While all of this was happening, Riven sat quietly beneath the old tree in the Millings Manor.
The morning breeze gently swayed the flowers he had planted over the past few days. His gaze remained fixed upon the endless blue sky above.
After a long silence, he let out a quiet sigh.
"Even after all that, she still wishes to invade."
He slowly closed his eyes.
"Nothing can be done here."
His voice was calm, as though he had merely stated an ordinary fact.
The breeze continued rustling the flowers, and the manor remained peaceful.
Yet...
Far beyond the sky...
Beyond the stars...
Events entirely unrelated to cultivation were quietly unfolding.
...
Deep space.
Unlike the beautiful night skies seen from planets, the universe was overwhelmingly silent.
There was no wind, no sound.
Only endless darkness stretching in every direction.
Occasionally, brilliant stars illuminated the void like scattered jewels, while colorful nebulae drifted between distant galaxies.
Massive asteroid belts slowly revolved around forgotten stars, and some planets glowed with blue oceans, while others were nothing more than frozen rocks drifting through eternity.
Everything appeared peaceful.
Yet hidden beneath that beauty, the universe was one of the most dangerous places imaginable.
At this very moment, a sleek silver spaceship silently sped through the darkness.
Its hull stretched nearly two hundred meters long.
Blue energy lines pulsed beneath layers of alloy armor, and several rotating engines continuously adjusted its trajectory while faint streams of ionized particles trailed behind it.
Inside, the atmosphere couldn't have been more different. Every crew member wore tense expressions.
No one dared relax.
The silence inside the bridge was broken when the automatic doors slid open.
A soldier hurried inside before saluting.
"Captain."
"The remaining pirate ships have been pushed back. We've successfully escaped their immediate firing range."
The captain never turned around.
His eyes remained fixed upon the stars rushing past the front observation window. His expression remained unusually calm.
Almost too calm. Finally, he spoke.
"It isn't that easy. They've already prepared a Hound Beacon."
Several officers immediately lowered their heads.
The captain continued.
"They're determined to obtain this shipment. We're carrying resources recovered from an S-rank gate."
"They'll never abandon the chase."
The atmosphere instantly became even heavier as everyone present understood exactly what those words meant.
A Hound Beacon.
One of humanity's most troublesome tracking technologies.
Instead of locking onto the ship itself, it analyzed the microscopic distortions left behind by a vessel's engines while traveling through space.
Normally, those distortions gradually disappeared.
However, this route lay far outside the established interstellar trade lanes, and almost no ships traveled here.
Meaning, the trail they left behind would remain detectable for a very long time.
One of the navigators clenched his fists.
"We've already changed our route."
"We've spent an entire week traveling through unexplored space and they're still following?"
The captain nodded.
"They expected us to do exactly that."
"They're patient, and patient hunters are always the most dangerous."
Everyone quietly exchanged glances.
The resources stored inside their cargo hold were priceless.
Every crystal, every material, every artifact recovered from the S-Rank Gate was worth billions of credits.
Enough to make entire pirate fleets wage war.
The captain looked toward another officer.
"What about Lina?"
The woman beside him sighed.
"Captain, she should still be recovering."
"During the previous engagement she overextended her ability, creating that gravitational distortion and exhausting nearly all her energy."
"I don't think she'll be combat-ready anytime soon."
The captain silently nodded.
Lina, one of the strongest members aboard.
An A-Rank Superhuman.
Her ability alone had allowed them to escape complete encirclement several days ago.
Unfortunately, even extraordinary powers had limits.
After several seconds of silence, the captain issued another order.
"Prepare the plasma cannons."
"If the pirates close the distance, use them only to delay."
The weapons officer hesitated.
"Captain..."
"We only have enough charge for one or... perhaps two volleys."
"And our fuel reserves are critically low."
The captain slowly closed his eyes.
"I know."
He remained silent before opening them again.
"Begin searching for nearby habitable planets."
Several officers immediately looked toward him.
One finally spoke.
"But Captain, if we enter an undeveloped civilization..."
"It could become disastrous."
The captain interrupted him.
"I have no intention of dying in deep space. If we're fortunate..."
"We'll discover a developed world, and perhaps they'll possess defenses capable of deterring the pirates."
The room gradually fell silent.
Although many still hesitated, no one opposed the order again. The navigator immediately activated the long-range planetary scanner.
...
Meanwhile, several million kilometers behind them.
The darkness of space concealed another vessel.
Unlike the sleek silver ship ahead, this one resembled a floating fortress.
Its armor was dark crimson, and scars covered its massive hull.
Several weapon batteries slowly rotated across its surface, and numerous smaller escort vessels surrounded it like hungry wolves.
Inside the pirate flagship, laughter echoed throughout the command room.
A bald man covered in mechanical implants leaned against the tactical display.
"They've stopped firing."
"So, they've finally realized they can't shake us."
Another pirate chuckled.
"Should we engage the Slipstream Drive and finish them?"
The man merely shook his head.
"No. They're desperate."
"Desperate prey always runs toward something."
"If we push them now, they'll scatter the cargo and we'll lose more than we gain."
He enlarged the holographic star map.
A thin glowing line represented the fleeing vessel's engine trail.
The pirate captain smiled.
"The Hound Beacon is working perfectly. They're heading deeper into unexplored space."
"Good."
"We'll follow, but slowly."
One subordinate frowned.
"Wouldn't that allow them to escape?"
The captain laughed.
"Escape?"
"They're almost out of fuel and they don't know this region. They'll eventually stop somewhere, and when they do..."
"We'll take everything."
He looked around the bridge.
"No unnecessary fighting and maintain long-range pursuits."
"Let them exhaust themselves."
The pirates immediately acknowledged the command.
Like predators watching wounded prey, they patiently followed the fading trail.
...
Back aboard the silver spacecraft, nearly an hour passed.
Suddenly, a translucent holographic screen appeared before the captain and the ship's artificial intelligence announced,
"Three habitable planets detected."
"Search radius... 2.5 light-years."
Immediately, three rotating planetary projections appeared above the navigation console.
Everyone stood up.
The first planet slowly rotated before them.
Vast blue oceans, large green continents, and cloud systems covering much of its atmosphere.
The AI spoke.
"Estimated oxygen concentration..."
"Nineteen point seven percent."
"Surface water... approximately sixty-two percent."
"Probability of supporting advanced civilization..."
"Seventy-three percent."
The officers exchanged hopeful glances.
The second planet appeared.
It was noticeably smaller.
Large brown wastelands covered much of its surface.
Scattered green regions surrounded several oceans.
Massive frozen polar continents reflected the nearby star's light.
The AI continued.
"Surface composition..."
"Forty percent barren terrain."
"Twenty-five percent oceans."
"Fifteen percent vegetation."
"Twenty percent permanent ice."
"Estimated civilization level... Unknown."
Finally, the third planet appeared.
It was the closest. Yet, it looked nothing like the others.
Nearly half its surface glowed crimson. Large regions seemed covered by strange red terrain unlike anything stored within the ship's database.
The officers frowned.
"What is that?"
"No idea."
The AI immediately responded.
"Unable to determine."
"Insufficient planetary data."
The captain observed all three worlds for several moments.
Finally, he pointed toward the first.
"We'll head there. It appears the most stable."
No one objected, and the navigator immediately adjusted the course.
The captain took a deep breath.
"Activate the Slipstream Drive."
Instantly, the entire spacecraft came alive as massive fusion engines roared to life.
Blue energy surged throughout the hull, and a shimmering barrier gradually enveloped the ship.
Artificial gravity increased slightly.
Several inexperienced crew members instinctively grabbed nearby railings.
The ship's AI calmly announced,
"Slipstream Drive charging."
"Spatial field stabilizing."
"Entering the edge of hyperspace."
Moments later, the surrounding stars stretched into countless glowing lines.
Reality itself seemed to bend.
The AI spoke once more.
"Slipstream tunnel established."
"Drive engaged."
The spacecraft vanished.
Its speed instantly climbed beyond anything conventional propulsion could achieve.
On the navigation display, the distance rapidly decreased.
2.3 light-years.
2.1 light-years.
1.8 light-years.
1.5 light-years.
One light-year.
Everyone silently watched the numbers continue falling.
No one spoke.
After nearly an hour, the AI's calm voice suddenly echoed throughout the bridge once again.
"Warning."
"Fuel reserves..."
"Ten percent remaining."
The captain's expression tightened.
"Slipstream drive automatically disengaging."
The brilliant tunnel collapsed. Stars returned to their normal appearance, and the ship gradually slowed back into conventional space.
Silence filled the bridge.
The captain looked toward the remaining fuel indicator, where only a faint red bar remained.
He slowly exhaled.
"We've bought ourselves some distance. But only just enough."
The fuel they had conserved over many months had already been spent activating the Slipstream Drive once before.
This second jump had consumed nearly everything they had left.
Now, the remaining fuel would only be enough to reach the distant blue planet displayed upon their navigation screen.
Behind them, far beyond sensor range, the pirate fleet continued following the invisible trail.
Patiently and quietly, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.