Chapter 290: Crisis, Weakness (10K Burst!)

Squeak!!

Above the Trakama Ice Valley, the shriek of a giant winged demon pierced through layers of blizzard, sending ripples across the snowplain—just as the gale was about to be swallowed, a massive mechanical arm suddenly shot out, seizing the demon's tail and yanking it violently; the demon's dozens-of-meters-wide wings flared wildly, but before it could let out a second piercing cry, a dark red colossal chain-sword surged upward with a deafening sonic boom, cleaving it clean in half along with its wings and half its torso!

The blade's edge glowed red-hot; the demon's incredibly tough skin and bones shattered like butter cut by a hot knife, severed instantly!

Scrape!

Hum!

Unit-01 erupted with a thunderous mechanical roar, shattering the sky and earth; after the slash, it immediately hurled the severed half of the winged demon toward the snowpack where the Jingtian squad was being pursued by snow demons, then smoothly raised its right arm, retracting the high-frequency blade chain-sword—scrape, scrape, scrape—the mechanical right hand's five fingers and wrist joints rapidly reshaped into a triangular plasma phase ring.

"Activate plasma cannon!"

"Activate plasma cannon!"

Whoosh!

The triangular phase ring began spinning at high speed, magnetic levitation acceleration rails ignited section by section, and hexagonal superconducting coils emitted piercing shrieks in the extreme cold!

Ziiing! Ziiing! Ziiing!

Three plasma cannons, each at millions of degrees, shot through the air, illuminating the ice valley as bright as day, then detonated violently at the center of the snow demon horde!

Members of the Jingtian squad saw only a flash of azure lightning above their heads—the next instant, the snow demons chasing them were swallowed by plasma sparks; these snow demons, capable of piercing steel, were instantly vaporized along with the snow beneath them; the ejected plasma even split and sprayed apart edge demons, and countless limb fragments flew out with the shockwave.

The next moment, beyond the camp, heaven and earth fell silent—only the howling blizzard remained.

Members of the guard squad now gasped for breath, raising their heads in terror; due to visibility issues, they could only make out the colossal silhouette of a mecha, its warning lights and nuclear engine pulse beams shining like lighthouses through the blizzard.

"Is this the Emperor Project mecha?!"

"Fucking awesome!"

"Did we succeed?"

"Holy shit, we wiped them all out!!"

Outside the camp, Yu Yuheng and the rest of the Emperor Team gazed up at the towering shadow, their expressions a mix of excitement and complexity.

"We… we actually reactivated Unit-01!"

Yu Yuheng plopped down on the ground, staring at the majestic mechanical figure in the sky, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Group Leader Yu, Jingtian."

Inside Unit-01's neural sync cockpit, Lin Xian gazed at the holographic display, his voice icy.

"We're returning immediately!"

…

Xilan City, 01: 4.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Boom! Boom! Boom!

At the Du Jia Radar Array Station in the south of the city, the hills and plains were littered with charred snow demon corpses, thick with heat and the stench of burning; the furious battle made the blizzard's cold feel distant—along the entire frontline, dozens of ruined heavy machine guns lay abandoned; the southern city wall's anti-air batteries had fired for hours, the air never ceasing its roar.

On the frontline, several destroyed mechs lay buried in snow and wind; countless human and snow demon corpses were half-buried under snowdrifts; amid the violent metal streams, only the stench of blood and smoke remained.

Boom!

"That worm's run again—fire at the sinkhole!"

"Bomber squad's coming!"

"The mountain pass is about to collapse—too many wounded, not enough men!"

"Move the wounded to the rear—hold the front line! If the line breaks, we all die!"

"Captain Xiao has already led a charge forward—the mecha legion can't hold much longer."

"Send those kids away—don't let them come to die—we'll hold the line!"

Tack-tack-tack! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Along a frontline stretching kilometers, over thirty thousand men fought desperately—but the tide of monsters surging from the mountains and city remained endless; the most desperate blow came after two encirclement campaigns: two sinkholes opened in the south of the city, and with the monster horde outside, defensive pressure reached its absolute limit.

At the eastern city weapons manufacturing plant, the first defensive line had nearly collapsed; the resistance had been pushed back into the factory's interior; snow demons crawled thickly over the industrial roads outside; half of the Torch Alliance's combat strength had been wiped out; Captain Chen Xiao's body fragments lay scattered across the industrial road ahead of the plant, trampled under dense snow demon feet.

Several massive explosion craters on the perimeter had nearly reduced the industrial zone's foundation to primordial earth; the charred remains of two detonated electromagnetic railguns still burned at the crater bottoms, testifying to the brutality of the defense.

At the northern city railway station, the monster tide had flooded into the rear train lines; many trains were now crawling with snow demons, entire carriages catching fire; the station plaza reeked of blood.

Dragon Mountain No. 1 suffered heavy casualties; the petrification adept Lu Yong blocked the flood of snow demons and snow demons at the broken line gap; as his strength waned, his hardened petrified armor was pierced by countless snow demon tail stingers, his body gushing blood.

Tack-tack-tack! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Waves of firepower swept over, pushing the monster tide back several meters—but the next instant, massive snow demons surged again from within the horde.

"I'll fight you to the death! Dragon Mountain No. 1 is invincible—everyone will survive!!"

Lu Yong roared, face drenched in blood, unleashing his full ability; he spun around and smashed his fists into the ground—earth trembled violently; massive stone pillars, meters high, erupted from the ground like rising hills, forcibly plugging the breach.

Scrape, scrape, scrape—the next moment, countless tail stingers and claws pierced him completely from behind.

"Old Lu!!"

Shi Di, in his transformed tiger body, eyes blood-red and radiating malice, leapt down from the container fortress!

Boom!

Like a meteor striking the earth, he shattered a wide swath of snow demons and snow spirits on impact; rising, he swung his tiger claws upward, unleashing a massive fan-shaped shockwave; dust and shattered stone exploded in chain reactions, carving out a temporary open zone and easing pressure on the breach—reinforcements surged forward immediately, setting up machine guns, arc cannons, and flamethrowers to hold the line.

"Old Lu!" Shi Di rushed to the stone wall, yanking out several snow demon corpses still impaled on Lu Yong's back: "Fuck, hold on, I'm taking you to medics."

"Captain…"

Lu Yong spat blood, his lungs clearly shredded; he could only rasp air from his throat.

"Don't care about me—hold the line! They… they all want to live…"

With that, his gaze dimmed, pupils beginning to dilate.

"Motherfucker, Old Lu!"

Shi Di roared, turning and charging back into the horde.

Ughhh!!

Behind them, another wave of snow demons surged forward—whirrrr! A spinning steel-slicing greatsword sliced through the air, mowing through the snow demons like a blender, carving a bloody path; a crimson giant building burst from the horde, snatching the sword, then swung it backward, cleaving a diving winged demon's head clean in two; its grotesque wounds healed rapidly, only to be torn open again by the horde's razor-sharp claws.

"Brother! Hold on!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! The Sally mecha had exhausted its Vulcan cannon ammo, now relying only on its main cannon and handheld melee blades; Sha Sha piloted the mecha down from the fortress, slashing through enemies until she reached the building's rear: "We need to fall back!"

"Sister Chen, we can't hold here much longer."

Boom! Boom!

On the railway station rooftop, Chen Sixuan held the Meteor-3, continuously shooting down winged demons in the sky; Miao Lu, gun in left hand, knife in right, was drenched in blood: "Captain Chen, they're multiplying—what do we do?"

Shhh!

A high-frequency sonic blade sliced through the air, cleanly severing the dense swarm of snow demons climbing the station's rail edge; Mo Nika, in her sable fur coat, was equally battered; she landed beside Chen Sixuan and said:

"The next lure operation is coming this way—if another sinkhole opens, we won't hold. I recommend redirecting all firepower there."

"A drop in the bucket—we need the northern wall and air squadrons. We're too far away to make a difference."

Chen Sixuan fired rapidly at the sky while speaking urgently: "Our mission is to hold this line—to buy time for the hunting teams and relieve pressure on other fronts. If one sector breaks, the collapse will cascade—we won't be able to stop it!"

Mo Nika's chest heaved, her gaze fixed on the station plaza below: "Damn it—how do we hold until dawn?"

"Hold at all costs!" Chen Sixuan shouted.

Her entire body was taut with tension; a single name echoed in her mind.

Lin Xian, we can't hold much longer—where are you?

At the Xilan Airport in the north, the entire apron perimeter had fallen; the monster tide surged like an ocean around an island, while tens of thousands held out stubbornly within the fortified terminal building.

Flames blazed across the sky; the high-voltage plasma wall had completely melted, leaving only sporadic flickers in close range.

Flamethrowers, rocket launchers, Gatling guns, explosives, and incendiary bottles rained down on the horde beyond the terminal.

"Xu Jin barrage, point A—fire!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Eagle Fleet's artillery convoy unleashed furious fire, launching missiles like there was no tomorrow.

Uncle Wu stood atop a heavy weapons truck, manning a massive vehicle-mounted Vulcan Gatling, shouting as he fired into the horde ahead.

"Get the fuck back!"

Tack-tack-tack! On the Run-Forward Squad's side, pregnant Li Yi also fired a heavy machine gun relentlessly.

Golden flashes darted through the horde, leaving trails of blood.

After a brutal slaughter, Qian Dele gasped as he landed back in the vehicle line, staring at his torn coat, muttering coldly: "These disgusting bastards—endless. They're determined to kill us all."

Thud!

A purple shockwave swept past; Shen Yao and his teammates hastily retreated, shouting to Qian Dele:

"Stronger spirit disturbance waves at 3 o'clock and 5 o'clock!"

"More giant snow demons and snow spirits?" Qian Dele groaned, exhaling sharply: "Let's go!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! On another front, Liang Lei and Liao Ming, two close-combat adepts, teamed up with Li Guangwen, forming a triangular formation to hold the front against the horde, coordinating firepower to suppress the monsters' advance.

All three were drenched in blood—green and red—completely blood-crazed.

"Fuck, we can't kill them all!" Liao Ming cursed.

"Hold on! Once the sky cannons take out the S-class, it'll end!" Metal-encased Liang Lei rallied them.

Hum! Boom!

Though young and a former athlete, Li Guangwen possessed muscle rivaling Liang Lei's; he unleashed a pneumatic punch that exploded the horde behind them, shouting:

"Uncle Liao, Uncle Liang—watch your backs!"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Suddenly, from the blizzard-darkness ahead, a massive snow demon sprinted out—unlike any before, it bore three giant tail stingers, stood several meters tall, its thick hide shrugging off a wave of metal projectiles as it charged the line, aiming to smash through it in one blow.

Simultaneously, a wave of giant snow demons surged forward like a tide, crushing the smaller snow demons beneath their feet without mercy, advancing with unstoppable momentum.

"Another wave of Snow Demons Wall! Everyone, watch out!"

This Snow Demons Wall, with its tough defense, has struck the defensive line multiple times, each time dragging behind it a terrifying surge.

"Concentrate fire!" Luo Yang stood atop the tower, watching the scene and immediately shouted into his comm, then raised his finger to focus, his eyes flashing crimson.

Boom boom boom—several energy explosions erupted within the Snow Demon horde.

"Min, Luoluo, break the formation! Everyone else, push forward!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than two figures clad in powered armor shot through the monster crowd—swift, agile, their charged chain swords moving in perfect sync, severing the heads of Snow Wraiths and Snow Demons one after another.

Meanwhile, the Zuiri convoy's combat personnel surged forward, taking the front line.

Wu Shu glanced and immediately cursed: "Comrades, how can our Eagle Convoy let these kids take the front? Do we still have any face left?!"

"Exactly!"

"No way!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—the retired veterans of the Eagle Convoy now charged forward one after another.

Zeng zeng zeng—in the monster tide, the charged chain swords darted like shooting stars. The two girls moved in flawless sync; their armor's auto-tracking cannons and full-battlefield situational awareness systems locked onto every Snow Wraith in front and behind them. Like ghosts, they sped through the insect tide, harvesting monsters with their chain swords, rapidly closing in on the giant three-tailed Snow Wraith.

"I'll take left!"

"I'll take right!"

Their white chain swords crossed in midair, pulling a high-voltage arc that plunged straight into the insect tide—like a cutting blade, they flashed past, instantly slicing dozens of Snow Wraiths cleanly in half. The giant Snow Wraith, sensing danger, roared, and its three sharp tail spines shot through the air.

Zeng zeng.

Min and Luoluo reacted instantly, using their armor's power drive to leap nimbly, dodging the tail spines, then slashing the high-voltage arc directly at the giant Snow Wraith.

But the giant Snow Wraith suddenly raised a foreleg to shield its head—the arc sliced halfway through its flesh before the Snow Wraith roared and redirected all three tail spines straight at Min.

"Watch out!" Luoluo screamed, but it was too late—Min's armor flashed frantic alarms, her heart pounded, she swung her sword backward to strike the incoming spine, planted one foot and leapt upward to dodge the second, but the third spine came crashing down—puch—piercing straight through her left abdomen!

"Ahh!!" Min screamed, the agony flooding her mind with white noise.

Zeng!

In that instant, a golden flash streaked past, kicking the spine clean off—Qian Dele used Min's momentum to hurl her toward Luoluo: "Take her!"

Boom—on the other side, the giant Snow Demon horde suddenly shifted and converged. Shen Yao led his team straight into the front, releasing a massive purple energy blast that exploded several demons—but they were still blasted back by the Snow Demons Wall.

Qian Dele immediately charged again toward the Snow Demons Wall.

"Min! Luoluo!!!"

"Save them!"

At this moment, those who sensed the line's crisis rushed over.

Luoluo had just caught Min when two Snow Wraith tail spines pierced her thigh and abdomen, tearing through her armor's sensor lines and dragging both girls back to the ground.

In an instant, a tidal wave of Snow Wraiths surged forward, ready to tear them to shreds.

But at this critical moment, a dark shadow shot up, its body transformed into silver metallic skin, shielding the two girls beneath it.

Ding ding ding ding ding!

Countless claws and tail spines hammered Liang Lei's body, shredding his clothes, his metallic skin instantly covered in deep wounds, blood and flesh spraying everywhere.

"Ahh!"

Boom!

An explosion roared—Luo Yang slid down a steel cable from the sky, eyes blood-red, blasting explosive energy. "Uncle Liang, get out of there!"

Liang Lei immediately rose, ignoring his wounds, grabbing the two girls and sprinting toward the line—but the giant Snow Wraith roared, its tail spines lashing like whips, flinging Liang Lei back into the monster tide, which instantly swallowed them whole.

"Leizi!"

Seeing this, Li Yi screamed, eyes red.

"Don't let this thing break through!"

Boom—the Snow Demon horde had smashed through the outer heavy armored trucks, causing massive casualties. Qian Dele charged in, using his super speed to relentlessly pound the thick-skinned Snow Demons.

"Get the vehicles moving—block the gap!" Qian Dele shouted.

"Load incendiary rounds!"

At this moment, Liao Ming transformed into his insect armor and rushed over, preparing to join Li Guangwen in holding back the giant Snow Wraith.

"Sky-Shattering Fist!" Li Guangwen roared, punching forward—boom! The giant Snow Wraith's foreleg and half its head exploded apart.

Seizing the opening, Liao Ming leapt onto the Snow Wraith's back, swinging his monstrous pincers wildly, hacking and crushing—until he tore the remaining head into bloody chunks. The giant Snow Wraith thrashed wildly, crushing countless kin, but at the moment its head was shredded, one remaining tail spine shot out like a dart. Liao Ming sensed the danger and twisted aside.

Boom!!

The massive hook pierced through his right arm and half his chest, tearing them clean off—his body was flung backward, his mutated insect pincers dripping blood into the monster tide.

"Uncle Liao!"

Li Guangwen rushed forward, firing two shockwave punches to blast away the monsters around Liao Ming, then ran to drag him back toward the line—but as he drew near, he saw Liao Ming's condition and his pupils shuddered.

Liao Ming's entire right shoulder blade and ribs were torn open.

"Watch your back—don't look at me!" Liao Ming spat blood.

Cucucu—Li Guangwen ignored the tail spines piercing his own back, roared, grabbed Liao Ming's single remaining arm, and dragged him swiftly back toward the line.

"The line's broken!!"

At this moment, combat personnel at the front suffered massive casualties.

Li Guangwen had nowhere to retreat—he dragged Liao Ming and hurled him toward Luo Yang and Liang Lei. Luo Yang, arriving now, abandoned targeting, eyes blood-red, opening fire on all sides of Liang Lei.

Boom boom boom!

Violent explosions erupted, the shockwaves flinging back the surrounding Snow Wraiths. Below, a bloody, mangled figure emerged—Liang Lei still shielded Min and Luoluo, barely alive.

Tat tat tat!

At this moment, a dozen youths from the Zuiri Convoy and Running Far Camp charged forward with rifles, surrounding Liang Lei, Min, and Luoluo, fighting off the monster tide alongside Luo Yang while dragging the wounded back toward the line.

But the rear line had already been breached—without fire support, Snow Wraiths swarmed around the small squad, shrinking their defensive circle in moments.

"Our retreat is cut off!"

Luo Yang dragged the mangled Liang Lei, teeth clenched, eyes bleeding from overuse of his ability: "Ajie, move aside—we're going back!"

"Ahh!!!" Tat tat tat!

"We can't hold!"

"What do we do?!"

"Out of ammo..."

Eeep eeeep aaaaah!! Snow Wraiths swarmed from all sides like locusts, their piercing shrieks deafening, countless tail spines thrusting forward—any misstep meant being pierced clean through.

"Let me!" Li Guangwen gripped Liao Ming's last arm and unleashed a shockwave punch toward the rear of the crowd—Boom!

The brief opening he created was instantly flooded by the monster tide.

"Damn! Too many!"

Vvvvv!

Suddenly, the roar of an engine came— a heavy truck barreled in like a beast, crushing a wide swath of the monster tide.

Simultaneously, a large group of Eagle Convoy veterans arrived, unleashing coordinated fire to open an escape route for Luo Yang and Li Guangwen.

"Let them retreat first!"

Wu Shu stopped the truck and shouted: "Save lives first, save lives first!"

"Kill!"

"Screw them!"

Dong dong dong—in an instant, countless Snow Wraiths climbed onto the truck. Wu Zhenhai stared at the collapsing ground pit behind them and the breached rear line, gritted his teeth, slammed the accelerator—the engine roared as the truck accelerated.

"Uncle Wu!"

!

Inside the defense line, Luo Yang, Li Yi, and others cried out in shock.

The furious heavy truck crushed through the monster tide, while Wu Shu flipped a special switch—the explosives storage compartment on the truck's rear glowed red.

"Hold the line—you brats aren't the ones who get to die here!"

He muttered into his comm, ignoring the Snow Wraiths climbing onto the truck, driving straight through the horde toward the collapsing pit.

Boom!

The heavy truck plunged into the massive sinkhole—then a colossal explosion erupted, flames shooting dozens of meters into the air, the shockwave burying every monster within hundreds of meters, including the pit itself.

The defense battle at Xilan Airport had descended into carnage!

Outside Xilan Airport, the Airport Boulevard was a war-torn wasteland—cannons and missiles had erased every trace of architecture; fire and smoke choked the air. On the ground, a massive sinkhole gaped, radiating destruction, as countless Snow Wraiths and Snow Demons clawed their way out.

Endless, like an ocean, like a tide.

The air reeked of death and despair.

The northern, southern, and eastern city defense lines now faced total enemy contact—the defensive lines teetered on collapse.

Of the city's 35 mobile hunting squads, only 23 still maintained five-member teams; disbanded squads had either been temporarily reorganized or integrated into the defense lines to resist the monster tide.

The remaining hunting squads still raced through the city, using the defense lines' firepower to distract the Abyss Worm—and the S-class anomaly that appeared and vanished among the clouds.

"That damn worm's gotta be dying—fuck, it just keeps burrowing, then runs off like a goddamn eel!!"

High above, Qin Xueming cursed, his team members all battered and bloodied.

"We need a way to strike that sea urchin in the sky—we're letting it lead us around," Kiki gasped, staring upward at the cloud layer. "Every time we're about to kill that worm, that sea urchin pops up—so fucking annoying."

They'd just lured multiple fire strikes—this time near the northern airport, they were one step away from killing the Abyss Worm—when the sea urchin's long spines descended, releasing an invisible barrier that blocked the air force's missiles and bombers.

Lu Xingchen remained silent, staring at his hands—his "Divine Flame" had malfunctioned for the first time, making him question everything.

Han Jun added: "I think the sea urchin's goal is to draw out more monster tides—but why does it keep following us without showing itself? What's its purpose?"

Team Leader Wen Zhuo's eyes were heavy with gloom.

"When we can't hold out anymore, or when internal fear mutations occur, that thing will come down."

"How will we resist then?"

Precisely because we can't resist, that thing can sense the scent of fear and use it as an anchor to mark every person in the city with a Level Five tag—hiding is useless!

"Damn it!"

"When that sea urchin appears, I'll take the Hell Black Chrysanthemum up high and see if it follows!" Wen Zhuo now tore open the metal casing around the Hell Black Chrysanthemum, gritting his teeth: "If it doesn't show itself, the whole city will be wiped out!"

"The Fearless-class units are already on standby—this time, prioritize attacking the sea urchin!"

Hummmmm!

High above, Zhang Chengzhi stood in the command cabin of the Fearless-class aerospace carrier, monitoring the entire aerial combat formation's operational data.

"No matter what happens, the primary target is the S-Class Cloud Black Spike!" Zhao Yu, watching the holographic tactical display from the East Wall, issued a death order.

"Yes!"

"All units, pay attention to regional radar data." On the North Wall, He Zhen faced a million demonic tides outside, their roar shaking the heavens; dozens of 1130s and three hundred Great Wall-50 railgun bases never ceased firing, electromagnetic railguns like guiding threads in the dark, constantly illuminating the winged demons in the sky.

Boom boom boom—the seismic waves arrived, signaling the abyssal worm beneath would soon burst forth again.

"Here it comes!"

In the air, Wen Zhuo looked at the fleet above and said to Kiki and others: "You stay here—I'm going after that thing!"

Saying this, he charged upward with the Hell Black Chrysanthemum, while the aerial combat formation dispatched two aerospace fighters to follow.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh~

Snowstorms constantly froze into frost on Wen Zhuo's face; he exhaled hot breath, watching the data in his combat visor as he plunged into the cloud layer, feeling a heavy presence spreading around him.

Wen Zhuo glanced at the Hell Black Chrysanthemum in his hands—without the metal casing, it now lay exposed in the transparent cultivation chamber, thick black smoke continuously drawn in, its crimson aura glowing vividly against the dark sky.

Boom!

Below, in the city district, the earthquake drew nearer; Wen Zhuo knew the abyssal worm was about to emerge.

He clutched the cursed plant tightly, his expression grim, eyes scanning all around and above—he suddenly felt a strange sensation.

He was being watched by something in the air!

Hum!

Two fighters screamed past overhead; at the exact same moment, his headset crackled with escort team intel: "Team Leader Wen, radar detected something—right above you!"

"Launch missiles!"

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

In an instant, both fighters released tactical missiles toward the unseen target above.

Wen Zhuo looked up—his eyes sharpened. A colossal black creature was slowly emerging from the clouds, its body covered in terrifyingly long black spines, like a sea urchin in the sky!

But this monster wasn't just huge—each black spine exceeded the height of a skyscraper, writhing and swaying; even the portion exposed above the clouds stretched hundreds of meters, utterly horrifying!

Boom boom boom!

Several missiles suddenly exploded midair, shockwaves rippling through space as if striking an invisible barrier.

"No more hiding?!"

Wen Zhuo's expression turned icy; several steel beams beside him shot upward. As the giant spines of the cloud worm shifted, he immediately sensed an invisible energy ripple—the speeding steel beams suddenly emitted a deafening clang, their tips deforming slightly, as if colliding with an impenetrable force field.

Wen Zhuo's eyes glowed; his ability surged—he now felt clearly that the barrier was as solid as physical matter, utterly impenetrable.

Hum!

A rush of wind came—he reacted instantly, dodging sideways!

In an instant, a colossal black spine swept past where he had been, generating massive air pressure that flung him dozens of meters through the air.

"Ah!"

Wen Zhuo gritted his teeth; even as he was thrown backward, he maintained control over the steel beams.

But now he noticed the steel beams, previously stalled, had suddenly shot upward a short distance—he stabilized his posture and used magnetic control to yank them toward the cloud worm's spines.

Thud!

The sea urchin's spines spread again; his controlled steel beams sank instantly, as if into mud, motionless.

The next instant, some immense force compressed the beams into thin sheets, forcibly repelling them back to their original stopping point—the exact location of the missile explosions.

In an instant, Wen Zhuo's eyes widened—he immediately shouted into his comm:

"The sea urchin's defense field has a fixed range—and when it attacks, its shield vanishes!! This is our chance to strike!"

Instantly, the message reached every unit; all were stunned.

Below, Kiki immediately said: "Then we feint at the big worm—when the sea urchin strikes, your cannons and artillery can all fire upward!"

"No problem!" On the Fearless-class carrier, Zhang Chengzhi's expression sharpened.

Boom!

In an instant, Fire Brother had already begun gathering his flames.

"Reorient the cannons!"

On the North Wall, even under immense demonic tide pressure, He Zhen immediately ordered the anti-air and electromagnetic railguns to pivot toward the sky above the city.

"Recon Unit 03 has locked the airspace coordinates—data uploaded to Intelligence Consolidation Center!"

"Airspace weather report: conditions in the terminal zone meet missile launch requirements!"

"LF21 Rapid-Response Missile Group, load firing parameters—prepare to launch!"

Boom boom boom!

Seismic waves surged; Kiki and others stood ready. Below, streets and roads cracked layer by layer, dust rising, violent tremors making the ground ripple like water.

Next moment—BOOM! The ground erupted violently; concrete layers collapsed, countless chunks of earth and brick blasted skyward.

A colossal, scarred black worm shot upward from the earth.

Kiki, Fire Brother, Han Jun, and Qin Xueming were already prepared.

Kiki used telekinesis to scatter the three others midair; Fire Brother had already gathered a massive spherical flame.

"Divine·Flame Sword!"

Swoosh!

High above, Wen Zhuo plunged downward with a sonic boom.

At that moment, a terrifying long limb descended like a pendulum, sweeping toward them again!

"Now!"

"We've been waiting!"

Lu Xingchen's flame sword didn't strike downward—it suddenly veered upward, compressed by Kiki's telekinetic wave into a terrifying jet of fire shooting straight into the heavens!

In an instant, a crimson beam shot vertically upward, nearly illuminating the clouds above.

Simultaneously, from the North Wall, two LF21 missiles surged skyward; from the aerial combat formation, countless missiles and high-temperature plasma cannons fired in unison!

All attacks converged—after Fire Brother's Flame Sword shot skyward, Wen Zhuo immediately led everyone to retreat swiftly.

"Hunting Team—fall back!"

Hum~

The dangling limb swept across the street, kicking up thick dust; the Hunting Team, having received prior warning, scattered in time—no longer caught off-guard as before.

Then judgment descended!

Boom Boom Boom!!!!!!

Countless massive explosions erupted in the high cloud layer, igniting colossal fire clouds that instantly lit up half the sky above Xilan City. Beneath the crimson blaze, survivors at the North City Bus Terminal and Airport looked up—seeing a colossal shadow of a sea urchin blotting out the heavens, its countless black spines slowly writhing like spiders in the air, sending chills down every spine.

"We hit it?!!"

"Holy shit, what a huge monster!!"

"An atmospheric lifeform?!"

"Damn it, so damn dead!"

"Kill it!!"

Countless voices cried out in shock.

In that instant, a colossal blast wave radiated outward like a nuclear detonation, clearing clouds and snowstorms across kilometers, revealing a pristine patch of sky—within it, the Hunting Team and aerial formation clearly saw the S-Class anomaly hidden in the clouds: hundreds of meters of black spines standing straight, its dense cluster of crimson compound eyes like demonic horrors from hell.

Crack…!!!

A sound like a suffocating throat echoed from the sky—it seemed the monster's cry. After the fire, the colossal sea urchin began descending rapidly.

"It's falling!"

"Watch out!"

Woooooo~ BOOM!

Dozens of black spines plunged from the sky, piercing the city streets, shaking the entire metropolis; thick dust rose everywhere.

"Quick—strike while it's down!"

Zhao Yu's urgent voice crackled over the comm.

"All cannons—fire!" He Zhen shouted.

"Bomber squad—attack!" Zhang Chengzhi ordered immediately.

In an instant, dense cannon fire erupted from distant walls; bombers dropped massive aerial bombs; countless electromagnetic and plasma cannons hammered the cloud worm now fallen into the city district.

But now, the black spines rapidly shifted—every attack struck the invisible defense field again.

Simultaneously, its central crimson compound eyes blazed intensely, triggering violent gusts and crackling lightning across surrounding districts; Wen Zhuo and Kiki and others saw the danger and shouted:

"Shit—what attack is it preparing?!"

"Aim upward!"

"Invisible, get out of the way!"

"Damn it!" In the command room of the Sky-Naval Vessel, Zhang Chengzhi's face darkened; he opened his mouth to shout—but then saw the black spike beginning to concentrate terrifying energy toward them.

"Bridge, advance four!"

But it was already too late—the center of the black spike unleashed a laser beam several meters in diameter, instantly piercing through the airborne Invincible-class sky-naval vessel!

As the dark red beam tore through the clouds, the thirty-thousand-ton steel behemoth let out a hollow, dying groan. The column of light slashed diagonally across the hull like a sword of judgment; twelve layers of armor melted like butter under a hot blade, molten metal boiling into crimson waterfalls at the cut edges.

The chief engineer, sprinting through the engine room, suddenly stumbled and fell to his knees. He looked up—the entire vessel had been split open. Through the melted dome, he saw countless comrades tumbling and falling from the sky; some desperately grasping severed fuel lines, others curled into fireballs clutching fire extinguishers, and more figures drifting silently downward like autumn leaves into the abyss.

Sobs!

A deafening metallic rupture echoed from the sky. At that moment, every soldier on the western ramparts of Xilan City saw the colossal airborne giant, engulfed in flames, plummeting rapidly from above.

"Invincible-class, falling!"

Wen Zhuo spoke, eyes wide with horror.

"What?!"

"Cease fire!" He Zhen's face was filled with disbelief as he shouted repeatedly over the command channel.

"Zhang Chengzhi!"

"Zhang Chengzhi!!"

On the eastern wall, Zhao Yu's expression changed drastically; he immediately ordered over the command frequency: "All aerial units, execute emergency evasive maneuvers!"

In an instant, every soldier in every flight formation felt their minds go momentarily numb, then began turning and maneuvering frantically.

Meanwhile, Kiki, her mind blank, saw the colossal black spike within the clouds slowly shifting, crushing high-rises of Xilan City as it roared toward the nearest defensive line—the Xilan Passenger Rail Station.

"Damn it!" Kiki's face paled; without hesitation, she shot off toward that direction.

"Big Sister Chen, Shasha!!"

She screamed desperately over the Infinite's communication channel, completely panicked.

"Click-click-click…" but at this moment, the communicator emitted only static.

"Big Sister Chen, Shasha, Big Guy Lou, Lulu, Xiao Yuan—answer me!!"

"Krkkrk..."

The channel signal flickered constantly—finally, it stabilized. But the first voice to respond wasn't Chen Sixuan or Shasha—it was one she knew all too well.

"Girl, wait for me—I'm coming!"

"Lin Xian?!" Kiki gasped, freezing mid-air, stunned as she listened to the voice through the communicator.

"S-class anomaly detected. Distance: 16 kilometers."

"Activate rear rocket boosters."

"Prepare to leap!"

"Prepare to leap!"

Lin Xian, Chen Wei!

Outside Xilan City, beyond the blizzard, a thunderous tremor rolled across the land.

Boom!

Boom!

Each impact echoed like a thunderclap.

Sssssss~

Countless snow wraiths were converging toward the eastern wall. Suddenly, a group of them sensed something—they turned back—and in the next instant, a colossal shadow descended like a mountain, crushing hundreds of snow wraiths beneath a single footstep.

It was a supermassive humanoid mecha, sprinting forward, stomping through waves of monsters as it roared toward Xilan City!

(End of Chapter)