[Alastor]

After several days of traveling at the speed of light, the Lingdong finally reached Mercury.

The distance between Mercury and Earth didn't vary between 92 million and 208 million kilometers, as it did in the real world.

The distance between Earth and Mercury was measured in light-years.

"Mercury is directly below us. We've reached the landing altitude. Opening the Window Armor to avoid impact. Deploying the landing gear."

Ye Yun sat in the pilot's seat, staring intently at the images on the screen, his heart in his throat.

He hadn't piloted a spaceship in a long time. Taking off was easy, but landing put him under considerable pressure.

If he made a mistake—

the ship would be destroyed, and they would all die.

Although he could guarantee that he wouldn't die, the same couldn't be said for the protagonists.

Even with the Star of the Galaxy protecting them.

"Window Armor is open. Landing gear is deployed. We're ready to land."

Lily sat in the copilot's seat. At Ye Yun's words, she immediately opened the Window Armor and deployed the landing gear.

"Whew!"

Ye Yun took a deep breath and steered the Lingdong toward Mercury.

The Lingdong tore through Mercury's atmosphere and entered the planet.

"Checking Mercury's oxygen levels. The conditions are suitable. The temperature is somewhat high. Searching for a suitable landing site."

Intelligent Assistant Zhuoya's voice rang out in the cockpit.

"A suitable landing site has been found. Please head there to land. Temperature, oxygen, and conditions are all moderate."

Soon, Intelligent Assistant Zhuoya found a landing site where humans could survive and sent over an image.

Following the image, Ye Yun glanced at the location marked on the radar and piloted the ship toward the coordinates provided by Intelligent Assistant Zhuoya.

"Rumble."

A clear sound rang out.

The Lingdong touched down on a glacier, landing with a dull thud.

The Window Armor slowly opened, revealing a vast, snow-white world outside.

"Is this the place?"

Lily frowned as she looked around, then turned to Dilu.

"No. I remember seeing that Star God inside an altar in a canyon!"

Dilu recalled the Cosmic Star God he'd seen within the Star of the Galaxy.

"Dilu, what did that Cosmic Star God look like?"

Gaia's voice came through Dilu's communicator.

Now that they'd reached Mercury, it was time to ask who the other Star God was.

"I don't know either, but that Cosmic Star God was holding a really big sniper rifle."

Dilu shook his head. He couldn't describe what the other Star God looked like, but he was sure it was a Cosmic Star God.

There was one thing that stood out.

The other Star God had been holding a very large sniper rifle.

"A sniper rifle? Could it be him?"

Gaia sounded uncertain.

There seemed to be only one Star God who used a sniper rifle.

"Who is it? Is it Apollo? If it's Apollo, we can give him the Star of the Galaxy, and then we can go home!"

Hearing that Gaia seemed to know the other Star God, Yaoyao asked excitedly.

She was sick of wandering through space all the time.

All around them was either darkness or endless starlight. At first, it didn't bother her, but after a while, she couldn't help feeling as if they hadn't moved at all. And the planet they'd taken off from had become just another speck among the countless stars.

She didn't want to keep wandering through space.

"Judging by Gaia's tone, if it were Apollo, he wouldn't sound so uncertain. He'd be excited, because Apollo is the leader of the Righteous Cosmic Star Gods."

Ye Yun pursed his lips, stood up from the pilot's seat, and headed out of the cockpit.

"Come on. Whether it's Apollo or not, we should go meet him." Lily glanced at Dilu as she spoke.

"What about us?"

Yaoyao and Xiao An grew nervous when they saw everyone getting ready to leave.

And there was Anubi, too.

They were scared.

"You're obviously staying on the ship!"

Dilu glanced at them and shrugged. "Stay on the ship and keep an eye on it."

"We're scared!"

Yaoyao looked terrified. Anubi was vicious.

"What are you scared of? Maybe he doesn't even know we've come to Mercury. Relax!"

Dilu waved a hand, unconcerned.

Perhaps Anubi didn't know they'd come to Mercury, so what was there to worry about?

"Xiao An, Yaoyao, stay aboard the Lingdong. If necessary, you can provide us with support."

Lily pulled her foot back into the cockpit and spoke to them.

There was only room for two people in the ship inside the Lingdong.

So they'd have to stay aboard the Lingdong.

"All right, but hurry back. Gaia, make sure you stay in contact with us!"

Xiao An said anxiously.

They were really scared.

Their enemy was a Cosmic Star God—a civilization that had existed since the birth of the universe.

They were older than intelligent life.

Although modern technology could easily kill gods like these, they'd need a large-scale attack to do it.

"Okay. If you run into any trouble, contact me right away. I'll come back as soon as I can to rescue you."

Gaia's voice came through the communicator, offering them a solemn promise.

Keeping the children safe was his duty.

He would not neglect it.

"Mm-hmm!"

On Mercury, behind a boulder,

Anubi had caught up. He watched silently as Gaia and a small spaceship flew into the canyon, then brought up a three-dimensional holographic projection showing Evil Star God Carlos.

"Lord Carlos, Gaia and the others have arrived on Mercury. They're preparing to search for another Cosmic Star God, who may be Apollo."

Anubi reported everything he'd learned to his superior, Evil Star God Carlos.

He hadn't caught up because of the information Hidden Wolf had learned in the original story. It was because of the Lingdong's size and the commotion it made. All he had to do was follow them.

The Lingdong's Interstellar Jump function was broken. If Anubi couldn't keep up with it, he'd be useless.

Clearly, he wasn't.

Evil Star God Carlos was one of the three Star Gods under Evil Star God Leader Saloon. Among the Justice Star Gods, the only ones who could stand against him were Sun God Apollo and Jupiter God Zeus. Later on, Flame Star God Gaia would join their ranks.

Anubi was a member of Evil Star God Carlos's Assassination Squad.

"Good. We'll reach Mercury soon. Make sure you seize the Star of the Galaxy and present it to Lord Salong."

Evil Star God Carlos sounded thrilled.

Though he was devious and cunning, he wasn't as ambitious as Black Star God Panra. He was loyal to Salong.

"Yes, Lord Carlos."

Anubi answered at once.

Afterward,

he ended the long-distance call with Carlos and turned to Hidden Wolf beside him. Hidden Wolf was also a member of the Assassination Squad. "Hidden Wolf, follow them."

At the order,

Hidden Wolf's crimson Electronic Eye flashed. He turned into a dark yellow metal sphere and swiftly followed Gaia and the others.

His only directive was to obey.

"The Star of the Galaxy belongs to Lord Salong."

The crimson Electronic Eye of Evil Moon Warrior Anubi flashed repeatedly.

Aboard Carlos's starship,

"Seymour, hurry. Get to Mercury as soon as possible and support Anubi. Retrieve the Star of the Galaxy and present it to Lord Salong."

Evil Star God Carlos stood silently on the starship's deck, watching the stars flash past as he spoke.

"Yes, Lord Carlos."

Seymour was a Cosmic Star God resembling a scorpion, with a black exterior streaked with a little gold and purple. He was the leader of the combat squad under Evil Star God Carlos.

Seymour turned and walked over to the control panel, personally operating the imposing starship.

An energy shield slowly appeared, enclosing the deck.

"Boom!"

The next moment,

a terrifying laser shot out of the main cannon on Carlos's ship and slammed into the void ahead.

A slowly rotating Space Jump Wormhole appeared in front of them.

The main and auxiliary thrusters at the rear of the starship fired blue flames.

Evil Star God Carlos's starship shot into the Space Jump Wormhole like a streak of white light and vanished from the star system.

After detecting the starship's entry, the wormhole suddenly broke apart into countless points of light and disappeared completely.

Xuanbing Galaxy.

An unusual starship slowly emerged from a wormhole.

Demon Star God Alastor stood in the cockpit, gazing at the vast, dark galaxy, full of black ice and without a sun. He murmured, "This is our last hope. Lord Salong, I hope we can find you here."

That was right—fourteen billion years.

For fourteen billion years, he had searched every corner of the universe for traces of Lord Salong.

He had led his people in exploring the entire observable universe, with a diameter of 93 billion light-years, yet had never found Great Void Star God Saloon, their leader.

The fact that Alastor had never wavered in his resolve to find Salong for fourteen billion years showed just how loyal he was to him.

"Lord Alastor, we've arrived at Xuanbing Galaxy!"

A Machine Soldier resembling the Black Panther Beasts under King Tiger in The Legend of Luoluo walked over and spoke respectfully.

"Send out the Spider Squad and the Crab Squad. Search everywhere. Report immediately if you find anything."

Demon Star God Alastor suppressed his excitement as he gave the order to the Machine Soldier.

He had a feeling he could find Lord Salong in Xuanbing Galaxy.

"Yes!"

The Machine Soldier went to carry out Alastor's orders. Then, groups of spider-shaped and crab-shaped aircraft swept down from the flagship's deck and began searching Xuanbing Galaxy for traces of Great Void Star God Saloon.

"Report!"

Another voice sounded. A Machine Soldier came to a stop in front of Alastor.

"What is it? Have you found Lord Salong?"

Alastor looked at the Machine Soldier uncertainly. He'd only just sent out the Spider Squad. Surely they couldn't have found him so quickly?

"Reporting to Lord Alastor: Lord Carlos has sent word that the Star of the Galaxy has reappeared in the universe..."