Chapter 686 - 379: Su Ze’s Counterattack

On the Desolate Star, Su Ze led Mr. Ya and the Pope out of the Magic Cube.

The ground was covered in yellow sand, and the surface temperature was over three hundred degrees. The entire planet was dead silent.

"It’s right under here," Mr. Ya said, pointing at the sand ahead.

He could sense the Nebula buried beneath the yellow sand.

With a wave of his hand, Su Ze used his control over gravity to sweep away a vast expanse of sand, revealing the Nebula beneath.

Su Ze’s expression darkened when he saw the Nebula’s condition. The ship was covered in scars and utterly battered.

The entire rear of the ship was destroyed, exposing countless wires and components. Its surface was pockmarked with scorch marks and craters, clear evidence of a ferocious assault.

Mr. Ya used his pilot’s clearance to open the Nebula’s hatch.

Inside the ship, Lin Hua, Old Waller, and Tano jumped as the hatch suddenly opened. Like startled birds, they all tensed, gripping their weapons tightly.

"Relax, Lin Hua. It’s me."

Su Ze was the first to step into the Nebula.

The moment they saw Su Ze, Lin Hua and the other two breathed a collective sigh of relief. A great weight had been lifted from their shoulders.

"Star Lord, did you encounter anyone else on your way here?" Old Waller asked hastily, as if suddenly remembering something.

"There are people searching the surrounding planets. They’ll probably reach this one soon."

"Then we need to leave immediately!" Lin Hua urged. "Those people are powerful. We should avoid a direct confrontation for now."

Su Ze nodded. Seeing that Lin Hua and the others were unharmed and that only the ship was damaged, some of his anger subsided.

’First, we need to get out of here,’ he thought. ’I’ll figure out what happened, then decide on a plan.’

Su Ze had Lin Hua and the others transfer to the Magic Cube, then he stored the damaged Nebula away.

The Magic Cube then re-engaged its stealth mode and lifted off from the Desolate Star. It didn’t travel far, simply hovering in the space nearby.

The Nebula was so severely damaged that it had lost all flight capability. It would need repairs, and the cost would likely be astronomical.

While observing the activity on the other planets from afar, Su Ze asked:

"What happened? Who was chasing you?"

Lin Hua sighed. "It was the Dou Race. We should have been more careful. We let them target us."

"The Dou Race?"

Su Ze recalled a previous encounter with Star Pirates from the Dou Race. He had seen they were formidable and had used the Magic Cube to escape rather than engage them.

Old Waller explained, "Star Lord, while you were in seclusion, we made several trips to Thousand Illusion Star. We saw more and more members of the Dou Race each time. On our most recent trip, we heard some news: the Dou Race’s home world was destroyed by the Holy Race, a Dominator Race!"

Su Ze’s pupils constricted. "A war of annihilation?"

A home world is the foundation of a race, the planet where its defenses are strongest and its most powerful warriors are concentrated. For their home world to be destroyed meant the race’s situation was dire. They had reached a critical juncture of life and death.

Lin Hua picked up the explanation. "It actually happened more than half a year ago. It’s no secret in the cosmos—it was news big enough to shake the universe, so it spread everywhere long ago. It’s just that we’re located in a remote backwater, and the Human Race has no real intelligence channels, so we’re only just now learning about it.

"The Holy Race did launch a war of annihilation against them, but it seems the Dou Race was prepared. Their Clan Leader died in battle and their home world was destroyed, but large numbers of their people had already fled to every corner of the Cosmic Starry Sky, settling down in remote areas. I even heard that several Dou Race Ancestral Gods have also vanished without a trace.

"In a way, you could say the Holy Race’s war of annihilation failed. Although they dealt a heavy blow to the Dou Race, its people scattered like stars across the sky, fleeing to every corner of the universe. It’s nearly impossible for the Holy Race to hunt them all down."

"So now a lot of the Dou Race have fled to our region because it’s so remote?" Su Ze concluded.

"How did they end up targeting you?"

"Probably because we travel to and from Thousand Illusion Star so frequently, selling large amounts of resources each time. That must have drawn their attention. But it’s not just us. Lately, the Dou Race has been targeting many people, ambushing them after they leave Thousand Illusion Star," Lin Hua said.

Tano said angrily, "Those bastards! They’ve been pillaging everywhere, even more brazenly than the Bag Race Star Pirates were. The worst part is, they’re much stronger than them too.

"They chased us in a Moon God-level Spaceship, just like ours. We couldn’t shake them, and we didn’t dare fly toward Zexing for fear of exposing its location. Our only choice was to flee in the opposite direction.

"The ship was too damaged. We had to burn the last of our energy on a final burst of acceleration to shake them off long enough to hide on this Desolate Star. Star Lord, if you’d been even a moment later, I’m afraid we..."

"Don’t worry," Su Ze reassured him. "I’ll make them pay for this. They’ll repay every loss we’ve suffered ten, even a hundred times over!"

’His people had been hunted for no reason, and the Nebula was in ruins. This was a score that had to be settled.’

He turned to the Pope. "How much do you know about the Dou Race? Tell me everything."

’To defeat an enemy, one must first understand them.’

The Pope gathered his thoughts before speaking. "The Dou Race is a third-rate race in the universe, specifically one known for its formidable individual combat strength. They are competitive, aggressive, and belligerent—natural-born troublemakers. In the Star Realm they previously inhabited, there were almost no other races living nearby. They had either been wiped out or scared away.