Xyrin Empire
Chapter 508 Energy Storm

Chapter 508: Chapter 508 Energy Storm

Red Moon... No, it should be called Blue Moon now.

A ghostly, mysterious blue light filled the space between heaven and earth, making this barren, desolate world seem like it was cast into a cold tomb, the surrounding blue light suddenly giving rise to bizarre associations, as if this world were a morgue.

I shook my head, casting these weird thoughts aside, and showed a reassuring smile to Tohsaka and Ilya, who ran over in panic.

"It’s okay, just a little celestial anomaly, looks like I’m going to be busy."

"Big brother, is that moon going to explode?" Ilya said, still frightened, sneaking glances at the giant moon in the sky that had turned deep blue and was visibly expanding and contracting, "I see all the soldiers around us looking very tense."

"Don’t worry, the Imperial Fleet will take care of everything. We’ve fought star system annihilation wars," I patted Ilya’s little head gently—ah, a good feeling—and continued, "Tohsaka, don’t wander around for now; my scientists are analyzing the situation... Taville, do you have the results?"

"As you wished, my Queen," in such a bizarre and critical situation, Taville’s face still carried the brilliant smile of a mad scientist facing a precious specimen, "It’s Ghost Energy, indeed Ghost Energy! An unprecedented energy reaction has occurred on the surface of the giant moon, my Queen, look at this, these are the radiation readings from the Red Moon transforming into the Blue Moon over the past few minutes—"

Taville spoke, moving a floating information window in front of me.

"Wow! So advanced! Alien uncle, can you even understand all this?" Tohsaka immediately exclaimed in surprise.

I snorted arrogantly, nostrils flaring, "Hmph, as the Leader I just have to issue commands, these technical things..."

"It seems the energy waveform has undergone a chain reversal," Sandora observed the aggravatingly complex data graph and nodded repeatedly, "The unknown energy sea on the Red Moon surface has turned into a Ghost Energy sea."

Baby, are you comparing yourself to me?

Ignoring Tohsaka’s suddenly weird expression and Ilya’s animal-like giggles, I cleared my throat twice and said seriously, "What does that mean?"

Sandora rolled her eyes, "It means, the layer of red energy sea on the Red Moon surface has just undergone a chain reaction and turned into pure high-concentration Ghost Energy."

"Moreover, the energy intensity is astonishing," Taville added, "The high-concentration Ghost Energy almost formed a plasma-like state. The current Giant Moon surface is like a madly reacting constant star. Of course, if it’s ghost energy, its energy would be more terrifying than that of a star’s surface. Due to the Giant Moon’s own binding, most of the energy remains on the celestial body’s surface, but the energy that leaks out, each burst of flames has a strength not less than a full force attack from a warship’s main cannon; Two of our detection spaceships, one crashed and one severely damaged under attack from these ghost energy ’cannon fires’."

"What’s the reason?" I looked up at the giant blue moon, its surface’s boiling energy storm faintly visible even from the ground, making it look like filthy fuzzy fabric, and covering almost half of the sky. Its edge, due to various atmospheric refraction phenomena, kept trembling and stretching; it really looked like what Ilya feared: isn’t it going to explode?

"Very sorry, my Queen," Taville’s face showed an uneasy and embarrassed expression, "We still know nothing. The energy intensity on its surface is too astonishing, and the density is extremely high. The Giant Moon’s internal energy binding system has solidified all of the energy on its surface, causing every inch of the celestial body’s shell to burn with ghost energy equivalent to the warship main cannon chamber, creating interference far beyond the filtering capacity of our current analysis equipment. The main array of Shadow City has been linked, but their calculations are also fraught with difficulties."

I knew Taville wasn’t just making excuses. As a research scientist dedicated to the extent of being pedantic, her claim of "numerous difficulties" indicated how troublesome that "moon" was.

What I was most curious about now was, what exactly was that thing hanging in the sky supposed to do?

A weapon? A spaceship? A base? Or something else entirely?

The technology of the former Xyrin Empire had reached the pinnacle; they could create almost anything. But what was the purpose of a celestial body as big as a small planet, entirely formed of super-strong energy?

"Could it simply be an energy reactor?" Even Sandora was baffled, but she still voiced her guess, "Though I have never heard of the Empire possessing such a ghost energy reaction device, its current state really resembles that of an energy furnace, and moreover, it seems quite unstable..."

Whether it was the curse of the crow’s mouth, no sooner had Sandora finished speaking than the Blue Moon indeed erupted.

The blue moonlight in the sky suddenly became several times stronger, turning the entire sky and earth almost blue and white, and at the same time, a pale blue energy shield descended from the sky, protecting the entire outpost and the more than ten kilometers long Hibernian hovering mid-air behind it. Looking up, we saw a shuttle-shaped warship comparable in size to the Hibernian battlecruiser, but far more aesthetically pleasing than the latter, crafted with precision and enveloped by a powerful shield—a clear testimony that the crude and bulky Hibernian was nowhere near its technological level.

It was a ship from the Empire, transformed from an Expeditionary-class battleship into a scientific research vessel.

It was the spaceship that Taville had brought a few hours ago, which had been hovering in a near-Earth orbit, acting as an information platform between the Red Moon Detection Ship and the ground station. When the explosion began, the ship reacted immediately, performing a super space-time jump above us establishing the energy shield.

At the same time, a piercing alarm resounded throughout the base: "Severe warning! Severe Warning! Highest-level ghost energy detected, identified as an Imperial Cruiser main cannon level attack! Identified as an Imperial Cruiser main cannon-level attack! All personnel enter combat stations..."

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out, and as I turned towards the sound, I saw Tex not far away shooting down the loudspeaker blaring the alert, which was hung on a flagpole.

"Boss, if possible, I’d really wish you could help us improve this artificial intelligence technology. This idiotic automatic alarm system is even more stupid than Megatron!"

He even had the time to trouble that unfortunate alarm—could someone also explain to me the intelligence issue with Megatron?

Outside the energy shield, the Earth had already turned into purgatory. The descending blue and white light was magnificently beautiful, yet it contained the energy to destroy everything. Rocks and soil within visibility melted, and some even transformed directly into steam. The Earth was melting at an astonishing rate, much like ice on a red-hot iron plate. Gravity was clearly out of balance, as clumps of molten rock detached from the Earth, swiftly moving towards the blue and white giant moon. Despite the protection of the spaceship’s shield, the ground beneath our feet was still shaking violently, indicating that the entire geological structure was on the verge of collapse under this tremendous irradiation of ghost energy.

This dire situation immediately caught the attention of Reynolds and Tex. Almost instantly, they realized: even with the protection of an Imperial Warship, this place was doomed!

"Quick, quick, quick! Abandon the outpost bunker! Transform the siege tanks, load the nearby Marines and return, the ground is melting! Run, run, run you little buggers!" St

anding amidst the chaotic outpost ground due to landslides and earth fissures, Tex loudly assisted Reynolds in directing the soldiers to evacuate, "Everyone back to the mother ship! Move faster, move faster, move faster! The Empire has only sent one research ship. It’s bought us limited time. If you don’t want to end up as ashes in this hellhole, run faster!"

Though his language was crude, Tex’s command proved highly effective. Under the dual threat of the ground outside the shield instantly melting into rivers of molten magma and the continuous burst of energy sparks from the shield above, the marines erupted with potential akin to Liu Xiang, executing nimble, sturdy moves in their heavy power armors, effortlessly climbing and jumping as if weightless. Faced with ammunition boxes and armor plates blocking their way, some executed standing double-leg jumps, while others performed side and hurdle-style jumps, and some even hand-in-hand took flight together...

Are all the instructors of these marines from the Empire’s soldiers?

The energy eruption of the Blue Moon had reached its peak, equivalent to the continual bombardment of a warship’s main cannon. Even from the moon’s orbit, it was enough to vaporize a layer of the Earth’s crust. Even though it was the Chief Researcher’s "official ride," a mere research ship could not withstand such a massive onslaught of energy. Fortunately, Reynolds’s soldiers moved quickly. Before the research ship’s shield was exhausted, all personnel had already returned to the Hibernian and the Imperial Research Ship, then they jumped away amidst the energy storm.

One minute later, on the dark side of the Earth in the Inner World.

"Wow, wow, wow!~ Such a beautiful spaceship!!"

Ilya’s continuous exclamations echoed across the bridge. Perhaps because she had never cherished her own life since childhood, the terrifying experience earlier hadn’t scared her at all; instead, Tohsaka, who was now pale-faced, was gasping for breath as he leaned back in his seat.

"Alien uncle, honestly, being with you is too horrifying..."

"Little girl, it seems you are just a civilian," Taville slightly tilted his head as he looked at this unfamiliar girl, "In comparison, this event doesn’t even amount to a small spark when put against the wars once led by the Queen."

"Ah—" Tohsaka got startled, and it took him a while to recover, staring at me and Sandora with stars in his eyes, "That impressive... I thought the so-called Holy Grail War I’d experienced was already very... It seems trivial in your view."

You lose if you take these extraordinary folks seriously.

"Bring up the external visuals," I said, feeling the spaceship’s vibrations gradually stabilizing. I tapped the armrest of my seat, giving orders to the operator in the control room below.

Following the standard design of an Imperial warship, the commanding hall was directly above us at the officer’s platform, and in front of the platform was a large-scale holographic projection system. Once it displayed the thrilling images, even Ilya, who couldn’t stay still, finally settled down in her seat.

Our current position was on the dark side of the "Earth," with a small part of it facing the sun. The landscape in front of us was a deep, dark red, and despite being bathed in the sunlight for a third of its surface, it always carried a ruined, dim sense of grey. The surface, battered by the Red Moon, was covered with barely visible cracks, like an ancient clay vase. Near the planet’s dark side horizon, a blinding blue-white band of light continued to flash, giving the illusion that perhaps another sun was rising there.

"The energy eruption of the Giant Moon has reached its peak, and now a third of the crust of the Shadow Earth is exposed to its light. We estimate that in ten minutes, that portion of the crust will be in a semi-melted state, and the appearance of Shadow Earth will change forever—if it still exists afterward," Taville rapidly updated us on the latest situation of the Blue Moon, "This destruction, as analyzed, is not an intentional attack on the star. It should merely be a leak caused by the disruption of energy balance within the Giant Moon. What we are currently witnessing is just the aftermath of its eruption."

"How intense could the energy of that thing be?" I asked, expressing my most pressing concern. Even if I usually don’t understand these technical details, I could slightly imagine the threat level of a celestial body composed entirely of Ghost Energy and several times larger than the moon.

"The energy intensity per unit area far exceeds that of the sun’s surface, and the total energy is incalculable, but definitely surpasses any Energy Furnace we can currently produce," Taville spoke very seriously, "Although it’s unmeasurable, the most conservative estimate is that, apart from its core which might have some control mechanism, at least two-thirds of the Giant Moon’s volume is a dense Ghost Energy Sea. Its energy source is very likely a device similar to the Endless Ghost Energy Abyss. Even if its volume is just a fraction of the sun, once it erupts, its power will exceed the sun. However, the Giant Moon is still maintaining a fragile balance; some kind of stabilizing device inside it prevents the energy from overflowing, but as you can see, this device is already damaged and the Giant Moon has begun to leak—this is the theory."

Whenever Taville declared "this is the theory," it meant that it was indeed the fact.

"So you mean, once that energy source explodes, the Inner World would be obliterated in an energy storm far exceeding a supernova explosion," Sandora squinted slightly, "If the Giant Moon is the control core of this out-of-control Shadow Space, then what follows would be the simultaneous collapse of the Shadow Space—Taville, what’s the likelihood that the fragments from such a large-scale collapse of the Shadow Space would connect to the real world?"

"Over fifty percent."

"There’s a fifty percent chance of world’s end," Sandora frowned. "I don’t like playing dice, Ah Jun. We need to find a way to stop that celestial body."

I want to too, but the problem is that we even have trouble getting close to it!

Every square inch of its surface has an energy intensity equivalent to that of a warship main cannon. Attempting to land under such terrifying radiation would likely burn through even an Eternal Level or a Glory Starship, after all, it’s Ghost Energy!

Although he couldn’t understand what we were saying, the terrifying sight of the entire planet slowly deforming in blue flames and the "world’s end" Sandora talked about was unquestionably in front of us, making even the naively simple-minded Ilya turn pale, let alone what Tohsaka’s expression was.

"Perhaps it’s not completely impossible to land," Taville hesitated, then said thoughtfully, "According to my subordinates’ guesses, the energy surge of the Giant Moon has a certain cycle. Its regular state is the Red Moon, with surface ghost energy strong but stable, and the harmful radiation only spans a thousand kilometers. Beyond this distance, even the ships of the New Eden Federation would be completely safe. However, during the Blue Moon state when its surface energy is activated into Ghost Energy, even if it doesn’t erupt, we can’t get close at all. But this state shouldn’t last long... Based on my deductions, it should revert to the Red Moon in a day, by then..."

Sandora raised her eyes, "You mean we should land when it’s the Red Moon—but you yourself said that then it merely confines the energy within a thousand kilometer range on its surface. Within that range, our landing spacecraft still can’t approach."

"No, it’s not completely impossible to approach... theoretically..." Taville said cautiously, then glanced at me surreptitiously.

"I can get close," I realized. "As long as it’s not the runaway state of the Blue Moon, I can enter its interior."

With a "snap" of a crisp metallic sound, Sandora actually crushed the superalloy armrest of her chair into powder, then fixed Taville with a piercing gaze, "You actually suggested that Ah Jun enter a runaway energy furnace alone!?"

"It’s merely a theoretically feasible plan," Taville immediately tensed up, knowing very well that the move she suggested would provoke what kind of action from the Queen before us.

"Just for this plan, I should throw you into the furnace!"

"Sandora," I suddenly held the shoulders of the girl beside me, calming the already enraged girl instantly, "You must admit, this is the only viable way. And it only sounds dangerous. Void Energy means nothing to me, let alone a tiny Ghost Energy Reactor."

"But it’s different!" Sandora’s tone left no room for argument, "Ah Jun, I know your abilities are very strong, but there are limits. What if it suddenly explodes while you’re delving into the moon’s core? The energy of the Giant Moon is far more intense than what we see now; it’s only dormant due to internal constraints. If such a Ghost Energy Celestial Body collapses, the resulting energy storm could even tear through the Void! Could you still be safe in the face of such an intense energy storm? Plus your statement earlier admitted that in the Blue Moon state, even your abilities couldn’t penetrate that layer of the star shell..."

Sandora spoke in a rushed tone, but I merely responded with a smile.

"It’s okay, I’ll take Dingdang with me."

Then Sandora was stunned.

"Alright, Ah Jun, you win." (To be continued, for more, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters available, support the author, support genuine reading!)