The Roman people had no concept of the colorless Crystal People or the dark Crystal People, nor did they know what was about to happen above them. They merely followed Bolbot’s orders, opening the energy shields of the Hunter-Killer Vessels to full power while the main cannons of the vessels began charging fully.

Sweating profusely and looking utterly disheveled, Bolbot stormed into the command cabin and sat down angrily in his seat.

Just as he was about to find someone to verbally abuse, Bolbot suddenly spotted Ducat standing in a corner of the cabin, with Lily beside him.

Bolbot suddenly realized that Ducat had already led Lily out of the corridor before he fled for his life. Seeing Ducat’s calm demeanor, he seemed entirely unfazed and untroubled.

A surge of dark fire rushed up from Bolbot’s heart. He jumped up, roaring, and strode over to Lily, viciously kicking out at her chest.

Ducat was startled and swiftly reached out, gripping Bolbot’s ankle. Terrifying brute force erupted from Ducat’s fingers. Bolbot’s bones let out a sound close to snapping—crack, crack—and Bolbot screamed in agony, pointing at Ducat and roaring, “What are you doing? You bastard?” Lily, terrified, grabbed Ducat’s hand and forcefully tried to bend his fingers. She looked at the enraged Bolbot, her eyes filled with despair and fear!

“The Spirit Race must never offend the great Roman people”—this was the creed etched into the Spirit Race’s genetic chains. Even though Bolbot’s kick was aimed fatally at Lily’s heart, she could not allow Ducat to so blatantly ‘offend’ Bolbot. She used all her strength to try and pry open Ducat’s fingers, but she simply lacked the power.

Ducat stared intently at Bolbot, pulling Lily sharply behind him. He barked in a low tone, “What am I doing? What are you doing?” Bolbot roared back furiously, “What am I doing? You have the audacity to ask me what I’m doing? You damned bastard! Aren’t you supposed to be my shadow? Aren’t you supposed to be my guard warrior? But what did you do just now? When I needed you to protect me and flee, you actually took this lowly woman and ran? You abandoned me, your lord brother to whom you owe allegiance?” Jealousy burned in Bolbot’s heart—yes, jealousy! He was envious!

Ducat was his shadow, his guard, his second-in-command. Ducat’s life and soul were supposed to belong to him, Bolbot. Weren’t the shadows of the core members of other houses all like that? Yet, Ducat had ignored him. He had fled with a lowly slave when Bolbot faced mortal danger!

More than just jealousy, an indescribable sense of frustration controlled Bolbot. He could not tolerate this ‘act of betrayal’ by Ducat; he had to punish him!

So, he viciously slapped Ducat across the face, screaming like a hysterical madwoman, “Bastard, let go of your hand! You are offending a noble Roman aristocrat! You damned bastard, hand over the woman behind you; tonight, I will have her!” All the Romans inside the command ship turned their attention to the confrontation. It was common for Roman nobles to toy with servant race maidens.

However, these Romans also knew that Lily had been Ducat’s closest friend since childhood.

Lily’s body began to tremble, and she clutched Ducat’s sleeve in terror.

Ducat froze, the grip on his hand tightening slightly, causing Bolbot’s bones to grind audibly. Bolbot grit his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain in his ankle, and shrieked hoarsely, “Give me this slut! Today, I will teach her her place, and I will teach you your place! You are just a bastard, understand?” Another vicious slap landed across Ducat’s face, and Bolbot roared almost manically, “Bastards should know their place as shadows! You damned creature! You almost got me killed! Do you realize that? You almost killed me! You insignificant bastard, you… for a slave woman, you actually ignored your master!” Lily’s body shook violently. All her strength seemed to have vanished; her usually bright eyes grew dim and lusterless, as if her soul had left her body, leaving her hollow. “The Spirit Race must always obey the commands of Roman nobility”—this was the creed passed down through countless generations of Spirit Race elders, a belief almost akin to religious fanaticism!

But Lily truly did not wish to obey this command from Bolbot!

She clung tightly to Ducat’s sleeve; she was supposed to be his!

A slap, then another, then another. Bolbot smiled wickedly as he maniacally struck Ducat’s face. He needed to vent all his fear—the fear from underground, the panic from losing tens of thousands of elite troops—and the easiest way to vent this was, naturally, by bullying the weak who could not fight back.

Looking at Lily’s terrified, desperate gaze, Bolbot barely felt the intense pain in his ankle anymore; a strange ecstasy washed over him.

This was absolutely marvelous!

Ducat was strong, and the sheer ability to trample upon such a powerful being’s dignity felt incredible.

“That damned Gu Xichen—he actually said he achieved so much relying on a Ducat who looks so tough? Ha, ha, I wish he could see me now, thoroughly dominating him! I hold the power of life and death over Ducat! What is one Ducat? He is just my shadow! That Gu Xichen—he understands nothing! I am the most outstanding youth of the Hallmark family!” Lily was exquisitely beautiful; the petite and lovely Lily looked like a large doll in front of Bolbot. The feeling of crushing her, the pleasure of finally taking her life, must be overwhelmingly intense. Especially since she was a Jie Shi, a low-ranking Spirit Race Jie Shi! Being able to completely crush a Jie Shi, Bolbot felt his very body might collapse from the surging pleasure!

“Ha!” Bolbot suddenly amplified his voice with a Crystalline Orb and unleashed a psychic shockwave with all his might.

Ducat grunted, thrown backward by the impact. The full force of Bolbot’s psychic attack was absorbed by his body. Despite his physical strength, a row of ribs on his chest was instantly pulverized. The flesh on the left side of Ducat’s chest was shredded by the psychic shockwave, spraying copious amounts of red blood that left a streak dozens of meters long on the ground.

“Red blood!” All the Romans present glanced with disgust at Ducat’s blood, almost in unison murmuring softly, “Base bloodline!” Lily shrieked and lunged toward Ducat, releasing a flood of pale green mist from her hands that seeped into Ducat’s body.

Bolbot burst into maniacal laughter. He strode forward, grabbed Lily’s pale green hair, and violently yanked her up by it. Lily screamed in terror, tears streaming down her face from the searing pain in her scalp. Bolbot grinned hideously and tore a large strip from Lily’s thin garment. Accompanied by a harsh tearing sound, a large expanse of Lily’s smooth, delicate skin was exposed around her waist and abdomen. The few Roman officers in the command cabin couldn't help but swallow as they looked at Lily’s tender skin.

Ducat’s body twitched. Pale silver liquid slowly began to emerge from his clenched fists, a thin metallic gauntlet slowly encasing them. He stared intently at Bolbot, who was wildly laughing uproariously, a slight curve forming on his lips. His lips moved slightly as Ducat mumbled under his breath, “Mama. Lily. Mama. Lily.”

Several sharp spikes slowly grew from Ducat’s gauntlets, and large amounts of silver fluid coursed rapidly through his body. His shattered ribs healed rapidly under the nourishment of the silver fluid; even the torn flesh began to regenerate quickly. Immense energy churned within Ducat’s body as he fixed his gaze dead upon Bolbot’s vital heart area.

With just one punch, couldn't he shatter Bolbot’s heart?

Mama.

You said to cherish what is most precious before you. But… Lily. Ducat’s body trembled, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks. He stared blankly as Bolbot’s hand reached toward the incessantly screaming Lily’s chest.

The muscles in Ducat’s right arm suddenly swelled, doubling in size compared to their normal state.

Just as Bolbot’s large hand was about to grasp Lily’s breast, and just as Ducat was about to unleash his full power to destroy Bolbot, the flagship suddenly shuddered violently.

The colorless Crystal Person and the dark Crystal Person had finally joined forces to launch their most powerful strike. They howled, their arms channeling the immense stellar energy contained within Pluto and its three moons, transforming it into a colossal, invisible energy shockwave aimed at the Roman Hunter-Killer Fleet.

The seven outermost Roman Hunter-Killer Vessels trembled violently; their energy shields rapidly dissipated, and piercing alarm sirens spread frantically across the fleet's communication channels.

Bolbot instantly released Lily, leaping toward the command console and shouting, “Fire the Magnetic Gravity Beams together! Even if it means destroying Pluto, damn these bastards!” A brilliant flash suddenly erupted from the void, and thirty beams of light, potent enough to blind anyone, spewed from the main cannons of the Hunter-Killer Vessels.

The Crystal People below also let out frantic screams, concentrating all their power to shoot a massive beam of light, several kilometers wide, toward the sky.

The fleet shook violently; the dozen or so Hunter-Killer Vessels on the perimeter could not withstand the massive energy impact and exploded into pieces.

Ducat pulled the tear-streaked Lily into an embrace and said in a low voice, “Lily…”

“This time, we have no choice.” Lily stared blankly at Ducat and subconsciously nodded.

Bolbot, at the main console, turned back and sneered wickedly at Ducat and Lily.

Ducat’s body jerked, and a cold sensation washed over his heart.