Chapter 412: Advance into the Chaos Sector
by xennovelIf the current expansion war stays on track, the Red River Sector will eventually be folded into the Dinghai Sector, pushing Dinghai’s diameter to almost five thousand light‑years.
Of course that won’t be the end; during this campaign the Song Family intends to seize far more. A star sector with only one tier‑5 Floating-land could never sate their appetite.
……
With that thought Song Chi gave the order. Space rippled around the Heavenly Ruin and the ship jumped to Goat Floating-land.
The battle on Sky‑Star Floating Continent was over, but clearing the entire Red River Sector would take much longer.
The sector spanned more than two thousand light‑years. Even with every fleet working flat‑out, each one racing to strip its assigned floating lands, the job would still take years.
Over the following days Song Chi mostly accompanied the Family fleet as they captured tier‑2 and tier‑3 floating lands. Every conquest deepened the Tenth Direct Line’s reserves and strengthened the whole branch.
Inside the Heavenly Ruin he handed full control to the Qiongtian AI, sat cross‑legged and began absorbing a second portion of tier‑5 Evil God essence.
Back at tier‑3 he still had three half‑step tier‑6 and five tier‑5 essences left. When the Guiding Technique broke into tier‑4 he absorbed one essence, riding the life‑sublimation to push his psyche straight to One Mind, Twenty‑Seven Threads.
Absorbing a tier‑5 essence wasn’t quick—each took more than a month.
A stronger psyche barely sped up law comprehension; it mainly improved ship control and extended Mythical Mech Form, so he hadn’t rushed the remaining essences.
Only now, with time to spare, did he start working through the rest.
……
Time flew; almost two years slipped by.
In that span every fleet under the Song banner combed the Red River Sector. With hundreds of millions of Torch citizens manning the ordinary ships, progress was impressively fast.
In under two years the fleet reached the sector’s edge. A hundred light‑years farther lay the western frontier of the Chaos Sector.
By comparison, the Grand Duchy’s Eastern Main Fleet was advancing even faster.
Omniverse Market, third‑floor inn, mobile suite.
“My lord, that’s how things stand.”
After detailing everything, Wang Zhen looked at Song Chi with respectful eyes.
Song Chi’s gaze flickered thoughtfully.
Before the war he had weighed several options for Wang Zhen. His first idea was to bring the man to Dinghai to guard his parents and Song Ting while acting with the Tenth Direct Line.
Thanks to Song Chi’s investment, the Howling Tiger‑Wolf now carried several orange modules and tier‑4 thralls; it ranked near the top among ordinary Zhulu‑class cruisers. Having it protect his family would put him at ease.
After more thought he scrapped that plan and sent Wang Zhen with the Eastern Main Fleet to feed him real‑time intel and buy up arbitrage resources and curios that couldn’t become ship modules.
That decision had proven correct.
Real‑time fleet data hadn’t mattered much, but Wang Zhen’s purchases were a windfall.
First came special Floating-land plant seeds—two whole storage capsules of them, prized by the Treefolk.
There was also Terranite and assorted herbs needed on the Primeval Continent.
Most important were the curios that couldn’t be turned into modules. Two years of smashing alien civilizations meant nearly every Torch Captain carried one or two.
When Wang Zhen offered seventy percent of same‑tier module price, captains lined up. Even with hundreds of millions of wisps of low‑tier origin up front, the funds almost ran dry.
The spree netted over twenty red epic curios, more than three hundred orange, a thousand purple, and blue‑ and white‑grade pieces in the five figures.
All of it now sat in several storage capsules in Song Chi’s hands.
Between his Sky‑Star haul and two years of Market profits, Song Chi dumped another huge batch of low‑tier origin on Wang Zhen—no less than five hundred million wisps.
He also told him to keep buying every curio that couldn’t become a module.
Taking the origin, Wang Zhen hesitated, then spoke.
“Highness, we’re not the only buyers. Trading houses under the other four giants are also collecting, but they pay at most sixty‑five percent, so they can’t outbid us. The problem is…”
His voice trailed off, but Song Chi caught the shift.
He tilted his head, signaling him to continue.
“In the past few months my people have reported several deliberate disturbances, and I’ve been threatened. They want us to stop buying.”
Song Chi narrowed his eyes, thinking.
“Any idea who’s behind it?”
Wang Zhen shook his head.
“They stayed hidden, only sent word through an Extreme‑class cruiser captain. I suspect one of the other four houses.”
Song Chi stayed silent a moment.
Those ‘other four houses’ could only be the duchy’s remaining giants.
After a brief pause light flashed in his palm and a dark medallion flew to Wang Zhen.
His tone hardened.
“Ignore the shadow games. If it really were top brass, they’d pressure the Family openly. Keep buying. If they start a price war, match them. If they use force, trigger that Shadow Medallion. I want to know who they are.”
“Understood, Highness.”
With Song Chi’s backing, Wang Zhen felt no more concern. He bowed and left the Market.
Song Chi lingered a few more days. Only after fully stabilizing One Mind, Thirty‑Four Threads did he depart.
Over nearly two years he had absorbed all tier‑5 and half‑step tier‑6 Evil God essences, boosting his psyche from Twenty‑Seven to Thirty‑Four Threads.
For a brand‑new tier‑4 Zhulu captain that was monstrous; weaker battleship captains sat around Thirty Threads.
Song Chi was more than satisfied.
Red River Sector, Black‑Plain Floating-land.
This tier‑3 resource land was newly taken by the Tenth Direct Line. Ordinary starships landed and took off non‑stop, their holds crammed with storage capsules that multiplied hauling capacity.
Once loaded they passed the branch’s micro‑gates, then the family’s standard short‑range gates, jumping back to the Thorny Star Region and finally Dragon‑Spine Continent.
Every faction under the Song banner did the same, though they owed the Family twenty percent of all spoils—terms set before the war.
Nearby space, close to the northern Chaos Sector, housed the fleet’s forward headquarters.
The command hub, a space dock built from a giant Floating-land fragment, buzzed with activity.
When the Heavenly Ruin arrived, nearly a hundred tier‑4 Zhulu captains were already gathered.
Song Chi chose a corner seat and, seeing everyone’s thinly veiled smiles, knew the past two years had been profitable.
Divvying up a sector over two thousand light‑years wide was bound to be lucrative.
Just then five figures entered. All captains rose to offer their highest respect.
They were Song Dingbang, Song Xingru, Song Tianhao, battleship captain Wu Yuanshan, and Red Alpha, patriarch of the Alpha Family.
With the five heavyweights present, the meeting began.
Song Dingbang spoke first. With the Progenitor absent and the Prime Ancestor all but vanished, he acted as Family head.
Song Xingru’s temperament made her unsuited to preside.
“Only one Oddity today: deciding when our fleet enters the Chaos Sector.”
“Intel says the duchy’s main fleet has blasted through the south and will soon reach the west. If we leave now we’ll face the first counter‑attack and take losses, but gains will be greater. Wait for the main fleet and most loot won’t be ours.”
He scanned the room.
“Everyone gets one vote—march now or wait. Begin.”
Two buttons popped up on every desk, red for immediate action, green for delay.
Song Chi slammed the red button without hesitation.
He was in peak condition; staying here would only waste time.
Besides, he would never turn down more tier‑6 origin.
When voting ended the main screen showed the tally.
March now: 88 votes.
Wait: 15 votes.
No surprise—having tasted profit, the factions were eager for another raid.
“Decision made. Five days from now we set course for the Chaos Sector.”
The Song elders were pleased. The better the fleet performed, the more the Family would gain.
Five days later the fleet—now a lean million ships—headed north for the Chaos Sector.
Though the Red River Sector was cleared, its resources still had to be developed and shipped home, so more than two hundred thousand starships stayed behind.
Even so, the fleet’s combat strength was untouched; true battles are decided by Torch warships, not ordinary vessels.