The chapter had a slight indentation during writing. Regarding whether Nab saw the previous scene of Agane's version as contradictory, it has actually been corrected in the part where he "saw" it, but for those reading pirated copies, there is nothing I can do.

"Good, good," Apollo replied repeatedly.

Nab said in a deep voice, "Before the war broke out, relations between Earth and the Ancient Legion grew increasingly tense. At that time, Earthlings didn't know that the Ancient Legion was a biological unit specially constructed by the Kustar people to deal with Earth. Therefore, in handling relations between the two races, the high echelons of the Earth government were divided into two factions: the warmongers who desired conflict, and the peacemakers who hoped for negotiation."

"I have also seen the history of that period in historical records," Apollo said. "The Ancient Legion feigned acceptance of the peacemakers' terms and entered negotiations with humanity, but used this as cover to launch a sudden surprise attack on the main base of the Earth military on Neptune one day, crippling the main force of the Earth defense army overnight and firing the first shot of the war. Consequently, the peacemakers instantly lost influence, and the government was taken over by the warmongers."

"Yes, your memory is accurate," Nab stated. "The union of Agane and Katherine was once an extremely important bargaining chip for the peacemakers. Therefore, as soon as the peacemakers took power, they considered Agane a thorn in their side and mobilized massive armies to encircle him. Agane hid with his wife and child for some time, but was eventually located by intelligence departments. The Earth military dispatched five armored divisions, two air divisions, two artillery divisions, and a large number of robotic cannon fodder, surrounding Agane in a small town called Soren."

"A small town? Did the army massacre indiscriminately?" Apollo inquired.

Nab shook his head. "No. The army wouldn't commit such an atrocity in broad daylight. However, the people of Soren tried every means possible to drive Agane and his family out. Soren was Katherine's hometown, but their methods were anything but neighborly. Agane and Katherine were hiding in the town, and it was the townspeople who leaked their location. Those ignorant villagers considered Katherine marrying an ape and having children to be utterly depraved. Agane initially considered teaching them a lesson, but Katherine stopped him. Seeing this, the townspeople became bolder, hurling all sorts of harsh insults directly to their faces."

Apollo bristled upon hearing this. "Those people were despicable! It was none of their business, yet they felt free to point fingers at others so casually."

"Human nature is inherently flawed; this is just human nature. Most people are like this," Nab sneered. "Katherine received a deep shock in Soren. The accusations, betrayal, and selling out from those she knew even made her doubt the doctrines of the Holy Light, causing her cultivation level to plummet."

"Cultivation can actually plummet?" Apollo was astonished.

"Of course it can. The Holy Light is a very domineering force; it punishes knights who do not conform to the Way of the Holy Light. Besides the drop in cultivation, Katherine's body was also afflicted by the backlash of the Holy Light, leaving her severely weakened. To make the army surrounding the town withdraw, Agane walked out of the town alone. At that time, Agane probably thought that even if he couldn't persuade the commander to retreat, he could assassinate the commander, sow chaos in the army, and create an opportunity for them to break out."

"However, not long after leaving the town, he sensed Katherine falling into danger. He instantly returned to Soren, only to find that Katherine had already been killed by the fanatical townspeople—and the person who killed Katherine was an old neighbor who had watched her grow up."

Nab’s tone dripped with sarcasm: "How ridiculous, how laughable! A high-ranking Knight like Katherine was killed by an old woman with a kitchen knife. If Agane hadn't returned in time, Ulysses would likely have met the same fate at the old woman's blade!"

"That's utterly unbelievable," Apollo exclaimed. "Did Grandpa Agane not leave any protective measures when he departed?"

Nab let the laughter fade, his expression turning grim again. "He did. Before leaving Soren, Agane placed an illusion around Katherine and Ulysses to prevent the townspeople from getting close. Logically, using an illusion against those unawakened common villagers shouldn't have failed. But the illusion did not work."

"That old woman ignored the illusion and walked directly into Katherine's room, hacking her to death with a kitchen knife."

"That old woman truly wasn't an Awakened one?" Apollo asked.

"Not at all!" Nab said gravely. "The fact that the old woman ignored the illusion violates common sense, but there must be a rational explanation. The most rational explanation is that a peak Master secretly shielded the old woman from the illusion's effect, allowing her to succeed in this deed."

"A peak Master? Which one?" Apollo's eyes widened.

"Based on Agane's investigations over the years, the prime suspect is Helas," Nab huffed.

"No wonder Grandpa Agane's grudge with Helas started so early," Apollo muttered to himself.

"Agane buried Katherine and then broke out while carrying Ulysses. Burdened with an infant, his usable power was severely restricted; he barely managed to force his way out using all his strength. Aside from the child in his arms, hardly a spot on his body was intact. Grandpa was twenty-one at the time, serving as a confidant to the previous leader of the Caribbean Pirates. That day, I followed the leader to Earth to broaden my horizons and happened to run into Agane. I ended up helping him, finding him a safe haven, and fetching Ulysses' formula and diapers from outside," Nab’s expression softened.

"Grandpa did things like that?" Apollo was surprised.

"I was young and impetuous then. I was just curious seeing an ape holding a human infant and claiming it was his son," Nab replied casually.

"Grandpa trusted Grandpa Agane more than anyone else, I suppose that trust began then," Apollo said, a strange smile gracing his lips as he lowered his head so Nab couldn't see, and continued, "What happened next?"

"Later, when Agane had mostly recovered from his injuries, he took Ulysses to Mand Island in the Pacific and entrusted him to the Psionic Temple. Then he followed me back to the Caribbean Pirates. Even the previous generation's leader never discovered that Grandpa knew Agane," Nab’s eyes flashed coldly, clearly satisfied with his skill at concealment.

"And after that, it was Grandpa's history of making his fortune," Apollo stated.

"You've heard that story too many times, so I won't repeat it," Nab nodded.

Apollo lowered his head, thinking deeply for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Grandpa, there's one thing I can't figure out. Why didn't the prime suspect, Helas, take any further action after tampering with things in Soren? When Grandpa Agane was injured, wasn't that a perfect opportunity?"

"Who knows what actually happened," Nab frowned. "Agane investigated it too back then but found no useful clues. However, there are far too many unexpected things in this world; perhaps Helas encountered a formidable enemy after making a move in Soren."

Apollo gave an 'oh,' looking thoughtful.

"That is essentially Agane's story, and now I pass this story on to you."

After finishing the tale, Nab resumed his high-and-mighty persona as the Pirate King: "We have successively lost Paradise City and Agane. On this grand stage, we are undoubtedly the biggest losers. We must thoroughly reassess things when we return. Yang Ying of the Teran Mercenary Group surely won't let this go easily either."

Their spaceship navigated through the asteroid field, flying deep into the starscape.

On the other side, Yang Ying and Master Merlin's party distanced themselves from the battlefield. Since Master Merlin needed to return to the Ceres Base while Yang Ying had to go back to the secret base, they parted ways.

Yang Ying's trip to Paradise City this time was mostly observational; on this grand stage involving several peaks, he played the role of an extra—not even a supporting character. In the end, when he tried to become a supporting character, he was rejected due to insufficient strength.

Agane's death weighed heavily on Yang Ying's mind. After all, he was also a target of Helas, and following Agane's demise, Yang Ying was surely ranked number one on Helas's list.

Although he possessed countless clones and his soul could be transferred—the death of one body simply meant changing to another—being hunted was never a pleasant prospect.

With a string of thoughts in his mind, Yang Ying piloted the Wraith fighter back to the base.

Yang Ying had already recounted everything that happened in Paradise City to Kalia and the others via his clones during the journey back. Upon returning to the base, Yang Ying didn't seek out anyone else first; he went straight for Kate.

The two proceeded to the base's Star Gazing Platform—a circular plaza one hundred meters in diameter on the top floor, covered by a semi-circular transparent dome. One glance up revealed the entire 360-degree expanse of the starry sky.

There were over a dozen such platforms in the base, and the one Yang Ying chose was his private space.

Katerina noticed Yang Ying was in a somber mood, so she took his hand, and they strolled slowly across the platform, completing two circuits. Yang Ying remained silent throughout.

There were many lounge chairs on the platform for rest. Yang Ying approached two of them, moved them together with a flick of his psychic energy, and lay down.

"Stay with me a while, let's look at the stars," Yang Ying said.

"Okay." Katerina lay down beside him, resting her head against his chest.

Another period of silence descended. The stars seemed eternally constant, emitting bright and dazzling light. A single Milky Way bisected the heavens, cutting the starscape in half.

"I'm sorry," Yang Ying murmured softly.

"It's alright," Katerina replied just as softly.

Neither of them spoke about the specifics, but true connection needs no words; both perfectly understood the other's feelings.

"I will become a Master. Soon, very soon..."

"I believe you."