The eleven Blade Emperors charged into the battle-star, sweeping through its interior like a scythe through dry grass, pushing toward the core. The star's complex structure was an open road to them, and the defensive lines laid by the garrison were no sturdier than paper.

These bio-soldiers and mechs, forged for war, knew nothing of fear or retreat. They advanced wave after wave, scouring the battle-star for the enemy, but their efforts were futile. The gulf separating them from a Level Four entity was too vast; they couldn't even glimpse the Blade Emperors, much less inflict any damage.

Where the Blade Emperors passed, chaos reigned—fire consumed everything, explosions echoed incessantly, and countless bio-soldiers, machine troops, and massive war-machines were reduced to wreckage.

Finally, the Blade Emperors reached the star's core.

It was a massive spherical chamber, approximately one hundred twenty kilometers in diameter. The seamless, perfectly geometric curve of the immense walls lent the space a heavy, imposing atmosphere. The walls shimmered with five-colored light, imbued with a dreamlike quality, as if this were an Elysium far removed from the rest of existence.

The Blade Emperors surveyed the surroundings. One stepped forward and projected his voice loudly into the void: "Show yourself. You are strong. Though you borrow the energy of this battle-star to mask your presence from our sight, your essence cannot be hidden from us. Your intent to kill has left its trace across the river of time. We know you are here."

After a long silence, a soft voice replied, "Should I offer you welcome? You murderers. Look at what you have done! You spread slaughter everywhere, your hands stained with the blood of every race, causing countless families to shatter in despair. Forty percent of the first wave of immigrants from various races were lost due to your species' assault, and yet you press on! How many more must you kill before you are satisfied?"

"We do not kill for satisfaction!" the Blade Emperor countered. "You should know that our species long possessed the capability to traverse the galaxy, yet we initially occupied only a single stellar region where we multiplied. It was you who instigated this war. The Level Fours of the Expeditionary Force deemed our existence a threat to all races, so they assembled a joint fleet intending to erase us from this universe. Therefore, we stepped outside our domain and launched our counterattack."

"Evasion!" The soft voice suddenly erupted with furious fire, shaking the entire chamber like thunder from the heavens. "You struck first. Your first contact with the other races was the Hysen Federation's fleet, remember? You annihilated the entire convoy, turning every Hysen there into a suicide bomber. You initiated hostile action against us."

"They invaded our territory," the Blade Emperor paused. "Never mind arguing over these particulars. It is useless now. What meaning does determining who is responsible for this war hold for us? The war has begun. Even if right and wrong are settled, can anything be restored to what it was? In many cases, action comes first, and justification follows later. There is no inherent right or wrong in this world; morality arises only when sentient beings exist. Surely, esteemed one, you can discern that?"

The mysterious voice laughed sorrowfully a few times. "More tired clichés. In this vast galaxy, the cycle of 'you kill me, I kill you' has repeated for hundreds of millennia. Even the strongest Level Fours must obey the laws of the greater cosmos. Your thoughts are neither the first nor the last I have encountered. I have heard them too many times to care to listen anymore."

"Then what do you intend to do?" the Blade Emperor asked.

"I thought I had seen through everything. I was willing to face everything with a heart of mercy and naively believed my heart would never change. But in reality, I cannot. What exists that could make me forgive a group of murderers who killed my husband? Such a thing does not exist!"

A deep rumbling sound resonated through the space, rapidly intensifying until it resembled the collapse of heaven and earth. An immensely powerful energy converged at the center of the chamber, forming a colossal, seven-colored sphere of light.

"Husband..." The Blade Emperor focused on the sphere of light. "As expected. This is a battle-star constructed by the Galan people, equipped with the God-Core System. Only a Level Four entity of the Galan people can utilize it. You are not Betak. Yimuli is dead. You are the third of the three Great Guardians of the Galan people—no, the first. You are stronger than Yimuli. You are Yimuli's wife, Ora."

"I am Ora," she confirmed. "This battle-star is my husband's God-Core Legion. Betak was never worthy of commanding it. He intended to seize it before confronting you, but you denied him that opportunity. Now, I will fulfill his final wish: to annihilate you within his domain!"

As the light faded slightly, the seven-colored sphere convulsed violently, emitting a great sound. Energy lifeforms, birthed from the core of the sphere, emerged and rushed toward the eleven Blade Emperors.

Although the Blade Emperors were currently cloaked, the invisibility seemed ineffective against the energy lifeforms.

"This is my husband's domain, and mine as well. In our domain, your stealth is useless!" Ora shouted.

The Blade Emperors condensed Void Energy Blades in their hands and unleashed them upon the energy beings surging toward them. These entities possessed countless bizarre and varied forms; though thousands had been birthed from the seven-colored sphere, no two were identical, resembling a sprawling zoo.

However, what occupied the Blade Emperors' attention more were their opponents. Aura of Benevolence, Ora, was not the most powerful Level Four in the Orion Arm, but her reputation was indisputably supreme.

Nearly half of the advanced civilizations in the Orion Arm had benefited from her benevolence. For tens of thousands of years, she had worked diligently, striving to save lives and protect more beings from the devastation of war. This effort was widely recognized across the races, and in many sectors, her image almost symbolized the Galan people themselves.

Ora and Yimuli were a model couple, their partnership spanning tens of thousands of years. Rumor had it they were married even before ascending to Level Four. They ascended simultaneously one day and thereafter held firm control over the direction of the Galan Republic.

For this expedition, Yimuli led the main force, while Ora remained on Galan as rear support.

"I should have known," Ora said sadly, recalling the ominous premonition he held before departing. "I urged him not to go to the Perseus Arm, but this expedition was too vital to his heart. He said he felt it would determine the fate of the Galan Republic. Thus, even though he sensed immense danger in the venture, he firmly believed he could overcome it. Ha." Ora gave a mournful laugh. "The result is now clear. This expedition profoundly impacted the Galan Republic’s destiny—but negatively, leading to annihilation."

The Blade Emperors had already slain tens of thousands of energy beings, yet the seven-colored sphere continued to birth and release more, seemingly without end—an inexhaustible foe.

What proved more troublesome, however, was Ora herself. Quantifying her mental power yielded a figure of approximately 240 million. Yimuli’s was 230 million; Ora surpassed him slightly.

Among the Level Fours in the Orion Arm, Sharo held the title of strongest with 300 million in mental power. Next was Emperor Saliant of the Loa Empire at 270 million, followed closely by Ora at 240 million.

Of the peak Level Fours, Tibutz possessed 210 million mental power, while the Loa God of Slaughter, Xiperon, only had 190 million. Furthermore, there was another peak Level Four among the Loa who remained guarding the Loa Empire, Prince Songge, whose strength was rumored to be similar to Tibutz’s, perhaps slightly over 200 million.

If forced to fight without any external aids, any single Blade Emperor could handle Ora, who ranked third among the Orion Arm's top fighters. But now, she was being fueled continuously by the entire battle-star, whose energy reserves already vastly exceeded the Betak fleet’s. It stood to reason that mobilizing a structure larger than a moon required energy that was nearly infinite.

Ora continued speaking: "Without him, what use is the Galan Republic to me? Let it all pass. If I cannot kill you here and avenge him, I have no intention of returning alive!"

This presented a greater dilemma for the Blade Emperors. Their opponent was a heartbroken wife seeking vengeance for her husband's death—a completely justifiable pursuit. If the target hadn't been themselves, from a third-party perspective, they ought to assist her in achieving her goal. Though the Blade Emperors manifested their Zerg form, making their methods more aggressive than in their human or Archon forms, their fundamental thought processes were still based on Yang Ying. Consequently, they hesitated to strike.

While passively resisting the onslaught of energy creatures Ora unleashed, they pondered a solution. After a moment, one Blade Emperor spoke, "Even if you manage to kill us, what will that change? Yimuli has fallen; his soul has dissipated. Nothing can be recovered."

Ora sneered, "Are you begging for mercy?"

"Think what you will."

Recognizing their opponent as a grief-stricken wife rather than merely another Level Four entity, the Blade Emperors decided to overlook the verbal insults and continued, "Perhaps you should consider the issue of the Zerg..." (To be continued)