A dozen or so top-tier experts made their move simultaneously. "Qishen's situation is likely rare within the Empire; they have placed far too much faith in their fleet."

After eliminating Yasuwen, Yang Ying transmitted this thought directly into the minds of every Fourth-Level entity on Sandovr's side.

The reality was indeed as he stated. The True Human Empire possessed deep roots and, while not lacking Fourth-Level powerhouses, those who reached the absolute peak of the Fourth Level were exceedingly rare. Besides the dozen or so ancient relics within the Elder Council, there were fewer than ten legendary figures operating outside the Council’s structure; they either held supreme authority in specific domains or were hermits whose whereabouts were entirely unknown.

Unless a matter of existential survival for all humanity was at stake, gathering them for a single coordinated action was practically impossible. The last time the Empire simultaneously deployed more than ten peak Fourth-Level experts was during the eruption of the Great Calamity, assembled to fend off the invasion from extragalactic systems.

Of the over seven hundred Fourth-Level entities who participated in that great war, nearly thirty were peak experts. By the war's end, fully half of the peak experts had perished, and more than half of the remaining Fourth-Level entities, who had not reached the limit, were lost!

For over ten millennia, no battle of such scale had occurred. In normal times, the appearance of a single peak expert was a rarity, let alone a dozen acting in concert!

Although Yasuwen had participated in the great war ten thousand years prior, he had not yet reached the apex of the Fourth Level then and had not been involved in the engagements among the peak experts. This lack of experience resulted in minor errors during today’s battle, leading to a situation where a near miss became a fatal divergence, costing him a life he had already sustained for nearly twenty thousand standard years.

With Yasuwen dead, a shockwave rippled through all the Fourth-Level entities on Sandovr's side, causing even the fleet's assault to momentarily falter.

"Continue the attack," Miller Ma's grim voice cut through the air again. He had now assumed Yasuwen's position as the commander of this force.

"Miller Mu. You are next," Yang Ying effortlessly located Miller Mu within the fleet. He and five other clones simultaneously transformed into streaks of lightning, hurtling toward Miller Mu.

"Close ranks! Re-establish the dense formation!" Miller Mu immediately issued the command while controlling millions of energy beam cannons to erect barriers before Yang Ying and his group.

"Shield!"

As Miller Mu finished speaking, a semi-transparent, faintly cryptic energy barrier enveloped his command vessel. Yang Ying could perceive the immense energy concentrated within this shield. Under Miller Mu's command, this energy even began to warp the very rules of spacetime.

This influence not only made the shield significantly harder to breach but also accelerated the flow of time within it relative to the outside. For instance, for every millisecond that passed outside, ten milliseconds elapsed inside the shield. This meant that while Yang Ying might take one millisecond to form a thought, Miller Mu had ten milliseconds to process his own; his cognitive speed was effectively multiplied tenfold!

"A mere acceleration spell, utilized to this degree. The God Core System is truly extraordinary," Yang Ying praised. Miller Mu’s strategy was sound; having deployed this technique, he was likely to be even more troublesome than Yasuwen.

The six streaks of lightning formed by Yang Ying and his clones navigated the layered net of light. With Miller Mu's accelerated thought process, the threat they posed increased exponentially. The light net woven by the fleet, while perhaps not perfectly seamless, was close to it.

Yang Ying and the others were forced to endure a few strikes from less powerful energy beams to push through the light net. They were hit by several Eighth-Level energy cannons and three or four anti-air cannons. While these caused some disturbance, the overall damage was minimal.

The lightning form precluded the use of Plasma Shields. However, lightning itself is a form of electrical energy, granting it considerable resistance to energy-based damage.

Breaking through the light net, the six bolts of lightning slammed into Miller Mu’s spacetime barrier. A series of concussions followed, each impact carrying the force of a small nuclear detonation. Yet, Miller Mu defended with absolute rigor, revealing not a single weak point.

"Lord Yang Ying, don't you find it strange?" Miller Mu suddenly spoke. "At this moment, Lord Sandovr has already departed the capital planet. Everything happening here has long since been reported to him. Do you truly believe he will stand idly by?"

One of the six streaks of lightning reformed into Yang Ying. Without a word, he raised his hand and hurled a Lightning Javelin, augmented with a Feedback Spell, toward the spacetime barrier. A sound like shattering glass erupted, yet this sound did not propagate through the vacuum of space; instead, it resonated directly within the mental plane.

The lightning javelin pierced a small aperture in the spacetime barrier. The other five clones simultaneously fired their own lightning javelins. Guided by the opening created by the Feedback Spell, they immediately shattered the spacetime barrier!

However, the moment the spacetime barrier was broken, a new one instantly materialized inside. When the lightning javelins struck this second barrier, they vanished immediately, only to reappear on the opposite side—heading straight back!

All five other lightning javelins met the same fate. It was as if Miller Mu’s command ship did not exist within this universe!

"Spatial Displacement Field. You certainly know a few tricks, Miller Mu," Yang Ying remarked.

"In the Regent King's faction, apart from Lord Sandovr himself, I am the one most intimately familiar with the laws of spacetime. Yasuwen's runes looked flashy and carried power, but they were too simplistic. When it comes to sheer means, I possess far more than he ever did."

Miller Mu’s voice grew colder. "Never mind. Since you apparently don't care where Lord Sandovr is right now, I might as well have said nothing. But if you possess even a sliver of curiosity, perhaps consider where your current weakest link lies. The Lord will certainly appear there."

Though he claimed he hadn't meant to imply anything, Miller Mu’s words were clearly intended to sow doubt in Yang Ying's mind, undermine the morale of his forces, and cause hesitation. He managed to evade thousands of incoming light beams while speaking. "I was expecting you to say something. Sandovr is indeed meticulous and far-sighted. I believe he is enacting certain measures right now, and if those measures succeed, they will bring us considerable trouble. However, do not underestimate us either!" Meanwhile, on the Capital Star, Lanton was escorting Baibai back into the inner palace chambers. As they passed through a corridor, a wormhole suddenly tore open in the sky, and a giant hand shot out like lightning from it, reaching for Baibai!

This colossal hand descended like a skyscraper. Its palm was the size of a swimming pool, and its wrist was encased in a golden sleeve. Baibai seemed manipulated by an unseen force, her feet abruptly lifting off the ground as she was drawn toward the hand.

Just as the giant hand was about to grasp Baibai, Lanton’s expression finally shifted. She instantly began drawing her light sword while simultaneously channeling her mental energy, bending her knees, ready to leap. Yet, even she could recognize that the hand’s power vastly exceeded anything she could possibly counter.

Furthermore, Lanton instantly identified the golden sleeve as belonging to the Regent King's robes. A chill ran down her spine. She realized Sandovr had merely feigned being driven out by the Empress Dowager; he had seized the opportunity while both the Empress and the Dowager were absent to attack the palace and capture Baibai!

If Baibai were seized by Sandovr, it would spell utter disaster for the Royal Family.

From a distance, the Empress Dowager's voice rang out: "Sandovr, stop!"

The Empress Dowager had been explaining the reasons for dissolving the Elder Council to the royal elders when she sensed Sandovr’s return and his attempt to seize her second daughter at the palace. She immediately prepared to teleport back.

But at that very moment, one of the royal elders suddenly acted, imposing a spatial lockdown. Although the Empress Dowager and the other elders who reacted managed to shatter the confinement within moments, it provided Sandovr with precisely the time he needed!

This elder had always enjoyed the royal family’s deepest trust; no one had ever suspected he was a spy for Sandovr’s faction!

Snap!

With a soft sound, Baibai fell into the giant hand.

But this was not Sandovr’s hand; it was a palm wreathed in violet fire!

"Kas?" Sandovr’s voice echoed from the wormhole that the golden-sleeved hand had emerged from, clearly showing his astonishment at the appearance of the purple-flamed hand.

"It is I."

The entity who had acted was Kas, the Shadowlight Chancellor, one of Yang Ying's clones and the Speaker of the Protoss High Council. He was, apart from Yang Ying himself and Blade, the only other being capable of freely entering and exiting the Imperial Palace. Though he did not possess the official status of a Royal Consecrated, his standing was acknowledged by both the Empress and the Empress Dowager.

"You dare obstruct me at this critical juncture?" Sandovr's voice resonated with the fury of a heavenly deity, causing the very ground of the palace to tremble.

The golden-sleeved hand seemed insulted and swept down toward the purple hand. The purple hand flipped over, and Baibai vanished from its palm. It then struck back, slamming against the edge of the golden-sleeved hand.

A deafening boom erupted, like colossal thunder. All surrounding flora, trees, pavilions, and halls were instantly pulverized into fine dust by the shockwave of the two clashing palms. Even Lanton was blasted several kilometers away, landing covered in grime and spitting blood, severely injured.

A dozen attending court ladies nearby were also caught in the collateral damage. Fortunately, as those permitted to serve the royal family in the palace, they had been carefully selected and possessed at least Third-Level strength. Though they sustained minor injuries, they were largely unharmed.

At this moment, another wormhole opened in the sky, and the Empress Dowager stepped through. "Sandovr, know when to stop!"

"Hmph!"

Apparently realizing the situation was lost with the Empress Dowager's return, Sandovr snorted coldly. The golden-sleeved giant hand retracted, disappearing back through the wormhole.