Chapter 630: Stealth Assassin Assassination

Buzz!!!

The claw marks violently collide with the dark‑green shield; it's clear the metal body's auto‑generated shield is trying to fend off the sudden crimson claws.

Whoosh!!!

But another claw mark falls.

Click…

Two blood claws gradually advance forward.

Click… click…

The shield shows a cracked texture.

Clack!!!

In the end, the shield is completely shattered by the two blood claws, which, unabated, rush straight at Zelas, who has not finished turning.

Snip!!

The sharp blood claws easily split the metal body in two…

In fact it cuts many pieces, but overall it separates Zelas's upper and lower halves.

And everything happens so fast that even a ruler‑class metal physique can't keep up with that speed.

??

At this moment, the upper‑body‑only Zelas frantically scans the surroundings with its single eye, trying to lock onto the assassin who launched the "ambush".

But before it can find a suspicious target, an invisible hand grabs its metal neck, and with a little force lifts it up.

!!

"Who dares to intrude here??!! Guard! Guard!!!"

After all, it isn't a true living being; even with its neck pinched, Zelas can still roar loudly and even readies its staff to strike back.

Snip! Snip!

Unfortunately, the few remaining arms of Zelas are all severed.

Now it truly becomes a "metal mummy", completely immobile, with only its single‑eye monitor still able to zoom freely.

And at that moment, the assassin who single‑handedly butchered Zelas finally reveals its true form.

After a silent shift of light and shadow, the OriginalBody of the Dark Crow Guard, Kelakesi, appears.

This OriginalBody, bearing the title "Crow King", stands about five meters tall in its dedicated power armor; the joints and seams of the armor are tinged with faint black shadows or mist, and its arms are sheathed with blood‑colored claws that can change size at the wearer's will.

"OriginalBody? Heh… never thought a humble, fragile organism could reach such a state!"

Seeing the form of its own butcher, Zelas's metallic tone is laced with frantic anger.

Clearly, it never expected Kelakesi to slip past layers of guards and security at some unknown time to reach this obviously secret‑chamber laboratory…

Secret chamber!

Although this place doesn't match its main tomb, it's still not a place anyone can just walk into!

However, Zelas clearly doesn't know the Human Empire like Taraxin does, nor does it recognize that the OriginalBody before it is Kelakesi, and the title "Crow King" isn't self‑bestowed; it was spread by the Weilin tribe out of great admiration for Kelakesi.

If you rank all OriginalBodies by single‑turn combat power, the top spot is always contested, but the top five usually battle among Shengjilesi, John, Sui Meng, Leon, and Rus.

Of course, newborn OriginalBodies have few chances to shine, and Sui Meng happens to be in the chaotic Zero‑Three Universe, allowing it to stand out among them.

As for Kelakesi, it sits in the upper‑middle tier, able to stay in the top ten but unable to climb higher.

However, when it comes to stealth kills, Kelakesi is unquestionably number one.

Even Conrad, four hundred years older and bearing humiliation, after undergoing surgery performed personally by the Human Emperor and the Plague Doctor, still loses more than he wins in stealth against Kelakesi.

It's true that the Morning Star blocked and suppressed Spiritual Energy, even reducing Kelakesi's Spiritual Energy volume to about one percent, yet that's still enough to slip in silently into this tomb built for studying humans.

Moreover, even without Spiritual Energy, Kelakesi can still wear power armor and move without making a sound.

One can only say that although Zelas is a ruler, rulers vary in strength, in brute force versus technical crushing.

Hard versus hard: Zelas isn't Sarcos, Kelakesi isn't the unripe An Na Jin, and relying on martial skill and strength is a one‑sided crush.

"."

Kelakesi, too lazy to heed Zelas's impotent rage, directly activates the stasis field device supplied by Taraxin, binding Zelas and preventing its consciousness from transmitting back to the tomb's core.

Immediately after, Kelakesi waves its right hand, releasing the field to encapsulate six completely unconscious reservists, then activates the armor's teleportation device, returning straight to the core world of the Imperial Shadow, leaving this so‑called secret chamber.

Before Kelakesi easily deals with Zelas.

To the northwest of the Necrotic Tomb, about five kilometers away at a crossroads…

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Explosive arrows fire in great numbers.

Hundreds of Divine Servant soldiers clad in silver armor, wielding 1.0‑cal or 1.25‑cal explosive arrow guns, operate in four‑person squads, methodically pushing back the undead army while also disabling the transport vehicle's stasis field to free the trapped humans.

The Divine Servants, once part of the Olympus pantheon and accustomed to spears, shields, and bows, have long modernized after years of Imperial assimilation…

Is a gun not better than a spear?

With reaction speed of auxiliary troops yet a physique far stronger than them, the Divine Servants equipped with power armor and explosive arrow guns match the combat efficiency of a battalion.

Undead warriors can't stand against these "giants" who breached other dimensions millennia ago, let alone the fact there are over a hundred of them.

And the Scorpion‑type Destroyer, tasked with melee and threatening the battalion's terminators, originally intended to rely on speed and ambush to take down the Divine Servants.

But the noise generated during the ambush is too great; it's hard for the Divine Servants not to notice, so they pre‑emptively predict the attack trajectory, dodge, and simultaneously aim the barrel at the core for a fierce barrage…

Boom! Boom!

The Scorpion‑type Destroyers, numbering fewer than twenty, are instantly eliminated by the Divine Servants.

The greater threat to the Divine Servants comes from the Serpent‑type Destroyers, which use scorpion‑ or serpent‑like tails to crawl and roam swiftly.

These guys are extremely skilled at guerrilla and ambush tactics, especially in urban areas like this steel jungle; they can rely on their sturdy metallic physiques and great strength, as well as special equipment with short‑term "dimensional shift" devices to pierce through layers of obstacles.

At that moment, as a god servant at the front line was reloading, a Viper Destroyer flashed into his front and, at extreme speed, swung its two short blades down at him.

Hum!

The ultra‑phase blade easily pierced the energy shield.

However, this god servant did not dodge the Viper's ambush; instead, he stepped forward to meet the phase blade, and just before the blade would touch his powered armor, he squatted, freed his left hand, took out a plasma grenade, and shoved it into the gap between his metal ribs.

He executed a rolling flip to disengage.

Boom!!!

The extreme heat generated by the plasma explosion directly wrote off that Viper Destroyer.

Just as the assassin‑type Viper Destroyer is indeed a troublesome unit, its numbers deployed on this street are low, and the god servants' rich experience allowed them to eliminate it successfully.

And the Locust Destroyer, capable of instantly shattering the Empire's heavy‑tank and mecha shields and armor and delivering long‑range bombardment, was personally "tutored" by Artemis.

This moon goddess needs no Spiritual Energy protection; relying solely on her physique she can withstand the so‑called Gauss shot, and as a god her bodily structure is unique—even the DivineBody used by the OriginalBodies in their large mechs is merely a "copy" of her and the Greek gods.

Of course, she also possesses a moon‑light armor that is extremely costly and unique within the Empire.

She actively deployed a shield, forming a faint blue‑tinged light wall that stretched vertically across the street where they were.

Boom!! Boom!!

The instant the Gauss shot struck the light wall it exploded, and dark‑green ink spilled and drifted outward.

Although a volley of fire failed to break down the light wall, the increasing flicker rate showed that constantly taking hits was not a solution.

Moreover, she had no intention of dodging; while the accompanying god servants dealt with the "grunts," she alone stepped from behind the light wall to its front.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Just as she reached a relatively open intersection, countless Gauss shots came shooting at her.

But Artemis, helmet deployed, kept her composure, first raising the Moonlight Spear to make a throwing motion, then…

Whoosh—Boom—!!!!

A afterimage streaked past, accompanied by a violent sonic boom that overturned the road and nearby vehicles, even digging a deep crater under Artemis's feet.

Swish!

Just before the Gauss shot would hit her, Artemis also sprinted at extreme speed, dashing like an afterimage through the chaotic street straight into the Locust Destroyers' deployment zone.

Immediately after…

Bang!

Screech!

Clack!!

After the shockwave faded and the smoke cleared, aside from Artemis herself, every Locust Destroyer in the deployment zone was completely dismantled and written off.

And beside her foot lay a half‑body Locust Destroyer; its metal head twitched uncontrollably, and the tear ripped open by brute force would spit sparks, while it mechanically repeated something:

"Agreement… rebirth… agreement… please rebirth…"

But Artemis had no interest in what it was saying; she lifted her left foot and stomped down.

With a soft "pfft~," she completely finished off the last undead destroyer unit nearby.

Seeing the area secure, Artemis recalled her Moonlight Spear and walked over to where the accompanying god servants had gathered.

Ten or more minutes earlier.

After she requested support from Kelakesi, she led the accompanying god servants to the vicinity, originally intending to conceal their movements as much as possible, avoid exposure, and wait for the OriginalBodies and the Honor Guard to arrive before making further plans.

But upon seeing countless compatriots captured—even imperial heirs among the prisoners—Artemis had to change her earlier plan according to the actual battlefield situation and begin rescuing the captives.

Coincidentally, Kelakesi also sent a latest update, saying they had captured a rather special necromancer overlord, and with the plague doctor's help they actually managed to make the enemy faction defect, gaining much necromancer technology.

As for the necromancer tomb where human experiments were conducted, Kelakesi said he would handle it alone, needing no assistance from other garrisons or combat units.

After receiving the latest intelligence, Artemis devoted all her energy to rescuing the prisoners.

However, when the moon goddess dissipated the light wall she had just created and prepared to let her moon‑light armor recharge smoothly, the previously relaxed furrow between her brows suddenly showed a clear river‑shaped pattern.

She immediately halted, shifting her right hand gripping the Moonlight Spear slightly backward, as if sensing something and entering a battle‑ready state, while also opening comms to warn:

"All units, stand by…"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Before the word "stand by" could even be finished, large volumes of green beams shot out from the buildings on both sides of the street.

?!

The beams traveled at extreme speed; many god servants were hit before they could react, and the energy shields generated by their armor were useless.

And upon actually striking the armor, the beams burst like ink, yet they pierced through layer after layer of armor to make direct contact with the god servants' skin.

"Ah!"

"What the hell is this?!"

After the attack, the comms carried the god servants' painful cries.

One god servant could not hold on, dropping to one knee as if struggling to breathe, and he ripped off his helmet with his right hand.

Visible on this god servant with a sideways face and short blond hair, the vessels beneath his skin glowed faint green, like a toxin rapidly spreading toward his head.

Eventually, even his pupils began to be corroded by the green light.

"Damn it…" Still, before collapsing completely, this god servant mustered his last strength to raise his explosive‑bolt gun, judged the direction of the beam that hit him to locate the source, and immediately pulled the trigger.

"Rat‑tat!" The explosive bolts fired in rapid succession.

The explosive bolts also flew through windows into rooms in the building's central area, causing a chain of explosions.

"Eh…"

Finally, face down, this god servant lay motionless on the ground, unknown whether dead or alive.

Many god servants hit by the beams slumped sideways, but some, relying on sheer willpower, managed to suppress the "toxin" and then sat paralyzed while continuing to fire.

And the first to notice something was wrong was Artemis, who consecutively dodged multi-angle beam sniping; it seemed the enemy also knew she belonged to the 'highest-value' assassination target.

Having dodged the attack and regained her footing, Artemis, without a second thought, flung a Moonlight Spear toward one of those angles.

Whoosh!

A piercing howl as it tore through the air.

Bang! Bang!

The Moonlight Spear careened wildly inside the colossal building.

Screech!

As the Moonlight Spear burst out from that side of the colossal building into the open sky, an undead warrior was still impaled on its shaft.

That undead warrior's cyclopean appearance and bodily structure, plus the fact it wielded a special‑quality firearm, made it clear at a glance that it was no cheap gear.

However, no matter how precious it might be, its frail, 'weak as a chick' look always makes it seem rather fragile.

"\". \""

But Artemis's expression grew even grimmer; even without seeing the sniper's form, from just that attack she knew the sudden assault on them was carried out by a special necromantic unit—

Death Mark.

Neural Shatter Gun,

Five-Dimensional Space Transfer,

Just the fact that they can lurk in the dimension between the present and the past, waiting for the optimal moment to strike, shows they are far harder to deal with than the so‑called Expellers.

However…

"Plop! Plop!"

As Artemis was pondering how to break the stalemate, the Death Mark, which had been lurking in the shadows and holding the advantage, spontaneously exited the five‑dimensional space and leapt out of the colossal building, crashing to the ground.

(End of Chapter)