Chapter 2004: Golden Sun Talisman

There was no doubt that the super Star Pirate Group hiding behind the star had unleashed Seventh Order energy! Moreover, what they wielded was not some pseudo-Seventh Order energy cobbled together through various means, but the true power of a genuine Sage!

Only such a force could drive and control the blazing light of the star to unleash an indiscriminate bombardment on all the Star Pirate Groups engaged in the battle.

Thus, when the heat wave formed from that blazing light descended, every Star Ship it encountered along the way was incinerated.

In just an instant, more than 10 medium Star Ships were reduced to ashes. As for small Star Ships, fewer were destroyed, not because they were sturdier, but simply because few had joined the battle to begin with, and many of those had already been destroyed in the initial stages.

The number of cultivators who perished beneath that blazing wave of heat reached as high as 200 to 300!

Only genuine power unleashed by a Sage could counter an assault of the same level.

Seeing the situation, Sun Haiwei immediately activated the rank seven Myriad Tinted Cloud Talisman. Even though the members of the Invincible Pirates, from Sun Haiwei to the ordinary members, reacted with extreme swiftness, and the talisman’s transformation into a fortress of glowing clouds took shape almost instantly, they were still unable to shield every ship in time. A medium Star Ship and a small Star Ship were incinerated by the heat wave and blazing light before anyone could intervene to save them.

Even so, among the four pirate groups caught within the star’s controlled blaze and heat wave, the Invincible Pirates suffered the least damage.

The other three large Star Pirate Groups were far less fortunate. One lost nearly 40 percent of its ships in an instant, with several more heavily damaged, the total accounting for nearly 70 to 80 percent of their entire fleet.

As for personnel losses, they were even greater. While the Ying Brothers worked together to force the entire Invincible Pirates fleet into coordinated movement, two True Immortals from other groups had already been reduced to ashes, and at least three more, though spared death, were burned so badly they were unrecognizable.

With only the Ying Brothers, moving the entire fleet was exceedingly difficult, but with Sun Haiwei and the others lending their full strength, the outcome was different.

The fleet, with the Invincible as its core, was driven only a relatively short distance, but far enough to be completely clear of the star’s erupting blaze.

By then, the battlefield had descended into utter chaos. The sudden attack had left every Star Pirate Group wary for its own survival, with no thought left to continue the encirclement of the Invincible Pirates.

The once-tight siege had already dissolved as three Star Pirate Groups suffered crippling losses, leaving the Invincible Pirates free to withdraw at any moment.

However, having just narrowly avoided annihilation, how could they simply slink away? More importantly, the hidden assailant had already been detected by their Stargazers. At the very moment their fleet stabilized, the prearranged combined battle formation reactivated. The power of multiple Star Ships began to converge upon the Invincible, and Sun Haiwei, as the leader, became the focal point of their combined strength.

Yet Sun Haiwei was only a fourth tier True Immortal. Her cultivation and strength were far from sufficient to bear such a force. She had not passed the role to Gao Qin or the Ying Brothers, not merely because she was the leader of the Invincible Pirates but because she possessed the hidden foundations of the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field.

As the converging power began to exceed her limits, she successfully activated another rank seven talisman.

That was the Emberkindled Legacy Talisman, personally created by Shang Xia. Combining the rank six Heaven Liberation Talisman and the Reignition Talisman from the Heart Lamp Sect, Shang Xia developed a new and improved version!

Once activated, it was as if a Sage had descended in person, and it could even draw upon a portion of the creator’s strength. At that moment, Sun Haiwei borrowed a portion of Shang Xia’s power of his Big Dipper Star Origin through the talisman to be infused in the fleet’s battle formation. The light and heat scattered through the void from the star were gathered and turned back under her control.

Shang Xia’s cultivation had been forged from the origin light of seven stars from the very beginning, making him intimately familiar with their blazing heat.

The super Star Pirate Group that had tried to manipulate the star’s power for a sneak attack was, in the face of Shang Xia’s power, like a child flaunting their skill before a master craftsman.

With the control of the star seized, the super Star Pirate Group hidden behind the star hastily reversed course to retreat.

But how could Sun Haiwei give them the chance? The concentrated blaze in the void formed a massive solar prominence, which, swinging around the star, appeared on its far side. From a distance, it resembled a tidal wave crashing against their fleet.

Even as they fled, that suspected super Star Pirate Group raised their defensive formations to full power. But the instant the wave arrived, those formations crumbled like paper.

The five rearmost ships, which were made up of four medium Star Ships and a large one, were consumed in a sea of fire. Several more were sent spinning wildly, tumbling sideways, or flipping end over end, colliding with each other, causing devastating losses.

That single strike left the suspected super Star Pirate Group’s fleet crippled. At least a third of their ships burned, and another third was heavily damaged. The casualties among their cultivators were equally dire. Yet their flagship, a super Star Ship, seemed to have escaped unharmed.

It should have been the perfect chance to press the advantage, but after delivering the blow from such a distance, the talisman’s power was spent. Sun Haiwei, as the primary bearer of the force, was completely exhausted. She could only watch as the enemy fleet fled further into the void.

“They messed up. They tried to take advantage of the battle, but they ended up with losses worse than ours. We haven’t lost this battle,” Gao Qin said gravely, appearing at Sun Haiwei’s side without her noticing. “Our top priority is to withdraw. We’ll settle this matter with them in time... Especially with that super Star Pirate Group that came in at the very end!”

“It won’t be hard to identify them, but finding them will be much harder,” Ying Lianxi said as he stepped onto the deck of the Invincible. He arrived with Ying Lianquan, and he continued, “After this battle, with such heavy losses, they won’t show themselves easily.”

Sun Haiwei withdrew her gaze from the surrounding void, her voice cold. “I understand what you all mean, but I don’t think we need to rush to leave. Since we’re going to rest and recover, why not head directly for the 4th Starsea Market?”