Chapter 75: Unbreakable Defense Line – Ustali

There are two major hazards to leaping within the atmosphere.

One is a terrifying gravitational tearing on the ship's hull, the other is a destructive annihilation of the planet.

For the former, Xisi can only rely on the Hundredfold‑enhanced hull to hold out, and as for the latter…

Whether this planet's Green Skin and Tairen are destroyed or not makes no difference to humanity.

At least this one‑time massive loss is far better than being drowned on the surface by endless Alien Form artillery.

The bridge crew stared dazed at Xisi issuing the order; if the Mechanical Priest didn't worship Xisi as Om Messiah and the Black Watch behind him brandished a heat‑ray gun, the crew might have mutinied.

But there is no "if" in reality; after a brief daze they, with the ever‑sarcastic "madman" in their eyes, cooperated as the warship descended to the surface.

Because anyone who doesn't touch the ground, given their current warship capabilities, could single‑handedly break out and then depart using a far safer method.

Only Xisi completely ignored the bridge crew's various glances; he remained calmly on the bridge command seat, silently watching the war cruiser beneath his feet, like a massive space cathedral, slowly pulling away from the enemy ship, sparking a sky of fire in the atmosphere.

And to the three factions on the surface, only the humans wore a look of sheer terror.

The Tairen didn't mind; after all, they constantly let bio‑ships enter and exit the surface.

The Green Skin, however, are one of the few races in the entire galaxy capable of Subspace leaping on the surface.

Some Green Skin empires even construct a massive ground warship that directly Subspace‑leaps, sending the vessel straight onto the enemy's face.

Thus the Tairen and Green Skin thought it normal; only Fanluosi and the others on the mountain top went from terror to utter despair.

After all, with the warship inside the atmosphere, they could not even imagine its crash.

Let alone hoping the opponent would fly mid‑air, rain down artillery, or launch a rescue…

The crowd stopped thinking further, and the despair on their faces gradually steadied and instantly faded as the massive "floating cathedral" loomed before them.

It wasn't until Xisi actually piloted the warship to hover mid‑air, carpet‑bomb the ground, and unleash a swarm of drones that their despair was replaced by bewilderment.

At this point they could hardly show shock any more, because they had already been stunned countless times, so now whatever they saw no longer seemed particularly strange.

They merely, with puzzlement at such an exaggerated scene, stared earnestly at Fanluosi behind them.

For this abnormal sight, does Lord Fanluosi, the Judge, really not say anything?

And Fanluosi, facing the crowd's question, no longer wore the awkwardness of making excuses for Xisi; instead he adopted a sincere, righteous tone, his face solemn:

"Yes! Exactly as you think, this comes from the Throne… no, this is a Blessing from Om Messiah!"

At this moment Fanluosi had no doubt about Xisi at all; he even felt as if he were the mechanical sage Kaor awakening Kiriman, and also retrieving a Demigod for the Empire.

At the same time, faced with the multitude of Yunxuji released by the warship, Fanluosi directly ordered the ground troops to board.

Meanwhile, amid the crowd's bustle, they kept eyeing the spectacular sight overhead.

The massive war cruiser blocked the sky.

Countless small close‑range weapons atop it became terrifying "giant cannons" once they reached the ground.

The warship's underside continuously roared out massive barrages toward the ground; these volleys, shaking the earth beneath, instantly formed dense mushroom clouds over the Green Skin and Tairen.

Then the mushroom clouds acted like erasers, turning the once‑crowded land of Green Skin and Tairen into a barren charred wasteland.

This tactic of bringing a space warship into the atmosphere to cleanse the ground caused not only the Green Skin to dodge, but even the Tairen, after a brief pause, turned and left.

Before this war cruiser was destroyed, the Tairen didn't even consider committing any biomass.

As the ground forces withdrew, the Tairen and Green Skin in space continued their hostility, simultaneously taking the high ground and raining fire on the war cruiser without restraint.

Dense corrosive plasma and massive cannonballs streaked across the atmosphere, pelting the war cruiser's shield like raindrops.

The shield, re‑activated only by Hundredfold Amplification, began to appear visibly thin under this saturated onslaught.

The bridge constantly reverberated with dense tremors; the overburdened hull let out unending wails under the bombardment.

The shield operator stared at the gauge's numbers, cold sweat beading his forehead.

Meanwhile the dwindling figures seemed like a countdown of everyone's lives.

79！68！62！54！......

Again and again they shouted loudly; although the surrounding crew made no extra moves, their eyes kept darting toward Xisi behind them.

Only Xisi stared at the screen, confirming the last Yunxuji had finally flown into the war cruiser's massive hull; he then withdrew his gaze and shouted loudly at the crew below:

"Subspace engine charging, entire ship prepare to Leap!"

Finally, the shield operator's voice was drowned out by Xisi's word 'Leap'; the Fanluosi and others who had just boarded the warship, upon hearing Xisi's ship‑wide command, froze, then, too late to curse, scrambled to grab anything nearby that could steady them.

Only the brain‑lobe‑removed automaton servants, still methodically securing the Yunxuji, showed no hint of panic on their faces.

When Fanluosi finally clasped a polymer‑steel handrail, the Communicator, which had been quiet for a moment, began to emit the mechanical, icy countdown of the Subspace Leap.

Ten!

Everyone braced themselves; even Xisi planted his feet firmly, gripping the Red Sword with both hands and driving it deep into the deck.

Nine!

The brief 'Quiet' shield broadcast sounded again, but with the shield failing, the tremor striking the hull felt like the crowd's suddenly racing hearts.

Eight!

The external roar vanished, replaced by everything else at tenfold, while only the Subspace engine operated at Hundredfold Amplification, generating a ship‑wide intense spatial distortion.

Seven!

Planetary gravity failed; the tearing space began to roll up mountain ranges, sweeping the stranded Green Skin and Tairen on the ground into a 'storm' of stone peaks, Green Skin, and Tairen around the warship. Fanluosi even watched a Tairen overlord flail futilely in mid‑air, being blown away while roaring in fury at the gradually closing hull doors.

Six!

The Sea of Souls' waves surged into reality, Subspace Energy erupted, followed by countless demonic forces eagerly charging into the real universe; yet before their smiles could fully bloom, they saw a swarm‑lord of insects collide, and their grins froze instantly.

Five!

Subspace Energy converged, spawning evil lightning around the war cruiser; the hull, which had been quiet for seconds, began to further shatter under the thunderous evil lightning. Even many external turrets were destroyed, and the cathedral's apex at the ship's top cracked and fragmented under the raging energy, dragging terrified crew and onboard priests into the surging waves.

Then came four, three, two…

When all shield plates fully sealed, the Gailer stance opened to its maximum.

The warship, deforming the entire continent beneath its feet, had everyone on the bridge awaiting the final number that might end their lives; oddly, the bridge fell into a bizarre, deathly silence for a moment.

Only after everyone sensed the beginning of the chaotic time flow did that last number slowly get spoken:

One......

The crowd opened their eyes; the world fell utterly silent at this moment; countless gazes turned toward the Bridge; Xisi stood on high, accompanied by the constantly collapsing hull beside him; in this silence, a clear deep breath:

「Leap。」

Unbroken Defense Line-Ustali.

The planet most deeply penetrated into the defense line is Ouketaliusi, and it is also the most important Forge World of the defense line.

At this moment, the entire planet's surface is engulfed in endless war, and the fleets in Orbit have gathered into a sea, constantly pouring fire upon each other.

And in this dire situation, whether humans, Green Skin, or Talun, they were all struck head-on by a sudden burst of violent Subspace Energy that appeared directly in the midst of the battling fleet formation.

Powerful enough to be visible to the naked eye, the energy wave forcibly blew apart the three fleets' sea of ships.

Many warships collided with each other, and many blood‑red‑eyed crew members could even leap directly onto enemy ships.

But compared to these lower‑rank crew members, when the three sides' high command hastily turned their attention back from the battlefield, they saw a huge battlecruiser bursting out of Subspace, its body wreathed in smoke and constantly disintegrating.

And at this moment, this capital‑ship‑class warship, bearing unimaginably heavy damage to the onlookers, is plunging uncontrollably onto the surface!

But relative to the planet's Foundry General, helpless as large swaths of factories face destruction, more humans simply watch the destroyed battlecruiser and silently pray for those aboard.

For right where the battlecruiser crashes, there lies a line of Bio‑Titans stretching over the surface like mountain ranges!

Ustali, the most horrific and desperate point of the Unbroken Defense Line......

Apocalypse Battlefield!