Chapter 401: God-Slaying

Almost immediately, Murphy sensed something was wrong.

He looked at the mission commander, Shahlin Popolov, "Does the lunar orbital module still have fuel?"

"Yes, we reserved some. The fuel remaining in the module should be about one-third."

The Undetectable Extension Charm provided a massive surplus in both space and mass for the spacecraft. The rocket design used for this launch mission was actually intended to carry a manned lunar landing module for at least three people. In comparison, the current unmanned probe landing module used less than one-fifth of the target payload. Since so much excess mass was available, it would be a waste not to use it, so more fuel had been reserved in the orbital module.

"Detonate it," Murphy said.

"What?" Popolov was startled.

The lunar exploration mission hadn't even truly begun, and while the landing module seemed to have issues, the orbital module could at least still observe some data from lunar orbit. Blowing it up just like that felt like a terrible waste.

"Is there a problem?" Murphy asked.

"Technically, it's not difficult..."

Getting a spacecraft into the sky smoothly was quite difficult, but making it explode was truly not hard at all. Adjusting the engine parameters slightly would be enough to trigger an explosion.

"Then send the command, immediately! That is an order!" Murphy said.

Watching the large screen, where a green light dot was rapidly approaching the orbital module's rendezvous trajectory, Murphy felt a strong sense of unease in his heart.

There really was something on the far side of the moon!

Without guidance and without fuel, the landing module had actually broken free from the moon's gravity on its own, preparing to rendezvous with the orbital module? If so, would it return to Earth next? And when it returned, what would it bring with it?

Regardless of what it was, Murphy's intuition told him it was better to blow it up first.

However, the moment the command was sent, the green light dot suddenly vanished from the screen.

At the same time, "The landing module and the orbital module have rendezvoused! The orbital module engine has ignited, it... it is breaking away from lunar orbit, it is preparing to return to Earth!"

"How is that possible!?" Shahlin was shocked. Just a moment ago, the landing module was at least over twelve thousand kilometers away from the orbital module in lunar orbit. How could they have rendezvoused directly?

This distance was equivalent to traveling from Beijing directly to New York, and the orbital module was an object less than ten meters long. Such a precise transfer over such a large distance, and in space no less, truly exceeded his understanding.

With this kind of technology, what was there to fear about space rendezvous?!

The orbital module seemed to have been controlled in an instant; the explosion did not occur.

Murphy connected to the Pioneer via the mind network and immediately issued several coordinates. Several missile bases in Irkutsk, Soviet Union, received the order to enter combat readiness; ten R-36M ballistic missile silos were ready to launch at any time.

At the same time, Murphy's Starlink system was also activated, preparing to capture the opponent's presence through magical power at any moment.

The opponent was too fast. Even though there was a distance of 380,000 kilometers between the Earth and the Moon, if it could jump over ten thousand kilometers each time, that would only be a matter of thirty-some jumps. In an extreme state, it might reach Earth orbit in two or three minutes.

At the opponent's speed, relying solely on missiles might not hit it at all, and considering it might be some kind of "god," the spells triggered by the Starlink satellites might not be enough to cause effective damage.

That was why Murphy made preparations on two fronts: relying on Starlink satellites for wide-range target acquisition and using magic for containment, then delivering a fatal blow with strategic nuclear weapons.

However, just as Murphy finished his arrangements, the orbital module's signal suddenly disappeared.

Whether it was laser communication or radio signals, everything vanished without a trace.

In the vastness of space, at such a remote distance, once the signal connection was lost, the ground control center completely lost track of it.

Murphy clicked his tongue and immediately notified the Soviet defense department, telling them to use every means to monitor any extraterrestrial objects on the possible trajectory.

But this was just trying their luck. Given the opponent's methods, it was highly likely that it would be difficult to discover until it actively exposed itself.

Two days later, the Atlantic Ocean.

"Bang!" Like a bomb exploding on the water's surface, waves splashed over ten meters high.

The violent impact caused the concealment magic on the landing module to fail, and at the same time, the entire landing device fell apart in the collision.

A crimson worm crawled out from the ruptured hatch. Compared to when it first leaped into the landing module, its body size had shrunk by five or six times, looking just like a tiny earthworm.

The "earthworm" then fell into the sea, floating with the waves as if it were already dead, showing no movement at all.

A sea fish swam over and swallowed the "earthworm" in one gulp. Immediately, its body shuddered violently, and then an inexplicable light flashed in the fish's two eyes. It turned its head and swam rapidly in one direction.

In a dark room, Murphy suddenly opened his eyes.

"Found you!"

In Siberia, Soviet Union, the Eye of Odin magic perception radar matrix had just detected a unique change in the magical background radiation. Its magic frequency was extremely high, with a vibration frequency a whole order of magnitude higher than the Holy Mother's magic vibration frequency back then.

In an instant, precise coordinates appeared in Murphy's mind. The next moment, three Starlink satellites passing over the Pacific Ocean received the order, adjusted their frequencies, emitted detection magic waves, and then locked onto the target.

However, the moment it was locked by the satellite radar, the opponent seemed to sense it and disappeared again.

"Bang!" The sea fish's body shattered due to the spatial pressure of the long-distance transfer, but the "earthworm" immediately found another new host—a sea snake nearly two meters long.

This time, it didn't wait for the sea snake to get close; instead, it transformed into a sharp arrow and suddenly shot into the sea snake's eye, then controlled the creature to advance at a super-high speed of several hundred meters per second beneath the sea surface.

However, another wave of magical fluctuation swept over its body immediately. A few seconds later, it felt that terrible sensation again, as if a sharp sword were hanging over its head.

Without hesitation, it teleported again, crossing a distance of over a thousand kilometers, and burrowed into the body of a shark.

The magical fluctuation swept over again. This time, it didn't hide anymore. The opponent's methods were too bizarre; it seemed that no matter how far it moved, it would be discovered. Since that was the case, it was better to create a useful shell for itself first.

It was as if a black hole had appeared in the belly of that poor shark. Its massive body collapsed rapidly inward accompanied by a terrifying sound of bones cracking. In the blink of an eye, it was compressed into a sphere covered in bone spurs and muscle.

Viscous blood swirled on the surface of the sphere, even causing the surrounding seawater to churn. A vortex began to form beneath the sea surface, and countless fish and shrimp were sucked into it, then crushed and integrated into the sphere.

"Puff!" With a sound like piercing a thin membrane, a blood-drenched palm reached out from the sphere.

Immediately, an extremely robust man crawled out from that blood sphere. He stood on the water's surface, his right arm missing, and in his only left hand, he held a giant sword condensed from blood.

"I! Have returned once more!"

The man's voice was like a giant bell, carrying for hundreds of miles. He raised the giant sword high and roared again, "I! Tyr! Once more..."

However, before he could finish his sentence, a massive green pillar of light descended from the sky, slamming onto his head like a giant hammer, pressing him back into the sea.

In the dark room, Murphy's gaze looked down through the magic satellite, crossing over a thousand kilometers to overlook the sea surface that had been evaporated by the Avada Star-Killer Cannon.

"Since you like hiding so much, then just never show your face again."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 402 =====