The United Fleet sailed through chaos.
There were no directions here.
No up, down, left, or right.
Only endless gray currents.
These currents battered the fleet's outermost shields.
The shields were formed by the human fleet's Four Symbols Great Array, flickering continuously.
Every flicker represented an immense expenditure of energy.
The atmosphere on the bridge of the flagship Civilization was oppressive.
Everyone watched the energy consumption figures constantly jumping across the main display.
The numbers were like blades cutting into every heart.
"Executor, at this rate of consumption, the reserve energy we brought won't last until we reach the projected destination."
Youchao Shi's voice was dry.
Chen Ran stared at the display without speaking.
His mind raced through calculations.
The energy interference in chaos was thirty percent worse than even their most pessimistic projections.
That meant they had to shorten their journey.
Or find a way to replenish their energy.
"All ships, tighten the formation. Reduce energy output by ten percent and travel speed by five percent."
Chen Ran gave the order.
"That will extend our travel time!"
Guang Chengzi immediately raised an objection.
"Taking longer is still better than running out of energy and dying here together."
Chen Ran replied.
Guang Chengzi fell silent.
Though unconvinced, he could find no reason to argue.
Just then, a discordant voice rang out.
"Our demon race's divine boat doesn't need to be tied to your sluggish iron ships."
Lu Ya appeared at the entrance to the bridge.
Without permission, he strode straight in.
His young face was full of arrogance and disdain.
"Our demon race's Solar Divine Boat is driven by bloodline power and remains self-sufficient in chaos. It can move forward on its own."
He looked at Chen Ran, his gaze openly challenging.
"What right do you have to use your orders to slow the demon race's advance?"
The air on the bridge instantly froze.
Everyone's eyes turned to Lu Ya and Chen Ran.
This was an open challenge to supreme command.
A flash of pain and helplessness crossed Xihe's face.
"Lu Ya, come back!"
She rebuked him.
"Mother!"
Lu Ya turned to Xihe, tears in his eyes.
"Are you really going to place the demon race's last hope in the hands of a human?"
"He doesn't even have Immortal Power. He's just a mortal!"
"He's sending us to be cannon fodder, to our deaths, and you're willing to accept that?"
Those words pierced the hearts of every demon present.
Even Bai Ze's gaze wavered slightly.
A look of watching a good show appeared on Guang Chengzi's face.
Zhao Gongming frowned. Though he too disliked Chen Ran, he hated this sort of infighting at a critical moment even more.
Chen Ran looked quietly at Lu Ya.
He was not angry.
Nor did he argue.
He merely raised a hand and operated the main display.
Soon, a real-time map of the fleet's formation was enlarged before everyone.
The light representing the demon race's Solar Divine Boat was positioned on the flank of the formation.
"You think I told you to slow down because I wanted to hold you back?"
Chen Ran pointed at that light.
Then his finger moved toward a region of chaos ahead of it.
The gray currents there were visibly more turbulent than elsewhere, even forming small vortices.
"Starting one hour ago, your divine boat deviated seven units from its designated route."
Chen Ran said.
"Your position has left you alone to bear thirty percent of the chaos impact from that direction."
"To maintain the divine boat's stability, your people are excessively draining their Demon Power."
"At most, in another three hours, your divine boat's power core will shut down because of insufficient Demon Power."
Chen Ran paused and looked straight at Lu Ya.
"When that happens, what do you think will occur?"
"Your divine boat will be caught by that chaos vortex."
"It will be torn to pieces."
"You, your mother, and every one of your remaining clansmen will die."
Chen Ran's voice was calm.
But every word struck Lu Ya's heart like a heavy hammer.
Lu Ya's face immediately turned deathly pale.
He suddenly turned and looked at the internal monitoring array of his divine boat.
On the array, the runes representing the core Demon Power output were indeed flashing madly. Their color had already changed from gold to a dangerous dark red.
And the clansmen responsible for supplying Demon Power were pale-faced and weak-breathed.
Before he had stormed into the bridge, a subordinate had just reported unstable power to him.
But he had assumed it was only a minor problem.
He had never imagined the consequences would be so serious.
"Why... why didn't you warn me sooner?"
Lu Ya's voice trembled.
"I did warn you."
Chen Ran said.
"Half an hour ago, the command center sent three route-correction orders to your divine boat."
"You rejected every one of them."
Lu Ya's body swayed.
He remembered it now.
He had thought Chen Ran was using the human command system to provoke the demon race's autonomy.
So he had ignored the orders without hesitation.
It turned out they had been trying to save his life.
"Now, I'll give you another order."
Chen Ran's voice came.
"Return to your ship immediately. Activate the backup Bloodline Pool and replace those exhausted clansmen."
"Then lead your divine boat back to its assigned position."
"This formation isn't meant to restrict anyone. It's meant to protect everyone."
"Every ship is part of the array's core, sharing the pressure with one another."
"By breaking away on your own, you not only endangered yourself, but also increased the burden on the neighboring Chan Sect and Jie Sect ships."
Chen Ran's gaze swept across Guang Chengzi and Zhao Gongming.
Both men fell silent.
The energy consumption of their flying vessels had indeed been somewhat higher than expected.
They had assumed chaos itself was the problem.
Only now did they realize that the demon race's divine boat had fallen out of line, forcing them to bear extra pressure.
For a moment, the way they looked at Lu Ya turned hostile as well.
Lu Ya felt the pressure coming from all sides.
Shame, lingering fear, and unwillingness churned within him.
He looked at Chen Ran.
This mortal had not used any power to suppress him.
He had merely used facts to shatter Lu Ya's pride.
At last, he understood that war was not the affair of a single person.
"I..."
Lu Ya opened his mouth but could not say a word.
"Go."
Chen Ran did not look at him again.
"Prove your worth as the demon race's prince."
"Not through your bloodline, but through your responsibility."
Lu Ya gave Chen Ran a long look, then turned and rushed out of the bridge.
He did not leave behind another harsh word.
Soon, after paying a certain price, the light representing the demon race's divine boat returned to the fleet formation.
The fleet's energy consumption immediately stabilized.
A crisis that could have split the alliance apart was resolved just like that, before it could take shape.
Everyone on the bridge looked at Chen Ran's back differently now.
Guang Chengzi in particular.
He found that he was beginning to admire this human.
Just then.
A piercing alarm suddenly sounded.
"Warning! An ultra-high-energy reaction has been detected ahead!"
"It's not Gestalt! It's not the Star Devourer!"
"It's a... life signal we have never seen before!"
"It... it's too large! Our detection array can't calculate its size!"
The voice of a human observer was filled with terror.
On the display, the outline of an enormous object radiating red light slowly emerged from the distant chaos.
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