Chapter 268 - 270: Hunter and Prey, Who Can Tell Them Apart

Chapter 268: Chapter 270: Hunter and Prey, Who Can Tell Them Apart

Although the academy would compensate him with a new Star Realm Battleship after the expedition,

But compared to the battleship passed down through three generations of his family, the one the academy would provide was just a blank slate—no different from the Star Realm Battleship Quint piloted.

Restoring a blank slate Star Realm Battleship to its former combat strength would require an enormous expenditure of resources—enough to bankrupt his entire family.

After all, this Star Realm Battleship represented the culmination of three generations of effort.

Three generations, over two thousand years, had poured their resources into this very Star Realm Battleship.

And for him, losing the family’s ancestral Star Realm Battleship meant an even greater loss was waiting just around the corner.

This greater loss came down to future profits.

With his Star Realm Battleship, he was a member of the Third Battalion of the Second Expeditionary Corps.

But now, without a Star Realm Battleship, he would be kicked out of the Second Expeditionary Corps and demoted to a member of the Reserve Legion.

Whether he could even join the Reserve Legion depended on how long it took the academy to conquer this world.

If it couldn’t be conquered quickly, he would be stranded in this world, forced to become a Wandering Wizard.

And the profits a Wandering Wizard could acquire were worlds apart from what a member of the Second Expeditionary Corps’ Third Battalion could earn.

To put it simply, as a member of the Second Expeditionary Corps’ Third Battalion, he would receive one-thousandth of the spoils from every world the battalion conquered, lasting for 100 years.

One-thousandth might seem small, but it was one-thousandth of an entire world’s output.

The more worlds he helped the Third Battalion conquer, the more of these shares he would accumulate.

But now, without his Star Realm Battleship, this stream of income had come to an abrupt end.

No matter how many more worlds the Third Battalion conquered, he would have no part in it.

The only income he would have was from the worlds they had conquered while he was still a member of the 3rd Battalion.

And now, the academy was attacking a Level 5 World. He knew full well just how much a world of that level could produce.

After all, the Main Institute itself was a Level 5 World, and a detailed report on its annual output was circulated among the academy’s top brass.

And before his great-great-grandfather passed away, he had been one of those high-ranking figures in the academy.

Though his family had since fallen into decline, he had heard a thing or two about their former glory from the family elders.

Fortunately, Jia Shige’s Star Realm Battleship had self-destructed to stop Wulumu.

Therefore, even though he was no longer a member of the Second Expeditionary Corps, he would still get his share of the spoils from the Cosmic Sea World.

But all future gains would be lost to him, and that was the most disappointing part.

"Jia Shige!"

Watching the Star Realm Battleship explode, a flash of surprise crossed Farrete’s eyes—surprise at Jia Shige’s decisiveness.

Anyone would be stunned for a moment if a Morning Star Magical Beast suddenly appeared before them.

But that brief moment of hesitation is often fatal.

For Jia Shige to have reacted so quickly, decisively detonating his own Star Realm Battleship to attack Wulumu—that was a level of resolve few possessed.

’After firing its Morning Star Witchcraft, Jia Shige’s Star Realm Battleship didn’t have much energy left in its local reserves. That’s why the explosion only managed to blow off one of this creature’s feet.’

’If its energy reserves had been full, the blast should have been enough to paralyze half its body for a short time.’

Farrete pulled his mind back to the present. Looking at the data displayed on the Witch Brain Core, he prepared to revise his plan for hunting Wulumu.

Now, there was no Racial Alliance Army here.

Without the Racial Alliance Army, Wulumu had nothing holding it back.

The dynamic between them and Wulumu had reversed.

A moment ago, they had been the Hunters, targeting the Racial Alliance Army.

Now, Wulumu was the Hunter, and they were the prey.

’This thing can split into two clones of equal strength, which indirectly proves its Life Energy is incredibly tenacious.’

’Ordinary methods probably won’t have much effect on it.’

’Unless we can get the Star Realm Battleships to link up and use their Morning Star Witchcraft to form a Witchcraft Array. That would amplify the power to the Morning Star Limit, or perhaps even a level comparable to Moonlight. Only then might we be able to kill it in a single strike.’

’But as it stands, not a single Star Realm Battleship in the battalion can withstand a second blow from its claws, making that plan nearly impossible to execute.’

’What should I do?’

Just as Farrete was wondering what to do, a massive figure appeared before him.

One of Wulumu’s clones had its claw raised, waiting for Farrete’s battleship to charge right into it.

’It wants me to crash into it? It’s underestimating me.’

Farrete looked at the clone waiting for him up ahead and immediately understood its intentions.

If he didn’t decelerate and flew straight ahead, he would inevitably suffer the same fate as Jia Shige.

But if he slowed down, the clone’s Speed would allow it to appear before him in an instant and swat him out of the sky.

It might even destroy his Star Realm Battleship and him along with it.

’But am I just going to crash into it like a fool?’

"Space Jump!" As Farrete spoke, a silver-white light enveloped the Star Realm Battleship.

In an instant, the Star Realm Battleship vanished from before the clone.

After the battleship vanished, the clone also disappeared with incredible speed, reappearing just behind Farrete’s former position.

’It’s a trap!’

Two hundred kilometers to the north, the Star Realm Battleship slowly materialized in a flash of silver-white light.

’Just now... that phantom was fake.’

Farrete looked at the clone that had revealed its true position, a hint of dread in his eyes.

If he had slowed down and turned, he would have flown right into the claws of the clone behind him—the *real* clone.

’As expected of a creature that refined a Wolf-type Magical Beast Bloodline all the way to the Morning Star level. Who would dare gamble against such a cunning scheme?’

Farrete watched the clone, his lips twisting into a wry smile.

He was certain that even if he hadn’t slowed to turn and had simply flown straight ahead, the phantom would have become real in an instant.

’Now, we just have to wait for the mothership to send reinforcements. The original plan was to use one battalion to deal with a single Morning Star.’

’Worn down by the repeated attacks of numerous Star Realm Battleships, even a Morning Star would eventually fall at the hands of me and my squadmates.’

’But now this thing can create clones of equal strength. This means all my squadmates and I can do is keep them occupied.’

Farrete quickly issued his orders.

But just as the orders went out, a Star Realm Battleship exploded in mid-air, destroyed by another one of Wulumu’s clones.