Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 268 - 187: The Pinnacle

Chapter 268: Chapter 187: The Pinnacle

Another deep blue arc of light streaked across the cabin, and a smooth cut split the entire cabin in two. The defense system, which was claimed to withstand the bombardment of the Destruction Fleet, was easily severed by the light blade, and a hearty laugh echoed in the cabin for a long time.

"Indeed, I’ve been getting luckier lately."

The crimson cybernetic eye once again locked onto Duan Mingyuan’s figure. Since he had been dubbed the "Cosmic Sword Saint," he could no longer remember how long it had been since he found a duel that made him exert all his effort.

Before the severed section could fall, some kind of energy "stitched" the damaged parts back together again.

"It seems you are the Blue Star Swordsman mentioned by the Shan clan people."

The figure of the Sword Saint once again transformed into a streak of light. Although his current opponent did not counterattack, and his actions appeared more like those of a ship repairer, there were very few in the universe who could dodge his strikes.

He had come to Mechanical Star because the Shan clan people mentioned that not long ago, a Blue Star Swordsman had cut down the flagship of Universe Company, which filled him with joy for the first time in his life for finding a kindred spirit.

Before that, no one had truly understood him.

Everything he did was to climb to the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

As long as he could become stronger, he would not hesitate to do anything.

Cutting off emotions and ties, as a traitor he decapitated every Swordsmanship Grandmaster and when he held his sword and drenched the Royal City in blood, the fearful looks of the people only led him to a sad realization—that unknowingly there were no more opponents on his home planet that could make him fight with all his might.

During his youth, he had left the planet he was living on, sometimes working as a guard for caravans, and sometimes wandering the cosmos as a mercenary, all to find a swordsman stronger than himself.

It was an incredibly fulfilling time, constantly encountering different masters of swordsmanship in the universe.

Sometimes he succeeded, sometimes he failed, and he even sustained fatal injuries in duels; his body was step by step transformed into what it was now amidst injuries and destruction.

His body now met his ideal of perfection, immune to aging and the pain caused by injuries that might affect his movements, and the sword he brought from his home had long been abandoned for a sharper and more powerful light sword.

The craftsmen of his hometown were too ignorant, utterly unable to imagine the vastness of the universe.

Unfortunately, the fulfilling and glorious times did not last too long.

Unbeknownst to him, his reputation spread throughout the universe and he was crowned the "Cosmic Sword Saint." Countless people saw him as the ultimate swordsman and countless forces, including the Shanqi Commerce Association and Universe Company, extended olive branches to him, but he didn’t feel the slightest bit of joy from this.

The adulation from the outside world made him feel as if he had returned to his youth.

Moreover, the opponents he encountered later became less and less stimulating for him.

He hated the title of "the strongest." Once he received such an evaluation, it meant he would stop progressing; despite the numerous swordsmanship masters in the universe, no longer were there opponents who could make him exert all his effort.

Therefore, he had no choice but to turn his gaze elsewhere.

The cocoon-transformed Dead Star, the war-torn Eastern Battlefront, even cutting down a flagship with his own power, but this kind of strength demonstrated through external things only brought about emptiness and confusion, until one day, suddenly, he found a being just like him on the news.

A single stroke to sever a flagship was a feat only someone pursuing the ultimate in swordsmanship could achieve.

The swordsman from Blue Star in front of him did not disappoint.

The Cosmic Sword Saint did not intend to sit down and share his story with the other party. He believed that for "their kind," the strikes he had just launched were enough to convey the weight of his journey.

However, for those pursuing the ultimate in swordsmanship, the spar just now was just of trivial significance, akin to a simple greeting upon meeting.

After another strike missed its mark, the Sword Saint stopped in his tracks.

He pulled a black box out of his metallic chest that had been remodeled, and casually tossed it in front of Duan Mingyuan.

"What a strange fate. This box was also forged by the great craftsmen of Mechanical Star."

The black box expanded in size once it touched the ground, and "spewed" out various strangely shaped weapons before Duan Mingyuan, some were light swords full of technological color, and others seemed to be iron swords from several centuries before.

The Sword Saint said loudly, "This is the way I commemorate my opponents. Although I don’t know why you didn’t bring any weapon with you, it’s hard to enjoy a fight like this—pick one from inside!"

The time for greetings had ended.

Next would be a battle between the strongest in swordsmanship.

Duan Mingyuan’s expression was grave; for him, the testing phase was also over.

But the test results made him deeply anxious; the crew member of that cosmic pirate had hyped up "Fortress Number," boasting that even the weapons fitted on Universe Company’s Battleship Cruisers could not breach its defense system, so Duan Mingyuan had high hopes for this ship.

However, it turned out that the crew member’s boasting was like the increasingly pervasive false marketing on the internet recently. A random person with a light sword had chopped up the cabin like it was slicing vegetables, and if it wasn’t for the timely repairs on the side, the person with the light sword reckons would have scrapped the ship by himself.

The Ship Repairer road of the Third Prince was truly worrisome.

The Sword Saint interrupted his thoughts, urging, "Get ready, I’m about to get serious."

In an instant, a fierce Sword Intent locked onto Duan Mingyuan, a type of energy he had never encountered before, as if there stood a sharp blade in front of him.

A noble and upright duel between swordsmen.

By title, he was the deputy captain of Ranger, and his profession was Sword Master.

Out of gratitude to the light sword stranger for acting as a quality inspector for so long, Duan Mingyuan decided to oblige and bent down to pick up the wrench that had fallen on the ground. Under the astonished gaze of the other party, the wrench transformed into a Peach Wood Sword.

When their gazes collided once again, two entirely different strengths intertwined.

...

On the other side.

The Third Prince’s group finally lived up to expectations and found their way to the central control room. The reason they encountered no obstacles along the way was that the "Cosmic Sword Saint" had lent them a hand. Upon hearing the news, the pirates on the ship had long since fled; everyone knew that once the Sword Saint got into the killing mood, all bystanders in the vicinity would be in trouble.

"The plan is this,"

The Third Prince took a deep breath. On the way there, he had also found an escape boat. "Once we blow up the engine, this ship will crash towards the ground. If everything goes according to plan, by that time we will have already boarded the rescue boat and left."

This was the only possibility of survival he could think of.

If they encountered the Cosmic Sword Saint face to face, they would be annihilated in an instant.

He speculated that if the flagship of the Cosmic Pirates lost control and fell, the Sword Saint’s attention would be temporarily focused on how to escape, which would buy them enough time.

"Then... what about Mr. Earth Wolf Twelve?"

Tang Qianqian asked with concern.

After spending time with her senior, her sensitivity to blades had also increased significantly.

Despite Earth Wolf Twelve assuring them that this was just a small scene for Interstellar Cowboys, his departing figure somehow seemed like he was going to collect his last meal.

Fortress Number was one of the strongest pirate groups in the universe; the ship’s captain must be a formidable figure who commands respect and fear.

"All we can do now is trust him. If—"

Suddenly, the Third Prince’s expression changed, and the words he wanted to say got stuck in his throat.

Footsteps could be heard from outside the engine room.

They were getting closer, unhurried, and one could tell from the sound alone that it belonged to a composed and mighty individual.

He gestured to the others with his eyes, and they quickly hid in a dark corner.

Even if they destroyed the engine room, they would still run into the Cosmic Sword Saint outside the door. The Sword Saint could effortlessly slay them before calmly leaving the doomed cabin.

To make matters worse, Tang Qianqian had mentioned that her senior’s ability to guide resurrection had its limits; there had to be some remaining Life Energy for the reconstruction ability to activate successfully.

But if they were first cut down by the Cosmic Sword Saint and then blown to bits in the falling spaceship, it was highly likely that even their bodies would be burned to ashes in a fire. Would any of their Life Energy remain then?

None of them dared make a sound, fearing that any little disturbance might attract the attention of the Sword Saint.

Yet, they also saw doubt in each other’s eyes.

Could such poor hiding tactics really deceive the eyes of the universe’s strongest swordsman?

The door to the engine room opened, and someone walked in slowly and leisurely.

From this angle, only the lower half of the person’s body could be seen. The newcomer was holding a deep blue Light Sword, dragging a clear and visible scratch on the ground.

"Senior!"

Tang Qianqian was the first to tearfully peer out from the cramped space. She recognized Duan Mingyuan’s pants—it was the outfit she had strongly recommended to Jiuyue, which Jiuyue had insisted on buying while taking Duan Mingyuan shopping before departure.

Nothing could reassure her more than seeing Duan Mingyuan in such a situation.

"What are you all doing here?"

Upon seeing Tang Qianqian, Duan Mingyuan looked puzzled.

He had come to continue the inspection work. The pirate crew had told him that this was the engine room, the heart of the flagship.

"Forget that for now, Senior, be careful, the Cosmic Sword Saint is on his way!"

She quickly warned.

The title "the strongest in the universe" was truly daunting, and she felt that even someone as strong as her senior should be cautious, especially when the enemy was hidden and they were exposed.

After all, from a practical standpoint, her senior was the strongest on Blue Star, while the other was the strongest in the universe.

This kind of comparison always led to ominous premonitions.

There had been battles before between "the strongest of the modern" and "the strongest of all time," and the results were somewhat disappointing.

"Cosmic Sword Saint? Where is he?"

Duan Mingyuan also immediately became very attentive, his waist still wearing the sheathed Peach Wood Sword, and in his hand was the high-tech weapon he had just obtained.

He gripped the Light Sword with both hands, standing guard at the entrance to the engine room with utmost seriousness.

This was the core area of the flagship; no one could be allowed to wreak havoc here.

"...Mr. Mingyuan."

The Third Prince broke the silence, asking the question that loomed over everyone’s minds, "Where did you get that Light Sword in your hand?"

"Oh, this?"

Duan Mingyuan kept an unwavering eye out for the Cosmic Sword Saint, who might appear at any moment, and explained, "On the way here, I encountered a passerby with a Light Sword. To prevent him from causing further damage on board, I confiscated his Light Sword."