Global Era of Star trekking Chapter 1806 - 880: All-Out Strike

[Human Emperor City · West Wall · Section 76 Frontline]

The relentless shock wave pierced through the heavy composite armor, hitting deep into the bones of Li Qing, who served as the eighth rank Star River Captain leading the "Dragon Flame Fleet."

His command vessel, the [Fiery Fire Dragon]—a veteran Star River Ship that had attained eighth rank over tens of thousands of years—now bobbed unsteadily like a tiny craft tossed by raging tempests.

Within the bridge, shrill alarms blended with the whine of surging energy and the creaks of straining structures, nearly rupturing anyone's hearing.

"Port side third and fourth auxiliary cannon array clusters are overloading! Buffering underway!"

"Energy Shield value has dropped over seventy percent—initiate repairs immediately!"

"In the right defense line sector, more than thirty percent of the third detachment's warships have sunk—send reinforcements without delay!"

Warnings from the tactical commander and the ship's Intelligent Brain poured in relentlessly, the commander's tone laced with raw exhaustion and raspiness. Every update marked yet another drain on their fighting strength. Li Qing's hands clamped like vices, his gaze locked on the infernal chaos beyond the wide viewport, knuckles drained of color.

Beyond the view, the familiar hues of the Chaos Void had vanished entirely, overtaken by a boundless, howling surge of blood-red madness from the alien warriors.

These foes slammed into the [Civilization Great Wall], its dense starry light barrier; every collision sent fierce tremors across the surface, spawning waves of distortions.

Beyond that barrier, blasts of energy, acidic biology, rotting spores, and jagged bone lances... a barrage of lethal assaults hammered down like a downpour, bursting into bursts of annihilating radiance.

Despite the dual seven-colored rule barrier and the layered backing from Human Emperor City's defenses, fissures of varying sizes still flickered into existence now and then, inflicting devastating losses on the Dragon Flame Fleet's crew, who unleashed wild barrages from within the safety.

Boom!

The forward main cannon of the [Fiery Fire Dragon] thundered anew, unleashing a massive crimson particle stream that vaporized scores of seventh-rank Alien Race across its sweeping frontal zone in an instant.

Yet within moments, fresh hordes of beasts swarmed to refill the emptiness, as the secondary batteries kept blasting away, weaving a tight web of shots to halt the alien fighters from nearing the barrier.

Still, the secondary cannons' power remained constrained overall; despite their volume, they struggled to deliver the kind of widespread devastation that banks of primary guns could unleash rapidly.

It wasn't only the [Fiery Fire Dragon]—across the whole Section 76 front and the broad west wall of Human Emperor City, hordes of Torch Warships in assorted ranks created an iron forest, every barrel belching flames in a frenzy.

The stuttering bursts of light illuminated the captains' grim and unyielding expressions, shifting from brilliance to gloom. Each volley demanded lengthy cooldowns, and every strike invited fiercer retaliation from the foes.

"Commander! At three o'clock, a Rift Beast swarm! They're pooling power to eat away at the shield!"

The fleet's group comm erupted with the deputy commander's frantic alert.

Li Qing whipped around, catching sight of a cluster of "Void Rift Beasts" that looked like drifting jellyfish, encircled by sparking erratic energy, clustering close. Tentacles intertwined, they merged forces to conjure a sinister purple orb pulsing with dire vibes, aimed at a precise point on the outer layer of the Civilization Great Wall's guard field.

The targeted spot on the barrier began subtly shifting tones, its power levels spiking wildly.

"Unleash all spare firepower—provide covering shots! Stop them from completing it!" Li Qing bellowed, prompting the [Fiery Fire Dragon]'s trio of primary cannons, freshly cooled, to blast forth, sending three ruinous rays hurtling ahead.

Nearby vessels reacted at once, a storm of rays and projectiles charging that zone like ravenous predators.

Boom boom boom boom!

The barrage of blasts engulfed the Rift Beast pack.

But before the blast glows faded, a silhouette burst free from the chaos—it was the smaller yet incredibly agile projection of a tenth rank legendary being, the "Mythical Void Armor Beast"!

Clearly, it had timed its move with the Rift Beasts' assault, exploiting the brief lull in the onslaught.

Its talons shimmered with spectral glows that rent the fabric of space, lunging savagely at the barrier's point, which had endured the focused barrage but hadn't yet recovered fully.

"This is bad!" Li Qing's spirits plummeted.

Should this strike, laced with mythical essence, land on that juncture, the barrier might well rip apart.

In this pivotal moment, a rough yet determined voice echoed across the open channel:

"Cover me, all of you!"

From the formation's edge, a heavily damaged [Star River Ship]—the deputy commander's lead ship, the [Vast Sky Ding]—abruptly maxed out its drives for a final surge, boldly ramming into the shadowy killer beast's manifestation.

"Old Zhang!!"

Rage boiled in Li Qing until his eyes stung; he knew this second-in-command well, even if the high command had loaned him to the fleet on short notice and he wasn't from the Sheng Tang Dynasty Royal Family, their years together had built an unbreakable bond.

No response came.

Just a thunderous, heroic detonation!

The [Vast Sky Ding], packed with its volatile warheads inside, erupted into a dazzling but merciless bloom of annihilation, the colossal blasts not only erasing the legendary manifestation but also scouring vast swaths of injured alien combatants.

The price: the [Vast Sky Ding] went under for good, its Star River Captain, Old Zhang, lost forever to the stars.

A momentary hush fell over the Dragon Flame Fleet's comms, broken only by labored breaths and distant rumbles, as grief fueled an even hotter blaze of wrath.