Chapter One: The Calamity of Exile (Part One)

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After the explosion, the giant turtle’s misery was such that to even call it “wretched” would have been an insult to the invincible reputation of a cosmic-class beast. This turtle had already exhausted nearly half its energy reserves and sustained heavy injuries during battle with another cosmic monster, then spent even more energy chasing after Kuang Chi’s warship at full speed. By now, its power was less than half of its prime. The self-destruction of hundreds of warships only made things worse.

Now, the giant turtle appeared to be driven into another fit of rage. With a violent surge of energy, the floating asteroids and ship debris near the Stowe Fortress began drifting toward the turtle, as if drawn by some irresistible force—even Kuang Chi felt it, as though he too would be pulled to the turtle’s side. What’s more, this attraction seemed to be growing stronger and stronger.

Kuang Chi hurriedly found a ventilation shaft and slipped into the interior of the fortress.

Gone was any mood for spectating. His only thought now was to find a warship to escape on, hoping to shake off the giant turtle’s pursuit.

Inside the Stowe Fortress, chaos reigned. Everyone was busy evacuating. After knocking out a soldier and putting on a poorly fitting uniform, Kuang Chi easily blended into a docking bay.

Just as he boarded a large transport ship, the entire fortress shook violently. Air was already hissing inside, and explosions sounded one after another. The port’s command system blared with alarms, and officers barked orders for ships to launch and for personnel to board faster.

The transport ships shot into space, each fleeing in a different direction. It was clear that the command staff of the Hal Empire had decided that anyone who could escape, should—since, by human reckoning, cosmic-class monsters possessed intelligence equal to or greater than adult humans. One thing united them: they were extremely vengeful. Left alone, they might ignore you entirely, but once provoked, they would annihilate every living being in the area they considered their enemy.

From space, Kuang Chi could only see the giant turtle rampaging across the fortress’s surface, now engulfed in fire, apparently oblivious to his escape.

Once out in the void, Kuang Chi seized a chance to slip away from the transport and flew straight toward Soren Fortress. Perhaps everyone in the Jill Empire was too busy running for their lives; all the weapons were powered down, every warship’s sensors shut off, with all energy diverted to propulsion. Whatever the reason, Kuang Chi managed to cross nearly the entire star region between Stowe Fortress in the Jill Empire and Soren Fortress in the Caro Empire, returning safely. Perhaps they assumed he was a soldier who’d been thrown into space when a ship was destroyed.

Given Kuang Chi’s appearance and status, the officers at Soren Fortress recognized him at once—he was the heir of an ancient, noble family and under direct conscription orders from the emperor himself. The Kuang family’s influence here was anything but minor. As soon as they saw him flying back from space, they made sure he was safely brought into the fortress.

Kuang Qingshan and the others, having merged with their war beasts, rushed out to meet him from afar. As soon as they returned to their quarters, before Kuang Chi could even sit down, Kuang Qingshan blurted out anxiously, “Young master, it’s too dangerous here. Please, board the family warship at once and return to Kuang Battle Star.”

Kuang Chi was taken aback. “Return to Kuang Battle Star? But I’m serving in the military now. The Emperor himself gave the order.”

Kuang Qingshan nodded repeatedly. “Yes, you’re a soldier now. But the commander of the Third Legion has just ordered you to return to the Imperial Capital and report to His Majesty about the cosmic beast attack on Stowe Fortress.”

Before Kuang Chi could argue further, they bundled him straight onto a nearby warship marked with the Kuang family crest.

Shortly after takeoff, from a distance, they saw the giant turtle streaking straight toward their ship from the direction of Stowe Fortress.

Terrified, Kuang Qiye immediately ordered full speed ahead.

In the vacuum, the giant turtle was much faster than any human warship at top speed. All they could do was watch as the nine-headed behemoth drew ever closer.

Suddenly, Kuang Qiye cried out in alarm. Following his gaze, everyone saw a massive, three-headed, eight-limbed beast charging toward them from directly ahead. Just as all hope seemed lost, the strange beast swept past the Kuang family’s doomed warship without so much as a glance, heading straight for the giant turtle behind.

Neither beast hesitated. Their enormous bodies collided head-on and grappled into a chaotic brawl.

Kuang Chi’s first stop was Kuang Battle Star. Ever since the three-headed monster intercepted the turtle for them, their warship hadn’t dared pause for an instant as it sped homeward.

By the time they arrived, Kuang Chi’s grandparents and parents had already learned everything that had happened at Soren Fortress by other means.

The moment his grandfather saw him, he thundered, “You brat, are you determined to give our family no peace? You troublemaker! Have you not stirred up enough disaster already? Why did you have to provoke a cosmic beast? Because of you, the Empire lost not only tens of thousands of lives, but even Soren Fortress itself. What do you expect us to do now?”

On the journey, Kuang Chi and his companions had been too busy fleeing the turtle to learn anything about Soren Fortress’s fate. Hearing his grandfather’s words, his face paled—tens of thousands dead, plus a military star fortress lost; the consequences were dire indeed.

After a moment’s thought, Kuang Chi asked carefully, “Grandfather, what happened at Soren Fortress?”

His grandfather sighed long and deeply. “What else could have happened? When the cosmic beast failed to catch you, it fought another monster for days. But once the monster you’d provoked chased the other away, it plunged into Soren Fortress and reduced the whole place to drifting wreckage.”