Chapter 607: Finale. New life and where things ended.
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The brewing movement outside did not affect the crew in Darkniss the slightest. To Appilok and his subordinates, the He Yue galaxy was somewhere beyond their reach and they certainly did not bother to follow the news. As long as they got their tasks done assigned by their leader, they thought. Team Ye Chong resumed their routine, they were undisturbed as usual, unlike the Xue Lai clan.
The clan had guests.
TOO. MANY. GUESTS.
They had to supply their workforce with untrained youngsters by shoving them to the front desk straight away to greet each massive group of guests, like the newly surfaced Collision army which arrived at Planet Xue Hui first, as they were rather eager to reunite with their master, Ye Chong.
"Sir!!" That was what Sang Tie screamed upon seeing Ye Chong again. He was very, very excited, that he could not contain that emotion in him as he spoke, "H-H-How have you been?"
The rest of the family was stunned, a majority of them was the former army trained by the master himself back at the Sang family village, in which a few of them even had hand-in-hand Collision mech tutorial with the master. The respect or more precisely the worship had grown into a profound passion in them, towards Ye Chong.
Ye Chong stared at Sang Tie and rested silently, sentiments sprouted in him, as he almost could not recognize Sang Tie at first glance. He looked a bit more different than Ye Chong remembered. Things had changed apparently, not only Mu, Shang and Rui Bing had changed, the Sangs too had grown. That was joyful news indeed.
Little Ye Chong knew, again, what he brought to the world hundreds of chapters ago, the grand gathering he caused was a major historical event in the chronicles of the galaxy. The adjectives towards the event might be all "great", "grand", "amazing", "never-before-seen", but only the people who were fortunate enough to be participating the event itself would know how exciting it was.
"Mhm..." A moment of silence and Ye Chong asked, "Have you all contacted Mu and Shang?" The juniors were confused, but the higher ranked Sangs knew what the master was talking about.
Sang Tie shook, "Nope, I imagined them with you."
Ye Chong was quiet again, his mind ran fast.
If Mu and Shang did not join the Sangs, they must be still at the Gray Valley.
Oh Mu and Shang, how are both of you? I miss those days...
Thought Ye Chong.
...(Meanwhile)...
Reporters from all corners of the galaxy had arrived on Planet Xue Hui, only to see the one person who was able to wield the few aristocratic forces across the universe so easily. But they had no luck, the hunt might be just a wild goose chase as the mysterious figure never really showed up in person. The reporters, having their hope sank, were feeling agitated by the lack of development of newsworthy stories. They knew where the figure was, yet they could hardly do a thing. There was only one last place, of the entire galaxy, where the reporters had never been to - the same mysterious gigantic warship that came out of the nowhere, the Darkniss. Juicy information was perceived from the Xue Lai clan on different interrogations with them, claiming how destructive Darkniss was, as well as how the mysterious figure led the entire crew of sniping Shooters.
The reporters waited on as they observed the formation of an alliance between the aristocrats under the lead of Sangs.
...(Two weeks later)...
The He Yue galaxy alliance had been officially established, which only familiar names were involved — the Sangs (the majority of the alliance, about 20%), the aristocrats (15% each) and the leaders of other minor groups. The authority of the Sangs was once again perceivable in the eyes of the people, they were the newly emerged force that had overtaken the three aristocrats.
The reporters were opening their eyes wide as they skimmed through the list. No. No...? There was not a single name that seemed to have association with the mysterious figure, and Darkniss had never attended the alliance meeting and formation ceremony - the ship did not even have its gate opened once.
This alliance was much stronger than any of its former, as it took up 3/4 of the whole military force in the He Yue galaxy and certainly they would need a commander befitting to its greatness - Sang Pu. He was called and rushed to Planet Yi Ju.
People were very intrigued of this new force as high hopes were given upon them to clear out the pack of red-tailed beasts destroying the galaxy. The residents were very aware of the fact that this very army shall determine the fate of the He Yue galaxy.
That was when Darkniss stealthily departed, with 10 Sangs' warships under his lead, on which 400 pilots boarded each.
...(Meanwhile, at Team Sang Pu)...
"We finally got it through." Sang Kan breathed in relief as he glanced at Sang Fan, who joined Sang Pu from their home planet to command the army of 4000 Collisions. Sang Pu felt more secure if they were able to allocate more men in the rescue mission of Lord Mu and Shang, but their teacher, Ye Chong, disapproved for the teacher felt the number was more than enough.
In this vast galaxy, probably only Mu and Shang could provide Ye Chong such security. Mu and Shang was so capable that even Ye Chong felt more confident in their works than himself. Mu and Shang might be facing the fearsome red-tailed beasts, but he believed that the artificial intelligence and indulgence could clear the wave effortlessly as long as they had their turn to attack.
From the Xue Lai clan, Ye Chong had already obtained the firsthand information regarding Mu and Shang's whereabouts in Gray Valley. His machine buddies were much more stronger than their former self 20 years ago, not even the new ace of the Xue Lai clan, Brahmara, could be competent in terms of performance. However, it might still be a different story if it was a one-on-one. Technically, Mu and Shang was a far better all-rounder than Brahmara.
It was a smooth sail for the following days, as the alliance, under Sang Pu's lead, managed to clear out several nests of red-tailed beasts.
All thanks to their great teacher, Ye Chong who shared his experience with Sang Pu while pointing out the exact ways to get rid of these pests.
And the Xue Lai clan finally had the time to catch their breath, as they began producing their new weapon, the Red Vapour III. The clan was still an aristocrat for a reason. They only needed a short period to recover and grow stronger.
The fragile nest made out of tendrils had become the fatal weakness of the red-tailed beasts. Humans could disrupt the reproduction of these beasts immediately by destroying the nests, though it still was a trouble to face the beasts themselves.
The beasts were running to all corners, while the alliance were unable to stop these running monstrosities. The people were pleased however. It was a form of victory after all. It would be only a matter of time till the red-tailed beasts had their justice served.
Nevertheless, the clusters of red-tailed beasts that escaped to all corners of the galaxy were rather impossible to be completely eliminated. So one had to admit that the galaxy would no longer be as peaceful as it once was.
Meanwhile, Ye Chong did not bother much about the galactic war happening out there. He had his own war to fight. Darkniss, under the escort of his fellow 4000 Collisions, was traveling safely from one stop to another.
The pathway to Gray Valley was not as dangerous as he imagined, the waves of red-tailed beast were far less frequent.
But how?
Right in the midst of confusion when Ye Chong activated the portal to Gray Valley, one of Sangs' fleet stayed behind and joined Xue Lai's army at the entrance to the free space zone.
This separate team had a different mission, which was, to retrieve a sunken vessel under the navigation of Old Jalopy and Fei Si.
Why the vessel?
Well, something was in there.
Coraplatinum, the essential material to repair Mu and Shang.
So the one fleet parted ways with Darkniss at the portal to Gray Valley and certainly the two ships had to test their transmission.
"Is it working? Was there any signal?" Asked Ye Chong to Sang Fan.
The little warship of the Sangs might not be as grand as Darkniss but it had a far superior communication system created by the Core Mathematics laboratory, one led by Little Rock and his team of researchers. The system was very powerful in capturing communicative signals and it clearly had convinced people the power of that one boy genius.
...(Meanwhile somewhere at Gray Valley)...
Yang Ming was heading to Planet Vincent. He was no longer that apprentice under Harrell the Great thanks to his continuous effort in mastering the mechanics. By then he had become the foreman leading his own group of mechanics to Planet Vincent where the front line was pleading backup repairmen in fixing their broken armory.
Even though Sir Jay (Ye Chong)'s disappearance had once caused a bit of trouble in his fleet, he and his men managed to build a new miracle under the lead of Lord Mu and Shang.
They had been strengthening their fortress, utilizing the ample resources found on Planet Spectre where they founded their main base too - all thanks to the impeccable plan by Lord Mu and Shang.
And it was that one accident occurred during their fight with red-tailed beasts which exposed the beasts' vulnerability - the nest.
Because of that, they managed to safeguard their territory by wiping out all nests in Gray Valley, as about 30% of the red-tailed beast population remained. The red-tailed beasts were less threatening without their nest. They were nerfed, and had become the training monsters for pilots to farm their contribution points.
The name of Lord Mu and Shang the Great was heard again throughout Gray Valley.
Mu and Shang had seized control of the majority of areas in Gray Valley and in no time they would taste the real victory, the end of the war once they opened up the pathway to the He Yue galaxy.
The catch was, for some reason, despite being one step before victory, Lord Mu and Shang insisted on not leaving Planet Spectre, and the men knew the lord was waiting for Sir Jay. And this capricious lord had been very, very mysterious to even his own men, that only Sir Xi Qing and Sir Shu had met the lord in person, yet they were forced an oath of silence whenever the lord was mentioned.
When would the waiting days end?
The men were anticipating the finale.
"Sir! We had detected signals!" Reported one member to Yang Ming.
"What kind?" Frowned he as he muttered, "Impossible... we have controlled everything here, how can there be new signals?"
"I don't know sir..." Responded the crew member.
"Hmmm..." He then made his decision, "Report to the base on Planet Vincent. Try performing a transmission with the signal after that. Stay on guard." He would not want to risk as he was leading not a warship but an ordinary spaceship, filled with ordinary repairmen which were under guards of a small group of pilots.
...(Back to Darkniss)...
"Sir!" Ye Chong was alerted by the visual, he could not believe he actually encountered an ordinary spaceship in Gray Valley. A few more glances and he noticed the name of the ship painted at the body - FLEET JAY: G-044.
A spaceship that started with the code "G", it had to be a spaceship for the maintenance team, but the name "Jay"? Ye Chong finally remembered something as he had an awkward smile. A hint of joy filled his head.
Seems like Mu/Shang had quite some fun here, eh?
The transmission prompted!
*BEEP BEEP*
"Jajajajaja! If it wasn't our boy!" The familiar beeping tone prompted.
...(Back to Team Sang Pu)...
The army was winning! The wave of pilots gradually engulfed the purple cloud zone. It was a strategic move as they tried luring the red-tailed beasts to leave their nest, only to demolish their nest using highly compressive grenades after the beasts had reached a certain distance.
The red-tailed beasts panicked but the army did not fight them directly yet. The army decided to drag the run to wear the beasts out so they would have an easy kill in the end.
Of course, it worked like a charm.
It was an idea by our protagonist, Ye Chong, after all.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He Yue Calendar Year 2455 April 14th - Lord Mu/Shang officially resigned from his position in Sir Jay's fleet. Both Xi Qing and Shu took over the position. All system remained unchanged.
He Yue Calendar Year 2455 June - the very last nest of red-tailed beasts, destroyed.
He Yue Calendar Year 2456 - the alliance of the 3 aristocrats and Sang family joined the Xi Ding defense line on Planet Csebesini in the Five Galaxies to launch full attack at the homeless red-tailed beasts.
He Yue Calendar Year 2457 - the situation in Five Galaxies grew stable, making the finale of the apocalypse.
Throughout the years, the human population on both He Yue and Five Galaxies slumped. He Yue galaxy suffered 70% loss in the figure while Gray Valley lost about 50%.
The Five Galaxies had the worst, where only 20% of the population remained, while having a number of planets in barren.
It was as if a wipe of civilization.
Humanity only regained bit of the former peace before 3 years later. Under the motivating policy by the governments, people started reliving the barren planets. Nonetheless, there were still clusters of red-tailed beasts out there, so they were obliged to migrate in groups, guarded.
That was where pilots shone again.
It was another golden age of pilots.
The apocalypse had ended for so long yet Planet Blue Ocean was deserted, in an ironic forgotten situation being a developed trading planet before. Its resources had been long drained so it lacked the basic attraction to the people in the outer space. Those who returned to the planet were actually because of either the nostalgia or the sense of responsibility. No one would consider visiting planet otherwise.
Well, fortunately, as society regained its vitality, Planet Blue Ocean retrieved its spotlight due to its strategic location. The population improved, so was the infrastructure. A mini trading center was even established at a few spots across the planet.
...(And at that one shop by the street)...
The children were running happily, chasing the torn puppets which looked like the red-tailed beasts with their mech action figures. Columns of steam could be discerned from one side. There was an aroma wafting in the air, of delicious beef. The sound of dough slapping the board could be heard.
An indifferent young man, in the robe white as the uniform of his beloved, was rolling the dough. A gorgeous girl, in her white garb, waving her long, dark hair occasionally as sweated slightly, was slicing the braised beef pulled from the bowl. An old man was resting at his bamboo chair, breathing serenity.
"Ye... Umm..." The thin slice of beef fell into the steaming bowl of pork stock, "I still want a daughter..." Mumbled Rui Bing, biting her lips.
"OKAY!" Said Ye Chong, spirited, as he slammed the dough to the board, "I'll work on that tonight!"
*BEEP BEEP* At the lawn, a handicapped mech was grabbing the vacuum cleaner with his only arm, "Rating - Cleanliness: 7, Humidity: 3, Dust Amount: 2. Plan B: Executing."
At the attic, a row of cradles stood peacefully... "WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!" till a piercing cry of child broke the silence. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! BOOOHOOO! BOOOHOOOOO!" As if a prompt by the conductor of an orchestra, the rest of the children joined the music. Sha Ya, formerly in her meditation, opened her eyes wide and sent the children into mid-air. The children were floating, as if gravity was lost, as they began giggling, grabbing the air.
They gradually swam towards Sha Ya, as they, in great curiosity, made strange cries.
And being the fairy godmother of these children, Sha Ya knew the children wanted their entertainment again.
"Oh well, it's time for the magician to perform again! Hiya!!" She waved, in excitement of a party clown, as she whispered, "Sigh, I should have joined Weidong and the other mercenaries..." That was probably the 1520th time where Sha Ya made the same remark.
And upon hearing the conversation happening at the front kitchen, another remark which occurred also the 1520th time was heard again, "They sure are the couple in combat. Fight great in field, fight great in bed... We are going to run a dojo soon at this rate."
"GAHH! GAH GAH GOO GOO! TCH!" The 4 little devils were brandishing their meaty arms, furrowing.
"Sigh... alright alright..." Sha Ya turned to them and waved her hands, "Here we go again."
The fairy godmother started her magic show again.
And they lived happily ever after.
...
Fin.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Credits:
Translators:
Jack - the sarcastic bad boy
Mole - the sincere kind gal
Editors:
Sporesan - the funky editor
Tscvanessa - the quiet editor
(We also have a shadow editor earlier and we missed her, she did such a great job)
THANK YOU FOR READING!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Translator's live reaction to the ending:
What???? That's it?
What happened to red-tailed beasts? They did not clear them entirely?
What happened to the whor- I mean, the other waifus? What happened to Xue Ling? Rui Bing's sister? I wanted some group "activities".
Basically the author just spent 3 to 5 paragraphs describing, again, how amazing Ye Chong was as he brought historical movement and the whole world was showering him attention, and they formed alliance, and a timeline skip, and the end?????
My whole life has been a lie. I don't want to live on this planet anymore.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's note regarding the ending and reader's feedback:
Hah~ I saw how all my beloved readers not accepting this ending, well, that's quite a conundrum isn't it?
As much as you want to say it sounds rushed, I actually had plotted this ending way back, like ... last year (Fun fact: this book took the author about 2 years to hit this ending, so he probably meant he thought of this ending somewhere back on Year 1). It was not a rushed ending that came out of nowhere.
Back when I was also a reader, reading other amazing stories like you, I always hoped that the epic tale would never ever end, but when those authors put up a rather unsurprising ending, I felt quite disappointed actually.
The story started off tempestuous and certainly at some point, the storm would subside and all it's gonna end rather plainly. It's a pretty natural way to write a story, in my opinion. This is the kind of ending I imagined way back.
Well, a few readers commented that I still got a lot of holes uncovered. Regarding that, I believe that it is impossible to clarify everything, to cover every ground in a book. So, it's fine, as long as the major issues get covered.
Moreover, I felt a lot with this ending, as it provides readers the space for imagination. The 8-toed red-tailed beast leader has not been caught, while clusters of red-tailed beasts lingered on every other corner in the galaxy. The peace had not really arrived, a war could still happen. Don't you think it's interesting to end the story at a point where there's still a lot of potential everywhere?
At least, the story could still continue, in its own way, in the heart of the readers.
Phew, and I'm finally done. Such a chore for me, but well, haha, such a chore for everybody. A writing that lasted for about 2 years, it would be a big lie if I say I still have that strength (Translators: US TOO).
Well, it'll be a period to catch a breath. I do feel much more relieved, though I'll be going into another war soon.
(The author then promotes his next novel, wow, this is literally heart-dead writing)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Translator's Note II:
The author did a bit poorly for the ending as he technically briefed through several rather important scenes where I felt he could have put in lots of feelings in them to stir the emotions of the readers.
Those scenes could be made more impulsive.
So yeah, again, I juiced them up. I also added the author's note, I hope that those could lighten up your sentiments leaving this novel LOL. I had extended this chapter as much as I could.
We are also here to promote our next novel. If you have liked my odd satire on the author's writing and liked mole's decent translation, we would like to invite you to the our upcoming project.
Stay tuned!