Chapter 1 Kerneyde Slowly Opens His Eyes

Kerneyde slowly opened his eyes. Before him was a transparent screen, and beyond that was a prison-like space, dotted with translucent single-person cells, almost every one occupied.

He was one of them.

This was the headquarters prison of Sarnah and the others, used to detain the targets on their list.

All the prisoners had special mechanical rings on their wrists and ankles, used to restrict the abilities of these Grade A powerhouses. They were embedded in their limbs, the wrist rings using nanoscale probes to connect to the prisoners' hearts, brains, and other vital organs through the blood vessels. The ankle rings were supergene inhibitors, weakening their recovery speed.

They also wore collars around their necks, engraved with powerful silencing and weakening enchantments. The enchanter’s strength was clearly far beyond theirs, producing lasting effects, making the prisoners feel like they had kidney deficiency every day.

In addition, they were injected with various potions to inhibit the generation of qi in their cells.

These various means of confinement made this group of Grade A powerhouses extremely weak, their abilities greatly suppressed.

On the first day of his imprisonment, Kerneyde was surprised to find that his cellmates were all figures with status no less than his own. Many of their names had once been like thunder in his ears, and they had all been captured here. He was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped.

Kerneyde had tried to escape, but failed. So many powerful inmates had failed to escape, and he was no exception. And even if he escaped from the prison, there were still powerful enemies guarding the outside. All this made him feel extremely hopeless.

After being locked up for many days, he had given up. He couldn't escape on his own, and could only secretly pray that someone would come to rescue him. However, none of the powerful and influential inmates had been rescued, so he couldn't help but feel that his chances of breaking free were slim, and he was very pessimistic.

However, when it came to pessimism, he was far behind his neighbor.

The single cell next to his held a male Cosmic Human who wore a constantly miserable expression. His temperament was not just melancholy, but downright depressed. His name was Lajie, a lone Calamity Grade powerhouse who, according to himself, had been locked up here for almost ten years, making him the most senior inmate.

Life in prison was boring. The only pastime was for the inmates to make the best of it, bragging to each other. They were all talented, and their words were pleasant to hear.

But whenever Lajie opened his mouth during the bragging sessions, he was sure to become an atmosphere-killer, a legendary buzzkill.

They had all been big shots in the past, reduced to their current situation. Everyone was pessimistic, but in terms of pessimism, Kerneyde felt that they were all trash compared to Lajie.

At this moment, the prison door opened, and Albert, Sarnah, and Airette walked in, causing the prisoners who were spacing out to stir.

"Let me out, do you know who I am?!"

"You've provoked people you shouldn't have, you will pay the price!"

"What are you up to!"

Many people spoke angrily, threatening every time the guards came to patrol.

The three ignored them. Today was not a routine check on the prisoners' condition. Due to the two defeats Black Star had inflicted on them, Albert decided to be cautious for a few years and cease operations. So, they were now preparing to count the number of prisoners and transfer them away.

They certainly hadn't captured these targets to collect them, they naturally had other intentions. This was not the prisoners' final destination.

The shouts of abuse continued, but the three ignored them, splitting up to count the numbers. Sarnah soon reached Kerneyde's cell.

Kerneyde heavily pounded the light screen barrier, angrily shouting, "I remember you, you're the one who caught me! Just you wait, the Light Rune Civilization will definitely rescue me!"

Hearing this, Sarnah chuckled coldly, "Still haven't given up? Do you really think someone will come to save you?"

At this moment, Lajie in the next cell opened his mouth, slowly saying, "Don't worry, I'm sure no one will come to save us. We're doomed."

Kerneyde was immediately speechless, covering his face with one hand. "Which side are you on?"

Sarnah was also speechless. This guy had been locked up for almost ten years, he must have gone crazy.

After the headcount was completed, the three were about to leave, the crowd still shouting and cursing. Albert paused, turning back to face everyone.

"I know, you think you're big shots, but in reality, your status in the Shattered Star Ring is insignificant in my eyes. In a few days, I will freeze you and send you out of the Shattered Star Ring. You will disappear forever, your forces and family will leave you, and fate awaits you."

All the prisoners quieted down, feeling both anger and unwillingness. If things were really as Albert said, then they, the powerhouses of the Shattered Star Ring, were truly finished.

Many felt despair, filled with fear and anxiety about the future. No one knew what this organization's purpose was.

Lajie sighed, "Alas, I guess they're going to use us as experimental materials, studying our bodies. Once we're no longer of use, they'll dissect us all, tear apart our bones, muscles, and organs, soak them in containers as specimens, and maybe even label them with our names and life stories, collecting them for people to visit. 'Look, this is the underdeveloped cerebellum of the Calamity Grade powerhouse Kerneyde,' and so on..."

Everyone felt a chill.

Kerneyde had a purple question mark on his face. Why not talk about yourself?!

Albert was silent for a while, and after thinking about it, he decided not to explain, saying calmly:

"In short, enjoy the last few days of consciousness. The next time you wake up, you'll be in another, unfamiliar star field..."

As soon as he finished speaking,

Boom!!

A loud noise!

The entire prison suddenly shook, as if the earth was moving and the mountains were swaying!

Albert staggered, almost biting his tongue, and exclaimed, "What's going on?"

"It seems like there's something happening above!" Airette said in surprise.

The three hurriedly left the prison, closing the door. The inmates looked at each other.

"Could it be that someone has come to rescue us?"

Everyone was immediately invigorated, filled with hope.

Lajie, with his miserable face, slowly said, "Even if reinforcements have come, they may not be a match for the enemy. They will be instantly killed, completely annihilated, their warships shattered, and everyone inside will be blown to dust. Maybe your comrades, subordinates, and family members will be among them, and in the end, you will be forced to eat them, first breaking your will, then dissecting your body..."

"Shut up!"

...

The shaking continued. Albert and the other two returned to the headquarters hall, meeting with three other companions.

"What's going on?"

"There are enemies!"

Albert's expression immediately darkened. He led a few companions out of the headquarters and found that the earth was being torn apart. A great force was digging their headquarters out of the ground.

Two figures were floating in the sky. When they saw the figures clearly, Albert and the others' expressions changed drastically, and their minds were in chaos!

Black Star!

Dragon Emperor!

Aimes was releasing her ability, tearing apart the land, forcibly pulling the others’ base camp out of the ground.

"How could he be here?!"

Albert's eyes widened in horror.

They had just attacked Black Star not long ago, and he had already come to their door. Their location was very secret, how did Black Star find them?!

Airette had an unbelievable look on his face. He never expected Black Star to appear.

Immediately, a thought surfaced in his mind. He had just returned, and Black Star had come knocking. Could it be that he had revealed something?!

The last time they attacked him, Black Star could only wait for them to come. But after his failure, Black Star was able to come to their door. Even if he didn't understand what method Black Star used, the blame could only be his. There was no other explanation.

Could it be that letting himself escape was also part of Black Star's plan?

Airette's heart was greatly shaken. He was filled with a sense of shame at being schemed against. Recalling the scene of his escape from Black Star's ambush, he now only felt like a fool for not seeing anything wrong. Black Star was just biding his time to catch a big fish.

Sarnah was in an extremely bad mood. She felt that the source of all this was the failure of her first attack. If she hadn't acted alone, but had patiently cooperated with her companions, the first attack would have taken down the other party, and Black Star would have long been their prisoner.

Albert forced himself to calm down. He knew that Black Star was a dangerous person, but he didn't expect Black Star's thunderous counterattack to be so fast, causing such a big crisis for them.

Dragon Emperor was obviously Black Star's helper. Facing a Super Grade A, he had no confidence, but he was not yet desperate.

"Don't panic, although the opponent is a Super Grade A, we still have a glimmer of hope. Although we are not a match for Dragon Emperor, we can at least entangle her for a while. Airette, whether we can escape depends on you. We will create opportunities for you to cast your spell," Albert gritted his teeth.

At this juncture, he couldn't care about the prisoners. His own life was at stake, so he could only reluctantly abandon his gains of so many years.

Save himself first, and then explain to the people above later!

Airette was on high alert, "I understand!"

Just then, Han Xiao took a deep breath and said in a deep voice.

"Everyone, come over here!"

Buzz——

In the next moment, countless streams of light streaked across the sky, suspended above Han Xiao's head.

A dense fleet blotted out the sky, countless gun barrels all aligned with the six, all the Calamity Grade powerhouses leading the team descended, sealing off all routes, surrounding Albert and the six.

Albert and the others were dumbfounded, their eyes filled with disbelief.

How could Black Star... bring so many people?!

"Attack!"

Without saying another word, Han Xiao called on everyone to join forces.

Villains die from talking too much. He had no interest in talking to the enemy. After capturing them all, there would be plenty of time to communicate properly.

"Run!"

Albert screamed miserably.

Seeing so many enemies, his last bit of fantasy was instantly shattered, leaving only despair.

Airette was sweating profusely, hurriedly trying to cast a teleportation spell. However, as soon as he created a spatial vortex, the teleportation gate, which had always been effective, suddenly became unstable, its magical structure disrupted, and the not-yet-formed teleportation gate dissipated.

Not far away, a Grade A mage in a red robe had bright blue magical light in his eyes, and the staff in his hand shone brightly.

Spell Counteraction!

At this moment, Airette, Sarnah, Albert, and the six others had only one thought in their minds

We're finished!