Chapter 314: Throw a Victory Banquet

The black-armored warrior's blade traced an arc of death, and the Xingji Xiake fell to the ground at once.

This was no battle—it was a one-sided massacre!

These warriors fought as if they had hacks enabled; ordinary attacks weren't even enough to tickle them.

"Damn! This is way too imba!" Xingyun Zhizhe couldn't help but complain. "How are we even supposed to play this?"

Despair spread through the crowd.

These warriors' strength far exceeded their imagination, and the advanced weapons left them utterly powerless to fight back.

Laser cannons fired pew-pew-pew, energy shockwaves blasted boom-boom-boom, and everyone was forced to retreat step by step, until they were trapped on a narrow platform with nowhere left to fall back to.

"It's over, we're done for!" Guangming Shizhe's face went pale; she could feel the shadow of death looming over everyone.

Zhang Cheng clenched his teeth, his mind racing as he tried to find a sliver of hope.

But facing such powerful enemies, he felt his IQ reserves were seriously insufficient.

Just then, the Lan Xing merchant, who had been tied up by everyone, suddenly slipped free of his bonds like a loach. With a fawning smile on his face, he jogged all the way toward the Imperial warriors.

"My lords! This lowly one knows the device's secret! I am willing to offer it to you!"

"Damn it! Traitor!" Xingling xue zhe cursed loudly. This old rascal actually stabbed them in the back at the critical moment!

Everyone was filled with righteous indignation, wishing they could skin the Lan Xing merchant alive.

But at this point they could barely save themselves; no one could spare a hand to deal with him.

The Lan Xing merchant ran up to the lead warrior, bowing and scraping with a face full of smiles. "My lord, as long as you agree to spare my life, I'll tell you the device's secret!"

The black-armored warrior looked down at the Lan Xing merchant from on high, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes.

"Speak."

The Lan Xing merchant was just about to open his mouth when he suddenly felt a gust of wind strike from behind… "You bastard, stop right there!" The Xingji Xiake blinked forward, lunging like a cheetah pouncing on its prey, and landed a clean, crisp spinning kick squarely on the back of the Lan Xing merchant's head.

With a "bang," the fellow's eyes rolled back and he dropped straight down, collapsing on the ground like a puddle of mud.

"Nice!" Xingling xue zhe excitedly waved his fists, just short of jumping up and breakdancing to celebrate.

"The Xiake is awesome!"

The Xingji Xiake snatched the device from the Lan Xing merchant's hand, backflipped back to everyone's side, landed steadily, and struck a pose to show off.

"Basic operation, don't make a fuss."

Seeing the Xiake's loyalty and valor, the previously low morale was instantly ignited. Everyone was fired up as if injected with chicken blood, their fighting spirit soaring.

"Brothers, let's fight them!" the starship captain roared, charging out first.

"Charge! Take down these tin cans!" Guangming Shizhe followed close behind, her energy light-whip whistling through the air with fierce momentum.

The Imperial warriors were not to be outdone either, immediately launching an all-out offensive.

Laser cannons fired pew-pew-pew, energy shockwaves blasted boom-boom-boom, and the entire platform trembled, as if it would collapse the very next second.

"The source of their power is the crystals on their bodies!" Xingyun Zhizhe, amid the fierce battle, keenly observed the enemy's weakness. "Attack the crystals!"

Receiving the instruction, the Xingji Xiake and the starship captain immediately changed tactics, locking their attack targets onto the special crystals on the warriors' bodies.

However, these warriors' defense was exceptionally tight, and their counterattacks were extremely fierce; every attack carried overwhelming force, making them hard to withstand.

The battle entered a white-hot phase—lasers and blades crisscrossed, energy and flesh collided, and the entire platform became a shura field.

Zhang Cheng dodged attacks while tensely observing the battlefield.

He discovered that although they had successfully shattered the crystals on some of the warriors, those warriors had not completely lost their combat ability; instead, they became even more frenzied, their attacks even fiercer.

"Something's not right…" Zhang Cheng's brow furrowed tightly, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

"Their crystals…"

"Seem to… be absorbing energy…" Guangming Shizhe said, panting, her face full of terror.

"What?!" Zhang Cheng's pupils contracted sharply, a chill rushing from the soles of his feet straight to his Heavenly Spirit Cover.

"Holy shit! These things are power banks!"

Just then, Xingling xue zhe suddenly shouted, "Wait! I think I've discovered another function of this thing!" He pointed at the device the Lan Xing merchant had dropped, his finger trembling, excited as if he had discovered a new continent.

"This thing… can absorb energy!"

"Absorb energy?" The Xingji Xiake slashed an Imperial warrior away with a single stroke and looked at Xingling xue zhe in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"It means… it can reversely absorb the energy from their crystals!" Xingling xue zhe spoke at top speed. "Quick! Give me the device!"

Zhang Cheng made a snap decision: "Xiake, cover the Scholar!"

The Xingji Xiake dashed in front of Xingling xue zhe with a single stride, transforming into a human tank, and blocked the tide of Imperial warriors surging forward.

Guangming Shizhe also wielded her energy light-whip, like a dancing Death God, driving back every approaching enemy one by one.

Xingling xue zhe braved the hail of bullets, operating the device with trembling hands.

Beads of sweat rolled from his forehead, dripping onto the device like glistening pearls.

"Done!" Xingling xue zhe roared. The device emitted a dazzling light, and a powerful suction force instantly enveloped the entire platform.

The crystals on the Imperial warriors began to flicker unsteadily, their glow gradually dimming, and their movements became sluggish.

"Now!" Zhang Cheng seized the opportunity and shouted, "Full output!"

The Xingji Xiake, Guangming Shizhe, the starship captain, and the others seized the opportunity, concentrating all their power onto the device.

The device blazed with light, releasing a burst of super energy, like the most dazzling nova erupting in the universe, instantly destroying the majority of the Imperial warriors.

The remaining warriors, seeing the situation turn bad, dropped their weapons and armor and fled in disgrace.

Even the Interstellar Empire's fleet in the sky retreated dejectedly like stray dogs.

"We won! We won!" Everyone cheered and jumped for joy, embracing one another excitedly.

Zhang Cheng looked at the device in his hand radiating powerful energy, took a deep breath, and said slowly, "This is only the beginning…" He turned to look at Xingyun Zhizhe. "Next, we…"

"Next, we… throw a victory banquet!" Zhang Cheng grinned, breaking the slightly heavy atmosphere.

Moments ago they had been hanging by a thread between life and death; now the crisis was resolved. The contrast stunned everyone for a beat, then erupted into a burst of laughter.

"Boss, you're being way too unserious!" Xingji Xiake punched Zhang Cheng on the shoulder. "You're a great hero who saved the interstellar world, for crying out loud — can't you act a bit more like one?"

"Even heroes gotta eat!" Zhang Cheng rubbed his hands together. "Let's celebrate, and while we're at it, figure out how to use this thing — it's our 'super power bank' now!"

The crowd burst into laughter again. The "super power bank" joke wasn't going away anytime soon.

At the victory banquet, representatives from various interstellar factions came forward to offer congratulations, and exotic fruits, fine wines, and delicacies piled up like mountains.

They were profoundly grateful to Zhang Cheng and his companions, and a flood of lavish praise nearly "drowned" Zhang Cheng.

Guangming Shizhe leaned affectionately against Zhang Cheng's chest, her face radiant with a blissful smile.

She was proud of her man.

This was the man who had saved the entire interstellar world!

Just thinking about it gave her a little thrill.

"Wuhu! Blast off!" Zhang Cheng raised his wine cup and downed it in one hearty gulp. "Come on, everyone, let's do one together! To interstellar peace!"

The others raised their cups one after another, celebrating this hard-won victory.

After several rounds of drinks and dishes, the atmosphere gradually relaxed.

Using the "super power bank," they began restoring planets ravaged by war, channeling energy to star systems short on power — a scene of thriving renewal everywhere.

"This feels pretty damn good!" Zhang Cheng remarked, looking at the planets gradually coming back to life on the star map.

"We're basically living bodhisattvas!"

"Ain't that the truth!" Xingji Xiake chimed in. "We used to risk life and limb — for what? Look at this now — now THIS is the peak of life!"

Just as everyone was immersed in the joy of victory, Xingyun Zhizhe had his brows tightly locked, staring at the data panel of the "super power bank" without uttering a word.

"Old Zhi, what's wrong? Constipated?" Zhang Cheng patted Xingyun Zhizhe on the shoulder, teasing.

Xingyun Zhizhe looked up, his expression grave: "I've discovered… this thing seems to be a bit off."

Everyone's smiles instantly froze.

"Off? What's off?" Zhang Cheng dropped his joking demeanor as well.

Xingyun Zhizhe pointed to a blinking red symbol on the data panel: "This symbol… I've never seen it before. It seems to represent a kind of… unknown energy."

"Unknown energy?" Guangming Shizhe leaned in as well. "What could it be?"

Xingyun Zhizhe took a deep breath and said slowly: "Based on my deductions… this energy may be far more powerful than we imagined… and it may even bring an even greater crisis…"

An air of unease permeated the atmosphere.

The festive mood of the victory banquet vanished entirely, replaced by an oppressive sense of an impending storm.

Zhang Cheng's expression turned serious as well. He knew that a new challenge was about to arrive…