Chapter 185: A great fire would burn them all away.
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Lin Xu went straight to Capricciosa and explained his plan.
“You want to activate the Star-Destroyer Cannon?” Capricciosa pondered. “Let me think… The emperor is dead, but Crown Prince Leo is still alive. We can have him come. I count as one of the three legion commanders. There’s also the second legion commander who escaped from the Dionysus region aboard Capital Star. That leaves one more… Alonso and Heinrich have rebelled. Xiao Yue of the third legion and Zheng Feng of the fourth legion are stuck in the Long Whale Region and can’t get here in time. There was Gália Hill, but he’s seriously wounded…”
Capricciosa paused. “Gália Hill appointed a proxy executor for himself. If we find that person, it’ll work too. The control center for the Star-Destroyer Cannon is in the palace’s westernmost black building. You go wait there. I’ll bring the others soon.”
Capricciosa moved quickly. Lin Xu waited about half an hour at the control center before Capricciosa arrived with the others. However, the arrival of these four supposed power holders was rather unusual.
John Morales, the second legion commander who escaped from Dionysus, was carried over Capricciosa’s shoulder, unconscious. Crown Prince Leo sat in a wheelchair, his leg injured and his face bruised—he looked like he had fallen down stairs.
Finally, the person pushing Leo’s wheelchair—the proxy executor for Gália Hill—was someone Lin Xu knew. Catherine Hill appeared in an ornate vintage white lace nightgown, slippers on her feet, yawning as she walked. She looked like a doll Capricciosa had dragged out of bed in the middle of the night. When she saw Lin Xu, she blinked and suddenly became alert. “Dr. Lin…”
Lin Xu nodded. “Miss Hill, commander of the Neuman Legion, let’s go. The Zerg have reached their assigned locations. We need to activate the Star-Destroyer Cannon as soon as possible.”
Using Leo’s authority, Capricciosa opened the control center doors. The five entered a vast, cold room where light spilled in from a dome above, forming a spotlight, while the rest of the space sank into darkness. All eyes fixed on the central control console.
The Star-Destroyer Cannon was humanity’s most formidable weapon, and its control center’s austere design spoke to the hope that future generations would use it cautiously.
Capricciosa double-checked the strike coordinates with Lin Xu, then adjusted the firing speed and charge intensity before rousing John Morales from his unconscious state.
Morales’s mind was still foggy as Capricciosa dragged him to the console. “Verify fingerprints and iris.”
Grabbing Morales’s finger, Capricciosa pressed it against the scanner. Morales barely reacted, blinking once as the system recorded his iris data. The remaining three, fully conscious, each completed their verifications. Lin Xu stayed in the shadows by the side.
“First Legion Commander, Capricciosa Neuman, verification passed.”
“Fifth Legion Commander, Catherine Hill, verification passed.”
When the system announced this, a flicker of doubt crossed Catherine’s eyes, but the tense atmosphere silenced her from interrupting.
“Second Legion Commander, John Morales, verification passed.”
“Crown Prince, Leo Arsen, verification passed.”
“Authorization confirmed. Target and strike intensity confirmed. Preparing to fire.” The mechanical voice echoed through the control room.
After a minute of checks passed without changes to the firing settings, the system began its countdown. Capricciosa started the frontline observation feed from Florence targeting the Zerg planets.
On the selected three planets, the Zerg swarmed densely, piled upon one another until the surface looked like uneven, dark, coal-like lumps.
A great fire would burn them all away.
“Five.”
“Four.”
“Three.”
“Two.”
“One.”
“Fire.”
The Star-Destroyer Cannon fired from the Capital Star’s satellite, Ares. Standing inside the control room, the group couldn’t see the launch itself. When the countdown finished, silence returned to the room.
Everyone remained quiet for a long while.
After some time, Catherine suddenly asked, “I’m supposed to be the proxy executor for the Fifth Legion Commander, not the commander myself. Did the system make a mistake?”
At that moment, the system replied, “Hello, Commander Hill. The previous Fifth Legion Commander, Gália Hill, was declared deceased ten minutes ago. With a proxy executor appointed, the proxy automatically assumes the commander’s role.”
“Ah?” Catherine covered her mouth, her eyelashes trembling. It was unclear if she was mourning her father’s death or shocked by the sudden change in her status.
Gália Hill had chosen Catherine over Carl as proxy executor precisely because Catherine was on Capital Star, making it easier for her to access political information. This prevented Carl Hill from missing critical developments due to his distance at the Silver Fortress.
The fire traveled through the stars, but it would take some time before the outcome could be seen. John Morales finally came to, groggy and confused. He tried to ask Capricciosa what had happened, but Capricciosa found him too noisy and knocked him out again.
Catherine, who had been quietly sobbing nearby, froze at the sudden commotion. She stopped crying but hiccupped once. When Capricciosa shot her a stern look, she fell silent again and simply let tears roll down her cheeks.
Several hours later, the video feed exploded with a brilliant white light. The Star-Destroyer Cannon had struck the three Zerg planets. The blast’s heat and shockwave made them blaze like newborn stars in that instant.
The Zerg bodies were completely engulfed in the light, the intense heat melting both the creatures and their entire planets. The explosion would continue to burn for hours. The Florence frontline officers cheered over communications with Capricciosa.
Astronomical observation points within human territories would also witness the three anomalously exploding planets. News of the Zerg’s complete annihilation would spread quickly across human domains.
At that moment, Lin Xu stepped out alone from the control center. Night was fading. Layered clouds hung in the sky like water-soaked deep blue wool, radiating a chill. A cold morning breeze swept past, and the coldness settled sharply on Lin Xu’s cheeks. His long hair whipped in the wind, and the damp air filled his lungs, scattering away his exhaustion.
He exhaled deeply, but alongside relief was a gnawing unease—a heavy stone suspended on his chest.
He walked slowly along the palace paths. The area near the control center had always been lightly guarded and had seen little damage from the fighting.
Green willow branches fluttered in the breeze, reflected in the dark lake below. Water lilies remained closed, waiting for the sunlight. Lin Xu wondered what tomorrow would bring.
He needed to find Yuanxiao, then rebuild life. The war was over, and the Alliance had taken over the Imperial territories. He likely had more work ahead—but exactly what, he didn’t know.
The future was always unknown, and the unknown stirred both anticipation and fear. A buzzing sound came from the horizon. Lin Xu stopped and looked up at the morning sky, where light was slowly piercing through the blue clouds.
A slate-gray figure flew toward him. As it neared, the wind intensified, scattering the willow branches and stirring ripples on the lake. Lin Xu’s hair whipped into a tangled mess.
He saw Blizzard hovering in front of him. Heinrich couldn’t wait—he didn’t even bother with the boarding ramp, jumping straight from the cockpit and bounding down the mecha’s arms and knees before landing right in front of Lin Xu.
“Lin Xu!” Heinrich’s brow furrowed deeply. His face remained stern but carried a darker shadow of worry. He was breathless, even a little flustered as he hurried up. Lin Xu smiled at him. “I’m here. You came fast. It’s not even dawn yet.”
Heinrich stepped forward and pulled Lin Xu into a tight embrace. Lin Xu froze briefly, then relaxed, closing his eyes as he patted Heinrich’s broad, solid back, breathing in the comforting scent of vetiver.
After a long moment, as dawn brightened, Heinrich let go and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the dried blood from Lin Xu’s face.
Lin Xu said, “Good timing. Let’s go find Yuanxiao together.”
“Wah—” Just then, a child’s voice rang out unexpectedly. It was a sound without words. Lin Xu turned toward the noise and saw a small black-haired, blue-eyed boy lying by the lake’s edge, bare-chested and partially covered with a few lotus leaves.
Lin Xu was sure the child hadn’t been there before. The boy’s skin was still wet, as if he had just climbed out of the water. His blue eyes shimmered with tears, looking pitiful and helpless.
Lin Xu thought, What kind of careless parents would leave a child to end up in the water? He couldn’t help but walk over, wanting to help the boy. As Lin Xu approached, he saw the child’s tail tucked beneath the lotus leaves—a fish tail, black on top and white underneath. Yuanxiao? Lin Xu felt an overwhelming sense of certainty.
“Papa! Dada! Waaaaa—don’t leave me!” The little mermaid cried loudly inside Lin Xu’s mind.
Damn. Lin Xu suddenly realized the irresponsible parents were himself. Heinrich and Lin Xu exchanged a glance, both shocked by the same realization.
Lin Xu quickly scooped the mermaid-form Yuanxiao up from the ground. Once in Lin Xu’s arms, Yuanxiao clung tightly around his neck, refusing to let go. He whimpered and sobbed, as if trying to cry out all the fear and hurt he’d endured.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault,” Lin Xu held Yuanxiao close, a sour ache rising in his chest. “It’s all my fault. Papa would never abandon you.”
Heinrich gently rubbed Yuanxiao’s back to soothe him. Yuanxiao tried to call out “Dada,” but with no free hand, he bit Heinrich’s hand to keep him from leaving. Tears as large as beans poured from Yuanxiao’s blue eyes without stopping.
Heinrich’s chest tightened. He bent down to wipe the tears away. “We won’t leave you. Don’t be afraid.”
Yuanxiao let out a wailing cry, “Hoo-uuu—”
The sobbing woke the small birds sleeping on nearby branches. They flapped their wings and flew away from the group of crying humans. The morning breeze stirred the willow branches and rippled the lake, scattering the layered clouds.
Sunlight spilled down at that moment, driving away the mist. Illuminating another day of survival and new beginnings.
Author’s Note:
The main story ends here! Thank you so much, my darlings, for sticking with Dr. Lin and Marshal all this time, traveling through the map I carefully planned—fields, deserts, snowy mountains, oceans, and starry skies.
There are still extras to come. My initial idea is to have a chapter explaining the post-war events (including Professor Lin having a few baby dragons—actually, Professor Lin is already pregnant but hasn’t realized it yet. I dropped some hints earlier, hehe).
There will also be a story about Alonso and Guy’s past, and one about a parallel universe Professor Lin raising dragons at the apocalypse base.
—
Plus, there are upcoming releases! Feel free to check out my column. One features a big-cat seme, and another features a doggo seme—both set in the Interstellar Mecha universe. The big-cat one’s uke is a high-cold-mecha-creator flower, and the doggo one’s uke is a busty single mom who pilots a mecha and raises kids. Add them to your bookmarks!
This Title is available for faster chapter releases through paid Patreon membership. Any proceeds go to keeping the website running. Check it out HERE.
