Chapter 22: The Fall of the Celestial Palace: The Pursuit of the Apocalypse King

Melo Court, Core Plaza.

The once magnificent and ornate Angel King’s Court has been replaced by the stern and majestic New Order of the Heavenly Blade. The massive plaza is packed with high-ranking officials, nobles, generals, and captured war criminals of the former Heavenly Palace Order, all kneeling in silence. Stripped of their past glory and arrogance, their faces show only fear, numbness, or profound humiliation.

In the center of the plaza, upon a temporarily erected dais, Keisha sits upon a crimson throne, with Angels Ruoning and Ailan standing to her left and right. Ruoning’s face bears an unconcealed, cruel pleasure, her gaze sweeping over the kneeling "Heavenly Scum" like a blade scraping bone. Ailan remains expressionless, her silver-gray eyes sharp as if judging all existence.

Before the dais floats a massive holographic projection. Within it, Hua Ye is bound by specialized energy chains and imprisoned inside a transparent force field. His once insufferably arrogant face now shows only gray despair and terror; his golden royal robes are in tatters, and the power of his third-generation god-body appears utterly feeble under the heavy restraints. He is like a caged beast, its teeth and claws removed, awaiting final judgment.

A cold command issues from Keisha’s throne.

Hua Ye’s body in the hologram goes rigid, then, controlled by an invisible force like a marionette, he lifts his head. Facing all star sectors within the Angel civilization capable of receiving the signal, he begins his "Abdication Edict of Confession," speaking in a bizarre tone that blends his own terror with a forced, solemn cadence:

"Citizens of the Angel civilization..." Hua Ye’s voice, transmitted through the powerful communication array, echoes in every corner, carrying an unsettling stiffness. "I, Hua Ye, having inherited the mandate to ascend as King of the Heavenly Palace... yet, being unfit for the position, dim-witted and incompetent... have caused the Angel civilization to fall into the abyss of a catastrophic civil war. My crimes... are unforgivable!"

He speaks as if reciting a pre-written script, his voice trembling and rising by turns:

"The first crime! Failing to uphold the legacy of the former kings, I did not quell the disputes among the vassals while they were still nascent! Instead, due to my suspicion and shortsightedness, I exacerbated conflicts, ultimately brewing the monstrous blood-catastrophe of the 'Great Unification War'! Countless Angel citizens have had their homes shattered and families torn apart... This crime... is profound!"

"The second crime! Indulging in pleasure, I neglected state affairs! I condoned sycophants and tyrants like Su Mali in enforcing the 'Heavenly Palace Order,' cruelly mistreating our fellow female Angels! I treated them as mere playthings and vassals, stripping them of their dignity and freedom! This caused resentment to boil over and made life unbearable for the people... ultimately sparking the Melo Banner of Justice, igniting the flames of a 'War of Opposition' that has lasted thousands of years! The vitality of the Angel civilization has been severely damaged, and its foundations shaken... This crime... is too numerous to record!"

"The third crime! In the decisive battle of the Angry Sea... I was headstrong and my command was incompetent! I rejected loyal counsel (an oblique reference to He Feng), greedy for merit and rash in advancement... resulting in three million loyal soldiers... being buried in the Angry Sea, their blood staining the star sector! The elite of the civilization were destroyed in an instant... This crime... cannot be redeemed even by ten thousand deaths!"

Hua Ye’s voice becomes unusually "agitated" here, even tinged with a sob, yet his eyes remain filled with hollow terror: "I have failed the trust of the generations of kings before me, and I have failed the expectations of billions of Angel citizens... I am truly the greatest sinner in the history of the Angel civilization! Even... ten thousand deaths... are not enough to appease the public outrage!"

He takes a deep breath (or rather, is forced to inhale) and uses all his strength to issue the final, death-knell-like proclamation:

"Therefore... I, Hua Ye! Hereby, I announce to the entire territory of the Angel civilization! From this day forward... I abdicate my royal title! I abolish the Heavenly Palace Order! I step down and return the government!"

"The future... of the Angel civilization... shall be held by... Heavenly Blade King Keisha... who inherits the mandate of heaven to establish the New Order and bring blessings to all living beings!"

"I... only wish to die... to atone... to the world!"

As the last words fall, the light of the force-field cage in the hologram intensifies, completely cutting off and shielding the image of his final struggle.

A deathly silence falls over the plaza. Only Keisha’s cold voice rings out, like a final verdict:

"The Heavenly Palace is dead! The New Order shall stand! From this day on, those who resist the New Order are 'Heavenly Scum'! They shall be hunted by all!"

"Take him away! Prepare for the public trial!"

Following the command, the kneeling "Heavenly Scum" are roughly dragged up by fierce female Angel warriors and marched toward the prison ships. Above the plaza, the golden flame emblem symbolizing the Heavenly Blade Order shines brilliantly, completely covering the former signs of the Heavenly Palace.

The Angel civilization has changed.

In the deep reaches of space, the Apocalypse King’s flagship, the "Apocalypse," moves like an enraged steel beast. Its engines spew unstable, dark-purple flames, reflecting the boiling fury of its master.

Inside the bridge, the air pressure is suffocating. Liang Bing paces back and forth, her crimson cloak whipping up a storm behind her. Those eyes, usually filled with mockery and cruelty, now burn with a pure, manic rage that threatens to consume her reason.

"Trash! A bunch of trash!" her roar echoes against the alloy bulkheads, causing the instruments to hum. "The Heavenly City area has been turned upside down! The core sector of the civilization has been screened three times! We’ve even analyzed the damn stardust! Where are they?! Where is that bastard He Feng and his pile of scrap metal?! Did they crawl into a black hole?!"

She stops abruptly, her finger, covered by a black gauntlet, jabbing at her adjutant standing at attention—Angel Liu, an intelligence officer known for her calm and meticulous nature.

"Liu! Speak! What are the latest scan results? Even the tiniest bit of energy residue? A suspicious spatial wrinkle? Even a fart should have left a scent by now?!"

Angel Liu’s face is pale, but she maintains her professional composure, bowing slightly: "My Queen, please calm your anger. The seventh round of deep-space scanning has just concluded, and the coverage radius has been extended to one hundred and fifty light-years. The target area... is still 'clear.' No jump trails, energy fluctuations, or large-scale life-cluster signals characteristic of He Feng’s fleet have been detected. His methods of concealment... exceed the scope of our current detection technology."

"Exceed the scope?!" Liang Bing’s voice rises sharply, as piercing as tearing metal. "I don’t want understanding! I want He Feng’s head! I want his fleet turned into space junk! I gave him three days! Three days! That’s enough time for him to drive that pile of junk to the end of the universe! And now you’re telling me you haven’t found a single hair?!"

She slams her fist onto the main console, the hard alloy surface instantly denting, sparks flying everywhere!

The power of a third-generation super-soldier vents her uncontainable rage. "That woman Keisha must be laughing her head off at the Melo Court right now! I gave my word that I’d grind He Feng into dust! And what happened? I can’t even find a shadow of him! Where does that leave my face as the Apocalypse King?!"

Thinking of the mockery that might be hidden beneath Keisha’s icy face, Liang Bing feels a surge of evil fire rush to her head, almost burning her to ashes.

He Feng! That damn man! Ever since that decisive breakout at the Angry Sea battlefield, he has been slapping her in the face! When has she, Liang Bing, ever suffered such a loss? When has she ever endured such humiliation?!

"He Feng... He Feng..." Liang Bing grinds her teeth, every syllable steeped in bone-deep hatred. "You goddamn bastard! Don't let me catch you! Otherwise, I’ll take your bones apart one by one and grind them into powder! I’ll set off your fleet like fireworks for the whole universe to see! I’ll toss your seeds... one by one into the antimatter furnace and burn them into nothingness!"

She is like a cat hissing in distress; her violent aura makes everyone on the bridge tremble in silence.

Angel Liu bows her head even lower; she can feel the madness of her Queen nearing the edge of control.

Just at this moment of extreme oppression—

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

A sharp and unusual alert sounds from the bridge communication console! It is not a conventional encrypted channel, but an anonymous signal access port pointed at the Public Tactical Intelligence Analysis Department! A data packet marked with the highest emergency level, but with the source displayed as "Garbage Code," is forcibly pushed in!

Angel Liu’s eyes narrow, and she operates the terminal swiftly. "My Queen! We’ve received an anonymous piece of intelligence! The source is untraceable! The packet is marked... 'Eternal Canyon,' 'He Feng'!"

"Eternal Canyon?" Liang Bing turns abruptly, her crimson eyes instantly locking onto the data packet preview popping up on the main screen.

Several cold keywords sting her nerves: He Feng fleet location estimate (Eternal Canyon core area), arrival time window (within 13 standard hours), spatial weak point coordinates (K7-S2, X9-Y3, F5-R1)!

The bridge is deathly silent. Everyone holds their breath. This intelligence comes too strangely, too abruptly, like a key handed to them out of thin air in the darkness.

Is it a trap? Is it misinformation? Or... a glimmer of hope in despair?

Angel Liu quickly brings up the star map, and the long, twisted, scar-like star region structure of the Eternal Canyon is highlighted. She frowns, cautiously reminding: "My Queen, this is anonymous intelligence, the source is unknown, and the risk is extremely high! It is very likely that He Feng is setting a formation, or a third party is interfering! Should we verify first..."

"Verify, my ass!" Liang Bing interrupts her rudely, her voice carrying a near-paranoid fanaticism and a desperate, all-in resolve! She stares fixedly at the location of the Eternal Canyon on the star map, the fire of a gambler burning in her eyes.

"Eternal Canyon! The gateway to the Boundary Sea! The end of the Angel civilization! Besides that damn 'Road to Heaven,' where else can he run?!"

She slaps the console, the sheer force making the entire hull seem to shudder!

"All fleets, hear my order!! Maximum battle speed!! Target—Eternal Canyon!! Coordinates K7-S2 spatial weak point!! Ram right through it!!"

"My Queen! The risk..." Angel Liu tries to advise again.

"Shut up!" Liang Bing spins around, her eyes, burning with madness and confidence, locked onto her adjutant. "Where is the reward without the risk?! He Feng is there! My intuition tells me it’s him! He thinks he’s safe hiding in the crotch of the universe? Dream on! Today, I’m going to crush him at the door of the Boundary Sea!"

She doesn't care if the source of the intelligence is true or false, nor does she care if it’s a trap. The immense frustration and bone-deep hatred for He Feng have caused her to completely break her composure.

This is her last chance to catch He Feng! It is her only hope to regain her face and prove herself to Keisha!

She, Liang Bing, the Apocalypse King, has never been one to play by the rules! Intuition and madness are often her winning weapons!

"Engines overloaded!! Preheat the spatial folding generator!!" Liang Bing’s voice echoes through the fleet channel like a horn from hell. "I don’t care what method you use! Within three hours! You must block him at the exit of the Eternal Canyon! Let that bastard He Feng see who the real hunter is! Move out—!!!"

The massive hull of the "Apocalypse" shudders violently, and the engine nozzles erupt with an unprecedented dark-purple light that seems to tear through space!

The massive Apocalypse pursuit fleet, like an enraged swarm of bees, instantly abandons all pointless searching and transforms into streaks of death-light tearing through the void, throwing themselves desperately toward that distant cosmic hell known as the Eternal Canyon!