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

Chapter 427 Escaping the Encirclement of the Magic Array

The three once again demonstrated their excellent teamwork, maneuvering at high speeds through space to try and evade these deadly attacks. However, Bloodblade Shark's attacks were too dense, making complete evasion unrealistic.

"Golden Shield Protects Him," Hong blocked a meteor that was about to hit Rowan at the critical moment, but he himself was injured by the shockwave.

"Lightning Purification!" Thor immediately used lightning to remove the corrosive energy from Hong's body, preventing the injury from worsening.

“This passive defense isn’t working,” Rowan calmly analyzed the situation. “We must find a way to restrict his actions.”

Just then, Rowan remembered a special skill from the Storm King's legacy. Although this skill also consumed a lot of life force, he couldn't worry about that now.

“Buy me some time,” Rowan said to his two brothers. “I’m going to use a special skill.”

"Is it another forbidden skill?" Thor asked worriedly. "You've just recovered; don't damage your life force again."

“This time is different,” Rowan explained. “This skill primarily consumes mental energy, with relatively less damage to life force.”

“Then get ready quickly, we’ll hold him off,” Hong said firmly.

Thor and Hong immediately adjusted their formation, protecting Rowan in the center while doing everything they could to stop Bloodblade Shark from getting close.

"Thor's Wrath - Chain Lightning," Thor unleashes his strongest lightning attack, with countless bolts of lightning leaping through space to form a massive electric grid.

"Ten Thousand Swords Piercing the Heart - Golden Blade Storm," Hong also used all his strength, countless metal longswords swirling around him, forming an impenetrable defense.

The two's combined defense was indeed very strong, but they still seemed somewhat powerless against the King-level Immortal Bloodblade Shark.

"Two mere ants at the World Lord level dare to block my way?" Bloodblade Shark sneered. "Dark Void - Devouring All Things."

A massive black hole formed in Bloodblade Shark's hand, beginning to devour everything around it. Not only were Thor and Hong's attacks absorbed, but they themselves also felt the powerful pull.

"Hang in there," Rowan's voice came from behind, "I'm almost done."

At this moment, Rowan was performing an extremely complex mental manipulation. He was about to activate the ultimate skill inherited from the Storm King—"Time-Space Lock".

The principle behind this skill is to directly interfere with the spacetime structure through mental power, trapping the enemy in a relatively static spacetime bubble. Although it cannot directly cause damage, it can significantly restrict the enemy's movement.

"Time-Space Lock - Void Cage," Rowan shouted softly, and the surrounding space began to subtly change.

Bloodblade Shark suddenly found his movements becoming abnormally slow, as if bound by some invisible force. The black hole he released also began to become unstable, and its devouring power decreased significantly.

"What? What kind of skill is this?" Bloodblade Shark was shocked to find himself unable to move normally. "What did you do to spacetime?"

“Time-space lock, a special skill that restricts an enemy's movement,” Rowan wiped the sweat from his brow, “While it can't directly harm you, it's enough to render you incapacitated.”

Indeed, under the influence of the time-space lock, all of Bloodblade Shark's movements became extremely slow. This gave the three brothers a precious opportunity to counterattack.

"Now's the time to launch a full-scale attack!" Rowan shouted.

The three used the Three Elements Combination Formation again, but this time they had ample time to build up their power, making their attack even more powerful than before.

"Triple Strike Ultimate Form" - the perfect fusion of three laws' powers to form an incredibly powerful attack.

Bound by the spacetime lock, Bloodblade Shark could only watch helplessly as the attack approached, unable to mount an effective defense.

"Impossible! How could I be defeated by three mere ants at the World Lord level?" Bloodblade Shark roared furiously. "My master will not let you get away with this!"

"Boom!" Another massive explosion rang out, and this time Bloodblade Shark was truly and utterly defeated. His enormous dark body began to collapse, eventually dissipating into countless points of light that vanished into space.

But just as Bloodblade Shark was about to completely disappear, he unleashed his final act of malice.

“Even if I die, you won’t reach the rendezvous point safely,” Bloodblade Shark said, using his last strength to send a dark signal into the distance. “My comrades will avenge me.”

This signal traveled tens of thousands of light-years in an instant, clearly notifying the other Dark Servants. This meant their journey ahead would face even greater threats.

“Damn it, he notified the other enemies,” Silvermoon said through the communicator. “Our travel plans may need to be adjusted.”

"It's alright, we'll meet force with force," Rowan said firmly. "To stop the Lord of Darkness's resurgence, we must overcome any difficulties."

After the battle, the three returned to the Starship. Although they had successfully defeated Bloodblade Shark, the Starship had also suffered considerable damage. Most importantly, their whereabouts had been exposed, making the journey ahead even more dangerous.

"Based on the damage assessment, we need to carry out repairs at the next transit point," the captain of the Star River reported. "This is expected to cause a delay of half a day."

“Half a day should be acceptable,” Silvermoon considered the timeline, “but we must increase our vigilance and be prepared to respond to any new attacks.”

Just then, the spaceship's communication system suddenly received an encrypted message. This message used the highest level of encryption protocol from Virtual Universe Corporation, and only a very small number of people were authorized to send it.

"This is an urgent communication from headquarters," Silvermoon said, her expression turning serious after quickly decoding it. "The situation is worse than we thought."

According to intelligence from headquarters, the Bloodblade Pirates are just one of many traps set by the Dark Servants. Similar ambushes await along all routes leading to the rendezvous point. Moreover, the rendezvous point itself may have already been infiltrated by the enemy.

“It seems we are facing not just a battle, but a full-blown conspiracy,” Rowan calmly analyzed the situation. “The Dark Servants’ plans are far more elaborate than we anticipated.”

"Should we continue to the rendezvous point?" Thor asked.

“Of course we’ll go,” Rowan answered without hesitation. “Even if danger lurks ahead, we cannot back down. This concerns the fate of the entire universe.”

“That’s right, Earthlings have never been cowards,” Hong agreed. “No matter what difficulties we face, we must persevere to the end.”

Just as the three were discussing countermeasures, the Starship's detection system suddenly sounded an alarm. Signals from numerous unidentified flying objects appeared not far ahead, and they were rapidly approaching. "Another enemy is coming," Silver Moon observed the detection results. "This time it's larger, at least thirty warships."

“Thirty ships?” Thor frowned. “Bloodsword Shark’s companions arrived quickly.”

Through the telescope, a massive fleet could be seen approaching from the front. These warships varied in style, clearly belonging to different pirate groups, but they all shared a common feature—dark symbols were painted on their hulls.

“This is no ordinary pirate alliance,” Rowan observed the enemy's formation. “Their coordination is too good; it's like a regular army under unified command.”

Indeed, this fleet operated with remarkable order, unlike a hastily assembled rabble. Moreover, judging from their weaponry, their firepower far surpassed that of the previous Bloodblade Pirates.

"It seems the Dark Servants have infiltrated multiple pirate organizations long ago," Silvermoon analyzed. "They use these pirates as pawns to carry out various secret missions."

Just then, the enemy fleet commander sent a communication request through the public channel. Surprisingly, this time the voice was no longer rough, but unusually elegant and calm.

"Everyone aboard the Starship, I am Duke Dark Night, commander of the 'Shadow Alliance'," a deep, resonant male voice rang out. "It is regrettable to hear of Bloodblade Shark's defeat; he certainly underestimated your strength."

“Duke of the Night?” Silvermoon frowned. “This name is recorded in the Dark Servants’ files; he’s an extremely dangerous individual.”

“But I will not repeat his mistakes,” Duke Dark Night continued. “This time I have prepared a great gift for you all, which I believe will satisfy you.”

As soon as the words were spoken, the enemy fleet began to change formation. Thirty warships arranged themselves according to a special pattern and began to release synchronized energy fluctuations.

"What is this?" Hong sensed an ominous premonition. "What kind of big move are they preparing?"

"It's a magic array," Rowan realized in shock. "They're going to use thirty warships to form a giant attack magic array."

Indeed, as the magic circle took shape, the surrounding space began to fluctuate violently. An unprecedented pressure emanated from the center of the magic circle, making everyone feel immense pressure.

An attack from a magic array of this scale would be powerful enough to destroy an asteroid. Even the Star River's formidable defenses might not be able to withstand it.

What's even more worrying is that the magic circle's charging process is extremely slow, giving the enemy ample time to prepare. And the Star River, surrounded by the magic circle, has virtually no chance of escape.

"We're trapped," the captain reported via internal communication. "The enemy's magic array has formed a perfect encirclement; any escape route will be attacked."

“Then we have no choice but to break through head-on,” Rowan decided. “We can’t just sit here and wait to be killed.”

But this enemy is clearly more cautious and powerful than Bloodblade Shark. Faced with an enemy of such scale, even if the three brothers join forces, their chances of victory are extremely slim.

“Wait, I have an idea,” Rowan suddenly said. “We don’t need to fight head-on; we can take advantage of the terrain.”

"Terrain advantage?" Thor asked doubtfully. "This is outer space; what terrain are we talking about?"

"Remember the 'Claw of Death' interstellar storm belt we passed through on our way here?" Rowan quickly explained his thoughts. "The spatial storms there are extremely intense; even a King-level Immortal would have to be careful."

“You mean,” Silvermoon immediately understood Rowan’s idea, “to lure them into the storm belts and use the forces of nature to deal with them?”

“That’s right,” Rowan nodded in confirmation, “but this requires precise calculations and perfect coordination. We must escape before the magic circle finishes charging, and then figure out a way to get them to catch up with us.”

"The Death's Claw Storm Belt?" Hong recalled the route they had taken. "It's definitely dangerous there, but it's also dangerous for us to go in."

“Danger is certain, but we have advantages,” Rowan analyzed. “I have mastered the laws of storms, making me more adaptable to that environment than others. Furthermore, thirty warships are actually at a disadvantage in the narrow storm passage.”

This plan is indeed feasible. The complex environment of the interstellar storm belt would greatly limit the maneuverability of large fleets, and the storms themselves are the best weapon. The key is how to escape before the magic circle attacks and then successfully lure the enemy to follow.

“The Duke of Darkness is cunning; he might not fall for it,” Silvermoon expressed her concern. “What if he doesn’t follow up?”

“Then we’ll give him a reason to follow up,” Rowan said, a sly glint in his eyes, “and tell him we have something they desperately need.”

As he spoke, Rowan took out a special recording crystal he had obtained from the Shadow Lord's stronghold. This crystal contained the core secrets of the Dark Lord's resurrection plan, and its value to the Dark Servants was immeasurable.

“This is the Shadow Lord’s memory crystal,” Rowan showed it to the others. “It contains crucial information about the Dark Lord’s resurgence. If the Night Duke knew we had this, he would definitely not let us off the hook.”

“Good idea,” Thor agreed, “but the problem is how do we escape the magic circle?”

“This requires coordination,” Rowan began to explain the plan in detail. “We can’t break through head-on, but we can use the Star River as cover to escape the moment the magic array attacks.”

The core of the plan is to exploit the timing difference. When the enemy's magic circle attack is launched, all warships will focus on attacking, which will create a brief window of opportunity for them to escape.

“Silver Moon, contact the captain and have the Star River prepare,” Rowan began assigning tasks. “After we escape, immediately retreat in the opposite direction. Don’t follow us into the storm belt.”

"Understood," Silvermoon immediately went to contact the captain.

"Thor, Hong, get your space combat equipment ready," Rowan continued, "This time we'll be traveling a long distance in space, which will be very taxing."

“No problem,” the two replied in unison.

Preparations were quickly completed, and now they awaited the optimal moment for the magic circle to attack. Through observation, Rowan discovered that the enemy's magic circle was already 90% charged and was about to launch its attack.

"Prepare," Rowan said, his eyes fixed on the enemy fleet's movements. "Remember, you must act the instant the attack begins; you only have one chance."

"The magic circle is fully charged and ready to launch," the Dark Night Duke's voice rang out in the public channel. "Goodbye, you foolish lackeys of light."

"Shadow Annihilation Cannon, fire!"

In an instant, the thirty warships simultaneously unleashed terrifying dark energy, converging into a destructive beam powerful enough to annihilate a planet. The beam's power was indeed astonishing, tearing apart even the surrounding space.

(End of this chapter)