Chapter 617: Turning the Tide: The Arrival of the Blood River King

“Finally, they’re here. Good thing too… it wasn’t looking great for us.”

Inside the Star River-class battleship’s main control room, Yang Song finally let out a long breath of relief.

As the very first Prince Zhenyuan of the Blood Sui Dynasty, his flagship—the Blood Sui Zhenyuan—has served as a Star River-class ship for tens of thousands of years. It’s practically a classic among its peers.

But that doesn’t mean the Blood Sui Zhenyuan is all that powerful anymore. Its biggest weakness? After all these years, his Torch Seed has never advanced to black, which is a glaring flaw.

With only a golden Torch Seed, the ship’s components can never be upgraded to the ninth tier. No matter how long it remains a Star River-class ship, the Blood Sui Zhenyuan is doomed to never reach the top.

Given all that, facing off against two Eighth-Tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demons—one even channeling the power of some mythic being from the Bottomless Abyss—had put them at a massive disadvantage. If support had taken another minute or two, he really might’ve bolted, no exaggeration.

His thoughts raced as the spatial ripples to the side grew stronger, catching everyone’s attention.

“A brand new Star River-class battleship! Support from the Divine Dynasty’s fleet command just arrived!”

The Star-Annihilator-class Captains around him felt a wave of hope. This backup couldn’t have come at a better time.

The previous situation was so dire that even though no one retreated, every captain here has lived for thousands—or even tens of thousands—of years. They all knew what was at stake.

Everyone realized Yang Clan of the Blood Sui’s ship couldn’t hold out much longer. No one tried to flee first, though, since punishment from the Torch Judgement Court and the Divine Dynasty’s fleet command would’ve been far worse.

Now, the arrival of this second Star River-class ship brought the balance back to the battlefield, turning what should have been a doomed defense into a real fight.

Right then, one of the Divine Dynasty’s Zhao Clan Star-Annihilator-class Captains chimed in on the group channel:

“That’s the Blood River totem—it must be the Blood River King!”

That one sentence instantly livened up the group chat after a long silence.

Rosetta Morningstar: “The Blood River King from the Blood River galaxy in the Divine Dynasty?”

Zhao Qiu: “That’s right, the very same!”

Xiao Changqing: “Seriously? Word is the Blood River King rose to power thanks to the rare Blood Sea Star River phenomenon. After fusing with its essence, his ship gained incredible defense and regeneration. When it first reached seventh tier, he went toe-to-toe with an Eighth-Tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demon.”

……

While they chatted about the Blood River King’s legendary past, the crimson warship marked with the Blood River totem took shape in the distance. Emerging from the void, its hull swelled from just over a hundred kilometers to its full length of a million.

A thunderous roar echoed!

The two Eighth-Tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demons suddenly let out sharp screeches. After more than a hundred thousand years at odds, the Torch Human Civilization and the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon Civilization knew each other’s moves inside and out.

The moment those screeches rang out, every Torch Captain present instantly understood the enemy’s intent.

“They’re summoning more Seventh-Tier Serpent Demons from nearby space! Zhenyuan, let’s finish this quickly!”

As soon as the words were said, Yang Song’s reply came swiftly from the Blood Sui Zhenyuan.

“Got it. We’ll target the one on the left—it’s nowhere near as talented as the other and doesn’t have the Eight-Armed Demon God’s power. If we go all in together, we’ve got a real shot at taking it down!”

With that, Yang Song refocused and activated another ship component almost simultaneously.

Nearby, a Divine Dynasty observer on one of the Star-Annihilator-class ships received a special transmission.

“Do everything you can to tie down the Eight-Tier Serpent Demon on the right. Give it everything you’ve got! If your ship sinks because you held back, don’t come blaming me!”

That message was straight from the Blood Sui Zhenyuan. Yang Song’s tone made it clear—this was no request. It was an order.

Reading the message, the observer’s expression soured. As a Star-Annihilator-class Captain born of the Xian Qin Divine Dynasty, he’d always been above it all. When had anyone ever dared order him around like this?

And not just any order—this was an outright dangerous one.

That Serpent Demon had been empowered with a fragment of Abyssal Demon God’s power—a single misstep and their lower-tier Star-Annihilator-class ship could easily be destroyed.

Still, however uncomfortable he felt, who was Yang Song? A Star River-class Captain. Even if just a vassal under the Divine Dynasty, he wasn’t someone you could say no to.

After a short, tense silence, the Captain forwarded the command to the group chat.

“Did we hear that right? We’re supposed to hold off an Eighth-Tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demon?”

“Not just any—it’s one carrying a trace of Demon God’s power!”

Their voices rose, but the chat was quickly dead silent again.

Or rather, grim would be a better word—the atmosphere grew heavier by the second.

The first problem? Deciding who among them would get up close and distract the Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon.

None of the dozen or so present wanted any part of that.

But before anyone could break the silence, the battlefield changed.

In a flash, the Blood River King’s battleship and the Blood Sui Zhenyuan streaked toward the same Eighth-Tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demon.

Before the other Demon could react, both Star River-class ships used special means to pull themselves and their target into a bizarre dimensional space.

The Serpent Demon empowered by the Demon God immediately struck at the dimension’s barrier, swinging all eight arms again and again.

But the part that formed this space was clearly top-tier—at least black-grade. No matter how the Demon hit it, there wasn’t a single crack.

Inside, though, the three-way brawl had already begun. The two Star River-class ships worked together, doing everything to hunt down the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon.

Seeing this, the Serpent Demon left outside finally snapped out of it. It stopped attacking the dimensional barrier and turned toward the nearby Star-Annihilator-class ships.

“This is not the time to hold back. Hit it with everything you’ve got!”

The first to break the silence in the group was one of the Zhao Clan ships from Lingyue.

He was the current head of the Lingyue Zhao Clan and had been a Star-Annihilator-class Captain for thirty thousand years, with experience far beyond the others.

Without waiting for feedback, he activated multiple ship components right away.

A moment later, a frosty white beam shot from his ship’s prow, racing at the Serpent Demon at incredible speed.

Once he made his move, the rest quickly followed. The other Star-Annihilator-class ships activated their own components, and beams of energy began to streak through space.

You could tell a lot from the color of the beams.

The Lingyue Zhao Clan head’s frosty beam was clearly a special freezing-type suppression ray. If it hit, it could likely immobilize the Eighth-Tier Demon for a few moments.

Most other captains had similar strategies.

But aboard the Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang, Song Wujian did things differently. Since he knew most around him were relying on control skills, he activated the ship’s heavy guns instead.

Everyone expected that with all these layers of attacks, the Serpent Demon would surely be pinned for at least a while. They underestimated not only its strength, though—but more importantly, the additional mythic Demon God power it carried.

As the barrage closed in, the Serpent Demon activated a bloodline ability it hadn’t revealed before.

“Serpent Prison!”

Crash!

Feral energy erupted from its body, laced with Demon God’s power, making this Serpent Prison ability even more fearsome.

All attacks that entered the Serpent Prison were swallowed without a sound, then ground to nothing by the furious powers swirling inside.

“Keep going…”

The Star-Annihilator-class Captains’ faces fell. They tried to fire again—

But the Serpent Demon was even quicker.

The eight-armed Serpent Prison erased every attack, then in the next instant, a massive gray-white beam lanced out from within.

It was the Petrifying Ray—the signature skill of the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon clan.

The beam was massive; for Song Wujian and the others, “pillar of light” was the only way to describe it.

That meant nearly every ship present was caught in its path.

In a blink, each Star-Annihilator-class Captain chose their response.

Some triggered their flash-displacement systems—

Some used anti-control or brute-force resistance systems—

Others fired off their engines, trying desperately to alter trajectory.

But the terror had only just begun. The Serpent Prison, which had previously only covered the Demon itself, now suddenly expanded—swallowing all the Star-Annihilator-class ships in one go.

Boosted by Demon God’s power, the Serpent Prison was even more overwhelming. Its effects? No teleportation, no magic, slowed movement, even time itself seemed to drag—every ship was affected.

Forget flashing away— even their energy shields overloaded and collapsed under the spell-suppressing rules.

Then came the Petrifying Ray. The pillar of light howled forth, and in a heartbeat, most of the Star-Annihilator-class ships were turned to stone. The Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang was no exception.

That wasn’t even the scariest part for the captains. Right now, wide-eyed, they stared in horror.

The Demon gave them no chance to breathe. Right after the Serpent Prison and Petrifying Ray, it lifted all eight arms—another black demon blade forming instantly above its head.

It was the same Eight-Armed Demon God’s Slash it had used on the Blood Sui Zhenyuan before.

This time, though, the blade was shorter and less powerful—hurriedly formed compared to the previous one.

But regardless, it was still a strike fueled by Demon God’s power. Maybe not quite ninth-tier in force, but absolutely one of the strongest at eighth.

Anyone who took that blow head-on wouldn’t walk away unscathed.

Especially now, with every ship’s energy shield already gone. For the captains, it was the worst possible scenario.

No matter how terrified they were, trapped in stone, all they could do was watch the demon blade sweep toward them.

A few ships had been lucky enough to avoid petrification and were scrambling to veer away as fast as they could.

But just because they couldn’t run didn’t mean they had given up. With engines frozen and energy locked down, at least their hull armor was still functional.

Each Star-Annihilator-class ship immediately activated every defensive measure their hull armor provided.

Every ship was outfitted differently: some sprouted a special alloy coating, some added emergency plating, a few transformed into entirely new shapes.

Inside the Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang, Song Wujian’s face was still pale with fear. Forcing himself to calm down, he was the first to trigger the “Doom Star Husk Guard” function on the Doom Star Shell Armor.

When the special shell wrapped around his ship, Song Wujian hesitated, glancing at a golden token in his hand.

This was the Market Projection Token, purposefully given to him by Song Chi before leaving.

Not only was he unsure if the token would work inside the spell-suppressing Serpent Prison, he also worried about exposure.

Everyone in the Song Family’s inner circle now more or less knew the truth: Song Chi wasn’t just a regular visitor to the Omniverse Market; he was far more closely tied.

If Song Wujian managed to summon the Market’s projection, the Song Family would definitely attract unwanted scrutiny, putting Song Chi at great risk.

While Song Wujian struggled, something changed: the Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang suddenly broke free from its petrification.

He whipped his gaze sideways—to the silver Blood War Stele.

It was clear: this component was what freed his ship early.

With a decision made, Song Wujian tucked the Projection Token away and shifted his focus. The warship’s hatch hissed open just a crack.

A moment later, the miniature Tiger Carapace King Bug inside received the signal. It darted through the opening, racing outside.

As soon as the bug was gone, the Doom Star Shell’s crack sealed seamlessly. Looking ahead, Song Wujian found that after all his maneuvering, the demon blade had already arrived.

Swish!

A ghostly glow flashed as the blade sliced across several hulls in its path. But unlike the others, before it could cut into the Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang, it struck the dense carapace of the giant King Bug—parked squarely in front.

Boom!

A violent explosion rocked the area, followed by another burst of wild, familiar energy.