Chapter 5904 The Final Challenge 5904 The Final Challenge "The ultimate test has come." To think that the 9th wave of the 8th round was not supposed to be the final challenge. If the Subjugation King had not done red humanity a favor and expended so much energy to plant a soul mark on Ves, the Dominion of Man would probably have to endure 9 more True God-level threats of increasing intensity! Ves became more and more thankful that this was the final test, because the energies concentrating in the storm clouds already exceeded the power of the two-headed beast! "How is the ship, captain?" He asked the massive glowing figure resting on the command seat. "Damaged but unbroken." The man spoke with an empowered voice. "The Dominion of Man has become greater than she had ever been. I have the utmost confidence in her crew and her tech. Caramond and Furia have also improved at a rapid pace. Their help will be indispensable. I have enough confidence that our ship will survive the coming battle. Every dreadnought was designed and built with the express intention of fighting against a god mech. She will not falter now that she has finally gained the essential pieces needed to fulfill her original goal." The original purpose of dreadnoughts was the ultimate dream of the Red Fleet. It continued to motivate the fleeters even when it seemed that their grand experiment had fallen short of expectations. There were far more fleeters rooting for the success of the Dominion of Man than her crew. The men stationed on the other warship in the star system were hoping that the dreadnought would be able to surpass the last and most arduous challenge set by the tribulation storm. Many other fleeters who had gained the right to be appraised of the situation wanted the Dominion of Man to succeed as well. From Fleet Admiral Stanley Argile to the spacers stationed on the other 7 dreadnought, the Dominion of Man carried many of their hopes and dreams for a bright new future for the warships of the human race. All of their hopes and aspirations translated into faith. Though Ves was unable to track the movement of faith energy, he liked to think that the warship continuously absorbed the faith of millions of fleeters, all without needing to borrow Caramond's faith. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦 That should have meaning. The only question now was whether all of this was enough to pass the final test. After a bit more waiting, the tribulation storm finally presented the final god beast. "It's… small." "A compact form is usually faster, especially when its energy density is much higher. This is not a god beast that we can outspeed." "Wait… is that bird on fire?" "Our temperature readings indicate that its fires burn hotter than the flames generated by Furia. This is just just the flames that the god beast is generating at rest!" Ves and everyone else gradually grew shocked when the learned what the tribulation storm chose to present to everyone. They initially thought that the storm would produce a completely alien monstrosity that could only be encountered in Messier 87. Instead, the storm spat out a very accurate depiction of a mythical phoenix! Ves began to recall an archival image of the First Flame's god mech, which also happened to be called the Phoenix. The machine in its base form did not look anything like the bird that had just come out of the storm. That changed when Ves switched the image to the god mech when it had transformed into a special existence during Operation Night Jazz. It had been the most dramatic show of power during the entire series of simultaneous battles. The most powerful god pilot in the Red Ocean had transformed his god mech into a being made out of blazing fire energy! Even though the First Flame was not able to hold this form on a permanent basis, the transformed god mech nonetheless managed to burn several ancient phase whales without encountering any significant resistance! Ves began to feel more and more apprehensive when the comparison images displayed very few differences! The phoenix produced by the tribulation storm was obviously smaller and weaker, but that did not mean that it was a pushover! The heat of its flames along with the apparent speed of this creature meant that it probably excelled in both offense and mobility. The only way the Dominion of Man would be able to survive this final confrontation was to land enough shots to take out this god beast in the shortest possible timespan! "Professor, is this phoenix based on a beast originating in Messier 87 or is it derived from an ancient life form in the Milky Way?" "I don't have enough information to issue a verdict." Ves responded to the captain's question. "While this tribulation storm is mainly powered by Messier 87, the Milky Way and the Red Ocean are also connected to it. There is a realistic possibility that the Milky Way managed to save enough strength to send out a phoenix for whatever reason. It is also possible that this species of mythological birds is so ancient and powerful that it has managed to spread its bloodline across the cosmos. Since Messier 87 is one of the regional giants in this cosmic neighborhood, it is probably a destination where such powerful beasts are likely to congregate." The dread captain nodded. "Those are reasonable deductions. Whatever the case, the phoenix is regarded as one of the most powerful mythological beings. There are tales that describe them as god-like beings who possess the ferocity of beasts and intelligence that matches and surpasses humans. I fear that this tribulation manifestation's command over fire is greater than what we can handle." That was another reasonable deduction. A phoenix was a creature born in flames. There was no way that such a gifted being possessed little mastery over fire! "What is your judgment, Furia?" Ves asked. "Do you think you can stop its flames from burning down our ship?" "IT WILL BE… A CHALLENGE." The True God replied with obvious reluctance. "THE GOD BEAST'S DOMAIN IS NOT THAT MUCH STRONGER THAN THE TWO-HEADED BEAST, BUT… IT IS MUCH MORE SOLID AND BETTER CONSTRUCTED. I CANNOT SAY THIS IS THE CASE BECAUSE THE PHOENIX IS INTELLIGENT ENOUGH TO IMPROVE ITS OWN DOMAIN OR BECAUSE IT IS RELYING ON EXCELLENT INHERITANCE. THE CREATURE… IS ACTIVELY MAKING USE OF MULTIPLE GREATER RUNES. ITS FAMILIARITY AND MASTERY OVER THEM SURPASSES ANYTHING ELSE I HAVE SEEN." That was bad news! While the two-headed beast from the prior wave also made use of greater runes, it was not as familiar and proficient in their use. It was also a savage beast that never put a lot of effort into studying and mastering greater runes on a systematic basis. The current evidence suggested that the phoenix wouldn't be as stupid. The powerful firebird's eyes sparked with a sense of intelligence, and its control over the flames that were coursing across its body was impressive. What was even worse was that it was not a pure fire phoenix! As a construct made out of tribulation lightning, the phoenix was also able to combine its fire energy with lightning energy, thereby producing considerably more explosive results! Ves suddenly thought up a possible reason why the tribulation storm generated a phoenix. "Furia, do you think that you will be able to advance your comprehension and mastery over fire runes and the fire element after defeating this giant bird?" "I THINK SO. THIS MAY BE A TEST THAT IS TARGETED TOWARDS MYSELF AS OPPOSED TO OUR FINE SHIP. I HAVE A FEELING… THAT IF I AM ABLE TO DEFEAT THIS PHOENIX, I MAY BE ABLE TO DEVOUR IT. IF THAT HAPPENS… I HAVE REASONS TO BELIEVE THAT IT WILL ADVANCE MY EVOLUTION BY A LARGE EXTENT." "Is this what you think, or what can you gather from the tribulation storm?" "BOTH. I KNOW I CAN ABSORB THIS PHOENIX EVEN IF IT IS ULTIMATELY A FALSE BEING. IT WILL BE DIFFICULT. WE WILL NEED TO EXHAUST AND INJURE THIS CREATURE FOR ME TO DEVOUR WHOLE." That was interesting to hear. Ves could see the logic behind this theory, though he had no way of verifying it himself. "The phoenix has begun to move! Its acceleration is far greater than that of the two-headed beast!" "Open fire with our primary and secondary armaments! Teleport 5 antimatter bombs in its trajectory!" The Dominion of Man responded so fast that it had to be automated. Many formidable primary cannons opened fire at the phoenix, only for half of the shots to miss due to the phoenix's elegant dance through space as if it was playing a game. It took a huge amount of effort and processing by the Brain Trust to predict the creature's trajectory and to form optimal targeting solutions for each unique weapon system. The fact that the Dominion of Man still managed to land half of her shots on a nimble target at this range was impressive. Unfortunately, it was not enough! The attacks that were on the verge of striking the fast and nimble phoenix encountered resistance in the form of a fire shield. Energy beams disappeared into the fire without producing any noticeable results. Kinetic projectiles slowed down and burned into ash. Missiles only produce short-lasting disturbances. Plasma bolts only seemed to feed the flames! Just because the phoenix was relatively small did not mean it was fragile! "The phoenix has closed the distance and has begun to circle around our hull at a rapid pace." "Our primary turrets are unable to track the phoenix. They are too slow. The god beast is circling around us with many variations in her flight pattern." "Our secondary turrets are unable to track the phoenix as well most of the time. The only armaments that are effective under the circumstances are explosives." "Teleport and detonate three antimatter bombs in her trajectory." "Sir, the phoenix is circling too close to our hull! Our ship will get affected by the explosions." "Then strengthen our azure energy shields and reinforce our hull as much as possible. We cannot allow this firebird to continue to circle so close." The phoenix had yet to launch a proper attack, but its blazing heat was already starting to take a toll on the Dominion of Man. More importantly, the proximity of the god beast also suppressed Caramond and Furia's domain! Neither of the two True Gods possessed the raw strength to push back the phoenix's aura completely, so their only way out was to develop stronger techniques. This was like the last two waves all over again, but now with a much greater disparity in strength! The surrounding bridge officers suddenly had to address a lot of crises as the passive heat and flames generated by the phoenix already started to take a toll on the dreadnought. Furia struggled to push back the phoenix's encouraging fire domain. This battle pretty much took place completely outside ordinary reality. That was what made it difficult for Ves and the others to intervene. While the Dominion of Man began to employ her firepower increasingly more intelligently by organizing her turrets better, many of the hits ended up inconveniencing the phoenix at beast. The powerful creature's control was too strong. It had a much better command oer its own domain and greater runes. The disparity started to get so bad that the azure energy shields themselves started to catch on fire! "Furia! Have you gained any access to any greater runes?" "NO. AS I HAVE INFORMED YOU, THAT KNOWLEDGE IS LOCKED OR MISSING. I FEAR THAT UNLOCKING IT WILL BE THE END OF MY PRESENT EXISTENCE. I DO NOT HAVE ANY GREATER RUNES AT MY DISPOSAL ASIDE FROM MY PERSONAL RUNE. I AM RELUCTANT TO USE THE LATTER BECAUSE I DO NOT KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN." "This was really bad. While it was still possible for Furia to overcome greater runes with lesser runes, the demands were far too great this time!