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

Chapter 408 You have already lost!

“Our team is very well-balanced,” Rex explained. “Everyone has their own expertise, which allows us to handle various situations during exploration.”

Rowan paid a 500,000 credit deposit for equipment and received a complete set of exploration gear, including the precious emergency teleportation device.

"How long is this exploration expected to take?" Rowan asked.

“In my experience, it will take at least a week,” Rex replied. “If all goes well, we might have results in three or four days, but we need to be prepared for a long haul.”

"So when do we depart?"

“Four o’clock tomorrow morning,” Rex confirmed the time, “we need to reach the target area before most other teams.”

After completing the joining procedures, Rowan was assigned to stay in the team's temporary dormitory. It was a large tent with more than a dozen beds, where the team members all lived together.

"Ron, what kind of ruins have you explored before?" a young warrior asked curiously.

"It's mainly some small ancient ruins, nothing like this large-scale operation," Rowan replied modestly. "This time, we're primarily here to learn from experience."

“Captain Rex is very experienced, and you can learn a lot from him,” another teammate added.

"By the way, does anyone know anything about the other teams?" Rowan asked, seizing the opportunity. "When I arrived, I saw many different teams at the port."

“Too many to count,” Amy replied. “It’s said that there are now over a hundred exploration teams gathered in Port Reno, with a total number of people possibly in the thousands.”

"So many?" Rowan feigned surprise.

"Yes, the allure of becoming a king and achieving immortality is too great," a veteran team member sighed. "But I think most teams are just here for the spectacle; no more than ten actually have the ability to find the treasure."

"Why do you say that?"

"Deep-sea exploration is extremely dangerous, not only because of the harsh environment but also because of the various unknown threats," the veteran team member explained. "A team without rich experience and strong capabilities might not even reach the target area."

"So what are our chances of winning?" Rowan continued to ask.

“I have great faith in Captain Rex,” Amy said confidently. “He has never failed.”

At 3:30 a.m., countless stars still twinkled in the night sky of Port Reno, but the eastern horizon was already faintly tinged with the light of dawn. At the Wings of Freedom Exploration Team's camp, all members were already up, conducting final equipment checks and preparations.

Rowan sat up from his makeshift bed, looked around, and saw that the other team members were already methodically organizing their equipment. Everyone's movements were practiced and efficient; clearly, this early-morning schedule was routine for them.

“Ron, check your equipment,” Amy reminded him, walking over. “Especially that emergency teleportation device; make sure it’s working properly.”

“Okay,” Rowan carefully checked the equipment according to the instructions, “there are no problems.”

Outside the tent, Rex was discussing the sailing route and specific exploration plans with several core team members. They were gathered around a detailed sea map, marking various important locations with a red pen.

"According to the latest intelligence, three more teams set off yesterday," a team member named Thomas reported, "including the 'Abyss Hunters' team."

"Kasper Abyss has set off too?" Rex's expression turned serious. "It seems the competition is fiercer than I anticipated."

"Should we change our route?" Amy asked.

“No, we’re proceeding according to plan,” Rex said firmly. “I have great confidence in the area I’ve chosen, and we started earlier than most teams.”

At exactly four o'clock, as the sky was just beginning to lighten, all members of the Wings of Freedom exploration team had completed their preparations. Their equipment was neatly loaded onto three medium-sized exploration vessels, each equipped with state-of-the-art deep-sea exploration equipment.

"Everyone board, let's set sail," Rex ordered.

Rowan followed the other team members onto the main ship in the middle. The ship was professionally designed, with both a powerful propulsion system and complete living facilities, clearly designed specifically for long-term sea exploration.

"Is this your first time riding on this kind of exploration vessel?" Sitting next to Rowan was a young technician named Jack, who was in charge of operating various detection devices.

“Yes, it looks very advanced,” Rowan answered truthfully.

“This was custom-made for Captain Rex,” Jack proudly explained. “It not only has a standard sonar detection system, but it’s also equipped with a law-wave detector, capable of sensing energy anomalies in the deep sea.”

"A law fluctuation detector?" Rowan asked curiously. "Shouldn't such a device be very expensive?"

“Of course, one unit costs five million credits,” Jack nodded, “but for a professional exploration team like ours, it’s a necessary investment.”

With the roar of engines, the three exploration ships slowly departed from the docks of Reno Port. The sea was very calm in the early morning, and a thin mist drifted gently on the water, adding a mysterious touch to the whole scene.

"When do you expect to reach the target area?" Rowan asked Jack.

“At normal speed, it will take about six hours,” Jack replied, “but Captain Rex might choose a faster speed to try and arrive before the other teams.”

Sure enough, as the ship sailed out of the port area and into the open sea, Rowan could feel a significant increase in its speed. The powerful engine propelled the exploration vessel forward rapidly across the sea, splashing waves on both sides of the hull.

"Attention everyone," Rex broadcast to all crew members via the ship's communication system, "We have now entered open waters. Remain vigilant for the remainder of the voyage. While this is a relatively safe area, the possibility of encountering other groups or maritime threats cannot be ruled out."

Upon hearing this reminder, Rowan began to observe his surroundings more carefully. Indeed, on the distant sea, he could see the silhouettes of several other ships, clearly also exploration teams heading in the same direction.

"What kind of ships are those?" Rowan asked, pointing to several black dots in the distance.

Jack picked up his binoculars and observed for a while. "It looks like a fleet from the 'Star Explorers' company, probably the same Marcus team we saw yesterday."

“They’re fast too,” Rowan noted, observing that the other ships were traveling at a similar speed to them.

“That’s normal; everyone’s target areas are roughly the same,” Jack explained. “However, once the search phase begins, they’ll disperse to different specific locations.”

After sailing for about two hours, Rowan noticed that the atmosphere on the ship was becoming tense. Several guards were frequently using binoculars to observe the surroundings, while Rex also came out of his cabin to check the situation himself. "Is anything unusual?" Amy asked Rex.

“There’s a convoy following us,” Rex said gravely. “They’ve been maintaining the same course and speed as us for the past two hours.”

"Could it just be a coincidence?" Jack speculated optimistically. "After all, everyone's destination is roughly the same."

“If it were a coincidence, they should have their own specific routes, not just completely following our path,” Rex shook his head. “And I noticed that when we adjusted our speed, they adjusted accordingly.”

Rowan used his mental power to probe the rear and quickly located the fleet Rex had mentioned. It consisted of three modified fast attack ships, and the energy fluctuations on board indicated that they carried many martial artists, and all of them were quite powerful.

“Captain, I suggest we change course and see how they react,” Thomas suggested.

“Good idea,” Rex agreed, then instructed the pilot, “Turn 15 degrees east.”

The exploration ship began to slowly change course, and everyone was observing the reaction of the convoy behind them. Sure enough, less than ten minutes later, the three tracking ships also began to adjust their course and continue to follow them.

“It’s confirmed, they are tracking us,” Rex’s expression turned grim. “Everyone, prepare for battle.”

Upon hearing the order, the atmosphere on the ship immediately tensed. The crew members began checking their weapons and equipment, the mages began gathering their magical power, and the entire ship entered a state of combat readiness.

"Ron, are you ready?" Amy asked Rowan with concern.

“No problem,” Rowan replied, while mentally considering a strategy. With his true strength, dealing with this level of threat would be a piece of cake, but his current identity was that of an ordinary martial artist at the sixth level of the Stellar Realm, and he needed to control his performance.

"They're accelerating," the team member in charge of observation reported. "The distance is closing."

“It seems they’ve decided to make their move,” Rex calmly analyzed. “Everyone, pay attention: the enemy numbers are roughly between twenty and thirty. Their strength is unknown, but the fact that they dared to provoke us shows they are very confident in their abilities.”

"Which team will it be?" Amy asked.

“It could be the ‘Blood Shark Mercenary Group’,” Thomas guessed. “They’ve always made a living by robbing other exploration teams, and their methods are ruthless.”

“It could also be a probe sent by some force,” Rex added. “The situation in Port Reno is very complicated lately; anything is possible.”

While listening to his teammates' analysis, Rowan secretly prepared. Although he wanted to conceal his strength, he would still step in to help if the team were truly in danger. However, judging from the current situation, the Wings of Freedom Exploration Team should be quite strong, and they might not necessarily need his help.

"Three kilometers away," the observer continued to report, "the enemy ships are beginning to disperse, and it looks like they are about to launch an encirclement attack."

"Prepare for battle," Rex gave the battle orders. "Amy, you're in charge of the defense. Thomas, you lead the counterattack. Jack, activate all the protective systems."

"Understood," the team members responded in unison.

By this time, the attack fleet behind them had closed to within two kilometers, and Rowan could clearly see the warriors on board preparing to attack. Judging from their equipment and formation, they were indeed a highly experienced fighting team.

"The enemy has opened fire," the observer reported loudly.

Several powerful beams of energy shot out from the attack ship, aimed directly at the Freedom Wings Exploration Team's flagship. These attacks were powerful enough to cause serious damage to ordinary ships.

To Rowan's surprise, Rex seemed to be prepared. He stood at the bow of the ship, his hands quickly forming hand seals, and a huge shield of light appeared in front of the ship, perfectly blocking all the attacks.

“Counterattack,” Rex commanded.

Thomas and several combatants immediately launched a counterattack. Their attacks were incredibly precise, with various law-based attacks flying towards the enemy ship. What surprised Rowan even more was the team's exceptional coordination; their attacks, using different attributes of laws, complemented each other, multiplying their power.

"They are much stronger than I imagined," Rowan thought to himself. He had originally thought the Wings of Freedom Exploration Team was just an ordinary expedition team, but now it seemed that these members had all undergone professional combat training.

The battle lasted for about ten minutes, with the enemy's attacks becoming increasingly fierce, but the Wings of Liberty's defenses remained steadfast. More importantly, under Rex's command, their counterattacks began to take effect.

“Enemy ship number one is damaged,” the observer reported. “Their shield has been breached.”

“Very good, concentrate firepower on ship number one,” Rex adjusted the tactics.

Just then, the enemy seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation and began to use more dangerous attack methods. A powerful figure, clearly the enemy captain, suddenly leaped from the ship, conjuring a huge bolt of lightning in mid-air, which struck directly at Rex.

Upon seeing the attack, Rowan's muscles tensed instantly. This lightning attack was extremely powerful; even a Rank 8 Stellar-level martial artist could be severely injured. He almost couldn't resist intervening to save him.

But at that moment, Rex displayed astonishing power. A powerful surge of wind-elemental energy erupted from his body, making him appear like a god of storms, with the surrounding air swirling violently.

“Storm Shield,” Rex murmured.

A massive whirlwind barrier appeared around him. The lightning attack struck the whirlwind, was not only completely neutralized, but was also deflected back and struck the enemy attacker.

"What?" The enemy captain was clearly not prepared for this situation. After being hit by his own attack, he fell from the sky onto the sea.

"Storm Fury!" Rex pressed his advantage, thrusting his hands forward, unleashing an even more powerful whirlwind attack that struck the enemy's main ship directly.

The enormous impact propelled the enemy ship hundreds of meters away, catching the warriors on board completely off guard.

“Surrender,” Rex’s voice echoed across the sea. “You have been defeated.”

Seeing their captain defeated, the remaining enemy warriors began to panic. They clearly hadn't anticipated the Wings of Freedom exploration team possessing such formidable strength.

"Retreat! Retreat!" shouted the enemy's vice-captain.

The three attack ships began to turn and flee, moving even faster than they had come. Their captain, though wounded, was not in mortal danger and, after being rescued by the other crew members, joined the retreat.

(End of this chapter)