Chapter 644: Last Stand Amidst the Stars

It was clear the time-slowing effect of the Samsara Time Domain weighed heavily on both Serpent Demon Dominators. Under its influence, several Song Family warships managed to hold them at bay.

The Heavenly Ruin alone tangled with one serpent, while the Calm-Sea Rising Dragon, with backup from several battleships, pinned down the other.

Inside the control room of the Heavenly Ruin, Song Chi looked nothing like the outside world imagined. He was calm, not a hint of panic or pressure on his face.

With the Heavenly Ruin’s current configuration, facing down a seventh-tier Dominion Soul was no challenge at all. If they were willing to pay an exorbitant price, they might even manage a direct kill.

There was a reason they hadn’t gone that far. Aside from being unable to use the Market Projection Token directly, the price was simply too steep. More than that, it was all about avoiding the attention of an eighth-tier Serpent Demon Dominator.

Not long ago they’d put this to the test with their battleship replications. Even with five fully-powered replications and assistance from the Market Projection, they were still wiped out in front of an eighth-tier serpent.

With that in mind, Song Chi understood all too well—if an eighth-tier Serpent Demon Dominator targeted the Song Family, disaster would be inevitable.

This time, Song Chi kept things simple: stall the two Serpent Demon Dominators as long as possible to buy time for the family fleet below to retreat.

The plan made perfect sense, but reality hit hard.

Barely ten minutes had passed before that distant, blazing battlefield flipped upside down.

It wasn’t just a simple Star-Annihilator-class Ship being sunk. By now, nearly ten such ships had gone down—it was almost routine. What truly tipped the balance was an event involving the only Star River-class Battleship on the field.

Under siege from two eighth-tier Serpent Demons—one wielding a stunning mythic oddity—even with Yang Song quickly summoning a projection from the Zhou Tian Star Tower, the Blood Sui Zhenyuan still got devastated in moments.

The difference between a mythic oddity’s true body and a mere projection was much larger than expected.

After holding out for nearly twenty minutes, Yang Song felt he’d done everything possible. In a lull between salvos, he quickly activated a flash-displacement component aboard his flagship. But he didn’t expect one of the other three eighth-tier serpents, who all seemed busy elsewhere, had been secretly keeping relentless watch on the Blood Sui Zhenyuan.

The very moment the Zhenyuan tried to make its move, that hidden serpent lashed out in a sudden, savage strike.

Already battered from previous battles, the Zhenyuan’s engine went cold and dim after that blow, leaving the storied Star River battlecruiser completely dead in the water.

“No!”

In the ship’s control center, Yang Song roared in anger.

Yet after ruling as a Torch Captain for a hundred thousand years, his will wasn’t so easily broken. Madness flickered for an instant, then he snapped back and made the call he thought best in a fraction of a second.

“Star‑Annihilator Cannon, current enhancement level: lv80. Uninstalling will reduce level to zero. Confirm uninstall?”

“Energy shield, current enhancement level: lv80. Confirm uninstall?”

“Hull armor, current…”

In only a few seconds, Yang Song removed multiple premium components from the Zhenyuan and stored them in his Torch Ancestral Orifice. Before the eighth-tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demon could charge the ship again, he dashed onto a special crystal platform to the left of the main console.

This platform was one-of-a-kind: a silver-quality, unique emergency component designed for those last, desperate moments before a ship went under.

Yang Song had acquired it tens of thousands of years ago, never thinking he’d need it. Yet today, it turned out to be his saving grace.

Jaw clenched tight, Yang Song activated the platform. No matter how much regret he felt, his resolve held strong.

Although the ship’s engine was shut down, it still held a reserve of dark energy—just enough for him to activate several components for one last time.

A low hum filled the control room and faint spatial ripples shimmered around him as his body slowly turned ethereal. But a fire still burned bright behind his eyes.

It was obvious—the Blood Sui Dynasty’s first Prince Zhenyuan still had some fight left.

And why not? He was only a bit over a hundred thousand years old, while an eighth-tier being could easily live three times that. If he survived, and with all those top-grade components he’d saved, he might one day raise another Star-Annihilator, or even a new Star River-class Battleship.

The spatial ripples vanished. Suddenly, a brilliant streak of light shot from the dark, powerless hulk of the Zhenyuan, darting deep into the shadowy Sea of Stars.

But the three nearby eighth-tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demons had apparently guessed this would happen. The lead serpent, cloaked in rainbow light, unleashed a surge of power that instantly overtook the fleeing stream.

As the brilliant colors faded, Yang Song hung there, his face deathly pale, suspended motionless before the three serpent lords. Without the Star River’s shelter, even as an eighth-tier being himself, he looked fragile and helpless in their shadow.

“Hand over all the high-level oddities in your Torch Ancestral Orifice and I’ll let you live!”

The lead serpent’s words rang with arrogance. Dominion Power rippled around it, the demeanor of a cosmic sovereign looking down on mere worms.

But Yang Song’s reaction startled everyone. The color returned to his cheeks, and a cold, mocking smile tugged at his lips.

“A pack of beaten dogs wants the treasures in my hand?”

“I, Yang Song, Prince Zhenyuan of the Blood Sui Dynasty, may die here in your grasp—but mark my words, you filthy snakes won’t escape your own fate. Torch Human Civilization will one day rise from your bones and challenge the very mythic Overlord Civilizations!”

“Nothing will change the outcome for the Demon Serpent Floating-land. You can only struggle on your last legs, clinging to your fleeting hope! Hahaha…”

His voice echoed through the starry sky before cutting off sharply. All who witnessed it knew exactly what that meant.

Prince Zhenyuan of the Blood Sui Dynasty had fallen.

The entire Torch Human Joint Fleet felt a heavy shadow fall over their hearts.

But that wasn’t all. No one knew what inner change the Prince had experienced at the end, but his words brimmed with defiance. It kept morale alive among the Torch Civilization fleet—they hadn’t collapsed into chaos just yet.

Of course, the sharpest among them knew this wouldn’t last. They needed to act fast.

“Clan Elder! Prime Ancestor! Big Brother, now!”

Song Chi’s urgent voice blared through the fleet-wide comms.

Song Wujian and the other two responded instantly. Three warships powered up at once, and the Scorching Sea Blazer triggered its Flame God’s Dominion Soul Guard.

As that fiery projection from the Flame God Clan appeared, five serpent dominators, originally tangled with the two Star-Annihilators, two Dominator Worms, and two Dreadnoughts, were all forced back a step. The Team of Six moved fast, seizing the opening.

All four Torch Battleships activated their flash-displacement components, while the two Dominator Worms beat their wings furiously. In a flash, all six made for the spatial wormhole’s entrance at top speed.

Warships swarmed through the wormhole tunnel at full power.

Overall numbers? The Song Family had already pulled out nearly eighty percent of their fleet; the Luo Clan about half. Subordinate factions trailed behind, barely making thirty percent.

“We have to buy the rest more time!”

“If we retreat now, the losses are still too great!”

On the main fleet comms channel, leaders from every faction voiced their concerns.

Some Song Family members joined in too.

A moment later, Song Wujian’s voice arrived in the group chat.

“Five minutes. Hold your ground for five more minutes—this is all the time we have. Use every trick you’ve got.”

“Understood. Orders received from King Dinghai!”

…

With Song Wujian’s decree, plans locked in instantly.

Everyone scrambled to use their trump cards.

Some deployed unique domain abilities. Inside these domains, every battleship shrank to a tenth the usual size—meaning ten times as many could pass through the spatial wormhole at once.

Others recalled their own ships and boarded with friends or kin, trying to cut down the total number of vessels.

The Luo Clan’s Star-Annihilator-class Ship activated a black domain component. The effect? Disappointing, honestly.

No bonus to firepower, no stealth or restriction, and no speed drain—just one ability: lower enemy attention on all units outside the field.

If it were one ship, the effect might be good. But on a battlefield with tens of millions of ships inside, the impact was tiny. The group drew even more eyes simply because they were so massive.

In fact, after the domain went up, Song Chi could count three seventh-tier Serpent Demons barreling straight in his direction.

Still, maybe the domain did something. Because even after the five eighth-tier Serpent Demons finished with the Blood Sui Zhenyuan, they just started slaughtering across the field. Yet never once did they target the wormhole.

Time ticked by. Three minutes slipped away.

With every family mobilizing at full speed, their fleets retreated with breakneck efficiency.

But in the last two minutes, disaster arrived.

An eighth-tier Serpent Demon locked eyes with the wormhole, racing in like a storm.

At its speed, it would reach the entrance in seconds.

Song Chi knew time was up—there was no room for hesitation. He called in a Dominator Worm without thinking twice about the seventh-tier serpents still lurking nearby.

He triggered the Celestial Authority Ring’s Enslave Seal: Berserk.

With that activation, the last Tiger Carapace King Bug went berserk, its aura swelling by the second.

As the eighth-tier Serpent Demon, wielding a jet-black trident, plummeted from the sky, the Tiger Carapace King Bug completed its transformation.

On Song Chi’s command, it charged the serpent head-on.

Two eighth-tier forces clashed, shaking space with each collision.

It didn’t take long for the Tiger Carapace King Bug to be pushed back, its strength waning.

After all, this was only a makeshift eighth-tier, nowhere near as stable as the real thing.

Song Chi trusted his instincts—and he didn’t doubt them now. The Tiger Carapace King Bug couldn’t hold for long, so he wasted no time.

“Clan Elder, it’s time to withdraw!”

Song Wujian agreed. With Song Chi speaking first, he didn’t hesitate.

“All units, enter the wormhole!”

That order didn’t sit well with the Luo Clan or many subordinate factions. Large numbers of their people hadn’t made it out yet.

“King Dinghai, could you give us two more minutes?”

Song Wujian’s eyes narrowed, about to refuse, but Song Chi suddenly had an idea.

“Anyone holding gold-grade or silver-grade fireseed oddities—send them over, as long as they can’t be used to upgrade Torch Seeds. If you can do that, we’ll hold for two more minutes!”

At his words, leaders glanced around, then looked to Song Wujian. When he didn’t object—almost as if tacitly agreeing—the Chigu Luo Clan talked it through and handed over a thread of golden fireseed.

Song Chi was pleased with the exchange. Now, counting this latest fireseed, he had three gold threads—and that’s not even including his Samadhi True Fire.

Which meant he was finally ready to try refining the Genesis Creation Pill.

If that pill could really stabilize the Tiger Carapace King Bug, holding out another two minutes was worth it.

A dominator-level force was precious beyond measure.

With the fireseed in hand, Song Chi cut the comms. The Song Family council stayed silent, silently raising their guard. They were clearly prepared to weather the fight for two more minutes.

In the Heavenly Ruin control room, golden light flashed nonstop. The Genesis Creation Pill’s refinement went smoothly and, in just a minute, the batch was done.

Three Genesis Creation Pills sat in his palm, each about thumb-sized, etched with arcane lines—pill marks, they called them. Only the finest pills showed these patterns, so the new batch was top-tier for sure.

“Let’s hope these things work on a seventh-tier entity…!”