Maybe it truly was as Celeste said. She wasn’t completely sure—not yet. But there was one thing she knew without doubt. Fate had never harmed her. It had always been kind—to her, and to those around her.

“You might be right, Celeste, about this,” Vivian said quietly. “As you said, fate has always been kind to me—and to those around me. So it might be my fate… or rather, our fate, to be here.”

She drew a slow breath.

“Fate has guided us here for one reason or another, and meeting these humans from the Void Fleet is likely something that was always meant to happen. Knowing how fate works, this should ultimately benefit me—but in what way, I have no idea. I can’t guess it, and fate isn’t showing me even a glimpse of what lies ahead.”

“But how could—” Before she could complete herself she was interrupted by someone. Causing her, Vivian to frowned slightly. As she had never liked being interrupted while she was taking.

Yet as the voice continued, a hint of surprise crept into her expression.

She turned toward her left, toward the source of the voice. Celeste, Amber, and the others followed her gaze as well.

“Captain, Vice-Captain—you need to see this.” The words came from an elven male, his voice filled with astonishment. He was dressed in mage-like robes that were noticeably bulky, reinforced with thick armor plates along his shoulders and chest.

The combination gave him an unusual presence—like a mage and a knight fused into one.

Yet he didn’t quite feel like either.

There was something about him that defied easy classification, giving off a presence distinctly different from the others around him.

If any knowledgeable person had been present and truly understood what that man was wearing—no, that outfit—they would have been utterly shocked, completely taken aback by the presence of one of them.

That attire belonged to one of the strongest legions of the Elven Empire, a force that operated directly under the command of the Empire’s Grand Duke. In many ways, they could be considered the duke’s personal army. They not only protected the Flame Archduke family and its domain, but also represented a level of power and authority so great that not even the Elven Empress herself could command them freely.

For even one of them to be present here could mean only a few things.

And one of the most likely was that this individual was not alone—most probably acting as protection for someone belonging to the Flame Duke’s family.

Yet Vivian and the others did not focus on the man who had spoken. Nor did they appear surprised by who he was or the power he represented. They reacted as if his presence were something familiar—something they were already accustomed to. It wasn’t the ease of recent acquaintance, but the comfort of familiarity built over years.

Their attention was instead drawn outside the frigate.

Through the viewing panels, they watched as a massive white-colored missile launched from one of the human battleship’s missile systems, streaking forward at terrifying speed toward the space station—which had already cracked into nearly two separate halves.

“This is—” Celeste muttered, her eyebrows rising in surprise.

Meanwhile, Vivian was confused. She turned toward the man and asked, “Vice Marshal, why did you interrupt me? That’s just a missile the humans have launched. What’s so different about it?”

Her tone carried clear displeasure.

“Young miss, if it were merely that,” he replied calmly, “this loyal servant of yours would not have interrupted you at all. But that is anything but a normal missile.”

He paused, his expression paling slightly as he continued . “Just looking at it sends shivers through me. It feels as though if I were to get even remotely close to it, my end would be absolutely certain.”

His gaze remained fixed on the missile now halfway through its flight toward the Minotaur space station in but mere second.

“There is some kind of power within it,” he continued, his voice low and strained as he gulped his own saliva , “something so dreadful that it compelled me to interrupt you.”

“WHAT?!”

Vivian exclaimed in shock. Her face twisted into an expression like someone about to take a bite of cake—only to realize it had vanished before her eyes. But unlike mild disappointment, this was a bit more worse.

She was genuinely stunned… and deeply alarmed.

“How could this be…?” Vivian demanded. “Aren’t you a being of the World-Building Realm? How could a mere missile pose such a threat to someone as mighty as you? That’s simply not possible. Are you mistaken, or what?”

“I—” Before the Vice Marshal could even finish speaking, the missile launched by the humans collided with the nearly destroyed, collapsing space station.

A blinding white light erupted from the point of impact.

Within seconds, it swallowed the entire space station and continued to expand outward, consuming the debris from other ships and weapon systems the humans had already destroyed.

Under the Vice Marshal’s—and everyone else’s—careful observation, anything the sphere of white light touched was instantly disintegrated.

And while at it the ball of white light, which held an aura of destruction and annihilation that caused them to shiver constantly as they watched its destructive powers , and but a couple of seconds it expanded to about a hundred kilometers in diameter. Suddenly, it began shaking and collapsing under its own weight—or so it looked!!

Vivian, who was watching this with her mouth wide open, suddenly felt time around her slow down. A few words suddenly came to her mind, telling her to quickly activate her ship’s defenses and pour every ounce of her power into defending, or she would die!!

That stunned her, but she was quick to act. She pressed a few buttons in front of her and activated the ship’s shield systems while diverting their power toward the left side of the vessel, which was facing the space station above the Minotaur’s planet. She shouted, “Marshal! Everyone, pour every ounce of your mana into a shield around our ship, while a few of you strengthen our outer hull! Quick, we don’t have time for anything else!!!”

As she spoke, she quickly summoned her wand, which was made of mythical and legendary materials—something passed down through her family for countless thousands of years. Without even chanting, a green dome of light expanded outward from where thick, tree-like roots wrapped around the ship’s outer hull, covering it completely.

Meanwhile, the Vice Marshal, who heard her thoughts, was stunned and surprised but still reacted very quickly. Using his own power, he formed a shield around the ship that bore the vague image of a world made of rock and soil, with hints of green within!!

The others, though slower, quickly chanted spells to strengthen the ship’s inner and outer structure with every ounce of their mana, even utilizing mana stones to supply and maintain the spells!!

And just then, the white ball of energy created by that missile collapsed completely!! A huge rebounding energy and kinetic shockwave blasted outward from the center of the explosion, releasing a tide of unstoppable destructive energy and rebounding force that headed straight toward them!!

Seeing that, Vivian couldn’t help but say desperately as she cursed, “Damn that human woman! Can’t she warn us about this!! If I survive this, she’ll see how I deal with her when the time comes!”

Meanwhile, the woman in question—the one currently being cursed by Vivian—was completely unaware of the plight of Vivian and her crew!! She was speaking to Grand Admiral Ezra while leaving the command chamber and the battle to her assistant, Grace.

“Are you sure about that, Captain Vivian?” Ezra spoke as he stroked his non-existent beard with a thoughtful look. His voice not only sought assurance but was also full of a growing interest.

Athena nodded her head and said calmly, “I’m sure, Grand Admiral!! Having cultivated in such close proximity to the Universal Tree back in the Universal Domain within the Origin Planet, and having comprehended a bit of the Universal Tree’s aura, I’m certain that the aura around that elven woman has similarities to it!! Though it is very faint.”

“I would not have sensed it had she not, for some reason, been releasing her aura constantly,” Athena continued. “I could feel it, sir!! The closeness to nature and the minimal but definite churning of my own life force, as if it were about to expand!! It is a feeling I’m accustomed to. Anyone who has spent enough time around the Universal Tree could tell!!”

“She is definitely someone special,” Athena added calmly.

“Or it could be because she possesses a class that has some connection to the Universal Tree… or perhaps she possesses a unique constitution that carries an aura similar to it,” Ezra speculated. Athena nodded in confirmation.

“Whatever it may be, she is definitely a key that we want to get a hold of!! I’ll be there!!” Ezra said.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep