CH 57

Heroic Spirit (4)

Jiang Jianming was startled, then couldn’t help laughing at first, “What am I going back for? I’m not really a princess anymore, what birthday banquet to attend.” Afterwards he couldn’t help frowning slowly, and asked, “Besides, aren’t Silver Big Dipper soldiers unable to go back to the Empire without any special reasons?”

This sentence was absolutely true, no matter what holidays the empire celebrated, it was an iron rule of Silver Big Dipper not to leave the alien star where it was stationed at will. In other legions, it would be impolite towards the emperor not to come to see him for his birthday, but the two special legions of the empire, the Golden Sun Wheel and Silver Big Dipper, were exceptions.

Thinking about it, if all the generals went back to celebrate His Majesty’s birthday, wouldn’t the space bandits and alien creatures fight hand in hand with great joy?

For people like Xie Yuduo, at most, they could be remotely projected during the emperor’s birthday, however it would still be absolutely impossible to go back in person.

“Yes, but…” Xie Yuduo nodded, he seemed to want to say something, but he showed a hesitant expression when he was about to speak. He waved to Jiang Jianming, pointed to the nearest white monument and said, “Little Excellency, come and see here.”

Jiang Jianming walked over, Xie Yuduo tapped his back, motioning him to look down.

In the darkness, at the bottom of the glowing white stele, where a name had not yet been engraved, there were several lines of smaller characters.

Jiang Jianming took a step forward to look carefully, and was suddenly stunned.

The inscription only reads——

Sacrificing the heroic soul of mankind through the ages.

Even if it is difficult to bury the bones in the homeland, the heavens and the universe can be buried. I saw the heroic soul flying to the sea of stars, it should be like a white bird returning to its nest. Shangxiang.

(t/n Shangxiang is a Chinese word, shàng xiǎng. It expresses the hope that the dead will enjoy the offerings.)

At his first glance at these words, Jiang Jianming immediately thought of the last line of a mourning poem dedicated to Prince Ryann that made him unhappy. 

It was also the trigger that made him make up his mind to come to the distant interstellar. 

During the field training, on that snowy night while sleeping inside the IP, he once told Tang Zhen that this poem was “poorly written”.

Indeed, what’s with the “rebellious golden rose” and with the “eternal sun” in front of it, the flattery was too obvious, it was ridiculous and tasteless after reading it.

But at that time, he also added a premise, “except for the last sentence, it contains a bit of meaning.”

Unexpectedly, the sentence that made him feel that it contained a little bit of meaning turned out to be something that was borrowed, and the original sentence came from Silver Big Dipper’s Stele of Heroes.

Xie Yuduo reached out his hand to touch the white stele, and said slowly, “This is a famous sentence in the sacrificial rites written by the first commander-in-chief of the empire for the soldiers of the empire who sacrificed themselves, especially the soldiers who died in the distant stars. The design is also from his hand.”

Jiang Jianming softened his brows for a moment, “It’s Commander-in-Chief Aslan, right? Little Highness and I studied his books back then.”

Xie Yuduo nodded, “After the death of a new crystal species, a large number of crystal particles in the body will quickly dissipate. Many people think that the final destination of these crystal particles is the crystal nest in the depths of the universe. The crystal particles are translucent when they escape, it is white, thus the commander-in-chief compared it to a white bird returning to its nest.” 

“Little Excellency Jiang, I will also leave my name here one day.”

Xie Yudao fixedly stared at the heroic stele, and suddenly said this, there was something very complicated in his eyes. Under the twilight of the white stele, the major general’s side face looked more handsome than usual.

“The sea of stars is so vast, the arrow that leaves the string does not need to return. Set foot on this road and never come back—this is the fate of the Silver Big Dipper.”

Jiang Jianming’s expression moved slightly, “Major General.”

“—But Little Excellency, you are different from us.”

Xie Yuduo turned his head, then seriously said, “You are not a real Silver Big Dipper person, and from the bottom of my heart, I don’t want to demand you with Silver Big Dipper’s discipline.”

The major general patted himself on the chest, and curled the corners of his mouth, “We, this band of people, have surrendered our lives since the moment we joined Silver Big Dipper.”

“We are loyal to the empire and the people, to this snow-silver military emblem and the destiny behind it, and you……”

“And I’m just an ordinary person.”

Jiang Jianming continued, and said calmly, “I didn’t come here to protect the people of the empire, nor did I want to expand the territory for the empire, and nor do I have faith in Silver Big Dipper.”

As he spoke, he raised his head, and countless tall white obelisks fell obliquely into his deep black eyes, like the Milky Way hanging upside down in the night.

“I don’t have such a high level of awareness, and I don’t have the qualities that a hero should have. I just want to collect someone’s body, that’s all.”

Xie Yuduo laughed. His laughter spread among the white monuments, creating a new echo, mixed with the next sentence, “Is that right, Little Excellency Jiang?”

“I heard about what happened when you were still an officer in the adaptation period. The boy who was repatriated……Joe Brown, after he mistakenly shot your mecha down the cliff, why did you turn around and save him?”

“Human life at present, and it is as it should be.”

“The scuffle with the space bandits in front of the valley, why did you take the risk to shoot at Chilong?”

“Probably while flying above, I was a little angry at that time.”

“You are calm, wise, thorough, and have experienced so many things. I used to think that your temperament would be colder.”

Jiang Jianming: “What do you want to say?”

“Whether it is the awareness of disregarding life and death, or the noble and pure character, there are only few people who can rival you in the entire Silver Big Dipper.”

Xie Yuduo continued, “But you still don’t look like a real Silver Big Dipper person, which is very similar to His Highness……”

“One thing you both lack.”

The major general’s eyes suddenly lit up, like the cold light on the tip of a sharp sword when unsheathed, “Called loyalty.”

“You and Your Highness are both the kind of people who don’t want to bow their heads and become ministers. There are kinds of people in the world who would rather have their spine break than bend. They were born with the destiny of becoming emperors, like a Ziwei star descending to earth.”

(t/n Ziwei star is the lord of the stars, representing the supreme status, implying the prosperity of official fortune. People who are like Ziwei star down to earth will have the following characteristics: excellent grades, rich and powerful, will have a very smooth development in their official careers and careers in the future, and will eventually achieve a lot of achievements, and will soon become a noble person with a successful career.)

“So, you will never become a soldier who is subordinate to the Silver Big Dipper and a dedicated soldier who is devoted to our belief. My Silver Big Dipper is destined to be unable to keep you, unless…..”

In the next moment, at the bottom of the vast and silent Stele of Heroes, under the witness of countless dead souls throughout the ages.

The supreme commander of the fortress, Major General Xie Yuduo——with a calm face, lowered himself in front of the newly promoted lieutenant who was only 21 years old!

He got down on one knee.

And placed his right hand above his heart.

Jiang Jianming raised his eyes suddenly, “Major General!”

He took a half step back calmly, his military boots rubbed against the floor tiles, “Please don’t do this.”

“Your Excellency!” Xie Yuduo raised his eyebrows sharply, and let out a shout, his eyebrows and eyes seemed to be burning, “Unless you become the person who commands the Silver Big Dipper, it is up to you to accept our loyalty and become our belief!”

“Until then, as the military emblem of the Silver Big Dipper still lands on your chest, only can we truly have your existence.”

The bottom of Jiang Jianming’s eyes turned cold, “Major General Xie, did you drink fake wine before you came?”

He pursed his lips slightly, his eyes fell on Xie Yuduo condescendingly, and was a little uncharacteristically calm, “Do you still know what you are talking about?”

“Little Excellency Jiang, you know I’m not joking.” Xie Yuduo still knelt on the ground, but his expression was like an aggressive tiger. “Nowadays, the situation in the far interstellar space is becoming increasingly severe day by day. The top positions in the Empire are a mixture of good and bad, and internal divisions, I could count it with my fingers: the marching faction and shrinking faction, nobles and civilians, new humans and disabled humans…..and a group of incompetent people that only knows how to quarrel from morning to night! The empire’s three star-system and nine star cities seems to be stable, but once the war comes, how many conflicts will erupt at the same time!?”

“I……I have a premonition, no, I have seen it with my own eyes,” the major general closed his eyes and took a deep breath, unable to tell whether it was exhaustion or due to distressed, “The sun of the prosperous age is setting, and and on that cold night before it rises again, we’re going to have a tough battle to fight.”

“…….”

Jiang Jianming let out a long sigh, his expression seemed a little sad. He looked around at the white monuments all around, at this moment the names of thousands of heroic souls seemed to flashed, and were gazing at him tenderly.

“But I,” Jiang Jianming said softly, “I am just a disabled civilian, Major General….”

The rest of the words are self-evident: What exactly do you expect me to do?

“Yes.” Xie Yuduo sneered, “You are a civilian, the kind of civilian who can attend the emperor’s birthday banquet; you are also a disabled person, the kind of disabled person who can join the Silver Big Dipper army.”

Jiang Jianming: “…….”

Xie Yuduo: “You are still the former crown princess with no name or distinction, the kind of former crown princess who can elope with His Highness Garcia at any time.”

Jiang Jianming: “………”

“You have unlimited possibilities, the point is whether you want it or not, Little Excellency.” Xie Yuduo sighed, and he firmly grasped Jiang Jianming’s wrist, “As the general of Silver Big Dipper, I will start from my loyalty to Silver Big Dipper and the Empire, after weighing both sides, I am unwilling to let the military and the Empire lose talents like you.”

“Think of it as an early investment…”

“Little Excellency, I hope you can get close to the core of the Empire, where there will inevitably be the truth that you want. If you came back from the Empire afterwards this time, then that means you are still willing to stay in Silver Big Dipper and join us in this cold night’s battle—”

Xie Yuduo placed his hand on his chest again, and lowered his head, but the corners of his mouth became more and more wild and unrestrained, “Then, please accept this lowly official’s future loyalty.”