Chapter 442: Chapter 361: Accidental Discharge

Afterwards, Duan Mingyuan and Jiuyue learned that on this tranquil evening, it was the fourth, sixth, and seventh battle groups of the Iron Guard Consortium’s battleship cruisers that had gifted the residents of Holy City with a fireworks display. Attendees also included vessels from the Adventurers’ Association and the United Front.

At the moment, the commanders of these battle groups, including Bill Norton, had been arranged to take administrative leave.

When a group of people left the mansion and walked onto the streets, wreckage from the battleship cruisers could be seen everywhere.

Even though all medical personnel were dispatched immediately, there were too many injured; they had no choice but to search for survivors among the still-burning wreckage of the battleship cruisers.

This was the result of the ships encountering a secondary strike as they fell, with the Ashen Church’s barrier indiscriminately dealing a finishing blow to these "unidentified flying objects."

From the situation on the scene, the survival rate of the military personnel did not look optimistic.

Duan Mingyuan watched as soldiers were being carried away on stretchers, realizing that missing arms and broken legs could only be considered minor injuries here. Moreover, with the scorching weather of Holy City and the already poor medical resources, even if they didn’t die on the spot, many would soon lose their lives due to infection, excessive blood loss, and other symptoms.

"The briefing said that it was the fleet from the United Front that launched the attack on the Iron Guard Consortium first after nightfall, with the Adventurers’ Guild joining the war shortly after,"

Baptism shared the intelligence she had just received with the two of them.

However, she was not well-versed in cosmic wars. After the Pope had issued the announcement to the Judges, no further instructions were given.

Theoretically, the purpose of both Universe Company and the Shanqi Commerce Association traveling to Holy City was to negotiate peace talks, at least on the surface.

But judging from the behavior of both parties bringing most of their military might here, there could only be two outcomes to these negotiations.

Either they would shake hands and make peace, or they would flatten the entire star system.

However, not a single high-ranking member of the Shanqi Commerce Association attended the choir performance held in the Holy City last night. They declined the church’s invitation with various excuses and remained on their flagships instead.

"It seems the Pope is not a ’face fruit’ power user,"

Jiuyue muttered quietly.

The Pope had summoned the high-ranking officials of both parties to the Holy City amid such a sensitive period, hoping to resolve the conflict. He wished for both sides to give him face, even if it only resulted in temporary peace.

Regrettably, from the horrific scenes evident everywhere, it wasn’t hard to see that the Pope’s plan had failed.

Perhaps it was Jean Saintfield’s death in Holy City that had cost the Shan Clan People their trust in the Ashen Church.

"I need to get back to my flagship. Would you like to join me?"

Baptism didn’t want to stay on the ground and leave her fate to chance; who knew whether the bloodthirsty parties would bombard the entire Holy City. The other Judges had also made preparations to face the war.

It was her first time experiencing war, and she was understandably nervous.

Having familiar friends on her ship would bring her some comfort.

"We still need to stay here for a while,"

Duan Mingyuan shook his head.

He felt that the accidental collision between the Iron Guard Consortium and the Shanqi Commerce Association was just the beginning. Once both sides had fired the first shot, the grudge could not be reconciled, and the dark forces pushing all of this from behind did not wish for them to stop.

Using human-made weapons to deplete their vitality was the simplest and most effective means, and it was also the purpose of the Void Demons inserting parasites into the human upper echelons.

Duan Mingyuan still remembered the science magazines he read in high school, which popularized the fact that the weapons created by humans were already powerful enough to destroy them more than a dozen times over. More than one expert had predicted that human civilization would perish in the next full-scale galactic war.

No sooner had he spoken than another burst of flame lit up the night sky.

This was the seventeenth fireworks display of the night. The falling ship, marked with the Adventurers’ Association symbol, seemed to pass through an invisible barrier and disintegrate under their gaze just before it was about to crash into the Holy City Cathedral.

In the end, only a few charred pieces of scrap metal fell onto the Holy City Cathedral.

Jiuyue, however, found the fireworks display quite ingenious. It was the most magnificent performance she had ever seen, though a bit wasteful of lives.

『Then I’m leaving.』

Baptism looked back three times in one step, leaving behind a lonely silhouette under the night sky for the two of them.

She really hoped Das-Vida would board her ship during the critical period of the war to provide her with systematic guidance.

"You go with her, and while you’re at it, notify Tang Qianqian and the others."

Duan Mingyuan was somewhat worried and spoke to Jiuyue.

"Are we going to fight with them?"

This statement made Jiuyue nervous as well. She was better at small-scale ground skirmishes and completely inexperienced with interstellar warfare.

She always felt that the kind of hot weapon exchange provided no room to maneuver, and once hit, they would be forced to put on a fireworks show for the people of Holy City, just like the previous battleships had been.

Moreover, compared to the fully armed regular army, their flagship snatched from the Cosmic Pirates seemed inadequate, with firepower not at all on the same level.

"If they target you, retreat immediately."

Duan Mingyuan laid out the main tactics to Jiuyue, "Take Baptism with you, so you can look out for each other when that time comes."

The main strategic target of the Void Demons was Holy City, they wouldn’t exhaust all their energy to chase a few retreating ships.

Fortunately, He Ya was still on board. The worst outcome would be the two ships retreating continuously to the star system where Flashing Star was located.

"What about you?"

Jiuyue asked.

"I still have some things to take care of."

Duan Mingyuan’s gaze swept over the Ashen Church followers who were discreetly trailing not far behind the medical team. The Scorching Sun Power inside their bodies had been consumed, and in its place was a type of chaos power Duan Mingyuan had never seen before.

Although this grand fireworks display was not part of the Dark Night Witch’s plans, she wouldn’t miss this opportunity.

It looked like her plans had been forced to move forward as well.

"Mhm."

Jiuyue also noticed the abnormal behavior of the Believers and nodded.

Not wanting to jinx the situation before the battle, she quickly caught up with Baptism, who had completely vanished into the deep night.

Duan Mingyuan, too, steadied his heart and followed the surreptitious Believers.

Originally, he thought these people were planning to take advantage of the chaos to attack the temporary medical outpost, but after following them for a distance, the Believers deliberately changed their direction and headed towards a deserted district.

The fireworks display had scattered a large number of Holy City residents, and in light of the medical team’s severe shortage, many locals had joined the ranks of volunteers.

"It’s time."

After an unknown time frame, the Believers engulfed in darkness lit green torches.

Under their feet was the prearranged Hexagram Array.

In the doctrine of the Ashen Church, this was the mark of a demon.

The leading Believer bent down and used the green torch to ignite the ritual implements on the Array.

At that moment, an eerie green glow flickered in the eye sockets of a skull.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read