Star Odyssey

Chapter 816: Tiny Arrow

The Dark Phoenix family had united to launch another joint attack, but countless arrows shot westwards, which was Neo-Vestige Sect’s retaliation.

“Your Highness, according to the most recent calculations, it will take us half a month at most before we arrive at the Wei family’s ancestral planet,” En Ya reported. action

Lu Yin nodded. “Don’t get careless.”

“Rest assured, Your Highness. The Great Eastern Alliance has already set up multiple emergency contingencies, and there’s an Enlighter protecting Zenyu Star. There is no way for Wei Rong to turn the tides,” En Ya stated confidently.

Lu Yin had a tight frown on his face. The further they progressed into Armament Weave, the more likely he felt it was that they would run into complications.

“Your Highness, we’ve obtained some news. People from the Wei family have started to pull out of their ancestral home,” someone reported.

Lu Yin frowned; was Wei Rong admitting defeat?

The spacecraft trembled as Sall Phoenix suddenly attacked, but it was once again blocked by Aden.

Lu Yin looked at the rune lines that pervaded the area around him, and he took a deep breath. As long as he was able to deal with Wei Rong and take care of him, Lu Yin would not need to be concerned about the central weaves, even if they did unite.

Wei Rong was like a rope connecting the central weaves. Once this rope snapped, the unity between those weaves would be easily scattered.

It was just like how Lu Yin was the one holding the Great Eastern Alliance together. If something happened to him, the Great Eastern Alliance would completely fall apart.

Lu Yin was caught in a dilemma yet again; should he hire Smoker to take care of Wei Rong? When facing off against Wei Rong, Lu Yin struggled to be as decisive as he usually was. Some of Wei Rong’s aspects seemed to mirror Lu Yin’s, and that made Lu Yin reluctant to resort to dark methods like assassination to deal with Wei Rong. Lu Yin wanted to defeat Wei Rong head on, regardless of the methods required.

The universe only saw the victor as the king, and it was possible that, at the bottom of his heart, Lu Yin held onto the unrealistic fantasy of subduing Wei Rong. Unfortunately, such a thing was close to impossible.

Suddenly, urgent footsteps approached. “Your Highness, Captain Peach was killed in action!”

Lu Yin was caught off guard. “What did you say?”

“Captain Peach just- her body was completely destroyed!” The reporting soldier had a deathly pale face.

Lu Yin’s pupils shrank, and his heart wrenched in pain as he stepped into outer space and sped towards the battlefield.

On the battlefield at this moment, the Neo-Vestige Sect disciples were frantically attacking the cultivators from the Dark Phoenix family. Gong Ke, Gong Chou, and the others were all shouting something.

Sall Phoenix was no longer tangled up with Aden. Instead, he was blocking the advancement of the full Allied Forces all by himself.

When Lu Yin arrived, Sall Phoenix sneered, and his black flames formed a wall that blocked off the Allied Forces.

The Neo-Vestige Sect disciples all looked stunned, especially Gong Chou, who was trembling from head to toe.

Lu Yin arrived next to him and asked softly, “What’s the matter?”

Gong Chou looked at Lu Yin and roared in anger, “Little Peach is dead! Crushed! You must be satisfied now, as you’re the one who sent her onto the battlefield! You’re the one who killed her!”

The Neo-Vestige Sect disciples all glared at Lu Yin with bloodlust in their eyes.

All around them, the various Hunters from the Allied Forces, as well as Aden and Yan Yan, appeared, and they stood across from the Neo-Vestige Sect disciples.

Lu Yin stared at Gong Chou. “What is going on? Describe what happened clearly.”

Gong Chou exhaled and bitterly said, “The battlefield was too chaotic, and Little Peach strayed away from us without us noticing. When we found her again, she and a battle spacecraft both exploded simultaneously and were vaporized.”

“Where?” Lu Yin barked.

Gong Chou pointed in a certain direction, and Lu Yin turned to see the wreckage of a spacecraft floating through space. As far as he could see, aside from some Neo-Vestige Sect disciples searching through the debris, there were no other rune lines in the area.

His heart sank, and he approached the wreckage as he unleashed his domain. There were no living organisms and no corpses. Had Peach truly been killed without leaving even a corpse behind?

“How is it that so many of you strayed away from her?” Lu Yin asked as he stared at Gong Chou.

Gong Chou angrily retorted, “This is a battlefield, and there’s enemies all around us! That’s not even mentioning how that old bastard, Sall Phoenix, suddenly appeared and prevented us from finding Little Peach.”

Lu Yin looked at Aden. “Why did Sall Phoenix suddenly withdraw?”

Aden shook his head. “I don't know, but he suddenly pulled back after fighting here and there across the battlefield.”

“Senior, there’s nothing here,” a Neo-Vestige Sect disciple reported to Gong Chou. It seemed as though they had been searching for something.

Gong Chou remained stubborn, and he personally flew over to the wreckage to search.

Lu Yin knew that the man was searching for the arrow that had belonged to Peach, and he felt his heart sink. Peach had been his friend, and he had to get revenge.

However, the entire situation was too strange. If Wei Rong wanted to kill Peach and cause a falling out between the Neo-Vestige Sect and Lu Yin, then that would be very normal. However, why were they unable to find Peach’s arrow? Her arrow was a divine arrow that had been handed down through ancient times and had survived the corrosion of time. It could not have been destroyed by a single attack, and Peach had once mentioned that she always carried the arrow on her person.

If the arrow had truly been on Peach’s body, then it had either been either picked up by someone on the battlefield or Peach was not actually dead. He did not believe that her body had been completely destroyed, and just like Undying Yushan, there was a possibility that a person was not actually dead so long as there was no corpse to be found.

However, Lu Yin had arrived on the scene as soon as he had heard of Peach’s death, but despite that, he could not see any trace of her rune lines.

The Neo-Vestige Sect disciples continued searching through the wreckage, and although Gong Chou had quarreled with Lu Yin, he still had not left. Gong Chou must have guessed that the arrow had been taken by someone, and he wanted to stay near the battlefield to rendezvous with other Neo-Vestige Sect experts to look for the arrow.

That arrow was too important to the Neo-Vestige Sect.

Lu Yin returned to his spacecraft and immediately called Wei Rong.

Soon, Wei Rong’s smiling face appeared on the screen. “Brother Lu, long time no see.”

Ever since the war had begun, the two had not spoken to each other. Wei Rong had also essentially never even stepped foot near the battlefield, despite the fact that the battles had been going on for two months already.

“Is Peach dead or not?” Lu Yin directly asked in a depressed voice. He was a little expectant and also a little nervous. He was emotional not only because of the looming threat from Neo-Vestige Sect, but more so because Peach had been his friend.

Wei Rong helplessly answered, “Anything can change in an instant on the battlefield. Brother Lu, restrain your grief.”

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. “Is Peach actually dead?”

Wei Rong smiled softly. “Brother Lu should not ask me this question, as I wasn’t near the battlefield. You should ask those Neo-Vestige Sect disciples, as they personally witnessed what occurred.”

Lu Yin was stubborn. "Brother Wei, if Peach is not dead but was instead captured by you, I’m willing to end this war right now in exchange for Peach.”

Wei Rong’s expression changed, as he had not expected Lu Yin to be willing to pay such a steep price. “Is it worth it?”

Lu Yin firmly answered, “She’s my friend.”

Wei Rong laughed. “Brother Lu must be afraid of the Neo-Vestige Sect’s retaliation.”

In a low voice, Lu Yin threatened, “You underestimate me too much. The universe preys on the weak and follows the dark laws of the jungle. Friends are exceptionally precious, and those who I recognize as my friends will never change in my life.”

Wei Rong’s expression grew solemn, and he took a serious look at Lu Yin and sighed with sorrow. “Today can be considered as me learning something more about Brother Lu. Although your ambition is great, you still have a bottom line when it comes to accomplishing your goals. What a pity. You’ve also disappointed me, as you care about these things too much, so you will fear those losses. However, those losses are what give rise to greatness and great opportunities. Brother Lu, in the future, I will walk ahead of you.”

“Is Peach dead or not?” Lu Yin asked sternly.

Wei Rong sighed. “Very unfortunately, she is dead.”

Lu Yin’s heart sank as he stared straight into Wei Rong’s eyes. “This is your only chance to end this war, so think carefully before you give your final answer.”

Wei Rong replied, “If Brother Lu doesn’t believe me, then I have no choice. Brother Lu had best beware of the Neo-Vestige Sect’s revenge. Farewell.”

He then ended the call.

Lu Yin stood inside his vessel and looked out at outer space. The battlefield in the distance had halted. He rather regretted sending Peach out onto the battlefield, and he should have pulled Peach back the moment the Wei family had started evacuating from their ancestral planet. Sall Phoenix had suddenly withdrawn at that moment, and he must have pulled back to deal with Peach.

This move by Wei Rong had been brilliant, and it had successfully delayed the war, as Lu Yin needed to first deal with the Neo-Vestige Sect.

Beep beep beep beep!

Lu Yin looked down at his gadget and activated it, causing Gong Ling’s image to appear.

“Alliance Leader Lu, did you forget what I told you before?” Gong Ling’s tone was icy-cold, and his eyes radiated bloodlust.

Lu Yin’s tone was depressed. “I’m sorry, Sect Leader Gong Ling. I didn’t take care of Peach well enough.”

“There’s no need for any more words with how the matters stand. Anyone who participated in this war must remain at the battlefield to be investigated carefully. As for you, Alliance Leader Lu, my Neo-Vestige Sect will naturally pay you a visit to see what happened. Even with the Hall of Honor supporting you, my Neo-Vestige Sect will not let this matter rest. I will invite the Arrow Mountain Elder out to make a personal visit.” Gong Ling quickly disconnected from the call.

Lu Yin took a deep breath and smiled bitterly. Everything had fallen short of success due to a lack of effort!

They were not too far from the Wei family’s ancestral planet, but something like this had still happened.

The Neo-Vestige Sect would not help him any longer, and without their help, it was not realistic to expect to take down the Wei family in a short amount of time. Sall Phoenix alone was enough to delay the advancement of the Allied Forces.

“Your Highness, please give a command. Even without Neo-Vestige Sect’s help, we can still fight our way to the Wei family’s ancestral planet,” Liuying Zishan said in a determined voice after arriving at Lu Yin’s spacecraft.

Lu Yin shook his head, as Wei Rong’s final defense included not only the reinforcements from the Dark Phoenix family, but also the Lockbreakers who had not made a move yet. The further in the Allied Forces pushed, the more reckless the defenders would become, and Lu Yin would also have to deal with the pressure from the Neo-Vestige Sect from here on out. There was going to be chaos from both in front and behind. If he was not careful, he could lose the entire game due to one wrong move. At this moment, he needed to ponder how to deal with the situation with the Neo-Vestige Sect.

“Control the battlefield and make sure that no one leaves by themselves,” Lu Yin said. That arrow was of the greatest importance to the Neo-Vestige Sect. If they could find the arrow and hand it to the Neo-Vestige Sect, that great power might not end up taking any action.

Lu Yin’s expression looked bleak, as this was a war. He had lost a friend, and Peach’s bell-like, reverberating laughter had been lost forever, and he felt extremely distressed.

Regret? He only felt a little. If he could do it over again, he would have still chosen to wage this war. But just as Wei Rong had said, the more one feared losing something, the more they would end up losing. Lu Yin was indeed afraid of losing his friends, relatives, and loved ones. But regardless of his fear, he could endure any loss; fear was one thing, and he still had to take action.

“Seventh Bro, restrain your grief,” the Ghost Monkey’s voice was also melancholic. He rather liked Peach, as she was not a scheming individual and was more like a pure child, which made her rather likeable.

Lu Yin took out the miniature arrow that Peach had given him and reflected on their times together.

As he looked at it, the miniature arrow suddenly shuddered.

Lu Yin thought that he had seen wrong, but then, the tiny arrow trembled once again. It rose into the air and shot off into the void, tearing through the distance.

Lu Yin immediately followed it, and he just barely managed to keep up with the tiny arrow as it sped away, almost losing it.

The tiny arrow’s speed grew faster and faster, and it seemed to be heading in a southeastern direction.

Lu Yin held the tiny arrow tightly and allowed it to take him further away from the battlefield. There was a torrent in his heart, and he suddenly realized that this tiny arrow might actually be one of the three divine arrows, the one that Peach had inherited. Otherwise, he could not explain its mighty force. In his eyes, this tiny arrow’s rune lines greatly surpassed those of an Enlighter, and they were still increasing.

“Seventh Bro, what the hell is this?” the monkey screamed.

Lu Yin was stunned when he realized that Peach had actually given that precious arrow to him, but why had she done so?