Sister-in-law was formidable. Judging from her performance in the battle in Antarctica where they had collectively slain the heavily wounded Puta'er, it was basically certain that she was the single greatest combat force remaining on Blue Star.
Unfortunately, that body was currently under Nikola's control; she was an enemy.
For the current Azure Alliance, the sudden appearance of such an enemy in the lunar battlespace, joining the scramble for the sacred remains, was undoubtedly a deeper despair layered atop existing despair.
As early as the battle at the South Pole, the immense combat prowess she displayed was unmistakably that of a mature Yanxiu. Translating that into human source-weapon classifications, she stood at the very peak of the Vault tier at the very least.
Although back then there was still a massive disparity between her terrifying might and that of a healthy Puta'er, two years had passed—who could say for sure that she hadn't advanced or evolved?
Even if she hadn't, merely maintaining the level of strength she had back then was already beyond the Azure Alliance's present ability to muster experts to counter and constrain.
And what if, this time, she chose to stand on the same side as Puta'er...?
"Speaking of which, is it possible Brother Shiheng is also there this time?" Now without her iron armor, Rusty Sister had remarkably expressive facial features. Resting her chin on one hand, she blinked and asked.
"Oho, 'Brother Shiheng'?! Speaking of which, Rusty Sister, you never used to call him that. No matter how much he argued or begged, you refused to call him 'Brother.' What, now that you know Sister-in-law is ferocious, you're trying to cozy up to him?"
Piloting the airship, Yang Qingbai teased with a chuckle.
In truth, Yang Qingbai had just called him that himself for the very first time.
Previously within Stream Blades, almost no one had ever called Liu Shiheng "Brother," even though in terms of actual age he truly was older than everyone, and he himself had demanded it countless times. Everyone had still stuck to habit, addressing him as "Young Master" every time.
"He should be. What I mean is, barring any accidents, Young Master Shiheng should be on that airship as well," Wu Xu said, speaking up for once.
He seemed to have taken advantage of Yang Qingbai's interruption to organize his thoughts for quite a while before finally uttering a full sentence:
"I remember, back in Antarctica, during the most chaotic final moments, he shouted to us, telling us not to worry, saying that Alice would protect him."
"In Snow Lotus, for Alice to protect Young Master Shiheng, she would have to keep him at her side and watch over him constantly," Wen Jifei picked up from Wu Xu's point.
"Yes."
"This also means that, at least back then, Alice still had a way to threaten Nikola; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to shield Young Master Shiheng."
"Right."
"We just don't know whether her consciousness is still there now, or if... it has already been completely devoured by Nikola?"
"We have no way of knowing that. But as long as we subsequently spot Shiheng on the airship, we can deduce that Alice is still there," Wen Jifei concluded.
Following this chain of analysis, everyone understood in their hearts—they ought to hope Young Master Shiheng was there, hope that he appeared on that airship, on the lunar battlefield.
It sounded like a drawn-out, bittersweet joke.
And the kind that brought tears to the eyes whether out of sorrow or joy.
After all, Liu Shiheng himself had always been a total anomaly among their group. He had never harbored any desire to fight or resist. His mindset had always been that since the apocalypse was drawing near, he had better hurry back to the bustling world of worldly pleasures to enjoy life; when doomsday finally struck, he wouldn't put up a struggle either—he'd just shut his eyes, drop dead, and call it a day.
That philosophy had never changed from the very moment he was forced into Azure. Even later, while embedded in their tight-knit group, watching with his own eyes as Han Qingyu and the others grew stronger and more heroic, shouldering greater and greater burdens... he remained completely unswayed, single-mindedly intent on running away.
To that end, Young Master Shiheng had struggled and strived relentlessly, scheming up all sorts of tricks, and had even shamelessly deserted from the battlefield twice.
At one point, he truly had escaped.
He had left the battlefield.
Yet the wheels of fate turned.
Comrade Liu Shiheng the Great had, in reality, never truly left this colossal battlefield where the survival of civilization hung in the balance.
Every time he went through immense hardship and finally broke free of one place, he would soon tumble into another.
From the Azure regular forces to Han Qingyu's squad.
From friendly lines to the heart of the enemy.
From Ye Jian to Ne, and then to the erratic Nikola.
From Xilang Peak to Antarctica.
Right up until now, following the warped Snow Lotus "Ne," he had reappeared around the Moon—on this battlefield that could very well bring about humanity's final end.
"I have a question," Wu Xu said earnestly.
All eyes in the cabin turned toward him.
"If we need to kill her... if we have to kill her..." The "her" Wu Xu referred to was, first and foremost, Sister-in-law Alice, yet she was also Snow Lotus Ne, and a former high-tier Great Spike, Nikola.
"And don't forget—in a scenario where Brother Shiheng is also present," Rusty Sister added. She didn't answer the question, but made the premise more rigorous, and far more difficult.
"Then kill her. Don't forget, this is a battlefield," a voice rang out, cold and resolute.
Followed immediately by:
"Wait, who is she? Why kill her?"
"Who's killing who?"
"Who wants to kill me?"
"Who am I supposed to kill? Who did I kill?"
"Who wants to kill my grandson? Who?!"
"Have you eaten yet? When are they serving food?"
"I'm sleepy."
The only person in the cabin capable of directly answering the question had spoken. General Jiang Longchi's answer was steady, decisive, and confident—except he quickly morphed into someone asking questions, rattling off one after another in a flurry.
The rest of the crew remained silent.
Because this was truly agonizingly hard.
Only after a good while did Wen Jifei, using a long stretch as an excuse, say with a wry smile, "I think it's more practical for us to first think about how not to get killed by her."
"Yeah, exactly." Thanks to this brutal reality, everyone managed to temporarily dodge that difficult question, and the mood lightened again.
At least on the surface.
"You guys get some sleep," Yang Qingbai said. "If anything happens, I'll wake you."
Night, dawn—the dividing line stretched outward.
The blue planet receded.
A lone vessel.
Bound for the Moon.
...
For a person to fall asleep while staring into the abyss of a desperate crisis was a rare, perhaps even remarkable feat.
They were soon all asleep.
Because they had long grown accustomed to it.
Although the specific circumstances this time differed substantially, once they were actually underway, the calm resignation in their hearts was not much different from before.
Unfortunately, this sleep did not last long in the end.
After a mere two hours, it was over.
What woke Han Qingyu and the others was not Yang Qingbai.
On the communications console, the red signal light for Azure's official transmission request flashed frantically once more, emitting a piercing alarm:
Beep! Beep!
Yang Qingbai turned his head, looking at the opening eyes and the bodies sitting upright.
Click.
He reached out and pressed the connection button.
"They're here."
This time, the voice on the other end was not a communications officer, but Chairman Kemore himself.
The old chairman's tone was heavy, lacking its usual steady composure.
"Just moments ago, the Great Spike fleet suddenly appeared, heading straight into the lunar sector."
"The scale is not 100, but approximately 240 vessels."
"All 612 of our source energy airships—excluding the 96 that have already landed on the lunar surface to carry out ground search missions—have fully deployed, engaging the enemy in close combat and mounting an all-out interception."
The wheels of history had arrived at this step at last.
After a century spanning from sporadic clashes to large-scale engagements,
this prolonged war between two civilizations
had finally ushered in a decisive battle,
a fateful duel in the truest sense,
a super-campaign of unprecedented scale.
This was an aerial battle—
not on Blue Star,
but erupting around the Moon, in the depths of space.
Therefore,
whatever the outcome, Azure had at least fulfilled one of its solemn promises:
To block the boundless sky with flesh and blood, repelling the enemy above the Vault.
The enemy numbered approximately 240 vessels of various sizes, with Puta'er among them.
No one knew what proportion of the Great Spike civilization's total strength such a scale and composition represented.
However,
six hundred ships
were virtually all the source energy airships humanity currently possessed.
Furthermore, guarding that battleground were more than ninety percent of mankind's elite combatants.
With God of War Chen Buer deemed virtually incapable of fighting again,
and awaiting only CA117's arrival along with the dazzling names within its cabin,
this was everything humanity possessed, everything it could possibly muster.
"The Campaign of Lost Nostalgia has begun," Chairman Kemore said, without issuing an official order this time.
Humanity's search across the Moon for the sacred remains—
this expedition named "Lost Nostalgia"—
had in the end
transformed from an operation
into a campaign.
No one had wanted it to develop and unfold this way, for it was supposed to be an expedition filled with hope.
Yet
fate
was inescapable.
Chapter 973