Chapter 570: with translation of chapter title

"."

"And all the surviving brothers, seeing the pharmacist, in order to ensure the G gland's integrity, immediately stripped the dead brothers of their armor and wielded a surgical knife (60 cm) with a dissection stance to cut skin and tissue, each fell into a silence."

"Before entering Expedition‑072, even if there were some casualties fighting the Tai Luo Insect Race, it would never have been as heavily deadly as just now."

"Most importantly, when facing life‑or‑death, there is a great chance of receiving the father's protection and thus escaping danger."

"Everything goes smoothly."

"Receiving the Empire's commendations, as well as the people's love and respect, with various honors and Halo (Superweapon) bestowed, it cannot be said that all, but at least over ninety percent of the trapped soldiers, believe they can overturn and crush any enemy."

"However, the Tai Luo Insect Race, with its continual evolution and extreme resistance and adaptability, and the blood‑soaked facts, tells them—"

"If it were not for your imperial father, if it were not that your Empire possesses the Ark and the great device, you would suffer even greater, more tragic casualties."

"Although the trapped soldiers have known this for a long time, even though they possess emotional self‑control far beyond ordinary humans, they still harbor pride and luck‑based thinking, believing their achievements are all due to themselves…"

"To put it simply, it's like the children of some unparalleled tycoons starting a business, convinced that even if they have nothing, go bankrupt, become street beggars, they can still rely on their own 'talent' and 'gift' to start from scratch."

"But when the production crew of certain shows comes knocking, taking these children to participate in relatively real variety programs, and after they truly go from nothing to something, they finally realize that the previously claimed connections, relationships, and achievements all grew under the protection of their parents."

"If truly starting from utter poverty, most of them would give up and retreat."

"In fact, these truths apply not only to so‑called tycoons, but also to the general populace."

"\"Hey! Stinky kids! Why is each of you making such a mournful face?! \""

"At that moment, a voice with a slightly raised tone and a repulsive, cheeky metallic timbre cut through the low‑spirited atmosphere of this combat squad."

"The platoon leader and the surviving brothers turned toward the sound and saw the Glory Iron Fist company commander, equipped with an Underworld‑type terminator and a mechanical prosthetic right arm, marching into their sector."

"As for the 'mournful face', the Iron Fist commander didn't need to remove his helmet one by one; he could guess it just by intuition."

"Moreover, the commander stepped to the center of the sector, glanced around, and continued: \"Only a few brothers died, not even reaching double digits. So why the gloom and sorrow, huh?! \""

"!!"

"Hearing that, all the trapped soldiers shifted from sorrow to anger."

"Even though they are brothers, the Glory Iron Fist's sharp tongue, spoken at this moment, makes even the usually reticent trapped soldiers unable to hold back."

"\"Sigh! I know you're all impatient, but don't rush yet, \" the commander raised his mechanical prosthetic, still speaking in an extremely cheeky tone, and said:"

"\"Stinky kids, how old is the oldest among you? Even counting your OriginalBody, none exceed forty years, that's really too young, tsk tsk."

"First, let me clarify, I'm not about division or discrimination, but our ten veteran legions are destined to be stronger than yours."

"Because the reasoning is simple: our ten legions' veterans and commanders… including myself, from the moment we implanted the G gland, have deemed death to be the ultimate destiny of our Astate!"

"He paused."

"The Iron Fist commander first gazed into the distance, confirming the next wave of the Tai Luo Insect Race was not yet ready, then continued:"

"\"From birth, to weaning, to leaving your parents' embrace, then implanting the latest generation G gland refined at Luna Base, you become the giants that all eyes watch…"

"Yes, you think you have prepared to defend the nation, fight for your father, the Empire, and humanity, but what you don't know is that the environment has made you forget your bloodlust."

"The Ark and great device you think you have, as well as such advanced bio and nanotech, where did they come from? They were earned by my brothers who died long ago, the martyrs who sacrificed themselves before the Empire even left Earth!"

"At that time, from the beginning of the trials, we had to act covertly, never appear before the public; either win the battle alive or die silently."

"Not like you, who after completing the trials are lifted by the public onto so‑called leaderboards and power tiers?"

"Now, making you take part in a bait‑enemy battle that you can't even compare to a minor spatial storm, and after a few brothers die you become decadent like this, I can't help but look down on you trapped soldiers, including all your newly‑born generation's OriginalBodies and legions!"

"\"…\""

"Silently listening to the Iron Fist commander's scolding and unabashed open sarcasm, this 'elite' combat squad completely lost the earlier resentment and anger."

"It's true that Glory Iron Fist is sharp‑tongued, but everything they said is factual."

"Losing those few brothers leads to confusion and sorrow; that Glory Iron Fist, along with the Elite Warriors and Dark Angel veteran legions, have in the past two hundred years lost tens of thousands of true elites."

"Compared to that, they truly are like wailing infants."

"After a moment of silence, the platoon leader again used the same metallic tone to respond: \"Sir, we simply lack growth opportunities like those martyrs had. \""

"\"You're right, but your words and current performance cannot move me, nor my brothers, let alone the other legions…\""

"The commander said, then swung his mechanical prosthetic forward, watching the re‑gathered insect sea tide, \"The only proof is action; if you don't move, I don't give a damn! \""

"\"Brothers! \" Hearing that, the platoon leader drew the power sword planted in the ground, causing red lightning to fill the sharp blade, emitting a metallic war‑cry:"

"\"Brothers! You all heard the commander's words just now! Now, the only thing we can do is kill! Endless slaughter! To prove we are only briefly cowardly and confused! \""

"\"Kill!! \""

"The remaining trapped soldiers still let out brief war cries."

"Now, after the Iron Fist commander's sermon and 'mockery', all brothers have put away the irrelevant confusion, no longer tangled in sorrow, ready to direct their fury at the incoming insect tide."

"Seeing the effect achieved, the Iron Fist commander stepped back to his company's position (within the range of the land‑insect release field, teleport devices cannot be used)."

"And the DivineBody piloted by Sui Meng, slightly turned, clearly saw that on the front line, almost every trapped soldier's company and combat squad had an Iron Fist veteran visiting, delivering a round of 'mockery'."

"He noticed this situation."

"Sui Meng, controlling the DivineBody, turned his head a few kilometers away and saw Rog's DivineBody raise its left hand, clench a fist and stick out a thumb."

"Clearly, those Iron Fist veterans, at Rog's signal, were helping and guiding the trapped soldiers through baptism and metamorphosis toward the original, true legion."

"Sensing the elder's goodwill, Sui Meng also, controlling his DivineBody, unprecedentedly extended his left hand in a fist, then stuck out a thumb to show thanks."

"One must know that such an out‑of‑place gesture is hard for the usually aloof Sui Meng to make."

"And the relationship between Glory Iron Fist and the trapped soldier legions, because of this subtle act, became tighter."

"As for the two legions fighting to the death and suffering the greatest loss since the expedition, it is to allow the Dark Angel to reduce resistance when breaching the land‑insect core region."

"At this moment."

"About three astronomical units (roughly 500 million km) from the landing zone, over the land‑insect surface, a fleet led by six Glory Master Class ships and thirty‑two Titan Class ships, totaling over nine hundred warships, entered stealth mode, using low speed to pass through the bio‑barrier, then switching to maximum conventional thrust to break toward the core region."

"And leading, positioned at the front of the fleet, is a DivineBody with pure white wings on its back, also in armor stealth mode."

"Precisely because the main forces led by Rog and Sui Meng draw fire, and the primary universe's stealth technology rivals that of the bio and nano realms, being top‑tier, allowing Shengjilesi and the Dark Angel to successfully infiltrate this area."

"Inside the DivineBody's pilot seat."

Unlike the first‑generation drive plug filled with shock‑absorbing, oxygen‑rich, pressure‑maintaining liquid, this one consists of nanofibers wrapping the OriginalBody armor worn by Shengjilesi, linking the neural interface through the armor to consciousness, thereby giving the DivineBody a "soul".

Entry and exit are simple, more convenient.

The current state of Shengjilesi is actually the DivineBody, with vision, strength, perception, etc., amplified a hundredfold or more.

And auxiliary displays such as holographic star maps, calibration, radar, etc., are also directly presented before Shengjilesi, or before the DivineBody's eyes.

Through real‑time information obtained via conventional‑band communications, Shengjilesi's mood has remained steady, showing no fluctuation despite the Fallen Chosen and the Honor Guard having already lost nearly four hundred Astate.

There is certainly sorrow.

But for now, Shengjilesi is not prepared to pray for those departed children.

The voyage continued for a moment.

Through the DivineBody's ultra‑long‑range vision, Shengjilesi discovered that a point roughly four hundred thousand kilometers ahead is a red dwarf star wrapped and bound by a biological "Dyson sphere".

Dyson sphere…

This kind of technology, proposed in the twenty‑first century of the main universe and representing the peak of a Type‑II civilization, has long been banned because its construction cost is high, making it a costly, unrewarding product.

First, a star normally accounts for 99% of a star system's total mass, so constructing a "grid sphere" that encloses a star by conventional means is tantamount to a fantasy.

Of course, there are two ways to achieve it: one is to use the resources of other star systems to build a super‑giant metal sphere, thereby achieving the goal of harvesting stellar energy.

Two is to manufacture ultra‑thin solar sails that envelop the star from a distance, and because they are ultra‑thin, even the resources of this star system are more than sufficient.

But the first approach's drawback is that it's not worth the effort—if one can freely exploit other star systems' resources, why limit oneself to a single system? The second approach is extremely prone to damage, with high maintenance and repair costs.

Moreover, thanks to the Shield World, the main universe has directly mastered artificial‑star technology, which is a case of overtaking on the inside.

By contrast, the fact that the land insects could reach such a scale clearly shows they have spent tens of millions, even tens or hundreds of billions of years, devouring unimaginable numbers of planets and organisms.

And wrapping this red dwarf star, whose temperature, brightness, and radiation have all dropped to their lowest point, is certainly not for the purpose of harvesting energy.

Yet they still choose to do so, indicating that this red dwarf star holds special significance or utility for them.

Meanwhile.

Shengjilesi also saw that at the end of their flight path stood a super‑giant bulge‑like structure; from its appearance it was clear it led to the core of the land insects.

Moreover, their stealthy flight appears to have been detected; the land insects began launching bio‑artillery salvoes and bone spikes from their direction, and mustered a new wave of bio‑warships.

Seeing this,

Shengjilesi immediately disengaged the DivineBody's stealth mode and directly deployed a "◇" diamond shield wall.

"Boom!! Boom!!" The first wave of countless bio‑artillery salvoes was blocked by the shield wall.

At this point the entire fleet also dropped stealth mode, and, with the DivineBody clearing the way, surged forward as much as possible.

A succession of nuclear blasts and antimatter flashes, plus the straight trajectories of electromagnetic and Gauss cannons, together with plasma salvoes and matrix beams, instantly filled the airspace.

Initially, Shengjilesi and company still enjoyed unimpeded passage.

But as the Tai Luo Insect Race's attacks grew ever denser, Shengjilesi's momentum gradually waned, eventually forcing them to rely on energy shields and the "◇" diamond shield wall, and to bull‑rush through the swarm.

Some escort and destroyer ships' energy shields ran low; during the shattered‑charge period they could only rely on their hulls to blunt the insect onslaught.

Thus the fleet's charge came to a complete halt; moreover, to extend the front line, the fleet began transporting headquarters and assault battalions to the ground and launching carrier‑based aircraft squadrons.

The DivineBody, centurions, and titans also joined the ground‑and‑air offensive and defensive battle.

However…

For some reason, the DivineBody's current movements, reactions, and judgments of sudden situations, compared to the state when it just deployed the "◇" diamond shield, appear somewhat rigid.

Because at this moment the drive plug contains no Shengjilesi as pilot; instead, Shengjilesi has granted temporary authority to a low‑intelligence AI named Denny, which now handles control.

Although the DivineBody and the OriginalBody are consciousness‑linked, and the OriginalBody could still be operated by subjective consciousness even without being in the drive plug, Shengjilesi needs to focus on other matters, so for now the Holy Blood Angels' AI is acting as a "stand‑in driver".

As for Shengjilesi…

This OriginalBody then led two hundred Holy Blood Guards, taking advantage of the fleet drawing the insects' energy and attention here, still using each armor's stealth system and levitation device to rush swiftly toward the bulge‑like structure now only about a thousand kilometers away.

That distance passed in an instant.

Shengjilesi and his Honor Guard wasted no time, storming straight in through one of the entrances, then using pulse scans as aid to push toward the core area…

(End of chapter)