The massive energy surges converged, forming a blazing sphere of light that hovered in mid-air, resembling a rising sun.
Kelaio believed that even Peak Legendary- level Transcendent would be severely injured if placed in the very center of the sphere of light, so a genuine smile appeared on his armored face.
Beside him, Winston, a telekinetic practitioner, was not so optimistic. For some reason, his perception kept giving him warnings. This was a passive ability of Winston's that had saved his life many times.
"Commander, something's wrong!"
Winston solemnly reminded him.
"Um?"
Kelaio was startled. He had always trusted his partner's perception ability, a trust instinct honed through countless life-and-death experiences. So, despite not understanding why, Kelaio reacted immediately.
However, by then, it was too late!
Just as Kelaio's mech was in the initial stage of charging up, a greatsword burning with black flames stabbed at him from behind.
Clang!
After a crisp metallic clang, pale brown blood spurted out. Kelaio's eyes, the size of mung beans, widened suddenly, then the light in them began to disappear rapidly.
Pfft!!
Draw the greatsword!
Kelaio collapsed to the ground.
Taking advantage of Winston's shock and anger, Gustavo delivered a side slash, the sharp blade slicing across Winston's chest. Although the latter reacted incredibly quickly, a large gash was still ripped open in his upper body. The wound spread diagonally downwards from his left cheek to his right waist, with black flames burning fiercely at the edges. It was actually a potent poison, but it appeared as flames.
Gustavo's lips curled slightly as he dealt Winston a heavy blow. A chilling, eerie green light involuntarily emanated from the depths of his black pupils, and then a three-meter-tall pendulum clock appeared above his head.
Death Knell!
When!!
The bell's deep, majestic tolling, its sound waves defying the laws of physics, instantly engulfed the remaining space pirates, including Winston.
The soul power, reaching Epic level, transformed into an invisible wave hidden within the sound waves. Under this wave, everyone fell into a severe negative state of soul shock. The skills they had prepared were instantly interrupted and could not be activated again. Their heads felt like they had been hit by a speeding train, with unbearable pain accompanied by intense dizziness.
The Land of Nightmares brought Gustavo the greatest boost to his soul strength. This leap in rank also greatly increased the power of Death Knell, which was activated by stimulating his soul power. It became one of Gustavo's strongest trump cards, and even Peak Legendary would be severely affected by its toll.
After gaining control, Gustavo immediately followed up with a powerful attack.
"Muscle Berserk" was activated, and his power surged. The greatsword in his hand was so fast that it seemed to turn into light, leaving only a bright and hot sharp mark on everyone's retinas.
Ten seconds later!
Winston was critically injured and fell into a coma, while the other elite members of the Black Sea Star Pirate Group all perished, their bodies scattered around the area.
Gustavo floated about a meter above the ground, his hands clasped on the hilt of the Nightmare Greatsword. The scene around him resembled a slaughterhouse, and in comparison, although he was less than 1.5 meters tall, his aura was clearly comparable to that of a 150-meter giant.
After adjusting the somewhat disordered energy within his body caused by the intense stimulation, Gustavo raised his right hand, holding two Parasitic Spider Eggs in his palm, and gently tossed them into the heads of the two Legendary lying on the ground.
After doing all this, Gustavo sensed the state of his own soul's origin.
"I can probably condense another 5 to 8 Parasitic Spider Eggs. Any more than that, and it will have a certain impact on my cultivation."
The key to the Parasitic Spider Eggs lies in its integration with Gustavo's soul essence. However, the amount of soul essence a living being possesses is limited and must be relatively abundant. Consequently, the number of creatures that the Parasitic Spider Eggs can control is also limited, requiring careful planning.
Of course, as Gustavo's soul strength grows, the number of Parasitic Spider Eggs he can condense will also increase.
Furthermore, he discovered that the weaker the creature initially controlled by the Parasitic Spider Eggs, the less soul essence it consumed. Even if the creature later became powerful, the soul essence it consumed would not increase, because the two had already merged into one from the very beginning.
In short, Parasitic Spider Eggs have great control potential, but are weak life forms, making them the most cost-effective.
For example, Gustavo can control 10 Legendary or 1000 Lower Transcendent.
The difference between the two is that the latter needs time to grow, while the former can immediately become Gustavo's helper.
To some extent, each has its advantages and disadvantages; it all depends on how it's used.
As he pondered, the Parasitic Spider Eggs had already completed its soul infestation, merging with the two Legendary. Feeling the two invisible lines that had appeared in his mind, Gustavo was completely relieved.
He took out a bottle of pale silver potion from his storage space, poured it out, and used gravity to split it into two streams, injecting each into the blood vessels of Kelaio and Winston. Their bodies, which had turned bluish-black due to poisoning, quickly returned to normal, and even their wounds began to heal little by little.
At this moment, Brooks descended from the sky and stood behind Gustavo.
"Congratulations, my lord, on the addition of two more great generals!"
Gustavo nodded slightly, looking with satisfaction at the two Legendary beings who had slowly awakened. "These two, one a mechanical type and the other a telekinetic, are perfect for filling the gaps in the puppet team. By the way, which planet is Diwoer on now?"
"Planet Guta!" Brooks said without hesitation.
"Is that so..." Gustavo stroked his chin, almost laughing. To outsiders, Planet Guta might seem absolutely safe, but now that he knew about the relationship between Ashes and the Guta Federation, Gustavo viewed Planet Guta as if he were looking at an invisible prison.
If Diwoer were anywhere else, he might not have been able to catch the fortune teller, but on Planet Guta, it would be much easier.
"Owner!"
Two voices rang out, Kelaio and Winston stood respectfully in front of Gustavo, completely devoid of the murderous aura and hatred they had shown in their life-or-death struggle just moments before.
Gustavo was pleased as he examined his two newly acquired puppets; now he possessed three Legendary puppets.
Although Aisi wasn't Legendary, he was just one step away from Legendary one, lacking only resources. But for Gustavo, that wasn't a problem at all. Before setting off on his mission, he had already sent over the necessary resources, and he believed that it wouldn't be long before Aisi would break through and become Legendary.
"You two go and take care of the rest of them, and while you're at it, gather the spaceships together and find a secluded spot to dock them."
Gustavo waved his hand and gave the order.
After the two left, Brooks stepped forward and whispered a few words to them.
"Oh? There are prisoners too? Take me to see them!"
The two arrived at the flagship, in a specially constructed, sturdy room. Through one-way glass, Gustavo looked at the person inside with a strange expression.
This man wore thick-rimmed glasses, had four arms, and possessed a gentle demeanor tinged with a hint of despondency.
Birmingham, a Corsican Race mechanical alchemist, specializes in mecha science and has a remarkable talent. The "Giant Mountain Mecha" equipped by Logo's loyal guard, the bear-man Melier, was created by him and has excellent performance.
Ask Kelaio about Birmingham through a soul connection.
After getting the gist of it, Gustavo chuckled and muttered to himself, "What an unlucky fellow."
According to Kelaio, Birmingham was kidnapped by them because of his alchemist identity.
These highly skilled, untrained individuals have always been a top choice for kidnapping by various dark forces, with alchemists being the most preferred.
Unfortunately, Birmingham has been hit by the virus.
Recalling Logo's words of advice when they parted, Gustavo's smile widened; it was truly a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Seeing his master's reaction, Brooks whispered, "Do you perhaps know this Corsican?"
"I'd say we have some kind of one-sided relationship," Gustavo replied casually.
Brooks was a little confused. What was this one-sided friendship? She was curious but didn't dare to ask, and her mind started racing.
Gustavo didn't care about his puppet's thoughts. After pondering for a moment, he made a plan and left with Brooks.
Back in the control room, Gustavo retrieved the item from this mission: the mechanical box with its own power engine.
He was extremely curious about what was inside.
The Ashes Organization ruled by the Dark Lords, are so cautious in splitting their forces into multiple groups, all for the sake of obtaining what's inside. The implications of this are self-evident.
After entering the password, the box opened.
A cold, icy blue gas rose up, and in the middle of the inner packaging, a tube of dark green reagent in a transparent glass bottle came into view.
Gustavo picked up the test tube, gently shook it twice, and observed the changes in the liquid inside. Based on his superb knowledge of toxicology, he made a preliminary deduction.
His gaze unconsciously became more serious.
Gustavo made Brooks step back a few steps, and with a thought, he created a gravitational protective field about one meter in diameter around his body. Then he opened the test tube, took out some reagents, and slowly extended his Divine Power to observe its structure.
A few minutes later, Gustavo let out a long sigh of relief. "So it really was a virus?"
"Moreover, it's a highly contagious and deadly virus. What would the Ashes Organization want with this? A terrorist attack?"
Many thoughts flashed through his mind, but without strong supporting information, Gustavo did not draw any valuable conclusions.
After thinking for a moment, he took out an empty medicine bottle from his storage space, poured out about one-tenth of the dark green reagent, then sealed both bottles and put them back in their original positions.
Close the mechanical box, hand it to Brooks, and ask him to keep it safe.
As for the vial containing one-tenth of the dose, Gustavo placed it in another safe.
One hour later.
All the spaceships were docked on a particularly large meteorite, which Gustavo concealed using the "Shadow Cloak."
The Shadow Cloak, being a four-star common quality item, is no longer keeping up with Gustavo's pace, so this is a good opportunity to put it to good use.
After doing all this, Gustavo, along with the three puppets including Brooks, boarded the Black Crystal spaceship that Kelaio had repaired and flew towards the location of Planet Guta. This time, he was going to capture the diviner Diwoer.
In the vast, dark expanse of outer space, a scene unchanged for billions of years, time seems to lose its meaning.
After an unknown amount of time, a convoy of transport ships passed through the star fragmentation zone. The bottom hatch of one of the transport ships opened, and more than a dozen assault boats flew out.
Caesar, now in human form, stood with his hands behind his back, pondering his boss's orders.
Based on the coordinates provided by Logo, Caesar successfully located Gustavo's hidden spaceship.
"Legendary equipment? Too bad it's of the Shadow element, which clashes with my Holy Light."
Caesar curled his lip, put away his Shadow Cloak, and led the Blood Eye organization members into the flagship.
After securing the safe containing the virus and the Panbosaier Restriction Belt that Gustavo had deliberately left behind, Caesar went to the room where Birmingham was imprisoned.
Open the door.
"Who are you?"
Birmingham asked listlessly, his face slumped.
"Birmingham, is it? I am Logo Loge's subordinate. You are saved!"
Caesar extended his hand, bowed slightly, and said with a smile.
"Logo?" Birmingham frowned, quickly recalling the exceptionally talented young man, the most gifted alchemist he had ever met, who had left a deep impression on him and could not be forgotten.
"You're one of his men?" Birmingham asked suspiciously, somewhat incredulous.
"Of course, I have no reason to deceive you. Besides, look at my righteous and noble image, how could I possibly be a bad person?" Caesar said, releasing Holy Light, his whole being instantly transformed into a warm and comforting little sun, and his voice also became naturally calming.
Birmingham believed it.
Or rather, at this point he had no choice; what else could he do but disbelieve?
"Shall we go now?" Caesar said, turning to lead the way, but he quickly stopped, turning back to Birmingham with a wink and asking, "By the way, what's it like to be kidnapped as an alchemist? Interested in sharing?"
Birmingham's face darkened; he suddenly didn't want to pay any attention to the Gold Dragon.
Caesar chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "Relax, relax. As the saying goes, an alchemist who hasn't been kidnapped isn't a good alchemist. The fact that you were kidnapped eight times proves that you have talent, value, and ability. Even space pirates acknowledge your skills. Isn't that something to be proud of?"
Upon hearing this, Birmingham's expression softened somewhat. Although something still felt off, he felt better overall. Well, it seemed that this Gold Dragon wasn't so hateful after all.
And so, without anyone noticing, Caesar casually put his arm around Birmingham's shoulder, and even shrunk himself to match the height difference. Afterwards, he led Birmingham and dozens of spaceships of various types, and the group left the asteroid belt and headed towards Planet Oklo.
Meanwhile, on the vast, Whirlpool Sea, a massive fleet lay like floating land on the boundless blue ocean.
This is the Crimson Alliance, Sixth Naval Fleet.
The oceans of the high-magic planet are filled with immense elemental power, enormous sea monsters that could leap out of the seabed at any moment, and all sorts of harsh natural environments. This means that the cost of ships that can roam the oceans is not much lower than that of spaceships.
Of course, space battleships have a higher potential, that's for sure.
Naval vessels are built using a cost-effective model, and the cost is far less than that of space fleets.
On the battleship named Dreadnought, in a room made of high-strength alloy, Lancelot sat cross-legged, his body surrounded by a pale green light, a vibrant aura spreading out, even causing some wooden utensils to sprout tender green shoots.
Inside the body, dramatic changes erupted like a nuclear reactor.
The seventh awakening has begun.