Chapter One, Ten Thousand Years is Too Long

It has been ten thousand years, and throughout human history, no empire has been able to endure for such a long time

As he plummeted towards the ground, the earth suddenly began to tremble; amidst the roar, the ground collapsed in layers, and in an instant, a bottomless pit appeared.

He abandoned his efforts to search for equipment and began to move his body cautiously, ensuring that each joint was functioning properly before he walked towards the distant glimmer of light

At that moment, a glimmer of silver suddenly flashed in the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw that on the arm of his uniform, there was embedded a shield-shaped silver badge, on which an abstract pattern was constructed with special runes

Until this moment, he suddenly felt a chill penetrating to the marrow, and the hair all over his body stood on end. This was his innate intuition for danger, which had become considerably dulled due to the effects of dormancy

The hole he crawled out of was below, in this extraordinarily towering environment, resembling an ant hole, utterly inconspicuous

This is a secret technique passed down through the imperial family, capable of activating bodily functions and restoring a certain degree of mobility by subtly vibrating the joints without causing any visible changes to the surface of the body

The "First Line" secret method was established to enable members of the imperial family to regain a semblance of agency in any absolutely adverse circumstances, thereby allowing them to resist or to end their own lives

For reasons unknown, the degree of decay of his personal pod is far less than that of other equipment; perhaps he will never have the chance to awaken, having long since turned into a pool of pus in a metallic grave.

He thought for a moment, tore off the Dragon Knight badge, and kept it close to his body. Then he removed all the identifiable marks of imperial identity from his body and buried them in the crevices of the cave wall, before crawling towards the entrance of the passage.

The urgent task is to first determine exactly where one is.

Keep a close watch on him, as there have been many strange occurrences lately; he might be someone sent by the Poison Sting faction

He furrowed his brow slightly, contemplating the last sentence

He tried to control the operation of the secret method, activating his body bit by bit. He did not feel any binding force from the secret technique on him, which could be considered a good thing

Before he could recover slightly, a young girl suddenly appeared in his line of sight. Her attire was strange and primitive, and her face was filled with anxiety as she continuously shouted at him, waving her hands desperately, but he could not make out a single word she was saying

It was only at the moment he soared into the air that he clearly saw the place where he was.

Huang Quan slightly opened his eyes, observing the surroundings through a narrow gap, while simultaneously moving his body with a special technique

Regardless of the circumstances, the identity of the empire brings him more danger than convenience. Only the Dragon Rider badge is somewhat special; the runes on it are said to be the work of the people of the ruins, originating from a time long ago, and very few in the entire star domain can comprehend them

The body that has been dormant for over ten thousand years is indeed too weak

Subsequently, in order to confront the formidable enemies lurking in the depths of the starry sky, as well as the wave of separatism within humanity itself, the Second Star River Federation was officially established. This federation, however, lasted less than a thousand years before it disintegrated once again, and the empire was established upon the ruins of the Second Star River Federation

At this moment, faint footsteps sounded outside the door, coming directly this way. He immediately slowed his breathing, closed his eyes, and pretended to be unconscious.

He suddenly lost consciousness as darkness enveloped him

At that moment, the face of the young girl suddenly appeared before him, and then he felt as if he were being pulled away horizontally.

He lay in a dwelling that appeared exceedingly rudimentary, to the extent that it could hardly be called a house. It consisted of a framework made from several naturally curved branches, bound together with vines, and finally topped with large grass leaves as a roof

Almost immediately, he sprang up and instinctively reached for his waist, intending to draw his sword and slash backward. However, he found nothing there and suddenly remembered that the Dragon Tooth, which had accompanied him for many years, had turned to dust.

Has he woken up

... ...

A series of conversations entered his ears and were memorized, until his consciousness gradually recovered, at which point they were recalled.

He examined the cockpit and the equipment box once again, but due to the passage of an exceedingly long time, he was unable to find anything useful. Even the superalloy used for making the Dragon Tooth and the Light Night gun barrel had completely turned into a pile of mud.

Ten thousand years

Is the current world data not matching the system data? What does this mean? Does it imply that it has ventured beyond the imperial-controlled star regions, or does it suggest that it is located in an uncharted area on the world star map?

As humanity officially stepped out of its home planet and entered a grand era of interstellar exploration and development, the First Galactic Federation, which existed in a loose alliance, lasted only two thousand years before it fell apart

The current world data does not match the known system data, making it impossible to determine... Please... supplement... energy... The voice of the system is growing fainter, ultimately fading away completely. The last bit of energy from the main power unit could not withstand the consumption caused by the system's extensive activities, and finally, at this moment, it was completely depleted, causing the only intact piece of equipment to vanish.

He slowly approached the dim light, and before him appeared a steeply inclined passageway, sloping upward, with a faint glimmer of daylight filtering through the entrance. He attempted to grasp the vines on the wall of the passage and climbed a little higher, feeling that the vines were sturdy enough to support his weight before preparing to continue upward

He steadied himself and asked, "Confirm the current position."

If the one who comes is a veteran who has undergone first-level transformation, or even a squad leader who has undergone second-level transformation, he will probably not even have the chance to escape

As the captain of the Dragon Knights, his badge is particularly special, made of quantum heavy silver, with energy contained within sufficient to withstand the direct bombardment of a battleship's secondary artillery

It is impossible, I have never seen him in the Poison Sting Tribe

This is the military emblem of the Dragon Knight Squad. They are not merely simple markings; each badge contains a sealed energy shield, which serves as the last line of defense for survival in critical moments

Ah, you are awake

Who knows if the Poison Sting Tribe has recruited new hunters. In any case, keep a close watch on him

By the standards of an empire, such things are not even worthy of being called a shack

It seems not yet.

No wonder the so-called indestructible alloy, which has been claimed to last for a thousand years, has turned into its current state, and the Empire's latest model of the "perpetual motion machine" that harnesses the gravitational energy of planets is also facing depletion; under the wear of time, nothing is eternal

The only thing that remained intact was his uniform, made of a synthetic fabric known as "Luminous." Protected within the confines of his personal cabin, it had escaped the ravages of time along with his body

Even without a weapon, he would not panic. He exerted force with his feet and dodged to the side. However, at the moment of landing, his legs suddenly went weak, and he found himself unable to exert any strength. Immediately, he felt as if his back had been struck by a meteor, and with a loud thud, his entire body was sent flying.

After a long period of dormancy, his body has reached an extremely weakened state. If he were to return to the empire, he would likely be unable to defeat even the most ordinary soldier in the Imperial Guard

However, after years of battles, he has traversed various star regions, having witnessed and experienced all kinds of harsh environments; this place is far from being the worst.

Having made thorough preparations, he climbed up the passageway and, after a long while, finally approached the cave entrance. Exhausting his last bit of strength, he finally crawled out of the opening and immediately collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.

At this moment, the color of the badge has changed from black-gray to silver. Clearly, after ten thousand years of the passage of time, the energy stored within has long since dissipated. However, this badge is special to him; each evolution is a testament to his military achievements

Ten thousand years is too long; the empire may have long since been lost in the dust of history

Here lies a jungle, where the vegetation is exceptionally tall. Each massive tree has a diameter exceeding 10 meters, and in the distance, there seem to be even larger ancient trees, their canopies blocking out the sky and sunlight. The ground is covered with tall grass, with blades rising above head height, making it difficult to distinguish between grass and trees.

Having just awakened from a ten-thousand-year slumber, his body was in an extremely weakened state. At this moment, even a rebel foot soldier with only the most basic modifications could easily defeat him