Chapter 482 – Attack

One of them had long gray hair draped over his shoulders, a tall and graceful posture, and strikingly handsome features that fully embodied the vibe of a young master from a noble family.

The other was plump, dressed in luxurious attire, adorned with various decorations all over, even styling his hair into tiny braids, each braid ending with a large gemstone.

Under the chandelier’s light, he almost constantly sparkled with a pearly glow, making it impossible for anyone to clearly see his true appearance.

Dong Lingxue looked at the two of them, pursed her lips, and sighed quietly in her heart.

What a bore.

Ever since that so-called duke’s son came to Red Diamond City, she attended several banquets held by Gem Lord along with Dongmu, and afterward, followed a group of noble girls with similar backgrounds to this place.

Initially, Dong Lingxue was a bit worried, fearing she might be chosen as a “slave” or “plaything.”

After all, in the circles of high nobility, such events were not uncommon.

In the eyes of top-tier nobility, small nobility like them were hardly different from ordinary commoners.

Dong Lingxue had even considered secretly escaping.

Fortunately, once she got here, things didn’t develop as she imagined.

They, the noble girls who were “specially selected,” were only restricted in freedom, limited to a few designated rooms, but nothing problematic happened.

Dong Lingxue felt that they were merely brought along to “accompany.”

Since the people they were “accompanying” had no vulgar tastes, they only needed to serve as pleasing ornaments within sight.

Dong Lingxue noticed a girl at the turn of the stairs on the second floor below her.

That was a very beautiful girl, around her age, with velvety smooth golden hair and milky white, delicate skin.

Dong Lingxue vividly remembered her name was Irene Gisbor, the only daughter of a newly elevated baron’s family.

Among all the “ornaments” in the room, she was undoubtedly the most exquisite and eye-catching one.

Dance, painting, music… Dong Lingxue had personally witnessed the girl showcase no less than ten impressive talents. She had even played a game of chess with the prestigious big shot below and earned his admiration.

The girl’s personality was also very good-graceful, generous, humble, and gentle.

Even the usually rebellious Dong Lingxue often felt a sense of inferiority in her presence.

Dong Lingxue used to feel that there were too many rules and constraints within the nobility circles, restricting her freedom.

But after meeting this girl named Irene, her perspective slightly shifted.

She suddenly thought that obediently following her father Dongmu’s arrangements and being a proper noble lady wasn’t so bad.

She didn’t need to become as outstanding as Irene; achieving half of what Irene had would be enough.

That way…

She wouldn’t be in a position where, aside from her family background, she couldn’t find a single aspect worthy of matching Irene, not even having the confidence to approach her as a friend.

As Dong Lingxue was lost in thought, the two men engrossed in conversation downstairs suddenly stood up, seemingly having received some news, and quickly exited the room.

She let out a sigh of relief.

With the big shots gone, her “performance” could finally take a temporary break.

Heaven knows how exhausting it was for her, a frivolous noble with nothing but a head full of fluff, to blend in and play her part here every day.

The mental pressure was substantial, constantly fearing that she would slip up and expose herself.

However, today’s situation seemed a bit different.

Right after Gem Lord, among the two big shots, left, a group of fully armed bodyguards entered the room, and someone with a cold demeanor instructed them all to move outside.

The girls naturally didn’t resist, and Dong Lingxue obediently followed the crowd.

After walking for about five or six minutes, the girls were semi-“escorted” to a large metal platform.

The circular metal platform had stands for people at intervals along the edge.

The girls stepped onto those stands one after another, perfectly filling all thirty-two positions.

The bodyguards who had escorted them said nothing, simply observing them all with cold detachment.

Dong Lingxue surveyed the dim and oppressive surroundings and the strange grooved patterns beneath her feet.

For some reason, a vague unease began to rise in her heart.

“We’re here.”

A voice sounded in his ear, and Lu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes.

Standing up from the Hibernation Pod, a space pirate awaited him respectfully at his side.

With an impassive face, Lu Yuan walked to the spaceship’s cockpit. Through the holographic display, he saw a valley surrounded by mountains in the distance, which the spaceship was slowly approaching.

Clearly, the valley was their destination for this mission.

“Lord Sea Wolf has already issued orders for us to be ready for battle at any time.”

Lu Yuan responded with a brief “hm” but said nothing more.

As the valley in his view drew closer and reached a critical point, suddenly…

The spaceship he was aboard seemed to encounter an obstacle, shaking slightly.

Immediately, an unseen ripple spread through the void, with light blue waves quickly radiating out.

The originally clear sky suddenly revealed the shapes of aircraft, like fish darting under a calm water surface-these were the space pirate ships breaking through their “invisibility cloaks.”

And at that very moment… the battle began.

“Buzz-“

The terrifying sound of air vibrating could be distinctly felt even through the spaceship.

A thick energy light pillar shot out from one of the ships, striking forcefully at the valley below.

With a thunderous “boom,” a massive hemispherical blue energy shield appeared above the silent, empty valley.

The energy light pillar hit the shield, setting off ripples, but it was completely blocked.

However, this was just the beginning.

After the first energy light pillar fell, the second, third, fourth followed…

Hundreds of energy light pillars rained down on the valley like a deluge. The massive hemispherical energy shield trembled violently under the assault, with the leaking energy waves stirring up a storm around the valley, ripping through the vegetation like sheets of paper…

Everywhere Lu Yuan looked, there were spaceships spewing fire and dazzling lights illuminating the scene.

This was the first time Lu Yuan had witnessed such a large-scale air battle.

He silently calculated in his mind the impact his personal combat power could have in such a high-level conflict.

The conclusion he reached was that even at his peak, during the tenth stage of Star Spirit cultivation, surviving in the midst of so many attacking spaceships would not have been easy.

Under the guns of a starship, individual bravery was severely diminished.

Simply cultivating in Star Martial Arts would amount to nothing in such a battlefield.

However, it was different with Mecha.

Even though Lu Yuan wasn’t deeply familiar with high-level Mecha, he knew that in small-scale battles, high-level Mecha could indeed be decisive.

“The further you progress, the more apparent the importance of Mechs becomes. Without a Protective Shield from a Mech, no matter how advanced your cultivation is, you almost have no right to engage in top-tier combat…”

Lu Yuan observed the battle group ahead, his eyes flickering with thought.

The spaceship he was on was also firing. The space pirates controlling the ship were generally not very powerful, with mental power only at around level three.

At this moment, they all appeared as if they were on some stimulant-eyes bloodshot, frenetically and excitedly operating the weaponry stations.

Under the bombardment of hundreds of space pirate ships, the energy shield surrounding the valley lasted just over a minute before it was breached.

Through the remaining scattered beams of light, the leading combat ships dove rapidly downward like hunting falcons. From beneath the ships, large humanoid figures were deployed-these were space pirate Mechs, ready for the next stage of the boarding assault.

Now… it was time for Lu Yuan and the others to take action.

“Take action.”

As the younger brother of Sea Wolf and one of the few Level 7 pilots in the Sea Wolf pirate group, Lu Yuan was the highest-ranking officer on this spaceship. He coldly issued the command, then quickly moved to the ship’s mecha exit. As the hatch slowly opened, he quietly activated his mecha form.

“Clank, clank-“

The sound of alloy gears extending and rotating emanated from Lu Yuan. His originally slender frame rapidly expanded under the cover of a blinding light, swelling to eight meters in an instant.

Sturdy, elongated alloy legs, a broad and powerful chest, a solid back gleaming with a dark sheen…

This time, Lu Yuan’s mecha form resembled a mechanical giant wolf standing upright.

This was Alfonso’s mecha form, a mid-to-high tier Level 7 close-combat explosive-type mecha known as the Blood Night Butcher!

Lu Yuan, along with six or seven Level 5 space pirates in their mechas, separated from the spaceship and advanced toward the nearby valley.

He wasn’t the fastest, and by now, many space pirates were already charging towards the valley, resembling a swarm of attacking hornets from afar.

As Lu Yuan casually followed the mecha group in their assault on the valley, he checked his personal terminal.

Several messages had accumulated there.

Lu Yuan glanced through them, noting that most were from the “red-bearded man” asking whether he had succeeded in “poisoning.”

There was also one from Sea Wolf.

It contained only two short words-“Be careful.”

“Sea Wolf truly does care for his younger brother Alfonso…”

“With Alfonso’s skillset, under normal circumstances, he’d struggle to even reach Level 5. Yet Sea Wolf managed to push him to Level 7 using resources.”

“Even so, this guy is still unsatisfied and conspires with outsiders to kill his own brother in a bid to take over… truly a worthless ingrate…”

Lu Yuan shook his head, ignoring the red-bearded man’s messages, and directly connected with Sonis.

As the communication connected, Lu Yuan wasted no time and got straight to the point.

“Location.”

Sonis quickly sent over a detailed location update.

Locking onto the magenta mecha of Sonis, Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered slightly. “You lead… I’ll follow.”

With that, he abruptly disconnected the communication.

As an implant recipient of the Seed of Misfortune, Sonis had no reason to refuse Lu Yuan.

Maintaining a distance of approximately two kilometers between them, Lu Yuan and Sonis positioned themselves towards the front-middle of the advancing group of space pirate Mecha, gradually making their way into the valley.

The valley’s interior was even more expansive than Lu Yuan had anticipated.

Once inside, a massive entrance welcomed them all.

The area around the entrance showed signs of infrastructural modifications, and dozens of yellow gem-colored Mechas were standing at the gate, shooting frantically at the influx of space pirate Mechas. Joining them were numerous defensive turrets near the entrance.

For a moment, the overwhelming firepower nearly suffocated the advancing space pirates.

Lu Yuan saw with his own eyes a Level 7 and two Level 6 space pirate Mechas charging into the enemy’s fire range.

The energy Protective force fields on their Mecha surfaces held for just a few seconds before being ruthlessly torn apart. They then exploded in a mesh of interwoven energy eruptions, leaving behind nothing but a few charred remains engulfed in flames.

“Damn! The White-haired Ghost is down just like that…”

A cursing voice came through Lu Yuan’s terminal.

Before the assault had begun, a chat channel had been set up specifically for pilots of Level 7 or higher among the space pirates to facilitate communication and allow Sea Wolf to directly issue orders. The voice on the terminal belonged to another Level 7 space pirate.

Lu Yuan listened nonchalantly.

The space pirates had attacked with full force, but as the de facto ruler of Planet Lirva, Gem Lord’s power was not to be underestimated, especially since Gem Lord was aware that the ancient ruins’ location had been compromised and had made preparations in advance.

It was likely…

unless a wave of space pirates died, this defensive line wouldn’t be breached.

However, losing a Level 7 pilot right at the start could only be attributed to the pilot’s own stupidity.

With the demise of the Level 7 space pirate, known as the White-haired Ghost, on the First Stage of the defense line, the remaining pirates became more cautious, with none of the Level 7s daring to recklessly advance.

Both sides initiated long-range fire exchanges.

The space pirates dispatched large numbers of combat mechanical bodies, charging at the defensive turrets with suicidal fervor, attempting to forcibly break through the defense line through self-detonation.

When it came to combat, the battle-hardened space pirates, who lived on the edge of danger, were clearly more professional than Gem Lord’s guards.

With the self-destructing Mechanical Bodies joining the fray, complemented by a host of mid to high-level space pirate Mechas providing support, the First Stage of defense within the valley quickly began to show signs of gradual collapse.

One by one, the guard Mechas were hit and damaged.

At a certain moment…

“Hum-“

An overwhelming Level 8 consciousness fluctuation swept across the battlefield like a hurricane tidal wave, as terrifying energy in the form of a red glow slashed through like a giant axe…

“Boom!”

Amidst the blinding firelight, the defense line in the valley completely crumbled.

A massive black Mecha, standing a full fifteen meters tall, descended upon the battlefield like a Demon God, with a blood-red wolf head emblem emblazoned on its body, exuding an overwhelming and fierce dominance.

Lu Yuan’s eyes slightly widened.

Sea Wolf.

Sea Wolf had made his move.

Cheers and laughter resonated through the terminal channel.

One after another, space pirate Mechas charged forward like a pack of hungry wolves, following behind Sea Wolf’s black Mecha, pressing on and advancing into the depths of the valley.

“Sea Wolf… entering the field himself so soon?”

Lu Yuan frowned slightly.

This was just the breach of the First Stage, and the main defense forces of Gem Lord’s side had yet to appear, yet Sea Wolf had already stepped in.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that this move was somewhat reckless, not in line with Sea Wolf’s usual approach.

“Could it be that Sea Wolf has allies inside, giving him enough confidence to push all the way to the depths of the ruins?”

Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered slightly. After considering the situation, he followed without any change in expression.