IMC Chapter 115

The battle ended much sooner than the Lan Snake Fleet had initially anticipated, but the result was completely different from what they had expected.

The so-called ragtag fleet that they had underestimated took control of the battlefield in just a few minutes. The aircraft from Fu Xia Star not only moved at incredible speeds but also had an extremely high density, making it nearly impossible for most attacks to harm them.

On the other hand, although they possessed a large and well-organized interstellar fleet, their attacks were mostly too slow to catch up with the enemy’s speed. Instead, it was the opponent’s strange energy-based attacks that left them helpless.

The second and third princes had seen the creatures from the Chaotic World and thought that the energy used by Fu Xia Star’s forces was somewhat similar to what the Chaotic World beings used. However, this didn’t help with their offense or defense. Their attacks still had difficulty hitting the target and their defense systems were quickly failing.

Shu Bao and Lan Qing sat in Shu Bao’s luxurious private aircraft, observing the situation outside. Once the dust settled, Shu Bao glanced at the dashboard. “Oh, it took a total of thirteen minutes, faster than any of our previous training sessions.”

Lan Qing looked at the blazing fires in the sky and the battleships that had lost control in space, letting out a soft sigh. “I had prepared for so long… and yet, it ended like this.”

According to numerous seers and prophets, Lan Qing had already returned to Xia Wang City to prepare for the battle in the days leading up to the Lan Snake Fleet’s arrival, but he hadn’t expected the battle to end so effortlessly.

“That’s because the energy resulting from the fusion of magic and technology is a new form of energy, and no civilization in this universe has studied it yet,” even the Mechanoids had not.

This is why the battlefield looked like this: the enemy attacks didn’t matter to them, while their attacks affected the enemy.

After taking control of the situation, the Lan Snake Fleet realized that their fate was sealed. The experience of being utterly defeated in just a few minutes was still hard for them to accept. However, whether they believed they were dreaming or not, they were about to be escorted and detained by the Fu Xia Fleet.

When Shu Bao and Lan Qing’s aircraft arrived in front of the Lan Snake mother ship and wanted to meet the two princes, they were surprised to find that the two princes were missing.

According to the descriptions from the crew aboard the starship, the two princes had left shortly after the war began. Clearly, they had quickly assessed the situation and realized the outcome of the battle. As a result, they escaped using a cloaked escape pod during the chaos.

According to data from the home planet, their crash landing location was none other than Fu Xia Star.

Clearly, the two Lan Snake princes had set their sights on their next target—Fu Xia Star. They had known to some extent that Fu Xia Star was developing at an extraordinary pace, but now it seemed like the development here was on another level entirely.

Since they could no longer win the war in outer space, they decided to forcibly land and take a different approach: to break the planet down from within and gain control over Fu Xia.

After receiving this information, Shu Bao posted the details about the second and third princes’ crash landing on the Fu Xia Star network. In an instant, Fu Xia Star erupted in excitement. Ever since it became easy to explore the entire world with aircraft, challenging events have become increasingly rare!

Even the much-anticipated interstellar war had ended in just a few minutes, leaving the people of Fu Xia Star in a temporary state of emptiness, wondering how lonely and empty it must be to be invincible. As soon as this new information came out, all the planet’s adventurers were eager to take action.

After the second and third princes crash-landed on Fu Xia Star, they became increasingly puzzled by the planet’s rapid development. By all logical standards, such fast development should have come with resource exploitation and environmental destruction. But Fu Xia Star’s ecosystem was perfect, with technology and ecology blending together harmoniously.

Just in case, the two princes explored the planet in their snake forms. When they slithered into a city, they found that their virtual images were everywhere and many people confidently declared that they would definitely catch them.

The two princes were surprised that, even though they had just crash-landed, everyone on the planet already recognized them. Fortunately, their snake form was quite deceptive; after all, to humans, most snakes looked similar.

So, the two snakes wandered around, moving through various cities, gathering clues, and looking for a suitable opportunity to break through. After several days of investigation, they concluded that starting with large towns would not be wise, as these places were equipped with high levels of technology and strong belief systems.

They decided that smaller, more remote villages would be a better starting point. After multiple considerations, they chose a small village with a beautiful environment and few technological products.

Of course, to be cautious, they first entered the village in their snake forms to scout the situation. Unlike the fast-developing cities outside, this village only had a few electric lights, and its population was small, with just about twenty people.

The two snakes were very pleased with this backward village. Just as they were about to leave and return in human form to further investigate, a glowing net suddenly descended from the sky, trapping them.

The two princes were shocked and tried to struggle free, but the net was not only extremely sturdy, with no chance of breaking, but it also adjusted in size as the snakes changed shape, keeping the openings just small enough to prevent escape.

“Father, I caught a snake!” A boy, around sixteen or seventeen years old, stepped forward, happily checking the catch.

Not long after, another person approached. He looked at the two snakes, somewhat puzzled. “What kind of breed is this? I don’t think I’ve seen it before.”

“Who cares about the breed? This should fetch a good price!” The boy excitedly shook the snake-catching net, causing the two snakes inside to hiss in warning.

However, it was of no use. They were still taken back to the village, where they were surrounded by curious onlookers. When the second prince could no longer tolerate the humiliation and was about to transform into his large form to kill these people, an old man holding a magic wand approached and immediately cast a spell. In an instant, the second prince lost consciousness.

The two snakes had no idea that the village they had chosen was one famous for catching snakes. The reason the people in this village rarely used technology was not just because they disliked it, but because every person in the village was a magician, and magic greatly facilitated their lives.

Such villages were not uncommon on Fu Xia Star. The people lived a primitive lifestyle of hunting and gathering, although they did occasionally hunt for other products to supplement their income.

When the second and third princes woke up, they found that they had already left the village, and they were no longer trapped in a net, but in an iron cage.

What was worse, they realized they couldn’t transform into their original forms. This strange cage had turned them into ordinary snakes.

After being passed through several hands, the two snakes ended up at their final destination: a house adorned with many snake-skin bags and animal-skin skirts.

The two princes: “…”

They watched helplessly as the person who had brought them in bargained with someone else. After reaching an agreement, their cage was then taken out.

The second and third princes were starting to panic. They had hidden away all items that could reveal their true nature, such as the participant rings, but now they were about to be made into bags!

When had the Lan Snake Princes ever been so humiliated? Just as they were about to attack when the person opened their cage, the man paused, took a photo of the two snakes, and sent a message to Lan Qing.

“Lord Lan Qing, these two snakes look a little bit like you.” The high priest, who had been practicing new types of magic potions and needed venom from poisonous snakes, found this quite interesting. He had, of course, seen Lan Qing’s original form before, so upon seeing the two snake-shaped princes, he instinctively thought they looked familiar.

Soon, Lan Qing sent a reply, instructing the high priest not to open the beast cage yet. Those two snakes were the second and third princes of the Lan Snake family!

The high priest: “…” He had just wanted to make a potion.

The two princes had no idea what the high priest was doing, anxiously waiting for quite some time but seeing no action from him. The high priest simply kept looking at them with a curious expression.

The second and third princes thought that this person must be observing how to make a clean cut to preserve the integrity of the snakes’ skins.

Not long after, a flying vehicle landed outside the high priest’s door. He opened the door. It was none other than Lan Qing and Shu Bao.

Shu Bao, unable to contain his excitement, rushed straight to the beast cage, circling it once. His large eyes were filled with curiosity. After a moment of observation, the mouse exclaimed, “Wow! Lan Qing, your two older brothers really do look like snakes!”

Lan Qing: “…”

The second and third princes quickly recognized that the talking mouse was Shu Bao. And behind him, slowly walking towards them, was their target for this mission: Lan Qing.

However, the appearance of Lan Qing left the two snakes stunned for quite some time. They wondered if this person had been disfigured or mutated—something about him looked strange. Not only did he no longer resemble a snake, but he was also wearing human clothes on his head and body.

Seeing Lan Qing, the two snakes immediately began hissing and communicating with each other, although it wasn’t clear what they were saying. Lan Qing remained calm and casually moved to open the beast cage’s switch.

The two snakes eagerly slithered out. As they did, Shu Bao, who had been hopping around, immediately sat still on top of Lan Qing’s head, no longer moving.

After leaving the beast cage, the two princes were finally able to speak in human language. However, they didn’t seem to fully grasp the fact that they were captives now.

“Lan Qing, your quirks are growing more and more bizarre. Now you’re making friends with mice!”

“The Lan Snake family must be ashamed to have such a snake like you!”

Lan Qing calmly maintained his posture with his four paws crossed, “If you want to fight, then fight already. Stop whining!”

Clearly, the hissing exchange between the three snakes just now had been a prelude to a confrontation. This was an inevitable part of being a Lan Snake. Even though Lan Qing didn’t want to fight, other snakes wouldn’t give up so easily.

The two princes exchanged glances, then immediately swam toward the door, “Lan Qing, if you lose, you must surrender your abilities unconditionally. I will spare your life.”

The mouse on Lan Qing’s head spoke up, “Haha, so funny! The snake skins are boasting! Even the mouse can’t stand it!”

The second and third princes: “…”

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