Chapter 22: Breaking Through the Defensive Line

"Hold on tight!" Cuntor gripped the flight controls and shoved them forward the moment the hatch slammed shut. The YT-1000 freighter accelerated like a startled stallion, hurtling toward the vacuum of space.

A barrage of blaster fire erupted from the ground, but the small-caliber weapons were no longer a threat at this altitude.

On several mountain peaks, hatches camouflaged as icy rock slid open, revealing massive turbolaser turrets rising from the earth, adjusting their firing angles.

Cuntor maneuvered the ship with nimble rolls and banks, keeping the fire-control radar from locking on. Several turbolaser bolts whistled past the hull, breaking Tang Xiao out in a cold sweat.

As the ship breached the atmosphere and entered deep space, the Munificent-class frigates—which had remained indifferent moments ago—began to stir, closing in on their position.

Dozens of Vulture droid starfighters detached from the frigates' hulls. Their mechanical claws transformed into sharp, pointed wings, and they dove toward the freighter like a flock of savage birds of prey.

"Quinto! Get back here and help me!" Cuntor roared.

Quinto scrambled out of the turret, sliding into the co-pilot’s seat. "But what about the turret?"

Spader had to remain in the engineering bay to keep the ship’s systems running, and the T-850 was busy restraining Semid, whom it had just dragged from the wreckage of their car. Without a second’s hesitation, Tang Xiao shouted, "I’ll man the turret!"

He dove into the gunner’s seat.

"Listen, the screen on your left is the fire-control radar, the right is target data. Use the foot pedals to rotate the turret, and pull the trigger to fire," Spader instructed over the comms. "There, you've got the basics. Now take those Vultures down!"

"Alright, I'll try." Tang Xiao gripped the controls and pulled the trigger on the incoming droid fighters.

*Whoosh!* A green laser bolt streaked out, but it drifted wide, hitting nothing.

The Vulture fighters performed agile rolls, dodging his fire before returning it. Although Cuntor pushed the ship to its limits, several crimson blaster bolts slammed into the hull, absorbed by the deflector shields.

The swarm of fighters streaked past the *Lancer*, only to bank around and pursue them from behind.

"We have to break this blockade before we can clear the gravity well and enter hyperspace!" Cuntor yelled while wrestling with the controls.

Over 7,000 kilometers ahead, the three Munificent-class frigates were turning, and their turbolaser batteries began to open fire. These were not the light blasters of a starfighter; a single grazing hit would mean instant destruction.

Fortunately, due to the design of the Munificent-class, most of their firepower was concentrated forward. Cuntor still had room to maneuver before the warships could fully align their broadsides.

Beads of cold sweat dripped down Cuntor’s forehead. He roared at the top of his lungs, "I can only keep us from being hit by the capital ships! I can't manage the fighters—if we don't take them out, we're dead!"

"I told you, I'm trying!" Tang Xiao cursed, firing again, but missing once more.

"What exactly did Semid do? The entire military force of Mygeeto is chasing us!" Quinto screamed in panic.

"Do you think a job that warrants Hego himself intervening would be anything small?" Tang Xiao replied, firing continuously, though his shots remained ineffective against the nimble droid fighters.

*Pew, pew!* More bolts hammered the shields. Spader’s voice boomed over the comms: "The shields aren't going to hold!"

"Divert all auxiliary power to the rear shields!" Cuntor commanded. "Manager! You’ve awakened your power! You can do this! All of our lives are in your hands!"

*Right. Calm... stay calm.* I have awakened the Force. Tang Xiao forced himself to steady his breathing. He closed his eyes, reaching out with his senses.

It was a surreal sensation. He felt as though the ship beneath him had ceased to exist, and he was floating in the cold, dark void. It felt just like the dream he had when he first arrived in this world.

He was a spectator, overlooking the galaxy from an immense height, seeing the battlefield as if everything were within his grasp.

He snapped his eyes open. His pupils were bottomless, a vortex swirling within them. He tapped the pedal, adjusting the turret’s angle by seven degrees, then tweaked the aim—all in less than half a second, smooth as flowing water.

He pulled the trigger. A green laser beam tore through the darkness of space. A Vulture fighter, flying directly into the path, seemed to throw itself into the beam.

With a silent explosion, the droid fighter was heated to the point of structural failure, detonating into a fireball that scattered across the void. A Vulture fighter could not withstand a direct hit from a ship-mounted laser cannon. In this universe, size equated to power, structural integrity, and deadlier firepower.

The 28-meter YT-1000 light freighter possessed an energy class far superior to the 3.6-meter Vulture droid fighter. It was one shot, one kill.

"Yeah! Nice one!" Spader cheered over the comms.

But Tang Xiao’s expression remained unmoved. He felt no joy or sorrow, watching the carnage with cold detachment. In his eyes, the flight paths of the dozens of Vulture fighters were no longer chaotic; they revealed themselves as clear, predictable trajectories.

He knew where they would fly, how they would dodge, and when they would fire. He could only predict their movements a second or two in advance, but that was enough.

A fighter approached from the left, another accelerated from below, a fourth on the right prepared a missile, and Cuntor would bank the ship right by 17 degrees while cutting the throttle...

The stream of data condensed in his mind, and he calculated the optimal solution.

*Trigger pulled. Fire.*

Another Vulture fighter was destroyed. He let the ship's shields soak up the blaster fire from below, adjusted the turret to the right, and intercepted a missile the moment it launched. The resulting shrapnel destroyed the sensors of a nearby Vulture, blinding it.

One by one, the Vultures were decimated. His efficiency was beyond comprehension; he had destroyed 13 fighters in less than a minute. The pressure on the *Lancer* vanished instantly, allowing Cuntor to focus entirely on evading the frigates.

Spader stared at the monitors, dumbstruck, forgetting to cheer. Finally, he remembered his duty and roared into the mic: "Shields are about to overload!"

"That's enough! Quinto, engage the hyperdrive!" Cuntor shouted.

"Hyperdrive, engaging!" Quinto yelled back, slamming the button. The starfield outside the viewport was replaced by streaks of light, and they jumped into hyperspace.

Within the high-dimensional realm of hyperspace, nothing could be seen.

The *Lancer* had slipped away right under the noses of three Munificent-class frigates, leaving them far behind.