Chapter 52

Chapter 52

If there was one encounter they hoped to avoid at this juncture, it wasn't the Fourth Army's reinforcements; it was the Uzstamon star raider group—a far more troublesome adversary.

Uzstamon had earned a formidable reputation across the star sector. As one of the top star raider factions, they controlled the most planets, amassed the greatest wealth, and due to their choice of fringe territories, they were constantly engaged in large-scale Bug race exterminations. Their ranks, though sparse, were filled with warriors of exceptional ferocity.

When facing sentinels of the same rank, Uzstamon raiders were known to take on ten at a time.

It wasn't just that one could fight ten; it was the terrifying fact that all of them could.

The commander felt sweat bead on his forehead. If targeted by Uzstamon, not only would their mission be jeopardized, but even returning to report back might become an impossibility.

With their combat capabilities, they were only a match for Fourth Army ships tasked with transporting new recruits to the battlefield—vessels with little to no combat experience.

He said, "Lin Si Zhen has always been at odds with the Lin family. As an illegitimate daughter not raised by the Lins, how could she possibly acknowledge Lin Fu?"

The officer looked at him, lips moving silently, but said nothing.

Even as he spoke those words, he didn’t believe them himself, rendering any rebuttal unnecessary.

As the Uzstamon warship drew nearer, the commander unexpectedly ordered, “Retreat first. When we report back, we’ll have them focus their efforts on wiping out Uzstamon first. Otherwise, even if we eliminate Lin Fu, it’ll only invite a host of problems!”

The officer fixated on the control panel, remaining silent as the commander looked down and grew visibly paler.

A colossal ship appeared beside them, invisible from the front viewport and only discernible through the virtual screen in its entirety.

The black warship bore a strong resemblance to those of the Fourth Army, yet its hull was an entire size larger. The modified armory's cannon ports outnumbered those of a standard warship, the gaping muzzles aimed at them, exuding an invisible, yet palpable intimidation.

A faint blue light began to gather at the mouths of the cannons.

The commander frantically shouted, “Quick! Turn around, charge up! Pour more energy stones into it, ensure the energy membrane is at its optimal state!”

As the ship turned, the Uzstamon vessel gradually came into view through the viewport, its massive presence even more oppressive than on the virtual screen!

Cold sweat beaded on the foreheads of everyone in the cockpit, their backs drenched in a matter of moments.

With a deafening boom, the ship shuddered violently, the energy membrane visibly rippling to the naked eye.

Everyone aboard the warship stumbled, their minds reeling from the sudden, deafening blast.

“What happened!?”

“Wasn’t the Fourth Legion’s artillery almost inoperable? How could they launch such a massive attack?”

“It's not the Fourth Army! It's the star raiders!! Uzstamon!” someone shouted, plastered against the window, eyes fixed on a newly emerged warship in the nebulous blue cosmos, its hull adorned with a grey paint depicting a bird with wings unfurled—the emblem of Uzstamon.

Panic swiftly spread among the crew.

Lin Fu, steadying himself against the wall, looked up with a gleam of opportunity in his eyes.

From his vantage point, he couldn't see who was attacking their ship, but one thing was certain—he needed to aid their assailant.

Abandoning his initial plan, he turned and made his way to the lower decks.

He was confident they would appreciate a similar strategy.

*

Albert severed the opposing mech’s arm with a single strike, piercing through the cockpit in the brief moment his adversary was slowed by pain. After kicking his opponent away, he withdrew his weapon and turned to see a warship appearing in this star sector.

His gaze flickered, his grip on the blade tightening, his heart plummeting back into place upon recognizing the emblem on the hull.

It was Lin Fu’s aunt.

Their reinforcement.

With this development, there was no need for a hasty retreat.

He swiftly boarded the warship, ignoring the captain's queries, and hurried to the third level to locate Lin Fu.

Bursting into the cockpit, now a charred mess, he found the blackened control panel inoperable, its wires haphazardly cut.

Picking up the severed wires, he found them slick with a red substance. Wiping his fingers, they came away stained with crimson.

Albert’s recently composed expression visibly collapsed.

Clutching the wires, he stood frozen before releasing his psychic energy, following the trail of blood out of the cockpit.

It led him to an exit.

Lin Fu was not on the warship.

There were only two possibilities: either he had devised a plan to resolve the situation or he had been captured by the enemy's vessel.

The latter would have been unlikely had he been uninjured, but it was clear he had sustained serious harm.

The extent of Lin Fu's injuries remained shrouded in uncertainty.

Albert's gaze was fixed on the opposing warship.

Uzstamon had already begun boarding their ship to engage them, signaling a moment of vulnerability in their defense.

He leaped from the warship, activating his mech’s thrusters to their maximum capacity, darting toward the enemy's entry point, leaving a pale white trail of light in his wake.

……

"Boss, Little Seven and the rest are down. Those weaklings are easy to clean up; we'll be done in no time. Should we still..."

Lin Si Zhen watched the tri-colored blips on the virtual screen, each representing the different factions.

Suddenly, a new blip burst forth, hurtling at great speed into the enemy vessel.

She focused on this dot, zooming in on the full panorama to reveal a familiar golden mech shining brilliantly.

Pointing to the mech, she commanded in a chilly voice, "Some of you, follow me for a forced boarding. Lin Fu is on their warship."

The others accepted the orders without hesitation, no objections or doubts. Someone took Lin Si Zhen’s place at the control console as the rest followed her out of the cockpit, their faces alight with eager anticipation for battle.

To be honest, they had long despised those bastards in the Imperial Council. Always plotting against them, coveting their territory while feigning righteousness. To hell with their so-called noble causes!

Now that they had crossed paths, daring to target their leader's nephew, it was the perfect opportunity to show those hypocrites their true might. To crush their ambitions once and for all!

The artillery fire grew more intense, the increased firepower allowing for successive, relentless attacks, reducing the charging time.

The enemy was distracted, hardly able to discern whether those boarding were friend or foe.

Soon, an event that delighted Uzstamon unfolded.

On the virtual screen, the energy shield representing the enemy's warship flickered erratically, as if losing connection, before vanishing with a snap.

The sweaty operator at the console bulged his eyes at the scene and burst into a wild laughter, "Hurry! Fire the cannons! Take down those bastards! Such speed is worthy of our leader—truly formidable!"

The lanky sentinel who took over Lin Sizhen's work rolled his eyes, "Idiot, the boss just went in. It's obvious that this wasn't his doing."

The operator's laughter got stuck in his throat; while he scrambled with various commands, he asked in a muffled voice, "Then who do you think it is?"

"It must be the leader's nephew. He's on the enemy's warship. Seeing us approach, he must have thought to help us break through their defenses."

After clicking confirm, the burly man prepared for the next wave of attacks. The cannon charged with energy, and his large palm moved with surprising precision over the control panel, still finding time to chat, "Isn't that guy just a little guide? He can't pilot mechas inside a warship. Without his mecha, could he really be capable of this?"

The slender sentinel cracked a smile, encouraging the burly man, "You could give it a try later."

The burly man, clearly up to no good, thought to himself—he wasn't foolish enough to try.

*

Inside the parliamentary warship, Lin Fu turned off the energy membrane and crouched under the control console.

Not far away, several people lay unconscious.

He sat in place for half a minute, then pushed himself up with the support of the console, looking for a place to temporarily hide.

With the energy membrane deactivated, considering the warship's defenses, it would likely take only two or three attacks to breach them. Including the charging time, it wouldn't take more than twenty minutes.

He found a spot and wrapped a bandage around a wound he'd sustained in the fight. Suddenly, his neural interface flashed erratically, the frantic jumping of red dots reflecting its owner's state of mind.

Lin Fu swiped away the alerts, and Albert's face popped up on the screen, his eyes full of urgency: "Where are you now?"

Lin Fu caught a glimpse of the background behind him, recognizing it as the scene when he had boarded the ship—Albert had followed.

"On the first level... wait, don't come here!"

Albert's expression froze, his gaze filled with anxiety, "What's wrong?" Why shouldn't he come?

Lin Fu spoke rapidly, "Go near the cockpit right now, be careful, I'll be there soon."

Albert frowned, "You don't need to worry right now, Uzstamon just arrived, with your aunt and the others holding off the attack, the Fourth Army is safe."

Hearing that Lin Sizhen had arrived, a glint of joy appeared in Lin Fu's eyes, but his plan remained unchanged, "I'll be there soon. The Fourth Army's warship was destroyed, we have to make them pay for a new one!"

His eyes were filled with fervent light, leaving Albert momentarily stunned, compelled to agree.

The news of Uzstamon's arrival revitalized the weary Lin Fu, momentarily overshadowing the pain in his head.

He avoided others and swiftly ascended to the third level, heading towards the control room.

"Boom—" The warship trembled again, its shaking more violent than before, making one wonder if it was about to flip completely.

The commander was finally scared; the person sent to check the energy membrane had not returned, and Uzstamon was relentlessly pursuing them.

Gritting his teeth, he ordered, "Retreat! Turn the bow around and quickly leave this star sector!"

The officer's hands trembled slightly as they moved across the control panel, nearly causing a mishap.

Without retreat, they could face the destruction of their ship and loss of lives.

They didn't want to die, not at all!

"Bang!" Another loud noise erupted.

This time it wasn't from outside the warship, the bombardment from Uzstamon, but from outside the cockpit, the sound of the door being smashed.

The panicked officer pulled up the warship's internal monitoring system and found several outsiders on board, with two standing at the cockpit door.

One with gold hair, the other black, they were the targets of this mission!