A dozen or so refugee transport ships sped through space, desperately trying to find their way, while a World Tree fleet was hot on their heels, relentlessly pursuing and intercepting them.
The atmosphere inside the transport ships was tense, with a large number of refugees filled with anxiety. In particular, the refugees on the White Mountain, the most severely damaged transport ship, practically wore the word "despair" on their faces.
"The reinforcements we called for haven't arrived yet... If this continues, we'll be caught up."
The captain of the White Mountain was sweating profusely, staring intently at the ship inspection report on the virtual screen. On the three-dimensional virtual model of the White Mountain carrier ship, one functional module after another was marked in red with signs of failure. The entire spacecraft was on the verge of paralysis, a quarter of the twenty-eight propulsion engine groups were damaged, and the power of the energy core had also dropped to seventy-four percent.
Because some areas were frequently invaded by the World Tree and became dangerous zones, some refugee planets were no longer safe. The Interstellar Joint Army formed a transport force to relocate refugees from these areas. This small fleet was tasked with this mission, transporting some of the refugees.
However, halfway through their journey, they unfortunately encountered the World Tree Fleet lurking within their territory, resulting in a battle. The smaller escort fleet was completely annihilated, most of the transport ships were destroyed on the spot, and the remaining fleet fled in panic, still being relentlessly Pursuit by the World Tree Fleet.
The White Mountain carrier is the most severely damaged of the existing starships. Its modules are experiencing a series of failures, causing its speed to gradually decrease and slowing down the entire fleet.
"We can only hold on for another ten minutes at most, then the engines will shut down. Ahead lies a numbered, desolate planet. Should we make an emergency landing?"
The adjutant's trembling voice rang out, and the captain of the White Mountain clenched his fists, hesitating.
If they were to make an emergency landing, everyone on board would have nowhere to escape. The only option would be for the ship's guards to lead the refugees to hide on the planet and buy time while waiting for reinforcements.
Suggestions from other captains came through the communication channel.
"White Mountain, make an emergency landing. Your ships are no longer able to keep up with the main force's pace. We cannot slow down and wait for you."
"You'll be left alone sooner or later. Rather than being paralyzed in space, it's better to hide on a planet; at least there's a glimmer of hope."
"Let the White Mountain stay; it will buy us some time to save more refugees."
Some people offered rational analysis, while others made blunt demands, all implying that the White Mountain should be left behind.
"I see..."
The captain of the White Mountain looked helpless and his heart was heavy with sorrow.
He understood the mentality of "better to die than to die," but from a command perspective, the best course of action for them was to serve as sacrificial pawns, staying behind to cover the retreat and buy time for more refugees on other ships.
Despite this, he felt deeply guilty. In the report, these refugees were just a cold number, but they were living, breathing people. Using his own ship full of refugees to help more refugees might be profitable, but morally, he couldn't bear to do it. These refugees weren't soldiers; they didn't have the awareness to sacrifice themselves. And he couldn't possibly discuss this decision with them beforehand, otherwise it would likely cause a mutiny. He could only silently lead them behind to cover the retreat while others still held onto hope and believed in their captain, thus burying their chance of escape. This made him feel terrible.
Just as they were struggling with their decision, a desolate planet came into view of the transport fleet. The captains' eyes lit up immediately. They saw a small, unmarked armed fleet docked on the planet's surface. Only when they got closer did the radar detect its presence.
"A fleet is lying in ambush here? They don't look like they're from the World Tree."
"Are they our reinforcements? Oh well, whoever they are, they're all one of us in interstellar society."
"Quickly, contact the other side and send a signal!"
For a moment, many captains were overjoyed, thinking that reinforcements had arrived, and hurriedly sent out distress signals.
Meanwhile, Pangon and his companions, who were resting on this desolate planet, were taken aback and began to discuss it.
"This looks like a fleeing refugee force, Pursuit by the World Tree Fleet."
"They're asking us for help, what should we do? Should we help them?"
"Don't help. What do we care about the lives of interstellar citizens under the rule of the Three Universal Civilizations? Let's go, don't get involved."
The group quickly exchanged opinions and soon reached a consensus.
This group of Revenge Takers was never on the side of the Three Universal Civilizations. Even if the World Tree launched a full-scale invasion, it would be none of their business. They would be more than kind as to not take advantage of the Three Universal Civilizations' misfortune.
Pangon was silent for a moment, then spoke:
"In that case, reject all their contact requests and leave immediately."
The captains of the transport fleet were eagerly awaiting a response from this unfamiliar armed force, but all communication requests went unanswered.
The next moment, their expressions changed. The unfamiliar armed fleet took off on its own, ignoring the distress signal, and headed straight in another direction, clearly trying to distance itself from them and not wanting to provide support.
"They're gone; they're not our reinforcements."
"It seems we can't count on this unit..."
Many captains were disappointed and immediately became dejected.
Seeing that there was no way to turn things around, the captain of the White Mountain gritted his teeth, finally made up his mind, and gave the order in a deep voice:
"Attention all units, detach the hull transport compartment, carry all crew members for a forced landing on the rails, and prepare the turnaround and interception procedures for the detached outer hull to cover the departure of other units."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions turned solemn, realizing that the White Mountain had chosen to sacrifice itself.
Although they hoped it would happen, when it actually did, they weren't very happy and had mixed feelings.
Soon, the two forces split up. The main force continued to flee into the distance, while the White Mountain slowed down, broke away from the main force, and turned to fly towards the desolate planet, looking like a lone streak of light breaking off from a cluster of meteors.
In outer space, the White Mountain rapidly transformed. Its heavy armored hull disengaged, and its mechanical components came to life, no longer interlocking. The entire transport ship arched like a shrimp, while its ventral compartment detached, transforming into a drab, iron-gray escape hull. Its size shrank considerably, and it had almost no weapon components, before crash-landing on the planet.
As for the ship that Stay Where You Are, it resembled a hollow armored shell, automatically changing direction and unleashing a fierce barrage of fire from its shipboard turrets towards the rear, attempting to intercept the approaching World Tree fleet.
Bang!
The escape ship crashed heavily onto the planet's surface, creating a crater.
All the cabin doors opened at once, and the refugees, who had been forced to change into makeshift life support devices, rushed out of the cabins, looking up at the sky with despair and panic in their eyes.
The World Tree fleet had already arrived in outer space. A concentrated barrage of fire destroyed their armored shells left behind in outer space. They slowly descended, gradually enlarging in everyone's sight, like a descending shadow.
Why did you stop?!
"Why did you land here? You've surrounded us!"
The refugees were in an uproar, glaring angrily at the guards around them. Unbeknownst to them, the captain had ordered the ship to make an emergency landing, instantly reducing their chances of escape to zero.
"Everyone, listen to my command and disperse in all directions, following the orders of the ship's soldiers."
The captain of the White Mountain did not explain, nor was it the time to say more; he could only keep a straight face, harden his heart, and coldly give the order.
He knew that the chances of survival for everyone after the forced landing were almost zero, but he still wanted to make one last effort to help the refugees hide.
But the next moment, seeing the World Tree warships' actions clearly, he finally despaired. The World Tree fleet's cannons were all aimed at the planet's surface, clearly preparing to save time and directly bombard it. There was absolutely no chance of survival.
"We're doomed... but at least the World Tree fleet's volleys here have bought us time, and my mission is complete..."
The captain of the White Mountain clenched his fists, his expression shifting rapidly, showing both resentment and a hint of relief.
Just as the crowd looked up, their eyes filled with fear as they faced the planet-destroying cannons that would annihilate them, a dazzling light suddenly shot from another direction in the starry sky, piercing through several World Tree warships and exploding into a burst of fireworks.
Everyone looked on in astonishment, only to see a meteor enveloped in intense flames rapidly approaching. Its powerful martial arts aura erupted wildly, like a heavy machine gun, bombarding the World Tree fleet, blasting warships into pieces.
Behind Pangon was the armed fleet that had just left. Now, it turned around and decimated the relatively small World Tree fleet in the blink of an eye.
The battle did not last long. Under the watchful eyes of the crew of the White Mountain, Pangon led the Revenge Takers fleet and swiftly swept away the enemy ships that filled the sky. The once mighty World Tree fleet was now reduced to wreckage and parts floating in outer space.
This brush with death overwhelmed the refugees, and the crowd erupted in wild cheers.
The captain of the White Mountain suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly sent someone to contact the armed fleet to express his gratitude. However, after the other side finished off the World Tree forces, they remained aloof and did not reply, showing no intention of communicating. It was as if they had only done a trivial favor. Without saying a word, they turned around and left, not even bothering to clean up the battlefield.
"This is clearly not a force from the Interstellar Joint Army. What kind of unit is this...?"
The captain of the White Mountain gazed at the departing Revenge Takers fleet, muttering to himself in a daze.
At this moment, Pangon returned to the main ship, and his other companions gathered around him with subtle expressions.
"You're really something. You promised not to get involved in the war, and suddenly you made us turn around and fight our way back."
"If we attract the World Tree's attention because of this battle, it will be troublesome and hinder our efforts to build up our strength."
"Whose side are you on anyway?"
The attitude of the group was somewhat accusatory.
Pangon waved his hand dismissively, expressionless. "I've changed my mind. While we won't actively participate in the war, if we encounter something like this again, we'll help if we can. Our targets for Revenge are the regimes of the Three Universal Civilizations; ordinary interstellar civilians have no grudge against us."
"This is revealing our presence," a companion said, sounding displeased.
"For Black Star, our existence is no secret. If we negatively impact the war, he might reveal our information to the Three Universal Civilizations at any time. After all, he and we have never been on the same side." Pangon paused, then said in a deep voice, "Moreover, most of interstellar society has now guessed that the World Tree's full-scale invasion was due to a traitor leaking information. Do you think Black Star might suspect us?"
Everyone was taken aback.
"In his view, we have ample motivation to do this. What if we don't express goodwill and Black Star really thinks it was us? So even if we don't participate in the war, we can't completely stay out of it," Pangon explained.
Upon hearing this, the group exchanged glances, their resolve wavering slightly.
--You're just a martial artist, so why do we always find your explanations so convincing when you try to fool us?
Somewhere in Secondary Dimension World.
A spatial rift opened, Hailian flew out from it, her figure appearing semi-transparent.
With the blessing of her special innate magic and the Leaf Concealment Garment, she was in a state that was almost "outside the three realms and outside the five elements," making her impossible to observe normally.
"The Pivot Snake's movements are elusive; we only have a general direction and range for the Mother Tree, but no clear location. What should we do...?"
Hailian was somewhat troubled.
After accepting the mission from the Ancestral Tree King, she spent the past six months stealthily searching and gathering intelligence on the appearance of the Pivot Snake, but she still couldn't find an opportunity to assassinate it.
Moreover, Black Star seems to have always been guarding the side of Pivot Snake. To her, that place is simply the most dangerous place in the universe. Adhering to the principle of not taking risks if possible, she has never dared to go near it.
After much deliberation, the only feasible and Tu Shu assassination method that Hailian could think of was to add "snake-killing agent" made by the Mother Tree to some Secondary Dimension in areas where the Pivot Snake often appeared, and then wait patiently in wait. If the Pivot Snake consumed one of the Secondary Dimension, it would be poisoned.
Although this method is highly random, she has no better option for the time being. After all, she cannot control the food source of the Pivot Snake, so she can only cast a wide net and try her luck.
The only advantage of this method is that it is relatively safe, as it avoids the risk of exposure when getting close to Black Star, giving her ample opportunity to experiment.
Hailian raised her hand, and a ball of dark green liquid emerged—the "snake-killing agent" given to her by the Ancestral Tree King.
With a flick of her finger, a small drop of dark green liquid separated and merged into the land of this Secondary Dimension, without any visible change.
Hopefully this method will work...
Hailian muttered to herself, feeling uncertain.