The Star Train's Journey Through the Heavens

Chapter 161 The Hunting Arrow That Never Returns

(When this book was written, Changyeyue hadn't appeared yet, so theoretically the protagonist didn't know that March 7 possessed Changyeyue. Also, many of Karl's abilities weren't shown in the anime; they were taken from the official Super Soldier series novels and comics, so the protagonist was unaware of them.)
"Zhixin, have the angels stationed near the Styx Galaxy observe the surrounding recently annihilated stars to see if there is any life in their systems," Keisha's projection instructed, turning her head.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Zhixin replied.

After a moment, Zhixin replied: "Your Majesty, according to the report from the sisters stationed near the Styx Galaxy, a total of 23 stars have just died out unnaturally, and there is no life in the galaxy."

Keisha relayed Zhixin's words, and the entire train crew breathed a sigh of relief.

"What do we do now? Given how troublesome the divine body is, it's difficult to kill it with a single blow," Dan Heng replied coldly, speaking through telepathy.

Meng Huaifeng pulled Keisha into a telepathic conversation.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be a one-hit kill. A continuous barrage of attacks in an instant, giving him no time to recover, can also kill him,” Walter said.

“But he’ll hide once he’s injured,” Dan Heng said helplessly.

If there had been a target, he might have been able to kill him with a couple more shots.

Unfortunately, there were no targets after the first shot.

"Can Uncle Yang do it?" March 7th looked at Walter expectantly.

“As I said before, I only have some knowledge of spirits, not expertise. Entering the void dimension to deal with him won’t be a problem, but if he’s determined to escape, I’m not so sure I can finish him off in an instant,” Walter said, frowning.

"I have a question. Karl knew we had the ability to deal with him, so why didn't he run away and hide completely? Instead, he kept jumping around in front of us," Meng Huaifeng asked.

“Yeah, if he hides, it’ll be hard for us to catch him, right?” March 7th said.

“I’ll ask him,” Xing said, looking at Karl.

"Don't remind him! What if he didn't think of that?" March 7th hurriedly pulled Xing back.

“Death God Karl isn’t that stupid, he could definitely figure it out,” Meng Huaifeng said speechlessly.

“I know a little about this issue,” Keisha said.

"Sister Keisha, tell me quickly!" March 7 asked impatiently, and the others also looked at Keisha.

"After my failed attempt to kill Karl, He Xi conducted some research on Karl's illusory body. After Karl abandoned his physical body and transformed his soul to merge with the void, he was essentially equivalent to a void creature."

"Before the Void descended, Void beings were unable to descend and interfere with the known universe. The reason he can now interfere with the universe through projection is because he has an anchor point in the universe, which is most likely his original body that he abandoned."

"Since he interfered with the universe in advance by using the anchor point, he also has to pay a corresponding price. He should not be able to leave the anchor point too far. This distance is probably the planet where Death Song Academy is located."

"Beyond this distance, it would require a lot of energy to maintain the illusion, and the farthest it could go should not exceed the Styx Galaxy."

“If he goes any further, his illusory body will probably become unstable and could collapse at any time. This is a general estimate made by He Xi based on his activity range and the energy consumption of the star over the years.”

“Besides these, there must be other flaws. Even with the risk of being attacked, he still maintains the projection, which shows that shutting down the projection would also come at a price, but we don’t know what that price is. His illusion is far from perfect as outsiders see it,” Keisha explained.

"Hey, what if we destroy his anchor point?" March 7th suddenly had an idea as he looked at the planet beneath his feet.

“Karl will be banished to the void dimension, and will never be able to interfere with the universe again until the void descends,” Keisha said.

"No, this evil guy must be dealt with," Xing said viciously.

The entire train crew nodded in agreement.

“I’ve thought of a solution,” Meng Huaifeng said.

"What method?" Xing asked.

"Do you know about the hunting stars?" Meng Huaifeng asked, squinting his eyes.

"What is the hunting star?" March 7th scratched his head.

"The shooting star of the hunt is the firelight of the sea-cruising knights. It will only fall on the longest night. When its light appears in the universe, it means the fall of a giant star. And the direction in which it falls represents that there is still justice to be served."

"This flying star can be seen no matter where you are, in the past or present. When it arrives without stopping, it will be the moment the signal is sent. The sea patrols will come from all directions of the Milky Way, without asking why or considering the cost, just for the arrival of dawn," Dan Heng said.

Keisha glanced sideways. "Does such an organization even exist in the unknown universe?"
"How romantic! I want to become a sea patrol ranger!" Xing announced, holding up his baseball bat.

"boom!"

On March 7th, a sharp tap landed on Xing's head.

"What happened to our promise to be in the train crew for life? Are you going to abandon everyone?" March 7th asked fiercely.

"I was just kidding," Xing said, bowing her head in repentance.

"What does our need to deal with Karl have to do with the Flying Stars of the Hunt?" March 7 asked, puzzled.

“When the patrolling knights arrive, it will be at the very moment the signal is sent. Why? It shows that the patrol has the power to transcend time and space,” Meng Huaifeng said.

"You want me to use the power of the Hunt to concentrate the attack at one point in time and kill him instantly?" Dan Heng suddenly realized, and gave a wry smile: "Sorry to disappoint you, the distance I have traveled on the Hunting Path is not enough to do this."

The furthest path Danheng has taken is the Immortal Path, which comes from the inheritance of continuous reincarnation; the next is the Path of Exploration; and the last is the Path of Hunting.

"As long as the Hunting has such power, that's enough. With a real foundation, the consumption of Ether Editing will be greatly reduced. I should be able to edit the power that transcends time and space onto you."

"Using the aura of the void as a guide, the power of hunting as a foundation, and the power of editing as an aid, borrowing the longbow of three months, the first arrow is shot at the future, heavily wounded Karl."

"The second arrow is aimed at the future wounded Karl."

"The third arrow struck Karl directly."

"Just in case, we can fire a few more arrows. And aim them at Karl's remnant soul and genes," Meng Huaifeng said firmly.

After a moment of silence, March 7th's face lit up with excitement.

“It’s feasible.” Walter nodded emphatically.

"Danheng, here you go." On March 7th, he stuffed his bow into Danheng's hands.

"Wait a minute, do you think I, the mighty Galaxy Baseball Man, need absolutely no help from me?" Xing asked.

"You've won this time without lifting a finger," said March 7, even though he had contributed his weapon.

Xing looked at Meng Huaifeng expectantly.

Meng Huaifeng stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and said, "How about you sing a song to boost morale?"

Xing pouted and turned her head away.

"When will it start?" Dan Heng asked.

“I need to recover,” Meng Huaifeng said.

Six hours later, Meng Huaifeng's imaginary energy was restored.

Walter isolated their location, and Meng Huaifeng also erased the coded messages to prevent Death Karl from spying on them.

The first arrow was aimed at Karl's remnant soul, to prevent it from rising from the ashes someday.

The moment the light arrow was shot out, it disappeared into spacetime. The next time it will appear will be when Karl is left with only a remnant soul.

The editing involved rules of space and time, and it was done on others whose strength far surpassed his. A single arrow was enough to deplete most of Meng Huaifeng's energy.

Another six hours.

The second arrow was aimed at the heavily wounded Karl.

Six hours.

The third arrow was still aimed at the seriously wounded Karl.

After the train crew cut off all of Karl's access to information, a sense of unease rose in Karl's heart.

And it's getting stronger and stronger.

Karl's projection was close to the train set.

"Perhaps you have found a way to kill me instantly. For my own sake, and for the sake of our peaceful coexistence, I think there is something I need to tell you."

"In order to study the void, I built void devices in 20 civilizations to collect their fear and despair and monitor their despair index."

"I have already preset instructions for the Great Clock. Once I lose contact, it will immediately activate the void device of 20 civilizations, release the aura of the void, and reset their civilizations to zero, just like the Shenhe Civilization that mysteriously disappeared before."

"Are you sure you want to destroy me, taking 20 civilizations with you?" Karl spoke the most wicked words in a gentle tone.

Based on information obtained from Earth, he was certain that the train crew would not disregard the 20 civilizations.

They are not Keisha.

He had already said that he was in an invincible position.

The fourth arrow, about to be fired, stopped, and the train crew was shaken to their core.

"This demon!" March 7 gritted her teeth, realizing for the first time just how evil a true evil god could be.

“Demon is far too little to describe him,” Dan Heng said in a deep voice.

Meng Huaifeng's face was extremely pale, and his voice trembled slightly as he said, "The hunting arrows have already been shot."

It's easy to shoot it out, but hard to bring it back.

The hunting arrow has already disappeared into time and space, and there's no way to catch it back!
In other words, it doesn't matter what the reason is that Karl is seriously injured now.

The three hunting arrows that were shot will appear one after another and take his life.

Along with it, 20 civilizations!
Meng Huaifeng's mind was in complete turmoil.

"Don't feel pressured, this isn't your problem. Karl, this evil god, must be eliminated. We can find another way to save those 20 civilizations," Walter said, seeing the confusion in Meng Huaifeng's eyes.

March 7th looked at Meng Huaifeng's pale face with concern and tightly grasped his cold, slightly trembling hand.

“Look at Karl’s research: the Void is close to the power of nothingness, its own phantom is similar to the Memory One, and it has a similar breeding system to the Void Zerg.”

"If we compromise, I have no doubt that the Star God of Intelligence will glance at him when we link the two universes."

“After coming into contact with the power of destiny, I can’t imagine how dangerous it will be for Karl. Perhaps it will be no less dangerous than the Imperial War,” Dan Heng said.

“He’s using 20 civilizations to bind us now. If we back down now, what if he uses 30 civilizations to bind us next time? Should we back down then? If we back down one step at a time, the cost of eliminating him will only get higher and higher.” Xing also became serious.

Everyone spoke of the necessity of eliminating Karl, and no one complained that the three hunting arrows had deprived them of the opportunity to choose another option, which eased Meng Huaifeng's unease.

“Rationally speaking, regardless of whether there is a way to save those 20 civilizations, eliminating them as soon as possible is the best option,” Keisha said somewhat cruelly.

If she had the power to completely kill Karl, she wouldn't hesitate; what Karl is currently demonstrating poses a far greater threat to the universe than these civilizations.

Sacrificing a small portion to save the majority is acceptable within Keisha's concept of absolute justice.

Perhaps the small group of people who sacrificed themselves will angrily accuse Keisha of talking without understanding the pain.

But when Keisha herself was in the position of being the small part to be sacrificed, she would never hesitate.

Meng Huaifeng felt a little relieved. Now was not the time for self-pity; he had to find a way to get out of his predicament as soon as possible.

Karl's binding of 20 civilizations was achieved through the Great Clock.

If we seize control of the large clock...

No, it took him more than two days to completely seize control of the Demon Wings.

Completely seizing control of the Great Clock would be much more troublesome; Karl could easily have these civilizations wiped out prematurely.

It's not necessary to seize authority; simply seizing control of the 20 void devices will suffice.

However, I can't even hack into the giant clock right now...

If your skills aren't good enough, practice and improve!

Meng Huaifeng hardened his heart.

With the train's shielding removed, Meng Huaifeng, his face stern, summoned a virtual keyboard to infiltrate the large clock.

Upon receiving the notification that the Great Clock had been hacked, Carl instantly understood Meng Huaifeng's plan. He smiled slightly and said nonchalantly, "When your hacking progress reaches 99%, I will assume that you are about to kill me and make them pay for my death in advance."

Carl didn't dare to directly threaten Meng Huaifeng not to infiltrate the Great Clock; having too much room for maneuver meant he would use his trump card directly.

This will inevitably make the other party feel that he will use his trump card to force them to make more concessions, which is not conducive to reaching an agreement and mutual compromise.

Meng Huaifeng paused in his typing, then silently continued typing, his speed subtly increasing.

Regardless of whether we succeed in the end, we should at least reach the point where we can infiltrate 99% of the targets first.

Otherwise, even if there is an opportunity, I don't have enough technical ability to seize it.

“Death God Karl, your bottom line has exceeded my expectations,” Keisha said.

“Is it wrong for me to just want to live?” Karl said calmly.

“You want to live, that’s true, but it’s a huge mistake to sacrifice countless lives in your pursuit of survival,” Walter said.

“In the past, the ultimate fear was the Void. In order to survive, I believed in the Void, studied the Void, and merged with the Void. The Void will come sooner or later. I’m just speeding up the process a little as a pledge of allegiance.”

“Now, you can kill me, so you are my ultimate fear. I can believe in you and join you, as long as you let me live,” Karl said sincerely.

“No, I despise you,” March 7th refused without hesitation.

"Being swayed by emotions is a person's greatest flaw. If you dislike war, I can restrain my civilizations from invading again. If you enjoy chivalry, I can send my people to do good deeds all over the universe."

“I’ll do what you like and stop doing what you hate. What’s wrong with that? All you need to do is let go of a little bit of your resentment towards my past,” Karl advised.

“If you can eliminate the threat posed by 20 civilizations, perhaps we can talk,” Walter said.

“I’m afraid I won’t even have a chance to talk then,” Karl sighed.

It seems they still harbor the idea or confidence that they can save 20 civilizations from killing them. Only when they fully realize that there is no way out can they continue negotiations.

(End of this chapter)