Chapter 2134: Defend

[I just remembered that I promised 3 chapters today, but when I promised I forgot that I had certain obligations this weekend. I'll find another date to make it up]

This was a completely unexpected change. Something so large should have been alerted to them in advance, but the fact that it hadn't made Rowan's eyes narrow. He felt that there was something big going on right now, and he felt far too small to handle it.

The very purpose of the Void Palace was to act as a defensive gate to the Human Domain. This defensive measure worked in both directions, it was impossible to just casually enter the Void Palace from any direction whatsoever. The only ones that could even think about doing so were Ancestor level characters.

The only way to the Void Battlefield was through the Void Palace, and the only way from the Void Battlefield to the Human Domain was, once again, through the Void Palace.

For this Starship to reach this location without a word from the higher ups, it meant that it was here without permission. But anyone in the Human Domain with access to a Starship was impossible high up on the food chain.

Did that mean that the humans had traitors already? But news of the fall of the first line should have only been sent to the most powerful of families.. but then again, only the most powerful families would have access to such a Starship.

Rowan felt his head spinning. No matter how much he thought, he could have never guessed that the traitors had come from the Void Palace itself. The Void Palace was the pinnacle of humanity, the Void Elders that led it had prestige surpassing all, they were the experts that had sacrificed their lifetime of happiness for the sake of the Human Race...

Even Rowan, who was quite jaded about most things, would never suspect them.

But when he saw who stepped out from the ship and onto the bow, his own expression couldn't help but change. Leonel Morales?

As impossible as it was for the Void Elders to betray humanity in his mind, it made just as little sense for Leonel to do so in Rowan's opinion. It had to be remembered that the only reason they had survived the Cataclysm and returned home in the first place was because of Leonel. Although Rowan hadn't known this before, who wouldn't be aware of this by now?

'Just what is going on...?'

Domain Disciple Avelaer frowned, but before he could say much, yet another Domain Ranked disciple appeared, and he was yet another person that Leonel was quite familiar with. This young man was none other than the very impetus for Leonel's falling out with the Void Palace, he was the one who moved behind the scenes to link the Leonel of the Milky Way, to the Leonel fo the Void Palace, raising his fugitive status and causing Shield Cross Stars to come to the Void Palace to apprehend him: Ronan Sith.

Ronan was a member of Shield Cross Stars, but more importantly, a member of their Sith-led Assassin Unit. His position was extraordinary and the grudge he had with Leonel wasn't small at all.

Back then, Ronan had been stalled by Leonel's aunt while he and Aina slaughtered much of Ronan's Faction. Due to that, what had once been a powerful Faction well on its way to becoming a Legacy Faction as Ronan promoted to the Void Senate crumbled before everyone's eyes.

Ronan wasn't able to do anything as Leonel and Aina vanished, but now he seemed to have become an official Domain Ranked Disciple and he very clearly stood on Avelaer's side in wanting to follow orders and complete their retreat.

Seeing Leonel, he seemed to have seen red, but he quickly regained his calm, coolly ordering that the retreat continue. However, it was then that Leonel took a step, his figure flashing as he landed on the top of the city walls. He was only a few meters from Ronan, but it was as though he hadn't seen anyone else.

"Sheesh, the Void Palace is getting more and more pathetic these days, huh?"

Leonel looked up, his gaze suddenly becoming sharp.

"Anyone who retreats dies."

Leonel's voice thundered. It came as a completely unexpected change.

The level Leonel's mind worked on was completely different from others, but this time his action was purely based on his endless trust in his father. His father had attacked the Void Palace all those years ago, to Leonel that meant that there were definitely traitors within them. It was that simple to him.

If he accepted that as the truth, then it was impossible to do anything exactly to the wishes of the Void Palace. In fact, the reason Rowan and the others didn't receive any information about their arrival was because Leonel had directly shot by at the highest speed his Craft could muster, they hadn't even been able to react.

Everyone was stunned by these words. Those that had been following the orders of the Domain Ranked Disciples were caught in the crossfire, not knowing whether to continue or retreat.

On the one hand, there were the Domain Ranked Disciples, but on the other there wasn't only Leonel who had saved them all from the Cataclysm Zone, but even more importantly than that there was a Starship even Ancestors feared in the skies behind him.

Ronan was completely taken aback. Leonel actually dared to say these words?

At first, he was speechless until he was so enraged that he laughed.

"Do you think that because you did well against some little kids that you can do as you please now?!"

Leonel's head turned toward Ronan, his gaze as deep as the depths of the starry skies.

"No. I can do as I please because the power I wield is greater than yours."

The Starship suddenly rumbled as a piercing beam shot forward. Ularora and Malcuhorn's expressions changed at the same time.

"DEFEND!" They roared.

They had set their moving formations to a standard that could deal with the canons of the fortified city, but they hadn't expected for the canons of a moving ship to be even better than a fortified city. It made little sense, and yet...

BOOM!