Chapter 2054: Cutting Through The Beast Tide Pt.2

The medium Star Ship under True Immortal Hu’s command was shot down, leaving a gap in the formation and giving the onrushing beast tide a breakthrough point. Yet the five rank six beast kings that had attacked did not charge in through the breach. Instead, they started to regroup before launching long-range strikes at the other medium Star Ships on either side to prevent them from closing the gap.

Meanwhile, nearly 100 rank five spiritual beasts skilled in flight poured in through the breach behind the meteor storm and began wildly attacking nearby ships. On their own, they posed little threat to the fleet, but their true purpose was to disrupt the ships’ movement, throwing off the rhythm of the battle formation.

It had to be said, the high-ranked beasts in the current tide showed formidable cunning. Their harassment achieved its goal. The fleet, which had been maneuvering to close the breach left by True Immortal Hu’s fallen ship, was forced to halt and maintain its position.

Then the main force of the beast tide surged over. With their main force behind them, the five beast kings were no longer afraid they would be walking into a trap. They blended into the tide and drove straight toward the three Arks protected in the center of the fleet.

Among them were at least 10 more beast kings, with four of them comparable to high-level True Immortals.

From earlier encounters, the leader of the tide clearly knew the Arks were the fleet’s true prize.

As the tide pressed from the front flank, the beasts trailing at the back attacked the rear, striking at the Welcoming Snow to split the fleet’s attention.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Though fewer in number and strength, these beasts at the back were content with holding down the Welcoming Snow and a couple of medium Star Ships nearby.

Just when it seemed the fleet’s barriers were faltering and each ship would soon fight alone, the vessels suddenly shifted, but only slightly.

From afar, one might think they had been battered out of place. Yet those subtle moves, along with the inward draw of the two large Star Ships at the ends, caused the 16 remaining large and medium ships to collapse their formation inward. Their battle formation, which looked like it was facing enemies outwards, turned to focus on whatever was within.

Under Chu Jia’s control, the rhythm and timing were perfect.

The beasts that had broken into their battle formation now found themselves encircled.

But could 16 ships really trap and slaughter over 1,000 spiritual beasts of the fourth rank or higher?

Chains rattled as fifteen anchor chains lashed out, the anchors attached to each of them crushing and slicing the creatures in the void.

Only the Spirit Ark’s chain extended downward into the void.

The next second, another chain shot up from the void to meet it. As two chains intertwined, their anchors smashed with a metallic crash that shook the void.

Thanks to the Spirit Ark’s timely rescue, True Immortal Hu’s ship which had feigned a crash, halted its descent and was pulled back into formation.

Though badly damaged, the ship still enhanced the battle formation, and more importantly, saved the dozens aboard who had been bait, not sacrifice.

The next second, a cold gleam sliced the void, striking at the chains.

There were still high-leveled beasts lurking outside the formation.

The slash seemed to cleave the void itself, and it was as strong as a blow from a Sage.

It was a beast emperor, perhaps the tide’s true leader.

The chains would never withstand it, but another loud blast shook the void as the incoming strike was stopped.

In an instant, two figures stood silently in the void, facing each other.

One of them wielded a stone rod as it stood beside the chains. Opposite it, across hundreds of miles, was the other creature.

In their clash of auras, the Giant Ape King was clearly weaker.

The enemy was indeed a rank seven beast emperor, but with the assistance of their battle formation. The Giant Ape King was still able to hold on even though it had not yet fully fused the rank seven bird emperor’s blood essence.

"Traitor!" The beast emperor from the foreign Star Field roared, cleaving down again with a massive axe.

The Giant Ape King bellowed back, swinging its stone rod, planning to push the strike away instead of meeting it head-on.

Another loud blast rang through the void. As the chains snapped taut, True Immortal Hu’s ship was dragged back. The sound of anchors clattering echoed through the void.

The two titans fought freely, their weapons pounding the void, sending soundwaves and ripples across space. Though the Giant Ape King was forced back each time, he held the chains until the ship rejoined the formation.

With 17 ships now combined, and with two more chains free to join the battle, the tide’s casualties mounted.

The beast emperor outside struck again, seeking to coordinate with the beasts inside to break the battle formation. Yet the Giant Ape King blocked once more, and with the Spirit Ark free to move around, the formation’s strength grew

Even though it was weaker than the other party, the Giant Ape King held its ground with the assistance of the battle formation.

However, that was the extent of how far it could go. With each blow the Giant Ape King exchanged with the foreign beast emperor, the void would shake and the pressure on the Spirit Ark would mount.

As the assault continued, the situation looked dire on the surface. The threat of the tide was massive, and the aura of the rank seven beast emperor shook the fleet. However, if one looked closer, true control of the battle lay with the 17 ships.

Death might be mounting in the tide, but the fleet was not unscathed. True Immortal Hu’s ship neared ruin. Even the Welcoming Snow had three of its sails torn and and its hull creaked from varying degrees of damage in each spot.

If Shang Xia ordered them to rush out that very moment, the Welcoming Snow wouldn’t be able to fly as fast. It would be 30 percent slower than before, and it was likely they would fail to break out of the tide. Fortunately, the Welcoming Snow only formed a portion of their battle formation. With everything under control, their speed didn’t matter too much.

Even so, its crew suffered heavy losses even with the protection of their formations and experts.

Two medium ships were likewise ravaged on the same level as True Immortal Hu’s ship.

One of them failed to follow Chu Jia’s directions in time, and even though it didn’t affect the battle formation too much, it suffered heavy strikes from the tide. It was nearly destroyed as more than a dozen experts on board were killed, with many more injured. They lost 40 percent of their combat strength and the Star Ship nearly remained frozen in the void.

The other was struck because the Giant Ape King made a miscalculation, resulting in the heavy axe of the enemy rank seven beast emperor grazing the deck. With a single cleave, the entire deck was cut flat. More than 20 experts on board were thrown into the void and only a few of them were recovered. The second tier True Immortal on board also suffered heavy injuries, losing his ability to fight.

In the end, only the timely arrival of Tian Mengzi’s Star Ship managed to stabilize the situation.

When the battle first started, both sides seemed to be merely probing each other. Even though the battle formation looked like it held the upper hand, the advantage they had was extremely miniscule. The second the Giant Ape King failed to hold its opponent back, or made a slight mistake, the battle formation might be broken and the situation might turn on its head.

From the meteor storm, the battle raged for nearly a day and two full nights. Nearly 36 hours had passed. Whichever side it was, they were exhausted. Even Chu Jia, who had been gritting her teeth to command the fleet under the crushing pressure of the rank seven beast emperor, or the Giant Ape King who had been bleeding all over, causing its fur to turn completely crimson, or the beast tide charging at the fleet... Everyone pressed on and continued to attack! Not even the rank seven beast emperor who was able to retreat safely at any time when facing the Giant Ape King gave up.

Both sides were clear... Whichever side could endure the longest would shatter the other’s will.

...

Meanwhile, in a sealed cabin in the Spirit Ark.

A being, clothed yet unable to conceal its inhuman traits, rasped in a voice like gravel grinding against rocks, "If you acted, they would have been taken care of a long time ago."

Sitting opposite the creature, Shang Xia said flatly, "In the sea of stars where mighty trails lie everywhere... If I solve everything myself, what meaning is there in others’ growth?"

"Heh, ha!" The rasping voice let out a laugh, its meaning unclear.

Shang Xia ignored it. "It seems my strength has reached its limit. Your body cannot recover further."

The being sighed suddenly, "To regain some sense of reason is already blessing enough. I shall repay your favor."

Shang Xia smiled faintly, unimpressed by its promise. He simply continued to ask, "So the Desolate Forbidden Region in the Floating Star Region is linked to a Star Field skilled in beast-taming?"

"To the Taming Star Field? No, they don’t just tame beasts.” The creature spoke briefly. From how fragmented its speech was, it was obvious it was still a little not used to speaking.

"Taming Star Field? Then, is this tide led by the rank seven Snow Swan Emperor, or someone else?” Shang Xia frowned.

The rasping voice released another harsh laugh. "Don’t know. Whatever it is, the Ape King you control has definitely become their target.”