Star Calendar Year 6328. Xianzhou Alchemy Commission.
Ten long years had slipped by since Jingliu fell into her deep coma. The quiet ward carried the faint scent of medicinal herbs and fresh blossoms, a fragile sanctuary amid the endless march of time. Three armored figures stepped inside. The man at the front moved with practiced care, replacing the flowers in the vase as he always did. He settled on the edge of the bed, his slender fingers gently brushing through the sleeping woman's ice-colored long hair.
Kanzaki's voice came soft, almost a whisper, filled with a tenderness that Jingliu had never witnessed in all their years together.
"I do not know how many more years this will take… but Master will come back alive to cure you."
"Master promises you. I will never break my word."
His eyes shimmered with an unspoken warmth, the kind that could melt the coldest star. For a moment the weight of command, the endless wars, the burden of the Xianzhou itself all faded. Only this promise remained.
After some time had passed, Xueyi's low voice broke the silence with quiet respect.
"Lord Kanzaki, ninety million Cloud Knights have finished assembling and stand ready to set out."
Kanzaki drew in a slow, steady breath. He reached for his helmet, slid it into place, and closed his eyes. When they opened again, every trace of softness had vanished, replaced by a chilling resolve that could freeze the void itself.
"Set out."
"Understood!"
…
A short while later, the largest military port of the Xianzhou hummed with disciplined power. Countless Cloud Knights stood in perfect formation, banners snapping in the artificial wind. High above them a tall figure hovered in silence, eyes closed, radiating an aura of absolute authority.
Dozens more warriors swept in from every direction, converging before the dark, dense ranks. They dropped to one knee behind the suspended commander, heads bowed, awaiting the order that would launch them into the stars.
They were the elite Xianzhou Cloud Knight Vanguards.
A solemn, majestic presence wrapped the entire port like an invisible mantle.
Kanzaki arrived riding his sword, with Xueyi and Hanya joining the ranks midway. The moment he landed at the head of the Valiant Guard line, the hovering Sha Feng opened his eyes. His gaze swept across the assembled forces below.
A murderous aura rolled outward on the wind, making the millions of banners flutter and crack like thunder.
Sha Feng needed no amplification. His voice resonated directly in the minds of every one of the ninety million Cloud Knights, driving straight into the depths of their souls.
"The target of this expedition is the Yatedelan Ring Star Belt, a super-giant galaxy cluster roughly two thousand five hundred seventy-four light-years across."
"There, the Abominations of Abundance are breeding and gathering like a festering plague, attempting to forge an allied army that will ignite the third Abundance Plague War."
"In this battle I will obey the Marshal's decree and personally lead our forces along the path of The Hunt, carrying out the will of The Hunt itself."
The instant his words faded, the entire army's battle intent surged skyward. Their unified roar shook the firmament.
"We Cloud Knights are like clouds that obscure the sky, guarding and shielding the Xianzhou!"
This expedition ranked among the grandest the Xianzhou Yaoqing had ever undertaken in its long hunt against the Abominations of Abundance. The General's departure from the main ship left the Xianzhou itself vulnerable. To safeguard their home, the alliance would temporarily dock in a vital star sector under Interastral Peace Corporation jurisdiction until the expeditionary force returned.
Facing such a colossal war zone and an endless tide of Abominations of Abundance, the ninety million Cloud Knights had to split into multiple routes. Each detachment would be commanded by two Valiant Guards.
"Depart!!!"
At Sha Feng's command, the giant marching warships thundered to life. Their engines roared as they lifted off, streaking through the Xianzhou gate and vanishing into the vast sea of stars.
Kanzaki's gaze swept across countless distant suns. Deep in his eyes a flicker of unprecedented madness appeared, followed by a nearly delirious obsession that burned hotter than any supernova.
I must hunt enough Abominations of Abundance… I must!
…
At first the war advanced with unstoppable momentum. The Cloud Knights, armed with superior equipment and unbreakable discipline, captured dozens of Abomination of Abundance dens in rapid succession. Yet the deeper they pushed into the star sector tainted by the blessing of abundance, the more the conflict twisted into a long, brutal war of attrition.
One year. Two years. Five years.
Every single day warships became drifting wreckage. Every single moment Cloud Knights gave their lives. Sometimes the Cloud Knights would purge the Abomination of Abundance nests across three entire planets in a single day, only to face a ferocious counterattack the next as fresh hordes poured in from nowhere. Victory and defeat wove together in an endless dance. Blood and severed limbs paved the road that led ever deeper into the galaxy.
Time blurred. Ten years flashed by in what felt like the blink of an eye.
The war had now entered its most savage stalemate phase. The Cloud Knights fought not only the Abominations of Abundance swarming within the Yatedelan Ring Star Belt but also the relentless waves rushing in from every corner of the universe. The situation grew so dire that even the Interastral Peace Corporation grew uneasy.
The Armed Archaeology School, a specialized branch of the Intelligentsia Guild, raced across the sea of stars to offer support. Their scholars hoped to analyze and contain the frantically multiplying tide of Abominations of Abundance.
On the front line, Planet Yatedelan-13571, amid steep, jagged mountains.
"Report! The Valiant Guard detachment led by Xueyi and Hanya has lost contact! Their final transmission mentioned the Rhinohound hunting pack!"
Kanzaki had just finished slaying the last Abomination of Abundance in his sector. His pupils constricted sharply.
Xueyi and Hanya were no weaklings. They commanded some of the Xianzhou's finest elites. For them to lose contact while outnumbered should have been impossible. They must have encountered a threat far beyond their capacity.
A Rhinohound hunting pack… Could a Great War Chief be leading them?
"These are the last coordinates they transmitted before contact was lost!" The intelligence officer projected the battlefield onto a glowing light screen.
"The nearest detachment is currently pinned down by a Serpent Descendants army. It will take them at least three-quarters of an hour to break free and provide support…"
Three-quarters of an hour?
Kanzaki spoke without the slightest hesitation.
"Pass the order. Command is temporarily transferred to Valiant Guard Mo Tingquan aboard the sub-ship."
"My Lord! You plan to go al—"
Before the officer could finish, Kanzaki's figure had already disappeared in a blur.
When he arrived at the lost-contact coordinates, the tragic scene before him nearly shattered his heart.
The once-mighty elite Cloud Knight detachment had been utterly annihilated. Shattered combat ships lay scattered like broken toys. Mangled bodies of both Abominations of Abundance and Cloud Knights covered the ground in a nightmarish tapestry.
Not far away a Borisin as massive as a mountain emitted a sickeningly familiar aura. It chewed slowly on something with lingering relish.
At its feet, in a wide pool of blood, lay Xueyi and Hanya. Only the faintest breaths remained. Everything below their abdomens had been torn away, leaving only half a torso each. Internal organs lay scattered across the blood-soaked soil.
The life-fires of the two sisters flickered like candles in a storm, ready to be extinguished at any second.
Hearing movement, the Rhinohound Great Nest Father slowly turned its head. Hot breath escaped between fangs still stained with meat. Its eyes burned with raw brutality and mocking amusement. It could sense that this newly arrived human vermin smelled even more delicious than the last.
"Roar…"
A soul-shaking roar erupted. A giant claw wrapped in foul wind descended toward Kanzaki's head in an instant.
Kanzaki had no intention of dodging.
He looked up. His eyes exploded with a terrifying, bloodthirsty light.
The moment their gazes met, the newly ascended Rhinohound Great Nest Father felt as though it stared into an ancient behemoth far more terrifying than any Borisin war leader.
Boom!
An unprecedented, horrifying pressure erupted from within Kanzaki. This was no power a Cloud Knight Valiant Guard should possess.
No techniques. No flourishes. Only a beam of light faster than thought.
Time itself seemed to freeze.
A palm pressed lightly against the Rhinohound Great Nest Father's head.
Before the terror could fully surface in its wolf-like eyes, the massive body rapidly turned to black ash and scattered on the wind.
If Sha Feng had witnessed the scene, he might have paused to consider whether Xianzhou law demanded action against Kanzaki.
Kanzaki did not spare the ashes even a glance. He teleported directly in front of the two sisters who clung to life by the thinnest thread. His hands trembled as he gently lifted their necks to examine the extent of their injuries. The damage could not have been worse.
Their internal organs were ravaged beyond repair and could provide no regenerative energy. Nearly all the blood in their bodies had drained away. Only a sliver of pure obsession kept them breathing at all.
"…"
The almost irreversible reality made Kanzaki's eyes burn even redder. He frantically searched his mind for any emergency method that could reverse life and death.
Yet the biological knowledge he possessed could not take effect on the Xianzhou long-lived species.
Wait…
"This is…"
Sensing a mysterious power that felt intimately familiar to the core of his being, a shadow quickly crept across Kanzaki's face.