Chapter 1056: The Superior, Reforged

No matter how the Darkborn had modified and reconfigured the starships over the past hundreds of thousands of years, the highest level of control was hidden deep within the starships' programming, unbeknownst to anyone. This had been the Superior's contingency plan all along.

As soon as the Superior entered the first starship, she swiftly took control of them all.

She manipulated the starships' artificial intelligence and mimicked the voices of the Darkborn to issue orders to the Sandworms on each starship. She also had the AI lock onto the sandworms' expressions and movements, identifying those who seemed shifty and having other sandworms detain them.

With all hundred starships now under the Superior's command, she had come up with an invincible barrier.

Starships were not known for their mobility or defensive capabilities, but the energy they contained were immense. A single starship's stellar cannon had once been enough to trap the Yuqing Grandmaster. It was trivial for a hundred to trap thirty Stellar-realm Darkborn.

Within the central starship's main hall, the Darkborn frantically attacked the golden barrier to no avail. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't break through. Panic set in.

The green-horned man shouted at the Superior, "Keeping us trapped is useless! This footage is being transmitted to the king in real time. Once the king sends reinforcements, you're doomed!"

The Superior took a sip of her wine and sneered. "Do you really think I'd allow any signals to escape after reclaiming control of the starships?"

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The Darkborn blanched. The green-horned man pressed on, "And what about the sandworms? They have avatars! They can—"

The Superior cut him off. "Do you think those sandworms will live much longer?"

The Darkborn froze. If the Superior killed all the sandworms, they would be completely isolated. No one would know they were trapped here.

One of the Darkborn quickly pleaded, "Your Majesty, I am loyal to you! I was just deceived by this traitor!"

"Your Majesty, we are willing to capture these traitors to atone for our crimes!"

"Please, Your Majesty, spare us! We are willing to redeem ourselves!"

The Darkborn anxiously begged for mercy.

They had betrayed the Superior only to be captured immediately—surely a death sentence. Regret filled them as they quickly turned on the green-horned man, hoping to appease the Superior's anger.

Amidst the chaos, a fierce battle broke out inside the barrier.

The Superior sipped her wine as she watched the fight within the barrier, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Before long, the green-horned man and his subordinates were all subdued. Their cultivation was sealed, and they were brought before the Superior.

One of the Darkborn eagerly said, "We have captured these traitors. Please, Your Majesty, deal with them as you see fit."

The Superior lounged comfortably and commanded her surroundings, "Divide the barrier and reseal them."

With a hum, the starship's voice-activated program initiated a formation, splitting the barrier with a screen of light and isolating the green-horned man and his followers. The starship's power was used to seal them, rendering them unable to speak.

Seeing that the Superior seemed willing to accept their atonement, the Darkborn were overjoyed. "We are willing to earn more merit for Your Majesty!"

The Superior looked at them and sneered. "There are more traitors among you. If I'm not mistaken, a few of you are already loyal to Suchal and are just waiting for the right moment to ambush me."

"What?" The Darkborn gaped as they glanced at each other.

The Superior chuckled coldly, "I've already accessed all the data from the starships. On my way here, I reviewed your communications with Suchal. There's no mistake."

One of the Darkborn immediately asked, "Who are they? We'll capture them!"

The Superior suddenly pointed at six of the Darkborn. "You lot."

The others turned their furious gazes toward the six.

The six Darkborn members paled as they cried out in protest.

"I never communicated with Suchal! I never betrayed you, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, I'm innocent! I didn't do it!"

"No, Your Majesty, you... you're framing me!"

The six Darkborn members shouted in desperation, but the Superior coldly ordered, "Capture them."

The other Darkborn members, eager to redeem themselves, immediately complied. "Understood!"

Another battle erupted within the barrier.

"Her Majesty is framing me! I never contacted Suchal!" the six Darkborn members screamed in terror.

The sealed Darkborn members nearby widened their eyes. They knew the six accused had never pledged loyalty to Suchal. Was the Superior deliberately trying to turn them on each other? They wanted to reveal the truth, but they were sealed and unable to speak—powerless to do anything.

After some time, all six Darkborn were captured.

The Superior repeated the process, using the formation to seal and isolate the six.

The remaining dozen or so Darkborn members looked at the Superior expectantly. One of them said, "Your Majesty, we have atoned for our crimes. Please forgive us and calm your anger. We will follow you forever."

The Superior sipped her wine and looked at the Darkborn. "Have you truly repented?"

Seeing the Superior's tone soften, the Darkborn members grew excited. "Yes, Your Majesty! We shall be loyal to you forever! We will never betray you again! We are sworn enemies of Suchal! Please trust us!"

The Superior looked at them and said, "Given your past actions, I need a token of your sincerity to trust you again."

The Darkborn's eyes lit up. "Please, Your Majesty, give us your orders."

The Superior replied, "My current body isn't strong enough, and releasing you poses a risk. I need you to seal your cultivation before I can trust you."

The Darkborn frowned. Sealing their cultivation? Once they did so, their lives would be at the Superior's mercy.

The Superior smiled. "Changed your mind?"

The Darkborn couldn't help but feel that something was amiss—that the Superior might be deceiving them. But they didn't dare expose her, as she was their only lifeline.

The Superior smiled faintly. "Take your time, but my patience is limited. I won't wait for you forever."

The Darkborn communicated frantically with each other.

"What do we do now? Will the Superior ever trust us again?"

"Resistance is useless. The Superior is only sealing us in for the moment, but if she uses those stellar cannons against us, we won't survive."

"If the Superior wanted to kill us, she wouldn't give us this opportunity. If we miss it, we'll truly be doomed."

"But if we seal our cultivation, what if..."

"There's no 'what if.' Even if the Superior punishes us, we'll have to endure it. We shouldn't have betrayed her earlier."

After some discussion, some of the Darkborn refused to seal their cultivation, while others reluctantly agreed.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to be sealed. Please calm your anger."

"I am also willing to be sealed."

"I am willing to offer this token of sincerity."

In no time at all, nearly ten more Darkborn agreed to seal their cultivation. The formation divided them up.

Only a few Darkborn remained. They looked at each other, realizing they were increasingly isolated. Originally, there had been thirty Darkborn. Even if they couldn't break the barrier, they could have held out for some time. But now, with only a few of them left, holding out would mean certain death.

In the end, under immense pressure, they chose to compromise and have their cultivation sealed.

Before long, all the Darkborn had been restrained..

The Superior smiled. "Dispel the formation."

With a hum, the hundred starships outside gradually stopped firing their stellar cannons, and the barrier's power diminished until only a thin layer remained.

One of the Darkborn asked worriedly, "Your Majesty, we have offered up our tokens of sincerity. Why not dispel the barrier completely?"

The Superior chuckled coldly. "I only believe in one principle: once betrayed, never forgiven."

"What?!" the Darkborn exclaimed.

"We've already repented! Why did you deceive us?" one of them cried out.

The Superior sipped her wine. "Using the energy of a hundred starships to annihilate you would be a waste. Isn't this ideal? I've conserved all that energy, and you're no longer a threat."

"Your Majesty, we've served you for so many years. Isn't our loyalty all this time worth anything to you? You can't treat us like this!" one of the Darkborn pleaded.

The Superior sneered. "Perhaps if you hadn't tried to kill me."

"We—" the Darkborn began, eyeing each other fretfully.

"Please, Your Majesty, forgive us! I am willing to offer everything to atone!" one of them begged in terror.

"There's no need," the Superior replied coldly.

The Darkborn finally couldn't hold back any longer and began to curse at her.

"Even if you kill us, so what? Suchal will never let you go! Even if you cut off communication, it's useless. When he returns, he'll hunt you down!"

"That's right! You've lost the Golden Tree, the symbol of the royal family. You can't return to your former glory. When we recover, you won't even be our match!"

"You've lost the golden tree, the symbol of the royal family. You're doomed!"

The Superior smiled faintly. With a hum, a smaller golden tree appeared behind her, radiating golden light that illuminated the entire hall.

The Superior had two golden trees. One was her original, which had been divided among Xiao Nanfeng and the three Qing Grandmasters. The other was the golden tree that had gestated within Xiao Nanfeng's body. Though not as powerful as the first, it was still a golden tree in its own right.

All the Darkborn gaped in shock.

One of them exclaimed, "How is that possible? Your golden tree was destroyed!"

The Superior sneered. "Now, do you still think Suchal can hunt me down?"

The Darkborn blanched. Finally, one of them said, "Even with the golden tree, it will take tens of thousands of years to return to your peak. By then, you won't be able to escape Suchal's pursuit."

The Superior smiled. "Do you now know why I ordered a special cloning chamber to be preserved in every starship?"

The Darkborn's eyes widened, as if they had realized something terrible.

"This body is special. Every cell is of the highest quality and is capable of bearing immense energy. And with my golden tree, if I absorb and refine all the energy within you, I can quickly return to my peak. Don't you believe me?"

"W-what? You're going to absorb us?" the Darkborn members screamed in terror.

The Superior said coldly, "You chose this for yourselves. Now, accompany me as I regain my peak strength!"

"No!" the Darkborn screamed in horror.