48 The Impossible World [Please Keep Reading!]

Midway along the Dawn Route.

A sector of stellar debris, born from the explosion of a planet.

A flock of Dust-Eating Geese passed through, foraging amid the ruins.

A worm-like stellar beast ship, driven by its near-light speed fold engine, surged forth from the starry void.

Suddenly, it unfurled its gaping maw, swallowing the geese and debris together, rapidly digesting the flesh and expelling blood-stained earth from its tail vents, letting loose a thunderous, satisfied burp.

But then—

A massive Kun-class ship, hidden among the ruins, abruptly revealed its own cavernous jaws, forming a black-hole-like vortex within its mouth. With its innate siphoning power, it drew the worm ship across space and devoured it whole.

This was a two-hundred-meter long, level fifty psychic Kun-class interstellar ship, clad in black stealth coating, its flank emblazoned with the insignia of a hunting rifle.

It was none other than the flagship of the Justice Hunters Adventurer Guild:

The Justice Hunt.

The very vessel that had been shadowing the Leonine in the Rogel star system.

It specialized in stealth, tailing, ambush, devouring prey, and dropping nuclear warheads...

Inside the cockpit.

The central dragon throne.

A middle-aged man with a rooster’s comb atop his head flipped through the latest edition of the Pangu Ladder Rankings.

“I’ve got five hundred and eighty thousand points already—why am I still not on the Ladder?”

In a fit of rage, he suddenly spread his fingers wide and crushed the spherical wristband hovering before him into powder.

He was broad-shouldered, deep-set eyes, his exaggerated male crest making him appear as a bird-man.

But in truth, it was merely an ornament to enhance his masculine allure—also a secret weapon.

He was the captain of the Justice Hunters Adventurer Guild, twenty-five years at sea, stirring storms along the Dawn Route, hunting far and wide to break into the top hundred thousand of the new generation on the Ladder:

Kundi Augus.

Also known as the uncrowned king of the Dawn Route... though that reputation was largely the result of his own covert self-promotion. Yet, whenever news of the Justice Hunters surfaced, that title was always invoked.

Staring at the latest Ladder Rankings, the adjutant beside him—the Justice Hunt’s helmsman, Deadly Shadow—shook his head and sighed.

“Adventure is getting too competitive. Not just us, even the Evil Spirit Bounty Hunter has passed fifty thousand points and still hasn’t made the Ladder. It’s the youth’s era now; the Guernica Beastmasters made the rankings after just three years at sea. What can we say?”

“Era of youth? Nonsense! They’ve got national backing, running missions at sea!”

He glared at the ship’s screen, where the worm ship they’d just consumed had left no survivors; even the worms themselves had become fuel and food for the Justice Hunters. Kundi Augus cursed his adjutant, who had planned this hunt.

“Just another ordinary level thirty worm ship, not even from the New Federation, but from the Empire’s third-tier alliance...

You’re getting too cautious, Shadow.

How many times have I told you—there’s no need to ambush such small fry.

For us, reputation is everything. We need a big score to break into the new generation!

The White Dew will enter the Storm Route next year, and our time is running out!”

Just then,

The communications officer at the helm reminded him:

“Captain, you might want to check today’s association news—the top headline on the Dawn Route was made by an old acquaintance.”

“An old friend? Cast it to the main screen.”

“Yes, sir!”

The headline from True Spirit Star in the Blue-Eye system appeared on the main screen.

Kundi Augus watched for a while, puzzled.

“Imperial fleet, sealing off the cultivation world, ten-thousand-year-old Dragon Battleship, Demon War, primal star vault... What is all this nonsense?”

Until he spotted a familiar female figure.

“Oh, it’s Gloria. I overestimated her. From the battle on Rogel’s seventh planet, her hidden cultivation barely reached level forty. Nothing worth hiding, really. The Pangu Corridor is so competitive now, beauty alone won’t get you far!”

The communications officer seemed more perceptive than he.

“Barely a month at sea, the Primal Star Vault Guild has already amassed five thousand points. Gloria alone could never do that. Captain, look at the wolf-girl named Ellie—ice-blue eyes, very likely from Sirius. If I’m not mistaken, she’s the slave Gloria spirited away from the seventh planet, and Ardenfema once offered ten thousand spirit stones for a slave like that. That says a lot...”

Kundi Augus pondered.

“I see. It means this wolf-girl’s worth far exceeds ten thousand spirit stones. She’s a genius!”

While the captain and communications officer discussed the little wolf-girl, the adjutant Deadly Shadow—helmsman of the Justice Hunt—focused on the boy in the footage, lost in thought.

If he was correct, the fleeting youth in the news video was the helmsman of the Primal Star Vault Guild.

Only another helmsman would recognize: piloting an unmodified level thirty civilian long-range ship, outpacing the Justice Hunt, abducting the wolf-girl from Rogel’s seventh planet, and placing first in the Adventurer Association’s flight assessment—a remarkable feat...

If he was correct, the ancient warship’s pilot, left unmentioned in the headline, was surely that youth!

With this realization, he understood—the boy’s talent at the helm surpassed his own!

Perhaps, this youth was the true core of the Primal Star Vault Guild, the key to their explosive gain of five thousand points in a month!

Of course, he would never voice such a thing.

If he did, then should they ever hunt down the Leonine, his own job would be at risk!

Kundi Augus lit a cigar.

“Contact our Darknet friends. See if the nearby radar stations can trace the Primal Star Vault’s flight path.”

After a brief check, the communications officer soon responded:

“Captain, I’ve got it—the Primal Star Vault flagship, the Leonine, is heading toward an artificial planet: Scion Utopia.”

“Hm? There’s such a planet on the Dawn Route?”

“It was originally a second-tier imperial ally, fitted with high-powered near-light speed engines, crossed the storm zone from the alliance, defected to the Pangu Corridor, joined the Uncrowned Nation, protected by their main fleet. Its unique idealistic social experiment has earned it the nickname... the Impossible World.”

“Why is the Primal Star Vault headed there? Off to play hero again?”

“It may be tied to a bounty…”

“Hm?”

Kundi Augus glanced at the bounty notice, his deep-set eyes narrowed in surprise. He found himself impressed by this newcomer guild’s audacity.

He snorted, but his blood stirred. He immediately ordered:

“We’ll lie in wait outside the artificial planet. Once the Primal Star Vault completes their bounty, we’ll hijack the Leonine in public!

If they fail, we must destroy the Leonine before the Uncrowned Nation fleet arrives—capture the little wolf-girl and Gloria alive!”

Adjutant Shadow was startled, not without concern:

“But the Uncrowned Nation is one of the Seven Sovereigns. Their main fleet is stationed on the artificial planet, with at least a level sixty flagship present.”

Kundi Augus flicked his cigar ash, his gaze contemptuous, his aura unstoppable.

“What are you afraid of? We’re not fighting head-on. We just need to hijack the Leonine and show up on the artificial planet.

If we don’t make a big move, when will we ever get onto the Ladder?

All these years, I’ve believed your superb piloting skills have been stifled by your overcautious nature... Don’t worry, with me here, you just steer. Ships can be replaced, but a man must stand tall, Shadow!”

——————

The next mini-arc is a bit tricky to write, still mulling over the outline, so here’s a setup chapter.

Thanks to reader [20230602193309792] for rewarding three guild leader badges!

Thanks to reader [20230604185140485] for rewarding four helm badges!