76: Lunar Bloodbath and the Barrier of Order

The lunar orbit had become a chaotic battlefield.

The Scrin Fleet, like a swarm of purple locusts, launched a frenzied assault on the Guanghan Palace base. Dense Phase Beams rained down like a storm upon the base's shields, exploding into blinding purple halos. The base's prism towers and missile emplacements fought back desperately, their white beams and shrieking missiles constantly shredding nearby Scrin Attack Craft into fragments. But the enemy was simply too numerous, and the defensive line was steadily falling back.

"East sector shields overloaded! Missile array destroyed! Repeat, east sector is lost!" Desperate shouts echoed over the comms channel from the defenders.

At this critical moment, a massive shadow accompanied by the roar of engines surged out from the lunar shadow zone!

The destroyer hope had arrived on the battlefield!

"All batteries, weapons free! Target enemy assault ships!" Colonel Falcon's roar shook the bridge.

Multiple Phase Prism Cannons along the hope's broadside lit up simultaneously with a piercing white light!

"Zzz—Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Several massive white beams, infused with Order Energy, shot across space like swords of judgment, accurately striking two Scrin medium assault ships that were besieging the base!

The shields of the Scrin assault ships flickered violently under the prism bombardment, holding for a few seconds before shattering with a roar! The prism energy pierced directly through the hulls, triggering chain explosions! The two assault ships turned into two massive fireballs in space!

"It's reinforcements! Our reinforcements are here!" The lunar defenders erupted in cheers of relief.

The hope's entry instantly turned the tide of battle! Its firepower far exceeded that of the lunar defense towers; each salvo could heavily damage or even destroy Scrin assault ships! The Scrin offensive faltered immediately!

However, the Scrin Fleet quickly adjusted its tactics. More attack craft abandoned the siege of the base and swarmed towards the hope like a hive of bees! Simultaneously, two larger, more heavily armored Scrin heavy cruisers emerged from the spatial rift! Their main cannons began charging, aimed directly at the hope!

"Enemy capital ships detected! Evasive maneuvers, priority!" Falcon ordered.

The hope's engines roared to full power for tactical maneuvers, dodging the main cannon fire from the heavy cruisers. But the sheer number of Scrin Attack Craft was overwhelming; dense phase barrages continuously struck the hope's Order Shield, causing its energy to plummet rapidly!

"Shields at 60%! 50%! We can't hold out like this for long!" Damage control reported.

Sun Zheng stood at the center of the bridge, eyes closed, his entire body enveloped in a faint blue halo. He was pushing his Order Resonance ability to its limit!

"Order Barrier! Deploy!"

With his low shout, an intangible field of Order Energy spread out from him, enveloping the entire hope!

Instantly, the hope's Order Shield blazed with light, its strength surging by nearly 50%! The previously faltering shield stabilized, firmly blocking the barrage from the Scrin Attack Craft!

Not only that, but the ship's Phase Prism Cannons seemed invigorated, their rate of fire and power increased! Streams of more concentrated prism rays harvested Scrin Attack Craft with greater efficiency!

"The Commander's ability is working! Shields stabilized! Firepower enhanced!" The crew's morale soared.

"Concentrate fire! Take out one heavy cruiser first!" Falcon seized the opportunity and ordered focused fire.

All of the hope's main cannons adjusted their angles, launching a saturation attack on one Scrin heavy cruiser!

Several enhanced Phase Prism beams stabbed towards the target like spears! The heavy cruiser's shields rapidly overloaded and shattered under the savage assault! Prism energy penetrated the hull's interior, triggering violent explosions! The massive vessel began to break apart!

"Target destroyed!"

But the main cannon of the other Scrin heavy cruiser had finished charging! An enormous purple Phase Beam tore through space, firing directly at the hope, which was still adjusting its position!

"Can't evade!" the helmsman cried out.

"Order Deflection!" Sun Zheng's eyes snapped open as he pushed forward with both hands!

A dense blue energy barrier instantly coalesced in front of the hope! The purple main cannon beam slammed violently into the barrier!

BOOM—!!!

A violent explosion shook the entire ship! The Order Deflection barrier shattered with the impact, but it successfully deflected most of the energy! The residual shockwave still caused the hope to shudder violently, melting some of its external armor, but the main structure remained intact!

"Return fire!" Blood seeped from the corner of Sun Zheng's mouth, but his gaze remained sharp.

The hope stabilized itself, all its weapons roaring once more, pouring its fury onto the last Scrin heavy cruiser!

Supported by Sun Zheng's Order Resonance, the hope became an unsinkable warship, charging left and right through the Scrin Fleet, invincible wherever it went! The pressure on the Moon Base lessened significantly, and the defenders began organizing counterattacks.

The battle was turning in their favor!

But Sun Zheng knew this was only the beginning. Without destroying that Spatial Beacon, Scrin reinforcements would keep coming endlessly. His gaze turned towards that purple rift, still continuously disgorging enemy ships.

It had to be shut down!