Ye Muo was able to relax a bit since he and Ye He were the only ones in this private sparring room. He took off his shoes and set them on a nearby cabinet and stretched a bit before starting practice with Ye He.
The floor was padded, and Ye He was even better than Ye Yun at teaching. Ye Yun only knew to let Ye Muo charge him and ended the spar within a few moves. He could only go a bit easier on his little brother as well.
But Ye He could guide Ye Muo and slow down his movements enough for him to react. Plus, he used just the right amount of strength so Ye Muo wasn’t overwhelmed with the urge to flee under threat of broken bones like he did when facing off against Ano or Norton.
Ye He would take care to avoid hurting Ye Muo by easing up just before tossing him down onto the mat. This way, Ye Muo didn’t need to worry about getting hurt.
Practicing with Ye He was safe for him.
Ye He blocked Ye Muo’s kick with his forearm before grasping Ye Muo’s calf. A swift shove caused Ye Muo to lose his balance. Ye He didn’t forget to tug Ye Muo back slightly and use his foot to cushion the back of Ye Muo’s head.
He observed Ye Muo thoughtfully. “Your reaction time isn’t bad, but the follow-up is somewhat delayed.”
This was an ongoing issue with Ye Muo. He learned moves very quickly, but he was too hesitant to use them in practice and couldn’t muster enough force. Ye He set down his leg.
Ye Muo could keep up if he slowed his movements, but as soon as he sped up, Ye Muo would freeze helplessly in place.
But Ye He didn’t become impatient. In the past, he, Father and Ye Yun managed to gradually train Ye Muo just like this, pulling his grades in combat class up to passing.
Plus, Ye Muo obviously worked very hard during their sessions and never uttered a word of complaint.
“Again.”
If he was slow to respond, then they would practice bit by bit until the moves became second nature.
Ye He pulled Ye Muo to his feet again and covered his head and somewhat damp hair with a clean towel. Like he always did, he gently and slowly dried his hair off.
Ye Muo closed his eyes like usual.
Ye He could not help but remember how Ye Zhiyuan did the same for them after teaching them how to fight as children. He and Ye Yun were used to Ye Zhiyuan being somewhat heavy-handed, but Ye Muo’s little face would always scrunch up when it was his turn. Yet he didn’t shy away either. In the end, his skin was all red like he had been hit repeatedly.
Lady Ye even quarrelled with Ye Zhiyuan because of this. As a result, Ye He was put in charge of Ye Muo’s training.
Ye He set the towel aside.
A tremor suddenly ran through the warship. Ye He steadied Ye Muo when he stumbled.
Ye He glanced up at the window. “We’ve stopped.”
Due to departing several days late, Norton had the fleet travelling night and day. He didn’t even fully dock at any destination, simply having the fleet slow down while he communicated with the command posts directly using psychic power.
An announcement was broadcast throughout the warship: [We are about to enter port. All personnel, please get ready.]
There was a knock at the door, which opened before Ye He could go over. Ano stood outside. He nodded to Ye He before turning to Ye Muo. “We’re here. Time to get ready for landing, Ye Muo.”
It’s been a long time since Ye Muo heard Ano speak with that synthesized voice of his.
Ye Muo glanced at Ye He, who pushed him forward before he walked towards Ano.
Ano placed a hand on Ye Muo’s shoulder and seemed to explain, “We should stay by Big Brother’s side.”
When they arrived at the command centre, there was already a crowd of people around Norton. The man glanced at them. “Come here.”
Ye Muo followed Ano over and stood beside Norton.
They didn’t say much as they headed to the warship’s entrance. As soon as it opened, sand and wind rushed in from outside.
Something got into Ye Muo’s eye. Norton noticed him subconsciously averting his head and gently pushed the child behind him. Ano also took a step forward to close the gap.
Ye Muo was now securely protected.
When the entrance was fully opened, Norton stepped forward. Ye Muo followed him out of the warship and finally caught a good glimpse through the gap between the two elder Grantz.
Soldiers stood neatly in line at the nearby base, which was surrounded by an endless expanse of barren land. The areas not covered by sand revealed bare, dark rock.
The wind constantly stirred up waves of sand, meaning visibility and mobility were limited.
The soldiers awaiting Norton didn’t even mention it, as if they had experienced this countless times. They naturally rendezvoused with the party from the battleship.
Ye Muo followed Norton into the base. Only then did the howling winds cut off.
Unlike the bases from before, this one was completely enclosed. Overhead was a metal roof.
Ye Muo followed Norton all the way to the base’s command centre. Displayed across several large screens here were various visuals from sensors outside.
Ye Muo realized when he looked at the other screens that it didn’t show a cliff, but a gaping rift cut deep into the planet’s surface.
The rift felt a bit familiar to him for some reason. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had seen it somewhere before and snuck a few more glances.
Ano stood beside Ye Muo. “First time?”
Ye Muo nodded. Most of his life had been spent in the imperial capital, which was in a flourishing part of the galaxy with planets abundant in resources and vegetation. “Where are we?”
Ano: “The starting point of Grantz. The weakest part of our defensive line.”
Ye Muo looked at Ano. “The starting point?”
“I’m sure you’ve read about in your textbooks. The place where our flag was first raised.”
As soon as his voice fell, Ye Muo turned back to the ever-changing perspectives displayed on screen. The rocks that were bare except for sand seemed to become more solemn than before.
“Are there…still people living here?”
“Once upon a time, yes. But now there are no civilian inhabitants, only garrisons.”
Ye Muo looked quietly at the screens.
There were no more inhabitants, but Grantz never forgot about this place or deserted it.
Ano stood by his side. “If not for us, no one would stand guard here. This place is Grantz’s responsibility.”
“Do you know why this is the first line of defense during the insect tide?”
Ye Muo looked at Ano, who pointed at the gaping rift being displayed. “In a little while, countless king insects will be born there. Countless more insects will surge out.”
Ye Muo’s pupils contracted sharply. One king insect was generally capable of completely destroying a planet. King insects also tended to keep their distance from each other as much as possible, let alone gather together en masse.
“This is the insect tide.”
Ano motioned for Ye Muo to look at the screen. “The feeding is starting.”
Tens of thousands of warships slowly hovered above the rift. Their hatches opened as they dumped countless boxes down.
“What are those?”
Ano told Ye Muo without hesitation. As a Grantz, he would learn of this sooner or later. “Synthetic protein wastes used to feed the insects to ensure the maximum number of king insects can be born here.”
“A long time ago, it was not us who dumped these resources. Still, our ancestors managed to survive off the materials they fed to the insects.”
Ye Muo stared somewhat incredulously at Ano. In the history he learned, the materials were delivered to humans. Although this location was the first line of defense against the insects, aid was distributed to the residents who lived here.
“If you were still attending the military academy, the truth of the insect tide would have been the final lesson you learned. It’s something you must carve deep into your memory.”
Ano looked down and stroked Ye Muo’s hair. He relaxed his tone, “It’s nothing much, really.”
He motioned for Ye Muo to sit down. “Let’s just watch for now.”
Ano sat down beside Ye Muo. Two watched together as countless supplies were dumped into the rift.
Ano slowly spoke of the insects.
Countless planets in the galaxy were unknowingly harbouring dormant insects. The insects were almost undetectable in this state and their habit of hibernating deep underground further complicated things.
Even now, there were occasional news of insects on habitable planets suddenly awakening from dormancy every decade.
But with enough firepower, they could quickly be cleaned up.
The majority of countries at least had the ability to clean up their own territory and nearby planets, but not the Exile Sectors. Insect activity was high there as a result.
However, insects could never be driven to extinction, only exterminated locally. In addition to the human inhabited part of the galaxy, most of the galaxy’s uninhabited planets were infested with a variety of insects.
Long ago, humans discovered that, following a period of stable population, the insects would suddenly breed explosively and birth droves of king insects…
…Which would quickly occupy the planets humans had painstakingly cleared out.
Later, after paying a painful price several times over, humanity finally figured out the general principles behind the insect tide. They discovered that there was a limit to the number of king insects that would be born. Production would stop once this number was reached.
They couldn’t stop the tide from occurring, but they could control it to a certain degree.
Several countries joined forces. After repeated experiments, they eventually selected several planets at the edge of the inhabited galaxy that were part of the ownerless Exile Sectors based on their massive size.
The planet they had landed on was once of the rare resource planets in the Exile Sectors, which gradually became deserted and desolate after being repeatedly disturbed by the insect tide.
“Actually, this is a good way to resist the insect tide, if not for the fact that this planet and the ones nearby were still inhabited by humans at the time.”
In this way, they could concentrate on disposing of most of the new king insects. Yes, a small number would still be born in the human-inhabited galaxy, but the majority could be disposed of in one fell swoop.
Ano stood up. Grantz’s predecessor state was part of the Exile Sectors.
It was almost impossible for the inhabitants of the Exile Sectors to leave their native planet. They were rejected by all countries and stranded there with no chance of survival.
The only way out was ranking on the galactic network’s battlefield simulation league and gathering enough money and fame to be noticed by the other countries to emigrate.
But in the past, when Grantz first raised their flag, this competition did not exist. They didn’t even have this way out.
Aside from Grantz’s origin planet and the surrounding part of the Exile Sectors, most of the Exile Sectors were consumed by the insect tide.
The existing Exile Sectors were all positioned in the midst of the insect tide defensive line. If Grantz pulled back, they and some other countries would be in the line of fire.
The screens began to show images of the several surrounding planets. These were bases bearing the Grantz insignia and fleets of warships.
Ano put a hand on Ye Muo’s shoulder. “This part of history is destined to remain unacknowledged, for it represents the complicity of all nations except Grantz.”
The other countries did initially want to wipe out Grantz, a fledgling nation born out of fire and blood. Not only due to the threat Grantz’s growing power posed to them, but because their very existence incriminated them.
However, the present Grantz had become a powerhouse that could not be shaken.
The truth was even more cruel than it seemed. It wasn’t just luck that they were born on the first line of defence against the insect tide. The entire situation was orchestrated by human hands.
The supplies they received were just food for the insects.
Thanks to the galactic pirates who stooped so low as to even steal these, Grantz obtained their first weapons and warships.
“Just as they will never admit it, we will never forget. This is why every young adult bearing the Grantz insignia on their chest will be taught the truth of our history before graduation.”
Ano looked at Ye Muo as he spoke the words their father had once said to them when he brought them here, “And the reason I’m telling you all this in advance is because you are a Grantz. You need to shoulder a greater burden than other youths your age and even older.”
Ye Muo looked up at Ano, reminding him of the pictures he saw before of Ye Muo resting his head on Lady Ye’s lap. Lady Ye was holding a thick volume of fairy tales as he looked up at her with trusting eyes.
Ano could not help but stroke Ye Muo’s hair back from his ear like Norton did. He sighed softly, “Even though you’re not even an adult yet.”
