Chapter 20: Journey Through Hell: Laughter and Astonishment
Her legs gave way, and she sank weakly onto the cold floor, curling her body up like an abandoned cub.
Clear, crystalline tears slid silently down her pale cheeks, landing on the pristine floor and blooming into tiny water stains.
"I hate making choices like this... Father... what should I do?" She buried her face in her arms, her shoulders heaving helplessly.
It had been this way since childhood: she possessed the wisdom to discern the finest details, yet lacked the decisiveness to cut through the Gordian knot of her troubles. She would rather face the most complex equations than this soul-tearing choice.
On one side lay responsibility and the greater good; on the other, the debt of her upbringing. Both ends of the scale were too heavy for her to bear.
***
Meanwhile, in the most desolate and chaotic frontier of the Angel Civilization—the Hell Road.
The starry sky here took on a sickly, dark purple hue, and sparse stardust floated in the deathly void like congealed scabs. Massive, distorted clouds of interstellar dust rolled slowly, resembling the remains of dying, gargantuan beasts. The spatial structure was highly unstable, occasionally splitting without warning into tiny, dangerously shimmering rifts before sealing shut just as quickly.
This was the galaxy’s junkyard, the graveyard of energy turbulence, a dead zone that even the most ferocious interstellar pirates avoided.
Yet, at this moment, a fleet of unimaginable scale was moving steadily through this land of death like a ghost armada. The fleet maintained a perfect "Ultimate Arrowhead" formation; their massive hulls reflected a cold, metallic luster under the dim starlight, and the glow of their engine nozzles was dialed down to the minimum, like beasts lying in wait.
On the bridge of the *Radiance*, the flagship of the fleet, Hefeng stood with his hands behind his back, his posture as straight as a pine.
He was no longer wearing the battle-scarred commander’s armor from before, but had donned a brand-new suit of armor—the Heavenly King’s Armor!
The armor was a deep, white-gold hue, crafted from a material that was neither gold nor jade, appearing as if it had been forged from solidified stars. Fine, silver patterns like flowing galaxies coursed across the plating; the pauldrons were thick and shaped like dragon heads, the breastplate bore reliefs of ancient war totems, and the joints were covered in a flexible, dark-silver lining.
The entire set radiated a majestic, awe-inspiring aura, as if a god had descended, casting Hefeng as a master of war stepped straight out of myth.
And the sword hanging at his waist caused every officer on the bridge to hold their breath.
The Sword of Kingship!
The scabbard was simple and heavy, crafted from an unknown black star-wood, its surface shimmering with fine starlight. Hefeng’s right hand gripped the hilt—carved from a single piece of warm, translucent Star-Tear Jade that fit his palm perfectly.
He drew it slowly!
*Clang—!*
A clear, melodious chime, like a dragon’s roar through the heavens, echoed across the bridge!
The blade emerged! Nearly five feet long, it possessed a strange, molten-gold texture between liquid and solid—it was the highest-grade Star-Core Gold! And along the edge of the blade, a line as thin as a cicada's wing, nearly transparent, was the purest, sharpest dark silver!
Weapons forged from this dark silver were the sharpest in the entire universe—the very same material used for the future Silver Wings of Keisha, which could easily slice through the fourth-generation divine bodies of Morgana!
The two top-tier cosmic materials were fused perfectly: the Star-Core Gold provided unparalleled energy conductivity and toughness, while the dark silver granted it the absolute sharpness to cut through space itself.
Across the blade, naturally formed energy patterns flowed like a river of stars, pulsing in rhythm with Hefeng’s breathing. The entire sword exuded an ancient, noble, and terrifying aura of absolute dominion!
Hefeng flicked his wrist, and the Sword of Kingship traced an arcane trajectory through the air, leaving behind a trail of fine, starlit dust. Feeling the massive power surging from the blade and the connection as if it were part of his own bloodline, he curled his lips into an undisguised sneer.
"Hua Ye... what a waste! To let such a divine weapon gather dust in a warehouse? It is nothing short of a blasphemy against power!"
He could already see the earth-shaking might of this sword when finally unleashed against the New Order.
His mood was unprecedentedly buoyant. Guided by the Chaos Star Chart, the fleet moved as if strolling through his own backyard.
Death Vortex? As flat as a plain!
The End-Point? A leisurely walk!
The Yellow Springs Barrier, the Blood Sea Mists?
Those cosmic dead zones that would make any explorer tremble in fear opened up safe passages for them with docility. Zero casualties! Zero losses! Not even a single unnecessary jolt!
Thinking of Keisha and Liangbing, who were likely still searching like headless flies near the Heavenly City, digging three feet deep into the ground to find any trace of his "hiding," Hefeng could no longer hold it back. His mouth stretched wide, and he began to laugh softly.
The laughter was suppressed at first, then grew louder, filled with the satisfaction of triumph and undisguised mockery.
"Heh... Hahahahaha!"
He walked to the massive porthole, looking out at the phantasmagoric, death-filled landscape of the Hell Road, which his fleet was navigating with perfection. A sense of mastery and complete control surged within him.
He cleared his throat, imitating the tone of a wise man from some ancient civilization he remembered, and spoke grandly to the chaotic star sector outside the window:
"I laugh at Keisha for lacking strategy, and Liangbing for lacking wit!"
Hefeng turned to face his officers, his expression filled with the arrogance of a victor: "I laugh at Keisha, who has the name of Queen, commands billions, and prides herself on a flawless strategy! And look at her now? Played like a puppet by a mere trick of mine! Her great army hoards itself in the hinterlands, like a blindfolded beast, wasting its strength for naught! This is not just a lack of strategy; it is sheer stupidity!"
He paced twice, his fingers tapping lightly against the hilt of the Sword of Kingship, and continued his mockery:
"And I laugh at Liangbing!"
"She, who calls herself the Heavenly Revelation’s Mastermind, as cunning as a fox!"
"One point two million elites, sniffing and barking like mad dogs around the outskirts of the Heavenly City, yet they can't even catch a whiff of my fleet's exhaust!"
"A blockade? What can she block?"
"Can she block this vast expanse of stars?"
"Can she block the path to the heavens guided by this Chaos Star Chart in my hand?"
"This is not a lack of wit; it is nothing more than... delusional wishful thinking!"
"Ha!"
Hefeng’s laughter was filled with the joy of total control. He looked at the reflection in the porthole—his heroic figure in the Heavenly King’s Armor with the Sword of Kingship at his waist—and his heart swelled with grand ambition.
His foster father’s star chart was the perfect key; the sword in his hand was the supreme power; the fleet behind him was the hope of a civilization!
Though the road ahead held unknown dangers, at this moment, he felt he had broken free from all shackles and stood at the turning point of destiny!
The more he spoke, the more brilliant he felt his plan was, and he couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh: "What a pity! What a pity! They are shortsighted, knowing only to wait for rabbits by the tree in conventional gateways. How could they ever foresee that I, Hefeng, have my own path to the heavens? Hahahahaha!"
The bright, smug laughter echoed through the bridge. Ryan and the other officers looked at their commander’s spirited back, their eyes filled with reverence and excitement.
Their commander was flawless, turning even the deadliest cosmic zones into a smooth path! With such a leader, what was there to fear?
Yet, before Hefeng’s laughter had fully died away...
*Zzz—!*
A faint, yet piercingly sharp sound of electrical interference rang out, without warning, in the private dark-communication receiver he wore!
The sound was minuscule, yet it pierced the relaxed atmosphere of the bridge like an ice pick!
Hefeng’s laughter stopped abruptly!
His fingers, encased in the Heavenly King’s Armor, pressed hard against his ear, his eyes turning sharp as blades!
This was a private channel with the highest encryption level! How could it be breached?!
Following that, a voice he knew intimately, yet one that sounded so distant and cold at this moment, resonated directly in the depths of his consciousness. The voice was calm and waveless, yet carried a power that pierced the soul, transmitting information with clarity:
"Brother... is the scenery of the Hell Road... beautiful?"
"Come up... I am waiting for you at the 'Blood High Heaven'..."
"It is time for us siblings... to catch up properly..."
"At the end of the Hell Road, in the K7-S2 zone, there is a relatively stable 'Blood High Heaven.' I... am waiting for you there."
"Come alone."
"Let us... catch up."
"Sister... is waiting for you."
The smile on Hefeng’s face froze completely, his pupils contracting sharply!
A cold chill surged from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, causing his fingers on the Sword of Kingship to tighten involuntarily!
Hexi!
How could she... be here?!