Chapter 172

Chapter 172: The Counterattack Begins, Bai Fu Transforms into the Goddess of Victory [6k]

Bai Fu didn’t expect her appearance to turn the tide of this war.

But that was fine; she wasn’t here to be the savior.

Let heroes like Manu, who had already decided to personally serve as bait to lure the bio-battleships and brain bugs, or Scarlet Leaf, currently the top expert on Heaven Lake Star, take on that role.

That’s how things were. Manu and his team had a lot to consider, while Bai Fu only had simple matters to think about.

Just hours ago, her impromptu speech not only gave a much-needed morale boost to the surrounding soldiers but also firmly established her reputation as the “Holy Maiden” in everyone’s hearts.

After the war resumed, all Holy Maiden Fu Fu needed to do was one thing: appear on the city walls, transform into the goddess of victory, become the banner of unwavering resistance, and make the morale boost last longer!

Judging by the cries of encouragement from the battlefield, Bai Fu had successfully achieved this goal.

She not only met her objectives but even surpassed them, raising everyone’s morale even higher.

This was thanks to the advanced knowledge and prayer card blueprints that Manu had given her.

These high-grade prayer cards were truly remarkable, boosting her combat effectiveness manifold despite no significant increase in her stats.

Although time was tight, and even with full firepower, she could produce only a limited number of prayer cards, the ones she had were enough to create an explosive effect in a short period.

A cage hundreds of meters long, a spiritual energy storm dozens of meters in diameter—when these were deployed on the battlefield, their efficiency in exterminating bugs surpassed pouring magma into an ant nest. Occasionally, some large adult insects managed to escape the spiritual energy storms, but they were quickly dispatched by the battlefield cleaning teams composed of gunners and adjudicators.

In just a few seconds, Bai Fu cleared a vast area nearly a kilometer wide in front of her.

Amidst the surging bug tide, this scene stood out dramatically.

“Hiss—”

“What powerful prayer cards!”

Actually, among the mercenaries recruited by the Star Network Community, there were spirit invocation life forms skilled in large-scale attacks. These spirit invocation life forms could also unleash dazzling attack effects.

However, they couldn’t produce magic scrolls, and no matter how spectacular their skills were, they could only use them themselves.

Bai Fu, on the other hand, could distribute the prayer cards she created to others. Even high-grade prayer cards only required some spiritual energy injected via a spiritual energy collector to activate.

As a result, after Bai Fu summoned two spiritual energy storms on the battlefield, others who received the spiritual energy storm cards followed suit, activating and throwing the cards.

Whoosh, whoosh—

In front of the long wall, more than thirty spiritual energy storms erupted simultaneously.

The storms swept across like black fire tornadoes on the plains. The sky, which had begun to brighten at dawn, turned pitch black again due to the spiritual energy storms, creating an oppressive atmosphere akin to dark clouds threatening to crush the city.

The spiritual energy storms and the towering walls built from confinement zones effectively blocked the bugs’ advance. Combined with artillery fire and remote strikes from other superhumans, they managed to push back this largest wave of bug tide for a moment.

“Damn, impressive!”

A mix of curses and cheers erupted on the city walls.

“With Bai Fu’s talent in spiritual energy, if properly cultivated, even if she doesn’t reach the level of Catastrophe, she can still become a war machine that ordinary civilizations would fear!”

Manu already had high expectations for Bai Fu, but he never expected her to bring him such a big surprise this time.

This time, Bai Fu had infused every single person within the defense line with a surge of fighting spirit.

With the quantity of prayer cards Bai Fu hastily produced and the current high morale, this scale of counterattack could last for another hour without any issues.

It was enough.

Within this hour, the brain bugs would undoubtedly continue to escalate their efforts. And when all the brain bugs’ attention was focused on Bai Fu, it would be the perfect time for him to act!

“Everyone, prepare! Follow my command!”

Manu stared intently at the surveillance screen in front of him.

Amidst blood and fire, he felt his heart pounding like a drumbeat.

For the sake of the Star Network Community behind him and all those who fought here, this mission must succeed!

Not everyone was thrilled by Bai Fu’s brilliance; at least the supervisors of the Star Treaty like Herbert couldn’t feel excited.

The brighter Bai Fu shone, the greater the impact she would have on them in the future. What was being shredded by the spiritual energy storms weren’t just bugs—it was their hearts.

Yet, no matter how annoyed they were, they wouldn’t dare to lay a finger on Bai Fu.

Void War Princess Scarlet Leaf was far from as simple as she appeared now.

Her displayed limit-breaking destructive power was already enough to shake the earth and tear apart towns, but she still had a trump card that she rarely revealed. That trump card was the key to why she was called the Void War Princess and considered almost equal to a Catastrophe!

While Herbert and others kept cursing Scarlet Leaf’s good luck inside their heads, the ground suddenly began to tremble unusually.

“It’s underground!”

Scarlet Leaf’s face changed instantly.

As soon as she finished speaking, the ground in front of Bai Fu exploded violently, and a monstrous insect with a pointed head, tens of meters long, burst out of the crater.

It leapt gracefully, like a giant whale breaking through water.

Time seemed to slow down at that moment.

Everyone turned in shock, unable to react or shout. They could only helplessly watch as the giant insect swung its venom-filled pincers and slammed them heavily onto Bai Fu’s head.

Bai Fu was crushed flat, the city wall caved in, venom splattered everywhere, and shattered metal flew through the air.

Boom!

It wasn’t until the giant insect landed that the sound finally broke the brief silence.

Had Bai Fu been killed, pulverized into nothing?

Most people who witnessed this scene felt as if something inside them had collapsed.

“Aaaah, I’ll kill you!”

Scarlet Leaf immediately went berserk, her pink hair flying wildly.

Almost as soon as her eyes turned red, she appeared in front of the giant insect. A terrifying force accompanied her punch, striking straight onto the insect’s head.

The punch was like hitting glass; spider-web-like cracks appeared in front of her. These cracks extended from space onto the insect’s body. Before the insect could let out a scream, its massive head shattered into countless pieces, rolling off like broken concrete blocks.

The insect, though its head had exploded, was still alive. Its body instinctively attacked Scarlet Leaf, but with her strength, how could she be afraid? Flames surged upward, instantly igniting its body. Under the intense heat, the insect struggled for several seconds before finally going still.

Before the insect’s corpse hit the ground, Scarlet Leaf landed on the broken city wall. She squatted down, hands braced against the ground, her face filled with sorrow.

“It’s all my fault. If I had noticed the movement of this insect earlier, you wouldn’t have died. Wuuw, now I can only ask Youlia for two of your clothes to build a cenotaph for you.”

As Scarlet Leaf raised her hand to wipe her eyes, she found her hand was grabbed.

“I’m not dead yet.”

Huh?

Scarlet Leaf looked up sharply.

The person holding her hand was none other than a helpless-looking Bai Fu. Not only was Bai Fu not dead, but her clothes and hairstyle were perfectly intact.

“You… are really not dead?”

Scarlet Leaf was stunned. She had no idea how Bai Fu had reappeared. Suddenly standing up, she reached out and started patting Bai Fu’s face.

Talking about death was such bad luck!

Bai Fu pushed Scarlet Leaf’s hand away.

When the giant insect emerged, Bai Fu used Shadow Replacement, instantly turning into a phantom. She left an illusion in place and shot backward like a cannonball. Due to the incredible speed and the sharp heels of her shoes, she almost fell on her butt during the process. Fortunately, no one noticed her abnormality since she was invisible in her ethereal form. After adjusting herself, she came out to remind Scarlet Leaf.

In fact, even if she hadn’t used Shadow Replacement in time and had been hit by the giant insect, Bai Fu wouldn’t have feared anything.

Her physical constitution and immunity to instant death and critical hits were not fake!

Of course, that wasn’t the real reason for her confidence. Her confidence stemmed from the fact that He Fu, whose hair had turned white and whose clothes matched hers, was standing right here. Even if He Fu were killed, she could resurrect, fearless.

[This Bai Fu is clearly overpowered yet overly cautious.]

The Dark Domain Bug Clan originally intended to severely damage the morale of the defenders by suddenly attacking and killing Bai Fu. However, Scarlet Leaf’s enraged instant kill of the giant insect and Bai Fu’s safe return instead caused the morale to rebound after hitting rock bottom.

Is that all?

What kind of bugs are these? In front of Holy Maiden Bai Fu, they don’t seem like much, not even able to scratch one of her toes!

“These bugs must be at their limit too; otherwise, they wouldn’t have resorted to decapitation tactics.”

The defenders’ will became even stronger.

As long as they endure this final assault, they could win!

Having failed in their first attempt, the Dark Domain Bug Clan immediately launched a new round of attacks. Despite the fiercer offensive, they still couldn’t breach the last line of defense for a while.

Far away, Manu, who had been closely monitoring the battlefield, sighed in relief.

It’s good that nothing happened to Bai Fu!

Now, the bugs’ attention had been completely drawn away, and it was time for him to move.

“Prepare!”

A shout echoed in the spaceship cockpit, and everyone aboard immediately tensed up.

Preparation complete, the spaceship ignited its engines. All weapons entered pre-loading mode, shields activated, spatial fluctuation detection instruments were ready, and the countdown for takeoff began.

10, 9, 8…

Huge numbers flashed on the central screen. When the numbers finally hit 0, a thunderous roar erupted from the military port at the center of the Heaven Lake Star defenders’ base. A 1580-meter-long Crimson Tide-class light battleship soared into the sky, followed by more than fifty White Bird-class heavy frigates arranged in a V formation on either side of the battleship. On the ground, more than twenty planetary array cannons lifted their barrels, ready to fire.

This was not the entire fleet of Heaven Lake Star.



Manu had only deployed about one-seventh of his fleet, fearing that if they failed, all the spaceships would be controlled by the brain bugs, and Heaven Lake Star would end up being scorched into glass.

“It’s begun.”

Bai Fu, Scarlet Leaf, Youlia, Herbert, the Player, and everyone else present looked up.

Manu was prepared to die as he charged into the Celestial Sea.

To prevent the fleet he led from delivering a devastating blow to the bugs dropped onto the ground from afar in space, the brain bug hiding in the secondary dimension would surely intervene. It might release the bio-warship transformed from the starry giant beast or even act personally. No matter which form it took, the moment it acted would be the best opportunity for Manu’s decisive assault to succeed.

As long as the source of the spatial fluctuation could be captured and the location of the secondary dimension locked down, then a dimensional wave oscillator bomb could be launched towards that secondary dimension, forcing the brain bug out.

Next, it would be hunting time!

Manu closed his eyes and silently prayed, praying that all the ancestors who had helped build the Star Network Community would protect him.

He didn’t know how long it had been when he suddenly heard a shout.

“There are fluctuations!”

Manu abruptly opened his eyes, glaring fiercely, like thunder flashing.

A virtual screen popped up before him, displaying data from the spatial fluctuation detector.

Was it the brain bug, or the bio-warship?

No, this didn’t matter at all!

With the shielding strength of a Crimson Tide-class light battlecruiser, it could definitely withstand the first round of attacks from both the brain bug and the bio-warship. What Manu needed to do was find the position of the brain bug before the spaceship was invaded!

“Commander, the ship is under unknown signal intrusion!”

“Block it with all your might, we just need two minutes!”

Two minutes, usually short, now felt exceptionally long.

Manu, most of the people on the ship, and those in the ground monitoring tower were all staring intently at the spatial fluctuation detector’s data.

The fitting curve kept fluctuating; the intensity resembled an ECG, and after a full minute, the curve’s fluctuations finally diminished.

“We’ve found it!”

Manu rejoiced.

He clenched his right fist tightly, watching the curve gradually converge to the mean on the screen. But before he could celebrate for long, the curve suddenly fluctuated violently again. Instinctively sensing something was wrong, sure enough, when the curve stabilized, what appeared on the screen wasn’t a fixed coordinate but a range.

Six million kilometers in diameter to the front-right, the brain bug was hiding there.

But six million kilometers—what kind of attack could he launch to hit the brain bug with a dimensional wave oscillator bomb precisely within this six-million-kilometer area?

“Why is it a range?”

Manu couldn’t comprehend at all. The data from over a dozen spatial fluctuation detectors were all similar.

He saw it—a bio-warship hundreds of meters long emerging from deep space, heading straight for the battlecruiser he was aboard.

Helplessness and despair surged within him. Despite the situation looking promising, they had stumbled at the crucial moment.

It was over.

This time, it was truly completely over.

Manu barely managed to keep himself from collapsing.

At the same time, on the ground, many people anxiously asked,

“Have you found the brain bug’s location?”

The person in the control tower looked bitter. This was something impossible to hide, so he could only shake his head with a wry smile and send the detected data to everyone whose communication devices were still operational.

Bai Fu quickly opened her communicator, looking at the set of data and the star chart. Her pupils involuntarily contracted.

“This…”

In fact, not long after Manu led the fleet into the starry expanse, she suddenly developed a peculiar perception. She dimly felt she had caught something from a distant place.

Because this perception was very faint, she hadn’t paid much attention to it initially, thinking it was a side effect of high-intensity work and combat. But upon seeing the data transmitted from the control tower, she suddenly realized what she had perceived.

“I sensed two things, their locations exactly matching the range in the star chart transmitted by the control tower. Could I have sensed the brain bugs, and not just one but two of them?!”

Bai Fu was greatly startled.

She wasn’t a psychic ability user, and her path in spiritual energy wasn’t in mental perception. How had she sensed the brain bug’s location?

At this point, Youlia stepped forward.

“This star chart… I seem to vaguely sense something in this area.”

Youlia also had this ability?

Bai Fu immediately thought of the Holy Link and Miracle Resonance. Through these two skills, she and Youlia were connected at all times, their connection as close as having bidirectional conduits implanted in their bodies.

But the problem was that neither the description of the Holy Link nor the Miracle Resonance mentioned sharing sensory perceptions. If senses were shared, that would be quite alarming. In the future, experiments with Youlia would require some psychological preparation.

If it wasn’t an effect brought by these two skills, then…

Bai Fu quickly contacted Anya, who was far behind providing psychological counseling to the wounded soldiers.

As expected, Anya had also sensed it, and her perception was much clearer than Bai Fu and Youlia’s.

“It’s the effect of the dissociative medication!”

The commonality between her, Youlia, and Anya was that they had all used dissociative medication. Anya’s perception was the clearest because after consuming the dissociative medication, she successfully triggered a mental mutation.

“Could it be that dissociative medication has something to do with the Dark Domain Bug Clan? If that’s the case, doesn’t it mean that the Tower of Secrets, which developed dissociative medication, also has ties with the Dark Domain Bug Clan? Moreover, this could be the opportunity for me to trigger a mental mutation and evolve into a new race!”

Bai Fu became excited.

She didn’t dare to jump to conclusions, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on such matters. From the starry sky to the ground, the morale of Heaven Lake Star’s defenders was rapidly collapsing due to the failure of the decisive assault.

If there was no chance, then so be it, but if there was an opportunity to complete the mission, she didn’t want to watch it fail right before her eyes.

“I’m coming to find you right away!”

After warning Anya not to wander around recklessly, Bai Fu rushed out of the spaceship swiftly while contacting Manu.

“What? You said you perceived the location of the brain bug?”

Hearing this, Manu froze in place.

Bai Fu nodded. “I’m not sure how accurate that coordinate is, but having a target to try is better than nothing!”

As she spoke, she let Anya mark the position on the star chart and sent the chart to Manu.

Manu held his breath, staring intently at the star chart Bai Fu sent.

Two coordinates meant there were two brain bugs?

This possibility indeed existed; otherwise, why would their detection show a range instead of a specific location?

Now the fleet was under attack from the bio-warship; several escort ships had already lost control. The situation was at its most perilous moment. Even if the attempt failed, it wouldn’t get any worse.

“Hurry, input the coordinates and attack those two coordinates!”

Manu shouted loudly.

Although others were utterly confused, since Manu had said it, they could only comply.

The gravity catapults on the battleship began aiming. After the aim was locked, the two gravity catapults exerted force simultaneously, launching the dimensional wave oscillator bombs.

This was an even longer minute.

Manu waited until his palms, forehead, and back were drenched in sweat. A minute later, the dimensional wave oscillator bombs reached the designated location and began spinning at an unimaginable speed, releasing strange oscillation waves in all directions.

“It’s a secondary dimension fluctuation!”

An observer on the ship shouted.

The rupture of the secondary dimension in deep space caused two terrifying spatial storms. Within the storms, two massive insects resembling brains with tentacles were faintly visible. This scene was captured by the probes launched by the ship.

“The Goddess of Victory! Bai Fu is truly the Goddess of Victory!” There was uncontainable excitement in Manu’s voice. “Transmit the footage back and tell everyone what happened here!”

Dozens of seconds later, everyone on the ground learned that the brain bugs had been located, and the information came from Bai Fu.

They were stunned, never expecting such a dramatic reversal within these few minutes.

Then, everyone erupted into jubilation.

The brain bugs were found!

The plan succeeded!

They had crawled out of hell for the third time!

And every time they crawled out of hell, it was thanks to that woman’s assistance—it was her, her, yes, her, the savior, the banner of resilience, the goddess symbolizing victory and hope—

Bai Fu!

“Holy Maiden!!!”

“Can she really sense the location of the brain bugs? Too strong!”

Hey hey hey, what do you guys think you’re doing? That’s my Bai Fu!

Seeing the odd looks in the crowd’s eyes, Scarlet Leaf quickly shielded Bai Fu behind her, fearing Bai Fu would be taken away.

This move skyrocketed Bai Fu’s popularity.

Bai Fu remained calm, casually flicking the silver-white hair falling by her ear with her right hand, revealing a smile as warm as the spring breeze.

Calm, calm, she wanted to stay low-key, but alas, her excellence shone too brightly. Like the thunder she couldn’t hide, standing anywhere made it clear what it meant to stand tall. Unlike Scarlet Leaf, no matter how hard she tried to hold her head high, she still looked pitiful.

After the celebration, anger soon welled up among the people on the ground.

For days, they had endured immense pressure and experienced countless farewells of comrades. All of this was caused by the two brain bugs that had just been bombed.

“Damn it, can we let them off easily?”

Following Manu’s command, a large number of personnel boarded the spaceships, including Bai Fu, Scarlet Leaf, Herbert, and others.

Only a small portion of people needed to remain on the ground, along with the automatic weapons that could now be freely used.

The decisive moment had arrived; there was no need to hold anything back. Whether the war on Heaven Lake Star would succeed, whether it could successfully attract the attention of the Dark Domain Bug Clan, and give the main fleet enough time depended entirely on this assault.

After boarding was complete, hundreds of spaceships roared as they soared into the star ocean.

The counterattack begins now!

PS: Thanks to Mikiboon and EMT for the support.

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