In the boundless expanse of the starry sky, a fleet of warships drifted silently through space.
More than ten massive battleships moved in formation, spreading outward like the curved wings of a hunting bird. From a distance, the ships formed a crescent-shaped enclosure, slowly tightening around their target.
"It's like a pocket," someone said with satisfaction. "Close it, and the little thing in front gets swallowed whole."
General Kasper of the Kree Empire stood at the command deck of the flagship. A gloomy smile slowly spread across his face.
Not long ago, they had received unexpected intelligence.
Someone had reported traces of Kryptonians.
The message had sounded almost unbelievable.
After all, the Kryptonian civilization had supposedly vanished long ago. Their once-mighty empire had collapsed into dust scattered across the galaxy.
And yet…
There were still survivors.
The discovery made Kasper extremely excited.
In the turbulent history of the galaxy, the Kree Empire and the Kryptonian Empire had once shared a humiliating rivalry. The two civilizations had clashed repeatedly in brutal conflicts.
But time had changed everything.
Thirty years could change the flow of a river, and centuries could rewrite the fate of empires.
Now the Kree Empire stood proudly as one of the three dominant powers in the universe.
Krypton, on the other hand, had disappeared completely. Its glory had become nothing more than debris swept aside by history.
The difference between the two civilizations today was enormous.
"Still," Kasper said slowly, clenching his fist with excitement, "capturing one or two living Kryptonians would be a wonderful way to vent our old grievances."
He laughed darkly.
"Try to capture them alive. Kryptonians are practically extinct now. The slave markets would pay a fortune."
Then his expression hardened.
"If you can't capture them alive, that's fine too. Drag the bodies back and whip them for me."
Kasper raised his hand and delivered his pre-battle declaration to the fleet's soldiers.
At once, the engines of the warships roared to life.
Their energy output surged.
The Kree fleet no longer bothered to hide its presence as it accelerated toward the lone reconnaissance ship ahead.
Ironically, the intelligence that led to this operation had come from so-called Kree rebels. Betrayal and internal schemes were nothing new within the empire, and it was one of the reasons many civilizations viewed the Kree with contempt.
"Sir," a soldier suddenly reported, "there appears to be someone in the star field ahead."
Kasper burst into laughter.
He didn't even bother considering the possibility seriously.
"Someone?" he repeated mockingly. "Is someone really trying to resist an entire fleet by themselves?"
He waved dismissively.
"Ridiculous."
"A mantis trying to stop a chariot."
Laughter erupted across the command deck.
One officer chuckled and added, "I was just wondering how we'd capture them alive. Looks like someone has decided to walk right into the trap."
"The first capture is mine!"
"Damn it, don't steal it from me!"
The soldiers joked and argued loudly, already imagining the glory of capturing a Kryptonian survivor.
Meanwhile, aboard the Aquarius, tension filled the ship.
"The captain really went out alone?"
The crew stared toward the distant void outside the portholes.
"No way," Soldier Todd shouted. "I'm going too!"
He grabbed a single-soldier combat suit and began putting it on hurriedly.
"He saved my life. I'm not letting him face this alone."
But Adjutant Lilith stepped forward and stopped him immediately.
"Stand down."
Her voice was firm and sharp.
"Don't cause trouble for the captain. Those were his orders."
"But—"
"Soldier," Lilith interrupted coldly, "that is an order."
Under her repeated insistence, Todd finally lowered his weapon reluctantly. His expression was filled with frustration, but he could do nothing against a direct command.
Then suddenly—
A thunderous explosion echoed through space.
Everyone turned toward the observation window.
Through the thick glass of the ship's porthole, a brilliant orange-red fireball blossomed in the distant darkness.
"What… is that?"
Before anyone could react, a streak of icy blue light flashed across the endless star field.
Whoosh.
Yun Chen floated silently in space.
A cold blue glow flickered within his eyes.
In the next instant, an ice-blue beam erupted from his pupils and shot forward like a blade of frozen lightning.
One of the enemy ships had separated slightly from the fleet formation, eager to claim the first victory.
Inside its cockpit, the crew members were still discussing how they would capture the Kryptonian alive.
Suddenly, their sensors screamed.
A beam of freezing light was already rushing straight toward them.
"No—!"
The terrified shout echoed inside the cockpit.
Boom!
The ship was pierced instantly.
The ice-blue beam blasted straight through the vessel from bow to stern. A violent explosion followed as the engine core detonated.
Orange-red fire spread through space like a blooming flower.
The warship's armored hull—designed to withstand heavy thermal weapons—was no stronger than paper against the freezing ray. In a single instant, the beam tore through the armor, ruptured the engine systems, and transformed the entire vessel into burning debris.
"Damn it! Change course!"
Two other ships had rushed ahead moments earlier, hoping to capture the Kryptonian first.
Now their pilots panicked.
But it was too late.
Separated from their main formation, the ships were already exposed.
The icy beam that had pierced the star field suddenly swept sideways.
Like a sword carving through space, the freezing ray cut across their path.
The two ships were moving too aggressively and couldn't evade in time.
The beam sliced straight through both vessels.
Boom! Boom!
Two more orange-red explosions erupted across the star field.
Within seconds, Yun Chen had reduced three warships to blazing wreckage.
The terrifying blue beam finally faded.
Silence returned to space.
"What… what kind of ability is that?"
General Kasper stared at the distant explosions, completely stunned.
The excitement that had filled his face earlier vanished instantly.
Even the officers and soldiers around him fell into a strange silence.
The armor of the imperial fleet—supposedly among the most durable in the galaxy—had been pierced effortlessly by a single beam fired from an unimaginable distance.
"Damn it… what's happening?" someone muttered.
The sight of three burning wrecks floating in space sent a chill through the entire fleet.
"Wait!"
A sudden shout shattered the silence.
A Kree soldier pointed toward the fiery debris with a trembling hand.
Something had just burst through the explosions.
It streaked toward the fleet like a meteor.
"What is that?" Kasper demanded. "A meteor?"
"No," another soldier screamed in shock.
"That's a person!"
Yun Chen shot forward through the star field.
He wore the standard Kryptonian single-soldier combat suit, his entire body radiating cold determination. His eyes were calm and sharp, filled with fighting intent.
The Kryptonian combat suit allowed its wearer to move freely through space, granting the ability to fly as naturally as walking on solid ground.
But what Yun Chen didn't realize was that the suit alone couldn't possibly propel him this fast.
His speed was far beyond the equipment's design limits.
The real reason was simple.
Without even noticing it, Yun Chen had awakened another ability.
Super Flight.
The moment it appeared, it had quietly entered the Oracle system.
Super Flight – LV7.