Chapter 5: Space Fortress (Part 1)

The captain knew this was a one-way path, but he was well aware that even if it was a dead end, he had to take it. If he didn’t go, he would die immediately; if he did, there might still be a chance of survival. He wasn’t the kind of person who feared death, but in the end, he gave in. The starship moved forward at full speed, ignoring all warnings and threats ahead, charging straight ahead.

The seven of them watched calmly outside the command cabin. At this point, it was a fight to the death. They understood clearly that it might have been a misunderstanding at first, but after destroying so many starships, the United Spirit Kingdom would never let them go. They would use every means to eliminate them, so there was no need to be polite—just attack directly.

At first, there were only a few long-range attacks. Guo Shier immediately ordered the captain to counterattack. He said, “Don’t hold back either. Hehe, if we hit your starship, we might be fine, but you’ll definitely be in trouble!”

The captain’s forehead was covered in sweat, dripping down as his face twisted in agony. He shouted hoarsely, “Aim well and fire! Otherwise, we’ll all die!”

Indeed, the crew of this starship was highly skilled—becoming more fierce with each attack, locking onto targets swiftly, and launching decisive and brutal assaults. After a few attacks, the obstacles ahead were broken through. What appeared now were small starships, no match for this medium-sized vessel. Under the pressure from Guo Shier and the others, the crew understood that if they didn’t go all out, they would die. So they unleashed an unprecedented level of intensity.

Li Ran praised, “Not bad! Tsk tsk, quite accurate. Good! Good! Good… Keep it up!”

Soon, the starship entered the defense circle of Liewen Star, and the artillery fire became more intense, forcing the captain to constantly order counterattacks while directing the ship to avoid attacks.

At this point, Guo Shier also began to take command. His soul detection was far more powerful than that of the starship, allowing him to detect some attacks earlier. After the captain followed his orders and dodged several waves of intense fire, all the officers in the command cabin were completely awed.

The lightning-fast dodges left these starship officers in awe. Often, just as the starship shifted its position, a wave of attacks would pass by its defenses. The starship seemed to dance in space, swaying left and right, jumping up and down, dodging countless attacks.

The starship also fired a series of attacks from time to time, leaving some fixed defense fortresses in tatters. In just half an hour, the starship approached the inner defense circle, meaning it was almost at the planet of Liewen. A planet became clearly visible to everyone. It was a light green planet that looked extremely beautiful, covered in large patches of white clouds, through which the oceans and lands below could be clearly seen. Li Ran asked, “Is that Liewen?” The captain wiped his sweat and said, “Yes, that’s Liewen.” He wasn’t from Liewen; his family lived on another planet. On this starship, none of the crew members’ families lived on Liewen. Those who lived on Liewen were the nobles and wealthy people of the United Spirit Kingdom. Liewen had a highly developed entertainment and gambling industry, with its service staff recruited from other planets, leaving few ordinary residents on the planet. As ordinary people, they had no particular feelings toward Liewen. Just like the captain of this starship, who already had a certain social status, he couldn’t possibly live on Liewen; at most, he might go there for entertainment during his vacations. So attacking Liewen didn’t weigh heavily on his conscience. The only thing he was sure of was that if his starship attacked Liewen, even if they managed to escape this disaster, their future wouldn’t be easy. But by this point, it was no longer up to him to make the decision. Liewen’s defenses were currently weak because its fleet had been withdrawn, leaving only some space defense fortresses. These were converted from retired starships and could serve as fixed platforms to attack any enemies entering their range. Normally, they couldn’t move, and if they did, it was only at an extremely slow pace. There were many such fixed platforms within Liewen’s defense circle. As the attacks grew more frequent, Qi Wu Zhen said, “I’ll go clear the area ahead!” Wang Da Yang, unwilling to fall behind, said, “I’ll go too!” Li Ran said, “The two of them are enough.” Ku Mu originally wanted to go as well but nodded upon hearing this, saying, “Yes, two are enough.” Guo Shier laughed and said, “There are thirteen defense fortresses in total. Hehe, who knows how many layers of metal defense have been added on the outer layer, but they don’t realize that such defense layers are completely useless to us!” Qi Wu Zhen and Wang Da Yang effortlessly destroyed the space fortresses ahead.

The Striped Star became clearer and larger by the moment. According to Guo Shier, this administrative planet was at least twice the size of Earth. One after another, space fortresses were destroyed, and soon the starship would enter the orbit of the Striped Star.

At that moment, a large fortress appeared ahead of the starship. It had been modified from a mothership-class heavy starship, its massive body equipped with various defensive weapons and numerous access ports.

As the starship approached, countless warriors clad in star armor poured out from the access ports, while a large number of attack drones emerged from the fortress, firing countless attacks. In an instant, the entire fortress glowed with blinding light.

Li Ran shouted, “Let’s go!” It was unwise to stay on the starship any longer—this target was too big.

The group suddenly disappeared from their original location. The officers in the command cabin were shocked to find that the fierce warriors who had been by their side vanished instantly. Then they heard the captain’s terrified voice: “Quick… take cover…” Amid the massive explosion, everyone in the command cabin fell to the ground, with a few even being flung backward by the force.

Countless shells struck the starship, and in just a few moments, the entire medium-sized starship was shattered into pieces, turning into piles of metal debris floating in space.

Guo Shier glanced back and sighed, “Damn, they’re really ruthless!”

Li Ran smiled slightly and said, “Fights in the greater world are even more brutal than where we are. Without the protection of a starship, people are extremely vulnerable and hardly stand a chance of survival. That’s why any war would deal a severe blow to any major nation.”

Guo Shier laughed and said, “They’re all ordinary people. Fighting like this is pointless. We haven’t even seen a single expert yet.”

Even the more skilled experts here, despite wearing advanced star armor, were far behind Guo Shier and his group of super experts who advanced rapidly once they entered the greater world. Coupled with the insights Li Ran and the others had gained in the void, which had multiplied their defensive capabilities and drastically enhanced their offensive power, they weren’t afraid of their opponents at all—even if their enemies were the United Spirit Kingdom, a level-seven star nation.

Qi Wu Zhen charged straight toward the largest space fortress. Surrounded by warriors wielding star armor, they attacked frantically without hesitation. Some attack drones even crashed into the fortress head-on. Their fierce determination impressed Qi Wu Zhen greatly.

This was a standard desperate attack. Compared to those they had seen before, these were true elite warriors. Though they couldn’t shake Qi Wuzhen’s defenses, their wave after wave of reckless attacks slowed her advance.

Wang Dayang was merciless, slaughtering everyone in his path without sparing a single soul. He harbored deep hatred for the people of the United Spirit Kingdom, so his fury was no less intense than theirs. Given the huge disparity in strength, the defending warriors suffered greatly. Wherever he passed, countless fragments and bloodstains remained behind—his brutality was so extreme that even those elite warriors felt overwhelmed.

After coming out of the starship, Li Ran and the others also charged at the giant space fortress. This fortress posed a significant threat to them, so it had to be destroyed; otherwise, it would be difficult to enter the atmosphere of Liewen Star. Countless warriors equipped with star armor could lock onto them and direct the fortress’s intense attacks. They weren’t afraid of the warriors in star armor, but they were cautious about the fortress’s powerful weapons.

Layers of warriors desperately tried to block their way, knowing that if these few people reached the fortress, they would be utterly defeated. Yet Li Ran and his group were far too strong. Despite the warriors’ all-out efforts to stop them, they couldn’t hold back the onslaught. Countless casualties were suffered, and the area around the fortress was covered in blood, even forming a thin layer of blood mist.

Guo Shier was the easiest-going. He simply unleashed the Soul Calming Cauldron, continuously emitting soul-shaking ripples. Within a few kilometers around him, almost no one could escape—even those in star armor couldn’t withstand the vibrations of the soul shocks. Anyone who entered this radius would immediately fall into a coma.

Sericeline took advantage of the chaos to swing her dual blades, carving a bloody path toward the space fortress. Since the battle was chaotic and everyone was too close together, the fortress’s heavy weapons couldn’t be effectively used, leaving its commander in a very passive position.

Kumu and Monier were even more direct. The two used purple chains to bind the approaching warriors one by one before swinging them at others. They resembled monsters covered in long chains, lunging at the fortress with fierce determination.

The group split up and attacked the fortress from multiple directions. In just a few minutes, they reached the edge of the fortress, with the distance between them no more than a kilometer.

The commander of Space Fortress was terrified. He had never seen such monstrous beings in his life—capable of moving freely in space, killing people as easily as stepping on ants, and immune to any attacks. He kept issuing orders, sending waves of soldiers to stop them, but nothing could halt those men. In despair, he shouted, “Damn it… who can stop them?”
His adjutant replied bitterly, “We can’t… Sir, let’s retreat.”
The commander slapped the adjutant in the face and cursed, “Retreat? Where the hell am I supposed to retreat to?”