The Elven warriors set up a square table carved from mahogany, draping it with a tablecloth woven from silver-white gold thread. Two Elven maidens carefully brought forth pure silver candelabras and placed several large, pure silver platters onto the table. Each round platter was piled high with fresh fruit and tender, succulent roasted meat. A bottle of fine grape wine was chilled to perfection, a faint wisp of white mist curling from its mouth. Nine Elven maidens sat poised on nearby stones, holding various musical instruments, their hands weaving pleasant melodies.

Bor-Bor-Te sat contentedly beside the mahogany table, gracefully and calmly slicing a piece of roast meat and slowly placing it in his mouth. After a few chews, Bor-Bor-Te shook his head with slight displeasure. "The heat was a little too high, and the spices were insufficient. Overall, it’s just a passable, hurried dinner. However, on Pluto, one cannot ask for much more."

Indeed, one could not ask for too much. To have such a fine meal within the harsh natural environment of the subterranean caverns on Pluto was already more than one should reasonably expect.

A high-powered energy shield generator hummed with a deep thrum, casting a shield spanning a hundred meters wide and long over the entire cavern, maintaining the internal temperature, humidity, and other conditions at a very agreeable level. Several negative ion oxygen generators puffed out wisps of white smoke, circulating clean, flower-scented air within the energy barrier, making Bor-Bor-Te feel as if he were in his own private garden. Such treatment on Pluto was entirely due to the power he wielded.

He glanced coolly at Ducat, who sat beside a simple wooden table, tearing ravenously at a roasted suckling pig and constantly stuffing vast amounts of bread and fresh greens into his belly. Bor-Bor-Te muttered contemptuously, "That table manners are truly too vulgar." Half-bloods are half-bloods; in many respects, they are far inferior to a pure-blooded Roman noble like myself.

Elegantly raising three fingers, Bor-Bor-Te picked up a wine goblet made of natural crystal. He recited a short verse by a famous Roman poet in a resonant tone, savoring the wine slowly with a noble and composed smile.

Ducat bit off a large chunk of the roast pig's leg, glaring coldly at Bor-Bor-Te. Lily sat beside Ducat, nibbling listlessly at the fragrant fruit in her hand. The Elves required almost no meat, and Lily only needed to supplement her diet with a small amount of fresh fruit to maintain her body's normal output. Her entire attention was fixed on Ducat; seeing him eat with such gusto made the smile on her face bloom brighter and brighter.

Seeing Lily's smile instantly soured Bor-Bor-Te’s otherwise pleasant mood. He cursed under his breath, "Vile slave! That fellow Ducat, does he truly intend to… defile the bloodline of the House of Holssa once more? Great God of the Black Hole, may this damned, lowly slave be annihilated by the Christalites!"

Thud!

The battleship-grade energy shield, several meters thick, was struck heavily. The massive shock caused the cavern floor to tremble. The dining table before Bor-Bor-Te was jolted into the air, spilling wine and food all over him. Before Bor-Bor-Te could register what had happened, the heavy energy shield disintegrated. Two completely colorless crystal beings, flanked by a large host of black and purple crystal beings, rushed out from some narrow opening like projectiles fired from a cannon. They burst forth with tremendous speed, slamming into the cavern walls and embedding themselves deeply into the hard rock.

"Why do they look like they were thrown out?" Lily stared blankly at the Christalites whose entire bodies were stuck in the wall. She instinctively sensed that the trajectory of their flight was unnatural.

Bor-Bor-Te stared dumbly at the colorless, small black, and small purple crystal beings, and a wave of exhilaration surged from the bottom of his heart. "Heavens, so many high-tier crystal beings! Capture them!"

With a great shattering sound, like someone violently dumping a box of glass marbles onto the floor, over two thousand blue and cyan crystal beings sprayed out from that small aperture. Like those shot out earlier, their bodies plunged deep into the hard cavern walls, their limbs twitching violently.

Ducat’s long hair whipped up as he stared in horror at these high-tier crystal beings slowly struggling free from the rock face. He roared, his voice hoarse, "Damn it! Enemy attack! Retreat!" He snatched up Lily, his body leaving behind two afterimages, bolting toward the tunnel entrance leading to the surface like an arrow loosed from a bowstring. Before Bor-Bor-Te could react, he sat stunned on his stool, howling desperately, "Guards! Seize them, seize them! Our chance for glory is here!" A tide of Roman warriors surged out from several passages near the cavern. They activated the energy shields on their armor and charged fearlessly against the high-tier crystal beings, wielding axes, halberds, and various specialized high-energy weapons. A rain of colorful light instantly enveloped the crystal beings just beginning to pull themselves free from the rock.

The two colorless crystal beings thrown out by Eagle Saint roared in fury. They glared at the Romans, their low growls echoing, "Romans… you are also bandits… thugs… you are all the same!"

The suppressed rage from their defeat by the Corpse Emperor erupted fully. All their anger, killing intent, and the bitter resentment over the plundering of their kin were unleashed entirely upon Bor-Bor-Te and his company. The two colorless crystal beings raised both hands simultaneously, along with the black crystal beings beside them, and shouted in unison, "Great Progenitor! Lend us your infinite divine power to punish these intruders!"

Pluto trembled once more. Its three moons simultaneously ejected thick, coarse beams of energy invisible to the naked eye. The formless energy surged into the bodies of these crystal beings. White and black brilliance covered the entire cavern. The bodies of the few crystal beings rapidly expanded, quickly growing to a height of a hundred meters, their heads nearly brushing the cavern ceiling strata. One colorless crystal being stamped his foot viciously, crushing several Romans beneath him into dust, sending streaks of minced flesh and blood splattering hundreds of meters away. A violent energy shockwave erupted from his foot, disintegrating hundreds of Roman warriors in the white blast. Their shattered bodies plastered onto the cavern walls, painting gruesome, golden patterns.

Nearly a hundred Roman warriors arrived, soaring in on disc-shaped flying vehicles, howling madly. Brilliant beams of blue mental energy, seemingly tangible, shot from their brows toward the hundred-meter-tall figures.

A colorless crystal being roared. A blinding light flashed in his eyes, and a massive psychic wave shot out. The heads of these Roman warriors exploded into powder with a bang. The disc-shaped flyers lost control, wobbling as they crashed into the crystal being, detonating into nearly a hundred massive fireballs. A batch of nearby Romans were caught in the shockwave generated by the vehicle explosions.

The other purple, blue, and cyan crystal beings charged forth with equally heightened fury. They completely ignored the Romans’ fire, charging straight through the rain of energy beams. They slammed directly into the Roman ranks, their heavy fists raining down like a downpour.