by <unknown>
Only Meng Chixin, Wu Suiyun, and Wan Mingzhu, the three spectral Cultivators, were in better conditions.
That was because they did not have real stomachs and throats that they could throw up with.
The three ghosts were hiding in three crude metal puppets.
The three metal puppets had been forged by Li Yao based on the automatic defense puppets on the Nuwa warship.
Those puppets could have been slightly modified to serve as their 'artificial bodies' without much trouble.
However, the puppets created by the Nuwa Clan had too distinctive features. The passionate bordering on disorderly patterns of spiritual energy would be too eye-catching if the spectral Cultivators were walking in them.
Therefore, after Li Yao's manual work and careful camouflage, the puppets had been reduced to such wretched appearances. They were thick, black, and clumsy, as if their original owners were some hard-working miners.
Of course, the seemingly unattractive iron shells still reserved the magnificent firepower and the brutal combat ability of the automatic defense puppets of the Nuwa warship.
Under Meng Chixin, Wu Suiyun, and Wan Mingzhu's delicate control, they would certainly be a shock for the toughest ghost warriors in the federation and the Imperium!
Although they did not have real bodies of flesh and blood to be blasted, their souls were still dwelling in the shock caused by the space jump, and they did not come back to themselves for a long time.
"Is this… the world beyond?"
"Are these… the real stars and universe?"
After they finally vomited everything of their past and opened their eyes to observe the brand-new world that they were in, all the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators were deeply fascinated by the brilliant stars and the vast space. They were appreciating everything so greedily that they were even reluctant to blink.
They were particularly astounded by the red giant that seemed to be one step away from them. The cluster of fire that, despite its dimness, seemed to be swallowing the entire universe with its enormity staggered their souls and rendered them speechless for a long time.
"Fellow Cultivators, we have successfully reached what was marked as the 'Shimmering Light Space Zone' on the ancient star map. The spectrum and parameters of the red giant in front of us are almost identical to those noted on the star map. So, we can with near certainty that they are the same star!"
Long Yangjun was still half lying on the integrative pilot sea. She seemed to have been uninfluenced by the blast during the space jump at all and even enjoyed it. Her agile thinking abilities were maintained, too. "Do excuse me for being too radical when we absorbed spiritual energy from the solar prominence just now. However, we didn't really have a choice. This red giant is not a real star beacon after all. I had to set the destination of the jump very precisely so that we could jump beyond the range of its gravity. If there was a slight error in the jump because of insufficient spiritual energy, we might've dived right into the red giant, in which case, we would have been screwed!
"Thankfully, we jumped to the edge of the galaxy despite all the dangers. We are now being attracted by the star without being swallowed by it. This is a very successful space jump!
"Now that we have arrived at the Shimmering Light Space Zone, fellow Cultivators, you may take a brief rest. You can appreciate the magnificent scenery of the universe around us. Maybe express your feelings in a poem, refill your Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and your pills and elixirs, and refresh your memories of the identity scripts I wrote for you.
"This place should be a desolate land outside of the Star Glory Federation. We can take a rest here for half a month and search for a resource planet to repair Weary Tooth, while we collect the astronomical parameters around to further deduct the star map in a more precise way so that we can slowly jump to and infiltrate the Star Glory Federation.
"Remember, from now on, we are no longer the top-tier experts of the Ancient Sages Sector, and we must abandon the local accent of the Ancient Sages Sector.
"Language experienced drastic changes after the unification of the Star Ocean Imperium. Despite their accents, the common vocabulary and the habitual language are basically the same. We have all learned about that from Heiye Lan. I don't think that we will give ourselves away so easily, right?
"Alright, let's just—"
Unhurried, everything was under Long Yangjun's control.
After all, the 'Shimmering Light Space Zone' was the best jump point that she and Li Yao had decided after carefully studying for a long time. It had a rather long distance to the Heaven's Origin Sector, the Blood Demon Sector, and the Flying Star Sector.
Generally speaking, it was impossible for them to run into the federal army by accident and get involved in any conflict there.
However—
Boom!
Before Long Yangjun finished her speech, a deafening explosion already took place right in front of Weary Tooth. The warship trembled so violently that she was also thrown away from the pilot seat. Every parameter on the operation interface turned red, and ear-splitting alarms were echoing throughout the cabins!
Weary Tooth was slowly recovering from the space jump. It was in its most vulnerable phase, and the probe magical equipment around the starship had not yet been activated.
At that moment, the probe magical equipment finally regained their functionality. Through the tremendous mystic rays that they released, the Cultivators on-board finally got the gist of what was happening in the Shimmering Light Space Zone from the data that was changing as violently as a storm.
The truth of the Shimmering Light Space Zone shocked all of them!
First of all, even at the edge of the galaxy where they were, traces of feeble spiritual energy could still be detected in space, like the ripples left by enormous ships after they sailed on the surface of the ocean.
It suggested that the Shimmering Light Space Zone was far from an unpopulated land but had very frequent voyage and trade activities!
Secondly, they had also detected a certain number of man-made artificial celestial bodies that looked like 'black spots' at the periphery of the red giant. The devices blocked, or absorbed, part of the light, heat, and radiation emanated from the red giant!
It was also proof that a certain civilization or species had developed or even colonized the space zone on a large scale.
The more conclusive proof was, of course, the four starships that were chasing after one another right next to them.
The one fleeing in the lead in a hurry was a calabash-shaped carrier with a big, round belly, which was chased by three high-speed warships that were narrow and long and looked like swordfish.
The carrier seemed to have fallen into the trap of the three warships a long time ago. It was covered in damage and holes. Before Weary Tooth completely got rid of the aftershock of the space jump, it had already been caught up by the three warships. After a period of crazy, colorful bombardment, the carrier exploded violently and got swallowed by raging flames!
The noises when Weary Tooth had returned to the three-dimensional universe from the four-dimensional universe were quite huge. The three swordfish-like warships had immediately noticed it.
It was the most vulnerable phase for Weary Tooth, which was unable to move at all as if it had been mired in a swamp between the three-dimensional universe and the four-dimensional universe.
The three swordfish-like warships took the momentary opportunity and launched their fiercest attacks toward Weary Tooth after shifting their target without asking who was on the starship at all.
Chapter 1551: Ferocious Beasts... on a Chopping Block? |
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Fire was covered Weary Tooth, inside and out, as it was devoured by countless explosions and blasts.
It was in the most vulnerable state after having just broken out of the four-dimensional universe. Even the spiritual shield was not entirely
opened yet.
Every attack from the enemy would bite a piece of 'meat' off the crystal shell of the warship. The metal components and the oil were spraying into space like broken flesh and blood!
Before Weary Tooth was entirely blown up, the enemy seemed to have no interest in communicating with Weary Tooth at all.
In front of every swordfish-like warship, dozens of colorful pillars of light were spurting out at the same time. Like the sharpest scalpels, they were cutting and savaging Weary Tooth's shell!
On the back of the warships, almost a hundred helical metal thorns were standing like the fins of the swordfish. Pushed by the power rune arrays, they had also taken off from the warships and rushed over while they were rotating at a high speed, darting into the shell of Weary Tooth deeply like tusks that were penetrating deep into the body of the prey!
Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi!
Those helical metal thorns entailed the most powerful attack units and crystals of the thunder class. After they pierced into Weary Tooth so deeply, they immediately released hundreds of high-voltage electric arcs, which swept across every pathway and every cabin like boas, seriously destroying most of the units on Weary Tooth and half-paralyzing Weary Tooth.
Weary Tooth was unable to fight back at all because nobody was at the attack posts!
Even the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators were not real deities. It was already a miracle that they had familiarized themselves with the usage of their crystal suits and Colossi in just half a year. Where did they have the time to learn the battle skills of a starship?
Heiye Lan and Long Yangjun were the only two who had mastered starship piloting skills to a certain extent on Weary Tooth. It was already good enough that they were able to maneuver Weary Tooth to cruise stably in the sea of stars and reach the destination precisely. Due to the serious shortage of personnel, they could not perform counterattacks against the hostile warships at all!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi!
Inside the cockpit of Weary Tooth, fireballs and electric arcs were dancing crazily, too. All kinds of components and pieces were flying in midair in a mess. Long Yangjun and Heiye Lan's hair was standing on end under the electric shock, making them look like crazy devils.
Gnashing her teeth, Long Yangjun shouted, "Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture, we need emergent maintenance here. Come and give me a hand!"
Hardly had Li Yao staggered into the cockpit against the fireballs and electric arcs on the way when Long Yangjun snatched him and dragged him to a corner.
"Hey, what's going on here? Didn't you say that this place is safe and could serve as a buffer area between us and the federation?" Long Yangjun was so angry that flames of fury seemed to be shooting out of her mouth. "Why are we under such violent attack the moment we jumped over? You are not hoping that we should just part here on bad terms, are you?"
"How on earth would I know?" Li Yao was dizzy, too. He replied, not in a good mood himself, "This place is obviously far away from the territory of the federation, and the environment around this red giant is not particularly favorable. There's no reason a federal fleet should be here! Also, their target was clearly not us in the beginning but the calabash-shaped carrier. We were just a passer-by that somehow got involved!"
He thought carefully about the appearance of the strange starships collected through the probe magical equipment. Both the calabash-shaped carrier that had been blown up in the space and the three swordfish-like warships behind it were in vastly different styles from the starships of the federation.
Besides, there was not the paint of the Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars flag on their shell, or the emblems of the Patriots Partnership, Skyfire, the Glorious Sunlight Group, and the major sects in the federation. The shell of the strange starships was bare from head to toe.
They did not look like the starships of the federation.
But that was highly unlikely. It had been a while since the Heavenly Path Plan, the federation's project to explore the universe, began. Ding Lingdang's fleet was already capable of cruising to the nearby of the dark nebula, which was even further away.
If there was a force independent from the federation in this place, it could not have avoided the federation's detection!
Therefore, what was happening there?
"There's something that you have always been reluctant to tell me, but with everything coming to this point, you have to tell me now!" Long Yangjun said sullenly. "You swore that this place was not within the territory of the federation and was a no-man's land that was absolutely safe. Let's say you were speaking the truth, but you've been away from the Star Glory Federation for at least a decade, haven't you? Is it possible that the federation has undergone drastic changes when you were not around? Just tell me the truth. How outdated is your intelligence? Ten years? Twenty? Thirty? Don't tell me that it is from fifty years ago and you wandered in the universe for fifty years!"
"I wouldn't say that."
Long Yangjun was greatly relieved. "That's good. Then tell me now. How far behind is your intelligence from reality?"
"A hundred years."
"…"
Boom! Boom! Boom, Boom, Boom!
The explosions were still going on. Even the dazzling electric arcs and fireballs could not eclipse the wrath in Long Yangjun's eyes as she glared at Li Yao.
"Could it be," Li Yao pondered, "that my curse has taken effect again?"
Long Yangjun was greatly alarmed. "What curse? How many more secrets have you kept away from me?"
"I'll explain it to you," Li Yao said. "I seem to be born with an uncanny curse. Whenever I feel that everything is under my control and nothing can possibly go wrong, something unexpected always happens! Is it possible that my curse has taken effect again and even infected the whole team?"
"…"
When the last illumination rune array in the cockpit died down in the explosions, and few units were catching their last breath in darkness, the stormy attacks finally came to a halt.
According to the blurred surveillance interface, Weary Tooth had completely lost the spiritual shield and the power source. It could neither run away nor withstand another barrage from the enemy.
Besides, from the back of the helical thorns that deeply pierced into Weary Tooth, cables were shooting out to the three swordfish-like warships, shortening the distance between the two parties.
They were essentially pulling Weary Tooth hard from three different directions, making it possible for the prey to escape.
That was possibly why they had stopped attacking.
From the enemy's perspective, Weary Tooth had lost all its combat ability. It was no better than a lamb waiting to be butchered.
Shua!
A stream of powerful signals crashed into the mainframe crystal processor of Weary Tooth and hummed in hideous laughter.
Silently, Long Yangjun parsed the signals and projected them to the light beams in front of everyone on-board.
What appeared on the light beam was a middle-aged man who was slim and dark and carried the air of both elegance and brutality.
Li Yao was slightly dazed.
The man had two bright gold horns as adornments embedded on his forehead, which were probably directly fixated to the skull through secret techniques. Around his neck was a circle of long, narrow tattoos. The agile and soft style of armor on his body was vastly different from the traditions of the federation, too, giving an exotic feeling.
Li Yao could guarantee that no people in the Heaven's Origin Sector, the Flying Star Sector, or the Blood Demon Sector dressed in such a style.
"Whoever you are…" The elegant, brutal, dark-skinned man laughed proudly. In a voice that was hollow and unpredictable, he casually said, "Deactivate all your magical equipment and give up resistance. We will board your starship for inspection!
"Otherwise, hehehe… I believe that you must've heard the name of 'Seven Kill Space Pirate Gang' before! If anyone acts recklessly, what happen
ed to the starship just now will happen to you!"
A tiny window appeared next to the dark-skinned man, displaying the tragic outcome of the prey that they had attacked previously. As the aftershock of the explosions quickly died down in the cold, dark universe, all that was left was a bunch of broken remnants that were a blend of corpses and components.
"Space pirate…"
Li Yao was at a loss for a while.
It had been such a long time since he last heard the familiar and yet strange name.
"Space pirates are pirates in the sea of stars," Heiye Lan explained to the two seniors dutifully, still trying to leave a good impression on them. "They are best known for their mysteriousness, cruelty, and persistence. At least, they are so in the Imperium."
It was a one-way message. They could see and hear the enemy, but their enemy could not see or hear them. Therefore, they could communicate freely.
"No." Long Yangjun shook her head. "This guy is lying. Whatever 'Seven Kill Space Pirate Gang' is, he can't be a member of that."
"Exactly," Li Yao analyzed. "When he informed us of who he was, his eyeball was rolling slightly faster, and it was turning to the top right corner. It was clearly a sign that he was recalling the list of pirate gangs in his head before he picked a random one to fool us.
"However, since this 'Seven Kill Space Pirate Gang' is infamous enough to be used to intimidate the prey, there must be a lot of pirate gangs in this place, and they must be very powerful. Even the local government here has no way to tame them!"
Looking at the parameters on the operation interface that were rising and falling, Long Yangjun sighed. "Weary Tooth has been completely paralyzed. We cannot restore cruising abilities without major maintenance. We can only 'borrow' their starship now. Are you fine with it, Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture?"
After pondering for a moment, Li Yao nodded. "Fine by me. Let's release a few fellow Cultivators to warm themselves up. However, do ask them to be gentle. They can blow up two warships first but must keep one for our own use. Also, don't kill everybody on the warships yet. Save a few for interrogation, especially this guy who has horns on his head."
