Chapter 224 - 189: Boarding Action

The ship streaked forward at three times the speed of sound, its sonic boom cloud trailing behind it like a surging ocean wave. Even the terrifying wind pressure it generated was enough to tear a Mortal’s body to shreds.

But for powerful Transcendents, such turbulence was hardly an obstacle.

THUD! THUD! THUD—!

Heavy objects slammed against the Punisher’s hull, creating deep thuds as the ship shuddered slightly in mid-air.

Then came the sounds of something climbing and walking on the hull. An oppressive feeling, born of the unknown, traveled clearly through the bulkhead above their heads.

Raphael’s brow furrowed. He raised his right hand as white lightning from his Mental Power sparked in his eyes. His tone was urgent. "One on the port side, two on the top."

"One Pure-blood, two Mixed-bloods."

A Pure-blood of the Space Dragon Race was generally equivalent in strength to an Imperial Knight of the Earth Military Rank. Reinhardt raised a hand to stop Matthias, who was about to leave the cabin and join the fight. "I’ll handle the Space Aliens outside," he said in a low voice.

After speaking, he turned to look ahead of the Punisher Ship at the overwhelming enemy interception force bearing down on them. He said to Raphael, "Do everything you can to stop the other ships from getting close."

"Then, find a way to contact the Imperial Administrative Region. We’ll need a pickup after we leave the Kemola War Zone."

As the ship’s hatch opened, a howling gale rushed into the Punisher’s cabin. The ship trembled and depressurized. A terrifying sense of suffocation felt like a pair of massive hands clamping over their mouths and noses, making it impossible to breathe.

But the Imperial Knights’ Physiques quickly adapted to the aerial environment of a boarding action.

When the leg of a Dragon Blood Warrior suddenly dangled down from the top of the ship, appearing just outside the hatch, Irenia seemed to notice Reinhardt’s stare and turned to look at him.

All words turned into a silent gaze as their eyes met.

In Reinhardt’s gaze, she saw distrust, suspicion, and a stern warning, as if to say, ’Don’t try to pull anything inside the ship the moment I’m gone.’

In fact, Irenia had been considering just that.

She was terrified that Reinhardt would fly her all the way back to the Imperial Administrative Region’s capital, the Iberian World.

After all, he had only promised to help her escape the control of Anatol and Florant; he had made no guarantees about what would happen afterward.

A Wizard with Death Star Bloodline landing in the home base of the National Church and the Judgment Court... she dared not imagine how ’grand’ her welcoming party would be.

That was why she was contemplating whether to use this opportunity to break free from the Imperial Knights’ control, steal a Space Dragon Race ship, and make her escape. If anyone dared to stop her from leaving, she would show no mercy.

Even if they were Reinhardt’s subordinates.

Though she had been warned by Reinhardt’s glare, she hadn’t given up on the idea.

Not until Seventy-Six shot and killed the Mixed-blood Level Dragon Blood Warrior trying to breach the ship, then turned to stare at her calmly.

Irenia took a deep breath. Braving the gale, her delicate brows knitted together as she shouted back, "Your concern is unnecessary! We’re all in the same boat now!"

"I hope so."

Reinhardt tossed out the cold words, took down his War Axe, and, facing the gale, decisively turned toward the open hatch.

At that moment, two Dragon Blood Warriors were clinging to the Punisher’s hull, frantically striking the bulkhead with their Curved Sabers, trying to tear the ship apart and prevent their escape from Kemola.

When Reinhardt’s right hand, clad in Power Armor, gripped the upper edge of the hatch, he suddenly appeared in the two Dragon Blood Warriors’ line of sight.

They exchanged a glance.

The Mixed-blood Warrior continued its assault on the hull, while the Pure-blood slowly rose amidst the violent, wave-like airflow, steadying itself. Then, Reinhardt leaped up onto the hull, appearing before its eyes.

"ROAR—!"

The unique roar of the Space Dragon Race, like an ancient pre-battle ritual. The Mighty Power of their bloodline surged, bursting forth as a splendid stream of Elements that rushed through the veins beneath their skin.

Hard, brownish-black scales were enveloped in a layer of multicolored Elemental Energy armor.

Its long tail swung, and it shot toward Reinhardt like an arrow loosed from a bow!

The instant the Curved Saber and War Axe clashed, Reinhardt could even feel the Space Alien’s scorching breath on his face. Its sharp fangs were only a fist’s-width from his nose!

To conserve what little stamina he had for the intense battle to come, Reinhardt didn’t activate his Blood Fury Technology, which would have doubled his energy consumption.

Even so, at his current level of strength, killing these ordinary Pure-blood Warriors was as easy as turning over his hand.

The Micro-Aikacia Nozzles on his elbows suddenly extended. The explosive thrust from the high-temperature energy stream, combined with the Imperial Technology within his Black War Axe, made Reinhardt’s weapon unstoppable. Before the Space Dragon Race’s horrified eyes, his War Axe brutally slammed its Curved Saber aside!

If it hadn’t been so experienced in battle and taken a timely step back to dodge the axe blade, it would have undoubtedly been killed!

The sound of the wind in his ears drowned out all other battlefield noise.

Before boarding, this member of the Space Dragon Race had already received a warning from its headquarters: these Human Empire Knights appearing in Kemola were an extremely dangerous group.

But only now, facing Reinhardt directly, did it understand why headquarters had made such an assessment.

Because in the instant it barely dodged the frontal assault, it saw this massive Imperial Human’s body, aided by some strange propulsion device, twist in a way that defied combat intuition. His feet left the hull as he became a living power hammer, the heavy Steel Boots of his Power Armor slamming like a cannonball into the scales on its chest!

While a flying kick of that magnitude wasn’t lethal, this wasn’t solid ground. If it lost control of its body and fell from the ship, no flesh-and-blood creature could survive a fall of over ten kilometers.

The Pure-blood Warrior’s final, wretched scream before it fell was instantly swallowed by the howling wind.

In the distance, of the three Space Dragon Race ships charging toward them, two were intercepted by Raphael and suddenly lost control in mid-air. They began to fly erratically before finally plummeting toward the ground.

But one ship remained. As if intent on mutual destruction, it didn’t slow down at all and charged straight for them!

At the same time, Raphael’s panicked voice rang out over their shared Telepathy.

’Dammit! That ship can block my Mental Power! It’s trying to take us down with it, Lord Reinhardt!’

Reinhardt braved the wind, raising his head to squint at the Space Dragon Race ship still a kilometer away. The Aikacia Nozzles extended from his back as he said coldly, ’There’s still one Mixed-blood Warrior left. Raphael, you take care of it. Agate, maintain control of the ship and watch my position.’

’Understood.’