Chapter 341 – The Jedi Has Returned! The Sky Has Cleared——!!
At that moment, the Rebel soldiers also noticed what was happening. When they saw Paul wielding a lightsaber and cutting down an entire squad of stormtroopers—
One of the rebels shouted excitedly, "It's a Jedi! The Jedi are back—we're saved!"
In the Star Wars universe, Jedi are the galactic "police force," existing to uphold peace and justice across the galaxy.
This order almost completely monopolized formal Force training. Anyone who wanted to join had to enroll through their academies and adhere strictly to Jedi values and codes of conduct.
On top of that, one needed to be Force-sensitive.
During the era of the Republic, the Galactic Senate governed politically, while the Jedi Order served as its militant theocratic arm—together ruling the galaxy.
During that time, the Jedi practically controlled the military might of most civilized systems. Even the creation of the clone army by the Republic was carried out under the Jedi's name.
But the crusty old politicians in the Senate always had a distaste for how the Jedi monopolized military power. They were just waiting for the right moment to cut them down.
That's why, when Palpatine founded the Galactic Empire and moved to eliminate the Jedi Order, many of the old Republic senators applauded the purge.
In many cases, those in power saw the Jedi as a threat. Only the oppressed and powerless genuinely longed for Jedi protection.
So when Paul appeared, the Rebels' excitement made perfect sense—they were seeing a beacon of hope appear before their very eyes.
This was also the real reason the Empire never allowed a single Jedi to live.
Palpatine's rule was built on absolute control. And many of the former Republic senators supported him precisely because he had the resolve to crush the Jedi Order.
By eliminating the Jedi, Palpatine could consolidate all military power under his rule and secure the Empire's grip on the galaxy.
But to the Rebels, a Jedi showing up in Jedha City—the sacred site of the Force—meant one thing: the Jedi were coming back.
The galaxy's former guardians of peace and justice had returned!
In that moment, Paul became a ray of hope piercing through the darkness. Desperate and disheartened, the Rebels were instantly reinvigorated.
The Jedi is back. The sky has cleared——!
And Paul didn't disappoint them. Darting through the battlefield, he displayed overwhelming combat prowess.
The stormtroopers' blaster rifles couldn't even get a bead on him. He moved with unhurried grace, cutting down another squad with ease. His lethal efficiency didn't feel like the work of a traditional Jedi.
Realizing the surge in rebel morale, the Imperial commander urgently barked,
"Kill the Jedi! Don't let him escape—now!"
But as he gave the order, even the commander was baffled. They had been stationed in Jedha for a long time, had even ransacked the Kyber Temple.
Back then, there hadn't been the slightest trace of a Jedi—so how had one suddenly shown up, and one this powerful at that?
Behind Paul stood Captain Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso, operatives of the Rebel Alliance. Their reactions were more stunned than elated.
The extermination of the Jedi Order was a joint conspiracy between the Galactic Empire and those same old Republic senators. After that purge, the Jedi all but vanished. No military power since had posed any real threat to the Empire's rule.
But now, a living Jedi Master stood before them. It defied everything they believed.
"Chani, protect those two. I'll handle the frontline," Paul instructed calmly, not wanting to be distracted by the rear guard.
"Yes, sir!"
Chani swiftly led Cassian and Jyn to a concealed location and deployed AI drones to scan the surroundings, watching for any approaching stormtroopers.
Meanwhile, as more Imperial reinforcements flooded into the city, the battle grew increasingly intense.
A stormtrooper, giving up on his rifle, lobbed a high-explosive grenade at Paul—if they couldn't shoot him, they'd blow him up instead.
But to his shock, the moment the grenade left his hand, a cloaked AI drone generated a micro-gravity field that bounced it right back.
The grenade landed among the Imperial troops, detonating with heavy casualties.
These stormtroopers hadn't seen a Jedi in years. They had forgotten the Jedi's command of the Force—forgotten that conventional weapons were next to useless against them.
Though Paul didn't wield telekinesis, his swarm of AI drones acted as the perfect countermeasure.
With these drones covering him from above, Paul could deflect any thrown weapon or sneak attack—leaving him free to charge into enemy ranks and wreak havoc.
He tore through the battlefield, lightsaber a blur, every flash marking another shattered body on the ground.
His sheer ferocity reignited the Rebels' fighting spirit. Their momentum surged, and they began to push the Imperial forces back.
Soon, Chirrut Îmwe and Baze Malbus joined the fray as well. Baze unleashed blasts from his heavy repeater cannon, sending stormtroopers flying.
Chirrut, blind yet precise, picked up a light crossbow. Despite his blindness, his accuracy was uncanny. One after another, stormtroopers dropped from his silent sniping.
Chani followed Paul's command to the letter, eliminating every enemy who attempted a sneak attack. Armed with a hard-light sniper rifle, she picked off several stormtroopers trying to flank them—keeping Cassian and Jyn under perfect protection.
But seeing the frontlines crumble, the Imperial garrison in Jedha was forced to deploy more armored reinforcements.
Most of them were AT-series All-Terrain Walkers.
Armed with dual laser cannons and grenade launchers, these walkers were a nightmare for the Rebels—who lacked any proper anti-armor weaponry.
Blaster rifles couldn't even scratch the armor. And even if the Rebels avoided the walkers' weapons, they could still be crushed under their massive mechanical feet.
This overwhelming mechanized advantage—backed by clone-based infinite manpower—is what gave the Empire confidence to dominate the galaxy.
To them, stormtroopers were disposable cannon fodder. If it cost ten thousand of them to kill a single Jedi, so be it.
Now, more and more AT-STs rampaged through Jedha like steel behemoths, stomping out the scattered pockets of Rebel resistance.
At the same time, reinforcements were still pouring down from an orbiting Imperial Star Destroyer—the true looming threat.
If the Rebels pushed too far, they risked provoking the Empire into leveling all of Jedha. And with a Star Destroyer, that was an easy feat.
The only thing that might hold them back was the symbolic weight of Jedha as a sacred site of the Force.
Meanwhile, back at the Myriad realm Base HQ.
In front of the central command console, Jack Wells looked on with concern as Paul faced increasingly dire odds in Jedha.
After all, the kid was one of the few true psykers left in the MegaCorp—a first-rate swordmaster and heir to House Atreides.
Losing someone like that would be an enormous blow.
"Boss… should we take out that Star Destroyer?" Jack asked.
He knew the true crux of this battle lay with the Empire's Star Destroyer. Unless that warship was blown out of the sky, the ground battle would never truly end.
After all, relying on this ragtag band of Rebel fighters? They were nothing but a bunch of amateurs—no match for the Empire's professional troops!
Hearing Jack's suggestion, Li Ang merely shook his head. Blowing up the Star Destroyer now would only alert the enemy prematurely.
That would immediately draw the full attention of the Galactic Empire. And considering that Universal MegaCorp had only just entered the Star Wars universe, both the Intelligence Division and the frontline outposts were still in their infancy—they needed time.
They couldn't afford to expose themselves so early, not unless they wanted unnecessary trouble.
Besides, based on all of Paul's tactical decisions so far, Li Ang could tell that Paul wanted to use this opportunity to quietly embed himself within the Rebel Alliance.
Whether or not this counterattack was a success didn't really matter to Paul personally.
All he needed was a heroic debut—as a Jedi Knight—to leave a strong, lasting impression on everyone present.
If Paul truly needed HQ's support, he would've called for backup through the comms. But since he hadn't, there was no reason to disrupt his plans on their own initiative.
"No need. Just keep monitoring the situation."
After giving that order, Li Ang turned to another matter. "What's the update on V? Does he need anything from HQ?"
Morgan Blackhand's Unified Galactic Task Force had already mobilized, but V's expeditionary force had yet to launch. This was something Li Ang had been keeping a close eye on.
V had been entrusted with forming a custom expeditionary legion, selecting from the finest elite units across the entire MegaCorp. That kind of authority and trust was something only V could be given.
And this move was a crucial part of Li Ang 's long-term strategy.
If Morgan Blackhand's mission—to unify the galaxy—was the main storyline of their conquest across the multiverse, then V's role was the vital side quest.
Still, Li Ang had no intention of letting V launch a proactive campaign in the extragalactic territories just yet.
Right now, the MegaCorp lacked the resources to sustain a two-front war within the Star Wars universe.
According to Li Ang 's overall strategy, they needed to first secure and unify the galaxy before even thinking about pushing into the unknown territories beyond.
Only after that would they expand steadily—building a dominion that could rival the legendary Infinite Empire of the Rakata!
"V is nearly ready. The expeditionary force is expected to launch in three days," Jack replied.
This time, V was deploying mostly the same soldiers from the advance strike force they used in the Transformers universe.
That included the Prometheus Legion of the Preacher Order, the Iron Hands Battle Group, and the Fremen Battalion. On top of that, they'd added a dedicated Transformers unit.
That unit even included Megatronus himself—a demigod-tier Transformer—commanding the central force!
After witnessing Quintessa cashing out her high-level assets to join the MegaCorp as a partner, Megatronus finally realized the tides had turned.
If he wanted a future, his best bet was to cling to the MegaCorp's rising star.
And with his talents, rising through the ranks wouldn't be hard at all.
In fact, that's exactly what happened. After the MegaCorp blew up a few stars to restore his power reserves, Megatronus had regained his peak strength.
He then participated in multiple stabilization missions across the Universal Trade Network.
Burning heretic civilizations to ash with entropy energy, leading both Autobots and Decepticons to crush unruly MegaCorp subsidiaries—Megatronus had quickly become the de facto leader of the Transformers division.
Though his methods were sometimes extreme, Megatronus had a brilliant tactical mind.
So long as no underling betrayed him, any mission he oversaw would be executed swiftly and cleanly.
That was precisely why Megatronus had been promoted again and again.
Universal MegaCorp had always respected strength—and ensured that those with power had their interests well protected.
"With V guarding against extragalactic threats, I'm confident that front will remain stable."
"Also, the Star Fall Divine Sky Spear megastructure is still under construction. Once completed, it will be deployed to the frontlines for immediate use."
Jack Wells reported all this to Li Ang , with full confidence in his long-time partner V.
With so many elite units under their command, even powerful extragalactic civilizations wouldn't break through so easily.
"Alright. Later, tell V—whatever resources or megastructures he needs, we'll prioritize supplying him."
Li Ang knew how to deal with internal galactic powers—with promises, intimidation, and grand plans.
But the savage beasts beyond the galaxy?
Those required raw firepower.
Those beings didn't understand diplomacy. Worse still, many of them possessed advanced relic tech from the era of the god-civilizations.
That's why Li Ang had invested so heavily in V's operation.
"Yes, sir!"
…
Meanwhile, back in Jedha City, the chaotic clash between the Rebels and Imperial forces raged on.
A two-legged AT-ST walker had now locked onto Paul. These armored walkers could hit speeds of up to 90 km/h.
By comparison, most main battle tanks only reached 60–70 km/h. And with their ability to traverse rough terrain, these bipedal machines were far more efficient killing machines than conventional tanks.
Throughout the Empire's territories, most armored divisions were heavily equipped with AT-series walkers—essential tools for enforcing the Empire's rule.
The moment it locked onto Paul, the AT-ST began blasting with its laser cannons.
To maximize its chances of wounding him, the blasts were even intentionally offset—using the shockwaves of nearby detonations to strike him indirectly.
Explosions rocked the surrounding buildings, reducing them to rubble. Paul's figure was soon engulfed in smoke and flying debris.
Everyone present held their breath, watching anxiously.
Even as Paul vanished within the cloud of destruction, the AT-ST continued to bombard his last known location—lasers and grenades hammering the area without pause.
The message was clear: the Empire intended to reduce him to dust.
(Show your support and read more chapters on my Patreon: [email protected]/psychopet. Thank you for your support!)