After resolving the situation with Class Two, Class One was always destined to be the next target.
However, in these past ten days, Mo Yuan hadn’t been idle either. With the blunt threat of “If you don’t join the Alliance, I’ll just take you out myself,” he quickly united the remaining two classes.
Both sides engaged in a drawn-out tug-of-war along the borders of Class Four’s former starfield.
Today, one side would spring an ambush; tomorrow, the other would strike back. Thus began a long and tedious contest.
Facing this stalemate, Lin Zhen and his team decided it was time to change tactics.
They chose Yun Ruoxi’s overwhelming combat strength as the breakthrough point. When things were deadlocked on the frontlines, they would launch a surprise attack from the flank.
And this strategy immediately yielded results.
Although Mo Yuan’s Alliance had anticipated the risk of a sneak attack and left their strongest members to defend the base, even that wasn’t enough against Yun Ruoxi’s absolute might.
Class Seven’s base fell into her hands in an instant, the ownership changing before anyone could react.
But Mo Yuan quickly retaliated in kind.
He led his Fleet on a long detour around most of the battlefield and launched a direct strike at the rear, wiping out Shun Ying’s Class Six base.
If not for Class Six still holding onto Class Five’s base, they would have been eliminated then and there.
However, this sneak attack was also the opportunity Lin Zhen had been waiting for.
He decided to take advantage of Class One’s lack of room for error and go all in—straight at Mo Yuan’s main base!
***
In the Corner of the Starsea, dozens of warships lay silently hidden in the shadow of a planet.
Shun Ying’s voice rang out from the comms system, echoing in Lin Zhen’s ship.
“Ah Zhen, are you sure you want to act as the bait?”
“This is really dangerous… Why don’t you let me do it?” Yun Ruoxi’s voice followed immediately.
“It’s exactly because it’s dangerous that the class with the weakest frontline power—Class Three—should take this role.” Lin Zhen pressed the comm button, his tone resolute:
“Shun Ying, as long as your Main Fleet holds the enemy from the front, Mo Yuan will definitely suspect a sneak attack—the ancient battlefield is the best route for that, so he’ll definitely have it heavily guarded.”
“So there’s no way they’ll expect another Fleet to circle half the battlefield and ambush them from the rear. This is the Battle of Total Victory—I’m willing to take this risk!”
“Well, since you’re so determined…” Shun Ying paused. “Then I’ll just have to accept it.”
“But this won’t be the end of the Battle of Total Victory, you know. We’ll still have to settle things between us afterwards.”
“It’s still better than letting Class One win, isn’t it?” Lin Zhen chuckled.
“That’s true!” said Shun Ying.
“Then… Ah Zhen-ge, be really careful.” Yun Ruoxi’s voice was firm. “I’ll definitely take Class One’s base.”
“Mm, I believe in you all.”
Lin Zhen nodded and cut the comms.
Then he piloted his ship, leading the other bait ships, heading for the ancient battlefield.
Gazing out the porthole at the deep starfield, with the occasional brilliant aurora streaking across the cosmos.
Lin Zhen stood at the helm, his eyes thoughtful and intense.
He hadn’t been lying just now.
This really was his Battle of Total Victory.
If he couldn’t find an engine in the ancient battlefield this time, his entire escape plan would collapse…
“Lao Lin’s under some real pressure.”
“No choice, he’s got two Lolis, two brothers, and one big eater’s life all on his shoulders.”
“If it were me, I’d only want to carry those two Lolis’ legs 233”
Just as Lin Zhen had planned, the operation unfolded.
Shun Ying’s Main Fleet held Mo Yuan’s Fleet at the front, while Lin Zhen’s Bait Fleet quickly reached the outskirts of the ancient battlefield.
Looking out at the pitch-black starfield, littered with countless shipwrecks.
Lin Zhen unconsciously gripped the control stick and issued an order.
“All units, prepare to enter the ancient battlefield!”
Swoosh!
Almost simultaneously.
Ten ships decelerated together, silently gliding in a long Snake Formation into the broken remains of a bisected battleship.
Even though Yun Ruoxi had explained it to him once before.
It wasn’t until they actually reached the ancient battlefield that Lin Zhen confirmed it was exactly as the books described.
This was the best place to witness the Empire’s glorious era.
All around were the advanced shipwrecks Lin Zhen had only seen in books—or never seen at all.
Occasionally, one could even spot a corpse of a human warrior, still clad in high-grade colonist exosuit armor, drifting in space.
It was no exaggeration.
If that colonist exosuit was still functional, it would be enough for an ordinary person to complete their initial Wealth Accumulation.
Likewise, the moment Lin Zhen spotted that corpse, he was sure this ancient battlefield had never been explored—at least not by Adventurer Groups or star pirates scavenging like rats.
Otherwise, that corpse would never have lasted till now, and his chances of finding an engine were much higher because of it.
Suppressing his excitement, Lin Zhen cautiously unleashed his ability, probing the interiors of the passing shipwrecks.
Because the deeper they ventured into the ancient battlefield, the greater the risks would become.
Especially without any star pirates or Adventurer Groups to blaze the trail.
The dangers here weren’t just the shattered space, or the star beasts lurking inside.
Even more likely were traps set by the Empire or the Sky-Eye race in the past, yet to be triggered.
For example, in the past, the Empire’s Fleet would place Space Torpedoes near their flagships to prevent star energy users from boarding.
Once Space Waves were detected, the torpedoes would lock on and detonate, shattering both the surrounding space and the intruders.
There were plenty of such traps.
Lin Zhen couldn’t guarantee there weren’t traps here that would trigger instantly upon sensing an ability’s fluctuations.
So caution was always wise.
After all, if they triggered any traps left from the Empire’s prime, their ordinary ships wouldn’t stand a chance.
Once triggered, it would mean Shipwreck—total annihilation.
This was exactly why Shun Ying and Yun Ruoxi were so worried.
The ancient battlefield was truly dangerous!
In every sense of the word!
Knowing this, Lin Zhen had deliberately sent Zi Jiu and the others to the frontline battlefield.
“Other students following Lin Zhen in the Fleet: What about us? Isn’t that a bit rude?”
“No choice, Lao Lin can’t just sneak in alone; otherwise everyone would know he was up to something.”
After flying for a short while in the ancient battlefield, Lin Zhen and his team encountered their first obvious anomaly.
It was a region of space that seemed completely out of place.
As if someone had carved it out entirely—the edges were pure void, the center unfolding like a slowly turning page.
“It’s a Dimensional Foil! The space ahead has been compressed—everyone, detour with me!”
Lin Zhen’s pupils contracted as he gave the order without hesitation.
After space was compressed into two dimensions, it wouldn’t stay that way; it would keep unfolding until it returned to three dimensions.
During that process, the two-dimensional space would constantly tug at the three-dimensional space, creating a gravity vortex similar to a wormhole—approaching it now would be suicide.
So Lin Zhen didn’t even dare get close, immediately commanding all ships to detour with him.