The Spark of War

Inside the command center of the Black Soul Tower base.

The command center was vast, capable of holding 5,000 people, yet at this very moment, it was deathly silent, not a single sound to be heard.

Standing before the holographic sand table was Faga, the commander-in-chief of the Black Soul Tower. He stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm, as if the annihilation of the second echelon had caused him no shock at all.

The war had yet to truly begin, and he had to face all of this with a cool head; he was the type to remain unmoved even if the mountains collapsed before him.

Faga raised a hand and said, "Continue! Everyone, the third echelon will be arriving soon."

The command center instantly erupted into a flurry of activity.

"The strategic layout needs to be adjusted." Faga's eyes darkened slightly; this major setback had rendered years of his preparation and operations futile.

By all accounts, the Black Soul Tower had been an entity that other organizations scrambled to court, whether due to its strategic positioning or its personnel configuration.

The destruction of the Black Soul Tower's second echelon had caused its status to plummet, though not to the point of being disqualified from the treasure hunt—it simply meant their defenses against other organizations needed to be raised by several notches.

If you are strong, they will court you; if you are weak, you will be ostracized or absorbed into their ranks.

"Attack the near and befriend the far?"

"Or perhaps, should I court organizations like Hengtie Star and wipe out Kesmier first?"

Faga pondered.

Kesmier was an ostensible ally of the Black Soul Tower, but that alliance was extremely fragile.

"Wait and see what the Luote Family has to say."

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion pulled Faga abruptly from his thoughts.

"Enemy attack!" These two words instantly flashed through the minds of Faga and everyone in the command center.

"Damn it!" Faga cursed loudly, then ordered, "Loutong, Li Gang! Go and organize a counterattack!"

"Yes!"

The two men bolted out almost simultaneously, but as they reached the door, a sudden flash of white light swept past, and both men were instantly vaporized!

Seeing this, Faga's thoughts shifted, and fingernail-sized black metal plates erupted from his body, instantly covering him to form a suit of black armor.

Clang!

Two wrist blades popped out from Faga's forearms; they were shaped like scimitars, only the blade and the spine were reversed.

Swish!

Faga transformed into a streak of light and shot outward, flying to the space above the Black Soul Tower command center.

"Faga!"

Before the voice arrived, the person did; a black beam of light slammed toward Faga.

Faga's figure flickered, appearing behind the black light. Only then did he see who the intruder was: Oute, the personal guard of the Kesmier commander, Tejiafu.

Faga crossed his arms in front of him in an 'X' shape, aimed his wrist blades at Oute's head, and swiped outward.

Swish!

This strike should have landed, but Oute appeared back at his starting point as if time had been reversed.

Oute stared intently at Faga, two distinct bloodstains appearing on either side of his neck.

"That must hurt!" Faga said, his back turned to him.

"Heh, the universally recognized top-tier powerhouse of the Black Soul Tower—truly impressive!" Oute chuckled, touching a blood-filled hole that had appeared on his abdomen, from which blood was bubbling out.

A searing sensation instantly spread across his abdomen, and plumes of white smoke rose from the wound, much like burning white phosphorus.

Oute endured the excruciating pain and tried to speak, but Faga, still with his back turned, shouted a step ahead of him: "Your movement technique is not bad!"

Faga turned around, his wrist blades retracting rapidly.

Seeing this, Oute reached toward his neck, where the two bloodstains were rapidly expanding to form a circle.

Oute looked at the blood on his hand, his eyes gradually dimming, and his body began to fall.

Thud—thud.

After two sounds, Oute collapsed to the ground, a headless corpse.

Faga looked up at the sky, where ship after ship was flying past, streaking over his head.

"Heh." Faga sneered, then transformed into a streak of light and shot toward the heavens.

He used the most direct method of attack: a collision.

Faga was like a long rainbow, piercing through the entire sky and leaving a long white line in his wake.

Hanging along that line were several clusters of red fire—those fires were the ships.

Boom! Boom!

The sounds of explosions echoed through the vast sky.

The sky was now shrouded in red light, as if it were the end of the world.

"Quick! Retreat!"

"Quick! Ah!"

The members of Kesmier shouted, desperately trying to flee the area.

"Where do you think you're going?" Faga's voice boomed like a rainbow, resounding across the heavens and earth.

Suddenly, white rain fell from the sky like the explosion of white phosphorus bombs; it was as beautiful as falling stars, yet lethal.

The white light descended like a comet, seemingly possessing a spirit of its own as it struck directly at the members of Kesmier.

There were no prolonged screams; a mere touch of the sparks was enough to reduce a person to ashes.

"Tejiafu, are you too afraid to come and find me?!" Faga halted his movement and shouted toward the west, looking terrifying under the illumination of the white light.

Luote Family base.

"Finally here!" Chen Beixun looked at the life base half-buried in the ground, pleasantly surprised.

"We've been walking for four days," Moluo shouted.

Chen Beixun felt a surge of emotion, but for some reason, his mind drifted to Luo Feng.

If we were from the same era, Luo Feng would already be a Domain Lord.

A City Lord!

At first, Chen Beixun had thought he and Luo Feng were contemporaries, only to realize during the Genius Tournament that they were not.

Perhaps Nuolanshan hadn't even been born yet, and maybe the Black Dragon Mountain Empire didn't even exist.

These thoughts lasted only a few breaths before the four of them turned into streams of light, flying toward the Luote Family base.

Their arrival didn't cause much of a stir, merely drawing a few gazes.

Given their special status, the Luote Family provided them with decent treatment.

An independent, large room and twelve guards.

Inside the command center of the Luote Family base.

"He has arrived."

"Mm, you may leave."

The black-armored youth bowed to Luote Tejieer before quickly retreating.

The World Castle had yet to open, so Chen Beixun's importance was self-evident. Although the Luote Family had intelligence trades with other factions, all is fair in war.

Integrity?

Face?

Are those important compared to treasure?

Luote Tejieer's eyes turned cold as he said in a deep voice, "Kesmier has already attacked Black Soul Tower!"

"Pass on my order!"

"Crusade against Black Soul Tower!"

The people in the command center revealed fierce expressions.

They stood straight in unison and shouted, "Yes!"

Outside Life Base No. 7 of the Luote Family base.

"Are they going to fight?" Chen Beixun stared at the spaceships in the sky, somewhat surprised. "They start fighting the moment I arrive? Is this a signal?"

"Your Highness, should we..." He Ke began.

Chen Beixun waved his hand and said, "The Luote Family has treated us well."

"So..."

"Go and enjoy yourselves!"

"Huh?" The three guards thought Chen Beixun was going to join the fray when they heard the first half, but upon hearing the second half, they were stunned before breaking into laughter.

"What?"

"Do you want to go?!" Chen Beixun laughed.

"No, no, no!"

"We will do whatever Your Highness commands!" Vido quickly said.

Chen Beixun pondered for a moment.

"Should we go take a look?"

"Better to play it safe."

"Forget it, let's take a gamble!"

"Let's go!" Chen Beixun shouted, immediately turning into a stream of light and charging into the sky, with the three guards following closely behind.

If you don't take risks, how can you call yourself a universe adventurer? If you don't participate in war, how can you call yourself a Universe Mercenary!