Chapter 29: Steam Roars, The Wail of Steel and the Whisper of Elves

The Black Scorpion's heavy assault platforms were like ten steel behemoths, their engines' roars drowning out the low hum of the sky's strange phenomenon. Treads ground over the ruins, leaving deep gouges, and the multi-barrel cannons' muzzles flickered with the cold light of death, firmly locked onto the warped sky at the center of the hollow and the tiny outpost below.

"Open fire! Destroy the energy source! Capture the samples!" A cold, electronically amplified voice rang out from the lead assault platform.

"Bzzt—Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

After a shrill charging sound, the multi-barrel cannons atop the ten assault platforms simultaneously spewed wild tongues of flame! Dense streams of fire like a metal storm instantly blanketed the entire hollow!

"Get down!" Lin Mo roared, tackling Xiang Lingna beside him to the ground and pinning her beneath him! Sister Ai Li also dropped instantly, taking cover behind a thick steel beam!

The terrifying rain of bullets swept across the hollow like the Grim Reaper's scythe! The freshly built wooden fences were torn apart like paper! The Incomplete Product base of the watchtower was riddled with holes and collapsed with a roar! Wrench Heavy's "butt-prodding" crane arm became twisted scrap iron! The workshop's metal frame let out a shrill groan, sparks flying everywhere! The ground was plowed into charred deep furrows, dirt and rubble spraying everywhere!

"My ballista!" Wrench Heavy cowered behind the unfinished steam ballista, watching his carefully crafted components get smashed apart, crying out in heartache.

After one sweep, the hollow was a wreck. Smoke filled the air, with craters and burning debris everywhere. Fortunately, the main shack suffered little damage thanks to the angle and cover. Lin Mo and Xiang Lingna crawled up covered in dust. Xiang Lingna's little face was pale with fright, but she clutched tightly the two saplings whose glow was growing ever brighter. Sister Ai Li, meanwhile, darted like a panther behind a relatively intact piece of cover, her crossbow raised once more.

"Charge in! Take them alive!" The cold command rang out again.

The engines of the ten assault platforms roared as, like moving walls, they ground over the shattered wooden fences, pressing toward the center of the hollow! Their heavy treads ground the earth, emitting a heart-stopping tremor.

"Wrench Heavy! Is it ready yet?!" Lin Mo watched the steel behemoths drawing closer, his heart burning with anxiety! The bullets from his hunting rifle struck the assault platforms' armor, leaving only shallow white marks!

"Done! Grandpa Wrench Heavy is going for broke!" Wrench Heavy let out a strange cry and yanked down a massive, rust-spotted valve handle beside him!

"Hiss—!!!"

A blast of scalding white steam burst from the boiler's pressure relief valve! Immediately after, the thick steam pipe connecting to the ballista arm instantly glowed red-hot, groaning under unbearable strain! The immense pressure drove the piston, emitting a muffled "Clang! Clang!"

"Give me… fire!" Wrench Heavy mustered all his strength and violently threw the steam ballista's firing lever!

"BOOM—!!!"

A deafening, terrifying roar—like a steam locomotive crashing into a mountain—exploded across the hollow!

The thick alloy ballista arm, driven by the violent steam pressure, shot forward like a wild dragon breaking free of its bonds! Mounted on the arm was a heavy steel spear—two meters long, as thick as an arm—ground down from an armored personnel carrier's drive shaft!

The steel spear tore through the air, emitting a shrill shriek! Carrying incomparable kinetic energy, it instantly crossed a hundred meters and slammed hard into the frontal armor of the lead assault platform!

"CLANG—!!!!!!!!"

A teeth-grinding, colossal crash of metal completely twisting and shattering!

The thick composite armor, as if weighed down and struck by a sledgehammer, instantly caved inward into a massive, deep crater! Spiderweb cracks instantly spread across the entire front! The spearhead even punched through the armor, burying itself deep inside! The assault platform, as if struck by a giant hammer, lurched violently backward, its treads spinning madly in the air and belching rolling black smoke! Violent explosions and short-circuiting sparks erupted from within! It collapsed on the spot!

The might of a single shot! Terrifying beyond compare!

Inside and outside the hollow, instant deathly silence!

Whether Lin Mo, Sister Ai Li, Xiang Lingna, or the Black Scorpion members in the nine assault platforms behind—all were stunned by this heaven-shattering strike!

"Hahaha! See that! The Black Scorpion's turtle shell! Grandpa Wrench Heavy's can opener! How about that?!" Wrench Heavy watched the fruits of his masterpiece, dancing about in excitement, his face smeared with oil but unable to conceal his wild joy.

However, Wrench Heavy's wild laughter lasted only a second!

"Warning! High-threat weapon! Priority destruction!" A cold electronic voice rang out from the assault platform. The remaining nine platforms instantly swiveled all their cannon muzzles toward the steam ballista, which was venting white smoke with a glowing red barrel!

"Bzzt—Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

An even denser rain of bullets poured down around the steam ballista like a raging storm! The thick steel plates were struck until sparks flew and clanged loudly! A shell scored a direct hit on the steam pipe connecting to the boiler!

"Hiss—!!!" Scalding high-pressure steam, like a rampaging dragon run amok, burst violently from the ruptured pipe! Instantly engulfing most of the workshop area!

"Ah—!" Wrench Heavy, closest of all, had his arm sprayed by the boiling steam. He let out a shrill scream, and his whole body was flung away by the blast!

"Wrench Heavy!" Lin Mo's eyes nearly split with rage!

Steam billowed everywhere, vision a blur! Though the ballista's main structure still stood, the critical steam line had ruptured—it was completely scrapped! Wrench Heavy's fate unknown!

And the nine assault platforms had already ground over the wreckage of their crippled companion, like nine steel mountains, continuing to press toward the center of the hollow—toward that warped sky and toward Xiang Lingna! The cannons began charging once more!

It's over! Lin Mo's heart turned to ice. The steam ballista was a flash in the pan, Wrench Heavy was gravely wounded, and they had no strength left to resist!

Just then, another change occurred!

The phantom of the withered forest in the sky—the warped ripples suddenly intensified! As if stimulated by the fierce battle below and the thick aura of destruction, the spatial rift abruptly widened a fraction!

A will far more vast, far more pure, brimming with the sorrow of life and the wrath of nature, surged forth from the rift like a flood! This will swept across the hollow in an instant!

The two mysterious saplings in Xiang Lingna's arms blazed with purple light! Their leaves whipped about wildly! Xiang Lingna herself shuddered, her eyes instantly flooding with rich purple light! She seemed to lose consciousness, her lips unconsciously uttering a series of ethereal, ancient syllables filled with sorrow and supplication—like an elven elegy!

At the same time, the 【Seed of Life】 on Lin Mo's chest blazed like a burning green sun, emerald light shooting skyward! The progress bar of 【New Territory Anchoring】 went berserk, instantly rocketing from 15% to 50%! 60%! 70%!

"Warning! Warning! Ultra-high-intensity unknown energy field forming! Threat level: Annihilation! Recommend immediate evacuation!" Inside the Black Scorpion assault platforms, shrill alarms blared madly!

The nine assault platforms charging toward Xiang Lingna, as if slamming into an invisible wall, halted abruptly in place! The electronic instruments on their surfaces flickered wildly and belched black smoke! The cannons' charging cut off with a screech! The Black Scorpion members inside let out terrified screams!

Sister Ai Li looked at Xiang Lingna, bathed in purple and green light, then at the withered forest in the sky like an apocalyptic scroll, her cold eyes filled with an unprecedented shock.

Lin Mo felt the surging, mighty power from the 【Seed of Life】 within him and the bleak will of nature from the sky, and a perfectly clear thought entered his mind:

**"Save… the forest… save… my world…"**

It was the wail and plea for help from another dying world! The anchoring was about to complete! But the price was—he must answer this prayer across the planes!