Chapter 70: The Fall of the Royal Family

Chapter 70: The Fall of the Royal Family

The silver scythe collided with the hard scales of the mech beast, producing a piercing metallic friction.

When the sharp blade stabbed into the mech beast's chest, a pair of powerful, muscular claws firmly held onto Xiao Sa's scythe. The strength was so formidable that it rivaled a top-tier Alpha. This was the first time Xiao Sa realized he wasn't superior in terms of absolute strength.

With a cold look, Xiao Sa gently rotated the scythe in his hand, the sharp tip instantly lengthening as it changed angle to stab at the mech beast's throat.

The mech beast leader's combat instincts were ingrained in its bones. It let go of Xiao Sa's scythe and whipped its thick tail like a whip. Several energy cannons on its body accumulated a massive beam, bombarding Xiao Sa's mech's defense shield.

This mech beast leader, merged from the former fourth legion commander, had its attacks, defenses, and weapons in peak condition. Its formidable body and top-notch reflexes left it almost without weakness.

Xiao Sa clicked his tongue in frustration and maneuvered his mech to ascend, abandoning the head-on confrontation. A white tiger appeared beside him, the king's symbol on its forehead glowing.

Inside the cockpit, Xiao Sa stared intently at the leader's grey pupils—control.

Mental threads converged from all directions, invisibly binding the mech beast leader, while oppressive pheromones surrounded it, constantly pressing in.

However, Xiao Sa was surprised to find that this mech beast's mental will was incredibly stubborn. Under his mental control ability and pheromone suppression, it remained completely unmoved, staring back at him with a cold and calm expression.

This was a mindless husk, stripped of its humanity, yet possessed of an unyielding steel body.

Xiao Sa frowned. There was only one last method. In the system channel, he spoke to Broken Peak, who was rushing towards the mech beast leader in search of his former superior: "Come to me."

Xiao Sa extended a portion of his mental threads to Broken Peak's mech—a mental link.

Broken Peak clenched his teeth, staring at the mech beast leader in front of him. He did not resist, opening his mental sea, constantly recalling memories of the former legion commander…

It was a cold execution platform, surrounded by faceless onlookers. Some were nobles, some were judicial officers, and countless officers and soldiers, along with clueless crowds.

The former Admiral Eric knelt, shackled on the execution platform, his ankles and wrists bound by arm-thick chains, his body covered in countless electric shocks and whip marks.

Two guards in military jackets stood behind him, pressing down on his muscular shoulders. An executioner stood at his rear, a gun aimed at the back of his neck.

The cold voice of the chief judge echoed around, listing crimes, amidst jeers and curses.

Admiral Eric lifted his head, his bloodstained grey eyes gleaming defiantly beneath his disheveled hair.

He declared resolutely and shouted, "I have not betrayed my country!"

His voice abruptly ended with a cold gunshot.

Xiao Sa transmitted this dying consciousness into the mind sea of the mech beast that was once Admiral Eric.

Sure enough, the opponent's hardened mental will finally cracked, constantly wavering, with painful screams emanating from his mind sea.

At this moment, inside the warships of the reinforcements from the first and second legions, two deputy legion commanders were continuously questioning the third prince:

"What are you two talking about? Is that mech beast leader Admiral Eric? Wasn't he already dead? Why has he become a mech beast?"

As comrades-in-arms for decades, although not belonging to the same legion, they were very familiar with each other.

When Admiral Eric was sentenced for treason by the empire, there were doubts within the military. Anyone who knew him almost entirely did not believe he would betray the empire.

However, the verdict had been final. With his death, the case was closed. Even Eric's subordinates were relentlessly pursued and hunted down. Except for Broken Peak's direct lineage that escaped, the rest were either dead or injured, and no one would dare to reopen Eric's case.

The third prince’s calm smile vanished as he flatly denied it: "That traitor who betrayed the empire was executed. This is merely a biological weapon researched by the empire. It is not human and has no thoughts."

The two deputy commanders fell into a cold, angry silence.

The third prince's desperate attempt to cover up only fueled their suspicions, making it seem even more like a case of "the more you try to hide, the more obvious it becomes."

Opposing the royal family was a terrifying prospect, but facing a life worse than death, they decided to take a stand.

"It's time to end this, Admiral Erik. Are you really going to turn your blade on your former comrades?" Xiao Sa said solemnly, as the light on the forehead of the White Tiger intensified.

Seizing the moment of hesitation, his mental control finally succeeded in invading the mech beast leader's consciousness.

Just as he was about to launch the final attack, gripping the Scythe of Death, the mech beast leader suddenly looked up and let out an earth-shaking roar.

The ultra-high frequency sound waves rippled through the air, leaving residual shadows, and nearly all the radars and communication channels in the vicinity went dead.

Xiao Sa suddenly perceived a certain command signal emanating from the other side. For a moment, nearly half of the mech beasts fighting on the battlefield clutched their heads, falling into confusion and struggle.

Inside the command room of the third legion, seizing this perfect opportunity, Landis, with a calm and resolute gaze, said, "Full firepower coverage. Prepare the main cannons of the warships. Eliminate the enemy's combat strength at all costs and capture the third prince alive."

His orders were carried out to the letter.

At this critical moment, the reinforcements from the first and second legions completely abandoned their neutral stance and joined Landis's side.

The third prince was both shocked and furious, and the tide of the battle shifted once again. What he thought was a sure victory over Landis was now slipping irreversibly in the other direction.

Xiao Sa, who was at the center of the battlefield, was directly hit by the mech beast leader's sonic blast. However, this was not an attack; it was something else.

Xiao Sa's mental control ability continued to invade the mech beast leader's consciousness. A faint pheromone signal, intertwined with the last remnants of the leader's subconscious, appeared before Xiao Sa.

It was a cold freezing chamber.

Admiral Erik's body was submerged in a large glass tube. Countless transparent transmission tubes were plugged into his back, injecting thick, foul-smelling black liquid into his body.

His muscles swelled, his skin crawled with scales, his limbs thickened, and a tail sprouted from his spine, transforming him into a grotesque, nightmarish creature.

The last trace of consciousness came to an abrupt end.

Holding the Scythe of Death, Xiao Sa looked at the mech beast leader that had stopped resisting, his expression complex. A deep sigh from Broken Peak echoed in his mind.

The scales on its body began to peel off, and it swelled like an inflated balloon, emitting a horrifying scream. The surrounding mech beasts were affected, their thoughts becoming confused, their movements sluggish, as they began to attack each other.

Xiao Sa's expression darkened, and he shouted, "Fall back! It's about to self-destruct!"

The mech beast leader, with its icy gray eyes, took one last deep look at the cruel world and slowly closed its eyes.

A blinding white light burst from its body, growing brighter and brighter, forcing everyone around to avert their eyes. A massive explosion echoed across the battlefield, sending countless flesh fragments flying in all directions.

The soldiers who had once fought alongside Admiral Erik, now silent and enraged, couldn't help but wonder what fate would have befallen them if they had surrendered.

The mech beasts, now out of control, began to retreat under the onslaught of the third legion's coalition forces.

With the deafening roar of cannons echoing around him, the third prince's flagship revved its engines and fled the battlefield, abandoning these now-useless biological weapons.

However, awaiting him were the main cannons of over a hundred warships. Particle beams from the main cannons, with their dazzling white light, shot straight towards the third prince's warship. The outer defense shields were instantly overwhelmed, and massive fires erupted, billowing black smoke into the air.

Swarms of mechs surrounded the flagship, preparing to board.

After hours of relentless combat, the third prince's mech beast legion was crushed.

Bound tightly like a mummy, the third prince was escorted into the captain's command room by Lanadis' security detail.

The two deputy legion commanders had been waiting, glaring furiously. "For years, the military has remained loyal to the royal family, sacrificing countless soldiers, officers, and even generals. Why would you betray us now?!"

The third prince's luxurious royal attire was now tattered and burnt from the battle. His once-porcelain skin was smeared with soot, and his fiery red curls were singed and brittle, resembling dried straw.

He coughed twice but showed no sign of fear under the heavy, angry gazes. After a long silence, the third prince finally spoke, a mocking smile tugging at his lips:

"The reason you ask such a foolish question is that you've never truly tasted the power at the peak. Once you do, you'll never forget it. Once you taste the power of the throne, you'll never want to let it go—not for a day, not for a lifetime."

"The royal family hasn't lost yet, and you shouldn't think you've already won."

The third prince's smile was meaningful as his gaze swept across everyone's faces, finally resting on Xiao Sa, who stood next to Lanadis.

"You are truly remarkable. I've never seen anyone with such power as yours. If only you could serve me, I could offer you far more than Lanadis ever could."

The third prince looked at him with regret. "What a pity. I had planned to kill Lanadis and lock you away, so I wouldn't have to worry about your corrupted genes ever again."

Xiao Sa sneered mockingly. "And yet, the mastermind behind these mech beasts is afraid of being corrupted?"

The third prince shook his head. "You ungrateful traitors. Do you think the inhibitors supplied to the military by the royal family came easily? The royal family has spent countless years, resources, and manpower to develop a way to resist the corruption. A few bodies are nothing compared to the greater good. You should consider it an honor."

"When the day comes that the mech beast legion completely replaces the ordinary human soldiers in the military, you won't have to fight on the battlefield anymore. The royal family's painstaking efforts are, of course, beyond the understanding of the lower classes."

The third prince's twisted logic only fueled the deputy legion commanders' fury. "If it's so great, why don't you go first?"

The third prince responded naturally, "The royal family and the aristocratic elite are far above the lowly commoners. The empire has always revered the strong. Whoever is stronger stands at the peak of power. The weak are either consumed by mutants or by those stronger than them. Isn't that only natural?"

Lanadis' icy blue pupils looked at him coldly and calmly. "Since that's the case, it's only natural that you, Third Prince, are now my prisoner. Your life and death are in my hands."

The third prince's expression flickered for a moment, a crack seemingly appearing on his face, but he quickly suppressed it, smirking in silence.

※※※

Central Star.

After the third prince's defeat, Lanadis' fleet of nearly a hundred warships reactivated their stealth systems and arrived at Central Star ahead of schedule, sealing off the major spaceports.

When news of the third prince's defeat at the hands of the mech beast legion reached the palace, all of Central Star plunged into the greatest chaos in its history. From the royal family to the highest-ranking nobles, panic spread like wildfire.

What frightened them more than Lanadis' rebellion was the fact that the First and Second Legions, which had been stationed on the frontlines, had also joined Lanadis' rebel forces.

Hundreds of warships advanced with great momentum, and with four to five combat carriers in the fleet, the elite forces of the various legions, who had been resting and preparing for a long time, were ready for battle.

Lanadis was well-prepared and moved swiftly, giving the royal family no time to react—they never imagined the third prince's mech beast legion would be so utterly crushed by what they thought were the remnants of the Third Legion.

They also never imagined that General Erik, who had been transformed into a monstrous mech beast, would regain a flicker of his humanity thanks to Xiao Sa and Broken Peak.

As a precaution, the third prince had taken nearly the entire mech beast legion with him, leaving Central Star with less than a thousand beasts—hardly enough to resist Lanadis' legion alliance.

Outside the atmosphere, the defense satellites' early warning system blared as they unleashed a barrage of attacks on Lanadis' fleet, but within moments, they were obliterated by a volley of quantum beam cannons.

The overwhelming fleet of warships passed through the atmosphere and headed straight for the city where the Baroque palace was located. A vast armada of warships and mech beasts hovered over the Baroque palace, locked in a tense standoff with the Fourth Legion and the royal guard's fleet.

A single shot from either side could unleash a catastrophe unlike anything seen before.

Inside the Baroque palace.

The once-luxurious palace is now in ruins, with the ceremonial guards and court attendants having fled in the chaos.

Upon learning that General Landis was leading his army to Central Star, the royal family and major nobles attempted to escape immediately, but all spaceports were sealed off and became the primary targets for destruction.

Landis paid no heed to the minor nobles; he had the royal family locked inside the palace.

With nowhere else to go, the royal family resorted to their usual tactic during disasters, retreating into the underground vaults beneath the palace.

As the army hovered above the palace, such explosive news could not be concealed. The star network repeatedly crashed due to heavy traffic, with countless eyes wide in shock at this historic scene.

The royal defense system continuously sent interrogations to Landis's warships:

"Landis, are you rebelling? This is a grave insult to His Majesty!"

"Please, sir, cease your unreasonable actions and withdraw your ships from Central Star!"

"General Landis, there must be some misunderstanding! Please remain calm; His Majesty trusts you."

In the command room, Landis watched the holographic projection of the emperor's intimate bodyguard, whose demeanor rapidly shifted from stern questioning to pleading, finding it deeply ironic.

Landis removed his military cap, stripping off the emblem on top, his face stern and solemn: "There is no misunderstanding. We are all very clear that the current situation is the result of the royal family's own doing."

Landis then sent the footage of the previous battle and the words of the Third Prince, recorded in the command room, directly to the star network.

Instantly, public opinion across the empire erupted, rumors spread like wildfire, and the military, upon learning of the former Fourth Legion's transformation into mech-beasts, was filled with shock and rage, unable to contain their fury.

This collective military rebellion acted as a fuse, igniting the already tense powder keg of class conflict.

Aliens and mech-beasts, heroes and monsters, loyalty and betrayal—these keywords sparked heated debates and public outrage on the star network. In major cities, the oppressed lower classes began to take to the streets in protest, their anger directed squarely at the royal family and the major nobles.

At this point, the royal family finally realized that General Landis was not going to withdraw his troops easily.

The aged emperor appeared on the holographic screen, his crown having mysteriously disappeared during the chaos. He looked as if he had aged ten years overnight.

"General Landis," the emperor said, his former nobility and composure gone, but still struggling to maintain a semblance of dignity. "Don't forget who awarded you and your father those glorious medals."

"Both you and your father swore an eternal oath of loyalty to the empire in Baroche Palace, vowing to protect the royal family. Do you intend to betray your oath? Or are you willing to betray the honor of being the empire's sword? Can you live with betraying your father?"

Seeing Landis's mocking expression, the emperor's face twisted with anger.

"I was not aware that the third prince would dare to commit such treasonous acts. I only ordered him to lead the mechanized beast legion to support you."

"This was clearly his own reckless decision, made in a bid to compete with his elder brother for the throne. Since you've already captured him, I ask you to deal with this troublemaker."

Watching the emperor's rapidly changing expressions on the holographic screen, Xiao Sa raised an eyebrow. The emotional appeal didn't work, so the emperor was now shifting all the blame onto his son.

He shook his head, looking at Landis's grim face. Xiao Sa could see that Landis felt more than just anger—there was deep disappointment. After all, he and his father had once pledged loyalty to this ridiculous and hypocritical royal family, and countless soldiers had died for it.

On Landis's face, Xiao Sa saw both mockery and profound sorrow, likely for his father and the countless soldiers who had fallen.

The third prince, now a mere pawn with the enemy at the gates, smiled coldly as he watched.

He had already anticipated this moment when he was defeated and captured.

His father had always been so hypocritical. To protect his power and throne, anyone could be sacrificed—generals, heroes, even his own sons.

"It was me." The third prince suddenly laughed, openly confessing. "Respected father, when you used the throne to lure me into raising those alien nests, I knew this day would come. Of course, I took precautions."

As everyone stared in shock, he looked at the holographic screen. "How could I not have guarded against you?"

"Damn it, what are you saying? Shut up!" The emperor's face was completely filled with astonishment and panic.

With no way out, the third prince instead felt a sense of relief, now calm and even amused by the emperor's ashen expression.

"In the universe, besides the naturally born alien nests, there is another kind. Deep within the palace's laboratory, they are cultivated by the royal family. The sudden outbreak of alien chaos on Central Star was caused by the accidental leakage of these lab-grown aliens."

"Initially, it was just to develop an inhibitor, to find a solution using the inhibitor. This method was left by the first founding emperor of the Dawn Empire hundreds of years ago. He probably never imagined that his descendants would use the corpses of mutant soldiers and fuse them with aliens to create biological weapons like the mech beasts."

The third prince chuckled, his eyes gleaming with madness. "The marriage matching system allows direct entry into the military arena. Inhibitors, pollution sources, soldiers fighting on the frontlines—their mutated corpses can then be used as nourishment to cultivate alien nests."

"Born like cattle, dying with honor—what a perfect cycle, don't you think?"

"The lower class will always be consumables, nourishment for the upper nobility and royalty. Even if a few strong individuals emerge, they can never escape the royal family's grasp. The emperor who came up with this method to control the empire was truly a genius."

Landis's eyes darkened, his anger reaching its peak. "You're all insane!"

"Perhaps we are." The third prince muttered to himself. "As the executor of this mission, having been in close contact with alien nests, how could I not have been infected?"

"General Landis, my infection runs deeper than yours." The third prince's expression was bleak, his eyes filled with deep jealousy. "But I wasn't as lucky as you to find a blood donor with 100% compatibility. If I had matched with Xiao Sa first, it would have been perfect."

Landis's face darkened, instinctively reaching for his gun. Xiao Sa pressed down on his hand and frowned. "Stop dreaming."

The third prince smiled coldly, unbuttoning his blood-soaked jacket and shirt, revealing his heart area. A tiny red dot was visible—a nano-bomb was installed under his skin, directly connected to his heart.

He placed his right hand over the micro-device on his chest. "I've already told you, you haven't won. There will be no winners today."

Xiao Sa's expression changed, and he rushed toward the third prince. As he grabbed the third prince's throat, the micro-explosive device embedded in his heart activated—the third prince was blown to pieces, splattering warm blood all over Xiao Sa.

Almost simultaneously, within the palace, a massive explosion echoed into the sky, causing everyone's faces to turn pale.

Large swaths of black fog surged into the air from the explosion, and countless aliens flew out from the ruptured opening, densely packed like a swarm of locusts.

The first to bear the brunt were the royal family members taking shelter in the palace.

Their skin dissolved in the black fog, their fragile bodies ripped apart into jagged pieces. Their screams hadn't even escaped their mouths before they were devoured by the grotesque aliens, leaving not even bone fragments behind.

The emperor's scepter rolled away, swallowed by the foul-smelling fog.

Landis's face was as dark as thunder as he gave a low order. "Activate all palace defense systems and shields. We must not let these aliens leave the palace grounds and enter other cities!"

Central Star, as the capital of the empire, had a population of over 5 billion.

Knowing he was about to die, the third prince had actually intended to make the entire Central Star pay for his life.

Moments ago, the several major legions and royal troops, which had been at a standoff in the sky, were forced to temporarily set aside their conflict due to the near-annihilation of the royal family. They now had to work together to deal with the trouble caused by the royals' pet mech beasts.

Xiao Sa, piloting his mech, hovered in the air. A massive mental domain surged out from him, with swirling clouds in the sky, continuously sprinkling purifying mist.

However, the aliens emerging from the palace seemed endless, impossible to kill completely.

Frowning, Xiao Sa looked at the breach in the palace and contacted Landis. "There must be a true alien hive inside. Without dealing with it, we won't be able to kill all these aliens in a short time."

If they escape the palace, it will be the worst disaster in the history of the Dawn Empire.

Landis quickly said, "I've already ordered the use of micro-nuclear devices from the nuclear arsenal to level this place."

Xiao Sa shook his head in disagreement. "No one knows what's really deep inside the palace. What if there's a King-class alien? Conventional energy weapons have little effect on King-class aliens. I must go down there myself."

Landis immediately tried to stop him, saying, "You can't go in, it's too dangerous! We'll think of another way."

Xiao Sa smiled at him. "Don't worry, Landis. Don't forget about my other mental entity. There's no need to fear. It's dangerous for others, but I'm the only one who can avoid alien contamination."

For Xiao Sa, there was an even more important mission—to enter the palace's depths to find the historical secrets left behind by his clan's ancestors.

Though Landis wanted to say more, Xiao Sa's resolve was firm. "Trust me, Landis."

The silver-white mech drew a swift, thunderous arc across the sky, and in an instant, it plunged into the palace through the breach.