The slightest change in the frequency of the portal would significantly destabilize it. Under the most severe circumstances, the ships that were inside the warp space would even get trapped.

An intense light gleamed at the center of the portal, sending waves of silvery, mercury-like ripples outward. A strong force suddenly took hold of the space-time continuum and shook it violently while a hyperspace storm was gathering inside the portal. Without any warning, the portal disappeared, but the dot of intense light remained and gained intensity with lightning speed until its substance could no longer hold the energy as it erupted into a perfect storm of primordial forces. The shockwave engulfed the space hives as the desert storm would to ants.

The bulk of the immortals’ fleets were trapped inside the portal, and no one knew what was going on. Wild ionic storms hammered the sides of the ships and blew them left and right like a piece of driftwood in the rapids. Then there was a bright light, and it quickly engulfed everything in silence. When it finally faded away, the five fleets of the Immortal Armada were gone.

Michaux was lifted back to the ship; he fell unconscious as soon as he had finished the spell. Xiao Se looked at his pale face and then looked out of the window at where the portal used to be. The victory came so quickly that Xiao Se was still trying to grasp the reality. This mission was risky as no one knew if the mastery casters’ plan would work or not. Even as a veteran space marine, Xiao Se could not stop fear from creeping into his mind as he prepared for the mission. Samantha was supposed to be the leader, but Xiao Se insisted on him to come in her stead. As the admiral of the Armada, Samantha’s life was too precious to be wasted on a risky mission such as this.

The mastery casters were carried back to the ship one after another. Xiao Se looked up toward where the portal used to be to make sure it had not opened again. Without these mastery casters, the Immortals’ fleets could easily annihilate the human ship.

“General, General Karl wish to speak to you.”

“Connect!”

“Just a brief for you, sir. I have just raided the Immortals main column, and from the disarray and slow response of enemy ships, I can say for sure that the trap has worked. We have destroyed five immortal fleets.” Karl announced the news excitedly and loudly.

“Excellent! Continue your duty and report back to me if you find anything else.”

“Yes, sir!”

A swell of cheers erupted in the command center; it was a miraculous victory!

“It’s not the time for celebration yet. Send a message to Admiral; we are turning around and heading toward Mars.”

“Yes, sir!”

Xiao Se reached into his pocket for a cigar as he marveled at the victory. Without firing a single shot, a group of mastery casters had finished off well over a few thousand ships. Suddenly, Xiao Se felt that he was getting old, and he was fine with that.

The sudden setback had halted the Immortals’ advancement, and Dimalis found it hard to come to terms with what had happened. Entire five fleets had disappeared just like that, without a single distress call or trace. It was as if they were wiped out of existence by the god.

How could that be?

It was evident to the Immortals that Wang Tong and his human allies had gained certain technology that was unknown to the immortals. It was very likely that the source of this technology was the Blade Warrior. Tales of the Blade Warrior commanding a black hole to devour an entire Zerg fleet struck a resemblance with recent development.

The thought of Blade Warrior rendered Dimalis at a loss. He wondered how he would be able to counter humans’ incredible new abilities. After much deliberation, he and the other Immortal captains had decided that it was unwise to strike at the humans without knowing the full extent of their newly acquired ability. As Dimalis issued the order to halt the march, distant shots could be heard as Karl started to harass and flank the formation.

The ordinary immortal soldiers were not aware that they had already lost five fleets, so they were perplexed by Dimalis’ order. What was worse, Dimalis didn’t even order a counterattack when the Armada was being assaulted by Karl the pest.

Dimalis was not in the mood to care about Karl’s harassment as a much bigger problem presented itself. What did the humans know that the Immortals didn’t?

Suddenly, a sense of fear came over Dimalis as a strange thought came to his mind: despite its glorious might and overwhelming numbers, the Immortals’ armada was in fact extremely weak and vulnerable.

Just as Dimalis had expected, Karl turned on his heels after having stolen a few shots at the Immortals ships. He would be greatly outnumbered if he were to engage the immortals’ fleets to head on. Dimalis didn’t order his ships to chase after Karl; Karl was nothing but a distraction, and the priority right now was to report the situation back to Patroclus while waiting for his instructions. He had lost five fleets in a matter of hours; it was the greatest defeat in the history of the immortal space force.

As the admiral, Dimalis had to be responsible for the countless lives that boarded his ships. Therefore, he halted the armada’s advancement.

Dimalis’ every move was under Karl’s watchful eyes, who kept the command center on Mars posted about the situation in the space. After Xiao Se had returned to Mars, he had ordered a thorough scan of the outer space and found no trace of the five disappeared Immortal fleets. Then and only then had he officially announced that the mission was a success. Everyone on Mars cheered for the victory; although they were not able to eliminate all of the Immortal ships, it was a devastating blow nonetheless.

Plus, the miraculous victory clearly had sacred their enemy since Dimalis had completely halted his advancement. Dimalis’ hesitation had given the Martians more time to ready themselves for the war.

Little did Dimalis know that if he had pressed on and marched straight toward Mars, he would have been able to take Mars with great ease, since nearly all the powerful warriors were exhausted after the spell; their recovery would take at least weeks.

The battle was later remembered as the Glory Day of Mastery. On this day, the Divine Master Michaux and the Fire Lord Guan Dongyang had led three thousand and five hundred mastery warriors and cast the largest spell in human history. The warriors had altered the frequency of a warp portal and trapped one-third of the Immortal armada inside the hyperspace.

This spell played a role in human history that was as significant as the Saturn’s asteroid storm. It led to a re-evaluation of mastery’s power and its contribution to humanity’s final liberation.

People no longer saw them as an auxiliary force that was at best a supplementary element to aid the METAL warriors. Instead, they had started to take center stage and proved themselves as equals of the METAL warriors, if not superior.

Michaux had invented the spell on a whim. He admitted right away that it was risky and potentially catastrophic, but what other choices did they have? They could not rely on Wang Tong for everything, particularly now when his hands were tied by more urgent matters. Although Michaux was usually quiet and reserved, he didn’t hesitate for even a second when he decided to take on the heavy responsibility.

While Martians celebrated their victory, Wang Tong had also successfully arrived on the Moon.

…

“Miss Zhou, the banquet is in two hours. You should get ready.” An immortal servant spoke to Zhou Sisi circumspectly. All of Zhou Sisi’s servants were immortals, and she was required to attend most of the public affairs with Patroclus. A human face beside the Divine Lord was a powerful tool to placate the human subjects. In addition, it was a loud and clear message to the human resistance that Zhou Sisi belonged to the Immortals.
Many immortals didn’t understand Zhou Sisi as she had refused to become one of them despite the royal treatment. Some even considered her ungrateful.

Zhou Sisi nodded. She had already gotten used to these acts of shows. Her sole purpose of living was to collect as much information about Patroclus’ operations as she could in order to help the human resistance. She knew that with Wang Tong’s appearance on the Earth, the immortals were about to take action. She should be extra mindful of any potential clues.

The high-rank immortals had long since suspected Zhou Sisi’s connection with the resistance, and therefore, her maids and servants not only helped her with daily errands, but also kept a close eye on her activities. Zhou Sisi was a smart girl, and she knew better to trust her immortal servants. All communications with the resistance were done under the uttermost secrecy even when she was in her room.

Justine, the immortal maid, waited patiently as Zhou Sisi put on her makeup. She felt jealous of the latter for the amount of attention the Divine Lord had given her. To many Immortal girls, Zhou Sisi was living their dreams.