Chapter 89: Surrounding the Imperial Palace

“But now…” Mi Guanhong’s eyes filled with sorrow. He closed them with deep regret, and burning tears fell, dripping onto his epaulettes and staining his uniform with dark, spreading marks.

“The Empire now…”

The words left unsaid were heavy with despair.

“I don’t want to hear that news.”

Placing his hand on the mech’s control panel, the Marshal—whose entire life had been entwined with the Empire—opened his eyes again. Gone was the kindness. In his gaze toward Xi Ming remained only hatred—for the invader, for the one destroying his motherland.

Let me… offer my final service for the Empire. Let me die shrouded in a soldier’s banner, sacrificing myself for the nation.

He would rather die before the Empire crumbled than deceive himself with its demise.

Xi Ming said nothing more.

“…Forgive me.” With that, he intensified his spiritual force attack. His mech’s sleek form reflected a fierce brilliance under the sunlight.

Outside the military headquarters, it was a one-on-one duel between Mi Guanhong and Xi Ming—

Inside the building, similar scenes of attack, defense, and sacrifice unfolded in blood-soaked harmony—

When all was said and done, the military headquarters was littered with the marks of gunfire and blood.

Led by Mi Guanhong, everyone present in the building that day had neither surrendered nor retreated. They all chose to die heroically on the eve of the Empire’s collapse.

The scene was eerily quiet.

“Though the Empire had rotted through, these people… they’re still worthy of respect,” a former Federation mecha soldier sighed.

“Hmph.” A former Empire soldier’s eyes were red, but his words were cold and mocking. “Sure, they had faith—but the Empire hasn’t deserved that faith for a long time.”

If loyalty alone earned rewards, then what of Xi Ming? What of himself? What of all the soldiers who fought for the Empire only to be betrayed, persecuted, abandoned?

Xi Ming interrupted their conversation and gave a command:
“Find someone to take over this place. Anyone still able to fight, follow me to the Imperial Palace.”

“Yes, sir!” The others couldn’t suppress their excitement. They entered their mechs one after another.

After being ruled by the Federation and the Empire for so long—could they finally be the ones to rewrite the history of the stars?

Before the attack began, Xi Ming received a communication request from inside the Imperial Palace.

On-screen appeared nearly all the surviving high-ranking officials of the Empire, along with a few familiar faces from Xi Ming’s past.

The rarely-seen Emperor of the Empire stood alongside the newly appointed Imperial Marshal—who had not defended the military headquarters. The Emperor looked angry and questioned harshly:
“Xi Ming, are you truly going to treat the Empire that raised and nurtured you this way?”

Seated in a prominent position was Xi Ming’s uncle, Xi Songkai. He spoke with a heavy tone and emotional intensity, trying to salvage the dire situation:
“This is the country your parents died to protect. If they knew… Xi Ming, please stop this.”

Several of Xi Ming’s former military school classmates also chimed in:
“Don’t be stubborn, Xi Ming. The more you fight the Empire, the more you help our mortal enemies—the Federation.”

Only Xi Hanrong, standing beside Xi Songkai, quietly called Xi Ming’s name. His eyes were full of guilt, and he remained silent among the crowd trying to sway Xi Ming with pleas for his “return to reason.”

“We now know the truth of what happened back then,” said the Emperor. “The Empire’s royal family is willing to publicly acknowledge it and severely punish Wu Lidu. We’re ready to apologize to you.”

He also offered a long list of compensations, seemingly generous and sincere.

Emotion, duty, promises, political leverage—

The once-imperious Empire now grovelled before Xi Ming, offering regret and goodwill.

But sadly…

It was far too late.

Inside the Steller fleet, the others burst into mocking laughter after hearing the Empire’s offers.

“They’ve lost their minds. Sure, they’re offering some decent stuff—but once this battle is over, the whole Empire will belong to our boss. Why would he care about some crumbs now?”

“It’s like a deer begging a hunter not to kill it by offering one of its front legs. And thinking it’s a big deal. Absolutely hilarious.”

“They must know they can’t win. Now they’re playing the family card. Oh my god, is that old man actually saying that? If my mom’s star-pirate crew dared sell me out like that, I swear she’d crawl out of her grave to blow them all up herself!”

Everything the star pirates said was transmitted back to the royal family. Their faces turned stiff, but as the powerless party, they had no choice but to pretend they hadn’t heard.

Seeing that Xi Ming’s expression hadn’t changed in the slightest, the royal family grew desperate. They pushed a middle-aged couple to the front.

“Chan chan, are you there?” said Li Manman, looking much older and visibly nervous. “It’s mom¹…”

Beside him, a once-dashing man now looked hollowed out by indulgence and alcohol. Wearing fine clothes again, he still couldn’t hide his decline. Forcing a fatherly smile, he said:
“Chan chan, we know you’re there. It’s been years… don’t you miss your mom and dad?”

“Ever since you left, we’ve been thinking about you.” His voice dripped with exaggerated sentimentality. Standing among the Empire’s top brass, sweat dripped from his forehead—not from shame, but fear.

Because the son he once sold off was now the only consort of Steller’s master, and the most powerful healer of cosmic radiation in the known universe.

Shi Wen, who once rose from a remote star to the capital as the pride of his hometown, had long since fallen in the capital’s brutal business world—only to be sent back in disgrace to the poverty he loathed.

He had thought he’d never return to that grand and powerful capital star.

But then…

Like a dream, Xi Ming—the broken man who once couldn’t even stand—had become the master of Steller, and now led the army invading the Empire.

And the son he had discarded was now not only the chief consort of Steller, second only to its leader, but also a healer whose abilities shocked the entire galaxy.

A surge of regret once again overwhelmed Shi Wen.

He had vastly underestimated Shi Chan’s worth.

If only he hadn’t sold Shi Chan to the Xi family…

If only he had truly cared for that child…

Now, the one being begged by all the powerful figures of the Empire should have been him. Not just the Empire—the entire interstellar community would be begging him, pleading for him to get Shi Chan to treat their radiation sickness, begging him for a vague and intangible promise.

But under the grip of fear, Shi Wen’s mind desperately sought excuses to comfort himself. Subconsciously, he kept reassuring himself: He hadn’t been that cruel to Shi Chan. Sure, he had married Shi Chan off to Xi Ming, but weren’t they doing quite well now? Besides, hadn’t he always followed the principle of “raising omegas lavishly”? Shi Chan had an allowance every month, and so many attendants were at his service at home…

Maybe Shi Chan still held some affection for him, his father. He was probably just angry that his marriage had been arranged without his consent. But as long as he apologized, as long as he tried to rebuild their relationship… after all, he was his father.

Even if the Empire fell, Xi Ming would become the new emperor, and Shi Chan, who stayed by his side all along, would be the empress. Wouldn’t that make him imperial kin? Think about how the Lan family rose to great power by taking advantage of their connection to the current empress, Lan Wantian. Shi Wen suddenly felt he could surpass them all. Everyone would curry favor with him; he would have endless wealth, beauties, and power…

His alcohol-corroded brain couldn’t focus for long, and soon he was lost in his greedy fantasies, his eyes glassy. He even revealed a smug, ambitious grin—completely inappropriate for the situation.

Shi Chan wasn’t in the command room at the time, but he soon heard about what his “parents” had said through various channels.

“Healer Shi, aren’t you going over?” someone asked.

Shi Chan shook his head.

Since he had already severed ties, he had no obligation to watch that couple’s pathetic performance.

However, before the messenger left, Shi Chan called him back and, without much emotion in his voice, said, “If it’s convenient, keep the two of them alive. Then send them back to where they came from.”

On the other side, Xi Ming’s face also darkened. He could tolerate watching this group of people’s pathetic act, but he had zero patience for anyone eyeing Shi Chan.

He cut the communication and raised his hand to issue the order: “Attack!”

The video call was cut off abruptly, plunging the other side into chaos.

“What’s going on? What happened? Why did the connection suddenly cut off? Weren’t we still negotiating?”

“Damn it, they’ve started attacking the palace defenses. I think we need to leave—Xi Ming’s going to kill us all once he gets in.”

“I want to leave, but with the current defenses up, we can’t. And if we disable them, Xi Ming will charge right in. Either way, we’re dead.”

“How did the negotiation fall apart so quickly?! What did those two say that made Xi Ming so angry?”

“They didn’t say anything outrageous—just tried to speak to their omega son.”

“Wait, their omega son—isn’t that the Healer whose name is banned from being mentioned online?”

“Yeah, that radiation Healer. Not sure how they ended up in such a sorry state. Maybe they got separated during the war?”

“You must’ve been offline too long. That story’s long been uncovered. Shi Wen sold his child off to the Xi family when Xi Ming was still disabled and had no future, supposedly in exchange for a ton of resources.”

“You don’t need to whisper that much—it’s only dangerous to say his name on the net. But wait, that’s not what I heard. I thought the Healer was system-matched to Xi Ming and was always a loyal fan, like some love-struck omega.”

“…Sounds like you got the romanticized version.”

“Guys, are you serious? Xi Ming’s about to break in and kill us, and you’re gossiping about his love life?”

“What else can we do? Should I pilot my mech and go fight Xi Ming, the former Imperial Star and current ruthless avenger, and his elite army? I used to fail mech classes all the time.”

“…Then how the hell did you end up here? Isn’t everyone in the palace today supposed to be high-ranking officials?”

“Oh, that? Normally I wouldn’t say, but now it doesn’t matter. My family gave a huge bribe to the Lan family, and they got me into the Ministry of Health as a deputy minister. A few years ago, the minister retired due to radiation sickness, so I was promoted.”

“…”

“…Damn it. Damn the Lan family. Damn Lan Wantian! He ruined the entire Empire!!!”

Of course, not everyone had such a fatalistic attitude. Most people were frantically trying to find a way to escape.

As for Lan Wantian, universally blamed as the root of all evil, she was under the most pressure. Not only was she fearing for her life, but she also had to endure constant scorn and accusations.

“Giza, Giza,” Lan Wantian whispered anxiously to the guard beside her. “When the time comes, seize the opportunity and get me out of here.”

“Once we leave, we’re never coming back. We’ll find a remote planet and live together, okay? Somewhere no one knows who we are. If we have to, we can even go to the pirate zones or one of those little fringe nations. Let’s just leave…”

Facing death, Lan Wantian finally remembered that the man beside her had once been the finest mech warrior of their generation—and recalled the promises they once made.

Giza looked at the woman he once loved and was silent for a moment. “What about the Sixth Prince?”

Since the scandal broke, Wu Lidu hadn’t left the palace and was now trapped inside as well.

Lan Wantian’s eyes filled with complex emotion. “He has the Wu family. He’ll leave with the other princes. We need to start a new life. He’s an adult now—I don’t have to take care of him anymore.”

“Your Majesty,” Giza replied coldly, no emotion in his eyes despite his words, “are you asking me to be a deserter again?”

Lan Wantian hadn’t expected that. She paused for a moment, then burst into a furious roar, “Giza!!!”

Her voice was so loud it drew everyone’s attention.

But to most of them, Giza was just a lowly guard. Seeing Lan Wantian still trying to pull rank at such a time, most ignored her. A few couldn’t resist throwing in a snide remark or two.

Giza, meanwhile, lowered his head, deep in thought.

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1. Shi Chan’s Mother is a male omega ↩︎