Liu Hui, back on Earth, immediately shifted his focus and activated the Planar Trading Device. On the screen, he saw Alexander, who bowed respectfully upon seeing him. "Respected Teacher, greetings!"

Liu Hui noticed that although Alexander appeared calm, a shadow of anxiety lay beneath his composure. He inquired, "My dear Alexander, has something transpired in your realm? You seem quite troubled."

Alexander replied, "Teacher, here is the situation: the spies we placed within the Great Elf King's court have just transmitted the latest intelligence. They report that precisely at noon today, twelve brilliant white pillars of light suddenly descended upon the Great Elf King's palace, followed by the appearance of twelve extraordinarily powerful white-clad warriors. Based on their reports, these twelve warriors seem identical to the previous Emissaries of the Nature Goddess. Thus, they suspect the Emissaries of the Nature Goddess have descended once more—and this time, twelve of them have arrived simultaneously."

Liu Hui started. The twelve Emissaries of the Nature Goddess had finally arrived. He immediately commanded the Six-Winged Battle Angel, still at the edge of the Solar System, to return to Earth. He then said, "My dear Alexander, please do not panic. These Emissaries will not attack you immediately. I will contact you again in five hours, and by then, I will have dealt with these twelve Emissaries of the Nature Goddess for you."

Reassured by Liu Hui's promise, Alexander let out a breath of relief, closed the Planar Trading Device, and went directly to arrange contingency measures, awaiting Liu Hui's next call.

The Six-Winged Angel at the edge of the Solar System was still forty-five billion kilometers from Earth. Even utilizing the Interstellar Great Teleportation Technique non-stop, it would still require over four hours to reach Earth. This was why Liu Hui had specified contacting Alexander after five hours, after which he would trade the Six-Winged Angel to Alexander to defend against the twelve Emissaries of the Nature Goddess.

That faint pang of unease that had surfaced in Liu Hui’s heart must have been a warning because he sensed the perilous situation Alexander was facing in the Magic Plane. If he hadn't been controlling the Six-Winged Angel toward the boundless cosmos, there wouldn't have been enough time to return to Earth.

Four and a half hours later, the Six-Winged Angel returned to the "City in the Stars." Liu Hui immediately contacted Alexander and traded the angel over.

It was only upon seeing the Six-Winged Angel, vastly more powerful than the single-winged angels before it, that Alexander finally relaxed completely. In his heart, he reaffirmed that Liu Hui was indeed the great God of Light who had always protected them.

Fortunately, during this intervening period, the Emissaries of the Nature Goddess did not launch an attack on the Church of the God of Light, allowing Alexander to narrowly escape disaster. Now, with the protection of the Six-Winged Angel, the twelve Emissaries stood little chance of victory.

In the subsequent hours, Alexander updated Liu Hui every hour on the developments in the Magic Plane, ensuring Liu Hui was fully aware of everything transpiring there.

The next day, Alexander informed Liu Hui that the combined armies of the Great Elf King had begun their offensive against the forces of the Church of the God of Light. Furthermore, the twelve Emissaries of the Nature Goddess had already appeared in the sky. Alexander immediately unleashed the Six-Winged Angel to engage the twelve Emissaries while he himself shut down the Planar Trading Device and personally led the protective army of the Church of the God of Light into another epoch-making battle against the allied forces of the Great Elf King.

With the experience from the previous engagement and having done all he could, Liu Hui felt a profound confidence in Alexander. He believed this engagement would also conclude with a victory for the Church of the God of Light, and he even comfortably drifted off to sleep.

However, Liu Hui was soon awakened by An Qi. Seeing the anxious look in her eyes, he asked in surprise, "An Qi, what happened?"

An Qi’s expression was exceptionally grave. "Liu Hui, you had best come with me. We might have encountered trouble."

Seeing An Qi in this state, a inexplicable premonition surged through Liu Hui’s heart. He instantly recalled the feeling of unease he had experienced yesterday at the edge of the Solar System. Back then, he had attributed it to Alexander being in danger in the Magic Plane, but now it seemed otherwise. Could it be that his premonition had nothing to do with the Magic Plane, but was directed toward his own "City in the Stars"?

Liu Hui followed An Qi toward the Command and Control Center. Along the way, he made a series of calls, issuing a string of orders. By the time he arrived, the center was filled with grim-faced control personnel, and the high-ranking officials of the "City in the Stars" who had received his directives were quickly gathering there as well.

Looking at the solemn faces in the command center, Liu Hui asked, "An Qi, what exactly is going on?"

An Qi tapped on her computer, brought up a star map, and said, "Look at this region, about 0.5 light-years from our Solar System. A violent energy fluctuation suddenly occurred there just moments ago, and then it vanished."

Liu Hui started, "A violent energy fluctuation? What does that mean?"

An Qi explained, "Based on our observations, this intense energy fluctuation was generated by spatial folding flight. In other words, a spaceship is currently flying at high speed using space folding technology, located 0.5 light-years away from us."

Liu Hui became tense. "Are you suggesting there is a spaceship capable of utilizing space folding technology flying near us?"

An Qi nodded. "Precisely. We can now confirm that this spacecraft is definitely not one of ours from Earth. Judging by the space folding technology they employed, its technological lineage is connected to that high-tech mecha we discovered previously."

Liu Hui pondered for a moment and asked, "Can you determine their destination?"

An Qi replied, "We cannot determine their destination yet, nor can we confirm if they are friend or foe, as they appeared only once and then disappeared. If their target is us, then in ten minutes, their vessel will jump to this location—which is 0.2 light-years from our Solar System and lies directly on the path to us. We can only wait now to verify their intended destination."

As they spoke, the high-ranking officials of the "City in the Stars" arrived. Upon hearing Liu Hui and An Qi, they were all deeply shocked. Although they believed in the existence of extraterrestrials, they had never witnessed one firsthand. Now, hearing from An Qi that an alien spacecraft was imminent filled them with apprehension.

Liu Hui was also extremely nervous. Aliens from space had finally appeared. But were these aliens coming for Earth? Were they friends or foes? Suddenly faced with these ambiguous entities, Liu Hui felt waves of insecurity. He even retreated to a nearby secure room to attempt contacting Alexander, intending to recall the Six-Winged Angel to defend his "City in the Stars," only to find that Alexander was currently engaged in fierce combat and unable to receive Liu Hui's connection request.

Liu Hui sighed at the sheer coincidence—the moment he needed the Six-Winged Battle Angel, Alexander needed it just as desperately. As Liu Hui was lamenting this, An Qi let out a startled cry. Liu Hui turned to see her staring at a spot outside the Solar System on the computer screen, her face a mask of shock.

Liu Hui asked, "An Qi, what is it? What happened?"

An Qi stammered, "Liu Hui, the situation is not good. That colossal spacecraft is heading toward our Earth's Solar System. We are their target. They appeared on the inevitable route to our Solar System."

Liu Hui froze, his hopes dashed. These aliens were indeed coming for them. His only remaining hope was that they were arriving with goodwill, their purpose being to aid humanity, not to slaughter and conquer.

Looking at the spot on the screen where energy fluctuations reappeared, Liu Hui asked, "Calculating at this speed, when will the other party enter the Solar System?"

An Qi calculated quickly. "In ten more hours, that spacecraft will enter the Solar System."

Liu Hui stated, "We do not know the origin of these aliens, nor whether they are friend or foe. However, for safety, we must prepare for the worst. I hereby order: the 'City in the Stars,' Mars, and all our bases in the Solar System are to enter emergency status immediately. All non-essential personnel must move to secure zones and refrain from moving about freely. All our weaponry must undergo self-checks, and various defensive formations must be activated, with reserve power allocated."

Liu Hui paused, then continued, "Additionally, notify the other nations and organizations on Earth immediately. Inform them that unidentified aliens are approaching us and instruct them to evacuate urban populations at once and prepare for war."

Liu Hui's orders were executed instantly. The other nations and organizations, upon receiving news of the impending arrival of aliens, reacted with curiosity mixed with understanding of the gravity of the situation, immediately throwing their full efforts into massive population evacuations.

For a time, the news of the aliens' imminent arrival threw the entire world into chaos. In terms of war preparations and personnel evacuation, the "City in the Stars" showed the highest efficiency. The "City in the Stars"' massive levitating transport craft repeatedly crisscrossed the globe, ferrying 98% of Star Citizens scattered across Earth back to the "City in the Stars."

The mining ships and smelting factories of the "City in the Stars" within the Solar System ceased operations and began returning to Earth or Mars. Personnel aboard the orbital space station above Earth also underwent a mass evacuation; aside from a small contingent of holdouts, everyone returned to the "City in the Stars."

The advance bases of the "City in the Stars" situated on other planets in the Solar System halted all outdoor activities and activated their pre-deployed, enhanced dynamic simulation warfare protocols, perfectly integrating themselves into the planetary landscapes to evade detection.

During those ten hours, the "City in the Stars" leveraged its powerful mobility. Aside from various resource mining and transport vessels in space, all personnel of the "City in the Stars" had consolidated into several large settlements, activating their powerful defensive formations and stocking up on formation energy reserves.

Meanwhile, the other nations on Earth were in utter disarray. Only about half the population was evacuated in time; the majority remained intensely curious about the aliens, ignoring their governments' orders and even preparing to greet the extraterrestrial visitors.

By this point, Liu Hui could only focus on his "City in the Stars." As for the other nations and their people, Liu Hui currently had no means to protect them.

Ten hours later, the void at the edge of the Solar System rippled, and an impossibly massive spaceship suddenly sprang forth. It paused momentarily, then locked onto a vector and accelerated rapidly toward Earth within the Solar System.

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～

Inside the colossal spacecraft, the staff officer spoke respectfully to a middle-aged man in a military uniform. "Sir Thio, we have finally reached the location from which the Rand Empire's distress signal was sent."

Thio's face showed fatigue, but excitement predominated. "Ten years. We have finally arrived at this place. Infinite wealth awaits us. I order an immediate scan of this star system. I want all intelligence regarding this system."

The warship's radar immediately began scanning the entire Solar System, and soon, a three-dimensional scanned image of the Solar System appeared before Thio.

The staff officer glanced at the image. "Sir, this star system is indeed inhabited. They even have two habitable planets, with a combined population exceeding eight billion..."

Thio's excitement surged. "Excellent! I can capture eight billion slaves this time. When I return home, those old relics will regret sending me to such a remote location."

The officer laughed. "Then allow me to congratulate Sir Thio. This star system is still in a primitive state. Although they can manage interstellar flight, they are still using archaic satellite signal transmission and even older firearm weaponry. Once your warship arrives, you can capture everyone on those two planets."

Thio chuckled smugly, then lowered his voice. "Are you certain the Rand Empire's signal originated from this larger, blue planet?"

The officer manipulated his optical computer and whispered back, "Sir, the Rand Empire's distress signal came from this larger blue planet. As long as we locate the source of the signal, we can find the whereabouts of the Rand people. However..."

Thio pressed, "However what?"

The officer replied, "We haven't detected that distress signal since we received it ten years ago. We don't know if something has happened to the Rand people..."

Thio laughed heartily. "So that's what worries you. This star system clearly shows no signs of having been visited by any advanced civilization from other planets. Even if something happened to those Rand people, their wealth remains within this star system. Faced with our powerful starship, how could the natives of this primitive system possibly resist? Once we subjugate all these slaves, we can search slowly throughout this star system; sooner or later, we will find the Rand treasure."

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～

On Earth, aboard the "City in the Stars," Liu Hui stared at the monstrous spaceship on the screen, an icy chill creeping through him. Detection by the spiritual energy fluctuation radar revealed the warship measured 130 kilometers in length, 50 kilometers in width, and a staggering 10 kilometers in height—its overall shape resembling a fish.

Viewing such an enormous warship, not just Liu Hui but everyone in the Command and Control Center was aghast. They had considered the "City in the Stars" an incredible feat of engineering, yet this incoming vessel dwarfed it by more than three times its volume. Faced with such a leviathan, anyone would feel a profound sense of powerlessness.

Watching the warship approach Earth, Liu Hui asked, "Did they detect the stealth advance bases we established on the other planets?"

An Qi responded, "They likely did not detect our bases, as they flew right past our stealth base near Jupiter without stopping or making any extraneous movements. Furthermore, I find they seem not to have detected our use of spiritual energy fluctuations, meaning they are probably unaware of the conversations transmitted via our spiritual energy fluctuation radar."

Liu Hui nodded. "Activate the large defensive formations of all our bases and maximize spiritual energy input. We are not afraid of an accident; we fear the 'what if.'"

An Qi confirmed, "I am aware. We are prepared and waiting for them to reveal their hand."

Liu Hui and the others watched the colossal warship rapidly approach Earth before finally stopping, settling into a geosynchronous orbit. Then, its forward section began to shift and change shape, revealing a massive cannon barrel. Energy reactions began to build up around the enormous muzzle.

"Danger! They are hostile! Their cannon barrel is charging—they are definitely preparing an attack," An Qi cried out, her face pale with alarm.

Liu Hui spoke calmly. "Send another notification. Have all our human settlements reinforce their defenses and activate the maximum power protective energy shields." He paused, then added, "Immediately issue a worldwide alert. Inform the global populace of this hostile action by the aliens and prepare them for the worst."

Liu Hui's commands were executed instantly. At that precise moment, the charging of the warship's cannon, hovering in Earth's synchronous orbit, completed. A massive pillar of energy flashed out, striking the orbital space station directly.

The orbital space station was also equipped with large defensive formations. However, its formation energy core relied on a Level Eight energy stone. Upon being struck by the warship's massive cannon blast, the large defensive formation immediately activated, successfully intercepting the energy beam.

Unfortunately, the energy beam was continuous. Under the intense assault, the formation energy of the space station rapidly depleted. In less than ten seconds, the station's power reserves were exhausted. The energy shield vanished instantly, and the colossal energy pillar slammed into the orbital space station. The station immediately exploded, fragmenting into countless pieces of debris, scattering into space as junk.