"It's done, sir! Teleportation in 8 seconds!" one of the crew shouted from the control room, his voice slightly trembling but still trying to sound professional. He knew one small mistake could cost him his life if Beldru lost his temper.
Ti moved fast. At last, Beldru's spacecraft completed its teleportation process, vanishing from Hana's sight and from the reach of thousands of satellites scattered throughout the empty void of space. In the blink of an eye, Beldru reappeared in a new location, his eyes scanning the surroundings with heightened vigilance.
His vision was still slightly blurred from the sudden transition, but slowly, he began to make out sothing in the distance. White glowing dots, resembling stars, beca clearer in the cosmic emptiness. But the more he focused, the more terrifying the truth beca: thousands of projectiles were soaring toward his ship, forming a formation of destruction that was impossible to escape.
"Damn it," he growled in his mind, clenching his teeth to suppress his fury.
"ACTIVATE SHIELDS!" he bellowed hoarsely, commanding his ship's systems and all hands on board.
But it was already too late.
The first wave of projectiles struck the ship's right side, followed by a cascade of explosions that rocked the entire vessel. The tremors rippled like violent waves, and screams of panic echoed from all directions—across comms, from the control room, and through the main corridors which had now beco a battlefield of chaos.
Without hesitation, Beldru ripped out a teleportation scroll hidden inside his cloak and ignited it with black fla. Several of his key subordinates followed suit, fleeing from the crumbling ship.
In an instant, they reappeared dozens of kiloters away from their now nearly unrecognizable vessel. From afar, Beldru watched the floating wreckage of his ship. The entire lower deck had been obliterated, leaving behind a skeletal fra barely worthy of being called a spacecraft. Yet, part of the core engine still flickered dimly, barely keeping the ship afloat in the void.
Beldru's eyes swept across the surroundings—and his heart sank.
Satellites. Dozens, maybe hundreds of sky satellites were spread out in tight, deadly formation. Each one was ard with heavy weapons and advanced tracking systems, gleaming coldly as if staring directly back at him.
"It's a trap... a perfect trap," he muttered hoarsely. For the first ti, fear crept into his voice.
Seconds later, his subordinates appeared one by one behind him. Their breaths were ragged, so with minor injuries from the ergency teleport, and all of them looked visibly shaken.
"Boss, what should we do? These satellites… they're not ordinary. Their firepower—" a subordinate's voice broke off mid-sentence, trembling.
"Destroy as many as you can before that woman and the old man show up," Beldru answered coldly. His lips curled into a twisted grin, filled with bitter desire for retaliation.
A dark aura enveloped his body. Dense evil energy spun around him, and with a single flick of his fingers, he conjured a thick orb of power at his fingertip. The orb shot forth, piercing the void and slamming into one of the satellites with imnse force.
The satellite exploded, but the remaining satellite defense systems imdiately activated, generating energy barriers to intercept the following attacks. Unfortunately, Beldru's assault ca from more than one direction. Several more orbs followed, erupting simultaneously and taking out a few satellites that failed to raise their shields in ti.
Seeing Beldru's moves, his subordinates sprang into action. One of them raised a summoning scroll, and with a flash of light, a colossal creature—over twenty ters tall—materialized. It resembled a sky crane with three horns and glowing red eyes.
Another transford, his body expanding into the shape of a massive sea lion-like beast covered in hard, jagged spikes. At incredible speed, the beast charged toward the nearest satellite, ramming and tearing it apart until it shattered into fragnts.
anwhile, a small spacecraft floated so distance away from Beldru's group. On its deck stood a man in military uniform in front of a glowing holographic panel, his fingers dancing swiftly across its light-based interface.
He had just sent Hana and Takulani the latest data on Beldru's location—enemy coordinates, ship damage status, and troop composition.
Once the report was transmitted, the man stared out into the distance, toward the destruction consuming the pirate ship. The reflection of explosions glimred in his sharp eyes, but his expression remained calm. "Such terrifying power," he murmured softly, watching as Beldru's mages retaliated with their dark magic.
As a Platinum-ranked Captain and a high-level Master, he knew how fearso a Grandmaster's power could be—especially one as battle-hardened as Beldru. "Too bad... you plundered the wrong realm," he said softly but firmly, a hint of quiet pity hidden in his flat tone.
He knew Hana and Takulani were just early-stage Grandmasters, but together? That was a different story. Their synergy was often far more dangerous than a single full Grandmaster.
His attention shifted to the burning pirate ship in the distance. Nearly forty percent of it had been reduced to ash, with flas still crawling across parts of the structure. Even so, several upper decks remained intact. There, crewmates—pirate survivors—scread in panic, calling for help. So even looked ready to jump ship in desperation, despite knowing it could an certain death.
"Spread out. Prepare for evacuation... and salvage," the captain ordered calmly, his voice flat but full of authority, directed toward the soldiers behind him.
Attacking a pirate ship wasn't just about strength—it ca with a cost in resources. Each combat satellite required power essence and sky crystals to function at peak performance. So after taking down the enemy captain, it was ti to recover the investnt: by looting the enemy ship.
It was common knowledge—the higher the pirate captain's rank, the greater the treasure onboard. Often, one ship's spoils could grant a lifeti of fortune to the raiding party.
"Proceed," the captain said again, concluding his orders.
The soldiers imdiately got moving. They walked to the side of their vessel and lifted a long tallic plank, about three ters in length, then dropped it across to the pirate ship like a connecting bridge. Swiftly, they crossed over one by one, spreading out through the wrecked ship to contain any further chaos. So of them secured the area, stopping panicked survivors from jumping to their deaths.
Not long after the captain transmitted the coordinates, Hana's figure appeared in the air, not far from Beldru's group.
She stood firm in the middle of open space, her body seemingly unaffected by gravity. Hana's eyes locked sharply on Beldru's group. They looked ravaged—breathing heavy, bodies staggering, and their magical auras nearly depleted. It took an enormous amount of energy to destroy even one sky satellite, and now, they had pushed past their limits.
"Four Grandmasters, and five Masters..." Hana whispered as she observed them from a distance. Her lips curled into a small, knowing smirk—tasting victory before it arrived.
She slowly raised her hand into the void, then gave it a gentle wave. Instantly, several ice sculptures began to form around her, molded from the faint mist that condensed in the frozen air. The statues took the shape of ferocious beasts, standing tall in terrifying postures.
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