Chapter 58: The Sea of Tyran Vessels

The Oumia No. 3, far smaller than Earth, drifts silently in the void.

In the distance looms a body so massive it blocks the entire star; compared to it, the Oumia No. 3 is like a pebble orbiting a gas giant.

And on the Oumia No. 3's orbit, there is an escort ship that, beside it, appears as a stone.

Distant starlight streams in through scattered portholes.

Through the unrepairable, welded‑shut windows, the light flickers across the Bridge.

The Bridge is hushed, broken only by the increasingly deft taps of the crew on their instruments and the steadier steps of Ana, who begins the final preparations.

Bunoke and many Black Watch members still curiously scan the galaxy beyond the porthole, watching the once‑brilliant stars of Alert Star now unveiling themselves in space.

Only Xisi, facing the final report delivered by Ana, shows both joy and worry.

"Although it's merely a defective warship, its power output is roughly thirty to forty times that of a full escort ship."

"If further repairs are achieved, these figures will rise even more."

Ana, with a demeanor accustomed to such data, hands the report to Xisi; she has now been fully assigned by the Mechanical Church to Xisi, and unwittingly, this former half‑baked Mechanical Sect Disciple has begun to receive Hundredfold influence.

Beyond Hundredfold loyalty and support for Xisi, even Ana herself hasn't noticed that her technical abilities have recently accelerated excessively.

So much so that Ana can, within this brief span, single‑handedly master all systems and technologies of the entire escort ship.

Facing the warship's naturally doubled attributes, Xisi cares most about the empty warship slot on the list.

"How could I forget the navigator..."

Lightly pressing his forehead in mild frustration, Xisi glances for a moment, then helplessly sets the report aside and closes his eyes to ponder what to do.

The Empire's interstellar travel relies chiefly on Subspace engines, which can only usher vessels into Subspace; to reach a destination precisely, a rigorously trained 'Subspace Navigator'—converted from a spirit‑energy practitioner—is required.

Only by relying on the navigator and the continual mutual positioning with Terra's Star Torch can the warship be kept from losing its way amid A-space Fluctuations.

And now Xisi's vessel has everything except a navigator.

After all, aside from Xisi and his Black Watch, all original escort crew perished within ten minutes of falling into Subspace.

Xisi also wonders why the Divine Emperor grants protection yet leaves him without a navigator.

Thus Xisi currently cannot perform long‑range jumps; without a navigator constantly correcting course, who knows if the ship would emerge inside a star—or even a black hole!

If that happens, his death would be secondary; facing the Terror's two generous Blessings, his soul entering Subspace cannot simply be snatched away by Terror to aid in slaying the Emperor...

The more Xisi ponders, the farther his mind drifts, silently uttering the two names in his heart; as soon as he says the first, he feels as if two unseen eyes are watching from somewhere!

Xisi suddenly snaps his eyes open, halting the wild thoughts.

Cold sweat beads on his forehead; he is speechless that those two actually took notice of him—just muttering their names elicited an immediate response.

It feels like a... "concern" fearing he might flee.

"Set the distance to the minimum and attempt a short jump toward the defensive line based on the star chart."

Xisi hurriedly focuses all his attention on the warship and issues orders to Ana.

As long as the distance is short enough, the chance of A-space Fluctuation interference drops, and the blind jump's accuracy can be barely assured.

Ana has no objection and immediately turns to command the crew.

Soon, the shield panel that blocks the porthole view lowers slowly amid gear sounds, and the Gale Position begins to flash protective light over the hull.

Then, amid the crew's shouted countdown, a rippling spatial disturbance that tears the fabric of reality envelops Xisi's warship.

The second entry into Subspace, fully sealed by the Gale Position, ends after an extremely brief voyage, and those aboard feel little oddness.

Xisi looks left and right, confirming the crew below have no missing limbs or mutations, then nods in relief and, facing the gradually opening porthole shield, curiously peers outside.

A small gap opens; outside is not the interior of a star nor a planet embedded, but still the universe's light shining in.

Xisi sighs in relief, about to have Ana scan the destination, but as the shield continues opening, a ferocious giant maw bristling with dense fangs and a pair of massive shell claws on each side expands, its huge body clamping the entire warship in one bite!

The violent impact jolts the warship; the massive, thick shell claws press hard against the hull, grinding out a sharp, grating screech.

Many crew immediately grimace and cover their ears, while Xisi, through this space creature the size of an escort ship, takes a deep breath and surveys his warship's surroundings.

There's no need for Ana to activate the scanner, for at this moment beside Xisi are thousands of Tyran bio‑ships locked in a deadly tangle with thousands of Green Skin junk vessels.

He has inadvertently blind‑jumped into the very heart of the Tyran‑Green Skin battle!!!

Intense flames blaze, and countless biological wreckage and shattered Green Skin warships float in the void.

Amid the ocean‑like debris, more Green Skin and Tyran rush wildly at each other.

The 'Giant Stone Ship' the size of an asteroid sees four Green Skin vessels launch at once, forming a line of warships that unleash countless fire‑light barrages, carving four corridors through the swarm.

The swarm also releases endless bio‑projectiles that fly on their own, converging into massive 'black clouds' that sweep over the Green Skin warships from all sides.

When a Macro Cannon shatters a bio‑ship that lunges to bite them, an Empire warship bearing Subspace fluctuations jumps straight into the center of the clash, drawing the attention of nearby Green Skin and Tyran.

Seeing a 'black cloud' turn toward them, a Green Skin cruiser on the other side also swings its bow, pointing its cannons at them.

Though he cannot see inside, Xisi knows the interior of that Green Skin cruiser is already packed with impatient Green Skin youngsters before the boarding party arrives!

Bio‑projectiles slam into the shield, exploding and trembling; the escort ship's few side‑cannons fire continuous fire‑light barrages, trying to intercept the projectiles mid‑air.

The Bridge is a flurry of activity; even Bunoke has long abandoned any desire to sightsee, hoisting a machine gun and, with the Black Watch, prepares to meet any sudden boarding.

He grasps the Bridge handrail, doing his best to keep his body steady amid the ship's constant shaking.

Xisi quickly scans the area and points to the nearest direction to exit the firefight:

"All weapons at full, engine power to maximum."

"Prepare the entire ship for impact; after crashing out this way, fire the Subspace engine immediately!"

Amid the dense explosions surrounding the warship, Xisi shouts the order, and the frantic crew obeys at once.

He slightly adjusts the bow, then thrusts the engines to full; exaggerated exhaust flames char the front of the bio‑ship trying to bite the warship's rear into charcoal, while he drives the colliding corner of the exploding Green Skin boarding ship, crazily accelerating across the debris‑strewn battlefield.

Its speed is such that the Green Skin cruiser's captain gapes in disbelief as the ship flies right past him, slapping his Bridge's 'big tech tyrant' with a palm.

Then, pointing at the departing Xisi, he rants continuously:

"I want that power too!"

Xisi, of course, has no time to address the shocked Green Skin behind him; he simply barrels through the hail of fire, noting the escort ship—despite its massive enhancements—sprouting numerous wounds, and resolutely makes a blind jump back to Oumia No. 3, his final attempt before acquiring a navigator.

While Ana was busy constantly checking parameters, confirming whether the warship had a jump window, Xisi noticed more and more people turning their gaze toward the battlefield behind them.

Xisi frowned and looked over, and then the entire battlefield finally came into full view before his eyes.

Thousands of bio‑ships overwhelmed the Green Skin fleet, accompanied by intermittent sacrificial explosions, as the grand battlefield slowly drew its curtain.

On the planet beneath them, countless towering "vessels" resembling Space Elevators clung to the surface, devouring the planet's plants, creatures, and oceans, and even siphoning its geothermal energy.

Meanwhile, the basin once called an ocean has become a continent‑spanning hatchery, and as countless bio‑ships fall from space, more warships are being hatched on the surface.

Massive numbers of bio‑ships drift endlessly among the boundless debris in Orbit, packaging all convertible biomass, then transporting it to the ground to re‑incubate them into new warships.

Now, with the Green Skin of this star system completely annihilated and devoured, this swarm of insect‑like warships, larger than before the war, is turning its course toward Xisi and the Oumia No. 3 behind him......

Activate your body!