Chapter 435: Chapter 435: Escape

Just then, the ground began to crack wide open. A sea of black particles erupted and converged, forming black tentacles that shot toward Long Ming and the others.

"Watch out!"

Long Ming immediately shouted to the two of them.

Hopka scrambled to dodge.

Long Ming quickly raised his left hand, gathered his Power, and fired a sweeping, dark-red beam of light.

SNAP~

The tentacles were sliced apart one after another.

"What the hell is this thing?"

Hopka asked, his expression tightening.

"Could it be that this entire planet is a Death Filth Spirit, and what we just killed was merely one of its materialized avatars?"

Long Ming shared his theory with Hopka and the others.

"Dammit, you should’ve said so sooner!"

The color drained from the faces of Hopka and the other man as they desperately accelerated toward the Azure Blue.

...

「Inside the Azure Blue’s central control room.」

Fakadon was frantic, urging his subordinates.

"Hurry, start the ship!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Activating the anti-gravity drive!"

...

The crew scrambled to their stations.

The entire Azure Blue slowly began to rise.

Just then, the ground cracked open rapidly. Black tentacles shot out from the fissures and wrapped around the Azure Blue like the arms of an octopus.

The Azure Blue jolted violently.

Piercing alarms blared nonstop.

"What’s happening?"

Fakadon demanded, his face falling.

"Sir, the ship’s been caught by some kind of black tentacles!"

an operator cried out in terror.

"Activate the beam weapons and fire!"

Fakadon roared.

"Yes, sir!"

The operator immediately complied.

Concealed weapon ports on the Azure Blue’s underbelly opened, firing beam after beam at the entangling tentacles.

The beams pierced through the tentacles.

But then, more black tentacles surged from the ground and stabbed into the Azure Blue’s hull!

THUMP~

The Azure Blue shuddered violently. Massive dents appeared on its underbelly, and several sections were completely pierced through. Fortunately, they missed vital areas like the engine room.

"Commander Fakadon, a tentacle broke through the lower hull and is inside!"

an operator cried in panic.

"Quick, send in soldiers to deal with those tentacles!"

Fakadon roared.

"Yes, sir!"

His subordinates immediately relayed the command.

Soldiers rushed to the breached sections, continuously firing at the black tentacles with their Light Beam Guns.

The black tentacles dissolved under the barrage of light beams.

The Azure Blue seized the chance, increased its power, and lifted off.

But then, a despairing sight appeared: the entire sky was shrouded in a web of black tentacles.

They had formed a massive cage.

"We’re done for!"

an operator said in despair.

"Dammit!"

Just as Fakadon was about to charge out and fight them himself,

Two beams of light—one red, one blue—swept across in a crisscross pattern.

Instantly slicing the tentacles apart.

Fakadon froze for a moment. Then he saw Hopka and the others rushing toward them and cried out in delighted surprise.

"The Captain’s back! Full power! Head for the opening!"

"Yes, sir!"

The operator immediately complied.

The Azure Blue shot straight up, accelerating toward the opening.

The black tentacles swept in again, unwilling to let them go, but Hopka, Long Ming, and the others fired beams of light, severing them.

In an instant, the Azure Blue broke through.

Hopka and Antilo accelerated and landed precisely on the ship’s hull.

At that moment, the dark-red ground collapsed with a deafening roar, revealing a massive chasm. A fountain of countless black particles erupted from it, surging straight for the Azure Blue.

Seeing this, Hopka and Long Ming were horrified. They exchanged a look, instantly gathered their energy, and attacked simultaneously.

SWOOSH!

Two brilliant beams shot out to meet the incoming pillar of black particles.

BOOM~

A massive explosion ripped through the sky.

The entire Azure Blue shuddered violently.

The Azure Blue went to full power. Halos of light flared from its aft thrusters as it suddenly accelerated, making its escape.

Finally, it successfully escaped the dark-red planet.

"*Phew...*"

Long Ming and the others watched the planet grow smaller in the distance and breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Let’s go. Back inside the ship."

Hopka led Long Ming and the others toward an emergency entrance on the Azure Blue.

...

「Inside the Azure Blue’s hangar.」

CLICK!

The emergency access hatch opened.

Hopka and the others flew in, piloting their Mechanical Gods.

Soldiers and medics rushed forward to meet them.

"Sir."

"Get Chen Hong to the medbay."

Hopka ordered his subordinates.

"Yes, sir!"

Several soldiers moved forward and carefully detached the Mechanical God from Chen Hong’s body.

The medics then placed the unconscious Chen Hong into a life support pod and wheeled him away.

Then, Antilo turned to Long Ming and asked.

"Red Ghost, your shoulder was pierced by that gun too. Don’t you need to go to the medbay?"

"No need."

Long Ming replied coolly.

His wound had already mostly healed.

’The healing ability of this Blood Breath Beast is simply unreal.’

"Amazing!"

A look of astonishment crossed Antilo’s face. ’Is this guy human or some kind of monster?’

"Let’s go."

Hopka led Long Ming and Antilo away.

「A moment later.」

The three of them arrived in the central control room.

"Captain, are you all right?"

Fakadon rushed to greet them, asking with concern.

"We’re fine."

Hopka replied, waving his hand dismissively.

"Captain, what about our mission?"

"The mission’s complete. We’ve recovered the classified case."

"That’s fantastic!"

Fakadon was thrilled to hear Hopka announce the mission’s success.

Watching the ecstatic Fakadon, Hopka’s expression only grew more somber.

"Captain? What’s wrong? Did something happen?"

Fakadon suddenly noticed that the mood of Hopka and the others was off.

Hopka said, his expression dark.

"Woperi sacrificed himself to save me."

"How could that happen?"

Fakadon’s body trembled upon hearing Hopka’s words.

"It’s all my fault."

Hopka clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles cracked, his face a mask of grief and remorse.

Long Ming stood silently to the side, saying nothing.

’To be honest, Hopka didn’t really do anything wrong. I warned him it was dangerous, but his personality meant he was never going to give up on the rescue.’

’Even if he could do it all over again, Hopka would have charged in to save them without a second thought.’

’I, on the other hand, couldn’t have done the same.’

’After all, I don’t have a strong sense of belonging yet. I act based on a calculation of risks and rewards.’

’Of course, that doesn’t stop me from admiring Hopka.’

"Captain, don’t blame yourself."

Fakadon tried to console him.

Hopka took a deep breath, suppressing his grief.

"Let’s not talk about that for now. What’s the ship’s status?"

"The main power is restored, but the ship is severely damaged. It’s not something we can fix quickly."

Fakadon explained.

"Okay. Can we exit subspace?"

Hopka asked with a nod.

"We can. The Energy Barrier generator is back online, so we can break out through a spatial fissure. But that’s not the biggest problem. The main issue is that when we exit subspace, we’ll be in the Insect Race’s territory. We’ll almost certainly be exposed."

Fakadon replied, his expression worried.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.