166: Guiyuan Sword Domain

At the same time, on the bridge of the Dawn Star.

The commander of the Seventh Fleet, Chen Shanhe, a tall general with greying temples, watched the main cannon's energy trajectory on the tactical screen, which had successfully launched and destroyed the Erosion Domain.

His nerves, taut for three days, finally relaxed a little.

He let out a heavy sigh, his back already soaked with cold sweat.

"Commander, report!"

"The Erosion Domain force field has completely collapsed! Our ship's energy shield has recovered to 37%, and all units are conducting self-checks..."

"Communication system restored, attempting to contact sector headquarters..."

"Life support system stable, but... but the communication signals from other ships... are less than 40% of our prepared by."

Reports echoed through the bridge, making Chen Shanhe's expression even more solemn.

Did they win?

No, they merely crawled out of an iron can that was about to drown.

The Dark Star Empire's scum from the gutters played too big this time.

The Erosion Domain, a bizarre, unheard-of domain-type weapon, silently dragged his entire fleet into this desolate land.

It forbade spatial jumps and shielded all communications.

It could even directly corrode the energy core of warships from a fundamental level.

Three days, a full three days.

He watched helplessly as his fleet, one after another, powered down, fell silent, and became cold steel coffins.

If not for the Dawn Star being a 'Star Beacon-class' warship, inherently equipped with a rule stabilization anchor, and with all the Golden-tier powerhouses on board pouring out their energy without regard for cost, forcefully maintaining a final sanctuary, they would probably have followed in the footsteps of their allies by now.

Fortunately, just a few minutes ago, that pervasive corrosive power suddenly weakened significantly for some unknown reason.

It was by seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that Chen Shanhe dared to order all remaining energy on the ship to be gambled on a single, all-out blast into the main cannon.

He unleashed this earth-shattering strike, forcibly breaking through the domain's bondage.

But the current situation remained grim.

Half the fleet was destroyed, and most of the surviving warships had lost their combat capability.

Stranded on this plain, they became sitting targets.

And the biggest threat was the legendary powerhouse who had set up this Erosion Domain and had not yet shown himself.

Star Beacon-class warships were said to be comparable to legendary powerhouses, but that was under conditions of sufficient strategic depth.

Like now, being cornered on the ground by the enemy, the distance between the warship and the legendary powerhouse was almost zero.

In this situation, once the enemy's legendary powerhouse arrived, his proud flagship would probably be no different from a large lunchbox in front of them.

Chen Shanhe clenched his fist, pressing it against the command console.

He had prepared for the worst.

If the situation became irreversible, he would personally initiate the ship's self-destruct sequence.

At the very least, he couldn't let the core technology of the Dawn Star fall into enemy hands.

Just then, a startled cry from an officer monitoring the battlefield broke the silence on the bridge.

"Commander! Detecting a large number of high-energy reaction signals rapidly approaching from the northeast..."

"Twenty kilometers... ten kilometers! My god, that speed!"

The atmosphere on the bridge instantly became extremely tense.

"Is it Dark Star Empire forces?" Chen Shanhe demanded sharply.

"No... it's not!" The radar officer's voice was filled with confusion.

"Signal identification... it's our Blue Star Alliance friendly identification code."

"But... but there are only a few hundred of them."

Chen Shanhe looked up at the main screen.

He saw a group of white-robed figures moving like ghosts across the land, which had been repeatedly ploughed by artillery fire.

Each swing of their longswords brought forth a dazzling sword light.

Wherever the sword light reached, whether it was Dark Star Empire soldiers or heavy tanks, they were instantly cut into pieces.

He also saw black blade lights flashing occasionally in the more elusive shadowy corners.

Each time a blade light appeared, it meant an Dark Star Empire soldier fell.

Their efficiency was astounding, their coordination seamless.

They were like a sharp surgical knife, precisely cutting through the enemy's front lines, tearing a huge gap in the encirclement that had already begun to tighten.

Chen Shanhe had been a soldier his entire life, but he had rarely seen an army with such terrifying individual combat capabilities.

Could it be those tactical units? He remembered those units that had risen to fame in the Molten Heart.

"Connect them." Chen Shanhe felt his heart pounding.

"Yes, sir!"

The communication was quickly established, and a clear voice echoed through the bridge.

"This is Infinite City, dispatched by the Lord to provide assistance."

"I am Tong. Dawn Star, please report your defensive gaps and blind spots."

"Infinite City?" Chen Shanhe chewed on the unfamiliar name.

The officers on the bridge exchanged glances, clearly having never heard of it either.

But that wasn't important.

Every second now could determine the fate of the fleet's remnants.

He stared at the tactical map, cutting straight to the point.

"I am Chen Shanhe, Commander of the Seventh Fleet."

"Our ship's port side B7 to B11 sections, external shields overloaded and burned through. It will take at least ninety seconds to restart the backup shield array."

"During this time, we need your assistance."

Before he finished speaking, a piercing alarm suddenly blared across the bridge.

"Warning! Detecting high-intensity energy convergence!"

A radar officer's voice changed pitch.

"From coordinates (117.43, -25.88)! It's 'Netherfire'! Three 'Netherfire' heavy cannons are charging!"

The two words "Netherfire" instantly solidified the air on the bridge.

The adjutant beside Chen Shanhe turned pale, almost losing his voice.

"Commander, those are Dark Star's 'Shipbreaker' class emplaced cannons."

"Their shells carry rule-disrupting effects, specifically designed to tear apart the structural stability fields of starships."

"The Dawn Star, as it is now, would begin to disintegrate from its internal structure after a single hit..."

Chen Shanhe's expression shifted slightly, his finger poking at the flashing red dot on the screen.

"Estimated firing in three minutes."

His voice cut through the alarm.

"They need to be turned into scrap metal within that time."

"You all..."

"Received." Tong's reply was concise and clear, and the communication immediately cut off.

The adjutant beside Chen Shanhe was a little worried.

"Commander, will they make it...?"

Chen Shanhe didn't respond; only his clenched fists revealed his inner tension.

He chose to believe.

Or rather, he had no choice but to believe now.

"Commander!" Another officer's startled cry broke the silence.

"They... they've dispersed!"

On the main screen, the white-robed swordsmen who had previously been patrolling the periphery suddenly changed their movement trajectories.

As if moved by an invisible hand, they scattered and swept towards different coordinate points on the battlefield.

Each flash covered hundreds of meters.

"What are they doing?" The adjutant was somewhat astonished.

"Dispersing forces like this is a major tactical blunder. They'll be defeated one by one."

Inside the bridge, other officers also showed expressions of incomprehension.

One hundred people, scattered across a battlefield covering several square kilometers.

Each point isolated and unsupported—this was considered suicidal in any textbook.

Chen Shanhe didn't speak.

He stared at the screen, his brows tightly furrowed.

Having spent his life in battle, his sensitivity to battle formations far surpassed that of ordinary people.

He vaguely perceived that the placement of these light dots... seemed to form a formation diagram?

Before he could fully grasp it, anomalies reappeared on the battlefield.

Beneath the feet of each white-robed swordsman, a silver halo lit up.

Immediately after, streams of psionic energy rapidly linked between them, weaving a massive net of light in the sky above the desolate land.

Light began to distort, and the air became viscous.

The Dark Star Empire soldiers' movements became sluggish, their expressions dazed, as if they had fallen into an invisible quagmire.

Harsh static crackled through the communication channels, and the charging indicator lights of the energy cannons flashed wildly, yet they couldn't reach the activation threshold.

"Guiyuan Sword Domain—Activate!" Tong's voice rang out.

The hundred sword guards positioned at the formation's nodes simultaneously erupted with dazzling light—a sign of Mind Unleashed activating!

They all raised their swords in unison, their movements perfectly synchronized, as if they were one.

"Soul Cry Slash!"

A hundred crescent-shaped, brilliant sword lights burst forth simultaneously from various corners of the battlefield.

Then, these sword lights, guided by the invisible light net, traced eerie arcs.

They echoed and resonated with each other, rapidly merging in mid-air.

Finally, the hundred sword lights converged midway into three even larger, more condensed torrents of sword light.

They tore through the sky, roaring towards the three Netherfire heavy cannon emplacements hidden behind the mountains.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The monitoring screen shook violently, then was engulfed by dazzling white light.

Three massive fireballs shot skyward, and the intense explosions even caused a slight tremor on the distant Dawn Star.

"Commander, report!" The radar officer's voice had changed pitch, filled with ecstasy.

"Coordinates (117.43, -25.88)... enemy heavy energy source signals... all gone!"