Beastmaster of the Ages

As Tianming had guessed, the Star Hunters were indeed fighting each other over the matter. Their losses were still within a margin they could accept, and they were just one step away from conquering the Sun. However, the approach of the Gladean Ruins had set off alarm bells. Some of them were excited, while others felt anxious and parched.

”Why haven’t the bosses succeeded yet?”

”It’s been a day and a half.... Didn’t they say the Gladean Ruins would be here in two days? Can we still make it?”

”I heard the bosses are almost done!”

”Let’s wait a little more!”

”Brothers, let’s work harder! Have all the sanctuary-class ships come over. Ignore the Reaper and the natives of this world. Focus on attacking Lin Feng’s ship!”

”Have a few of us hold the Reaper back!”

”Quick! Go for it!”

Messages were wildly exchanged using transmission stones, carrying their arguments to one another. The more time elapsed, the more anxious they felt. Most people would have chosen to retreat under such circumstances, but the greed of the Star Hunters and the tempting bait that lay before them, not to mention the sunk cost, made it incredibly hard for them to leave. They were completely hooked! The Sun, Tianming, and Wudi were nubile beauties that they were almost able to violate. There was no way they could leave as long as they were still at full mast.

”Half a day! That’s all the time we need!”

”Don’t worry! The bosses will take care of it soon!”

Their deep-set desire for a home where they could settle, as well as Tianming’s riches would prove fatal. They found reasons to stay and fight on their own accord. The Star Hunters scrambled to engage the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb. Tianming, faced with so much pressure, had no choice but to have Moran use her divine wonders while he maneuvered the ship to safety. The thousands of ships on their tail blasted nova source at them, wreaking much destruction on the newly formed land and sea. The Ninedragon Imperial Tomb was just barely cruising by.

”Keep on holding them back!” Tianming grit his teeth and swayed the ship so hard that Feiling and the rest almost puked from motion sickness. Their skirts fluttered as their legs flailed in their weightless state, accompanied by nonstop shrieks.

”Godfather, how’s it going on your end?” Tianming asked.

”Everything’s under control!” Wudi confidently said. He was one of the main reasons the ten thousand flameyellow fiends were enough to hold back seven ether-class ships. With the protection of the Flameyellow Coffin and the Flameyellow Guard Formation, he zipped around the ships as he attacked, sometimes intentionally revealing openings to make the enemy think that they had a chance.

The three bosses and the other Star Hunters within those ships were more than fed up with his antics. From the start of the battle, the other two bosses had returned to their respective ships, the blood-colored Bloodprison and the rainbow-colored Lightsoul. Those two ships and the Traceless had rapidly spinning gears that constantly ground away at the flameyellow fiends and the Flameyellow Coffin. The other four ether-class ships, on the other hand, used their firepower to bombard the fiends as well as Wudi. The situation had persisted for a day and a half and they knew they were cutting it really close.

”Big Brother, half a day is enough. Once we slay them, the power of their astralguard formation will fall. That’ll allow us to take those billions of people hostage. Even if the Gladean Ruins arrives, there’s nothing they can do but watch us leave! We won’t even have to assimilate the formation core,” said the white-haired man in Lightsoul. He couldn’t bear to leave right now.

”What do you think, Second?” the invisible man said.

”We probably won’t have enough time to assimilate the formation core. Half a day should be enough for us to kill these fellows, capture Lin Feng, and take the formation core in our possession. However, I have a lingering feeling that they’re exploiting this line of thought to buy themselves more time. I feel like they’re trying to wipe us out,” said the man in the blood cocoon.

”Do you mean this was a trap they set for us from the very beginning? Do you think they planned everything from the very start?” the white-haired man said, eyes flashing with disbelief.

”Perhaps. We killed the people of Greenglow, so Lin Xiaodao knows how we operate. He’d definitely try to take care of us once and for all to prevent it from happening again.”

”And this sanctuary-class world is the right place to do it? We can just leave if we fail. We still have half a day. We wouldn’t be foolish enough to leave when reinforcements arrive. Even if they do, we can just split up like last time. How many of us can they possibly hunt down?” The white-haired man still felt like there was hope; it was still too early to ponder worst-case scenarios.

The invisible man from the Traceless said, ”It’s easy to test whether this is a trap. We can just fake a retreat. If they stop us from leaving and use some new techniques, that proves it. If they don’t, we can turn back and keep fighting.”

”Big Brother is right. However, this is clearly just a sanctuary-class world. All they have is an ether-class ship, the Reaper. I doubt they’ve got more tricks up their sleeves,” the white-haired man said.

”Guess we’ll find out,” the man in the cocoon said.

The Star Hunters understood the Infinitum Mundus well. Lin Xiaodao’s Gladean Ruins had already unveiled their trump cards. It was hard for them to imagine what else a sanctuary-class world had in store. While the invisible man was also doubtful, his years of experience made him a man of caution. It would still be best for him to test it out.

While there were Yin Chens on those three ships, they weren’t able to reach the core areas where the three bosses were. Otherwise, Tianming and the rest would easily learn about the test. The next moment, Yin Chen heard the orders that were given in all the ships. ”The arrival of the Gladean Ruins is nigh! This world is a trap! All ships, retreat!”

The invisible man didn’t tell his subordinates that it was just a drill. His determination that this was a trap came as quite a wake-up call to the other Star Hunters.

”Retreat!”

”Everyone, go!”

The ships on the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb’s tail changed their course. Thousands of them rose into the pink flaming clouds. The same situation was playing out near the Sky Palace Formation, where the Reaper was. Even the seven ether-class ships that had been pursuing Wudi began turning tail with the Traceless leading them out.

”They started... their retreat!”