The Dreadnought-class battleship shuddered violently, spinning like a top at incredible speed. Its built-in gravity stabilization system could not counteract the immense pressure from the vessel's erratic movement. Nearly ten thousand crew, support staff, and ground troops inside were pinned to the deck by the crushing force; some administrative officers and technical specialists were bleeding from the corners of their mouths and nostrils.

The staggering brothers, Xin Jia, roughly hauled Ducat and Lily, who were flailing wildly around the compartment, into the command bridge. Xin Jia exclaimed in alarm, "Exalted One, what's happening?"

Gu Xiechen stood firmly before the main control console, his feet embedded nearly a foot deep into the deck plating, activating the ship's most critical emergency protocol.

More power surged into the gravity stabilization system, and the gravity within the battleship quickly returned to normal. Although there were occasional moments of weightlessness or sudden heaviness, they were now within the tolerable limits for a human body. Sealing doors between compartments snapped shut, and the emergency life support systems within each section activated, deploying nearly ten thousand life pods. Under the frantic urgings of the central super-brain, all ordinary officers and soldiers, save for Gu Xiechen and other high-ranking officials, scrambled into the life pods.

Ninety percent of the battleship's power was diverted to the energy shield emitters. Operating at full capacity, the emitters rapidly erected a three-hundred-meter-thick blue light barrier around the ship's hull. Gu Xiechen's timely actions had saved the lives of ninety-nine percent of the crew. Just as the energy shield stabilized, a subspace energy torrent, possessing an astonishing energy index that even exceeded the maximum measurable limits of the Dreadnought-class vessel's energy sensor, slammed into the ship's flank, weakening the shield by over eighty percent in an instant.

A deluge of high-energy particles, seemingly breaching space in near-jumps, pierced the energy shield and the outer armor plating, flooding into the Dreadnought-class battleship in the form of an electronic mist.

A massive discharge of sparks erupted from numerous electronic instruments throughout the ship. Amidst hissing and popping sounds, banks of equipment caught fire and exploded. Intense electrical arcs sprayed outwards from the life pods. Had Gu Xiechen not ordered everyone inside minutes prior, this wave of high-energy particles would have annihilated ninety-nine percent of the personnel aboard.

Only a select few—Gu Xiechen, Kan Hua, Holm, Linghu, Ducat, and Lily—who had fused with the Kristo crystal spheres and activated their domain barriers, protected themselves with psychic shields. Countless electronic, mist-like high-energy particles rotated and coiled madly around their forms, sparking countless dazzling flares against their mental barriers, yet failing to singe a single hair. Even so, Gu Xiechen felt immense pressure, a crushing weight like Mount Tai bearing down on him from all directions.

The colossal Dreadnought-class battleship, resembling a withered leaf caught in a tempest, was instantly swept tens of thousands of light-years away by the spatial surge triggered by the Red Dragon King, hurtling towards an unknowable destination within the boundless torrent. The other Roman warships had vanished long ago, and dozens of Roman vessels were completely annihilated the moment they were dragged into the spatial surge.

The Dreadnought-class battleship, relying on its potent energy shield, heavy armor plating, and comprehensive life support systems, had preserved everyone aboard! Gu Xiechen, utilizing the central super-brain which maintained a precarious fifteen percent functionality, finally breathed a sigh of relief after calculating the number of survivors reported by the life support system.

The spatial surge continued to carry the Dreadnought forward. Ribbons of energy, shimmering like seven-colored neon but stretching hundreds of thousands of light-years wide and long, continuously rolled in from all directions, slamming haphazardly into the battleship and tossing it about the subspace like a headless fly. The ship's main engine block was entirely incapable of resisting the colossal forces from every side, forced to drift passively wherever the spatial surge carried it.

Under the escort of the spatial surge, the Dreadnought rapidly accelerated to an incomprehensible super-speed. Converted to a normal space velocity, the ship was traversing an astonishing one light-year every second.

The vessel vibrated violently. Wave after wave of energy surges had rendered over ninety percent of the electronics obsolete; only the heavily shielded central super-brain and the life support systems managed to maintain minimal function. Vast energy currents periodically breached the hull via space-jumping, washing over and scouring every facility within the ship.

Kan Hua, his body intermittently flashing with electrical arcs, strained to haul Holm and Linghu out of the floor using a translocation technique. He cried out in exasperation, "It's ruined! Our brand-new battleship! Damn it, the one that nearly bankrupted the Hadwar Corporation! Ah, it’s nothing but an empty shell now!"

Holm wailed toward Gu Xiechen, "Boss, all the battle armor, vehicles, and fighters in our hangar—gone! Every control chip and electronic component exploded!"

Linghu, who usually exuded the easy affluence of a wealthy gentleman, stormed over to the bound and sprawled Ducat and savagely kicked him. "Ducat, you! Your gambit was too large!"

The heavy blow sent Ducat flying, eliciting a muffled cry of pain. Lily, having just regained consciousness, shrieked tearfully, "It has nothing to do with Xiao, don't hit him!"

Furious, anxious, and heartbroken, Lily opened her small mouth and, taking advantage of Linghu standing too close and off guard, sank her teeth fiercely into his thigh. Linghu shrieked, wrenching his leg away; a piece of flesh the size of a walnut plopped out of Lily's mouth, bouncing once on the polished deck plating. Linghu hopped and yelped in agony, while Xin Wu stood by, howling with schadenfreude, clutching his stomach and laughing so hard he nearly collapsed onto the floor.

Gu Xiechen paid no mind to the chaotic squabbling. He swiftly manipulated the central super-brain, activating every external sensor and deploying a set of backup instruments that had been protected deep within the heavy alloy armor. Invisible scanning waves swept out across a range of several thousand light-seconds, rapidly mapping the ship's trajectory.

Linghu, nursing his bitten flesh, drew a flexible sword hidden in his belt and furiously advanced on Lily, who retreated fearfully. Nearby, Ducat shook his dazed head, roared, and suddenly sprang from the ground, slamming straight into Linghu. Caught completely by surprise, Linghu was sent flying a considerable distance, crashing heavily against the radar console behind him, nearly knocking the wind out of him.

Linghu roared, about to turn on Ducat, when Gu Xiechen, without raising his head, coldly snorted, "What are you doing? If you have time to fight, why aren't you helping operate the instruments! Hmph, do you not wish to return to Earth?"

Linghu and Holm smacked their foreheads with a resounding slap and darted to the nearby control consoles, quickly assisting Gu Xiechen in plotting the course, continuously releasing specialized subspace beacon indicators outwards. Fist-sized beacons sprayed from the vessel, hovering stably within the chaotic subspace.

Subspace is inherently unstable and dangerous, prone to generating spatial surges for countless reasons. Thus, the Roman people invented these subspace beacon indicators; they can almost entirely ignore the effects of a spatial surge, marking a safe route home for any vessel in trouble in the subspace. As long as enough beacons are deployed, one can generally navigate back to base slowly unless their luck is catastrophically bad.

Given the sheer size of the Dreadnought-class battleship, and driven by his ingrained cautious nature as a merchant, Gu Xiechen had stored millions of these subspace beacon indicators—in the ship's cargo holds and his own Qiankun Pouch. He scattered them all along the way; provided the spatial surge ceased, returning to Earth would be manageable.

Once Linghu and Holm had gradually taken over his duties, Gu Xiechen wiped the cold sweat from his brow and slumped onto the deck.

He glanced weakly at Ducat, whose face was bruised and swollen, and Lily, who stood before him like a mother hen protecting her chick, and let out a weak laugh. "Xiao? Or perhaps, Ducat, Holsom? Well, if you wish to return safely, behave yourselves and do nothing that might cause me misunderstanding!"

Ducat declared firmly, "At a time like this, I won't deliberately cause trouble!"

Nodding forcefully, Gu Xiechen raised his thumbs in praise. "Very good, I appreciate a straightforward fellow! But I hope you and the young lady beside you both remember this: you are my prisoners. When we get back to Earth, I intend to use you to extort something from the Holsom family. I am a merchant; I hope you understand my methods!"

Ducat clenched his jaw tightly, nodding silently. He knew his own value, and he knew Lily's value. Two powerful Realm Lords who had survived a second Kristo fusion, one of whom might become the new King of the Spirit Race—it was inevitable that Gu Xiechen would exploit their status for a hefty price from the Holsom family.

Lily glared resentfully at Gu Xiechen and gave him a sharp, vulgar eye-roll.

Shrugging indifferently, Gu Xiechen waved at Lily and said with a faint smile, "Xin Jia, release them! There are all sorts of bizarre things out here in subspace... Hm, it's probably wise to have two extra capable hands available for emergencies!" Xin Jia hesitated momentarily, then retracted the Boundless Divine Chains binding Ducat and Lily.

Ducat looked at Gu Xiechen with surprise, vigorously rubbing the bruises left by the Divine Chains. He nodded coldly, "Alright, I remember this favor. Once we jump back to normal space, I will help you repair this battleship as repayment... I can even help you improve..."