Poor Feng Su. Huang Jiming had left in a hurry, and did not seem to consider her situation. Without her mech, she did not know what was happening. However, seeing so many mechs rising into the sky, she knew that something important must have happened. Ye Luo was also in a similar position as her.
The sudden departure of the Three Aces allowed Ye Chong to finally relax. He did not know what had happened, but it had served to defuse the current situation. These three mechs must be the most advanced mechs in the universe, and they left a very deep impression in Ye Chong. He was still awed by the machines. Compared to those three mechs, Han Jia was like a glorified piece of trash. Aside from the skeletal material and engine, Han Jia was surpassed by the three mechs in all respects.
For the first time ever, Ye Chong felt a sense of jealousy. No mech pilot would be exempted from this reaction upon seeing those three mechs.
However, this was obviously not the time to stare into space. Ye Chong took a glance at the fierce looking Congregation experts below, and began to think about how to leave the place.
Feng Su was about to leave when Han Jia, carrying Guardian, swooped down to met Ye Luo and Feng Su. Without time to properly introduce each other, the two mechs carried one person each and went back into the skies.
In fact, Ye Chong had took everyone along a huge turnaround and returned to Flying Moon City. They quietly slipped into Rui Bing's place. When Old Jalopy, Fei Si and the rest saw Ye Chong and Rui Bing, they were pleasantly surprised.
After the initial joy of reunion, Ye Chong quickly asked Ye Luo about the emergency beacon he received.
Ye Luo and Feng Su finally realized what had happened. Both of them paled instantly.
"How's that possible?" Ye Luo looked distressed and in disbelief. "How's that possible? The military strength at the Gateway is formidable!"
Feng Su was quiet, but also looked like she could not quite believe what had happened.
Seeing the lack of reaction in Ye Chong, Ye Luo explained, "You probably don't know about this, but the defense in place at the Gateway is very strong.
If something happened to the Gateway, the Tribes people in the free space zone will be unable to go back. That's why the Gateway was guarded heavily ever since it was created. Emergency beacons are only released when the situation is very dire. Once the beacon is received, any and all personnel must rush to the Gateway as soon as possible. Heavens! What could possibly have happened?"
Ye Luo's explanation cleared away the mysteriousness of the situation for everyone else not in the know.
"Who did this?" Ye Luo thought hard about it, knitting his brows together. "Who would have such power? Could it be Gray Valley?" In He Yue Galaxy, the only force that would dare to challenge the prowess of the Three Aristocratic Families is the mysterious Gray Valley.
"Impossible," Feng Su replied plainly but sure of herself. As everyone looked to her, she continued, "The Gateway is too narrow, and cannot support large troop deployment. Besides, a great number of combat units are assigned to guard the Gateway, with a huge number of support units nearby. Even if it's Gray Valley, they can't possibly enter the Gateway."
"That's right. The entrance is so narrow, you can't have large troops going in. How did they arrive here?" Ye Luo agreed upon hearing her analysis.
"Are there other ways to enter the Gateway?" Ye Chong interrupted.
Ye Luo and Feng Su exchanged a glance and replied in unison, "There are none!"
Ye Luo added, "To create the Gateway in the first place, the Three Aristocratic Families had each exhausted a huge amount of manpower and resources. The space around the Gateway is unstable, and dangerous to travel. All these years, this area around the Gateway is still largely understudied."
Feng Su suddenly had a terrible realization. She looked horrified as she said, "We've forgotten something! The Gateway is too small for large troop mobilization. That means we cannot hope to receive support from He Yue."
As she finished her sentence, everyone looked even more distressed.
Sensing the growing tension around them, Ye Luo managed a laugh and said, "Don't worry, our forces in the free space zone are powerful. Besides, the Three Aces are all here. It shouldn't be a problem to secure the Gateway."
Ye Luo's words comforted them all to a
a certain degree. It was true that the Three Aces were all here, so there was nothing to worry about. Ye Chong was still pondering on what Ye Luo and Feng Su had both said, and felt that the situation might not be so simple.
He Yue Galaxy was truly plunged into a state of disorder.
News of the attack on the Gateway had reached the Three Aristocratic Families as fast as physically possible. Now, all three families were in a panic! Not only were the Three Aces all in the free space zone, Xue Lai Clan's only son and the Ye Family's son, Ye Luo were also there. Besides, there were many other of their own people in the free space zone. If they really met an unfortunate fate, it would be a loss that the Three Aristocratic Families cannot possibly recover from!
The sudden attack brought about a sense of danger that the Three Aristocratic Families had never felt before.
Emergency rescue efforts were immediately made!
All three Families deployed their military forces in a scale that was unprecedented. All their bases of operations also received orders to operate in their highest alert level.
Tension spread across the entire He Yue Galaxy like wildfire. As the military forces of the Three Aristocratic Families were mobilized, the other forces in He Yue reacted accordingly. For the moment, He Yue Galaxy was in a state of chaos.
The Ye Family's Patriarch read the reports of the battlefield with a look of distress. The Gateway was too narrow, and could not fit in their large troops. As they mobilized squadron by squadron into the Gateway, none of them returned. Until now, they had no idea who was inside. The Gateway was like a black hole, swallowing anything that entered it.
Xi Feng Tribe's Chieftain and Xue Lai Clan's Clan Leader received the same reports. Of course, they were also similarly distressed by it.
Ye Chong and his company left Flying Moon City as soon as they could manage. Since their identities as outsiders were uncovered, it would be dangerous to stay any longer.
The group reached a valley not far from Flying Moon City.
Ye Luo led the group and explained quietly to Ye Chong, "This is one of the Ye Family's base of operations. I've
operations. I've been here before. The local combat troops must have all been deployed, but the transport division is probably still here. We'll tag along with the transport division and meet up with Ye Yin. That way, we'll find out what's going on. Hmm, don't worry, he won't recognize you from your looks right now. I won't tell on you. It's safer to return to He Yue Galaxy. The free space zone is a good place, but not one that's suitable for you."
Ye Chong nodded in assent. If Ye Luo wanted to expose his disguise, he would have done so long ago. While he only knew Ye Luo for a short while, Ye Chong found himself oddly trusting of the man. The two of them were ahead of the group, and their exchanged whispers were not noticed by the people at the back.
Ye Luo had been here before, so the people at the base recognized him. Ye Luo's position in the Ye Family was high, and since his father was the Patriarch, people here paid him respect. With his presence, Ye Chong and company were not questioned, but were instead cordially received.
The base was full of activity. Various engineering mechs made their ways across the base, moving energy cells and other combat resources, or doing final checks on their starship.
"Luo!" The person in charge of the base, Ye Pang, was a childhood friend of Ye Luo's. Ye Pang looked like a refined man. He wore frameless spectacles and well ironed clothing, looking like a gentleman. He was relieved to see Ye Luo. "Wonderful! You're alright! I was worried about you, that something might have happened to you."
Ye Luo laughed. "Hehe, what could possibly happen to me, no one's a match for me! It's not easy to get rid of me!"
Ye Pang raised his brows at him and said, "With your lousy mech piloting skills, you won't need an enemy to defeat you, you'll probably just crash into a wall all by yourself."
Ye Luo had nothing to say to that.
Ye Pang took a sweeping glance at the people around Ye Luo, and did not ask him about them. He understood his childhood friend well. Ye Luo may seem like a careless fool, but he was actually smart and sensible.
"What's the
/>
"What's the situation?" Ye Luo asked. Everyone looked to Ye Pang, for this was the question that was on the top of their minds.
Ye Pang shook his head. "Don't know yet. We just received the emergency beacon here. I don't know what's going on too. We are packing up as fast as we can, and will be ready to leave in another five hours."
"Pang, you're always the smartest of us all. What do you think of the situation?" Ye Luo looked at Ye Pang with concern.
Ye Pang pushed his spectacles up with his index finger and said lowly, "That truth is, I'm not very optimistic about the situation. Our forces in the free space zone are too scattered, and it takes time to gather them together. What we need the most now is time. I don't know what happened at the Gateway, but the situation must have reached a critical level. I fear …" Ye Pang did not continue.
"Fear what?" Ye Luo asked quickly.
Ye Pang looked pained. "I fear that by the time we arrived, it will already be too late!"
Everyone went silent at that.
Ye Luo managed a smile and said, "You exaggerate, Pang. You must be wrong this time. The Gateway is guarded by six mech squads in total, how could they be beaten so quickly?"
"Well, I hope so." Ye Pang said softly.
"Pang, who do you think is attacking us? I can't make head nor tails of it." Ye Luo scratched his head in puzzlement.
Ye Pang shook his head. "I don't know that as well. But I'm certain that it's not someone from He Yue or the free space zone. I've done the math. Taking the Gateway by force will require at least the strength of 20 mech squads. Besides, I still haven't figured out how they managed to enter the Gateway without being noticed."
Everyone went silent again.
Ye Pang finally broke the silence. "Everyone, please follow Luo onto the starship for now. I have my duties to attend to, and cannot accompany you all, please forgive me!"
The group thanked him profusely. Ye Pang smiled gently at them and turned away, his eyes lingering on Feng Su only for a moment longer before he returned to his duties.