Chapter 291: Orbital Incineration Cannon!

Beneath the night sky, the fall of the Fearless-class aerospace aircraft carrier cast a heavy shadow over every survivor and reconnaissance unit soldier in the resistance lines.

Thick smoke and flames rose into the sky, triggering massive explosions on the ground; even more terrifying was the giant sea urchin atop the high-rises of Xilan City—a demon descending from heaven—whose gaze alone sent dread spiraling through the heart.

Its movement carried the sluggishness of deep-sea creatures; hundreds of meters of black spines alternately plunged into the ground, each puncture triggering localized earthquakes. These spines were not static—they drifted slowly, as if billions of centipedes writhed and tangled deep within its shell.

Click…skitter-skitter-skitter-skitter-skitter~

A terrifying subsonic vibration, like the trembling of a keratinous layer, emanated from the giant sea urchin, sending chills up the spine.

"Hold the line! Don't freeze!"

"The front is breaking!"

Many defenders across the lines, upon seeing the monstrous creature in the city, could no longer suppress their fear and paralysis, forgetting to resist entirely—until the shouts of comrades and the screeches of the horde surged before them, snapping them back to reality.

Yet in that single instant, perhaps due to the appearance of the black giant sea urchin, the horde grew even more frenzied—or perhaps the greater terror further shattered the morale of the resistance lines—defensive positions in the south, north, and east of the city all began collapsing en masse; countless gaps were breached, forcing the lines to continuously contract, abandoning numerous vehicle barricades and fixed weapon emplacements, accompanied by massive casualties.

"All units, attention: the Cloud Black Spine has fallen. Its weakness is exposed. This is the best moment to eliminate it. Notify all lines to hold their defenses to the last moment!"

At that moment, Zhao Yu's voice rang out like a stabilizing nail across every command frequency, causing everyone to feel a jolt in their chests.

"Don't be afraid—it's already been shot down from the sky!"

"Hold your ground!"

"Don't give up!"

"We have no retreat!"

In the north, twenty-three mobile hunting squads rapidly darted through the city's skies and streets, following behind the S-class Cloud Black Spine, while the remaining aircraft of the aerial combat formation continued to engage the winged demon swarms overhead.

Watching the Cloud Black Spine advance toward the northern rail station's defense line, Han Jun said to Wen Zhuo:

"Why isn't it drawn to the Hell Black Chrysanthemum? Why isn't it heading elsewhere?"

"It's not unattracted—it's just that the prey inside the city matters more to it," Wen Zhuo said, gazing toward the rail station. "It can identify threats. There are over ten thousand people with Level Five tags there!"

Wen Zhuo immediately transmitted orders to all mobile hunting squads:

"Don't let it pass the rail station. Team One, draw its attention. Teams Two through Ten, follow up with feints. The rest, assist the rail station's defense line!"

"Understood!"

Whoosh~

Shadowy figures streaked through the air. Wen Zhuo caught up with Kiki ahead and said: "The Imperial Team has returned. If we don't lure it away soon, the black worms will follow. We must draw the battle into open streets!"

"I know," Kiki said urgently.

Above, missiles exploded intermittently; on the ground, electromagnetic beam cannons flared brightly—but none could pierce the barrier surrounding the giant sea urchin's black spines, as if it were wrapped in a transparent protective film.

"We must make it strike first!"

Han Jun's gaze burned: "Have you noticed? Its black spines could swing widely, yet its movement range is minimal."

"I noticed it in the clouds. Its spines must maintain integrity to sustain that barrier. If one is missing, that area becomes vulnerable," Wen Zhuo said, compiling the observed data on the holographic screen and uploading it to the combat intelligence center.

"When any part of its spines moves, strike there. If it prepares to fire that laser beam, it will be undefended!"

"Understood," Qin Xueming said. Lu Xingchen nodded.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

At the northern rail station, Chen Sixuan, Shi Di, Mo Nika, and others had already spotted the slow-moving giant sea urchin nearby. All faces turned pale.

"Click…"

Simultaneously, the communicator buzzed with erratic static—a crushing sense of an approaching behemoth.

"Hello… hello…"

"The interference is too severe. What's going on?"

"It's definitely this monster."

"Damn it!" Shi Di leapt up, landing on the station's roof, staring at the giant sea urchin and spitting fiercely: "How the hell do we fight this thing with our fists?"

Chen Sixuan raised Meteor 3, scanning constantly, and soon spotted Kiki and others in the distance: "The hunting squads are coming too. They must be planning to lure it away with the Hell Black Chrysanthemum."

"Commander Chen, we're barely holding below! The monsters are acting like madmen!" Miao Lu rushed over, her face streaked with blood.

Below the station plaza, everyone pushed forward. Even Xiao Yuan had joined the defense line. Behind them, on the Infinity, only the rail cannon still fired automatically—all anti-aircraft cannons and 1130 rounds had been exhausted.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As the hunting squads neared, the seismic waves from the Abyss Worms spread further.

"Maintain defensive formation!"

Chen Sixuan immediately turned: "Shi, Mo Nika—focus all firepower on the ground."

Mo Nika gasped, staring at the giant sea urchin overhead: "Aren't we going to deal with that thing?"

Meanwhile, multiple hunting squad teams arrived swiftly from distant districts, launching attacks to ease frontline pressure.

Ningjing, Xiaoqing, Shuqin, and Lu Chang had also returned to the group.

"They're trying to lure the monster elsewhere!" Ningjing landed first, noticing the signal interference, and immediately told Chen Sixuan and the others.

"Then what do we do?" Shuqin asked, exhausted from a night of running.

"We do what we can!" Chen Sixuan said firmly. All missiles and electromagnetic cannons fired skyward had failed. Better to concentrate firepower on the horde below. Behind them, they could only trust the hunting squads.

"No one turn back—hold the horde first!"

Shi Di was the first to respond, charging back into the fray.

Ningjing stared grimly at the monstrous shape drawing nearer overhead, murmuring: "It's fate now. Xiaoqing, come with me!" Then both plunged into the plaza.

Zzzt!

Along the line, Bai Bai's laser beam swept across the street, slicing through countless monsters with a whoosh.

With the hunting squads' sudden reinforcement, pressure on the rail station plaza's defense lessened—but no one dared relax, for they now faced their greatest terror.

Above, Wen Zhuo and Kiki's five-person team flew at high speed, watching the hundreds of black spines sway violently in the blizzard, inducing a suffocating psychological pressure. Wen Zhuo gritted his teeth, gripping the Hell Black Chrysanthemum and flying straight past it. The chrysanthemum's vivid crimson glow emitted an odd resonance—suddenly, the slowly advancing giant sea urchin seemed to notice something. Its spines froze mid-sway.

"It worked!!"

"This thing really attracts it!"

Click…skitter-skitter-skitter-skitter-skitter~

The Cloud Black Spine emitted a trembling subsonic vibration, causing every organ in the body to resonate. Many began to feel dizzy and nauseous.

The dense clusters of red compound eyes on the Cloud Black Spine suddenly focused entirely on Wen Zhuo. Instantly, one massive spine ahead began swinging violently toward him.

"Get out of the way!"

Wen Zhuo acted instantly, snatching up metal debris from the ground and hurling it with full force into the gap left by the moving spine.

Simultaneously, Kiki, Fire Brother, and Han Jun all struck at once!

"Divine·Flame Sword!"

A searing flame sword, propelled by Kiki's telekinesis, merged with Han Jun's ice needles and pierced the giant sea urchin's compound eyes.

But just as everyone believed this attack would succeed, the giant sea urchin's hundreds of red compound eyes blazed with intense crimson light. Its black fur rippled rapidly, releasing a cloud of scarlet dust that instantly swallowed all their attacks. At the same time, the metal debris Wen Zhuo had thrown began melting and vanishing before their eyes—the red dust now surged toward them!

"No!"

Kiki felt a chill run down her spine. Without hesitation, she grabbed Wen Zhuo and pulled all five together, then unleashed her full power. Her eyes glowed as she forcibly erected a massive telekinetic barrier.

Puff! Hssssss.

At the last possible instant, the red dust engulfed them completely. Instantly, everyone felt intense heat spreading through the air—the red dust was clearly a corrosive, superheated vapor that rapidly consumed Kiki's barrier, shrinking it. Kiki felt a tidal wave of force crushing her. Before she could react, Wen Zhuo used magnetic control to yank all five away at high speed.

Boom!

The next instant, the red dust reacted violently with the cold air, generating countless cavitation bubbles that rapidly expanded into a massive shockwave, blasting the five of them outward.

At that moment, the aerial explosion unleashed a powerful shockwave that swept across the rail station below. Countless people, snow, and monsters were thrown into chaos. A spherical dust wave erupted across the entire zone.

"Ahh!!"

"Watch out!"

"I can't hear anything!!"

Deafening tinnitus sent everyone into panic. Chen Sixuan, clad in Black Eagle powered armor, narrowly escaped. The blast wave hurled her from a high wall onto a truck below. She looked up—her holographic interface had captured the tiny figures of Kiki and the others flying through the air. She shouted:

"Kiki! Fire Brother!!"

Too far away. Signal interference. No response.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

At that moment, Shasha's Fire God mech suddenly appeared beside Chen Sixuan, slashing down a winged demon as it flew past.

"Sister Chen, watch your back!"

But Chen Sixuan didn't respond. She kept staring upward. Above, the giant sea urchin's ten thousand red compound eyes now stared down at the rail station's defense line—like a dense cluster of crimson lanterns in the night sky, slowly glowing brighter. A strange, world-ending vibration suddenly erupted!

Hooosh~

Kiki and the others, blasted clear by the telekinetic barrier, finally stopped several kilometers away. Kiki felt utterly drained. The night's battle had consumed both cold-dark stimulants Lin Xian had given her. Facing an S-class anomaly, these so-called Berserk-level psychics now truly felt helplessness.

"Is that?!" Wen Zhuo's face paled as he watched the giant sea urchin's movement: "It's going to use that technique again!"

"Damn it!"

"Oh no!" Kiki realized too late—her face turned white. Even Fire Brother panicked.

"Stop it!" Han Jun roared.

Wen Zhuo and Kiki immediately prepared to activate their abilities and charge forward again.

Below, everyone at the rail station noticed the crimson glow above. They turned in horror. A sense of doom settled over them.

"Sister Chen, watch out!" Shasha instinctively drove her Fire God mech between Chen Sixuan and Miao Lu, arms outstretched. For a moment, every heartbeat seemed to pause. The air grew suffocating.

Shhh!

Suddenly, at the exact moment the giant sea urchin prepared to fire its laser, a violent sonic boom erupted. Above Kiki and the others, a massive 2, 00-ton atmospheric tower—over ten meters in diameter—shot down from the sky like a spear!

This colossal atmospheric tower from the refinery, glowing red-hot as it tore through the air, struck the giant sea urchin's central compound eyes dead-on, triggering a cataclysmic explosion!

BOOM!!!

In an instant, before anyone could react, the giant sea urchin was blasted hundreds of meters away, crushing an entire district into ruins!

The constant-pressure tower had also plunged straight into the urchin's body, spewing forth torrents of black sludge that hissed and corroded the empty streets.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Suddenly, the whole city shuddered with an eerie tremor; asphalt cracked into spiderweb fissures. At that moment, Kiki, Wen Zhuo, and tens of thousands below—Chen Sixuan among them—turned back to see the horizon torn open by a steel giant. Amidst the quake, a supermassive mecha stomped forward, crushing waves of monsters, its warning lights and nuclear pulse flickering in the night. As it crouched and leapt, every glass facade along the street shattered into a rain of crystal shards; the hiss of its hydraulic systems drowned out the air raid sirens!

Inside the cockpit, Lin Xian and Chen Wei, clad in neural-sync exosuits, maintained synchronized running stances; their nanoceramic visors locked onto the giant sea urchin. In the next instant, both spoke at once.

"Activate plasma plasma cannon!"

"Activate plasma plasma cannon!"

Whoosh!

The right arm of Pan Gu Unit One began transforming: its five fingers reshaped into a triangular phase ring, spinning at high speed; magnetic acceleration rails lit up segment by segment; hexagonal superconducting coils emitted piercing shrieks in the extreme cold!

The giant sea urchin sensed the threat—several black spines writhed, attempting to erect a defensive barrier—but the constant-pressure tower still pierced its body, preventing the barrier from closing. A strange red glow ignited at the tower's rear end.

!

Zikong! Zikong! Zikong!

Three plasma plasma cannons, each at millions of degrees, fired straight through the gap, piercing the barrier and striking the urchin's body.

Instantly, brilliant blue high-temperature plasma exploded across its surface, unleashing violent, blinding white flames.

Crack… zzzzzzzzzz~

The cloudborne black spines shrieked in agony; the once-slow-moving spines now accelerated violently. Surrounding buildings and streets shook furiously; countless high-rises collapsed.

"It's Brother Lin!" Shasha, inside the Fire God mecha, stared up at the colossal machine, her face lighting up with joy. "Whoa! Brother Lin's back in a giant mecha!!"

"Lin Xian!"

"It's Team Leader Lin!!" Shu Qin, Xiao Yuan, and others cried out in shock.

In an instant, members of Wuxian and Longshan No. 1 at the passenger terminal raised their arms and cheered—they never expected that at the very brink of disaster, a supermassive mecha had descended like a god from heaven, blasting the monstrous sea urchin—no less than a nightmare of terror—clean away.

At that moment, not only the northern passenger rail station, but also the distant Xilan Airport witnessed the scene.

Zhao Yu and He Zhen, upon hearing the news, were stunned—and immediately sent messages to all defense lines in the south, east, and north, sharply boosting morale.

"Kiki, Chen Laoshi, hold the line—I've got this!"

As soon as Lin Xian and Chen Wei entered the city, they saw the devastation within. They knew every frontline was at its limit—so the priority was to eliminate this S-class anomaly as quickly as possible.

Based on Zhao Yu's intelligence and their earlier probing attack, Lin Xian confirmed his suspicion: this S-class anomaly was far easier to handle than previous ones like atmospheric mica. Otherwise, it wouldn't have remained hidden for so long, acting only as a scout. Without its strange barrier, it could never have withstood the Seventh Investigation Corps' firepower!

"Strike while it's wounded!"

Seeing the first hit land, Chen Wei said to Lin Xian: "If it flies into the air, we'll never catch it."

"Exactly what I was thinking!"

Their eyes met. Instantly, they crossed their fists, then flung them outward, aiming at the accelerating cloudborne black spines.

"Prepare missile guidance!"

"Prepare missile guidance!"

Zeng! Zeng! Zeng! Zeng!

Pan Gu Unit One's arms opened wide; four imperial missile launchers above its chest snapped open. Rocket engines ignited with a roar—four missiles shot out, striking precisely at the giant urchin's vulnerable spot.

But the giant urchin, now aware of Unit One's power, twisted its spines, rolled half a circle backward, and used its rear barrier to block the missiles.

All missiles slammed into the barrier and detonated, igniting a massive fireball in the sky.

Seeing this, Lin Xian and Chen Wei prepared to charge forward—no pause, no breathing room. The constant-pressure tower still pierced the urchin's body, leaving a hole—this was the perfect opening!

But then, Pan Gu Unit One's seismic early-warning system suddenly detected a biological entity rapidly approaching from underground. The two instantly executed a high-mobility evasion maneuver.

Kong!

A colossal explosion erupted from the ground where Unit One had just stood—a Shenyuan worm burst upward, reaching the mecha's chest height. The blast wave sent the entire machine reeling backward.

Inside the cockpit, both men stepped back, adopting a shock-absorption stance, then pulled their fists back.

"Punch!"

"Punch!"

Boom!

Over two thousand muscle engines in Unit One's arms roared simultaneously, driving hydraulic actuators to unleash tens of thousands of tons of explosive force—two fists slammed into the giant worm.

Thud!

The armored mechanical fists crushed the worm's thick hide, denting it inward, cracking it inch by inch.

"Again!"

"Full power!"

Lin Xian and Chen Wei twisted sideways, coiling their right arms with maximum force.

"Activate elbow rocket thrusters!"

"Activate elbow rocket thrusters!"

Unit One's upper torso tilted sideways, retracting its right fist—then three rocket thrusters on the right elbow opened.

Whoosh! Hum!

The thrusters erupted with supersonic Mach rings, accelerating the heavy mechanical arm to blazing speed. The knuckles of the fist reshaped into diamond-reinforced knuckle guards, glowing faintly red from air friction.

Thud!

This punch was apocalyptic—immense, crushing. It punched clean through the giant worm's body, spraying torrents of shredded chitin and tissue like a rain of gore.

Aonghoom!!

The Shenyuan worm, having just breached the surface and taken three direct hits, sensed imminent death. Its body thrashed violently, sweeping toward Unit One.

Chen Wei and Lin Xian instantly crossed their fists before them, planted one leg back, opened all pressure-release valves on Unit One, and assumed a shock-absorption stance.

Boom!

The Shenyuan worm, as massive as a mountain, slammed into Unit One with full force—producing a deafening sonic boom that hurled the ten-thousand-ton mecha over a hundred meters backward, smashing half the buildings along its path.

Though powerful, this blow inflicted no real damage on the highly agile Pan Gu Unit One.

Now, after shoving Unit One away, the Shenyuan worm writhed violently, trying to retreat underground.

Lin Xian and Chen Wei had no intention of giving it that chance. After completing their defense, Unit One surged forward. The two pulled their right fists back and shouted:

"Prepare chain-sword!"

"Prepare chain-sword!"

Zeng!

The dark red high-frequency wave chain-sword hidden beneath the right-arm armor slid out along its rail, its spine folding closed, transforming from a folded state into a solidified giant blade—its razor-edged teeth glinting coldly. It was this high-frequency electric blade that had killed the other Shenyuan worm!

At that moment, holographic visors on both men flashed crimson warnings. Their expressions changed instantly—they identified the attack direction and raised their left arms to defend.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A colossal black spine swept across entire blocks, slamming directly into Unit One. The impact hurled the mecha into the building behind it—the entire facade shattered and collapsed in layers.

As it fell, Lin Xian and Chen Wei immediately retracted the chain-sword and pressed their right arms against a nearby building to prevent its collapse.

Hum.

Another colossal black spine struck again, aiming to crush Unit One completely.

"Prepare for impact!"

At Lin Xian and Chen Wei's command, Pan Gu Unit One rose, raised both arms, leaned forward, planted one leg back, and opened all rear jet nozzles.

Boom!

The colossal black spine swept toward them with crushing force, slamming into Unit One and driving it backward relentlessly—the ground collapsed beneath it. But Unit One's rear thrusters fired simultaneously, generating powerful counter-thrust.

Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!

At that moment, countless missiles and electromagnetic cannons streaked from the sky toward the giant urchin. All aerial units, under He Zhen's orders, seized the critical moment—the urchin's spines were now exposed—and unleashed a storm of ordnance.

The result was decisive: after swinging two spines at Unit One, the urchin's central face opened—and every missile struck home, detonating in a blinding flash that illuminated the entire central district.

"Well done!"

Inside Unit One's cockpit, the flawless coordination of the aerial strike team lifted Lin Xian and Chen Wei's spirits.

"That thing's covered in black fur—let's burn it clean!" Chen Wei said, watching the black spines ignite fiercely.

"Agreed!"

The two manipulated their hand controls, retracted the rear jet nozzles, assumed a forward stance, and stepped forward—step by step.

Meanwhile, the ten-thousand-ton Pan Gu Unit One matched their pace, shifting from a walk to a run, charging toward the black spines.

"Activate left-arm rail-burner!"

"Activate left-arm rail-burner!"

Clank! Clank!

Unit One's left arm sank; its composite armor layers unfolded, revealing a massive orange-yellow rail-burner. The compressed jet nozzle ignited, spewing guiding flames—thick black smoke billowed upward.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Pan Gu Unit One charged forward with apocalyptic momentum, raising its right arm to block a sweeping black spine—the entire machine was shoved dozens of meters sideways. But the two remained unmoved. As they closed in, they raised their left arm and activated the rail-burner!

Boom!

A thousand-degree stream of crimson flame erupted—like molten iron poured from a steel mill, its core blinding white, illuminating the sky itself—as it slammed into the urchin's face!

Crack… zzzzzzzzzz~

The cloudborne black spines thrashed wildly, triggering massive seismic tremors—but Lin Xian and Chen Wei ignored it all, cranking the rail-burner to maximum power, determined to burn through this black urchin and see if it had roe inside!

"Sustain fire!"

"Ah!"

Inside the cockpit, both men stared at the blinding fire, roaring with heat and fury!

Thud!

At that moment, the ground beneath Unit-01 suddenly collapsed—the Abyss Worm had secretly burrowed beneath it and now erupted violently, flipping the multi-ton Unit-01 completely over; its left-hand railgun capacitor exploded on impact, sending a vast cloud of flame skyward, with torrents of fire spraying into the surrounding streets, instantly plunging the entire Central District into a sea of fire!

"Lin Xian!"

Seeing this, Kiki cried out in alarm, snatching the Hell Black Chrysanthemum from Wen Zhuo's hands and shouting: "We must lure that damn worm away—Lin Xian can't be caught in a pincer attack!"

"Wait!"

Wen Zhuo knew Kiki was utterly exhausted, but he couldn't stop her now; seeing her streak away, he immediately led Huo Ge and the others flying toward the other side of the Sea Urchin, shouting to Command: "All units, attack the opposite side of the Sea Urchin—whether you hit it or not, draw its attention, buy Unit-01 time!"

"Got it!" He Zhen immediately ordered: "All aerial units, avoid the Winged Demons—focus fire to cover Unit-01!"

Whirring, whirring, whirring—all aerial craft still engaged in combat suddenly converged toward the Central District. The relentless Winged Demons swarmed the sky in a black tide, surging toward both the aerial forces and the ground defense lines.

"Hurry, we help eliminate these aerial monsters—give them cover!" On the northern city front, Chen Sixuan and Qian Dele at the airport simultaneously directed the defense line's anti-air fire.

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

Instantly, every anti-air cannon and electromagnetic railgun on the northern city defense line unleashed a dense barrage into the sky.

(End of Chapter)