"We still haven’t found anything for now. We’ve searched thoroughly and killed many members of the Yitelan Royal Family, and they’ve already appealed to the Empire for help." Falcon explained helplessly:
"The only ones who might know the truth are Xavier and his fiancée. We’re still working on this lead. They hide very deeply, often changing coordinates, and use the Black Hole Network for external communications."
"Still no clues..." The Navigator’s face looked extremely grim, as he hadn’t taken the threat of Azure Dragon seriously at all back then.
But as time passed, reality smacked him hard in the face.
They really hadn’t found anything. He couldn’t understand how the enemy’s actions could be so well hidden.
Suddenly, someone spoke up, with hesitance and unease: "Is it possible that Prince Ryan has actually stopped his actions?"
The Navigator paused slightly, stopped actions?
Before he could speak, someone immediately refuted: "If you did something that could make you an interstellar villain, if you decided to stop, would you erase all traces?"
"Ryan left those things called Blood Seeds—is it possibly a deliberate setup for someone to expose?"
"But we’ve already investigated so thoroughly. The Empire is already noticing us. If we continue, quite a few people might get exposed."
The few argued, and the Navigator’s brows furrowed, just feeling like there was a tangled mess ahead, nothing seemed right.
"Let’s ask Azure Dragon." Fallen Blood spoke, and the noisy atmosphere immediately quieted.
The Navigator felt a surge of frustration. No matter what, he hadn’t found any clues.
To consult Azure Dragon was tantamount to admitting defeat, weakened compared to him.
He was unwilling. Such a big matter, whether ongoing or supposedly finished, couldn’t possibly have left no clues.
"No..." The Navigator said angrily, "I’ll go personally. I just don’t believe it can’t be done without him."
Fallen Blood frowned; the Navigator was being led by his emotions.
"Blackbeard is here."
Someone said softly, as one of the thrones emitted a faint light, gathering black mist. Before others could speak, he hurriedly said:
"Everyone, something big has happened. Prince Ryan has arrived at the Mechanical Court with an army, intending to force Azure Dragon to show up."
Afterward, the Iron Throne Hall fell into silence, with Fallen Blood reacting the most, the mist on the throne surging constantly, his tone rising sharply in intensity, "When did this happen!"
"Just now, Ryan arrived less than ten minutes ago." Blackbeard’s tone was urgent.
The Navigator found it unimaginable, "Why would he suddenly block the entrance of the Mechanical Court? Isn’t he afraid of being ambushed by Azure Dragon?"
"Not sure." Blackbeard didn’t know, he was also shocked when he received the news and quickly went online to report.
"Wait..." Fallen Blood spoke deeply, "If he dares to ambush, he must have something to rely on. Is there any movement over at the Sea of Stars?"
Someone responded, "Not sure, recently we’ve focused all attention on the Northern Crown Star Ring. Over at the Sea of Stars, it seems they’ve been systematically removing the Empire’s garrison bases."
"Not sure..." Fallen Blood’s brows furrowed, faintly sensing something amiss, quickly summoning a certain member.
Soon after, the throne closest to the Navigator trembled, as a black mist gradually emerged.
"Guide, is there any movement around Ryan?" He asked urgently.
"Recently?" The Guide hesitated, not quite understanding, "His message has been tightly sealed recently, apparently some secret action, it’s hard for me to remotely communicate with my people."
"Quickly communicate with your people, Ryan is now not at the Sea of Stars but blocking the door at the Mechanical Court, it’s an opportunity."
"Blocking the door?" The Guide also seemed somewhat astonished, unaware of this news, but he quickly reacted and logged off directly.
"Have you guessed something?" The Navigator questioned, uncertainty etched in his voice.
Fallen Blood said nothing.
But soon, the Guide came online again, his tone carrying uncertainty, "I communicated with several Spiritual Seeds, only knowing Ryan has dispatched many trusted soldiers under him, heading to various regions of the Sea of Stars, apparently transporting something."
"But the specifics are still under investigation."
"Indeed..." Fallen Blood murmured to himself, "It’s ..."
"What do you mean?" The Navigator pursued answers, feeling a string of connections emerging, only to be stuck inexplicably.
Fallen Blood spoke with an indescribable helplessness: "We... seem to have misunderstood Azure Dragon. If my guess is right, the actions at the Northern Crown Star Ring have already stopped.
The Navigator’s brows furrowed, "Stopped actions?"
"Yes, Ryan chose the Northern Crown Star Ring as the target intending to involve the Empire, perhaps discovering Azure Dragon, or maybe realizing we’ve detected his movements." Fallen Blood’s voice carrying a sense of powerlessness:
"So he stopped actions at the Northern Crown Star Ring, turned to act at the Sea of Stars, although no one at Sea of Stars can cover his tracks, he acts even more unrestrainedly."
"Those soldiers are probably transporting items known as Blood Seeds, I speculate Azure Dragon might have gleaned some information."
"But he thought Ryan wouldn’t give up, so he reminded us, and Ryan would be more cautious, yet actually Ryan has withdrawn, leaving those Blood Seeds to mislead our view."
The Navigator, hearing this, remained silent for a long time, others falling into quiet as well, feeling a comical sense they couldn’t express.
Blackbeard’s mind was foggy, and the reason they couldn’t find any clues was indeed because the actions had already stopped, battling against empty space in vain.
"Why couldn’t he explain himself more clearly?" The Navigator, annoyed, recalled his thoughts at the time, thinking Azure Dragon was challenging him, how utterly embarrassing.
"Already preconceived ideas, even if he spoke again, what good would it have? Furthermore, who among you would reveal your own information channels to others?" Blackbeard spoke up, unable to suppress his dissatisfaction.
So much time and effort wasted, ultimately battling against nothing, Azure Dragon had no intention of fighting.
Others remained silent, discontent simmering within, not only had they wasted so much time, but lost significant resources too, due to the Navigator’s misunderstanding of Azure Dragon.
The Navigator felt displeased, yet unable to retort, he sensed something was off, how could Azure Dragon have done nothing yet gained a rise in reputation?
His gaze subtly shifted to Fallen Blood, who had initially planted the impression, claiming Azure Dragon was about to pressure them.
Fallen Blood also found it speechless, feeling his cheeks burn, spoke gravely: "Set this matter aside for now, Ryan’s actions are too abrupt, his goal likely achieved over at the Sea of Stars."
"Guide, promptly investigate those small civilizations that signed protective treaties with the interstellar alliance, I suspect he has slaughtered many planets."
"Additionally, we must carefully discuss our next moves and response strategies."
"No need for explosions, I have my own methods."
Li Ming’s heart jumped suddenly, looking at the screen with Ulrich’s respectful expression, speaking as Azure Dragon calmly.
Well, Ulrich, you sneaky fox, actually planting bombs in the Mechanical Court.
Li Ming felt speechless, vaguely recalling this matter, Ulrich had mentioned to him about setting up some defensive measures.
The Mechanical Court had consumed much of his effort; knowing his own situation, he didn’t have the vast wealth others imagined.
Truly only a bit to steady himself, explosive setbacks would force development from scratch again—it wasn’t time for that.
"I understand." Ulrich breathed a sigh of relief, ending the communication.
Li Ming’s eyes flickered, bringing up a live broadcast feed.
Ryan’s fleet had already surrounded the entire Mechanical Court but hadn’t taken further action, even allowed the continuation of cargo transportation.
Yet under such circumstances, no one dared to transport goods.
"Faster than I imagined, could you have already completed your evolution..." Li Ming rubbed his chin, expression flickering: "The Northern Crown Star Ring has been halted, but the Sea of Stars is your domain, is this a desperate gamble?"
"Ultimate Life Form...?"