The old man you see with your phone is highly suspicious.

"This is a talisman I made! For my dad, and for his teammates! It will protect you so you can complete your mission and return home safely!"

She didn't know what the "cosmic void" was; she only knew that her father was going to carry out a very important mission.

In her world, there is no concept of never returning; there is only "departure" and "returning home."

She would wait for her father and uncles and aunts to come home so they could attend her parent-teacher conference together. She would then tell them how excellent she was at school.

Yishan took the dozen or so heavy, warm little items and nodded solemnly: "Okay, Dad will definitely give them to the uncles and aunts. We will definitely wear them."

"Also, we'll go to your parent-teacher conference together on Holy Day..."

……

The following day, Fuzz left the dormitory. Her holiday was over, and she needed to return to the school in the rear to prepare her speech as a student representative for Holy Day.

The entire expedition team had made their final preparations.

It was no different from their usual simulated training sessions; in fact, they had trained like this countless times.

The only difference today is that each of them wears that simple amulet close to their body, either on their chest, waist, or hair.

That was a talisman brought by Vice Captain Ishan. Everyone initially thought it was childish and laughed at their own vice captain, but Ishan revealed that it was a "peace charm" made by her daughter.

At that moment, everyone was stunned. Holding the childlike amulet that had transformed into a giant of light, they felt as if something was stuck in their throats.

After the navigator took the lead in putting the amulet on his head, everyone else followed suit and wore it close to their body.

Each person's race is different; some wear vines around their necks, some have them directly embedded in the gaps between their bones, and some wear them close to their waists.

They made their final preparations.

The same was true for all the other teams; they all started from different lines of defense, and in this location extremely close to the cosmic void, tens of thousands of bases coordinated almost simultaneously.

This final operation was named "Against the Light" by the United Front headquarters.

These tens of thousands of almost identical starships have been given a unified name—Fireseed!

Each ship carries the final magic beacon; if any one of them can carry it to the final area, then this "journey against the light" will be complete.

With a salute from everyone at the base, the Fireseed lit its torch and set sail toward its predetermined goal.

This was not a farewell; it seemed to be witnessing the most tragic funeral, fueled by their own lives.

Not only at the base where Ishan and her group were located, but also at tens of thousands of other bases surrounding the Great Void of Space, torches were lit.

Tens of thousands of Fireseed ships, like fireflies flying backwards, headed towards the vast void of space.

There were no grand pronouncements, no rallying ceremony, only the blue tail flames of the thrusters igniting in the vacuum, cold and resolute. Like a string of fuses suddenly ignited, they drew straight streaks of light in the deep darkness, converging into a silent torrent.

Even the members of Expedition 13 were amazed when they looked at the starry sky.

At this moment, the starship was heading towards the vast void of the universe. In front of them was nothingness, an endless darkness, while behind them were billions of stars.

“No wonder this operation is called ‘Journey Against the Light’,” the treant Domini exclaimed.

Ishan didn't speak. He looked out the window at the area behind his daughter, where he could only see tiny dots of stars in that galaxy.

Meanwhile, on the planet where Fug was, it was the dead of night. She looked up at the sky and, whether it was an illusion or not, she seemed to see countless shooting stars flying in reverse towards the light of that great void.

Looking into the distance, those rays of light flying backwards disappeared one after another, like a swarm of moths drawn to a flame, silently and resolutely rushing towards the eternal fire.

Chapter 480 Traveling with the Light

"Headquarters, headquarters! A total of 30000 starships set sail, and 18721 of them lost contact the instant they reached the edge of the cosmic void image! According to the magic sensors at fixed points, these lost starships..."

"Total annihilation!"

The harsh data instantly gripped everyone's hearts.

Contrary to expectations, the further expansion of the cosmic void has caused its influence to grow even more, turning what was once a safe area into a dead zone.

Even the paths once traversed by expeditions, and the areas once considered safe, are no longer safe...

This is why the last expedition had to resort to this moth-to-a-flame method.

Without magic essence... without this miraculous product that suddenly appeared at the edge of the cosmic void, they wouldn't even have any way to deal with the cosmic void.

It's as if magic energy was created by the universe specifically to deal with the Great Void, something that is the opposite of the Great Void.

If we compare the entire universe to a living organism, then the Great Void is like a huge wound piercing through the chest of the entire universe, and those magical elements are just like platelets desperately trying to stop the wound.

But even this level of hope is enough to motivate generations to give their all.

Because the only thing unaffected by the distorted physical laws of the Great Void is the Magic Element.

"The remaining expedition teams are still gradually losing contact..."

"Finally, give a message to all members of the 10000 expedition teams..." The high-ranking official slowly closed his eyes and murmured, "They are the last team..."

I apologize, fellow expedition members...

If either team succeeds, we will be with them.

……

"This is Expedition 13, aboard starship number 1307." The dark elf, who was desperately trying to communicate with headquarters, finally received a message from headquarters.

This area is still within the influence zone of the Great Hollow. Although the laws of physics are distorted, communication is still barely possible.

As an intelligence agent secretly trained by the United Front, his current mission is to maintain communication with headquarters as much as possible until it becomes completely impossible to contact them.

"I'm sorry, everyone, the reserve team has failed, and no one has survived. Members of the expedition team, you still have one last chance to return, but you are the last team..." The voice came from the communicator.

At that moment, everyone fell silent.

Unbeknownst to them, this was a misleading suggestion from headquarters, because if they knew that there were more than 10,000 other ships like theirs entering the area, they would naturally feel a sense of complacency.

But when they realize they are all alone, an overwhelming sense of responsibility and pressure will weigh on them.

Everyone's breathing quickened at this moment.

Whether they were nervous, anxious, or had made a firm decision, they reached out and touched the small amulet on their bodies.

They could have simply followed headquarters' orders, returned to base, and deserted...

They could even be more shameless and turn around and bite back at those martyrs who bravely stepped into the Great Void, making them sinners whose crimes are beyond description.

But at this moment, no one suggested running away. They all gripped their amulets tightly, feeling only a heavy responsibility weighing on their shoulders.

This responsibility was so heavy that it almost suffocated them.

"Vote, return, or continue forward..." said Domini, the tree-man who had become the squad leader of this squad.

The next moment, an anonymous vote was held, but when the results were announced, they were all...

go ahead!

go ahead!

go ahead!

……

Not a single ticket was returned. Even Ishan, who was clutching his amulet tightly, wore a smile that looked more like a grimace.

The thirteen people's hands were stacked together. At this moment, they all smiled at each other. Even though they came from different races, different civilizations, and even different star systems, they were completely united as if they shared the same ideals.

“We should come up with a slogan, otherwise there will be more disheartening moments like this in the future,” suggested Domini the Tree Man.

“Then, dawn is breaking!” the navigator said.

"Dawn is coming!"

At this moment, filled with grief and hope, they had no chance to turn back.

They shouted the slogan "Dawn is coming," and like countless martyrs, they headed into the vast void of space without looking back.

This is the final war; after this, dawn will break.

"Ahead lies the area named 'Shattered Space,' the same area where Expedition Team 7 left its beacon..."

"It's the same area where Expedition 7's Eternal Watch was finally destroyed!" At this moment, everyone became alert.

Although the martyrs paved a relatively safe path, it was only relatively safe.

With the continued expansion of the great void and the constant distortion of the laws of physics, no one knows what unimaginable problems might arise here.

"I'll take control of the drone to explore and navigate the way," the dark elf said directly.

Although the task should have been done by the navigator, he volunteered because, in addition to operating the drone for exploration, he also needed to release the communicator to re-establish contact with headquarters.

Before he could fully penetrate the Great Hollow, no matter how low the probability, he had to keep trying to contact headquarters, which was why he, as an agent, had joined the effort.

Besides him, there was another agent in the team, a catfish-like guy. The catfish-like guy's mission was more important: to ensure that the magic beacon could be successfully delivered to its destination.

In fact, the catfish agent was the most important person in this plan; everyone else was just an assistant to ensure he could successfully reach the designated location.

The lead drone was successfully launched. Just as they had trained countless times in simulations, the Dark Elf skillfully launched the swarm drones used for reconnaissance, while also launching their own communication drones.

The Dark Elves are a traitorous race; this is universally acknowledged by the entire United Front.

They are masters of betraying and selling out their friends, and even he couldn't escape the label of "traitor."

But this time, his real mission was... to monitor everyone and prevent anyone from returning...

Yes, he is still a "traitor." His real mission, besides contacting headquarters, is to monitor everyone and prevent them from escaping or returning...

Just like a war supervisor, this was his true duty.

Touching the amulet on his chest, he revealed a deeply painful smile.

"Perhaps, someone like me who doesn't trust anyone is destined to die a horrible death..." the dark elf murmured.

The reconnaissance aircraft successfully flew to its designated route, a path paved by the martyrs of the expeditionary force, so there shouldn't be any problems.

Suddenly, however, a large number of reconnaissance planes lost contact along their planned routes!

"37 degrees to port, spatial collapse!!"

"A gravitational vortex ahead! Planned route invalid! Turn around! Turn around! Turn around!"

A hysterical voice rang out, and at that moment, a gloomy atmosphere rose in everyone's hearts.

The entire starship was rapidly turning around, heading towards another passage, the area where the reconnaissance plane had just survived.

The ship experienced sudden pitching and damage, but that was no time to think about such things...