312: Chapter 247: Exposed Whereabouts, Beast God's Pursuit in a Life-or-Death Struggle

The encrypted intelligence signal shot toward the Human Race's controlled zone like an arrow leaving a bow, following a pre-set, winding path composed of seven hidden relay points. Almost simultaneously with the signal's transmission, the engines of the 'Shatterbones and Salt' freighter abruptly surged from minimum power to 75%. The hull, beneath its camouflage coating, let out a slight groan of strain as it suddenly darted out from a crevice in the frozen asteroid. Like a startled fish, it sped toward the outer reaches of the star system along the planned evacuation route without looking back.

Inside the cabin, the atmosphere did not lighten because the intelligence had been successfully sent; instead, it grew even more solemn. Everyone knew that the self-destruction of the miniature mechanical insects and the triggering of internal alarms were like throwing a stone into a (relatively) calm lake—ripples would inevitably spread. They had to race against time to escape before the Orcs reacted and blockaded this Star Domain.

"Full speed on the engines! Maintain maximum power on the stealth coating! Qin Qing, keep scanning the rear and flanks!" Lin Zhou's voice was calm and rapid. "Li Mo, activate the backup jammers and release low-intensity spatial noise randomly every three minutes to interfere with any possible tracking scans. Zhao Hao, Wang Meng, be ready for combat at any moment, though we hope it won't come to that."

"Understood!"

The freighter traced a nearly invisible trajectory through the dark starry sky, its speed continuously increasing. They had already moved away from the oppressive blood-red glow of planet Red Rock 4, but that lingering sense of evil and crisis followed them closely, like a maggot on a bone.

After sailing for about an hour, they were nearing the edge of the Red Rock Galaxy. Further ahead lay a relatively empty "safe" zone, suitable for acceleration and short-range spatial jumps.

However, just as the first light of dawn seemed to appear, a sudden change occurred!

Qin Qing, who had been staring fixedly at the sensor screen, saw her pupils suddenly contract. Her voice carried a rare sense of urgency: "Ultra-high energy reaction detected! It's approaching rapidly from the direction of Red Rock 4! Its speed... exceeds our maximum cruise speed by 300%! Energy signature match... it's that LV480 Beast God!"

"What?!" Zhao Hao turned back in horror. "He left the star gate? How could he have discovered and locked onto us so quickly?!"

"It's the star gate itself!" Li Mo's face turned pale, his fingers tapping out afterimages on the console. "My analysis... that Beast God is deeply bound to the star gate. When the internal energy nodes of the star gate were disturbed (by the mechanical insects' self-destruction), as the core guardian and energy hub, he likely sensed the general direction of the abnormal energy leak immediately! Combined with our evacuation trajectory and any possible remaining faint spatial disturbances... he's coming straight for us!"

On the screen, a piercing red dot representing an ultra-high energy individual was closing the distance to the green dot representing the freighter at a terrifying speed. Estimated time to contact: no more than fifteen minutes!

"Overload the engines! Push them to 120%!" Lin Zhou ordered without hesitation. The freighter shook violently, its hull letting out a tooth-aching screech as its speed surged again. Yet, compared to the figure chasing them from behind like a blood-colored meteor, it still seemed slow.

"It's no use! The overload state can only be maintained for five minutes at most, and it will completely destroy the stealth coating and some internal structures! Even so, the speed difference is still too great!" Li Mo said urgently, looking at the various data points rapidly flashing red.

"Turn! Use that dense interstellar dust cloud ahead as cover!" Qin Qing quickly planned a new route.

The freighter made a sharp turn, trailing an unstable exhaust flame from its overloaded engines as it plunged into a nebula belt filled with cold dust and tiny ice crystals. Visibility instantly dropped to an extreme low, and various sensors were severely interfered with.

However, this only delayed things for less than two minutes. That blood-colored meteor charged into the dust cloud almost without hindrance. Wherever it passed, the dust was directly evaporated or pushed aside by violent energy, forming a clear, hollow trail! The Beast God didn't care about such minor interference at all!

"Distance reduced to eight thousand kilometers! Estimated to enter his effective attack range in three minutes!" Qin Qing's voice was as tense as a bowstring.

At the Peak of Lesser Divinity at LV480, his attack range far exceeded that of an ordinary demigod. Eight thousand kilometers might only be a "mid-range" distance for him.

"Prepare for impact! Activate all emergency shields! Li Mo, calculate the shortest jump point to exit the galaxy!" Lin Zhou's brain whirred at high speed, searching for a nearly non-existent chance of survival. Fighting head-on was a dead end, their escape speed wasn't enough, and there was nowhere to hide...

Was he really going to have to use that single-use [One-time Directional Spatial Warp Beacon]? But that was the final life-saving measure. Using it would trigger a massive spatial fluctuation, completely exposing their location, and it could only teleport them to a conflict zone, which wasn't necessarily safe. More importantly... the beacon needed time to activate. Under the Beast God's pursuit, they might not last until the activation was complete!

At this critical moment, a flash of determination crossed Lin Zhou's eyes. He glanced at his teammates fighting alongside him, then at the deathly red dot closing in rapidly on the screen.

"Listen!" Lin Zhou's voice was decisive, cutting through the stifling panic in the cabin. "The freighter will continue at full speed toward the pre-set jump point! Zhao Hao, Wang Meng, Li Mo, Qin Qing—you four control the ship. Don't look back!"

"What are you going to do?!" Zhao Hao turned his head abruptly, staring intently at Lin Zhou.

"I'll stay behind to cover the rear and buy time." Lin Zhou's tone was terrifyingly calm. "Only I can block him for a moment. Although my river of civilization can't hurt him, it can create chaos and interfere with his perception and pursuit. You take this opportunity to initiate the spatial jump and escape the Red Rock Galaxy!"

"No! If we die, we die together! I'm not afraid!" Wang Meng growled, his eyes bloodshot.

"That's LV480! Staying behind alone is a death sentence!" Zhao Hao said urgently.

Qin Qing bit her lip tightly and didn't speak, but her eyes were filled with disapproval.

Li Mo said even more directly, "We can try to activate the beacon and gamble together!"

"There's no time!" Lin Zhou shook his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "Activating the beacon requires at least thirty seconds of undisturbed charging. He won't give us that time. Moving separately is our only sliver of hope. This is an Order! Don't forget our mission! The intelligence has been sent back, but if we all die here, who knows if the Orcs will change their plans? Someone must survive to bring back more detailed information!"

He paused, his tone softening but becoming even more resolute: "Trust me, I have a way to escape. Don't forget, I am the successor of Way of Civilization; I won't die that easily."

Before the words had finished echoing, and without waiting for further objections, Lin Zhou's figure flickered, and he appeared at the freighter's airlock. He gave his teammates one last look, his eyes complex—filled with determination, entrustment, and a trace of unquestionable authority.

"Go!"

He shoved the airlock open. The cold, violent vacuum of the Universe and the nebula dust rushed in instantly, only to be barely held back by the internal emergency force field. Divine Power surged around Lin Zhou, completely shattering his crude Orc Shaman disguise and restoring his original appearance and aura. He stepped out, standing in the Void Realm. His tiny figure formed a stark contrast with the vast nebula behind him and the terrifying existence rapidly approaching from the front.

Inside the freighter, Zhao Hao's fists clenched until they cracked, his teeth nearly grinding to pieces. Wang Meng slammed a fist onto the console. Qin Qing closed her eyes and took a deep breath; when she opened them again, they were icy cold: "Execute the Order! Engines to maximum power, target the jump point! Li Mo, calculate the optimal route and avoid any possible spatial interference!"

Li Mo's fingers trembled, but he still executed the commands with maximum speed. The freighter let out a final mournful cry as its speed hit the limit, charging toward the faint spatial beacon point in the distance.

And Lin Zhou stood alone to face the Beast God, who was already close at hand, carrying a sky-toppling blood-light and an aura of destruction!

"Ant! You dared to steal the secrets of the Great Blood Sacrifice, and you think you can escape?!" The deafening roar exploded directly in Lin Zhou's Soul, filled with rage and endless killing intent. Blood-red light instantly filled his entire vision as a figure as massive as a small mountain tore through the nebula, appearing less than a thousand kilometers ahead of him! It was indeed that Beast God, with giant horns on his head, clad in bone armor, and wielding a blood-lightning battle-axe!

He didn't waste any words, nor did he even look closely at Lin Zhou. He simply raised the giant axe entwined with destructive blood-red lightning and, across a thousand miles of void, delivered a simple yet star-shattering strike toward Lin Zhou and the receding freighter behind him!

No fancy techniques, only the condensation of pure, extreme power and the rules of destruction! A bloody axe light spanning the Void Realm, dozens of miles wide, descended like a blood river splitting the heavens! Wherever it passed, interstellar dust was annihilated, and space let out an overburdened wail as black cracks appeared!

Lin Zhou's pupils shrank to pinpricks! The might of this strike far surpassed the Skullcrusher Mogrosh he had encountered before! This was a truly wrathful blow from a Peak Lesser Divinity, enough to easily slay an ordinary early-stage Lesser Divinity!

"I can't take this head-on! Nor can I dodge and let the cargo ship bear the aftershock!"

In a flash, Lin Zhou made a decision. He cast aside all distracting thoughts, his godhead operating at full speed, as his LV300 Divine Power poured out frantically without reservation!

"river of civilization! Manifest!"

This was not the semi-substantial projection from before, but an active defensive manifestation that required nearly all his effort, burning Divine Power and civilization points, and drawing upon the Power Of Will of the Divine Kingdom and the Origin of the Temple of Civilization!

"Boom—!"

A phantom of the river of civilization, more solid and vast than before, unfolded horizontally across the real Universe space in front of Lin Zhou for the first time! The river surged, and the scenes surfacing within were no longer just simple pastoral songs and the Legacy of knowledge, but also city walls resisting foreign aggression, warriors fighting bloody battles, and the undying will passed down like a torch! This was the side of resilience and protection displayed by civilization when facing the threat of destruction!

The purple-gold Fire of Civilization burned fiercely in the river, plating this illusory river with an immortal luster.

【Divine Art/Miracle: river of civilization · Guardian Wall】

Caster: Lin Zhou (LV300, high-stage Lesser Divinity).

Consumption: Instantly burning 20,000 units of Divine Power + 5,000 civilization points + drawing a large amount of civilization Power Of Will from the Divine Kingdom.

Effect: Manifests a phantom of the river of civilization containing the will of protection, resilience, Order, and Legacy, forming a rule barrier across the Void Realm. It has an excellent weakening and delaying effect on attacks of a purely destructive, chaotic, or evil nature. The barrier itself has no physical defense; it primarily dismantles the "momentum" and "intent" of the attack through rule counteraction and information (civilization will) impact.

Duration: Extremely short, depending on the intensity of the attack.

The bloody axe light and the purple-gold river collided with a crash!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only silent, intense annihilation and roars at the level of rules! The pure destructive will within the bloody axe light clashed violently with the protective and Legacy will surging in the river of civilization! The sharpness and power of the axe light were eroded, delayed, and dispersed layer by layer by the endless "sense of historical weight" and "civilizational resilience" within the river! Countless light and shadow images of civilization shattered under the axe light, but new ones immediately emerged to fill the gaps!

Finally, when the bloody axe light struggled to "split" the entire phantom river and reached Lin Zhou, its power had been weakened by over seventy percent! The remaining thirty percent of the power slammed solidly into the Divine Power shield Lin Zhou had hastily condensed.

"Pfft—!" Lin Zhou was hit hard, spitting out a mouthful of pale gold divine blood. His body flew back thousands of miles, his Divine Power shield instantly covered in cracks, the Divine Power within his body vibrating violently, and his godhead feeling bursts of piercing pain. Divine Power Pool: 45,000 → 25,000 (20,000 consumed by the river manifestation, part consumed to resist the aftershock).

"Oh? A somewhat interesting insect." The Beast God was slightly surprised, but it was immediately followed by an even more intense killing intent, "But that's all! Second axe!"

He gave Lin Zhou no chance to breathe. The blood-lightning battle-axe rose again. This time, what condensed on the blade was no longer simple blood light, but countless struggling and wailing Soul phantoms. A suction and tearing force acting directly on the Soul spread out! This strike targeted the very Origin of life!

Lin Zhou forced himself to steady his form. Feeling the palpitation and pulling sensation at the Soul level, he knew he couldn't just defend anymore. He had to counterattack, at least to disrupt the opponent's rhythm!

Gritting his teeth, he channeled most of his remaining Divine Power, along with the power of the [Law] divine office within his godhead!

"Net of Law! Definition: In this Void Realm, Soul plundering and disordered tearing are forbidden!"

An invisible net of rules expanded with Lin Zhou as the center. Although its range was far smaller than within the Divine Kingdom, its "definition" and "Order" power still interfered with the evil attack targeting the Soul. The Soul suction force in the bloody axe light visibly stalled, becoming somewhat chaotic.

But the Beast God's strength was too great! The interference at the rule level only reduced the power of the second axe by about twenty percent. The remaining power was still terrifying!

Lin Zhou was blown back again. This time, he felt as if his Soul were being scraped by countless tiny blades, bringing a tearing, intense pain. Worse, deep within his godhead, the phantom of the Temple of Law, closely connected to the Divine Kingdom, shook violently, emitting a clear "crack" sound!

【Warning: Core miracle building [Temple of Law] has suffered a rule-level impact; structural cracks have appeared!】

【Current Status: Damaged (Moderate).】

【Functional Impact: Net of Law range reduced by 30%, judgment-type skill effects decreased by 20%, divine office [Law] buff slightly weakened.】

【Repair Requirements: Requires a large amount of faith (approximately 3 million units) and 3 days of rule nourishment and structural reshaping.】

"Third axe! Turn into dust for the blood sacrifice!" The Beast God had completely lost his patience. Failing to insta-kill this "insect" with two attacks felt like an insult. This time, he held the axe with both hands, his body's blood light resonating with the star gate from afar. A rotating, compressed dark red energy core condensed on the battle-axe, its destructive fluctuations causing the surrounding space to collapse inward! This was a finishing move capable of heavily wounding an existence of the same level!

Lin Zhou's Divine Power was nearly exhausted (about 15,000 remaining), his Soul was wounded, and the Temple of Law was damaged. Facing this third strike, he was truly at a dead end! He could even feel the breath of death blowing in his face.

The cargo ship... should have already entered jump preparation, right?

I can only take a gamble!

He channeled his last bit of Divine Power, no longer for defense, but entirely into the Temple of Civilization, communicating with that spark of the Fire of Origin, preparing to use a one-time, high-cost life-saving method...

However, just as the third axe was about to strike, another change occurred!

The blood sacrifice star gate, far away in the orbit of Red Rock Planet 4, seemed to have generated some unstable energy ripples because the Beast God was far away and had continuously erupted with power. The bloody vortex of the entire star gate fluctuated violently, emitting a low hum that sounded like the wailing of billions of people!

The Beast God's massive body suddenly stiffened, and his movements suffered an extremely brief delay and Divided Soul! He was deeply bound to the star gate, and its abnormality immediately affected him!

This was the split-second opportunity!

Li Mo—who had long calculated the time and was lurking in the shadow of a nearby meteorite—had not completely left, but had used the energy fluctuations from the cargo ship's overload and a Micro Escape Pod to quietly return for backup! He suddenly activated the [One-time Directional Spatial Warp Beacon] gripped in his hand! The target was exactly where Lin Zhou was!

"Lin Zhou! Catch!" Li Mo's roar came through the emergency communication.

A distorted, unstable spatial rift suddenly tore open beside Lin Zhou!

The Beast God noticed instantly, roared in fury, and swung the third axe recklessly! But in the end, due to the previous Divided Soul and the interference of the spatial rift, he was half a beat too slow!

Lin Zhou used his last strength to rush toward the spatial rift. The edge of the bloody axe light grazed the back of his divine body.

"Sizzle—!"

Like a branding iron searing his Soul, Lin Zhou's vision went black. A wound deep enough to see bone, swirling with destructive blood light, appeared on the back of his divine body, and a large amount of pale gold divine blood spilled into the Void Realm. But he finally tumbled into that violently fluctuating spatial rift at the last moment!

Under the Beast God's furious roar and the impact of the bloody energy, the rift slammed shut and disappeared.

In the Void Realm, only the dissipating blood light, the drifting scent of divine blood, and the Beast God's maddened roar remained, echoing through the interstellar dust.

The cargo ship had long since disappeared at the designated jump point.

Lin Zhou's life or death was unknown, having fallen into a random and unstable spatial warp.

The rearguard action was successful, but the cost was heavy. The Temple of Law was cracked, his divine body was heavily wounded, and his fate was uncertain.