Chapter 645: Turning the Tide: A Daring Escape Beneath the Stars

After finishing the refinement of the Genesis Creation Pill, Song Chi turned just in time to see the situation on the battlefield shifting once more.

Maybe it was the berserk Tiger Carapace King Bug that caught their attention, but now two more of the five Eighth-Tier Serpent Demons locked onto their target, charging toward the battle at incredible speed.

“Retreat!”

At this, none of the factions could hold out any longer and orders to withdraw echoed all at once.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Battleships and dreadnoughts all surged toward the wormhole entrance, but the Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon’s power was even more overwhelming.

Seeing through the intentions of the Song Family, Luo Clan, and the other leaders, the Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon unleashed the Serpent Prison, stretching from above to cover every ship yet to make it out of the spatial wormhole entrance.

In an instant, no matter if it was an ordinary battleship, dreadnought, or a Star-Annihilator-class ship, the speed of retreat plummeted. The wormhole entrance loomed so close, yet it suddenly felt impossibly far away.

Shua!

Above, the Serpent Demon formed a hand seal that tore through the starry sky, slamming straight down toward the wormhole passage below.

If this Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon’s hand struck the wormhole, the portal entrance would collapse completely.

In that critical moment, Song Chi inside the Heavenly Ruin activated a component.

Light burst out in all directions—across the heavens, the power of time gathered at dizzying speed until a phantom chessboard appeared, stretching across the night sky.

This chessboard, built from exactly 108 illusory timepieces, channeled the tangible laws of the Sea of Stars. Time itself flowed over the board, gradually spreading downward until the entire starry sky was caught within it.

Within the chessboard’s domain, the Serpent Prison conjured by the Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon was forcibly torn apart from within. Even the monstrous hand bearing down from above slowed a hundredfold as soon as it entered the field.

For a hand that had been as swift as lightning, its threat was now almost gone.

In the Heavenly Ruin’s command center, Song Chi clasped his hands behind his back, not the least bit surprised.

The “Time • Chessboard” formed from 108 timepieces could accelerate or slow time up to 150 times. This Serpent Demon’s hand was wrapped in Eighth-Tier power—enough to resist some temporal effects—so it only lost a hundred times its speed instead of more.

But that didn’t last long. All this commotion soon drew the attention of the strongest Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon Dominator. At that, Song Chi felt his scalp tingle.

He knew perfectly well—this Dominator, already at the peak of the Eighth-Tier, wielded a real multicolored Oddity. If it joined the fight, the fragile balance created by the Timepiece Chessboard would shatter instantly.

……

Angel King’s Authority Wings—”Angel • Wing Blink”—activate!

Song Chi didn’t hesitate. As space warped, the Heavenly Ruin jumped ahead, appearing right by the entrance to the wormhole passage. The twin engines roared, launching the ship straight into the tunnel at top speed.

With the Chessboard’s power ripping through the Serpent Prison above, the suppression on the other ships was broken. The remaining fleets’ leaders rushed into the wormhole after him.

Song Chi saw no reason to stay behind. He’d done all he could.

Buzzzzz!

The Heavenly Ruin vanished into the wormhole, but, right after, a flash of dazzling color tore through the sky, chasing it into the passage.

Inside the wormhole, the Heavenly Ruin kept up its breakneck pace, but that multicolored light behind was even faster, quickly gaining on them.

“You really think you can keep me here with just a single ranged attack?”

He let out a sharp scoff.

Song Chi’s mind worked at lightning speed.

His lips curled in a cold smile, but deep down he was on high alert, not daring to be careless.

Angel King’s Authority Wings—”True Spirit Guard of the Angel King”!

Neutron-Star Core Armor—”Neutron-Star Fission”!

Neutron-Star Core Armor—”High-Energy Particle Storm”!

As multiple components came online at once, the Heavenly Ruin’s hull rapidly transformed.

A spirit apparition of the Angel King enveloped a miniature neutron star, and, crucially, a constant flood of high-energy particles now streamed outward from that star.

The pursuing color light struck the Angel King’s apparition first, unleashing a violent clash of energies. As expected, the apparition was eaten away and left with a deep crack.

Riding that crack, the now-dimmed colored glow crashed into the warship’s outer energy shield.

The outer Saintlight Shield shattered almost immediately, then the Yin-Yang Counter-Phase Annihilation Shield followed.

Crunch!

“So that’s the true might of an Eighth-Tier’s attack powered by a multicolored Oddity. Astonishing!”

As the Yin-Yang Counter-Phase Annihilation Shield quickly overloaded, Song Chi couldn’t help murmuring in awe.

Either Angel King’s Authority Wings or the Yin-Yang Shield were high-grade gold components, pushed to Eighth-Tier strength—yet both had been torn to shreds.

Even this much showed just how terrifying the power was in that brilliant light.

In the end, what remained of the colored light struck the miniature neutron star’s shell.

But with the Neutron-Star Core Armor already upgraded to black-grade, and ‘Neutron-Star Fission’ engaged—its toughest defense—the colored light failed to breach the shell, sputtering out completely.

……

Chipan Galaxy, northern Star Domain.

Outside the titanic spatial wormhole, a mass of Torch Battleships had assembled.

On the fleet-wide comm panel, every captain looked tense and anxious, eyes locked on the wormhole passage, ready for anything.

One by one, their ships emerged from the wormhole, the last to evacuate.

Then a familiar vessel shot out from the tunnel.

It was Song Chi’s Heavenly Ruin.

After breaking free, Song Chi wasted no time and shouted for Song Wujian.

Catching his meaning, Song Wujian immediately focused on the High-Dimensional Wormhole Generator.

Soon, the wormhole passage in front of the group started collapsing. Song Wujian took the initiative to destroy the spatial tunnel.

Within seconds, the wormhole completely disintegrated, and even the entrance with its chaotic rifts sealed itself under the Sea of Stars’ natural forces.

Only when the wormhole was gone did the captains finally release their tension. They knew they were safe.

Each organization began tallying their own casualties over the comm.

Song Family chat:

Song Xuancang: “According to the numbers, over 10% of our fleet was lost this time. More than a million ships were destroyed, upwards of a hundred thousand Torch Battleships among them. Over ninety-five percent of those were dark energy shuttles, with a thousand escort ships and hundreds of cruisers lost as well…”

At those numbers, the atmosphere grew unbearably heavy.

By comparison, the Luo Clan and their subordinate forces had it even worse.

The Luo Clan lost almost thirty percent, and their vassals—over forty percent. Calling it a disaster was no exaggeration.

Not many complained, though. Most just felt relief.

Everyone knew—if not for the Song Family, and especially Song Wujian’s High-Dimensional Wormhole Generator, the losses would have been total. Total annihilation wasn’t out of the question.

……

Min Serpent Galaxy, in the battlefield among the stars.

Wreckage covered every corner of space. Over a hundred eight-armed figures—like celestial demons—stood atop the ruins of the heavens, looming above billions of destroyed warships.

Among all that wreckage, the fifteen Star-Annihilator-class Ships and one Star River-class Battleship stood out most.

Suddenly, surging spatial ripples tore open part of the field.

And it wasn’t just one—it was a whole web of ripples, making for a spectacular sight.

A swelling shockwave stretched for hundreds of millions of kilometers, instantly drawing the attention of nearly 120 eight-armed figures.

In their midst, the Eighth-Tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demon’s slit pupils glinted with gray, and an idea sparked. It roared:

“Reinforcements from the Xian Qin Divine Dynasty are here! Retreat!”

Saying this, its Dominion Power surged. That multicolored Oddity flared to life once more, and the serpent dominators nearby suddenly found themselves engulfed in vast spatial force.

In that instant, two completely different spatial powers blanketed the battlefield.

“Don’t let them escape!”

Within the swirling spatial vortex that ran hundreds of millions of kilometers wide, the shadows of ten Star River-class Battleships appeared.

Catching sight of the endless debris, the ten battleship captains sent from the Divine Dynasty burned with anger deep inside.

Even if each of them had risen over the corpses of countless alien foes, these ships represented their own people. The meaning was entirely different.

All ten warships unleashed their strongest available measures, massing all energy to the tips of their bows.

Eight of them finished charging their main cannons almost instantly, and eight blinding beams tore through the star river, targeting the eight-armed demons.

Shua!

That multicolored glow swept out, and with it every inch of space—along with nearly 120 serpent dominators—flickered, their forms instantly turning ethereal.

For a moment, their images flashed in view, but in truth they’d already been teleported thousands of light years away.

Only a cold, mocking laugh lingered behind.

“You’re not getting away!”

From the fiery red Star River-class ship at the center, a deep, weathered voice rang out.

In the next instant, that burning red vessel tore ahead, racing after a target.

“Shihu, count me in!”

“Are you kidding—the multicolored Patrol Radar can really lock onto their position that fast? Hey, wait for me! Like I’d ever miss a chance to smash these bastards!”

“Lanji, you stay back and save the wounded. They’re all sons of Torch Human Civilization—you must save as many as you can, I’m counting on you!”