In the wooden luxury courtyard of Qikun Nation, Yongxi, dressed in the local attire, covered his mouth and coughed a few times.
"This damn injury, how much longer will it take to heal?" Yongxi was somewhat impatient, although he was a Star Warrior, the injury inflicted by Bai Zhongqi's Star Energy was not something that could be recovered from overnight.
Before him lay a newspaper, featuring an article about Bai Zhongqi's "Lecture on National Revival." Yongxi's face twisted into a sneer, "I knew you'd stir trouble, but I didn't expect you to be so bold, blatantly revealing your whereabouts. Humph, but in a fishbowl, how could I not grasp your position?"
In the courtyard, men and women of different ethnicities respectfully entered and promptly knelt before Yongxi to pay their homage.
"You already know who the target is; now go to the Eastern Land and assassinate him. Don't be afraid to make a big scene; the bigger, the better."
Yongxi watched these odd figures leave, the corner of his mouth lifting in a smug smile.
"After all, the fishbowl is the place to kill the Sin Seeds. Did you think I'd be foolish enough to venture here without any backup?"
The fishbowl wasn't constructed long ago, and all of humanity's memories of history are actually false. Although the fishbowl isn't easy to enter or exit, Pilgrims managed to deploy many Star Warriors here at the onset. The number of Pilgrims might exceed that of the Elder Race, but they were not so plentiful to be used recklessly. The Pilgrims fear that leaving their world will deplete their lifespans, so they typically cultivate auxiliary organizations of Star Warriors for their own use.
However, these Star Warriors' abilities are not quite at the peak, because those at the very top would usually be absorbed by the Pilgrims.
Yongxi thought to himself, "Relying on those mid-tier or even low-tier Star Warriors definitely won't kill the prime target, but at least they can distract his attention and cause him trouble. The fishbowl's real trump card isn't with me or those Star Warrior assassins."
His wound ached again, and Yongxi clutched his chest, his face filled with an expression of fury.
"These damn Sin Seeds!"
He remembered the beginning of his study on the Pilgrims, his teacher with utmost seriousness explained the detestability of the Sin Seeds. Those monsters destroyed the balance of the universe, and would even destroy worlds on a whim. Completely self-centered, they reveled in pleasure and evil.
Pilgrims devote their lives to eradicating these parasites of the universe, following the divine will of the Universal True God, yet the power of the Sin Seeds sometimes led the Pilgrims to despair.
He could clearly recall, reading about the calamitous battle between the Pilgrim ancestors and the Sin Seeds' genius, the Celestial Collector. Thousands of Pilgrims died, and much of their foundation was destroyed, whereas from start to finish, the only Sin Seeds who fought were the Celestial Collector and a few hangers-on.
The war with the Sin Seeds was arduous, but necessary. Yongxi firmed his conviction; the prime target, Bai Zhongqi, was determined by the Pilgrims' Grand Council as a Sin Seed who, if given the chance, would bring disaster to the Pilgrims, and thus he must be completely eradicated before he could unlock his own destiny.
Bai Zhongqi walked into the Zhang Family mansion, handed his book to a servant, removed his scarf, and took off his coat.
Zhang Shixiong had already come forward to greet him, an especially worried expression on his face, "Mr. Bai, the bombers of the Qikun people have taken off!"
Bai Zhongqi waved his hand gently, "I know, don't panic."
"How can we not panic at a time ? Nearly one-fifth of the Qikun Army Air Corps' forces have been dispatched, close to a hundred Type 97 heavy bombers have taken off from beyond the border, preparing to bomb us. Any moment now, they could be dropping bombs over our heads."
Bai Zhongqi chuckled lightly, "The air defense systems I've deployed across Qing State these past few days aren't just for show. Provincial Governor, as long as you're with me now, you don't have to worry."
Thinking of this, Zhang Shixiong did feel somewhat reassured. No matter what happened to Qing State, as long as Bai Zhongqi was by his side, he believed that nothing could go wrong.
At this moment, the massive Qikun bomber fleet had already reached the skies over the North Sea, preparing to enter Qing State's airspace. It was rare for any nation on Azure Planet to have as many as ten thousand aircraft and yet not have a dedicated air force. This was the adverse result of inter-military rivalry: Both the Qikun Army and Navy developed their own aviation troops and were firmly opposed to merging them into an air force. Furthermore, they employed different aircraft manufacturers, and most of their parts were not interchangeable, lacking any cooperative logistics.
Commanding this large-scale bombing was Qikun Army's aviation corps commander Saito Hidetsugu at the border headquarters, who was still fuming.
"Gentlemen, we must win this battle with dignity. Although the war started because of Guo Daowu's unilateral action, what Guo Daowu did was for our Army, for our Emperor. He was tricked and betrayed by the despicable Qing State forces. The Army must avenge this betrayal and reassert the honor and authority of the Imperial State."
However, Hengtian Jinyi, a navy rear admiral also in the headquarters, retorted, "Zhang Shixiong was already inclined to align with the Imperial State and cooperate with the Navy. You Army fools actually sabotaged the difficultly-strategized plans the Navy had made, rashly launching a surprise attack, causing the negotiations to collapse, and even pushing him to become an openly-anti Imperial State warlord. For such a major sin, the Navy will certainly seek an explanation before the Emperor."
Saito Hidetsugu coldly responded, "Zhang Shixiong, an incompetent fool. Imperial warriors should earn their own accomplishments. You Navy can just sit well in the water and watch the achievements of our Army Air Corps. It's just the Qing State forces. Watch as the Army Air Corps bomb them into dust."
Hengtian Jinyi warned, "Don't be too hasty. Guo Daowu's regiment was inexplicably defeated by the Qing State forces in one fell swoop. It makes no sense. We are unclear about what exactly is happening in Qing State now. Our agents have suffered heavy losses recently, and there are reports that significant military movements are taking place in Qing State, indicating that the Qing State forces are experiencing some drastic changes."
Saito Hidetsugu scoffed, "Even so, does the Qing State army have the capacity to defend against the thunderous strikes of our Army Air Corps?"
With that, he turned away, no longer engaging with the Navy man, and left a parting shot, "Just wait and see."
Meanwhile, more than ninety Qikun Army Air Corps bombers (fighter-bombers) and over a hundred and forty fighters were preparing to strike over four hundred strategic and tactical targets in Qing State.
Owing to outdated military theories and lack of real combat evidence, the Qikun aircraft, although advanced, adopted a very clumsy dense squadron formation.
In Qing State, Bai Zhongqi had laid a net in the sky and traps on the ground.