"This… Lady Heliobus, don't you think that's enough? If we delay any longer, the Xianzhou Luofu fleet will be here."
On the Path of Abundance, the golden-furred chieftain of the Blazing Fire Molten Apes — Jin Jiuyuan — stared at the blazing mass of energy before him, feeling that he'd run into the worst kind of bad luck.
Just a few days ago, he'd been leading nine warships out to plunder a trade route.
Before they'd even reached their target, a strange Heliobus had suddenly appeared out of nowhere — and ordered him to attack Baihuang Star.
Baihuang Star was a resource world belonging to the Xianzhou Alliance. The Alliance revered the Abundance, which stood as a sworn enemy to their own path — so of course, the Abundance's followers saw the Alliance as their enemies too.
Attacking Baihuang Star wasn't the problem — at least, not if both sides were equally matched.
But with only nine leftover bio-warships patched together from his tribe's scraps, he could barely raid a few merchant ships. Attacking a fortified resource world was nothing short of suicide.
So, Jin Jiuyuan had originally planned to teach this ball of sentient fire a lesson — to show that being an energy lifeform didn't mean it was untouchable.
After all, as the Molten Ape of Blazing Fire, he wielded the power of magma — even flames themselves could be devoured by his blaze!
Of course, that depended on him being able to touch the opponent in the first place. And though he hated to admit it, Heliobus-type energy beings were naturally gifted in manipulating energy and spirit.
Unfortunately, he lacked any real resistance to such abilities. Just meeting her gaze had sent him spiraling into a spiritual illusion — helplessly trapped.
Fortunately, this Lady Heliobus didn't seem intent on killing him. After proving she could crush him at will, she released him unharmed.
Having barely escaped with his life, Jin Jiuyuan naturally dared not resist her orders again. Whatever she wanted done, he would obey — even if it meant marching into death.
When she commanded him to attack Baihuang Star, he'd already resigned himself to the idea of dying there.
After all, how could nine warships possibly conquer a resource planet?
Even if the Xianzhou Alliance didn't value Baihuang Star highly, it was impossible that it had no defensive forces at all.
Yet, against all odds, with Lady Heliobus's help, they succeeded in deploying the Demonic Yin Toxin onto the planet's surface.
This toxin could transform living beings into Demonic Yin Bodies within seventy-two hours, provided the infection wasn't cleansed in time. It even contained traces of the Abundance's power — which made it all the more virulent against flesh-and-blood lifeforms.
Originally, this toxin was developed to fight the Xianzhou Alliance, but once a cure was discovered, it lost its purpose and was instead used to bully primitive planetary civilizations still bound to their home worlds.
After all, if the toxin took seventy-two hours to manifest, and the cure was hundreds of light-years away — what good was a cure that couldn't arrive in time?
But this time was different. With Heliobus's power, her forces managed to infiltrate Baihuang Star's surface and spread the toxin across the massive beasts known as Louyue.
When the seventy-two hours passed, hordes of Louyue beasts fell into corruption — transforming into Abundance abominations — and began rampaging through the Xianzhou base on the surface.
While the Alliance scrambled to suppress the chaos below, Jin Jiuyuan's fleet launched an attack on the orbital spaceport above.
But as expected, the Xianzhou's defenses were formidable. Their ships' energy reserves were almost entirely depleted, yet they still couldn't breach the spaceport's protective barrier.
Fortunately, with Baihuang Star in turmoil, the port's supply lines had been severed. Choosing not to exhaust their power entirely, the defenders switched to a defensive strategy — buying time until reinforcements arrived.
Given this situation, Jin Jiuyuan felt that if Lady Heliobus herself acted, they could still seize the spaceport.
But for some reason, she made no move. She didn't even order a retreat.
He could only continue the pointless standoff, occasionally firing half-hearted shots to maintain the illusion of battle.
Now, three days had passed. If they didn't withdraw soon, the Xianzhou reinforcements would arrive.
Unable to bear it anymore, Jin Jiuyuan finally spoke up.
"We're waiting for their reinforcements."
A calm, commanding woman's voice echoed from the pale blue-green flames that floated in the air.
She didn't even look at him — her gaze remained fixed on the ship's radar display.
"This…"
Jin Jiuyuan's crimson eyes flickered, but all he could do was sigh helplessly.
At that very moment, several new red blips appeared on the radar screen — enemy reinforcements had arrived!
The display projected their images: several small warships of different colors, some bearing unique insignia.
Seeing this, Jin Jiuyuan relaxed slightly.
The Xianzhou's vessels were typically crafted of wood — these were not.
Which meant they were likely star wanderers or interstellar rangers who had taken the support contract — mercenaries, not the Alliance's own fleet.
As long as they weren't from the Xianzhou, there was nothing to fear.
"Intercept them," said the voice within the shapeless flames, tinged with a faint disappointment.
She had been waiting for the Xianzhou reinforcements — specifically, the Xianzhou Luofu fleet. Her next plan required infiltrating one of their ships.
That was the whole reason she'd attacked Baihuang Star in the first place. She'd long confirmed that the Xianzhou Luofu was the closest Alliance vessel in range — and it was bound to send its fleet as reinforcements.
That would be her chance to slip inside unnoticed.
"Yes, Lady Heliobus," Jin Jiuyuan replied helplessly, still bound by her overwhelming might.
Under his command, the Abundance fleet reformed its formation: three ships remained behind to pin down the spaceport, while the other six repositioned themselves across multiple axes — above, below, and around the target zone.
After all, in the vacuum of space, combat was three-dimensional; failing to defend every vector was an invitation for stealth attacks.
The new arrivals quickly hailed the Xianzhou garrison, confirmed the situation, and immediately opened fire with standard beam weaponry.
A pale-green energy shield shimmered into existence, blocking the incoming barrage.
However, Jin Jiuyuan quickly noticed that their ships' energy reserves were depleting far faster than before. If they simply sat there defending, the moment the energy ran dry, they'd be reduced to drifting cosmic dust.
Just as he was about to order a counterattack, his crimson eyes suddenly flared with emerald flame — and his body froze.
He couldn't even lift a finger.
"I'm sorry," said the disembodied voice again, calm yet absolute. "Your ships' remaining energy is too little. To last until the Xianzhou fleet arrives, you only need to defend."
Why must we wait for the Xianzhou?! What are you planning?! Jin Jiuyuan screamed silently within his own mind.
In the cold, silent expanse of space, a massive commercial star skiff bearing the insignia of the Xianzhou Luofu emerged from warp.
Inside its command room, Nolan stood behind the foxian woman Tingyun, his eyes gliding past her shoulder to the holographic display ahead.
Nine peculiar bio-warships were arrayed in a spherical formation — battered, struggling under enemy fire, and only managing to defend without striking back.
"They must be Abundance warships," Nolan mused. "But it looks like they're the ones being pushed back."
Nolan looked slightly puzzled.
"News just came from the garrison on Baihuang. They report that the surface has fallen into chaos. Those Abundance followers might be deliberately stalling—waiting until the surface base is completely destroyed and unable to provide orbital support before launching a full assault."
Tingyun's tone was low and serious.
"I see," Nolan nodded, "I thought all those followers of the Abundance were the reckless, brainless kind. Didn't expect some of them to have that much patience."
He sounded genuinely surprised.
What he'd seen on the interstellar network painted them as impulsive zealots—fanatics who would charge at any enemy of the Abundance like rabid beasts.
Still, every group had its exceptions. Even among the fanatics, there could be a few who were more rational.
"Next, we'll circle around to the spaceport and hand over the military supplies we purchased. That should give the garrison enough resources to launch a counterattack."
Tingyun's white hands clenched lightly as she spoke.
Their star skiff was a commercial-class vessel—not particularly strong in combat, though its warp calibration and jump precision were first-rate.
They could easily execute a short-range jump directly beside the spaceport, bypassing the Abundance fleet entirely.
"In that case," Nolan said, "I'll take a look at the planet's surface first."
Even a short-range jump required preparation time. Rather than wait idly, he decided to teleport ahead on his own.
The Luofu was still over a million kilometers from Baihuang Star; with his current power, teleporting there would take less than thirty seconds.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Nolan. Please defeat all the invaders down there!"
Tingyun already knew from company records that Nolan was rated as an A-rank combatant—an existence practically unstoppable on a planetary surface.
Her confidence in him was absolute.
[Tingyun Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 330 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.4 (50/400)]
Seeing the pop-up on his character panel, Nolan chuckled and nodded.
"No problem. To prevent a sneak attack, I'll leave behind an avatar here. That'll also make it easier for me to teleport back."
As he spoke, he summoned an "Lumine's Sword God" clone to remain in the command room, while his true self vanished within a golden glow, protected by a fully-powered Wholehearted Guardian Shield.
Roughly half a minute later, Nolan appeared within Baihuang Star's atmosphere.
Immediately, he noticed that the planet's gravity was slightly stronger than that of Earth or Teyvat—or even the simulated gravity aboard the Herta Space Station.
Probably just because this world was larger in size. It didn't bother him much.
Suspended high above the clouds, he simultaneously summoned dozens of Lumine' Sword Gods, each teleporting in different directions across the planet.
At the same time, his spiritual perception expanded outward, sweeping over the entire globe.
With so many avatars acting as extensions of his senses, locating any abnormal disturbances was child's play.
And when those disturbances took the shape of creatures the size of mountains—
Nolan teleported again.
When he reappeared, he was inside one of the Xianzhou garrisons' surface bases.
There, more than thirty mountain-sized beasts had encircled the entire installation.
Their gigantic bodies were covered in golden, leaf-like scales—almost beautiful, in a way.
Most of the base's structures and landed ships had already been smashed to rubble. No wonder they hadn't been able to send aid into orbit.
Examining the towering beasts, Nolan activated two of his appraisal skills:
> [Level: 102]
> [Demonic-Yin Louyue Beasts] — Native to Baihuang Star. Colossal lifeforms the size of mountains that feed on rock and soil. Their defense is comparable to warship hulls. Currently afflicted by the Demonic Yin Toxin, in a corrupted Demonic Yin Form. Now classified as Abundance Aberrations.
"Haah…" Nolan drew a sharp breath.
Every single one of them was over level 100—that was Archon-tier!
Then again, considering their immense, armor-like bodies, it wasn't impossible.
Perhaps they lacked true divine authority like an Archon, but their sheer physical durability was on the same level.
Still, a bit over level 100 was nothing to him—about the same as fighting ordinary humans.
With that thought, he summoned a kilometer-tall Sword God, a golden greatsword materializing in its hands.
Its blade tip pointed down; the cutting aura was so sharp it carved fine cracks into the ground below.
Across the planet, the other Sword Gods, upon detecting corrupted Louyue Beasts, also grew in size—matching their mountainous foes—ready for battle.
The golden-leafed monstrosities turned toward the radiant figure standing before them.
Having lost all reason, they let out thunderous roars that split the clouds above.
Their scarlet, rage-filled eyes locked onto the enormous Sword God as they began to charge—
Dozens of mountains moving at once.
"Charge" was perhaps generous—their speed was sluggish at best. Given their massive bulk, the fact that gravity didn't crush them outright already proved their bodies' unbelievable toughness.
If they had speed to match, that would be downright terrifying.
Even so, watching those mountainous forms advance was enough to make one's chest tighten with pressure.
Nolan turned invisible, controlling dozens of Sword Gods to engage the beasts.
In truth, he barely needed to do anything. The difference in power was absolute. The beasts were too slow to evade his attacks at all.
A single casual swing of the Sword God's blade released a wave of sword aura that cleaved open enormous gashes running the length of their bodies.
Yet, to his surprise, the flesh inside resembled stone and earth more than organic tissue—and not a drop of blood flowed out.
Definitely unlike any normal living creature.
Perhaps due to the Abundance's influence, the wounds were regenerating before his eyes—rapidly knitting back together.
The Sword God's brows furrowed. It raised its greatsword, golden energy crackling like wild lightning.
""Musou no Hitotachi""
Without hesitation, Nolan unleashed his ultimate technique through the Sword God.
A single blinding arc of sword aura split the air, tearing space itself—
And the Louyue Beast before him, mountain-sized and roaring, was cleaved cleanly in half from crown to base.
(End of Chapter)
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***
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