What in the hell kind of era is this! Why haven't we unearthed anything archaeological, not a single thing? I asked Elena, "Are you absolutely sure that in our time, we never discovered a tank from six thousand years ago?"

Elena nodded. "I'm certain. At least, I never saw one. But I did see a model of an airplane from six thousand years ago."

I scoffed. "A model is fake, but there's a whole fleet of real tanks chasing us! Didn't they say this era lacked heavy industry and metallurgy? Then where did their tanks, engines, and fuel come from? Did they steal them from the modern age?"

No one could explain any of it. The centaurs knew the situation was perilous and galloped desperately, but alas, they were spent. Their speed waned, and now we could clearly see the clones standing atop the pursuing tanks.

The Dragon Girl breathed a shaky sigh of relief. "I never imagined the Kanghui rebels were so thoroughly prepared. If those machines are genuine, their rebellious ambitions have been simmering for far longer than a century. This could mean danger for Dragon Mountain."

"What's that sound now!" Elena cocked her ear.

This time I heard it clearly—the drone of engines from the sky. I thought it was aircraft, but looking into the distance, I realized I was wrong again. It was giant locusts, the same kind from which we once ate a leg.

There were too many of them, a dense, black mass impossible to count. And perched on the back of every single locust was a clone, armed with laser guns, descending upon us with ferocious intent. This was the greatest engagement we had witnessed since arriving in the prehistoric era; even the giant worm that spewed plasma last time didn't feel quite so formidable.

I addressed the group. "There’s no escaping this time. Everyone who can fly, take to the air. Everyone who can burrow, start digging. Those who can do neither, just wait to be roasted by laser fire."

Elena’s face turned pale. "Comrade Zhao Qian, how can you still joke at a time like this!"

I fixed my gaze on the locusts overhead. "Does anyone have any horse meat or human meat for me to eat?"

Elena looked confused, lifting her chest slightly. "Do you want to nurse?"

I said seriously, "Miss Nana, how can you joke at a time like this? I want to eat!"

Elena huffed, rummaging through her pack for food supplies. "Who's joking now? You want to eat at a time like this!"

I snatched a piece of roasted meat and stuffed it in my mouth, then activated my laser sword. "Wife, this is going to be a brutal fight. If I don't eat something beforehand, I'm afraid I won't last. Everyone, move! There's a small hill ahead; cover is better than being attacked from all sides."

Hearing this, Elena and the Dragon Girl looked at me with concern. "Zhao Qian, you..."

I said, "We have to fight with everything we have, or none of us will survive. But there is another option: becoming prisoners. I don't know the rules here—if you surrender your weapons, will they spare your lives? Are there humanitarian regulations about treating captives well?"

Bai spoke a few words to the Dragon Girl, who then relayed them to me. "Bai says it might be their pursuers. They are carrying something Kanghui desperately wants. Kanghui is absolutely determined to capture them."

I glanced briefly at Bai and Xue. Their naked bodies couldn't possibly hide anything. The bouncing of the horse made Xue’s breasts sway so violently they hurt my eyes. I said, "Whatever Kanghui wants, we won't let him have it. Speed up! Let's take cover near that small cliff ahead."

Women are instinctively afraid of war, and they appear even more vulnerable when a powerful man stands before them. Elena and the Dragon Girl clung tightly to my side, terrified I would suddenly dash out and not return. The centaurs circled Xiao Xi, as she had no limbs to defend herself, while Bai and Xue were essentially support staff, seeming capable of nothing but fear.

It was a small hill, not high, but tanks couldn't easily traverse it. One side was a sheer cliff face, worn deeply into the mountain by wind and rain. We hid ourselves inside this natural recess, preparing for battle. Running was impossible; it was safer here than being surrounded.

The tank group began forming a circle, while the giant locusts hovered low around the hill where we were positioned. Elena stood beside me, clutching her laser gun. "Zhao Qian, is there truly no other way besides fighting to the death?"

I replied, "I can take you and the Dragon Girl and leave, but what about the others? Even these loyal centaurs have stuck by us. Can we abandon them? I despise those who abandon friends in times of crisis, so I absolutely will not do that."

The Dragon Girl leaned in close to me as well. Both of them said simultaneously, "But we are so worried about you. Are you planning to go out and fight them head-on? Why don't we pretend to surrender, and then seize an opportunity to escape?"

I chewed the roasted meat and said, "We don't need to resort to such measures yet. That would make Kanghui look down on us. I've killed men from an elite regiment and destroyed an airbase before. I wonder how tough these prehistoric people are. We’ll find out soon enough with a little test."

Elena was the most anxious. She knew I was a living human being, not some Holy Dragon Envoy the Dragon Girl spoke of. If I truly were a deity, there'd be no need to worry; gods don't simply die.

By now, the tanks were closing in. I knew the battle was imminent. Before charging out to fight, I needed to build them a shelter; otherwise, they couldn't possibly withstand the incoming fire from laser guns and cannons.

Though not hungry, I forced the piece of roasted meat down my throat. I didn't know how many reserve troops the rebels had; without strength, I couldn't fight this battle. I activated my laser sword and plunged it into the mountain wall behind me, quickly shearing off chunks of rock.

I piled the rocks in front of the carved-out alcove and told them to hide behind the barricade. If any rebels charged, they could use the cover to fire. As I prepared to leave, I smiled and warned them, "Be careful when you shoot; don't hit me."

The two women asked, "Are you really going out to fight them? There are too many of them. Why don't we use the laser sword to dig a tunnel and escape?"

"You two really have wild imaginations. Digging a tunnel around them would take at least two or three days. Stay put, and watch how I deal with the enemy!"

Just then, over a dozen tanks surged forward, their muzzles pointed directly at the cavern entrance below the hill. The construction of these tanks was simple: a thin iron plate covering a single cannon. Judging by the bore size, the cannons weren't that large. I’d seen the Serpent Saintess take down UFOs with rocket launchers, so these cannons weren't surprising. At this point, I would even accept submachine guns.

Fearing a preemptive strike from the tank group, I swept my laser sword, and the muzzles of the first dozen tanks immediately fell to the ground. However, when I tried to attack the tank bodies themselves, I was startled by their rather thin armor—the laser sword couldn't penetrate that layer of protection!

What material was this that could withstand the intense heat of my 'Ancient' laser sword? This weapon wasn't Earth-made; it was property of the Martians from two thousand years ago. Furthermore, I had already tested it; its power was immense, the laser temperature far exceeding that of common laser guns. Yet, it had no effect on this seemingly insignificant tank armor!

My pause was momentary. The clones on the tanks realized my laser sword was ineffective against their armor, so they used the tanks for cover and charged toward me.

It seemed the rebels were indeed too well-prepared. Based on tanks capable of countering the era's laser weaponry, if no miracle occurred, Long Xi was doomed to lose this war.

Being resistant to high-temperature lasers didn't mean they were invincible. The armor plating wasn't very thick. I punched one, creating a huge dent, and then yanked, tearing the entire plate off. A few swift sword strikes dispatched the clones inside, and that tank was scrap.

Boom! Boom! A few explosions sounded behind me. The tanks that had reformed their circle were now firing at the hill behind me. Shells hammered the rocks in front of the alcove, sending shards flying. Two more shots, and the entrance barricade was breached!

I switched off my laser sword and held it between my teeth, raising my hands to lift the wrecked tank and hurl it toward the firing tanks. With a whoosh, the nearest cannon immediately went silent. Inspired, I leaped into the fray, stacking the tanks like building blocks. Soon, they were piled haphazardly, forming a defensive wall of tanks on the flat ground before the cave.

With this barrier, the tanks could barely approach the alcove. Meanwhile, the locusts providing aerial support began their attack under the command of the clones. Each locust acted like a fighter jet, unleashing a rain of laser fire upon me. The tanks might withstand lasers, but these locusts could not. I activated my laser sword and leaped into the sky to engage them in combat.

Suddenly, the ground beneath began to rain down the remains of giant locusts and clones. The ground tanks couldn't fire vertically and could only watch the aerial massacre, occasionally having to dodge the falling corpses of the giant locusts. Due to their massive size and the force of gravity from high altitude, if one landed on a tank, it risked smashing the cannon.

The mid-air scene was utter chaos. I hopped from one giant locust back to another, swinging my laser sword the moment my foot touched down—that locust was finished. As the fight wore on, the clones on the locusts went berserk, firing wildly without regard for collateral damage. The result was that more locusts were shot down by their own comrades, and I lost the advantage of using them as cover. Finally, I let my guard down for just a moment, and a beam of laser fire struck my arm.

A piercing, burning heat shot through my body. My mind flashed—I'm finished. Even if I don't die, my arm will have a hole in it. I wondered if this would affect my handsome appearance, and if the women would still like me. In that split second of shock, two more laser beams struck my chest. This time, instead of a flash of heat, a chilling cold spread through me. Damn it, I'm not going to die here in the prehistoric era, am I?

Another moment of stunned hesitation, and one laser after another slammed into me. I thought I was skewered like a hapless soldier in a volley of arrows, but beyond the pain, I felt nothing else! I looked down: my clothes were riddled with holes, but my skin only showed a few red marks. Hell, I’ve always feared intense heat, and I’ve been burned several times without issue. I never thought I’d be immune to lasers too!

This was great! I sprang off the giant locusts, no longer needing to dodge the clones' fire. I swung my laser sword left and right, slaughtering them indiscriminately under a chaotic sky.

This massacre was no less intense than the one I fought with Taozi at the Ming Island U Base. The only difference was that the last one was on the ground, and this one was in the air. This one-sided slaughter lasted from daylight until nightfall. The area on the ground was piled high with two meters of dead locusts and clone bodies, with a few still writhing. These obstacles prevented the tanks from approaching the alcove.

I had never felt such exhilaration. At the beginning of the killing, I was extremely uneasy, but watching the massive death toll generated with every swing, the ancient, bloodthirsty wildness of humanity was awakened in me—or perhaps I was just seeing red. My movements grew faster; the clones' lasers could no longer reach me. After several hours, the previously black sky slowly cleared, while the ground was covered in piles of corpses! Rivers of blood flowed! Wounds from the laser sword didn't bleed, but countless locusts and clones had been ripped apart by my hands or had their internal organs crushed by a single kick.

Under the pale night sky, only a few stars shone. On the ground, cries of agony echoed. The clones who weren't quite dead wailed incessantly. The tank group and the remaining giant locusts temporarily retreated. I pursued them, destroying dozens of tanks before returning to the cave, covered head-to-toe in blood.

What I never expected was to find Elena asleep, clutching the Dragon Girl, who was also drowsy. Only Bai and Xue, standing nearby, watched tensely as I walked into the cave, drenched in blood.