Legend of the Supreme Soldier - Chapter 421

Yes,” said Ye Chong with a firm nod as he did not intend to decline.

“What…” The reply was part of Feng Su’s prediction but it still sounded shocking coming from Ye Chong’s mouth, “What are you…?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Do you really think you could defeat me?” Feng Su said in a threatening tone. If the foe was fully aware of her identity as well as her hand, her security would be very much breached.

The atmosphere grew cold as Tackan stood up with the rest. As being unaware of the exact relationship between the two persons, they did not state their stance yet. It simply was not the time yet, they should observe for now. They identified someone’s stranding by the strength and Feng Su had earned their respect with her strength, thus she shared the equal status with the entire team.

“Do you think you could leave here safely if I went all out?” That was the last nail to the coffin, seriously Ye Chong no longer had a way out without a fight. Tackan and the others started frowning. The group had already divided against itself before the Congregation even started. A battle would take place, and very likely it would be a dead-or-alive battle. The others looked at the silent two worrisomely. They did not intend to get involved in the conflict however, as a sign of respect towards the strong.

“Your physic abilities are pretty good,” initiated Ye Chong, “but they do not impose threats on me. Your coordination lacks practice,” said Ye Chong briefly which had caused Feng Su’s eyes to enlarge.

“Coordi-what?” Tackan sounded confused, so were his men. That was the first time they heard of such term.

Feng Su’s rationality sank deep into the abyss, as her quivering eyes set upon that frail-looking silhouette at the door. It was not strange for outsiders like Tackan’s group to not understand the term “coordination”, since it was a specialized term that meant the coordination between one’s mentality and body in Mentalist’s studies.

But how in the world does he know “coordination”? That is a term only known by the real professionals, an uncommon term in the field too… Wait, he said my coordination lacks practices… so…

Feng Su was not foolish, she realized the weakness of her ability the moment Ye Chong mentioned it.

She had very good mental foresight but her body could not follow the pace of her vision, causing a tiny delay between each session and that was more than enough to cost her life!

Feng Su’s face went all chalky out of sudden, as her biggest weakness – which she herself never realized – just got revealed by one stranger. Her will to battle extinguished, as being truly horrified.

Horrible… This boy is horrible…

Her eyes went frightfully wide.

Her only reliance had been revealed to be totally unreliable. Her trump card was flipped right to the floor by her foe. The fear in Feng Su’s eyes was fully captured by Ye Chong, who acted all calm and unreadable. Well, it did take Ye Chong a few days to identify the issue of Feng Su’s foresight ability. Feng Su might be one of the few top mentalists among her tribe, but Ye Chong had way better understanding and experience with mentalists’ studies. So he eventually saw it, the very weakness of her future sight.

It only took one simple line from Ye Chong to shatter every last bit of confidence in Feng Su.

Feng Su glared at Ye Chong, with the vanishing entity in her eyes.

The staring lasted for about 10 minutes and Ye Chong remained indifferent. Tackan and the rest had become fairly cautious of this boy, as warning of not messing with him kept ringing inside their head.

Feng Su then stormed back into her room without a word.

… (Meanwhile)…

Ye Yin sat right next to Ye Luo.

“Didn’t you say that he might be coming for the Congregation?” asked Ye Yin nonchalantly.

“As you’ve heard, he might, the modal verb is used to express possibility. If I wanted to say he’s coming for sure, I’ll use the modal verb must.”

“What do you mean?” asked Ye Yin angrily with a raise of brows.

“Alright, alright…,” Ye Luo replied laboriously. “Keep your ‘I’m Ye Yin the Great’ look, how many times must I remind you of this? Stay low! Stay low! You must stay low! At this rate you seriously could begin counting the number of eyes at us now.”

“I too, must remind you,” Ye Yin tried inhibiting his fury, “It is the leader’s order to bring him back! Are you implying a mutiny on your side?”

“Holy Ye!” Ye Luo exaggerated his tone. “Didn’t I look cooperative enough? Which part of me said ‘mutiny’? Did I betray anything? Do you know how many connections I’ve utilized in order to get you on this ship? You said you wanted to go to the Congregation, then I got you to the Congregation. Without a single hesitation. Please stop accusing the innocent!”

Ye Yin, the number one pilot of Ye family was finding this Ye Luo a handful child to have on a ride. Well, Ye Luo had always been that troubling child in his eyes since childhood. Ye Yin was the first pilot in the family, while Ye Luo was the first martial arts practitioner in the family. Both of them achieved something in the end. Moreover, Ye Luo was also the eldest son in the family, thus his fearless attitude towards Ye Yin. The mission of escorting Ye Chong did not work well this time, although Ye Yin accidentally netted Ye Luo eventually. He could not be simply letting Ye Luo go, since Ye Luo was the one who submitted the report to the family, he must know Ye Chong’s whereabouts.

He would love to cooperate, but Ye Luo was never the cooperative kind in the family, not even under every sincere plight and Ye Yin could not force him to work his way. This Ye Luo was shameless enough to remain the same stubborn even after being placed on a guillotine, and Ye Yin hated that to the core. Ye Luo agreed to “assist” him only when Ye Yin used the name of the leader in the first place.

And that was why they headed to Risserd, as Ye Luo said that Ye Chong could be joining the Congregation this year. Ye Luo was fine with the operation, on one single condition – only Ye Yin would be allowed to come along. Well Ye Yin was confident in settling Ye Chong singlehandedly, he was the top fighter in He Yue galaxy after all.

Hah, the truth was, Ye Luo told Ye Yin that it might be likely to see the boy at the Congregation merely because Ye Luo wanted to join the Congregation himself. Yes, it was a fabrication to gain a free ride to the Congregation. He was qualified being the ace of Dankwood’s last congregation anyway. Regarding the leader’s “ultimate order”, he did not care. He would love to come alone but certainly Ye Yin would never allow that.

Ye Luo must attend the Congregation, by hook or by crook. He was willing to kill in order to attend the event. He would kill himself if he did not make it.

Well, so, Ye Luo, by making an excuse of bringing his brother to have a mind-opening operation, dragged Ye Yin to the ship. Those dismissive looks from the crew members had occasionally enraged Ye Yin a few times.

…(Meanwhile)…

“Who… should we… mess… with…,” muttered the little boy, with thumb on his chin, as he skimmed through the list.

Both Yan and Huang families are too skillful to mess with, so they are a big no-no.

So… hmmmm

The little boy pondered, “Ah…” He reached out his fleshy finger, “He’ll do,” with a smile at the beautiful sister near him.

…(Congregation ~ the day before~)…

Something happened that caught everyone’s attention, even before the event commenced.

Doc Danelles, the top fighter of Risserd had apparently received an appointed challenge from a white-garbed lady at his accommodation.

Every other fighters nearby were alarmed, as they watched Danelles accepting the challenge like a man.

The outcome? He lost and he sincerely transferred his rights to this white-garbed lady.

Everyone agreed as they backed off.

The discussion started brewing among the residents, not on the strength of this lady, but on that freezing charm of hers. It took only a few days for Rui Bing to become the hottest topic for the Congregation this year.

“Rui Bing? Are all females this strong today?” muttered Huang Jiming at one corner of the hotel’s lobby. Congregation is so intriguing. I have never see this in the tribe, maybe… maybe I should join too.

Somehow the thought had caught onto Huang Jiming.

He would not be joining as a martial arts practitioner, since he knew his fists well. Alchemy? Nah, he could not even differentiate a tube and a flask. He could try his luck joining as a mentalist though, since his Xi Feng tribe was the local resident of free space zone while being the few top tribes of master mentalist, although most of his descendants had moved on to piloting. He believed he could still do something with his mentalist capabilities.

I might not be able to find that fella, but at least this sounds entertaining enough.

Thought Huang Jiming with a bright smile, which somehow caught the attention of the waitress who poured too much tea in the cup.

And later in the afternoon, a rather handsome mentalist had successfully joined the show too. All females in Flying Moon City started following his news right away.

People were excited, even before the Congregation had officially commenced. The participants literally spelled a different congregation this year.

“Alright, we are going for the dining party,” reminded Liu Sheng drowsily. “Yawn… wake me up when we hit main course.”

Rui Bing took a look at her invitation, she passed a look of confusion at the little boy. She did not move into Yan family’s residence like other participants.

She just got her invitation.

“Go, just go, why won’t you go?” laughed the little boy, who somehow had become manager of Rui Bing’s fighting career. He seemed pretty passionate about it too. “But remember to tag me along, Sister Bing!” he said as he reached out his fleshy arm.

Huang Jiming also had just received the invitation. Yan family the host did not reckon the sudden participation from both of them so the invitation got a bit late. Anyway Huang Jiming took a look at the invitation interestingly, he could feel his blood heating up. How could he be not excited when he would be seeing all other experts from their respective fields?

…(Meanwhile)…

“What? Wait, what? Come again? You are going? Excuuuuseee me? They invited me, not you. Look at the name, it says ‘Ye Luo’, L-U-O, there’s no Y-I-N behind.” There Ye Luo was, shouting in his room, “They did not invite you, so why are you coming? Huh? Hmm? You would like to follow me? You want to stay by my side at every single moment possible? Do I look not straight enough for you? Please, they might think you are some hobo looking for free food or something. You are still a known celeb alright? So stay royal. What? You don’t care? Alright, alright, alright, here’s my white flag, just come along. Just pretend you are also invited. Happy?” said Ye Luo helplessly to Ye Yin.

he host of the Congregation was Yan family this year, and it has been a tradition where there would be a dining party like this before every commencement, you could encounter with fellow participants here to socialize a little since it was a rare opportunity to have experts this many in one hall.

This dining party was the prime event in free space zone, while there was the leader of Yan family and the old lady showing up at the party this year. Certainly the leader of the hosting family was renowned, but the old lady was no simple figure either.

Because of the annual event, Risserd had gathered all sorts of youth talents from every corner, and no doubt the Abductor once showed up and attempted to seize a prey or two.

So what this old lady did was, she allied with the few known forces on Risserd, like Huang family for example, and had wiped out every base of the Abductor on Risserd. The mission was successful, which had won over respect of the people towards the old lady.

She had never joined the dining party before, but somehow this year she decided to show up.

Ye Chong tailed Feng Su obediently. He had to follow at every of her steps since it would be horrible if she had a chance to work on something. He could not help but to shudder even to the slightest thought of Feng Su calling a whole flock of Xi Feng mechs to hunt him down.

But in no time Ye Chong realized how he had just invited trouble himself.

Constant stares came from the other Jie experts at the venue, which raided upon him like an arrow shower. Why the stare? Feng Su did not show up in her veil of course. Her absolute beauty had been presented to the folks again.

She worked a little harder dressing up herself this time. This fine violet one piece was the finest thread from Yan family upon request. With her dreamy charm, she certainly looked like a blooming violet. Her lovely waists had sketched sexiness with her low and opened collar, as the collarbones breathed in the air, revealing the glossy smooth skin of hers under the gentle light of the hall.

She was not the only woman but she might be the only and also the fairest woman in the room. Those female martial arts practitioners, mentalists, alchemists might have greater skills than her, but they knew nothing about the vibrant life, so it was wholly the duckling to the swam, a strong contrast.

Feng Su had dominated the entire hall with her beauty once again.

Well… because of her superb beauty, Ye Chong felt like that toad on the lily pad nearby… which caused some unidentifiable fury coming from the sightseers… he was feeling uneasy with the constant glares that his back had been soaked wet despite that indifferent expression of his.

Hah! Snorted Feng Su, feeling great as she glanced at Ye Chong. She had been cracking her head finding a way to pressure Ye Chong but she seemed out of luck. Now, all she had to do was to groove in the hall and he would be sweating heavily by the attention, of envy of course.

“Hmm~” With a seductive smile, Feng Su leaned against Ye Chong as she wrapped herself upon him.

At that moment, Ye Chong could feel the army had replaced their ammo to throwing knives, it was no longer an arrow shower of glare, but a raid of thousand knives! His hands even began shivering!

Disdainful snorts and hmphs echoed in the room. If it was not because of their respects towards the host, Ye Chong probably would have been sliced into the cluster of stars.

“Don’t play with fire,” whispered Ye Chong in a warning tone.

“Hah!” Feng Su giggled as the grip tightened, “Like this?” The entanglement intensified!

“Don’t you like it? Hmm?” whispered Feng Su, breathing into Ye Chong’s ears.

“Hmph!” snorted Ye Chong.

Feng Su flinched as her head retreated.

It was no ordinary snort. Ye Chong actually performed a Mortal Roar just now, a miniature version of it of course. But Feng Su was pretty close to Ye Chong, so even a miniature version could pack a punch to her.

It was a simple gesture yet fairly identifiable among the Jie experts, Ye Chong then felt the showering attack reduced drastically.

Feng Su then behaved herself as she backed off.

“OH! IF IT WASN’T LIU!”

“YES! IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE WE’VE MET!”

The hall was spacious, while also being crowded. Greetings of reunion could be heard roaring in the room all the time. They were martial arts practitioners after all, and they sure had a strong diaphragm, they literally enunciated their courtesy, which caused the noises.

“This is a dining party?” Feng Su’s expression was dull, well, she was once a somebody of the showbiz in 5 major galaxies and had joined various socialites’ party before, but never once she had seen such a messy party.

Tackan and his group had made a wise decision of distancing themselves from both Ye Chong and Feng Su. It was simply heart burning to see both of them exploding randomly during the event.

Again, Ye Chong, to stay low, had dragged Feng Su all the way to one corner and sat down.

But little did he know that, there was one handsome man observing them.

“Oh my!”

“Is that…”

“Gasp…”

If Feng Su’s arrival created the first uproar in the party, then Rui Bing must be the second storm tonight.

Rui Bing, in her white garb, was leading a cute little boy into the hall.

Her chilly charm, tinted with the slight tenacity and the chivalry of a true fighter, had grabbed the attention of the people.

Feng Su might be identified as “seduction” itself but Rui Bing, she would be “ambition”, “dream” and “confidence”.

Rui Bing walked in as usual, unaffected by the fiasco as to center she walked the boy, who was waving to the Jie experts around shyly.

“Oh my gosh… you’re so cute!”

“Let me pinch your face!”

The female Jie experts seemed fairly interested in the puffy boy.

The front suddenly got silent, which made Ye Chong lifting his head in peculiarity, but well, he was at the corner, so he could hardly see a thing. He gave up eventually since he wanted to stay low.

But little he knew that, at a spot a stone’s thrown away from him, laid the person he had been searching for ages!

Rui Bing led the little boy to the other corner. Like husband, like wife, Rui Bing was too someone who did not fancy the attention but she did not fear getting involved in something like Ye Chong. Perhaps that was why Ye Chong could somehow accept her for the rest of his life… similarity…

“Would you stop following me like a paparazzi?!” Ye Luo freaked out softly as possible, “Oh my Risserd, people must be thinking we are legally married or something! Why must you be this close? Two steps away from me please, and how many times must I tell you… stop doing that ‘I am Ye Yin the Great, bow before me’ face! Don’t you feel tired doing it all day? Please, greet the other guests upon encounter, courtesy of humanity, we are a family of courtesy after all!” muttered Ye Luo.

And one could see the vein bloating on Ye Yin’s forehead.

“Hello there, how are you feeling tonight?”

One guest came to them and Ye Luo had professionally turned into a gentleman, “Well certainly, great, how about you? You look gorgeous tonight.”

“Alright, see you at the event itself.”

And the guest left, Ye Luo’s face collapsed, “I said two steps, nothing more and nothing less! Don’t keep the gap too far, you retreat inside your mech at a warfield after all, you’re now a tortoise without shell and I could imagine someone smashing you with their feet, man, do you know how martial arts should have led the field and not…”

The veins bloated again!

“Are you Mr. Luo Shi?” asked one serviceman politely.

“Yes, yes I am!” smiled Ye Luo, as transformed into a gentleman again, “What’s the matter?”

“The lady is aware of your attendance and would like to have a chat with you.” Said the serviceman with an inviting gesture.

“The old lady? Of Yan family?” Ye Luo was confused upon the serviceman’s nod. How would the old lady of Yan family know him? He might be a somebody in the galaxy, a handsome somebody, but he did not think he would make an elderly in his seventies a big fan of his…

“The old lady requested me to invite you himself. Please, take this path. I believe everything would make sense after you have met him,” said the serviceman with a bow.

e Chong rested at one corner silently with Feng Su, who looked tamed like a kitty upon recognizing the fact that more mischiefs would only cause more pain in her.

Her stare wandered upon the surrounding, as panicked she was, knowing that she would be utterly helpless as long as Ye Chong was there. Her expression stayed calm however, and her beauty still attracted a considerable amount of gazes even at the corner.

A handsome man approached them with a friendly smile.

But the hustle of the crowd held his step.

Apparently the head of Yan family and the old lady had showed up at the hall. Ye Chong looked over to the other side, his eyes went soulless upon recognizing that one face…

The host was a total stranger to him, but the old lady… she was the enemy!

Yes, it was the same old lady he spotted on Dankwood, whom the Han family escorted to safety in the midst of chaos.

No wonder the Abductor had eyed her! He had remembered stories about this old lady. Wait, there was somebody else. Ye Luo? Was that Ye Luo? Ye Chong spotted that great man who smiled brightly next to the old lady.

He came?!

Well, Ye Chong soon calmed down, it was just natural to see Ye Luo, the participant of the Congregation last year to be in the same venue this year. He just thought they would not be reuniting anytime soon. Fate was surely capricious.

Ye Luo’s eyes turned threatening the moment he spotted that indifferent young man in the crowd. He knew Ye Chong’s little camouflage trick and he could see through it, but his perception changed the moment he saw Feng Su. He quickly withdrew the hostility in his eyes, though his gaze at Ye Chong turned odd.

Ye Yin’s expression changed when he identified that smiley man who exchanged gazes with him in the crowd. The man was smiling, yet he could feel the pressure.

They might have put up their act flawlessly but people in the hall were no folk, as other guests could discern the slightest change in atmosphere.

Feng Su too sensed the atmosphere as she shifted her focus to the two men between the crowd. She looked at Ye Yin, then the smiling man, she flinched.

Similarly, Ye Chong, as he looked into the crowd, flinched too.

Feng Su was surprised of Ye Chong’s reaction since that was the first ever shudder she ever saw on him. What had made him shudder?

Ye Chong froze at the corner, as his eyes fixed upon that white waving silhouette.

The little boy would like to see the old lady and the head of Yan family, as Rui Bing led him to the front.

She glanced across the crowd and suddenly she stopped. The little boy felt strange, as sensed the inertia, he shook her hands a few times but Rui Bing remained frozen on the ground.

He lifted his head, just to be shocked of Rui Bing’s expression.

Two fresh streams of tears rolled off her pale cheeks, as her empty gaze fixed afar.

The little boy wanted to say something but his pendant was buzzing.

The atmosphere turned more intense.

The experts evacuated themselves soon after they confirmed the change in atmosphere, while the old lady had been led to the corner as well.

After the place had been cleared out, they realized the situation was not simple as they had assumed.

There was not one, but two pairs of exchanging gazes.

Ye Yin versus Huang Jiming, the angry vs the smiley.

Ye Chong to Rui Bing, the speechless vs the tearing.

Ye Chong had never experienced such sensation before. Something was occurring in him upon seeing Rui Bing in tears, and he once thought he had a heart of ice.

The little boy had expressed the calmness not of his age, as he recognized the strange man at the opposite upon perceiving Sister Bing’s expression.

He might have put up a camouflage, but he was still Sister Bing’s partner.

Feng Su distanced away from Ye Chong quietly.

Ye Chong no longer sensed the surroundings. His senses became numb, the noises gradually faded away with the silhouettes of people. His alertness was toned down as he only saw that white garbed lady with that pair of teary eyes.

Safe. Feng Su had sneaked to Huang Jiming’s side.

“Wow, I never knew there would be drama…”

“It’s the Congregation, the big shots always have all sorts of business going on in the dark.” The crowd whispered as they looked at the 7 people at the center. The 7 people certainly had something fishy going on together, especially after a few guests had identified Rui Bing and Huang Jiming, the two sudden challengers at the center. And there was Feng Su, the pretty yet deadly Jie expert, Ye Luo the trusted fighter by the old lady, along with the few unknown experts there. All casts had arrived, the camera should be rolling.

“Hmm… I have seen that young man somewhere before…,” muttered the old lady as she pointed at Ye Chong. “Send the men to investigate everyone at the center, fast!” Ordered the head of Yan family as immediately caught on the old lady’s gesture.

“And I thought I’ll never meet you again. This is pretty exhilarating if you ask me,” initiated Huang Jiming, with his signature bright smile, though his tone was grim.

“Right…,” replied Ye Yin, with an indescribable bloodlust and a stoned expression of his. “It’s been three years eh… since our last encounter.”

Ye Luo nearly dropped his jaws as in confusion he poked Ye Yin a few times, “W-who is he? Your enemy? But I had never heard of this? When did you have an enemy?” Well, Ye Luo was a horrible pilot anyway, so he never had the chance to face an opponent like Huang Jiming. Furthermore he did things with fists rather than the mechanical handle, so he was not aware that Huang Jiming, the smiley man before him, was one of the top 3 legends.

“I’ll say we are more like rivals,” corrected Ye Yin gravely.

“Hah!” Laughed Huang Jiming, “I like your choice of word!”

Ye Luo could not resist but to flatten his lips.

Oh? So you’re playing the deep game with me now? Ugh.

He thought as he looked at Ye Chong.

Wait a sec.

He looked at Huang Jiming whom Feng Su stood next to, then back to Ye Chong where Rui Bing was standing opposite to.

The covetousness struck him, as he sprinted to Ye Chong, “Oh my, so that’s your Lady Luck eh? Tsk, tsk, tsk, I mean, Ladies* Luck. That explains why I never have such luck. By the way, which one is your… you know… the one and only?”

Ye Chong promptly raised his finger upon Rui Bing, “Her.”

Ye Chong’s little gesture of indirect confession came as a heavy blow at Rui Bing, as she dropped her head. Her tears had stopped, seemingly evaporated due to the heat building up on her cheeks. Rui Bing had always been demonstrating the mighty side of her, being a Jie expert; but only when Ye Chong was there, Rui Bing would reveal that little girl inside.

But well, Ye Luo had just spoiled the moment.

“Man, brother, I must say, how could you be a two-timer when your son is already this old?” said Ye Luo as he pointed at the little boy next to Rui Bing.

If it was not because of the location, Rui Bing would have fired something from her sleeves.

“Well, well, well, it’s been three years, time sure flies huh…,” muttered Huang Jiming. “I wonder if Mr. Ye had lost his skills, I feel eager to try…”

“Try me,” replied Ye Yin firmly.

Ye Yin walked towards the exit without a single thought and Huang Jiming followed him with a smile. Feng Su hurriedly went after the smiley man.

The little boy’s pendant was vibrating so vigorously that even Ye Chong could begin hearing the buzzes.

“What is that?” Ye Chong took a look, and he almost collapsed, “Mu/Shang!” He recognized the pendant, it was the dimensional keystone of Mu/Shang. Certainly it had to be! Even if he turned blind, he would know it upon touch.

He ran towards the little boy and was going for that reunion, but then he realized at closer look, that it was not Mu/Shang’s dimensional keystone. The pendant did have very similar appearance as the keystone, not only design but also the texture. The difference… well, he could see it now, there were different patterns on the surface.

“Brother Ye, you know Brah?” asked the little boy in bewilderment, “Who’s Mu/Shang?”

The pendant vibrated harder!

“Sister Bing, Brother Ye… we should be going outside. Brah wants to walk…”

Ye Chong grabbed the little boy up by his collars, as he held Rui Bing’s hand tightly.

Rui Bing’s heart was warm, as she quickly seized that powerful hand of the one she loved. She would not want to lose it again, the very treasure of her life.

Ye Chong exchanged glances with Rui Bing, he made a tip with his toes and he zoomed to the outside. In the wind the little boy struggled, “No… I want Sister Bing. I’m calling for child abuse!” The pendant vibrated in specific rhythm, seemingly protesting for the boy as well.

A battle was happening and Ye Chong decided to treat that protest with ignorance.

Feng Su was following that smiley man. Ye Chong would presume that he was from the Xi Feng tribe. On the other hand, Ye Luo and that cold-blooded man seemed to be in one team too, he must be from Ye family.

Then, a battle must be happening, judging from their exchange, a battle from the past.

Ye family versus the Xi Feng tribe.

How could one miss it?

he two were already at their positions when Ye Chong finally left the building.

Ye Chong whispered, “Where’s my bag?” And Rui Bing passed him his bag right away. Ever since Ye Chong had disappeared, Rui Bing had been taking great care of the bag.

The first thing to do would be to take out Han Jia’s dimensional keystone. Ye Chong still had Moon King with him but that was not truly his own mech after all. It might be a better model than Han Jia, but Ye Chong felt greater potency with Han Jia.

The two men were standing 50 meters apart. Huang Jiming had Feng Su at his side, while Ye Yin still had Ye Luo right next to him. Ye Luo insisted on staying because he reckoned that person being one major pain to Ye family. Ye Yin was the top pilot of the family, and this man was able to make Ye Yin this agitated, surely the man had something up his sleeves.

“Wait, I remember now…,” whispered Rui Bing with a soft cry, “I knew that woman. She’s the one who kidnapped me to He Yue!” Rui Bing finally recognized Feng Su. She did not hate Feng Su for the wrongdoing however. If it was not for her, Rui Bing would never meet Ye again. She felt like thanking Feng Su too. Well, it was not like Rui Bing had a bad time entirely with Feng Su. Rui Bing could not help but to smile when she remembered the mischief she had done to Feng Su before.

To be honest, Feng Su also recognized Rui Bing immediately, but she was too busy to have a personal reunion at the moment as she was standing next to this man who was once her idol, being the strongest in He Yue, and now fighting against that cold man at the opposite. She knew the cold man, it was clear, crystal-clear.

The world’s biggest collision. Ye Yin versus Huang Jiming, happening soon…

She thought of joining the battle but her mech was still with that indifferent young man who was too busy holding his wife’s hand. Technically she would be useless in a fight without her mech. She did improve on her strength recently but that was not enough to face the brawny Ye family. Moreover Ye Chong was there too, his wife was also an obstacle she had to overcome before she could even touch her keystone.

The will to battle burned high in both parties. They could no longer hold onto anything else. Being a Jie expert, the top fighters in the galaxy, the world might be able to limit them even if there were not much things they would truly care, but obviously the free space zone was called “free” not without a reason.

If Feng Su was fighting, she might have a moment of consideration on the effect of deploying her mech in a primitive zone like the free space zone. Both Ye Yin and Huang Jiming did not care, however.

Simultaneously both deployed their own mech!

And that was when Ye Chong first witnessed the two mechs of the topmost hierarchy in the field!

Ye Yin’s mech stood about 10 meters tall, with a polished surface glossing in complete black that did not feel metallic at all. Its streamlined body looked like “speed” itself with its undersized yet vicious appearance. The elbows and the knees were installed with spikes, while the body and limbs were covered in armors of fitting design. Ye Chong was smart enough to see the trickery behind the design, as those pieces of armor could form a perfect shield when combined. Something seemed off nevertheless. Ye Chong could not identify its weapons. Did he not install one then? No way. Declined Ye Chong his speculation in his mind. Any melee model must have a kind of weapon in spite of its exceptional quality. He must have hidden it somewhere.

Huang Jiming’s mech was also beyond his perception. It was a mech in fainting green, of height slightly taller than Ye Yin’s mech – about 12 meters approximately, with a body adorned by all sorts of feather engravings that glowed in emerald like the viridescent stars twinkling on one night. Ye Chong speculated that those engravings must have a certain type of contribution in the battle. Unlike the other winged mechs in Xi Feng tribe, this mech had no wings. Instead, it had a bundle of 7 plumes, which extended into the air, fluttering in life. It felt like the tail of the Phoenix. Its short weapons were the two Awlbills, which acted similarly like the beak of a bird that pierced the enemies. For long-ranged weapon… Ye Chong had not found it.

This was Ye Chong’s first time of encountering an incomprehensible mech. It was his lucky day probably, for he met two strange mechs at once.

Right when Ye Chong was exclaiming at the design of those mechs, the pendant beeped again…

That was when the third mech showed up in the sky.

The mech had a snow white main body, a pure mechanical design due to its every part being diagonal. It seemed pretty tough with a stern face in which the mechanical eyes beeped rhythmically in blue. The sky blue stripes were the addition to the minimalistic design, which gave it a sense of grace. The two mechanical arms were holding a giant sky blue ray gun.

Even though Ye Chong was known to be an illiterate in ranged weaponry, Mu/Shang’s education had bestowed him the sensitive sensibility on ray-based shooters. And no doubt, he could not control his breath the moment he spotted that gun. He did not know the exact model but the weapon just shouted deadly to him. The barrel was much longer than what he normally saw, while there was a complex-looking optic above. It should guarantee at least accuracy. The additional barrel below should serve a different function but Ye Chong did not have a hunch on it. Right on the mech’s left arm there rested a plasma shield activator, which clearly was installed for blocking attacks.

Other than the weapon, the mech gave Ye Chong a fairly strong deja vu for some reason. It resembled Mu/Shang somehow… though at most details they were different.

The debut of this uninvited guest was certainly astounding.

“Brahmara!?” shouted both Ye Yin and Huang Jiming together, their faces turned pale instantly. They glanced at each other, then they sprinted towards their own mech respectively.

Brahmara visited the world from above. It did not perform an attack, rather it did a quick dive, all the way to the ground and landed before the little boy.

The mech stood before them, looking solemn and threatening.

The mech placed down its mechanical left hand. The little boy beamed at Ye Chong and Rui Bing, as he lifted his tiny step over the palm, “Sister Bing, Brother Ye, I’m getting onto Brah. I’ll be going, if you would excuse me.” And there he was lifted to his cabin. The gate opened and he clumsily rolled in, after waving at the two stunned adults.

Brahmara?

Did the two men say Brahmara?

Ye Chong was pretty sure he heard the name. Cold sweats dripped off his chin. Although it came unexpectedly, he finally knew who the third legend was…

“Put on your mech,” instructed Rui Bing.

And Ye Chong deployed Han Jia immediately!

The beautiful butterfly was reintroduced to the audience. Ironically, the audience turned out to be the legendary pilots in He Yue this time!

Ye Yin, Ye Chong, Huang Jiming got into their respective cabin almost at the same timing.

Whether to join the battle, Rui Bing did not hesitate, as she promptly deployed the Guardian. As long as Ye Chong was in there, nothing should be hesitated.

Han Jia was looking frail in front of the three giants of history, that it might be blown to the other corner of the galaxy upon a group applause from its foes. The mech of Ye family was fearsome, the mech of Xi Feng tribe was refreshing, the mech of Xue Lai clan was sturdy yet graceful. On this stage, Han Jia was exuding a different kind of beauty, while the Guardian had also a unique charm with its brilliant gold as it sat on Han Jia’s shoulders.

Feng Su and Ye Luo? They would be at the spectator’s seats this time, since Ye Chong had their mechs. “Are we watching this?” Both of them exchanged glances. And the next second, they were no longer within the sight, as they had scurried for their lives.

You got to be kidding me! These mechs could easily demolish the entire Flying Moon City! And you asked me if I’m staying to watch?

They seriously hoped they had wings so that they could flee in time.

The other guests were absolutely stupefied.

“Wait!” And finally one man regained his senses, “Outsider! They are the outsider!” he screamed, as the key term unfroze the silence.

The head of Yan family stared at these monsters in dismay.

Ye Chong and his foes did not have the leisure to entertain these primitives as they zapped into the sky.

Battle Station!

The armor at the waists of Ye Yin’s mech suddenly slid upwards, revealing the cartridge inside, from which 17 pieces of Spikedrops flew out and began revolving about its body like a school of black swimming fishes.

Huang Jiming’s glowing engravings shone glaringly out of sudden as the 7 plumes collected, forming a layered stack blooming like flower, as a guard to its weak spots. The concealed chamber had been opened, the mech was ready to fire, as the mech armed itself with the Awlbills.

The gun of Brahmara had performed an analyzed lock-on. At this location, through this angle, the fired rays would hit on anybody in the shortest time possible. The plasma shield had been equipped, as the plasma particles flocked in curvy outline at the edge.

Ye Chong was ready. The 12 tentacles had been disengaged from Han Jia’s colorful wings. The daggers had been withdrawn while the wings were fluttering as a kind of warmup.

Rui Bing was all set. The Guardian kneed slightly on Han Jia’s shoulder, ready to launch itself at any second.

nside the cabin of Han Jia, Ye Chong was having cold sweats all over his body. His face was pale as he stared at the flickering digital snow on the hologram.

He could not see a thing out there.

Such electromagnetic interference! Han Jia’s detection system had been impaired… Ye Chong briskly changed to Photon detection optic. Although such mode offered a narrower scope of vision projected in a lower resolution, at least he could discern something at the outside! It was his only choice!

“Can you see them?” asked Ye Chong in the channel.

“I can… but…,” Rui Bing responded, “It looks foreign to me. There are many lines… in different directions and the mech with a tail has the most lines…,” she said slowly as she tried making out the strange view she got.

Ye Chong shifted the camera to Huang Jiming’s mech.

So that is what those engravings are for!

Ye Chong was shocked while also finally recognizing the situation upon view.

Meanwhile, the opponents were similarly surprised.

Skeleton mech? Miniature mech? Those were certainly not the standard models both Ye Yin and Huang Jiming could see everyday. They were well-informed of the capability of a skeleton mech, but the miniature mech… “So the mech was with the boy the whole time…,” whispered Huang Jiming. They knew the origin of this technological masterpiece by Gu Shaoze. All aristocrats were intrigued by his newest craft as they set up strong surveillance around him, but Mu made a lucky crash. Eventually, every member of the aristocrats died. Nobody survived other than Gu Shaoze and Number Two.

But after they left Ye Chong, the pair of misfortune still encountered their second crisis, the MPA. In the battle, Number Two met her demise from protecting Gu Shaoze who showed strong resistance in handing over the mech.

The MPA intended to take him back to the base under escort, but they bumped into the spaceship of Fred the Great. Under the conflict, Ye Chong forced himself into the warship and discovered the fainted brilliance. Gu Shaoze, breathing the final few bit of his soul, passed the Guardian to him at last.

The aristocrats acknowledged the existence of the Guardian, even the specifications of it, as they would receive reports of the mech from time to time. And after the few escapes Ye Chong made using the Guardian, they were convinced and started to reevaluate its capabilities.

The anti-detection ability of both skeleton mech and the Guardian was a shocker to the 3 legends.

They had also switched to Photon mode detection.

The 5 mechs hovered in the air, anticipating the big battle.

But no one dared to make the first move.

It was a landmine, silent yet lethal, blowing up upon touch.

Huang Jiming, Ye Yin and Brahmara knew each other well. They were at a similar level in battle and would only wound each other in the end if they fought.

In addition, there was a skeleton mech with unknown skills and an unforeseeable Guardian mech. They could not imagine how both of them would make a joint attack and how strong the attack would be.

The 3 legends might be the top pilots from their respective families, but certainly they would not be initiating a war on a whim.

Any move from the mech would trigger something major now, not even the slightest gesture should be allowed.

It would be a pure disastrous chaos once a bullet got fired.

Sigh…

Huang Jiming and Ye Yin were feeling dull, since they presumed a quick and fearless fight against each other at first but the sudden participation of Brahmara killed the fun, not to mention the other 2 mechs hovering nearby.

They discarded the thoughts of an one-on-one at last. This was because anyone who initiated the fight would clearly be the punching bag for the others. Literally, nobody in He Yue galaxy could ever survive the chained attack by any four of those mechs. The first to move would be the first to go.

None of them dared to flee too. Their back would probably be shot if any of them decided to turn back and run away.

The 5 mechs remained still.

“Brah, let’s team up with Sister Bing and Brother Ye,” said the little boy childishly.

“Identity: Unknown. Judgement: Not Possible.” The machine beeped emotionlessly.

“It’s alright. They are good friends. How about you try connecting them… I can talk,” said the little boy to the projection.

“Negative. Proposition: Rejected as unreasonable.”

“It would really work! Come on!” said the little boy in agitation.

“Order from the leader: Your safety is the priority,” said Brahmara firmly.

“Leader, the tribe leader, you always throw this excuse to me! Who care about the leader! Brah you sometimes are just bad!” muttered the boy in an unsatisfied tone. He got up but he sat back obediently at last.

If only Ye Chong could see the setup in the cabin, he would be jumping in amazement. The hydraulic suspension system was of royalty. Probably that was the reason why Brahmara would have the little boy inside the body.

“This is getting boring. Keep standing there guys, I’m taking a nap,” mumbled the little boy with a disappointed look, as he lay down. The seat was large and as comfy as a bed.

The hologram dimmed slowly as a soft lullaby played inside the cabin. In no time the boy began snoring as joining the sheeps at the ranch in his dream.

Well, meanwhile, nobody was enjoying the same leisure he had.

They remained still for the next 3 hours.

It surely was consuming for them to remain at high alarms for such a long time. Brahmara had the advantages of automatic judgement intelligence but it would consume much more energy than the other models.

The guests on the ground were finding the giant crafts strange in the air. Being naturally the residents of the free space zone, the foreign mechs were enough to distress the alarm and summon the army to kill the outsiders. These outsiders were in the sky now nonetheless, so these Jie experts could only watch them.

The guests were not the least entertained few. Ye Luo and Feng Su were feeling worse as their respective families would be having a massive war in no time and all they could do was exchanging glances since their mechs were not with them.

Staring at the projection with full focus, Ye Chong felt his stamina draining quickly.

Out of the blue, the dimensional keystone of Moon King vibrated on his wrist.

The vibration, again? He received the same vibration when Ye family sent Ye Luo the order to escort him home.

What kind of order had arrived this time?

Ye Chong gave a quick glance at other mechs. He prompted the keystone interface after making sure that there would not be any move for the next few seconds.

“Mayday! Mayday! The pathway to free space zone is under attack by unknown force! I repeat the pathway is under attack! All battle units are required to head for assistance! All battle units are required to head for assistance! Coordination would be given! Emergency! Emergency!”

Ye Chong quickly switched the interface off after viewing the distress call.

Little did he know that, the other pilots had received a similar call as well. Unlike Ye Chong’s indifference, their faces paled right away. Even Brahmara had turned on the alarm to wake the boy up in shock.

Unlike Ye Chong, they all knew the message behind this call!

The pathway was specifically the connection between He Yue and the free space zone. There were 3 pathways in general, under the ownership of the three aristocrats respectively, while these pathways were the only connection to the world outside. One may argue that Ye Chong had walked a different way before and the galaxy was boundless, but Ye Chong managed to survive only because of his protagonist’s luck, any folk could have died walking down his way.

Assuming all top pilots received the similar call, viewing from a bigger picture, all three pathways were under attack. The aristocrats valued these pathways so they were under great guard by the families’ own men. It should not have a problem but the pilots were receiving the distress signal. The guardsmen were losing! What else would that mean?

They could already imagine how furious the invasion was!

Once they lost the pathway, they lost the way home!

Something strange then happened in the free space zone.

Countless mechs were seen launching into the sky one after another. In less than 3 minutes, the entire sky above Flying Moon City had been crowded by over 300 mechs. The experts on the ground were looking pale, as no one would have expected such an enormous technological force hiding in the dark.

The 300 mechs soon moved into their respective team.

“I would assume that all of you have heard the call. We’ll hold this fight at the moment. It’s time to go, it’s an emergency after all. Now if you would excuse me,” initiated Huang Jiming. His friendly tone now sounded hectic as he piloted his mech zooming into Xi Feng’s team.

Ye Yin and Brahmara said nothing as they flew to their respective team.

The ground began shaking, the ground shattered as three spaceships emerged! They flew and joined the hovering team accordingly.

To face the unknown danger, the three aristocrats had summoned all forces they had hidden within the free space zone over the years.

And on other planets in free space zone, countless mechs had blasted off into the air too. They went into the giant spaceship, left the planet and came to the main army in intense acceleration.

All bit of strength was collecting gradually.

And Ye Chong was seeing an empty sky before him.

He was bewildered. Something did seem to have happened… should he move?

On second thought, maybe not. Whatever that was happening to the three aristocrats had nothing to do with him.

But then, while everyone was being unaware, the change had come.

It really had come without forewarning.

oor Feng Su. Huang Jiming had left in a hurry, and did not seem to consider her situation. Without her mech, she did not know what was happening. However, seeing so many mechs rising into the sky, she knew that something important must have happened. Ye Luo was also in a similar position as her.

The sudden departure of the Three Aces allowed Ye Chong to finally relax. He did not know what had happened, but it had served to defuse the current situation. These three mechs must be the most advanced mechs in the universe, and they left a very deep impression in Ye Chong. He was still awed by the machines. Compared to those three mechs, Han Jia was like a glorified piece of trash. Aside from the skeletal material and engine, Han Jia was surpassed by the three mechs in all respects.

For the first time ever, Ye Chong felt a sense of jealousy. No mech pilot would be exempted from this reaction upon seeing those three mechs.

However, this was obviously not the time to stare into space. Ye Chong took a glance at the fierce looking Congregation experts below, and began to think about how to leave the place.

Feng Su was about to leave when Han Jia, carrying Guardian, swooped down to met Ye Luo and Feng Su. Without time to properly introduce each other, the two mechs carried one person each and went back into the skies.

In fact, Ye Chong had took everyone along a huge turnaround and returned to Flying Moon City. They quietly slipped into Rui Bing’s place. When Old Jalopy, Fei Si and the rest saw Ye Chong and Rui Bing, they were pleasantly surprised.

After the initial joy of reunion, Ye Chong quickly asked Ye Luo about the emergency beacon he received.

Ye Luo and Feng Su finally realized what had happened. Both of them paled instantly.

“How’s that possible?” Ye Luo looked distressed and in disbelief. “How’s that possible? The military strength at the Gateway is formidable!”

Feng Su was quiet, but also looked like she could not quite believe what had happened.

Seeing the lack of reaction in Ye Chong, Ye Luo explained, “You probably don’t know about this, but the defense in place at the Gateway is very strong. If something happened to the Gateway, the Tribes people in the free space zone will be unable to go back. That’s why the Gateway was guarded heavily ever since it was created. Emergency beacons are only released when the situation is very dire. Once the beacon is received, any and all personnel must rush to the Gateway as soon as possible. Heavens! What could possibly have happened?”

Ye Luo’s explanation cleared away the mysteriousness of the situation for everyone else not in the know.

“Who did this?” Ye Luo thought hard about it, knitting his brows together. “Who would have such power? Could it be Gray Valley?” In He Yue Galaxy, the only force that would dare to challenge the prowess of the Three Aristocratic Families is the mysterious Gray Valley.

“Impossible,” Feng Su replied plainly but sure of herself. As everyone looked to her, she continued, “The Gateway is too narrow, and cannot support large troop deployment. Besides, a great number of combat units are assigned to guard the Gateway, with a huge number of support units nearby. Even if it’s Gray Valley, they can’t possibly enter the Gateway.”

“That’s right. The entrance is so narrow, you can’t have large troops going in. How did they arrive here?” Ye Luo agreed upon hearing her analysis.

“Are there other ways to enter the Gateway?” Ye Chong interrupted.

Ye Luo and Feng Su exchanged a glance and replied in unison, “There are none!”

Ye Luo added, “To create the Gateway in the first place, the Three Aristocratic Families had each exhausted a huge amount of manpower and resources. The space around the Gateway is unstable, and dangerous to travel. All these years, this area around the Gateway is still largely understudied.”

Feng Su suddenly had a terrible realization. She looked horrified as she said, “We’ve forgotten something! The Gateway is too small for large troop mobilization. That means we cannot hope to receive support from He Yue.”

As she finished her sentence, everyone looked even more distressed.

Sensing the growing tension around them, Ye Luo managed a laugh and said, “Don’t worry, our forces in the free space zone are powerful. Besides, the Three Aces are all here. It shouldn’t be a problem to secure the Gateway.”

Ye Luo’s words comforted them all to a certain degree. It was true that the Three Aces were all here, so there was nothing to worry about. Ye Chong was still pondering on what Ye Luo and Feng Su had both said, and felt that the situation might not be so simple.

He Yue Galaxy was truly plunged into a state of disorder.

News of the attack on the Gateway had reached the Three Aristocratic Families as fast as physically possible. Now, all three families were in a panic! Not only were the Three Aces all in the free space zone, Xue Lai Clan’s only son and the Ye Family’s son, Ye Luo were also there. Besides, there were many other of their own people in the free space zone. If they really met an unfortunate fate, it would be a loss that the Three Aristocratic Families cannot possibly recover from!

The sudden attack brought about a sense of danger that the Three Aristocratic Families had never felt before.

Emergency rescue efforts were immediately made!

All three Families deployed their military forces in a scale that was unprecedented. All their bases of operations also received orders to operate in their highest alert level.

Tension spread across the entire He Yue Galaxy like wildfire. As the military forces of the Three Aristocratic Families were mobilized, the other forces in He Yue reacted accordingly. For the moment, He Yue Galaxy was in a state of chaos.

The Ye Family’s Patriarch read the reports of the battlefield with a look of distress. The Gateway was too narrow, and could not fit in their large troops. As they mobilized squadron by squadron into the Gateway, none of them returned. Until now, they had no idea who was inside. The Gateway was like a black hole, swallowing anything that entered it.

Xi Feng Tribe’s Chieftain and Xue Lai Clan’s Clan Leader received the same reports. Of course, they were also similarly distressed by it.

Ye Chong and his company left Flying Moon City as soon as they could manage. Since their identities as outsiders were uncovered, it would be dangerous to stay any longer.

The group reached a valley not far from Flying Moon City.

Ye Luo led the group and explained quietly to Ye Chong, “This is one of the Ye Family’s base of operations. I’ve been here before. The local combat troops must have all been deployed, but the transport division is probably still here. We’ll tag along with the transport division and meet up with Ye Yin. That way, we’ll find out what’s going on. Hmm, don’t worry, he won’t recognize you from your looks right now. I won’t tell on you. It’s safer to return to He Yue Galaxy. The free space zone is a good place, but not one that’s suitable for you.”

Ye Chong nodded in assent. If Ye Luo wanted to expose his disguise, he would have done so long ago. While he only knew Ye Luo for a short while, Ye Chong found himself oddly trusting of the man. The two of them were ahead of the group, and their exchanged whispers were not noticed by the people at the back.

Ye Luo had been here before, so the people at the base recognized him. Ye Luo’s position in the Ye Family was high, and since his father was the Patriarch, people here paid him respect. With his presence, Ye Chong and company were not questioned, but were instead cordially received.

The base was full of activity. Various engineering mechs made their ways across the base, moving energy cells and other combat resources, or doing final checks on their starship.

“Luo!” The person in charge of the base, Ye Pang, was a childhood friend of Ye Luo’s. Ye Pang looked like a refined man. He wore frameless spectacles and well ironed clothing, looking like a gentleman. He was relieved to see Ye Luo. “Wonderful! You’re alright! I was worried about you, that something might have happened to you.”

Ye Luo laughed. “Hehe, what could possibly happen to me, no one’s a match for me! It’s not easy to get rid of me!”

Ye Pang raised his brows at him and said, “With your lousy mech piloting skills, you won’t need an enemy to defeat you, you’ll probably just crash into a wall all by yourself.”

Ye Luo had nothing to say to that.

Ye Pang took a sweeping glance at the people around Ye Luo, and did not ask him about them. He understood his childhood friend well. Ye Luo may seem like a careless fool, but he was actually smart and sensible.

“What’s the situation?” Ye Luo asked. Everyone looked to Ye Pang, for this was the question that was on the top of their minds.

Ye Pang shook his head. “Don’t know yet. We just received the emergency beacon here. I don’t know what’s going on too. We are packing up as fast as we can, and will be ready to leave in another five hours.”

“Pang, you’re always the smartest of us all. What do you think of the situation?” Ye Luo looked at Ye Pang with concern.

Ye Pang pushed his spectacles up with his index finger and said lowly, “That truth is, I’m not very optimistic about the situation. Our forces in the free space zone are too scattered, and it takes time to gather them together. What we need the most now is time. I don’t know what happened at the Gateway, but the situation must have reached a critical level. I fear …” Ye Pang did not continue.

“Fear what?” Ye Luo asked quickly.

Ye Pang looked pained. “I fear that by the time we arrived, it will already be too late!”

Everyone went silent at that.

Ye Luo managed a smile and said, “You exaggerate, Pang. You must be wrong this time. The Gateway is guarded by six mech squads in total, how could they be beaten so quickly?”

“Well, I hope so.” Ye Pang said softly.

“Pang, who do you think is attacking us? I can’t make head nor tails of it.” Ye Luo scratched his head in puzzlement.

Ye Pang shook his head. “I don’t know that as well. But I’m certain that it’s not someone from He Yue or the free space zone. I’ve done the math. Taking the Gateway by force will require at least the strength of 20 mech squads. Besides, I still haven’t figured out how they managed to enter the Gateway without being noticed.”

Everyone went silent again.

Ye Pang finally broke the silence. “Everyone, please follow Luo onto the starship for now. I have my duties to attend to, and cannot accompany you all, please forgive me!”

The group thanked him profusely. Ye Pang smiled gently at them and turned away, his eyes lingering on Feng Su only for a moment longer before he returned to his duties.

ive hours later, the starship was ready to leave. Ye Chong and his company were on Darvill, the same ship that Ye Pang was on. Darvill was loaded with plenty of energy cells and other war resources.

Ye Pang invited everyone to the bridge. Since this was a transport ship, the bridge was quite spacious. As the starship began its steady flight, most of the crew could now leave to rest, leaving behind only a skeleton crew to operate the ship. However, no one was in the mood to sleep. This was the first time since the Gateway was opened for an emergency beacon to be received. Everyone was nervous, and people could be seen gathering everywhere around the ship, discussing the incident with worried looks.

Ye Pang looked completely different from earlier. He wore a smart looking black uniform, with a leaf emblem sewn on the collar and on each sleeve. The beret on his head made him look like a military officer.

“Why’d you wear this?” Ye Luo could not help but ask as he saw Ye Pang, and even commented, “You look ridiculous!”

Ye Pang took off his beret and threw it onto his desk. He glanced at Ye Luo and said, “You’re still as ignorant as before! It is a rule of the Family for any division to be combat ready whenever an emergency beacon is received. We are now combat ready! Do you understand? It’s going to be a waste of time explaining this to you, you probably don’t remember any of the rules anymore.”

Ye Luo was speechless at that.

“What would all of you like to have?” Ye Pang smiled at the rest and said, “Make yourselves at home. I’m from the logistics division, so we still have the good stuff here.”

Ye Luo grinned at Ye Chong and said, “The man’s got everything. Just let him know what you’d like to eat and drink.”

However, no one was in the mood to consider their meal preferences, and simply asked for the host to decide for them.

Ye Pang noticed their mood. He summoned a subordinate and whispered a few orders. The subordinate left quickly, and soon returned with a tray of snow white cups. The golden liquid in the cups had a very strong and pleasant aroma. Everyone felt refreshed by the smell.

“Solarnimbus Soup! You sure know how to indulge!” Ye Luo took one of the cups eagerly and downed it all in one gulp.

Ye Pang was horrified to see the way Ye Luo finished his drink. “Drink it slowly, this isn’t plain water! What a waste to offer you this!”

Ye Chong took a cup and sipped. A strong taste permeated every corner in his mouth, with a slight sharpness that was refreshing. His stomach warmed up, and he felt as though all the hair follicles on his skin were stimulated. It was so comfortable that it made him want to sigh in pleasure.

Solarnimbus Soup was one of Risserd’s cuisine specialty. It was a rare product, and only people like the Yan Family and Huang Family could afford to have a bit of them every year. Who knew how Ye Pang got his!

For the moment, everyone indulged in their drinks quietly, and the bridge fell silent.

Ye Pang rested his chin on his hands, his head lowered in thought.

“Our journey will take approximately six days. However, I believe that the combat troops ahead of us would reach the Gateway about three days ahead of us. That means we will receive news of the situation in three days. By then, I believe we will have a better understanding of what’s happening,” Ye Pang explained slowly.

Later events proved that Ye Pang’s estimations were accurate.

On the third day, they received news from the frontlines.

However, the news brought a gloom over everyone’s mood. More precisely, they had received an order from the people ahead of them, directing all transport ships to a specified rendezvous point. Nevertheless, together with the order was a summary of the events that unfolded these last few days, the one thing that everyone was worried about.

Ye Yin and the others were defeated in their first wave of attack! Everyone was shocked by the news. Ye Yin was almost like a God to many in the Ye Family. No one expected him to ever lose!

However, the attacker of the Gateway was also identified.

It was a kind of unknown lifeform, and they came in large numbers. They attacked viciously, and were terribly aggressive. From the reports, it was still difficult to ascertain the nature of this lifeform.

In their first contact, the attack of the unknown lifeforms had surprised all those present. If Ye Yin had not grasped the situation quickly and ordered for a swift retreat, they would have suffered a lot more casualties. Nevertheless, in their brief first encounter, the Ye Family had lost 300 mechs, a total of 300 mech pilots.

Every Ye Family member on the transport ship was scared and concerned. How could the Ye Family be so defenseless? When was the last time the Ye Family had suffered so many casualties? 300 staff mech pilots were a formidable force, no matter how one looked at it.

Ye Yin had decided to retreat for the moment, consolidate all their combat forces, and prepare for the next attack. Hence, he had ordered for all combatants and transport ships to rendezvous at the specified location.

“Ye Yin you useless fool!” Ye Luo cried out loud. 300 Ye Family members were dead, just like that. As a Ye Family member himself, how could he not feel pained?

Ye Pang took a long exhale, opened his eyes, and shook his head, disagreeing with Ye Luo. “Ye Yin made the right decision. This unknown lifeform must be very powerful for Ye Yin to act so passively.”

Just then, a sharp alarm came on in the ship!

“All crew members at your stations, all crew members at your stations! Unknown lifeform detected approaching the ship at high speed!” The monitoring officer’s voice came through, trembling with fear.

Everyone was caught off guard. It was like a bomb was set off in the ship.

Ye Pang stood up quickly and headed for the bridge. Ye Chong and the others followed him.

In the bridge, Ye Pang looked calm and steady. This managed to soothe the panicking atmosphere in the bridge.

“What happened?” Ye Pang asked in a low voice.

“Captain, please … please look at this!” The monitoring officer put on a video feed on the largest holographic screen in the bridge.

On the holographic screen, against the dark background of outer space, a small swarm of unknown lifeforms were heading towards them.

Ye Chong had never seen them before. Each of them was like a sphere, enclosed with purplish black armor plates, with an eye on each plate. It was an eerie looking lifeform. The eight purplish black spheres flew in a straight line across the dark space at high speed.

Just then, the unknown lifeforms seemed to have noticed their starship as well. On the holographic screen, each sphere extended its body from its balled up state, revealing a long, flat body. The sides of the body were lined with horrific looking blades. On the head of each creature were two large feelers.

These lifeforms directed their course towards the ship.

Ye Pang suddenly frowned . “Check their speed!”

“They’re … They’re at Mach 15!” The monitoring officer stuttered. Ye Pang’s expression turned grim instantly. The rest of them were all still finding it hard to believe.

How fast was Mach 15? Shockingly, terrifyingly fast! In fact, there were hardly any mechs that could achieve this speed. Starships, on the other hand, fared much worse, especially one like their transport ship.

These unknown lifeforms were rapidly approaching their starship.

On the holographic screen, it was even possible for everyone to see the slight vibrations of the two feelers on the foreheads of these creatures.

“Could it be?” Ye Pang muttered to no one in particular.

The seven creatures stopped their approach about 20 kilometers away from Darvill, and began to circle around the ship.

Ye Pang could no longer keep his composure, looking even more grim. “This is bad! They must be scouts of some kind!”

“What do we do?” Ye Luo was already panicking like mad.

“Sigh, we can do nothing. We have no combatants onboard this ship. All combatants were already deployed to assist Ye Yin. This ship is also not a warship. I can do nothing to them!” Ye Pang sounded profoundly helpless.

“Do we need them gone?” Ye Chong finally broke his silence.

Ye Pang took a glance at Ye Chong, and nodded. “If they are scouts for a larger swarm of creatures, we’ll be in big trouble if we don’t get rid of them! The rest of the swarm might come down on us!”

“Alright! Then I’m heading out!”

Ye Chong took out Feng Su’s dimension keystone from his bag and passed it Feng Su. He said to her with an undefiable voice, “You’re going with me.”

Feng Su accepted her dimension keystone and quietly agreed. She knew that the only ones with real battle experience on this ship were this cold, apathetic young man and herself. Guardian might be a powerful mech, but it could hardly travel in outer space.

Ye Pang felt a glimpse of hope, but felt worried as well. “We don’t know how dangerous these creatures are, you …”

“We’re heading off to prepare ourselves.” Ye Chong cut him off and turned away to leave the bridge. Feng Su immediately followed him.

Rui Bing bit her lips, watching Ye Chong leave without stopping him. She understood that Guardian would only be a burden in outer space.

Ye Chong and Feng Su were weathered combatants, and they were quickly done with preparations.

“A Phoenix class mech!” Everyone in the bridge was surprised. No one imagined that such a fragile looking beauty would be one of the elites of their enemy, the Xi Feng Tribe! Ye Pang, however, looked like he had guessed as much.

When Han Jia appeared before them, everyone gasped again in admiration! Han Jia’s beauty was a marvel to behold!

“Configure your comms!”

“Comms configured!”

“Begin mech assessment!”

“Mech assessment complete!”

“All the best. Prepare for launching. In five, four, three, two, one. Launch!”

Two hatches slid open.

As all eyes watched nervously on the holographic screen, two mechs with their engines ready dived into the vast outer space like two brilliant comets!

even unknown lifeforms formed a straight line, like a snake, as they continued circling around the starship. Compared to these agile little creatures, the starship was like a slow and dumb old cow.

All seven creatures were clearly displayed on Han Jia’s holographic screen. What agility! Ye Chong was quietly surprised. These unknown lifeforms were flying about smoothly in space with astonishing grace. Ye Chong believed that even the best mechs could not achieve this level of agility.

It was unfortunate that he was a bad shot. If they had a sharpshooter like Mu or Shang right now, they would only need seven shots to end the battle. As a close range mech, Han Jia’s attack range was much smaller. The only thing that Ye Chong could only rely on was Han Jia’s speed.

Han Jia could go up to a jaw-dropping Mach 20!

Aside that, he had Feng Su behind him. While he did not know how well Feng Su could fight with a Phoenix class mech, her strength when using Wings of Nirvana long ago had left a deep impression in him. Ye Chong would never doubt the power of advanced level mechs from the Three Aristocratic Families. Of course, the likelihood of someone as useless as Ye Luo having a mech as powerful as Moon King was just about nil.

Ye Chong and Feng Su did not exchange a word, but Ye Chong believed that Feng Su would know what to do. This was the power of coordination between experts!

Ye Chong’s hands flew across Han Jia’s controls in a blur.

Han Jia accelerated abruptly!

No matter the time and location, speed could always make one’s blood boil in excitement.

While the crew members of Darvill were not combatants, almost everyone in modern society would know a thing or two about mechs.

“Wow!” The surprised gasps lightened the mood in the starship. The holographic screen was like an eye magnet, demanding the attention of everyone onboard the ship. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the holographic screen, astounded, including Ye Pang. At the beginning, the starship’s holographic scanning system could not pick up the two mechs. It was only when they switched to optical mode that they were able to see the two mechs on the holographic screen. The impressive anti scanning abilities of the two mechs inspired hope from the crew members in them.

The Phoenix class mech had not done anything just yet, but the mysterious and beautiful mech was also making everyone feel excited.

Mach 20! After Lian Yue’s modifications and the use of teardrop mineralite, Han Jia could now reach stunning velocities!

Han Jia’s speed also left Feng Su with feelings of fear and awe. She had never seen a mech at such terrifying speed! Han Jia’s abrupt acceleration also disrupted her rhythm. However, she was a weathered combatant, a true veteran, and she immediately adjusted herself. All her hidden shooting chambers were activated.

The holographic screen’s combat locking system was initiated. To ensure perfect accuracy, she did not lock on to all the targets, but chose to focus on only two of them. She had never seen these creatures before, and had no idea of their defense systems.

She did not fire yet, but waited calmly for the right timing.

At Mach 20, 20 kilometers were covered in a breeze.

Back on the starship, everyone watched the holographic screen attentively. Mach 20 would put a very huge pressure on the human body. Piloting the mech would also be much more difficult. At this speed, there would not be much time for the mech pilot to think before acting.

Ye Chong fixed his gaze at the unknown lifeforms. As they grew larger and larger on the holographic screen, he maintained his calm. Unlike other mech pilots, he had been to Archipelago before, and had encountered all sorts of weird creatures. He was not troubled by the fact that his targets were still unknown to them.

At Mach 20, he did not have time to even consider these things. He was exceptionally focused right now, his hands resting slightly on the controls, ready to move.

The unknown lifeforms were very sensitive. The feelers on their foreheads twitched. They were about to get away! Han Jia’s astonishing speed had made them nervous.

Just when they were about to leave, dozens of purple colored laser beams shot across the dark sky of outer space!

These dozens of laser beams directly hit two of those creatures! None of the lasers missed. The two creatures were full of holes in an instant.

All the crew members watching the holographic screen on the starship cheered jubilantly!

The sudden attack made the nervous unknown lifeforms go into full blown panic!

The momentary pause in their motions just as they were about to leave was key. They were now in a mess, but still close to each other.

The two dozen tentacles on Han Jia’s wings were released abruptly. Han Jia’s hands were now holding two daggers.

Han Jia charged into the panicking creatures like a shooting rainbow!

Inside the pilot cabin, Ye Chong’s eyes widened, and his hands began to fly across the controls!

Ye Chong did not know how fast his hands were moving right then, but he knew that he was giving all he got. This was because he knew that, at Mach 20, he would fly past the creatures in an instant, in less than a hundredth of a second, and he would need to attack them in this short time frame.

Is this the limit of the human body?

He did not know about that, but he did know that this was a golden opportunity!

The arching tentacles shot out like a snake uncurling itself, straight towards it victims! The greyish daggers were hard to see in the darkness of outer space, and only Ye Chong in his mech could see its dim glimmer briefly pass through his vision.

Two unknown lifeforms were thoroughly destroyed by the tentacles. At Mach 20, even a tiny rock could be devastating, much less with these strong tentacles!

Han Jia flew right into one of the creatures.

It’s a homerun! The creature was sliced open like it just flew into the sharp edge of a knife, its body split into two as black colored blood oozed out of its remains. Its two body parts flew rapidly outwards. Ye Chong’s eyes were burning with a desire to fight. He had waited for this moment. At the instant he flew into the creature, his hands began to move again.

Under the disbelieving gazes of everyone on the ship, the mysterious and beautiful mech made a very slight course adjustment! It was like a beam of light reflecting off a mirror at a very small angle.

This abrupt directional shift was packed with much more power than Ye Chong had anticipated at Mach 2. The momentum change was enough to make someone as strong as Ye Chong felt instant dizziness and nausea.

The course correction was so small that it was almost impossible to notice.

To Ye Chong, however, it was enough.

Ye Chong held back his discomfort and activated his final attack command that was set up earlier.

One of the tentacles reached out and tore through one of the unknown lifeforms, its sharp tip ripping a straight tear through the soft body of the unknown lifeform at Mach 20. By the time the black colored blood and intestines began to pour out, Han Jia was already far away.

Han Jia was like an unhindered arrow, shooting past the weak formation of the unknown lifeforms. In that short instant, it had achieved its most important objective.

It had killed four of the creatures. The one creature that Han Jia flew into was in fact already cut into two by its dagger.

The destructive power of both Ye Chong and Han Jia were fully demonstrated in this extremely short moment!

For the last part of the battle, Ye Chong believed that Feng Su would be able to deliver flawlessly. Feng Su’s first shots had been perfectly timed, and even the most critical mech pilot would be satisfied with them. It was her perfect shots that allowed Ye Chong to achieve his glorious body count. Xi Feng Tribe’s mech pilots had always been known for their excellent timing.

Ye Chong tried to regulate his own body as Han Jia slowed down. The dizziness had put him into a very vulnerable position.

Mach 20 was truly very stressful for the body! Ye Chong laughed ironically inside. If this was a fight against another mech, his situation would have been very dangerous.

Right now, Han Jia was like a comet that was flying out of control, drifting off into space along its inertial trajectory.

Ye Chong was right. The last unknown lifeform was swiftly dealt with by Feng Su. She had even taken another shot at the creature which Ye Chong had torn open its abdomen, just to be safe.

Ye Chong finally gathered himself and flew Han Jia slowly back to the starship.

When Ye Chong and Feng Su were back on Darvill, they were welcomed warmly like heroes.

Everyone looked at them with eyes filled with the fire of hope. In this age, a strong mech pilot could easily win the admiration of others. Everyone was still basking in the afterglow of the glorious and perfect victory. Ye Family’s people had a higher standard, of course, but they still thought that the battle just now was just extraordinary.

Feng Su’s perfect timing, Ye Chong’s brute strength and Han Jia’s Mach 20 speed had become an unforgettable memory for each of them.

This battle had greatly raised the morale of everyone onboard the ship.

However, Ye Chong was unmoved by the looks of admiration shot at him throughout. He was now focused on the bodies of the two unknown lifeforms that they had carried onboard.

f all the dead creatures, only the two that were stabbed with Han Jia’s tentacles were mostly preserved. Ye Chong was left with only these two bodies to bring back with him. It was the first time humanity had seen this lifeform, and it was important to study it.

“I hope that this unknown lifeform is different from the ones Ye Yin and the others encountered. If they are the same species, then we’re in trouble!” Ye Pang looked solemn as he said with a sarcastic smile.

Ye Luo asked, “Why?”

“There are only two possibilities if they’re one and the same. One, these unknown lifeforms are spread across a very large area; two, they are already very close to us! Which one would you choose?” Ye Pang could not help being scornful towards him.

“Neither!” Ye Luo shook his head frankly.

Ye Chong ignored as he lowered himself down to study the two dead bodies. Once, in order to solve a problem that was particularly awkward in nature, Ye Chong had dedicated some time in biology. Nevertheless, his meager understanding could not help him much. What would really do him good was experience.

The purplish black shell was very hard, but not thick, else Han Jia’s tentacles would not have been able to pierce through them. The creature’s belly was soft, without the shell to protect it. The sharp blades on its sides were dangerous. The eye on each armor plate now looked lifeless. Ye Chong was beginning to believe Ye Pang’s theory that these mysterious creatures were actually scouts of some kind.

From their battle earlier, it seemed that these creatures could move very fast, but their attack and defense were weak, typical of scouting type organisms.

Ye Pang did not want to invoke more panic in the crew, so their discussions were held in the medical bay. The technical side of things will have to be left to the ship’s professional medical officer, and see if they could get anything useful out of the bodies.

As the group left the medical bay, they passed by excited faces discussing the battle earlier as they walked along the ship’s corridors. When they saw Ye Chong, the devotion in their eyes was like that of his number one fans. Ye Pang and Ye Luo were mostly ignored, and this annoyed Ye Luo. As for Feng Su, the crew members treated her more carefully, since she was from the Xi Feng Tribe.

Rui Bing trailed along behind Ye Chong, never leaving his side.

After dinner, Ye Pang invited Ye Luo to his room.

“Who are those people?” Ye Pang asked in a whisper.

Ye Luo scratched his head and said, “Err, that’s a difficult one.”

Ye Pang sniffed at him. “What’s so difficult about it? Even without you telling me, I know. Isn’t that the one that the Family is searching for?”

Ye Luo was surprised, “Huh, how did you know?”

“What’s so hard about this simple deduction? Look at you, so trusting in him. I know you like the back of my hand. Without researching his background thoroughly, would you have brought him here? Where are we heading to right now? To He Yue Galaxy. If he’s a friend of yours from the free space zone, would you have brought him along to He Yue Galaxy? Err, of course, if it’s your girl I suppose that’s possible.” Ye Pang last comment made Ye Luo blush.

“The mech that he deployed, I know instantly that it’s the goods. A full-skeleton mech! I may have served for a long time in logistics, but I can still tell. He’s very strong. I think he’ll even be ranked in the single digits in the Family. If I remember correctly, the man that’s very similar to one of our own is also a very capable mech pilot. So, I made a guess. But you, oh so gullible, admitted it straight away, you’re so useless!” Ye Pang looked at Ye Luo with disdain.

Ye Luo was offended now. He curled his hands into fists, cracking his finger joints to intimidate Ye Pang. “Small Fry, I’ll let you know, don’t you go showing off in front of me. Hehe, I can bring you down with just one hand.”

Ye Pang was unfazed by his show. He looked at Ye Luo meaningfully and sighed. “Boorish Luo, I can’t figure you out. Why’re you helping him? You’re dead if your father finds out!”

Ye Lu’s expression was unreadable. “I don’t know either. I just know that he won’t want to return to the Ye Family. Even I am not fond of the Family. Besides, what right do we have to order him back? I despise people who like to force their will onto others. On the other hand, I actually enjoy his company. Had I realized the situation earlier, I would’ve never reported back about him.”

“Sigh, Boorish Luo, recognize the reality of things. He is just a single person, and can never defeat the Ye Family. In the end, he will be subdued.” Ye Pang could not help a sigh.

“Small Fry, it’s this part of you that I cannot stand! Reality? F*ck reality! Just look at me, hehe, hasn’t the Family been asking me to go back since forever? Humph, I won’t. See, they can’t do nothing to me. Besides, I do what I think is right, and I have no regrets! I know exactly how the Family is like. Small Fry, with your level of abilities, you shouldn’t have needed to stay in this run down place and be some no-good Chief of Logistics.”

Ye Pang could only smile bitterly at that. “Logistics isn’t too bad, suitable for someone lazy like me!”

“You! Sigh …” Ye Luo seemed to remember something, and lost his initial excitement. He sat down in dejection, and it was a long moment before he spoke again. “What’re you going to do with him?”

“Do? I’ll do nothing, since it’s none of my business!” Ye Pang looked like his lazy old self again. However, he could not help but asked, “I can guess about the young man, but what about the woman? A member of the Xi Feng Tribe? What’s their relationship? What about the rest in the group?”

Ye Luo shrugged evasively and said, “I don’t know, you ask them.”

Ye Pang was speechless.

The ship did not encounter any more of those unknown lifeforms later on. This was a great relief for the crew members. Another piece of good news was that they had met another transport ship along the way. The meeting between the two ships brought a joyful cheer to their crews.

In the infinity of outer space, loneliness was frightening. Hence, having company along was undoubtedly the most joyful thing to happen to them.

As they approached the rendezvous point, they met more and more transport ships. Soon, almost every hour brought about a new ship of the Ye Family to join them. This managed to soothe the nerves of the crew and its passengers.

The rendezvous point was on a small planet not far from the Gateway entrance.

The planet was not large. Its surface was now covered with all sorts of starships, with mechs flying in and out of them constantly. The planet had become a busy military base.

With coordination from the ground, Darvill finally landed on the small planet. Here was all the military power of the Ye Family in the free space zone, converged on this planet. After receiving the emergency beacon, all combat units had went straight towards the rendezvous point as soon as they could.

Ye Pang was not invited to the operations meeting. On Darvill, the only one entitled to attending the meeting was Ye Luo, but of course the man did not care to join the others. He declined to attend the meeting.

Nevertheless, Ye Pang still managed to uncover some information through other means.

In the bridge, only Ye Luo, Ye Pang, Ye Chong, Rui Bing and Feng Su were there.

Their expressions were not encouraging.

Darvill’s encounter with the unknown lifeforms was reported to Ye Yin’s subordinates, so the two bodies of the creatures were taken away from them. They had already ascertained that these unknown lifeforms were one of a few kinds that were attacking the Gateway.

The situation was more serious than expected.

When Ye Yin and his men arrived for backup, it was already too late. The entire Gateway was swarmed with a few different kinds of unknown lifeforms.

This was the worst situation that everyone had hoped to avoid! Once the Gateway was lost, they would have to clear it should they ever want to return to their homes.

After many days of contact, they now finally had some understanding of these mysterious creatures.

The creatures may not look alike, but they all had some common features – high aggression, and a strong propensity to devour anything that was made of metal or pure energy.

There was not much left of the mechs that were destroyed in their first wave of attack. The creatures had swallowed up most of the metal pieces like hungry ants.

Just thinking about it make one’s flesh creep.

Clearing up the Gateway was now the main problem.

“Small Fry, you got any good ideas?” Ye Luo looked to Ye Pang.

Ye Pang shook his head. “None. However, I think that the most important thing we should do now is to understand more about these creatures. It’s all we can do for now. We know next to nothing about these creatures, much less their weaknesses.”

Ye Luo seemed to be disappointed with Ye Pang’s lack of ideas. Ye Chong, Rui Bing and Feng Su did not speak, only observing the two of them.

Though he usually stayed quiet, Ye Chong spoke up this time. “What of the Xue Lai Clan and Xi Feng Tribe?”

Everyone paused to absorb his words.

“That’s right! I wonder what happened to them?” Ye Pang seemed to give it some thought. If they had also encountered the same unknown lifeforms, they would probably not fare any better. The thought of the Three Aces being stuck in the free space zone was almost ridiculous to even consider for Ye Pang.

Soon, however, they had no time to consider how the other two Families were doing.

After resupplying, the Ye Family’s combat division was ready to move out.

e Chong spent most of his time watching the many, many battles that unfolded on the holographic screen on the starship. There were not many mechs and starships in the free space zone, hence there was not a lot of energy cells in storage. Ye Pang had already brought along all the energy cells from Serbe. Now, they could only watch as the war waged on.

The war was shockingly violent!

The Gateway’s entrance was very narrow, a natural landscape for defense. That was why they were able to hold the line so far.

From the narrow entrance, swarms of the unknown lifeforms would emerge from time to time. They never came in large numbers, they never seemed to stop coming either. From the beginning, the number of unknown lifeforms that had emerged from the entrance had never diminished, showing no signs of exhaustion from the other side. This was a constant worry for everyone around, afraid of what would happen in the long run.

Their own forces were weakening as the days passed by. Heavy casualties would follow every time enemies were successfully terminated. However, no one backed down. Everyone knew that the narrow Gateway was the only reason they were still alive, and not consumed by the unknown lifeforms.

There was nothing else to do but fight on. Ye Yin looked terribly grim. He could not find a way out of their predicament.

Jenny Ye looked at Ye Yin’s grim expression beneath his long hair, sympathizing his situation. She consoled him softly, “Look at you, you look so gloomy that it’s going to rain soon. Don’t worry too much. Here, drink this.” She passed a thermos over to Ye Yin.

Ye Yin saw that it was Jenny, and his eyes flickered warmly. He agreed and took the thermos from Jenny, finishing all the soup in it.

Jenny Ye watched lovingly as Ye Yin drank his soup with concentration, but her heart ached for him. This man whom she loved, he was shouldering to much unwanted burden! Beneath his handsome but cold exterior was a heart that was only human.

“What’re you thinking?” Ye Yin asked suddenly. Now that the soup was finished, he watched her closely.

Jenny blushed slightly. She pulled the thermos out of his hands and feigned nonchalance as she said, “Nothing much. Yin, don’t give yourself too much pressure! You’re doing your best, no one will blame you.”

Ye Yin said nothing, only watching Jenny Ye quietly.

“What is it?” Jenny Ye saw that Ye Yin was in a faze. She shook her tiny hand before his eyes a few times, saying with mock anger, “What are you thinking? How could your mind go wandering while talking to me?”

“Oh. I’m thinking, I will definitely bring you home! Definitely!” Ye Yin said this with unyielding resolution.

Anyone could see that the war was not favoring the Ye Family. Their combat forces continued to diminish. Almost every round of battle would end in deaths on their side. Seeing their own die before them continuously was a heavy blow to their morale. One could frequently hear people sobbing in the middle of the night. They were at their lowest point in spirit.

Nonetheless, the immediate problem presented to them was a practical one – energy cells! The free space zone did not have production factories for energy cells. Their energy cells were running out. Once they used them up, all the mechs and starships would turn into useless metal bulks, and the war would be over.

Dozens of unknown lifeforms emerged again from the Gateway’s entrance.

The mechs that were guarding the entrance immediately went forward to fight them.

30 mechs formed a standard combat squad. Five mechs accelerated abruptly, leaving formation and heading towards the unknown lifeforms. When they were close enough, they suddenly split up and headed off into five different directions.

The creatures immediately pursued the five mechs like they were hunting their favourite prey, splitting off into five groups. The decoy mechs were all flown by the best mech pilots. They traced five beautiful arches across the starry sky like the stamen of a flower. Then, they each flew past a group of five mechs, and the creatures plunged straight into the surrounding formation of the five mechs.

The suspenseful close range battle began!

The strength of the Ye Family’s mech pilots were thus fully demonstrated. Mechs and creatures rushed towards each other like medieval knights in a joust. When the moment of impact arrived, however, the mech pilots of the Ye Family could always execute the appropriate evasion moves and deliver the fatal blow to these unknown lifeforms.

However, the creatures were also terribly capable of retaliating. Despite bearing audience to similar fights for numerous times, Ye Chong still find them shocking. The creatures could move their heads deftly, and their strong teeth would always leave deep bite marks on mechs.

These creatures, which they had called crustalades, had very strong exoskeletons. The purplish black shell plates on them shone with a metallic glimmer. They had six pairs of wings. Their bodies were flat and short, measuring about three meters long. Their heads could move around flexibly, and their teeth were strong enough to bite through certain kinds of metal. The crustalades were very sensitive to metals. According to research, their hard armor plates had a high metal content. Hence, their armor plates were very strong, and well suited for self defense. Their shell plates would change, and even evolve significantly, according to the types of metal ingested.

Crustalades would fly up to Mach 12, about the same as the Ye Family’s mechs in the main battle force. Since the creatures could also fly well, they were difficult opponents to fight against.

Now, most if not all of the creatures that came out of the Gateway entrance were this type of lifeform. The ones that Ye Chong and his group had encountered were never seen again.

The Ye Family’s mechs lacked long range weapons, so they were forced to fight at close range.

Ye Chong pondered on their situation. Of the Three Aristocratic Families, the Xue Lai Clan must be best equipped to fight against these crustalades.

Rui Bing sat quietly beside Ye Chong. She would accompany him and watch the battle on the holographic screen every day. She did not say anything, but only sat quietly with him. Her snow white training garb looked as graceful on her as before. Her eyes were calm and resolute.

“What? The Three Families are ready for an alliance?” Ye Pang gasped in surprise.

Ye Luo noded. “Yes. I just got the news. Looks like the other Families have also suffered heavily, so they are hoping to form an alliance now. Oh, by the way, Ye Yin has agreed.”

Ye Pang stroked his chin as he mused, “An Alliance of the Three Families. It’s not a bad idea. To think that we, the Three Families, long time enemies with each other, will agree to an alliance in the face of a disaster. Hehe, it sure is interesting.” He thought of something then, and asked, “What about the Gateway?”

“Seal the entrance. Ye Yin has decided to seal the entrance,” Ye Luo replied.

Space around the Gateway entrance was extremely unstable. It was engulfed in a light yellow nebula. Within the nebula were strong electromagnetic radiations that covered a wide spectrum. The magnetic fields in the nebula were also constantly realigning. This made the area dangerous. Even the tough lifeforms were cautious of the space around the entrance.

300 energy cells were bundled together. They now floated before the Gateway entrance.

All of Ye Family’s starships had pulled away, giving a wide berth.

Everyone onboard Darvill focused on the holographic screen.

Dozens of crustalades emerged threateningly from the Gateway entrance. They noticed the energy cells immediately and flew towards them.

Just then, a red beam shot at the energy cells!

The holographic screen lit up, and everyone had to shade their eyes for the moment. When their vision cleared up, the Gateway entrance was no longer on the holographic screen. Instead, they were looking at an endless stretch of light yellow nebula.

The massive starship fleet carried the hopes of its passengers, heading towards the Xue Lai Clan’s Gateway entrance as fast as it could.

Ye Pang looked at the dense presence of starships from his window and smiled. “We’ll probably never see something like this again. Isn’t it magnificent?” After the rendezvous, the starships from all the Three Aristocratic Families were huddled together without order. Darvill was now right beside one of the Xi Feng Tribe’s starships.

“I want to return to my Tribe,” Feng Su looked at Ye Chong and pronounced her every word clearly. Every combat personnel was precious in their situation.

Ye Chong thought about it for a moment and nodded in agreement. “Alright.”

Feng Su looked around and nodded to the people around her. “I wish you all the best! Farewell!” Everyone watched silently as Feng Su left. Given the circumstances, whatever personal conflicts they had with her were relatively insignificant. Besides, Ye Chong had never really developed a grudge against her.

The Three Aces from the Three Aristocratic Families gathered together.

“Hehe, fate is truly mysterious. To think that we would actually fight side by side!” Huang Jiming smiled warmly.

Ye Yin ignored him and turned to Siva. “Why don’t you explain the situation here.”

In the operations room, two humans and one mech discussed their predicament. It was an uncanny sight.

Siva’s bionic eyes flashed intermittently. “Our initial battles were successful. The crustalades could not harm us. However, once we enter the Gateway, we suffer heavily.”

An image appeared on the holographic screen in the operations room. The massive being in the image caused the two humans to inhale sharply.

“This is a new kind of unknown lifeform. We call them mollusc bristleworms. They looked like large caterpillars, but covered with sharp spikes on them. Each spike was about seven to eight meters long, and many crustalades were hanging from it.

Siva’s electronic voice reverberated in the operations room. “The interesting thing about these mollusc bristleworms is they could absorb energy weapon attacks, the mechanism for this is unknown. They move slowly, reaching up to Mach 6. Their bodies are covered with pores that could spew out a grayish green gas. This gas has been shown to weaken metal structures. After computations, we’ve determined that the massive being in the image is formed by about six thousand five hundred mollusc bristleworms.”

The number was enough to trigger another sharp inhale from the two listeners. Six thousand five hundred mollusc bristleworms with slight variations in colour intensity formed a massive dragon-like colourful being. It was a terrifying beast.

“We have ascertained that the entire Gateway had only these six thousand and five hundred mollusc bristleworms. We have killed most of the crustalades. The rest of the crustalades can also be handled by our side. Your forces must deal with these mollusc bristleworms. Be aware that we have energy to only supply one final attack!”

Siva’s electronic voice never wavered.