Chapter 2503 - 620 - 629

Chapter 620: The Forbidden Power

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

"Shut up, Tan Bu! You are the loudest here!" Lun Duo refuted.

"Buzz off, you jerk! I am the captain, listen to me!"

Such a banter was a common occurrence among the soldiers of Battle Wolf. It helped to ease the nerves of the soldiers while they fought. The more relaxed a soldier was, the better his performance on the battlefield would be. In other words, the gloomy and solemn atmosphere was at least in part responsible for the widespread depression and despair among soldiers from House Lie. Although Lie Jian was extremely positive about him inside, on the outside, he was too cold and too solemn a leader.

Wang Tong, Guan Dongyang, and Michaux, three of the most powerful mastery casters, gathered around to weave a spell that no one had ever seen even in their wildest dreams.

The sun had sent its first ray of light through the forest in the distance. The dark ones and the Zergs were about to wage their final wave of attack.

The purple guards snorted at Harmon's cautious methods. Why didn't Harmon simply let them attack directly instead of sending more cannon fodder? Harmon didn't explain his intent, knowing that the purple guards wouldn't comprehend it. The attack was to keep the pressure on the humans, distracting them from whatever they were planning, so that the dark ones would have the initiative.

It was called "containing the enemy." When the purple guard finally attacked, these overwrought human soldiers would be much easier to deal with.

War was an art, and Harmon was convinced that the dark ones were still too primitive to appreciate its finesse.

When the day finally broke, there were three human warriors that appeared on top of the building.

Wang Tong, Michaux, and Guang Dongyang floated above the roof of the building, underneath whom, the mastery casters of Battle Wolf and the Sect were waiting for instructions.

Guan Dongyang charged up his soul energy and raised his arms, then started chanting. Inside the building, the mastery casters worked together to modulate Guan Dongyang's soul energy, amplifying it. This time, there wouldn't be any hybrid spells. The caster's strategy was simple: boost Guan Dongyang's soul energy as much as they could. Energy in nature answered the casters' beckoning as they poured it into Guan Dongyang's system.

Suddenly, Guan Dongyang was aflame, looking more like a Fire God than he ever did.

Harmon felt the energy coming off Guan Dongyang and seemed troubled. The METAL warriors of House Lie and Battle Wolf had formed a protective wall around the three casters on the rooftop, with Yin Tianzong as the leader. Facing the direction where the Zergs were coming from, Yin Tianzong raised his shield and blocked the way like a heavy iron gate.

Michaux joined Guan Dongyang's chanting, although it was a different tone and belonged to a different spell. In an instant, the Divine Master's body gave a shimmering blue light that flickered and swirled, rippling about Michaux like ocean waves; that was pure energy from the water element. The casters from the Sect responded to their leader's call and started to channel their soul energy into the Divine Master. The flames of Guan Dongyang and the icy water of Michaux created a fabulous view: a world of ice and fire.

The development on the roof top drove Harmon's concern deeper. However, the advantage he held in numbers gave him consolation. How many lives could these spells claim anyway? A few thousand, or a few dozens of thousands? No matter, those were finite numbers, while the Zerg supply was nearly infinite. Plus, if the humans were really capable of massively destructive spells that could hurt the Zergs, they wouldn't have fallen from grace five years ago.

Harmon conceded that he might have been overly cautious; perhaps it was the victory being so close to his grasp that had stressed him out? Did the irrational fear of losing it at his fingertips haunted his mind and made him wary? After some reflection, Harmon conceded his extreme circumspection and decided to double down on the attack. The spell was Wang Tong's last ditch effort to save their inevitable destruction. The more power they absorbed from nature, the more damage they would do to their sea of consciousness. Without the three leaders, Harmon wagered that he wouldn't even need the help of the purple guards.

Lie Jian had refrained from casting large areal spells for the exact same reason. What was the meaning of killing two thousand Zergs when another twenty thousand were lurking behind the front line?

Harmon lamented over Wang Tong's inexperience. These Zergs belonged to the dark lord. As an immortal, Harmon would gladly charge them into the battle and let them die. Under Harmon's order, the heavy Zergs moved out and started charging at the human soldiers. Their heavy armor would provide a good defense against the spells.

The sky started to bubble up and was divided down the middle into two halves; one was red, the color of fire, and the other blue, the color of ice. The casters were still chanting; it was a long spell. The two energies they had summoned were located on the opposite end of the spectrum, but they had left each other in peace.

Not even the mastery casters knew what the spell they were contributing to, since the three leaders carried out their discussion in secrecy. A team of mastery casters worked on the same principle as an orchestra band. The lead mastery caster was the conductor, dictating each step and pause while the rest of the casters were instrumentalists who would only need to follow the conductor and read their segment off the music chart.

By then, the skills of these mastery casters were evident; they had jammed the most fantastic symphony of energy the world had ever seen.

Harmon felt his heart hammering in his chest as doubt crept back into his mind. He had heard that the Martians excelled at Mastery, but would they be powerful enough to undermine his calculation?

Harmon did not know the answer to that question; however, the nagging thoughts of defeat persisted in his mind like an annoying fly. The power at display made him realize that the mastery casters were on a much higher level than METAL warriors in terms of raw power.

Michaux was brimming with anger as he weaved the deadly spell of revenge. Nothing would give him solace more than the death of his enemies. He had foolishly thought that by avoiding violence, he'd be able to reach enlightenment. But little did he know that violence was the reality, and it was even rooted in the divine path.

The water element around him felt his anger as it swelled and riled violently. Standing abreast of him was Guan Dongyang, who had already thrown himself into a fiery trance.

Both Michaux and Guan Dongyang were taken aback when they first heard Wang Tong suggesting this spell. They both knew that it was an extremely risky move. But for that breed of men who were half in love with teetering on the edge of their lives while peering into the deepest secrets, the danger was simply a spur.

To complete this spell, the doublet needed one more caster, and not just any caster; it had to one with power that surpassed the sum of the other two.

Standing right in the middle of the two casters, Wang Tong merged placatory soul energy with the ice and fire.

While the mastery casters worked industriously to wave the spell, Lie Jian had fallen asleep soundly. He knew that when he woke up again, the crisis would have been averted. Although Wang Tong was his opponent, he was also his most trusted friend.

It wasn't until then that Harmon finally realized that he had missed a key element in his calculation: Wang Tong!

As the spell was ready to consummate, Wang Tong folded his hands and then shifted through a dozen hand signs with impressively agile fingers. Afterward, he drew his hand back to his sides as a burst of soul Essence shot through the air, his body suffused with a golden gleam.

Spurred by Wang Tong's soul essence, the other two casters hastened the shifting of hand signs and supplied him from their deep reservoir of soul energy. The two worked in unison as if they had been practicing for years, together with Wang Tong, the trio united in a trinity.

The Wang Tong didn't pitch forth the power right away; instead, he kept it in him where it multiplied.

Harmon was speechless. This much energy should have torn an immortal apart, much less a human's mortal coil. Wang Tong's power was not from this world—to be able to contain two extremities in one body, it was the power of a god.

The fire burned and water frizzled; coaxed by Wang Tong's golden soul essence, the two energies merged into one. Much like nuclear fusion, this process created a power of unimaginable scales, and it burned like a sun inside Wang Tong's sea of consciousnesses.

Harmon's face paled as he realized that he should not have let Wang Tong join forces with the other two mastery casters. But, it was all too late; the tables had turned, and the hunter had become the prey.

Suddenly, Wang Tong opened his eyes and all warriors and mounts of Battle Wolf pulled back to safety inside the building. All this while, the direwolves howled in excitement.

The sunshine pierced through the dark clouds, and for a split-second, Harmon had seen his death in the warm sunlight.

God's Lament—Mercy of the Dawn Goodness!

Pure energy, devoid of elemental attributes tumbled out from the middle of the trio. At first, there was no sound, just a high and thin din at the edge of hearing. A second later, it was as if the entire ocean was coming at the Zergs.

KOMMMMM!

Harmon's shivered. He was still able to control his body but not the parasite Zerg inside his chest. It was paralyzed by fear after he had sensed the power coming after it.

Wang Tong had used the forbidden power, the power of God.

The energy tumbled down from the top of the building and flooded the city, devouring anything in its path. Even the heaviest Zerg armor would disintegrate down to the molecular level in an instant. It pushed itself forward, washing away the sins residing in the city.

A purple guard threw himself at the deadly wave, but he disappeared in an instant as the wave carried on.

As the trio continued the spell, the deluge soon breached the wall and inundated the land outside the city.

Chapter 621: Almighty Pirate King

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

After a long while, the warriors inside the shelter finally gathered themselves. They realized that they were unharmed because they were at the center of the dangerous currents that flowed outward away from them.

However, inside the eye of the storm, even time had lost its meaning. The soldiers watched each other move in slow motion; but in reality, no one had moved an inch. A Zerg poked an arm through the window right before the deadly flood devoured it. The severed Zerg arm inside the building froze in its track along with everything in the room. It looked like a Zerg trophy the soldiers had put up on the wall.

When the soldiers finally recovered their motion, Lie Shan looked out from the window and was shocked by what he saw.

Not only the Zerg army was gone, everything else was wiped clean from the surface of the planet. The entire Antonio city was erased from the map after one single mastery spell.

Wang Tong, Guan Dongyang and Michaux stood at the top of the only remaining building of the city, Antonio's Torch, and looked down at their work poignantly.

This undoubtedly marked the milestone in the history of mastery; for the first time, the humans were able to command the power once denied to them by the god, the power of absolute annihilation.

The METAL warriors could only stare at the barren ground in front of them.

On the fourth day of the battle of Antonio, humans finally triumphed.

The METAL warriors looked up at the three warriors on the rooftop, outlined under the bright sunshine—the human warriors were brimmed with hope.

The extreme circumstances had pressured humans' ability to a new height.

The religious importance of the moment gripped the sect casters. He was Wang Tong, the heir of a god.

He was the savior the prophecy had promised who would lead the humans out of this dark time.

The sect members watched as Michaux, their leader, folded his hands and bowed deeply to Wang Tong. "Welcome, Divine Angel. The Divine Mastery Sect shall follow you until the final liberation dawns upon the humanity." The Divine Maser never bowed to anyone, except to gods and to the spirits of the former masters.

This was what the god had tried to show his followers at the Divine Mastery Tower a few months ago. As soon as Wang Tong walked into the sacred tower, the gods had answered him and bestowed the miraculous sight to all of its followers.

When darkness fell, a divine angel would descend on the red planet and give hope to the human race, so said the prophecy. It wasn't until this battle that Michaux full understood what the prophecy really meant.

The sect members were already on their knees, praying with all their hearts.

Meanwhile at the front line, the Zergs charged at the human defense with abandon. The human GN gun units stayed behind covers and shot deadly GN energy plus at the enemy.

The hybrid design of these new guns worked marvelously.

After just one barrage, the Zergs' charging line was thinned out significantly. However, more Zergs were coming behind them, and the human gunners need to keep at it. Lie Jintian had left the defensive line and led a group of elite soldiers on their toward a Zerg camp.

The gunners were defenseless when the Zergs got close to them, so they kept on firing at the insistent wave of attack. However, slowly but surely, the front line of the charging unit inched closer toward the humans.

This problem was particularly urgent at the central battle zone where the majority of the Zerg forces were at.

The main shortcoming of the GN gun units was their non-existent melee combat. Just half an hour ago, the Zergs had pressed to only a few dozen feet away from the human. A captain had sacrificed himself and twelve of his men to drive the Zergs back. However, the Zergs were closing in once again, and who would go out and pay the ultimate sacrifice this time?

"Follow me! We can't get a single Zerg into our territory!"

KOMM!

Before a fire-team leader had finished his call to arms, the defensive line was bombarded by rows of tank Zergs that had marched into shooting range. The fire team leader and his men were shredded into pieces by the explosions.

This development spurred the human gunners to seek revenge; however, one section of the defensive line was eventually breached. An opening was created in the line of defense, and the Zergs poured in like flood water behind a breached dike.

Desperate cries and howling rose from the twelve regiments; however, the resistance no longer had men to rescue them. The commanders had even sent in their personal guards to help each regiment.

Sirlanka, the captain of the twelfth regiment rolled up his sleeve and shouted, "Everyone, follow me! Let's push them back, or we all die here!"

There was not much point in coordinating the defense when the defense was shattered. He might as well charge right into the Zergs with his soldiers and kill more Zergs before the inevitable came. Sirlanka was a level eighteen METAL warrior, and he was able to run down many Zergs. However, in the sea of Zergs, the number seemed insignificant.

He knew that Lie Jintian's plan had failed, and as a human warrior, he would rather die a hero than live as a coward.

He charged up his soul energy and threw himself at a tank Zerg. Sensing the incoming attack, the Zerg spit fire out from its mouth. Sirlanka dodged the flame while closing in and plunged the spear right into the skull of the Zerg. The Zerg howled painfully and rolled on the ground. Its massive weight crushed many unwitting Zergs into pulps. At the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of a dark one charging at him.

From Sirlanka's uniform, the dark one reckoned that he was a high ranking officer in the human army. So, he jumped up, thinking that he had hit the jackpot.

However, before the dark one even got remotely close to his target, he was pinned down on the ground by a giant spike that bore down on him from above.

A human warrior had appeared in the sky; it was the War God!

Most of the gunners were drafted from the reserves in each city behind the front line where the War God was worshiped as the protector of mankind. Therefore, he was recognized almost immediately.

The appearance of the War God lent the human warriors a newfound strength and raised their spirits.

Sirlanka grimaced, and wondered if the War God could still turn the tides after the outcome of the battle was already set in stone. Sirlanka kept on fighting; as a human warrior, he would never stop fighting until the battle was over, regardless of the outcome.

Zachery looked down at the meager forces of the Zergs contemptuously. This would only be a stroll in the park. Back in the days, Li Feng used to send him alone to a planet infested by Zergs.

This time, he wasn't fighting alone, since Charcoal was following him as his loyal sidekick.

"Charcoal, now!"

A space portal opened up behind Zachery and revealed a thousand sharp blades on the other side. The sight of so many deadly blades at one time was terrifying.

Sirlanka was shocked by the scene. Was he dreaming? He slapped himself on the face and felt that the pain was real. Everyone on the battlefield who had not yet met the War God yet shared his surprise.

"KILL!"

The pirate king roared a battle cry.

He was not a legendary warrior, nor an Einherjar; he was the death himself—the Pirate King Zachery!

Zachery charged up his soul energy and commanded the golden swords to plunge into the mass of the Zergs. If he were the War God, he was the most malicious and evil god in the Asgard.

The warriors watched as Zachery killed all the Zergs near the opening and pushed the other ones back with a single sweep of his hand. Zachery was reveling in the slaughter. Ever since he regained his memories, he felt something was missing in his life, but he could never put a finger on it…until now. It finally occurred to him that he missed the killing and the blood.

These Zergs were pathetic, and Zachery's moves were almost lazy.

A few bright lights flashed across the sky as more METAL warriors landed on the ground. The soldiers cheered as they recognized that they were the War God's knights.

Rumors had it that great secrets were hidden inside their golden swords, bestowed by the War God himself.

The tide of the battle was turned just as everyone thought that the war was lost. The War God led his golden retinues and stormed into the Zergs.

Fighting side by side with their god liberated their minds from the constraints of reason. At that moment, they were not humans, but the god's chosen ones who would cleanse the world of evil, and so they did.

Sirlanka finally gathered himself and shouted, "CHARGE!"

The human warriors followed the knights into the battle with a newfound resolution. Zachery charged at the front of the line; he casually brandished his blade from time to time and sent a few hundred Zergs to their makers in each stroke.

The development shook the commanding dark one. He was an A-level blood kin and knew the ins and outs of human power. However, he had never seen any human this powerful. Or, was he even a human?

Finally, he decided to send in the golden dark ones.

Zachery was getting bored, and the sight of a dozen golden dark ones lit up his eyes with interest, if not pleasure.

Chapter 622: Unstoppable

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

The golden dark ones closed in and jabbed at Zachery using their bone spears, who seemed disappointed. "For f*ck's sake! Did you eat breakfast today?"

KOM! KOM! KOM!

Zachery punched at the dark ones, and in a blink, all of them were dead. Zachery looked around and found out that Kamikaze Zergs had surrounded him. He looked down and saw a blanket of Zergs swarming at him.

Zachery didn't move and waited for them to come. In a heartbeat, the pirate king was completely wrapped inside a Zerg ball, over ten meters in diameter.

Two seconds later, a few rays of intense light pierced through the Zerg ball from inside.

KOM!

The sky rained Zerg blood as the ball shattered. Zachery launched himself high up and reached he reached the peak, then turned upside down and hammered a fist down onto the ground.

The energy from the impact cracked the ground as it spread out in a gigantic circle. Any Zergs that were inside the circle were torn apart by the shockwave.

The Pirate King was back, and more powerful than ever!

If Li Feng were still alive, he could kiss Zachery's a*s for not seeking revenge on him. He wouldn't give a damn about the humans, but he wouldn't allow the Zergs to exist under his watch either, nor would he allow anyone to stop Wang Tong from becoming the first emperor of the known universe!

The thought of helping Wang Tong to build his empire made Zachery's blood boil.

"KILL! KILL! KILL!"

These Zergs were the perfect sacrifice to commemorate Wang Tong's achievement.

Even Li Feng knew that he should never underestimate the Pirate King; he was not only powerful but also cunning. If not for General Li Feng, he would have already claimed the entire confederation. Even Rilangalos was not his equal on the battlefield.

Zachery was back, and not only as the pirate king, but also as Wang Tong's godfather.

Time would change anyone, including Zachery. No longer did he rest his hopes for humanity in Xiao Zheng; his new family was Wang Tong. Zachery knew why the Blade Warrior had chosen Wang Tong as the keeper of the crystal. He wanted Zachery to continue working for him, which was fine; but Zachery never worked for free. He would only charge the bill to the rest of the humanity in the form of making Wang Tong an Emperor, the sole ruler of the universe.

He hated his new title: War God. It was not nearly as badass as Pirate King; nonetheless, this was a name befitting a hero. Zachery had never gotten along with the heroes he had met during his life, so it came as a surprise to him that he would have to dawn the mask of hero one day. The mask and his new name had attracted over a dozen powerful soldiers under his banner. It was an old trick; Zachery had watched as Li Feng pulled it off five hundred years ago as well.

Under the belligerent attacks of the Pirate King and his knights, the Zergs were near the brink of complete defeat.

When the turn of the events was reported to the eastern warden A-Pajie, he was shocked. Before the battle began, Pajie was convinced that his units would overwhelm the human defense, and the initial reports had been in accordance with his estimates. However, the new absurd report claimed a human descending from the sky with a thousand swords. It was preposterous! The messenger who delivered the report was shaken beyond verbal capacity, so the warden decided to ride to the battlefield to see it for himself.

However, he was already too late. Lie Jintian had led the elite soldiers and stormed into his camp to start wreaking havoc. This had been a costly operation, and it was time to reap the benefit.

Einherjar Lie Jintian no longer held back his power as he unleashed the full potential of the Tactics of the Blaze. He took the Zergs' lives with ease and deadly efficiency.

Everyone knew that they had made it this far for only one thing: kill Zergs. They fought with abandon, as they were already dead in their minds. After some time, Lie Jintian found Pajie, who recognized his opponent. "That is the last Einherjar…Kill him!" He charged at Lei Jintian along with the golden dark ones. Ever since the creation of the EB units, the dark ones no longer feared the human Einherjars. However, Pajie had forgotten that the EB units were created by Patroclus, and not the dark ones.

Pajie didn't overthink, so he led the charge with only a few golden dark ones in tow. He had completely forgotten how dangerous Einherjars were; all he saw was the opportunity for him to level up in rank.

Anyway, Lie Jintian quickly made him regret his actions.

Without making a move, Lie Jintian had been charging up the energy inside him while the dark ones came at him foolishly. He would unleash all the power that had been built up in one devastating blow.

The dark ones were getting near as Lie Jintian straightened his back and maintained a calm look in his eyes. Before he punched out, the time seemed to have stopped for a second.

KOMMM!

The fist roared as it was thrown forth, covered with flames that burned more intensely than the sun. As Lie Jintian executed the move, he boosted his soul energy further and reached level twenty-seven.

Seeing that this attack was indefensible, Pajie tasted death in his mouth.

Afterward, Lie Jintian pointed toward the enemy's camp and shouted, "Charge!" His elite soldiers answered his beckoning and charged forth. With the leader dead, the rest of the dark ones threw away their weapons and turned on their heels.

Lie Jintian's surprise attack had cut off the Zergs' reinforcement while at the front line, Zachery had delivered a deathly blow to the Zergs.

What was worse, Wang Tong, Michaux, and Lie Jian had joined forces and repelled the Zergs' attack. They posed a direct threat to the dark lord's position in his home base.

In the eyes of the Zergs, the humans possessed the divine power that they had been searching all over the universe. This divine power was not just another weapon of mass destruction; it was destruction itself.

The humans were one step ahead of them and had claimed the power for themselves.

Lie Jian, Yin Tianzong, Lie Shan, Xiao Libie, Vorenus, and another dozen legendary warriors had beefed up the human insurgents' defense significantly. Meanwhile, another few dozens of mastery casters had leveled up after partaking in preparing the spell of forbidden power. Eight of those mastery castes had leveled up to legendary level while Guan Dongyang and Xiao Yuyu leveled up to level twenty-two.

Tan Bu and Lun Duo were among the soldiers who had fought the hardest during the battle, and both of them had leveled up to legendary level after the war.

Therefore, of the five hundred soldiers, eighteen were legendary METAL warriors, and fifteen were legendary casters. Mars had never seen a deadlier retinue before.

Battle was undoubtedly the best way to level up, since it pushed one's limits to the extreme. However, good guidance was also imperative for leveling up quickly. Nothing was better than a role model for the soldiers to aspire to, and in turn, increase their chances of leveling up.

Over a few months of pain and sacrifice, an army of the deadliest soldiers on Mars was born. With the help of their direwolves, they became invincible on the battlefield.

While standing on the last leg, the humans had a miraculous comeback, making one after another incredible war achievements.

The citizens behind the front line had devoted themselves to helping the war with a newfound enthusiasm. Thus it was, the War God guarded the fort while the devil pierced into the heart of the Zerg territory.

Even Lie Jintian's power paled under comparison with that of the War God. Everyone was enthralled by the War God's power and believed that he was the protector of humanity.

Wang Tong had also been crowned the same title. The moment he unleashed the forbidden power, Michaux had made up his mind to support him for the rest of his life. It was evident to him that he was the one chosen by the gods to lead humanity to their salvation.

As a member of the sect, Michaux was a firm believer of fate. He believed that there was an unseen force behind the course of history. Fate was not the prerogative of the gods; it was something far closer to the very fabric of the universe. Michaux had only a very few fleeting moments of epiphany on fate, and all of them happened during Wang Tong's battle.

When Lie Jian woke up, Wang Tong had already taken up his spot as the leader of the new force. His best friends also gave him an unequivocal support in his claim. Lie Jian didn't protest; he knew only Wang Tong could lead them to victory.

United under one banner, the five hundred warriors marched toward the dark lord's castle.

Chapter 623: The Kaedeians Arrival

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Harmon managed to run away again. He had spun on his tail as soon as he found out something amiss in the mastery spell. Although the spell of forbidden power spread at an incredible speed, Harmon was faster. Plus, the hundreds of thousands of Zergs had helped to slow down the deadly deluge from catching up with him. The parasite inside his chest had helped him remain calm during the moment of life or death.

He was the only surviving member of the Zerg party to have witnessed the terrifying power. He even wondered if the divine lord himself would be able to survive when caught in that spell. Despite the long list of shortcomings of casters, damage output was definitely not one of them.

Harmon stormed across the battlefield and ran back to the dark lord's castle. The dark lord was furious after hearing the news, partly because of the defeat at the hands of Wang Tong and partly because of the set back at the front lines; but mostly because of Wang Tong. Some report claimed that the War God who appeared at the frontlines had reached an incredible level of thirty, making him much more powerful than any Einherjar Moye had known.

How was it that Moye had never heard of him before?

He had been collecting information about all of the powerful human warriors over a century, and never once had he come across the name War God.

To add insult to the injury, Wang Tong had fooled him again.

Before all this happened, Moye thought that Mars was already within his reach; he could have it whenever he wanted. But, the recent developments had proven him wrong.

The war that Moye had been preparing for years was meant to be the last nail on humanity's coffin, but it had come to a jarring halted at humans' last line of defense. While the humans increased the store of defenses at the front line, the Zergs sought to diminish their morale using raids. However, none of the golden dark ones had returned from their mission. Their brutality only united the people even more. Meanwhile, Lie Jintian had led two regiments and stormed through two Zerg camps. After bouts of battles, Moye was surprised to find out that the power of human warriors was superior to his dark ones.

In other words, Moye had to rely on numbers to gain an edge in the war.

It was difficult for the dark ones to accept the reality of their incompetence. They were created to surpass the power of humans; if they failed to do so, they would have lost the meaning of their existence.

In order to prove their worthiness, they need to attack!

All the human soldiers would have to die…The War God, Lie Jintian, and Wang Tong, all of them!

As the war went on, the human soldiers started to act differently, particularly the powerful ones. No longer did they avoid the Zerg parties as they became more proactive and eager to fight.

The War God protected the humans at the defensive line, Wang Tong fought deep in the heartland of the Zerg territory, and Lie Jintian darted from camp to camp, covering the space between the other two warriors. Meanwhile, Zambrotta and his men were also busy killing Zergs and advance further into the Zerg's territory.

Over the years, the EB units had greatly limited the activities of human warriors. As the humans bit down their anger, it infested inside them and eventually erupted into a vehement comeback that was too powerful for the Zergs to handle. Even the hold of EB unit over the powerful warriors was broken after the human warriors got used to them.

…

The Einherjar's Bane unit had been long since obsolete on the Earth. When a powerful human warrior was spotted, it was either the Divine Lord himself or the Divine Generals who would meet them in combat.

Throughout the war, the Kaedeians had always been in a defensive position; not only that, they also refused to join the offensive missions. Despite the resentment for their circumspection from Einherjar Lie Jintian, Kaedeians conceded that they had no other options. They had always been the vanguard in the confederation's army, and one could see what that had gotten them into. Their population dwindled, and soldiers dropped on the frontlines like flies. Their race was dying; their hatred toward the Zergs ran deeper than that in the humans. But in order to preserve the only remaining seeds of their civilization, the Kaedeian Queen had adopted an unduly defensive stance during the war.

Inside of the city walls, the Kaedians waited for an opportunity to strike back, and the opportunity finally came with humans' miraculous comeback. They charged all units out of the city wall to fight back against the Zergs. They knew that the solar system belonged to the humans, and in order to survive, they would have to follow the humans' lead.

The Kaedeian's goal was clear: the dark lord's castle.

These female warriors didn't set their ambitious goal in order to impress the humans; instead, they wanted to help Wang Tong, their only savior.

…

Dark Seal City was a fort at the outskirts of the Dark Castle; by then, the city had fallen into chaos as the human warriors charged right through its gate. The fort guarded the seat of the dark ones' power; its prestige was beyond description. Never had the defenders thought that the lowly humans would attack them, and neither did they see anyone ever crippling their defense even in their wildest imaginations.

Nonetheless, the humans had already stormed through the gate, into the city.

The three casters—Wang Tong, Guan Dongyang, and Michaux, were so powerful that they could demolish an entire section of the city wall without even evoking the forbidden power.

Fear was contagious, and it spread no slower among the dark ones than the humans. The more defeats the Zergs had to endure, the more passive they became. On the other hand, victories boosted the soldiers' confidence and raised their spirits. The anger and vindictiveness had been stored inside on them for too long, starting to fester and multiply, eventually erupting in a vengeful outburst. As they plowed through the Zergs, their mind became sharper and goals clearer. These warriors had been through hell and come back alive with more vengeance to seek and more zergs to kill. What were fears to men who had been once dead?

The Zergs' cowardice accentuated the humans' bravery. Deep Blue had shed skin many times with its growth, and each time it happened, its power multiplied. The direwolves might not have grown so fast if not for the bond with their human riders. All of them had been growing at a fascinating rate. Their scales turned deeper in blue while their frame grew in size.

Wang Tong felt that something else was changing in them; their savage nature had diminished over time, yet the ferociousness remained. Moreover, the bond between these beasts and the soldiers had transcended beyond that of a beast and master. It was a genuine care for each other, and at times, sacrifice.

The most powerful ability of humans was to change and affect other sentient creatures.

The EB unit had become a joke before these deadly retinues. Even if they were still effective, how many legendary warriors could they kill before they were exhausted?

Even to get to the legendary warriors, they would have to cross paths with over a hundred level twenty soldiers.

The attack came without any premonition, and the humans' power stupefied the defenders of the fort; they were run down in an instant. The defense of the city was weak, not only because of oversight, but also because Moye had sent the bulk of the army to the frontlines.

Looking at Battle Wolf's swift advancement, Wang Tong reflected on his next move. His goal was not to take over the city, but to kill Moye. Perhaps, Wang Tong wagered, it would be easier to lure the dark lord out than directly attack the city. But, would the dark lord rise to the bait?

The dark castle was an impenetrable fortress, and scaling its wall could be a dangerous act. Even if they managed to get inside, they still had to deal with the dark lord, a formidable warrior in his own right. Wang Tong knew better not to underestimate Moye's strength, as he figured that the dark lord was at the very least as powerful as Mr. Wannabe.

As the factory churned out more GN guns, it would only be a matter of time before humans achieved the final victory. But before that happened, these warriors still had a lot of work to do.

Suddenly, the soldiers heard roaring of engines in the sky as a fleet of jets glided across the sky, dropping off a squad of Kaedeian warriors right in the middle of combat.

Lie Jian furrowed his brow and lamented bitterly, "Finally!"

Despite being fashionably late, the Kaedeians' appearance was a relief for the human soldiers. After so many intense battles, the soldiers had long since passed the limit of their bodies; they were still standing only because of the Divine Light spells.

Chapter 624: How To Heal A Broken Heart

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Despite the limited help this small number of Kaedeians could bring, knowing that they were not fighting this battle alone raised the human warriors' spirits.

The siege ended much quicker than Battle Wolf had expected. Instead of a completely demolition of the city as always, the soldiers got stationed in the city, turning it into a war camp where they prepared for the attack on the dark castle.

In the meeting room, Lie Jian pulled a solemn face as he stared at the helmeted Kaedeian in front of him. When the Kaedeian pulled down her helmet, all human soldiers ogled at her beauty.

The battle was easy to draw out the primal nature in the soldiers, so when their eyes found the most exquisite beauty on Mars, they could scarcely resist her charm.

Kaedeians were well known for their attractiveness, and the Kaedeian Princess was the paragon of beauty. Many men on Mars dreamed of marrying her and had attempted to ask her out, but no one had succeeded so far.

Wang Tong was not entirely invulnerable to the sight either; he had met her before, but the hardship of the war had brought out her womanly charm more so than before.

Wang Tong reached out for a handshake. "Welcome, Princess Heidi."

Without overthinking the faux pas that Wang Tong had committed while greeting a princess, Heidi took hold of his hand and shook it. Heidi felt the responsibility on his shoulder in his heavy handshake.

"Kaedeian Queen's Guard at your service, chosen one!" Heidi announced. The man in front of her was the chosen one, the savior, heir of the Blade Warrior. Those titles used to mean nothing to Heidi; however, with every incredible deed Wang Tong achieved, these titles got rooted deeper into her heart until she finally knew what they meant. By then, bound by duty and destiny, she was already in his thrall.

Wang Tong held her gaze confidently; not a lot of men were able to do that.

"Well, well, perfect timing! You came just when we were going to win the battle." Lie Jian said sarcastically.

"Lie Jian of House Lie, I would like to remind you that many Kaedeian warriors had lost their lives even before the humans started fighting the Zergs," Heidi said hotly. For the longest time, the Kaedeians were treated as cannon fodder, but they never complained. That was in the past, but now, Heidi would not take it from Lie Jian anymore.

Everyone agreed with Heidi and felt that Lie Jian was mean to a lovely lady.

"Haha, I was just kidding! You were absolutely right, my princess! With your help, Moye is doomed." Lie Jian reached out to hold onto Heidi's hand. The Kaedeian princess was a rare sight in this dull war; he couldn't pass up the opportunity to steal a kiss from such a hottie.

The Kaedeians were strictly Matriarchal in its society, and they didn't follow humans' social norms such as handshakes and pecking on the lady's hand. Heidi had played along with Wang Tong's human interaction solely because he was the chosen one. Therefore, she didn't even spare Lie Jian a glance and let his gesture hanging in the air. After a few awkward moments of silence, Lie Jian managed a polite but wry smile. "So unfair! Wang Tong, tell you what, I have been with way more girls then you did, but it's not all about quantity, is it? Haha!" Lie Jian had no filter, and his words made Heidi blush, but she kept her silence. Lie Jian expected Heidi to shoot back at him, instead of the silent acquiescence. The turn of events fanned the jealousy inside him.

Lie Jian turned around to Michaux and asked, "Hey, do you have a healing spell for a broken heart?"

The addition of the Kaedeian Warriors had swelled Battle Wolf's rank. These were well equipped elite soldiers in the queen's guard, the most prestigious unit in the Kaedeian's army.

Meanwhile, the bulk of the Kaedeian force was attacking Zerg cities near the frontlines. They knew the area well, and therefore, they were able to strike the Zergs with surgical precision.

The Zergs still possessed an edge in terms of numbers, and any reckless move against them could be fatal. Although the Kaedeian force did not have as many soldiers as humans did, they fought with unrivaled bravery and mettle.

Being attacked at multiple fronts, the Zergs' foothold was taken out one after another; before long, the Zergs in different war zones were isolated from each other. Humanity's last line of defense was secured despite a large number of Zergs still stationed on the other side of the defensive line. Without any reinforcements, those Zergs could do little to no harm to the human defenders.

Following the lead of the War God and Lie Jintian, more and more powerful human warriors came out of their hiding and fought back. After a while, the EB units' hold on the legendary human warriors was completely gone.

The humans started to take the initiative in the war, and more and more victories turned out each day.

Propaganda about the War God and his knights spread to every Martian city. They were praised for their ferociousness before the enemies and benevolence to the people. They fought not for themselves, but for the honor of the War God and the people of Mars.

As the development unfolded around Wang Tung, his research deepened. He was no longer a one-person army; instead, he had near unlimited resources and supervised over a hundred smartest minds on Mars.

His latest research focused on optimization of the GN energy ratio in a Hybrid gun. His experiments had revealed that the conventional heat-based weapons had a disadvantage in penetrating the Zergs' chitin shell, which could be fixed by mixing a small amount of GN energy. In order to save the precious GN crystals, Wang Tung was determined to find out the optimal ratio between the conventional energy and the GN energy to achieve the best results.

That being said, the GN guns remained ineffective in dealing with heavy Zergs.

Wang Tung was a scientist, but he also knew what the human soldiers needed to win the war. What they needed was not the state-of-the-art weapons, but something that was cheap to make and easy to use; quantity over quality, just like how the Zergs did it.

This research breakthrough finally leveled the ground for the human warriors, and for the first time in five years, the humans could stand a chance in a battle against the Zergs.

The Kaedeian Queen's Guard was equipped with a stealth airborne propulsion unit. They allowed the fearsome warriors to sneak up on their enemies unnoticed.

As members of the elite units, these guards had high standards; however, they were still shocked by the power and discipline of Battle Wolf.

Their small numbers were easily made up for with their superior strength and might.

Once the threat to the humans' home base was eliminated, the resistance's war machine kicked into overdrive, extending its influence beyond the defense lines. Kaedeians, Zambrotta, and Lie Jintian had quickly recaptured the land they had lost to the Zergs and restored the communication between each city.

The time for the final counterattack was about to come.

Meanwhile, Wang Tong and his men were scouting outside Pulorita City. Many reports had suggested that Pulorita city was one the very few production bases for creating dark ones.

If that were true, this city was almost as significant as the dark castle. The tide had already turned, and therefore, Wang Tong was in no hurry to attack the dark castle. He decided to scout around for other targets, and that was when he found Pulorita.

The dark lord still made no move against Wang Tong; perhaps he was still occupied by the setbacks at the frontline. It was not just the dark lord; the entire Zerg territory seemed empty as all the Zergs were sent to reinforce the front lines. However important it was to capture Wang Tong, Moye conceded that he needed first to contain the humans' comeback before it was all too late.

Wang Tong simply couldn't sit around and pass such a golden opportunity to piss off his host. And as he looked for the next target, he found Pulorita.

The Zergs ought to have a strong defense in a city as important as Pulorita; however, it should pose no difficulties for Battle Wolf. By then, the only target that was dangerous for Battle Wolf was the dark castle.

Life had taught Wang Tong many lessons, and he knew that being overconfident was also a premonition for failure. So, he reminded himself to calculate his every step carefully despite the advantage he held.

"This is the map of the area. Our scouts have confirmed all the landmarks. " Heidi said as he pointed at a map on the table. "Here, here, and there, those are the three locations where the queen is most likely to be hiding."

Chapter 625: Allies

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Everyone quickly agreed on the plan of attack. With the addition of the Kaedeian units and fresh supply they had found during the last battle, Battle Wolf was ready to strike out again.

"Good choice! If we can take down Pulorita, we are pretty much slapping Moye on his ugly face. If he still remains inactive, I doubt he would still have enough authority left among the other dark one city lords." Lie Jian cracked a smile.

"Well, let's do it then! I am curious to see a queen that produces dark ones."

Everyone looked to Wang Tong, and the latter nodded. "We can't just walk up to the city wall like this. The Zergs are prepared this time. "

"Indeed! I wish we can sneak a mastery attack on them using the forbidden power. " Michaux exclaimed. It had been three days since the last time he had called upon the forbidden power. By then, he was fully recovered and ready to do it again.

"That's what I am planning too. We could sneak in from the sewers. Heidi, you and your girls can sneak up on them in the air."

Wang Tong started to analyze their options to the finest detail. As a member of the queen's guard, Heidi was not a typical frail princess waiting to be saved; she was a competent METAL warrior. As most METAL warriors, she was skeptical of mastery spells. Although she believed in Wang Tong's power—and almost anything he said—her unfamiliarity with mastery gave birth to doubts in her mind. Seeing that everyone was on board with the plan, she kept her doubts unspoken. She was confident that Battle Wolf would be able to take down the city, but at what cost? Every soldier counted, and their priority should be minimizing the casualties.

Heidi didn't lead her soldiers to a suicide mission. She was here to help the chosen one in accomplishing his mission, and she intended to live to see that happen.

Everyone knew that Lie Jintian was not powerful enough to kill Moye; otherwise, he would have already done that since he had plenty of opportunities to do so at the beginning of the war. Wang Tong was the only one who could kill the dark lord.

Moye was not stupid like his dark one minions, and therefore, he would try to avoid the battle as much as possible. Heidi was here to create an opportunity for Wang Tong. Her plan was simple: when Wang Tong and his men finally found the dark lord, she would have her soldiers guard the area so that he could focus on the Dark Lord. That was her mission, simple but deadly.

When the oracle told her that Wang Tong was the only person who would be able to defeat Moye, she didn't think twice and believed it. It was not like she a second candidate anyway.

After she had joined Battle Wolf for some time, she realized that Wang Tong was a much more astute leader than she had thought. Even when things were looking rosy, he remained prudent and was careful in making each one of his decisions.

She had expected Wang Tong to go after the dark castle right after she joined forces with him. But, she was pleasantly surprised by his strategic thinking and sharp mind.

She conceded that Wang Tong was different from most minor leaders, such as Lie Jian and herself. Something happened at the certain point of Wang Tong's life that had made him who he was and stand out among even the best warriors of the time.

Wang Tong knew what he wanted, when to move, and when to wait. He saw things happening in front of him as a small piece of the puzzle in a much larger game. Being able to see things as interconnected pieces gave him the knowledge of the shortest route to his final goal. A side step in others' eyes, could be a necessary maneuver to avoid failure straight ahead. Never once he was blinded by selfishness or personal ambitions. As a matter of fact, he didn't seem to have any worldly desire at all.

Heidi listened to the battle plan carefully and decided to keep her doubts to herself after seeing that even Lie Jian had supported Wang Tong.

Lie Jian was smart enough to know not to oppose Wang Tong, at least not yet. To survive, he could only follow him.

Once the meeting was over, everyone returned to their quarters to rest. They would move out the next day first thing in the morning. Wang Tong and Heidi remained in the meeting room, as both of them knew they had something to say to each other. Lie Jian insisted on staying with them, but was dragged out by Michaux in the end.

"Brother Wang, I had never thought that I would see you again," Heidi said calmly.

"Thank you for not calling me the chosen one…Haha." Wang Tong laughed broadly. He knew Heidi wanted to tell him something, perhaps a request?

"If my mother finds out that I call you by your name, she will be very upset." A faint smile finally broke over her face.

"Hehe, you should smile more often. Fill yourself with positive energy." Wong jested. Heidi's smile evaporated. "It's hard to be positive living in this world."

"Why not? Do we have to be so gloomy all the time because we are at war? We decide our life…We choose to be happy."

"Do we really have a choice?" Heidi asked, there was an edge in her voice.

"Of course! But, you need to believe in your choice, live in it, and learn from it. No one but ourselves can save us, so don't stop believing in yourself." Wang Tong said with a smile. Heidi gave Wang Tong a wry smile. It was easier said than done.

"There is something… My mother told me to keep it to myself, but I will let you know because I think you deserve to know."

"I am all ears and thank you."

"I have brought the best soldiers with me, and all of us are ready to die for your mission. However, in exchange, you need to ensure the survival of the Kaedeian race. I need to hear it from you." Heidi said, almost pleading.

Wang Tong looked around at the Kaedeian Princess; she had shed the pride and honor that she used to armor herself with and revealed to him her naked and fragile mind. Whatever Wang Tong would say next, he knew he had to be circumspect.

"Kaedeians had always been a part of the Confederation, and no one will harm your race. I am glad that you are willing to fight alongside me, and I can give you my promise. As long as I am still alive, I will not let anyone harm you and your race." Wang Tong announced firmly.

A slow smile broke over Heidi's face, and then she beamed from side to side. "You are much better than that rascal Lie Jian. if he were you, he was going to ask me to…" Heidi stopped and blushed.

Wang Tong scanned her lovely face and was amused. "As I said, you need to smile more often. Your beauty is also a power, particularly over a man like Lie Jian. It would give them bravery and make them want to fight for you. Lie Jian might seem like a promiscuous playboy, but he is much more than that, I guarantee you. Now, on that note, I am not entirely a gentleman either. Haha." Wang Tong jested and laughed.

Wang Tong loved cracking jokes, and Heidi had been asking for it to come.

Warriors performed much better when their mind was relaxed, and therefore, Wang Tong always kept a number of goofballs around in his team, such as Tan Bu, to ease the soldiers' nerves.

Heidi blushed. She didn't disclose the full extent of her mission yet, but she knew she had to break the ice, however awkward it was.

"I was just pulling your leg!" Wang Tong explained. Shyness besting her duty, Heidi gathered herself, then paused and said, "I can tell that."

…

The next day morning, the Pulorita City was filled with terrified shrieks of the dark ones.

The human devil had come!

The Kaedeians attacked from the air while Battle Wolf charged at the city on their hell-bound mounts.

Zergs soon poured out of the city wall to meet their invaders. Despite the size of the defending force, the direwolves charged through them like a knife through butter. They skipped all the tasteless primitive zergs and went straight after the nutritious dark ones.

Chapter 626: Into The Sewer

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Meanwhile, Wang Tong and Michaux had led a group of mastery casters and entered the sewer.

"Michaux, are you the first Divine Master to have used a sewer to enter a city?" Guan Dongyang asked abruptly.

"Why? Are you going to write a book about it?" Michaux asked.

"Maybe…Hehe."

"Make sure you add in your book that I did it with the heir of the Blade Warrior, as well as the fire lord." The field medics couldn't suppress their snickers. Right down here in this sewer were gathered some of the most powerful casters on Mars.

The war had started to favor the humans, and each battle was the mastery casters' chance to reinstate their importance in the human world.

"I am impressed, Michaux! You can actually tell a joke… Haha! I thought you are the same as that long-face Lie Jian." Tan Bu blurted out.

"You idiot! Don't you know it is an affront to call the Divine Master by name?" Guan Dongyang gave Tan Bu's head a knock.

"Haha, can you write that into the book too? Haha" Tan Bu laughed like an idiot.

"Buzz off!"

Everyone threw banters and jokes at each other in hushed voices while also keeping a tight hold on their soul energy so that the Zergs above them wouldn't detect them.

The Zergs' attention was all on the invading human force at the city gate. The humans had been increasingly conspicuous in their attacks as their fear toward the dark ones receded.

The dark ones were at a loss once they noticed that the EB units were no longer adequate against powerful human warriors. What had happened?

As the dark ones were turning over the question and trying to improvise a defense plan, the sky turned darker despite being midday.

The EB unit might have worked in a one on one situation. However, when they faced a group of legendary warriors, the EB units were not able to counter their combined might. Plus, the direwolves made the EB unit's task even more difficult to manage.

Once the EB unit failed to contain the human warriors, it was the Zergs' turn to be scared.

The dark ones' flaw was evident: they lacked any sense of strategy. Their defect had given the human warriors opportunity to focus on one or two weak links in the Zerg ranks.

In the eyes of the dark ones, these invaders were not human at all; they were the punishment the god had sent down on them.

"Sh*t! There are so many of them, my arm is feeling sore!" Lie Jian cursed after each move. He had been at it for a few hours, and fatigue was slowly creeping into his body. Despite their advantage in strength, this battle could not be won by the METAL warriors alone.

Lie Jian was very curious about the forbidden power. What a shame that he had fallen asleep when it was at display last time.

As a METAL warrior, Lie Jian had limited appreciation for the casters. They were too weak in one on one combat, and that was true for Michaux as well. However, if the new spell was really as powerful as people claimed, he might regard the casters in a different light from then on.

Lie Jian's mistake was not his conceit, although he was; instead, it was his shortsightedness. He had observed the mastery in its nascence, and quickly made a conclusion about its power. Little did he knew that this new power would grow to be too powerful to comprehend.

By then, the Zergs' defense was in tatters. Wang Tong didn't even throw all of his best METAL warriors at them, bringing a dozen or so with him down to the sewer. When they finally got to their destination, Wang Tong felt a strange gratefulness toward the Zergs for keeping the entire sewer so clean. They were not that useless after all.

Wang Tong nodded to Tan Bu and Lun Duo, who then launched toward the ceiling of the sewer chamber.

KOM!

The ground cracked open, releasing a dozen human warriors. The dark ones felt the scene ironically familiar. Surprise attack from underground was the Zergs' most loved battle tactic.

The warriors didn't hesitate for a second and threw themselves at the dark ones as soon as they emerged, leaving the mastery casters behind, who hauled themselves out of the crack one after another.

"Nice day! Let's get ready, bros!" Wang Tong emerged under the sun.

"Hey boss, you forgot about us girls! Are we…bros as well, or are you calling me a man?" Xiao Lin the nosy medic asked.

"No time for political correctness, move!" Wang Tong groaned in a good-humored impatience. The mastery casters attacked, summoning a sudden downpour of ice arrows at the Zergs.

Tan Bu's blade was only one inch away from a dark one when an ice arrow took the dark one's life. "Bullsh*t! I had been at him for a while…You can't steal a kill from me like that!" Tan Bu bristled.

"Oh, yeah? Someone is feeling sad. You want a rematch then?"

"Like I am afraid of you. Yes, it's on!"

The medic whom Tan Bu was bickering with had been unusually close to the young soldier when the two were not competing on the battlefield. Over time, a lot of medics and developed special feelings for METAL warriors.

"Heidi, Lie Jian, we have cleared the area. Come here now."

"Roger that!"

"Balls, can you be any slower?" Lie Jian slapped at a dark one's temple, smashing in his skull as it was in his way. Lie Jian then turned and shouted at his soldiers: "Bug out! NOW!"

Heidi also issued a command to her warriors, "Evacuate the area and head toward the muster point." It was evident that the Kaedeians fought with discipline and honor, unlike their human counterparts. Nonetheless, the same enemies had united them together.

Thanks to the Kaedeian aviation units, Wang Tong didn't have to worry about the airborne strikes constantly.

Once Lie Jian had given the order, the human warriors spurred their direwolves toward the city. The direwolves could cover a few meters in one leap, and their scales protected them from most of the attacks. Therefore, they charged into the city gate effortlessly.

Lie Shan trailed behind Lie Jian like he always did in every battle. His duty was to protect the heir of House Lie. He had noticed Lie Jian's effort in exercising constraint while in front of Wang Tong, which was so out of the young lord's character. Although he did not know Wang Tong very well, he marveled at his prowess nonetheless.

In addition, he alone had noticed the occasional flickering guilt in Lie Jian's eyes. He had brought two thousand warriors with him, and now, there were only less than two hundred still alive. It was a hard lesson, and feeling guilty was part of the healing process. Lie Jian was not a psychopath; he had compassion and empathy, and most important of all, desire to make a positive impact on the world. Therefore, he would not back down from his sworn duty to protect humanity and drive out the Zergs.

The first half of his mission had been a complete flop because he had underestimated his enemy's strength; the guilt aside, Lie Jian had learned to be circumspect and careful in future operations.

He was a very competitive warrior, and his instincts would spur him to lash out at even the hardest enemy without a second thought. However, as a commander, he could not rest his soldier's lives on his whims.

Wang Tong, on the other hand, was much more pragmatic and realistic in setting his goals than Lie Jian. This was what made Lie Jian in the thrall of the earthling warrior.

Lie Shan watched Lie Jian grew up. He knew better than anyone that despite his flaws, Lie Jian was fiercely protective of his family.

Ever since Lie Jian came to terms with his personal flaw and handed over the commanding rights to Wang Tong, he felt relieved. It wasn't the rights of commanding an army that he had forfeited, it was his selfishness, and ultimately, cowardice.

No one was braver than the man who saved his soldiers' lives.

As Battle Wolf and Kaedeians charged into the city, the Zergs followed suit.

Wang Tong had taken over a structure as a shelter for the soldiers. Although it was not as sturdy as Antonio's Torch, it should do to protect the humans from harm.

"Mastery casters, take your position!" Wang Tong issued a command.

As the mastery casters got ready, the METAL warriors secured the perimeter and formed an impenetrable line of defense around the casters. In the air, the Kaedeians also formed a defensive formation. Wang Tong was grateful for these female pilots to cover their blind spot above them. He looked up and gave Heidi a thumbs up, who blushed under her visor.

"Who goes first?" Wang Tong asked Michaux and Guan Dongyang.

"I will. Although I am weaker, my fire element can boost the damage significantly." Guan Dongyang volunteered.

Chapter 627: A Great Victory

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Although he had already leveled up to twenty-two, he was not as powerful as Michaux. When they unleashed the spell the last time, Guan Dongyang contributed to only the overall flow of things, but wasn't able to do more than that. By mixing the power together, the absolution of the goddess spell was able to form a primordial force more ancient than time itself.

Wang Tong was in charge of providing the general guidance of the power, but Michaux was the one who had constantly adjusted the course, making sure an equilibrium was achieved.

He was a natural problem solver, and Wang Tong truly felt grateful for having him on his team.

"Dongyang, try your best! Don't let the Divine Master look down on us." Wang Tong cracked a smile and then said.

"Let's do it!"

KOM!

Guan Dongyang catapulted himself to the sky like a flaming fireball. When he was high enough, he spread out both arms and started chanting the spells.

"Fires in between the heaven and the earth…I call upon thy name! "

The sky answered with boiling red clouds and the earth answered with a deep groan. Lie Xuan looked at his man and felt proud. She knew she had picked the right man to spent the rest of her life with. Despite Guan Dongyang's mild personality during everyday life, he was a fearsome warrior on the battlefield, a real man.

The master casters quickly connected their soul energy with that of Guan Dongyang and supplied the fire lord with their soul energy. The so-called group mastery was simply a process of amplifying the lead casters' soul energy by tapping into other casters' sea of consciousnesses.

The connection between the casters' energy had to be fine-tuned so that the flow of energy was stable. After fighting so many battles together, Guan Dongyang and the other casters had possessed a great measure of coordination.

The Kaedeians watched the red sky with amazement. They had never seen any spell like it.

Seeing was believing; without beholding the incredible site themselves, no one would have taken the rumors about Battle Wolf's power too seriously.

The Zergs were quick to sense the changes in the natural power around them. The bloody sky was a premonition that something terrible was about to happen.

Wang Tong's words had hit the right button on Guan Dongyang and spurred him to surpass his usual performance. Michaux and Wang Tong gave each other a knowing glance and then the latter said, "Hehe…Michaux, I'm next. Are you sure you can catch up with me?"

Michaux simply smiled away the question. This was the first time anyone ever questioned him about his mastery power. But, Michaux didn't feel surprised.

Wang Tong started his soul essence and multiplied Guan Dongyang's spell intensity by a few times. The warm sensation inside Guan Dongyang was palpable.

The power of soul essence enthralled Michaux. It was so pure yet so unattainable that Michaux always wondered how Wang Tong could command such power with his mortal coil. However powerful the spell was, only a few powerful warriors knew the extent of the caster's power.

Michaux rose to the sky and shouted, "The element of ice, heed my command!"

The sect members answered their Divine Master's call and started to summon wisps of icy elements at their fingertips.

Under the two mastery casters careful balancing and mixing, the two natural powers on the opposite end of the spectrum merged together as one. No one other than Guan Dongyang and Michaux could have done that.

Wang Tong joined the casting as he appeared inside the glow of energy. Around his head, a faint golden halo was flickering in and out of view. Although the last spell had consumed a great amount of soul essence, after a couple of days of rest, he felt that his soul essence was much stronger than before.

Sensing the imminent danger, the Zergs threw themselves at the human warriors. However, in order to get to the casters, they first needed to pass some of the best warriors in the human world, whose bodies and wills were made out of iron and steel.

Under the tutorship of Yin Tianzong, the METAL warriors had inherited the best battle tactics from the Templar court. Centuries of research and practice had made the Templar's battle tactics a force to be reckoned with. Without the war, this precious knowledge and experience would never have been used.

Heidi was shocked by what she saw: Wang Tong was absorbing two entirely different elements into one sea of consciousness. Somehow, the chosen one was able to balance the two power and coax them to coexist.

These two powers were summoned by two legendary level mastery casters, and Heidi wagered that only a god would be able to contain the power of such magnitude.

Even before Wang Tong unleashed the power in the spell, the precursor of the deadly attack had rendered the entire block a dead zone. All Zergs that were too slow to pull back to safety were shredded into pieces by the violent gush of energy.

The Forbidden Power—Absolution of the Dawn Goddess!

KOMMM!

The miracle happened again as the deadly deluge spilled forth from the building, smothering and killing all living things.

Deep Blue was an animal of brute strength, and power was its god. Seeing the deadly unstoppable energy, it didn't falter. Instead, it threw back its head and howled triumphantly.

Time once again stopped inside the building, at the center of the storm. This time, the warriors were prepared, and they had all looked out of the window, enjoying the satisfying view of ultimate destruction.

The soldiers were certain that this spell would be outright banned during peaceful times.

After a while, the deadly flood receded, and the soldiers regained their motion. The world around them had become so quiet that it took them a while to adjust.

"Deep Blue, find out where the queen is."

Deep Blue answered with a howl and then darted out of the building, taking his brothers and sisters with him. These beasts were extremely useful on the battlefield as the Zergs had bred them over centuries into the perfect weapons. However, the Zergs ended up shooting themselves in the foot.

Heidi's mind was finally at peace with her decision. Even if she had to give herself up to such a heroic human, she would be more than happy to do so. All she could say right then was that appearances could be deceiving. Who would have thought that Wang Tong had such a brave heart behind that rather unflattering face?

Looking at the servile and docile looks the direwolves gave to Wang Tong, Heidi wondered how many more secrets he had held inside him. Great secrets must yield great burdens, but Wang Tong's jolly smile seemed to suggest otherwise.

Why was it that anything that seemed impossible turned into a stroll in the park for him?

"Princess, we have recorded Wang Tong's spell, and I suggest broadcasting it to the entire Mars. The other soldiers need to know this good news."

Heidi was not the only person who was shocked by the development; like Heidi, many had doubted Wang Tong's ability before they saw the forbidden power at the display.

No man other than the god could yield such power. Whatever doubt they had had evaporated into thin air just like the Zergs around them.

"Wang Tong, can we post this video onto skynet?" Heidi asked Wang Tong.

Wang Tong didn't overthink, just shrugged and said, "Of course! We also need to let Moye know that his days are numbered. If he is smart enough, he should come to us right after seeing this video."

Heidi nodded.

…

"Report! We just got a report!"

Everyone's skynet beeped as a new mail popped up in their inbox. Although the citizens in the human cities stayed in safety behind the walls, their hearts and thoughts were always with the warriors fighting for them.

"What is this?"

"It looks like the Zerg's territory."

"That's Lie Jian! Gosh, there are so many legendary warriors!"

"Sh*t! They are surrounded by Zergs!"

"Isn't that…Michaux…the Divine Master?"

Everyone's attention was on the contents of the clip. On the screen, a group of elite human soldiers was surrounded by Zergs with nowhere to run.

Among the elite warriors were Lie Jian and Michaux.

"Strange! None of them look very concerned about their situation." Shuanger said curiously. She scanned the screen as hard as she could to find Wang Tong.

"Ah-Ha, there he is! That d*uchebag!" Shuanger exclaimed.

Brenda threw her a cold stare. However, the sight of Wang Tong made her heart skip a beat.

"Aamir, hey Aamir! Look here!"

"Buzz off! I'm busy!"

"But…LOOK!" Marcos said hotly.

Aamir looked up, and the screen immediately caught his attention. Wang Tong was surrounded by layer upon layers of Zergs. His life was in danger.

Susu stared at the screen, her brows knotted. She never wanted to be the Divine Master; all she wanted was her brother to stay alive. She closed her eyes and prayed to the Divine Masters.

Everyone's heart was caught in their throats as they wondered what would happen to these warriors.

When Guan Dongyang, Michaux, and Wang Tong rose to the air, the audiences hoorayed as they saw that they were unharmed. But, what they saw immediately after that rendered them silent once again.

The city of Pulorita was reduced to ashes along with all the Zergs inside in a matter of minutes. Afterward, the video clip showed the execution of a giant queen as a herd of blue demons devoured it.

The video ended with a closeup of Wang Tong's grinning face.

…

After Deep Blue devoured the high-level dark one queen, it extracted important information from its brain. Having learned about Moye's plan that way, Wang Tong was no longer in a rush to defeat the dark lord. He decided to continue destroying as many Zerg bases as possible to help the fight at the frontline.

Chapter 628: Power of The Blaze

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Once Moye had lost everything he owned on Mars, he might as well be dead to the humans. However powerful he was, he could not face the entire human force all by himself.

Another piece of information Wang Tong was able to get out of the queen was more puzzling: Moye was not inside the dark castle at all; he was at the front line.

The revelation had caught everyone by surprise, as no one had thought that Moye would ditch his home base and go to the front line.

"I wager he is after Einherjar Lie." Xiao Libie said. This was highly likely, since Einherjar Lie and his warriors were the backbone of the Martian united front, and he was also taking the brunt of the Zerg forces. If he fell on the battlefield, the Martian resistance would collapse very quickly.

"What should we do?" Everyone looked at Wang Tong, who had kept his silence while mulling over the question.

"How reliable is the information?" Lie Jian finally broke the silence. It was not difficult to tell that he was trying hard to cope with his worry.

"I got it out from the queen's brain directly. This one is a high-level queen…I say it's very reliable."

"Let's attack the dark place!" Lie Jian side firmly.

Although Wang Tong held the same opinion, he was relieved that Lie Jian had spoken it out for him.

"Roll out!"

The soldiers didn't have much time to pack before they left for the dark castle. Regardless Moye were there or not, taking down the dark castle would be a huge blow for the Zergs. They sent a message to Lie Jintian, making him aware of their plan and his danger.

Everyone was in high spirits. The METAL warriors had fully recognized the mastery casters power after they had witnessed the spell that had destroyed an entire city.

If more casters were able to use such a deadly spell, no amount of Zergs would ever pose a threat to humanity.

That being said, the forbidden power was not perfect. For one, it took a long time to prepare, and it drained tremendous energy from the casters.

Nonetheless, the battle of Pulorita was significant in the history of mastery, since it was commemorated as the turning point in the public perception about the power of mastery.

Meanwhile, the deadly knights that had followed the War God also made headlines after countless victories. Although their number was smaller than that of House Lie or the Sect, they had a unique advantage: their invincible god.

The War God never deployed any battle tactics, yet he had never lost even a single battle so far. He was always the first one to arrive at the battlefield, and by the time his knights arrived, they only needed to clean after their god's mess.

Lie Jintian was pleasantly surprised by the effect of the War god on the war. Suddenly, he could focus on attacking the Zergs and didn't have to worry about the situation in the home base.

He had made significant progress on his mission, pushing the Zergs further back. Even though the Zergs' resistance was fierce, he was able to batter their defense thanks to the new invention: GN energy guns.

Lie Jintian finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel; he reckoned that the final attack on the Zergs was close.

The application of the GN crystal technology was not limited to only the GN guns; it could also be used on battleships. Given time, humans would be able to craft a new generation of warship that was driven by this new technology. It would be lighter, faster, stealthier, and with much, much bigger guns.

Lie Jintian was suddenly taken over by a profound satisfaction; the people were going to see him as the savior of the world when this was all done.

After he left the world, he would pass the title and honor to his son.

He had already started preparing his son to take over the world. He never shied away from praising his son's ability in front of the media, painting a picture of a budding ruler of mars.

Inside the commanding room, Lie Jintian watched the advancement of his units with a lighthearted smile; he was in a good mood today.

"Balls, that the hell is that kid doing? Why is he moving like a snail? Haha!" Lie Jintian joked as he noticed one team lagging behind the rest. The other officers gave each other a knowing smile. It had been a while since the last time they saw a smile hanging on their general's face.

Suddenly, an ear piercing siren went off, breaking the amiable spell in the office.

The radar indicated a large group of red dots closing in onto the command center. They were a group of dark ones with a color that no one had seen on a dark one before: purple. At the forefront of the dark ones' column was a hulking frame with two enormous bat wings. Although he looked uglier than the rest of the dark ones, everyone recognized him right away: he was the dark lord, Moye.

How did he travel such a great distance unnoticed?

By then, the human resistance had already crossed over to the Zergs' territory, and it was almost impossible for a large number of powerful dark ones to track such a long distance without being discovered by scouts. Somehow, Moye had done just that.

Before the officers in the command center could gather themselves, they heard gunshots: the battle had started.

Moye didn't even spare a glance at the soldiers firing at him below as he went straight for the command center. However, his purple guards swooped down and killed the soldiers with one strike.

Moye had deceived everyone. He didn't fall for Wang Tong's trap and fight him in the open field; instead, he sneaked up on Lie Jintian and attacked him with surprise.

After all, Lie Jintian and his units were soldiers who were really fighting the war, and not the pesky Wang Tong. Without Lie Jintian, the Martian front would quickly crumble due to lack of leadership, and Moye would be able to turn the tides of the battle once again.

Moye had been waiting for this moment for many years, and finally, Lie Jintian had shown himself.

KOM!

The roof of the command center was blown up by force inside, and Lie Jintian shot himself into the sky like a cannonball, punching at the ugly face of Moye with abandon.

Kom!

"Moye, you are finally here!"

"Hehe, I thought that was my line." Moye grinned. Every feature on his face was grotesque and unholy; however, the arrangement of them made the sum look much less of an eyesore.

"Hehe…Whatever, I only wanted to fight the most powerful warrior of the Zergs, not the second most powerful. " Lie Jintian smiled sarcastically.

Moye didn't mind Lie Jian's sneer; unlike his minions, he possessed perfect control over his emotions. He let Lie Jintian's insult slide off his ego like rainwater off his bald head.

"Ah, humans…Forever an enigma to me. I was deeply fascinated by the humans' quality ever since I was born. At last, my fascination has to end today. "

"Hehe…You sound like you have already won the war. Don't forget that it is you who are on the losing side. Why did you try so hard? Didn't you know that you are only doing Patroclus a favor?"

Lie Jintian found Moye's old wound and sprinkled a pinch of salt over it.

Moye had seen through Lie Jintian's physiologic game, so he kept his silence. He spread his wings languidly and yawned, just to show how unfazed he was by Lie Jintian's words.

"If you can defeat me, I will tell you more of my secrets." Moye cracked a smile.

"That's for the best." Lie Jintian hardened his face and cracked up his GN force, letting the fire element energy pour into his system.

Moye smiled thinly and then said, "Still level twenty-seven after so many years?"

Zeng!

Lie Jintian flashed out of view and then reappeared in front of Moye, who was caught off guard and dealt a blow in the chest. Lie Jintian knew that he might not be able to overcome the combined might of all of Moye's purple guards, so he had to finish the dark lord quickly. In a blink, he had cranked up his soul energy from level twenty-seven to twenty-eight.

Crimson Lotus Eight Hundred Strikes!

This was the move that Lie Jintian had reserved just for Moye. Turning himself into a conflagration, Lie Jintian connected his sea of consciousness with the natural force and poured the potent energies onto his enemy. The fire multiplied its size and intensity until it had engulfed the dark lord.

Lie Jian had connected his attack and formed a combo, and once Moye was thrown off balance by the first blow, it was impossible for him to put up any defense.

The deadly strikes rained on Moye like a sudden downpour. A red lotus with eight hundred petals bloomed on the battlefield; each petal was a deadly strike, and all of them together formed an inescapable fiery combo that meant death.

Chapter 629: The Dark Castle

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Moye was not prepared for this. He had been able to improvise some form of defense at the beginning, but Lie Jintian's attacks quickly battered it. Even the strongest defense could not hold off attacks forever. Lie Jintian's battle arts were a result of generations of accumulation over centuries; every move was a divine intervention that went beyond the measures of a normal attack, be it in terms of speed or intensity.

A normal attack wouldn't be of use in this battle anyway.

KOM!

The red lotus bloomed again.

Brimming with energy, Lie Jintian rounded his eyes and mouth, snarling as he punched at Moye's head with abandon. With a loud and crisp bone-crunching sound, Moye's head lolled unnaturally to one shoulder. His body stopped all motions, arms hanging about like a ragdoll. Then, as quickly as the first attack had come, the second attack landed on his chest, and the force threw him onto the ground.

The ground cracked open underneath Moye by the impact. The sight had shocked all the dark ones. It was their almighty lord, but right then, they couldn't even feel his soul energy.

Lie Jintian clenched his fist excitingly as he was absorbed in reflection. From becoming an Einherjar to inheriting House Lie's power, he had been through a lot in his life. Life had taught him many lessons, and he knew that emotions were better kept to himself. However, he found it difficult to hold back his pride at this moment. It reminded him of his father's approving smile after he had won the competition of the seat of power of House Lie.

Floating in the air, Lie Jintian was gripped by the swelling emotions.

When the dust on the ground settled, the dark ones saw what was left of Moye. His head had turned backward, body slumped on the ground, and limbs bent in gut-churning fashions. He seemed to have shriveled in size as well.

The human soldiers cheered and shouted while the purple guards were rendered speechless and motionless.

Suddenly, a coldness rose in the air as Moye dragged himself onto his feet. Each movement was accompanied with the horrific sounds of bones grinding and snapping. When the ordeal was over, Moye held his backward head with both hands and slowly twisted it until it was back into its natural orientation.

"What a lovely human art."

Moye's lips hardened into a twist that could barely pass for a smile.

Despite his tattered body, there was a deadliness in him that permeated throughout the air, strangling the human soldiers with an invisible hand.

"I admire the humans' ability to use the natural force. How much do I wish that I would be able to wield it too! Nothing will be able to stop us then." Moye murmured, fascination and longing flickering in his glinting eyes.

Lie Jintian was unfazed by Moye's resurrection as he asked, "Is that your last wish?"

"Hehe…Einherjar Lie, I consider us old friends. One of us will die today, so don't be so anxious. We have a whole day to figure it out." Moye cracked a smile as the energy crystals in his body started to scintillate, lending him power. He raised his hands and snarled, releasing a burst of energies.

Unlike Lie Jintian's borrowed natural energy, it was all from the dark one's body, and was more powerful.

The power kept on building up until the human soldiers started screaming in pain. Their bodies burst from inside, painting the ground red. Their life force formed a trickle of energy that flowed into the energy crystal on Moye's body.

By the time Lie Jintian thought of stopping the deadly spell, all the human soldiers were dead, their bellies wide open. The stench in the air was unbearable.

Lie Jintian averted his eyes from the gruesome scene, but when he found Moye again, he noticed that the dark lord had changed. The life force of his soldiers had helped him grow in size; he was already twice the size compared to when he had first appeared. And there were more: his body no longer resembled a human, but a primordial beast that walked on the planet millions of years ago. His body was covered in scales with the dark color of dried blood; his hand had turned into claws, and two huge energy crystals were set squarely in his scaled chest, visible only due to its shimmering light passing through the crevasses between scales.

"Please excuse me. If I had a choice, I would not use this ugly form…Hehe."

Halfway through his sentence, the dark lord disappeared, but the voice kept on coming. Before the monster's thin laugh receded, Lie Jintian was dealt a blow that had seemingly come out of nowhere.

Another attack came as quickly as the first one, but this time, Lie Jintian saw it coming. He tried to block the giant claw that bore down on him, but his power had fallen short. There was no time to summon the natural force, so Lie Jintian had to use his own GN force. But, Moye's power was a few magnitudes greater than that of Lie Jintian; the dark lord unleashed level thirty power without the assistance of the natural force.

KOM!

Lie Jintian took the brunt of the blow, and his body was sent flying. When he thudded back to the ground, his body disappeared after an explosion. The Einherjar was nowhere to be seen, but his battle cry could be heard everywhere; there was a pain in that battle cry. Lie Jintian swallowed down the pain and hurled a glowing energy ball at his enemy. Packed inside the ball was pure GN force freshly drawn out of his system.

Moye watched the glowing ball and smiled contemptuously. He snarled in a deep beastly voice as a gush of energy spilled forth from his mouth at the glowing ball. With that, the energy ball dimmed and then disappeared into thin air.

Before Moye's howling had receded, he turned around and attacked the Einherjar with his tail.

KOM!

The whiplash of the tail caught Lie Jintian off guard and slammed him down. The dark lord quickly slithered his writhing tail onto the Einherjar's body in a constraining hold. Moye lifted the other up at the tip of his tail and slammed him hard on the ground again.

Lie Jintian would not just sit around and be played with by the dark lord like a doll. He gritted his teeth as flame sprouted out of his body. As he amassed energy inside him, his body temperature could melt steel. Yet, the dark lord's hold was unwavering. The sharp tip of the tail found Lie Jintian's chest and burrowed deep into it. Blood welled from the deep wound, spilling out onto the ground.

"Hehe…I told you to be patient, didn't I?" Moye smirked.

By then, energy had stopped flowing inside the Einherjar, and the tactics of the Blaze had halted. Moye knew exactly where and when to strike in order to cripple the deadly tactics.

Dark Lord's tail pulled out of Li Jintian's chest, but quickly found another target. It slithered down to Lie Jintian's thigh and wrapped itself around his leg, pulling the Einherjar's knee of its socket with a loud and gut-churning pop.

Lie Jintian's guards rushed to save their commander, but they all ended up as food for the purple guards.

Moye's tail found more targets as it threatened to tear the Einherjar's flesh apart piece by piece. Moye's lips curved into a satisfying grin. "What is pain, human? It's a delightful art beyond your comprehension."

Lie Jintian had scarcely let out even a wince. He gritted his teeth until his gums started to bleed, biding his time for his last strike: Self-Immolation!

Moye had seen through Lie Jian's plan, so he thrust the tail right through Lie Jintian's sea of consciousness, ending his ability to fight once and for all.

Moye was amused as he saw the hope on Lie Jian's face ebb away, a hope that he had given him just so that he could see it being crushed.

"One day, humans will kill you all!" Lie Jian managed a few words out of his mouth. He knew this day would come; he took comfort in the thought that his son would avenge him one day.

"Is that so? Then, maybe I should let you live. " Moye was amused. A hint of hope flashed across Lie Jintian's face, which was caught by Moye immediately.

Moye's lips thinned into a sneer, "What was I thinking? How could I pass up such a delicious meal like you?"

All around him, the purple guards were already feasting on the bodies of the humans.

The sudden raid had uprooted the headquarters of the Martian front, leaving no survivors. The sudden tragedy struck human resistance hard; without a leader, the defense started to falter, and the offense was halted completely. Gripped by fear and sorrow, the public was at a loss. The top priority for the human resistance force right then was to elect another commander.

Lie Jian should have inherited the commanding rights from his late father, but he was stranded in the Zerg territory. Therefore, the responsibility might have to rest on the shoulders of another man.

Moye had swooped down on the human world when its guard was lowered, and attacked where it hurt the most. Moye knew the human mind very well, a strength that he wished his dark one subordinates could learn from him.

When the faction leaders were debating who should be the next leader, surprising news came to them. Zambrotta and his men had joined the War God's knight order and become its first dragoon regiment.