Marvel: The other side of the double-passing door is Devouring the Stars

Chapter 309 Destroying the entire ecosystem!
Shadow didn't answer, but instead activated his combat armor, his entire body covered in a layer of molten metal. At the same time, he drew two energy blades from his waist, assuming a fighting stance: "Roven, go retrieve the core of the Celestial Star King, be prepared to evacuate at any time. Thor, Hong, the three of us will hold off Aster!"

The three immediately sprang into action. Thor guided the lightning in the sky to form a massive electric net that enveloped the space above Astor, restricting his movement; Hong activated several defensive devices found in ancient ruins, creating an energy barrier on the ground; Shadow charged directly at Astor, his twin blades slicing through the air with streaks of silver light.

Rowan sprinted towards the warship, preparing to retrieve the Celestial King Core from the safe room. Just as he was about to reach the hatch, the ground suddenly trembled violently, and a powerful energy wave surged from behind. Turning around, Rowan felt his heart almost stop—Aster had easily broken through the combined defenses of the three and was moving towards him at an astonishing speed, his trajectory almost invisible.

At the critical moment, a familiar and ancient voice resounded in Rowan's mind: "Call me, release me."

It's planetary consciousness! Rowan immediately understood its meaning and unhesitatingly spread his spiritual power outward, establishing a deeper connection with this planet.

"Please help us!" Rowan cried out in his mind, "Stop Aster!"

The response was almost instantaneous. The entire earth trembled violently, and a massive crack rapidly extended from Rowan's feet, heading straight for Astor. At the same time, the lightning in the sky became unusually active, with dozens of thick bolts of lightning striking down simultaneously, all converging on Astor.

Astor was slightly slowed by the sudden attack, but his strength remained terrifying. With a wave of his hand, he neutralized most of the lightning, and with a single step, he leaped across the widening fissure in the ground.

"Planetary consciousness?" Aster sneered. "A mere rudimentary consciousness from a level three civilization dares to block my way?"

He slammed his palm into the ground, unleashing a terrifying wave of energy that spread in all directions. The earth rippled like water, forming concentric circles of energy spreading outwards. Rowan felt the ground beneath his feet begin to soften, as if it were about to swallow him whole.

The planet's consciousness responded even more violently. Dozens of lava pillars, each several meters thick, suddenly erupted from the ground, shooting straight into the sky. These lava pillars writh like giant pythons, all rushing towards Aster. At the same time, a huge thunderstorm vortex condensed in the clouds, with countless lightning bolts dancing within it, forming an electric field that attempted to drag Aster into it.

This planetary-level counterattack did indeed temporarily halt Aster's advance. He was forced to stop and focus entirely on the attacks from all sides. Lava and lightning intertwined, creating an apocalyptic scene. Aster was surrounded at the center of this energy storm, and although he could barely resist, he was clearly unable to continue pursuing Rowan.

Rowan seized the opportunity, rushed into the warship, and quickly reached the safe room. After going through a series of complex verification procedures, he retrieved the container holding the core of the Celestial King. The core still emitted a faint blue light, but it was much dimmer than before, clearly indicating that it had consumed a large amount of energy in the battle against Aster.

“Hold on,” Rowan said to the core, though he wasn’t sure if it could hear him. “Imperial reinforcements will be here soon.”

When Rowan returned outside carrying the core, the battle had intensified. While the planetary consciousness's attack was powerful, it had limited impact on Aster. He had adapted to this attack pattern and began to counterattack, unleashing terrifying beams of energy that pierced the ground and caused lava to erupt in multiple places.

Shadow, Thor, and Hong are still putting up a fierce fight, but all are wounded. Shadow's armor is badly damaged, Thor's right arm is drooping and he seems to have lost the ability to move, and Hong's defensive devices have all been destroyed, so he can only rely on dodging to avoid fatal attacks.

"Did you get the core?" Shadow shouted, while struggling to dodge Aster's attack.

Rowan nodded and raised the container in acknowledgment.

“Very good,” Shadow said. “As planned, we’ll split up and retreat. Aster’s target is the core; I’ll use it to distract him. The three of you will leave in the spare small shuttles. The coordinates have been entered into the system and will automatically take you to a safe area.”

"No!" Rowan objected firmly. "That's tantamount to suicide! We're going together!"

Ying shook her head: "There's no time for argument. This is an order! Execute it!"

Just as tensions were about to rise, a massive spatial distortion suddenly appeared in the sky, like a door opening. An unprecedentedly powerful aura emanated from the distortion, causing everyone to involuntarily stop what they were doing.

Astor also sensed this aura, looked up at the sky, and the blue vortex in his eyes spun violently: "This is... a King-level Immortal?"

As the spatial distortion expanded, a colossal warship slowly materialized. It was the flagship of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, several kilometers long, its entire surface covered with terrifying weapon systems. Surrounding the warship was a fleet of dozens of medium and small warships, completely sealing off the area.

"Black Dragon Mountain Empire Third Fleet, 'Dragon Fang' Special Operations Team," a majestic voice echoed across the battlefield via a surge of energy, "By order of the Marshal, we are here to escort Agent Shadow and his team. Please evacuate the battlefield immediately and prepare to board the ship."

Astor's face turned extremely grim: "Dragon Fang? That madman is here too?"

As if in response to his question, space distorted once more, and a tall figure clad in silver-white armor teleported down from the flagship, appearing directly above the battlefield. The aura emanating from that person was as heavy as a mountain, giving one an unshakeable feeling.

“Aster, long time no see,” the man spoke slowly, his voice carrying a metallic quality. “I didn’t expect you to actually take the risk and attempt necromancy.”

Astor took a step back, a flicker of fear in his eyes: "Mo Chenhou, why are you here?"

The powerful figure known as Marquis Mochen slowly descended to the ground, each step causing a slight distortion in space: "The Marshal is very concerned about the whereabouts of the Heavenly Star King's remains, especially since they have come into the hands of a Marquis-level Immortal."

Ying quickly bowed to Mo Chenhou: "My lord, the situation is urgent. Please allow us to evacuate first."

Mo Chenhou nodded: "Go, 'Dragon Fang' has prepared an evacuation route for you. I'll handle the trouble here."

Shadow immediately called to Rowan, Thor, and Hong: "Hurry! Don't waste time!"

The four immediately ran towards the designated evacuation point. Seeing this, Astor tried to intercept them, but Mo Chenhou simply raised his hand, and an invisible force field fixed Astor in place.

“Your opponent is me, Aster,” Mo Chenhou said calmly, “or should I call you... the puppet of the Heavenly Star King?” Aster broke free of the force field and roared, “I am no one’s puppet! I am the new cosmic overlord!”

He unleashed his full power, sending a thick blue energy beam hurtling towards Mo Chenhou. Wherever the energy beam passed, space was torn apart, creating countless tiny black holes.

Mo Chenhou did not dodge, but simply raised his right hand, and a ball of silver light emerged from his palm. When the energy pillar came into contact with the light, it was swallowed up as if it had encountered a bottomless pit, without harming Mo Chenhou in the slightest.

"Far from it," Mo Chenhou said calmly. "You absorbed some of the Heavenly Star King's energy, but you didn't master how to use it correctly. This half-finished transformation was destined to fail."

Enraged, Aster unleashed his full power, forming a massive blue energy cocoon. The cocoon rapidly expanded, engulfing everything within hundreds of meters, before contracting again to condense into a gigantic energy sword, aimed directly at Mo Chenhou.

"Die!" Astor roared, swinging the energy giant sword that was almost a hundred meters long.

Mo Chenhou took a deep breath, and countless runes suddenly lit up his armor. His right hand transformed into a simple yet elegant silver longsword. The moment the two swords clashed, the entire planet trembled.

The giant energy sword shattered instantly, turning into countless tiny blue specks of light scattered in the air. Astor was thrown hundreds of meters by the recoil, crashing into several small mountains before finally coming to a stop.

Mo Chenhou didn't pursue, but instead looked at Luo Wen and his group of four who were retreating: "Hurry, we can't afford to have a full-scale war on this planet, it would destroy the entire ecosystem."

Rowan and the others quickened their pace and soon arrived at the designated evacuation point. A golden beam of light descended from the sky, enveloping the four of them, then rapidly ascended, teleporting them directly into the flagship.

In the final moments before being teleported, Rowan glanced back. In the distance, the battle between Mo Chenhou and Aster had reached its climax. Every exchange between the two unleashed terrifying energy storms, completely altering the surrounding terrain. Even more astonishingly, the planet's consciousness had joined the fight, countless bolts of lightning and pillars of lava coordinating with Mo Chenhou's attack rhythm to create a peculiar form of combat synergy.

“Planetary consciousness is helping Mo Chenhou,” Luo Wen said in surprise.

Ying nodded: "Mo Chenhou is one of the few powerful individuals in the Empire capable of communicating with the planet's consciousness. He may have already established some kind of connection with it without our knowledge."

The beam of light quickly led them inside the flagship. A group of fully armed soldiers and medical personnel were already waiting, immediately providing first aid and security escort for the four.

Rowan was led to a spacious medical pod, where professional medical personnel began treating his wounds. Through the observation window in the pod, he could see the starry sky outside and the surface of the planet below. The aftershocks of the battle between Mo Chenhou and Aster had altered the terrain of a large area, forming new mountains and canyons.

"Can Astor really be subdued?" Rowan asked Shadow, who was receiving treatment for more serious injuries.

Ying nodded: "Mo Chenhou is one of the strongest Marquis-level Immortals in the Empire, with strength approaching that of a King. Moreover, Aster's transformation is incomplete; he lacks a core, and his power has serious flaws."

"When did Mo Chenhou arrive?" Luo Wen continued, "Less than an hour after we sent out our distress signal."

Shadow revealed a mysterious smile: "In fact, the Empire has been monitoring this area. When Astor carried out that disastrous ritual on Brant, the Empire's remote monitoring stations detected abnormal energy fluctuations. The Marshal immediately dispatched the 'Dragon Fang' special operations team to investigate. They've been searching for our trail, but because our emergency jump was so random, it took them some time to narrow down the search area."

"So, our distress signal only helped them finally pinpoint our location?" Rowan suddenly realized.

Shadow nodded: "Exactly. The Empire never abandons its agents, especially when the mission involves such vital intelligence."

The door to the medical pod opened, and a middle-aged man in a magnificent military uniform walked in. His demeanor was composed and dignified, his eyes sharp as knives, making it impossible to look him directly in the eye. Ying immediately tried to rise and salute, but was stopped by the man.

“No need for formalities, Shadow. You have accomplished a truly outstanding task,” the man said, his voice deep and powerful.

The Black Dragon Mountain Empire, the capital planet—Dragon Domain.

A dazzling galaxy stretches across the sky above this magnificent city, reflecting off countless towering buildings and creating a spectacular scene where technology and art are perfectly blended. As the core of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, the capital city concentrates the most essential parts of the entire empire. From the energy pillars scattered throughout the city to the spacecraft hovering in the sky, everything demonstrates the foundation and strength of this interstellar power.

The Imperial Royal Medical Center is located in the most bustling central area of ​​the capital. This massive complex, covering tens of square kilometers, is the empire's highest-level medical institution, usually serving only members of the royal family and high-ranking officials. However, today, a special recovery pod here is accommodating three young people who would otherwise be completely out of place in such a prestigious setting.

Rowan lay quietly in the recovery pod, feeling the advanced life energy slowly flowing into his body, repairing the damage he had suffered in the battle with Aster. The surrounding equipment hummed softly from time to time, and various data flowed on the holographic screen in mid-air, displaying the recovery progress.

Three days had passed since their evacuation from that lightning-infested planet. Escorted by the "Dragon Fang" special operations team, they safely returned to the heart of the Empire aboard a warp-jump fleet. Along the way, Rowan had almost no chance to see Mo Chenhou again; the powerful Marquis-level immortal seemed to have accepted a new mission after the Battle of Aster, heading to other parts of the universe.

On the return journey, Ying parted ways with them, submitting a detailed report to the Imperial Intelligence Bureau as a special agent. The core of the Heavenly Star King was sent to a classified facility for direct disposal by the highest levels of the Empire. Back in the capital, Rowan, Thor, and Hong were placed in the Royal Medical Center for comprehensive treatment and recovery—a level of care clearly far exceeding that of ordinary bodyguards.

"What are you thinking about?" Hong's voice interrupted Rowan's thoughts. He was sitting in a recovery chair not far away, holding a data tablet in his hand, seemingly reading some information.

Rowan turned his head: "I've been thinking about the whole story of this mission. From accepting the Third Prince's commission, to meeting Shadow, and then to Planet Brant, Astor, the core of the Celestial Star King, and Thunder Planet... everything happened so fast, it feels like a dream."

(End of this chapter)