The three Chimerian battleships loomed ahead like black-armored titans, their angular frames blotting out the starfield beyond. Arthur cut through the space between drifting wreckage, weaving past two corvette-class ships pursuing him.

Plasma fire streaked past him, but he barely gave it a glance. Because his target was dead ahead.

The nearest battleship's shield came into his view, a faint blue dome made out of hexagonal shaped sections connected to each other that covered the whole ship. Arthur accelerated, as the golden Chi around him intensified and drove his fist forward.

The impact on the shield rippled outward like a stone striking the surface of water, concentric rings of light pulsing away from the point of impact. But it held strong against the strike.

Arthur raised a brow, lips tugging into a half-smirk. "If one punch doesn't work…" His stance shifted. "What about a hundred? Or a thousand?"

He leaned in and unleashed a storm of punches on the shield.

His fists blurred into streaks of gold, each strike pounding the same spot with pinpoint accuracy. The shield's glow flickered with each hit, his HUD showed the energy readings of the shield depleting continuously.

He could have used his Technopathy to disable the shield, but he wanted to test his strength and surpass it in this battle so he doesn't want to take shortcuts, 'There would be other opportunities to improve my Technopathy.' He thought.

…

Inside the Chimerian battleship

Alarms blared across the bridge, and the crew scrambled to their stations. Red warning lights washed over the black metal walls as status readouts flashed across multiple screens.

"Impact detected, external hull still standing strong. Shield integrity at… ninety-nine point nine five percent," a Chimerian crewman reported.

The commander, a tall, scaled figure with two slitted eyes, let out a sharp hiss. "Trivial damage. Redirect forward shield energy anyway."

They all expected the strange humanoid's assault to taper off. Instead, the readings nosedived, 99.9%… 99.5%… 99.2%…

The pilot's eyes widened. "At this rate, he'll burn through the shield in under three minutes!"

The commander slammed a clawed hand onto the console. "Bring all forward weapons online. Fire on him immediately!"

A hesitant voice rose from the gunnery station. "Sir, discharging main batteries at this proximity will destabilize our own shields…"

"I don't care if it tears a hole in the hull! Get him off my ship!"

The gunner swallowed the urge to point out that the human had walked away from an antimatter blast without slowing down. Instead, he turned back to his console, muttering under his breath, "This won't end well…"

…

Outside the ship

Arthur kept pounding away at the shield, every strike faster than the last, his Chi dying the space around him in golden. The energy shield pulsed brighter, tiny cracks beginning to appear in it but was quickly healing as more energy was directed towards it from the ship.

A sudden movement in the corner of his visor caught his eye. The other two battleships were swinging their forward cannons toward him, but he ignored them and continued to punch the shield.

Twin flashes erupted, sending beams of concentrated energy streaking through space. They slammed into his back, the force driving him hard into the battleship's shield. The dome flared violently at the combined impact.

"Argh…" The sound escaped his mouth in a low growl, but he stayed where he was, palms braced against the shield.

Pain flared briefly, but it faded just as quickly, replaced by the faint, warm sensation of his regeneration. His armor's nanobots stitched melted plating, while his Chi shield blazed to life again, pushing back the lingering heat from the blasts.

The barrage continued, shot after shot hammering into his back. He ignored it, anchoring himself with one hand while the other kept striking the same weakening spot in the shield.

A few minutes quickly passed just like that. At first the energy beams were causing him damage, but after a minute of continuous barrage he became immune to the damages, only his armor was unable to keep up with his durability and kept getting damaged, but he ignored it for now.

Suddenly a jagged fracture spidered outward from the point of impact. The shield wavered, as it destabilized for a moment. Arthur's eyes narrowed, and he pulled his arm back, Chi flooding into every muscle fiber of his arm as he punched one last time with all his strength.

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A segment of the shield shattered, the broken parts collapsing in on itself with a flash of dissipating energy. Arthur didn't hesitate, he shot forward, smashing through the battleship's outer hull like it was made of paper.

Metal screamed and tore. Debris whirled in zero gravity as a section of the bow crumpled inward.

Arthur landed inside on one knee, the force of his entry echoing through the corridor. Emergency bulkheads slammed shut behind him, sealing the breach. Atmosphere hissed back into the chamber, lights flickering from red to a dim yellow as automated systems scrambled to stabilize the damage.

Footsteps and guttural growls filled the space.

From the side corridors, Chimerian soldiers emerged with varying looking armor plates, insect-like helmets, and raised their plasma rifles towards Arthur. Their eyes glinted behind their faceplates, focused entirely on the lone intruder.

Arthur rose to his full height, brushing dust from his shoulder. His visor reflected their weapon lights as he cracked his knuckles.

One of the Chimerians barked something in their language, likely the leader of the group. "Surrender, intruder. Or we will attack!"

Arthur tilted his head slightly. "It's you guys who should surrender, or do we skip straight to the part where I start throwing punches?"

None of them moved, they were afraid of the intruders. Even though these soldiers were not aware of what was happening outside the ship, still someone who is able to breach their shield, was not something they were capable of stopping. Still, order was order, they had to stop the intruder.

Arthur smirked beneath his helmet. "Yeah… thought so."

The nearest Chimerian let out a roar and opened fire, but Arthur had already vanished from there.

Arthur reappeared in a blink, right in front of the Chimerian soldier who had been firing wildly.

The soldier barely had time to register the matte-black figure materializing in front of him before Arthur's hand closed around the barrel of his plasma rifle.

With a sharp crack, the weapon snapped in half like it was made out of cheap plastic.

The Chimerian soldier froze, his eyes twitching behind his helmet grille. Then, recovering from his shock, he let out a guttural roar and threw a heavy punch toward Arthur's head.

Arthur caught it mid-swing, and the force of the clash sent a small shockwave rippling through the corridor, rattling the place a bit.

Behind him, the others didn't stop firing. Plasma bolts slammed into Arthur's back and shoulders, splashing harmlessly against his armor.

Arthur's gaze flicked down at the soldier whose fist he was still holding.

And in one swift motion, he swung the soldier around like a merry-go-round gone rogue. The Chimerian's howl echoed through the hall, "ARRRRRRGGGGHHHH…!!" as Arthur used him like a makeshift club, swatting aside the others in a blur of limbs and armor.

Two soldiers were slammed into the wall so hard their rifles clattered to the floor. Another was sent sprawling down the hall, smashing through a bulkhead door.

More Chimerians poured into the corridor, drawn by the noise. The air filled with the staccato rhythm of plasma fire, the sharp hiss of rifles overheating, and the dull thuds of soldiers hitting the floor.

Arthur didn't let up. His every strike, every movement, took down a few Chimerian soldiers. His punches shattered the armors they were wearing, making them useless and unable to protect their bodies.

A knee to the gut sent a soldier crumpling like a tin can. And within minutes, the corridor was littered with groaning, unconscious bodies with broken bones.

Arthur straightened, exhaling slowly. His visor swept over the downed opponents.

"This…" he muttered, "…will not do."

He wanted more than a hallway brawl, this was only delaying him. He wanted this ship crippled from the inside out.

An idea flickered through his mind, and a smile tugged at his lips. "Yeah… that'll work."

Just as he was about to put his plan into motion, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from one of the branching hallways.

Arthur turned his head, waiting for them to arrive.

A group of Chimerians emerged from the hallway, their formation tighter and more disciplined this time. At the front walked a larger figure clad in dark red armor with additional plating along the shoulders and a crimson insignia across his chest plate.

Arthur recognized it instantly, a Chimerian commander gear.

The commander came to a stop, he narrowed his eyes as he took in the sight of the battered soldiers on the floor.

He had seen footage of the human tearing through ships outside, but seeing the aftermath in person made his teeth grind.

"Surround him!!" the commander barked in his native language.

The soldiers obeyed, stepping into position with visible unease in their steps. Their weapons were steady, but their feet were hesitant, as if they were not surrounding a human but a terrifying beast ready to devour them.

Arthur didn't move, he let them close in. His head tilted just slightly, watching the commander with something between curiosity and mockery.

The commander opened his mouth to give another order…But just then Arthur vanished from his position.

In less than a blink, he was crouched in front of the commander, his body coiled like a spring in a punching position. The Chimerian commander's eyes went wide in shock, and that was the last reaction he could give before…

BOOM!!

The sound of the impact was deafening in the enclosed corridor. Arthur's punch ripped forward, Chi flaring into a golden blast. The commander's upper torso simply ceased to exist, vaporized into fragments and mist.

A large hole formed in the wall that was just behind the commander. And the shockwave created made the Chimerians soldiers stumble backward, some even falling down.

For a split second, silence fell in the wide hall. Then the soldiers erupted in chaos. Some trembled where they stood, while others bolted outright.

One stumbled backward, his weapon shaking in his trembling hands. Another dropped his rifle entirely, already turning to flee. The smell of ozone and scorched metal and flesh filled the air.

Arthur didn't chase them. His eyes were already on the nearest junction ahead, he was already thinking about executing his plan.

"Time to take this ship apart from the inside," he muttered, striding toward it without a backward glance at the carnage he'd left behind.

***

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