Beastmaster of the Ages

Chapter 2580 - Close the Doors

According to the original plan, the Gladean Ruins would have to return twenty days after the Sun moved out.

"Although the intelligence from Ebonia is relatively consistent, there's still a certain risk without Yin Chen's presence. If the Ebonfiend activates as soon as they learn that I've taken control of the ownerless nova sources in the Myriadstar Zone and manage to avoid the monitoring network, Gladeus might be in trouble within a few days." The worst-case scenario was something that made them worried. Gladeus remained their most crucial base.

"We can't joke about the safety of Gladeus just to deal with the Star Hunters." Tianming and Lin Xiaodao couldn't afford to take chances, even though they believed in the Infinitum Swordsea's intelligence.

"However, the current problem is that the Star Hunters have too much time on their hands. They probably won't act until the Gladean Ruins returns to Gladeus." The enemy's fleet was now within Yin Chen's perception range, hanging far behind the Sun.

Yin Chen had reported that they’d basically reached a consensus and wouldn't take any risks as long as the Gladean Ruins posed a threat. They had only ever feared the lion that was the Gladean Ruins, not the sanctuary-class sun. Compared to the past Myriadstar Zone, the current sanctuary-class sun was like an orchard with an added fence that could be plundered at any time!

Because of those issues, it would be impossible for Lin Xiaodao to stay a bit longer and let Wudi's flameyellow bloodline rise a bit more. For safety's sake, the Gladean Ruins finally turned around. Seeing the scene, the Star Hunters were probably salivating.

Before they left, Lin Xiaodao and Wudi made new adjustments to the plan. First, favorable terrain had appeared ahead of them. An extensive area of stone debris and chaotic streams had appeared in the direction the Sun was advancing. Of course, they had specifically come over to that region.

The area was full of shattered star debris, with no nova sources and very dim light. You couldn't see your hand in front of your face, and basically no one came here. Even the Star Hunters would avoid such places to prevent collisions. From a logical standpoint, it was actually quite suitable for the current sun. Thus, when the Sun couldn't wait any longer and hurried into this area, slowing its pace to find a favorable hiding spot, all their actions were... reasonable from the Star Hunters' perspective.

However, in truth, Tianming's purpose for entering the area of shattered stone debris was to slow down.

"It seems like the Gladean Ruins has to return to Gladeus for the enemy to choose to act. Therefore, the slower I advance, the less time it'll take for the Gladean Ruins to reach this area again."

Everything needed to make sense, otherwise, the enemy wouldn't take the bait!

"In these twenty days, we've been advancing at the maximum speed of a sanctuary-class sun. That’s already quite fast, but it's still incomparable to an infinitum-class ship. When we enter the area of shattered star debris, we'll slow down. Once a battle breaks out, given the Gladean Ruins' incredible speed, it should still take two 'days' for them to arrive!" Those two days would be crucial.

In reality, according to Tianming's original plan, the Gladean Ruins was only temporarily leaving. It didn't need to return to Gladeus at all, so it wouldn't have used up those two days for their return. If the Star Hunters decided to go all out, two days was actually quite a long time.

Tianming and Wudi had to delay the enemy for a full two days with the Sun, which was much more difficult than they had originally anticipated. They had thought it would be at most half a day.

The vigilance of the Star Hunters was causing trouble for Tianming and his group.

Fortunately, as Wudi grew stronger, his control over the Flameyellow Coffin became more proficient as well.

Before Lin Xiaodao left, they made new strategic arrangements for the entirely new situation before them.

"In fact, we have an advantage. The current sanctuary-class sun, as a newly born world, has land and oceans that aren't afraid of damage from Star Hunters. It's a natural battlefield! Our people are all in the Sky Palace Formation, and that’s part of the Flameyellow Fusion Formation. At the very least, it can withstand the attacks of sanctuary-class ships. This means that as long as we don't allow those seven ether-class ships into the Sun, the people within the Sky Palace Formation will be safe. We won't need to be concerned about their ships below ether class entering,” Wudi analyzed.

Tianming's eyes lit up as he said, "Godfather, are you suggesting that we only need to concentrate all the destructive power of the flameyellow fiends on the seven ether-class ships and ignore the rest, letting them enter the barrier and closing the door on them?"

Although the Gladean Ruins had to leave, the Reaper and the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb were still there. With Ji Ji's help, Tianming wasn't afraid of any sanctuary-class ships.

The bulk of the Star Hunters’ ships were the skypiercer class!

"You're right! Besides, we don't need to reveal all the power of the flameyellow fiends right from the start. We need to appear weaker initially, letting the opponent believe that victory is within reach so their small and medium ships become sitting ducks. If we directly reveal all of the flameyellow fiends, we might immediately scare them off,” Lin Xiaodao said. The flameyellow fiends guarding the Flameyellow Guard Formation were the trump card of Tianming and his group. Once they showed too much strength, the enemy would never take the bait.

"You're right! During the invasion, our task for those two days is to lock down the enemy. We need to gradually reveal our cards and keep the opponent in a state of imminent victory, unable to give up. We’ll pretend to desperately struggle with their ether-class ships and let the rest enter the barrier and roam freely!" The ninety thousand flameyellow fiends could be released bit by bit.

"That way, as long as you can hold the enemy for two days, it will be the moment of the Star Hunters' downfall!"

"Especially in the last half day, when the enemy feels the impending danger and their hopes of plunder are fading, they’ll definitely try to escape at all costs. At that time, the pressure on both of you will be immense, but you must hold on. Those people must not be allowed to escape!"

The lesson from Greenglow was still vivid.

"Lin Xiaodao, blood debts must be repaid with blood." He could never forget those words.

Tianming sneered, "Once the ships below the ether class enter the Sun and there’s flameyellow fiends present, they’ll find it easy to get in but difficult to get out! Even in the last half day, as the enemy sees that they’re about to break through us, it’ll be very difficult for them to give up at the moment before victory despite the uncertainty, given their greedy nature. Moreover, when the ether-class ships find that the others can't retreat, do you think that, with the personalities of the three leaders, they’ll easily give up on these nearly ten thousand ships?"

They both laughed.

"If they give up, they'll become nothing but generals without followers! Without the support of the rabble, just a few ether-class ships would be eighty percent weaker!"

"Good disciple, you need to know that, in the Star Hunters' daily activities, it's their skypiercer-class foot soldiers that go around burning and plundering!" Lin Xiaodao grinned. What they were creating for the opponent was a quagmire they would fall into and couldn't escape from. Even if they wanted to escape in the end, it was simple: cut off their own hands and feet! They could only leave if they had the courage to do that!

And even if they did cut off their hands and feet, the ninety thousand flameyellow fiends might not necessarily let those seven ether-class ships escape! The only difference was that holding on for two days was much more difficult than in the original plan. The other variables that might arise in the meantime couldn't be predicted for now.

Ebonia and the ebons mustn't be underestimated, either.

They discussed various details, then it took two days for the Gladean Ruins to fly back to Gladeus. Gladeus was beyond Yin Chen's perception range, so many of its bodies directly entered a dormant state in space. Therefore, when the enemy attacked, Tianming would notify Lin Xiaodao through multiple transmission stones as a relay. During their journey, they had left behind bases.

Tianming moved a few Yin Chens across the Sun's surface to track those Star Hunters that were about to be put into the Flameyellow Guard Formation. For those two days, the nearly ten thousand ships that entered would become prey for the Reaper and the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb.

The pursuit and killing of the enemy inside was completely logical. As long as they culled the enemy's numbers without exceeding the leadership's limits, there wouldn't be a big problem. Once the second day came and the enemy developed a mentality to retreat, that would be the time to launch an all-out assault; at that moment, Yin Chen's accurate positioning of the enemy Star Hunters would be crucial.

"Everything’s ready. Next, we just have to wait for the hunters to take the bait." Who was truly the hunter in space? The highest-level hunters often disguised themselves as prey.

The Gladean Ruins returned to Gladeus while the solitary sanctuary-class sun boldly entered the expanse of shattered stone debris. Behind it, a pack of wolves called for blood.

......

Turbulent currents and shattered stones filled the expanse of the starry sky before them. Therefore, the Star Hunters had to proceed with caution, as stealthily as wolves.

Their greedy eyes intently focused on the dark star deep ahead that was almost enveloped in mist. Even if the cloaking was only half active, it was still quite difficult for the enemy to track them, which was reasonable to them.