722 Truce?

Under the attack of 240,000 streams of movements, the armor of Stronghold on Sea was completely broken instantly. The multitude of streams collapsed countless structures, burning and evaporating them. After the explosion of a number of aether ponds, the turbulence almost broke up the Stronghold on Sea, creating massive tears such that that sea water could gush in.

The siren sounded and the emergency maintenance system was triggered, but there was nothing much it could do to repair the damage. All it could do was to barely ensure that the structure was still intact. They had to give up on a number of subdivisions and close the gates in order to keep out the seawater.

At this moment, it was like a slanted plate. The front was slanted upwards to the sky while the rear had already sunk into the sea. The armor of the side above the sea had already been completely burnt, as the red melted metal of the broken armor dripped into the sea. Right now, the Stronghold on Sea looked nowhere near like the terror and grandeur that it used to represent in the past. Instead, it looked like a pile of scrap metal.

In the center of the city, Savior was full of cracks. 16 pairs of wings were completely broken and burnt to ashes, leaving behind a pile of devastating remains. Savior seemed to have fallen into hell as its entire body was charred and its face was torn. It had lost both its arms and half of its body. It was dissipating rapidly.

Savior was dying… 

… 

A crisp and clear voice could be heard in the central control room. The Scepter of Messiah had fallen onto the ground and was rolling about in silence until it eventually stopped. Rommel stared quietly at the Mountain of Nomadism in the projection. He looked at Ye Qingxuan and his face. After a long time, he staggered backward and sat down on his seat, as if he was completely drained. There was hoarse laughter in the silence. "I have lost."

He looked at both of his broken hands and laughed at his own arrogance. He closed his eyes. "A complete failure."

Boom, boom, boom… The breaking of rocks could be heard from within his body. He leaned against the chair. The crack began from below his uniform and extended all the way upwards to his face. It was like a wax figure that had cracked. Elemental crack.

Within the flesh and blood underneath the crack and with the dissipation of the scepter, the flames of the broken music theory began to burn and spread until he was completely engulfed in flames.

How should I categorize this loss of mine? One careless move that resulted in this devastating loss? That's being too kind to myself. From the very beginning, he never treated me as an opponent. He was never in control of the battle. Ye Qingxuan merely nudged one of his opponent's pawn out of the chessboard.

He had spent so much effort trying to predict what his opponent was thinking but from the very beginning, both of them were never on the same level. All his efforts were spent on chasing a reflection in the water and when that reflection was broken, he finally realized that his enemy was above and beyond the vault in heaven and had always been untouchable.

Oh God, why do you allow such pain and suffering in this world? Why have you allowed such a monster to exist?

The flames completely devoured him. In complete silence, the frail young man turned into dust. A weak beam of light shot out of the dust and landed on the Scepter of Messiah. The legacy of the saint returned back into the artifact.

Klein watched how everything unfolded and finally sighed quietly. He picked up the Scepter of Messiah and turned back to look at the scepter musician, whose music theory had also collapsed. "He is dead now. What about you?"

There was a sullen look on the scepter musician's face as he laughed bitterly. "I have betrayed Asgard only to end up in a loss like this. What right do I have to continue living? Klein, you still owe me a favor. I'm going to leave my student to you now."

Klein nodded. The scepter musician closed his eyes and dissipated within the flames as he eventually turned into ashes like Rommel.

The broken scepter congregated into a red key within the ashes. This would be the last thing he would leave behind with whatever power he had left. It would be a little compensation for his betrayal.

In the silence, Klein stared at the ashes of his old friend and could not help but sigh in despair. He kept the ashes of his old friend into a box and carefully kept the Scepter of Messiah and red key before walking towards the bridge. The war was not over yet.

…

When the projection of Savior completely dissipated and the music theory of Messiah vanished, Ye Qingxuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He only felt a little giddy. If not for the guard beside him, who stepped forward to hold onto him, he probably would already have fainted on the ground. He was completely drained.

To him or to the net of aether, 240,000 streams of movements were still an extremely dangerous power. Even though all he did was a little nudging and guiding in the process, it still drained all of his energy. If he had not relied on Hephaestus and had chosen to unleash it himself, Ye Qingxuan would probably have been evaporated in the very first instant by the high temperature that could rival an aether caldron.

"Inspect the entire fleet and report on the damages," Ye Qingxuan gave the command, and Egor quickly assigned the remaining musicians and crew members to emergency reparation tasks. If the damages were not repaired in time, it was only a matter of time before the Mountain of Nomadism would explode…

It was as if the war had suddenly frozen in time. Both sides were so badly damaged that they had simultaneously decided that their top priority was to carry out reparation works to ensure their survival. They seemed to dread Ye Qingxuan's gaze.

Very soon, an eye slowly rose from the Stronghold on Sea. The left eye of God looked at the Mountain of Nomadism and a single beam of light shot out and landed in front of Ye Qingxuan. It formed the projection of a scepter musician.

Klein.

"This is the first time we have met each other, Chief Inquisitor." The revelation musician nodded at Ye Qingxuan. "I am now the highest-ranked commander of the Stronghold on Sea. I am here to submit a proposal of a truce for the time being. Both parties have paid a heavy price for this war. Shall we pause for now?"

With that, a yellow flag, that signified truce, slowly rose from the Stronghold on Sea. Ye Qingxuan merely frowned. "The design of the flag is pretty good and the material is decent too. But the color seems to be wrong. Don't you think the flag should be white instead?"

White flag. Klein frowned. "You are going overboard with this joke."

Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "And you are not going overboard? Get this clear, you are the invaders, you are the ones who chose to start this war, and you are also the ones who are determined to destroy us. You started the war because you felt like it and now you want to end it because you felt like it. Do Asgardians think that wars are just games?"

Klein was fearless when faced with Ye Qingxuan's cold expression. "This is the best suggestion so far. It is the same to you and to us. Your Highness, both sides are already badly damaged. Do you really wish to fight to the death?"

"If you don't wish to fight anymore, please feel free to surrender." Ye Qingxuan opened his hands. "I am also making a proposal that will best serve both sides. Your Stronghold on Sea had added another half of a fleet but was still defeated by my ten ships. And now you are asking for a truce? I don't know how you can have the cheek to do so."

Klein seemed to be stung by Ye Qingxuan's provocation. His eyes turned cold and his expression became solemn. "Fine, we will open the gate of Stronghold on Sea now. We invite the Chief Inquisitor to come over and accept our surrender."

Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. Do you think I'm that stupid? You are asking me to leave my position of advantage and head over to your Stronghold only to be trapped by you—no, to fight behind closed doors—that's not right either. In any case, I must be fool to believe your nonsense.

"How sincere. Why do you choose to withdraw into your shell? You can very well surrender in the open."

Klein decided to continue that conversation with Ye Qingxuan any longer and went straight to the point, "Looks like you are still keen to continue this war?"

Ye Qingxuan chuckled once again. "Are you suggesting that Stronghold on Sea still has the ability to fight some more?"

"Are you saying that the Anglo fleet has the ability to do the same?" Klein looked down coldly at the Royal Fleet of the first generation that was now filled with holes and damages. Then, he took another look at the half-broken Mountain of Nomadism. "As a revelation musician, let me predict the future for you. If we continue with our war, in ten minutes, our remaining patrolling fleet will be completely destroyed by you. 15 minutes later, our back-up engine and weapon system will be initiated and destroy your first-generation Royal Fleet. We still have 700 official musicians, 19 back-up warships, and there is a 15 percent chance that the Mountain of Nomadism may be able to sink Stronghold on Sea. But before that happens, I will definitely ignite the center aether pool of the Stronghold to drag you down with us…"

"Assuming that you are completely honest with what you have just said, what gives you the confidence that you can keep me behind?" There was no way Ye Qingxuan would be scared off by the nonsense that Klein had just spouted. After all, Ye Qingxuan's background was also the School of Revelation. Besides, if he was determined to leave, who could stop him?

If he analyzed the costs and benefits carefully, sacrificing what remained of the Royal Fleet in exchange for destroying Stronghold on Sea would be more than worthwhile. If Stronghold on Sea survived this ordeal, the Asgardians' capabilities in construction and craftsmanship would almost ensure that Stronghold on Sea would be completely revamped and would reappear on Anglo seas in two years' time. Right now, Stronghold on Sea was an old ship from 90 years ago, and some of its facilities were already lagging by one generation. The Asgardians probably could not wait to take this opportunity to give it a total revamp too.

How could Ye Qingxuan possibly let them have their way?

Klein only smiled at Ye Qingxuan's words. He turned back and looked in the direction of the Stronghold on Sea. Shortly after, tens of projections rose amidst the hymns. Ye Qingxuan's face turned gloomy.

What was that saying? Even a broken ship contains three pounds of nails. Asgard may seem down and out but they still have some resources left. With the activation of the alchemy formation, Ye Qingxuan could clearly feel the aura of tens of sacred weapons.

Within a few minutes, those sacred weapons that had either come from Asgard or with Rommel were all in their positions, and they all exuded terrifying aura. Perhaps not all of them could be activated to their full potential, but if they were desperate enough, they might decide to follow the Dark Musicians and sacrifice all the crew members to carry out a large-scale blood sacrifice. By then, they would easily be able to force the Royal Fleet and Mountain of Nomadism behind.

And right now, Ye Qingxuan was already badly injured, so if he was not careful, he could very easily make a fatal mistake. This old fellow was specialized in the School of Revelation. Although he might not be very powerful, the level that he was at right now meant that he would be proficient in controlling the situation and opportunity. He had been forced into a corner by Ye Qingxuan. If Ye Qingxuan did not relent, he would have no qualms about both of them dying together. Even if Ye Qingxuan could not be killed, it would be worthwhile for him to suffer for one to two years too.

Based on the critical condition that Anglo was in right now, if Ye Qingxuan became useless for one to two years, everything would be too late. Ye Qingxuan remained silent and his expression was solemn. He was so upset that he might just burst out laughing.

All this while, he had always played the role of the one who was desperate and had nothing to lose, while those who were in more prestigious positions would not know what to do with him. But right now, he was the one with the upper hand and he had no idea what to do with someone else who had nothing to lose. Indeed, karma was real. Could it be that his only choice was to give up this perfect opportunity and allow Stronghold on Sea to leave just like this?

He kept quiet and Klein did not hurry him either. He did not care if Ye Qingxuan was trying to buy time or not. In any case, that would be more advantageous to him anyway. Once Stronghold on Sea regained its basic combat abilities, it would be able to counter-attack. How he wished that Ye Qingxuan would take a longer time to consider his options. The longer, the better.

Both of them were quiet and the silence was only broken by the chirping of a white bird that had landed on the side of the ship. Finally, Ye Qingxuan exhaled deeply and raised his head. "I'm sorry." He looked at Klein and replied calmly, "I refuse."

"…" Klein remained silent for a moment. He tried to keep his cool and merely nodded. "If that's the case, then you have made a very disappointing decision. Very soon, you will find out what a grave mistake you have just made."

"No, I will not." Ye Qingxuan laughed as if without a care in this world. He searched in his pockets and found half a packet of tobacco rolls, but after fiddling with it for some time, he failed to light it up. He looked at Klein helplessly. "Excuse me, can I borrow some fire?"

Without any expression on his face, Klein snapped his fingers, and the eye of God on Stronghold on Sea looked in the direction of Ye Qingxuan. It focused its gaze and from a distance of several miles, it lit up Ye Qingxuan's tobacco roll. It could light up the tobacco roll so naturally, it was fully capable of taking away Ye Qingxuan's life as well.

"Before I leave, may I ask, where did this strange confidence of yours come from?"

Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath and casually exhaled a puff of smoke. He only shrugged his shoulders and did not say a word. Someone else appeared behind Klein's projection replied on Ye Qingxuan's behalf, "I think, it's because he has reinforcements?"

In that instant, Klein turned around in shock. He saw the man on the wheelchair, as well as his eyes. They were a combination of black and white. The two colors seemed to be in a constant struggle with each other and gradually transformed into the color of grey metal.

Roars could be heard a distance away. It was the end of dawn and the first ray of sunlight bounced off the surface of the sea to light up the horizon, which was a contrast against a black and powerful silhouette.

It was a ship. A black warship!

"Wait a minute, this is…" On the bridge of Mountain of Nomadism, Egor jumped up from his seat and could barely believe his eyes. "This is… the Queen's Revenge! Damned it, it's the Fleet of No Return! What is the Fleet of No Return of Illusion Islands doing here!"

All it took was one look for him to recognize the structure of the warship. He was too familiar with it! Any pirate that had been about Illusion Islands would have heard of this warship!

The Queen's Revenge! The legendary warship and a notorious ghost ship. After gathering the resentment of countless sunken ships, the School of Magic of the Islands created this legendary warship which was also the core of the Fleet of No Return! More than half of the pirates of Illusion Islands were trained in this fleet!

A majestic melody accompanied the roars of the cannon attacks. Countless deadwood floated up from the depths of the sea and amidst the voices of countless souls, they were pieced together to take the shape of a torn and tattered warship that followed behind Queen's Revenge.

The voices continued to sing and summon even the ships that had been sunk during the battle between the Asgardian fleet and Anglo fleet. They began to float up from the depths of the sea and piece together. Infinite amounts of seaweed were draped all over them, painting an eerie and creepy image of phantom warships! This was the true nature of the Fleet of No Return of Illusion Islands!

Other than the Queen's Revenge, which possessed an actual physical structure, the other warships were mostly created from movements. Just like the scepter that was created out of legends, this was the "moving illusional realm" that was created from the combined powers of the ghost ships at sea and the hundred years of history of the School of Magic!

This was the domain of turning illusions to reality. Those warships were attracted by the illusory spells to become a part of the movement. As long as the flagship survived, the other warships could be revived countless times. If not for this fleet, there was no way the migrating School of Magic would have been able to resist the forces of so many countries and take over the Islands?

The reason why this fleet was named the Fleet of No Return was not that they were all determined to die a heroic death, but because when this fleet appeared in the stormy nights and accompanied by the voice of musician Siren, all their enemies would never return back to their homes.

As an ex-pirate who had already put those days behind him, Egor knew the power of the Fleet of No Return inside out. At this moment, when he saw his old friends back on the battlefield, he was momentarily taken aback. But soon after, on the other side of the sea, a grand and powerful melody could be heard.

Under the protection of the Chapter of the Golden Victory and the illusion of the phoenix, the Royal Fleet brought gigantic waves after waves as it charged over. It was as if it had discussed with the Fleet of No Return and agreed to surround the Stronghold on Sea at this point…

When he saw the Royal Fleet appear, Klein's face turned pale. There could only be two possibilities when the Royal Fleet, which was supposed to delay the Third Formation, had appeared here with its entire crew members. The first possibility was that they had allowed the Third Formation to carry on with their destruction, while the second possibility was that Asgard's Third Formation had been completely obliterated by them! On top of that, it appeared along with the Fleet of No Return. He did not dare to imagine what might have happened.

"By the way, not only was the Third Formation destroyed, but we also worked together with the Illusion Islands to destroy the First Formation." Hua Sheng elaborated, "In other words, all of your forces have been destroyed, except you."

Ye Qingxuan whistled as he slowly admired the expression on Klein's face. He removed the tobacco roll from his mouth and flicked the ashes away, "In that case, let me propose to you: is it time to consider changing the color of the flag?"

This time around, it was Klein's turn to remain silent. After a long time, he sighed. "There are some things that I cannot leave behind here."

Ye Qingxuan pondered for a moment and nodded. "I will give you a ship that can contain 30 people. Bring whatever you want back to Asgard, but that does not include the legacy of 'Hendel.' Also, you must remain and be our prisoner."

After a moment of silence, Klein nodded weakly. "In that case, on behalf of the Asgard naval force, I surrender to Anglo. We will not resist and we hope to be treated kindly as prisoners…"

After 15 minutes, the white flag rose from the Stronghold on Sea. After another five minutes, Klein brought the Scepter of Messiah onto the Mountain of Nomadism and surrendered to Ye Qingxuan.

Ye Qingxuan smiled as he took over the Scepter of Messiah. Very well. From now on, he would be formidable…