Chapter 187: The Kiss of Doom (2)

It was an era where victory was determined by massive barrages, by the “Kiss of the Apocalypse” weapon, by high-tech warfare capable of obliterating planets or even entire star systems in a single strike. What did it matter if the fireball launched by Luo Dongjie came from a grand archmage?

As Long Yun stared in disbelief, the fireball flew toward the battleship at an extraordinary speed, piercing through several outer hull plates of the *Doomsday* in an instant.

Only then did the stunned crew remember that, in preparation for launching the *Kiss of the Apocalypse*, all the battleship’s protective barriers had been deactivated, allowing the fireball to penetrate so easily.

But this wasn’t a major issue; the intelligent warship had already anticipated such a scenario. As soon as the fireball breached the outer hull, mechanical arms extended and sprayed a gel-like metallic liquid, quickly sealing the breach and preventing a rapid loss of pressure between the inner and outer compartments.

In just a few minutes, the outer hull would repair itself completely, as if it had never been struck at all. This was truly no big deal.

The real problem, however, was inside the ship. That massive fireball, after piercing the hull, seemed to have eyes of its own, directly targeting the ship’s command center.

Inside the control room were many people. Long Yun and XII were naturally present, as was Lei from the Third Outer Mongol Division, who had made this his command post. Maya couldn’t sit still, even though she had no official duties, always drifting about. Also present were two team leaders from the Haojiantuan. The Haojiantuan had recently split into male and female divisions, and these two were the respective leaders—Da Nuo and Xiao Yan.

Everyone had been intently watching the space battle outside, never imagining that in an instant, the battlefield would shift right to their doorstep.

Suddenly, a deafening explosion shook the entire ship. A blinding red light filled their vision, as if the entire universe were burning, melting into flames.

Even more terrifying was the fact that the fire originated from inside the ship itself. The *Doomsday*, reputed as the most powerful battleship in the cosmos, was now engulfed in an eternal blaze.

Long Yun and XII reacted quickly, rushing to the control panel to assess the ship’s status. But the moment they pulled up the data, their hearts sank. The fire wasn’t caused by an external attack—it was the *Kiss of the Apocalypse* itself, the weapon that had been gathering energy.

No one could have predicted that the first use of the *Kiss of the Apocalypse* would result in self-destruction, just like the first use of the Light-Hunting Weapon. Was this the inevitable fate of these massive, devastating weapons?

The energy of the *Kiss of the Apocalypse* continued to surge and leak uncontrollably. The antimatter energy of a battleship was immense, and when the energy from half an hour was compressed into one moment, the resulting explosion was unimaginable. Not only would the entire battleship be destroyed, but all the smaller ships nearby would also be consumed by the flames.

Who could have guessed that the first use of the *Kiss of the Apocalypse* would result in self-destruction?

The flames grew stronger, so intense that it felt like molten lava was flowing through their bodies. Blood seemed to boil, and metal melted continuously, while electrical circuits exploded in bursts of colorful sparks.

“Shut down the *Kiss of the Apocalypse* immediately!” Long Yun shouted in terror, fearing that XII wouldn’t survive long enough to hear his command.

But the situation hadn’t yet reached its worst. Though XII was gravely weakened, it still had the strength to move. All its mechanical arms spun into action, typing a secret command of over a hundred characters—an emergency shutdown command for the *Kiss of the Apocalypse*.

A few seconds later, after XII completed the command, the *Kiss of the Apocalypse* was deactivated, and the ship’s energy levels returned to normal. Strangely, the flames that had raged like hellfire vanished completely. The control room, previously hotter than the inside of a volcano, instantly cooled down.

Even the melted steel and damaged electronics were restored, as if everyone had just experienced a nightmare.

The only difference was that the *Kiss of the Apocalypse* had indeed been shut down.

Long Yun looked around in shock. Everyone was unharmed, yet the expressions of shock in their eyes made it clear that they had all experienced that terrifying ordeal. It was just too strange—its arrival and disappearance were both so inexplicable.

“Thank you, thank you… thank you all for stopping your ultimate weapon. I am truly grateful.”

“Who are you?” Long Yun couldn’t believe his eyes. In the blink of an eye, during that brief nightmare, over a dozen new figures had appeared in the command room. One of them was a young man dressed in a general’s uniform, while another was Ling Ziyun, once prominent on the planet Remon. Behind them were nearly ten others clad in black, their faces obscured.

What truly made Long Yun’s blood run cold was the symbol on their uniforms—a mysterious purple sword.

“Shadow!”

“I am Luo Dongjie, commander of the Sunset Fleet, a directly appointed brigadier general of the Galactic Empire’s Privy Council, and a viscount personally granted by the Emperor,” Luo Dongjie said with a smile, clearly confident of victory. “We’ve fought on the battlefield before, but this is our first face-to-face meeting.”

“Scared little dog!” Long Yun scoffed, feeling slightly reassured knowing he faced a defeated foe.

But Luo Dongjie remained unfazed. With the advantage now in his hands, there was no need for verbal sparring. “I suppose you don’t yet know what just happened. Allow me to introduce a few of my companions. They are quite remarkable individuals—people whose faces are rarely seen, but who all share the same name.” Luo Dongjie paused deliberately, a satisfied expression on his face. “Shadow—that is the name they all share.”

Shadow!

Shadow!

The most terrifying name in the universe, the most horrifying and unfathomable dark force within the Galactic Empire. The Emperor and the Senate had spent a decade rebuilding this elite force—the ultimate trump card.

And now they stood here, like a black mist, drifting in the air.

Before Long Yun could recover from his shock, a soft *pop* sounded beside him. Maya, who had been standing next to him, had vanished.

Maya was a pure spiritual being, having gained a physical form through her fusion with Yang Hao’s sword heart. As a Saintian, she was highly sensitive to other spiritual beings or strong spiritual forces. Seeing the thick dark spiritual energy radiating from the dozen figures behind Luo Dongjie, her combative instincts kicked in. She immediately dispersed her physical form and launched herself at them.

This was where the difference between an amateur and a true warrior became clear.

Maya used the “Great Saint’s Binding Art,” a technique that paralyzed opponents with spiritual force. This was one of the Saintians’ signature moves against physical beings. Normally, even the most trained humans couldn’t match the spiritual power of a Saintian.

But today was an exception—or perhaps an inevitability.

As Maya directed her “Great Saint’s Binding Art” at the dozen Shadow warriors, she suddenly realized that it was not them who were immobilized—it was her. Though she had dispersed her physical form, her spiritual presence froze in midair, unable to move.

Ling Ziyun calmly raised one hand and made a fist. Instantly, the dozen Shadow warriors vanished—not truly disappeared, but transformed into black mist.

The ten figures became ten streams of black mist, which coalesced in midair into a massive sword. With lightning speed, it lunged at Maya’s spiritual form.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion shook the air.

A golden light erupted from Maya’s body, colliding with the black sword. Then, she was defeated—not only wounded but her spiritual power severely diminished.

Maya reformed her physical body, disheveled and pale.

Though Long Yun didn’t fully understand the nature of that clash, Maya’s condition told him everything—heavy losses had been suffered.

In truth, that brief confrontation had been purely spiritual. A Saintian known for spiritual strength had been unable to withstand a joint attack from the Shadows. Their power was truly formidable.

“Shadow—*Ming* means death, and *Se* means illusion,” Luo Dongjie kindly explained. “Together, they mean dying under illusions. Do you understand now?”

“What do you want, Luo Dongjie?” Long Yun demanded fiercely.

“I want Yang Hao dead!” Luo Dongjie’s eyes darkened, his hands clenched tightly, trembling with emotion. “He dared to stop me, to defeat me. I will never allow such a man to live. Never!”

“Yang Hao isn’t here,” Long Yun sneered, still unimpressed. “You’ll never be his equal. You’re just a drowned dog, fit only to crawl at his feet.”

Luo Dongjie didn’t get angry. He didn’t even raise an eyebrow. There was no point in getting angry at someone already doomed to die.

“Yang Hao isn’t here. A pity. Then you will die. All of you will die.”

With that, Luo Dongjie nodded toward Ling Ziyun.