Chapter 998: The Dragon-Butchering Cleaver!

“Let’s review what happened more than ten years ago.

“The Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector discovered Boneyard, which is around ten thousand lightyears away, almost at the same time.

“Since Boneyard was the residence of ‘Skeleton Dragon’, an ancient ferocious demon from forty thousand years ago, the Blood Demon Sector had more information about it. I remember that the federation did not know the real name of the planet and called it ‘Ultimacy’ at that time.

“However, after the discovery of Boneyard, neither the Blood Demon Sector nor the Heaven’s Origin Sector started the exploration immediately.

“It was because a distance of ten thousand lightyears was too vast. With the technologies of the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector, it was quite questionable whether or not the resources on the planet could be developed efficiently, if resources were detected at all.

“Therefore, even in the Blood Demon Sector, which had more knowledge about Boneyard, the debate over whether to explore the planet or not remained unabated for a long time. You were scared that the resources you devoted to the exploration would prove to be a waste!

“Eventually, it was your father who convinced all the other demon emperors to gather the resources of the Blood Demon Sector and start building the super teleportation array Eye of Blood Demon!

“In order to initiate the project as soon as possible, you father even promised that the Gold Crow Kingdom would contribute one third of the total capital and resources, didn’t he?”

Jin Xinyue thought for a moment and nodded. “At that time, I was still very young, but the incident left quite a deep impression on me.

“Although my father was one of the twelve demon emperors, he was not the one with the highest personal strength. Furthermore, the national capability of the Gold Crow Kingdom was incomparable to that of the Nether Spring Kingdom or the Kingdom of Lion Butchers. Therefore, he had always kept a low profile until then. Like I said last time, my father is very good at ‘compromising’.

“But the project of the Eye of Blood Demon was what he had been most insistent on since I had memory. He even smashed the table in the headquarters of the Pantheon of Demons, declaring resolutely that it was a rarely-seen opportunity and that there would certainly be major discoveries on Boneyard.

“Since he was responsible for the universal exploration of the Blood Demon Sector, his voice was apparently the largest in the issue. Also, the Gold Crow Kingdom was providing most of the resources. Therefore, the other demon emperors all agreed to the plan, however unwilling to, in the end.”

“It was not until the Blood Demon Sector got started with the Eye of Blood Demon that the Star Glory Federation began building the Heaven’s Artillery,” Li Yao observed. “Perhaps the federation was not interested in Boneyard at first. But after noticing that the Blood Demon Sector was taking actions, they were forced into an ‘arms race’.

“If they did not join the competition, wouldn’t the federation have been caught in an awkward situation if some earth-shaking magical equipment had been excavated from Boneyard when the demons monopolized it?

“All in all, your father was the proposer and the greatest endorser of the exploration of Boneyard!”

“That’s right,” Jin Xinyue confirmed.

“But the exploration proved to be a fiasco in the end.” Li Yao sighed. “Let’s leave the trap of Skeleton Dragon aside for a moment. Even after I brought away Skeleton Dragon through teleportation, the exploration project on Boneyard was still put on hiatus after a few years because both the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector discovered that it was tremendously difficult to develop a planet ten thousand lightyears ago on a large scale with their current technology.

“Water too far away cannot quench one’s current thirst. If a lot of resources were devoted to the development of Boneyard, chances were that their home would be demolished by the enemy before the resources on the planet were brought back!

“In the decade that followed, small-scale explorations were conducted on Boneyard, but the missions were mostly restricted on surveying, prospecting, and the collection of mineral samples. The Heaven’s Artillery and the Eye of Blood Demon did not play roles deserving of their cost. Sure enough, they could be used to develop the world fragments at a shorter distance, but it would like butchering a chicken with a cleaver designed to dissect a bull!

“That is the conclusion I came to based on the Fire Ant King’s theory and yours, as well as the public information. Is there anything wrong about it?”

“No.” Jin Xinyue shook her head. “The incident was a major blow for the Gold Crow Kingdom. I remember that my father was severely impeached, too. Everybody said that he was too reckless and wasted so many resources on a useless Eye of Blood Demon. Not only were so many silver-blood demons killed in the attempt, the teleportation array never played an important role later, either. It was a great failure!

“However, if we hadn’t built the Eye of Blood Demon, the federation might not have established the Heaven’s Artillery at all. Therefore, I think we drew even in the end by wasting equal quantities of resources on nothing!

“Anyway, the incident depressed my father for several years. He became even more low-key in the Pantheon of Demons. It was not until after the Battle of Dawn, when the continentalism that the Nether Spring Kingdom and the Kingdom of Lion Butchers enshrined seemed impractical, that my father, as the master of the air forces, was elected as the commander-in-chief of the coalition army of demons.”

Li Yao sneered. “Do you really think that your father’s insistence on the project of the Eye of Blood Demon was a feverish, reckless decision?”

Jin Xinyue was stunned for a moment and then fell into deep thought.

“Since your father was the ‘Minister of Universal Exploration and Development’ of the Blood Demon Sector, he must’ve had abundant experience in the exploration of world fragments. Would he have neglected the cost issue, which wouldn’t even escape a countryfolk’s attention? Would he not have known that the technology of the Blood Demon Sector at that time was not advanced enough to develop a planet ten thousand lightyears away on a large scale?

“On the very contrary, I believe that he knew it better than anybody else!”

“If he knew it clearly, why did he—”

Jin Xinyue suddenly bit her tongue and shuddered!

She had figured out everything!

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Li Yao smiled. “You’ve thought it through, haven’t you?

“Assuming that, starting from the very beginning, your father has insisted on the construction of Eye of Blood Demon not for Boneyard but for the capital city of the Star Glory Federation…

“Then, everything we discussed just now makes perfect sense, right?”

Jin Xinyue felt that the solid world around her was falling apart in that moment. Everything she was familiar with was turning into something different. She seemed to have walked into a dark, deep ocean where she could not tell the truth behind the lies.

She could only follow Li Yao closely and stagger forward in the deep sea, looking for the unpredictable brightness with the guidance of the monster-like master.

Li Yao took a deep breath, with solemnity and admiration in his eyes.

When he heard the original version of the Red Tide Plan, he had indeed looked down upon Jin Tuyi and thought that the commander-in-chief of the coalition army was just so-so.

However, after he figured out the whole picture, he found it impossible to calm himself for a long time, too!

Jin Tuyi was definitely a great man who was as smart as Yan Xibei, Xiao Xuance, and Bai Xinghe. He was a worthy, respectable opponent whom Li Yao needed to deal with by activating every braincell!

In a trance, Li Yao felt that his soul was attached to the younger Jin Tuyi decades ago in the Blood Demon Sector. He said slowly in a deep and coarse voice, “All the information has been cleared.

“Now, I will try to sort out the information and restore the more reasonable storyline.

“According to my speculation, your father accidentally retrieved brand-new, groundbreaking technology about teleportation arrays decades ago.

“The Feather Clan had always been a fan of teleportation arrays. Your father was also the supervisor of the exploration of world fragments in the Blood Demon Sector. It is not entirely unreasonable to think that he unearthed a new legacy by accident, right?

“The moment your father found the legacy of the ‘super teleportation array’, his mind was greatly stirred.

“Naturally, the very first thought that came to the mind of anybody who got such a legacy would certain be whether or not it was possible to teleport the best troops to the enemy’s heart with such a technology.

“However, it was easier said than done!

“The most critical factor was confidentiality. Such an assault plan, which was similar to the ‘decapitation strategy’, would lose all its destructive power if it was leaked in advance, in which case it would mean the doom of all the elite troops that had been teleported!

“It was a pity that such a super teleportation array would certainly cause a great fuss when it was built. The protracted project, the consumption of astronomical resources, the concentration of manpower and materials… As long as his enemy was not a complete idiot, they would certainly find out what he was up to!

“Therefore, your father did not report the technology to the Pantheon of Demons at the earliest chance in order to build a super teleportation array. Instead, he waited patiently for a better opportunity.

“Maybe, during his waiting, he further studied the legacy. He chewed it up, digested it, and etched it into his brain. Perhaps, he also came up with many incredible plans with the legacy as the core.

“I don’t know how long he waited, but he was finally given a chance in the end!

“The discovery of Boneyard gave him the perfect excuse to build the Eye of Blood Demon openly!

“On the surface, it is a ‘distance slingshot’ designed to teleport a limited number of elites to ten thousand lightyears away.

“But I believe that, as the supervisor of the project of the Eye of Blood Demon, even if your father did not participate in the designs and construction of the teleportation array in person, he definitely had a certain way to leave an ‘interface’ on the Eye of Blood Demon so that it would be able to change the mode of teleportation someday in the future!

“Then, the most dreadful weapon to use against the Heaven’s Origin Sector was completed without alarming anyone.

“Why didn’t your father activate the Red Tide Plan the moment the Eye of Blood Demon was constructed?

“I don’t know, but I estimate that it must have something to do with the distance between the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector.

“Ten years ago, the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector were still in the early phases of the melding. The ‘eggshell’ between the two worlds was still very solid without too many gaps. Despite the awesomeness of the Eye of Blood Demon, the precision and stability of the teleportation could not be guaranteed.

“Therefore, your father concealed his claws and his teeth and continued waiting.

“Even though everybody despised him, even though he suffered a major setback, even though he was mocked for the big and useless ‘cleaver for bulls’ that he had crafted at a great cost, he still grabbed the handle of his cleaver in the darkness like the most fearsome assassin, waiting for the perfect moment to launch the critical attack.

“Because he was the only one who knew that he did not build a ‘cleaver for bulls’ but one that was ambitious enough to butcher the dragon!”