Chapter Seventy-Two: Protection on the Brink of Death

Chapter Seventy-Two: Near-Death Protection

As expected, another escort ship was sliced cleanly in two. Yunyang, controlling the sword that followed close behind him, pierced straight through the enemy fighter. Before the Taotie pilot inside could even clutch at his wounds, the explosion ensured he would never have the chance again.

The two nearest attack planes were shot down. Yunyang glanced at the Taotie forces still charging madly from afar, but paid them no mind, heading directly for another escort ship.

Just then, the massive Cross Ship that Ge Xiaolun had recently boarded suddenly exploded. Yunyang, witnessing the scene, understood instantly—the shield had been breached and Mangdang Mountain had bombarded it to pieces.

He spared only a fleeting glance; there were still ships left to sever.

On the remaining Cross Ship, the captain was growing frantic. Another flagship had been destroyed, and two super soldiers were rampaging aboard his own vessel. There were barely any escort ships left. That white-winged, black-armored warrior had managed to cut through eight out of thirty in such a short span. Although the ships were only sliced apart and could theoretically be repaired, this was a battlefield—there was simply no time for repairs, so Earth would ultimately benefit.

When Yunyang brought down his ninth escort ship, he surveyed the battlefield and found himself near the edge.

The Taotie commander spotted him as well. Seeing no surviving Taotie warriors in the vicinity, he gave a sharp order—main cannon, charge.

A sudden, overwhelming sense of danger engulfed Yunyang as he prepared to return to the fray. Every hair stood on end. A crimson beam struck him before he could dodge.

Both Qilin the sniper and Lianfeng, who oversaw the battle, saw the event unfold. Qilin’s eyes reddened—such power from the main cannon, aimed directly at him. Apart from Reina, no one in the Xiongbing Company could withstand that blast. The prospect of losing another comrade was unbearable. She felt compelled to act.

“Reina, save him!” After a split-second of thought, Qilin decided Reina could withstand the main cannon and thus might be able to rescue Yunyang. She shouted over the comms.

As commander, Lianfeng showed no reaction, simply ordering Mangdang Mountain to intensify its firepower. Mercy has no place in command; words are not enough.

Reina had seen the blinding beam even without Qilin’s call, but it had already struck Yunyang. There was nothing she could do.

“Xiaolun, do something!” Reina shouted through her communicator.

“I’m here, I’m close enough!” Ge Xiaolun had already been heading toward Yunyang as Qilin called out in the Divine River channel.

In less than five seconds, Yunyang was within the range of the Xiongxing’s capabilities. Without hesitation, Ge Xiaolun activated the core’s operating system and roared:

“Analyze the power! Analyze the power for me!”

Power analysis in progress...

Power analysis successful...

“Set it to zero. Define the power as zero!”

Defining...

Power neutralization successful...

Successfully defined as zero...

The crimson beam, mid-flight, suddenly froze and then shattered like a mirror, fragmenting into countless points of light, beautiful as fireflies.

Within this dazzling spectacle, Yunyang was blasted an unknown distance away by the force, falling into unconsciousness. His black armor was tattered, emanating a faint dark red glow—the result of extreme heating. The back armor, struck directly by the beam, was reduced to mere scraps of metal. His back was scorched black, reeking of burnt protein.

Yunyang’s consciousness was now adrift in the dark dimension, his gene engine informing him of his dire physical state—worse than words could describe. His body was severely burned; calling it a burn was an understatement—half his body was essentially cooked. In short, he was on the brink of death, surviving only through a special quantum undecayed state. While this kept him alive, escaping this near-death condition would require a massive influx of energy.

Ge Xiaolun gently cradled Yunyang, unsure how to save him, and raced back to Mangdang Mountain as swiftly as possible.

The Taotie commander on the Cross Ship observed all this, ignoring Ge Xiaolun, and turned to address his subordinates.

“This time, we have slain an Earth’s black-armored god. At least our deaths will be meaningful— for my god, for the glory of King Shihun!”

He had reason to say this—Liu Chuang and Rui Mengmeng were nearly at the command center, and the Taotie warriors outside could not hold them back.

To bring down a Cross Ship as quickly as possible, Zhixin and Ge Xiaolun together breached another ship’s light energy barrier; this one still had a functioning barrier.

Qilin could not provide sniper support, and all Taotie warriors within were slain by Liu Chuang and Rui Mengmeng.

Liu Chuang, the axe-wielding brother, was in his element—deflecting Taotie attacks head-on, splitting their formations with a swing, while Rui Mengmeng advanced behind him.

Together, they cut through the opposition like chopping vegetables, arriving outside the command center door.

“Brother Chuang, there’s a huge iron door here. How do we get in?” Rui Mengmeng patted the door and turned to ask.

“Watch me.” Liu Chuang signaled Rui Mengmeng to step aside, lifted the Godslaying Axe, and measured up the door.

Rui Mengmeng quickly moved out of the way.

Liu Chuang struck the door with the axe, sending sparks and lightning flying. He then stepped back a few paces and launched a running kick at the door.

The door bent inward, opening a hole large enough for one person to enter.

Before Liu Chuang could go inside, bullets sprayed from within. He grimaced and dodged quickly. Getting shot was no big deal, but it hurt.

The Taotie warriors inside fired for nearly a minute before their energy ran low and they ceased. The nearest one, following the commander’s signal, cautiously approached the hole to inspect.

This gave Liu Chuang his chance—he grabbed the Taotie warrior by the neck and yanked him out.

The remaining warriors, startled, opened fire again, but this second barrage lasted barely ten seconds before their energy was depleted.

This allowed the two to burst into the command center. In less than ten seconds, under the commander’s horrified gaze, they eliminated all Taotie warriors present.

With only himself left and no hope of survival, the Taotie commander became calm, sat back in his chair, and spoke.

“Gods, truly gods. The one with the axe—you must be the God of War from Norstar.”

Rui Mengmeng was about to finish the high-ranking Taotie, but Liu Chuang, hearing his words, stopped her and replied.

“No, I am now Earth’s Great Wall One.”

“Great Wall One, then. Earth is truly fortunate to have you black-armored gods as its guardians, while we Taotie can only rely on ourselves.”

The Taotie commander seemed indifferent to life or death, even lighting a cigarette and taking a drag.

“Don’t you have Death God Karl?” Rui Mengmeng protested; such a blatant lie was intolerable.

“No, my god is a great scholar, pursuing supreme wisdom, disdainful of the petty squabbles of battle gods.”

The commander sneered.

“Then why did you Taotie invade Earth? Are you saying it wasn’t at Death God Karl’s behest? Extinction suits you!” Liu Chuang retorted coldly.

“My god Karl’s greatness is beyond the comprehension of you battle gods. Coming to Earth is part of our thousand-year campaign for King Shihun’s glory. You wouldn’t understand.” He finished his cigarette and crushed it, his expression declaring their ignorance.

“I don’t care about your god or your king. Today, I’m cutting you down first.” Liu Chuang raised his axe.

“Ha! You are only fit to smell my god Karl’s fart— for the glory of King Shihun!” With these words, the Taotie commander drew his sidearm and committed suicide.

Seeing the commander draw his weapon, Liu Chuang instinctively moved to protect Rui Mengmeng.

But the immediate suicide left Liu Chuang dumbfounded.

“Mengmeng, did we just miss out on a big fish—and a ton of merit?” he said.

“Brother Chuang, it’s all your fault.” Rui Mengmeng lamented their loss.

Liu Chuang scratched his head awkwardly, then hacked at the control console. The light energy barrier flickered and then vanished.

Once everyone returned to Mangdang Mountain, they gathered around Yunyang’s scorched body. Even Reina, looking depleted, was among them.

Reina had been ambushed by Taotie warriors using void weapons, her energy cycle blocked. Yet instead of attempting to break free, she joined the others in anxious concern for Yunyang.

“Sister Na, maybe you could try giving Yangzi some energy?” Zhao Xin approached Reina, speaking cautiously.

Reina, frowning deeply, replied, “Xiaolun, unlock me quickly. I can’t release any energy.”

Ge Xiaolun responded immediately. In less than half a minute, Reina’s energy seal was broken. She gathered a large energy sphere in her hands.

Slowly, she infused it into Yunyang’s chest. Under the hopeful gaze of all, a faint red glow appeared on Yunyang’s skin.

Seeing this, Ge Xiaolun exclaimed, “There’s a reaction, Sister Na—keep going!”

Reina said nothing, conjuring two more energy balls in her palms.

When she infused them into Yunyang’s chest, the glow faded a little.

Zhixin, observing from the side, spoke up. “Yunyang likely needs a tremendous amount of energy. I recall his gene engine is quantum-level—every operation requires immense energy. This red glow may be a near-death protection mechanism, demanding extraordinary energy to restore him.”