Chapter 14: The Rainbow on Eagle Valley Star

The white noise over the communication system was indistinguishable from the cold and desolate universe. Black-red tides surged forth, swallowing the faint hints of blue and white, but the relentless bursts of fire proved they had never surrendered.

The paratroopers could no longer stop the incoming enemy space infantry. They were so dense and fearless that each pulse round needed to knock down several before dissipating.

"Fall back to the second line of defense!" Lu Yuan shouted.

The enemy had pressed so close, within a hundred meters of the paratroopers, and with just a slight thrust from their jetpacks, they could cross over. The surviving paratroopers instinctively reached for the honor daggers strapped to their waists. Even in close combat, what did they have to fear?

A shell clanged off Lu Yuan's helmet, and his rifle's action halted with a sharp "ping." Lu Yuan reached into his ammo pouch—empty. Gritting his teeth, he yanked the rifle's power cable and plugged it straight into his combat suit's power slot.

"Ammo!" Zhang Yueyang tossed Lu Yuan a magazine and, using the momentum, flew backward to land beside him. "Don't be reckless, boss!" he yelled.

Lu Yuan stashed the last magazine in his pouch, his rifle drawing power from his suit's life-support system. He shot a fierce glare at Zhang Yueyang, shouting, "Tell the forward firepoints to ignore us! Fire at will! We'll advance with the artillery!"

Zhang Yueyang's face twitched as he clenched his fist. "Understood!" he replied.

Lu Yuan's rifle continued to flare with hot flashes, each shot's recoil pushing him backward. Yet he always stayed at the rear, covering the retreat of all the paratroopers.

With a "shing," his honor dagger gleamed coldly as it left its scabbard. With one swift stroke, Lu Yuan severed an enemy soldier in two, the blade untouched by blood. A crimson curtain of droplets formed behind him as the severed body floated, suspended. Seizing this opening, Lu Yuan drew his pistol and fired several shots, repelling enemies trying to flank him. Emptying his pistol, he flung it hard at the enemy, narrowly dodging their grasp, and darted back like a fish.

One by one, the paratroopers crossed the firing line, waiting for Lu Yuan. When he gave a hand signal, Zhang Yueyang took charge, unloading round after round towards Lu Yuan from a fortified position.

Several paratroopers pulled Lu Yuan into cover as his momentum waned. Still in motion, Lu Yuan grabbed a Marine and ordered, "Contact the base, we need reinforcements!"

He pushed past the Marine, shouting, "Contact the bridge! Send in support!" The Marine's body felt as light as a feather, and Lu Yuan turned to see a face mangled beyond recognition, as if it had been smashed like a rotten tomato.

In silence, Lu Yuan took the Marine's rifle and resumed firing. But the enemy in the narrow passage kept advancing, slowly but resolutely.

Lu Yuan's earpiece crackled with chaotic sounds, static fading just enough for him to decipher the frantic voices. Without waiting, he nudged Yue Dong with his foot and said, "The enemy blasted open the electromagnetic cooling ring! The Marines there are mostly gone!"

"Should we pull back to the reactor?" Yue Dong asked.

Lu Yuan glanced at the momentarily stalled enemy, then at the reddening end of the passage. Though it was long, for enemies who had crossed galaxies to kill them, how much longer could it hold?

"We can't retreat, nor do we need to," Lu Yuan replied, connecting another Marine's rifle to his suit to charge it. "Our retreat is cut off. Holding this line might buy the reactor some time."

Yue Dong nodded, connecting his own rifle to his suit. "Send someone to close the airtight doors."

"Alright. Whoever's the youngest goes." Lu Yuan grinned, though Yue Dong detected a hint of tremor in his voice. It was natural—deciding one's fate brought a fleeting vulnerability.

Floating next to a paratrooper, Lu Yuan patted his helmet. "Xiao Shen, go back and close the doors. Don't cross the last one."

Xiao Shen nodded, and Lu Yuan unstrapped his rifle, shoving him forward. "Go! Don't look back!"

As they watched the youngest paratrooper disappear behind the sealed door, Yue Dong remarked, "If he's lucky, he'll survive."

Lu Yuan rapped twice on Yue Dong's helmet, pointing at the enemy only a hundred meters away. "If taking off my helmet wouldn't kill me, I'd smoke one more."

"Plenty of time for that later."

"True."

Lu Yuan's voice sounded over the paratroopers' comms: "Hold your positions, brothers. Don't give an inch, even in death!"

"Victory!" came the paratroopers' resounding reply.

The momentarily delayed enemy began reorganizing, pressing forward with a line of heavily armored robots. Their light railguns tore through the makeshift defenses, inching forward as each second of fire suppression yielded ground.

Condensed breaths fogged the inside of Lu Yuan's mask before fading away. In his pupils, only the black-and-red uniforms of the Empire soldiers remained, these relentless invaders slaughtering his comrades one by one.

His comrades had once melted through the frozen crust of Orion Star, striking from the boiling seabed. They had raided the orbital docks of Thunder Star, reducing Imperial warships to ashes. They had defended every inch of Sentinel Star to their last breath, and now, they would all die aboard their mother ship.

The comms continued their disordered chatter, and the voices of those still waiting for reinforcements grew scarcer. Deep space was merciless, isolating them from all escape, while engineers near the reactor erupted in desperate shouts, voicing the agony of impending slaughter.

"It's combat armor! I can't penetrate it! Ah, they're here!"

"Everyone fall back! Retreat to the fusion reactor control room, lower the gates!"

"There are still so many people outside! Sir, I can't do it!"

Lu Yuan listened silently to the despairing voices of those he had led to their deaths. He ignored the incessant "Low Power" warnings flashing in his helmet until his suit could no longer fire even a single pulse round. Removing the pistol magazine, he saw four bullets left.

The Empire's soldiers were only fifty meters away. The paratroopers' pulse weapons were entirely depleted. Pressing the comms button, Lu Yuan said calmly, "This is the paratroopers. We're out of ammo and are initiating a final assault. We will die with honor. Good luck to you all. Over."

A red light flashed on the comms: "This is the security team. The Empire is at our door, and we've agreed to detonate the reactor. Message sent to the bridge. Good luck to you, and may our souls rest in peace. Over."

Running his hand over his honor dagger, Lu Yuan drew the blade destined to accompany him to the end.

As gunfire subsided, he looked each paratrooper in the eye and said, "Brothers, fighting by your side has been my greatest honor, from beginning to end."

The paratroopers lay behind cover, hidden beneath their fallen comrades. Floating droplets of blood hung like crystals around them, leaving deep marks on their helmets, arm patches, and scabbards.

"Keep the last bullet for yourself," Lu Yuan whispered. From his position, he could hear the faint hissing of enemy jetpacks.

With a dark gleam, his dagger slashed forward, instantly severing an enemy's neck. Lu Yuan's wrist flipped, and he fired twice to kill another enemy, the blade slipping smoothly out of the bone before slicing again, leaving a ripple in its wake.

One bullet left.

The surprised enemies, having assumed the cover was devoid of life, were slaughtered in close combat by the paratroopers, each a master swordsman. But as their commander's sharp whistle echoed, the next wave advanced with renewed discipline.

The blade sliced through space suits, soft flesh, and hard bones as Lu Yuan cut down another foe, his gun silently flashing as it killed another grasping at his arm. Amidst the corpses, Lu Yuan was barely visible.

One bullet left.

The paratroopers, drenched in blood, leaned together. Some raised their left hands with clenched guns, signaling they didn't need help, while others gestured that they would do it themselves.

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, tasting the heavy metallic tang in his mask. With his suit's life support drained, his breath grew shallow. He nodded to his comrades and cast a disdainful glance at the Empire soldiers. Re-sheathing his dagger, he pressed his pistol to his temple.

Dying here was almost like coming home.

Closing his eyes, he felt as though a warm mountain breeze brushed past, as if she whispered softly. A faint satisfaction rose within him—searching for that radiant presence felt like a blessing.

A fierce wind howled across the battlefield, carrying the scent of blood and fire. The storm swept through, shattering one airlock after another, and Lu Yuan opened his eyes, gazing into the abyss—and the abyss gazed back.

The tempest exploded.

"Boom!" An incredibly intense shockwave instantly shattered all the airtight doors along the path. Before Lu Yuan could even turn around, he felt a heavy blow to his back—the reactor had exploded! All he managed to realize was that he was swept up like a blade of grass in a raging torrent, tumbling down the Sea Gate corridor.

The powerful airflow immediately cleared everything from the passageway, whether it was the desperate paratroopers or the relentless Imperial soldiers. In just a few heartbeats, countless scattered debris within the ship were blown outward. Even anything that hadn't been carried away by the blast, strong enough to tear through the ship's structure, was no match for the instant vacuum pull!

Against such force, people were no more than ants swept away by a single breath. A flash of starlight suddenly appeared in Lu Yuan's pupils as he hurtled directly into the vastness of space, where he finally saw—the entire universe.