Chapter 38: Boarding the Vostonian Battlecruiser

The withered, bird-like old man holding a staff waited for the eight people to arrive before him.

"The destined time has arrived. It is time to enlighten the Vostonians, to let them know that the Machine God is a false, fake god, and only the God of Wisdom is the true god."

The old man's voice was shrill, like the chirping of a bird.

Zelinsiji asked in confusion, "Dajiashi, there are still eleven stellar years until our planned time of enlightenment. Why do you wish to initiate it early?"

"Zelinsiji, my master has already sent down the revelation; the destined time is here."

Upon hearing this, the eight priests bowed their heads in unison: "We obey the Dajiashi's command! Praise the God of Wisdom!"

The Dajiashi extended his left claw and pointed at Zelinsiji.

"Zelinsiji, you are the first link in the plan. How is the execution of the 'Ignite the Light of Enlightenment' plan that you are responsible for?"

"Dajiashi, the foolish Piyangteke Xiwiedersiji is already my puppet; he will execute any order I give."

"Very good, Zelinsiji. Before you underwent your foolish mechanical modifications, you obtained true wisdom."

"As long as you make good use of the wisdom and enlightenment I have bestowed upon you, those foolish humans, the slaves of the False Gods, will all be your playthings."

The Dajiashi nodded with satisfaction, and he then questioned the other seven one by one.

"After nine work cycles, execute the enlightenment plan."

"As you command, Dajiashi."

After the eight priests left, a hint of treachery appeared in the Dajiashi's blue eyes, and he walked down the stairs.

Reaching the end of the corridor, he mounted a single-person rapid-assault craft and let out a giggle.

"The enlightenment plan is no longer important. My master has bestowed upon me a new mission, a plan that only I can complete."

On the Piszczek, Luoxiji was astonished to discover that Ninglu's judgment was correct; the time the enemy ship A-II entered the Weisiwa xiaoxingxingdai was exactly the time he had stated.

He stared nervously at the holographic projection. Ninglu was very confident in his own judgment, not even dispatching two Destroyers to draw the enemy ship's fire. He performed tactical maneuvers in advance, allowing the Piszczek to appear exactly behind the enemy ship as it rounded an asteroid.

This gamble succeeded; the Piszczek avoided the coverage range of the powerful cannons on both wings of the A-II.

Luoxiji could not help but feel respect for Ninglu. He had previously thought this giant was merely powerful in combat; he had not expected him to possess such terrifying calculation abilities.

【A flesh-and-blood body actually possesses calculation abilities exceeding those of a mechanical body!】

The Tech-Priest also gained a bit more confidence in Ninglu's subsequent plan. He picked up the communicator and asked the operator of the boarding Torpedo.

"Operator C-53, is the launch procedure ready?"

"It is ready."

"Execute the launch procedure immediately."

The maneuverability and armor of a boarding Torpedo are not as good as an Assault Boat, but they are usually smaller in size and harder to intercept.

Because he had to accommodate the giant Ninglu, Luoxiji had performed targeted modifications on the boarding Torpedo, raising the height of the crew cabin so that he could barely stand inside it.

A boarding Torpedo capable of carrying an assault team could only fit Maria and two other Assassins, in addition to Ninglu.

A mechanical electronic voice sounded in the crew cabin: "Detaching from the fixed torpedo rack."

"Pingsu ranliao has been ignited."

"Launch countdown."

Ninglu stood steadily within the crew cabin, listening to the broadcast.

"3."

"2."

"1."

"Thrusters ignite!"

Driven by the burning Pingsu ranliao, the boarding Torpedo was like an arrow released from a bow, instantly detaching from the Piszczek.

Maria and the others immediately felt their bodies lose balance, and the fixing racks pressing against their shoulders could not steady their bodies during the Rapid acceleration, which felt like a rocket launch.

Their bodies lunged forward, colliding with the black armor of the giant in front of them.

Maria widened her eyes, seeing Ninglu in front of her, holding the fixing rack steadily without his body even swaying.

She stubbornly gripped the handles in front of her shoulders, struggling to resist the impact force, and finally stopped five centimeters away from Ninglu's back.

The two Assassins on the left and right only stopped when they were about to collide with Ninglu's arms.

The mechanical broadcast voice sounded again: "Contact initiated, impact expected to last 17 seconds."

"Demolition preparation! Countdown 3 seconds!"

"Bite down on your mouthguards."

Ninglu's reminder brought the three back to their senses, and they immediately followed suit.

"1."

The boarding Torpedo's melta-charge module detonated, and a loud noise resounded through the crew cabin.

Maria and the others immediately felt a huge force surge from the front, slamming them backward.

Even wearing helmets, they were left dizzy and ringing in their ears by the loud noise.

The violent tremors and jolts made the faces of the three turn pale, until a majestic command sounded.

"Move!"

The three then discovered that the hatch of the crew cabin had already opened, resting on the deck of the burning enemy ship.

Ninglu had already jumped out first; when he slammed heavily onto the deck, several Xenos were crushed into pulp.

Maria drew her twin blades from the unlocked weapon rack. "Go."

Subsequently, she leaped out first, took a step on the hatch, used the momentum to vault into the air, and pounced toward a tall Xenos wearing a tight purple protective suit.

The Xenos turned to flee while drawing a serrated dagger from its body.

Suddenly, it turned around in an instant like a swimming fish, the dagger thrusting toward Maria.

The Xenos's charged strike was as swift as lightning, but Maria, who had grown up soaked in chemical agents, reacted even faster.

She raised her left scimitar to parry the dagger, while simultaneously swinging her right scimitar to strike at the Xenos's neck.

Maria immediately felt significant resistance; the folds of skin stacked on the Xenos's neck were tougher than she had imagined, much like layers upon layers of leather armor.

She did not panic, withdrawing her blades while performing a somersault to leap behind the Xenos.

As she landed, she crossed her two blades and struck both sides of the Xenos's neck.

The shark-like, flat, and wide head fell to the ground, and as Maria raised her left arm, she was surprised to find that the finely forged scimitar held in her left hand had actually been notched with a large gap from the previous parry.

She curiously picked up the dagger and discovered that it looked as if it were crafted from a single piece of smoking crystal, with tiny fragments constantly breaking off the blade's edge and falling to the ground.

Maria decided to test the power of this weapon, so she lunged forward and rushed in front of another Xenos.

She swung her scimitar, severing the Xenos's arm, and then raised her left arm to stab at the Xenos's neck.

The moment the dagger touched the Xenos's wrinkled neck, Maria felt significant resistance.

She stared intently at the blade and suddenly saw a large number of tiny fragments breaking off the edge, which then burrowed into the wound.

Amidst a faint "hissing" sound, the Xenos revealed a pained expression and immediately collapsed.

Maria picked up the dagger of the dead Xenos and looked ahead, where she saw a Xenos with eyes on the sides of its cheeks rushing toward Ninglu at Rapid speed.

She opened her mouth to warn: "His dagger..."

Before she could finish, she saw Ninglu thrust his halberd out, dodging the twin daggers, and pierce the Xenos's head with the tip of the halberd.

Ninglu knew that the Fulao Boliren was famous for its immense power and sharpness, capable of piercing ceramite; not wanting to damage the weapon, he easily dodged the Fulao's high-speed pounce and slew it.

(End of chapter)