Chapter 4: Extermination Flower
Her crew, though battle-worn and battered, responded without hesitation. The ship's engines groaned as power was redirected toward the massive cannon.
The hum of energy filled the bridge as the weapon began charging, its barrel glowing brighter and brighter with each passing second.
Outside, the battle between the Nightmare God and the War God's clone continued with no sign of slowing.
The Nightmare God, sensing the shift in the ship's energy, glanced toward the Redeemer, his eyes narrowing. "Foolish Potross god," he spat, his voice filled with contempt. "Do you think a single cannon will stop me?"
But the War God clone merely smirked, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. "You're about to find out."
The Heavy Fusion-Powered Plasma Cannon, firing supercharged particles from a miniature fusion reactor within, generated intense heat, producing an almost uncontainable plasma stream at tremendous velocity for a devastating impact on the enemy.
Captain Rhea's heart raced as the cannon charged, only to falter at the most critical moment.
Contrary to her expectations, the supercharged cannon abruptly faltered, its power dwindling to nothing.
Confusion swept over her as she glanced at the control panel, watching the energy reserves drain rapidly.
It was as if the power was being siphoned away by an unseen force, leaving them defenseless.
Panic fluttered in her chest—without the cannon, their last line of offense was crippled, and the relentless enemy Frigates were closing in.
As the energy reserves dwindled to a critical 30%, the situation took an unexpected turn. Vines, thick and vibrant, began to sprout along the surface of the battleship, weaving through the cracks and fissures left by the Frigates' attacks.
The vines crackled with electricity, growing with an unnatural speed as they extended toward the enemy ships.
In moments, they wrapped around the Frigates, immobilizing them like prey caught in a web.
Simultaneously, colossal flowers known as Extermination Flowers erupted from the vines, each bloom pulsating with sparks of energy.
With deadly accuracy, they unleashed supercharged plasma blasts, targeting the remaining Frigates and the menacing Void creature.
The plasma shots streaked through space with lethal speed, finding their marks with devastating impact.
Captain Rhea watched in awe and disbelief as the vines and flowers orchestrated a powerful counterattack, turning the tide of battle in their favor.
Though the source of this unexpected assistance remained a mystery, she knew they had been granted a temporary reprieve and a chance to reclaim control of the situation.
"Captain Rhea, ready to initiate the space jump. Don't wait for Brother Chen, he will hold the Nightmare God," the voice echoed once more, its urgency propelling her into action.
With the last Frigate destroyed and renewed determination coursing through her veins, Captain Rhea wasted no time in heeding the instructions of the mysterious voice.
As the preparations neared completion, Captain Rhea spared a fleeting glance towards the ongoing battle outside, where Brother Chen or the previous middle-aged man who was still fighting against the Nightmare God.
With a heavy heart, she knew they couldn't afford to wait any longer.
As the ship's engines roared to life, the space around them began to warp and distort, signaling the initiation of the space jump.
With a resolute nod, she gave the order to initiate the space jump, trusting that Brother Chen would hold his own against the Nightmare God as they made their escape.
The ship leaped forward, hurtling through the fabric of space towards its destination. The void stretched and twisted around them as they traversed.
Inside the ship, the crew braced themselves against the turbulent forces of the space jump, their anticipation mingled with a sense of relief as they escaped the clutches of their enemies.
As the battleship entered the space jump, the Nightmare God's fury reached a boiling point. With a guttural command, he ordered the injured Void creature—its tentacles still writhing in pain from the earlier onslaught—to follow.
Despite its weakened state, the creature obeyed, pouring what remained of its strength into a final, desperate attack.
From the depths of its maw, a massive energy beam charged with destructive force hurtled toward the fleeing battleship.
Inside the Redeemer, alarms blared, and the crew scrambled as the beam tore through the fabric of space, closing the distance with terrifying speed.
Captain Rhea's heart sank as the ship's sensors screamed in warning—their defenses wouldn't hold against an attack of this magnitude.
Suddenly, the vines still clinging to the ship surged with energy, coalescing into a massive flower at the ship's stern.
In a brilliant flash of light, the flower fired a concentrated plasma beam, intercepting the Void creature's attack.
For a tense few seconds, the two beams clashed in a spectacular display of power and defiance.
The plasma beam emitted by the Extermination Flower valiantly offset a significant portion of the void creature's energy beam, but the force of the impact was still too great.
The battleship shuddered as the combined energy beams collided, the sheer magnitude of the clash overwhelming its defenses.
With a deafening roar, the energy beam breached the ship's warp devices, tearing through its structure with merciless force.
In an instant, the battleship was thrown off course, violently expelled from the space jump, and tumbling toward a nearby meteor belt.
The ship's hull groaned in protest as it careened through the debris, battered by the relentless forces around it.
Captain Rhea's gaze remained fixed on the unfolding chaos outside. In those final moments, before they were consumed by darkness, she witnessed a cataclysmic explosion erupting at the heart of the battle between the Nightmare God and Brother Chen.
The explosion, colossal in scale and ferocity, unleashed a shockwave that rippled through the void, engulfing everything in its path with its devastating force.
In comparison to this explosion, nuclear blasts on Earth could be considered as small bombs. It lit up the void of space with a blinding glow, casting dancing shadows over a battlefield littered with debris.
For a brief, fleeting moment, Captain Rhea's heart was gripped by uncertainty and fear as she watched the cataclysm unfold.
But even between all the chaos and destruction, she held onto a glimmer of hope, praying that somehow, against all odds, Brother Chen had emerged victorious in his battle against the Nightmare God.
Inside the ship, the crew struggled to maintain their footing as alarms blared and emergency protocols were initiated.
But just as the crew began to brace for impact, a strange calm descended within the central compartment of the battleship, a straw puppet broke apart, and from its remains, Brother Chen materialized, laughing heartily.
"Haha!" His laughter echoed through the wrecked interior, filling the shattered remnants of the battleship with an unexpected sense of victory.
"Ha! Did you really think I wouldn't make it?" Brother Chen's voice boomed as he appeared in full form, unscathed by the earlier battle.
He turned toward the central part of the ship, where a beautiful woman stood with a knowing smile on her face.
"Sister Ye, you don't have to worry about that stupid Nightmare God," Brother Chen chuckled, his grin wide and full of confidence. "I handled it, like I always do."
The woman, her expression serene despite the surrounding chaos, nodded with a soft smile. "I never doubted you, Brother Chen," she replied, her voice carrying a quiet strength that mirrored his.
Despite the storm of destruction still swirling outside, there was a sense of calm between them, a moment of respite in the aftermath of battle.
As the crew worked frantically to stabilize the ship and assess the damage, Brother Chen's laughter continued to ring out, a beacon of reassurance in the midst of the storm.
And though the Redeemer had been knocked off course, moving toward the unknown, there was a palpable sense of hope—hope that, against all odds, they had survived.