Counterattack [Interstellar] - Chapter 3

“What is happening?!” Allen was stunned for a second but reacted immediately. “Is someone attacking the hull?”

Pei Yao nodded and quickly opened his communicator to contact the Captain. After a moment, the connection was established. Through a burst of static, the Captain’s anxious voice came through: “Major General Pei Yao! Unidentified entities are attacking our starship! My God… how is this possible? This route was cleared two weeks ago specifically to escort Prince Allen! How did they get here… who are they…”

“Get to the point!” Pei Yao interrupted sternly. “Have they contacted us? Have they stated their terms?”

Rebuked by Pei Yao, the Captain actually calmed down. He paused and said, “No. I’ve already tried to contact them, but the enemy isn’t responding. God… they aren’t even receiving our signals! They are just continuing the attack!”

“Maintain three layers of energy shields! Shut down all non-essential energy consumption!” Pei Yao took a deep breath. “Change course. Divert toward the Victoria Space Lane and immediately contact the legion stationed there for support! Move!”

The Captain nodded. A moment later, he said joyfully, “The Victoria garrison has replied! They are already heading our way!”

Pei Yao did not feel the slightest bit relieved upon hearing this. Instead, his brows knit even tighter. He commanded in a heavy voice: “Deploy as many personnel as possible to protect the control system. Under no circumstances must the enemy be allowed to breach it. Absolutely never.”

Allen felt the unease in Pei Yao’s spiritual body and couldn’t help but ask, “What is it? Can’t we just… hold out until the rescue arrives?”

Pei Yao closed the communication and shook his head gently. “At our current speed, it will take at least half an hour to receive aid from Victoria. In a space skirmish, a one-minute delay is fatal, let alone half an hour—and that’s under ideal conditions.”

Allen said irritably, “Then return fire! The Pearl is armed!”

Pei Yao frowned. “To return fire, we would have to drop two layers of shields. That would only result in the hull sustaining damage faster. Besides, the Pearl’s armament is simply insufficient. Your Highness… please forgive my insolence.”

Pei Yao removed his own communicator, took Allen’s hand, and swapped their devices. Allen looked at Pei Yao in confusion. Pei Yao explained softly, “This route was protected two weeks ago. The Captain was caught off guard because he was careless… he thought no one could get close. The enemy is clearly prepared. For them to dare engage in a firefight now means they are certain the Pearl cannot hold out until rescue.”

Allen felt a chill in his heart. Pei Yao’s voice remained steady: “They haven’t stated terms, and they refuse to establish a dialogue. This is not the standard operating procedure for space pirates.”

Looking at Pei Yao’s communicator on his wrist with a complex expression, Allen hesitated. “You mean…”

“Let us hope they want to take us alive… Your Highness, go to the West District immediately. I’ve already had the Captain gather everyone in the East District. I will stay in the Central District with your communicator. If the Pearl is unfortunately seized before the Victoria garrison arrives, the West District will be the last place they search.”

The enemy knew the Pearl well. If they were after Allen, his communicator signal would have been tracked long ago. Pei Yao calibrated Allen’s communicator on his own wrist, took a deep breath, and looked at Allen. “Regardless of what happens, you must hold out until the Victoria garrison arrives.”

“You… you’re going to act as a decoy in my place?!” Allen looked at Pei Yao in disbelief and said hoarsely, “You…”

Pei Yao was stunned for a moment, then understood. He gave a wry smile. “Did you think I would only look out for myself?”

Allen was speechless. He had to admit that for a fleeting second, he had wondered if Pei Yao would hand him over to save his own life.

“Then I hope that after this battle, Your Highness will seriously consider what I said earlier.” Pei Yao gave a regretful smile. “Also… when I swore my oath to you two months ago… I truly did intend to protect you for a lifetime.”

Allen’s throat bobbed. After a moment, he said in a low voice, “I will. You… try your best to stay alive.”

Pei Yao offered a military salute. Allen hesitated, then turned and headed for the West District. Pei Yao opened the entertainment room’s communication lines and used the ship’s internal system to speak with the Captain.

As Pei Yao expected, the enemy wanted them alive. After ten minutes of intense bombardment—which depleted more than half of the Pearl’s energy reserves used to maintain the shields—they shifted their fire. They began attacking the Pearl’s control system. Pei Yao personally established firewalls and held off their attacks time and again. However, a few minutes later, as if driven by frustration, the enemy launched a new round of shelling. The Captain failed to maintain and update the shields in time. Pei Yao felt a massive tremor shake the hull, followed by a piercing warning… the enemy had boarded the ship.

On the entertainment room’s console, red dots representing the enemy flashed, slowly converging toward the Central District. Pei Yao quickly activated Allen’s communicator, working to amplify the signal. Sure enough, the enemy paused briefly before beginning to surround him.

Pei Yao drew the photon gun from his waist and simultaneously released his spiritual body. In the fifth-dimensional space, a massive Golden Dragon wound slowly around Pei Yao’s thin, straight frame, silently waiting for the people who were coming to seek their deaths.

In the empty West District, Allen’s face was sallow. He had spent too much time with Pei Yao just now, and the pheromones of a powerful Sentinel saturated his surroundings, causing him intense agony. Allen tried his best to stay calm… countless thoughts flashed through his mind. There was no doubt the enemy was after him, but who could it be? The Emperor? Unlikely… though the Emperor wished to solve the “trouble” that was Allen, if he were to act, Allen should have died silently on Planet Apollo several years from now.

Was it Anthony?

Allen pursed his thin lips. No, he had just ascended; his military power and connections were limited. He shouldn’t be able to cause such a massive disturbance. Who else? That woman? To ensure her son Anthony had no future worries? That woman…

Faces flashed rapidly through Allen’s mind: Anthony, Emperor Alston, Anthony’s mother Lady Jenny, Balzac, Pei Yao, Empress Marianne… Allen felt a splitting headache. Something was growing in his mind, constantly siphoning his physical strength, leaving him exhausted and irritable. Allen kept taking deep breaths, trying to calculate the time, struggling to remain calm.

Pei Yao said it would be fine if he just lasted half an hour. Just half an hour. How much time had passed… Allen could barely see the numbers on the communicator. After a long while, he calculated that only twenty minutes had gone by.

For the first time, Allen felt the sensation of a day feeling like a year. He tried to think of other things: the gentle and loving Empress Marianne, the beautiful and elegant Lady Jenny, his stern grandfather Balzac, and then… the handsome Major General Pei Yao.

Allen had always prided himself on being a good judge of character, but this time he had been mistaken. Although it was somewhat incredible, Pei Yao was truly a genuine soldier.

Another bout of dizziness hit him. Allen gritted his teeth, his heart unable to stop cursing Emperor Alston again. If not for that damned rule, if not for his stubbornness and selfishness, he wouldn’t be in such a wretched state, and Pei Yao wouldn’t have been assigned to that hypocrite Anthony…

In his delirious state, Allen caught a glimpse of a red light. He forced his eyes open and realized it was the holographic alarm light by the console rotating. Allen snapped into a state of clarity; the enemy had breached the West District!

Allen gripped a photon gun tightly, intending to take his own life the moment the enemy broke in. Soon, the air exchanger behind him moved abruptly. Allen’s nerves tightened. Pei Yao had sealed all passages after ensuring he reached the West District; the enemy had breached the room through the supply and exhaust system! Allen’s right hand gripped the photon gun, waiting to deliver a fatal blow the moment the intruder appeared!

The person behind the air exchanger suddenly lunged out with a heavy thud. Before Allen could pull the trigger, the person flashed behind him, one arm encircling Allen while the other snatched away his photon gun.

“You…”

“Shh…” Pei Yao’s breathing was unsteady. After a pause, he said slowly, “They are already heading this way. I blew up several paths; they won’t be able to get through for a while. There is… there are five minutes left. We just need to stall for five more minutes.”

Allen frowned and turned to look at Pei Yao. He saw that Pei Yao was covered in blood. Allen was horrified. “You’re injured?”

Pei Yao’s face had turned deathly pale from blood loss. Hearing this, he nodded slightly. “I just took a bullet. It’s fine… the wound isn’t large.”

Allen instinctively looked at the massive dragon coiled behind Pei Yao. The Golden Dragon’s abdomen had been ripped open, and blood was still flowing out. Allen looked at Pei Yao’s abdomen, but before he could speak, Pei Yao said first, “No time to deal with this… listen to me.”

Pei Yao panted with effort and whispered, “They can only enter through the main door now. In a moment, when they enter, I will do my best to stall everyone. You go out through this ventilation duct and head to the East District… there are still survivors there. Stall as long as you can… you must hold out until the reinforcements arrive…”

The alarm nearby rang incessantly. Pei Yao removed the Cross Medal from his chest and placed it in Allen’s hand, offering a forced smile. “Please return my medal to the Paladin Legion. Long live… the Empire.”

To prevent himself from fainting due to blood loss, Pei Yao forced his spiritual power to maintain consciousness. A large amount of pheromones saturated the narrow space of the West District through Pei Yao’s blood. Allen was on the verge of fainting. He gripped Pei Yao’s medal, the white wings of the medal digging into his palm. Allen’s eyes were bloodshot as he struggled to suppress his state, his voice hoarse: “Don’t move… don’t make a sound…”

Pei Yao was also desperate. “Please leave immediately!”

“I TOLD YOU NOT TO MOVE!!”

Allen could no longer restrain himself. Pei Yao felt his mind go blank, and the pain in his body miraculously began to subside. When he regained clarity, he discovered several enemy combatants were less than ten meters away from him and Allen!

The enemy’s patience had clearly reached its limit. They used a photon cannon to blow open the final door of the West District. Pei Yao quickly shielded Allen. Allen opened his eyes expressionlessly and reached out to write a few words lightly on Pei Yao’s back.

Pei Yao frowned, yet he followed the order and lowered his weapon, slowly raising both hands. There were seven enemies in total; they had already tasted Pei Yao’s prowess earlier and were deeply suspicious to see this rare Dragon Quantum Beast Sentinel give up resistance. It took nearly a minute before they slowly approached. Allen snapped his eyes open—this was the moment he was waiting for!

Allen completely released his spiritual power. A massive spiritual pressure surged out like a tsunami, nearly warping the fifth-dimensional space. The seven enemies instantly let out shrill screams. A smile curled on Allen’s lips, his expression nearly distorted, as his spiritual power tentacles pierced through their brains without restraint!

The agony he had suppressed for days finally found an outlet. Allen controlled his spiritual power to repeatedly torture the men, watching them roll on the floor in pain, nearing death. Allen’s face grew increasingly pale. After his initial shock, Pei Yao suddenly understood and shouted sternly, “STOP!! You’ve just awakened! Your brain cannot handle this load of spiritual power!”

Pei Yao’s Golden Dragon quickly glided to Allen’s feet and coiled around him. The golden light from the dragon slowly enveloped Allen. Allen shuddered, then slowly closed his eyes and collapsed. Pei Yao lunged forward to shield him. After a long while, Allen struggled to open his eyes. He remained dazed for a moment before regaining clarity, giving a small, bitter smile.

“Now, you know… why the Emperor wanted to strip me of my title. I… I’m warning you, if you dare… while I’m unconscious… I… I…”

Before the warning could be finished, the exhausted Allen fainted.

Pei Yao looked at Allen in disbelief. A moment later, a jet-black, slender snake-shaped Quantum Beast wound its way out from Allen’s sleeve. The little snake tilted its head slightly, its round eyes black and bright. It looked curiously at the massive dragon beside it, then turned to look at Pei Yao. It slowly glided to Pei Yao’s hand and coiled itself around his wrist, its tiny tail wagging happily.

Pei Yao looked at the little snake on his wrist with a complex expression. Although it was a newborn hatchling, Pei Yao could recognize it… it was the most venomous species of snake known—the Inland Taipan.

Pei Yao looked at Allen unconscious in his arms, and all his previous doubts were instantly cleared. Why the Emperor had abandoned Allen despite all opposition, why Allen had such immense resentment, why Allen’s body had been so frail lately, and why the Emperor had removed all Sentinel guards from Allen’s side…

Though incredible, it was true. Allen Norman, the biological son of the late Empress Saint Marianne, the former Crown Prince carrying the Empire’s noblest blood—the man prophesied by countless people to become the strongest Sentinel and lead the Empire to glory—had, at the moment of his awakening just now… truly awakened as a Guide.