Book 10: Chapter 34: Escape

“Chronos Field!” Wolf bellowed. The layered space in front of him swiftly solidified, transforming into a liquid-like calm water surface.

Time seemed to halt at that moment. The Reaper Spear, hurtling forward at near-light speed, revealed its true form, slowly breaking through the defenses layer by layer, rippling out across the watery surface.

Wolf’s eyes widened as if in slow motion. Instinctively, he sensed he had acted too hastily; the “Chronos Absolute Space Field” seemed incomplete, probably still unable to fully block this spear strike.

“I got careless!” Regret flooded Wolf at that moment. Knowing his opponent was sly as a fox, he had still committed such an unforgivable blunder.

With no other choice, Wolf reluctantly extended a finger toward the Reaper Spear breaking through to his face. His finger instantly turned a pure silver-white, as if forged entirely of silver.

The instant the silver finger touched the Reaper Spear, a flash of light seemed to ignite between heaven and earth. Watched by Qin Lun, the spear collided against an indestructible barrier and shattered from the tip onwards, fragments scattering through the air.

After delivering this finger strike, Wolf froze entirely like a real puppet, suspended motionless in the air without a breath of life. Fine cracks slowly appeared across his face and body until he finally shattered into pieces like a crystalline figure. Qin Lun, however, sensed sharply that just before stopping, his opponent seemed to have given him a profound look.

…

While Qin Lun and Wolf dueled on the Cosmic Octopus’s surface, members of the Divine Light sub-team and the Patroller Team waited patiently in the Star Void.

“Brother, is it really alright for us to just stay here?” Dean communicated privately with Loben via Telepathy. “Didn’t Leader Robin contact us? The Advancing has withdrawn to safety. Alex is leading a team over… maybe we can…”

“Calm down, Dean. We don’t need Alex and the others yet!” Loben smiled, brushing off his younger brother’s small idea.

Loben and Dean were special cases within the Shattered Starry Sky, brothers from blood and from the same foreign world. Loben had entered the Star Void earlier, already reaching Second Order. Dean, however, had arrived later; the Gospel World was just his sixth Quest World.

In truth, Dean had entered the Shattered Starry Sky precisely to investigate his brother’s disappearance. Back in their original world, Dean was a genius. Purely by IQ, this young man wasn’t much inferior to Qin Lun. But his true age was very young. Despite having the body of a youth, he was biologically younger than Bobby.

Due to his age and lack of worldly experience, Dean’s problem-solving methods were immature, occasionally causing Loben headaches. Yet, with drawbacks came benefits; Dean was maturing rapidly. Loben believed one day he’d surpass him and become one of the Star Void’s most dazzling existences.

“Dean, remember this,” Loben said earnestly. “An Apostle may use any means to win, but you cannot blatantly disregard the unspoken rules everyone follows. Otherwise, no matter how strong you are, you won’t get far! Firstly, every Apostle has moments of weakness. That’s why we need a team…”

“And having a team means we must follow its rules, not ignore our comrades’ interests! If we attack now and Qin Lun loses again, he’ll be in serious trouble. Others might scorn us for being too selfish!” Dean replied, sounding listless. “Brother, I know, I know. Stop nagging!”

This wasn’t the first education session. Dean grasped his brother’s meaning quickly. The young lad then asked doubtfully, “Brother, are High-Rank Apostles really that powerful? Could even that Qin Lun lose?”

“Lord Qin Lun is indeed strong,” Loben conceded, his expression turning serious. “But the gap between each Apostle rank is like heaven and earth. His chances of defeating that High-Rank Apostle likely didn’t exceed thirty percent.”

“Then why bother with a duel?” Dean frowned. “In my view, we shouldn’t have let the Advancing retreat. With the independent battleship as cover, we weren’t without a fighting chance.”

“Dean, you MUST change that habit!” Loben scolded sternly. “We Apostles aren’t afraid of risks, but we never take blind risks. You’re smart. Think carefully: what was the best choice under those circumstances?”

“With the Advancing and Gith mecha unit, we had a ninety percent chance of repelling the enemy team, seventy percent of killing some foes, fifty percent of wiping them out entirely!” Dean calculated silently before speaking hesitantly. “But… there was also less than a ten percent chance of alerting the Cosmic Octopus. If that happened, most Apostles might escape, but we’d definitely lose the Advancing and most Gith Flight Officers.”

“Is that worth it?” Loben pressed sharply.

“No,” Dean admitted dejectedly. “The enemy’s goal wasn’t a fight to the death, anyway. They sought a chance to board. Besides, they clearly weren’t the Devil’s Horn pursuit team. If we couldn’t win, we could likely win them over as reinforcements. Jannamer’s main body is gone… even Captain Marx probably wouldn’t object to enemy Apostles switching sides!”

“So Vice-Leader Qin Lun’s choice makes sense,” Loben sighed. “He might lose, but if he displays sufficient strength while giving up task benefits, there’s a high chance they’d help us. Of course, that’s basically our bottom line… equivalent to our team surrendering without a fight!”

“Our luck is awful,” Dean muttered bitterly. “Without that Cosmic Octopus, our plan was perfect! If the Advancing hadn’t needed to retreat, their High-Rank Apostle wouldn’t have been such a threat!”

“Nothing we could do,” Loben said philosophically. “Quest Worlds always have unexpected twists.”

“Attention! They’re back!” Balin’s voice suddenly echoed in their minds. Everyone turned to see a meteor-like streak of light hurtling towards them.

“Huh? Only one person… it’s from the Bingren Mecha!” Bowei exclaimed. He was an Agility-attribute Apostle, second only to Qin Lun and Robin in Perception among the remaining team.

“Did Lord Qin Lun… win?” The Patrollers exchanged startled glances, a flicker of surprise crossing their faces—truly unexpected. Opposite them, the Divine Light team also noticed, stirring with unease.

“Kill them!” Sure enough, as the light drew closer, Qin Lun’s slightly weary voice reached their ears. Balin and the others instantly rallied, shattering the brief peace as they surged towards the enemy without hesitation.

Despite outnumbering the Patrollers by two, the Divine Light team had no High-Rank leader. The Patrollers’ elites didn’t hesitate. In a competitive Quest World, kills yielded Magic Cubes—sometimes worth more than the task itself.

“Lord Wolf…” Most Divine Light members stared in disbelief behind Qin Lun, hoping for a miracle.

“Follow me!” The bald man just below Wolf roared, leaping forward to snap them out of it. He led them retreating swiftly in the opposite direction.

Whatever happened to Wolf, waiting was folly. The enemy leader was High-Rank level. Staying meant pointless losses. Without Wolf, they might still match the Patrollers, but morale was low—this wasn’t the time for battle.

“Balin, recall them! No pursuit. We rendezvous with the Advancing!” Qin Lun ordered quietly after a brief Star Void chase. The teams broke contact and departed.

Eventually, the seven Apostles met Alex and the reinforcements sent to assist. Guided back, they boarded the Advancing.

“Balin! You’re finally back!” Robin rushed urgently from the bridge. “Alex briefed me. Qin Lun? How is he?”

“Lord Qin Lun is still inside the Bingren. His condition… doesn’t look good,” Balin stated grimly, watching the Seventeenth Fallen Angel being hauled by two mechas into the maintenance chamber.

“How… what happened?!” Robin gasped, covering her mouth at the sight.

The Seventeenth Fallen Angel’s APB armor plating was almost entirely shattered. Clumps of hardened, clay-yellow liquid covered its form. Severed tendons trembled visibly on its limbs. Nearby organic tissue showed a decayed, lifeless grey.

Sherlock and the Ordnance Officers cut open the Bingren’s neck with particle beam cutters. Massive mechanical arms pulled out the spherical cockpit, still steaming with intense heat.

No life signs were detected within. Finally, Frank crawled desperately inside the mecha’s ruined form and emerged carrying Qin Lun.

His skin was entirely rotted away. His chest and abdominal cavity had ruptured, revealing pale ribs and entrails—like a skinned frog.

To counter Wolf, Qin Lun had risked deep synchronization with the Seventeenth Fallen Angel and lost consciousness. The rampaging Bingren barely held its own, but forcing its potential nearly caused total disintegration.

Using the APB field as an improvised Pentagram Crystal Mirror allowed catching the spatial-capable Wolf… but demanded overclocking the Particle Furnace beyond its limits. The resultant internal damage was worse than Wolf’s external assault—Qin Lun’s early awakening was partly due to this trauma.

The final blow sealed it: Qin Lun controlled the Holy Thorn to rip free its surface bio-tissue, forming a colossal bow. The arrow’s speed denied Wolf even a spatial dodge, forcing a block. The price? The Seventeenth Fallen Angel lost all combat ability.

“Qin Lun… how do you feel?” Robin stood by the Medical Kit, watching his repair sessions with concern.

“Better. Just mentally drained,” Qin Lun slowly opened his eyes. His entire body was mangled; even his eyelids hadn’t fully regenerated. “Our location?”

“We’ve left X-352. Trying to hail the Faith,” Robin exhaled in relief, then asked with curiosity. “Did you really kill a High-Rank Apostle?”

“No. I probably didn’t win. He’ll be back,” Qin Lun mused sadly after a pause.

He didn’t know if Wolf had retreated back to the Star Void or slipped into Dimensional Space—after all, he was a master of spatial manipulation. That uncertainty was why he hadn’t lingered after rejoining Balin, abandoning the pursuit of the Divine Light remnants.