The Blade Emperor, under the saturation assault of the Beita Fleet, continuously flashed to evade the rain of energy beams pounding down on them. The Blade Emperors managed to dodge the majority of the beams, blocking countless others with plasma shields and Void Energy Blades.

Void Energy proved incredibly strange, possessing the trait of absorbing other energies. When energy beams struck the Void Energy Blades, they were drawn in, never to emerge, causing not even a ripple. However, the combined attack launched by Bedak using an entire fleet was extraordinary; tens of thousands of warships acted as one, multiplying their efficiency a thousandfold. Even an entity at the peak of the Fourth Level would struggle against such a formation, especially when coupled with Shaluo, Yingmuli, Salianfu Di, and the other Fourth Level existences from the Orion Arm, capable of weaving a terrifying kill formation. Had only a single Blade Emperor been present, escape would have been nearly impossible, let alone victory.

Fortunately, Yang Ying dispatched thirteen Blade Emperors simultaneously, preserving a chance of success. Although the Bedak fleet commanded offensive power equivalent to several dozen peak Fourth Level entities, its core remained Bedak, merely at the Upper Fourth Level. In operation, subtle flaws persisted.

These were not truly flaws in the conventional sense, but rather the limitation inherent to Bedak being an Upper Fourth Level being—the maximum he could achieve even when pushing his limits. Yet, to a being at the Fourth Level Apex, these limitations manifested as exploitable weaknesses.

Braving the overwhelming barrage of beams, four Blade Emperors surged into outer space. Yingmuli, transformed into a ribbon of rainbow light, hurtled toward the Beita Fleet, clearly intending to utilize Bedak’s cover to initiate a wormhole jump.

The leading Blade Emperor reached Yingmuli first. With a flicker of movement, he materialized beside him and slashed out a crescent of emerald blade light, driving it toward Yingmuli.

Bedak instantly perceived Yingmuli’s peril and reacted, commanding an energy cannon on the fleet to fire a silvery-white beam directly at the small Blade Emperor. The beam struck the green blade light, shattering it. Following this, Bedak ordered more energy cannons to unleash their full firepower upon that single Blade Emperor.

In an instant, thousands of dazzling beams hammered toward the Blade Emperor. The total energy of these beams exceeded the combined tolerance of the plasma shields and the Void Energy Blades!

The Blade Emperor hastily shifted, evading most of the beams. The Bedak fleet relentlessly pursued the attack with continuous streams of light. The Blade Emperor executed several rapid dodges, his movements ghost-like, before employing an invisibility technique to vanish, simultaneously projecting an illusion to draw fire, thereby successfully evading every beam.

Yingmuli acted as if he had anticipated this outcome, paying no heed to the Blade Emperor behind him, and continued his charge toward the Beita Fleet.

Another Blade Emperor closed in. Bedak instantly shifted the primary target onto him. Seeing the success of the previous illusion tactic, this Blade Emperor blurred his form, splitting one into ten, then ten into a hundred, generating thousands of phantoms that converged on Yingmuli from all directions!

The Bedak fleet now lost its lock. While their offensive power was sharp, their reconnaissance relied heavily on Bedak’s Advanced Spiritual Sense Eye, supplemented by the fleet’s own scanning equipment.

Under normal circumstances, the combination of these two detection methods was sufficient for any scenario, but that did not account for illusionary techniques.

Illusionary arts could deceive the Advanced Spiritual Sense Eye of a Fourth Level being, just as they could fool standard detection gear. Faced with thousands of phantoms, Bedak’s only recourse was to scatter his firepower, eliminating as many potential targets as possible.

Under the cover of the illusions, the Blade Emperors closed the distance to Yingmuli. Though still some distance from the main Beita Fleet, the separation was minimal.

The Blade Emperor waved his right hand, unleashing another crescent of blade light at Yingmuli, while his left hand followed immediately, a second crescent slice arriving just ahead of the first, aiming to cleave Yingmuli from both sides almost simultaneously!

Yingmuli could no longer afford his leisurely pace. Rainbow light exploded from his body, splitting into two thinner arcs that intercepted the incoming blade strikes. However, this defense lasted only an instant; the rainbow light was sliced through. The Void Energy contained within the blade attacks immediately neutralized the energy of the light arcs.

But that bought Yingmuli a crucial second. He was closer to the Beita Fleet, which was simultaneously maneuvering to meet him. The convergence point was less than two seconds away.

At this moment, the next two Blade Emperors caught up. They hacked continuously with twin blades, and Yingmuli’s protective rainbow aura could not withstand such concentrated assault. In half a second, it shattered, revealing Yingmuli’s true form.

The main cannons of the Beita Fleet fired in sequence. This was the final moment, and Bedak abandoned all restraint, unleashing every fully charged main cannon. Beams of energy, brighter than the star-filled void, enveloped Yingmuli’s form, continuously hammering the four Blade Emperors.

The three Blade Emperors immediately gathered Void Energy, each projecting a green spark. The green flames expanded violently, weaving a dense, three-layered net of Void Energy across space. When the energy beams struck this net, they were briefly halted.

The first layer of the Void Energy net shattered instantly. The second layer, pounded by continuous bombardment, fractured immediately after. The third layer, however, held—though the green points on the net dimmed significantly, it did not break.

Bedak was firing at full capacity but failed to breach the three layers, primarily because a portion of his energy had been expended in prior concentrated strikes and was currently in a cooldown phase. Only a fraction of his full power was dedicated to escorting Yingmuli; the bulk was still focused on the surface battlefield.

Meanwhile, on the planet’s surface, two engagements raged. In one, Shaluo and Emperor Salian were double-teaming a single Blade Emperor, who was clearly losing ground. Shaluo alone was superior to the Blade Emperor; though their mental power levels were comparable, Shaluo’s tens of thousands of years of combat experience far outstripped his opponent’s. Now, with Emperor Salian joining, the situation worsened.

Emperor Salian might not defeat a Blade Emperor one-on-one, but conversely, the Blade Emperor could not dispatch him quickly. In a direct fight, eliminating Salian would take a standard day.

The other battle involved eight Blade Emperors against over ten Fourth Level entities from the various races of the Orion Arm—twelve, precisely. The strongest on the Orion Arm side were Xipolun and Tibuzi, whom Yang Ying had met once before. Though both were at the peak of the Fourth Level, neither could match a Blade Emperor. This group was heavily favored by the Blade Emperors. If Bedak hadn't diverted most of his external firepower to support them, those groups would have long since been routed and suffered catastrophic losses. Now, Bedak had expended his reserve firepower. In the next second or two, he could only wait for some energy cannons to cycle back online, rendering his offensive capabilities severely limited in the interim.

This final layer of the Void Energy net now blocked Yingmuli’s path. Seeing the Beita Fleet mere steps away but blocked by the green fire, Yingmuli roared and thrust out a rainbow-like sphere of light toward the green flame net.

Seizing this moment, the fourth Blade Emperor lunged before Yingmuli, slashing continuously with green-flamed scimitars from both hands. Green fire flashed and blade light scattered wildly. After launching the sphere, Yingmuli coalesced his rainbow energy in his hands into a large, circular shield, which he brought up defensively behind him.

The green blade light struck the multicolored shield, erupting in sparks of green and emerald. Faint scratches appeared on the shield’s surface; the deepest mark was in the center, nearly cleaving the entire shield in two.

Yingmuli’s launched rainbow sphere slammed into the Void Energy net with a boom, tearing open a large hole. Just as he prepared to dart through, the Blade Emperor moved faster, seizing the opening and blocking his path.

The three Blade Emperors from behind caught up and surrounded Yingmuli, unleashing a furious barrage. Unable to break through the encirclement, Yingmuli engaged the four Blade Emperors, using his left hand for the large shield and his right hand for a long spear that continuously projected arcs of rainbow light from its tip.

Yingmuli and the Beita Fleet were only half a second from linking up. He only needed to hold out for that half-second longer to fall under the fleet’s protection. Bedak knew this was the critical juncture. He focused all cooled-down energy cannons on this small cluster, effectively abandoning the surface battles. The final Void Energy net was already depleted and shattered after just a few strikes.

At this crucial moment, the four Blade Emperors ignored the energy beams striking their flanks, activating their plasma shields to absorb the blows, pouring all their offensive power onto Yingmuli!

Suddenly, the entire Beita Fleet vanished. Then, it reappeared surrounding the combat cluster!

Collective Instant Transfer—a fleet tactic executed by a Fourth Level entity leveraging the fleet’s energy matrix—manifested before the Blade Emperors once more.

The combat zone was now enveloped by the Beita Fleet. Yingmuli was effectively under the fleet's protection! A massive wave of missiles launched from the warships. Some lower-energy anti-air cannons redirected their barrels, bringing the four Blade Emperors into their firing arc. Though the individual power of these lower-grade cannons was low, their sheer numbers, concentrated fire, were enough to atomize one or two peak Fourth Level entities!

Full Fleet Volley!

Innumerable fine energy beams erupted from every warship, all converging on the few Blade Emperors!

Yingmuli parried and deflected wildly; his defensive range was compressed to the absolute limit. He was in the most perilous state imaginable, yet his expression showed no sign of worry, his eyes filled with confidence. He knew he was safe; the Blade Emperors had to retreat immediately, or in a few moments, under the fleet’s bombardment, even escape would be impossible.

Yingmuli had foreseen that if the Blade Emperors persisted in killing him, they would sacrifice two of their own first! Mixed in with the energy beams were direct attacks from Bedak, capable of inflicting lethal damage on a Fourth Level entity. He doubted the Zerg would willingly pay such a cost: trading two peak Fourth Level existences for one Upper Fourth Level entity like himself!

But he was wrong!

A star-like cluster of energy beams slammed into the four Blade Emperors. Two of them bore the brunt of the attack; their plasma shields instantly collapsed, and then the beams disintegrated the entities themselves into mere particles. The remaining two Blade Emperors thrust all four of their green-flamed katanas deep into Yingmuli’s body, then pulled back with a vicious tear!

Yingmuli, one of the three great Guardians of the Galan Republic, was torn limb from limb, perishing on the spot! To know what happens next, please log on to Chapter [XXX] for more, supporting the creator!