"Railgun, fire!"
At Chu Yuan's command, the railgun fired.
A blue energy beam pierced the void, instantly reaching the speed of light as it crossed tens of millions of kilometers and shot toward an island on Blue Radiance Star. A palace stood on the island.
Inside the palace, Domain Lord Modu sat on a sofa with a wineglass in hand. A three-dimensional screen floated before him, displaying a list of the treasures he had seized this time.
"Fifth-Order Force Weapons, Fifth-Order Psionic Weapons, a D9-class Spaceship, 235 tons of E8-class pure metal Azure Radiance Stone Essence..."
"Fortune has finally smiled on me, Modu, for once. With these, reaching Domain Lord Ninth Stage is just around the corner. There's even a sliver of hope of becoming a World Lord."
Modu's heart brimmed with anticipation, though there was also a trace of worry.
"That Universe Level 8 fellow has an extraordinary background. There must be some big shot backing him. If he finds out I'm the culprit, I'm dead for certain."
"The six groups of decoys I sent out can only buy me a little time. I have to dispose of these treasures as soon as possible, then leave with my elder brother."
"With these treasures to fall back on, I wouldn't regret selling off the entire Radiance Empire as a package!"
Ding! An incoming video call appeared.
Modu answered. A lizardman who bore a seventy-percent resemblance to Modu appeared on the screen. It was none other than Elijah Deni, the sovereign of the Radiance Empire.
"Modu, why did you send me so many video call requests? What's so urgent?"
Elijah asked with a smile.
"Brother, I have good news to tell you. Come to Blue Radiance Star right now."
"What news can't you tell me over a video call?"
Elijah was baffled.
"Brother, just listen to me and..."
Before Modu could finish, his eyes suddenly widened, boundless terror surfacing in his pupils.
He saw an endless blue light appear outside the window, devouring everything.
That blue light was familiar to him. He had seen it in a video not long ago.
It's a railgun!!!
The thought had barely surfaced in Modu's mind when the energy beam fired by the railgun struck the palace.
This palace was a survival fortress built from D-class alloy. Even a Domain Lord powerhouse could not break through it in a short time.
Yet it still could not withstand the railgun's attack.
The energy beam tore through the alloy walls and shot into the palace, devouring everything, destroying everything. Finally, it burst out the other side, shooting into the distance and soaring into the sky.
Chu Yuan had shown mercy, adjusting the railgun's angle so it did not aim at the surface.
Otherwise, with the power of a D5-class railgun, a single shot would have been enough to completely destroy Blue Radiance Star's surface and kill ninety-nine percent of its population.
Rumble!
The palace exploded into a fireball, and a mushroom cloud rose into the sky, surging tens of thousands of kilometers high.
The shock wave swept flames in every direction. Wherever it passed, the ground collapsed and shattered inch by inch, leveling the entire island before finally rushing into the sea.
Everyone on the island died in an instant!
The sea of flames churned. An energy attack tore through it, and a mangled body with no lower half, only a head, shoulders, and a right arm remaining, flew out of the flames.
It was Modu. He was still alive.
After being weakened by the palace, the railgun's attack had failed to kill him completely.
Although he had survived, Modu looked utterly wretched.
The lower half of his body had been blasted away, leaving a small portion of his internal organs and white bones exposed as blood flowed without cease.
Fortunately, he was a Domain Lord. As long as his Life Core remained intact, he would not die. Had he been at Universe Level, even ten lives would not have been enough.
"Damn it, they've caught up already!"
Modu looked toward outer space, his eyes filled with fear.
He knew the pursuers must have caught up.
He had anticipated pursuit, but he had never expected it to arrive so quickly.
New flesh knitted together at his wounds as Modu's body rapidly regenerated.
But before he could escape, blue light appeared in the sky again.
Seeing that Modu was still alive, Star Pupil No. 1 immediately fired a follow-up shot!
"There's more?!!!"
Modu's pupils shrank to black pinpoints. The energy beam screamed past, striking his mangled body with pinpoint accuracy.
With a soft pop, the beam reduced Modu's mangled body to nothing, leaving only a storage ring falling through the sky.
Although the energy beam fired by the D9-class laser gun was somewhat thinner, it was more than ten times as powerful as the D5-class railgun.
"What's going on? What happened?"
"What a terrifying attack! Its power far exceeds Universe Level. Is a Domain Lord powerhouse attacking Blue Radiance Star?"
On Blue Radiance Star, countless people stared in terror at the rising mushroom cloud.
Such terrifying power struck fear into their hearts even from across the sea.
Once they came to their senses, the people of Blue Radiance Star began fleeing in panic.
"Run! Blue Radiance Star is going to be destroyed!"
"When Domain Lord powerhouses fight, even the slightest aftershock can easily wipe us out."
"Who has such nerve? They actually dare attack Blue Radiance Star? This is Lord Modu's territory! Intruding on private territory will bring the armies of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire down on them."
"The enemy is a Domain Lord. Why would they care about that? Couldn't they just leave the Black Dragon Mountain Empire after attacking?"
"Why isn't Lord Modu fighting back? Has he been killed?"
"That's impossible, isn't it? Lord Modu is a Domain Lord Fourth Stage powerhouse."
"You still have time to worry about someone else? Save your own lives first."
Countless spaceships soared into the sky, flying out of the atmosphere and fleeing into outer space.
Yet among these thousands upon thousands of spaceships, one went in the opposite direction.
Rather than fleeing, it flew toward the mushroom cloud.
The spaceship's hatch opened, and Xingtong Two flew out, plunging headfirst into the sea of flames.
The mushroom cloud's aftershocks could not harm a Universe Level 8 powerhouse. Xingtong Two searched with Spiritual Force, found the storage ring Modu had left behind, and took it away.
Once Xingtong Two returned aboard, the spaceship soared into the sky and rendezvoused with Chu Yuan in outer space.
"Master, I've brought it back."
Inside the Dragon Abyss, Xingtong Two respectfully presented a storage ring.
After binding the ring to himself and examining its contents, Chu Yuan smiled in satisfaction.
The treasures were still there. At last, they had returned to their rightful owner.
"Congratulations, Master."
Feiluan cheered beside him.
"Congratulations, Master!"
The six Universe Level slaves also shouted in unison.
"It's too early to celebrate."
Xiong Ba came out to pour cold water on them. "With Modu dead, his brother Elijah won't let this go. He'll take revenge like a madman."
"The consequences of a Domain Lord going berserk are still very serious."
Chu Yuan's expression darkened. "If you cut the weeds without pulling up the roots, they'll grow again when the spring breeze blows. Send Elijah on his way too. Since they're family, they should all be together."
The E2-class spaceship hid in an asteroid belt. Chu Yuan sat quietly in the cabin, patiently waiting for his prey to come to him.
Meanwhile, inside the imperial palace on the Radiance Empire's Imperial Capital Star.
"Modu! Modu!"
Elijah shouted frantically at the screen, but it was pitch-black.
He tried reconnecting, but there was no response.
Elijah's heart sank.
"What happened? Why did the call cut off? What was that blue light at the end?"
Elijah recalled Modu's final expression and demeanor. What his eyes had revealed was terror.
"Did an enemy come knocking?"
Elijah dared not delay and immediately flew out of the palace.
With a sweep of his hand, he took out a D8-class spaceship.
After he boarded, the spaceship shot into outer space and entered the Dark Universe as quickly as possible.