Chapter 941: Intervention, Suppression

Chapter 941: Intervention and Suppression

Pillars of fire scorched the heavens as chaos bled through the Enia Hub; a chain of detonations rippled across disparate districts, the unmistakable signature of portable high-yield explosives.

Raymond received a frantic transmission from his comrades and rushed to rendezvous with them; Fodin and Aurora had no choice but to follow, while he discreetly alerted the other royal guards en route.

Since his infiltration of the Punisher Alliance demanded subtlety, he could not openly draw his blade, leaving the royal guards as his most capable instruments.

The situation had spiraled far beyond initial projections, and to quell this sudden tempest, the Black Star Army could no longer remain a passive spectator.

Upon reaching the restricted military zone, they found a battlefield swallowed by bedlam; garrison warships converged from every horizon, yet wary of collateral devastation, they restricted themselves to planetary-grade ordnance against the ground forces.

Gabula, the warden of Enia, led his retinue in a brutal clash against these shadowy factions, flanked by Calamity-tier colleagues; between both sides, seven or eight Calamity entities traded blows, their shockwaves rendering the district unrecognizable, forcing the garrison to hastily raise the municipal zenith shields lest the devastation spill into neighboring sectors.

At the Calamity stratum, the Punisher Alliance members present were utterly outmatched, relegated to holding the line against the gray factions' main forces in a fiercely contested grind.

"Go, lend them aid!" The moment they arrived, Raymond threw himself into the fray without a second thought.

Seeing this, Fodin shielded Aurora, deliberately capping his output at B-Class to spar with the foot soldiers; he moved with effortless grace, his mind dividing its focus between the blade and the broader board.

"I never anticipated such a turn," he mused. "These underground syndicates uniting to seize the Evolver Totem must be puppeteered by some unseen hand."

Fodin's brow furrowed as silent calculations turned in his mind. "To orchestrate such a costly incursion into Imperial territory for an Evolver Totem makes little sense; raiding allied civilizations in other star clusters would be far safer. Such recklessness implies a prize far greater than a mere totem."

Even as the thought crystallized, another wave of detonations blossomed across the city districts, confirming that hidden operatives were still sowing panic with relentless bombings.

Gabula sidestepped a crushing blow from the Blood Hammer Bishop, glancing toward the distant chaos as fury boiled in his chest. "Detach a contingent to restore order!" he roared. "Hunt down and exterminate those cowards detonating the city!"

At his command, a fraction of the warships broke formation, scattering toward the urban sectors to quell the unrest.

Boom!

At that precise moment, a cataclysmic explosion erupted in a distant district, shattering a skyscraper into rubble; the shockwave pulverized the surrounding blocks, and an unfamiliar Calamity-tier aura flared into existence.

"More hostiles?!" Gabula shot a furious glance toward the horizon, assuming enemy reinforcements had arrived.

Yet the distant Calamity presence showed no intention of approaching; instead, it seemed locked in combat with an unknown party.

"What is happening?" Gabula frowned, trapped by his duties. In his eyes, the enemy's objective was the Evolver Totem; abandoning his post would breach the defensive line and hand them the prize. He could not desert his station.

After a moment's deliberation, Gabula resolved to ignore the distant anomaly for now, focusing on swiftly crushing the ragtag Calamity foes before him so he could later address the unknown disturbance.

Fodin, too, felt the distant tremors and cast a glance backward, his pupils contracting sharply.

If his memory served, that was the direction from which they had come. In a flash, Fodin recalled the Calamity group he had previously spotted; instinct told him they were almost certainly clashing with the bodyguards of an Imperial dignitary's descendant.

"This appears to be threads of the same conspiracy..." A sudden realization struck Fodin.

...

Meanwhile, in another district, a vicious engagement raged; the unchecked collisions of Calamity-tier forces sent shockwaves that leveled countless towers, reducing entire blocks to ash and rubble.

The combatants were precisely four ambushing Calamity-tier fugitives against the two personal guards of Ludwell's grandson.

Four against two; the ordinary bodyguards surrounding Ludwell's grandson had already been slaughtered, leaving only the two Calamity-tier protectors to desperately withstand the onslaught, their bodies accumulating fresh wounds with every passing second.

"W-who could possibly want me dead?!" Ludwell's grandson stammered, his face pale with terror. Though born to high office, he had forsaken politics for commerce, never dreaming he would one day face such a nightmare.

He was trapped within a hastily erected energy barrier, immobilized; beyond its shimmering surface, lethal shockwaves churned, promising instant death should he step outside.

His two guards, elite combatants directly cultivated by the Empire, remained steadfast in their duty; though acutely aware of the overwhelming odds, they gritted their teeth and held the line against the four assailants.

Crack!

Suddenly, one guard absorbed a devastating barrage, vomiting a mist of blood as the impact hurled him backward; he smashed through over a dozen high-rises before vanishing into the distance.

The remaining guard instantly became the focus of their combined fire, his injuries compounding rapidly. They were, after all, not elite Calamity warriors like Gabula, nor were their foes amateurs; exploiting a single opening, one attacker cleanly severed the guard's arm at the shoulder, sending a geyser of crimson into the air.

The man's face drained of color, yet he only grunted, biting down hard as he attempted a counterstrike. But sheer willpower could not bridge the gap in power; successive heavy blows rained upon him, painting the sky with trails of blood as his complexion turned ashen and his aura rapidly dimmed.

With both protectors critically wounded, Ludwell's grandson was stripped of his shield, left as a lamb before the slaughter, utterly exposed to the claws of his four predators.

"Finish him!" The four attackers grinned, preparing to converge and eliminate their target.

Yet in the next breath, the situation shifted violently.

Blinding lances of orbital fire suddenly rained from the heavens, screaming toward their position; a palpable sense of doom seemed to hang over the Calamity fighters, forcing them to scatter in desperate evasion.

Rumble!

The light cannons struck the earth before them, shattering the bedrock and instantly vitrifying the soil under searing heat.

Riding the wake of the orbital bombardment, several figures descended, radiating oppressive Calamity-tier energy as they positioned themselves between the four assailants and their prey.

"Who are you?!" one of them demanded, dread coiling in his gut. These sudden arrivals were absent from their intelligence, clearly not Enia Hub's garrison, and their aura of dominance far eclipsed the two guards they had just fought. They were undoubtedly apex predators among the Calamity tier.

"We are the Royal Guards of the Black Star Army. And who might you be, daring to stir chaos within Imperial borders?" Hadaway's gaze was cold and predatory as he swept his eyes over the thugs.

The assailants froze, their expressions instantly twisting in horror.

The Black Star Army?!

When had they arrived at Enia Hub?! Why had there been absolutely no warning?!

Damn it, they had walked straight into the barrel of a gun!

Bitterness flooded their mouths. Had they known the Black Star Army was stationed here, they would never have dared to join this operation.

Of all the wretched luck, to cross paths with them now... fate had truly cursed them.

"Reinforcements!" Conversely, the two critically wounded guards were overwhelmed with relief, exhaling sharply as fortune smiled upon them.

Thank the stars His Excellency Black Star happened to be residing at Enia Hub, or the consequences would have been unthinkable!

The moment the Black Star Army's name was invoked, the four thugs' resolve crumbled, their thoughts turning to retreat. But Hadaway granted them no quarter; leading the royal guards, he charged with ruthless intent, and the two factions instantly collided in a storm of violence.

...

Elsewhere, the battle within the military sector had reached a fever pitch; casualties mounted horrifically, countless souls reduced to drifting ash, and one Calamity-tier fighter had already had his skull crushed in Gabula's grip.

Yet, though the Enia Hub garrison held the advantage, Gabula could not swiftly eradicate every foe, and the hub's turmoil showed no signs of abating in the short term.

The Punisher Alliance members fought alongside the troops in one of the skirmish zones, and after brutal exchanges, many bore wounds of varying severity.

It was then that they truly witnessed the depth of Aurora's restorative power; no matter how grievous the injury, a single breath was enough to mend flesh and bone. Morale surged instantly, and freed from the fear of death, they launched fearless assaults, their combat prowess skyrocketing.

Even Seli, who had harbored deep suspicions toward the pair, found his reservations melting away; as he received treatment, he kept his face stern, too proud to voice his gratitude.

Aurora's ability had matured considerably over time; her life energy regenerated far faster than before, and the cost of healing B-Class espers was negligible compared to her natural recovery, placing zero strain on her physique.

Amid the heat of battle, a holographic projection of an adjutant suddenly materialized beside Gabula, drenched in sweat and stammering in panic: "Lord Gabula, the E-Evolver Totem is gone!"

"What?!" Gabula's eyes widened in shock, swiftly replaced by a surge of wrath. "How could it be lost? Find it and bring it back!"

In that instant, the truth became painfully clear: the enemy had employed a classic diversion. The frontal assault was merely a feint, while thieves had slipped through the cracks while the garrison was pinned down by these gray syndicates, quietly making off with the totem.

The Evolver Totem was kept under heavy guard, yet interstellar thieves thrived precisely because they could infiltrate impregnable vaults and spirit away priceless artifacts.

As events unfolded, even Gabula, prideful as he was, could not help but marvel at the sheer scale of forces the enemy had mobilized, burning with curiosity over the mastermind behind this conspiracy.

To expend such monumental effort for a single totem? Gabula refused to believe it.

Safeguarding the totem was merely his duty; in truth, he placed little intrinsic value on the artifact itself, for as Imperial allies, they could simply purchase a replacement from the Black Star Army at any time.

His musings were shattered as the enemy Calamity fighters launched a ferocious assault. Gabula's heart instantly burned with fury—the totem could be lost, but these insurgents would die.

"First, I will crush these troublemakers, then deal with the stolen totem."

Yet, the moment the thought crossed his mind, several Calamity-tier figures descended from the sky like meteors. It was another detachment of royal guards; without a word, they plunged into the fray. With these fresh troops, the balance of power instantly inverted, shattering the deadlock in a single stroke.

"Reinforcements?!" Jabula froze, his mind racing. Where in the world had this lot sprung from?

A royal guard joined forces with him to shatter the high-dimensional magical entity summoned by the Blood Hammer Bishop. Seizing the opening, Jabula yanked the guard close and demanded sharply:

"Who are you people?"

The guard cast him a cool, indifferent glance. "Personal guards under His Excellency, Black Star."

"It's you!" Jabula's heart leapt with joy. He knew Black Star had been roaming the Empire's territories lately, but never dreamed the man would grace his own domain.

Truly, the heavens were smiling upon him!

Without a second thought, Jabula unleashed a thunderous roar, his voice rolling across the battlefield like a storm:

"The Black Star Army's reinforcements have arrived! Lay down your arms if you wish to live!"

The assembled guards instantly turned their heads, casting him sidelong glances.

We haven't even announced ourselves yet, and you're already at it? You act more like a royal guard than we do.

Yet the moment the words left his lips, the effect was instantaneous.

Every hostile combatant on the field paled dramatically. A man's name casts a long shadow, and Black Star's dread reputation was known to all; their hearts plummeted into an abyss of despair!

In stark contrast, the garrison stationed at the Enia Hub found their spirits soaring!

The mere thought of an Imperial Super A-Class standing at their backs instantly settled their nerves.

To the soldiers of the Empire, a Super A-Class was the very pillar of morale upon the battlefield.

"The Black Star Army..." Members of the Punisher Alliance stared at the guards in the fray, their eyes gleaming with an ineffable weight.

In their eyes, such a hegemonic force that roamed the cosmos was an untouchable zenith, a stratum far beyond their reach.

Beholding the Black Star Army's famed cadre of striking guards, a thrill akin to spotting idols stirred within them; to espers, a legendary Calamity-grade cohort was little different from celebrity icons in the supernatural world.

...

"We've got the goods, move, move!"

Meanwhile, in another sector, a band of master thieves clad in anti-detection stealth suits slipped away with the Evolver Totem, putting distance between themselves and the combat zone.

Following their blueprint, they had infiltrated the classified facility and purloined the totem while the garrison was pinned down. As a crew of interstellar burglars notorious across the black market, they wielded not only cutting-edge theft tech but also complementary heterodox abilities, snatching the artifact by a hair's breadth before alarms could sound.

Patrol ships swept across the sky, hunting for any trace of the culprits, while the crew weaved through shadows and alleys, evading the tightening dragnet.

Just as they were about to bolt from a narrow alley, their shoulders suddenly grew heavy, pinned to the spot by an overwhelming force that rendered them utterly immobile.

The faint sound of breathing materialized out of thin air directly behind them. Having sensed absolutely nothing until that moment, their blood ran cold.

Craning their necks with stiff dread, they saw two arms draped casually over their shoulders, and a strikingly handsome face gradually emerged from the gloom.

"Where exactly do you think you're taking merchandise I already sold?"

The tone was mild, yet to their ears, it crashed like sudden thunder!

That visage was practically a household name across the cosmos. Common folk might not know it, but no faction of repute would ever fail to recognize its owner.

The Empire's Super A-Class ally, the "Indestructible Body," the "Enemy of the Void Spirits," the "Lord of Evolution," the "Overlord"—Black Star!

The interstellar thieves froze rigid, daring not to twitch a single muscle.

Han Xiao gave a soft snort. Nanoparticles seeped from beneath his garments, coalescing into restraint rigs that instantly locked them down. With a casual flick of his wrist, a mechanical soldier stepped out of the void to stand at his side.

"Return that item to its original location." Han Xiao pointed toward the Evolver Totem.

When the chaos first erupted, Han Xiao, who had been in secluded training to temper his strength, had immediately sensed the disturbance. He had tacitly authorized the guards to deploy and quell the unrest, and the moment the totem was lifted, he knew.

After so much practice, following the archives left behind by the Evolver civilization, Han Xiao had long forged a soul-link with the Evolutionary Cube. Much like Cisco's bond in the past, it allowed him to sense the artifact's whereabouts.

Moreover, within a certain radius, he could trigger a resonance with the totem itself—or more precisely, with the evolutionary energy pulsing within it.

A Calamity-grade skirmish required no personal intervention; his guards were more than capable of crushing these foes. But with the totem stolen, he could hardly stand idly by. Thus, he had executed a direct void jump, teleporting straight from his starship at the spaceport to the thieves' backs.

With the Black Star Army now involved, the turmoil would be swiftly crushed. When these conspirators had woven their plots, they certainly never imagined he would be present.

Watching the mechanical soldier retrace its steps with the totem in tow, Han Xiao withdrew his gaze and turned to the captured thieves, a profound, knowing smile curling his lips:

"Now... tell me everything you know."