"Apprentice"

Spiral- Morse Planet VI.

Upon returning to the 5th Legion, Santiago Bergkamp was promoted to lieutenant and led fifty Shadow of Order deep into the underground ice caverns.

Compared to the Royal Court Acolyte of the Fourth Legion, they were not as adapted to the frigid environment, but with the life support of their Power Armor, they still made steady progress.

The group cautiously made their way through the labyrinthine tunnels carved out by the Rangdan Xenos, as the Slave Army could appear from any direction at any moment and launch an attack.

Santiago continued searching as he went.

He knew that to end the battle quickly, he had to kill the Rangdan Overlord who commanded the slaves.

"Santiago, my squad, only one ammunition supply left," reported the captain, who was responsible for covering the rear and was frequently attacked by the Slave Army.

"Santiago, my squad only has two rounds of ammunition left. I suggest we retreat from the ice cave and resupply," the forward captain said.

"I've found them."

Santiago's eyes were deep; his "Warp Insight" had already penetrated the ice wall and detected powerful life fluctuations.

Compared to other life forms around it, that life form was clearly more powerful.

Santiago placed his hand on the ice wall, and the other Shadow of Order immediately understood his meaning.

"Damn it! The Xenos are lurking so close, using slaves to attack us!"

"Should we use Melta Bomb?"

The two team captains spoke in turn.

Santiago immediately rejected their idea, "No, that could cause a landslide and Burial us inside."

"Can your Warp Gate take us there?"

Upon hearing this, Santiago shook his head. "I can only take five people with me at a time; we might get surrounded."

"Then we can only use Power Sword to cut and break the ice wall."

Santiago rejected the captain's helpless suggestion, "Too slow. The Xenos used some kind of technology to reinforce this underground labyrinth when they built it."

"The Overlord don't want to confront us head-on. At the slightest sign of trouble, they'll leave immediately and continue to drive their Slave Army to wear us down."

The Apprentice's eyes suddenly lit up. "I have a better way; I can open a door."

"Prepare for a concentrated fire strike!"

As the "Apprentice" spoke, he placed his hand on the ice wall, his Spirituality spreading out as he used his Beyonder Ability to "Door Opening."

Suddenly, a blurry, pale blue door appeared before the Shadow of Order.

It is embedded in the ice wall, like Water Curtain.

"Attack!"

Forty-nine Shadow of Order simultaneously pulled their triggers, unleashing a dense barrage of bullets at their target.

The Rangdan Overlord was enjoying the feeling of toying with his prey, was caught off guard, and his personal energy shield shattered instantly.

As Santiago retracted his left arm, he raised his Archaeotech Pistol and fired a scorching, lethal ray powered by energy drawn from the planet's radiation layer.

Rangdan Overlord's body was instantly vaporized by the high-energy rays, and at the same time, the dark blue door that "Door Opening" disappeared.

The Rangdan Warrior's counterattack struck the ice wall and crumbled away.

Santiago led his team quickly to another location. He reached out again, pressed his hand against the ice wall, and used "Door Opening."

The Shadow of Order filed in, launching a surprise attack from behind the Rangdan Warrior.

Before the "Apprentice's" Spirituality was exhausted, he passed through the dark blue gate and drew his Power Sword.

As Santiago launched his attack, another raid was unfolding on the tracks.

The Rangdan Fleet launched a surprise attack on the Expeditionary Fleet orbiting Planet VI.

The Rangdan ships, covered in spikes and flails, and falsifying the ship readings of the Expeditionary Fleet, darted out like a pack of wolves, showering the Imperial Fleet with dense white lightning bolts.

A cruiser and twelve escort ships on the outer perimeter of the fleet were transformed into ominous black shadows in a strange, silent explosion.

A piercing buzzing sound echoed across the bridge of the Death Wither.

Fifth Company Captain Commander Kion, under orders to command on the Gloriana-class Battleship, calmly stated, "Identify all orbiting ships."

As he issued the order, he strode toward the Simulacrum Sanctum and sat down in the cable-covered chair amidst the shimmering light.

The moment Kion entered the ocean of data, he discovered that the fleet had identified thirty-eight enemy ships, including thirteen capital ships.

Numerous Void Behemoth awakened, their pitch-black hulls emerging from the terrifying shadows, like giant monsters bursting forth from the Black Veil.

The Death Wither's turrets opened their Great Maw, and the plasma capacitors generated by the Punishment-class Reactor boiled.

It should have been deaf and blind, mistaking the attacking enemy ships for friendly forces, but that was not the case.

The target search system locked onto the enemy ship, the weapon systems turned to aim, and requested ammunition.

The massive arsenal of the Gloriana-class Battleship rumbled as shells and missiles were transported up by automated loading machinery, deck cranes, or ammunition chutes.

The air was filled with gunfire, sweeping across the enemy ships like a blizzard.

The main Lance on the bow spewed out dazzling energy, striking the Xenos warship directly and unleashing a destructive burst of light.

The flagship of the Rangdan Fleet, the wolf-headed, human-bodied Overlord, was astonished to see a blizzard of missiles, like countless steel needles, streaking against the hull of a cruiser.

Without the protection of the Void Shield, the Rangdan warship suffered hundreds of wounds on its hull, and flames engulfed its internal structure.

The ship's hull was torn to pieces in the core explosion, like a flower blooming and then quickly withering away.

How is that possible?

Even though human ships have mastered some of the Mystery to camouflaging their readings, all warships have been modified.

Every three seconds, it will simulate a human ship and replace it, which should allow it to complete a new round of camouflage before the ships can recognize it.

"Call in War Satellite! Immediately deploy drones for cover! Retreat!" The Overlord reluctantly issued the order, and this long-prepared surprise attack was declared a failure.

He originally intended to use his newly improved ships to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy ships before they could complete their identification of friend or foe, thereby gaining a numerical advantage and annihilating the fleet.

But the Overlord did not anticipate that the enemy ships' computing power would be so terrifying.

"Retreat to combat satellite range." He issued the order bitterly, completely abandoning the idea of launching a surprise attack.

[Defense can only be carried out by relying on War Satellite.]

The warships of the Fourth Legion and 5th Legion, with the Death Wither as their core, launched a pursuit of the Rangdan warship.

Relying on the collective calculations of the entire fleet's Simulacrum Sanctum, identification was completed before the Rangdan warships could perform iterative camouflage readings, and the terminal of the firepower strike was reached instantly.

The Imperium warships, possessing an overwhelming numerical advantage, were like bloodthirsty sharks, relentlessly tearing at the retreating Rangdan Fleet, unleashing devastating light.

The main battleship smashed through the floating wreckage, Lance pierced the hull of the Rangdan warship.

It wasn't until Rangdan's drones swarmed in like locusts and sank one of the leading capital ships that Kion cautiously issued an order to cease the pursuit.

Without the endless torpedoes in the central region of the Ramillies-class Star Fortress, the Imperial Fleet would suffer losses if it continued its pursuit.

While the offensive on the other three planets was underway, Nimrod also set foot on the core planet of Rangdan's outer perimeter— Desolation Star.