Safe City Ch.208

Chapter 208: Safe City War

As always, Cheng Qisheng only cared about the results. As for the process, Old Eighth would take care of it.

The moment the unknown Safe City entered firing range, Blue Sea didn’t hesitate. It immediately launched a [Heaven’s Punishment].

Against a Safe City of such an enormous scale, even they felt that the Holy Bullets weren’t reliable enough.

As for questions like, ‘Why attack them when the two sides haven’t even made contact yet?’

Give me a break!

Normal contact between Safe Cities was more like what Meow Meow Safe City did. Even without a group chat or the ability to send direct private messages, they would buy a private communication channel from the mall while still far away and talk things over first.

But this was an unfamiliar Safe City that had received a warning from their God that an attack might be coming. It had then charged straight toward Blue Sea at extremely high speed without so much as a greeting, barging right into Blue Sea’s safety perimeter.

If they didn’t attack that, then who were they supposed to attack?!

The [Heaven’s Punishments] obtained on Moon Silk Star were meant for precisely this kind of situation.

Blue Sea had no concept of “holding back our most powerful weapons for a critical moment in the future.”

They had only one fighting spirit: “We give everything we’ve got in every battle!”

Weapons were meant to be used. Just as Blue Sea had previously worried about its limited stockpile of Holy Bullets, when the time came to use them, it had never been stingy.

Only by putting those weapons to use whenever the opportunity arose could Blue Sea grow stronger and obtain even more powerful weapons in the apocalyptic worlds to come.

‘Our God above! Get ready to receive our ultimate weapon, you bastards!’

The [Heaven’s Punishment] had long since completed all the preparations required before launch. At Marshal Alice’s command, Blue Sea opened its gates.

The weapon shot out at tremendous speed—

Then slammed into a transparent protective shield.

Although the Safe Cities surrounded Fallen Heaven Star, this region was still part of the vast universe, where the vacuum of space was commonplace and sound waves could not travel.

Therefore, when Safe Cities fought in outer space, spectators who wanted to watch the battle had no choice but to rely on their own eyes.

Everyone saw the [Heaven’s Punishment] reach a point above the opposing Safe City, only to be stopped by something invisible. Then, centered on the point of impact, vast ripples spread rapidly across the transparent barrier, which began to crack.

“As expected.”

Marshal Alice wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

Both cities were Tier 7 Safe Cities. What gave this one the confidence to enter Blue Sea’s firing range without hesitation?

If her guess was correct, this protective shield was at least Tier 8, perhaps even beyond Tier 8.

It was certainly powerful enough to attack a Tier 7 Safe City.

How did Alice know this?

Because after issuing the divine oracle, their God had promptly spent eighty million nuclear crystals to upgrade Blue Sea’s Tier 7 protective shield to Tier 8.

Blue Sea’s assets had shrunk dramatically, but it had all been worth it.

After all, once the two sides entered each other’s firing range, the opposing Safe City also launched countless weapons at them.

This was how Safe City warfare in the vast universe worked—the procedure Meow Meow had shared with Cheng Qisheng when explaining how to deal with enemies.

The two sides didn’t fight the way they did on the ground, approaching each other before initiating a Safe City war. Instead, the moment they entered firing range, they started blasting away at each other with weapons flying in every direction.

After all, on the ground, if the two sides were too close, weapons with excessively destructive power could end up damaging their own side as well.

But in the vast universe, that wasn’t a concern. Everyone could unleash their attacks with abandon, using whatever weapons they had at their disposal. There was no need to worry about the aftermath, nor about accidentally injuring their allies.

Only after the enemy had been battered into a crippled state—or when, during the exchange of fire, the attacking side realized that the opposing Safe City was no match for them—would the attacking Safe City suddenly close in and initiate a Safe City war.

As a result, Safe City wars in the vast universe rarely ended with a city being destroyed. Instead, the loser would surrender part of its territory and flee with whatever land area remained.

But Blue Sea had never intended to let its opponent escape in the first place.

Alice quietly watched the battle unfold.

Our God’s divine oracle is to keep it here.

Then this Safe City had to stay.

Every last bit of it.

The first [Heaven’s Punishment] was still on its way. Just as the enemy’s ammunition began pouring out in a massive barrage, the second [Heaven’s Punishment] was already being rolled out through the gates.

The next second, the enemy’s attacks arrived.

Clearly, however, although these kinetic weapons were powerful and numerous, they still fell short of the [Heaven’s Punishment].

The first wave of kinetic weapons slammed into Blue Sea’s Tier 8 protective shield and was stopped cold.

Aether connected to Blue Sea’s command center and began broadcasting the results.

“Protective shield under attack—”

“Damage sustained in this attack: 4,762,321—”

“Extent of damage: 47%—”

“Shield status: Moderately damaged—”

Blue Sea’s Tier 8 protective shield had withstood the enemy’s attack.

From that moment onward, the outcome of the war was already sealed.

Perhaps the enemy had begun attempting to retreat after realizing its attacks were ineffective, but it was too late. The second [Heaven’s Punishment] had arrived—

——

Inside Green Lizard Safe City

The image of the enormous weapon hurtling toward its own Safe City was reflected in the vertical pupils of Zovas, the Green Lizard City Lord.

“AI, quick—”

It was too late.

The moment he had decided to wait and see whether the weapons launched by the Green Lizard civilization could reach Blue Sea—and whether their most devastating attack would be capable of breaking through Blue Sea’s protective shield—everything had already been decided.

The [Heaven’s Punishment] descended.

In the final instant before the explosion, the priests of the Green Lizard civilization saw one last prophecy.

——A blinding, dazzling flash of light.

The power of the second [Heaven’s Punishment] slammed into the enemy’s already severely damaged protective shield.

——The enemy Safe City’s protective shield shattered silently in an instant.

In the stillness of deep space, flames suddenly erupted.

First came a spherical mass of brilliant white light.

In the vast universe, where there was no air, an enormous amount of thermal energy was released in an instant and converted into radiant light.

The light was so intense that, for a brief moment, it even outshone the distant stars. The intelligent life forms inside every Safe City facing that direction could see nothing but patches of searing white.

And it wasn’t only the Safe Cities near Fallen Heaven Star that witnessed this blinding expanse of white. Safe Cities in other directions also noticed the dazzling light that had suddenly flared up in the vast universe.

One after another, numerous Safe Cities broke away from their original flight paths and rose into open space to investigate what had happened.

There, in the boundless universe, two Safe Cities were facing off against each other.

One had an area of roughly a hundred-odd thousand square kilometers, while the other covered around two hundred-odd thousand.

Wait a minute.

The Safe City whose protective shield had been breached and which was now exploding and engulfed in flames… was that actually a Tier 7 Safe City covering more than 200,000 square kilometers?

A Tier 7 Safe City was normally supposed to have a land area of just over 50,000 square kilometers.

Sometimes, Safe Cities would enter battles either voluntarily or because they had no choice. As a result, it was perfectly normal for a Tier 7 Safe City to have a somewhat larger or smaller territory than usual.

But an area exceeding 200,000 square kilometers? There was a ninety-percent chance that this Safe City belonged to a predatory civilization.

What was more, although the various City Lords couldn’t claim to know everything about their “neighbors,” they at least knew what they looked like, how large they were, and what they were called.

And what a coincidence! Quite a few City Lords had just been discussing Blue Sea Safe City’s idea of establishing a “Heavenly Court.”

They knew Blue Sea Safe City.

But this enormous Green Lizard Safe City had never been on the flight routes around Fallen Heaven Star before.

Clearly, this was yet another story of a predatory civilization attacking another Safe City.

But the ending was different from most such stories.

A moment later, the dazzling white light, which seemed capable of illuminating the entire surrounding region, finally began to soften. Slowly, its color shifted from white to orange-red.

The orange-red sphere of light spread silently across the 250,000-square-kilometer Safe City. It looked both heavy and gentle, as though molten metallic fragments had transformed into stars, scattering outward from within it before fading away into deep space.

As for the sphere itself, it continued to burn in utter silence, becoming an enormous cloud of orange-red light.

When the cloud’s brightness faded once more, darkening to a deep crimson, the various City Lords could finally see what remained of Green Lizard Safe City.

There was nothing left on it.

No city gates. No high-rise buildings.

Only a stretch of land spanning 250,000 square kilometers, floating silently in the vast universe like an isolated island.

At that very moment, almost every City Lord from a humanoid civilization sucked in a sharp breath.

Those whose civilizations had little in common with humanity likewise expressed their shock in the characteristic manner of their own species.

——

“Meowmeowmeowmeowmeow—!”

Inside Meow Meow Safe City, Meow Meow nearly screamed herself hoarse in astonishment.

The black-cat Grand Elder’s fur stood completely on end. Facing the vast, silent expanse where Green Lizard Safe City had been, he couldn’t help arching his back.

“What is that?! What on earth is that thing?! They didn’t even initiate a Safe City war!”

How could a Tier 7 Safe City not have its own defenses?

This was the vast universe! If you couldn’t win, running away should have been easy.

And yet, Green Lizard Safe City, which was most likely part of a predatory civilization, hadn’t managed to escape.

Meow Meow’s fur had also puffed up considerably, but she was in better shape than the black-cat Grand Elder.

After all, she was Blue Sea’s ally.

And given Blue Sea’s usual way of doing things, as long as she didn’t provoke them first, being their ally meant she was not only perfectly safe but might even receive their help if Meow Meow Safe City ever came under attack.

The other City Lords, however, weren’t nearly as calm about it as Meow Meow.

In the vast universe, two Safe Cities had exchanged direct weapons fire without opening a war channel, completely wiping out a Safe City with an area of over 200,000 square kilometers.

To the City Lords watching this unfold, the scene was practically the stuff of ghost stories.

What kind of weapon was that?

How many more did Blue Sea have?

Would she use them to attack them, too?

It was no exaggeration to say that although Meow Meow Safe City was the only feline civilization among the Safe Cities stationed near Fallen Heaven Star, every City Lord was now like a cat with its fur standing on end, vividly demonstrating what it meant to be on tenterhooks.

Their city-lord instincts were screaming at them to run—to get out of here, away from Blue Sea’s attack range.

But with their residents scattered across Fallen Heaven Star, they had no choice but to suppress that impulse and force themselves to remain calm.

Inside the various Safe Cities, conversations in different languages, spoken by members of different civilizations, rang out at an increasingly rapid pace.

If there had been a higher-dimensional observer in the vast universe, they would have heard the whispers from the various Safe Cities converging into a single cacophonous symphony, with voices tangling together, clashing against one another, and overlapping in utter disorder.

“We can’t leave. Our residents haven’t returned yet.”

“Calm down. Blue Sea Safe City was already near Fallen Heaven Star before all this happened. We’ve never seen her attack another Safe City. It was that Safe City that appeared out of nowhere that provoked her first.”

“They shouldn’t have too many weapons that powerful… But then again, we can’t be sure… Blue Sea doesn’t look like the sort to launch attacks unprovoked… But we can’t know that for certain…”

“Did Blue Sea and Green Lizard have a grudge against each other already?”

“Green Lizard? Hahahahahaha!! So it was the Green Lizard civilization! Those ugly, greedy, worthless lizards! They swallowed up 30,000 square kilometers of our territory back then. Looks like they’ve finally picked a fight with someone they can’t afford to provoke!”

“Meow Meow Safe City seems to be on pretty familiar terms with Blue Sea. Why don’t we ask Meow Meow if she knows what’s going on?”

“What kind of weapon is that? What kind of weapon is that? What kind of weapon is that?! Damn it, its power is terrifying! From now on, are we going to have to run the moment we see another Safe City in the vast universe?”

“Lord City Master, the plan you previously envisioned to imitate Blue Sea and establish a [Heavenly Court]—”

“I know! You don’t need to tell me. The plan is canceled. Every last bit of it is canceled!”

“We’re so lucky! We almost made a terrible mistake. Thank goodness the Green Lizard civilization showed up in time and tested the waters for us.”

Meanwhile, while the various City Lords were caught between wanting to flee and being unable to leave, they could only try to reassure one another amid the chaos, consulting their high-ranking officials, relatives, and friends about what to do next.

In an unnoticed corner, a Tier 7 Safe City called Luma slowly retreated onto Fallen Heaven Star’s flight route.

“Go, go, go! Hurry up and get us out of here!!”

Luma Safe City had not deployed any residents to Fallen Heaven Star. Like the Green Lizard civilization, it was a predatory civilization.

However, unlike most predatory civilizations that charged straight at any prey they spotted, Luma Safe City was extremely cautious, disguising itself as an ordinary Safe City.

It had never made a move. Instead, just like the other Safe Cities, it had remained quietly stationed near Fallen Heaven Star, all in the hope of finding the most desirable prey.

Patient waiting had always been a defining trait of the centaur civilization.

Openly and brazenly plundering others would only turn their civilization into a target for everyone.

Luma Safe City was different. Not only was it patient, but it also had its own allies among the other predatory civilizations.

Like information brokers, they would do everything they could to gather intelligence on every Safe City they encountered, then patiently wait for an opportunity.

If they could take down a Safe City without suffering any losses, that would be ideal. If they couldn’t, they would simply wait through the long, drawn-out apocalypse for another encounter, waiting until they met up with their allies and found the right moment to launch a joint attack.

To make its predation more effective, the Luma civilization had even chosen not to expand its Safe City’s territory. Sometimes, it would deliberately surrender parts of its land, all to make itself appear harmless.

But what it hadn’t expected was that, in this world, the Luma civilization’s strategy of maintaining a harmless appearance wouldn’t lead it to any prey. Instead, it had witnessed with its own eyes how a little green plant suddenly transformed into a Bloodvine that devoured horses, hundreds of meters tall.

—How could Blue Sea Safe City be even better at putting on an act than they were, a predatory civilization?!

Fortunately, they hadn’t had a chance to make a move yet. Fortunately, the Safe City they had been keeping an eye on wasn’t Blue Sea, but Meow Meow Safe City.

Luma Safe City fled at breakneck speed. Even as it ran, it worried that Blue Sea might pursue it simply because it was fleeing.

Fortunately, Blue Sea had just finished a major battle and hadn’t yet reclaimed its spoils—the newly acquired land. It had no interest in an ordinary Safe City that had been frightened into retreat.

Inside Luma Safe City, its City Lord watched Fallen Heaven Star recede into the distance before finally letting out a long, deep breath of relief.

Blue Sea Safe City.

It engraved that name firmly into its memory, intending to pass the information on to its allies the next time they met.

That way, if any of them provoked Blue Sea, the rest of their allied civilizations wouldn’t end up being hunted down one by one.

——

Cheng Qisheng really hadn’t paid much attention to the fact that a Safe City had fled.

City Lords had all kinds of personalities. Some were especially timid, so it was only natural for them to be frightened into running away.

Right now, she was simply letting out a slow breath of relief because that gaze could no longer peer into her world.

She would still have to find some time to practice her technique for yanking people away with her mental power. The next time she encountered a similar situation, she could simply pull the person out directly.

The great Blue Sea Creator God quietly borrowed the perspective of a believer, gazing at the stretch of land before her. It covered 250,000 square kilometers—one and a half times the size of Blue Sea Safe City.

The only things left on that land were vast quantities of nuclear crystals. But those crystals were already as good as hers, so Cheng Qisheng’s attention was focused on something else.

It was known that [Heaven’s Punishment] would produce radiation twenty years later.

It was also known that Safe Cities possessed special powers.

How could she find out whether this 250,000-square-kilometer stretch of land would produce radiation twenty years from now?

Cheng Qisheng’s gaze fell upon Fallen Heaven Star, shimmering with a myriad of colors.

Oh! She had an idea!

Since Fallen Heaven Star could perform force-field conversion, and her mental power was now incomparably powerful…

Could she make these plots of land descend onto Fallen Heaven Star, wrap them in her mental power, and deliver them into the hands of her believers?

After undergoing force-field conversion, the believers could return to Blue Sea and bring the land back with them.

The divine kingdom on Fallen Heaven Star would have to be built up gradually.

But what if, in her capacity as the [Emperor of the Great Luo Heavenly Court of Blue Sea], a title recognized by the world consciousness…

She directly bestowed entire divine kingdoms upon her believers, one after another?

<< _ >>