Scramble for Battle

Major General Qi tapped rhythmically on the tactical platform, when suddenly the identification signals of more than a dozen unfamiliar fleets crowded into the holographic star map.

Those ships, painted in various colors, were brutally breaking into their basic defenses set up in the star's ring, their thruster nozzles carving scorched trenches in the corona.

"Has Lister been notified?"

Despite being surrounded by more than a dozen forces, Major General Qi remained calm and unmoved, turning to ask the captain behind him.

"The earliest notification has been sent; Lord Lister will come in person."

"However... new messaging is currently being disrupted! It's impossible to send messages out!"

The technical officer reported nervously that communications were a crucial aspect of their operations with the fleet outside.

Reporting, requesting assistance, commanding, and so on... all rely on communication.

The fact that their external channels have been cut off proves that these dozen or so opposing forces are able to directly infiltrate their communication channels.

"As expected of a public galaxy, they're all incredibly bold!"

"The news probably hasn't spread completely yet, otherwise there would be more than just these dozen or so companies."

Major General Qi watched the approaching fleets silently, having anticipated this all along.

If they were truly Overlord Tier power, they wouldn't dare to confront their Milky Way Galaxy directly right now.

Two World-Ending Level powerhouses and more than a dozen Hegemon are vying to join, and super forces are already in the nascent stage of formation.

Any Overlord Tier power would have already received the news by now.

They can either quickly seek to join, prepare to leave, or recklessly hold their ground in a defensive posture.

In other words, these are public star systems without Hegemon ruler.

Information was both readily available and unreliable, and the competition for resources was exceptionally reckless.

Even knowing that the Milky Way Galaxy is Overlord Tier or higher, they still wanted to try their luck.

Many were even prepared to grab a ticket and run.

They'll simply move to another galaxy to continue surviving; this is quite common in the universe.

At that moment, the holographic projection in front of us flickered violently, and the intruder ships in the image had already started bombarding us.

Only after the last layer of defensive shield was broken did the dozen or so fleets finally converge.

General Qi, we've heard there's been some unusual activity here, we're coming to reinforce you immediately!

"I wonder if something has changed about the Eye of Ashes... that it's starting to suck people in!"

In the projection, a purple-haired woman with various strange rings on her face appeared before my eyes.

She is Leina Anton, the executive president of the Hegelis Chamber of Commerce.

As he spoke, the various studs on his face, including his nose ring and lip ring, jingled and rattled.

Her face was actually quite beautiful; she would be considered a beauty in many civilizations.

Despite having seen many strange and unusual life forms, Major General Qi still felt a deep-seated aversion to this particular figure despite the sheer density of these unusual ornaments.

His gaze then shifted to the other leaders who had joined the conversation.

"Yes, General Qi, if you encounter any difficulties, we are willing to help your fleet."

"How exactly were your sergeants recruited?"

"I'll send my captain to investigate as well."

A muscular, bearded man chimed in.

As if intentionally displaying his muscles, his upper body was completely naked.

His name is Juya, and he is the leader of the Juya Hunting Group.

Major General Qi shook his head inwardly, "Even the information they're getting for free is presented in such a refined and elegant way."

Do they really think he's a fool?

"We are the fleet under Lord Lister the Milky Way Galaxy."

"You all previously intended to surrender and submit, have you changed your minds so quickly?"

The dozen or so fleets surrounding them are now increasingly clustering together.

Clearly, they have no intention of letting him leave, and may even kill him here once they learn the secret.

In this chaotic public galaxy, any force could do anything, and there is no such thing as order.

"We know Lord Lister; he's a powerful figure who severely injured Curtis with a single strike!"

"However... you also said he's in the Milky Way Galaxy."

"Even if we rush over, it will take quite a while!"

Juya responded without a care, his attitude utterly straightforward.

Taking advantage of Lister's arrival, they insisted on obtaining the resources needed for the Eye of Ashes Barrier.

Even if it means being held accountable or even dying afterward.

However, if they could learn about the barrier of the Eye of Ashes and gain an increase in their own strength, they would be willing to take the risk.

And as long as you're fast enough, you can just grab the benefits Hurry and Escape!

"General Qi, you were only discussing things with us before; you didn't intend to bring us under Lord Lister's rule in the Milky Way Galaxy."

"You're not even willing to pay this small price to occupy our Angus? Isn't that a bit too much to ask?!"

"How about we get a share of the Eye of Ashes's barrier too?"

Even if it's only before the Milky Way Galaxy takes over.

Upon hearing Juya's words, the surrounding leaders all smiled in agreement.

After all these years, none of us are native to the Angis Galaxy.

Most of them are just grabbing a ticket and exchanging it for power in another place.

In any case, Overlord Tier beings in a typical public star system wouldn't bother with such a thing.

They've also plundered quite a bit of territory from Overlord Tier powers.

Although we still don't know what's inside the barrier attached to the Eye of Ashes.

But everyone knows what a barrier means!

Whether it's special resources, special energy, or danger.

In short, huge risks come with huge rewards!

They're determined to pull this off!

Major General Qi wanted to emphasize this further, but then he noticed that the Eye of Ashes was emitting an abnormal purple glow.

The charcoal-like patterns on the star's surface began to Twist into vortexes—clearly a sign that the barrier was about to reopen.

Suddenly, various forces made new moves.

Countless individuals poured out of the ship, rushing madly towards the vortex of the Eye of Ashes.

The high intensity of stellar energy makes it impossible for life forms below the Third Advancement to get close.

Even among these individuals, a large portion were burned to ashes by the raging stellar energy due to their own weakness.

The charcoal-like texture finally came to Twist end.

A peculiar energy fluctuation emanated from it, and the next moment, the soldier from the Thirty-Seventh Army who had been unexpectedly sucked in reappeared.

Major General Qi immediately focused his senses on the soldier.

It remains the same 16th order, with no change whatsoever.

However, its combat strength has been greatly improved, jumping from C-level to A-level.

Needless to say... this barrier is indeed an important and precious resource!

At the same time, countless warriors who had rushed into the vicinity were immediately blasted away by a powerful force field.

The energy fluctuations throughout the Eye of Ashes gradually decreased, and apart from this soldier, no one else was absorbed into it.

Juya's voice immediately echoed throughout the entire star field.

"Arrest him! Arrest him!"

"Watch out! Don't go too far, make sure you leave him with a breath."

Following Juya, everyone else has now realized what's happening and has begun to take action.

How to enter the barrier is unknown to others, but this sergeant certainly knows.

Even if his entry was accidental, this soldier must have something extraordinary about him.

"Hurry! Surround them!"

"Arrest them!"

In an instant, the entire Eye of Ashes Star Region descended into chaos.

Major General Qi's pupils suddenly contracted, and the rhythm of his fingertips tapping on the tactical console came to an abrupt halt.

As the roar of the Juya still echoed through the star rings, the entire star field was suddenly stained dark red—a sign of the silent eruption of blood mist in the vacuum.

"Bloodthirst Hunter"

Countless tiny beads of blood immediately seeped from the cuffs of Major General Qi's uniform, and these beads swelled into a dense, all-encompassing mist the moment they left his skin.

As the blood mist invaded and covered the soldiers in front, everyone immediately slowed down.

A large number of soldiers appeared dazed, as if their thoughts were restricted.

Furthermore, the longer one is in contact with the blood mist, the more one's own blood seems to be mobilized, constantly seeping out from the body and merging into the mist of the entire star field.

"What the hell?!"

Juya naturally rushed to the front line as well, but unfortunately his vision was blocked by the blood mist, and even his senses were mostly obscured.

His muscles rapidly withered in the blood mist, and he stared in horror at his once-proud bronze skin, which was turning deathly pale after massive blood loss.

Those soldiers who tried to surround the Thirty-Seventh Army soldiers fared even worse, with blood mist constantly seeping into their bodies.

As their movements slowed, their bodies were constantly being eroded. The weaker warriors quickly turned into skeletons covered in bits of flesh, without even having time to scream.

Suddenly, dozens of scarlet chains emerged from the depths of the blood mist and precisely wrapped around the soldier's waist.

When the chains were retracted, the soldier had been pulled back to Major General Qi's side.

Their cruiser was being torn apart by a blood mist—this was the Federation Military District's secret Blood Phase Jump technology.

"Trying to leave?!"

The metal rings on Leina's face trembled collectively, and the main cannons of the merchant fleet simultaneously charged.

But the instant the cannons fired, all the operators discovered that the weapon systems were blocked by blood-red crystals—the blood mist had already seeped into the internal structure of every enemy ship through the ventilation ducts.

"Notify the Undying Legion to take over the battlefield."

"Delay it until Lord Lister arrives."

Major General Qi wiped away the blood from his nose and said coldly.

Excessive stimulation of blood energy caused all the capillaries in his eyeballs to rupture.

Given his relationship with Lister, the resources he needs for advancement are now more than sufficient.

It has already completed four evolutions and is currently at rank 22.

Even though their combat strength remains at A-level, they haven't managed to reach S-level.

However, the combat power of Fourth Advancement advanced Class Holder is not to be underestimated, even if it is only at the A-level. In this public star system, they are already top-tier powerhouses.

At this moment, the public communication channel was already buzzing with the noise of players' communications.

"Holy crap, this NPC is stealing our kills! Shouldn't we be the ones fighting this way?"

"I've been waiting for ages, aren't you going to let us level up?"

"Why don't we just charge in! We can't just leave now, can we? These are all experience points!"

Fortunately, the players didn't have to wait long before an urgent military order arrived.

Finally, the players' true nature began to be unleashed.

I've been watching this for a long time, and I haven't even used any of the experience packs I've accumulated along the way.

Now we finally have a chance!

Moreover, given their current strength, there's no need for Lord Lister to come; they could wipe them out on their own!

"Coordinates (774, 992), come quick! They're all red-named elite monsters!"

"Any martial arts experts here? Let's form a temporary team!"

"Everyone, charge straight at us! Mechanical engineering students, go raid our base!"

In the star field of the Eye of Ashes, thousands of jump spots suddenly lit up.

The Undead Legion players who followed the Seventh Army Group disembarked from the warship.

They charged at the nearest enemy ship without even waiting for the formation to unfold, with the heavily armored warriors at the front even smashing through the armor plates of a small frigate with their bodies.

Since it's a faction operating within a common star system, things are much easier for these players.

Despite the uneven ranks of the opposing warriors, their combat strength is incredibly weak.

"These lunatics..."

Juya watched a player risk his life to dismantle the launcher of a warship with his bare hands, he finally realized that he had encountered something extraordinary—the regular army of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Such a reckless and suicidal attack is something their forces could never achieve.

Fortunately, the overall rank of these soldiers is not high, and the current plan is to send the entire army into battle.

However, they discovered that the fleet's communication channels were already filled with the angry roars of the enemy soldiers, indicating that many warships had likely been captured by the enemy.

"For Count Merrick!"

"I'm definitely taking this experience boost!"

"Heal me! I want to solo that frigate!"

On the battlefield where blood mist and energy cannons intertwined, Major General Qi's cruiser had completed a phase jump.

Watching the players' frenzied fighting style through the monitor.

Some crawled into the bomb chute with antimatter bombs, others tied the enemy ship's engine into a bundle with alloy ropes, and dozens of magic-based players chanted in unison, freezing half of the merchant fleet into ice sculptures and dragging it toward the star.

"Lord Lister's Undying Legion..."

Major General Qi stroked the blood-stained rank insignia and suddenly understood why the high command of the Federal Central Army had been so wary of this force.

The battle was almost entirely one-sided, with some players even coming up with creative and innovative strategies.

Several warships were even transformed into fireworks by players—they used their shipboard fuel tanks to create a Blood Rose pattern with a diameter of 100,000 kilometers in space.

It wasn't until the leaders of the major factions joined the battle that the players' frenzy was finally brought under control.

However, as time went on, everyone noticed that something was wrong.

This opposing legion seems inexhaustible.

After killing so many Juya even recognized several familiar faces.

At first, he suspected he had misread the numbers because he had killed too many, until the players shouted it out.

"I refuse to believe you can kill me with one punch this time!"

Juya immediately realized what was happening!

Something's not right with these warriors!

He immediately flashed back to the main ship and attempted to exchange intelligence with more than a dozen other factions through the communication channel.

"Something's not right! This isn't an ordinary legion."

"These are undead! An Undead Legion!"

Leina's voice echoed through the channel.

Juya immediately realized what was happening!

That's right! This legion is impossible to wipe out completely; it turns out to be Undead Legion!

How... how is this possible!?

He had roamed the universe for many years and had never even seen an immortal.

Now, what I see is an entire Undead Legion?

It should be noted that even some of the major powers he passed through did not have the strength to control an Undead Legion!

And this Lister... this brand-new power leader, how could he possess such a foundation?