The colossal airship Empyrean Behemoth soared in the skies over the Federation, looming like a mass of dark clouds. Compared to it, even the substantial airships flanking it looked somewhat miniature.
This time, the Federation made no attempt to conceal its intentions or movements. With a mobilization of such scale, the participation of multiple factions, and extensive coordination involving nations and major corporations across the world, keeping the news secret was impossible from the start.
They had simply chosen to treat the operation as an armed parade instead—an opportunity to display the Federation's martial might.
Its route had been meticulously selected, flying near or directly above the Center Cities of several Federation states, giving the populace a direct and visceral sense of the Federation's grandeur.
This, however, left the accompanying West Coast Party congressmen looking rather grim; such displays naturally led the public to associate all this might with the East Coast Party's achievements.
Although the East Coast Party had promised them considerable concessions, they remained disgruntled, their thoughts deeply conflicted.
On one hand, they hoped the East Coast Party would successfully reclaim Weinu State so they could reap the benefits; on the other hand, they secretly harbored hopes that the East Coast Party would suffer a defeat, leaving the West Coast Party with a shot at taking the Executive Administration in the next term.
Inside the luxurious central cabin of the colossal airship, the floor was covered with a priceless Paranio carpet, and the walls were adorned with exquisite ornaments and several renowned paintings from the Old Era.
A slowly spinning gramophone filled the air with classical music—the Stirring Suite from Eliel. Its tempo was brisk and impassioned, carrying a solemn, irresistible sense of destiny.
State Counselor Roberts sat upright at the dining table. A bottle of red wine had already been uncorked before him. Using silver utensils, he savored the exquisite dishes, his gaze occasionally sweeping toward the sofa opposite him.
Seated there was a beautiful woman in heavy makeup, her expression laced with languid ease. Wearing vivid red lipstick and a veiled beret, her legs crossed, she elegantly smoked a cigarette.
She served as his personal bodyguard and secretary, as well as his ostensible mistress.
On the other side of the dining table, an aide reported:
"To maintain national security, the National Defense Regulations have now been officially enacted. For the duration, all unauthorized or unlicensed foreign personnel are barred from entering Federation territory. The Federation will also take all necessary security measures, and any illegal entry will bear full consequences..."
Upon hearing this, Roberts dabbed his mouth with a napkin and beckoned. The aide promptly closed the document and handed it over with both hands.
He knew this was merely a formality requiring his nominal authorization; in truth, genuine security measures had already been initiated the moment they departed. Glancing over it casually, he penned a line of handsome cursive, set it aside, and motioned for the aide to take it.
Taking the document, the aide bowed to him and hurried out.
Roberts looked at the woman. "Rose, are you adjusting well?"
In a slightly raspy voice, the beautiful woman replied, "Tolerable."
Roberts said in an unhurried tone, "Keep an eye on that showy kid below. Don't let him cause trouble. He's just our showpiece. We only need him standing where everyone can see him. He doesn't need to meddle in anything else."
Exhaling a puff of smoke, the beautiful woman replied, "Understood."
Along the spacious corridor of the airship cabin, Lily strode forward with excitement. Yesterday had yielded a massive harvest: aboard were not only martial artists from the Federation government, but also invited security consultants from foreign governments and the Consortium.
Presenting herself as a special correspondent for the Martial Artists Council publication, she had conducted several interviews and gathered a wealth of journalistic material.
Unfortunately, she had been unable to interview the celebrated Federation Hero so far. Upon boarding the airship, she had been told he was secluded in his cabin cultivating. Luckily, fortune favored her: she had crossed paths with a senior acquainted with her father who happened to oversee this cabin sector, and he had helped arrange an appointment for her.
Arriving at the appointed time, a woman with a stiff, stern expression scrutinized her and Briggs several times before leading them into the room.
Inside, Lily finally laid eyes on the subject she had been yearning to interview—Ethan Walker, Federation Hero.
During a previous crisis, he had stopped the spread of invasive alien creatures and single-handedly repelled a powerful foreign entity, ostensibly saving millions of Federation lives. Through relentless media coverage and official propaganda, he had become the idol of the Federation's younger generation.
Ethan Walker was not particularly tall, appearing somewhat slight and frail on the surface. With platinum-blond hair and delicate features, his looks diverged somewhat from the Federation's mainstream aesthetic. Judging solely by his appearance, no one would guess he was in his late twenties; he looked sixteen at most.
Stepping forward, Lily introduced herself, mentioning only that she represented the Martial Artists Council and omitting her other status. An official identity from Norland carried weight on the Western Continent, but few in the Federation cared about it.
Ethan knew the reach of the Martial Artists Council's publication. He relished being in the spotlight, but detested having unqualified people crowd around him. The Martial Artists Council met his standards.
At that moment, the woman who appeared to be his assistant handed over a contract.
"You may only ask questions within the prescribed scope. All material published afterward must be reviewed and approved by us. If you do not agree, please leave."
Lily twitched her lips, though she had already anticipated such rules before coming. She took the document and signed it, after which they proceeded into the formal interview.
There were questions like, "What are your thoughts on this operation?" and "Do you believe this operation will succeed?"
The female assistant fielded them with seamless, practiced officialese.
Are we interviewing him or you? Lily muttered inwardly.
After several more dry, dull questions, Lily's eyes flicked thoughtfully, and she said, "I've heard that as a Federation Hero, you are one of the world's most renowned and promising Secret Palace martial artists, destined to become a truly great martial artist in the future—"
Although this was not on the approved question list, Ethan made no move to interrupt her. Lily noticed his attention sharpening, the corners of his mouth curling slightly upward. Seizing the moment, she rushed out the rest of her thought:
"—yet so far as I know, Great Shun also has a martial artist who appears to be even younger than you. He has defeated exceptionally powerful foes and accomplished feats on par with your own. I wonder what your thoughts are on him?"
The female assistant's face darkened immediately. "This falls outside the agreed scope."
"Wait."
Ethan seemed keenly sensitive to this topic. "Since you asked—"
For the first time, he seemed to take things a bit seriously. Looking at Lily, he said, "He could do those things simply because he was given the opportunity. Understand?"
After a brief pause, he added:
"I will prove it to everyone." He tapped her notepad. "You can write that down."
Although there were other topics she hadn't touched on, the interview was effectively over. Lily and Briggs were escorted out by the assistant.
Returning to the room, the assistant frowned at Ethan. "You shouldn't have answered that. It could spark international controversy and harm your reputation."
She worried that if this remark went public and the other side issued a challenge, would they accept or refuse?
She knew full well that while Ethan was indeed powerful, half of his stature was manufactured by state propaganda, whereas that man's record had been forged in battle from start to finish, without an ounce of exaggeration.
Ethan scoffed.
Now that the question had been asked, his pride would not allow him to back down.
He had heard himself compared to that person more than once. Just as he said, he simply hadn't had the chance. He would prove it to everyone.
Lily, meanwhile, hurried out of the cabin quarters bubbling with delight. She clutched her notebook and twirled on tiptoe a few times; she had landed a massive scoop.
From behind her, Briggs said sternly, "Lily, let me remind you—he is a Federation Hero. Do you realize how many people and how many interests are tied up in that title?"
"I know, I know! Next, let's find this person." Lily checked her notebook. "Mr. Cooper. They say he's the designer of the latest generation of active conscious entities, and he isn't even thirty yet! Uncle Briggs, hurry up! If we're too slow, we'll miss him!"
With that, she eagerly dashed ahead.
Briggs shook his head, but followed anyway.
At that very moment, along the southwestern coast of the Federation.
A streak of light tore through the air from the west, churning a long, extending wake of ripples across the ocean's surface.
The Federation had established a dense network of field observation outposts near its waters. Should any high-speed anomalous object or individual breach the alert perimeter and be detected, a report would be filed immediately, triggering a rapid protocol to verify their identity and origin.
Hence, the streak of light skirted this zone, traveling through waters further out to sea.
Surrounding scenery receded at high speed around Chen Chuan. The Federation's observation posts were stationed not only in coastal waters, but also across the open sea. Normally, because maintaining them consumed vast amounts of energy, they were not kept fully active. Now, however, even from afar, he could sense the overlapping fields emanating from those dense outposts.
He deduced that the Federation had likely activated national security defense protocols for this operation, meaning he had to be cautious and steer clear of them.
This was not particularly difficult for him. Yet as he traveled along the path, he felt an unseen power looming above the Federation territories he passed through. The moment he drew even slightly close, a sense of danger arose in his heart—and this held true wherever he went.
Reflecting on this, he realized it was very likely that the Federation's upper-tier powers had also stepped onto the field.
They were probably guarding against interference from outside forces during the operation. Based on his observations and prior intelligence, any presence displaying power beyond a certain threshold would likely be singled out and targeted.
After some thought, he promptly had the Second Self merge back into his body, lowered his physical outward expression, and moderated his speed.
This way, to outside observers, he would appear at most as an ordinary martial artist, avoiding high scrutiny or targeted strikes from the powers above.
Even at this pace, two to three days would be plenty of time to reach his destination. Meanwhile, the Federation's fleet had likely only just set out; he should easily make it in time.
Chapter 1293