Chapter 628: Beneath the Shattered Shield

There was no choice but to make this decision—even knowing it would raise the casualty rate for the Song Family’s Tier Four clansmen in the coming civilizational war, there was nothing else to do.

Even though every Tier Four and above clansman in the family had already signed the golden pact set by the Covenant of Flame before the war started, all to ensure the family’s deepest secrets would never slip out.

But that still wasn’t enough. It might work against powers from the Yaohan and Morningstar Kingdoms, but if the Dragon Whale Hall drew attention as a mythic-colored Oddity, the predators it would attract would be far from ordinary. An immortal giant making a move wouldn’t be out of the question. At that level, merely a golden-grade secrecy pact would fall short.

That’s why, for now, hiding the truth from most clansmen was the safest path.

……

Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz!

The Main Hall thickened with swirling Chaotic Mist, colored lights lurking beneath the haze. The once illusory starry dome overhead was now a true cosmic expanse; silver light gleamed, making Dragon Whale Hall seem even more solemn than usual.

As spatial ripples surfaced, thrones—some bronze, some silver, some gold, and even a handful etched with starlight—began to take shape, each one seating a projected figure of a Song Family clansman. There were now three thousand such thrones in total.

Including Song Chi and the other original attendees, the sum of these projections was exactly ninety—the special group that had become bound to the Dragon Whale Hall before the war began.

As for why only ninety? Naturally, some had already fallen. After centuries of campaigning, how could there be no losses?

And that was with the Song Family’s preparations, the quick responses of their leaders during the war, and the deep trust the people put in their elders. Wartime mobilization reached peak efficiency, reducing the casualties to a minimum.

Other factions in the fleet? Their losses were far heavier.

Even the allied Chigu Luo Clan’s fleet, despite frequent help from the Song Family, had already lost over twenty Zhulu-class Cruisers. As for the Morningstar Family, rumor had it they’d lost almost forty.

Within the Dragon Whale, the summoned Song clansmen looked about in curiosity, quiet discussions springing up among them.

As expected, all conversation revolved around exploring the dramatic changes in the Dragon Whale Hall.

Since those already bonded to Dragon Whale Hall couldn’t be kept in the dark, and the changes in their Torch Ancestral Orifice—the transformative nature of the Heart Hall—were impossible to miss, it was better to tell them directly than let speculation run wild.

“Now that everyone’s here, let’s have the Clan Elder announce a major event for the Dragonspine Song Family!”

Song Xuancang’s voice cut through the hall’s chatter. There was no chaos this time—only a collective jolt of nerves among the clansmen who heard his words.

Everyone had their suspicions about what was unfolding. Now, all they wanted was to hear it confirmed from the Elder himself.

With nearly a hundred gazes fixed on him, Song Wujian spoke up, his voice steady:

“Just now, the Dragon Whale Hall has finally completed its restoration. We’ve successfully raised it from black supreme grade to mythic-colored! That means, from now on, our Song Family has its very own mythic foundation!”

Silence reigned. You could hear a pin drop.

But that stillness was just the prelude. Excitement built inside every clansman present.

Mere heartbeats later, the entire hall erupted in cheers.

Even though the youngest among them was already centuries old and each had plenty of self-control, the words ‘mythic-colored’ washed all restraint and composure away.

After the cheers faded, the smile on Song Wujian’s face slipped away as he shifted the conversation to what truly mattered.

“Alright. Besides sharing this good news, I’ve summoned you here for another reason. Though our Song Family has grown stronger, we still can’t fully shoulder the weight of a mythic-colored Oddity. For the family’s safety, no one must breathe a word about the Dragon Whale Hall’s ascension…”

After he gave this solemn reminder, the projections in the hall faded away one by one. The assault on the Fire Serpent Galaxy was still under way, and no one could afford to lose focus now.

……

Time raced by. In a blink, more than twenty years had passed.

On this day, several warships from the Song Family fleet slipped out in secrecy once more.

This time, there were even more ships—five in total.

One was a Star-Annihilator-class ship, the others were four Dreadnoughts.

Thanks to the stealthy Group Phantom River, all five ships departed without so much as a ripple.

But this time, instead of heading for the center of the galaxy, they set course straight for the northwest.

Anyone watching from outside would probably assume their target was the western region of the Fire Serpent Galaxy.

But reality was a little more complicated.

This time, their destination was beyond the borders of the Fire Serpent Galaxy.

Over the past century, the Song Family and allied fleets had conquered ninety-nine percent of the Fire Serpent Galaxy. The joint fleet was already planning a northern advance, and with no more prizes left here, attention had turned elsewhere.

But this war wasn’t just about their fleet. The five Song Family members now aimed for another advance fleet, millions of light-years to the west—one led by various powers from Silverplate and Yunpan Galaxies.

According to spies embedded in the Silverplate Galaxy since long ago—including intel from the Silverplate Pan Family under Song Chi—this particular advance fleet was in the middle of attacking a brand new Eight-Armed Serpent Demon civilization, right at a crucial point.

Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang Encrypted Comms Group Chat

Song Xingru: “How about this ‘Venom Serpent Floating-Land’ then!”

Song Yan: “That’s the capital floating-land of the Serpent Galaxy! It’s already nearly top-tier grade. If we loot it now, we might really come away with a haul!”

Song Shiyuan: “I’m against it. Sure, the Venom Serpent Floating-Land is bursting with resources, but it’s a peak-level Tier 7, and the war is at its hottest. Its shield will be locked down tight. We might not even be able to breach it with just five ships.”

“And we don’t know if any Serpent Demon Dominators are stationed inside either. With just five ships and Xiaochi’s Market Projection, we’re better off targeting an ordinary Tier 7 floating-land instead!”

With no decision in sight, Song Wujian glanced over at Song Chi.

“Xiaochi, what do you think?”

Song Chi thought a moment, but ultimately leaned toward the Prime Ancestor’s suggestion.

After hearing his choice, Song Wujian nodded.

“Alright, then let’s hit the Withered Serpent Floating-Land!”

……

The Withered Serpent Floating-Land sits in the northwest corner of the Serpent Galaxy. Out of all the galaxy’s Tier 7 floating-lands, it’s among the least conspicuous.

That day, streaks of red and silver light sliced through the cosmos outside the Withered Serpent Floating-Land. They moved fast, but with such small diameters, it was clear their destructive power would be limited.

Patrolling Eight-Armed Serpent Demons detected the spectacle, but barely paid attention. Bursts of harmless light from space weren’t out of the ordinary.

But as the beams closed in, the demon patrols started to realize something—the light was converging again and again on the exact same patch of the shield. That couldn’t be a coincidence.

By the time they thought to stop it, it was already too late.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Each beam struck that same spot on the floating-land shield. Individually they just rippled its surface, but after several hits, something changed at that point of contact.

You could clearly see it: after those repeated strikes, the local area of the Withered Serpent Floating-Land’s shield started to dim noticeably—even though the shield as a whole seemed fine.

If that was all, it’d be no big deal. A Tier 7 floating-land could repair minor breaches in an instant.

But this wasn’t an ordinary breach.

Inside the Withered Serpent Floating-Land, panic flooded the serpent eyes of every Eight-Armed Serpent Demon.

Their heads snapped upward, staring through countless towers to the sky above—the outer shield.

What they saw next: behind those lines of red and silver light, a colossal hand of purple mist was plunging down at lightning speed.

Two entirely different types of energy tore past each other, and encircling the purple mist hand, a ring of crimson flame flared to life.

But the hand didn’t slow one bit. In no time, a palm larger than a hundred thousand kilometers long pressed against the shield’s dimmed surface.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

As more and more webs of cracks crawled across the shield, the terror in the hearts of the Eight-Armed Serpent Demons peaked—they fractured inside just as the shield did outside.

Their prayers couldn’t change a thing. That illusory hand, formed by the fusion of spatial, light, and purple mist energies, turned a pinpoint breach into a sweeping tear, finally ripping the shield of the Withered Serpent Floating-Land apart completely.

From deep in space, the five ships that had exposed themselves by attacking the shield were suddenly shrouded in spatial ripples. A moment later, all five vanished. When they reappeared, they’d landed right on the surface of the floating-land.

Song Wujian: “Split up! I’ll take the northern Serpent Demon Holy City. Xiaochi, Xingru—you take the eastern Serpent Demon Holy City. Shiyuan, Xiao Yan, you handle the west. We’ll regroup at the central Withered Serpent Holy City.”

“Got it. Xiao Yan, let’s move!”

“Xiaochi!”

“Here!”

……

East Withered Serpent Floating-Land, Serpent Demon Holy City.

When the Heavenly Ruin Mirror Warship and Violet Moon Longsong warship duplicates arrived, the first thing they saw was the city’s bright white shield, glowing above everything.

Though not as overbearing as the floating-land shield, this city shield was absolutely a solid Tier 7 defense—smashing it wouldn’t be easy.

“Ru Zu, hold up!”

Noticing the fiery red warship to the left starting to charge its cannons, Song Chi hurried to stop it.

A second later, he activated the Pusa Zen Seal component on the Mirror Warship. Thanks to the “speed” property, he triggered the Skybreaker Drill again—a weapon he’d already used once before.

A thin, familiar strand of silver light shot from the Mirror Warship. As soon as it touched the city shield below, the shield of the eastern holy city noticeably dimmed.

Seeing that, a grin tugged at Song Chi’s lips. Silver-grade Skybreaker Drill never disappoints.

The second batch of Silver Apples had produced three in total. The first had upgraded the Four Symbols Rotating Sigil. Song Chi used the other two to boost the Skybreaker Drill and the Life-System Medical Repair Pod.

This was the first time the Skybreaker Drill—now boosted to level 70—was seeing combat. Add in the special property he’d chosen, and the results were already beyond impressive.

Skybreaker Drill Lv. 70

Grade: Silver

Property: Spacebreaker

Property 2: Increases the warship’s spatial resistance by 6400

Property 3: First property’s effect is doubled

Property 4: Raises the internal spatial energy density of the warship by 50%

Consumption: 1224 Eon Energy Points per second

Effect: When the warship damages spatially locked barriers or shields, damage is doubled.

No need for charging or cooldown.

……

{Spacebreaker: Burns 50,000 Eon Energy Points to create a rift in any special shield—barriers, energy shields, or floating-land shields within 100km—ripping a breach open. The breach’s duration depends on shield strength. 48-hour cooldown.}

After the brief thrill, Song Chi exchanged a glance with Ru Zu in the group chat, and at once, they unleashed a barrage of heavy attacks from their warship clones.

In less than a few minutes, a fierce bombardment battered the eastern city. Ten minutes more, and the battered city shield—already much weakened—finally gave in and shattered.

The instant the shield collapsed, a handful of Tier Six Eight-Armed Serpent Demons burst out of the Serpent Demon Holy City.

They unleashed their Serpent Demon Avatars, summoned the Serpent Prison, and a thick crimson aura surged around them—it was clear they were burning their own life force.

Apparently, these Tier Six Eight-Armed Serpent Demons had sensed that Song Chi and Ru Zu were anything but ordinary. From the start, they threw everything on the table, desperate to take the warship clones down with them.

But Song Chi didn’t have time for any drawn-out struggle. The Heavenly Ruin Mirror Warship’s bay doors slid open, and a Six-Star Ancient Beast strode out.

Celestial Authority Ring—Enslave Seal: Berserk—activated!

Once it triggered, the ancient beast swelled at breakneck speed, its power skyrocketing to Tier Seven levels.

From there, it was a one-sided slaughter. Those Tier Six Eight-Armed Serpent Demons had the floating-land’s will, unleashed the Serpent Prison and their Avatars, even burned their own lives, but could only reach the very peak of Tier Six. None could compare to the berserk ancient beast.

In under twenty minutes, all Tier Five and Tier Six Eight-Armed Serpent Demons in the eastern holy city were wiped out.