Shadows of the Deep Space Chapter 1655: 532: Ruins (Part 4)
All the scanning equipment used by Su Ming and his squad began emitting piercing, shrill alarms. Countless red markers crowded their displays, accompanied by an endless barrage of warning pop-ups.
“Warning: Ultra-high Klein creature reaction detected!”
…
“Retreat, everyone! Get back!”
With a sharp flash in his eyes, Su Ming forced Ilyas’s power to surge, fully engaging the AT Barrier.
Swish! Swish!
Beams of light and a swarm of missiles descended like a torrential downpour.
Boom boom boom!
Ilyas’s AT Barrier rippled violently, vibrating to the point of imminent collapse. Su Ming felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his head, as if he had been struck by a heavy blow.
Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Rhein and the rest of the team scrambled to pull back.
“Meng Han, tell Sunshine to avoid direct engagement!”
Su Ming commanded Li Menghan.
The loss of the Sunshine would be catastrophic, leaving them potentially marooned within the depths of the Mist Star Sea.
“Understood!”
Li Menghan confirmed without hesitation.
“Celeste, what is happening? How does the Grey Angel harbor such a potent Klein creature reaction while still possessing the capacity to strike at us?”
Su Ming questioned, his face hardening in distress.
After conducting a thorough, high-speed scan of the legendary-class Star Destroyer, Celeste responded with palpable shock.
“My heavens! The Mechanical Race’s Deputy Clan Leader, Aisfaer, is not dead. It is actively fusing and evolving alongside the Grey Angel!”
“Are you absolute?”
The shift in Su Ming’s expression displayed the weight of her revelation.
“I am certain. The creature has already gained a footing in the Emperor Level. If allowed time to complete its integration, it will certainly ascend! Fortunately, it remains in a fragile, evolutionary state. Should we call for a retreat?”
Celeste asked, deferring to his intent.
Su Ming’s gaze sharpened, his resolve unshakable. “We cannot fall back. The destruction of Aisfaer is mandatory. If we permit it to finish merging with the Grey Angel, the Federation will face catastrophic ruin.”
“Very well, we strike then. If you can infiltrate the Grey Angel and locate its Metal Spark, the threat will be neutralized!”
“Do you have a lock on the position of its Metal Spark?”
Su Ming asked, his focus intense.
“There is an eighty percent chance it is housed within the power plant. When the Grey Angel went down, most of its power systems were disabled. Lacking the repair capabilities of someone like Pamie, it must be drawing energy directly from its own Spark.”
Celeste continued her real-time analysis of the ruined battleship.
“Understood. Rhein, keep your distance—provide me with heavy fire support from afar!”
Su Ming instructed his comrades.
While he wished to shield those around him from further sacrifice, he knew such sentiment was a luxury they could not afford; he was reduced to merely trying to mitigate the carnage.
“Copy that!”
Rhein’s team moved into position immediately.
Without delay, Su Ming drove Ilyas into a sudden burst of acceleration. Trailing black light, he charged toward the Grey Angel solo.
Immediately, a cloud of mechanical insects and puppet mechas poured from the hull, descending upon Su Ming like a tide. Rhein’s team unleashed a barrage of beams from their distant position.
Boom boom boom!
Debris and fire erupted as the mechanical swarm was shredded by the support fire.
Charging through the carnage, Ilyas drew rapidly closer to the Grey Angel. The battleship’s surface shuddered as heavy defensive weaponry suddenly deployed, locking onto Su Ming and venting its fury.
Swish! Swish!
Missiles and energy beams rained down in a suffocating wave.
Celeste calculated the trajectory of every incoming projectile, feeding the data to Su Ming. His nerves pulled taut as he guided Ilyas through a series of narrow, high-precision maneuvers, yet even so, several beams slammed into him.
Boom!
Ripples of impact raced across Ilyas’s AT Barrier.
“Why does it possess such overwhelming power?”
Su Ming frowned. Even for a legendary-class ship, the strike power of its secondary interception cannons was absurd.
“Something has bolstered its systems—careful, watch your evasion!”
Celeste warned midway through her sentence.
Sensing imminent danger, Su Ming maneuvered desperately.
Swish!
A beam of dark energy grazed Ilyas, incinerating a nearby level-five wreck on impact.
Boom!
The derelict vessel exploded in a brilliant plume of flame. Su Ming turned, catching sight of the monstrosity—a thousand-meter-long beast formed of metallic remnants, a VI-type General Level Mechanical Beast known as Kadon, complete with jagged fangs and four pairs of light-wings.
“Dammit, initiate Dark Energy Mode!”
“Critical Breakthrough—Limit Release!”
…
Drowning in a rush of immense power, Su Ming went all out. Ilyas was instantly shrouded in a dark, swirling aura, its biological sensors firing as lightning arced across its plating. It hurtled directly toward the mechanical beast.
The two forces slammed into each other mid-flight, unleashing a shockwave that tore through the void. Kadon attempted to resist, but Su Ming commanded Ilyas to unleash a point-blank Kais Beam against the beast’s massive skull.
Kadon flickered as it activated its Klein Positioning Cloak.
Boom!
The explosion forced the mechanical beast back.
Su Ming sought to pursue, but the sky above him suddenly ignited with another incoming storm of ordinance.
“Change distance—now!”
Celeste shrieked.
Su Ming triggered a short-range spatial jump, vanished, and reappeared moments later to the sound of missiles detonating at his previous coordinates.
Boom boom boom!
The interception cannons of the Grey Angel recalibrated instantly, focusing their relentless, storm-like barrage back onto Su Ming.