IMAO Chapter 107

Ji Chong wrapped his strong arms around his lover, his voice softening, “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine.”

“Mm.” Horace leaned into Ji Chong’s embrace, resting his head against his chest. Listening to Ji Chong’s heartbeat, he gradually felt his own heart calm down.

Horace had been so worried about Ji Rong that he hadn’t slept for two days. Now, finally relaxing in Ji Chong’s arms, his breathing steadied as he drifted off to sleep. Ji Chong lowered his head to kiss Horace’s forehead.

Only after learning his lover’s true identity did he understand what his beloved had given up for him. Looking at his lover sleeping so defenseless in his arms, he couldn’t hide the tenderness in his eyes.

Through the window, the massive energy grid made the entire North Mali look like a glowing sphere in the dark universe.

“General, a large fleet of warships is heading toward us!”

Alger’s cold expression suddenly changed as he turned to look out the window. Dozens of magnificent and imposing warships came into view. It was the Hoyt royal fleet.

Seeing this, Alger’s eye twitched. Was Hoyt here to rescue them or to wage war?

He wasn’t the only one concerned. Others who witnessed this scene also frowned, with someone immediately asking over the comms: “Why did Hoyt send so many warships?”

“Why don’t we open communications and ask them?”

…

“Your Majesty, we’re receiving communication requests from various nations,” the captain reported to Horace.

“Connect them.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

When the communication connected, Alger looked at the young face on the video screen. Though unfamiliar, it wasn’t unusual – military leadership changes happened often, and new promotions were common. It made sense that he didn’t recognize the person.

“Hello, I’m General Alger from the Syrah Republic.”

“General, hello. I’m Colonel Qi Guang from Hoyt.” The captain showed no signs of nervousness, even though he held the lowest rank among all the military leaders in the conversation.

“Is this rescue mission under the Colonel’s command? And why bring so many warships?” someone cut in impatiently.

Qi Guang shook his head, “This rescue isn’t under my command. It’s being personally led by His Majesty.”

His Majesty?!

Everyone froze.

In Hoyt, only one person could be called His Majesty – and that was the Holy Emperor Horace.

Or as he was known throughout the galaxy – the Iron-Blooded Emperor.

The Holy Emperor had come?

“The Holy Emperor is on the warship?” Alger quickly regained his composure and asked quietly.

“Yes.”

Just then, a new communication request suddenly came through to the Hoyt warship.

“Your Majesty, there’s a new communication request from North Mali,” Qi Guang reported respectfully over the comms.

“Connect it.”

A cool voice rang out, and everyone knew it belonged to the legendary Emperor!

“Hello, let me introduce myself. I’m Selena, commander of the Blood Moon Legion and former captain of the Gentleman Pirates.” An impressive woman appeared on screen, tall and strikingly beautiful.

Gentleman Pirates?

That pirate group that frequently raided North Mali?

“Oh.” The response was flat, neither cold nor warm, completely emotionless.

Selena: “May I ask why the Holy Emperor has brought so many warships into North Mali territory?”

“We’re here for rescue operations, of course. Due to the sudden outbreak of war in your territory, our citizens are stranded in North Mali. We’re here to bring them home,” Qi Guang replied in an official tone.

After all, they couldn’t let His Majesty handle such negotiations.

“I apologize, but that won’t be possible. Like everyone else, you’ll have to wait outside the energy shield. We’ll deactivate it in two days.”

Two days?

Alger immediately caught the key point: deactivating the energy grid in two days. This Selena was clearly confident. She was obviously certain the war would end by then.

Qi Guang raised an eyebrow. Each extra day meant more danger for civilians. They absolutely couldn’t agree to wait two days.

“Then I’ll have no choice but to order our ships to attack your energy grid,” Qi Guang said, lowering his eyes.

“You wouldn’t dare!” Selena raised an eyebrow, looking at Qi Guang with amusement. “Doing that would be declaring war on North Mali!”

“Would your Emperor approve of such action?”

Selena immediately played the political card, raising the stakes. Others had threatened to break through the defenses before, but none had actually done it.

After all, starting a war would make them a national criminal.

Qi Guang’s face changed colors, alternating between pale and flushed. This woman was hitting where it hurt. How could he possibly represent Hoyt in declaring war on North Mali?

He was just a mere colonel, lucky enough to accompany His Majesty on this mission. A chill ran from his feet to his head. What if His Majesty became angry about this?

As he struggled with this dilemma, a cool voice suddenly spoke: “He indeed cannot represent Hoyt, but I can. If you won’t let my warships land, then I shall destroy North Mali.”

Qi Guang heard these words and could barely contain his excitement, almost wanting to raise his hand and shout: Long Live, Your Majesty!

Complete silence fell over the communication channel. The commanders from various nations all drew sharp breaths. When had they ever witnessed such an unyielding attitude?

Everyone couldn’t help but feel their eyes twitch.

Although they had all achieved their current positions through status and rank, they were nothing compared to the Holy Emperor.

None of them would dare say such things, but His Majesty dared!

It was arrogant, but he had earned the right to be arrogant!

No one questioned it because the speaker was the Holy Emperor. The Holy Emperor had that kind of power. If he wanted war, no one in Hoyt would oppose him.

Because he was Horace.

“Three seconds. Give me your answer.” Horace rested his chin on one hand, speaking softly.

Selena’s face was cold, but she knew she couldn’t clash head-on with Horace. Unlike other nations where emperors were mere figureheads, Hoyt’s Iron-Blooded Emperor was different… He was Hoyt’s supreme leader. With just one word from him, North Mali would truly become part of Hoyt’s territory.

She really didn’t want to give in, but before this man, she had no choice but to bow her head.

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

Everyone counted silently in their hearts as time ran out.

Selena painfully opened her mouth, turning to order her subordinate: “Let the Hoyt warships in.”

“Ma’am, there are too many of their ships…”

“Let them in,” Selena cut him off in a low voice, scolding the subordinate.

She really didn’t want any more conflicts with the Holy Emperor. He was too powerful. If they wasted any more time, this emperor with little patience might really use this as an excuse to take over all of North Mali.

After giving the order, there was no response from the other side of the communication, and Selena’s heart finally settled a bit.

Horace’s expression remained calm, as did the soldiers in the Hoyt warship’s command center.

Because this was nothing out of the ordinary.

Like the Federation, Hoyt hadn’t actively participated in international disputes in recent years, but they had always been forceful in diplomacy. Being the strongest nation in the galaxy wasn’t just empty talk!

Watching the Hoyt warships land in North Mali—

So much for the mighty Gentleman Pirates! They only acted tough when it suited them[mfn]”见菜下饭” (jiàn cài xià fàn) is a Chinese idiom that literally means “to decide what to eat based on the dishes available.” Figuratively, it refers to someone who adjusts their behavior or attitude depending on the situation or the people they’re dealing with, often in a opportunistic or hypocritical way.[/mfn]!

They requested communication but were ignored. Yet when Horace arrived, they actively sought to communicate!

Wasn’t it said that only the Federation would be allowed in?

Why did they suddenly become so soft towards Hoyt?

Alger was full of complaints, but looking at Hoyt’s fleet of dozens of warships, which rescue mission would bring so many warships? With this many ships, they could easily conquer North Mali.

The Holy Emperor of Hoyt wasn’t joking. If His Majesty wished, he could indeed break through the energy network.

Destroying North Mali’s government forces, mercenaries, and the Blood Moon Legion formed by gentleman pirates, incorporating North Mali into Hoyt’s territory. It wasn’t just empty talk. As long as the Holy Emperor desired it, it could be done!

Hoyt’s advanced technology made it undisputedly the First Empire of the entire interstellar realm. Breaking through the heavily fortified energy network was easy for Hoyt’s warships. Such was the power of technology!

No one questioned the might of the First Interstellar Empire.

He even suspected that His Majesty the Holy Emperor simply wanted to incorporate North Mali into his territory along the way!

The Holy Emperor, as an Alpha, was probably at the peak of the entire interstellar realm, wasn’t he?

He couldn’t help but feel envious. To achieve such heights as an Alpha, one could die without regrets.

As the communication ended, Horace withdrew his gaze and noticed Ji Chong staring at him blankly. Tilting his head slightly, he asked, “Why do you keep staring at me?”

He had seen his lover being gentle, acting coquettish, shy, anxious, and expressionless, but he had never seen Horace being an emperor.

After a long silence, Ji Rong said, “Actually, you don’t have to give up the throne for me. I can…”

Horace cut him off directly. “Giving up the throne isn’t entirely because of you. Hoyt is just like this,” he pointed towards North Mali through the ship’s window, “it needs change.”

“The poor of North Mali fight against injustice, breaking down capitalism.”

Ji Chong looked straight at Horace, watching as his lover lowered his eyes slightly and continued in a calm tone, “Ji Chong, all forms of injustice will be dismantled, and imperial power will be overthrown.

“The fall of monarchy is an inevitable part of history. How many monarchies are left in the galaxy now? Hoyt is one, Rick is another, but Rick’s monarchy is already in name only. No one can stop the tide of history.

“Why should I cling to something that’s destined to be discarded? Rather than wait for a bloody revolution to overthrow the monarchy in Hoyt, it’s better for me to lead a peaceful transition. No bloodshed, no conflict. That’s the best outcome.

“I never wanted to be Emperor in the first place.”

Horace stood by the window, gazing absent-mindedly at the war-torn North Mali, a trace of loneliness flickering in his eyes that reminded Ji Chong of when he first met Horace.

Back then, Horace had run away from home due to his pheromone issues. Although troubled by his Type A Disguise Omega pheromone, he had his father emperor, empress mother, elder brother, and younger brother then. He was happy and loved to smile.

Seeing Horace like this, Ji Chong silently watched the lonely figure of His Majesty the Emperor, making no sound but reaching out to embrace him.

…

Qi Guang quickly arranged the rescue operation.

Ji Chong led Horace straight to the spaceport, where all the rescued Federation citizens were aboard the peacekeeping warship, including their son Ji Rong.

…

On the Federation warship-

“This damned North Mali, I’m never coming back!” cursed a rich second-generation sitting in his seat. Actually, this guy was quite lucky. After the explosion, he had hidden in an underground parking garage until Federation rescue arrived. He’d just gone hungry for a few days but otherwise was fine.

After eating the distributed rations, he finally felt alive again. Then he noticed someone seemed to be secretly watching him. After a brief pause, he quickly smoothed his messy hair.

Why did these Omegas keep looking at him? It was embarrassing. And not just Omegas, but Betas and Alphas were watching too.

The rich second-generation felt smug. He wasn’t bad-looking and his family was wealthy. There had been Omegas trying to curry favor with him before, but he felt they were only after his family’s money, not truly interested in him as a person.

Sure enough, an excellent Alpha like him was bound to shine wherever he went. He immediately sat up straight, trying to look his best.

Just then, a little boy exchanged a few words with a girl nearby before running quickly towards him.

Could this finally be his spring romance?

That girl was so pretty!

His heart was fluttering!

“Gege, Gege, that Jiejie over there asked me to tell you something!” The little kid’s words were slightly unclear, but he was chubby and cute.

“Go ahead,” the rich second-generation said gently.

“That Jiejie said ‘Could you please move aside, you’re blocking her view of the two brothers behind you!’”

Two brothers behind him?

The rich second-generation’s expression changed. He turned around and discovered that the previously empty seats behind him now had several people, including two he recognized…

One called Jiang Yuan, the other called Ji Rong!

The two most dazzling members of this year’s mecha competition championship team.

No wonder so many people were secretly looking his way. They weren’t looking at him, but at the people behind him!

He felt embarrassed and resentful but didn’t lose his temper.

Hmph.

That’s because he was a cultured rich second-generation!

Being excellent at mecha meant nothing. It’s not like their salary would increase because they were strong with mecha.

No matter how amazing they were at mecha, a soldier’s yearly salary was still less than his monthly allowance! He, Su Lan, definitely wasn’t jealous!

Su Lan moved slightly to the left and took a careful look at the two behind him. Their mecha skills were better than his, and they were even better-looking. How infuriating! But at least they didn’t have his background!

Just as Su Lan was secretly consoling himself, he suddenly froze, because the voice was very familiar…

After delivering Jiang Yuan’s group to the ship, Ye Nanfeng led his team away to continue their mission.

Jiang Yuan let out a breath, finally feeling relieved. He contacted his father to report his safety and learned about everything Xu Chen had done for him after the war broke out. He was deeply moved. The reason he was rescued so quickly was all because of Xu Chen, so he immediately made another call to him.

“Mr. Xu.”

“You’re still calling me Mr. Xu?” The elderly man on the screen said, somewhat displeased.

“Tea-teacher.”

Xu Chen smiled. “Good that you’re safe.”

Su Lan’s expression changed. Mr. Xu… it couldn’t be the Mr. Xu he was thinking of, right?

Impossible!

But as if deliberately proving him wrong, the next sentence shattered his illusion.

“When you return, come by the lab at the Chinese Academy of Sciences,” Xu Chen said with a loving smile.

If it were before, Jiang Yuan would have refused directly, but after everything that happened, seeing how Xu Chen had worked so hard for him and repeatedly contacted Lieutenant General Xiang about his situation, he knew the man truly cared about him.

“Okay.”

…

“So what if he knows Mr. Xu… I know him too!” Su Lan felt speechless. Even if Jiang Yuan had connections, surely this Ji Rong guy didn’t?!

Thinking this, Su Lan’s previously deflated confidence recovered slightly.

Just then, a military officer walked quickly over, heading straight to Ji Rong, and asked very politely in a lowered voice, “You’re Ji Rong, right? Lieutenant General Xiang wants you to come to the command room.”

“What does Lieutenant General Xiang want to see me for?” Ji Rong frowned slightly, he didn’t know this person at all.

“Your father has arrived and is in the command hall.”

Ji Rong: “Oh.”

Su Lan’s mouth twitched, but he quickly became disdainful again. So what if he knew a general? Probably not anyone important. His family manufactured mechas, both civilian and military models.

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