In the early hours of December 26, 829, common era, over a thousand warships of various sizes had already assembled into their respective divisions according to the pre-planned tactical scheme, and their warp engines were undergoing their final charging.

At this very moment, on the bridge of the flagship Hyperion, Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Palash, with his face painted, personally lit a large brazier. In front of the brazier, an incense burner and plates of pork, lamb, and beef were laid out. General Paris’s smile was very stiff as he took three sticks of incense handed to him by Vice Admiral Palash, walked around the brazier, lit them, and then placed them into the incense burner.

“May the universe spirit bless our victory!”

“Sacrifice for victory! The Commonwealth will surely win!” The officers echoed loudly. Yu Lian, standing among the crowd, had a face full of black lines. Although he knew that in this Universe, where everyone was a bit mystical, there must be various mystical customs, seeing a shamanistic ritual performed on a sci-fi spaceship, the overwhelming sense of incongruity and surreal absurdity still made him a bit hard to stomach.

He knew that the navy was the most superstitious branch of the military. Hence, there were various ceremonies when new warships were launched, the most noble ladies would smash champagne, ships were referred to as “she” instead of “it,” and there was a tradition of keeping Kaitai on board. Therefore, before battle, there would naturally be rituals to pray for victory, but he never expected it to be this style.

Absurd as it was, it was indeed fresh. One must know that decades later, this ritual was basically no longer seen. That was an era of efficiency, madness, and realism; surprise attacks, skirmishes, mobile warfare, and the subsequent large-scale annihilation battles were the mainstream of the Universe. Pitched battles where both sides set up their formations were rare, so there was no time for Commanders to perform shamanistic rituals!

In short, after overcoming the initial absurdity, Yu Lian subtly found it quite interesting.

Just as General Paris finished offering incense, a Rear Admiral dragged over a large box.

That was Rear Admiral Donald, Chief Navigator of the Outer Rim Fleet, a spiritual energy user over sixty years old, and the first master Yu Lian (after rebirth) had ever seen. He was a Four-Ring “Navigator” of the “Explore” pathway, a yin-side Star Ring branched off from the “Traveler.” Yu Lian’s previous life, and the “Wander” pathway opened by the Alliance mercenary Ash, were the yang-side.

“Wander” leaned towards travel, experiences, and acting on a whim. spiritual energy users of this Star Ring could become chivalrous heroes who robbed the rich to help the poor, or hedonistic anti-social individuals who acted as they pleased. “Explore,” as the name suggested, excelled at discovery, searching, identification, and navigation. spiritual energy users of this Star Ring were not skilled in combat, far inferior to the two-sided “Wander,” but they possessed extremely strong observational skills and spatial recognition abilities. In a Universe where there were no cardinal directions, nor moons or suns to guide direction, the role such spiritual energy users could play was self-evident, wasn’t it?

Yu Lian had considered developing in this direction in his previous life, but he gave up directly because direct combat was simply not his forte.

At this moment, Rear Admiral Donald was seen throwing various gaudy axes, hammers, spears, shields, and other items made of gold foil paper from the box into the brazier one by one. Each time he threw something, he muttered incantations, as if praying for “ancestral blessings.”

“Those are offerings. They represent the weapons of the gods of war from different cultural systems of our Earth!” Yang Xiyi explained in a low voice.

Yu Lian nodded, indicating understanding.

“This final sacrifice is usually presided over by the most senior spiritual energy user on the ship. Because you are the darlings of the universe spirit, you can convey your will to the universe spirit.”

Then, Rear Admiral Donald took out a very exquisitely made doll from the box, dressed in a gorgeous Western-style dress with ribbon-like golden hair, and shouted, “May the universe spirit bless our victory!” before throwing it into the fire.

The flames quickly engulfed it. The golden-haired doll sat in the fire, its unfocused green crystal eyes reflecting the firelight, surprisingly showing a few signs of struggling movement. It stared straight at Yu Lian, making him shudder.

“What’s the meaning of this?!” Yu Lian asked in a low voice.

“The Goddess of Victory under the Aurora! You don’t know? Oh, this is a custom passed down from the Empire, but its essence still originates from Earth.” Colonel Yang Xiyi, who always regarded himself as a historian, cleared his throat and began to lecture: “You know about the Trojan War, right? King Agamemnon of Mycenae was preparing to lead the Greek United Fleet to conquer Troy, but a huge storm raged over the Aegean Sea and did not stop for a long time. He then sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia, and the storm on the Aegean Sea indeed ceased. After the envoys from the Empire arrived on Earth, they collected our history and culture and found this story particularly in line with their cultural aesthetics.”

“So, they stole it?” Yu Lian was genuinely curious.

“Well, it’s not exactly stealing... A thousand years ago, Emperor Boro II of the Empire was conquering the Raiders army but fell into an ambush and was besieged in the Aurora Star System. With no way out, he remembered this story and decided to sacrifice his daughter Yiwanya to the universe spirit, throwing her into the fire.”

It’s the Universe Era! It’s already the Universe Era! It’s because all you pioneering civilizations have this neurotic temperament that all civilizations in the Universe have been led astray!

Yu Lian suppressed the urge to complain, his face twitching as he said, “Then, he really got guidance and defeated the enemy?”

“...No, Princess Yiwanya broke through herself amidst the torment of the flames, breaking through three Star Rings at once, directly killing her dumbfounded father, donning the Infinite Crown, and ascending to the throne as Empress amidst the cheers of the three armies. Then she led the army with a do-or-die attitude and utterly defeated the Raiders.”

“...I feel like I missed a million words of Game of Thrones!”

“Uh, I feel that way too, but the official statement is that she passed the universe spirit’s trial in the flames. In short, from then on, she became the embodiment of the ‘Goddess of Victory.’ And then, burning a doll that closely resembled Empress Yiwanya before a major battle became the Empire’s ritual for praying for victory.”

“How many steps were skipped between these? One is reborn from fire, the other is burned to ashes. The implications are completely opposite, aren’t they? Also, I’d really like to know Empress Yiwanya’s reaction to this.”

“It is said she was quite pleased with it, and subsequent emperors and royals after her couldn’t really say much. After a thousand years, it’s indeed enough to turn a superstitious activity into a classic cultural tradition!”

Just as they were talking, this Four-Ring spiritual energy user finally finished his shamanistic ritual... Yes, although this Old General was a spiritual energy master who could guide the entire fleet through the galaxy, Yu Lian always felt that he wasn’t any more impressive than the shamans and witch doctors back home. And Empress Yiwanya, ah no, the Goddess of Victory doll finally turned to Ash, and those green eyes that made Yu Lian feel eerie vanished with the ashes.

And so, the ritual of praying for victory ended. Let’s applaud!

“All units in position, proceed according to the original plan!” General Paris used this very calm statement to mark the beginning of the entire campaign.

There were no passionate speeches, no inspiring slogans. He still stood like a granite statue, silent, but everyone felt his strength and busied themselves.

Yu Lian, who couldn't find his place, suddenly grabbed Yang Xiyi and said, “Teacher Yang, what should I do now?”

“You, oh, right, I almost forgot about you. It’s fine, I’ll have someone send you back to Gibraltar Beta now. Settle down at the military district guesthouse. I estimate this battle is just a deterrent and won’t last many days. You can depart in at most a week; I’ll have you take a military communication ship then. Don’t worry, you won’t miss the start of school!”

“You’re not joking, are you?”

“You’re just a student, you’ve done enough!” Yang Xiyi stopped and patted his shoulder: “Your parents will be proud of you. Even if Wien and those people dislike and reject you, they won’t be able to compare to you!”

“Wien and the others are actually not bad, I won’t stoop to their level! The disgusting ones from the Blueblood Brotherhood are from previous generations...”

“Yes, so they will definitely be jealous and admire you later, even if they don’t say it. Heh, I know that kid’s temperament best.” He thought for a moment and added, “Oh, right, Miss Fina and her little sisters will completely shatter their glass sisterhood for you, won’t they? Eek, you enviable man!”

“No, don’t talk nonsense, my friendship with them is pure! Teacher Yang, you can’t just randomly slander my innocence!” Yu Lian tried to defend himself with a tone he himself wasn’t quite convinced by, but immediately changed his tone, speaking with unprecedented solemnity:

“Teacher, no, Colonel Yang... Personally, I believe that since the final combat plan was proposed by your subordinate, then your subordinate has the moral obligation to be responsible for it! Therefore, your subordinate requests to participate in the battle!”

“Moral obligation my foot! Are you a ranger or a pirate? Specialization in skills! I was the one who formulated the overall combat plan, and the Commander was the one who ordered the start of the war. Are you going to make me, or Commander, personally lead an assault ship into a charge? What kind of idiotic reason is that?”

“Well, if I were General Paris’s age, or if I were like Teacher Yang, useless below the neck, I would certainly be very at ease.”

“You, who are you calling useless below the neck? Who gave birth to Xiao Xuan, Xiao Yong, and Xiao Mi? Could Jessica give birth to them all by herself?” Yang Xiyi’s voice was loud, but his confidence wasn’t quite there.

He was indeed a frail scholar with no physical strength, and his combat power was definitely at the bottom of the entire Command HQ. Even General Paris, who was nearly eighty, probably wouldn’t need three rounds to take him down.

He really didn’t know how this guy passed the military academy’s physical fitness test back then.

“Of course, all of the above are excuses... If I said I was for the military merits of spiritual energy users and warriors, I guess you wouldn’t believe it, right?”

Yang Xiyi rolled his eyes.

“Alright! I, ah, have to do my part to the best of my ability for General Paris’s retirement fund!” Yu Lian said solemnly.

Yang Xiyi’s expression finally showed subtle changes.

Yes, that Old General who was almost in his grave had staked his life, reputation, and even his later years on this battle.

Yu Lian, having returned from the future, naturally knew what the Kaitai had done, and choosing to strike first was only natural.

However, from the perspective of the Present, especially from the perspective of high-ranking Commonwealth officials and even other nations, General Paris, who initiated the action, became the culprit who broke the peace, and it wouldn’t even be an exaggeration to label him a war criminal. If Yu Lian’s plan failed, all of the above would undoubtedly be the consequences the Old General would face.

Furthermore, the so-called “right to active self-defense” was actually similar to an imperial iron certificate, just an honor. Who would really expect to use it? Or rather, once you used it, it meant you had cut yourself off from all existing political rules.

Ha, an Old General without memories of the future can go all out. What do I have that I can’t go all out for?

“Teacher Yang, General Paris has made up his mind, you know, to use this opportunity to completely break the Kaitai’s claws and deter all the petty individuals coveting the Commonwealth. Compared to that, his own life and fortune are no longer important. Whether the final plan I proposed succeeds or not, his goal can be achieved...”

“Yes. If your plan succeeds, the Kaitai will honestly admit they are the culprits, and naturally, everyone will be happy; if your plan doesn’t succeed, we will definitely be able to cripple their United Fleet, making those Kaitai not dare to look us in the eye for ten years, but Commander’s side...” Yang Xiyi nodded gloomily. How could he not have thought of this point?

“So, I also want to do something for that Old General’s retirement benefits! I think, with his spirit, he can at least live healthily for another twenty years! He can’t just become a war criminal in such a muddled way.”

Yang Xiyi sighed helplessly, his expression softening a bit: “I say, while that logic is true. However, are you planning to join the assault team, or pilot an assault ship...? I don’t have any slots here, you know.”

Just as they were at a stalemate, a voice said, “I do have a place.”

The two turned around and saw a strong, burly man with a hearty smile, none other than Colonel Chaimen, whose name was particularly distinctive.

“It’s a place especially suited for you, Warrant Officer. And it just so happens that we do need someone.” He smiled so wide his eyes were almost slits, and his row of white teeth seemed to gleam.

Another nearly 4k character chapter.

Also, today is a very principled two updates, this is the first. So, if you have money, contribute money; if not, contribute your presence.

And also, who the hell put a girl in Yu Lian’s column again!