As the battle continued to escalate, all sides across the cosmos turned their attention to a star system that should never have become a battlefield.
When it was learned that the cause of the incident was the activated planet Rahu, no one felt surprised.`
The grudges between the Xianzhou Alliance and the forces of Abundance are known throughout the cosmos, especially the incident where an entire Xianzhou ship was devoured by an activated planet, which had shocked countless worlds.
The reason the Alliance had not launched a full-scale assault against the activated planet over the years was, first, due to obstruction from the followers of Abundance, and second, because the activated planet's own power could not be underestimated. Its astonishing vitality left others at a loss for how to deal with it. But that did not mean the Xianzhou would give up.
The destruction of Xianzhou Cangcheng should not be forgotten so easily.
What the factions had not expected was that the opposing force would not be a coalition of Abundance followers, but the vanguard of the Antimatter Legion.
It was truly puzzling.
"This is a mess. Everything's completely out of control. No matter where you look, there are Voidrangers rushing over, or Xianzhou forces intercepting them halfway. Now the entire galaxy knows what's happening here."
Silver Wolf blew a bubble with her gum as she chatted with Kafka.
"Blade, aren't you going to help?" The elegant woman glanced sideways slightly, her gentle tone carrying an expectation for his answer.
"…That place doesn't need me."
At Kafka's words, Blade, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them and replied flatly.
If asked whether he wanted to act, of course he did.
But…
"Then what are you waiting for? If you want to do it, go. We'll all support you."
With the corners of her lips slightly raised, Kafka gazed gently at Blade, who was unaware of how complicated his own expression was, and spoke softly.
That complexity, however, was only noticeable to someone as perceptive as Kafka.
Blade shook his head slightly and said nothing.
"Celenova and Irontomb are right at the center of the incident. There's no way Phantylia can recover so fast. Of the remaining three, Luxbane has shown a bit of movement, but not much, any sign of activity gets locked onto immediately."
Silver Wolf continued briefing them on the current situation, while Kafka and Blade listened quietly.
The Emanators of Destruction were never a monolith.
In fact, the situation of the cosmos appeared so colorful precisely because of this.
Those who walked the Path of Preservation upheld the preservation they believed in. Those who carried out Destruction destroyed things in ways that satisfied them.
Not all Pathstriders would join a particular organization.
Take the IPC's Emanator of Preservation, Taravan, he hadn't believed in that Aeon from the beginning, yet he still received a blessing and was later entrusted with great responsibility by the IPC.
If even other factions were like this, how could the Emanators of Destruction, especially the Lord Ravagers, possibly be united as one?
If they ever truly worked together, Zulo would never have been replaced by Celenova.
Don't expect the Lord Ravagers to understand the logic of mutual survival.
In truth, they do understand it. But they walk the path of Destruction. If something happens to perfectly align with their desires, they would certainly smile quietly and let it unfold.
At that moment, a communication request from Firefly broke Silver Wolf's confident flow.
"Firefly, are you okay over there?" Kafka asked as she accepted the call.
Firefly seemed to be out buying something and had taken a day off. Well, since they were idle anyway, doing something they liked wasn't bad.
And after Firefly recovered her health, she had become fond of traveling around, tasting foods she couldn't enjoy before, seeing sights she once couldn't experience in person.
It was just that the galaxy was in chaos right now.
"I ran into a bit of trouble… but it's all resolved!" Today's Glamoth Knight was as energetic as ever.
Before casual conversation could begin, Firefly's tone suddenly turned serious.
"I heard people talking during my travels, Luxbane has made a new move. I wanted to tell you as soon as possible."
"Luxbane?" Kafka paused slightly, raising her brows as she exchanged a glance with Silver Wolf. They had just been talking about that Lord Ravager, and the next moment, news about him arrived.
"And almost all the Voidrangers I defeated were coming from Luxbane's direction. I've got a bad feeling about this." Firefly said worriedly.
"Indeed. If it's that Lord Ravager, it's something we need to watch closely."
Kafka spoke while lightly rubbing her chin.
If three Lord Ravagers were to appear at the same time, the situation for the Xianzhou Alliance would become dangerous.
With its foundation, the Xianzhou could withstand three Emanators, but the real concern was whether conflicts beyond a certain threshold would trigger something even more disastrous.
Those who walk the Paths are all stubborn in their own ways. Once the situation spirals out of control, anything could happen.
"Pop… Luxbane, if I remember correctly, is…" Blowing another bubble, Silver Wolf began searching her memory.
Don't misunderstand, she wasn't close with any Lord Ravager.
It was just that she remembered that one's abilities seemed a bit… strange.
….
Yafana Star System.
A star system of considerable scale. Once a prosperous region of the galaxy, now only recently extinguished stars remained, still radiating residual heat.
Anyone who escaped Yafana Star System would recall their former home with fear etched across their face.
Even now, stars in Yafana continued to go dark, signaling to the outside world that Lord Ravager Luxbane had not left.
At the center of three stars arranged in a triangular formation, a vague shadow, half the size of a star, floated silently, like an oppressive dark cloud pressing down.
"Celenova. Irontomb."
Suddenly, a voice emerged from the black flames.
This was a Lord Ravager, one whose true designation had never been confirmed, yet whose existence was recorded through observation.
Black mist coiled around his form. He did not even possess anything resembling eyes to observe the outside world.
The three stars were not a natural formation either, but the result of deliberate placement.
He had not appeared in the outside world for a long time, yet he was fully aware of the changes taking place.
He also knew that all eyes were now watching to see what choices the other Lord Ravagers would make.
Countless "insects" circled around Luxbane, probing and lingering, hoping to uncover even a trace of this Emanator's presence.
He did not care in the slightest. Ants will always be ants.
"Two-thirds remain." He spoke slowly, his voice low.
Over the past three hundred years, he had gradually extinguished one-third of Yafana Star System's stars. Two-thirds were still left unextinguished.
To him, snuffing out those remaining stars would take no more than a breath, but doing so would be far too hasty and did not align with his definition of destruction.
He intended to go out for a trip, for reasons tied to causes already laid down long ago.
It was absolutely not because he had taken a slight interest in the Flame Emperor of the Xianzhou Zhuming.
Thinking so, he began to act.
Endless darkness appeared without warning, adding yet another layer of despair to a world already shrouded in shadow.
An imaginary road took shape, the route of his advance!
An infinite tide of Void Soldiers surged into it, moving in concealment and silence.
According to observation records, within these worlds enveloped by darkness, the Antimatter Legion roamed freely at will.
....
Xianzhou Luofu.
As one of the six surviving Xianzhou ships, Luofu had never fully recovered its former strength.
Aside from it, the Xianzhou Fanghu likewise did not directly participate in the war.
In the war against Shuhu, the main pillars of the Xianzhou and the next generation of talents suffered devastating losses, nearly failing to pull through. Fanghu, on the other hand, had yet to reach the stage where it could fully set sail.
From a certain perspective, Fanghu and Luofu were truly a pair in misfortune. The only difference was that one of them could still continue its voyage.
Thus, in this war, the true main force consisted only of Yaoqing, Zhuming, and the combined military of the other Xianzhou ships.
Fanghu and Luofu did not directly join.
...
Divination Commission.
Hurried footsteps burst in, the doors flung open violently. Fu Xuan, face full of urgency, crossed the distance in three strides and rushed up to Jing Yuan, who sat before his seat contemplating countermeasures and future directions.
"Lord Ravager Luxbane has begun to move!"
Before Jing Yuan could even greet Fu Xuan, this explosive piece of news reached his ears, and he snapped his head up.
In wartime, the Divination Commission bore the responsibility of tracking enemy movements. Yet for such a colossal disturbance to occur so suddenly was beyond expectation.
"He acted this quickly, huh…" That was truly unexpected.
Yafana star system was, after all, extremely far from Hisei star system.
Recalling the actions of that Lord Ravager over the past three hundred years, Jing Yuan could not help but speculate whether some unknown external factor was aiding him.
After all, if the Lord Ravagers were on such good terms that they could fight side by side in mutual tandem, then Zulo would not have worn down by the Swarm, ultimately falling.
His mind raced, yet Jing Yuan's outward expression remained as lazy and unhurried as ever.
"Master Diviner need not panic. As far as I know, that Miss Acheron is also observing the battle in the Hisei star system. Previously, it was precisely her help in suppressing Irontomb that allowed Feixiao to have a fair duel with Celenova."
"Even so," Fu Xuan frowned slightly, "this seat still believes that three Lord Ravagers gathering together is far too dangerous. It would be best to take action as soon as possible."
There were currently six Lord Ravagers still in existence.
Zephyro had been blasted to death head-on by Godzilla. Phantylia, since being captured, had remained quiet and well-behaved.
Even when Celenova caused a disturbance some time ago, it was only together with Irontomb.
But if three Lord Ravagers were to gather together… Fu Xuan did not dare imagine that scene.
One had to know that every single Emanator possessed the power to destroy star systems. Let alone the blood-soaked Lord Ravagers, beings driven by slaughter.
People had herd mentality; once the actions of three Lord Ravagers stimulated the remaining two, even the others might very well join in the chaos!
.....
If that happened, the situation would completely run counter to the Xianzhou's initial plan of first eliminating the Antimatter Legion's effective forces!
"Diviner Fu, please calm yourself. Even if danger arises, I still have ways to respond!"
Whether or not those ways truly existed, momentum was what mattered most.
What's more, as one of the Seven Arbiter-Generals, Jing Yuan knew better than anyone the true extent of the Xianzhou's strength.
Xianzhou Alliance was not regarded as the top faction in the cosmos just for it's name or commerce.
It was carved out by Cloud Knights gripping their blades, hacking their way, battle after battle!
Even so, Jing Yuan was also considering the consequences of three Lord Ravagers converging.
The greatest possibility was that the war between Destruction and the Hunt would expand ahead of schedule, until both sides could no longer bear the losses.
But there was an old saying: one can decide when a war begins, but they cannot decide when it ends.
This saying applied just as well to wars on a cosmic scale.
The Hunt was revenge. The meaning of Destruction was self-evident.
Neither side was something that would easily give up.
Moreover, for the Lord Ravagers, no matter how many Void Soldiers died beneath them, they felt no pain.
At worst, they could lie low for a century or two and rebuild their forces.
But the people of the Xianzhou, those who lost children, husbands, relatives, and friends in war, would never abandon their blood feud.
Just as Jing Yuan was thinking rapidly, another voice interrupted his thoughts.
"General, the Jade Gate has just detected an unverified figure. After comparison, it has been confirmed to be Lady Mobius."
Yukong and Lingsha arrived together, bringing this astonishing news. Lingsha frowned slightly and spoke.
"I never expected Lady Mobius to leave without a word. At first, I thought she had some urgent matter, but after hearing what the General and the Grand Diviner discussed just now, I think I know where Lady Mobius has gone."
During this period, Mobius had either been in the Scalegorge Waterscape or traveling to the Alchemy Commission to conduct experiments with Lingsha, testing how her newly obtained body performed.
Thus, Mobius's destination was not hard to deduce.
...
This road is blocked!
A massive serpent formed of imaginary energy burst forth, its meteor-sized scales tightly interlocked. Its body, far larger than a planet, shifted lazily, while its vertical pupils, emblematic of cold-blooded creatures, regarded the "person" before it with a hint of amusement.
Seated sideways upon the giant serpent's brow, Mobius gently leaned against a crown-like structure formed from illusion, studying the advancing Lord with keen interest.
"No trace of life… is it a special construct, or…"
Its own unique attributes… The corners of her lips curved slightly upward, and her eyes gleamed with a longing for the unknown.
The snake… is very interested indeed.
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T/N: Damn, the power inflation is too much. I don't think Three Lord Ravagers are required to fight the Xianzhou, if it is Hua and all Seven Generals then cool; or that Mobius can block a Lord Ravagers path.
What are your thoughts?