Star Odyssey

Chapter 2504: Pure Attack

Luo Lao'er's face lit up with excitement. "Brother-in-law, that's the power of the Voidforce Universe. They’re an incredible civilization where their cultivation method allows them to control voidforce puppets. These voidforce puppets can be any living or non-living object, as long as a person can master it.”

"That big whalebone of Sister Hong's was a voidforce puppet, as were the other two items that we saw."

Lu Yin was impressed. So this was another universe’s power, huh? It sounded a bit like his die’s six pips: Possession.

"That was amazing! It’s no wonder why the Voidforce Universe is referred to as the shield of the Sixverse Association. They don't have to risk their lives when fighting, as they can just control their voidforce puppets. Their power is really incredible. Why didn't my old man send me to the Voidforce Universe?" Luo Lao'er complained.

Zuo Yu was shocked. "That's the power of the Voidforce Universe?"

Mu Duo solemnly interjected, "Our universe has interacted with the Voidforce Universe in the past, and people from there have visited our Transcendent Universe before. You should know about them."

Zuo Yu replied, "And yet it still never ceases to amaze me. But, how did Sister Hong and the other two manage to acquire the power of the Voidforce Universe?"

That question made Luo Lao'er realize the oddity as well. "Right! How did Sister Hong obtain the Voidforce Universe’s power? She’s undeniably from the Transcendent Universe."

With that, Luo Lao'er quickly ran towards Shi Hong and the two young men.

However, they were still on a battlefield, which meant that danger could appear at any moment.

Luo Lao'er ran towards Shi Hong and her two companions, and everyone else’s attention was also fixed on the three people. At the same time, another corpse king appeared beyond the metal walls of their platform, and it launched an attack at the distracted youths behind Luo Lao'er. However, a green light exploded, blocking the attack from reaching the humans. Lu Yin had taken action. He could not let these people die.

The corpse king only had the strength of an Enlighter, which meant that Lu Yin was able to handle it with the strength that he had exposed thus far.

The people on the platform spun around in horror to see a pair of scarlet eyes staring at them. They were nearly scared to death by the sight.

"This is a battlefield," Lu Yin somberly reminded everyone. Green energy covered his hand as he thrust it forward. He used the Overlaying Stacks Path to smash the corpse king's forehead, and it was sent tumbling away with half its head crushed.

Shi Hong was surprised. "A cultivator?"

She stared at Lu Yin. "You're a cultivator from another universe?"

More corpse kings started closing in from every side. Lu Yin answered, "Let's deal with these monsters first."

"I think that we should retreat. This platform stands out too much," someone suggested, but the idea was instantly dismissed. Leaving the platform was no different from desertion.

"We should all leave together! Who can condemn us then?" someone else shouted. Fear filled the woman’s eyes. She had lost all hope. She had assumed that the battlefield would not be dangerous for her, but true threats to her just kept appearing. Nearly a thousand people had defended the platform at the beginning, but a third of them had already died. It was only thanks to Shi Hong and the other two that they had survived for this long. Without those three, the platform would have already fallen like so many others.

Lu Yin scanned the area. Most of the people on the platforms were about to collapse. The human psyche had its limits. While energy converters were able to provide people with external strength, they also forced people to endure pressure that was far beyond what they were accustomed to dealing with.

Energy converters had both advantages and disadvantages. They allowed people who would never be able to reach the Enlighter realm to possess a level of strength that approached that of an Envoy, while simultaneously allowing them to freely travel through outer space, transcending their innate condition. The disadvantage was that such people never underwent the process of cultivating step by step from mortal to Envoy. The sudden increase in strength and responsibilities was more than what most could handle.

It was like giving children divine weapons to wield. It was possible to exert a certain level of power, but no matter what, they would still be children.

From Lu Yin’s perspective, these people were nothing more than children.

Upon seeing the fear and despair filling people’s eyes, Lu Yin's excitement for energy converters waned. These were useful tools, but they also had to be used with caution.

"Do you really think that we have any influence on the Ruling Council? Do you think that our numbers hold any significance? The moment we leave this platform, Qiu Zhan can execute us without a trial." Mu Duo shook his head.

Luo Lao'er bitterly muttered, "If it was possible to leave, I would’ve left ages ago. Why would I wait around here for you guys?"

"This battle’s already lost. We need to leave now. Qiu Zhan and the rest might not make it back alive," someone else commented with a trembling voice.

These words caused several faces to grow pale. Some were tempted, though others rebuked the man who had made the suggestion.

Zuo Yu gave the speaker a cold look. "Shut up! You're despicable. How can your life be worth as much as obtaining a victory in this battle?"

Mu Duo and many others looked at the man with contempt as well.

Even Luo Lao'er sneered at the man. "He’s even more afraid of death than I am."

The man desperately retorted, "We weren't even supposed to come to this battlefield in the first place! Why do we have to sacrifice ourselves here? We shouldn't be dying here! Do all of you want to die? Look around! There are corpse kings approaching us everywhere! Look at the rest of the platforms! Half of them have already been wiped out. Who can stop them? Who can fight against those monsters? I don't want to die! I want to go back."

As he spoke, a yellow light flashed as he prepared to return to his home universe.

Just at that moment, a tall figure appeared behind the young man. A foul smell came with it as a daunting shadow fell over the man who had just spoken.

The young man froze and swallowed. He slowly turned his head and saw that a corpse king was standing over him. "Hel-"

His body exploded, splattering flesh and blood in every direction.

Another Envoy-level corpse king had appeared without any warning. In Lu Yin's opinion, it had been drawn over by the man’s voice.

Only those unafraid of death were worthy of survival. Lu Yin had no intention of saving such a person. After all, even if the man had survived this battle, he would be the first to betray humanity the next time he encountered any real danger.

No one cared about the man’s death, as they were all entirely focused on the sudden appearance of the corpse king. Who could fight against this monster?

Shi Hong struggled to stand, and a blue light radiated from her hand.

The corpse king's gaze swept the crowd before landing on Shi Hong. Its eyes immediately flared, and then its body transformed. It then almost instantly appeared in front of Shi Hong and pressed a hand down. Given her current state, she was unable to unleash the true power of her blue energy converter.

There was no one on the entire platform who could save her.

She had never imagined that she would die on this battlefield. She was supposed to be an outstanding talent, a prodigy whom the Transcendent Universe had high hopes for! At that moment, a blue light flashed before her eyes. Blue? Who is it? Those two should be in an even worse state than me.

The energy converter embedded in Lu Yin's chest was emitting a blue light. He had finally used it.

Shi Hong and the two boys all had the strength of Enlighters, so if they were able to use a blue energy converter, then so could Lu Yin. Doing so would not arouse any suspicion.

Blue light represented a level of strength at near the peak of the Envoy realm. At best, it meant a power level of a million. The corpse king attacking them had a power level of just over 600,000.

Lu Yin used a movement technique to step in front of Shi Hong. He then used a single hand to block the corpse king.

Bang!

The Overlaying Stacks Path relentlessly pressed forth, breaking apart inch after inch of the corpse king's hand until its entire arm was destroyed. Lu Yin stepped forward, and his body seemed to merge with the corpse king's. Suddenly, a sword appeared in Lu Yin's hand, and the blade sliced through the corpse king before abruptly freezing it.

The corpse king's body fell to the platform, slain by the blue edge of the sword.

Nearly everyone on the platform stared on, open mouthed.

Luo Lao'er was not surprised. He knew that many cultivators were able to use blue energy converters.

Shi Hong was also unsurprised. The unknown man had demonstrated skillful use of a battle technique, as well as excellent swordsmanship.

Lu Yin lowered his sword and patted his chest where the energy converter lay. "Thankfully, I can use it."

"Brother-in-law, you really can use a blue energy converter!" Luo Lao'er praised.

Everyone else breathed a sigh of relief. Having another blue energy converter user was great news. Only with blue energy converters could they protect the platform.

After that, two more Envoy-level corpse kings reached their platform, but Lu Yin managed to easily deal with both of them.

Given the fact that this was Lu Yin's first time using a blue energy converter to power his battle techniques, his movements were clearly clumsier than Shi Hong's, but he was still able to protect the platform.

However, protecting a single platform was not enough. More than half of the Bestowal Carrier’s platforms were still extinguished in the end.

Once half of the platforms went out, the ten-meter-wide energy beam that enveloped the Progenitor-level corpse king started to dissipate. At that moment, the enemy made its move.

Everyone assumed that a massacre was imminent and that it was only a matter of time before the entire carrier was destroyed. However, Qiu Zhan suddenly appeared before the corpse king. At this moment, the man’s energy converter was clearly black.

Black energy converters were the most powerful ones, and they corresponded to a power level of two to five million, which was equivalent to a Progenitor's strength.

The defenders had not expected Qiu Zhan to have a black energy converter.

After appearing in front of the Progenitor-level corpse king, Qiu Zhan unleashed a sideways slash with a blade. The attack left behind a trail of black light. The Progenitor-level corpse king raised a hand to block the attack, but its body was forced backward by the attack. As it flew back, the void collapsed in its path, space was split asunder. The ripples that were created by the blow swept out and destroyed stars and planets. A terrible pressure descended upon the entire region.

Vibrations shook the Bestowal Carrier, and all of the defenders fell down onto all fours, struggling to even breathe.

Even Lu Yin was affected. He looked up and stared at Qiu Zhan’s silhouette against the backdrop of space. There was no Progenitor’s power or Progenitor's world infused in the attack. It was absolutely nothing but pure power, an explosion of the most basic form of energy, but in such quantity that it had reached the Progenitor level. Where did such power come from?

Although this power that was at the Progenitor level did not involve any battle techniques or innate gifts, it still demonstrated an organism's primal instinct to attack.

The Transcendent Universe was able to convert various energies into a basic form of energy and then elevate it to the level of a Progenitor’s power. Aeternus’s corpse kings excelled in physical combat, and this clearly applied to their Progenitor-level corpse kings as well. Even with its strength, this corpse king most likely did not have a Progenitor's world.

This was essentially a clash between the tip of a needle and wheat:1 one was pure energy, while the other was pure physical power. The collision created an explosive release of energy in outer space, as well as a shockwave that shook the entire battlefield.

Lu Yin was accustomed to seeing battle techniques and other similar attacks, and for this reason, he found these two combatants’ methods to be rather crude. However, the others who were watching were unable to discern whether this battle was good or bad. To the people of the Transcendent Universe, the power of one’s energy was everything. Even someone like Luo Lao'er, who also came from a cultivation civilization, might have never witnessed a Progenitor-level battle. He was likely completely unfamiliar with what such a fight looked like.

Everyone stared on, only able to see bursts of light that illuminated the area as space was ripped apart.

None of the people knew if they were lucky or unlucky.

The black energy converter placed an extra burden on the human defenders as the Progenitor-level battle unfolded before their eyes. Regardless of whether they were able to see it clearly, all of them could feel the calamitous oppression, the power that was capable of overturning space. Those eager to achieve that level of power for themselves would get excited about their future, but most people would only feel discouraged.

Everyone had varying degrees of understanding of themselves, but even so, the vast majority of people knew that they could not compare to true geniuses and elites. Witnessing the pinnacle of human power too soon would only leave them discouraged.

[1] Always like to include the Chinese idioms and such when possible. This is one that means two different but equal opposing forces. It refers to the tip of a needle and the end of a bit of wheat, which is also apparently quite sharp.