nownovels Chapter 411 72 - The Arrogant Dragon
Chapter 411 72 - The Arrogant Dragon
"Hahahaha, let me see who has the gall to challenge me?"
Gazing at the defensive line formed by the Astral Express, Fenfeng, in his humanoid form seated within an Antimatter Legion vessel, let out a wild laugh. His fiery red eyes were filled with contempt and mockery.
The Xianzhou and the Astral Express combined, is this the lineup that forced that fool Phantylia to retreat in defeat? Heh... a backstabber like her deserved to die at the hands of these weaklings... Fine, for the sake of our past association, I'll casually avenge your death for you!
Except, I won't be placing their corpses before your tombstone. I'll be keeping them as my own outstanding trophies!
"Give the order! All legions, form up! Advance in a cone formation! Shatter their fragile defensive line for me! As for that fellow who supposedly slew Rupert III with a single slash... heh heh heh, I'll deal with him myself!"
A ferocious grin spread across Fenfeng's face. His form shifted, turning into a flash of light that shot out of the starship. In the next instant, a fire dragon, more massive than any of the Antimatter Legion's interstellar vessels, materialized in the cosmos!
Its scarlet draconic eyes locked onto the white-haired man standing at the very center of the battle line, waiting for him with a greatsword in hand. A savage smile appeared on the colossal dragon's head. At his side, the main forces of the Antimatter Legion, dozens of Doomsday Beasts, and various other anti-planetary weapons were primed and ready, awaiting his command!
"Charge!"
Fenfeng's order echoed in the minds of every soldier in the Antimatter Legion. His massive body took the lead, charging fearlessly toward Kevin's position. He himself was the sharpest point of that cone formation!
---o---
"They're here."
Staring at the calamitous battle group of the Antimatter Legion, Kevin's expression was grim as he tightened his grip on the Might of An-Utu.
Behind him were the Xianzhou's various offensive starskiffs and aerial combat Aurumatons, the crew of the Astral Express, and the two massive warships from the Honkai world, along with a modified "Heavenly Father."
In terms of numbers, compared to the cataclysmic scale of the Antimatter Legion, the defending side was clearly at a disadvantage, but...
Numbers were never the key to victory.
At Kevin's side, a solemn-faced Wendy floated slowly. The white scarf around her neck drifted as if in a breeze, despite the vacuum of space. But soon, the vast battlefield was filled with a fluid that Wendy could control at will!
A storm composed of Imaginary energy was quietly gathering, waiting only for the "cone's point" to reach the optimal position, and then...
"Now!"
Aboard the Express, Himeko, who was in charge of observation, shouted a prompt to Wendy through the shared frequency of the Synesthesia Beacon the very instant the Antimatter Legion's vanguard reached the predetermined "eye of the storm."
"Converge!"
Wendy instantly clapped her hands together. The free-floating Imaginary energy in the cosmos merged with the Ideal Fluid she had deployed in advance. In a flash, an invisible storm of Imaginary energy erupted within the Antimatter Legion's formation!
"BOOM!!!"
Behind the charging Fenfeng, a combat vessel of the Antimatter Legion on the edge of the Imaginary storm instantly detonated! The Imaginary energy reacted with the ship's power core, disrupting its energy output and causing a massive explosion!
At the same time, the Legion Voidrangers charging with Fenfeng were also caught in the "storm." A portion of the unlucky ones were swept into the torrent of energy, crushed into dust by the endless Imaginary power! The surviving Voidrangers could no longer maintain their original charge formation. The Legion's imposing cone offensive, which had started with such momentum, was instantly shattered by Wendy's storm!
However, Fenfeng, at the very tip of the formation, seemed completely unconcerned about the fate of the cannon fodder behind him. His speed did not decrease in the slightest as he surged toward the waiting Kevin!
"The enemy's formation is broken! All weapons, unlock immediately! Attack!"
Jing Yuan, positioned at the forefront of the line, immediately mobilized all available firepower, unleashing a fierce barrage upon the distant and disordered Antimatter Legion!
Instantly, the once-silent universe was filled with the light of explosions. Countless flashes flickered between the two battle lines. The Antimatter Legion's formation had not yet reformed, and with no time to organize a new charge, the ferocious firepower erupting from the Express and Xianzhou's line pinned them down at a safe distance!
As the most dangerous blade, Fenfeng's massive form closed in rapidly! Several attacks from the allied forces struck him along the way, but the hard scales on his body possessed incredibly strong defenses. Ordinary long-range attacks couldn't even scratch him!
Seeing that Fenfeng was about to crash into their battle line, Kevin's expression remained unchanged. Wielding the Might of An-Utu, he stepped into the void! Empowered by Wendy's fluid, he took the initiative and charged toward Fenfeng!
If Fenfeng reached their front line, the shockwaves from their battle would cause irreparable damage. Rather than waiting for the uninvited guest, it was better to strike first and minimize the losses!
Kevin and Fenfeng were quickly locked in combat. A battle between Emanators was not something ordinary mortals could interfere with. The duel between the two was like a pair of new stars igniting on the battlefield, weaving and clashing with each other. For a moment, they seemed evenly matched!
The Antimatter Legion, on their end, quickly abandoned the idea of regrouping for another charge. Instead, they used the wreckage before them to construct a crude defensive line, slowly advancing while returning fire at the Express's battle line.
As the greatest hero for halting the Antimatter Legion's charge, Wendy was now exhausted and weakened. Tingyun escorted her back to the relative safety of the Express before returning to the battlefield.
Wendy's storm had flipped the Express's defensive situation from a passive one to an active one. If that cone formation had actually broken through their defenses, their battle line today would have been in grave danger. Once the enemy opened a single breach, a continuous stream of the Antimatter Legion would have poured in behind them, and the consequences would have been unthinkable.
By throwing their formation into disarray with Wendy's storm and then suppressing them with an offensive assault, they had forced the Antimatter Legion from an active to a passive state. If the enemy wanted to launch another charge, they would have to contend with the Express's battle line, needing to at least match or suppress them to gain fire superiority before they could attempt their next move.
The time and the number of Voidrangers required for that process would be immense.
And this was the most time they could buy for Kevin!
The key to this war was not the armies on either side, but their respective "generals."
As long as Fenfeng fell to Kevin, the Antimatter Legion before them would collapse without a fight.
And if Kevin were to fall behind, then Dan Heng and Jing Yuan would step in to assist. "Three Heroes versus Fenfeng." Three Emanator-level combatants against one extremely powerful Emanator—the scales of battle would not necessarily tip in any one direction.
However, as far as Wende was concerned, victory in this war would undoubtedly lean his way.
It wasn't just a matter of someone tipping the scales. If Fenfeng could truly suppress Kevin, Dan Heng, and Jing Yuan, then he would trigger the real "group beatdown."
At that point, it would be far more than just "Three Heroes versus Fenfeng." There was still Welt, who had yet to make a move, Jingliu, holding down the rear, and Blade, ready to charge forward at a moment's notice...
And then there was the biggest trump card: Wende himself.
But unless it was a critical moment, Wende would not personally enter the fray. If he did, it would be as Long had said, directly triggering a war between "Aeons"!
Once such a war broke out, it could end in as little as a day, or it could last for millennia...
In any case, unless it was a matter of life and death, Wende would not act rashly.
Besides, he trusted them. It was only Fenfeng; there shouldn't be any major problems.
"VMMM..."
After a period of preheating, the main cannon of the Hyperion fired, blasting a shot at the Antimatter Legion thousands of star-miles away!
The instant the beam reached the Antimatter Legion's line, a small but very obvious gap was torn open.
"Holy cow... when did the Hyperion get so fierce?"
Aboard the Hyperion, Himeko Murata, who had been brought in to help, stared at the result in utter shock. This was countless times more powerful than the Hyperion's original main cannon! Aside from the extremely long preheating and cooldown time, it was practically a superweapon!
"I have to say, the data Mr. Welt traded for is indeed very useful. Although we changed some parameters, the actual effect is no less than what was described in the documents... The Genius Society, is it? Truly a miraculous organization."
Einstein, who served as the modification consultant, looked at the Hyperion's status screen and shook her head with a sigh.
It was the same aboard the Moonlight Throne nearby. However, the two ships had different initial designs. The main cannon on the Moonlight Throne had a much longer cooldown time than the Hyperion's, but correspondingly, its power was significantly greater.
"Hahahaha! This is awesome! Woohoo!!"
Inside the Heavenly Father mech, Tesla was firing wantonly at the Antimatter Legion's lines. The modified beam cannons swept through the swarms of Voidrangers at an extremely high rate of fire.
Although the distance was vast, meaning even the slightest deviation would result in a miss, the number of Antimatter Legion troops was greater than a swarm of insects. Even a child throwing a rock into space would probably hit a Voidranger in the head!
"Dr. Tesla, the Heavenly Father mech is intended for close-quarters combat and containment. Please stop consuming ammunition."
Watching Tesla getting carried away on the screen, Einstein rubbed her forehead, sighing helplessly.
"Tch... I know, I know! I've only fired a few shots, I haven't even had my fill yet!"
Tesla pouted with dissatisfaction but sensibly ceased her attack. After all, most of the Heavenly Father's functions were designed for close-range combat.
The fierce fighting between the two sides had accumulated a thin cloud of dust in the center of the battlefield, formed from the ashes of dead Voidrangers.
But this did not hinder the Antimatter Legion's advance and counterattack. From the moment the firing began until now, more than a dozen starskiffs had withdrawn from the combat sequence. However, against the scale of the Luofu's tens of thousands of starskiffs, the loss of a dozen was practically nothing.
This was thanks to the shield systems equipped on the latest generation of starskiffs. Although they couldn't withstand many hits, they were cheap to produce and easy to replace.
Their predecessor was the IPC's disposable defensive barrier. Once the starskiff's own protective system was damaged, this device would seamlessly take over with great speed!
Of course, these were also sponsored by the wealthy IPC. After all, this technology was practically ancient by their standards, and not using it was just taking up inventory space.
As the firefight continued, the Antimatter Legion managed to push their battle line to the edge of that dust cloud by sheer force of attrition. This made things very unfavorable for the attackers on the Express's side.
And upon reaching the dust cloud, the Antimatter Legion's offensive momentum slowed considerably!
"It seems it's time for close-quarters combat."
Jing Yuan, observing the dust in the monitor from his command post, shook his head meaningfully. He then sat down at the chessboard beside him and moved his opponent's pawn forward one step.
It landed precisely on the dividing line!
"Whoosh!"
On the front lines, everyone suddenly heard a very faint sound of wind through their Synesthesia Beacons. Just as those who noticed it were wondering what it was, a dozen "behemoths" surged out from behind the dust cloud, rushing swiftly toward the Express's formation!
These behemoths were none other than the Legion's anti-planetary weapons, the Doomsday Beasts!
---o---
"Are you ready?"
Dan Heng tightened his grip on the Cloud-Piercer, speaking to Stelle, who held a lance beside him.
Next to the two of them, many elite Cloud Knights and other Pathstriders were already poised for battle.
"Of course!"
Stelle smiled and nodded. They were just Doomsday Beasts, it wasn't like she hadn't fought them before! Besides, she was no longer the rookie she was when she first started!
"Mm."
Seeing Stelle's high spirits, Dan Heng nodded silently.
"Cloud Knights! All units, prepare!"
The elite Cloud Knights began to orderly apply various buffs to the warriors on their side of the line.
"I've put shields on you two. Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have a shield. You still need to watch out for your own safety!"
March 7th, who was in charge of logistics and defending the line, cast a layer of Six-Phased Ice shield on everyone. Then, with one hand on her hip, she reminded Dan Heng and Stelle, her eyes particularly serious when looking at Stelle.
This was a real, massive war! She couldn't be as reckless as before, relying on everyone having her back!
Seeing March's concerned gaze, Stelle gave a heartwarming smile, then boarded an assault starskiff, preparing to engage the incoming Doomsday Beasts head-on!
"Haha! I can finally test the Heavenly Father's melee program! I wonder if those little eels can even take a punch!"
Tesla excitedly piloted the Heavenly Father to the front lines, ready to launch an attack alongside the Cloud Knights and the Astral Express at any moment.
"Aiyaaa Little doll! Your Aurumaton! Is not as handsome as this old man's~~ ah!"
A familiar, opera-like tone came from behind them. Following the sound, a massive, silver-white Aurumaton with a sharp, angular design slowly moved into the frontline combat queue, propelled by its thrusters.
"That voice is... Master Gongshu?"
Stelle looked at the giant Aurumaton beside her in surprise. Could this be the new model of Aurumaton that Uncle Yang and Master Gongshu had been developing?
"Correct! It is none other than~ this old man!"
"Hey, hey, hey! That Aurumaton of yours is infringing on my copyright!" Tesla's dissatisfied voice came from the Heavenly Father.
That design... one couldn't say it merely looked like Joachim's Arahato. It had captured its very soul, so what did the outward appearance even matter?
"Aiya! You are mistaken! This old man properly negotiated the copyright issue with that Mr. Yang! Don't you go making baseless claims, little doll!"
"Who are you calling a little doll! This lady is over a hundred years old!"
"And this master is merely over a thousand!"
Watching the two bicker, March couldn't help but interject.
"Uh, are all researchers this obsessed with splitting hairs?"
"Er... probably?"
Recalling the few "geniuses" she knew, Stelle felt that March's statement was completely on point.
If you weren't one to split hairs, did you even have the right to call yourself a researcher?