Flying for three days through the dark cosmos, followed by interstellar travel via shuttle.
“Everyone, stay alert and don’t be careless,” Taiwo commanded in the rest chamber, pointing toward an expanse of empty space outside, “From this cleared region to our destination, we still have more than two months of travel ahead. However, these two months will take us through constant danger. Combat could erupt at any moment.”
“We know, Captain,” Du Yao replied with a smile, holding a bottle of wine. “We seven veterans have all spent no less than eight thousand years on battlefield missions outside our domain. Even if we’re drunk, we remain alert—it’s become second nature. Speaking of which, these two new recruits are the ones who need to be careful.”
“Don’t be a burden to us,” sneered the skeletal figure ‘Wei,’ who cradled a white cat with violet eyes.
“They’re not exactly dragging us down,” Du Yao glanced at Luo Feng and his companion. “Every veteran was once a rookie. Rock, Crazy, you two remember all the combat experiences we shared with you recently. Don’t underestimate those small tips—they were all lessons learned from life-and-death battles.”
“Understood,” Rock nodded.
Luo Feng also gave a slight nod.
Luo Feng had noticed quite a bit about the seven veterans. Among them, Du Yao seemed to hold the highest status—even Captain Taiwo treated him with respect. At other times, Du Yao would occasionally scold the other veterans, yet none of the older warriors from other realms ever complained.
This was an authority naturally formed through countless life-and-death struggles.
In fact, when Taiwo had first invited Luo Feng and his companion to join the squad, Du Yao was the first to come forward—this alone spoke volumes.
“Rock, Crazy, just stay alert.”
“If combat breaks out,” Captain Taiwo reminded them, “don’t worry about coordinating perfectly with the others at first. Act as mobile support. Watch for any of the seven veterans who fall into danger and immediately go to their aid. At the beginning, the main combat force will still rely on the seven veterans.”
…
The spacecraft advanced cautiously through the void at sub-light speed, avoiding areas where powerful enemies might be hiding.
…
Inside a cabin of a broken, fragmented spaceship,
Three mechanical beings gathered. Their entire bodies appeared forged from metal, and their appearances were very similar—like three metal men sitting separately on three alloy chairs.
“Haha, this time the three of us working together wiped out the entire team led by that alien immortal god… That alien immortal must have been at least ‘Marquis-level’ power,” one of the mechanical beings grinned.
“This time, Parati, you deserve great credit. You managed to wound and hold back that alien immortal, allowing us to eliminate the other realm lords first… Then we joined forces to kill that alien immortal. No wonder he was an immortal marquis—his wealth was indeed vast, Parati… Let’s proceed with the distribution of treasures now.”
With that, the two other mechanical beings turned their gazes toward the third.
This third mechanical being, named ‘Parati,’ had a layer of dark red armor covering his body—it was extremely exquisite. He calmly looked at the other two mechanical beings, then flipped his hand and produced two spatial rings, tossing them toward the two.
“Our temporary cooperation ends here. You two may leave now,” Parati said coldly.
The two mechanical beings grinned, each catching one spatial ring and quickly inspecting its contents. Upon inspection, both mechanical beings’ eyes burned with fury.
“Parati!”
“Parati!”
They both suppressed their anger.
“Still not leaving?” Parati’s eyes turned icy cold, scanning the two.
“This was a joint effort,” the mechanical being wearing deep-blue battle armor growled lowly, “and the credit for killing that immortal marquis was credited entirely to you alone. Yet you’re keeping over 95% of the spoils? That’s too much.”
The other mechanical being in silver battle armor also shouted in fury, “You’re going too far.”
Parati coldly stared at them, unmoving.
The two mechanical beings forcefully restrained their anger.
“We don’t want much—just give us 40%. You take 60%, and we split the remaining 20% between us,” the one in deep-blue armor quickly proposed. The other mechanical being beside him nodded in agreement.
“Get out!”
Parati suddenly snarled, “Without me, do you think you could have handled that immortal marquis? Even though he was only a newly promoted immortal marquis, he already possessed an immortal body. Killing him wasn’t easy—you have no idea what it cost me. And now you’re asking for a share of the spoils? I gave you something only because you’re of my own race. If it weren’t for the strict punishment from our clan for killing fellow members, I would have already eliminated you two.”
The two mechanical beings exchanged a glance, then clenched their teeth.
“Hmph.”
“Hope you live long enough.”
Instantly, the two transformed into streaks of light and vanished from the broken cabin of the spaceship wreckage.
“Fools,” Parati sneered, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. Though he appeared like a metal man, he was indeed a living being—his body, although incredibly tough, was also highly flexible.
“Hmm.”
“This time I suffered significant losses, but killing that alien immortal and gaining military merit was worth it. Combined with the spoils… not bad. However, my legion’s strength has been greatly reduced… It’s time to return to the divine base and properly repair and replenish my forces,” Parati mused.
Each mechanical being could be considered a mechanical empire in itself.
Of course, the strength of a mechanical empire depended on both ‘command and control ability’ and ‘wealth’—both were indispensable. Even if one commanded a vast mechanical legion, relying solely on artificial intelligence for combat wouldn’t suffice. ‘Mechanical beings’ were required to control and command the entire legion, enabling the mechanical forces to execute attacks imbued with cosmic laws and perform intricate coordination. With such synergy, their combat effectiveness could increase by tens or even hundreds of times.
Mechanical beings were, at their core, intelligent life forms.
Once intelligent life mastered cosmic laws and combined that with their innate computational and command abilities, they became extremely formidable.
Coupled with various ‘mechanical weapons,’ their combat power could be pushed to terrifying levels.
This was a race that rivaled the ‘Zerg’ at their peak!
Zerg Queens leaned more toward instinct in battle.
Mechanical beings, however, demonstrated wisdom, technique, and strategy in combat.
“Hmm?”
“There’s a human spacecraft?” Parati, sitting inside the broken cabin, suddenly brightened his eyes. “Manufactured from E9-grade alloy, with very basic surface engravings—it looks like an ordinary realm lord squad’s ship. However… it’s possible this is a disguised elite realm lord team.”
“But…”
“As long as their power is within my capacity to handle, I can eliminate them just the same. After this, I’ll return directly to the base to replenish my strength.” Parati grinned. “Foolish humans, thinking they can discover my surveillance point using a spacecraft. Hmph, in terms of technological capability… compared to our mechanical race, they’re just average.”
…
Looking out into the void, scattered debris was visible everywhere—floating corpses, spaceship wreckage, weapon fragments, and more.
A seemingly ordinary metal plate floated in space, its surface patterns unusually unique. At this moment, those patterns were coursing with energy that sent shivers down one’s spine. The energy continued to accumulate, gradually forming a transparent glowing sphere on the metal plate’s surface.
“Attack!” Parati, the mechanical being far away, issued the command.
“Beep.”
“Boom!”
A dazzling beam of light instantly tore through the void, directly striking the distant, rapidly flying saucer-shaped spacecraft. Upon impact, part of the hull melted instantly. The beam’s immense force tore through the thick E9-grade alloy hull of the spacecraft, instantly transforming the entire saucer into a massive fireball. Explosions roared outward, spreading for tens of thousands of kilometers, sending surrounding dust and debris flying in all directions.
…
Inside the saucer.
“I bet Crazy will earn more military merit.”
“I bet on Rock. Look at Rock—he’s such a steady young man. Ha ha… This time, Rock will definitely earn more merit than Crazy. I’m betting one Yuan unit on Rock.”
“You’re bold! I bet on Crazy. I’ll also bet one Yuan unit.”
“I bet on Rock.”
“Crazy.”
Several veteran realm lords gathered around placing bets. Since each mission into the battlefield could last from a few years to several millennia, these seven veterans had developed a gambling interest in which of the two new recruits—Luo Feng or the other—would perform better, with Du Yao acting as the bookmaker.
Quickly, everyone placed their bets.
“Aren’t you two placing bets? Place your bets—I’ll take them,” Du Yao shouted from his seat on the sofa.
Rock smirked.
Luo Feng smiled faintly.
“Warning! Warning! Under atta—” a shrill computerized voice suddenly echoed throughout the rest chamber, instantly changing the expressions of the veterans who had been chatting and laughing. Almost simultaneously, each veteran quickly retrieved their weapons.
“Boom!”
The alarm had barely sounded when the entire spacecraft violently shook. The rest chamber cabin also jolted violently. The outer hull of the spacecraft completely exploded and disintegrated, while this ‘rest chamber’ made entirely of F9-grade metal flew off like a kicked soda can, tumbling and spinning wildly through the void.
Because the rest chamber was spinning uncontrollably,
Captain Taiwo and the nine soldiers inside felt extremely disoriented.
“Boom!” Instantly, Taiwo expanded his powerful immortal energy, enveloping the entire rest chamber.
“Everyone, get out!” Taiwo commanded.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The four chamber doors of the rest hall opened simultaneously.
“Go!” Du Yao barked, his armor instantly extending to fully cover his body, leaving only his eyes exposed. Beside him, the Yanpolan warrior ‘Hammer’ wielded a massive hammer in one hand and a large shield in the other. The two of them practically flew out through the same hatch at the same time. Meanwhile, the other veterans also exited in pairs.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Veterans quickly darted out through the hatches one after another. Luo Feng, carrying the Yanshen weapon on his back, followed closely behind…
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