Chapter 425: Meeting the Challenge

"Why don't we force an attack?"

"You want to charge into the central area of the Expeditionary Force? Are you sure you can survive?"

"Then wait for the Star Glory Empire to break through Returning Star's defenses."

"That's even less feasible. Once Returning Star fails, it would be very difficult for us alone to defeat the two legions of the Star Glory Empire."

"The Star Glory Empire has launched a probing attack on us!"

"Ignore them..."

The numerous Divine Spirits spoke one after another, three factions, three arguments, with no one able to convince the other.

Originally, their plan was to take advantage of Li Yu being in interstellar combat to use underhanded tactics, land a sneak attack, and settle the battle quickly.

But now that the other senior generals had all come out while Li Yu was hiding, it put them in a somewhat difficult position.

But if they charged into the Returning Star camp alongside the Star Glory Empire, it would add many variables. Maybe the Star Glory Empire would stop and resort to Sitting On The Mountain To Watch Tigers Fight, which would not align with their interests.

"Should we join the battlefield to help Returning Star fight the Star Glory Empire, in order to lower their guard..." A Divine Spirit suggested.

Immediately, the rest of the Divine Spirits looked at him as if he were an idiot.

Doing this at the very beginning might have had some possibility, but using this method now would only make the Star Glory Empire think they were still in the same camp as Returning Star.

However, who could have expected that Li Yu actually didn't join this Interstellar War.

"Opportunities will definitely present themselves, don't rush..." Rohan's tone was flat.

...

Energy Beams crisscrossed. Trailing blazing exhaust flames, Otto scurried everywhere among the battleships, while a silently roaring ice tornado relentlessly pursued him from behind.

All obstacles along the way were completely Devoured by the ice tornado that was thousands of kilometers long.

The Combat System issued a warning. The Psionic Shoulder Cannon rose from his shoulder and continuously fired at the ice tornado behind him.

The black energy spheres just shot from the muzzle instantly expanded into annihilation energy hundreds of meters in diameter in the blink of an eye.

They exploded all over the ice tornado, sending shattered ice flying in all directions, which quickly dissipated in interstellar space.

But to the massive ice tornado, this kind of damage was barely worth mentioning, and it continued its relentless pursuit of him.

"Otto, I've coveted your wine for a long time. Just obediently let me capture you!"

"Damn it, you still don't forget to trash talk while fighting."

Otto cursed angrily.

Because Li Yu had captured over a dozen A-Tier Lifeforms alone some time ago, the Star Glory Empire had lost a lot of face in Interstellar Public Opinion.

Therefore, the Star Glory Empire needed an extremely beautiful, almost crushing battle record in the No Man's Land to proclaim their status as the interstellar hegemon.

And after capturing these A-rank captives, they could not only get resources for ransoming them, but also receive an extra reward from the Star Glory Empire.

So, these A-Tier Lifeforms of the Star Glory Empire had all gathered their energy, treating Returning Star's A-Tier Lifeforms as prey.

"High-Energy Alert ahead..."

The Armor's Combat System sounded an alarm, simultaneously popping up a Holographic Screen. It was a battlefield surging with Energy.

Twelve colossal Mechanical Lifeforms, like a great wall spanning interstellar space, blocked all attacks. Massive alloy barriers unfolded, isolating the sky full of Fire, forming a pure land.

"That is..." Otto was slightly stunned, but then realized, those seemed to be Duke Li Yu's Twelve Golden Immortals.

When they were Chatting Idly together before, Li Yu had mentioned them.

Although they didn't know what "Golden Immortals" meant, Li Yu casually said that every single one of them possessed strength capable of crushing the A1 tier.

Everyone knew of the Duke's earth-shattering battle in the Amethyst Civilization.

And these twelve Mechanical Lifeforms had also revealed a glimpse of themselves in the battle reports.

However, in the later stages of the battle, it was mainly Li Yu wrapping things up, so these Mechanical Lifeforms hadn't actually displayed much power.

Therefore, when Li Yu said that each of them possessed strength that could crush the A1 tier, they all thought His Excellency the Duke was just shooting the breeze at the time.

However, the battle before him made his eyes widen.

...

Huanglong wielded a grey-gold Metal Spear, the shaft gleaming with azure Electric Arcs. Like an ancient warrior, his spearing speed was extremely fast, striking like a cannonball, his speed so fast the eye couldn't even keep up with the Metal Spear!

And annular Shockwaves occasionally burst from the spear tip. Only through high-magnification slow-motion replay could one see that sturdy guy who looked like a stone block.

He wasn't tall, only about a meter or so, and his skin was cyan-blue all over, like mottled Giant Stone.

Fists containing massive power smashed heavily onto Huanglong's sweeping Metal Spear. Facing the massive Mechanical Body, he was like a small ant.

At the intersection of the fists and the Metal Spear, a violent ring of Shockwaves erupted.

Without another word, Huanglong channeled bursts of Electric Arcs into the mechanical long spear, which instantly expanded into several segments, connected by high-strength electromagnetic Chains.

Swinging the spear for a vertical slice, a slashing light wave condensed from electromagnetism shot out in an instant.

Swish!

The short blocky man, extremely fast, pulled back to dodge, and the battleship behind him was sliced in two.

Immediately after, the slashing light wave sank into the bulkhead. The next moment, the entire battleship was sliced open from the middle, and then violently exploded.

On the other side, Chijing's entire body was spewing dazzling electric light. His giant mechanical fists shot towards his opponent like cannonballs, launching a continuous fierce assault, bringing up a series of afterimages.

Chijing engaged his enemy, tumbling and fiercely fighting in this Cosmic Space. Every time his mechanical body collided with the opponent, large patches of Electric Arc light waves splashed out.

Lingbao was covered in various powerful energy-gathering weapons, condensing deep blue Energy, continuously spraying and attacking the enemy.

Guangcheng's attacks were also extremely special; his body split into many pieces, transforming into numerous agile Small Mechanical Bodies that could simultaneously perform brief combined attacks, causing great trouble for the enemy.

The twelve Mechanical Lifeforms advanced and retreated together. They were born on the same battlefield and evolved in different directions, complementing each other.

United, they actually intercepted over eighteen A-Tier Lifeforms, forming a forbidden combat zone all around.

The combat power of these Mechanical Lifeforms was actually this formidable!?

A look of joy appeared on Otto's face, and he quickly rushed into the fray, attempting to use the power of the Twelve Golden Immortals to fight the ice tornado behind him.

"These Mechanical Lifeforms of yours are quite impressive..." Horus naturally also noticed this battlefield.

These twelve Mechanical Lifeforms shouldered a large portion of the high-tier combat power, allowing Returning Star's High-Level Lifeforms to breathe a massive sigh of relief.

The existence of the Twelve Golden Immortals greatly compensated for the Guixing Expeditionary Force's shortage of high-tier combat power.

But as time passed, the Expeditionary Force's decline gradually showed. The number of fleets of the two legions far exceeded the Expeditionary Force, and almost all were elites.

Many of the Expeditionary Force's peripheral fleets were blown to smithereens by the Troll Legion before they could evacuate. The Defense Line was further compressed, and all battlefronts reported emergencies.

The situation was critical!

"Report, The Council has dispatched fleets and they are currently approaching us. They ignored my inquiries!"

Middle's emergency report came in. A corner of the Holographic Screen popped up; The Council's fleets had set off, with a large number of Divine Spirits mixed in, exuding powerful Auras.

"They finally couldn't hold back and are making their move." Horus's expression was tense. With the current situation, a single misstep would lead to a scenario of eternal damnation.

It was almost impossible for the Expeditionary Force to retreat unscathed now. The only thing he could do now was to minimize losses as much as possible and lead a portion of the people to retreat.

"Since they have made their move, there's no point in you hiding any longer." Horus said to Li Yu.

Li Yu was also a high-end combat power. The reason he wasn't allowed to fight earlier was to delay the time until The Council made its move.

Now that The Council had made its move, there was no need to let Li Yu continue to hide.

"Alright." Li Yu nodded. The current situation indeed did not allow him to just watch the show.

With the pincer attack of the Star Glory Empire and The Council, without Horus's cooperation, he might not be able to retreat unscathed either.

The projection disappeared. Li Yu opened his eyes in Otto's Main Ship, clearly feeling the slight vibrations of the battleship.

He had a soldier open the Blast Door, and the blood-red [Symbiotic Bio-Armor] spread over his entire body. Like a Blood-Colored Light Beam, he shot into the battlefield.

"Damn it, those Bastard Divine Spirits actually tore up the alliance treaty." A senior general cursed angrily on the channel.

Previously, he thought Li Yu's intelligence was completely unfounded.

"Were the brains of this group of Divine Spirits kicked by a donkey? What's the benefit of attacking us?"

"What a bunch of Crazy Persons!"

"Could it be we're really going to be taken captive today? We'll definitely be humiliated by the other side!"

"Damn it!"

"..."

Li Yu was also on the channel. Listening to everyone's curses, he raised his eyebrows slightly, deeply hiding his merit and fame.

"Long time no see..." A sinister voice sounded by his ear, not from the broadcast channel, but a communication on the Mental Plane.

Li Yu's gaze instantly pierced through layers of obstacles, locking onto that demonic blood-colored figure.

It's Rohan!

This Divine Spirit from The Council, the Upper Subordinate God of the Nightmare Knight, and also Li Yu's Old Friend.

"We meet again, respected... God of Flesh and Blood..." Li Yu pointedly mimicked the speech of the other party's Priest.

This caused anger to churn in Rohan's heart.

"I remember, last time I seemed to have said, when we meet again..." Before Rohan could finish his words, a terrifying Aura erupted from his body.

"I will let you know what true fear is!"

His body abruptly expanded, endless, continuously tumbling flesh and blood surging out, piling up and twisting into an indescribably massive Aberrant Being.

Its size was extremely gigantic, visually even larger than the "Circe" Interstellar Fortress, like a planet of flesh and blood, emitting a terrifying and demonic blood light.

Then, a large number of thick tentacles of flesh and blood shot out from this planet, instantly piercing hundreds of nearby battleships. Blazing fire erupted, turning this place almost into a sea of fire.

This entrance was full of style.

Li Yu narrowed his eyes. The opponent was an Upper Subordinate God. According to Returning Star's data, he fell into the A3-tier category, with an Energy Level of several million Cals.

As for the exact value, it was hard to calculate and could only be known through combat.

Without hesitation, various abilities were activated. Brilliant golden Electric Arcs erupted all over his body, his pupils turned pale gold, and the outer layer was wreathed in crimson flames of light as well as green radiance.

[Golden Blood Talent]

[Red Lotus State]

[Hulk Rage]

And facing a group attack, the most important Purple Title [Lone Wolf]!

The power inside his body began to increase geometrically, and in a short moment, he became one of the most dazzling energy sources on the entire battlefield.

And in a place no one could see, black Sunglasses appeared inside the [Symbiotic Bio-Armor] Helmet, and his body was instantly digitized.

He could clearly see his Health Points decreasing at a slow rate; this was the side effect brought by the [Red Lotus State].

In this state, his Combat Power Level had already exceeded three million Cals, heading straight for four million.

"Interesting abilities, how long... has it been since you became a god? Has it been a year?"

Rohan's voice sounded by his ear. As long as Li Yu didn't reject the other party's Mental Fluctuations, they could continue communicating.

Although Li Yu's short-term ability Amplification surprised him, if this was all he had, it was far from enough to deal with his true body.

Countless blood-colored tentacles swept over like ocean waves, destroying all battleships in their path. Almost nothing could stand before this power.

Although both were A3, Rohan's Combat Power Level was probably at several million, far exceeding Morgan, and even stronger than Siegel.

Li Yu wielded the Mechanical Greatsword. The [Symbiotic Bio-Armor] rapidly derived a large number of auxiliary gun barrels, and the Combat System quickly locked onto the thick blood-colored tentacles one by one.

The battle erupted instantly!

Rohan was like an Evil God descending upon the world. Flesh and blood resembling a planet gathered together, its demonic blood light making the surrounding soldiers feel dizzy.

Every single blood-and-flesh tentacle was as thick as a mountain range, dancing wildly like blood-colored mad dragons!

The Mechanical Greatsword unfolded, mechanical structures interlocking, turning into thousands of meters in length.

Every strike could sever a blood-colored tentacle, but compared to Rohan's massive true body and the complex and numerous blood-colored tentacles, this was only a small portion.

Those severed blood-colored tentacles didn't completely dissipate either, but turned into streams of foul liquid that wreathed around him.

As that liquid increased, Li Yu's movements also became sluggish.

As expected, an abnormal status appeared on the digitized status bar—

[Blood and Flesh Mire: Foul blood kneaded from the Physical bodies of countless deceased creatures, possessing the power to impede the target.]

"If this is all you are capable of, it's too disappointing," Rohan's deeply meaningful voice sounded in his ear.

This guy clearly wanted to lure Li Yu into using his trump cards, squeezing out his power layer by layer.

Li Yu turned a deaf ear, just swinging the Mechanical Greatsword repeatedly, while the gun barrels wreathed around him continuously fired powerful Energy Beams, blasting off blood-colored tentacles one by one.

If he didn't know the opponent had defensive measures, Li Yu would definitely have prepared to use the [Infinity Gauntlet], which was the part of the battle situation he saw from Middle's perspective.

But since he had already learned of the existence of the Nightmare Shield through Middle's perspective, he naturally wouldn't waste power for no reason.

And during the battle, a blood-colored tentacle also extended from Li Yu's body, cautiously touching that foul liquid.

At first, it was directly corroded by that foul liquid, but as it continuously tried, a portion of the foul liquid was finally Devoured by the [Symbiotic Bio-Armor].

The blood light on the [Symbiotic Bio-Armor] became even more demonic, and immediately more Protoplasmic Avatars extended out, attempting to Devour that foul liquid.

(End of this chapter)