Chapter 528: with translation of the chapter title

It was originally under a night sky scattered with twinkling stars, when a sudden gale rose, and sand and fine gravel swept across the cracked ground.

What was once an empty river channel began to fill with clamor of human voices after Hades had led all the combat units heading for the underground tunnels here, because the task force also started to gather above this area and airdropped several ground armored units.

In addition, the accompanying engineering team used the non‑combat power armor and derivative SCV models developed by their engineering department, as well as various octopus and squid engineering sentries, to erect a military fortress in a very short time, facilitating better garrison and defense for the ground troops.

At first, some colonel‑rank officers proposed invoking an extinction order against Sarnosche, to destroy the entire planet outright and thus achieve the goal of eliminating the fallen Wokan and fire lizards.

However, the proposal was unanimously rejected by Leon and Konstantin, because they wanted to capture Wokan alive so that the Empire corporation Umbrella could obtain a physical sample and thus prepare to "create" another newly born OriginalBody.

Therefore, the task force deployed the armored units, lowered their altitude, and prepared to provide artillery support for Leon, Konstantin and their companions.

Moreover, the aerial formation entering the atmosphere, besides carrier‑borne aircraft tasked with attack, bombing and interception, also included the Imperial Guard's exclusive…

Centurion mechs.

Since Konstantin strictly followed his father's orders and brought only a hundred brothers, the Centurion mechs "only" fielded ten units.

After being taken away by Hades and withdrawn beneath the surface, Konstantin had the ten brothers teleport back to the Moonlight Goddess, complete the Guard's Centurion "link" and "wearing", and then teleport back to the surface, ready in formation.

At this moment.

West side of the fortress.

Within a position on the outermost perimeter, equipped with parallel 600 mm Gauss cannons…

…

Lin Hong, having opened his helmet and barely breathing through the thin air, furrowed his brows and gazed toward the distant horizon.

The recent underground tunnel skirmish, however, made him—who had undergone the modification surgery, becoming an auxiliary soldier and an absolutely elite member of the Imperial forces—feel the threat of death.

Why the clash with the chaotic fire lizards was so terrifying…

In fact, regardless of whether the modification surgery was completed, Lin Hong's unit had conducted live‑fire exercises with the reserves and the legion camp.

Even as an unmodified auxiliary soldier following the legion to the Zero‑Three Universe to jointly combat the chaotic Astate, he did not experience the death and isolation that the forces on Deyanka (the primary universe planet first invaded by chaotic Astate) felt.

Primarily, before the legion launches a large‑scale operation, the fleet conducts a "sweeping" of the ground; only if there are humans on the surface worth saving will they airdrop Astate and HellParatrooper units.

When he and his ground troops boarded transport aircraft and landing craft to descend, only a few lucky "small fish and shrimp" remained, posing no threat at all.

Later, as auxiliary soldiers with physiques surpassing ordinary humans, deep in Lin Hong and his comrades' hearts there was a pride no less than that of an Astate.

But those fire lizards below…

If it weren't for Officer Kennedy, who traveled with them and relied on an extraordinary sixth sense to discern an ambush ahead, the whole force might have been annihilated, never managing to hold out until Hades withdrew them from underground.

Not only were the losses massive, but it also directly cut down their arrogance and pride, the self‑confidence of humans who had already claimed dominance and posed no further threat.

"Sss—huh—…!"

Sitting beside him, also with his helmet open, Rum held a half‑burned cigar between his two lips, inhaling and exhaling as he glanced at Lin Hong's slightly sorrowful expression, then surveyed the auxiliary soldiers who had followed Leon here, shook his head, and said nothing more.

As a veteran elite who had lived over two hundred years and saw everything clearly, Rum knew that humanity's rise to its current state was inseparable from the deterrence provided by the OriginalBody, the Astate, and the Human Emperor.

More than a hundred years ago, the Covenant Empire (Star Alliance) possessed overall strength—in population, technology, territory, and productivity—that the early UEG could not compare to; the gap between the two exceeded an astonishing ninefold.

Looking at the numbers alone is like a competitive match with odds of 1:9, while "you"—for faith or sentiment—prepare to lose, betting skin and items on the team with a win rate of "1".

Who would have thought that after a night's sleep, the match result would actually be a win?!

At that time, humanity, facing the Covenant Empire's odds, was seen by most galactic civilizations as a 1:9 proposition.

Even Rum, who had once been a colonel in the Covenant Empire, initially looked down on humanity.

But after confronting an Astate company commander, Rum instantly realized that without the Astate and the OriginalBody, humanity would be nothing more than a slaughtered "lamb".

Now, even though the Human Empire has become a behemoth, pulling out any one of its basic, civilian, or military technologies can grind a second‑tier civilization into the ground, but…

The Human Empire still harbors a fatal weakness.

Most people may not notice, but Rum, who has roamed and drifted among countless universes for a hundred years, knows clearly that once the Human Emperor Sui Bian falls, humanity may, without any alien or interdimensional invasion or corruption, likely plunge into civil war and withdraw from the interstellar dominance stage.

It is precisely because of the Human Emperor's presence, deterring both inside and outside the Empire, that the Empire's citizens can rest easy, and warriors like Lin Hong have been fighting a "tailwind war" ever since the interdimensional storm.

"Still 'young', having experienced too little."

Rum lifted his hand, removed the nearly burnt‑out cigar, snapped it forcefully, and let it strike the barrel of the parallel Gauss cannon, sparking a few star‑flames.

Then, Rum grabbed the elite's favorite plasma rifle, rose and walked to the other side, approaching Leon, who also wore power armor and wielded a commander‑type Gauss rifle, and suggested: "We don't know how many chaotic Astate remain; if they launch a few legion‑style charges…"

I think we mortals should end the ground fight early, return to the fleet, and await support; otherwise staying here only adds needless casualties.

What do you think, Kennedy?

"…" Leon did not answer immediately.

Emotionally, he absolutely did not want to withdraw and abandon the position lightly.

Although Leon is not military personnel, he cannot accept a retreat without fighting; that goes against the Human Empire's way of operating.

However, they faced fire lizards that had been possessed by demons, altered by dark gods, and whose weapons were blessed—clearly a disadvantaged side.

Moreover, enchanted explosive arrows had been refined by interdimensional tech, greatly increasing the chance to pierce energy shields; in the recent battle, many auxiliary soldiers perished on the spot when their shields failed.

Those able to engage the fire lizards without disadvantage were only six sergeants, plus the Guard brought by Konstantin, over a hundred Grey Knights, and the underworld king Hades acting as "advisor".

He pondered for a moment.

"We cannot retreat," Leon said, shaking his head lightly, still insisting on holding the position: "We've been here for a while, but the enemy hasn't launched a direct attack, likely because they've gauged the psychology of our 'mortal' troops. If we choose to withdraw now, they will seize the chance to strike, so the best choice is to remain unchanged and adapt to all changes."

"Fine," Rum shrugged.

The retired major general had long taken life and death lightly; as for the suggestion, it was merely to help more young people survive.

The others continued to wait.

Soon, Leon, Konstantin and the others received intelligence that reinforcements were already gathering.

More uplifting was that, because the Emperor would provide Spiritual Energy Space Gate assistance, the reinforcements were expected to arrive within fifteen to twenty minutes.

This news alone could sweep away the previous gloom.

However, at that moment, the chaotic side seemed to sense that the 'mortals' in the fortress had no intention to retreat, and could no longer hold back, beginning to launch an offensive.

On the surface dozens of kilometers south of the fortress, a dazzling light of pink and violet intermingled suddenly appeared.

Immediately after, a light sphere the size of a ping‑pong ball expanded within two or three seconds into a portal about twenty‑plus kilometers in diameter.

And then…

Boom!! Boom!!

Accompanied by footfalls that shook the ground and mountains, one after another the towering "Titan mechs", each roughly sixty, eighty, and one hundred meters tall, humanoid in overall shape but rather clumsy, walked out of the Space Gate into the real universe, stepping onto the arid surface of Sanosche.

Moreover, the exoskeletons, armor, and cockpit sections of these Titans sprouted ivory‑white bone‑spike tissue, which is also one of the hallmarks of the Chaos Blessing.

At the same time, the Space Gate spewed out not only a hundred Chaos Titans but also billions of demonic creatures—those with humanoid forms, massive builds, and not mere fodder.

Of course, in an army of Chaos of this magnitude, there could be no lack of the Chaos side's "backbone"—

the fire lizard.

At first glance, setting aside Titans, heavy tanks and other armored units, this Chaos Astate legion—crafted with devotion by numerous evil gods—already numbers over a million.

!! Using the helmet's telescopic display to observe the Chaos army emerging from the other dimension, and glancing at the brief data in the upper‑right corner of the screen, Leon's face showed nothing but shock, bewilderment, and disbelief.

Titans and demons are one thing, but over a million Chaos Astates…

Moreover, these Chaos Astates possess combat power and equipment comparable to the current Empire legions, and in Spiritual Energy they are infused with Chaos to the point of surpassing the vast majority of Empire forces.

Seeing the scene before him, Leon instantly understood that the other‑dimensional storm over a hundred years ago, in which the fallen divine servant (Olympus) and demons exploited Spiritual Energy and sheer numbers to annihilate countless main‑universe Astates, had also dragged those Astate corpses into the other dimension for study.

Later, a host of evil gods used the Zero‑Three Empire's genetic seeds, the Astate manufacturing technology, and their profane science to breed "super soldiers" exclusive to the other dimension.

As for the source of the ceramic‑steel armor, the fearless mechs, and the vast arsenal, Leon—who once headed the regulatory department—speculated that the evil gods tapped the Zero‑Three Universe's New Human Empire's accumulated foundation, while also scheming to corrupt other multiversal aberrations and humans (the Reincarnators).

Thinking further, this is only the surface; there might be even more Chaos Astates hidden within the other dimension, and Leon felt a chill down his scalp.

If it weren't for his superior ordering him to form a task force to hunt for Space Death Spirit tombs—and by chance discovering Asastie— the other dimension might have cultivated even more aberrant creations…

Whoosh—— whoosh—! Boom—— whoosh—! Suddenly, matrix beams, Gauss spikes, plasma cannon batteries and other fleet artillery fire streaked across the sand‑filled night sky.

Subsequently, dense fleet artillery, while ensuring the planet would not be blown apart and friendly fortress forces would not be hit, instantly saturated the area around the Space Gate with a saturation bombardment.

The resulting flames and explosions flashed instantly, engulfing and devouring the Chaos army that had just entered the material universe.

"Boom! Boom—!!"

"Whooo—!!"

What followed was a deafening blast and shockwave.

Because the helmet was sealed, when the sand‑laden shockwave slammed into the fortress wall, Leon did not even blink; he stared intently at the side of the Space Gate.

Sure enough.

The lingering after‑effects and smoke did not fade naturally; they were dispersed by a burst of pink‑purple Spiritual Shock.

It turned out to be a void shield released by the hundred Titans, aiding the million fire lizards and the Chaos army in successfully repelling the task force's artillery barrage.

"Warriors!!"

At that moment, the body expanded again; Wokan, now about ten meters tall, stood at the forefront of the Chaos tide, raising the war hammer in his right hand and using a voice that seemed able to echo across all of Sanosche, saying:

"Today marks the beginning of our overthrow of the corrupt, ignorant Empire! The gods watch, Chaos blesses, and before us and in the sky lie the false emperor's offspring and minions; it is time they feel the fury of the fire dragon!"

"For humanity!"

"For Chaos!"

"Kill!!"

As the roar fell, Wokan surged forward, leading the fire lizards and countless demons toward the fortress where Leon and the others stood.

The winged demons—or those that can outright defy physical laws to fly—charged toward the task force stationed in low‑Earth orbit.

However, while Wokan was mobilizing for battle, the attacks on the fortress and the task force never ceased, and the Moon‑Goddess‑class ship performed another "air‑drop"…

In other words, it hurled the massive Asastie—size comparable to two Paris‑class frigates—out of the ship, letting it crash into the Space Gate and the Chaos army.

Moreover, this former ruler, after entering the atmosphere, deliberately adopted an irritated tone and, using its species' unique frequency band, delivered an all‑channel tirade:

"Being easily duped by the trash of the other dimension is truly shameful; now you dare come into the material universe? I shall, on behalf of the esteemed you, give you a lesson!"

At that moment, the Spiritual Energy Space Gate released by Sui Bian instantly manifested in the sunward orbit behind Sanosche.

(End of Chapter)