Chapter 124: Heart (Part Three)

Chapter 124: Heart (Part Three)

"Ice Butterflies are approaching from afar," Chen Shu said, holding Damon Rabbit with a tense expression at the farthest end of the battlefield.

In the command room of the main fleet ship, Third Legion's Deputy Legate Sun Ming gazed towards the Ice Butterfly territory in the distance.

There, the remnant spiritual energy left by Rong Mi and Lu Yi still lingered.

Purple and silver energy mist drifted through space, stretching for scores of stellar miles, nearly piercing through the entire Ice Butterfly territory.

However, behind that mist, swarms of crimson Butterfly Ships emerged.

"At least two or thirty Arachnids are attacking," Chen Shu listened to Damon Rabbit's chirping description, suppressing his fear as he conveyed the information methodically to Sun Ming. "There are hundreds, if not thousands, of high-ranking Ice Butterflies above level four, and countless more advanced ones below level four. Not to mention the low-ranking ones."

"What a commotion," Sun Ming remarked with a sigh. "They've mobilized their entire force. I've never seen such a large-scale battle before."

"Well, I'm right in the middle of it," he said, patting Chen Shu's shoulder with a pretense of ease. "If we win this, promotions and raises will be a given! With you leading the way as the top reconnaissance specialist with your Gemstone Rabbit, a gold medal is definitely within reach! You'll be getting rewarded handsomely!"

Chen Shu held onto his Gemstone Rabbit a little tighter.

His fleet had just returned from the Ice Butterfly Galaxy not long ago, having completed their repairs and replenished their energy supplies.

They were fortunate that this batch of energy sources posed no issues. Apart from Lu Yi's and the First Legion's two small warships detaching from the fleet, their combat strength remained intact.

However... relying solely on them to resist a large-scale Ice Butterfly assault was only a temporary solution.

The fleet wouldn't collapse immediately, but... Chen Shu wasn't confident in how long they could hold out.

Five hours? Ten hours? A day? Two days?

The more troublesome issue was that they might not receive any reinforcements.

Within the war zone, each major spatial city was engaged in its own battles.

Evacuations, regrouping, counterattacks... In this time frame, their fleet, with its limited number of warships and seemingly inadequate strength against the Ice Butterfly horde, paradoxically became the first line of defense to buy time for the rear.

In front of the fleet, White's White Dolphin Star Beasts were constructing the first spatial isolation barrier.

They had come with White from the Sea of Slumber, but while the other dolphin star beasts escorted Lu Yi and Rong Mi back to the First Legion's base, White stayed behind within the fleet.

"At the time, Rong Mi instructed you to safeguard my second awakening," she said. "Now that I've successfully undergone it, Major White can resume his duties."

White had originally been stationed on the outskirts of the First Warzone, not far from where the fleet was currently anchored.

Upon completing his mission to protect Rong Mi, Vice Legate Robert of the First Legion decided it would be best for him to remain with the fleet and move together.

Their initial plan was to resupply at the warzone's edge, then clear the surrounding area near the border before conducting a swift patrol along the frontier. Afterward, the First and Third Legions would return to their original bases.

Unexpectedly, they encountered the massive Ice Butterfly assault before they could carry out their sweep.

"Yi-ooohh — Yi-ooohh-ooohh!"

The pod of white dolphins swam at the forefront of the fleet.

In unison, they emitted energy waves as a threat and warning to the approaching, hostile swarm of butterflies.

As the ice butterflies drew near, the fleet adjusted its formation accordingly.

Sun Ming stood in the command room, issuing crisp orders through the combat channel to commence the battle.

Psynergy glowed, and a fleet of smaller starships raced past the flagship, swiftly piercing through the Dolphin's defensive line.

On the lead ship, White pressed down on the weapon control bar with one hand while saluting the dolphins that brushed past the ship's hull with the other.

He would be their vanguard in this battle.

A warrior, and also a martyr.

Releasing his psynergy, White took the initiative to engage the Butterfly Vessels.

"Yip-woohoo!"

The dolphins, sensing their master's psynergy, responded with enthusiastic cries.

This was an energy battlefield akin to a meat grinder.

Starships exploded, mechs crashed, and countless ice butterflies were disintegrated.

Flashes of light danced across the cosmos, where life and death could be reversed in an instant.

The primary and secondary cannons of the flagship were firing at maximum capacity, causing everyone aboard the starship to have to shout to communicate over the roaring of weapons.

"Check energy reserves! ——"

"Scan for spatial wormholes in the vicinity! ——"

"Are there any Ice Butterflies breaching our defenses? ——"

"Chirp chirp chirp! —— Chirp chirp! ——"

Amidst the chaotic clamor, Damon Rabbit had already become a flustered ball of fur.

Chen Shu stuffed Damon Rabbit into the front pocket of his combat suit and hurried towards the mecha bay, preparing to pilot a scout mecha into battle.

With one hand supporting the rabbit, he faintly discerned Damon Rabbit's alarm amidst the cacophony, focusing his mental energy to scan the rear of the fleet.

There, he caught sight of a reflection of a descending Ice Butterfly on the distant attacked space station.

A beam of light connected the crimson energy within the space city to the insectoid form in the reflection.

With its wings spread wide, the inverted butterfly enveloped the entire Space City beneath its shadow.

Its wings extended outward, hurtling directly towards the fleet.

"Sun Ming!" Chen Shu immediately shouted. "Behind us! ——"

"Buzz— Buzzzz—"

The swarm, led by the Arthropods, grew fiercer upon recognizing the familiar hum.

An Arthropod was bisected, but in the next instant, the glow of an exploding starship illuminated the darkness as an Ice Butterfly pierced through a White Dolphin, eliciting mournful cries.

Human, star beast, ice butterfly... A chaotic mixture of blood mist drifted through the cosmos.

Chen Shu stuffed Gem Rabbit into its battle pet orb while activating his mecha, speaking hastily, "Damon, don't be afraid. If the mecha sustains critical damage, the battle pet orb will automatically initiate emergency escape mode."

"The escape pod has food and water, enough to last at least three months. By then, as long as humanity still exists, someone will definitely find you!"

As he spoke, he decisively disabled the escape pod function for the mecha pilot.

Recon mechs were not suited for such battles, and Chen Shu was well aware that his combat prowess paled in comparison to Rong Mi's.

But in this situation, every mech counted, and every minute mattered.

Even if his mech were to crash the next second, he would stay within it to use that last second to fire at the enemy.

"…Squeak!" Inside the Battle Pet Ball, the Gemstone Rabbit was agitated.

It couldn't understand the mech console, nor did it know what Chen Shu was doing, but it instinctively sensed that something was amiss.

Rabbit Rabbit rammed against the Battle Pet Ball, desperate to return to Chen Shu's embrace and snuggle with its owner.

The mecha ejected from the warship, joining Sun Ming's command as they formed a mecha squad. They dove into the nearby battlefield, shooting down several Ice Butterflies only to find themselves entangled and squeezed by the venom glands of a high-ranking one.

"Chirp! ——"

"Chirp! ——"

Amidst Damon Rabbit's piercing cries, a crimson mist suddenly burst forth from behind, pierced through.

"Caw-caw-!"

The dragonbird emerged from the inverted butterfly insect's body, dispersing the onslaught of fluttering wings.

The colossal silver wolf dashed out from beneath the dragonbird's wings, charging into the border battlefield under the moonlight.

"Oooh! ——"

With its sharp claws, the wolf severed the high-ranking ice butterfly's venom gland, while its piercing teeth ripped off the head of another ice butterfly. The moonlight froze a multitude of ice butterflies, and the Adelphus's body was also covered in frost. Its swift movements suddenly slowed down, allowing the injured white dolphin to seize the opportunity and escape from beneath its insect limbs.

In front of the First Legion's encampment, Rong Mi sensed the scene seen by the dragonbird, and his expression darkened. The aggression of his mecha's attacks intensified.

In terms of size, even the largest human mecha was insignificant compared to the colossal butterfly.

Yet, the young man's immense mental energy rose around the mecha like a massive flame aura.

It held a blade in its hand and unfurled dual wings on its back, resembling a divine war deity, which instead filled Cecil with fear.

"…Buzz— Buzzzz—!"

Cecil would not yield to fear.

Its form grew increasingly tangible.

Amidst the chitinous shell emerged a human form, with pallid skin, light blue tresses, and a delicate, exquisite face surpassing any Arachne's beauty.

As its true body revealed itself, the energy around intensified.

However, the flawless human figure lasted only a second before its ribcage split open, sprouting limb after limb.

Those arms reached for Rong Mi's mecha, only to be shattered by the youth. From the wounds, venom glands spewed forth.

The crimson glands were thicker than the limbs themselves, covered in countless insect-like mouths that rhythmically gaped in sync with a pulsating heartbeat, devouring Rong Mi's fiery energy.

Layer upon layer, its butterfly wings unfurled, doubling from two to four, then multiplying again, enveloping Rong Mi's mecha within their intricate embrace.

The human head elongated, pressing tightly against the mecha's cockpit. In that instant, it opened its eyes.

Within the vibrant red orbs, another pair of eyes nested, and within those, even more could be seen, nested like Russian dolls.

Its overlapping irises fixated on Rong Mi, as if it could perceive every pulse of energy within him and anticipate his every move.

Everything within the reach of its gaze fell under its domain.

It was even aware of each flicker of the flames before they occurred.

Beneath the intense energy field inside the mecha, Rong Mi was drenched in sweat.

His palm rested on the control panel, sensing the vibrant hum that resonated with Ice Butterfly's heartbeat, as his own mecha emitted faint cracking sounds.

Those were countless fractures forming on the mecha's outer shell under the pressure of the energy.

Amidst the increasingly frequent cracking noises, Rong Mi gazed into the layers of crimson pupils before him.

The nested, countless eyes seemed to be pulling both him and his mecha into an alien dimension far from the mortal world.

And should anyone wish to escape, their first instinct would be to pierce through those terrifying crimson orbs.

"The youth suddenly spoke, "Lu Yi mentioned this to me before."

"I didn't initiate the conversation, but he shared with me about his first self-destruction incident."

This happened after the amusement park base incident. They had a few leisure days together on the capital planet.

After a day's training, Rong Mi retired to her room with her wolf companion. It was then that she would often encounter Lu Yi in the living room, engrossed in his evening routine.

The Admiral, having been ordered to rest, found himself with little to do and often lounged on the living room sofa, browsing the latest news on the Star Network.

At such times, the wolf would instinctively approach Lu Yi.

Rong Mi joined in just as effortlessly, taking a seat beside the Admiral to spend some quiet time together.

Following a news segment on Cecil, Lu Yi initiated a conversation about that particular battle.

"The domain control of Cecil is exceptionally powerful," the Admiral remarked with an even tone, discussing the harrowing conflict without any hint of distress.

"I couldn't break free from its domain, so I resorted to self-destruction as a form of resistance."

"Should the day come when you face it alone, exercise caution," he advised.

"Its vulnerability doesn't lie in its eyes."

At that moment, Rong Mi slightly furrowed her brows, feeling that Lu Yi's words sounded a bit unsettling, though she couldn't quite put her finger on why.

But right now, Rong Mi suddenly understood.

Because when Lu Yi spoke to her, he unconsciously used the word "alone."

And if the Admiral's body were as healthy as usual...

He would never have allowed her to face Cecil alone.

Not during the Ice and Fire Tournament.

Not when they confronted Yadi in Spatial City.

Not when they first encountered Cecil's psychic fragments.

And not at the Amusement Park Base.

Even when Lu Yi was entangled with the icy butterfly poison, he rushed to the scene of the disturbance in the military prison upon hearing about Seiko's actions, disregarding all attempts to stop him.

But in his original plan, this crucial battle was meant to be carried out solely by Rong Mi.

Rong Mi couldn't help but mutter under his breath.

"I'll have a proper reckoning with you someday."