Chapter 35: What? So Many Dead?

The towering apex of the Pure Water Station.

He kicked the pure‑blood Chicken Thief, which his Long Sword had pierced, down the elevator with one foot, and as he watched the figure tumble downward, Xisi swung his Power Sword, flinging the blood away.

The last few veterans also activated their Jet Packs and flew up from the passage; of the two thousand who set out, after killing over a thousand kilometers' worth of Chicken Thieves, more than half were gone.

At this moment the survivors were all drenched in blood, and the fine Storm Armor was riddled with scars.

Everyone breathed heavily, yet they did not rest; instead they still brandished their military swords and sidearms, keeping their eyes on Xisi.

Sheathing his Power Sword, Xisi looked down at the Space Elevator he had climbed for thousands of kilometers, and waved to the soldiers:

"Restore water supply immediately."

The veterans turned and scattered, relying on the few Servo Skulls still operating inside the Pure Water Station and the ground Mechanical Church's support; above them the massive steel dome reverberated with gears, booming as it opened to both sides.

Xisi withdrew his gaze from the bottomless abyss beneath his feet and turned his eyes upward.

A huge ice crystal, pushed by several flying mechanical slave workers, drifted slowly toward the interior of the dome.

Looking at these expressionless 'humans' whose lower bodies had been converted into aircraft and whose upper bodies were laced with massive machinery, Xisi glanced twice and still decided to focus on the ice crystal.

A floating massive ice block, with the ice crystal held at its center by the mechanical slave workers, was surrounded by various machines that began to whir slowly as steam surged.

Numerous huge mechanical arms approached the crystal, accompanied by electric drills and mechanical saws; amid the alternating saw‑wood sounds, the pipelines beneath them resumed flowing clean pure water.

"Sir, your Water Bottle."

A veteran brought Xisi a fresh jug of water straight from the source.

After the relentless fighting, staring at the icy clear water shimmering before him, Xisi took it, removed his helmet, lifted his head, and gulped a large mouthful.

The coolness slid down, instantly draining the heat from Xisi's whole body.

Around him, the veterans' splashing as they rinsed their bodies with pure water could be heard.

He set the Water Bottle down, exhaled a long breath, and watching the veterans waste without any notion of 'conservation,' Xisi didn't even bother to lift an eyelid.

After all, here each person uses several hundred tons daily, which is only a drop in the bucket of the Pure Water Station's output!

Xisi shifted his gaze, looking for a water outlet so he could rinse himself properly.

But after scanning around, his attention gradually left his surroundings and he slowly raised his head to gaze at the vast universe beyond the dome.

Specifically, within naked‑eye range, those countless figures, their bodies covered with all sorts of profane symbols and ornaments...

Chaos Grand Army!

The fleet stretched endlessly, and at this moment the ship aimed at Xisi bore a fully protruding Macro Cannon, its barrel so massive it could accommodate an entire ancient Green Skin giant.

At the same time, a terrifyingly huge cannonball inside the barrel began to emerge, slowly revealing its shape toward Xisi...

Lowering his gaze and turning, facing the veteran who had just climbed up with him, Xisi briefly narrowed his eyes, muttered a silent curse, then shouted abruptly:

"Everyone."

"Jump down immediately!!!"

Like a celestial maiden scattering blossoms.

Hundreds of tiny figures trailing long jet flames suddenly fell scattering from the tower top of the Pure Water Station.

Behind them, a massive Macro Cannon burst through the void, striking the Pure Water Station directly.

The white silhouette continued to drift down slowly, trailing white smoke, while behind it the towering Pure Water Station erupted in soaring flames, like a blooming firework!

Xisi's body plummeted rapidly, the air roaring with fierce friction in his ears, and behind him a chain of explosions chased along the Space Elevator as if pursuing him.

Countless fragments of wreckage sprayed everywhere, many striking Xisi's Power Armor, producing a sharp, dense clatter.

But Xisi had no time to watch the explosions behind him; his gaze behind the helmet was fixed on the direction of the Macro Cannon's fire.

There, Abadon's airdrop pods rained down like meteoric fire, piercing the clouds!

When a 'meteor' suddenly slammed from above, Bunoke, Ana, and even Daiweiluo paid little attention.

Only the remaining 101 Storm Troopers standing on the surrounding clearing hurried forward to catch the discarded, broken Jet Pack Xisi had tossed.

"Where's Bunoke? Where is he?"

Without a moment to catch his breath after landing, Xisi immediately asked for his deputy's whereabouts.

A squad of hurried soldiers nearby couldn't respond; Xisi, helpless, stepped forward, seized the leading officer, and asked again:

"Where is Bunoke?"

The frantic officer, grabbed, was about to raise his head and shout, but seeing that his captor was Xisi, he quickly swallowed his words.

He even stood at attention first, then the officer pointed toward the east side of the tower top:

"Officer Bunoke is commanding the fight on the east side."

Xisi looked toward it; unlike the scattered skirmishes elsewhere, the east side was already engulfed in a sea of fire.

Even the nearby artillery unit poured a torrent of cannon fire toward the east side.

Xisi released the officer, and after the officer saluted again, he turned to head east.

He hesitated a moment before stepping, then, seeing the returning 101 Storm Troopers around him, Xisi let out a soft sigh:

"You have half an hour to regroup; after half an hour, return to your units."

Three thousand 101 Storm Troopers remained on guard at the tower top; this elite force capable of confronting the Astat head‑on, Xisi knew he would soon need them.

The Storm Troopers saluted immediately; after speaking, Xisi strode straight toward the east.

Soldiers along the way saluted upon seeing him, and as the title 'Lord' spread, the already high morale surged even stronger.

When Xisi reached the east side and saw the scene, his eyes involuntarily twitched.

The tower‑top area, reduced to ruins by artillery, was littered with countless building debris stacked upon countless Chaos Cultists and his own soldiers.

The firefight continued, and the clash before his eyes involved fifty of his fresh recruits, charging one after another, all perishing together with a Chaos Astat whose body was riddled with skulls.

"What the hell? Why are so many dead?"

Seeing this, Xisi, irritated, lifted Bunoke, whose machine‑gun barrel was glowing red.

Startled by being torn from his beloved Bunoke, he turned to look at Xisi, clad in Power Armor, who had lifted him; the frenzy on his face vanished in an instant.

Then he stared with his wide eyes, unable to believe, at Xisi.

"What? Died a lot?"

Bunoke didn't know how to reply, while the Chaos commander opposite had entirely lost the fresh heat on his face from just landing, and was about to begin a grand sacrificial revelry.

He just stood there, stunned, watching the A Si Ta Te in front of him fall one after another, and even his eyes showed doubt as to whether he was being beguiled by Jianqi's demonic sorcery:

"Just now, I think I saw my A Si Ta Te, being … by fewer than fifty mortals......"

"Replaced???"