1494 Drunken Buddha

Starting from the most critical engine compartment, Xia Fan raised his butcher’s blade and began a frenzied slaughter.

If any of their enemies harbored ill intentions and threw a grenade into the engine, the capital ship would quickly be paralyzed and Xia Fan’s escape plan would utterly fail. After all, damaging a ship from the inside was far easier than damaging it from the outside.

Thus, all his enemies had to die!

Xia Fan picked up speed and charged into each of the primary compartments, killing off the crewmen who were still hesitating or in shock, chopping their heads off with a single strike.

Plush!

Plush!

Blood quickly flowed into rivers. With astonishing speed, in the space of a single second, Xia Fan had killed all of the more than one hundred engineers on duty in the engine compartment. He then entered the radar compartment and the fire control compartment, doing the same thing and killing all the crewmen he saw!

It wasn’t long before Xia Fan had killed several thousand people, but his eyes were still crimson, a side effect of the large amount of Immortal Wine he had injected.

Bright Pearl hid in Xia Fan’s bosom, tightly wrapped around him and releasing the nourishing chill of a Frostseal Megadragon. The cool energy suppressed the wicked flames in Xia Fan’s heart, or else he would have long ago gone out of control.

Xia Fan quickly took care of the enemies in the primary compartments, so he turned his target to the crew in the rest areas. Numerous crew members who weren’t on duty were still asleep when they heard the alarms blaring. They hastily got out of their beds in panic, with no time to put on outer clothes or shoes. Their feet bare, they ran out of their cabins and began to inquire as to what had happened.

That was the situation when Xia Fan entered the crew rest area. Those completely unprepared crew members and warriors immediately became the target of Xia Fan’s slaughter. He went into each cabin and killed everyone he saw, ignoring their fear and their pleas for mercy.

Whether they were men, women, or old, he killed anyone who wasn’t on his side!

Xia Fan didn’t just move fast, he killed fast!

Less than one minute after he had hijacked the capital ship, Xia Fan had cleaned out the ship’s primary compartments and rest areas!

No one could escape, not even those hiding under the beds. That was because Xia Fan wasn’t just a pure Speed warrior. He also had the Scent ability! He was born to hunt and kill!

Xia Fan killed deck by deck, and even those who managed to evade Xia Fan’s attack couldn’t escape the secondary pursuit of the other hunting specialist in the team, Thousand Ink. Thousand Ink was currently seated on the floor with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. He was mentally controlling several thousand combat beasts of various sizes as they methodically searched all the cabins on the ship.

When not using the Immortal Wine, Xia Fan could achieve speeds of around two thousand meters per second; when taking more than the normal dose of Immortal Wine, his speed was at least doubled. Thus, he quickly cleared at the middle and upper decks of the dreadnought, and he soon entered the largest area, the cargo hold.

His Phantom Mark 7 combat uniform had been destroyed in his fight with War God Bode, so Xia Fan was currently wearing a simple low-quality combat uniform that he had in reserve. His extreme speeds soon left the uniform in tatters, revealing Xia Fan’s muscular body. Those muscles were now stained with blood, making him look savage and frightening.

Xia Fan charged into the cargo hold. There were storage crates of various sizes piled up here, holding food, ammo, medicine, electronics, and so on.

Those supplies were enough to sustain tens of thousands of people for more than ten years. After all, a capital ship was essentially a moving fortress. Once it left its home port, it would spend long periods in space carrying out missions. That could only be possible with sufficient supply reserves.

There didn’t seem to be anyone in the cargo hold, but Xia Fan came to a sudden stop. Borrowing the dim light from the ceiling, he peered into the distance.

At the end of the cargo hold, near the emergency escape hatch, was an extremely muscular man. His hair was very short and combed very neatly. He had his head lowered and seemed to be waiting for someone. He stood there bored while playing with a silver top.

The cargo hold was extremely quiet. As the silver top turned, it let out a soft rustling sound, the sound seemed to link Xia Fan and the short-haired man.

Xia Fan sniffed, and his eyes widened in shock.

Frowning slightly, Xia Fan walked over to the short-haired man. Putting down his combat blade, he asked in a confused voice, “You are… Drunken Buddha?”

The short-haired man heard Xia Fan’s question and raised his head, revealing a face that was 80% similar to Traveling Buddha’s. But while Traveling Buddha was on the chubby side, Drunken Buddha had a tall and muscular body. While Traveling Buddha was laid back and nonchalant, Drunken Buddha appeared much more suave.

Drunken Buddha smiled, revealing his pearly-white teeth. He then nodded slightly, admitting his identity.

In truth, even if Drunken Buddha didn’t admit it, Xia Fan didn’t think he was wrong. That was because he was far too familiar with Traveling Buddha, and he knew the unique scent the descendants of the Holy Buddha Clan possessed.

“Why are you here?” Xia Fan asked cautiously, stopping at a distance of around fifty meters. Although this was Traveling Buddha’s older brother, Drunken Buddha was wearing the furred uniform of a high-ranking member of the Murder Shrine. Xia Fan didn’t know if this was his friend’s older brother, or an enemy!

Drunken Buddha scratched his head, which was very much something that Traveling Buddha would do. Whenever Traveling Buddha felt like he was in trouble, he would scratch his head and put on a frustrated expression.

Drunken Buddha shrugged and raised his wrist. There was a communication terminal in the form of a black band on it. “I don’t have much time. The fleet is chasing you guys, so let’s keep things short. I was waiting here for you.”

“Waiting for me?” Xia Fan was stunned.

Drunken Buddha smiled as he said, “I know everything from the moment you stepped onto the ship. Originally, I could have met with my little brother. I also know Thousand Ink and Luo Jiuyi. I often went to their homes to play when they were little.

“But it’s not convenient for me to see them right now. However, I need a trustworthy contact in the Inner Territories, so after careful thought, I’ve chosen you.”

Xia Fan said in confusion, “Why me? Traveling Buddha is your little brother!”

Rumble!

Xia Fan had barely spoken when the ship trembled. Although it wasn’t a strong vibration, Xia Fan knew it was a sign that enemies were beginning to fire on the dreadnought!

Drunken Buddha looked up at the swaying lights on the ceiling, and then he said to Xia Fan sternly, “I said before, there’s not much time. Starting now, don’t speak, only listen.

“Firstly, when you return to the Inner Territories, help me investigate a matter. This matter concerns the identity of the principal schemer behind the Murder Shrine, why he wants such a powerful force, and why he’s summoned so many of the Inner Territories’ experts, even those of the admiral level.

“I won’t hide it from you. In order to investigate the Murder Shrine, I’ve been with them for almost eight years, and my status definitely isn’t low. But up until now, all I know is that there’s some powerful force controlling the Murder Shrine’s every move. I still don’t know where this powerful force came from.

“Recently, I’ve discovered that this power controlling the Murder Shrine might not be in the Outer Frontier, but in the Inner Territories!

“Perhaps some major figure of the Three Federations is behind the Murder Shrine. There might be a traitor among us. I originally planned to return to the Inner Territories to investigate, but if I did that, my infiltration efforts would go to waste. Thus, I’ve decided to give you that mission.”

Drunken Buddha shook his wrist lightly, tossing a small data drive to Xia Fan. Xia Fan grabbed the chip while Drunken Buddha opened the emergency escape hatch.

“I have to leave. Thousand Ink and my little brother will be here soon, and I can’t let them find me. And you can’t tell anyone that you met me, even that silly little brother of mine. You have to remember that!

“When you get back, give it a careful look. That chip contains the answers to all your questions. Goodbye!”

Drunken Buddha, ignoring the confusion in Xia Fan’s eyes, closed the hatch.

Several seconds later, a light shuttle shot out, creating an inconspicuous streak of light in the universe as it disappeared into the darkness of space.

Xia Fan couldn’t help but tightly clench the drive Drunken Buddha had given him. He didn’t know if the drive would really hold the answers he wanted, but it was clear that Drunken Buddha had taken huge risks to deliver this to him, so it was probably very important!

Rumble!

Rumble!

The rumbling from cannon fire increased in frequency. Their Murder Shrine pursuers were getting closer, and Xia Fan didn’t have the time to think about Drunken Buddha. He needed to return to the command center and be with his brothers!

Xia Fan was just about to leave when Thousand Ink and Traveling Buddha rushed into the cargo hold, riding combat beasts. Their mounts were two large combat beasts in the form of cheetahs, brimming with muscle and power.

It was only now that Xia Fan realized that Thousand Ink’s combat beasts could be used as transportation tools. As expected of the Thousand Soldier Clan, Thousand Ink’s ability was truly amazing!

“Any enemies left?”

“We’ve already checked the upper decks. What about here?” Thousand Ink and Traveling Buddha asked, one after the other.

Xia Fan shook his head, giving Traveling Buddha a strange look. If this guy knew that his brother that had been missing for eight years had been here and was even wearing a Murder Shrine uniform, he would probably explode. For now, it was best not to tell Traveling Buddha. It had to be kept a secret until the truth was fully out.

“There are no enemies left. To the command center!”

—

Whoosh! Xia Fan immediately rushed off, grabbing Thousand Ink and Traveling Buddha and taking them back with him to the command center.

After putting the two of them down, Xia Fan went over to the main control panel, his fingers dancing across more than ten thousand buttons.

“What’s the current situation?”

“The Murder Shrine wants to chase us, but they were a little too slow. I’ve already charged up the warp engine, and we can leave at any time. They won’t be able to catch us,” Jin Yu said proudly.

In the few minutes Xia Fan had been gone, Jin Yu had been left in the command center. He had once obtained an officer certificate for a Starcloud Union S-class warship, so everyone had performed pretty well under his command.

“Stop the warp!

“Bring the firing system to full power!

Set the reactor at 200%!

“Warm up the Star Destroyer Cannon!

“First target, E134921!

“Second target, N978314!”

As Xia Fan issued order after order, everyone was stunned, their brains unable to get around to the idea. They were just about to escape the Murder Shrine’s encirclement, but Xia Fan had decided not to run?

The Otter Class was a dreadnought, and while it had only one main cannon, this main cannon was designed to destroy planets! Its power was incredible!

Xia Fan wanted to use the Star Destroyer Cannon? He was planning to turn around and obliterate the Murder Shrine?

The others were all shocked. The Murder Shrine ships that were chasing Xia Fan were also stunned to the extreme.

In the backdrop of space, the twelve-kilometer ship turned around, turning the pitch-black barrel of its cannon on its enemies.

The Star Destroyer Cannon!

As their capital ship had been stolen, the Murder Shrine’s strongest ships were the four Hellfire battleships. They were like children in front of a fierce adult, thoroughly outmatched in both size and firepower!

Suddenly, Xia Fan asked, “Have you transmitted the data to Headquarters?”

Jin Yu quickly nodded. “I sent the data and our coordinates to Headquarters the moment we escaped the spatial screen.”

“Very good!”

Xia Fan’s fingers continued to fly across the control platform, the firing radar locking onto the pursuing enemy ships.

Xia Fan’s reasoning was very simple. In this universe, there were big fish and small fish. Since he was controlling a capital ship, becoming the fiercest shark in the sea of stars, he naturally couldn’t run. There was no such thing in this world as the small fish chasing a shark!

On the screen, the Murder Shrine’s ships were quickly locked onto. They turned red on the screen and were marked with a targeting circle and a cross.

“Fire!” Xia Fan ordered loudly.

With a shipwide rumble, a dazzling white night streaked across the darkness. This beam of light had the power to pierce through a planet! It lit up space!

Under Xia Fan’s control, the Otter-class dreadnought lunged fiercely at the Murder Shrine fleet!

Firing all guns!

Barraging his enemies!