The enemy’s attack form was very special. It wasn’t the common particle cannon, but a blocker agent that could seep into the Void Devourer’s outer shell in extremely small molecular form, obstructing the ship’s energy circulation.
After the Adjudicator was hit, its travel speed immediately slowed down.
“Damn it!” Hardy immediately dispatched people to repair it.
Before the repair crew could even reach the fault point, dense red dots appeared on the Adjudicator’s main control screen.
These red dots were still spreading toward energy nodes throughout the entire ship.
If this continued, the Adjudicator would completely shut down. Once the life support system failed, everyone on board would be finished.
The scene descended into chaos.
Just then, the Giant Sound Whale Elder proposed to Lin Xiaohe: “Shut down the engine energy circulation system. Disconnect the life support system from the main energy conduit. Use the external energy reserve to charge the life support system.”
“The Adjudicator — we will tow it.”
The Adjudicator’s largest hatch opened, and hundreds of Giant Sound Whales charged out without hesitation.
Within the brilliantly dazzling light pillars, ethereal and grand whale songs resounded.
Hundreds of Stardust Giant Sound Whales, their massive bodies wreathed in resplendent star belts, formed concentric circles around the Adjudicator.
Using their own bodies as chains, they secured the Adjudicator tightly.
“Move out!” The Giant Sound Whale Elder let out a long cry that echoed through the light pillars, as if issuing a final urging and a mournful farewell.
Inside the light pillars, the omnipresent light seemed like sharp blades, slicing into the Giant Sound Whales’ bodies.
The Adjudicator advanced, and the Giant Sound Whales’ stardust bodies rapidly dissolved, like sand paintings scattered by the wind.
“Lin Meimei!” Wesley wanted to leap out of the Adjudicator.
“Don’t come over here!” Lin Meimei gritted her teeth, her bright eyes full of pain.
Wesley looked at Lin Meimei before him, and his heart felt as though a blunt blade had been driven into it, the pain making his lips tremble.
The stardust within Lin Meimei’s body had dimmed to nothing. Her beautiful left fin had dissolved until only a thin, transparent layer remained.
Yet she was still struggling to swing it, grinding her teeth, wanting to make the Adjudicator go faster.
Her eyes were filled with pain and exhaustion, but deep within them shone stubbornness and strength: “Wesley, take good care of the Giant Sound Whale babies.”
Because the Stardust Humans and the Giant Sound Whales had signed a partner contract, after the Stardust Humans underwent their second advancement, the Giant Sound Whales received feedback and, for the first time in history, welcomed two new lives.
The entire Giant Sound Whale clan was overjoyed by these two little ones, doting on them immensely — as if afraid they’d break if held too loosely, or melt if held too tightly.
Now, all the adult Giant Sound Whales had come out to tow the Adjudicator, while the juvenile Giant Sound Whales and the two newborn babies were left inside the ship.
For these babies, Lin Meimei was giving it her all!
Wesley watched silently as Lin Meimei completely lost her left fin, then half her body…
The further forward they flew, the stronger the light pillars’ drag force became.
The Adjudicator overtook one ship after another, finally catching up to the upper section of the fleeing fleet.
At this point, even though the Giant Sound Whales had an inherent advantage in navigation, the Adjudicator’s speed involuntarily slowed.
It was as if they weren’t traveling through star space at all, but trudging through a swamp.
Every ship was the same.
The three dimension-piercing ships were slightly better off, but you could still see the entire ship trembling faintly — clearly, the light pillars’ drag force was greatly affecting them too.
The light pillars continued to contract, and with each contraction, the drag force doubled in intensity.
Lin Xiaohe saw many ships pushing their engines to maximum power, yet instead of advancing, they were constantly falling backward.
When the light pillars contracted once more, the internal structures were nearly connecting together, and over 80% of the ships inside the light pillars were visibly retreating.
On those ships’ portholes were plastered twisted, grotesque faces.
Lin Xiaohe didn’t know where they came from or which civilization they belonged to, but she understood the despair in their eyes.
The most painful thing was exactly this — being able to see the hope of escape, yet unable to grasp it.
Crack.
Two-thirds of the light pillars’ structures linked together, and the entire light pillar shook violently, as if about to collapse.
Through the top of the light pillar, an endless void could actually be seen.
What followed was an even stronger drag force and pressure.
Some ships that had been barely holding on were, in an instant, crushed into nothing but streams of information.
Even these information streams were retreating, until they flowed into the void and completely dissipated.
The Adjudicator had completely stopped moving.
Of the Giant Sound Whales surrounding the Adjudicator, only the Giant Sound Whale Elder was still struggling to hold on.
It was like an aging father, back arched, head lowered, giving everything it had to pull the Adjudicator forward.
Just a little further. A little more.
Ahead of the Adjudicator, only three dimension-piercing ships remained.
After advancing just one meter, they too completely stalled.
Hardy and the others collapsed onto the ground, hands covering their faces, shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
Tears streamed through their fingers, dripping onto the floor.
Through the earpiece came the repair crew’s despairing report: “Reporting, sir! Unable to repair! An unknown substance has invaded the engine. The engine has malfunctioned.”
Was their escape journey going to end here?
After all this effort… after all this, they had finally made it this far!
Hardy gave himself five minutes to fully vent the negative emotions in his heart.
The moment the five minutes were up, Hardy wiped away his tears and requested a connection to Lin Xiaohe.
“Honored Lord, the Adjudicator has lost all kinetic energy. Please, carry everyone’s hopes and escape this cage!”
The others also snapped to their senses and urged her one after another.
“Honored Lord, the exit is just ahead. You must make it out successfully.”
“Honored Lord, see for us what lies beyond the domain.”
They had given something their all and still hadn’t gotten the result they wanted. After the sorrow passed, everyone actually felt calm.
They had tried. They had done their best. Their consciences were clear.
They just couldn’t drag the Honored Lord down with them anymore. The Honored Lord deserved a beautiful future.
If only one person in the entire star domain could survive, that person had to be the Honored Lord.
She was worth it!
The heartfelt urgings came one after another, leaving Lin Xiaohe at a loss.
Reason told her she had to go, had to leave now — time was running out.
But…
“Go now.”
“Stop dawdling.”
“Think of the Awakened. Don’t let their sacrifices be in vain.”
Lin Xiaohe lifted her foot, her lips moving slightly: “Then… I’ll go?”
“Go. Safe travels!”
Lin Xiaohe closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and snapped them open.
Like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, she shot toward the exit.
Light fell upon her, roasting her incredibly sturdy red battle armor until it sizzled and smoked.
The higher dimensions had been condensed, sealing off any possibility of her escaping through the fourth dimension.
So Lin Xiaohe simply used raw, brute force to charge forward.
Her eyes held nothing but the distant exit!
Lin Xiaohe — charge through!
