"The Berson people dare to pressure Xy'er, so they must have arranged for someone to deal with my Youyou," only a Fourth Level being can counter a Fourth Level being; the one they invited "should be Sidilon, the God of Slaughter from the Luo Ya Empire. Truly a grand maneuver."

"The True Human Empire has invaded the Perseus Arm, dispatching numerous Fourth Level entities, coupled with the existing Fourth Level powers native to the Perseus Arm. All sides are calculating against the future, plunging it into chaos, making it completely unreadable."

"Is the Luo Ya Empire making this move to secure allies against the competitive pressure from the Galan people and the Seikro? Even Emperor Salian, the legendary pinnacle of the Fourth Level, only a step away from the absolute limit, cannot see the full picture anymore?"

On a satellite orbiting an Ayl Star, Cass looked up at the starry expanse, extending his Higher Spiritual Sense Eye into the long river of time. He had anticipated the Buke people’s raid today.

A war between the Protoss and the Buke people was inevitable. This was determined by the Protoss's celestial position and the Buke people's philosophy of existence; it could not be avoided, leading inevitably toward conflict.

Seventy thousand battleships, with a single salvo, possessed enough power to shatter the Ayl Star, rendering the Protoss's efforts of the past two years to naught. But conversely, if they annihilated the entire Buke fleet of seventy thousand ships right here, then this Buke-Reck star domain would fall entirely under the Protoss's control. Nearly one hundred million interceptors surged forward to meet the seventy thousand Buke warships, and a massive battle commenced.

The interceptors, holding the numerical advantage, engaged the Buke warships and fighters in fierce offense. Every moment, countless ships and fighters were destroyed in the vacuum of space.

The losses for the interceptors were comparable to the seventy thousand Buke warships, which included cruisers, destroyers, and carriers, each with distinct roles and carrying around fifty million embarked fighters. They engaged the interceptors for a while, only slightly falling behind in the initial clash.

However, as time wore on, the carriers' advantage became apparent. The carriers housed onboard interceptor fabrication facilities; every time an interceptor was destroyed, a new one could quickly be produced. Furthermore, damaged interceptors only needed to return to a carrier to rest briefly before being repaired in the factories, rejoining the fray in pristine condition.

In terms of sustained offensive capability, the carriers far surpassed the Buke warships.

The Buke people attempted to have their fighter wings bypass the interceptor blockade to strike directly at the carriers. But as their name suggested, the interceptors were masters of interception. Shielded by the interceptors, the carriers remained as solid as Mount Tai. However, every fighter the Buke side deployed was shredded by the swarming interceptors midway through their approach.

"The enemy's unmanned drones possess formidable combat power. Our fighter craft are lacking, both in numbers and overall strength," the Buke Fleet Commander frowned, observing the full tactical display of the battle.

"Commander, there are too many of the enemy's unmanned combat units! They are endless, and our defensive lines are being breached layer by layer! The First, Fourth, and Fifth Destroyer Squadrons have been completely wiped out!"

"All anti-air batteries, open fire immediately!" the Commander roared. "Warships, form up! Create a three-dimensional curtain of fire, cover each other! Do not let the enemy fighters approach us! Simultaneously, change course. Ignore those unmanned drones! Our sole objective is to bring our main guns to bear on the enemy fleet once we close within firing range. I refuse to believe that seventy thousand capital ships cannot stop a mere ten thousand enemy vessels!"

The Minister of Foreign Affairs paced nervously back and forth a few times, muttering, "Why haven't they made their move yet? Why aren't they moving?"

The Commander shot him a glance. "Lord Sidilon always keeps his word. He said he would kill that Protoss leader, and he will certainly do it."

"Checking the time, it should be close. Lord Sidilon, you have arrived early. I did not expect to meet you at this time, at this location," Cass spoke toward the void.

He was currently on the Ayl Star's satellite, awaiting the arrival of the Buke people's hidden contingency.

Though the void appeared empty, Cass, using his Higher Spiritual Sense Eye, could clearly perceive ripples emanating through the spacetime fabric. Though almost imperceptible, they were obvious to him, a being at the peak of the Fourth Level.

"Interesting," Sidilon's voice emerged from the void. "You can sense me so easily. Has your mental power also reached the peak of the Fourth Level? Indeed. I failed to gauge your strength from your external energy signature; clearly, your power surpasses my estimation."

"There will always be some deviation in perception when a Fourth Level being senses another Fourth Level entity. After all, beings of the Fourth Level are not bound by fate; they possess the ability to alter the future. As a vanguard, obscuring your foresight of my future is a simple matter," Cass said quietly, purple flames burning around him.

"From your words, it seems you have been waiting for me for quite some time," Sidilon remarked.

"Not long, not long. The time for you to reveal your conspiracy was indeed short," Cass paused, then continued, "We Protoss have no conflict with you Luo Ya people. It was wrong of you to come here with the intent to kill."

"Wrong? Where is the wrong? The strong prey on the weak in this universe. We Berson need to ally with the Zhixue Abyss to annihilate you."

"Annihilate us? That is quite a boastful claim."

"With your mental strength, assassinating you will indeed be difficult. Though my hands are stained with the lives of several Fourth Level beings, I have never killed one who is my equal, a Fourth Level pinnacle like myself." Sidilon's tone suddenly shifted, turning terrifying. "Excellent. There is no existence that cannot be killed in this world. I have attempted to assassinate Emperor Salian twice before, both times unsuccessfully. Now, facing you, what harm is there in trying again?"

That the God of Slaughter, one of the three deities of Luo Ya, had tried to assassinate Emperor Salian—this news, if released, likely no one would believe. Yet, Cass knew Sidilon would not lie about this.

With his Higher Spiritual Sense Eye, Cass could clearly see Sidilon’s mental power registering at one hundred and thirty million, vastly stronger than Karagunis.

However, compared to his own three hundred million in ceaseless, ocean-like mental power, it was nothing to fear.

"It must be tiresome hiding within the void's interlayer. Come out for a talk," Cass gave Sidilon little time to consider the preceding events. He pointed directly at the void before him. The air shimmered with concentric rings of ripples, and a shadow suddenly burst forth from the atmosphere.

It was the God of Slaughter, Sidilon.

If anyone knew that the ever-elusive Sidilon had been forced out of the void by a single gesture from Cass, the news would surely top the headlines of every major Luo Ya news outlet.

"Fine. You take a move from me as well." The shadow forced out of the void showed no discouragement. A stiletto forged from black energy materialized in his hand. It was about the height of an average person but as thin as a steel needle. Sidilon darted forward, sword in hand, rushing toward Cass. His movements were impossibly fast, rivaling the best even in the Orion Arm.

Cass extended both hands. With a flash of blue-white light, a torrent of lightning erupted, surging directly toward Sidilon.

Sidilon frowned. He felt the immense power contained within the lightning. He swept his black sword horizontally forward, intercepting the lightning attack.

Crack!

With a crisp sound, the black energy stiletto was shattered by the electricity and vanished from Sidilon's grasp.

Sidilon seemed to have anticipated this. His body flickered, and a field of dark energy exploded outward, forming a shield that momentarily blocked the lightning before beginning to crumble. This short delay was enough for him to safely disengage and escape the lightning's area of effect.

Having evaded the attack, Sidilon did not press the offensive. Instead, he concealed himself once more within the spatial fissure, vanishing without a trace.

"Fled, as expected of an assassin's style. Attack once, retreat immediately upon failure, never lingering."

Cass made no attempt to pursue. Instead, he directed his gaze toward several locations on the periphery of the star system. The Buke fleet was attempting to encircle the Ayl Planet from all directions, forming a net.

The Ayl Star had not yet entered their firing arc, but once it did, the situation would become perilous.

"Since Sidilon has been driven off by me, the probability of him continuing to aid the Buke people is low," Cass glanced into the future again, analyzing the possible outcomes.

Killing Sidilon could spark the most intense conflict between the Protoss and the Luo Ya people, and engaging the Luo Ya now would offer no advantage to the Protoss. Having consumed the Buke-Reck Star Domain, the Protoss were already stretched thin.

The other two factions were also tied up. The Human Race was busy conquering territories in the Kustar Empire's domain. The Zerg had already amassed vast armies, waiting only for the True Human Empire to withdraw before expanding their own territory significantly.

Although the manpower under Yang Ying had grown rapidly in recent years, it was still inadequate for conquering an entire star domain.

After a moment, Cass nodded slightly. "Good, it is time to conclude this."

Just as this thought crossed Cass's mind, in locations unseen by the enemy, numerous slightly larger meteoroids began flying toward the densest concentrations of the fleet within the encirclement net.

Each meteoroid was less than a hundred meters in diameter. Though they looked small, they were not large enough to immediately draw attention.

"Excellent, it seems all the 'meteorites' are in position. The plan is a success," Cass sent out a mental pulse, ordering, "The operation commences now!"

At that moment, successive blinding flashes erupted. The Buke fleet suddenly began to explode on a massive scale.

"What is happening?!" the Buke Fleet Commander roared, utterly furious. In the span of the last minute, he had lost a third of his fleet, and another third sustained damage requiring post-battle calibration and repairs.

"It appears to be a massive minefield detonation," a staff officer replied, "But we can't locate where the minefield is!"

"Keep searching!" the Commander bellowed.