Chapter 827: The Chaotic Fortress

Chapter 827: Chapter 827: The Chaotic Fortress

After a week of navigation utilizing spatial jumps across the empire’s military outposts, the fleet emerged at the coordinates of the border base. Below, atop the black stone fortifications, massive banners bearing the Golden Eye crest fluttered in the wind. However, within the fortress’s docks, not a single imperial cruiser or vessel was to be seen; the place appeared deserted.

The moment the White-SeaDragon crossed the dimensional portal followed by the hundreds of frigates in the fleet, the base’s sirens blared with a shriek.

Observing the chaos, Ethan stood on the command bridge, his brow furrowed.

"Vaelen, are we in the right place?" asked Ethan.

"Indeed, General," Vaelen replied, checking the tactical readouts. "We are at the exact coordinates indicated."

"General, we are under fire!" bellowed the artillery officer.

BOOM! BOOM!

Two massive impacts rumbled against the flagship’s hull, causing it to shake. Simultaneously, in the rear formation, dozens of smaller frigates burst into fireballs under the intense anti-air barrage from the base below.

"Order them to evade! Everyone fall back!" commanded Ethan. "Open fire and disable those batteries!"

"Understood!" shouted Vaelen into the comms. "All units, assume attack formation!"

[Crul, activate all frigates], spoke Ethan in his mind. [We’re counting on you, take control of the fortress.]

Crul’s voice responded in his consciousness:

[We are too far away, Master. Furthermore, something seems wrong with the base’s network. We must reach the main command console. Get close to it, and I will breach their system to take control of the batteries.]

Ethan turned on his heel and sprinted out of the command bridge at top speed.

"What’s happening, Ethan?" called out Vaelen from the console.

"I’ll handle it personally!" shouted Ethan back without slowing down. "Continue the assault without mercy!"

Ethan dashed through the corridors until reaching the launch bay at the rear of the flagship. Upon arrival, he yelled to the crew on duty:

"Close the hatch the moment I jump! Get ready!"

The hatch slammed open. The White-SeaDragon was executing evasive maneuvers amidst heavy crossfire, but Ethan didn’t hesitate: he leapt into the void, shooting through the sky like a meteor.

Seeing their General leap directly into the anti-air hellfire without protection, the soldiers in the bay were left awestruck.

"Here we go, Crul, get ready!" roared Ethan in midair.

[We are ready, Master. Just touch the main console and I will handle the rest.]

Ethan descended like a comet draped in a purple aura. The sky filled with projectiles as the fortress’s automated mana turrets locked onto his presence, concentrating their fire. Dozens of mana beams crossed the air, but Ethan showcased agility: tilting his body to dodge heavy rounds by millimeters, and using precise strikes of his sword intent to slice incoming projectiles in half.

In mid-descent, he unleashed his technique: [Void Twilight].

A barrage of purple and black energy blades rained down from above, slamming directly into the defensive line and vaporizing several heavy mana cannons.

[Master, do not destroy everything!], warned Crul immediately. [We will need those intact to defend the fortress against the Divine Wind Empire!]

"Damn it, you’re right...", grunted Ethan, altering his attack angle. "Let me move in!"

In the skies above, the battle raged. The fleet’s ships maneuvered and fired continuously, but the wall’s automated turrets had already destroyed dozens of frigates and forced the White-Rhino cruisers to move to the front as metal shields, taking direct cannon fire at point-blank range.

Vaelen’s voice crackled through Ethan’s earpiece:

"Shields down to thirty percent! They are using heavy siege turrets; at this rate, we will be out of commission in less than a minute. General, order a temporary retreat!"

At that precise moment, the White-SeaDragon banked upward, unleashing the raw power of its main cannon. A devastating beam sliced through the air, splitting several defensive turrets in two and shattering a large section of the fortress’s main wall.

Ethan barked into his earpiece amidst the surrounding explosions:

"Spread out in a fan formation! Just distract them for a bit! Aagh, damn it!"

A massive blast of concentrated mana from one of the heavy cannons caught him dead-on in the back, blasting him several meters through the air amidst smoke and sparks.

"To hell with this!" cursed Ethan in a growl.

In that fraction of a second, he stopped holding back. His body began to contort as his Void Amethyst bloodline broke its seals completely. His skin became covered in purple-black scaly plates, his eyes glowed with an abyssal sheen, and his claws grew razor-sharp. A guttural roar echoed across the valley, chilling the blood of everyone within range.

Ethan vanished from the gunners’ sight, descending in a steep dive like a black comet wrapped in dark lightning.

BOOM!

The impact of his landing at the fortress’s central courtyard shook the stone walls to their foundation. The smoke cleared to reveal his hybrid form: a true nightmare of the void unleashed, looking like an ancient demon.

Several border guard soldiers stared at him, petrified with terror at the sight of the abomination that had plummeted from the sky.

Before any of them could raise a spear, Ethan vanished again. He reappeared behind the group. In a blurred motion, his claws thrust through the chests of two soldiers, tearing their hearts out in a single sweep, while his jaws clamped around the neck of a third who couldn’t move due to terror. It was a slaughter.

"Crul, where is the damn console?" demanded Ethan in his mind, spitting blood onto the ground.

Within his field of vision, Crul’s interface highlighted a reinforced bunker in the central complex’s subterranean level in red.

Utilizing the speed of his void form, Ethan turned into a shadow that blinked through the corridors, bypassing metal doors and barricades as if they didn’t exist.

Upon bursting into the command room, he ran headfirst into over three dozen heavily armed soldiers and officers. Seeing the purple beast materialize before them, they shrieked in panic and tried to cast shields and draw weapons.

It was useless.

Ethan’s barbed tail whipped out like a lethal scythe, impaling four soldiers in a single sweeping motion while he pounced on the remainder, shredding through the defenders without mercy, clearing the room in seconds.