Chapter 2751: Chapter 2751
Liu Haotian studied the sand table before him and explained to the assembled commanders, "With that troublesome planet out of the way, there are only three major battlefronts left between us and the alien forces. As for Ye Liuyun, scouting the enemy’s stronghold will naturally be his next mission."
"He must have foreseen this situation. Seizing the chaos of their retreat, he took the chance to infiltrate their ranks. If he’d missed this window, getting close would’ve been near impossible."
"That’s why I say he’s both bold and brilliant. Only someone with a clear strategic vision can grasp fleeting opportunities on the battlefield like that."
The other commanders nodded in agreement, their admiration for Ye Liuyun’s courage genuine. Venturing into the alien stronghold was something they wouldn’t dare contemplate.
At present, they barely understood the alien movements on the three main fronts, let alone their central base.
"Dispatch my orders," Liu Haotian commanded immediately. "Have all three battlefronts launch concentrated assaults to divert the enemy’s attention and create an opening for Ye Liuyun."
"Should we send a team to extract him?" asked Han Qiao.
Liu Haotian shook his head. "Impossible. Their stronghold is heavily fortified—no number of troops we send would be enough. A small extraction team would only risk exposing him if discovered. Besides, what good would a handful of soldiers do? If someone of his caliber can’t fight his way out, how could they possibly rescue him?"
Han Qiao nodded, seeing the logic in this.
"Don’t worry. If he dared go, he’ll find a way back," Liu Haotian said, now more assured. With Ye Liuyun’s foresight, he’d never walk blindly into a death trap.
The commanders dispersed to relay the orders for the coordinated attacks.
Meanwhile, having completed his current mission, Ye Liuyun turned his thoughts to infiltrating the alien stronghold—his next objective. Without waiting for instructions, he prepared to move immediately.
Once the enemy scouts monitoring the battlefield withdrew, Ye Liuyun confirmed he wasn’t being followed. He swiftly stowed all his Wolf Hunt Battalion soldiers into his spatial realm, donned an invisibility cloak, and recalled his skyship. Concealed, he trailed the retreating alien forces. Along the way, he captured a straggler, assumed its appearance, and blended into the fleeing troops heading back to their stronghold.
Bringing a warship would have been a dead giveaway. The alien base was ringed by three defensive lines—even without a vessel, attempting entry with three thousand men would have been futile.
Now, he had successfully infiltrated the alien stronghold without raising any suspicion. Once inside, he wasted no time—using his temporal powers and soul attacks, he began systematically taking control of higher-ranking aliens.
It wasn’t until several days later, after subduing one of their elders, that he finally stopped. This elder held all the critical intelligence of the base, so there was no need for Ye Liuyun to risk targeting even stronger adversaries.
He promptly transmitted the gathered intelligence back to headquarters.
This outpost was merely a forward base for the alien forces. The enemy’s total military strength was staggering: two hundred thousand stationed here, with six hundred thousand, five hundred thousand, and another six hundred thousand spread across three major battlefronts. The strongest warrior in this base was at the seventh level of Dominator realm.
Among the alien forces, there were seventeen such seventh-level Dominators in total. Each battlefield had one hidden among the ranks, their auras carefully concealed. Typically, every hundred thousand soldiers were supported by around twenty sixth-level Dominators and fifty fifth-level Dominators. However, this base alone housed two thousand sixth-level and five thousand fifth-level Dominators.
Worse yet, they had already constructed massive teleportation arrays. Back in their main stronghold, three million more alien troops and three eighth-level Dominators stood ready to reinforce them at a moment’s notice.
Ye Liuyun also relayed other crucial details—battlefield deployments, the average strength of their foot soldiers—leaving nothing out. The intelligence was exhaustive, almost too good to be true. Liu Haotian and his team treated it like priceless treasure.
Yet, within the Star Disk Empire, some ministers voiced skepticism. Ye Liuyun had only recently joined the military—how could he have obtained such critical intelligence so swiftly? If they acted on his intel and launched a full-scale assault, only to find it was fabricated, the empire would suffer catastrophic losses.
In the end, the empire chose caution over risk. They ordered Liu Haotian to test the information on just one battlefield. If Ye Liuyun truly had this capability, they reasoned, there would be other opportunities to gather vital intelligence later.
Liu Haotian and his allies were torn. Trusting Ye Liuyun came with risks, but demanding he bring back the captured elder for verification might alert the aliens, prompting them to adjust their defenses. That would waste a golden opportunity to strike a decisive blow.
Ultimately, they complied with the empire’s decision. They would deploy forces based on Ye Liuyun’s intel for a single offensive, while holding back on all other fronts.
Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun received new orders: return with the captured elder.
"Understood. I’ll head back immediately," he replied, though reluctance flickered in his voice. There was no choice but to obey.
The moment he received the retreat order, he instantly understood—the Empire didn’t fully trust him. If they had, they would have tasked him with sabotaging the altar rather than simply withdrawing his forces.
Leaving the area was hardly a challenge for Ye Liuyun. He simply draped himself in his invisibility cloak, stowed the elder away in his spatial realm, and slipped away unnoticed.
As he passed through the defensive lines, he sensed the presence of a formidable alien warrior hidden among the enemy ranks—a seventh-level Dominator clad in black scales with near-impenetrable defenses. What surprised Ye Liuyun most was that this creature’s soul force was nearly on par with his own. The alien seemed to detect something amiss but couldn’t quite pinpoint his presence.
Impressed by its strength, Ye Liuyun decided it would make for excellent sparring practice later. Without hesitation, he manipulated time itself, freezing it momentarily. In two swift motions, he yanked both of the alien’s souls into his own consciousness, branding them with a slave seal before stashing the creature away in his spatial realm, erasing its existence from the battlefield.
Only when he neared the Empire’s camp did he finally shed his invisibility cloak, summoning his warship to load the soldiers—along with the captive elder—before returning to report.
Back at headquarters, Ye Liuyun offered no complaints or explanations. He merely handed over the captured elder, dismissed his troops to rest, and awaited further orders.
Meanwhile, Liu Haotian had verified the accuracy of Ye Liuyun’s intel through a battlefield assault, now regretting the missed opportunity. He had expected Ye Liuyun to voice some discontent upon returning, but the man’s silence only deepened Liu Haotian’s guilt.
