Chapter 78: Eternal Faith

Chapter 78: Eternal Faith

The land of wanderers has its own rules.

Lailar was elusive, and Lu Rinan searched the 1024 underground city for him three or four times without success.

Here, everyone was a soldier, and each checkpoint had countless passwords and attack systems. Without Lu Rinan's spatial abilities, he couldn't even get past the first level.

[The warrior armor you picked up along the way looks pretty cool.]

Lu Rinan: Do you even need to say it?

[He will definitely compliment you when he sees it.]

Lu Rinan: I wonder if he misses me.

[He definitely does. You're the god of love, so be optimistic about your love progress.]

Lu Rinan felt Gene was right, but a true lover had to be more than just handsome in front of the Ita king; he needed to be useful, so he had to find Lailar and bring him to Yun Huai.

Being too honest wouldn't get noticed by the higher-ups. The Ita king had already arrived, and it was inappropriate for the executor to be here like a mute, just making weapons.

Lu Rinan thought and suddenly hissed, “If only Lailar had half the cunning of Gaishu.” If he were the executor here, training so many super soldiers for the empire, he would be showing off to Yun Huai every day.

[He's not simple-minded, you just haven’t successfully persuaded him to help you.]

Lu Rinan, who always did things unconventionally, felt that Lailar, also unconventional, might be easier to deal with than the other two executors of the Third Star System.

[Because Lailar likes weapons and combat, and you just happen to meet all his requirements, I think you two could become best friends.]

Xiye had a cold, unyielding face, Gaishu was full of cunning and liked backstabbing, but Lailar, straightforward and only occasionally making one anxious, seemed like a true brother in Lu Rinan’s eyes.

Lu Rinan, dressed in the attire of a Third Star System Ita warrior, swaggered through the 1024 underground city.

After a long search with no sign of anyone, he decided to head back to his room, but suddenly stopped at the door.

Lu Rinan paused, slowly opened the door, and saw the person he had been searching for several floors sitting by the window, surrounded by several real Ita warriors.

The warriors were holding guns, their barrels ominously pointed at Lu Rinan.

[Oh ho.]

[Your best friend seems angry.]

Lu Rinan’s eyebrows twitched behind his mask as he entered, even casually closing the door behind him.

Lailar: “Outsiders are forbidden from moving freely; you've broken the rules.”

Lu Rinan removed his helmet, revealing a pair of golden eyes brimming with mirth: “It wasn't moving freely; I went out to find you.”

Lailar silently watched Lu Rinan, the atmosphere around them becoming cold and tense.

"Such a cold and taciturn man," Lu Rinan leaned against the table, "I looked everywhere and couldn't find you. Turns out you were in the room. There's something I need to discuss with you.”

Lailar looked up, his hair slightly moving on his black mask.

"I'm leaving 1024," Lu Rinan said.

After a few seconds, Lu Rinan: “Can you at least respond?”

Lailar: “The coordinates of the Third Star System are constantly changing. Without my permission, even if you leave here, you won’t find the way out of this star system.”

Feeling somewhat touched by the lengthy response, Lu Rinan smiled slightly, “What I meant was that I am leaving 1024, not the Third Star System.”

Lailar tilted his head slightly, seemingly puzzled, as the golden fragments interwove with his long black hair against the backdrop of his back armor, producing a mysterious, muted sound.

Gene suddenly warned, [Oh no, even with his mask on, I find him kind of handsome.]

Lu Rinan: ?

[But he's a handsome patriarch, not in the love rival category, go ahead with confidence.]

Lu Rinan: Okay.

He said to Lailar, “I told you I have someone I like.”

Lailar: “Hmm.”

Lu Rinan: “Due to some reasons, I can sense his coordinates. This morning, I found out he's also in the Third Star System.”

Lailar: “To find you?”

Lu Rinan, with a playful smile: “Not necessarily, he might also be here to explore the Third Star System.”

Lailar remained silent.

Lu Rinan: “I asked for your help to track him, and you said let’s see him first. Now the opportunity has come, will you join me to find him?”

Lailar stayed silent.

[Wait, he's thinking.]

Lu Rinan had gradually figured out Lailar’s manner of speaking, knowing that his silence meant he was using his mind, full of weaponry, to ponder the meaning and feasibility of his words.

After a few minutes, Lailar finally spoke, "The new standardized particle accelerator cannon experiment is in its final phase; I need to be here to see it succeed."

Lu Rinan: "I assure you, seeing him will make you happier than seeing the experiment succeed."

Lailar: "The scales are my personal interest, the experiment is crucial for the star system."

[Translation: He feels that even if he desires something, it's trivial compared to the affairs of the Third Star System. To some extent, he is a very selfless and dedicated executor.]

Lu Rinan arrived at 1024 randomly. Before entering 1024, he saw countless planets of the Third Star System. Without Yun Huai's guidance and without revealing his identity, it would take a long time to find the great executor under the inconspicuous 1024.

Lu Rinan didn’t want the young Ita king to do any work; he wouldn’t let Yun Huai take an extra step for things he could do himself.

The time saved is better spent on romance.

Thus, Lu Rinan managed to suppress his desire to see Yun Huai immediately. He sensibly asked Lailar, "Okay, then how long will your final phase take?"

Lailar: "Forty-eight hours and fifty-seven minutes."

Lu Rinan: "..." Precise to the minute, true to military-style leadership.

His golden eyes moved, "Fine, I'll wait for you for forty-eight hours and fifty-seven minutes. If you're not ready after that time, I'll take some necessary measures to take you away, as my matters are also important."

Lailar: "Spatial ability?"

Lu Rinan's eyes narrowed.

Lailar looked up, and suddenly over ten monitors appeared above Lu Rinan's room. One of them said to Lailar, "Monitor 1896 greets you, highest executor Lailar Alexio. The foreign intruder you asked to monitor left the surveillance area 40 minutes and 55 seconds ago, knocked out an Ita warrior on guard, then disguised their tracks in the second layer’s sectors 3 and 5, and the third layer’s sector 1—"

Lu Rinan snapped his fingers, and monitor 1896 twisted into a useless shape.

[Having combat ability along with brains is a terrifying thing, and I believe you understand this well, as the entire Niliya tribe is made up of such individuals.]

Lu Rinan looked at the man in the black mask: "I thought you might care a little about my privacy."

Lailar's voice was hoarse and deep, “Dangerous creatures require all-around surveillance; I don't trust you.”

Lu Rinan nodded: “Okay.” At least the young Ita king doesn't have to worry about the Third Star System being full of brainless brutes.

Lailar stood up: “I want the scales, so I will go with you to see him, but this will happen after forty-eight hours and fifty-four minutes.”

As the black executor left the room, the sound of the Ita warriors' armor echoed, making the space seem to vibrate.

“Actually, Yun Huai being cautious is also right,” Lu Rinan suddenly said.

With such military strength and a super arsenal, no wonder people at the border feel that an Ita Empire without the Third Star System can be provoked. If these dark warriors were really brought out, probably all enemies would be terrified.

A group of terrifying people with formidable execution power, possessing even more terrifying war machines, and they are continuously improving their production – truly embodying the name of the empire’s arsenal to the extreme—

Lu Rinan looked up at the remaining monitors, and after a crackling sound, all the monitors twisted into useless shapes.

[Love really does make one gentle. In the past, faced with such a provocation, you would have lit up 1024.]

Lu Rinan: I’ve said, sometimes I'm not so proud. A successful lover doesn’t care too much about the mess in the process, as long as the last laugh is mine.

Gene completely admires: [You talk a lot, I’ll listen to you.]

……

Dayuga Planet, the outskirts of the recruit training camp.

The training camp is not under the surface of the super Dayuga, but above ground, in a harsh environment full of black rocks.

333 said, every planet in the Third Star System has its own recruit training base. Recruits start their learning here, being rigorously trained in combat skills and warfare knowledge.

Yun Huai sat on a protruding black rock, looking back to see the armored warriors standing rigidly a hundred meters behind him.

Iliad: “Cat-like, neither daring to touch you nor wanting to leave you.”

Yun Huai: “It's okay, I understand.”

Iliad: “Xie Ye Na will definitely be furious if he finds out.”

Yun Huai shook his head, “Do you know what I am like to them?”

Iliad tilted its head.

Yun Huai gently said, “Like an existence that vanished in history and never expected to reappear, suddenly one day reemerges in front of everyone. The new generation of Ita here has no concept of me, my presence continuously challenges their worldview.”

Iliad: “Luckily, we have reliable machines!”

From behind the rock, 333/334/335 collectively made a sound.

Yun Huai turned to look at them; the night of Dayuga wasn’t entirely dark, shrouded in beautiful auroras that allowed people to clearly see each other’s shadows.

A place housing weapons of mass destruction seemed like a relatively safe and peaceful zone. Yun Huai liked peace and tranquility, even if it meant overlooking the chaos of the environment.

Yun Huai suddenly asked softly, “Have you figured out the information about me now?”

333: “Stowaway.”

Yun Huai shook his head: “Incorrect.”

333 looked at the young man’s fair and soft ears, “Mixed-blood Ita cub.”

Yun Huai: “Completely wrong.”

333 fell silent.

Yun Huai: “Thinking again?”

333 hummed in affirmation.

After a moment, it suddenly spoke hesitantly, “Sorry, I am a new era robot. The initial command system activated in me cannot fully integrate with me. Black Knight 333 cannot come up with an answer about your esteemed self, but I can describe the feeling you give.”

Yun Huai looked at it curiously, wondering what kind of description would come from a machine.

The Black Knights suddenly raised their hands, and Yun Huai followed their massive fingers to look at the night sky of Dayuga.

There, an infinite aurora of blue and green intertwined, blending with the clear cosmic galaxy, eternally flowing in this dark star system.

333: “The Black Knights were created here. My visual system tells me that the aurora and starry sky are the most beautiful things I have ever seen.”

Yun Huai looked up at 333.

333: “You are like it.”

Iliad exclaimed in awe.

333's massive mechanical head creaked as it raised and then lowered, its ice-blue gaze firmly fixed on the young man.

“But you are more beautiful and precious than it. It's hard to describe to you what a warrior's chip feels, each conversation with you makes my chip nervously overheat.”

Yun Huai chuckled softly, and 333 meticulously recorded this sound wave into its system.

He suddenly seemed to understand something: old-era robots, equipped with chips perfectly compatible with the original system, could recognize him at first sight, while the new-era giants couldn't fully merge with the original system. They needed to gradually shape the lost concept of the 'King' over four hundred years.

This concept might be a segment of a beautiful starry sky they adore, or the whistling of free night winds, comparing all the beautiful things in the system with Yun Huai, hoping to find the correct answer. Yet, the ultimate answer is that Yun Huai is ten thousand times more beautiful than any known beauty.

This adorable process of shaping the concept of royalty does not affect the machines' loyalty.

Suddenly, Yun Huai raised his hand and gently touched 333's calf, the only part he could reach, not even high enough to touch the knee. 334 and 335 protested with grumbling sounds, and the young King stood up to touch each of them in turn, earning the affection of three large, simple-minded heads.

The Black Knights had never experienced such a soft, warm touch before. Their eyes slightly drooped, and 333 raised its fingertip, gently touching the top of Yun Huai's head.

Then, a burst of crackling firelight flashed on top of its head.

334: “System malfunction, short circuit. 334 will commence repair work on 333.” Saying so, it raised its massive arm and abruptly slammed it down on 333’s head.

334: “Repair complete.”

Iliad: “(ΩДΩ)!”

Yun Huai watched as 333 shook its head, evidently calming down.

...That was unexpectedly simple and violent.

Yun Huai stood up, and suddenly a rallying horn sounded from the new recruits training camp in the distance. 333 abruptly said, “Every warrior’s growth is for better protection, to protect—”

333 stuttered, the strict information concealment of the Third Star System and its misalignment with the original system making it difficult to articulate a word not in its database.

Yun Huai spoke for it: “To protect me?”

333/334/335 pondered silently for half a second, then nodded in unison.

“Every warrior’s growth is to better protect the esteemed you.”

Yun Huai praised them: “Your thinking process is already quite impressive.”

333 uttered a couple of grunts.

Yun Huai’s purpose in visiting the new recruits training camp was to see if there were any children from the transit star, but he was bound to be disappointed, as all the warriors and trainees here were clad from head to toe in pitch-black armor, making it impossible to identify anyone with brown hair and white skin.

The young king stood silently atop the high walls of the training field, observing the fully-armed, youthful warriors below being instructed, with the expansive training ground filled with piloted crafts. Perhaps today's first lesson involved target practice on ground-level objectives.

Yun Huai completely concealed his presence, and Iliad remained within his protective circle, but the conspicuously hovering Black Knights outside the walls drew the attention of the training base. An officer emerged, reprimanding 333 and the others, "Patrol robots, please vacate this area immediately."

333's ice-blue eyes flashed, "Apologies, voice command failure."

Iliad chuckled, "They only respond to your voice now, the people of the Third Star System are going to be furious!"

Not far away, the warriors who had been following Yun Huai underground also approached the training field. The officer looked towards them, recognizing both parties.

"How did you get up here?"

"...There's a strange intruder."

"What?"

The soldiers looked up, and the officer noticed the figure atop the wall. His wheat-colored ears beneath the armor twitched for a moment before he immediately activated the alarm system.

Instinctively, the alarm resonated throughout the training base. Below the aurora of the Da Yu Ga night, the young man with the white mask looked down, surveying the new recruits in the vast training field.

His gaze swept across, and the young trainees crouched down in alertness, but soon, one after another, tails emerged.

Some seemed slow to react, but the collective influence soon made them feel a tingling sensation in their tailbones. Merely being swept by Yun Huai's gaze through the mask caused a slight loss of control in their mental power.

Yun Huai, observing the tails, suddenly found a brilliant way to distinguish the children from the transit star.

Amidst the gold, splashes of white stood out. Yun Huai could tell just by the colors of the tails which individuals came from the old, worn transit star launch site.

Perhaps these were the newest batch of Ita youths from the transit star in recent years.

Earlier recruits, having completed their training, had already seamlessly integrated into the Third Star System's military forces.

The Third Star System's elite Ita warriors at the training base were also numerous. Yun Huai watched as they quickly gathered together, much like Videl Borlate, finding themselves in a difficult situation regarding how to "deal" with him.

They seemed to want to make some sort of intimidating gesture, but their most aggressive action was merely the continuous flicking of their slender light tails.

Suddenly, Yun Huai leaped off the high wall, with 333/334/335 instantly following suit.

The slender youth landed without a sound, but the massive Black Knights created six deep pits in the ground. Yun Huai turned around, and although he said nothing, the Black Knights still sensed his emotional fluctuations.

The beautiful young man seemed to be in distress, which was an unfavorable emotion; they might have done something to cause his distress.

Thus, the robots raised their hands, and like a mutual system check, they gave each other a firm couple of thumps, then, with their heads askew, said in unison to Yun Huai, “Apologies, punishment executed.”

Iliad: "————" What?

Yun Huai rubbed his twitching forehead and then turned around to face the group of young warriors with glowing tails.

“Hello.”

The tails burst open explosively.

Yun Huai: “I accidentally fell into Da Yu Ga as well, and the high-level mechanic underground told me I should join you in the new recruits' training camp.”

The tails, barely having settled, burst open again.

Yun Huai: “So I came to look for you, I arrived through the military channel from the First Star System's transit star.”

Suddenly, a young and husky voice spoke up from the crowd: “You're from the First Star System's Ita?”

Yun Huai nodded. The Ita King from the First Star System's garden was also an Ita, so they could think of it that way.

It seemed that casual conversation here was a violation of the rules. A warrior in black armor turned his head, and the voice quickly disappeared.

Yun Huai didn't interfere with the management style of the Third Galaxy. He just needed to make sure that the children worried about by the First Galaxy were growing up well here.

Once the passages were reconnected, they could return to their homelands with their peers during family visitation leaves.

Thinking this, the peace-loving young Ita King nodded to himself. His nerves a bit overly excited, he found the sight of the young Ita's exploding tails somewhat ticklish.

Yun Huai suddenly turned to look behind him. Amidst Iliad's shocked gaze, a blue light tail appeared behind the young man. A small butterfly, excited by the blue light tail, fluttered its wings, and Yun Huai lightly said, "Sorry, not this one."

He then retracted the blue light tail and released a golden one.

Iliad hurriedly whispered, "If I'm not mistaken, Ita people with golden light tails aren't white-skinned QAQ!"

Yun Huai frowned, looking up at an even more bewildered and stunned group of warriors, "Wait, it's not this one either."

The energy of the initial transformation period seemed to become uncontrollable. Yun Huai carefully managed his psychic sea, finally gathering the needed energy point.

A correct, slender white tail emerged, and Yun Huai finally relaxed with satisfaction.

He then heard a collective sigh of relief from those around him.

Yun Huai looked up and smiled, "It's this one, no mistake. So, can I join your team now?"

Iliad: "QAQ!"

The king in an unstable transformation state is so cute! Normally, where could Iliad find such a playful and sincere king? The king would always calmly hide all emotions, not letting the cat ball guess them!

All Ita people who witnessed the king producing a cute tail should feel grateful and admire this rare and exceptional moment. Perhaps, after the initial transformation period, they would never see a tailed king again!

Iliad excitedly looked at the crowd and saw a young warrior speaking to a training officer, "I'm sorry, sir, I think I need psychological treatment. I suspect I'm hallucinating."

"Me too."

"And me."

"Count me in."

Groups of young warriors, in a daze, turned around. Yun Huai slightly tilted his head towards them, "Not training anymore?"

The warriors' steps faltered, then they returned in a trance. They mechanically climbed into their spacecraft and stopped moving.

333, with its wealth of experience, commented, "We term this behavior as a brain freeze. Solution: wait for loading. There is a risk of overloading and burning out the brain chip."

Iliad gawked.

Yun Huai belatedly realized his three light tails had shocked and shattered the worldviews of the surrounding Ita people. He scratched his earlobe in slight annoyance, but the excitement hadn't subsided yet.

He wanted to do something to understand the Third Galaxy better while waiting for the war robots to be fixed.

So Yun Huai turned to a warrior in black armor, "Where is your assembly training camp headed?"

The warrior remained silent.

Yun Huai: "Finished thinking?"

The warrior took a deep breath and answered subconsciously, "…to the Dark Forest in the northern part of Dayuga."

Yun Huai: "Can I go too?"

The warrior fell silent again.

It seemed as if this contemplative silence spread among them. In the army, they were deeply taught to make swift and decisive decisions during special periods, but this strict discipline met a peculiar individual who defied quick decision-making.

Thus, all reason and ruthlessness vanished from their minds, leaving only those three continuously changing, shockingly beautiful light tails.

The Dark Forest is dangerous; he cannot go.

Just as the warrior was about to speak with difficulty, the silence was broken by an even more urgent and piercing alarm.

333 abruptly stood up, unfurling giant flight wings along with 334 and 335 beside it.

This heightened alarm put them into combat mode in a second.

Yun Huai frowned, and Iliad, startled, fluttered around asking, "What's happening, what's happening!"

The alarm seemed to awaken all the new soldier recruits dazed by Yun Huai, who quickly boarded their spacecraft and silently fired up the engines to ascend into the aurora-filled sky.

The stern corners of Yun Huai's eyes beneath his mask lifted slightly, and suddenly, a fluttering sound of something winged came from the training base's walls.

Iliad blinked his cat-like eyes, then on the planet Dayuga of the Third Galaxy, he saw creatures identical to those from the third-level planets of the Creation Star Domain.

Bigger, denser, more ferocious.

It was an insect tide.