CHAPTER 772: UNPREPARED

At this moment, across the world, the populace finally realized that something had happened. The huge mobilization of troops was something that could not be hidden from them after all.

"What happened? Why is there suddenly a call for mobilization? Are we going to war with someone?" one bystander in the Martal Empire asked in astonishment as they saw many troops suddenly gathering from various directions toward the imperial palace.

Many also started to enter some of the interstellar vessels that had already been prepared to take off.

"I heard from my cousin who works in the imperial army that this is a black order of war from His Majesty. It looks like there will be a great war," another bystander answered.

"A great war? Against who?"

"I don’t know, but we will see in the next few hours. I think we will know then."

The great war was not something often heard by the populace. The last time they had experienced that kind of war was a long time ago, and their wars had mostly been against the devils within each of their continents.

However, since the emergence of Aldrian the Great, the devils seemed to have gone into hiding, no longer daring to act. The world became more peaceful with their absence, and their territories were seized by many neighboring powers.

But what was happening now? Why were they going to war again? Who were they going against?

On the Barisan Continent, many leaders, such as Emperor Rozwald, the Dragon King, the Phoenix Queen, and the sect masters of the three great sects of the central continent were at this moment making their way to Aldrian’s palace. Their intent was the same, they wanted to warn of the incoming invasion.

Because they had to use the teleportation formation near the Xin Family’s secret realm, all of them had to gather there. They could not simply fly directly to Aldrian’s palace, as there was an anti-flight formation surrounding the floating land.

The formation nullified any flying ability of cultivators who tried to barge into the palace from outside the floating land. They could only fly once they had entered the palace grounds.

Some people also finally noticed that something had happened, as several figures suddenly flew frantically toward the central region. Others moved in different directions, as if rushing to deal with something urgent. This made many people raise their eyebrows in wonder, questioning what those figures were doing and what had happened.

At the teleportation formation near the Xin Family’s secret realm, many leaders arrived almost at the same time. They did not question each other, as each of them must have already known about the news.

The guards were shocked by the sudden arrival of so many leaders. Usually, at this hour, no one would come to visit, as it was considered inappropriate unless there was something urgent requiring an audience with Aldrian.

However, the elder stationed there seemed already prepared and was not particularly surprised. It was as if Aldrian had already told him about it beforehand.

The first leader to arrive hurriedly spoke to the elder and the guards stationed at the teleportation formation.

"Quick, bring us to His Majesty Emperor Aldrian. We have an important message that we must convey to him!" said Emperor Rozwald, who had just arrived after flying at full speed. The other leaders followed behind him, arriving quickly one after another.

The elder nodded.

"Alright, please stand on the teleportation formation, ladies and gentlemen." He did not ask questions and simply served the leaders.

A moment later, all of them appeared in the central region. From there, they moved to another teleportation formation beneath the floating land before taking yet another one that led them directly into the floating land. The moment they arrived on the grounds of Aldrian’s palace, they rushed to search for him.

They spread their senses, something normally considered rude, but at this urgent moment they had no time to waste. Finding Aldrian at the side of the palace, they instantly used their movement techniques to approach him.

A few seconds later, they finally found Aldrian, who at this moment was gazing at the night sky. Although he wore only a red casual robe, it did nothing to diminish his charm. Even now, beneath the night sky, his figure seemed transcendent.

Still, these leaders had not come to admire his charm and beauty.

"Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty."

They almost simultaneously called out as they rushed toward Aldrian. However, before they could say more, Aldrian had already opened his lips.

"This is truly a beautiful night for gazing at the stars, is it not, esteemed guests?"

They were stunned, but then Emperor Rozwald quickly spoke again.

"Your Majesty, this is not the time to admire the beauty of the night sky! I fear that after this, we will not even have a moment of peace. We are on the brink of war, Your Majesty. The devils from the Fallen Star Cluster have come to invade this world, and their numbers may reach tens of millions, with hundreds of interstellar vessels."

They thought they would see Aldrian showing his concern. However, they only saw him show little reaction, and instead, he simply turned his head toward them.

"Do you want to watch the stars more closely?" he asked. Then, suddenly, Aldrian disappeared. The leaders were stunned, but quickly sensed that he was already high in the sky. They followed after him, rising until they nearly reached outer space, though still within the upper atmosphere of the Ancient Blue Gate World.

"I already know about their coming," Aldrian said, leaving the leaders astonished. Yet their shock soon shifted to something else.

The moment they arrived, they could see outer space clearly. In the distance, many interstellar vessels had already taken position, encircling their vast world. The sight made the leaders’ faces turn grim.

Surrounding the interstellar vessels were countless smaller cruisers that were also approaching. Among them flew many cultivators, and the fact that they could fly in space showed they were at least at the peak emperor stage.

From where they floated, the incoming devils looked like a swarm of wasps. Their numbers were simply too great to be counted by sight.

On one of the vessels, Rulleus noticed the group floating in the star’s upper atmosphere. As the projection of their figures became clearer, he finally saw Aldrian with all the leaders gathered behind him clearly.

Rulleus couldn’t help but snort in disdain, as he already knew most of them through the information he had gathered before launching this war. He was actually a little surprised to see so many figures from other stars among the group, but he did not care. In fact, he felt fortunate at this moment.

That was because he now had the chance to wipe them all out here, which would greatly weaken the strength of their stars. He did not know why they had congregated in one place, but it didn’t matter. The only thing he did not recognize was the figure at the front. A man with long red hair and captivating blue eyes, who showed little expression as he faced his massive armada.

Rulleus snorted again.

"Let’s see if you can remain so composed after this," he muttered before giving his order.

"Launch the opening attacks. Don’t let their troops take up position, immediately launch the land invasion once the first strike hits the star. Don’t give them time to coordinate their movements, let them fall into chaos."

"Yes, Your Highness," answered all the generals.

Xars, who had also seen the projection, could not help but fix his eyes on the Aldrian’s figure at the front. His heart turned cold and he thought to himself,

’Is it him?’

On the other side, where Aldrian and his group floated, the Dragon King, who had observed the devils’ forces, smiled arrogantly.

"To think the devils come with so many troops. This is truly a great war. Let them come! We will wipe them out!" he said, full of confidence.

"Don’t underestimate them, Dragon King. With this number of interstellar vessels they could have brought millions of troops. I just got a report that the fleet is visible from the other side of the world as well. It seems our world has been surrounded," Sect Master Han said seriously.

The Dragon King only snorted, though his gaze lingered on the approaching vessels. The leaders then took out their communication artifacts and ordered the troops to depart. Moments later, from the continents below, countless interstellar vessels and cultivators could be seen flying up, moving swiftly to take their positions.

However, before all of the Ancient Blue Gate World’s forces could fully assemble, the leaders noticed sparkling lights forming at the fronts of many devil vessels. The instant they saw it, they understood what was coming.

"They’re about to fire their beam cannons! Raise the defenses!" Emperor Rozwald shouted. Even before he finished speaking, the other leaders had already spread out in every direction, erecting barriers to prevent the cannon fire from reaching the world below.

The beam cannons of the devil vessels were a fusion of darkness and lightning laws, creating a devastating force capable of tearing through nearly any defense. These beams were the vessels’ primary offensive weapons, designed for mass destruction. When pushed to their limit, their firepower could rival the full attack of a peak pseudo immortal stage cultivator!

Aldrian also saw the devils preparing to fire, but instead of moving, he simply closed his eyes. Then, his voice suddenly boomed across the entire world.

"To all troops of the Ancient Blue Gate World, do not leave the atmosphere. I repeat, if you wish to live, do not leave the atmosphere."

His words stunned everyone. Across the world, cultivators froze, realizing this was the voice of Aldrian the Great. Even the leaders were astonished, unable to understand why he would issue such an instruction.

Normally, to defend against the beam cannons , the best choice was to raise their defenses as far from the world as possible. That way, even if the attack was blocked, the residual force would not damage the land below.

Confusion lingered, yet none dared to question. He was the strongest cultivator present, and with unspoken agreement among the leaders, all accepted that he was qualified to command the entire force and decide what was best for them.

Aldrian stood still, as if concentrating on something unseen. While he remained motionless—

RUMBLE!