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

Chapter 356 The Aftermath of the Mental Power Outburst

“Silver Moon, find a chance to escape,” Rowan whispered to Silver Moon, then turned to Black Hawk. “I’m here to take my partner home.”

Black Hawk chuckled. "Go home? I'm afraid none of you will ever make it back."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Black Hawk moved like lightning, charging towards Rowan. He was incredibly fast, almost instantly covering the distance of the room, and threw a punch straight at Rowan's chest.

Rowan was prepared and immediately dodged backward, simultaneously conjuring three Starburst Blades to meet the attack. However, Black Hawk's strength was indeed formidable; with a casual wave of his hand, a black energy wave shattered the three Starburst Blades.

"So it's a mental weapon, but its power is too weak," Black Hawk said dismissively.

Rowan's heart sank; the strength of a stellar-level expert had indeed exceeded his expectations. But he did not back down; instead, he immediately changed his tactics.

"Starburst Split Technique!"

Rowan unleashed his strongest move, sixteen star-shaped sky-splitting blades appearing simultaneously to attack Black Hawk from different angles. This attack density was much greater than before, and even a stellar-level powerhouse would not dare to underestimate it.

Black Hawk's expression finally turned serious. He waved his hands, and black energy formed a protective barrier in the air, blocking most of the Starburst Blade attacks. However, a few still managed to break through the defenses, leaving shallow wounds on his body.

"Interesting, but not enough!" Black Hawk roared, his aura suddenly surging.

He extended his right hand, a ball of black energy condensing in his palm, which he then thrust out forcefully. The energy ball rapidly expanded in the air, instantly transforming into a massive energy wave two meters in diameter, sweeping towards Rowan.

Luo Wen sensed the terrifying power of this energy and immediately activated the protective function of his Star Armor. The armor, obtained from the Giant Axe Arena, instantly activated, forming a light blue energy shield on his body.

"boom!"

A massive explosion echoed throughout the basement, the energy wave striking the shield and creating a violent impact. Rowan was slammed against the wall by the force, and the shield developed spiderweb-like cracks, clearly severely damaged.

"It actually blocked it?" Black Hawk was somewhat surprised. "Looks like your equipment is pretty good, but how many times can it block?"

Rowan slid off the wall, feeling a tightness in his chest. Although his Star Armor had blocked the attack, he himself had suffered considerable internal injuries. The strength of a Stellar-level expert was indeed terrifying; even with top-tier equipment, a direct confrontation was extremely dangerous.

"I must change my strategy," Rowan thought, quickly analyzing the battle situation.

Fighting a stellar-level powerhouse head-on in this cramped room was clearly unwise; he needed to utilize the environment and his own strengths. Rowan noticed numerous pipes and supports on the ceiling, which could be used for three-dimensional maneuvering.

"Silver Moon, cooperate with me!" Rowan shouted, then leaped up and grabbed a pipe in the ceiling.

Silvermoon immediately understood Rowan's intention. She drew her longsword and attacked Black Hawk from the side. Although she knew she was no match for Black Hawk, at least she could distract him.

Faced with the combined attack of the two, Black Hawk was forced to divide his attention. Rowan moved nimbly in the air, constantly changing position, making it impossible for Black Hawk to accurately lock onto his target. At the same time, he controlled the Starburst Sky-Splitter Blade to launch attacks from various angles.

"Damn rats!" Black Hawk was getting annoyed by this guerrilla tactic.

He suddenly unleashed an energy wave towards the ceiling, attempting to knock Rowan down from the air. But Rowan had anticipated this and had already jumped onto another pipe, simultaneously manipulating eight Starburst Blades to strike Black Hawk's back.

Black Hawk had to turn to defend himself, but just then, the tip of Silvermoon's sword pierced towards his left rib. Black Hawk hurriedly dodged, and although he wasn't fatally stabbed, he still suffered a deep cut on his arm.

"Damn it!" Black Hawk roared furiously, "You've angered me!"

Suddenly, an even more intense black energy erupted from his body, transforming him into a ball of black flame. This was the full power of a stellar-level expert, several times stronger than before.

The temperature in the room rose sharply, and the metal pipes began to creak and groan, clearly under immense pressure. Rowan felt short of breath, and the intense energy fluctuations also greatly interfered with his mental energy.

"We can't delay any longer." Rowan realized that he had to act quickly.

He recalled an advanced technique he had learned from the "Void Refining Divine Art"—Mental Power Burst. It was a very risky move that would boost mental power to its limit for a short period of time, but would leave him weakened for a long time afterward.

"Silver Moon, prepare to retreat!" Luo Wen shouted, then began to fully activate the "Void Refining God Technique".

His mental power began to rise rapidly. Originally, he could only split into thirty-two Starburst Blades, but now he had sixty-four! These Starburst Blades were densely arranged in the air, each one shimmering with even brighter starlight.

"What is this?" Black Hawk also sensed the powerful fluctuation of mental energy, and a look of shock appeared in his eyes.

"Starlight Sky-Splitting Blade - Myriad Swords Return to One!"

This was Rowan's self-created ultimate move, concentrating all the Starburst Blades into a massive attack array. The sixty-four Starburst Blades formed a complex three-dimensional pattern in the air before simultaneously charging towards Black Hawk.

Black Hawk's expression changed drastically. He hadn't expected that a mere cosmic-level being could unleash such a powerful attack. He quickly gathered all his energy, forming a thick black energy wall in front of him.

"Boom boom boom!"

A series of explosions echoed through the basement as sixty-four Starburst Blades rained down on the energy barrier. The powerful shockwaves shattered all the furniture in the room, and even cracks appeared in the walls.

Black Hawk's energy barrier began to crack under this intense attack, and his face grew paler and paler, clearly indicating that he was being severely depleted in this level of confrontation.

"Impossible! How could a cosmic-level being..." Black Hawk stared in disbelief at the scene before him.

Just as the energy barrier was about to collapse, Rowan's mental energy suddenly depleted. Forcing himself to use a technique beyond his limits had instantly left him weakened. The sixty-four Starburst Blades vanished simultaneously, and the room returned to silence.

Seeing Rowan swaying precariously, Black Hawk knew his chance had come. He suppressed his injuries, gathering his last strength to deliver a fatal blow.

"Kid, your tricks end here!"

But just then, Silvermoon suddenly appeared behind Blackhawk. It turned out she had been waiting for this opportunity, taking advantage of Blackhawk's focus on dealing with Rowan to quietly circle around behind him.

The longsword in Silvermoon's hand gleamed with a silver light; it was the signature skill of the Silvermoon Empire's Sword Saint—Silver Moon Slash. She concentrated all her strength at the tip of the sword and thrust it towards Black Hawk's back with lightning speed.

Black Hawk sensed the killing intent behind him and quickly turned to defend himself, but he had already expended too much energy dealing with Rowan, so his reaction was a beat slower.

"Pfft!" The tip of Silver Moon's sword pierced Black Hawk's shoulder. Although it didn't hit a vital spot, the sword energy contained within it still caused him serious injury. Black Hawk groaned and staggered backward.

"Now!" Silver Moon shouted.

Despite the excruciating pain of mental exhaustion, Rowan pulled out an explosive device from his backpack. This was a high-energy bomb specially made by the Virtual Universe Company; although small in size, it was powerful enough to destroy an entire building.

“Let’s all go down together!” Rowan activated the bomb’s timer, setting it to explode in ten seconds.

Black Hawk's face turned deathly pale upon seeing the bomb. In his current state, he had no chance of escaping the blast radius within ten seconds.

"You're insane!" Black Hawk cried out in terror.

"Silver Moon, let's go!" Luo Wen grabbed Silver Moon's hand and rushed out of the room.

The two rushed out of the room and ran up the corridor to the upper floor. Behind them came Black Hawk's angry roar; he was clearly desperately searching for an escape route.

"Three, two, one"

"boom!"

A massive explosion came from the basement, and the entire building shook violently. Rowan and Silvermoon were propelled forward by the shockwave, crashing into the corridor wall.

"Hurry, this building is going to collapse!" Yin Yue pulled the still somewhat weak Luo Wen and continued to flee.

They rushed out of the building and into the factory yard. Thick smoke was billowing from the main building behind them, and debris was constantly falling from it. Other guards rushed over after hearing the explosion, but in the chaos, they couldn't immediately locate their target.

"Over there!" Someone spotted them.

Rowan and Silvermoon immediately ran towards the factory's perimeter, pursued by guards along the way. However, these ordinary cosmic-level warriors were no match for the two professionally trained field agents.

“My spaceship is over there,” Rowan said, pointing in the direction of the scrap heap.

The two quickly traversed the factory complex and arrived at the landing point of the stealth spaceship. Just as they were preparing to board, a familiar figure suddenly appeared before them.

It was Black Hawk! Although he was covered in blood and his clothes were torn to shreds, he had actually survived the explosion.

“The vitality of a stellar-level powerhouse is indeed tenacious,” Silver Moon said with a wry smile.

Black Hawk's eyes burned with fury: "You destroyed my base, and I'll make you pay!"

But Black Hawk was clearly at his limit, his injuries severe, and his breathing erratic. Although Rowan's mental strength hadn't fully recovered, he was already able to use basic attacks.

"Silver Moon, let's join forces!"

The two launched another attack, but this time Black Hawk was clearly outmatched. After suffering severe damage from the explosion, his combat effectiveness had significantly decreased, and he could no longer suppress the two as effectively as before.

After several minutes of fierce fighting, Black Hawk finally collapsed to the ground, unable to hold on any longer. Looking at the sky, his eyes were filled with resentment: "I never imagined that I, Black Hawk, would be defeated by two juniors!"

“Those who commit many unrighteous acts will surely perish,” Silver Moon said coldly.

Rowan didn't finish off the enemy; instead, he and Silvermoon quickly boarded the stealth spaceship. The spaceship activated and ascended rapidly, disappearing into the night.

On the spaceship, the two were finally able to relax. Silver Moon tended to her wounds, while Rowan recovered his depleted mental energy.

"That was a close call," Silver Moon exclaimed. "If it weren't for your ultimate move, we might not be back."

"I didn't expect to succeed either," Rowan said with a wry smile. "It seems that the usual training was quite effective."

"By the way, how's the situation with the Meteor Group?" Silver Moon asked.

Rowan contacted headquarters and learned that the Observers' operation had also been successful. While Rowan was diverting attention, they successfully captured Victor Meteor and several other key members, essentially destroying the entire spy network.

"Mission accomplished." Rowan breathed a sigh of relief.

Two days later, at the headquarters of Virtual Universe Corporation, the awards hall of the field agents' department was brightly lit. This hall was rarely open, only used for important recognition events. Today, a special awards ceremony was being held here for Rowan and Silvermoon.

The observer stood on the platform, facing all the high-ranking officers of the field intelligence department and other agent representatives. Rowan and Silver Moon stood side by side below the platform; although their injuries had not fully healed, they were in good spirits.

"Star Mark, Silver Moon, the success of this mission for the Meteor Group not only saved the company from huge losses, but more importantly, it thwarted a major conspiracy by hostile forces." The Observer's voice echoed in the hall, "Your performance exceeded everyone's expectations, especially the courage and wisdom you displayed when facing a stellar-level powerhouse. Every field agent should learn from this."

A round of enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience. The other agents looked at Rowan and Silver Moon with admiration and recognition. In the dangerous profession of field agents, to complete such a difficult mission and escape unscathed was indeed an achievement to be proud of.

Samuel stepped onto the stage, carrying two exquisite boxes. "According to company regulations, agents who demonstrate outstanding performance in important missions will be given special rewards."

He opened the first box, inside which was a gleaming badge engraved with the Virtual Universe Corporation logo and a crossed sword. "This is the Medal of Courage, representing your fearless spirit in the face of formidable enemies."

The second box contained two special cards, which looked like some kind of pass. "These are top-tier access cards for the company; the holder can enjoy higher-level benefits and resources within the company."

Rowan and Silvermoon went on stage to receive their awards, and thunderous applause erupted in the hall once again as they donned the Medals of Courage.

"Furthermore, considering the immense pressure and physical strain you endured during this mission, the company has decided to grant you a special two-and-a-half-month leave," the observer announced the most anticipated news. "During this time, you are free to go wherever you wish, and all expenses will be covered by the company."

"Half a month?" Rowan was somewhat surprised; this was much longer than he had expected.

“Yes, you all deserve this rest,” Samuel smiled. “And from a medical perspective, your bodies also need time to fully recover. Especially Starscar, the aftereffects of your mental burst still require recuperation.”

(End of this chapter)