Poverty makes me capable of anything.

"..."

Was the timing so precise an accident?

How could it be an accident!

Patrick exclaimed angrily, "Are we being monitored by the people of the Exiled Empire?"

"That's right," the technician said, forcing a smile.

He was really unwilling to admit it, because they hadn't found any trace of the other side's intrusion, which meant that there was a mechanic on the other side whose strength was several times greater than theirs.

This is not good news.

hum-

Just then, Patrick suddenly noticed that the virtual screen in front of him was fluctuating.

After being torn apart and reassembled repeatedly, the Star Gate disappeared, replaced by a girl dressed in a close-fitting combat suit.

Patrick was not surprised by the other person's unusually young appearance.

A woman's appearance is not related to her age; she may look young but is actually hundreds or thousands of years old.

He asked, "Are you from the exiled empire?"

On the screen, An Ran smiled and nodded: "That's right. Since it's our first meeting, please allow me to introduce myself. I am An Ran, a second-level court envoy of the Exiled Empire's War Court, and my profession is mechanic."

Patrick's face darkened.

The plan to raid the Star Gate failed, it seems, because of her. Is she here to give me a warning?

Patrick said in a deep voice, "Since you dare to invade the territory of our Pantheon, then you shall await the punishment of the gods!"

Is this a case of chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) acting up?

An Ran pursed her lips.

Then she remembered the purpose of her visit: "Make the person hiding in the back come out; I've already discovered his whereabouts."

Let's have a fair and square fight!

This is what Heda said to Anran.

The fiery-tempered Ancestor Heda disliked intrigue and scheming. Therefore, when she heard An Ran say that the Pantheon Clan had hidden a Star Domain Ruler behind the fleet, she immediately asked An Ran to step forward and expose the Pantheon Clan's plot.

If you're going to fight, then fight. What's the point of playing these games?

After Anran temporarily lifted the blockade, the Exiled Empire's fleet is continuously arriving through the Stargate.

Heda had full confidence in the strength of the exiled empire.

Even without Anran, a direct confrontation between the fleets would be a foregone conclusion.

But Patrick suddenly froze: "There's someone else hiding?"

He didn't quite understand what those words meant.

"It means exactly what it says: summon that star field ruler. The patrol beacon has already detected his whereabouts."

Patrick looked at An Ran with suspicion.

He had no recollection of having arranged for any ruler to follow behind him.

correct.

It's a conspiracy!

Although Patrick didn't understand the point of saying this, he felt it was part of the empire's conspiracy to exile them.

Are you trying to trick me?

no way.

"I won't fall for your tricks."

Patrick turned and left.

The Pantheon will not back down in order to protect the Eagle Eye Sector.

Since the plan to raid the Star Gate has failed, let's wait until we're within range of the close-range naval guns before we settle things with them.

Patrick, however, remained cautious and approached the technicians in the control room.

"Let's see if any of the exiled empire's followers are behind us."

"Yes."

Half a minute later, he received a reply from the technicians: "No life forms were found."

Patrick was relieved.

Go for it!

Even though reinforcements from the exiled empire are on their way, they still have the upper hand.

……

Anran watched Patrick walk away.

She did not rush to disconnect.

In her opinion, Patrick's behavior was strange; he seemed genuinely insincere.

perhaps……

“That person is not on the same side as the Pantheon,” Anran told Heda, expressing her guess.

Heda pinched her chin.

If it's not someone known to the Pantheon, then who could it be?

She quickly put this worry behind her.

"No matter which side he's on, just treat him as a potential enemy. With your space cruise beacon, he has nowhere to hide."

An Ran shook her head.

It's better not to be so optimistic.

She wasn't too worried about other people, but what if it was someone from Silver Moonlight?

Once that silver-haired youth makes a move, even Heda won't come out on top.

However, she didn't have time to think about these things. After closing the distance, the Pantheon fleet immediately launched an attack.

The combined fire of over two million warships creates an momentum that cannot be compared to the simultaneous assault of two million soldiers on a plain.

The asteroid that had been lying between the two armies was instantly blasted into fragments.

The giant shield surrounding the Exiled Empire's territory was flashing with light. Although it hadn't collapsed yet, it wouldn't last long.

"You're in charge of holding the rear. Leave the battle with the Star Domain Overlord to me." Heda flicked his sleeve, leaving only these words before hurriedly departing.

In Heda's view, although An Ran had some means of survival, she was ultimately just a fragile mechanic.

The mechanic should stay in the back and control the system remotely; rushing out is just asking for trouble.

An Ran was happy to not have to go to the front lines.

While the situation wasn't too dire yet, she glanced at the new task she had just received.

This is a sub-quest under the faction questline "Sequence Wars".

Defeating the attacking Pantheon fleet will grant you 100 billion free experience points and a skill card, [Magic Repulsion].

Successfully protecting the Exiled Empire's base in the Eagle Eye Sector will earn you 200 billion Free Experience Points and a Blueprint Analysis Card (which allows you to instantly analyze blueprints).

In Anran's view, these two tasks seemed to have major problems at first glance.

The mission to protect the base was actually more difficult and rewarding than defeating the Pantheon fleet.

Once she sealed off the space, how could the Pantheon possibly bypass the Exiled Empire's fleet and fly to the vicinity of the base?

If they truly possessed that power, the Star Gate would have been destroyed long ago.

They also don't have to stand by and watch the number of warships of the Exiled Empire increase.

Just as An Ran was wondering, she suddenly felt an unusual vibration.

The tremor came from the ground beneath their feet.

An Ran's expression changed slightly, and she quickly released a Psionic Eye.

"Let's see what's going on down there."

The Psionic Eye burrowed into the ground with a whoosh.

It traced the source of the seismic waves downwards and finally discovered that the vibrations were actually transmitted from the Earth's solid core.

It was as if an invisible force was constantly squeezing and pulling the solid core, causing the outer liquid metal to churn restlessly.

As time went on, fine cracks began to appear inside the planet.

If this continues, the planet will explode completely before long.

"How could this be?"

An Ran stared blankly at the data transmitted back by the Eye of Psionic Energy.

There were no abnormalities in the energy fluctuations.

In other words, no one launched a direct attack on this planet.

In fact, getting past that all-encompassing energy shield is not such a simple matter.

"Task."

An Ran thought of the task she had just accepted.

No wonder the reward for protecting the base is higher than the reward for repelling the Pantheon fleet.

This is starting to resemble a major paranormal event.

"What happened?"

At this moment, Heda, who was launching an attack on the enemy fleet under the cover of warships, also sent an inquiry message.

An Ran shook her head: "I don't know the specifics either. I only know that our house is going to explode."