Chapter 5: Space Fortress (Part 2)

All the officers stared in shock at the commander. The usually gentle and polite commander had suddenly lost his temper and started hitting people, which showed just how great the pressure he was under was. The atmosphere in the command cabin dropped to freezing point, as everyone silently continued with their tasks.

Soon, the commander issued an order that shocked everyone. He said, “Activate the self-destruct sequence. Start the countdown once they enter the fortress!”

The officers paled. Was this meant to be a mutual death? No one wanted to die, but the commander’s decision was absolute. The adjutant, who had been slapped, gritted his teeth and said, “Sir, activating the self-destruct sequence… the fortress will be completely ruined. Can’t you order everyone who can fight to go out and confront the enemy?” He tried to save as many people as possible. If they were outside, even if the fortress exploded, they might still have a chance of survival. But if they stayed inside, the self-destruct would be fatal, no matter how well equipped they were.

The commander remained silent for a moment before saying, “Alright, go give the order and lead them out to fight.”

“The adjutant replied, “Yes.” He gave a crisp salute and turned to leave. The other officers in the command cabin envied him secretly, but none dared speak up.

The fortress commander sighed and said, “Everyone except the officers on duty, go fight!”

After the order was given, the command cabin became quiet as most of the officers left. At that moment, someone reported that the enemy had already breached the fortress.

The fortress commander said coldly, “Activate the self-destruct sequence. Turn off the warning sounds!”

In other words, once this order was given, no one except those fighting outside could escape. Inside the fortress, aside from the combatants, there were at least tens of thousands of other staff members. No matter whether they managed to defeat Li Ran and the others or not, their fate was sealed. They had nowhere to run, and they didn’t even know the self-destruct mechanism had been activated.

The first to enter the fortress was Qi Wu Zhen. As soon as she got in, she started setting fires. Due to its enormous size—as a flagship-class heavy starship—it not only had a massive volume but also featured numerous weapon systems on its exterior and reinforced structures in critical areas. In space, such a fortress was like a giant building. Yet, even such a massive fortress was useless against super experts.

Immediately after, Wang Dayang also rushed into the fortress. Even more frenzied, he didn’t enter through a passage but forced a huge crack in the fortress wall and broke through. Once inside, he moved straight ahead, ignoring the passages entirely. Whenever he encountered obstacles, he would slash through them to clear a path. After all, this was space—once a gap was created, it would generate a powerful suction force, pulling in anything or anyone not firmly anchored.

Ku Mu and Monier followed closely behind, also charging into the fortress. Guo Shier and Seraphine were last, having reached a passage entrance.

Seraphine glanced back curiously and said, “It’s strange. Why aren’t they chasing us anymore? Could they be retreating?”

Guo Shier turned around and saw the warriors in their starry armor flying away into the distance, completely ignoring him and Seraphine. He felt a slight stir in his heart and said, “Let’s capture a few of them and ask. Something’s off!”

Seraphine immediately rushed forward. She grew increasingly fond of fighting in space—it was wild, exhilarating, and filled with excitement. She loved this experience and thus became more proactive in battle, gradually developing a better understanding with Guo Shier.

In just a few moments, Seraphine destroyed an attack aircraft and captured its pilot. Guo Shier took Seraphine and the pilot into a room, ripped off their protective gear, and asked, “Why are you retreating?”

Desperation flashed in the pilot’s eyes. He knew the fortress’s self-destruct was counting down, but he hadn’t heard any warning sounds. Realizing the warnings had been disabled meant it was meant to kill everyone present. Gritting his teeth, he said, “I… I don’t know…”

At that instant, the pilot’s soul trembled slightly. Guo Shier smiled and said, “Lying!”

Seraphine grabbed one of the pilot’s arms, applied slight pressure to his wrist, and with a crack, the pilot’s arm broke. The pilot couldn’t help but scream in pain. Guo Shier continued, “I want to know the truth. Someone must know. If you tell me… I’ll let you go. I don’t mind killing one person, nor do I care about letting one go.”

The despair in the pilot’s eyes deepened. He said, “Just kill me! I don’t know anything!”

Guo Shier shook his head slightly and said, “You think if you don’t talk… I won’t find out? Heh, you underestimate people…”

The pilot was horrified to see a fist-sized object rise above Guo Shier’s head. It was extremely strange—rotating slightly above his head while also growing slightly larger. Guo Shier smiled and said, “I believe, I believe… you’ll definitely say everything.” As he uttered a spell, the pilot heard a clear ding sound, immediately feeling as though his head had been hit by a hammer—not on the skull, but directly on the brain matter. Ah! The pilot collapsed to the ground, clutching his head. Another ding sound followed, and soon he fell into a coma. Moments later, Guo Shier said, “I see, quite ruthless!” Celine asked, “What?” Guo Shier replied, “They’ve activated the self-destruct device!” Celine had no idea what those terms meant and asked, “What’s a self-destruct device?” Guo Shier explained, “It’s a device that explodes automatically. Once activated, it will explode at the set time. In other words, in a short while, the entire fortress will blow up. If those inside don’t have special skills, they’re basically doomed.” Celine was slightly shocked and asked, “Will it kill us?” Guo Shier said, “I don’t know how powerful the explosion will be, but it won’t be easy to kill us. We’ll probably suffer some injuries. Well, we’d better inform Brother Li Ran to retreat. Since the explosion device has already been activated, we don’t need to bother destroying the fortress ourselves.” Due to the close distance, Guo Shier didn’t need to use any talismans—he simply amplified his soul’s vibrations through the Soul Calming Cauldron: “Retreat! Brother Li Ran, Sister Zhen, Master, Master’s wife, Wang Dayang—retreat quickly! The fortress will explode soon!” Soul vibrations in space could travel great distances. Amplified by the Soul Calming Cauldron, they were like shouting in Li Ran’s ears, so he and the others immediately retreated. Guo Shier and Celine had already left the fortress and were heading toward Liewen Star. In the fortress’s command cabin, the commander had already received the news. Desperately, he realized that all the enemies had left. What was even more terrifying was that he could no longer stop the self-destruct device—the countdown had reached its final thirty seconds, and it couldn’t be halted. He said gravely, “Issue a self-destruct warning! Everyone… can escape!” The commander sighed and said, “Let as many as possible get away! I’ll take full responsibility.”

Complete silence reigned in the command cabin. The officers present all understood that there was no way to escape now. In thirty seconds, they couldn’t run far at all. Everyone knew exactly how large the space fortress was, and they realized they were doomed this time.

When all the members of Li Ran’s team gathered together, the largest space fortress on Leiwén Star emitted a massive flash from within. Since sound couldn’t travel in space, everyone only saw a blinding light. Then the enormous fortress shattered into pieces, exploding continuously. A few seconds later, the entire space fortress disappeared completely. That area of space was filled with countless metal fragments, many of which flew outward at astonishing speeds, reaching Li Ran’s team’s vicinity within seconds.

These flying metal fragments posed no threat to Li Ran’s team, but they were a disaster for those piloting star weapons and attack planes. Star weapons could offer some defense, but attack planes weren’t so lucky—many were torn to pieces, and their pilots died in their cockpits.

Thousands of people desperately flew toward Leiwén Star and soon entered its orbital path. There were also highly powerful weapons in orbit that would automatically attack anyone who entered, serving as Leiwén Star’s last line of defense in space. Another line of defense existed on the planet’s surface: anti-aircraft defenses. If even those failed, the entire planet would be exposed to the enemy.

After hundreds of desperate warriors were killed by the weapons in orbit, they began to fight back frantically. In just a short while, they destroyed most of the automatic attack devices in orbit, then rushed wildly toward Leiwén Star’s atmosphere.

Automatic ground-based artillery started firing, causing flashes of light in the atmosphere. The fleeing warriors also retaliated without hesitation. Star weapons were still very powerful, and with the help of space attack planes, the ground turned into a sea of fire.

Li Ran and the others were stunned. They never expected these fleeing warriors to inadvertently help them open a path.

Guo Shier laughed and said, “It seems the United Spirit Kingdom isn’t completely united after all. Their own people fighting… are just as fierce.”

Qi Wu Zhen said, “Let’s go down. Hehe, I still prefer fighting on the ground. The losses in space are too great. I can’t control the underground magma, and fighting isn’t as satisfying!”

Guo Shier laughed and said, “If Sister Zhen really decides to show her power, the ground will be ruined. Once the magma erupts, I think they’ll cry.”

Qi Wu Zhen said, “Regarding the rune combinations obtained from walking in the void, hehe, I’ve always had an idea that we need a place to test them. Unfortunately, we’ve been in space all the way and haven’t been able to do any tests. This time… I hope to have some fun!”
Li Ran laughed and said, “Hehe, Liewen Star is in for trouble.”
Ku Mu said with enthusiasm, “I really want to see what humans in this world are like…”
Monier also laughed and said, “It’s said there are many interesting things…”