Chapter 234: Twelve Hours easefire

"What's going on? I thought this big guy was disabled? Why is it moving again?" asked Baron Sisse.

"Looks like there's no way out for us. Let's return to the control room and take a better look around us," I suggested.

The group followed my suggestion and returned to the control room. The horrifying scene we had expected to see appeared before us. Two thick steel chains were attached to the two sides of the shell-breaker. The two chains were connected to two Milky Way battleships. The two battleships were slowly dragging us toward an odd-looking place farther away from the city gate.

Beyond the damaged gate, right beside the precipitous mountain cliff, the imperial army had created an unusual zone. A constantly rotating sphere that looked like a black hole hovered in the air. Within the sphere, dark green lava roiled and churned, looking like the nuclear fusion that would generally happen in stars.

"Good heavens. What is that?" Dondon exclaimed in alarm.

"No idea. I've never seen or read about it in history books before," said Baron Sisse.

"Gate of hell," I muttered in stupefaction.

"Advisor Canyue, you saw this before? What weapon is this?" asked Keji.

"No, I merely feel like this is a gate to hell. They are clearly trying to bring us to a different space to burn us alive," I replied.

Everyone's eyes widened in alarm.

"Canyue, that looks rather similar to a time door. At the other end is the core of a star," said Dondon.

"No matter where this gate leads to, it is definitely a terrifying place," I said helplessly.

"Looks like all of us are going to die here. I did not expect the enemy to actually trap and destroy us like this. Such cruelty in war goes against the imperial pact," said Baron Sisse with a sigh.

The shell-breaker was slowly dragged toward the gate of hell, our approach akin to a countdown to our departure from the world of the living. Without access to our communication channel, we weren't even able to know what was happening outside. However, I did notice that the two parties had stopped attacking each other.

What I couldn't understand was why the empire needed to come up with such a complicated plan to kill nobodies like us. The rotating gate of hell was becoming closer and closer. Even through the steel, I could feel the scorching heat coming from the space beyond the gate. Eventually, the shell-breaker was less than 10 meters from the gate of hell.

"I am honored to have gotten the chance to fight alongside everyone. If there is a next life, I hope I'll get the chance to fight beside everyone again," said Baron Sisse emotionally.

I hugged Dondon and waited silently for the end to come. Suddenly, the shell-breaker stopped moving. We were all in disbelief, but the big guy had truly stopped right in front of the time door.

"What's happening now?" asked Baron Sisse.

"Baron, look. The city gate is opening," said Keji in excitement.

Everyone stood up and looked outside the window. We could see the second gate slowly opening up. An inconceivable scene appeared next, one that I could not comprehend. A group of Akko soldiers marched out with Zhang Bao'er, Domo, and Old Du as prisoners.

The soldiers continued walking forth, and from their behavior, some sort of exchange seemed to be taking place. In a few minutes, Zhang Bao'er and Old Du were handed over by the Akko soldiers.

"What are those three doing?" I wondered.

"How can they be handed to the Eternals like bargaining chips?" said Dondon, who was as confused as me.

And a few minutes later, I heard the sound of the shell-breaker's door being opened. Immediately after, Zhang Bao'er, Domo, Old Du, and several imperial soldiers appeared before us.

"What's happening? Why did you guys…?" I asked, unable to believe what I was seeing.

"Zhang Bao'er got anxious when he saw you on the verge of being incinerated," said Old Du.

"What world-shaking feat have you done this time?" I asked Zhang Bao'er.

"Lord envoys, the emperor decreed that we need to ensure your safety. As an exchange, we will agree to a ceasefire of 12 hours," said an imperial official.

I was utterly confused. Just as I was about to ask more, I saw Zhang Bao'er frantically signal me with his eyes. I immediately shut my mouth and followed them out of the shell-breaker.

Dasille and a few Akko soldiers were waiting outside. They visibly grew excited when they saw Baron Sisse. I did not know the real reason for the ceasefire, but it was still a good chance to bring some calm and peace to the soldiers who had been fighting for so long.

The imperial soldier did not even attempt to stop Baron Sisse and the other two members of the suicide squad from leaving, allowing them to leave with Dasille. Suddenly, Baron Sisse turned back and called my name.

I stepped forth to meet him as he walked toward me as well. He whispered in my ears, "Do not help the empire plot against us, or I will have to retaliate regardless of how unwilling I am."

"Don't worry. I, Li Canyue, am not a person who will do anything unjust," I replied firmly.

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Then, I followed Zhang Bao'er, Domo, and Old Du toward the imperial army's square formation with Dondon in tow. Everything had changed too quickly. Just earlier, we were still fighting bitterly against the imperial soldiers. Suddenly, we had become lord envoys again. I was having a hard time wrapping my mind around the sudden change.

We followed the eternal soldiers out of the first gate. There, a shuttle was waiting for us. After we entered the shuttle, it took off and flew toward outer space. Before the shuttle had taken off, I had taken a final glance at the gate of hell that was still slowly rotating in the air. The fear I had felt earlier still lingered in my heart.

"Bao'er, what exactly did you do?" I finally asked, no longer able to hold my curiosity.

"The empire threatened the mayor, asking for their surrender in exchange for not burning you to death," said Old Du.

"There is a rule among Prince Gede's army. They are not allowed to watch and do nothing as one of their own is being killed. They must try to help. I had learned this from a conversation I had eavesdropped on," said Domo.

'No wonder the Eternals tried to capture several soldiers alive. They are making use of that rule to force a surrender,' I thought.

"Because of that rule, historically, the prince's soldiers are very rarely kept as captives. But this time, Mayor Andi refused to trade for your lives. He wished to continue fighting," said Old Du.

"The mayor did nothing wrong. We are merely normal soldiers on a suicide mission. Why should our lives take precedence over an entire city? If that happens, how should we face the soldiers that have sacrificed bravely for the city?" I was starting to get furious.

"Yes, Mayor Andi was right, but Bao'er grew anxious when he saw that you were going to die. In fact, even I became anxious," said Old Du.

"Same here," Domo quickly added.

"Bao'er and I rushed into the command center. Bao'er then confessed his identity as the imperial envoy. He also hoped to let the empire know that you were also on the shell-breaker. He asked for an audience with the emperor using our identities as envoys," said Old Du.

I calmed down upon hearing that. It did not seem like Bao'er had done anything he shouldn't have, after all.

"Mayor Andi agreed with Bao'er's suggestion and communicated with the imperial soldiers. The Eternals immediately contacted the emperor and were given permission to agree to the request. Thus, we were able to save you, the baron, and the others in time," said Old Du.

"At the time, Dondon and I were trapped in the shell-breaker with no way to receive any update from outside. That was why we were completely confused. So we're now on our way to meet the emperor?" I asked.

"Yes. We have a ceasefire of 12 hours. During that period, we can have a good talk with the emperor," said Zhang Bao'er smugly.

"Have you decided on what you will tell him?" I asked.

"Nope. How the hell am I supposed to know what to tell the emperor?" said Zhang Bao'er.

"You! Why did you demand an audience with the emperor, then?" I asked helplessly.

"I did it to save you guys. In any case, with your eloquence, we can just let you talk to the emperor," said Zhang Bao'er, directly assigning me a new task.

In truth, I was rather gratified at Bao'er's ability to make a quick decision to save us and buy 12 hours of ceasefire without crossing any lines. 

With a thud, the shuttle docked somewhere. Unknowingly, the shuttle had left the planet while we were talking. The door opened, and we saw the familiar face of Captain Wesex waiting for us.

"Lord envoys, welcome back. His Majesty awaits," said Captain Wesex with a smile.

"The emperor had personally come to Akko?" I asked in astonishment.

"No. The emperor had ordered us to send your group to the imperial palace on the Starpath," said Captain Wesex.

"I thought battleships weren't allowed to enter the capital planet?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"It's wartime. All laws can be changed during war. Lord envoys, please be seated. We will be initiating wormhole travel immediately," said Captain Wesex.

Everything unfolded as usual, and a few minutes later, we had been brought far away from the battlefield, and Betelgeuse entered our vision. About 20 minutes later, I arrived at a small courtyard in front of the emperor's room. Master Wind was waiting for me.

The mood of the place had turned much more solemn compared to my previous visit. Four sturdy Gandos could be seen in the courtyard, and numerous high-ranked imperial police officers were standing guard all over the courtyard. As usual, we took off our equipment and followed Master Wind into the room.

"Master, how is the emperor feeling? Who is the actual aggressor in this war?" I whispered to Master Wind.

Master Wind stopped walking.

"The emperor's thoughts have always been mysterious and unfathomable. It is completely unexpected that he would agree to a ceasefire of 12 hours just to meet you. This is also the source of my worry. During your audience, do not speak lightly. Focus more on listening," said Master Wind.

I nodded before continuing onward. I felt my eyes being dazzled the moment I stepped inside the room. In front of us, the emperor was seated on a throne with shining, delicately designed purple armor, looking incomparably heroic.

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