The plan was to blast off with maximum firepower at one point and zap through the pathway before things happened. That would be far riskier since a defenseless vessel like Darvill might be crashing into clusters of Crustalades in the course. But they had no other option. The forces of the three aristocrats were subsiding drastically, the families could no longer disperse their military forces to escort the vessels.
Meanwhile, the crew members of Darrell were rather relieved of having a super fighter in their ship since that would simply translate as a likelihood to survive.
The entrance to the pathway was a narrow one. So, the ships must travel in almost like a queue, where one tailed the other. If it was not Xue Lai's achievement in the battle before, this massive evacuation would never happen. Xue Lai clan was far ahead of the other aristocrats, they had already hit the center of the pathway, yet countless Crustalades raided them and they were helpless, eventually succumbed to requesting help.
It took about 5 days for the giant fleet consisted of the 3 aristocrats to travel through the entrance entirely. Darvill was currently at the core of the fleet and passed through the tiny gap on the third day of the course.
Unlike the tiny opening before, the interior of the pathway was rather spacious, so the fleet could finally breathe.
It felt like another world inside...
The leading ship of the fleet was on full fire, as shower of beams clashed densely with the opposite.
A war had already happened!
The fleet was traveling sluggishly, as Xue Lai clan and Xi Feng tribe had teamed up to fight back on full force. Beams of different colors slashed through the wave of aggressive Crustalades.
The happening ahead was transmitted to the hologram projections of all ships behind. It was a stunning visual which people would stumble upon.
And now they finally could understand the reason the squad of each family had fallen, as they recognized the seriousness of the attack.
Xue Lai clan and Xi Feng tribe shone on this stage, for they had great technologies specialized in ranged attacks. The lasers sliced through darkness like a meteor shower, as they seared the purplish dark cloud of Crustalades.
The joint attack of two families might be impeccable but the number of Crutalades was overwhelming, that a handful of them survived even under the dense net of fired beams. Of course, they would not last when they reached the second defense line, where the Ye family was standing. The mechs of Ye family wielded a pair of iron fists, shredding the remaining arthropods.
Han Jia was hovering near Darvill. He did not advance forward, since he knew the frontline had already become a slaughterhouse. An additional man or two would not change a thing.
Han Jia, the skeleton mech was invisible in most detection systems, so no other ships had actually noticed its existence in the dark.
Looking at the fireworks ahead, Ye Chong could not help but to sigh, as finding his strength insignificant in this galactic battle.
HNNNNGGGG!
Suddenly, a Crustalade flew by, seemingly unaware of Han Jia.
It was heading towards Darvill rapidly!
Ye Chong could even see its jaw flapping excitingly.
Wait, it did not come for me?
Ye Chong was confused, but somehow the insect ignored him in fact.
Wait... does that mean...
Ye Chong had an idea. He wanted to test something.
Han Jia remained static like a piece of meteorite in the space, anticipating the arriving arthropod.
500 meters.
The course of Crustalade unchanged.
300 meters.
Unchanged.
100 meters.
Unchanged?
Ye Chong's speculation was getting verified. The truth was revealing.
3 meters...
HHNNNNNNNGGG...
Han Jia was completely ignored. The daggers were drawn, the shadow danced, then the insect was bisected as it passed the unseen. Do-Kun stone was still the hardest. Thought Ye Chong as he looked at the sliced phylum.
The wave of Crustalades looked endless. There were simply too many of them that casualties started to be heard of mechs from both Xue Lai clan and Xi Feng tribe ahead.
The force was weakening. The Crustalades within the fleet were increasing as manically they pounced upon the giant spaceships.
Their jaws were destructive as the metallic armors of the ship were scrapped like polystyrene. One ship was rather unfortunate to have been raided by over hundreds Crustalades, a nightmarish scene it was. A spaceship's armor was dense by nature, but it would only be a matter of time till every layer was torn and a rupture would occur.
Ye Chong could not help the other ships as Darvill was also surrounded by a huge flock of Crustalades.
His test had proven the fact that Han Jia was undetected by these hungry pests. That would be perfect as Ye Chong would truly be an invisible hunter. It would be assassination all over again.
The pathway was getting chaotic. The fleet had ceased, the spaceships were trying to catch up with each other, yet covered by the gnawing insects. The space had already been flooded with pieces of shattered mech and carcasses.
Boom! One ship had blown up as the space suddenly turned bright. The fleet panicked as the ships started clogging the course.
Crustalades were innately small arthropods but the fact they fed on metals was simply a horror. A few spaceships exploded next.
And there Ye Chong was, feeling sentimental of his helpless insignificance again. The only he could do was to protect Darvill at all costs. He might be able to walk past those vicious insects undetected, but that did not mean he would be safe at all time.
?!
And there he almost got hit by one of the debris from the spaceship explosion. The debris was visibly 1 kilometer long, Ye Chong could be crushed just because of the momentum conserved.
The place was chaotic, could be almost the chaos itself, that Ye Chong spent most of his attention span on the incoming pieces.
...(Darvill's Main Control Room)...
The members were alarmed as they scurried in the room, from one control panel to another, even Ye Pang the unshakable one began shaking a little.
Who cares about that magic mech out there anymore! We have an invasion to handle!
People were trying to minimize crashes with the other spaceships as the course had been utterly disrupted. They were fully attentive because a slip of the finger, a careless mistake simple could have killed the entire crew.
Well Ye Chong was relatively calm as he took cover within the giant Darvill under the heavy debris shower.
Tick!
The gate of Darvill opened out of sudden, soon a golden silhouette tumbled its way out.
Rui Bing?
Why did she...
Ye Chong was surprised. The Guardian was formidable but also limited in a space war like this, so why?
"Why did you come out?" asked Ye Chong grimly in the communicator channel prompted.
"I want to fight with you!" said Rui Bing firmly.
Ye Chong wanted to convince her by saying how the Guardian was simply not made for such environment but Rui Bing did something...
She demonstrated martial arts.
Rui Bing hopped onto on one pole sticking out on the deck and transformed into a beam of golden light bouncing off on another pole. Ye Chong was seeing Rui Bing becoming a kind of golden reflection moving from one pole or handle to another.
And because of the lack of gravity, it did not take Rui Bing much effort to main her momentum. She was literally zapping like electricity, but the consumption was not as dramatic as it looked.
This idea's not bad...
Ye Chong was impressed of Rui Bing's adaptability, although he did perceive one weakness immediately. The movement allowed Rui Bing's mobility but it would be highly dependent on the objects around, Rui Bing would need to always find something to hold in order to make another leap. Moreover, it was always possible for her to bounce off at a wrong angle, that she might send herself into deep space. It would be a tragedy by then...
"Rui Bing, I think-" She seemed to know what Ye Chong was thinking as she made a tap on the ship and bounced off Darvill.
What was she doing?! The Guardian had only miniature engines, there's no engine that promoted a directive aerial travel! You can't find any handle in the boundless space!
Ye Chong was hurrying his way to Rui Bing but Rui Bing was undisturbed, as she leisurely tapped a button on her waist, a rope was released and fired upon the body of the ship behind. There was a sucker at the end of the rope which helped fixing the rope on the ship firmly. Rui Bing stretched forward a little, then like a Yo-yo she was pulled back to the ship.
Ye Chong then noticed the additional rectangular metallic box at Guardian's waist.
"Ye, Pang got me this," said Rui Bing, with slight joy in her chilly voice.
"Be careful," said the indifferent voice. Rui Bing felt the 3 syllables warming her inside up nevertheless, "Alright," she said.
Rui Bing then had a stroll across the body of the ship. Her skill picked up as she grew familiar of the layout of the ship. She began brisk-walking. It was not far-fetched to say the Guardian was made for Rui Bing. The dagger of the Guardian was greatly honed and unstoppable even in the raining attack of the hard Crustalades. Rui Bing also had the sense to aid her on performing critical attacks efficiently. Crustalades might be fast but they were there to be slaughtered once they touched Darvill. Rui Bing was getting better on her moonwalking.
Thanks to Rui Bing, Ye Chong had more liberty in the space.
There was one ship of Xue Lai clan next to Darvill.
"Holy Xue Lai, what the heck was that?" one observer screamed exhilaratingly.
The crew members then quickly shifted the camera to that "something".
"What's wrong? Hey... Fei She'er! Talk to your captain!" said the captain loudly.
What the hell is my sailor talking? Stop making this into a cruise of a horror movie.
"Fei She'er!" Intense anger could be heard in the elevated volume of the captain.
"Ah!" Fei She'er lifted his head, turned his head only to see the horrifying face of the captain in anger, "No sir! I mean, yes captain, sir, mister, I-I don't know, please take a look..." And he instantly sent the visual of his camera to the giant screen in front of the captain's seat.
The boundless space.
The chaotic walkway to the world outside.
"What is there, Fei She'er, do you think it is funny to trick your crew? Would you like to work at the-"
"Captain!"
A few Crustalades showed up in the screen. They became restless upon seeing the ship as quickly they charged towards it.
"Ah!" The crew member could not help but to scream. The captain's hope sank, they would be soon good-as-done once these disgusting insects touched the ship.
The shell of the arthropods shone in purplish dark metallic glow, reflecting the fireworks afar. The jaws were opening and closing in belligerent pace of hunger, as their purple brown eyes covetously projected in a high definition zoom-in on the screen.
Hope had sunken. The ship would be blowing up. And there was nothing they could do. A few members decided to lay back and close their eyes.
"Captain!"
Something was flashing in the dark. A blade seemed to have swayed across the closest arthropod which then turned into two pieces with countless droplets of purplish black fluid hovering in the space.
That was the first.
Then second... third... forth...
The Crustalades had all died?
"D-d-d-did a miracle happen? Did god decide to help us?" muttered one man.
"Quick!" The captain seemed to have thought of something, "Turn on Photon-mode, now!"
Under photon mode they might have a limited vision, but the colors were richer. As the explosion had become a seeming firework upon regaining its colors. Beams were crossing and forming a colorful net engulfing the world ahead.
But no crew member had the attention on the scenery. They were all staring at that petite beauty at one corner.
It was a mech gorgeous as the butterfly, with a spread of rainbow wings adorned by glittering stars of liquid gold. It hovered in pride within the void, as it set its eyes upon the floating carcasses.
Two days.
Chaos itself had visited for two days, which caused several explosions across different ships. The pathway was almost clogged with all sorts of rubbles, be them from the spaceships or the mechs.
The progression was nearly zero on their course within the last two days, as they literally inched their way ahead. The beams of light remained dancing and Ye Chong had lost count of the number of Crustalades he had sliced.
It was the third day of visit by chaos itself.
Ye Chong started seeing a decrease in the number of Crustalades in the space.
Has it ended?
Wait, no!
He realized something... as goosebumps ran over his skin.
Instinct told him that the crucial moment which would determine the outcome of the war had arrived!
He waved at Rui Bing and zoomed ahead.