Just as the energy blast from the enemy’s ship was approaching the dimensional rift, the Chaos also shot out an energy blast of the same strength toward the rift. The moment it was fired, the entire tier eight battleship lurched backward a few hundred meters! It was too strong!

Because the Chaos was closer to the dimensional rift than the enemy ship, their energy blast managed to pass through it and collide head-on with the enemy’s attack on the other side. But there wasn’t an immediate explosion. Instead, both of the attacks melded and contorted within the blink of an eye. The anti-energy and energy were melding and combining; there was even a single black spot in the middle of the sphere!

“How can this be?! How’d the Earth Federation manage to calculate the exact power of our energy blast?! It’s even composed of anti-energy! A single mistake would’ve overloaded their ship!” The commander of the tier seven battleship was shouting in rage.

“Sir! What should we do now?”

“Full retreat! All ships retreat! We must leave, now!” The commander knew that if that sphere of energy exploded, their entire surroundings would be reduced to nothing but dust! Most of their ships wouldn’t be able to withstand that explosion! Only ships of tier six and above would have a chance to survive the explosion by directing all of their energy to erect an energy shield.

Unfortunately….

“Com… Commander…”

“What is it?!” The commander was on the verge of popping a vein in rage.

“It’ll explode in seventeen seconds!”

“What?!”

Seventeen seconds was too short! There wasn’t enough time to engage their warp drive to retreat—his entire fleet was doomed to die here today! Damned humans!!

An explosion did occur seventeen seconds later. It was a massive explosion that affected everything within a few thousand kilometers. But to the vast emptiness of the universe, it was like throwing a pebble into the sea. 

As the explosion died down, the entire area around the dimensional rift was littered with the debris from their battleships and the few remaining ships that were tier six and above.

“Damage report!” The commander was on the verge of collapsing from anger.

“Re… Report! We lost… 97% of our fleet….” The crew member felt relieved for being assigned to the tier seven battleship. Thanks to that, he was still alive.

But the commander really did collapse from anger after hearing the damage report. He was only the commander of a tier seven battleship, how could he have commanded over a thousand ships? If it weren’t for his backer wanting him to achieve great results, he would never have had a chance to do so in the first place!

To think that what was supposed to be an easy victory had been overturned just like that. Not only did they not establish a magnetic field, but their entire fleet was even destroyed! Even though a lot of the ships were manned by enslaved species, they had still lost over a thousand ships and almost a hundred thousand crew. He was dead!

“Re… Return!”

“Commander! All remaining ships don’t have any remaining energy to activate their warp drive for dimensional travel. We’re the only ones capable of doing so!”

“Commander! Wake up! Commander!”

On the other side of the dimensional rift, due to the recoil of the attack, the Great Mountain Dragon was sent flying a few hundred meters away as the dimensional rift completely closed. The main ultra-sized cannon of the Chaos had melted and contorted and the surrounding area was reduced to barren land. No trees, no water, no life.

Everyone saw what had happened and remained silent. There wasn’t a single hint of celebration for the closure of the dimensional rift. War was too horrible.

Xiang Ning had thought that war had always revolved around protecting his family and home, but now he knew what Dong Qianyi had said before was true: beasts were indeed not the true enemy of humanity.

“Master. What if they had completed the magnetic field? What would happen to Earth?”

“Then we’d be engulfed in a war where there’s only a twenty percent chance of victory.” Dong Qianyi didn’t even hesitate to answer.

“Even if Earth won, almost fifty percent of the planet would be inhospitable to mankind,” Chen Tianhua added.

Was this an invasion from outer space? He turned to Dong Qianyi. “Master, can you please tell me everything?”

Dong Qianyi stiffened. He knew Xiang Ning would eventually ask that, but to think he would make such a fierce expression when he did.

Dong Qianyi was just about to explain to him when Lu Zhenyu’s voice came from behind him. “Eighteen. I’ll explain to you everything after you turn eighteen.”

“Why?” Why do I need to become eighteen years old first?

“I’ll invite you to join the military once you are eighteen. Naturally, I’ll explain everything to you by then.” Lu Zhenyu was hopeful. He must recruit someone like Xiang Ning into the military. Xiang Ning was a genius that had never appeared on Earth before!

“But.…” Xiang Ning fell silent.

“You don’t have to answer now. Don’t worry. As long as the Chaos is on Earth, the Shura won’t be able to open a new dimensional rift within five years.”

After everything was over, Xiang Ning didn’t return to Fortress One. Instead, he followed the Chaos to a new location.

......

Thanks to the Great Mountain Dragon, the stampede around Hang City slowly died down as the beasts had been spooked by its emergence. Everyone celebrated, as they could finally be reunited with their family and friends. Xiang Ning would have joined them in their celebration if it was before, but now that he knew how terrible the war was against the invaders from outer space, he could no longer smile.

He assisted Dong Qianyi and the rest in repairing the Chaos, as well as deciding what to do with Helos and Hera. After everything had been settled, Xiang Ning and the rest were on board a helicopter heading back to Fortress One.

In just a short period of time, Chu Long and the rest had been exposed to so many things that they were discussing excitedly on the chopper. Only Xiang Ning was staring out of the window with a forlorn expression on his face.

Once they arrived at Fortress One and opened the door of the cockpit, Xiang Ning saw Fang Rou and the rest waiting for him. He hugged her and was plunged into that familiar comfortable feeling once again. He gently patted her and ran his fingers through her hair without saying anything. 

Fang Rou felt that something had changed. She saw that Xiang Ning was still warmly smiling, as usual, but some of the light in his eyes had disappeared. It was as if… he wanted them to not be worried about something.

Everyone somehow realized that Xiang Ning was going through a rough patch. Since they had been together for so long, they more or less understood what he was thinking through his expression. He had never shown them how helpless he was.

Indeed, this was the first time they had seen Xiang Ning showing an expression of helplessness. It was as if he had returned to how he looked when he’d first enrolled in Qiling Academy.

......

Back in Fang Rou’s room, Xiang Ning sat silently on the bed as she rested her head on his shoulder. They were holding hands.

Fang Rou broke the silence after some time. “Would you like to talk about it?”

“Can you give me one year?” 

Xiang Ning’s voice was soft, but Fang Rou felt a jolt in her body. One year? Where was he going?

“Where… are you going?”

Xiang Ning wanted to tell her, but remained silent. He shook his head. “I can’t tell you, but—”

“I understand.” Fang Rou somehow guessed where Xiang Ning was going. “I’ll wait for you. Please come back.” She slowly cupped both of her hands on his face as she stared at him.

Xiang Ning slowly turned his head around and they locked gazes.

“I will.”

RIP Shura Tribe

Also MC can you just get on with it with Fang Rou