Chapter 460

"Whoosh~! Whoosh!"

Waves crashed against the cliff.

Seagulls that like to snatch food usually ride the sea wind, skim over the water, then perform some 'high-score moves' to leap onto the cliff, but now they chose to stay away, not daring to approach the cliff or the grassland on it.

Or rather, due to the aura emitted by twelve Astate, over a hundred auxiliary troops, and that high-risk anomalous creature, the nearby animals were all frightened and driven away.

Observed closely.

The 'anomalous creature' surrounded by a group of giants over 2.3–2.4 meters and 3 meters tall wore black, torn tight clothing, with loosely scattered black long hair, 'female', her complexion deathly pale, heavy eye shadow, overall looking like a madwoman whose mental state was slightly deranged.

It turned out that two squads of White Executors on patrol in Northern Europe had received advance notice; after detecting an extremely strong reaction similar to Spiritual Energy, they immediately rushed to respond.

Then they discovered that the black-haired 'female', as if breaking free from some bond, walked out of the black teleportation gate, regained freedom, and stepped onto the lawn.

In the sky, the several transport craft carrying the two White Executor squads all pointed their 60mm machine guns at the 'female'.

Meanwhile, the two pirate fighter jets providing escort switched modes, transforming into humanoid mechs, also landing on the lawn to cooperate with the White Executors in surrounding the 'female'.

At this moment.

The 'female' looked around, intrigued, and muttered to herself: 'Heh, that old coot Odin is finally dead, but I first need to figure out how to get back to Asgard, now…'

Miss!

However, a non-commissioned officer wearing a red helmet and Thor's Hammer Mark VIII, while adjusting the explosive yield of the antimatter bolts, stepped forward, broke formation to interrupt the 'female's' muttering, and warned:

"Please raise your hands and accept restraint, otherwise we will resort to force."

"Oh?"

Hearing that, the 'female' blinked in surprise, but then her eyes revealed a hint of teasing, and she indeed slowly raised her hands.

However, when her hands reached the sides of her temples, she suddenly made a motion to gather her hair upward, and her hair, following the motion, actually turned into some kind of hard, exaggerated black crown-like substance.

But…

Clang! Clang!

Tap-tap!

Ting! Ting!

But just as the 'female' made the hair-gathering motion, the White Executor side launched a concentrated fire attack—explosive bolts, high-energy beams, and extremely fast flechette shells—almost simultaneously firing from gun barrels and cannon barrels, dumping everything onto the 'female'.

Boom! Boom!

In the blink of an eye, the 'female' was engulfed by the violent explosion, especially since each antimatter bolt equaled 30 kg of TNT, causing dirt and gravel to roll outward in all directions.

"Interesting!"

Yet the 'female' that endured the fierce gunfire and bombardment was not eliminated; instead, she became extremely excited and let out a roar.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Immediately thereafter, thousands of black, slender blades screamed outward from the 'female' as the center.

!

Seeing this, the twelve Astate, relying on extremely fast reactions, managed to dodge most of the blades whose speed did not exceed the speed of sound.

But few of the auxiliary troops could match the Astate's ease; they had to rely on the energy shield of Heludun II to brute-force block all the attacks, and due to the sheer number of blades, even the Astate could not completely avoid them.

Even the largest transport aircraft and the pirate fighter jets needed to rely on shields to resist.

Hum!! Hum!!

Only see the blades and shields clashing violently, each blade intercepted and suspended in midair by the shield, making those facing the 'female' look like a porcupine covered in spikes.

Fortunately, no matter how hard or fast the blades were, they could not compare to a Spiritual Shock or a ton-level TNT explosion.

Dong… dong…

Once the blade impact subsided, they all fell to the ground, unable to inflict any further harm on the White Executor side.

And that black-clad, overly metal-rock-styled mad 'female' was none other than Odin's eldest daughter, the Death Goddess Hera.

Possessing power far surpassing Thor and Loki, if she returned to the Asgard Divine Realm she would gain abilities akin to 'undying and indestructible', hindered only by Odin's imprisonment.

But not long ago, Odin had died miserably at the hands of Leon's Sword, losing his restraint; Hera naturally escaped her confinement with ease, arriving at the Northern Europe region of Zero Five Earth, where she clashed with the two White Executor squads.

As for why her clothing is torn and worn, it is because outside Asgard, Hera's abilities of 'undying and indestructible', 'regeneration factor', and 'control over life and death' are greatly diminished.

Put simply, once Hera returns to the Asgard Divine Realm, the complementary effects mean she will lose her 'health bar', making her nearly impossible to kill or erase; it seems the only option is to destroy the entirety of Asgard.

But this path is reserved for the Zero Five Universe to choose, not for the main universe.

Realizing Hera's body was too hard, even under concentrated fire it could not be effectively killed; meanwhile, our support troops' energy shields were rapidly depleted. The red-helmeted officer immediately ordered the support troops to board transport aircraft and retreat, while he and his comrades increased the yield of the antimatter explosive bolts, gradually pressing in on Hera.

"Boom! Boom!" The intensity of the explosions only increased.

Soon, the support troops who had obeyed orders boarded the swiftly landing transport aircraft and flew off into the distance, while the two pirate craft also transformed into fighter form to provide escort during the withdrawal.

Ah!!

At this moment, the extremely enraged Hera could no longer hold back and let out a loud roar; although this physical attack could not kill it, it also could not move its feet freely, genuinely reducing its playful spirit.

Thus, Hera waved a hand, and a dark-green light instantly enveloped its body, shielding it from the bombardment of the antimatter explosive bolts.

Immediately afterward, Hera turned its head toward the red-helmeted officer, just as it was about to unleash death magic, but saw the red-helmeted officer and all the white magistrates remaining on the field actively deploy energy shields that radiated a pale-gold light.

?

Sensing something amiss, Hera froze for a moment.

Rat-a-tat!

Suddenly, the twelve Astate ceased point‑fire attacks and, gripping the triggers tightly, switched to spraying fire.

Then…

Whoosh~——whoosh~——!

One after another, "miniature suns" rose up around Hera.

Boom~——!!! Boom!! Boom——!!!

Explosions of earth‑shattering magnitude came in wave after wave; moreover, observed from the sea dozens of li away, a gigantic mushroom cloud could be seen, along with a supersonic shockwave sweeping everything away.

It was obvious that the red-helmet sergeants and brothers who stayed to fight Hera had filled the antimatter explosive bullet's yield to the max; in an instant, no one knew how many Hiroshima atomic bombs' worth of explosion it equaled, and at the same time, a "smear" was on Hera's face.

Whoosh! Splatter!!

Originally calm and azure sea surface became turbulent, with tsunami-like huge waves continuously rushing toward the shore.

Fortunately, with the explosion's epicenter as point, within a sixty-kilometer radius there were no human inhabitants; otherwise this indiscriminate bombardment would surely harm many innocent lives.

While the explosive yield of antimatter bullets is usually described in terms of Hiroshima atomic bombs, the antimatter annihilation reaction produces no nuclear radiation like an atomic bomb explosion, making it more 'green' and efficient, so there's no need to worry whether concentrated fire attacks would affect the ecosystem of Zero Five Earth.

After a long while.

The explosion's aftermath finally subsided; the sea surface soon returned to calm, but the uninhabited island where the cliffs were located became fragmented and broken, with no part intact.

Looking toward the cliff at the explosion's core, one could only see a pit about one kilometer in diameter and roughly two hundred meters deep, rapidly being filled with seawater.

However, the red-helmet sergeants and brothers who actively activated the Mark VII's energy shield and short-term levitation device all safely 'floated' above the pit, while replacing fresh magazines and scanning with their helmet screens to confirm whether they had killed Hera.

But before the scan results came out, they caught sight of Hera's silhouette with the naked eye, lying on the edge of the pit's north side, on a large reef no smaller than a sports field.

Seeing that.

The red-helmet sergeants and others used the short-term levitation device to low-altitude cross over the seawater-filled pit, landed on the reef, and then walked slowly toward the motionless Hera, whose clothing was more torn and scarce, and whose skin showed some burns.

Judging by appearance alone, one could not tell whether she was alive or dead, unless examined up close, or…

Add a shot!

Only hearing a 'click', the red-helmet sergeant aiming his gun at Hera adjusted the antimatter explosive bullet's yield to ten kilograms of TNT before pulling the trigger.

Boom~

As soon as the bullet left the barrel, it instantly struck Hera, who was lying limp on the reef, in the back.

Heh? Still pretty alert.

This shot indeed drew a complaint from the feigning-death Hera.

Saying that, Hera actively ended her prone posture, stood up, waved her hand to dispel the smoke from the explosion, glanced left and right at her own wounds, and involuntarily clapped and praised:

"You are competent soldiers; kneel, kneel and submit to the goddess of death Hera, and I will lead you to Asgard to conquer the whole world."

Although they endured the explosive yield of over a hundred Hiroshima atomic bombs and sustained some injuries, it did not harm Hera at all.

Moreover, in the previous clash with the White Executors, the released black blades were purely physical attacks, and she had not yet used sorcery.

Now, this group of white-armored giants before her has aroused Hera's interest; it's time to take them seriously.

"Heh, trash!"

Conversely, the red-helmet sergeant who retorted with a metallic tone also realized that pure gunfire could not truly eliminate Hera, and decisively attached the explosive bullet rifle to his right leg armor, then took the chain sword hanging from his waist with his right hand.

Grip firm.

Activate.

"Whirr~ Boom… boom…!" the chain spun at high speed.

"Thud! Thud!" the red-helmet sergeant became a blur as he lunged forward quickly.

At the same time, the eleven brothers beside him also drew their chain swords, or vibro daggers with blades up to eighty centimeters long, preparing from multiple angles to jointly slay Hera.

"Too bad."

But Hera feigned regret, then bent one knee and squatted.

"Whoosh!!"

A burst of emerald-green light and light clusters emitting endless death aura directly enveloped the entire reef, also causing the red-helmet sergeants and brothers' charge speed to sharply drop.

Most importantly, this light and light clusters could, before triggering the energy shield, turn into thorn-like bindings without physical ropes, entangling the legs and feet of twelve Astartes.

!!

At this moment, the red-helmet sergeant and the brothers discovered that, using their bodily strength, they could not break free of the thorny bindings?!

No way, Hera is now using a 'sorcery' attack, while the White Executors originate from a legion not skilled in individual combat nor in wielding spiritual energy to its limit.

If there were two squads of Tutmos, they could certainly use spiritual energy to break the bindings, and even suppress Hera in sorcery, after all, compared to other legions, Tutmos are few in number but each is an absolute elite.

However, just as Hera, with left hand on hip and a relaxed face, controlled the thorns to prepare a reverse strangulation of these twelve White Executors…

"Shlick!" all the thorns were cut by extremely fine "golden threads" moving at incredible speed, so fast that even if the Original Body were present, it could not be caught.

This sudden change restored freedom to the twelve White Executors, allowing them to continue their charge, preparing to first slash Hera and then talk.

???

But Hera clearly hadn't reacted yet; what exactly had severed her 'sorcery'?

Just this fleeting moment of distraction was enough for a grown Astartes who had lived a hundred years.

Just see the red-helmet sergeant rushing ahead to Hera's front, raising his chain sword, and chopping toward her forehead.

Two other brothers followed closely behind.

One brother swung his chain sword, attempting to cleave Hera at the waist, while another gripped his vibro dagger and thrust toward her right chest cavity.

"Pluck! Splutch!" the blade easily overturned, mangled, and pierced the hard body, the sound echoing across the reef.

"Ah!!" Simultaneously, the Hera who had come to her senses cried out in pain.

Just a moment of distraction, and Hera became drenched in blood; forehead, side waist, upper chest and multiple parts suffered heavy damage, deep enough to see bone, even organs, and the crimson blood similar to humans' kept pouring out uncontrollably.

Fortunately, Hera came to her senses in time and released a sorcery shock that repelled the surrounding Astartes; otherwise she might really have been killed by the 'grunts'.

As for destructive power and impact force, antimatter explosive bullets completely outclass the Astartes' melee weapons, but there is one point where they fall far short: the chain sword and vibro dagger both possess a disassembly stance.

More importantly, humans of the main universe seem accustomed to using melee 'vehicles' against all kinds of high-threat ox, horse, serpent deities.

However, just after it used sorcery to shift itself to a nearby small island, it encountered several white-armored giants larger and bulkier than itself (Terminators).

Leading them was Samael Adilius, solemn-faced, helmet visor raised, wielding a specially crafted power sword.

Giving Hera no chance to react, aiming at the gap cleaved in her head by the chain sword, he raised his short sword and precisely cut…

"Shlick!!!"

(End of chapter)