CHAPTER 220: CH 216 LEFT AND THE THE BATTLE -1

And in just ten minutes, all seven fleets—about seventy thousand ships in total, roughly ten thousand per fleet—vanished into the space gates, leaving the dark and cold void behind them empty once again, as if they had never been there to begin with.

Kallus, the Red Empress, and a contingent of Imperial Guards remained aboard the Obliterator and its two escort ships.

Soon after, each of the seven space gates gave a single ripple before shutting down, and the blue, water-like substance dissolved and disappeared completely, just as it had appeared.

The shimmering, blue water-like currents within them broke apart, scattering into nothing. To the untrained eye, it was little more than beauty fading.

But to those who knew, those rippling waves were quantum particles—reshaped and bound by the gates’ arcane machinery into portals stable enough to pierce the quantum tunnel, carrying fleets across the stars with speed and precision no ordinary drive could match.

Once all the space gates had closed, Kallus and the Red Empress shifted their focus to the holo-table, its projection displaying the Minotaur Clan’s territory and the Sol Region, along with a detailed overlay of the quantum realms—more precisely, the quantum tunnel in which the seven fleets now traveled separately toward their respective targets.

Meanwhile, the contingent of Imperial Guards aboard the Obliterator, stationed at various points within the ship, and those on the two Antares-class battleships, still kept their gazes fixed on the empty expanse where the fleets had been only minutes ago.

On the command bridge of one Antares-class battleship, Imperial Guard Commander Emma stood watching the view, her voice low as she murmured, "This should be enough to catch the Minotaur... and even those the Imperial Commander predicted to be hiding in the shadows, waiting for us—or for space around the Sol Region—to stabilise.

On the command bridge of an Antares-class battleship, Imperial Guard Commander Emma stood watching the view, her voice was low as she murmured, "This should be enough to catch the Minotaur... and even those the Imperial Commander predicted might be hiding in the shadows, waiting for us—or for space around the Sol Region—to stabilise. So that they might invade us... The possibility of that is already high. And it seems the Imperial Commander plans to check on that himself..."

"How can you say that and be so sure, Commander Emma?" asked one of the guards. He was a man with an aura of law fluctuation around him, much like that of William, the Imperial Father of the Commander—though weaker, for he stood only half a step into the Genesis Law Realm.

He was none other than Bruce Ignis. He was like fire—fierce, unrelenting, and made only to consume. His brilliance lay in ruin, in the art of turning all before him to ash.

But the same fire that devoured so readily gave no warmth to thought. His mind, forged for destruction, could not grasp the quiet intricacies of understanding. So it was no wonder he failed to comprehend Emma, and simply asked.

"It’s so simple, and yet you can’t understand it yourself," sighed High Marshal of the Right Wing, Silva Winston. She was a graceful lady, the mind of the Imperial Guard, whose suggestions even Emma followed—Silva had a talent for this, and was almost always right.

"You know him, Silva—he’s like that. He can’t help himself," Emma said before continuing. "The reason I’m sure is simple. The Imperial Commander has not followed any of the fleets and remains here with us. That can only mean he’s going to do exactly what I just said—or else stay here, but that’s not his style. I think we’ll find out in a few minutes."

"Is that so..." said Bruce, scratching his head of blue hair—hair that looked less like strands and more like living flame, swaying as though it were fire itself.

Emma nodded, her gaze shifting to something else as she spoke, a hint of admiration in her voice that she tried to suppress. "This space gate truly is a remarkable piece of arcane technology... That mad group led by the lunatic Tyler actually managed to create it. Though... it does have drawbacks, and it’s not exactly like the one the Imperial Commander spoke of before... What was it? Ah—Ground Bridge."

"Indeed," Silva replied. "The Imperial Research and Development Department has really outdone itself this time—not just in technology, but in its utility and advantages. This will definitely be useful to our battle groups in the future."

"As for the drawbacks," Emma added, "they’re not significant for our purposes. And we already have alternatives in place."

And just like that, what began as a casual exchange between Emma and Silva turned into a quiet but pointed discussion.

Meanwhile, aboard the Obliterator, Kallus still stood at the center of the command bridge, staring at the holo-map with a thoughtful look, as if lost in deep contemplation.

The Red Empress noticed, but still chose to speak."What are you thinking, Kallus? Tell me."

Hearing her voice, Kallus broke from his thoughts and glanced at her before turning his gaze back to the map. Raising his hand, he pointed to a particular star system—one the Red Empress knew all too well. They had been there before, even fought a small battle there, one they had won without breaking a sweat.

"It’s nothing, Red Empress," Kallus said. "Just some thoughts that passed through my mind. Nothing serious. Let’s focus on the task. Set a course for this star system. If I’m right, we’ll be welcomed there... though perhaps by people who will attack us. And if they do, we’ll deal with them."

"Oh?" said the Red Empress, raising her eyebrows with a hint of something Kallus didn’t quite understand—and chose to ignore."Why do you think we might be attacked, or even find someone in that particular star system, Kallus? And why not follow the other fleets?"

Kallus tilted his head slightly before replying."Why do I think that? Well... I don’t know myself. You could blame it on ’the being’ for telling me something he shouldn’t have—or, if he did, for not telling me the whole thing properly.

"As for why I’m not following any of the fleets—" he shrugged. "They can handle their battles without me. I don’t have time to babysit them. Anyway... set the course already."

"Oh my, my... look at you," the Red Empress said with a mischievous smile, her voice carrying just as much playfulness. "Such a huge change. Where did that Kallus go—the one who didn’t even want a single ship in his fleet, let alone seven full battle fleets, each sent to fight their own battles without him as backup or babysitter?"

Kallus was caught slightly off guard by her sudden shift in tone and the odd question, but he still answered."What change are you talking about, Empress? Nothing’s changed. I’m the same as I was a few months ago. I’m just... a bit more flexible now. Yeah—flexible’s the right word."

He crossed his arms. "And as for babysitting, I never did that. I’m just a sentimental person, you know? I can still be that, even now. In fact..." he exhaled with mild frustration, "...anyway, can you set the course already? Or should I do it myself, hmm?"

The Red Empress finally noticed Kallus’s frustration reaching its peak. She knew that if she teased him any further, he might actually do what he’d threatened—and that would be embarrassing. This was her responsibility, after all.

She returned to her reserved self and said gently, "I’m doing it, I’m doing it. You don’t have to do it yourself. Wait, wait..."

And just like that, she set the course for the Obliterator and signaled the escort ships to prepare as well.

The Obliterator was a transcendent vessel—beyond anything else in existence. It needed no space gate to travel from one point to another; it could do so instantly, if its commander willed it. Like in earlier campaigns, the ship also possessed the unique ability to drag anything within a 100,000 km radius along with it to any destination in mere minutes.

Everything was ready. The two escort ships were in formation. The Obliterator’s propulsion engines fired up, and a black membrane expanded outward, enveloping both escorts.

On the command bridge, the Red Empress reported:"Propulsion engines operating at fifty percent capacity. Transcendent Dark Matter Engine output at twenty percent. All engine modules are performing at optimum conditions. FTL module operating within parameters. Course to Rigid Star System is locked. Estimated travel time: thirty minutes maximum."

Her voice grew firm Her voice grew firm. "Obliterator will enter quantum tunnel in three... two... one... Go."

Just as the Red Empress gave the order to go, the already accelerating Obliterator—dragging the two Antares-class battleships—entered a shimmering blue portal that opened directly ahead, created by its FTL module. It vanished into it just as the other battle fleets had through their space gates.

Moments later, stillness returned to space.