Chapter 321: Don't be afraid, child

Wong!

Clang!

Gen Luo and Perseus crossed paths, axe and sword also trying to behead each other.

Although Perseus far surpassed Astate in reaction, speed, and strength, his earlier cowardly act of selecting wolf pups to attack was meant to increase slaughter efficiency and help the fallen god servants solidify their formation; yet this 'demigod' could do nothing against a mere 'company commander' for a time.

Although each attack was extraordinarily perilous and he barely kept up with the opponent's rhythm, Gen Luo grew braver with each fight, which only made Perseus more furious.

Gazing over the entire district.

The fallen god servants and humanity were still locked in fierce combat, and with Gen Luo restraining the greatest threat, Perseus, plus plasma cannon support from two warships, the battle tide swiftly tilted in humanity's favor.

As for Perseus, who claimed his identity, he is indeed one of Zeus's many offspring; according to the list provided by Hephestus, the great army that initially ventured into the other dimension contained many demigods.

Even as the chief god, or the relatively just Pallas Athena, they cannot avoid the fate of falling into chaos; let alone demigods who possess human-like qualities.

At this moment.

Perseus was shocked that he could fight back and forth with Gen Luo, and it only made him more furious, like a tiny fly that could easily be crushed by a finger yet somehow remained annoyingly out of reach.

It was precisely Perseus's disturbed state of mind that gave Gen Luo a sliver of an opportunity.

Seeing Gen Luo feint with his power axe, forcing Perseus to raise his sword to block, he then swiftly turned and unleashed a powerful backswing punch, the back of his left fist brimming with Spiritual Energy making 'intimate contact' with Perseus's handsome face.

With a 'Bang!!', Perseus was directly blown away by brute force.

Bang! Bang!

The god servants blocking the 'flight path' likewise suffered, being struck down and knocked over by Perseus's charge.

Boom!!

Finally, Perseus 'bored through' the left-edge building wall, went deep inside, and vanished from sight.

Huuu...

Meanwhile, Gen Luo heaved a heavy breath, his expression grim, clearly not believing that a mere blunt strike could slay a 'demigod'.

Moreover, that punch likely struck Perseus's Spiritual Energy barrier.

Thus he hurried forward along the 'flight trajectory', stepping on fallen god servants as he rushed toward the breach in the wall.

With a 'Rumble!'

Gen Luo used his body to widen the breach and charged into the building's interior.

Seeing the stacked containers, it was easy to guess this was a warehouse for temporary cargo storage.

As for Perseus, true to Gen Luo's expectation of being 'full of vigor', he was slowly walking toward the breach.

However, a trickle of blood emitting a faint purple light flowed from the corner of Perseus's mouth, indicating that Gen Luo's earlier backswing punch had indeed caused some damage.

"Even able to wound a god..." Perseus wiped his mouth with the back of his left hand, glanced at the blood on his hand, and said with interest, "Not bad, not bad, as a reward..."

"Shut up!" Gen Luo roared, cutting off Perseus's words.

The two clashed again.

Merely 'adjusting his mindset', the more attentive Perseus was suppressing Gen Luo throughout, or rather, 'toying with him'.

It seemed that after Gen Luo wounded it, making it feel genuine pain, instead of becoming angry, it was rather...

"Enjoyment".

Like a 'masochist#fetish'.

Furthermore, Perseus wielded his silver sword to suppress Gen Luo while saying something like 'You can't wound a god like that'...

Or perhaps 'I admire your courage, but everything you do is futile; become my toy! Become my plaything! Let us serve our father together!'

But Gen Luo completely ignored these distracting words, deliberately exposed an opening, leapt forward unguarded, raised his power axe high, and unleashed all his Spiritual Energy in a forward chop.

Afterward...

"Pff~!" The energy shield shattered.

"Pfft!" The sword blade pierced the powered armor and his body.

Seen, Gen Luo, whose height approached 2.9 meters, was run through by the silver sword from his left chest to his back, and his whole body ended up 'hanging' in midair.

Yet the kinetic axe did not stop.

"Wong~! Zizi-la!"

The axe blade, filled with all of Gen Luo's Spiritual Energy, successfully tore through Perseus's barrier and swung downward.

Seeing this, Perseus turned his head to the left.

"Siss!"

The axe blade melted through the fine armor, sliced the demigod's flesh, severed the shoulder bone, and finally lodged deep in Perseus's chest cavity.

"Pfft!!"

A large amount of purple 'fluorescent' blood spurted from the wound.

Both sides had lost their shields, appearing to be mutually wounded.

However, Perseus's movement was utterly unaffected; he gripped his silver sword with his right hand, continued to jab at Gen Luo's body, shook his head and smiled, saying, 'Tsk tsk, you can't kill me, you can't kill a god.'

But just then, Gen Luo swiftly extended his left hand, opened his palm, and slapped it straight onto Perseus's face; then his five fingers closed, tightly gripping Perseus's head, not letting go, while he let out a hearty, hearty laugh:

"Hahaha! God you motherf***ing god! Coward! Bastard! Come see my father with me! Hahaha!"

??

Perseus didn't understand the meaning of Gen Luo's laugh; perhaps he merely wanted to crush his skull with brute force?

However, it noticed something hard in Gen Luo's left palm...

Immediately after...

"Ree~——!!"

A blinding blue light burst from that object, while extreme heat scorched Perseus's head and Gen Luo's palm.

Boom!!

In an instant, the violent explosion and rapidly expanding blue light engulfed Parshus and Genluo.

Outside the warehouse.

The fallen divine servants, now without Parshus, were repeatedly repelled, and even the black‑maned flying horse, having lost the protective shield provided by its master, was frightened and tried to flee, only to be killed by the close‑range cannon array of the Seafoam Yot.

Ultimately, the fallen divine servants ravaging Sector 07 Starport were finally purged, allowing civilians to continue evacuating.

Meanwhile, a few wild wolves broke away from the sweep team, slipped through a breach in the wall into the warehouse interior, searching for their commander.

Enter.

They saw not far ahead the devastation on the ground and nearby containers caused by the detonation of an Astate‑issued plasma grenade.

At the explosion's core lay the now "unrecognizable" Parshus.

It was a true "unrecognizable"—the head and shoulders had been vaporized, while the remaining half of the arms and torso were scorched.

And its right hand still clutched the dimmed silver sword that pierced Genluo's chest.

Genluo, also at the blast's center, fared no better: his left arm missing, his protective modular armor severely deformed, his whole body blackened, his fate still uncertain.

Just now.

Genluo first tore through Parshus's Spiritual Energy shield, then used his own body to restrain Parshus's movements, and detonated a hand‑grenade equivalent to a miniature plasma bomb at close range.

In this way, Genluo believed that the severely damaged Parshus would be erased by his father, and on Caplan Planet, only he—the single strongest individual—could use such a "self‑destruct" method to successfully eliminate a fallen demigod.

———————

…

The capital of the frontier fortress star district, within Harvest Star's atmosphere.

The northern hemisphere, Oldga City district, which has an orbital elevator…

"Tap tap tap!"

"Whoosh—! Boom! Boom!"

The whole city—no, the entire Harvest Star—resounded with gunfire and artillery, while various airborne cargo pods roared down from the sky.

The outskirts, which should have been wheat fields and farms, were now ablaze with raging fire, mercilessly devouring the farmers' hard‑won harvest.

In the quiet, traditional city district, fierce battles raged, buildings collapsed, and flames lit the night sky.

UNSC, Krig, the Second Corps, and Astate of the Sparta Corps, along with auxiliary troops, could be seen everywhere.

Of course, countless beasts, humanoids and gigantic demons were also present, as well as fallen divine servants that posed a grave threat to ordinary soldiers.

However, both inside and outside Oldga City, there were few civilians; it seemed that before the interdimensional storm raged and humanity and demons entered full‑scale war, civilians had already evacuated, unlike Caplan, which fell into extreme panic with heavy casualties.

If one looked up at the storm‑shrouded night sky, one could even see low‑Earth orbit beyond the atmosphere, constantly flashing with the brilliance of explosions.

The fighting was intense.

One large airborne cargo pod broke through the atmosphere, adjusted its angle, opened its cushioning thrusters, and finally slammed onto a street crowded with canine‑beast demons…

"Pop!!"

Instantly, meat sauce and minced meat erupted.

The cargo bay doors opened, allowing a heavily‑armed Sparta squad equipped with plasma cannons and explosive‑arrow machine guns to sprint out for a sweep.

"Bang bang!"

"Ri— whoosh!!"

"Howl…"

The simultaneous gunfire filled the streets with the wails of canine‑beast demons.

This Sparta heavy squad took only a dozen seconds to purge the demons here, then without pause headed for the orbital elevator.

On the way forward, the squad also incidentally rescued two UNSC infantry soldiers trapped at an alley corner by demons, then continued north toward the elevator.

At the alley entrance.

"Hoo! Ha!" a soldier pulled off his helmet, leaned against the wall, sat on the ground with a big gulp of breath, then said in extreme panic:

"Corporal… those red‑skinned guys are demons… demons! Our company… our comrades are all dead… dead!"

"Private, shut up!"

The corporal who had reloaded his pulse rifle magazine kicked the mentally collapsing private, then pointed toward the alley entrance and scolded:

"I don't care whether they're anomalous creatures or some kind of demons; I only know they're enemies! Our duty is to annihilate the enemy! Moreover, many civilians are waiting for us to search and rescue them! So get up! Get up! Keep up with those Sparta!"

Speaking that, the corporal kicked the private again.

"Corporal… spare me… I can't go on, I don't want those demons to tear my muscles and bones… I don't want…"

However, the private kept shaking his head, apparently having completely lost the courage to fight the demons.

"You bastard!"

Seeing this, the corporal immediately pointed his gun at the private's forehead, his right index finger on the trigger, but ultimately did not fire, lowered the barrel and said:

"Private, the people of Harvest Star have never feared anything, but you… fine, good luck, I'll just consider you already dead."

After speaking, the corporal left the private curled up in fear, turning his back without looking.

Later.

The private, listening to the gunfire, roars, and faint cries for help outside the alley, recalled his passionate resolve to enlist against his parents' objections and his oath to defend his home and people, which left him deeply conflicted.

"Damn it… damn!" the private hammered the ground with his fists.

Then, he readied his pulse machine gun again, closed his helmet, sprang out of the alley, sprinted along the roadside toward the orbital elevator, and, with a reckless look, muttered to himself:

"Dammit, the people of Harvest Star aren't cowards! Even if we die we'll pull a bastard as a shield!"

Soon, the private arrived at the northern intersection.

He slowed his pace, pressed against the wall to keep watch, confirmed no enemies nearby, and quickly crossed the intersection.

Not far after.

The helmet's compact radar flickered green and yellow markers, indicating UNSC and allied forces ahead.

Having received this information, the private quickened his pace, turned left, and saw on the left‑hand street a corporal and a few remaining UNSC soldiers, as well as the Sparta heavy‑armor squad that had previously saved his life.

The corporal and the UNSC soldiers used abandoned vehicles and street fixtures as cover, forming a makeshift line with the scattered Spartas.

Because a "gate" opened, everyone had to hurriedly confront an endless horde of canine‑beast demons.

…

Seeing the situation, the private felt a sudden dread, and the thought "maybe we should just run" flashed through his mind.

But in the end, he gritted his teeth, rushed to the corporal's side, pointed his barrel forward and pulled the trigger, delivering a rhythmic pattern of short and long bursts.

Seeing the private regain his spirit and return to the fight, the corporal merely glanced and reminded him:

"Conserve ammunition."

"Yes!" the private shouted.

"Roar—!"

But at that moment, a thunderous roar came from the "gate".

A massive troll appeared, stamping into the material universe with earth‑shaking, sky‑rending steps.

The troll's red skin was covered with coarse fur and brass armor; its face was snarling and savage, bearing bovine hooves and a bull's head, and its back sprouted a pair of bat wings that constantly oozed blood.

"Roar!!" the troll bellowed again.

But this time the roar was laced with a violent Spiritual Shock, recklessly assaulting the private and his companions.

Boom! Boom!

Energy shields shattered in succession, and the private, the corporal, and the UNSC soldiers were blown straight away.

The six Spartas' energy shields also flickered, but the giants never ceased fire, continuously launching explosive arrow projectiles and plasma cannon volleys, trying to break through the troll's Spiritual Energy shield.

!!

The private fell to the ground and slid uncontrollably for more than ten meters until he slammed into a low wall of the street's greenbelt, finally coming to a stop.

His solo power armor was severely damaged; the flickering screen forced the private to manually open his helmet.

Looking forward, the private saw a thirty‑meter‑tall blood‑stained troll and an endless tide of canine beasts charging at them, and between them and the demon were only six "tiny" Spartas…

He couldn't help but let out a desperate roar: "Save me! Someone, save me!!"

Suddenly…

"Don't be afraid, child."

His plea seemed answered, as a voice that seeped into his heart resonated beside his ear.

Before the private could react, he saw a bright, warm golden radiance envelop the street.

(End of chapter)