Chapter 1 Beginning

From the moment he arrived on this planet, Muru’s emotions had seemed very calm, at least on the surface – ten thousand years had turned his homeland into a distant memory in his mind, so even seeing the landscape of Suloen, he could accept it with equanimity. However, this calmness was finally broken when he saw those curved, greyish-white warships that looked like bizarre giant worms. Even through the communicator, his anger was palpable.

"Don't panic, I'll shoot them down," Hao Ren immediately locked onto the three aircraft and then activated the secondary cannons on both sides of the Tortoise Rock Platform.

At the same time, the three aircraft above the distant city clearly noticed the existence of the Tortoise Rock Platform. The pilots in those aircraft certainly couldn’t understand how a third-party spacecraft they had never heard of could suddenly appear here, but at this moment, anything that appeared on this battlefield was an enemy to them. The three aircraft immediately dispersed, and layers of light began to spread across a series of curved metal plates on their flanks.

The instant those halos spread, the Tortoise Rock Platform’s radar briefly lost its lock on the targets. They appeared to be some kind of jamming device, which made Hao Ren think even more highly of these rebellious offspring’s technology. However, Nolan quickly recalibrated the fire control system, and then the secondary cannons on both sides of the ship fired simultaneously.

Bright blue beams shot out from under the Tortoise Rock Platform’s armor belt, striking two of the distant aircraft directly without delay. One of them seemed to have been hit in a vital spot. Its shield flickered violently and then disintegrated, followed by a series of bright fireballs erupting from its curved hull. The entire craft shattered in the explosion, turning into a ball of burning metal debris that slowly slid towards the city. But the other aircraft successfully withstood the Tortoise Rock Platform’s bombardment. Its shield seemed to strengthen briefly, remaining intact after a violent flicker.

Then, the retaliatory fire arrived before the Tortoise Rock Platform.

Several orbs with chaotic luster emerged from the surrounding space as if out of thin air. They clung to the Tortoise Rock Platform’s shield, and from those chaotic orbs, patches of greyish-white light-mist, like some kind of corrosive substance, extended. These light-mists constantly neutralized the shield's energy, and Nolan immediately issued a warning: "Shield power decreasing!"

The Tortoise Rock Platform had once withstood the attack of the will of Planet Aiwu. Its shield strength could almost be called indestructible in the mortal world, but this time, it was damaged so quickly – although the damage was small, it was enough to show that the weapons used by these rebellious offspring were vastly different from ordinary mundane forces.

This was a difference in "essence," meaning that those rebellious offspring had truly stolen the power of a True God.

Hao Ren not only focused on destroying those bizarre lobster-like aircraft but also had the data terminal quickly collect data on the rebellious offspring, including their weapons and shield forms. He was very interested in the chaotic orbs fired by the enemy: "What is this thing? An energy weapon?"

"It can be considered an energy weapon, and it also carries a power effective against divinity," the data terminal’s tone sounded interested as well. "Originally, the Tortoise Rock Platform had a certain divine bonus, so any attack from the mortal world would be weakened by a certain percentage, but these orbs have successfully broken through this limitation… Interesting. Although there are other civilizations in the Void that can do this, it is unusual for a civilization confined to this universe to be able to do these things."

Muru’s voice rang out in the communicator: "It’s simple. All their knowledge of divinity is stolen."

"No matter how they study divinity," Hao Ren collected the necessary data and placed his hand on the weapon system control panel. "Anyway, they are all dead. Undead from ten thousand years ago, let them return to dust."

The weapon system was activated again, and the iconic blue beam of the psionic cannon, like a torrent of light, tore through the air, instantly forming a bright river of light between the Tortoise Rock Platform and the two enemy aircraft. The space around the beam was eroded and assimilated by psionic energy, and cracks rapidly filled it as if glass had been broken, disintegrating inch by inch. The two bizarre lobster-like aircraft turned into fireballs in the massive explosion, scattering scorching metal and molten waste everywhere.

Nolan had memorized the shield weaknesses of this "lobster aircraft" during the first strike. She recalibrated the firepower, so the second attack achieved a one-hit kill effect.

At the same time as the two enemy aircraft exploded, the chaotic orbs clinging to the Tortoise Rock Platform’s shield also quickly disintegrated, and the phenomenon of the shield being neutralized ended.

"Slight damage, nothing serious," Nolan reported on the ship’s condition. "Phew… the first real battle was quite tense. Playing this in first-person is not good for the heart."

Hao Ren casually replied, "Do you have a heart?"

"I have three engines, two energy furnaces, two sets of mainframes, and a thinking core. You’re asking me if I have a heart?" Nolan looked at Hao Ren as if he were an idiot. "I can pick anything and use it as a heart, okay?"

Hao Ren: "…"

The battle ended faster than expected. From the first shot to the destruction of all enemy aircraft, it only took a few minutes. Since this battle only used the Tortoise Rock Platform's secondary cannons, the damage to the surrounding area was much smaller than expected – the greatest damage came from the collapse and material assimilation caused by the psionic beams passing through space. The aftermath of the spatial collapse slightly affected the ground, and some things on the surface were torn apart before these aftershocks were naturally weakened by the laws of physics. But for this already devastated world, a few more trenches on the ground didn't seem to make much of a difference.

In mid-air, the spatial rifts caused by the psionic bombardment were slowly closing. Hao Ren bypassed these dangerous traces and lowered his altitude again, approaching the distant city ruins in a low-altitude cruise. Lily muttered casually, "Seems simpler than I thought. I thought those rebellious offspring would be more powerful."

Muru heard Lily's mutter and immediately corrected this underestimation: "Those are just their basic weapons, small things for fighting in the atmosphere. Their starships and 'Chaos Gate' devices are the real threats. I estimate that your ship is not a match for those things."

"Is it possible to encounter those starships and Chaos Gate things you mentioned here?" Hao Ren asked.

"… That’s unlikely. Those are huge space weapons."

"That’s a lot safer," Hao Ren breathed a sigh of relief. "The Tortoise Rock Platform can completely handle those lobster fighters from before. But they better not come in swarms… The way that thing attacks is really wicked, it's like eating the shield. A large number would be a troub…"

Before Hao Ren could finish speaking, Elizabeth suddenly jumped up and stuffed his mouth with her small fist. The little demon hung on his neck and shouted nervously, "Don’t say it, don’t say it! Papa said you have a jinxed mouth! You must not say it!"

Hao Ren, with Elizabeth hanging on him, silently turned his head to look at Izhaks. The latter coughed twice and lowered his head, pretending to tie his shoelaces – although his shoes had no shoelaces.

"There don't seem to be any more enemies," Nolan widened her eyes – a set of sensors installed in the upper armor belt of the ship. "No energy fluctuations matching those three aircraft have been detected. There are no other energy sources in the city either."

"There should have been a battle here just now," Hao Ren frowned. "Since it was a battle, there must have been resistance… Did they all die just now?"

No one could answer his question. All Nolan could do was to fly the ship into the city and present the惨状 below as it was.

This was a city built by the Guardian Giants, and although it had been completely destroyed, its former glory and grandeur were still visible.

Especially the grandeur.

Muru’s compatriots preferred solemn black buildings, so the entire city below had this color. Everywhere in the city were huge buildings that looked like four-sided towers. Their lines were sharp, and they were arranged neatly. Each one was at least several hundred meters high. These black houses were cast from a substance between metal and stone, and their surfaces were inlaid with a green crystal. The crystal shone brightly, and they seemed to have life, echoing each other and flashing light, even after the city was destroyed. In areas where the city had collapsed less severely, one could still see pipes and trestles supported by crystals and metal in the air. They were interwoven into complex but orderly aerial structures, perhaps some kind of transportation facility or a pipeline for transporting materials.

And the greatest characteristic of all of this was its immensity.

"Which way next?" Nolan asked for Hao Ren’s opinion.

Hao Ren thought for a moment: "Which direction did those three aircraft take off from?"

Nolan used a beam of light to indicate a certain place in the city on the holographic image: "Near that largest building."