"What is that?"
Looking at the mech in front of him being smashed into scrap metal, Li Longcheng stood there dumbfounded. However, what happened next shocked him even more.
After realizing there was an enemy attacking from behind, those Batarians immediately turned their guns and launched an assault at the pitch-black giant. Yet their attacks achieved nothing. The ferocious firepower that was powerful enough to punch through vehicles struck the black giant's body without leaving even the slightest trace. Instead, the giant suddenly swung the warhammer in his hand, and in the next instant, the Batarians in front of him were crushed flat against the ground by the whirlwind kicked up by the hammer, turning into a puddle of minced flesh like frogs run over by wheels.
You've got to be kidding me!
Seeing this, Li Longcheng could hardly believe his own eyes. Although these Batarians looked as if they hadn't been well prepared, in fact every one of them was equipped with small shield generators. These shields could even withstand the impact of some heavy rocket launchers. And yet the opponent had merely swung his hammer once and directly broken through the Batarians' shields, killing them instantly?
"Boom———!"
Just as the black giant swept away the surrounding Batarians with a single strike, another automated mech turned and lunged at him. The black giant didn't even spare it a glance. He casually flung his hammer backward, giving that automated mech a clean home-run hit, sending it flying before it disintegrated in midair into a pile of fragments.
"...…"
Seeing this, everyone present—including Li Longcheng—was completely stunned.
They had all fought the Turians before. In fact, whether it was human civilizations or alien civilizations, almost all of them used a two-layer defense system: a small shield on the outside, and armor beneath it. Because of this, in most battles, both sides had to find ways to break the shield first, then break the armor, and only then could the enemy be killed.
Moreover, shields could regenerate, making combat extremely exhausting. Very often, situations arose where neither side could kill the other.
The reason Li Longcheng and his subordinates had been able to withstand the attacks of Batarians several times their number was precisely because of this.
Even those automated mechs were also equipped with shields. Yet in front of this black giant, those shields were like paper mache, completely meaningless. Li Longcheng even saw that when the giant's warhammer came down, the shield around the automated mech shattered on the spot, failing to hold for even a millisecond before vanishing entirely.
This was simply like a dream!
But… why did this black giant feel strangely familiar?
At this moment, the battle completely ended. As the last group of Batarians was killed, silence returned to the area. The black giant put away his warhammer and turned to stare at them. Seeing this, everyone instinctively tightened their grip on their weapons.
"Ah… ahhh...…"
Just as Li Longcheng was about to stand up and say something, Dr. Herman—who had been handcuffed nearby—suddenly lit up with excitement and shouted as he rushed forward, only to be grabbed back by Li Longcheng.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
"It's the same! Exactly the same as what we saw earlier!!"
"Huh?"
Hearing Dr. Herman's words, Li Longcheng froze for a moment, then looked toward the beacon in astonishment. He finally understood why Dr. Herman was so excited.
The reason was simple—the armor worn by the black giant standing before them was almost identical to the blue warriors that had appeared in the beacon's projection earlier!
The same towering physique, heavy armor decorated with skull motifs, and a very similar overall design. The only difference was that those in the projection were painted blue, while the giant before them was painted black.
"Don't fire—put your weapons down!!"
At this moment, Li Longcheng hurriedly ordered the others around him to lower their weapons. Then he stood up, stared at the giant in front of him, took a deep breath, and walked toward him.
So tall…!
Although he had already thought the opponent was extremely tall, it was only when Li Longcheng stood directly in front of the black giant that he realized he barely reached the giant's waist. Li Longcheng himself was quite tall—one meter eighty—thanks to his military background, yet in front of this giant, he felt like a child.
"Hello, I am Li Longcheng, General of the Stellar Federation. May I ask—"
Hearing Li Longcheng's question, the black giant fell silent for a moment, then removed his helmet, revealing a face that—
"Hiss———!"
At the sight of that face, even Li Longcheng sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, his body swaying as he nearly collapsed to the ground.
As a soldier, he had seen plenty of aliens before, but… a human who looked this fierce, he had truly never seen one.
"Hello. I am Duanmu Huai, Grand Inquisitor of the Inquisition."
Staring at Li Longcheng, Duanmu Huai chuckled softly. Although Li Longcheng felt a little shaky, he still forced himself to look at Duanmu Huai.
"May I ask… what exactly is all this?"
"I know what you want to ask."
Duanmu Huai waved his hand, interrupting Li Longcheng.
"That's right, we deliberately followed you here, and we had already guessed you would be attacked. The reason we came was to thwart the schemes of those idiots—because to us, you being alive is far more valuable than you being dead."
"Huu...…"
Hearing this, Li Longcheng finally let out a breath of relief. From the start, he had suspected how these people could have appeared at such a perfect moment. He hadn't expected them to be so straightforward about it… but… the Inquisition? What kind of organization was that?
"My fleet…"
"Your fleet has been lured away. It will be at least another hour before they return."
Duanmu Huai glanced around, then found a place to sit down.
"So, we might as well have a proper talk."
"...…Of course, that's no problem."
In fact, this was exactly what Li Longcheng had in mind. He immediately pulled himself together, instructed the others to guard the surroundings, then sat down opposite Duanmu Huai. At this moment, Dr. Herman also leaned in, staring at Duanmu Huai with burning enthusiasm… to be honest, being stared at like that by a man made Duanmu Huai rather uncomfortable.
"And this is…?"
"Dr. Herman. He's a scholar who studies ancient ruins…"
"Oh, I see…"
Duanmu Huai withdrew his gaze and looked back at Li Longcheng.
"I know you have many things you want to ask. But before that, I think I should first introduce you to the Inquisition."
For Duanmu Huai, this was already second nature. He couldn't even be bothered to explain verbally. Just like what he had done with Maria before, he directly took out a full holographic promotional presentation of the Inquisition and played it.
It had to be said—this format was indeed very convenient. At the very least… after watching the entire presentation, Li Longcheng now understood the origins of the Inquisition and the history of the former Human Empire. As for Dr. Herman beside him, he was so excited that his whole body trembled—if the soldiers hadn't held him down, he probably would have jumped up on the spot!
"...…So, what you mean is, we are descendants of the Human Empire?"
"Yes. One of them, at least. Or rather, among the human civilizations so far, you're the one that's developed the best."
"Is that so...…"
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Li Longcheng's face. To be honest, when he learned that humanity wasn't limited to just one civilization in the universe, he had been very nervous. Now, hearing Duanmu Huai say that the Stellar Federation was the most developed among them made him breathe a sigh of relief—and feel deeply proud at the same time.
Frankly speaking, although the entire story sounded extremely absurd, Li Longcheng was more inclined to believe it was true. After all, if it were true that humanity had once unified the entire galaxy, that would be an enormous stimulus and boon for the people of the Federation.
But…
"W-wait, wait, Inquisitor! Then what about the Protheans? The Protheans…!"
At this moment, Dr. Herman could no longer restrain himself and spoke up, while Duanmu Huai merely shrugged.
"Oh, that's actually pretty normal. After the collapse of the Human Empire, those guys took advantage of the power vacuum and smoothly took over the territory… mm, the saying 'when there's no tiger on the mountain, the monkey becomes king' fits perfectly."
As for the Protheans, players in the game had also researched them. The final conclusion was that the Protheans had been a client species of the Human Empire, under the jurisdiction of the Thirteenth Prince. Later, after the Black Hole Project, all species across the galaxy suffered catastrophic devastation. Only the Protheans, for reasons unknown—whether sheer luck or something else—escaped destruction. They then quickly seized the opportunity to expand, occupying most of the former Human Empire's territory.
In the end, it proved once again that xenos would always be xenos. These idiots still managed to screw things up and wipe themselves out.
Of course, Duanmu Huai felt no emotional fluctuation about this at all. Or rather, the Protheans should be glad they went extinct early—otherwise, they would definitely have had a place on the Inquisition's extermination list.
"All right."
Duanmu Huai brought the topic back, looking once more at Li Longcheng.
"Now that you know of the Inquisition's existence, you should understand why we saved you."
"...…You want me to lead the Stellar Federation in resisting the aliens?"
"Exactly."
Duanmu Huai nodded.
"Any act of kneeling before alien races is an unforgivable heresy. Humanity's dignity and glory shall not be profaned! No matter what excuse is used, the Inquisition will never acknowledge such behavior!"
"But… even we cannot possibly fight against the entire Citadel Council…"
"I know that very well. That's why the Inquisition will fight alongside you. There's no need to completely wipe them out—but we must make them understand that humanity is not something these lowly xenos can toy with at will!"
"...…!"
Li Longcheng didn't speak. He simply nodded heavily. Although he wasn't as extreme as Duanmu Huai, deep down, he agreed with him.
Humanity would never submit to the threats of any alien race!
"Then, what should we do?"
"Heh heh."
Hearing Li Longcheng's question, Duanmu Huai chuckled.
"I do have a proposal..."
(End of chapter)