Chapter 433: The Assault on Storm Calamity: Fleet Alliance and the Shattered Shield

Song Chi had spent over a month inside the full-attribute cultivation chamber, and luck hadn’t done him too badly.

Five years back, thanks to the massive birthday banquet thrown for the Changsun Family’s old patriarch, his Guiding Technique had touched the bottleneck at level 42. Now, with the aid of a level 48 full-attribute chamber, he finally broke through. His Guiding Technique had officially stepped into level 42.

While this should have been cause for celebration, Song Chi mostly just felt a deep sigh lingering in his chest.

That once-in-ten-thousand-years birthday feast wasn’t something you could just stumble into, and even after feasting on all those impossible-to-find spiritual dishes, it still took him years to break through a single level. To call it a near-impossible trial was hardly an exaggeration.

Remembering that, Song Chi couldn’t truly feel happy.

And this was just the start of the fourth tier for his Guiding Technique. He could barely imagine what the fifth or sixth tier would demand.

Lost in thought, his gaze shifted to the storage capsule by his side. He quickly pulled out a vial of faintly red liquid.

After a moment of hesitation, Song Chi still decided not to use it.

This was the Superior Body-Tempering Elixir, brewed mainly from Supreme Stargrass grown over three thousand years. It was a top-tier elixir, perfect for assisting breakthroughs in the Guiding Technique. Word among the elders was it could even help with fifth-tier Guiding Technique.

Song Chi had received three vials of this Superior Body-Tempering Elixir as another reward for handing over the complete design of the Morro Void-Retreat Mecha set, and he still hadn’t touched any of them.

There was no helping it—such high-grade elixirs were scarce even within his Family, only a tiny surplus each year, and those were always prioritized for the handful of fifth-tier ancestors. Getting any at all was a rare stroke of luck.

Song Chi’s plan was simple: save one vial for a future attempt at the fifth-tier breakthrough, and use the other two for cracking minor bottlenecks along the way.

Unfortunately, whether it was Andre from the Northern Sea Court or the fire-elemental from the Fire Realm, the deep-sea pearls and fireberry fruits they provided hadn’t aged enough. If they had, his cultivation wouldn’t have dragged on so long.

He let out a sigh and shook his head, but just then, a call from his Void Demon stationed outside reached his mind.

“So, it’s finally time to head out…”

The Void Demon was relaying an order from the family’s command center: the fleet would move out in an hour. They would rendezvous with several other Duchy fleets in the northern Chaos Sector, then continue north. In two years’ time, they’d merge formally into the Yaohan Kingdom’s Eastern Road Fleet.

Thanks to a star gate leading straight to the northern Chaos Sector, the initial rendezvous with other fleets would be quick. But pushing north into the former Doomstar Race’s domain after that would be nothing short of grueling.

A massive void belt, spanning tens of thousands of light years, separated the Doomstar domain from Chaos Sector. With no long-range star gate, the Duchy’s millions-strong fleet would have to pass through it, relay by relay, on mid-range gates. That was no small feat.

Especially since over seventy percent of the fleet’s ships were ordinary starships with no independent warp capability.

…

Northern Chaos Sector. Five years had passed; it was now fully under Eagle Family control.

In the Mixed Ocean Star Zone at the sector’s very northern edge, the Eagle Family had designated it as the jumping-off point for the fleet’s expedition north. The first batch of mid-range star gates had already been pre-installed.

Once the Duchy’s five great powerhouses arrived, leaders from all sides met for yet another round of negotiation, before the densely packed fleets began queuing up for mid-range gate transfers in batches.

The Void Belt, Chaos Sector.

This belt adjacent to Chaos Sector had always taken its name from it.

By the standards of the Endless Shattered Sea, this void belt—just tens of thousands of light years across—was merely a small one.

Even so, traversing it took the Duchy expedition fleet nearly two years.

Fleet Command – Mag-Wave Group Chat:

“Marko Dusk: If only we could have built a long-range teleportation gate, we’d have avoided so much trouble.”

“Slim Eagle: Gates like that? Only kingdom-level forces can afford to build them. It’s not just the ridiculous cost—supposedly, there are hidden reasons as well…”

As the flagship captain of the Eagle Family’s core faction, and by default its main spokesperson, Slim Eagle’s words carried weight among the Duchy’s great houses.

With that statement, the comms erupted as many other flagship captains piped up:

“Song Xingru: Hidden reasons? Like what, exactly?”

“Lu Chengguo: Is it some kind of special compact between the top immortal houses…”

Before Lu Chengguo of the Gold Horn Lu Family could finish, his Family’s patriarch, Lu Beili, cut him off.

“Lu Beili: Enough. We’re through the void belt. Next comes the rendezvous with the kingdom’s Eastern Road Fleet. Go prepare accordingly!”

With the Lu Elder’s word, no one dared ask more.

Duchy Family High Command – Secure Channel, created by the Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang’s flagship:

“Song Xingru: Elder, what exactly was Slim talking about—what’s the secret?”

Song Chi, who was also lurking in the chat, perked right up.

He didn’t know all the details, but anything called a ‘secret’ wouldn’t be minor.

The chat fell silent for a while. Just as everyone thought the Progenitor wouldn’t reply, Song Wujian’s message finally appeared.

“In truth, it’s not really a secret. It’s just a rule everyone at the top—the immortal families—agreed upon.”

“Long-range gates can send you up to a hundred thousand light years. Ultra-range ones go even farther—millions. The cost is absurd, yes, but in this great star age, everyone wants them. There’s so much at stake, only the immortal powers can build them. That’s how the ‘immortals-build-only’ rule came to be.”

Everyone in the chat finally understood.

Song Chi, for his part, couldn’t help feeling this was all too familiar:

“Isn’t this just the same as monopoly back on Earth?”

Still, he didn’t feel much resentment. It was just how societies evolved—or star ages, for that matter.

Pursuing profit was human nature. Nothing to condemn. All they could do was develop themselves, and try to join in someday too.

An ideal, equal society?

Dream on.

…

A month later, a messenger battleship sped in from the northwest and linked up with the Morningstar Duchy fleet. Not long after, the fleet’s entire course abruptly shifted.

Through a family comms group, Song Chi quickly learned why.

Just recently, the kingdom’s Eastern Road Fleet had launched a new offensive. The Duchy fleet’s new task: reinforce the northern Storm Calamity sector battlefield.

There was also the detailed info on the Storm Calamity battlefield.

Storm Calamity Sector sat at the heart of what used to be Doomstar territory, spanning over ten thousand light years. Within it was the level 6 life‑type Floating-land known as Storm Calamity Floating-land, two level-5 resource floaters, and six level-4 floaters. Not exactly rich, but not barren either.

The fleet assigned to assault this sector was led by the Stark Family.

But after arriving months late, the Morningstar Duchy’s fleet found that nearly the whole sector had already been swept clean by the Starks. The only thing left untouched—the most valuable—was the Storm Calamity Floating-land.

Two massive fleets finally linked up outside the Storm Calamity Floating-land’s shield.

When they saw that the Starks had been blocked at the Floating-land’s outer shield, the high commands of the Duchy’s great houses all sighed in relief. Let the others have the minor star zones—this Floating-land was everything. A level 6 life‑type Floating-land over 80 light years across.

Put simply, if the entire Storm Calamity sector’s value was 100, this Floating-land alone was worth over 60. No exaggeration.

Most crucial—the level 6 Floating-land could occasionally produce Seventh‑Tier Floating-land origin, a strategic resource desired everywhere in the Shattered Sea.

Yet what the Duchy’s high command didn’t know—the Starks were just as relieved for reinforcements.

Storm Calamity Floating-land might not be top-tier for level 6s, but it was still a six. Just the Sixth-Tier shield around it had been giving the Stark Family a world of trouble for over a month.

Compared to other energy shields of the same rank, a floating-land shield backed by a full level 6 Floating-land was in a league of its own. To be blunt, even a Seventh-Tier being would need time to crack it.

That’s why, even with their mightiest dreadnought and millions of ships focusing fire for over a month, the Starks had barely scratched the shield.

Meanwhile, the two Sixth-Tier Doomstars within kept emerging to harass and attack, and backed by the Floating-land’s natural laws, their strength neared the top of the sixth rank. Losses for the Stark fleet mounted.

With the Morningstar Duchy fleets’ arrival, hope came at last—maybe, just maybe, they could crack that outer shield.

…

Once the two fleets joined up, their high commands immediately established communication to strategize on breaching the Storm Calamity Floating-land.

Thanks to his status within the family, Song Chi was privileged to join this encrypted discussion—though only as a silent observer.

Naturally, he was there to listen; he knew he didn’t have the seniority to offer ideas yet.

“There’s no way this Floating-land shield’s strength is less than half-step Seventh-Tier. Even if our patriarch goes all out and brings a silver-grade breacher on top, we still barely so much as dented the thing. And with those two peak-sixth Doomstars inside constantly interfering…”

“That’s about the situation. Any ideas on how to proceed?”

With those words from a Stark Family Fifth-Tier flagship captain, the meeting officially kicked off.

“Slim Eagle: You’re talking about Senior Hardy, right?”

The Eagle Family’s core flagship captain was first to speak up—asking the question everyone else was quietly wondering.

The Starks actually fielded two dreadnought captains for this conquest, both patriarch-tier, but of different caliber entirely.

Carem Stark had only stepped into the sixth rank just over a thousand years ago. His flagship wasn’t much better than the Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang, barely making the cut for senior dreadnoughts. Hardy Stark, on the other hand, on the White Ghost, had stood at the peak of the dreadnought class for thousands of years.

“Correct!”

That firm reply made everyone in the chat go grave. If Hardy Stark himself had failed at full power, they could only imagine what they were up against.

They knew the game plan had to factor in that monstrous shield.

After nearly twenty minutes, Angel Star uploaded a screenshot of a special module—and instantly, the mood of the discussion changed.

Ethereal Drifter, Level 60

Grade: Silver

Ability: Ethereal Traverse

Ability 2: +5400 ship-wide spatial resistance

Ability 3: …

…

Ethereal Traverse: Consumes 300,000 u-energy to enter a temporary ethereal state; while ethereal, the ship can freely phase through all physical and energy shields or barriers. Duration: ???

Angel Star didn’t leak all the details, but what was shown was enough—her plan was for her flagship, the White Night Morningstar, to traverse the shield first, enter the Floating-land, and draw the attention of the two Doomstars inside, buying time for the main fleet.

To be honest, it wasn’t a bad plan. The powerhouses didn’t reply at once, waiting for what Morningstar Family would ask in return.

Sure enough, Angel Star followed up:

“In that case, as you all know, the White Night Morningstar will face great danger. My request is simple: all houses must buff it as best they can. And, after we take the Floating-land, the Morningstar Family gets first pick of the Sea of Stars treasures!”

The high commands, rather than object, just let out sighs of relief.

If that was all, it was easy to accept.

They had just one more stipulation.

Only one Oddity for first pick.

Once Morningstar Family agreed, the attention swung to the Starks.

On the topic of buffs, at the start of the war, Hardy Stark had promised to put up a gold-grade booster module. Now it was time to deliver.

The Starks kept their word.

With the war still far from over—and the Starks themselves ostracized in the Yaohan Kingdom—they valued their alliance with the Morningstar Duchy even more.

If not for the joint fleets, who knew how much longer they’d have been stuck on the Storm Calamity Shield?

Allies clearly mattered, especially in once-in-ten-millennium wars like this. Better to keep your partnerships strong.

Soon, a new screenshot for another special module appeared in the chat.

Mermaid Queen’s Blessing, Level 70

Grade: Gold

Fortune of the Mermaids – Power (Doubles ship’s firepower)

Fortune of the Mermaids – Speed (Doubles ship’s movement speed)

Fortune of the Mermaids – Resilience (Doubles ship’s defense)

Abyssal Link

Ability 5: ???

…

Abyssal Link: Consumes 500,000 u-energy; selects up to 15 ships to link, granting all of them an extra 200% bonus to firepower, speed, and defense for 24 hours. Cooldown: ???

Like Angel Star, Hardy Stark didn’t expose all the module’s secrets. Even so, what was shown was enough to wow everyone in the chat.

A supreme universal booster—when it counted, over a dozen ships could fight far above their normal limits.

Just then, the always-silent First Morningstar Duke spoke up:

“And the cooldown time is…”

Hardy Stark apparently anticipated the question. Before Rosetta Morningstar finished, his crusty voice echoed:

“Don’t worry, the cooldown will be up before the kingdom’s attack on the Doomstar Floating-land!”

He didn’t give a number, but that was enough for everyone.

What was the real prize of this war? The only Seventh-Tier Floating-land in Doomstar territory: the legendary Calamity Star Floating-land.

As a Seventh-Tier Floating-land, it would become the focus of countless factions. Their fleets would be among those vying for a share.

But even with all families combined, there were only seven dreadnoughts in total—nowhere close to a numerical advantage. To stand out, they would have to rely on that golden booster. There could be no mistakes.

With those priorities set, the next question was which ships to link with the module.

Besides the dreadnoughts, there were nine other spots. Each major family got one, while the Starks filled the remaining four with their own flagships.

A few families grumbled, but since the module was provided by the Starks, it wasn’t up for debate.

Once the plans were finalized, everyone acted fast.

The White Night Morningstar was soon loaded with all manner of boosters. Its firepower and defenses climbed to a staggering peak.

All the while, Song Chi piloted the Heavenly Ruin, hovering with dozens of other hunter-class and flagship battleships behind the White Ghost.

At that moment, the White Night Morningstar activated the Ethereal Drifter. The ship went translucent, phasing effortlessly through the nearly impenetrable Sixth-Tier shield.

As soon as the moment was right, the White Ghost dreadnought lunged for the shield of Storm Calamity, and Hardy Stark’s aged voice boomed in everyone’s ears:

“Everyone get ready—shield breakers charging up!”

The Heavenly Ruin and dozens of others were equipped with specialized shield-buster modules.

Song Chi wasted no time. He fired up the Skybreaker Drill; after charging, the Heavenly Ruin shot out from behind the White Ghost and let the beam strike the preselected point.

They weren’t alone—more than a dozen ships acted with them, while over twenty others were just a split second behind. All converged their fire on a single point in the Floating-land shield.

With so many shield breakers working at once, even this mighty barrier couldn’t stand forever.

The shield’s power weakened significantly where the beams hit, but the Floating-land’s core will responded quickly. Channeling all its original laws, the shield began to repair itself rapidly.

Judging by that pace, the breach would close in short order if left unchecked. But now, the ever-silent White Ghost took action.

Transformed into its mecha form, it swept a golden axe and sliced straight through the weakened patch of shield.

Not stopping there, it instantly stowed the axe and braced its massive hands against either side of the breach, struggling to tear the opening wider by sheer force.

But compared to Fifth-Tier floaters, the sixth’s shield was on another level. Even a peak dreadnought could only widen it at a snail’s pace.

Meanwhile, empowered by the Floating-land’s will, countless laws surged in around the breach, gnawing away at the White Ghost’s mecha arms.

Fortunately, Hardy Stark’s mastery of the Law of Gold had surpassed 90%. For now, he had little to fear from the alien laws eating away at him.

Inside the Floating-land, the two Sixth-Tier Doomstars sensed the core’s rage. Their auras turned violent, and they prepared to strike at any moment. But the White Night Morningstar was there, holding both at bay.

Seeing the situation worsen, the Morningstar Traverse mecha rushed in, bracing its massive arms to help White Ghost widen the breach.

With the new support, the opening expanded more quickly—hundreds of meters, then a kilometer, then still growing.

As time passed and the breach exceeded several kilometers, the first set of flagship battleships plunged into the Floating-land, helping the White Night Morningstar fight the two Doomstars.

The White Night Morningstar struggled, facing two peak-sixth Doomstars and suppressed by the Floating-land’s own rules. Without reinforcements, the heads of every Family feared it would fall.

Thankfully, with backup from nine supporting battleships, the White Night Morningstar endured.

These nine ships—previously selected for Abyssal Link—would be rewarded with second-tier picking rights after the main dreadnoughts claimed their prize.