Seven veteran Border Monarchs arrived at the Shattered Star Belt with high vigilance, though they had long grown accustomed to this environment after spending so much time here.
When Luo Feng first arrived, he had been overly cautious. But as the saying goes, “Mastery breeds boldness.” With his vast experience and mindset, Luo Feng quickly adapted to this ever-present threat of danger, where at any moment someone might sneak up and initiate a deadly battle.
Only Rock, the newcomer, was still struggling. Though his strength was impressive, it was far from Luo Feng’s monstrous level—he was merely an exceptionally strong Border Monarch. Being assigned to the deadly Shattered Star Belt as a rookie, the constant possibility of life-or-death combat made it impossible for him to calm his mind. Combined with the dense, oppressive aura of the Shattered Star Belt, he grew increasingly restless.
“Rock, send a bit of your consciousness into the Virtual Universe Network and play some games. Relax a bit,” Taiwo suggested with a smile.
“Yes, Captain,” Rock replied, somewhat embarrassed.
“Don’t be embarrassed. Every one of us here, when first entering the battlefield beyond our borders, felt like we were going mad from the constant threat of battle. Back in our human territories, there’s no place this terrifying. For a new recruit’s first time here, this kind of reaction is normal. It’s known as ‘Newcomer’s Syndrome.'”
Rock nodded, then linked his consciousness to the Virtual Universe Network to unwind.
“Captain,” the enchantress murmured with a smile, “Why doesn’t the Madman have this syndrome? I see him staying perfectly calm.”
“Is the Madman like an ordinary person?” Du Yao, curled up on the sofa with a bottle of wine, replied. Among the squad, he loved drinking the most. As for brewing potions, he usually conducted his experiments in the Virtual Universe, where, as long as the materials were sufficient, whatever could be achieved there could also be replicated in reality.
…
The squad continued chatting casually, some even closing their eyes to rest. Before long, the next day arrived.
“Form up!” the Immortal Taiwo commanded.
Du Yao, Kuangwu, Shenling, the Madman—all instantly stood at attention.
“This is our first mission since arriving at the Shattered Star Belt. The first mission must succeed,” Taiwo’s gaze swept across the nine of them. “Veterans should know the rules. New recruits—stay calm in unusual situations, and watch how the veterans handle things.”
“Yes.”
Luo Feng and Rock nodded.
“Good. Let’s move out,” Taiwo said with a smile.
“Finally time to start earning battle merits.”
“Haha, I’ve already spent a lot of mine. Don’t even have money to spend,” the veteran members laughed heartily. Having gone through countless trials, these veterans had already achieved the rank of Border Monarch General and completed their required battle merits. Thus, they were now free to exchange their merits for various treasures as they pleased.
Typically, 100,000 battle merits equaled one Chaos Unit.
Luo Feng’s group quickly rushed out of their base, while Captain Taiwo naturally retracted the rest chamber.
“A C9-class spaceship?” Luo Feng and Rock stood on the floating planetary fragment, astonished at the sight of a spaceship hovering before them.
“That’s right. We’re heading out in a C9-class spaceship,” Taiwo confirmed with a nod. “The weakness of this class is its slow acceleration and deceleration, and poor maneuverability. However, once it reaches full speed, it’s quite fast. Flying at sub-light speed through the Shattered Star Belt is effortless.”
“The most crucial point is… there are far too many powerful alien beings in the Shattered Star Belt, and we could be ambushed at any moment. If we’re attacked, the spacecraft would be obliterated. We’ll be stationed here for an extended period, and if we lost our ships every single time, I’d be too hesitant to deploy the expensive ones. Heh, this C9-class is dirt cheap. Even if we lose hundreds of thousands or millions of them, I wouldn’t bat an eye,” Taiwo said with a grin.
Luo Feng was speechless.
Indeed, C9-class ships were extremely cheap. Even a million of them wouldn’t amount to a single Chaos Unit. To an Immortal, they were extremely, extremely cheap. After all, even the minor members of a powerful family often traveled in C-class spaceships. Such ships were mass-produced. A single ancient family might possess millions of C9-class ships.
And the total assets of a typical ancient family were nothing compared to those of an Immortal.
…
Luo Feng and his group boarded the low-end C9-class spaceship and flew through the Shattered Star Belt at sub-light speed, carefully avoiding each shattered star fragment while maintaining a safe distance.
“The detection device I carry is worth 120 Chaos Units—more than the total worth of millions of C9-class spaceships,” Taiwo said with a smile from within the cabin. “This device can detect life fluctuations within a radius of 100 million kilometers. While we can know the coordinates of nearby allies, we cannot detect enemy alien coordinates, so we must rely on this detector. We mustn’t be stingy with money when it comes to this kind of equipment; a good detector is extremely important.”
Luo Feng smiled.
The detector was indeed important, which was why he had already exchanged for one before coming to the battlefield. Thanks to his privileges and discounts, it still cost him 3.9 million points. Of course, for Luo Feng, who had originally possessed 3 billion points, this was nothing. This device would be useful both on the battlefield and in future explorations of secret cosmic realms.
Even with discounts, it cost 3.9 million points.
If sold at an auction, it would fetch at least tens of millions of Chaos Units. The typical Immortal of the Marquis rank might possess that much wealth. Such an expensive detector was usually only standard equipment for Immortals of the Marquis rank or higher.
“We detect alien enemies, but if the enemy’s detection equipment is strong, they can detect our detection,” Taiwo explained. “Of course, many alien races are technologically inferior and only realize our presence when we’ve already arrived at their doorstep.”
The spaceship continued its journey.
On the first day, they mostly traveled through regions controlled by the main human race and allied races.
On the second day, they ventured into a desolate region of the strong, where they gradually began encountering numerous otherworldly warriors.
…
On the second day, inside the spaceship.
“Hurry, change course, move away from the target,” Taiwo ordered, and the spaceship slightly altered its direction, continuing forward at sub-light speed.
“What’s wrong, Captain?”
“Why so scared?”
The enchantress and Kuangwu teased.
Taiwo sighed deeply, “We’ve detected six fluctuations of Immortals.”
“What?” Everyone, except Luo Feng who was only slightly surprised, jumped in shock.
“Six Immortals gathered together?” Wei, the illusionist with a white cat, widened his eyes.
“Yes.”
“Don’t worry. We’ve maintained ultra-high-speed flight, nearly reaching the maximum speed possible in the Shattered Star Belt. And we’re moving directly away from them. Even if they tried to chase, they wouldn’t catch us,” Taiwo said with a smile. “I estimate that those six alien Immortals have already noticed us, which is why they didn’t bother chasing.”
“A team of six Immortals?” Luo Feng asked curiously.
“Yes. If they can organize into a team, their leader likely has the strength of a Marquis-ranked Immortal,” Taiwo nodded. “A team like that would be an elite force. We’re only an elite squad. In a direct confrontation, a single Marquis-ranked Immortal could wipe us all out.”
Flying through the starry expanse of the Shattered Star Belt, they moved with extreme caution.
After several dangerous encounters,
“Target detected.”
“Distance: 92,840,000 kilometers. There are five targets, all likely Border Monarchs,” Taiwo announced.
“Five Border Monarchs? No problem,” Shenling, clad in white battle armor, said with a smile.
“Everyone be careful. No one who comes to the Shattered Star Belt is easy to deal with. Even if they’re all Border Monarchs, they probably have some tricks up their sleeves,” Du Yao warned.
“Understood.”
“Don’t worry, little Chencheng.”
The spaceship began to decelerate and turn, heading toward the target.
“The distance is closing—90 million kilometers… 80 million kilometers… 70 million kilometers… The five alien Border Monarchs have remained on a shattered star fragment without moving. I suspect their detection equipment is rather basic, so they haven’t detected us yet… while our detection has already been shielded by my instruments,” Taiwo explained.
In the battlefield beyond borders, detection equipment was essential.
Ours can detect yours, but yours cannot detect ours—that was the difference in technological sophistication.
Like the previous time when we were ambushed by the Machine Race without any warning from our detectors, it was clear the enemy’s methods were superior. This time, however, it seemed human technology held the advantage.
…
Moments later, the distance closed to 3 million kilometers.
“Decelerate and halt the spaceship temporarily.”
“The exact appearance of the targets has now been detected. Take a look,” Taiwo said, as the screen on his arm projected a glowing image into the air, displaying the five alien Border Monarchs with detailed data—height, skin color, and other specifications.
Five alien powerhouses, each towering between 21 to 25 meters tall—absolute colossi among mortals.
All clad in thick battle armor.
Their upper bodies resembled human forms.
Their lower bodies were reptilian, with six sturdy hooves and a scaly tail. Their entire bodies, including their upper torsos, were covered in blue scales.
“Lightning Race,” Taiwo murmured gravely.
“They’re all experts in lightning, aligned with the Insect Race,” Du Yao nodded.
“No wonder they dared to come. This Lightning Race is quite formidable.”
The veteran members began discussing among themselves.
Luo Feng carefully examined the images and immediately recognized the alien race. In fact, Taiwo, Du Yao, and the others didn’t know much about the exact details of many alien races. They had accumulated experience through countless battles and discussions with fellow warriors, learning only the general abilities of certain alien races.
But Luo Feng knew clearly.
Leiquan Race: Legend says the Leiquan possess a sacred site known as the “Leiquan,” where every Leiquan infant is placed upon birth. Only when these infants can climb the vines in the Leiquan using their own strength to reach the top and escape are they considered fully developed. Thus, every Leiquan individual is naturally a favored child of the Lightning Laws, innately able to control lightning and exceptionally skilled in comprehending and wielding it with great power.
Just like the Mosha Clan being favored by spatial laws, or the Gold Horned Giant Beast favored by metallic laws.
Of course,
While the Leiquan possess some innate talent, their abilities are mainly enhanced through the Leiquan. Therefore, in terms of comprehension and amplification of various laws, they fall short compared to the Mosha Clan’s extraordinary power. Even so, compared to humans, they still held a massive advantage.
However, the Leiquan had one major weakness—their numbers were less than a millionth of humanity’s.
“Everyone, disembark.”
“Then approach quietly.”
“Launch an instant attack,” Captain Taiwo ordered.
“Yes.”
The group quietly exited the spaceship. Taiwo retracted the vessel, and then they swiftly soared toward the shattered star fragment where the five Leiquan warriors were hiding…
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