Supreme Paragon Reborn: Humanity's Rise To Galactic Supremacy-Chapter 329: Reaching For The Stars

Once the Indomitable Alliance encircled the Flawless Starlight, they did not hesitate to strike.

Seizing the rare window of opportunity, they focused their attacks primarily on the five Lords.

Such was the cruel nature of the world. No matter how powerful someone became, if caught by surprise, even the mightiest could fall in the span of a single heartbeat.

Robert, Cayson, and Iris faced a Lord individually.

Meanwhile, the Grandmasters were divided into two teams. Michael, Victoria, Claire, and Ava were assigned to bring down one Lord, while Richard, Evelyn, Noah, Alice, and Stephen concentrated their efforts on the last.

Logically speaking, the Indomitable Alliance would never have stood a chance without the new reinforcements that had recently joined their faction. Michael might have known how to win when the odds were stacked against him, but there still had to be at least some chance of victory to begin with.

What followed was the definition of a flawless ambush. Because of the precision of its execution, the lesser troops did not even sense what was about to unfold until it was too late.

Under the perfect coordination of the Indomitable Alliance’s strike, the Lords had no time to react. Cold steel pierced their bodies, their eyes growing dull.

Thud!

Like puppets whose strings had been cut, they collapsed softly onto the snow. The entire ordeal lasted barely a second.

Once the realization of their miscalculation settled in, the faces of the lesser troops twisted into panicked grimaces.

"NO!"

They shouted in a mixture of anger and fear. Left with no other option, they bared their weapons outright, ready to retaliate.

Wordlessly, the Indomitable Alliance responded in kind. The best strategy was to eliminate the enemy before they could alert the rest.

Alas, not everything could play out perfectly. By sheer chance a soldier residing in the castle spotted the disaster. Instantly the soldier rushed to his superior to warn her of the danger.

"What?!" Astra bellowed in fury.

She had considered many possibilities, but her troops acting behind her back had never been one of them. Given that they had never faced psychological attacks, she could have never anticipated it ahead of time.

At least, Astra was quite fortunate to realize the errors of her ways in simulated battle rather than in the real war.

However, it was still a dire oversight, and now it could cost her the entire game.

"With this blunder on my part, we’ve lost five more Lords, leaving us with only ten and roughly a hundred and fifty soldiers. Despite still holding the advantage, we can’t guarantee it will last." She muttered, biting her nails nervously.

They were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Staying in the castle meant waiting for morale to crumble, as more of her troops would likely crack under pressure.

Yet attacking recklessly meant to forgo the strategic advantage they still held over Michael’s faction.

With time quickly slipping away, she no longer had the luxury of weighing every option.

In the end, she chose to strike back. Fighting on their terms was always better than on the enemy’s. At least then, they would have some resemblance of control.

Making haste, the rest of the Flawless Starlight quickly organized, arming themselves to the teeth before exiting the castle as one.

By now, the Indomitable Alliance had dealt with the foolish soldiers who had ventured outside.

"Boss!" Richard shouted. "Do we fight them now or withdraw?"

Having already eliminated a portion of the enemy faction, the mission was technically complete, and some might have considered retreating.

However, with the temperature plunging to impossible lows, rivaling the cold of the cosmos, Michael knew they wouldn’t be able to endure the climate for much longer.

Not to mention, after the blunder on the side of the Flawless Starlight, they would tread more carefully from now on.

Any further psychological attacks were bound to be rendered useless, as they would ensure no one else got any funny ideas.

"I doubt they realize how cold it can get here. They’re probably thinking we’ll retreat and hide!" Michael reasoned, his gaze blazing crimson.

"There’s only one option, attack! Take advantage of them leaving the safety of the castle, find their leader, and slay them!" He ordered.

"Now this is what I’m talking about!" Richard laughed, pouncing on the enemy.

Admittedly, the man acted even more recklessly than usual, but there was a reason for his eagerness.

Flawless Starlight had lost roughly half of their troops, Lords included. Yet they still held the numerical advantage.

There was no sugar-coating it... Advancing was no different from charging toward one’s own demise. Every member of Michael’s faction was experienced enough to be fully aware of that.

And yet, they charged in anyway.

Not because they had run out of options, but because they had faith in their leader that he would secure them the win.

BOOM!

Once the two forces clashed, the piled-up snow exploded outward in every direction.

’Who is their leader?’ Michael’s mind raced against the clock.

This battle could end in their victory if only they could identify the soldier they had assigned as their leader.

His crimson eyes scanned the Lords leading the charge. At the forefront was Lord Sirius, exuding a heavy aura... Yet, it was clear he wasn’t the true leader.

No one assigned with the leadership role would be risking themselves.

Unless there was something deeply wrong with their psyche.

’Could the leader be one of the weaker troops?’

The chances were slim. Unlike the Indomitable Alliance, the Flawless Starlight had many Lords. It made more sense to assign the role to someone capable.

Just then, his gaze cut through the wave of soldiers and landed on a stunning woman soaring through the sky.

Despite being a Lord and undoubtedly with the most formidable presence on the battlefield, she had positioned herself at the very back, clearly reluctant to engage.

Of course, there was the possibility that she was simply a ranged fighter. But thanks to the database he’d accessed before the battle, Michael recognized her as Astra, the founder of the Flawless Starlight.

Since she was the one who commanded them anyway, why not take the leadership position herself and have the other forces guard her?

It was a gamble... But given the situation, the odds seemed favorable enough.

"Hold them off, and I will bring you victory!" Michael’s voice swept across the field, reaching the others.

’The Grandmasters don’t stand a chance against the Lords, but at the very least, they should be able to buy me a minute or two...’ Michael reasoned, accelerating to the maximum.

The first opponent Michael faced was Lord Sirius.

From Sirius’ perspective, it looked like Michael was challenging him.

That’s why he was so confused when Michael parried his first strike and slipped past him.

"Get back here—"

Sirius tried to turn and stop Michael, but before he could, Robert appeared, with a warm smile on his face.

"Hello. It seems you’ll be facing me instead." Robert said brightly.

Meanwhile, Michael found himself deep in the enemy ranks. Seizing the opportunity, he moved faster than most could react to his presence.

Pausing to rest was equal to death.

Slash!

Inevitably, two soldiers blocked his path. Thankfully, they proved too weak to act as an obstacle. With a single swing, he beheaded them with Devil.

Explosions resonated behind him. There was no doubt his faction was struggling. Most likely, several had already fallen, being transported away from the battlefield.

Although death was impossible, they still experienced pain as if it were real. Michael bore no satisfaction that he had to push the people following him to such extremes.

But their efforts weren’t in vain. Amidst the chaos, he managed to make his way toward Astra.

"How did he slip under everyone’s radar?!" Astra clenched her teeth in frustration.

A second later, she regained her composure. Michael appeared to be alone. It was fortunate that he had come to her. She had no idea how he had deduced she had taken the leader role, but killing him here would surely bring chaos to the Indomitable Alliance!

"Very well, then! Let me show you that I am not like the other Lords you’ve faced so far!" Astra bellowed.

Her hair began to sway, her eyes shining in ever-changing colors, like the light of distant stars.

In the blink of an eye, shimmering particles appeared between them.

Swoosh!

Then, lines of light materialized, connecting them.

Instantly, Michael felt a searing heat spread across his body. The strange lines in the air radiated an intense temperature. Even the snow around him seemed to evaporate into smoke, distorting his vision.

"A few seconds, and there wouldn’t even be bones left of his body." Astra muttered. Unless Michael had a way of getting out of there fast enough, he was as good as dead.

Astra’s attention was about to shift toward the front of the battle when suddenly, a hook emerged beyond the smoke, embedding itself in her foot.

"What—"

Before she could react, the hook retracted, pulling Michael toward her. His iron grip took a firm hold of her leg, unwilling to let go.

He was heavily wounded, his body now mirroring the intense crimson color of his gaze. The heat had burned away most of his skin, at certain points even turning into charcoal.

Yet one would wonder if he was even affected by pain the way normal humans were supposed to be, due to the maniacal smile that plastered over his face.

"There’s nowhere to run. You’re mine!" He declared.