Chapter 2632: Pre-Battle Skirmish
After leaving the Silicon side, Jiangnan also went over to the Dark Cosmos Entity allies' camp to stir up some fun!
Compared to the Bose and Silicon camps, the base construction on the Dark Cosmos Entity side was fairly standard—black demonic mist churning everywhere, making it look like a starry sky demon lair, the den of some big villain!
The Apocalypse Race's setup was actually pretty decent. Although their scale couldn't match the two giants, it was nothing to sneeze at either!
After all, the Apocalypse Race had the ability to reassemble atoms and create something out of nothing. Building a position was just a piece of cake for them!
As for the Gamma Clan, they had completely turned their own territory into a deadly radiation forbidden zone. Gamma rays scattered everywhere, looking from afar like a green gem embedded in the starry sky!
In the blink of an eye, Jiangnan rode the Dawei Tianlong straight into the Celestial Star Race and Stardust Clan's position!
The two families' defense zones weren't in opposite directions but rather not far apart!
A bit further to the side was the Chaos Clan's defense zone!
No doubt, when the star sectors were originally divided, these clans had put in plenty of hidden effort, deliberately arranging their sectors close together for convenient joint operations later!
And Jiangnan was truly impressed by the Celestial Star Race's sector arrangement!
Looking out, all he saw were planets. You'd think you'd arrived at a "Ball Ball Big Battle" arena!
He could barely tell which were base planets and which were Celestial Star Race warriors!
Thousands of stars formed a grand star array, with terrifying energy fluctuations surging within the sector, creating a towering energy barrier!
It even gave a sense of a mini-universe!
At that moment, Mailiushi hovered above the star array, frantically injecting energy into the Celestial Star Race members forming it!
The might of a Star Devourer rank was fully displayed right then!
Jiangnan curled his lips: (˵¯͒～¯͒) "Hmph! I've run into another cheat!"
Mailiushi said calmly: ⍨⃝
"I'm just storing energy for the younger generation. Where did I break the rules?"
"I'll naturally withdraw from the Sea of Star Embers before battle starts and won't participate in the subsequent offensive and defensive battles!"
"If you guys have something similar, you can use it too, right? But it seems the adopted Star Devourer on your side can't really be of much use here?"
With that, he sneered at Chong Feiyu.
Chong Feiyu knew full well Jiangnan was being mischievous and immediately retorted defiantly:
(◦`~´◦) "I think your ball of a planet is asking for a beating again, right?"
"Last time I didn't beat you into submission—want to go outside and try again?"
Mailiushi sneered: "Hah, nonsense. Don't think that just because you've set up some Carbon Alliance, you've got us beat. We've existed since ancient times—our strength is backed by hard power!"
"If you want to hammer iron, you need to be strong yourself. Don't end up fetching water with a bamboo basket, with everything lost. The starry sky is full of wolves and tigers—that ten-thousand-plus planets of humanity are quite tempting~"
"If you end up making a wedding dress for others, that would be interesting~"
Jiangnan chuckled: (｡･ˇ↼ˇ･) "No need for you to worry about that. Look at you, so tiny you can't even match the dried snot of a Desolate God Clan member, yet you're thinking so much?"
Taluo: (･᷄ὢ･᷅(°ー°〃)˘﹃˘) ???
Don't say that! I never picked out a booger that big!
[Resentment value from Mailiushi +1007!]
"Bullshit! I'm a neutron star—have you ever seen a neutron star hundreds of thousands of kilometers across, you?"
"The Celestial Star Race's operation is completely reasonable and compliant. If you can't stand it, bear it. Don't be a nuisance here. Shoo, shoo~"
Jiangnan huffed: (ง˘～˘)ว "Tch, who cares? I'm leaving..."
So he ran off to the Stardust Clan and Chaos Clan to repeat the same routine!
To shut up the mouths of all the races, Jiangnan really went to great lengths, huh?
The Stardust Clan's side was even more extreme—their entire defense zone was filled with surging stardust, gravity off the charts, twisting space to the extreme. The whole sector was wrapped in a thick time dilation zone!
I'm afraid that before even entering, you'd be twisted into a spaghetti noodle by the gravity!
Chen Mu was also sprinkling stardust for their sector, while the Chaos Clan's side was enveloped in roiling chaos energy, blocking all detection!
They wouldn't let anyone see what was going on inside!
The Insect Race's defense zone construction was relatively simple and crude—a giant bio-material insect nest sat at the center of the sector, guarding the base planet layer by layer!
Countless insect soldiers packed the sector, giving the impression that they could barely fit!
As for the Angel Race, they had also gone all out on their defense zone!
After all, this was the Angel Race's last chance!
Looking from afar, the Angel sector looked like a golden paradise, filled with ethereal white mist!
The vast, sea-like Nine Heaven Angel Legions occupied every direction of view!
Lucius and St. Yoke's projections stood above the golden paradise!
They showered down golden radiance, dyeing the clouds of mist a golden hue, with hymns echoing through the starry sky!
No need to guess—it was definitely some energy storage trick again!
Seeing Jiangnan approach with his people, Lucius stiffened inside!
꒰ঌ(ꐦ￢益￢)໒꒱ "Jiangnan! My Angel Race has no intention of being your enemy anymore. The Sequence Offensive and Defensive Battle is not like the Cosmos Grand Hunt—it's about testing the depth of a race's heritage!"
"You know better than I do how much weight humanity truly carries. Why force things to the point of no return? That's bad for both of us!"
"I can guarantee that as long as you don't target the Angel Race in this sequence battle, my race will absolutely not make a move against humanity!"
Jiangnan smiled: (⌒◡⌒๑) "So? What gives you the confidence to think I'm afraid of a direct clash with the Angel Race?"
"You killed my people, suffered losses at my hands, and now you're backing down? If I slap you in the face and then apologize, would you accept it?"
"Since you chose to stand against humanity, stick to your choice and see it through to the end. Don't get cold feet halfway!"
"Now you're braking after crashing into a tree?"
Lucius gritted her teeth: ꒰ঌ(٥͡°益͡°)໒꒱ "So you're saying there's no room for negotiation?"
St. Yoke's expression turned cold: ꒰ঌ(￢_￢)໒꒱ "Lucius, enough. There's no need for that either. Jiangnan... don't think you've got us cornered."
"What about the Carbon Alliance? If you really push us to the edge, even if we die, we'll tear off two pieces of your flesh!"
"Once my Angel Race has no way out, we're capable of anything!"
Jiangnan grinned, waving his hand: (︶.̮︶〃)ﾉ "Don't be so fierce. I'm just taking a look. I never said I'd definitely take out the Angel Race first."
"After all, you have to consider the master when beating the dog~"
St. Yoke glared: ꒰ঌ(ꐦ°᷄益°᷅)໒꒱ "You..."
But Jiangnan had already left with his people. Lucius and St. Yoke both looked gloomy!
Although the Angel Race had thrown in completely with the Bose race to secure their top-ten sequence position, nearly losing their independence, they had gained the Bose race's protection in return!
Even so, Jiangnan was still an unstable factor!
In this Sea of Star Embers, where Star Devourers couldn't step in, Jiangnan's combat level was just too troublesome!
Lucius bit her lower lip: "Jia Ye... this time we're counting on you!"
Jia Ye, with her long crimson hair, giggled, lightly stroking her remnant wing feathers:
ঌ(˵¯͒↼¯͒)໒ "Don't worry... I might not be able to beat him, but I'll definitely make him taste the flavor of pain~"
At that moment, Jia Ye's blood-red eyes were filled with brutality!
Having delivered a warning shot to all the races, Jiangnan went on to stroll around the other Matter Alliance members' sectors!
He perfectly demonstrated what it meant to be hated even by dogs—everyone who saw him looked at him like a jinx!
And they all felt uneasy inside!
Because no one knew what tactics Jiangnan would adopt or who he'd strike first!
Not only Jiangnan's side was scouting—many races also sent reconnaissance teams to confirm the defensive arrangements of various clans!
And humanity's sector became a key observation target!
After all, humanity held over ten thousand base planets—they were the absolute big players. But their manpower was pitifully scarce!
Jiangnan's combat power was indeed formidable, but a war of this scale couldn't be fought by one person alone!
Although the Carbon Alliance would conduct joint operations, that would come later after the fighting started!
So there was still an opportunity in the early stages!
Once a major race chose to target humanity, the other races might be able to get a share of the spoils!
But everyone who went to scout was dumbfounded. Humanity's sector defense construction was indeed impressive!
Yet at first glance, it looked completely empty!
There was hardly anyone visible!
And there weren't even any defensive measures!
With this kind of setup, they still had the nerve to wander around outside with their people?
They sure had a big heart, huh?
Before Jiangnan finished his rounds, fully indulging his mouth, the giant hourglass above the Star Ember Tower was almost empty!
Then Zi Yin's voice rang out from the Star Ember Tower, echoing through the entire Sea of Star Embers!
"Everyone, please withdraw to your own race's sectors and prepare for battle. There is one hour until the Sequence Offensive and Defensive Battle officially begins!"
"If any Star Devourer-level seniors have nothing else to do, please successively exit the Sea of Star Embers range!"
"Once the war drums sound, if any Star Devourer-level powerhouse remains within the star border line, it will be considered a violation!"
As the final announcement came, even if the Star Devourers didn't want to leave, they had to!
After all, all the necessary work was mostly done!
At this moment, Noah, Manti, Ban Nimei, Chong Qianjin, and the others were all a bit nervous, their gazes sharpening!
According to the agreement, the first real clash before the official battle was about to unfold!
When Jiangnan heard the announcement, he also returned to the battle platform!
Looking at the hourglass countdown, a slight curve tugged at the corner of his mouth!
Time was about right. Let's begin!
With that thought, he took a deep breath!
(˶‾᷄ꇴ‾᷅˵) "Wait! The defense isn't finished yet. Leaving the field now seems a bit early~"
The Star Devourers frowned, turning their gazes toward the human sector battle platform, their eyes landing on Chong Feiyu!
Could it be that the Insect Empress Chong Feiyu was going to pull some trick?
The Insect Queen's swarm support was restricted by the rules—what was Jiangnan up to now?
Jiangnan looked at Wang Youzhi and casually snapped his fingers!
"Riiip~"
Inside humanity's sector, a massive spatial rift over 10 light-years in diameter was torn open!
Of course... it was Black God who tore it. Jiangnan wasn't impressive enough to do that yet!