Chapter 77: Unexpected

Year 302716, Day 28

An incident has occurred in the Celestial Realm. 

I don't quite understand what happened, but almost all the immortals have perished. 

The losses amount to trillions of deaths, and most of the major factions have been annihilated. 

The Ten Thousand Swords Sect is no exception. 

It's incomprehensible. There are thousands of immortals, and it's even rumored that some had managed to progress beyond, yet despite that, they were all massacred. 

All branch leaders in the outer worlds have received the news and are instructing all cultivators above the Expansion Realm to hide and cultivate in secret. The few immortals who survived are hiding in void fissures. 

Fortunately, whatever caused this incident doesn't seem interested in the outer worlds; if I hadn't received the information directly through the sect's secret communication method, I would never have even known. 

This is very problematic for me. The slim hope I had of breaking into the Immortal Realm through normal means has just been extinguished. 

Now, only Xilin can help me break through, and we're in the same boat. Either we find this secret realm, or we'll remain stuck forever. 

… 

The gentle starlight faintly illuminated the undergrowth on the outskirts of the city. 

The wind swayed the trees and bushes softly, while most beasts had returned to rest in their dens. 

As nocturnal hunters began to awaken one after the other, their ears suddenly twitched, and they froze mid-movement. 

Even beasts at the pinnacle of rank 3 halted, scanning their surroundings with worry. 

As for the spirit beasts, they had long since fled, sensing something amiss. 

The pupils of some great beasts widened suddenly, and they turned tail, running at full speed to hide in their lairs. 

Quickly, all the beasts in the area vanished, leaving only a few wild and war beasts too weak or foolish to understand the situation. 

Swoosh 

Swoosh 

Swoosh

The tall grasses and underbrush over a meter high quivered as a large number of figures darted through the woods, weaving skillfully between the trees without making a sound. 

Though they weren't moving excessively fast, they maintained speeds of over sixty kilometers per hour. 

For a beginner rank 2, this pace would be difficult to sustain over long distances, but for the members of the Great Army of Alandal, it was no challenge. 

Even fully equipped, they could easily maintain this pace for several hours without issue. 

They were the elite of the elite, all having reached the pinnacle of rank 2 and even capable of holding their ground against a standard early rank 3 for a brief period. 

Such was the excellence of the Alandal army: an unyielding and determined force that would stop at nothing to achieve their God's objective. 

Out of the ten Minks bases, Alandal and Nyma each targeted two, while the other six were divided among the twelve other student armies. 

Alandal's two targets were relatively close to one another, about three hundred kilometers apart. 

Nearby, there were two large survivor cities with populations in the millions, like the one where the White Lotus Legion was stationed, as well as six smaller towns. The Portalis Legion had taken care of the other major city, while the three remaining legions were scattered across the smaller towns. 

After the generals' meeting, all the legions mobilized and emptied their bases. While a small contingent from each group was tasked with transporting resources back to the portal, the rest of the Great Army set out and marched toward their assigned targets. 

Within a few hours, everyone had reached their objectives. 

On one hand, the White Lotus Legion and the Portalis Legion had joined forces on the way, led by Sylvera and Isabella. On the other hand, the Silver Springs Legion, the Draconic Legion, and the Rising Sun Legion were attacking the other base, under the command of Arius Bale and the two drakes. 

As for the spirit beasts from the Depths Palace and Sanctuary, they were evenly distributed between the two forces. 

By dawn, nearly 100,000 soldiers of the Great Army were ready, divided into two groups twenty kilometers from their respective objectives, patiently awaiting orders. 

This was the limit before being detected by the Minks bases' detectors and radars. 

"Alright, now we wait," Sylvera said calmly, planting his spear into the ground. "Stay alert," he ordered through his communicator. "As soon as the fleet engages the enemy, we'll storm the base. Watch out for artillery and rush into close combat as quickly as possible. Even if their armor is sturdy, it's worthless against our artifacts." 

… 

"Reporting in, we've reached a top speed of 53,829 kilometers per hour. We can't accelerate further without using spirit stones." 

An officer shouted from the bridge as Ilbert calmly nodded. 

Alandal's ships were designed with the bridge positioned at the exact center of the vessel. 

Even though they lacked observation platforms to view the void, they didn't need them. Cameras and sensors installed throughout the ships created a holographic map of the area within a fifty-thousand-kilometer radius. 

"Maintain course and formation. We'll leave Devara's protection in approximately 3 hours and 24 minutes and will be within firing range in 3 hours and 38 minutes." 

This was also part of an agreement with the World's Will. 

The World's Will could extend its spiritual perception across nearly 150,000 kilometers, but since it knew their exact position through a small Brotherhood artifact, it could cloak them from radar detection over a distance of up to 180,000 kilometers. 

After all, cloaking an entire fleet from afar was far more challenging than launching an attack, reducing its range. 

When the combined fleets of Nyma and Alandal appeared on the Minks' radars, they would be just 20,000 kilometers apart. 

It was clear the Minks fleet would react swiftly, and the coalition fleet would endure a heavy barrage until they closed to about 5,000 kilometers, where their cannons could finally target the Minks cruisers. 

Of course, Ilbert wasn't deluded. 

He knew the Minks wouldn't let them approach without resistance, and they would suffer significant losses, but as long as they got within range, everything would be resolved. 

… 

Time flew by when one was busy, and the closer the battle drew, the more tension mounted aboard the coalition warships. 

Whether pilots, gunners, or navigators, every crew member represented the absolute elite and had passed through Alandal's most rigorous selection process. 

But it was inevitable for stress to take hold. After all, this was their first space battle. 

Quickly, several hours passed, and soon, they were out of Devara's Will's coverage range. 

In the two Minks ships, an alarm suddenly blared on the command deck. 

"What the hell is going on?!" roared a 4-star Marauder, silencing the alarm in annoyance. 

"Reporting, Colonel. About forty unidentified vessels have just appeared on our radars at 19,394 kilometers, vectors 2.0382 and 38.9283." 

(Vectors are coordinates in spherical positioning: the first indicates the angle relative to the ship's vertical plane, the second is the angle relative to the horizontal plane, and with the distance, we have the exact position.) 

The old monkey frowned, grimacing. 

"This is bad. They're cutting off our retreat." 

He himself was the second-in-command of the detachment stationed on Devara, but with most of the fleet recalled, he had been designated to stand guard here. 

"I want visuals, now! Scan them thoroughly—I want an estimate of their armament and speed. Meanwhile, have all weapons operational within 30 seconds, ready the fighters for interception, and activate the deflectors to maximum power." 

He was taking the situation very seriously. 

He was well aware of this world's strategic importance. If anything went wrong, forget sanctions—even preserving his life would be difficult. 

In less than ten seconds, a hologram of the ships was projected in the middle of the room. 

"The concept and model are unknown. Their speed is approximately 54,000 km/h. As for their defense or weapon strength, it's impossible to determine because their shield blocks all our scans," an officer reported. 

"Colonel, should I send a communication request?" asked the ship's captain. 

The old Minks shook his head. 

"Pointless. They're not here as friends. Their sudden appearance out of nowhere proves they're cloaked by Devara." 

He took his communicator and spoke into it. 

"All units, this is Colonel Sanders. Free Fire on the enemy ships. Repeat, free fire." 

Like a well-oiled machine, everyone quickly took their positions while the captain cast him a questioning look. 

"Sir, should we load the missiles?" he asked nervously. 

The old Minks shot him a scornful look filled with irritation. 

"Tell me, Captain, you just graduated from the academy, didn't you?" he asked abruptly. 

The young Minks nodded like a rice-pecking chicken, puffing out his chest. 

"Indeed, Colonel! I just graduated from the No. 1 Military Academy with—" 

"Well then," Sanders interrupted, "I believe they taught you how useless missiles—except for proton torpedoes and shield-breaking bombs—are in space. So stop demonstrating your uselessness with a vain attempt to display your capabilities and focus instead on being useful in this situation." 

The captain's smile evaporated as he realized his error and felt the disapproving gazes of other officers on the bridge. 

But it was the truth. The primary strength of bombs and missiles came from the shockwave they generated. In space, even the power of a first-order nuclear bomb was limited. 

Only lasers truly excelled in space combat. 

… 

Less than a minute after the coalition ships appeared, the Minks fired their first laser beam, striking one of Alandal's ships. 

Rumble

The entire bridge shook as the shield absorbed the impact. 

"The power is at the pinnacle of rank 5. We won't be able to take many more hits before the shield generators overheat—four or five more at most," an officer reported. 

The ship's captain frowned and immediately sent a transmission to Ilbert. 

"Damn it," Ilbert cursed. 

He knew the Minks' technology was powerful, but he had never imagined it would cause this much damage. 

Had this been a month ago, the ship would have exploded outright, unable to withstand such firepower. 

"Evasive maneuvers—we need to avoid as many hits as possible," Ilbert suddenly heard the fleet leader's voice in his communicator. 

While the ships were being repaired, all personnel from both fleets had also undergone intensive training from the Brotherhood, learning numerous flight tactics. 

"Rotate positions simultaneously—have the leading ships fall back every thirty seconds," Ilbert ordered. 

"Yes, sir." 

He had no other choice. While this would slow them down, their ships couldn't take more than a few hits before the shield generators overheated. 

Without shields, a single attack would obliterate their ships. 

But just as he issued the orders, one of their ships suddenly disappeared from the holographic map. 

Ilbert immediately turned his head to the wall projection and saw a fireball briefly illuminate space a few hundred kilometers away before extinguishing due to lack of oxygen. 

"What the hell just happened?!" Ilbert roared. 

Even if it was one of Nyma's ships, they weren't any weaker than their own. Something capable of instantly destroying one was a real threat to them. 

At that moment, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, his skin prickling. 

He grabbed a small raised sphere protruding from the bridge and channeled as much mana into it as he could. 

The artifact responded, drawing energy from a few medium-quality spirit stones aboard to strengthen the shield. 

Mana equivalent to half a dozen ranks 5 poured into the shield, and then— 

BOOM

Ilbert felt the entire deck shake as the lighting flickered before going out. An ominous groaning sound reverberated throughout the ship as it was subjected to a massive force pushing it off course. 

Several devices shut down around him, some merely ceasing to function while others exploded or sent sparks flying everywhere. 

A few seconds later, power returned to the ship as the engines restarted. 

"Report, Guardian. The attack ranged between intermediate and advanced rank 6. The shield consumed five medium-quality spirit stones, completely overheated, and will take five minutes to reboot. Numerous systems are damaged, including the entire starboard weaponry system. The auxiliary engine is operational, and the main engine should restart in about thirty seconds." 

"What the hell was that?!" 

Before the officer could finish, Ilbert moved like a ghost and appeared before Jonas, forcing him to cower under the weight of his bloodlust and pressure. 

"Damn it, how can he be so strong?!" Jonas panicked internally. He was convinced that with his strength at the pinnacle of rank 5, the allied armies wouldn't dare act against him, but clearly, he was completely wrong. 

Ilbert was in a whole different league. In age alone, he had lived nearly 1,500 years, and his strength had reached the absolute pinnacle of rank 5 long ago. 

Yet he was someone who had once reigned over an entire race through genocide. Though he had become the director of the New Dawn Academy and hadn't fought in a long time, he often trained with the other Guardians of the World. 

The number of people he had killed numbered in the tens of thousands. Even though he was still constrained at the pinnacle of rank 5 due to the world's suppression, his knowledge of formations had long surpassed the rank 6 threshold. 

In sheer brute strength, he might not have been the strongest Guardian, but as long as he had time to set up a few formations, even Isabella wouldn't dare claim victory against him. 

And that was because she was a Guardian. 

Even against a dozen normal pinnacle rank 5s, he was confident, let alone a mere Jonas, whose strength stemmed solely from Brotherhood resources but lacked combat experience. 

The man could feel death's scythe at his throat, the gravity around him increasing hundreds of times while he floated weightlessly. 

"Answer me, damn it! Why do they have such firepower?! You told us it wouldn't exceed rank 5!" 

"This is Marinda. We've taken three hits and are initiating the first rotation," the radio crackled as the first rotation commenced. 

"Guardian, what are your orders?" one of the bridge officers suddenly asked. 

"We're vulnerable without shields, and they know it. We'll make them think we're out of commission. Shut down the engines intermittently, as if we're experiencing power failures, and let the ship drift until the fleet has passed us. Then we'll catch up in their wake. If we're lucky, they'll stop targeting us. If not, we're all dead. Reactivate the deflectors as soon as possible." 

At that moment, Ilbert seemed to recall something, and his gaze darkened as he took his communicator to the direct line of Nyma's fleet commander. 

"The Brotherhood deceived us. They have no idea of the Minks ships' power. They're using us as cannon fodder to discover the extent of their strength. I even suspect their attack hasn't started yet! As for why some ships left, I have no clue." 

There was a long silence as the dark elf on the other end connected the dots. 

She wasn't stupid. What Ilbert had just said was enough for her to piece the events together. 

"What do we do? Do we retreat?" she asked hesitantly. 

Ilbert's gaze sharpened as he looked at the two ships on the holographic projection. 

"No, we keep going. We're already moving too fast and are too far from the World's Will. If we turn back, they'll gun us down like rabbits. Our only hope is to destroy them." 

They were already less than 15,000 kilometers from the Minks, and it was too late to retreat. 

After all, this wasn't like on Earth. They couldn't just turn around in space, especially not with a battleship several hundred meters long. 

They would have to expose their flanks to the Minks, increasing their vulnerability and sealing their fate. 

"And you," he said, glaring at Jonas, "we'll deal with you back at Devara. Pray you find a good excuse if you want to keep your pathetic life."