The bloody embers of the Black Stone Starfield had not yet cooled, and the Starfire Alliance licked its bone-deep wounds.
The shadow of defeat, like cold cosmic dust, permeated the decision-making echelons of every member civilization.
Fleets were decimated, morale was low, and the shadow of Tavier At Umr had already moved deeper, searching for injured Titans.
The Alliance desperately needed new strength, new hope, even if that hope came with sharp fangs.
And it was at this moment that a turning point, in an unexpected way, quietly emerged within the Alliance's frantic monitoring network.
Located at the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy.
A barren star system, designated X-7, whose spatial structure had long been marked as a highly unstable area by Primordial power.
However, the latest deep-space scan data showed an anomaly: on a terrestrial planet within that system, covered in dark red pus, there was an extremely active life signal, completely unaffected by Primordial contamination!
Even more astonishing was that the Primordial contamination index in the vast area around this signal source was rapidly decreasing, as if being forcibly purified or dispelled by some power!
"This is impossible!"
After receiving the document from the Alliance, Cecil and others exclaimed in the GDA command center. He pulled up an enlarged image.
In the image, the rolling dark red pus on the surface of the planet, named Scorched Earth, recoiled and receded as if encountering a natural enemy!
And in that purified, relatively normal land, a massive figure, radiating pure white gold, was hunting the remaining Primordial Aberrations on the planet with astonishing speed and power!
It was a Lion!
But it far surpassed any creation of nature; its body was comparable to a mountain, its muscles bulging as if cast from white gold, and its snow-white mane bristled like steel needles.
It used no weapons, relying purely on physical strength. Each pounce caused earthquake-like shockwaves, and when its sharp claws swept through, space itself groaned under the strain. Powerful Void Aberrations were easily torn to shreds beneath its claws as if made of paper!
Its amber beast eyes gleamed with ferocity, burning with a pure, almost fanatical desire for battle and a bloodthirsty instinct. It was completely immune to Primordial whispers and conceptual plagues, as if these powers, which left the Alliance helpless, were merely a gentle breeze to It!
"That's the White Lion..."
Allen's voice came through the encrypted channel, carrying an unprecedented solemnity and a hint of unbelievable excitement.
"I heard Mark talk about it before. This White Lion was supposedly brought by Machine Head from somewhere, then it beat them all up and eventually left Earth..."
"Honestly, I thought it was dead."
Soon, news of the White Lion spread throughout the Alliance. Upon learning that the White Lion possessed the power to be immune to Primordial influence, the entire Alliance high command instantly erupted.
This was simply a heaven-sent ultimate weapon against the Primordials!
"We must win It over!"
The Alliance High Council rarely reached a consensus.
But who to send?
Facing such a primal being, who viewed battle as the only truth and was immune to mental communication, any conventional diplomatic approach seemed ridiculous.
Ultimately, the ball rolled around, and the task fell to Allen, who had the closest ties to Earth and extensive cosmic experience.
Allen, aboard a small liaison craft, traversed the starfield disrupted by Primordial power, enduring hardships, and finally landed at the edge of a valley on Scorched Earth, purified by the White Lion's power.
The air still carried the burnt smell and energy residue of shredded Primordial creatures.
The White Lion had just finished a slaughter, its massive claws pressing down on the remains of a mountain-sized spatial fold beast.
It shook off the rapidly evaporating dark red viscous fluid clinging to its mane, and its golden eyes coldly swept towards the landing liaison craft, as if looking at an insect that had strayed into its territory.
Allen took a deep breath, his massive body stepping out of the hatch, and spoke in as calm and respectful a tone as possible.
"Great Being! The Alliance extends its respects to You!"
"We have witnessed Your mighty power against the Primordial Abyss. The universe is collapsing, countless civilizations face extinction, and we implore Your strength to join us in fighting against..."
"ROAR—!!!"
Before Allen could finish his words, a lion's roar, shattering the clouds and filled with boundless arrogance and disdain, suddenly erupted!
The terrifying sound wave, like a physical heavy hammer, slammed fiercely into Allen!
Bang!
Allen's green body, strong enough to withstand small warship artillery, was sent flying backward as if struck by a full-speed starship, crashing heavily into the liaison craft's thick armor with a dull thud.
The liaison craft's outer shell instantly dented and deformed!
Allen coughed up blood, feeling all his bones groaning and his internal organs seemingly displaced.
He struggled to get up, but felt an invisible, terrifying pressure, originating from a higher life-level, pressing him firmly to the ground, unable to move!
The White Lion didn't even move its feet. It simply lowered its head, its golden eyes, burning with pure battle intent, like two cold stars, looking down at Allen, who seemed like an ant.
A clear, domineering message, full of primal wildness, brutally crashed into Allen's ears.
"Battle! Is my prey! Is my game!"
"And you? Weak insects! Are you worthy of accompanying me?"
Its beast eyes swept over Allen with undisguised contempt, as if evaluating a pile of useless garbage.
"Get out! Disturb my hunt again... and I will tear you to shreds!"
There was no hesitation, no possibility of cooperation.
The White Lion's will was pure and extreme.
It enjoyed the process of hunting Primordial creatures, viewing it as an interesting challenge and a proof of its strength.
As for the survival of the Alliance, the continuation of civilization?
In its eyes, it was worthless, not even as noteworthy as a powerful Aberration.
It did not fight to protect, but only to satisfy the high and mighty instinct for battle and destruction etched deep within its bloodline!
Allen struggled to raise his head, watching the White Lion indifferently turn its back, its massive form once again casting its gaze towards other Primordial contaminated areas deep within the planet, his heart filled with a cold sense of powerlessness.
This was not an ally; this was an untamable, ancient fierce beast that could turn on them at any moment!
Just as Allen encountered a merciless rejection on Scorched Earth and returned with injuries and a heavy sense of defeat, a cold resurrection was unfolding deep within the Unyielding, the massive mobile fortress of the Viltrum remnants.
In the highly sterile, energy-shielded life support chamber, the massive life support pod emitted a low hum.
Inside the pod, Trigg was immersed in a liquid that glowed with a faint blue light, rich in high-energy nutrients and Viltrum royal gene repair factors.
The horrific, bone-deep wound on his back, once corroded by Primordial contaminated energy, had healed under the influence of top Viltrum biological technology and the Regent's own formidable vitality, leaving only crisscrossing, dark purple scars, like cooled lava, testifying to the past brutality.
Where his left arm was lost, the port gleamed with a cold metallic light, awaiting a compatible, top-tier prosthetic limb.
A group of top Viltrum biological scientists and mechanical engineers, dressed in white uniforms with solemn expressions, nervously monitored a vast amount of data.
Energy readings, neural activity, muscle fiber strength...
All indicators were steadily rising, even surpassing his peak level before his injury!
Suddenly, the liquid in the life support pod churned violently, and beneath Trigg's tightly closed eyelids, his eyeballs rotated wildly.
Beneath his metallic-like skin, his bulging muscles rippled and swelled like an awakening giant dragon, and a cold, sharp, powerful aura, like a drawn blade, uncontrollably emanated from within the life support pod!
Several nearby scientists were forced to retreat repeatedly by this aura, their faces pale.
Beep—! Beep—! Beep—!
The vital sign monitor emitted a piercing shriek; all indicators instantly broke through the safety threshold, reaching a terrifying peak!
"Your Highness, Regent! Vital signs overloaded! Stabilizing system..."
The chief scientist shouted in panic.
Before he could finish his words!
Boom!!!
The thick, reinforced glass hatch of the life support pod was suddenly shattered from within by an unimaginable force!
Fragments mixed with the faint blue repair fluid splattered everywhere, and Trigg's figure, like an ancient fierce beast breaking free from its shackles, stepped out of the broken life support pod!
He was bare-chested, his newly formed muscles sleek and explosively powerful, and the dark purple scars were etched upon him like medals.
Where his left arm was lost, the port glowed with a dangerous, faint blue light, and his eyes slowly opened, no longer the dullness of severe injury, but like two tempered crystals, cold, deep, filled with an all-seeing sharpness and a kind of...
An even more extreme calm and madness, after experiencing the brink of death and seeing through the cruel nature of the universe!
He ignored the repair fluid flowing over him and the astonished scientists around him, flexing his remaining right arm, his knuckles cracking crisply.
He felt the surging power within him, felt the emptiness where his arm was severed, and a smile of extreme coldness slowly curved at the corner of his mouth.
"Primordials... Titans... Alliance..."
Trigg's voice was hoarse and low, like ice grinding.
"Game... to the next round!"
He casually pulled on an imperial robe prepared nearby, covering his scarred but even more powerful body, and strode towards the control room.
Each step carried an invisible pressure, causing the surrounding scientists and guards to involuntarily bow in deference.
When Allen returned to Alliance headquarters with his injuries, the news of the failed negotiation, and the despair-inducing image of the White Lion's arrogance, what he saw was another, even more suffocating scene.
On the Alliance's massive central star map, the dark red areas representing Primordial contamination, like ink dropped into clear water, were spreading wildly at an unprecedented rate!
Even more terrifying, at several starfield coordinates marked with residual Titan chaotic fluctuations, the curves representing spatial structure stability had completely collapsed, turning into dead black, representing the complete breakdown of laws.
At the same time, the despairingly massive energy signal of Tavier At Umr was detected moving at high speed between these dead black areas!
The analysis results were chilling.
The Old God was efficiently hunting down those individual Titans whose laws had been eroded and whose power had fallen into chaos!
Each birth of a dead black area meant the complete annihilation of a Titan's power, and with each Titan consumed, Tavier's aura became grander, more ineffable!
He was feeding on Titans, accelerating his own evolution, accelerating the process of cosmic collapse!
"We... we can't even delay it anymore..."
An Alliance councilor slumped in his chair, his face ashen.
The news of the White Lion that Allen brought now felt more like salt sprinkled on a wound.
A being with the ultimate power to fight the Primordials was there, yet refused to fight for any civilization, only enjoying the process of destruction.
Just as the atmosphere of despair was almost crushing the Alliance, a cold, clear voice, imbued with undeniable authority, resounded through the entire command center via the highest-priority encrypted channel.
"Wailing won't solve the problem, fools."
The holographic screen lit up, and Trigg's figure appeared.
He stood on the majestic bridge of the Unyielding, his powerful aura barely concealed beneath his robe, and his severed arm was connected to a mechanical prosthetic limb that glowed with a cold blue light, its structure intricately precise to an astonishing degree.
His gaze swept over the despondent Alliance high command, as if looking at a flock of lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
"Tavier is hunting Titans, drawing power. This is both a disaster and... an opportunity."
Trigg's voice was precise, like a scalpel.
"The Titans' power level far surpasses ours. Even in chaos, the energy and law fragments released at the moment of their annihilation are nourishment for Tavier, but for us... they might not necessarily be weapons."
He pulled up a complex star map projection, marked with Tavier's last known location and several predicted coordinates of residual Titan chaotic fluctuations.
"Form a suicide squad."
"No need for combat; they only need to carry the most precise energy capturers and spatial fold detectors, and infiltrate the edge of Tavier's Titan hunting ground."
Trigg's eyes gleamed with a mad and cold light.
"At the moment the Old God devours the Titan's power and the laws violently fluctuate... capture the scattered, not fully absorbed Titan energy fragments and the collapsing laws!"
"That's impossible! That's suicide!"
Someone exclaimed in protest.
"Is it more valuable than dying in the Black Stone Starfield?"
Trigg retorted coldly.
"I've heard about the White Lion. The remains of the Titans... perhaps they are the last thorny straw the Alliance can grasp in this era of collapse."
"Either grasp it, or..."
He looked at the constantly expanding dark red and dead black areas on the star map.
"...wait to become the next appetizer at the Old God's table."
The command center fell into a deathly silence.
Trigg's plan was insane, cruel, with a slim chance of success, and a huge cost.
But in the face of absolute despair, this poisoned straw seemed to be the only choice.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/TripleCrown07
If you guys wanna check it out.