Chapter 473: Decisive and Ruthless
Above the Technology Research Institute’s base, a black shadow draped in dark robes surveyed the three fronts: the south, west, and east districts of the city.
The initial deployment of the prototype war machines had proven highly satisfactory, their brief barrage inflicting significant damage on Star City’s rear lines.
However, the war machines’ limited mobility had also become glaringly apparent during this battle.
Just moments ago, in the south district, a war machine had been dismantled from within shortly after opening fire. Its internal energy core was then detonated, destroying the machine from the inside out.
Yet the destruction of a single war machine stirred no emotion within the black shadow.
Its gaze now shifted to the west district.
After a brief blur, the view rapidly zoomed in, revealing the combat situation in the west.
Three war machines were already approaching the western combat zone.
Under the black shadow’s expectant gaze, the war machines’ metallic arms extended, piercing the earth as weapon platforms slowly unfolded from their backs.
spirit energy laser cannon, spirit energy flamethrower, spirit energy sweeper, spirit energy annihilation cannon… With the grinding of gears, various spirit energy weapons were hoisted onto the platforms.
After a brief preparation period, the war machines’ internal energy cores began to spin at high speed, channeling a continuous stream of energy into the weapon platforms.
When all the blue indicator lights on the weapon platforms lit up, a torrent of firepower instantly engulfed the Dawn Army’s rear lines, the dense barrage raining down like a relentless storm.
The West District of the city was completely illuminated by the firelight, as bright as day.
After just a brief burst of fire, Star City’s combat forces had already suffered significant losses.
Seeing this, the black shadow’s face twisted into a grin, revealing its blue teeth.
But its smile quickly froze.
A stream of flowing jade light suddenly erupted from the West District. One of the war machines was struck first, colliding with a jade-colored fist that materialized out of thin air.
The massive war machine instantly disintegrated under the fist’s impact, its components scattering like debris. Even before its energy core could explode, the jade light devoured it, transforming it into shimmering fragments of blue light.
A second jade-colored fist materialized and collided with the second war machine.
As expected, the second war machine shattered instantly, its components scattering backward like flower petals scattered by a celestial maiden.
Then came the third war machine…
With three consecutive strikes, three war machines were pulverized, forced to withdraw from the battlefield without even activating their defensive systems.
The black shadow’s eyes widened with shock at the sight.
After scanning the battlefield, its gaze locked onto the figure enveloped in flowing jade light nearby.
The figure’s demonstrated combat prowess sent shivers down its spine.
Though the war machine it was currently using was only a prototype, its defensive capabilities had been rigorously tested by the Technology Research Institute and rated A1.
The war machine’s construction incorporated three high-quality metals.
The outermost layer was made of candleflame gold, produced by the Candleflame Domain Field. In addition to its exceptional defensive properties, this metal also absorbed kinetic energy.
Its unique characteristic allowed it to absorb and store a portion of the energy impacting its surface within the energy core.
The second layer consisted of radiant iron, the most defensively robust metal. This material possessed a degree of magic immunity, dissipating some of the damage from art magic attacks while maintaining exceptional hardness and resilience.
The innermost layer, forming the war machine’s core, was composed of Starlight Stone, a material identified in the resource database. This stone significantly enhanced signal and energy transmission within the war machine while maintaining extreme hardness.
These three metals combined to form the war machine’s formidable external defenses.
Breaching the war machine from the outside was several orders of magnitude more difficult than destroying it from within.
Yet the figure enveloped in flowing jade light shattered the war machine’s nearly impenetrable outer defenses with a single punch.
The black shadow was astonished by such terrifying combat power.
It was certain that even if it had personally intervened, it couldn’t have destroyed the war machine with a single strike.
It immediately realized that a super-strong expert had arrived on Star City’s side!
After a brief moment of shock, the black shadow’s expression turned grim.
The outbreak of this war had already baffled it, and it couldn’t comprehend the meaning behind Star City’s declaration of war against Future City.
To unravel this mystery, it had gathered extensive intelligence.
But none of the information explained why Star City had suddenly declared war.
With communication lines between Future City and Star City severed, it couldn’t even establish contact through conventional means to inquire about the war’s true purpose.
It seemed Star City was determined to fight this battle to the end.
Even so, the black shadow remained confident in victory.
Under its leadership, Future City had undergone years of development and expansion, far surpassing its former strength.
To ensure victory, it had even opened the armory, distributing spirit energy weapons—which it had originally intended to keep in reserve—to the City Defense Soldiers.
In its vision, the fully armed City Defense Soldiers should have easily overwhelmed Star City’s allied forces.
This wasn’t out of contempt for Star City’s military capabilities, nor did it underestimate cultivation studies or believe that technology could surpass the cultivation system.
It had always believed that humanity’s choice to temporarily abandon technological development in favor of cultivation studies was wise. Only by following this path could humans truly advance further.
While technology offered convenience and immense potential, it remained constrained by the fundamental laws of the world.
Spiritual energy, on the other hand, was a universal energy attribute applicable across all Domain Fields and small worlds.
However, human cultivation studies had only existed for a few centuries, and the cultivation system remained incomplete, offering limited potential for enhancing human strength.
It had assumed that Star City’s warriors would be unable to withstand spirit energy weapons.
Yet the reality defied its expectations. The war had spiraled out of control almost immediately.
Particularly striking was the figure enveloped in flowing jade light in the West District.
She truly possessed the valor of a single warrior holding off ten thousand foes. Any defense that stood before her crumbled like paper, utterly vulnerable.
She was like a sharp blade for Star City’s army, tearing through the West District’s defensive lines and leading the Star City warriors in a rapid advance.
After a brief silence, a fierce glint flashed in the black shadow’s eyes.
But the ferocity quickly faded, replaced by a helpless shake of its head and a sigh.
At that moment, it thought of its clansmen in Old Day City.
Some secret weapons could only be used as a last resort, for their deployment would inevitably reveal its true identity.
As a traitor to the Spirit Energy Clan, it had concealed its true nature throughout its years infiltrating the Technology Research Institute.
Once the Spirit Energy Clan discovered its trail, it was certain it would face their devastating retaliation.
This was because it had stolen a miracle artifact that the Spirit Energy Clan had obtained at tremendous cost.
As a former member of the Spirit Energy Clan, it knew all too well how terrifying they had become.
The Holy Spirit Consciousness Repository had propelled the Spirit Energy Clan’s developmental potential to unprecedented heights.
Their vast accumulation of knowledge, combined with the successive development of devastating weapons during their expansion, meant the Spirit Energy Clan’s combat power was rapidly increasing at every moment.
In the past, the Spirit Energy Clan had been just an ordinary faction within the domain world.
They had suffered oppression and enslavement at the hands of various races. But with their current military might, returning to their original world, it believed the Spirit Energy Clan could easily dominate the Second Layer of the Spirit Domain, leaving even the Mist Clan, its strongest power, powerless to resist.
In fact, with their current strength, the Spirit Energy Clan could easily expand their territory, conquering and ruling multiple nearby spirit domain worlds.
This was one of the reasons why it had always refused to reveal its true identity.
The Spirit Energy Clan’s existence was like a thorn in its throat and a dagger at its back, constantly weighing on its mind.
Gazing once more toward the western part of the city, the black shadow sighed inwardly.
“Don’t force me…”
South of the city.
5:00 AM.
The war had been raging for four hours.
The sky remained shrouded in dark clouds, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring as torrential rain continued to fall.
(End of the Chapter)