At the same time.
Aboard the Starskiff of the Whistling Flames Merchant Guild.
Rumble—
The roar of the damaged starship, hurtling toward its doom, echoed through the cabin, accompanied by violent tremors.
"Miss Tingyun! The Starskiff is completely out of control—it's beyond saving! Communications have been jammed by the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus outside. It seems they mean to wipe us out entirely."
Inside the control room, guards stood firm with weapons in hand, barricading the passageways to hold back the monstrous followers of Yaoshi.
The zeal for combat among these Abundance-touched creatures wasn't particularly high, and with the narrow layout and sealed hatches, the defensive line held—for now.
Yet every one of them bore injuries, gripping handholds tightly, their faces grim.
Near the control panel, a Xianzhou native was reporting the situation to a foxian girl. The young lady, clutching a folded fan, was strapped into her seat by the safety harness, her expression strained.
"To think the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus managed to infiltrate our merchant guild… I'm merely an insignificant figure—hardly worth such attention from the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus."
Planetary defense wouldn't arrive swiftly—this was a transit hub world, governed by no single power but jointly managed by multiple factions. Efficiency had never been its strong suit.
Their Starskiff hadn't yet entered the starport, and the influence of the Xianzhou didn't carry much weight here.
No doubt the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus had counted on that, striking at this very moment.
Once the Starskiff crashed, they could easily mop up the survivors, then pose as them when the guards arrived—a perfect cover.
The rest of the merchant crew had reached the same conclusion. Once the initial scene was cleaned up, even the Xianzhou's follow-up investigations would find little to go on.
The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus had remained hidden within the Xianzhou for so long—they certainly knew how to evade the divinations of the Divination Commission.
"Miss Tingyun… Let's fight our way through! We can get you to an escape pod—there's still a chance!"
Someone immediately proposed a desperate plan. Among them, Tingyun was the most important. If she could escape safely, there was still hope.
But before Tingyun could respond, another crew member had already checked the status of the escape pods.
"Damn it! All the escape pods have been activated!"
In that moment, everyone understood—the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus intended to leave no survivors!
The Starskiff itself, along with its safety systems, could likely withstand the crash without killing everyone on board.
But battered and disoriented, how could they possibly resist the Abundance-touched creatures waiting outside?
Tingyun had reached the same conclusion. She realized that this time, the odds of survival were slim.
Who could have imagined the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus would slip a Denizen of Abundance and those monsters right under the Sky-Faring Commission's nose, onto their merchant vessel?
And before departure, their inspections had somehow failed to detect a thing.
Tingyun couldn't understand it. This trade mission wasn't carrying particularly valuable goods, nor did it involve any confidential tasks. She'd only taken charge because the matter required careful handling.
Was it really worth such elaborate efforts from the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus?
There was no time to dwell on the reasons. Seeing the morale of her comrades crumbling, Tingyun took a deep breath and raised her voice:
"Everyone—before this journey, I sought a divination from the Divination Commission. The reading foretold challenges, but also deliverance from peril. For now, brace for impact. There may yet be a chance."
"What? Is that true?"
"Hang in there, everyone! We'll make it!"
Her words instantly lifted their spirits. But as Tingyun watched her reinvigorated comrades, her eyes, unseen by the others, clouded with unease.
She had indeed sought a divination before the trip—but from an ordinary fortune-teller, and the reading had been smooth sailing.
Nothing had hinted at a disaster like this.
Yet with morale so low, a glimmer of hope was the only thing that might keep them going.
But would they really last until the guards arrived?
A merchant guild was just that—not a military force. Even if everyone could handle a weapon and they had guards aboard, they were no match for the Cloud Knights.
Let alone a Shape Shifter of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, whom even regular Cloud Knights would struggle to subdue.
Strapped into her seat with protective gear, Tingyun tightened her grip on her fan, bowing her head as she racked her brain for a solution.
--+--
The massive Starskiff plummeted from the sky.
Piercing through thick clouds, friction with the atmosphere wrapped the vessel in flames, turning it into a colossal fireball.
Fragments of the starship and scattered cargo trailed behind, raining down amid the fiery descent.
Above the falling debris, two figures descended through the wind.
Sylvia and Acheron had simply opened their ship's hatch and leaped out.
Letting the automated docking program tow their ship off-course would cause complications later—jumping was far simpler.
Already within the atmosphere, the height was no issue for Acheron, and Sylvia, with her control over flames, had no fear of a fatal fall.
Minimizing wind resistance, they closed in on the falling Starskiff.
Sylvia glanced toward the starport. They'd clearly noticed the situation, but their response was sluggish.
Rescue ships were only just lifting off as the Starskiff hurtled toward destruction.
According to Acheron's explanation:
This port planet, a massive transit hub, had been jointly developed by multiple factions, each holding stakes.
When it came to business and profit, they fought tooth and nail—but faced with trouble, their motto was 'not my problem.'
Located on a busy transit route, the planet's position guaranteed a constant flow of ships.
These entities had grown complacent, earning easy money for so long that their reputation had long since soured.
As for a Xianzhou Starskiff—if it were just an accident, and not an immediate explosion, casualties would be low. A delayed rescue wouldn't be a major issue.
But if it was an attack… well, the ones who had it out for the Xianzhou were the Abundance followers—a bunch of fanatics.
These groups likely had no desire to provoke them.
Watching the rescue ships, Sylvia guessed they'd decided to hold back until the situation settled.
If the Xianzhou demanded answers later, they could always claim they'd dispatched rescue teams.
But would they actually save anyone? As if.
Since the Starskiff hadn't officially entered the port, and the problem originated onboard, technically, the port authorities couldn't be held primarily responsible.
Sylvia had nothing to say to that. Sloppy organizations were everywhere—and in the interstellar era, they were only more common. She'd expected as much.
Soon.
The Starskiff struck a desolate valley like a massive meteor. Countless fragments flew in all directions amid a deafening roar and shockwaves.
The earth groaned, cliffs crumbled, and the starship's surface was a wreck.
But through the flames, a closer look revealed that aside from the massive cracks from the explosion, the hull itself showed little damage from the fall.
Most of the debris came from objects inside the vessel.
Unfazed by the raging inferno, Sylvia plunged straight through the flames into one of the gashes in the starship's hull.
Acheron followed close behind, a faint, wry smile on her lips, her descent graceful as she slipped in after her.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 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!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.