Chapter 40: The Reappearance of the Azure Orb
On the flagship *Dauntless* of the expedition fleet, Joshua confirmed that the entire fleet was operating without issue before delegating command authority to the various ship-level officers, as well as the ‘Joint Fleet Command Information System’ co-created by Baniel and William.
This fifth-level artificial intelligence was not granted an artificial soul, as was customary in the Mycroft world. It was merely a combination of pure runic programs and large-scale computational facilities, recording all fleet operational data from the Era of Radiance and the Shalt civilization. It could calculate the current situation in real-time and select the most suitable method to solve problems.
Because it was not endowed with a soul or emotions, the ‘Joint System’ could handle all basic fleet command issues with absolute rationality, even without any orders.
In fact, without its adjustments, given the proficiency of the Mycroft core fleet crew, coordination between the warships would likely have faced significant problems.
At this moment, the Joint Expedition Fleet had already begun to depart towards the end of the World Star River. The exhaust plumes of the entire fleet converged, forming a silver-blue stream of light resembling a Great Magic Tide. The energy contained within was enough to instantly carbonize the surface of a world and incinerate all tangible matter into ash. To gain the acceleration needed to break free from the World Star River’s gravitational pull, the Mycroft people had hollowed out nearly half a world of magic crystal mines to stockpile sufficient energy.
Joshua sat in his seat on the central bridge, gazing at the hazy nebula ahead of the fleet and the dark void behind it.
“This is where the Star Shepherds logged in, and also where the Metal Dragon God departed… Hah, it’s practically a natural entry and exit port for the World Star River.”
The loose nebula matter of steel-particle stars was swept aside by the warships’ ‘Space-Time Flow Stabilizers.’ They flew past at a seemingly slow but extremely rapid speed. Joshua could sense that the density of steel particles here was second only to the ‘Void Great Maelstrom’ and the ‘Genesis Maelstrom.’ A vast amount of wreckage from destroyed worlds floated here.
However, he didn’t know whether these fragments were remnants of the Lost Star River’s own worlds or the final residue from other star rivers.
Joshua didn’t know. He only knew that after leaving this ring of nebula mist, the entire Joint Expedition Fleet would completely depart the World Star River and enter the ‘Absolute Void,’ where no matter existed.
This was also known as the ‘Material Vacuum Ring.’
The Unified Grand Database contained extensive research records from the Era of Radiance regarding the World Star River and the ‘Absolute Void’ beyond it. By analyzing these records, many academy mages of the Era of Falling Stars proposed the concept of the ‘Material Vacuum Ring’ based on the current situation of the Lost Star River.
The First Flame burned the primordial chaos, causing existence to fill the void. Tangible matter and worlds were created. Among them, worlds varied in size. Small ones contained only a single continent and ocean, their internal dimensions not exceeding five times that of a ‘Standard World’ (the total area of the Mycroft World). Large ones were exceptionally vast, like the Starry Sea World, where the internal density of matter was so low that it had to be divided into planet-like forms.
Just as planets coalesced into galaxies in the Starry Sea World, similar connections existed between worlds. A vast number of worlds created by the First Flame, propelled by its ‘First Impulse,’ moved rapidly through the void. They would gradually draw close to other worlds, forming the embryonic structure of a World Star River.
Naturally, due to differences in creation time and movement speed, not all worlds could coalesce into an exceptionally massive star river. Surrounding the First Flame were tens of millions, an endless sea of star rivers. The immense mass of these World Star Rivers would attract all scattered worlds, even primordial chaos, onto themselves. They would sweep their surroundings clean, forming enormous ‘Material Rings.’
And what separated these ‘Material Rings’ was the ‘Absolute Void,’ signifying ‘Material Vacuum.’
No First Flame, no light, no chaos, no natural energy, and no matter.
No supplies could be found, not even the tiniest speck of matter. Even the vacuum particle sea was nearly silent. The ‘Absolute Void,’ where no energy could be borrowed, was the Material Vacuum Ring that divided the World Star Rivers.
Joshua remembered the Star Shepherd Great Khan telling him that before arriving at the Lost Star River, they had prepared for centuries, expending countless resources to fill the Void Behemoths and the worlds on their backs with matter and food. Even so, during the 150-year journey through the Material Vacuum Ring, twelve Void Behemoths couldn’t hold out. Their corpses and the worlds on their backs became nourishment for the remaining behemoths, allowing the Star Shepherd clan to reach their destination successfully.
The Metal Dragon God had also said before leaving that even it couldn’t utilize the dead steel particles. So, compared to the unknown monsters that might or might not exist among the wreckage of the destroyed World Star River, Joshua believed that this absolute nothingness was the fleet’s greatest enemy.
“Therefore, the ecological ship is the most critical part of the entire fleet.”
Thinking this, Joshua couldn’t help but scan the entire bridge. All crew members were working intensely, analyzing the correctness of the data on their light screens. These specially trained crew members could fully shoulder their responsibilities. As the captain and marshal, he only needed to give orders.
At this moment, the vanguard of the Joint Fleet had already left the nebula layer. Soon, the *Dauntless* battleship, where Joshua was, also exited the nebula layer.
The silver radiance vanished instantly. Except for the faint colors coming from behind, what lay ahead was a complete darkness and void.
The warrior could sense varying degrees of tension in the hearts of the bridge crew. The initial enthusiasm for the expedition was beginning to fade. They had to face the harsh reality of leaving their home, their homeland, and even the ‘Material Ring’ essential for life.
It was perfectly natural for them to feel fear and tension—in fact, that was normal. Joshua slightly released his aura, jolting a few crew members who had started to daydream back to their senses. He didn’t mind their flustered apologies but instead raised his head, activated his Steel Vision, and looked into the endless darkness at the faint, blurry distant points of light.
“Are you ready, boys?”
The warrior’s voice echoed through the bridge as he chuckled softly. “The journey of battle has only just begun.”
Meanwhile, as Joshua and the other legendary experts left the World Star River with the Joint Fleet…
Mycroft World, near the Vanguard Fortress Cluster, the silent dark void.
Ying, wearing a specially crafted suit of armor that resembled a pressure suit more than battle armor, floated silently in the void, gazing at the silver-blue points of light that suddenly ignited at the end of the star river.
“The master has left.”
Inside the helmet, dense arrays of runic formations were combining. They coalesced into a series of observation arrays as the silver-haired girl’s pupils contracted, allowing Ying, whose strength hadn’t yet reached the Ultimate-rank, to ignore space-time turbulence and watch the Joint Fleet’s exhaust plumes disappear into the nebula layer.
The silver-haired girl didn’t sigh in lament as she used to when Joshua left without taking her. Ying calmly raised her hand, activated a communication array, and contacted an existence at the other end of space-time.
“Lin, the master has left. Our mission must begin.”
“Acknowledged.”
From the other end of the communication array came a slightly distorted youthful tone due to the long distance. Lin’s voice was also very serious: “Miss No. 3 has already gone to the target location… Our magic projections are now in the Lord’s Manor, taking care of Hei and Xiao Guang. Unless someone observes carefully, no one will notice they are illusions.”
“All the legendary experts and the Seven Gods are basically at the Vanguard Fortress Cluster, seeing off the Joint Fleet. Even His Majesty Emperor Israel’s egg isn’t in Mycroft… No one can see through Miss No. 3’s projection. After all, she is also an inheritor of the Sky God’s legacy.”
Ying nodded at this. She looked at her hand, now wrapped in the special armor, and sighed softly. “I never thought… that we ‘weapons’ would one day wear the ‘armor’ forged by the master and act alone… This is too darkly humorous.”
“Alright, stop complaining. The master’s assigned tasks are very heavy.”
From the other end of the communication, a rumbling sound like thunder could be heard. Lin’s current location seemed very peculiar. The space-time roar generated by the massive energy flow was clearly audible even through the communication array. The youth’s calm voice came through: “Sister, the nodes you’re responsible for cover most of the dead dark star regions. The Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground’s Dominant Will will assist us with teleportation, but you must be careful to avoid those resource-rich dead worlds that might be explored.”
“I know.”
Ying nodded slightly and sighed softly. Then she said calmly, “I’m counting on you, Lin. From the Siberia World to the Great Fissure, your work is much harder than mine.”
“No matter how hard, it’s not as hard as Miss No. 3’s… She has to go to…”
Noisy interference drowned out Lin’s next words. When the voice was heard again, only the last part remained: “…That’s about it. The master’s main body has entered complete slumber to fully suppress Chaos and Divinity. This way, before the fleet reaches its destination, the master should be fully healed. By then, our work will be over.”
“Mm.”
Ying responded briefly, smiling slightly. “After all, we are just acting on behalf of the master, completing a bit of trivial work while he sleeps.”
“Then that’s it. Good luck, little brother.”
“You too, sister.”
The communication ended.
The silver-haired girl in armor looked around at the surrounding void.
Dark, dead, devoid of any life. Although the Genesis Maelstrom had begun to operate again, it would take at least several thousand years for this dark region at the edge of the star river to regain its luster.
“The master is now in a place even more silent and empty than this.”
Ying murmured to herself. She shook her head and chuckled softly. “As weapons, we can’t hold him back either.”
With that, azure points of light lit up from the chest of Ying’s armor, forming an energy core like a gem. Under the catalysis of this power, the girl’s body transformed into a phantom-like stream of light, flying rapidly towards the nearby dead worlds.
Along the way, one could see light fragments like scale powder scattering and drifting in the void.
If it were an ordinary person, they certainly wouldn’t notice, as any Transcendent Being using their abilities would stir the surrounding energy, creating various phenomena. But if it were the old Pope Eagle, or Brandon, or even a secluded Dragon Elf like Hilla, upon seeing the color and nature of this light, they would be greatly shocked.
Because this was a color that once belonged to Joshua.
This was the light of the Azure Orb.