsday. Wolves and jackals have occupied the court, and the Council of Elders is completely corrupted. All the Sectors mind their own business. The common folk’s life is more than miserable. The young people and the low-level Immortal Cultivators have nowhere to vent their complaints and wrath too.”

Her eyes burning, Li Linghai said solemnly, “Also, His Majesty has fallen to the hands of the scoundrels too, who have secretly kidnapped and hidden him away. They even captured and tried to kill the queen of the Imperium and the admiral of the Imperium freely!

“We must not forget the undercurrents in the frontline. The Covenant Alliance is not necessarily ready to admit their defeat. It is possible that they will launch a desperate attempt at the last moment!

“However, the rigid, corrupted elders and nobles, who are still dwelling in the fantasy that the Imperium is invincible, do not have the slightest idea about the upcoming threat!

“At such a moment of life and death, only the Immortal Cultivators with clear heads such as you and me are the last saviors of the Imperium and the civilization of mankind!

“Yes. We are saviors. I have spent almost a hundred years and wagered everything that I have earned on the rescue of Fellow Cultivator Lei, at the risk of being cursed as a ‘traitor’, just in order to save the Imperium and the civilization of mankind!”

Lei Chenghu listened emotionlessly. There was no telling what he thought of Li Linghai’s slightly hollow answer. His eyes only rolled when Li Linghai mentioned the menace of the Covenant Alliance. He slightly nodded his head and said, “The general ideas of the reformists have been elaborated on by Fellow Cultivator Vulture Li Yao in great passion and details just now. In fact, he talked for almost half an hour, giving me quite a profound understanding of what it is.

“However, I always regard myself as the purest soldier. Unless I absolutely do not have a choice, I would rather not be involved in the politics in the capital.

“But Fellow Cultivator Li is right about one thing.

“I can guarantee with my life that the Covenant Alliance must be planning certain thunderous operations in secret, which, once activated, will likely sweep across the entire sea of stars!

“The only reason why I volunteered to be captured was to get myself an opportunity to convince the lords in the Council of Elders in the capital!”

“Those guys in the Council of Elders won’t listen to you.”

Li Linghai said coldly, “The only thing they can hear, besides the sound of coins, is the roars of bullets and cannons!”

Lei Chenghu sighed and went on, “In order to completely shatter the Covenant Alliance’s plan, the expedition army must not be diminished. Instead, it must be intensified and regularized to be regrouped into a ‘national defense army’ that is stronger, with the investment of twice as many resources, for not one year but a decade or even a century, until the Imperium or the Covenant Alliance collapses.

“If the goal is too far-fetched right now, the base of the expedition army must be kept at least. Its independence and control must be improved too, partly to get the base out of the boundary of the capital so that it can react to the emergencies in the frontline quickly, and partly to intensify the base’s control over the fleets in the frontline so that all the troops will be united like the limbs on one body.

“If that can be achieved, and an experienced general who is absolutely loyal to the Imperium is appointed as the commander of the base of the expedition army, I believe that there will still be a 30% chance to resist the Covenant Alliance’s thunderous attack on the premise of the current resource supplies!

“I am a soldier who does not know politics. But from the military point of view, everything that can be done must be done if the Imperium is to be saved!”

“I can’t agree with you more, Fellow Cultivator Li!”

Li Linghai’s white hair began to move although there was no wind. She declared confidently, “In the great ideas of the reformists, a powerful army of the Imperium is the key. In the entire Imperium, Fellow Cultivator Lei is the only one capable and qualified to lead such an army.

“Therefore, I second to Fellow Cultivator Lei’s opinion that the expedition army must not be diminished but can only be strengthened. Or rather, we should build a sacred ‘national defense army’ based on the current expedition army!

“If I were capable of making a voice in the Council of Elders, I would’ve spoken to the muddleheaded elders and told them that Fellow Cultivator Lei was the best candidate for the commander for the current expedition army and the future national defense army. Fellow Cultivator Lei is the only person who can reverse the situation, save the Imperium, and help us defeat all the enemies!

“It is a shame that we barely have any chance to appear in the Council of Elders in the capital. Even if we shout at the loudest of our voices at the center of the Council of Elders, no elders will ever hear us.”

Li Linghai sighed gloomily and stared at Lei Chenghu with her eyes that were as pale as ice.

Lei Chenghu’s face was utterly peaceful, and there was not the slightest ripple in his eyes. He said nonchalantly, “As I said before, I am a soldier. Unless there is absolutely no choice, I will not be involved in politics.

“But does ‘choiceless’ begin to describe the chaos in the Imperium today?

“It is a soldier’s responsibility to protect the country, both from the enemies outside and the worms inside. As long as they hurt the fundamental interests of the Imperium and the civilization of mankind, they will be the sworn enemies of all soldiers.

“At this moment… The enemies are in the Council of Elders!

“Fellow Cultivator Li, speak now. How are you planning to deal with the stinky zombies in the Council of Elders?”

Although Lei Chenghu was all by himself and even missing one arm, when he bellowed “the enemies are in the Council of Elders”, the shadows of thousands of starships appeared behind him. The auras from the invincible troop were almost simmering the entire chamber unstoppably!

Li Yao secretly compared “Iron Commander” Zhou Hengdao, the model soldier of the federation, with “God of War” Lei Chenghu, and he had to admit that the expert from the center of the cosmos was indeed stronger!

Li Linghai’s hair was dancing crazily in excitement. She shrieked, “First of all, we will escort Fellow Cultivator Lei back to the Astounding Thunder Fleet and try to gather more main-force warships!”

“Give me three days, and I will be able to mobilize 80% of the forces in the Astounding Thunder Fleet and a batch of elites from the brotherly troops in the frontline.”

Lei Chenghu said solemnly, “But it will be useless if we only have troops. Without a vast logistics base, our crystals, fuels, medicines, ammunition, and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures are all restricted by other people. With the current ammunition and fuel, we will run out of supplies after one assault at most. Whatever place we attack, the Council of Elders will not bend easily.

“Besides, the Covenant Alliance is still coveting nearby. It is impossible for me to launch a coup that is destined to fail with all the main forces. It will not be the Imperium’s salvation but acceleration to its destruction!”