Chapter Twenty-Eight: Gerhos

No longer paying heed to the self-destructive Shagai insectoids, Phoenix calmly issued the order to open fire. Countless beams of energy lashed out toward the evil god, and Phoenix immediately uploaded this information to Khala.

Beams powerful enough to obliterate planets struck the evil god’s body. The irritating anti-air alarms grew even more piercing, and Phoenix frowned, glancing at the detectors. While the evil god’s power reached the level of a demigod, it was still insufficient to withstand the force of the Golden Fleet. The evil god’s body was annihilated inch by inch, only to reappear in the same spot as soon as Phoenix breathed a sigh of relief, as if the death he had just witnessed were nothing more than an illusion.

Time stopped. Purification beams, solar bombardments, black hole generators, kinetic matrices, particle fragmentation cannons, phase fragmentation cannons, photon fragmentation cannons, disintegration rays—one after another, these weapons could injure the evil god, but none could truly kill him. The evil god revived again and again in the same place. The space-time where he stood was frozen by the Pride of Aiur, leaving him unable to retaliate, forced only to endure the onslaught. Yet this stalemate could not continue.

Artanis was researching the spells of the Temple Mages. Ever since Selendis and her companions had arrived, Artanis had worked with them to study the Temple Mage magic. As for His Majesty Ael, Artanis and his group dared not trouble him too much; it was enough to know where he was.

Just then, Selendis rushed in from outside, looking toward Artanis who was still engrossed in his studies. “Teacher, Lord Phoenix has encountered the evil god and cannot truly kill him. He has transmitted the information to the Council of Light and Shadow, and they have sent me to seek your advice.”

Artanis frowned deeply. He had not expected the Protoss Empire’s first battle to encounter such a formidable foe. He was reluctant to disturb Ael so soon, and therefore went with Selendis into his chamber, connected to the Council, and inquired, “Have you deployed the Void Radiance Ships?”

In that virtual conference hall, Phoenix shook his head. “The Void Radiance Ships are unstable and still under testing; they have not joined the Golden Fleet.”

“Have the Phase Technicians bring a Void Ship to the battlefield for a trial. If even the Void Ship proves ineffective, I will request an audience with His Majesty Ael.” Artanis nodded. As the Council’s designated next High Archon, he was already gradually assuming responsibility for the Empire’s significant affairs.

“Understood. I will arrange for the Phase Technicians at once.” Korolarion replied immediately, concluding the brief meeting.

The Void Radiance Ship was the latest vessel developed by the Protoss Empire. Since Tassadar’s ascension, the Empire’s leadership had placed greater emphasis on harnessing the power of Twilight. However, the number of Twilight practitioners was scarce, and the power itself extremely perilous. The development of the Void Radiance Ship had been fraught with setbacks.

To popularize the Void Radiance Ship, it was unfeasible to limit piloting to Twilight practitioners alone. Thus, each ship required one Light and one Dark fleet executive to operate, making the control of its surging energies extremely challenging. Due to the dangers of Twilight power, the Void Radiance Ship had never undergone live combat testing after its construction. The main reason was that the Golden Fleet was already sufficient to pacify the cosmos; the Empire saw no need to focus on the hazardous Void Ships.

Now, faced with an indestructible demon god, Artanis’s first thought was the new vessel powered by Twilight. If the Void Radiance Ship could fulfill its intended purpose...

Phoenix’s fleet soon received “reinforcements” in the form of a small squadron—only a handful of Void Radiance Ships, whose arrival drew little attention.

Compared to the massive Matriarch Ships and venerable Carriers, the Void Radiance Ship did not use the Protoss’s customary gold palette, but was clad in silver. This was because the Nerazim engineers believed the ship’s artistic design should reflect its unique nature, an idea the Khalai engineers approved of.

The Void Radiance Ship was shaped like a cone, with several curved metal plates spinning constantly at its prow. At the very tip sat a new crystal, named the Phase Crystal.

These Phase Crystals were originally a byproduct of the Empire’s research into the Khaydarin Crystal. Though not an eternal energy source, they possessed extraordinary capacity for containing energy, able to accommodate powers of all attributes and lock onto targets at will—even those positioned directly behind the ship.

Within the spinning metal lay the ship’s core—the Prism Core. The Prism Core had multiple layers, capable of storing violent energy storms and gradually stabilizing them, converting boundless kinetic energy into usable power to supply the ship’s weapons, engines, and systems.

Phoenix watched the arriving Void Radiance Ships, his eyes thoughtful. This new vessel was designed to counter the annoyingly agile demigods, so its hull was smaller than a carrier’s, but its hidden power was formidable. He wondered if it would deliver the surprise he hoped for.

Reaching the designated coordinates, the Void Radiance Ship unfurled its focusing arrays like a blooming flower, easily locking onto Gehros, who was frozen in space-time.

Gehros was the name the Council of Light and Shadow had assigned to the demigod—a term meaning “the noisy alarm clock.” Phoenix and his subordinates wholeheartedly approved of this moniker.

The Prism Core began charging. The Templar aboard the Void Radiance Ships gathered their powers, channeling them into the Prism Core. The core then condensed these energies into Twilight power, which was finally projected through the Phase Crystal.

Purified psionic energy and void energy merged continuously, and lacking the influence of individual will, ultimately fused into a white beam that shot toward Gehros.

After the Void Ship opened fire, Phoenix ordered his fleet to cease their barrage, focusing instead on restricting Gehros’s movements.

The Void Radiance Ship’s beam struck Gehros, who suddenly began to struggle violently. Phoenix’s eyes lit up—this meant Gehros feared these rays, and the areas touched by the beam no longer healed instantly.

However, Gehros’s sudden surge of power broke free from the Protoss’s restraints. Until now, Gehros had not fully revealed his strength, and with only a handful of Void Radiance Ships dispatched—several already silenced—the battered Gehros finally escaped from this starry expanse.

Phoenix watched Gehros go with deep regret. Had there been more Void Radiance Ships and the space-time restraint stronger, Gehros would surely have fallen here today.