Chapter 104 Ancient Star Desert

In the Ancient Star Desert, somewhere within the desolate cosmic belt.

An armed fleet was slowly advancing through space. Sorokin stood in the command center of the main ship, gazing at the distant starry sky.

This armed fleet was a mercenary group he had secretly cultivated in the Ancient Star Desert. Apart from a few high-ranking officers, no one knew that their behind-the-scenes boss was the Infinite Financial Group. For this operation, Sorokin had secretly swapped things out, leaving a body double who had undergone plastic surgery to resemble him at the financial group's headquarters, while his true self had quietly slipped out, leading the mercenary group to the location of the Soul Flame.

The mercenary group was unaware of the specific purpose of this trip; they were simply following the orders of the high-ranking officers. Sorokin, for the sake of caution, even wore a mask to conceal his face. At this moment, apart from the leader of the mercenary group beside him, no one in the fleet knew that the famous Sorokin was on board.

"The sensing is much stronger, which means we're getting closer…"

Sorokin observed the star chart. Within a certain distance in the direction of straight advancement, there was only a desolate planet. He was basically certain that the Soul Flame was on this planet.

On the star chart, this planet had no name, only a number. It was extremely barren and was marked as a planet with no development value.

After the fleet had advanced for a while, when it was still a considerable distance from this planet, Sorokin called a halt to the fleet.

"All ships stop advancing. Use astronomical telescopes to observe the surface conditions of that planet from a long distance."

"...Observation complete, Boss. The planet's surface shows no anomalies. It's completely desolate, with nothing of note. We need an on-site investigation to determine the specific situation."

"Mm, first, send out a reconnaissance ship to land on the planet. Keep the majority of the fleet in a hidden state, standing by."

Sorokin nodded and gave the orders.

Caution is the parent of safety. He had long been accustomed to playing it safe. He was worried that the Soul Flame had a host, so he planned to first scout the location and probe it. Even if it was a desolate planet, he would repeatedly confirm potential dangers and dare not expose himself immediately.

The reconnaissance ship detached from the main force and quickly sped toward the planet. Sorokin quietly used his ability to possess the captain of the reconnaissance ship.

After waiting for some time, the reconnaissance ship finally arrived at the planet and activated various scanning instruments, beginning to observe the situation beneath the planet's surface. However, after scanning for a full hour, all results were normal, with no gains.

Sorokin immediately realized the problem and narrowed his eyes.

The sensing indicated that the Soul Flame was somewhere underground. It was impossible not to have discovered it unless a camouflage device had been set up underground, which would prove that there were unknown individuals present.

"Even if they can shield the scans, they can't hide the physical object."

With a thought, Sorokin, in his possessed body, drew a rough area on the planet's underground model and ordered the crew to directly release engineering robots to dig into the ground, intending to drill a hole straight to the Soul Flame's location.

However, at the very moment the engineering robots were released, the reconnaissance ship suddenly went haywire and stalled, plummeting straight toward the ground. The personnel in the cabin were as if they were in a can being shaken, falling and bleeding from their heads.

Sorokin restrained his instincts, preventing his possessed body from revealing its abilities. Just as the reconnaissance ship was about to smash into the ground, a blue-violet magical space gate suddenly appeared below, and the reconnaissance ship fell straight into it, disappearing from the planet's surface.

At the same time, the leader of the main force's mercenary group hurriedly reported to Sorokin's true body:

"Boss, the reconnaissance ship just disconnected the communication link and suddenly disappeared. Should we go over and take a look?"

"No need. We'll retreat first."

Sorokin's eyes flickered.

It seemed that there were indeed enemies near the Soul Flame. His possession of the reconnaissance ship captain was a precautionary measure. Now, it could be used to observe the enemy's situation.

He could multitask. At this moment, the vision and perception of the possessed body were displayed in his mind.

After the reconnaissance ship fell into the space gate, it seemed to have fallen onto some kind of buffer platform. It did not crash, but the vibrations in the cabin made everyone fall again.

Several operators, clutching their bleeding heads, quickly pressed a few buttons on the control panel and said in a panic:

"Captain, all functions of the ship are frozen! We've lost contact with the main force!"

Sorokin, in his possessed body, feigned a look of panic and said in a low voice, "Everyone, put on the land exploration armor, manually open the hatch, and go outside to see where we are."

The order was issued, and many crew members hurriedly changed into land exploration armor warriors. Enduring the tension in their hearts, they cautiously and manually opened the hatch.

*Chi-*

The sound of the pressure valve adjusting rang out, and the hatch quickly slid open. Upon seeing the scene outside, everyone's bodies froze.

All that could be seen was a space resembling an underground hangar. Outside, a large group of mecha warriors, completely covered from head to toe, held energy guns, surrounding the entire reconnaissance ship, the muzzles all pointed at the hatch.

"Where is this place?"

"Who are you people?"

The reconnaissance ship's crew members were shocked.

The mecha warriors outside remained unmoved. The leader coldly said, "Disarm immediately, raise your hands, and walk out. Otherwise, we will open fire immediately!"

'This is an unknown organization? They should be hiding under the planet's surface.'

Sorokin did not see any faction emblems on the mechs of this group of people. He was slightly moved and immediately pretended to be nervous and afraid of death, loudly telling the crew members to throw down their weapons and lead everyone out with their hands raised.

Soon, a group of crew members was captured and held in separate cells. Sorokin's possessed body was alone in an interrogation room.

After waiting for a long time, the door was finally pushed open, and a mecha warrior, also with an unexposed face, walked in and sat opposite him, clearly here for interrogation. He spoke concisely:

"I ask, you answer. Otherwise, you die. Understand?"

Sorokin's possessed body nodded in fear.

"I just checked your flight logs and found that you belong to a mercenary group. Tell me, why are you here?"

"I... I don't know. I'm just following orders."

Sorokin's possessed body deliberately stammered in response, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.

By checking the flight logs and interrogating the crew members, this unknown organization definitely knew that the mercenary group's main force was also coming. Fortunately, he had taken precautions and kept the main force a considerable distance away. At the same time as the reconnaissance ship's accident, he had ordered the main force to retreat. This measure had paid off, preventing this unknown organization from obtaining accurate information.

The interrogator asked many more questions. Sorokin's possessed body's answers were both true and false, basically maintaining the level of information that this captain should know, and feigning shivers.

He had been acting for most of his life, and was already skilled at it. He was also a strong contender for the title of Movie Emperor and did not arouse the other party's suspicion.

After a while, the interrogator finished asking questions and was about to stand up and leave the room.

At that moment, Sorokin's possessed body's eyes flashed with a sharp light. A trace of the possessed spiritual force used vision as a springboard, suddenly rushing into the interrogator's body, attempting to possess him.

He needed to find out the details of this unknown organization, so replacing an internal member as the possessed body was naturally the best choice.

Sorokin launched his ability with almost no warning, extremely secretive. At such a close distance, this interrogator, whose strength was not even at the Heavenly Disaster level, naturally had no defenses. In an instant, he was deprived of control over his body.

Just as he seized the body, Sorokin had not even had time to rejoice when he suddenly discovered a cluster of starry, brilliant flames in this body's brain region.

"The Soul Flame seal?!"

The moment the interrogator's brain region was occupied by a foreign spiritual body, this cluster of flames seemed to sense something and suddenly leaped up, as if it would turn into a sea of fire in the next moment, directly burning down the brain region of this body.

Sorokin's expression changed. In an instant, he adjusted the soul frequency, performing a series of complex operations, and a mental barrier covered the flames.

In the next moment, the cluster of flames slowly calmed down again, but sparks popped out from time to time, as if it could erupt at any moment.

Seeing this, Sorokin breathed a sigh of relief.

He was too familiar with the effects of the Soul Flame. It could be used to set up this kind of surveillance seal on others, preventing the leakage of certain secrets or being searched for memories by others. Once triggered, it would immediately burn all related memories, and the Soul Flame host would sense it.

This method was effective for most people, even Super-As, but that did not include Sorokin.

He had once been the host of the Soul Flame and had already thoroughly studied the mechanisms of various abilities. Moreover, there was still a mental induction remaining in the Soul Seed, coupled with the characteristics of his own abilities, he could briefly avoid the Soul Flame's restriction, which meant that he was one of the very few people in the universe who had the ability to infiltrate the Covenant.

After a series of operations, he successfully made the Soul Flame restriction misjudge him and did not erupt immediately. However, Sorokin knew that he was not the real host now and could only deceive the restriction for a period of time. If he retracted the possessed spiritual force, the restriction would lose his suppression and would immediately erupt, being discovered by the current host.

Similarly, he did not dare to read this body's memories because the Soul Flame sealed the related memories, like burying a series of trigger lines. Once triggered again, he would not be able to continue deceiving the Soul Flame restriction and would be immediately exposed.

"How dangerous! Could it be that every member of this mysterious organization has a Soul Flame seal on their bodies…"

Sorokin became vigilant, secretly surprised.

In that case, the Soul Flame host should be the leader of this strange organization, or at least a high-ranking member.

Using this method to ensure that all members of the organization do not leak secrets… What kind of big secret requires such a large hand? What exactly does this organization do?

He controlled the new possessed body to leave the room while secretly calculating in his mind. Although he could not read memories, he could observe the organization's situation using the convenience of the body.

Just as he walked out of the interrogation room, someone came up to take over. Sorokin adhered to the principle of "the more you say, the more mistakes you make," silently handed over the review report, and seeing that no one gave him orders, he left this area on his own.

After wandering around for a while, he soon discovered that the organization's base was very large, with a large number of people, but there were no faction emblems anywhere.

Sorokin's possessed body did not dare to ask others, for fear of revealing his identity, and could only wander around aimlessly. However, this body's authority seemed to be very low, and many areas could not be entered, especially the area where the Soul Flame was sensed, which was in a forbidden area that was not allowed for grassroots personnel.

"This won't work. I can't find any valuable information. My infiltration will be exposed sooner or later… It seems that I must use external force."

Sorokin's heart moved.

In his opinion, this mysterious organization was very concerned about secrecy. Once exposed, there was a high probability that they would transfer. It would be good to let the nearby mercenary group launch a large-scale attack on this planet, forcing the organization to show its strength and begin to transfer. Then there would be more opportunities to discover the secrets of this organization, as well as the identity of the Soul Flame host.

As for the possible casualties of the mercenary group, he did not care at all. They were originally chess pieces that could be sacrificed.

With this in mind, Sorokin's true body immediately turned to the leader of the mercenary group and said:

"Pass on my orders. Send out 70 percent of the troops to bombard that planet, and the remaining 30 percent of the troops will continue to retreat with me."

"Understood."

The leader of the mercenary group immediately gave the order.

A portion of the armed fleet immediately advanced and entered the strike zone after a long while. Then, without saying a word, they activated various long-range weapons, and one after another, rhombus-shaped giant physical missiles were fired with trailing flames, heading straight for the target.

*Buzz—*

Suddenly, a light blue magic barrier enveloped the entire planet, and all the shelling was blocked, exploding into fireworks in outer space.

Before the fleet could take further action, all the warships that had gone to attack the planet went out of control, as if they were being controlled by others, killing each other.

At the same time, a cluster of starry, brilliant fire rings suddenly spread out from the center of the planet, like phantoms, rapidly penetrating the fleet.

In the next moment, more than 90 percent of the crew members of the fleet had their souls burned, instantly dying on the spot.

The armed fleet that went to attack completely lost its combat capability in less than a minute!

At this time, holes suddenly opened on the planet's surface, like spaceports. Ships without markings came out and seized all the remaining warships in outer space.

"They were blown up so quickly?" Sorokin's expression darkened in the main ship.

He knew that the mercenary group was cannon fodder, but he did not expect them to be wiped out so quickly.

However, although the battle process was short, he was not without gains. In the short time of the engagement, he saw a terrifying combat power that almost made him gasp.

"Magicians, virtual mechanics, and a Soul Flame host… There are at least three Super-As in this organization!"

Sorokin's expression was uncertain, and he was still alarmed.

This organization was too unfathomable. Fortunately, he was cautious and chose to test it. If he had rashly killed his way to the door like a reckless martial artist, he would probably have been caught off guard.

'Fortunately, I'm a coward!'

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but order the remaining fleet to retreat at full speed, as far away as possible.

At the same time, Sorokin's possessed body, which had infiltrated the Covenant organization, also received an emergency order to transfer.

In the planet's underground base, members of the organization were skillfully moving supplies, destroying the base, and starting the ships.

Sorokin's possessed body was also summoned by his superiors and rushed over, while observing all around as he came to the dock to work.

Before long, the location of the Soul Flame in the sensing was rapidly approaching.

Soon, a passage传来来密集的脚步声，伴随而来的还有越来越近的聊天声音，其中几个人的声音，他竟然觉得有些耳熟。

“奇怪，刚才那支舰队是怎么回事，为什么突然攻击我们？”

“他们是冲着我们来的？莫非发现了我们？”

“不会吧，就这么一点武装力量，不会不自量力来对付我们，貌似是一支路过的舰队发现了咱们的基地……”

“还能这么倒霉？你早上没洗脸吗！”

声音越来越近，很快一群人便走出了通道，一边抱怨着，一边走向停靠在码头的飞船。

感应指示的灵魂之炎宿主就在这群人当中，索罗金下意识转头看了一眼。

“！！！”

就这一眼，他的心神便轰然失守！

战争之王潘尔贡、法神白格尔、紫皇魅姬……全都是和他一个时代的最初者，里面还有白格尔这个杀死自己的仇人！

他们不是早就死了吗？！

为什么会活生生出现在这个地方！！

就在索罗金情绪震荡的同时，他压制附身体灵魂之炎禁制的精神力同样产生波动，出现了疏漏。

下一刻，禁制突破压制，猛然爆发，瞬间将这具附身体的灵魂灼烧得一干二净。

“嗯？！”

正在一群复苏最初者前面领路的起誓人立即有所感应，猛然转头看了过去，一眼便看到了倒地的附身体。

“刚才有人触发了灵魂之炎的限制……”

起誓人眼中突然闪过难以抑制的激动之色。

难道……传说中的内鬼现身了？

好小子！这么多年了，我还以为你真的不存在！

你终于露出破绽了！