Chapter 91: Eternal Faith

Chapter 91: Eternal Faith

Amidst a new wave of the storm, the internally chaotic aliens were evidently more stricken than Il's newly ascended kingdom.

At least for now, Yun Huai hadn't heard from the Butterfly Net about any widespread control loss; all of Ita's people were still reveling in the joy of the royal birth.

Most executors were occupied with eradicating the mutant insect swarms, and thanks to Ita Empire’s solid military quality, these swarms hadn't caused any significant disasters yet.

But Yun Huai knew this was only temporary.

Any colossal disaster that could shake the foundations starts with seemingly trivial turmoil. If left unchecked, within fifty years, Ita would not remain as untroubled as it is now.

With the Eye of the Storm seeking to crush him in the cradle, Yun Huai could also take advantage of its still limited influence to find a way to eliminate it.

On the deck of the imperial starship, the young king stood, dressed warmer than before, his face buried in soft fur, almost indistinguishable from the plush material.

Xi Yena, bowing to tie the king’s sash: “If possible, I wish you could always stay in the main star’s garden.”

Indeed, Yun Huai’s stays in the garden were brief, usually just a couple of weeks, and most of his time was spent roaming, making the main star the earliest yet briefest host to the king.

"Gardens are too dull, and Lan Fei Star is full of fun places," Ga Xiu smiled slightly. "There are many beautiful species there; you might prefer the Second Star System."

Yun Huai coughed, recalling the astounding mermaid-themed chain of novelty stores.

He turned to Lai Lai, who remained silent.

Still silent.

Yun Huai asked, "Have you finished thinking?"

"…Yes."

Yun Huai nodded, always more tolerant towards the reticent.

"Any other instructions?"

Lai Lai spoke softly, "The Ita mechanical beings will be networked across the entire empire. If you encounter any trouble, they will transmit an alarm to every military station in the empire."

Yun Huai pursed his lips in resignation: "There shouldn't be any trouble, so don't be too anxious. Too many coming to my aid would be bothersome."

Ilya, matching the king's attire, also fitted fluffy covers over its mechanical ears.

It meowed, "Being anxious is only natural! After all, you're in such a critical transition period! And so young, you’re not malnourished because of the Eye of the Storm, are you?"

Yun Huai: "…"

"It's not that; I've always looked like this, even in the previous world."

But he couldn't say this out loud, leading to a weighty silence among the executives.

Especially Lai Lai.

"If I had discovered and destroyed it earlier, perhaps you wouldn’t have ended up like this."

Yun Huai quickly raised his hand to halt the Ita's thoughts, fearing they might impulsively detonate Da Yu Ga to destroy the storm in his absence.

But Da Yu Ga couldn't approach autonomously, and Lai Lai's decision would spell a premature end for countless Ita warriors.

"Don’t act rashly," Yun Huai cautioned with a frown. "Impulsiveness makes us vulnerable. Understanding its weakness is key to turning defeat into victory."

[He always seems so calm, no matter the situation.]

Lu Lin'an, leaning on the railing with his elbows: "An admirable ability to handle crises."

[Perhaps he's endured many sorrows.]

Lu Lin'an: "I know."

[Hm?]

Lu Lin'an: "The Black Radiance System lacks a Blue Star. This planet might be in a different dimension of the universe. His origin is unknown, too distant for me to tear through that spatial layer. It would exceed my power limits."

Gene chuckled meaningfully: [Tearing through distant dimensions requires pure dragon power and a destination coordinate to sense. If you let me take over your body, with my pure power, I'm sure I can do it.]

Lu Lin'an: "Hah."

[What do you mean??]

Lu Lin'an: "Nice try, but don't think about it next time."

【……】

The Imperial Starship departed from a border transfer station in the Third System, and Xie Ye Na even considerately parked Yun Huai's silver-white spacecraft onboard, facilitating the king's occasional need to pilot his own vessel.

The love gene is also a rebellion gene. It appears harmless but constantly seeks to replace Lu Lin'an. Suppressed and unable to rebound, once Lu Lin'an loses control, the autonomous consciousness quickly overwhelms him, making it difficult for Lu Lin'an to regain control of his body—transforming him into a bloodthirsty dragon beast with pure dragon power but devoid of reason and memory.

The existence of the Magma Dragon Tomb is precisely because no Niliya dragon desires to become that terrifying, pure beast.

Lu Lin'an glanced at Yun Huai, who was watching the executives depart.

Yun Huai turned around and smiled at Lu Lin'an. Only those aware of his identity understood the daunting power hidden within the young man.

Lu Lin'an: "I don't really care about your threats."

【？？？】

Lu Lin'an: "I found a powerful mate that my entire clan never did. If you ever manage to replace me, he'll probably beat you so hard you'll be running all over Dragon Island. And when you can't handle the beating, you'll come begging me to save you."

【。。。】

[Go to hell!]

The more Lu Lin'an thought about it, the more amusing it became, his smile becoming evident as Yun Huai approached.

Yun Huai looked up at him: "You happy about that?"

Lu Rin'an: "Of course."

Yun Huai shook his head, and then Lu Rin'an asked: "How much of the King's power is left?"

"A little."

Lu Rin'an: "When will you give it to me?"

Yun Huai: "No rush, we'll talk about it when we reach the Creation Star Domain."

"Okay," Lu Rin'an was not picky, "With a little power left, you'll have more resistance to the shock of warp jumps on the way."

Yun Huai smiled and nodded: "That's what I was thinking too."

Recently, they seemed to often be on the same page. Yun Huai smiled and then saw Lu Rin'an starting to emit sparks. He quickly coughed and went to the control room, holding the self-heating cat ball.

The pure white main star’s spaceship slowly ascended, the massive and dark black space station of the Third System stationed on both sides of the main route. As the spaceship passed, the Roland Weit flags slowly and diagonally rose, a salute reserved for royalty, symbolizing the absolute loyalty of the Night Gold City warriors to the king.

Yun Huai hadn't set a time for the trip to the alien domain, unsure of the current situation there. Fortunately, the main star's spaceship was very fast. After four consecutive wormhole jumps, the coordinates shifted from the empire to the alien territory.

This was Yun Huai's second visit to the Creation Star Domain, carrying superweapons powerful enough to make a RAT scanner explode on the spot.

But this time, he had more than just weapons; he also brought Lu Rin'an.

The RAT is something created by Lu Rin'an, giving him the authority to bypass scanning fields and enter the Creation Star Domain directly.

While in Night Gold City, Yun Huai didn't feel much different, but outside, he clearly felt the world's unfriendliness towards ordinary people.

Just the energy field shock from the warp wormholes was enough to make him feel nauseous and dizzy.

As a result, Lu Rin'an lost many scales, and Yun Huai had to comfort him that it was nothing serious.

"Last time I followed you here, there were many more aliens coming to the Creation Star Domain than now, but there are not many people using RAT," Yun Huai withdrew his gaze from outside and said to Lu Rin'an, "It might be chaotic inside. The Creation Star Domain is home to many powerful creatures, and the more powerful they are, the more likely they are to lose control under the storm's influence."

"We are far from the Eye of the Storm," Lu Rin'an said.

Yun Huai: "Then it must be some other reason, something that's causing their agitation."

Lu Rin'an sighed.

Yun Huai: "Are you saddened by this place?"

Lu Rin'an frowned: "No, I just suddenly remembered that you ate one less bowl of soup this morning."

Yun Huai: "……"

Iliad, shocked: "The fire is burning at your doorstep, and you're still thinking about romance."

Lu Rin'an: "This is not my home."

Iliad: "?"

Lu Rin'an, expressionless: "My real home is on Sea Flame Star."

Sea Flame Star? Yun Huai thought for a moment: "Is that your family's planet?"

Lu Rin'an vaguely nodded: "Yes." He swiftly moved on from the topic, creating a huge spatial rift in front of the spaceship.

Yun Huai turned around to see the spaceship's nose slowly entering the rift.

With a swarm already flown in, Lu Rin'an said, "There are too many groups warping in; instant landing would trigger the alarms on the Lord’s star, so the exit is outside the Lord’s star. I'll bring you in for a soft landing later."

Yun Huai nodded, then suddenly asked, "Do you want to go back to Sea Flame Star?"

Lu Rin'an glanced sideways: "Why ask that?"

Yun Huai: "I was thinking, if it's on the way, after we're done here, I could accompany you to visit your parents. You must be very close to them."

[He’s too sweet… Maybe you should focus on romance first, then we can discuss who's the real owner of this body.]

Lu Rin'an looked at Yun Huai, slightly stunned: "You—"

Yun Huai, looking down: "Hasn’t it been a long time since you’ve seen them?"

Lu Rin'an: "…Yes."

Yun Huai: "Depending on the situation, if we have enough time, I'll include Sea Flame Star in our itinerary. You should also remind them about the Eye of the Storm."

Lu Rin'an fell silent for a moment, then smiled: "Okay, I'll listen to you."

As they spoke, the spaceship emerged from the other side of the rift. Just as Yun Huai looked up, he saw a speeding vessel collide with a blue honeybee drone on patrol.

Iliad $^$: "Damn it! That was expensive!"

Lu Rin'an: "Feeling dizzy?"

Yun Huai frowned: "It's okay, as long as we're out."

The Creation Star Domain had never seen such a massive imperial spaceship. The moment the blue honeybees surrounded the spaceship, they triggered a suicidal attack.

The state of the aliens was indeed very agitated, to the point that they didn’t even bother to observe properly.

Lu Rin'an hissed and raised his hand to wrap the main ship in a spatial barrier. After several blue honeybee drones crashed, the rest finally reacted, dispersing in the airspace and distance.

Everywhere he looked, chaos reigned.

Outside the red Lord’s Star, military debris floated everywhere, the scent of blood and death pervasive. In just over ten days, the situation had worsened far beyond what was shown in Tangsisi's videos.

The defense system of the Creation Star Domain had failed, and mutations were destroying the nerves of every normal species.

Yun Huai: "Don’t you have mechanical creatures?"

Lu Rin'an slowly replied: "We do, but not as many as Night Gold City. Lailar has been developing a mechanical army for decades, the Creation Star Domain can't compare to this military fanatic."

Amid the erratically flying alien warships, the imperial spaceship gradually approached the very center of the Red Rock region.

Lu Rin'an's hunting ground had truly become a battleground, with Yun Huai unable to discern any activity on the surface.

It was deathly silent there.

Lu Rin'an's chain code started flashing frantically, as if the aliens were belatedly realizing their lord had returned. Following the information from the Black Apostle, Tang Curse had sent over ten alerts about the risk in the star domain.

There were also private messages from other high-ranking alien commanders.

Yun Huai leaned over to look, but Lu Rin'an shifted his body to block the view.

Tang Curse: [It has influenced us, swelling more than tenfold under the effect of the potion.]

Tang Curse: [Its slime breeds more insect tides and revives them. We can no longer keep up with the merit points, and the loss of control in the army is increasing. In about 15 days, the casualty rate will reach its peak.]

……

Tang Curse's last message: [The Creation Star Domain requests your help, Lord Luniliya!]

Iliad O.o: "Wait, who is Luniliya?"

[Oh my god, oh my god!]

Lu Rin'an put away his chain code with a forced smile: "It's nothing, just another name of mine that I don't really like, so I didn't tell you."

Iliad, astonished: "You have such a fancy name?! And it’s a noble four-character one like mine!"

Lu Rin'an: "Those four characters aren’t very lucky."

Thankfully, Yun Huai knew this wasn’t the time for such discussions. He separated them, one person, one machine: "Can you still contact them now?"

"Probably not," Lu Rin'an said, "If the surface is too out of control, Tang Curse will take people into the underground mines of the Red Rock region for emergency shelter."

The spaceship approached the surface, but being modeled after Xiayena's tastes, it loved cleanliness and didn’t land directly on the surface covered in unknown liquid.

Lu Rin'an was about to jump down when Yun Huai grabbed his sleeve.

The young Ita king shook his head slightly and then led Lu Rin'an to the rear of the spaceship.

As they approached, the spaceship's sensor lights lit up silently one by one.

Yun Huai let go of Lu Rin'an halfway, quickening his pace as his breath grew short due to the loss of King’s power.

Just as Lu Rin'an was about to embrace him, the mechanical door in front of them opened slowly with a hissing sound.

They were greeted by a sealed darkness and cold.

Yun Huai and Lu Rin'an: "Don't be impulsive. Our goal is not to eliminate as many enemies as possible, but to observe the effects of the storm."

Lu Rin'an silently watched the Ita king.

Yun Huai: "So your task is to find the 'it' mentioned by Tang Curse. The insects and the storm are closely related. I suspect this thing is the main culprit for the Creation Star Domain going berserk despite being far from the storm. As for other surface cleaning activities, leave them to others."

Iliad exhaled sharply; the vast, cold dark space felt even larger. The cat ball could see the white mist from the king’s breath as he spoke.

Losing King’s power, his body was becoming more fragile.

“0781。”

Suddenly, a pair of bright blue eyes lit up in the dark, the sound of mechanical movement approached. Wearing spotless new armor, with slanted steel ears, free of rust and moss, 0781 had been repaired by the senior mechanic Wede into the strongest war robot of the new era.

0781 still retained memories of serving tea in the garden and its chip, but four hundred years ago, it was also an experienced robot warrior who had fought in imperial expeditions.

Yun Huai looked up, raising his voice: "And everyone else."

The dormant robots of Night Gold City were instantly awakened by the King’s power, their blue eyes lighting up one after the other in a precise matrix-like sequence.

These were all high-level mechanical army commanders prepared by Lailar for the King.

Yun Huai felt a slight tremor in his heart, exhaling deeply: "Go find the survivors around the Lord’s Star and eliminate any remaining insect tides. If you run low on energy or get injured, return immediately to the spaceship. I'll take you back for repairs. This is an order."

Iliad: "QAQ!"

"Beep—"

"Voice command system collectively activating, please wait. Activation successful."

The spaceship’s cargo bay slowly opened a vast skylight. At this moment in the Red Rock region, it was morning, allowing Yun Huai and Lu Rin'an to see the true appearance of the mechanical army.

Each of them maintained a precise millimeter distance from each other, every design element optimized for combat.

[Lailar is really insane, mass-producing such equipment. Even on Sea Flame Star, we would have to be cautious around these things.]

Lu Rin'an: "Don't be afraid, coward, I've already smoothed things over on Sea Flame Star."

[…We must talk about this love!]

The cargo bay was so cold that Yun Huai pulled his cloak tighter around his neck, breathing out white mist. Instantly, a blazing fire ignited beside him. Without looking back, he knew who was providing such meticulous protection.

The young Ita king nodded politely: "Then I entrust this task to you all."

0781's eyes flashed: "At your service." A chorus of mechanical voices followed in unison: "It's an honor for the Dark Night Legion."

The robots flew out through the skylight, and Yun Huai turned around. Lu Rin'an looked down: "Shall I go find the uncontrolled people and the queen bug?"

"Wait a moment," Yun Huai raised his palm, hesitated, and then withdrew it.

Lu Rin'an clearly understood his intention: "Are you going to give me the last King's power orb?"

Yun Huai hummed in affirmation.

But the snow orb wasn’t created; instead, Lu Rin'an saw Yun Huai take off his white gloves and place them on Iliad's head.

The monster was confused until he saw Yun Huai, amidst the sky-covering lethal weapons, reaching out his arms toward him.

"Come here, Lu Rin'an."

Lu Rin'an's pupils constricted vertically; he couldn’t refuse, or rather, since the first moment he saw this young man, he had been unable to resist any of his commands.

He was the king of the Ita Empire, and also the one he had fallen for at first sight and loved increasingly.

Yun Huai blinked, then wrapped his arms around the approaching man's body.

The cold was dispelled by warmth, the temperature around them as comfortable as a warm afternoon sun.

Lu Rin'an's pupils kept shifting between constricted and round, his hands stiff, unsure where to place them.

This was the first time he had ever embraced him on his own initiative.

Iliad, wearing the king's gloves, emitted a sharp screeching noise beside them.

But his king said to the monster: "This is the last of the King's power. From tomorrow, you will no longer be my carrier. This role displeases me."

Lu Rin'an, in a hoarse voice: "But I am willing."

Wisps of snow-white threads flowed from the palm into Lu Rin'an's body.

Yun Huai murmured in the embrace: "I am not willing."

Lu Rin'an's chest heaved.

His dragon heart started beating wildly, the emotion reaching boiling point due to Yun Huai's transmission of King's power, even affecting the usually indifferent Ita king.

"…It's too hot," Yun Huai whispered.

Lu Rin'an instinctively pulled away for a moment, only to be sharply pulled back by the snow-white threads.

"But it's not over yet. I know you are very strong, but if you get injured, you must come back to me immediately," the young man's tone was gentle yet faint, mixed with an addictive cool fragrance, "I will heal you, as a priority, this is an order."

Author's Note:

Rin: I leave it to you. (Releases a series of sharp screeching sounds ah ah ah)