A dragonfly-like interstellar unmanned scout craft, after winding this way and that, at last reached a fairly deep point in this Hive Nest.
The camera at its front began filming the scene before it,
and sending it back to the fleet behind.
All of a sudden!
A huge face surfaced, its eyes fixed hard on the interstellar drone before it,
as if it had noticed this interstellar unmanned scout craft was there.
"Is this the huge face Renee the Angel Queen spoke of?"
On this end of the video, Zhao Chen stared at the hideous face on the screen and frowned slightly.
Among the intelligence Renee the Angel Queen, held in the Sin-Dragon Prison, had given afterward was this huge face within the Hive Nest.
What kind of creature the huge face really was, Renee the Angel Queen did not know.
She knew only that the huge face was an intelligent creature, and that she and the others carried out the orders this huge face gave.
This huge face must also be a follower of Order.
Who would have thought the huge face truly existed?
And had appeared right before an interstellar unmanned scout craft besides.
"It looks as if our interstellar unmanned scout craft has been spotted," the crewman in charge of the scouting drones said worriedly.
"Don't move. Keep this unmanned scout craft where it is," Zhao Chen ordered suddenly.
The crewman at the controls looked at His Majesty in puzzlement, but passed the order on like a good soldier all the same.
The interstellar unmanned scout craft simply hovered where it was, eye to eye with the huge face across from it.
"Zhao Chen… Emperor of the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire…"
Just then, of all things, the thing spoke.
The slow, drawn-out voice reached Zhao Chen's end.
"I know you are watching me right now. It must be said… your growth has gone beyond what we foresaw. Who would have thought that a fleet commander of no name at all could, in the space of a few short years, found an interstellar empire in this universe. And develop so many powerful interstellar warships. I admit it. You are very able. I have failed." The huge face's tone was still flat as it spoke.
Zhao Chen suddenly asked the crewman in charge of these interstellar unmanned scout craft, "Can I speak?"
"I'll try." The crewman began trying.
At last an interface with a microphone icon appeared before Zhao Chen.
"Your Majesty, a communication link has been established. This model of interstellar unmanned scout craft can transmit. You need only press this button and speak. The other end will hear. But the quality of the transmission can't be guaranteed," the crewman answered.
Zhao Chen nodded, satisfied, and pressed the microphone button.
"Is Order behind you?"
The huge face was plainly startled by the voice suddenly coming from the interstellar unmanned scout craft before it.
But soon it recovered.
"It seems you know rather a lot. No wonder you have attacked me so relentlessly."
"What exactly are you? Isn't Order supposed to be only a spirit-body? Then you, and the undead, and the hive-race you control, what are you!" Zhao Chen demanded.
This had in fact always been a point that puzzled Zhao Chen.
By the intelligence the Machine Race had given before.
Order should be a spirit-body, and the strongest under it was the Pitch-Black Legion fleets.
The Pitch-Black Legion fleets, too, were things with which no communication at all was possible, as though they only carried out Order's will.
And these Order hive-race, the undead host, and this strange creature before him.
What, then, was their relation to Order?
"A great existence naturally needs believers. And needs believers to carry out certain necessary tasks. So long as we complete these tasks, we can merge into the great existence and become existences as great. Possessed of boundless power, boundless life, an existence beyond all things. True gods!" The huge face's tone had begun to grow somewhat frenzied.
It was truly like a fanatical believer.
"Then how did you make these hive-race creatures? And those undead creatures!" Zhao Chen pressed.
At this the huge face put on a mocking look. "Zhao Chen. Don't think yourself so clever, trying to worm information out of me. Some things I will not tell. What I can tell you is this. You are far from truly winning. We are only the small believers the Great Existence has cast into this world. Even the Pitch-Black Legion fleets the Machine Race is resisting beyond the universe are no more than a single hair off nine oxen of the Great Existence's strength. Do you truly think you have the power to withstand the Great Existence? Heh-heh-heh. Wishful thinking! Wait. Wait for the Great Existence truly to descend upon this universe. Then the whole universe will pass through a judgment. The judgment of god! And fellows like you who defy the will of god will suffer the most painful punishment! Ha-ha-ha-ha…"
Zhao Chen frowned, watching the huge face laughing madly before him.
It seemed there was no chance of getting any intelligence out of this fellow's mouth.
No chance at all.
Just as Zhao Chen gave up the idea of prying further,
the huge face suddenly spoke again, its tone more savage and terrible still, its whole face twisting at that moment.
"Zhao Chen! But you may not live to see that time. You will not see all that you guard judged and destroyed. Because! I will first destroy you, the stumbling block standing before god!"
As the huge face spoke.
The picture began to blur.
"Reporting, our communication signal seems to be under some kind of strong interference," the crewman in charge of the interstellar unmanned scout craft called out.
At the same time several departments on the bridge stirred into uproar.
"Reporting, starship radar senses an extremely strong energy fluctuation inside the Hive Nest!"
"Reporting, we are monitoring spatial fluctuations in that region. Since a moment ago this stretch of space has shown an extremely strong, abnormal spatial fluctuation. Far greater than the spatial fluctuation a space jump produces!"
And just then, the crewman in charge of the starship's unmanned scout craft, horrified, sent a piece of footage to Zhao Chen.
"Your Majesty, look at this, quick! This is footage one of our interstellar unmanned scout craft took after going deep inside this Hive Nest…"
Zhao Chen looked at the somewhat blurred footage.
He saw a chilling sight.
The space inside the Hive Nest had begun to collapse.
It was space collapsing!
Spreading outward without end.
And faster and faster.
The interstellar unmanned scout craft that had filmed it tried just then to pull back, but found it could not move at all.
At last the signal was lost.
Zhao Chen's face was grave; he thought back to what the huge face had just said.
He had guessed it.
It meant to perish together with him!