"1.6 million battle power?!"

Knox had never witnessed an aura this overwhelming before.

For a moment, he was too stunned to react.

Then his eyes lit up with hope.

"With power like this... maybe we actually can deal with the Pajero Legion!"

But Dereguy was nowhere near as optimistic.

His expression remained grim.

He could already feel an extremely oppressive aura approaching rapidly.

He immediately spoke up.

"Knox, while I can still distract the Pajero Legion, find a chance to escape Redstar right now. I don’t know how long I can hold them off."

Knox froze.

"Even you aren’t confident?"

Dereguy shook his head.

"If I survive, I’ll come find you. But while there’s still a chance, leave Redstar immediately!"

"Got it."

Knox knew this was no time for pointless words.

He turned and left at once.

Soon after...

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Figures streaked through the sky one after another, propelled by violent bursts of ki.

Their overwhelming pressure distorted the atmosphere itself.

It felt as though the air had frozen solid.

Dereguy’s gaze swept across the officers of the Pajero Legion.

He passed over Zadamor, who possessed the highest visible battle power.

Finally, his eyes settled on Caelum.

Only Caelum’s aura was unnaturally restrained.

He could not sense the depth of it at all.

Which made it obvious.

This had to be the leader of the Pajero Legion.

There was nothing to discuss.

If they were enemies, then he would attack first.

Boom!

Dereguy instantly raised a hand and fired an energy cannon directly at Caelum without hesitation.

A raging torrent of destructive energy surged forward and arrived in an instant.

"At the very least, this should do something... right?"

That was what he thought.

After all, he possessed 1.6 million battle power.

Surely it would not end too badly.

But the next scene shattered that illusion completely.

Caelum narrowed his eyes.

Bzzzt!

An invisible pressure spread outward.

Caelum did not even move.

He simply stood there and fully released his aura.

The sheer force of his energy alone crushed Dereguy’s energy blast and shoved it back.

The attack disintegrated instantly.

Dereguy himself was blown tens of kilometers away, smashing through the earth and carving a massive canyon across the land.

Even the ocean along the path split apart.

At the bottom of the trench...

Dereguy stared in disbelief.

His mentality completely collapsed.

"You’ve gotta be kidding me! How the hell is he this ridiculously strong?!"

Caelum unleashed his aura without restraint.

A battle power of 30 million was so terrifying that Dereguy lost all will to fight on the spot.

How was this even supposed to continue?

There was absolutely zero chance of victory.

Forget 30 million.

He could not even beat 3 million.

And now this monster suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Wasn’t this game completely insane?!

The upper limit of Super Universe was actually this absurd?

Dereguy felt like his worldview had just shattered.

Honestly...

Knox was even more shocked than Dereguy.

The instant Caelum revealed his true power, Knox nearly felt his soul leave his body.

"30 million battle power?!"

Then he ran even faster.

Dereguy had barely begun standing back up when Caelum appeared in front of him with a speed that bordered on teleportation.

Without a word, he launched into a brutal beatdown.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosive shockwaves rang out endlessly.

Glowing spheres continuously burst from Dereguy’s body.

[Super Drop Rate Triggered]

[Obtained Technique: Fusion]

[Learn Technique?]

[Learned]

...

Caelum smiled with satisfaction.

He had quickly obtained the technique he wanted.

A move capable of increasing battle power by two hundred times was something he absolutely could not ignore.

However...

After obtaining Fusion, he realized the conditions for using it were extremely troublesome for him.

Finding someone with battle power close to his own was already difficult enough.

Besides...

Caelum did not like fusion.

He only cared about absorbing and devouring.

"Enough already!"

Once Dereguy sensed Knox successfully escaping Redstar, he roared in fury.

"Damn it all! I’m done playing with you!"

The ki around his body rapidly compressed.

Then his entire body began swelling violently.

Without hesitation, he activated a self destruct technique and charged directly at Caelum, intending to take them both down together.

"Impressive resolve."

Caelum actually sounded approving.

Then he released a burst of aura that blasted Dereguy backward.

Boom!!!

A blinding explosion erupted like a newborn sun rising from the surface of the planet.

The immense force instantly blew half of Redstar into cosmic dust.

With only half the planet remaining, growing another Spirit Tree there was no longer possible.

Most of Redstar’s life force had already scattered into space.

Even if they planted one now, the fruit would likely never mature.

Caelum calmly returned to the spaceship.

"Move on to the next life bearing planet."

"Yes!"

There were countless life bearing planets throughout the universe.

Losing one Redstar meant nothing.

Besides, the trip had not been pointless.

Fusion itself had been an unexpected reward.

Thinking of that, Caelum spoke again. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Send orders back to headquarters."

"Find me skilled mystics and mages. Especially anyone capable of techniques related to potential release."

"And gather a group of Martial Artists as well."

"I want them to help me modify a technique."

Just as he had said before...

Caelum disliked the concept of fusion.

If he ever used something like it, then it would be through absorbing and devouring the strength of others to complete himself.

Not through sharing control of a body.

His body belonged to him alone.

Zadamor nodded immediately.

"Understood. I’ll issue the order to headquarters right away."

"The Pajero Legion’s territory has expanded considerably since before. There should be no shortage of Martial Artists, mystics, or mages now."

"Make it fast."

"Yes!"

Meanwhile...

Knox fled Redstar alone aboard a small spacecraft.

As he recalled the conversation from when Derek and Guy had first arrived, he suddenly realized those two really did have terrible luck.

No.

Not just terrible.

Absolutely cursed.

Disaster followed them everywhere they went.

They had barely arrived on Redstar.

The welcoming drinks were not even finished yet...

And Redstar had already exploded in the middle of everyone’s laughter.

The Bloodmoon Legion had just lost one of its major strongholds.

Knox estimated those two were probably done for.

The odds of surviving against a monster with 30 million battle power were basically nonexistent.

"There’s no way around it. I owe those guys dinner someday."

Just as he was thinking that, North Kai’s telepathic voice finally reconnected.

"Knox, can you hear me?"

Knox immediately looked relieved.

"Lord Kai!"

"Whew. Good thing you’re safe. I don’t know what happened earlier, but suddenly I couldn’t monitor your side anymore."

"Anyway, the important thing is that you survived."

Knox sighed.

"I’m fine. But my two friends probably didn’t make it. They stayed behind to buy me time."

"And Redstar is basically gone too."

"It’s fine, it’s fine."

North Kai tried comforting him.

"As long as you survived, that’s what matters."

"As for your two friends, I’ll talk to King Yama later and see if I can get them a better reincarnation in the next life..."

Then Kaishin suddenly froze.

His voice stopped abruptly.

A moment later, he screamed in complete shock.

"What?! Redstar is gone?!!!"