Interstellar Survival: Invasion

Chapter 147: Puzzle Unraveling

The crew was shocked to hear of the Orion Constellation's Horsehead Nebula.

"Prince, why do you want to go there?" I asked.

"At the underground palace, someone familiar with the situation inside the empire once mentioned to Prince Toruse the Horsehead Nebula," said Prince Arude.

"Someone familiar with the empire? Who are you referring to?" I asked in confusion.

"Principal Sosse. I believe it is time to tell everyone about this secret," said Arude as he shot Principal Sosse a look.

Everyone's gaze gathered on Principal Sosse. I did not expect that the principal who had been staying with us was actually aware of the situation at the Orion Constellation's Horsehead Nebula. His knowledge also seemed to be confirmation that the information Prophet Nommo had left behind was true. The truth had been right beside us all this time, but we didnt know to look for it.

"This, how did you learn about this, Prince? I'm somewhat confused about what you're referring to," said Principal Sosse with hesitation on his face.

Prince Arude did not answer the principal. Rather, he looked at Zhang Xingxing and asked, "Can I ask for Prince Toruse to join this talk as well? With him here, we can decide on our next course of action."

"No problem. Lin Feixue, bring Prince Toruse here. Notify Dondon and Dodo to join the meeting as well," ordered Zhang Xingxing.

Shortly after, all the requested individuals arrived. I could see the calm look of someone who had seen through the ways of the world on Prince Toruse's face.

"Principal, the answer to Emperor Fille's secret energy source is hidden at the Horsehead Nebula, right?" Prince Toruse went straight to the point.

"Little prince, what are you trying to say?" asked Principal Sosse.

"My royal father told me once that you knew of the secret the emperor hid at the Horsehead Nebula. However, you doubted Akko's strength and intended to make use of the league's strength to attack the place instead. Basically, you were afraid that the weak Akko would not be strong enough to succeed in the attack and ruin your plan," said Prince Toruse. In all honesty, his words were rather believable.

"Principal, we are all very concerned about the history of the Horsehead Nebula. That place is related to a very important mission of ours and is a place with an ancient riddle to solve. If you have any valuable information, I hope you can share it, especially since it is now a time of war," said Zhang Xingxing.

Compelled by everyone, Principal Sosse sank into silence as he thought about our request. Numerous thoughts raced in his brain as he weighed the pros and cons of telling us what he knew.

'The standards of justice and fairness are always flexible for all these politicians,' I thought as I looked at the expression on the principal's face.

"What do you intend to do? This is big. It concerns the future of the Milky Way or even the entire universe itself. With your small team, what can you do? I have been paying attention. Your so-called 7th Armored Division isn't even full. I can't let you rashly attack the empire's core energy region. Such an attack will only cause Emperor Fille to be more cautious," said Principal Sosse.

"The empire's core energy region? You must know something, old man. Stop hiding it. Just say it," said Zhang Bao'er with a smirk on his face.

"The Horsehead Nebula of the Orion Constellation is the birthplace of stars. It is also the core energy region of Emperor Fille's Divine Empire. Not only is there a mysterious, endless source of energy there, but it is also said that a powerful secret army is hidden there," said Principal Sosse.

"We met the so-called secret army before. We've even tasted its capabilities. There's nothing special about it," said Zhang Bao'er with derision.

"No. What you encountered was merely the army's lowest-ranked beast legion. Mountain beyond mountain, people beyond people. There are higher powers that you have yet to encounter," said Principal Sosse.

"How are you so sure about the rank of the beast we encountered?" questioned Zhang Bao'er.

"That little fellow. After I gave him some canned food, he told me quite a lot of your glorious military feats," said Principal Sosse as he pointed at Dondon.

Dondon hurriedly opened an umbrella and hid below it. That action caused everyone to burst into laughter. Nobody could bring themselves to blame a simple-minded little fellow like that.

"Principal, let's return to the main topic. How strong is the secret army? Is there a chance we can eliminate it entirely?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"Little girl, you hit the nail on the head with that question. My initial plan was to topple Emperor Fille's reign of terror by damaging the empire's energy source. However, I was discovered by the emperor halfway through the plan," said Principal Sosse.

"Yes, I heard of something similar from Scholar Fode and Jeferun before," said Old Du.

"Emperor Fille took the first step and interrupted my planning. I initially planned to overthrow the empire with the help of the various factions in the Milky Way and form some sort of political union. However, the emperor reacted so fast that my plan was completely ruined. Now, Fode himself is in the emperor's hands. I also heard that Jeferun was in the hands of that traitorous Giorno and has been missing since then," said Principal Sosse.

"You were able to escape, so why didn't you take the chance to launch an attack?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"After my escape, I arrived at Akko. I wanted to borrow Akko's strength to weaken the emperor since Akko is the strongest kingdom among all the vassal kingdoms of the empire. However, what I saw was disappointing. The kingdom has fewer than 60,000 soldiers in their army. That is far from enough to do any significant damage to the empire," said Principal Sosse with a sigh.

"The gap between the Akko kingdom and the empire is clear. The empire was able to muster 500,000 soldiers just for the encirclement of Akko alone. That is almost 10 times the size of Akko's army," said Zhang Bao'er.

"That is nothing. The army guarding the Horsehead Nebula is the empire's most elite army, the Midstar Army, with 7 legions and nearly 700,000 soldiers," said Principal Sosse with derision.

"What? Seven hundred thousand soldiers? Is that the secret army you mentioned?" asked Domo in astonishment.

"No, that's merely the official army guarding the Horsehead Nebula. The real secret army is not included among the 700,000," said Principal Sosse.

"My god. Just how powerful is the Divine Empire?" exclaimed Zhang Bao'er.

"Like I said, Emperor Fille is not a simple person. He has lofty ambitions, and his goal lies beyond the Orion Constellation and perhaps even the Milky Way itself," said Master Crystal.

"A powerful military strength like that is not something the Akko army can threaten. I did not select King Xido. This is because I did not wish to sacrifice so many Akko lives only to strike a stone with an egg. While I was wallowing in disappointment, I met the people from the league by pure coincidence," said Principal Sosse.

"You must have met Captain Jingan, who was tasked to follow Jupiter II," said Old Du.

"Yes. From him, I learned of the way the league rules. It conforms to the fair ruling system I have in mind. Furthermore, the league's strength makes me realize that they are the only ones capable of standing against the emperor. Thus, we were able to quickly form a strategic alliance," said Principal Sosse as he gradually grew excited.

Everyone started contemplating the implications of what Principal Sosse had just revealed.

"Foolish and childish. No wonder your goal remains unaccomplished even now," a sneer rang out.

Everyone looked over. It was Domo.

"Domo, what do you have in mind?" asked Zhang Bao'er. It was rare for Zhang Bao'er to actually mention Domo by name.

"This old fart has a beautiful ideal, but reality is much less beautiful. He has been living in a dream. The Interstellar League is a behemoth. How would they be persuaded to wage war against the Divine Empire because of some words from you? How big is the cost of a war with the Divine Empire? Also, you're a fugitive. You don't even have an army. What's the point of forming a strategic alliance with you?" ridiculed Domo.

"Young man, are you doubting my capability?" said Principal Sosse unhappily.

"Old man, face reality. From my analysis, the league has long coveted the empire's territory and energy source. They have been looking for an excuse to start a war. Your appearance provides them with what they need. I've heard of the league's political system from Canyue before. It's terrible. You only saw what's on the surface, not its deeper aspects. Your old brain must have gotten muddled, severely dropping your level of comprehension," said Domo without holding anything back.

One ought to admit that Domo's words made sense. He accurately pointed out that the principal's thinking had been too shallow.

"Principal, I have been wanting to ask you something," I asked, trying to remove some tension from the room.

"Canyue, feel free to ask your question," said Principal Sosse.

"Have you read the book called Blue Path? Also, what secrets are recorded in the Imperial Golden Book?" I asked.

Principal Sosse was visibly astonished to hear my question.

After a while, Principal Sosse said with a regretful look, "Blue Path is now nothing but history. Initially, it was a banned book only principals could read. A few decades ago, a student had read the book in secret. When my predecessor, the principal two generations ago, learned of the incident, he delivered the book to the Dark Hall. I did not have the chance to read the book by the time I became the principal."

'Looks like the Blue Path will remain a mystery,' I thought with disappointment.

"As for the Imperial Golden Book, only the imperial clan can understand its contents. I have been trying to understand it, but I've never succeeded. However, I was able to get a vague impression that the book contains the coordinates and structural makeup of high-energy celestial bodies. Also, the listed celestial bodies are those whose energy can absolutely be extracted. The book is a treasure trove. Just possessing the book alone will signify that you're already halfway to success," said the principal. We finally knew what the Imperial Golden Book contained.

"By the way, Xingxing, I suddenly remembered something that I have been forgetting to tell you. I have been suspecting that the writings in the Imperial Golden Book are actually from the language of one of Blue's lost civilizations. To be precise, the writings utilized the language of Atlantis," I said.

"It's a pity. I heard that the emperor has regained possession of the book. We can no longer verify that," said Zhang Xingxing with regret.

"We must think of a way to get the Imperial Golden Book. That book might be the answer to many of our puzzles," said Old Du.

"Everyone, the Imperial Golden Book should be the next goal. As for our current goal, it should be launching a sudden attack on the energy source at Horsehead Nebula," said Prince Toruse, cutting our conversation short.

"I am in agreement with Prince Toruse. We can meet Royal Father later," said Prince Arude.

"Two little babies, do you think this is a game? Not to mention the secret army, there is a regular army of 700,000 stationed where you want to go. There are only several hundred of us. Are we going on a sightseeing tour, or are we going to offer ourselves as live targets for the imperial army?" sneered Domo.

"No, we have more than that. I have an army," said Prince Arude.

Everyone was shocked at his declaration.

"You're not referring to the people trapped in Milk City, are you?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

Prince Arude looked at Zhang Bao'er and shook his head firmly.

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