Ten Death Star ships, one hundred thousand White Wing warships, and a uniform contingent of one hundred thousand massive armament "Ya" vessels, the colossal fleet lay quietly concealed. Within a stretch of stardust, the hulls of the warships shimmered with a faint white luminescence. This strange, subtle glow blended seamlessly with the background radiation of the countless stars scattered across the vastness of space, rendering the fleet nearly invisible even at close range to the naked eye, let alone detectable by radar waves from a hundred light-seconds away.
The surface of every warship was plated with a bizarre metal forged by the Creating Angels—a material whose composition stumped even the well-read refining master Wuchen Daoren and the ancient grandmaster of artifact refinement, Dazhuo Sanren. This metal was an amalgam of rare, specialized metallic elements and wondrous energies drawn from the depths of nebulae.
Plated with this substance, all the warships achieved near-perfect stealth against the backdrop of space. Several patrols of Star Alliance fleets had passed right beside the concealed fleet, yet failed utterly to detect its presence.
Thanks to Gu Xichen's status as the premier saint under the newly ascended Seraph Hameln, he had not only coated this entire fleet with a thick layer of this miraculous metal but had also solicited nearly a million tons of it from Hameln’s stores. Currently, Wuchen Daoren was holed up in the warehouse, spending his days studying this metal manufactured by the Creating Angels.
This is ancillary information; the crucial point is that this fleet carried the Angel Legions under Hameln and Dora, hidden in the stardust less than five hundred light-seconds from the Romani's new stronghold, quietly awaiting the opportune moment. A few days prior, Star Alliance scout vessels had already been stealthily ranging nearby, and the main body of the Star Alliance forces was gathering in this vicinity.
Learning from the failures of the previous two engagements, this time the Supreme Commander of the Star Alliance Joint Forces, Ling Dorn, acting under Gu Xichen’s direction, was urgently mobilizing every civilization's fleet, encircling this entire region of space from all directions. All spatial jump points were being reinforced, transformed into fixed stargates at any cost. Thousands of natural and artificial stargates blanketed the area, with massive fleets assembling behind each one, including over three hundred Death Star ships and all the peak-level experts concentrated within the Star Alliance.
Even from a great distance, Gu Xichen could sense the fluctuations of many familiar primordial spirit imprints. Under Ling Dorn’s coercion, the hidden peak experts of every nation in the Star Alliance had been brought forth to join the combined force.
The tens of thousands of Immortal Artifacts traded during the last Divine Crystal quota conference had also been distributed to these individuals. These artifacts were exceptionally close to Gu Xichen—so close that he could clearly perceive their existence. He knew even more clearly that with a mere flicker of his intent, every one of those artifacts would instantly self-detonate, severely wounding their owners.
“Thank the residual backdoor left by Dazhuo Sanren!” Gu Xichen devoutly made the sign of the cross over his chest.
Hameln sat majestically on the command chair of his flagship, looking down with curiosity at the busy Federation soldiers in the command cabin. Seeing Gu Xichen’s gesture, Hameln smiled broadly, “The Progenitor will protect us. This time, we will surely eradicate all the heretics.”
He paused, then praised, “Gu, your operational plan is exceedingly ingenious—letting these damned heretics slaughter each other, and only showing ourselves after they are both wounded. There is no better plan than this. Hmm, I must admit, when it comes to devising battle strategies, you are far superior to me.”
Gu Xichen bowed humbly to Hameln, offering a few polite compliments, which basically framed his own minor talents as merely an opportunity provided by Hameln's brilliant leadership. Gu Xichen’s flattering words were well-received, and Hameln happily accepted his small act of deference. The newly ascended Seraph, Lord Hameln, held an impression of Gu Xichen that couldn't have been better; sadly, he had no female descendants, or he would certainly have taken Gu Xichen as his son-in-law! Gu Xichen, unaware of the churning thoughts within Hameln’s mind, would have likely reacted by ordering Hameln silenced permanently if he had known.
The newly ascended Seraph Hameln surprisingly possessed the power of a Second-Grade Golden Immortal, which greatly startled Gu Xichen and the others. However, Wuchen Daoren himself also held the strength of a Second-Grade Golden Immortal, and Wuchen Daoren had been steeped in this realm for tens of thousands of years, meaning he firmly surpassed Hameln in every conceivable aspect. Everything was under control; once Hameln and the others had been fully exploited for their usefulness, there would be no need for their continued existence.
Leaning in a corner of the command cabin, smoking a cigar, Duola Hua squinted, staring up and down at Hameln, intensely curious about how much his own strength would increase if he were to drain Hameln’s vital blood. This thought drifted and howled like a specter in Duola Hua’s mind, causing him to nearly drool onto the floor. Fortunately, Gu Xichen had promised Duola Hua that when Hameln’s utility waned, at least half of his vital blood would belong to Duola Hua. As for the other half, it would naturally go to the equally impatient Hanba.
Hameln sensed Duola Hua’s burning, zealous gaze. He turned his head and nodded gently toward Duola Hua. Hameln’s impression of Duola Hua was also excellent, so good that he seemed favored slightly more than his own son. Someone bearing negative energy, stemming from the lineage of dark creatures, yet dedicating his piety to the glorious Angel Race—and whose faith was so immensely strong and solid—such a devotee was exceptionally rare and precious! Piously making the sign of the cross over his chest, Hameln was secretly pleased. He was the first Seraph in the Angel Race to possess a dark creature as a believer, especially one so powerful, whose consecrated faith was so potent and pure. This surely must incite the utmost jealousy among the veteran Seraphs? Hameln almost laughed out loud.
The fleet waited in space for nearly a month. On the Romani production lines, thousands of new warships had been completed and were already undergoing cruise testing.
On this day, finally, a contingent of thirty specialized heavy artillery ships, escorted by a thousand Star Alliance standard Level One warships, swept past the edge of the stardust belt. The blue plasma exhaust from the main engines of a few of the Level One warships actually nudged the two White Wing-class vessels on the outermost flank backward slightly. Even at this close range, the Star Alliance ships failed to notice the hidden fleet, while a piercing alarm sounded throughout every vessel in the concealed formation: the Star Alliance fleet had arrived! Under Gu Xichen’s command, the fleet cautiously retreated a hundred kilometers deeper into the stardust belt, deploying only a dozen or so probes to monitor the outside activity.
One small fleet after another skimmed past the edge of the stardust belt. Gradually, the massive fleet, composed of tens of thousands of warships, slipped by silently, like a school of sardines. Suddenly, several massive objects flew past at high speed, escorted by swarms of other ships. Beside the Death Star ships were several gigantic steel fortresses, exceeding five hundred kilometers in diameter! Gu Xichen widened his eyes in shock. Ling Dorn had actually deployed the fixed space fortresses that were most popular among Five-Star Civilizations. These fixed space fortresses were modeled after Death Star ships, colossal in size, possessing extremely fierce firepower, normally used to guard strategic points and vital routes. However, in terms of maneuverability, defensive capability, and destructive power, the combat effectiveness of these space gun platforms was less than one percent that of a Death Star ship.
Even without the immense destructive power of a Death Star ship, the space fortresses remained formidable engines of war. Especially against conventional warships, a single space fortress could engage thousands of vessels simultaneously without losing ground. Within the range of Gu Xichen’s divine sense, at least two thousand space fortresses were slowly gliding through space, their enormous bodies shifting menacingly. Once these space fortresses established a complete defensive perimeter, the Romani would be in dire trouble.
The flagship’s passive radar remained active, the display densely packed with blue spots representing Star Alliance warships. The counter showed that the number of Star Alliance ships near this stardust belt alone reached a despairing seventy-four million. The continuous line of warships formed a steel wall over ten thousand kilometers thick, slowly pushing toward the Romani occupied space. And this fleet was merely a drop in the ocean of vessels mobilized by Ling Dorn.
Centering on the planetary system where the Romani were currently hidden, with a radius of one thousand light-seconds, the surrounding void was filled with fleets of this magnitude, slowly, like dark clouds emerging from hell, squeezing inward. Gradually, the separate clouds merged, and enormous space fortresses emerged from the fleet. All gun emplacements locked onto the forward planetary system. One hundred Death Star ships were concealed within the fleet, their Trinity Crystal main cannons fully charged and slowly extending from their hulls.
A large number of Romani warships poured out of the system like hornets startled by smoke, circling chaotically in the void. No matter where they fled, everywhere within sight was a dense mass of Star Alliance vessels. The distance between warships had compressed to an extremely dangerous limit; the gaps between Level One ships were less than a hundred meters, and a slight misstep could cause them to collide. The distance between the front and rear ranks was less than a thousand meters, with layers of warships spreading outward in an extremely tight formation, like the layers of an onion.
Between these Level One warships, several thousand meters long, various smaller, fast attack craft and high-speed fighters filled the gaps left by the main combat vessels. On the bridge command screens, the data fed back by the radar scans was no longer individual points of light, but a seamless, dense sheet of illumination.
Gu Xichen rested his hands comfortably on his chest, looking at the magnificent encirclement, and took a deep breath. After this battle, would the Romani race still exist? And what about Ducart and Xiao Xiao? Gu Xichen still remembered a comment Xiao Xiao had made—Ducart was his kinsman, but Gu Xichen was not. From that statement, Gu Xichen had grasped a truth: one's own people are one's own people; even among one's own kin, there can be traitors, let alone among other races. Xiao Xiao’s choice was not wrong, and Gu Xichen felt his own decision now was also not wrong. Everyone was fighting and scheming solely for the sake of their own kin. It was just like the competition between lion prides and other beast packs on the great plains—it was all for survival.
When the Romani High Priest presented those gifts, attempting to push the Earth Federation into direct confrontation with the Star Alliance, it predetermined that only one between the Romani and the Terrans could continue to propagate. From Gu Xichen’s standpoint, naturally, only the Terrans were qualified to survive! “You people have caused me too much trouble! This time, some grievances and enmities should come to an end!” Gu Xichen pursed his lips, calculating with regret that after the annihilation of the Romani, he would lose a very good trading partner. Well, those fellows had been quite generous when purchasing munitions back then.
Not long after, ten Mother God-class fortresses, cast entirely from Divine Crystals, slowly flew out from within the planetary system. The Star Alliance fleet under Ling’s command targeted these ten Mother Fortresses without hesitation. Nearly a hundred Death Star ships focused their fire. The magnificent dark beams of light almost eclipsed the entire cosmos, the sheer power causing even Hameln, seated on his command throne, to blanch! He was merely a Second-Grade Golden Immortal, whereas the maximum destructive output of each Death Star ship was equivalent to the full-power strike of a First-Grade Heavenly Immortal! He quickly glanced at Gu Xichen and shook his head with a hint of fear. Fortunately, he had heeded Gu Xichen’s advice to act as the oriole following the mantis, otherwise, according to his original plan, he would have led the Seraph Legion into a direct clash with the Star Alliance fleet! A bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead, but Hameln suppressed it instantly. It was a blessing he hadn’t engaged the Star Alliance fleet; the full-power attack from one hundred Death Star ships would have been enough to threaten Hameln’s life. If he had taken such a blow unexpectedly during a fierce battle, Hameln doubted he would have been anything more than wiped out.
The void trembled slightly, and ten thick energy shields, a thousand meters deep, simultaneously erupted from the surfaces of the ten Mother God-class fortresses. Nearly a hundred dark beams struck the shields. No light flashed, no sound was made; only the space around the shields suddenly fractured inch by inch. The ten Mother God-class fortresses became hazy in the dark beams, like submerged ink paintings, twisting like spectral apparitions, seemingly on the verge of being ground to dust by the tearing space.
Just as the Star Alliance warriors were about to cheer, ten fierce beams of dark light suddenly burst forth from the collapsed space. The ten Mother God-class fortresses shot out like ten meteors, followed by countless showers of light pouring from the fortress surfaces. This tempestuous attack swept over the Star Alliance fleet. Every strike was equivalent to the full-power attack of a Third-Grade Heavenly Immortal, annihilating Star Alliance warships within hundreds of kilometers with every blow, like the heavens collapsing and countless stars raining down, bringing infinite destruction and flame.
The escort ships surrounding the nearly one hundred Death Star ships—which had expended all their energy, had not yet recharged their Divine Crystals, nor allowed their weapon systems to cool—were instantly swept clean. In the blink of an eye, the frantic assault from the ten Mother God-class fortresses landed directly upon these Death Star ships. Billions of light beams cascaded like waterfalls, the roaring sound akin to thunder. The massive light tore through the void, stripping away armor layer by layer from the Death Star ships and crushing the protective magic formations that kept lighting up inside them.
In the span of just one tea break, nearly a hundred Death Star ships were utterly annihilated in the rain of light. Fortunately, these Death Star ships had exhausted all their energy; they vanished into the vastness of space without even triggering their self-detonation protocols. The Mother God-class fortresses, carrying an unstoppable, terrifying aura, charged into the Star Alliance fleet. Hundreds of thousands of light beams continuously erupted from the fortress surfaces. Every beam pierced through a hundred enemy Level One warships, and the resulting explosions engulfed and consumed fleets within a hundred kilometers.
It was crushing, unstoppable.
Gu Xichen’s hair stood on end as he personally witnessed the terror of the Mother God-class fortresses. He finally understood how lucky he had been to eliminate Jiziling-Holsum at Heaven Star.
Hameln, and Dora standing behind him, both convulsed, staring in horror at the ten terrifyingly powerful Mother God-class fortresses. They frantically calculated whether their Angel Legions could possibly resist such devastating attacks. In mere seconds, they despaired: if the Angel Legions were to confront the Mother God-class fortresses head-on, the Angel Legions would collapse first! The disparity in strength was too great, far too great! The entire Seraph Legion possessed only Hameln at the Second-Grade Golden Immortal level; the strongest among the other angels barely reached the peak Heavenly Immortal standard. There were only about one or two hundred such Heavenly Immortal-level angels; the rest were mostly equivalent to Void Realm, Spirit Transformation Stage, or Nascent Soul Stage beings.
Dora’s Cherubim Legion was even weaker in comparison. Dora himself barely possessed power comparable to a Golden Immortal, and none of the angels under him even reached the peak Heavenly Immortal rank; the strongest few Thrones were only at the Third-Grade Heavenly Immortal level. Within his vast Cherubim Legion, there were even angels equivalent to Golden Core cultivators! Yet, a single, casual beam from any of the ten Mother God-class fortresses possessed the destructive power of a full-power strike from a Third-Grade Heavenly Immortal! Furthermore, these attacks rained down ceaselessly like a storm, with no end in sight, as if they could attack indefinitely.
In just a quarter of an hour, the Star Alliance warships within a three-light-second radius were completely annihilated. Nearly a hundred Death Star ships, over three thousand space fortresses, and countless warships, fighter jets, and all manner of war machinery were reduced to nothingness under the assault of the ten Mother God-class fortresses! The Mother God-class fortresses, constructed purely from Divine Crystals, truly represented the zenith of this universe's technological civilization! This was a completely asymmetrical war, akin to a cultivator fighting a gang of ruffians—a purely one-sided slaughter.
Gu Xichen’s face turned exceedingly grim. His design had never accounted for such a lopsided outcome. He had hoped both sides would fight until bloody and battered, until corpses littered the field. Such a one-sided massacre was absolutely not what he desired. Only if the Star Alliance and the Romani were both severely weakened would he have the opportunity to profit as the final victor! “Damn these Romani! How could they have completed ten Mother God-class fortresses so quickly?” Gu Xichen ground his teeth in rage.