Dardanyan immediately thought of one thing: Fang Senyan intended to use them as cannon fodder.

This was his intuition, though his intuition wasn't always correct.

So, Dardanyan immediately adapted. He was quite clear that he would not be high on the Iron-Blooded Arbiter's kill list, meaning that devilish figure's primary target would certainly not be him.

"Then... there should still be time to do something!" This thought immediately flashed through Dardanyan's mind, and he roared at the Artificial Human Number Three accompanying him:

"Hey, you should also know the hiding spots for the other several Wasp aircraft, right?"

Artificial Human Number Three nodded:

"Yes, Number One had the highest clearance, so many files were opened to us."

Dardanyan immediately summoned a Root Tree-Man to serve as his mount to speed up his journey, grinding his teeth as he said:

"Let's go immediately! We should be able to find at least three or four more hidden aircraft!"

Artificial Human Number Three offered no objection, just nodded and silently led the way. The group circled the mushroom rock for about twenty minutes, digging them up one after another. Dardanyan was extremely anxious, but ultimately, the event he feared did not materialize.

The Iron-Blooded Arbiter did not come, and neither did Fang Senyan.

In his mind, both of these figures were equally terrifying. And equally irresistible!

After another fifteen minutes, Artificial Human Number Three had modified all the Wasp aircraft to allow for unmanned takeoff... of course, once airborne, they would proceed on a fixed course.

By this time, Dardanyan possessed six Wasp aircraft. If the previous deduction held true, the chance of being shot down was only one in five. This probability was quite low.

At a critical juncture, even a one percent chance of survival was worth fighting for; how much more so when the chance was 80%?

So, Dardanyan gritted his teeth and boarded his Wasp aircraft. For some reason, though he was a man who had weathered many storms, he felt an indescribable sense of unease.

But as the set time arrived, the other Wasp aircraft all ignited their engines, spewing forth scorching flames as they slowly ascended. Dardanyan knew very well that if he didn't leave now, the chance of being shot down would be 100%! Thus, he could only grit his teeth and press the ignition button... The fuel in the engine began to mix, emitting a powerful roar, and the light frame of the Wasp aircraft began a determined and continuous acceleration, shooting straight out past the atmosphere of planet Eplos...

Several hours after Fang Senyan ordered the team disbanded.

Aldaris walked forward slowly with his Artificial Human Number Two. Compared to Dardanyan's haste, Aldaris appeared much calmer, and with every step he took, his brow furrowed deeply, as if wrestling with some insoluble conundrum.

"That bastard doesn't look like someone who would give up! Why would he suddenly say those things?"

"Could he have a way to deal with that damn monkey? Impossible. Even with all of us striking together, we failed; there’s no way the Sailor's strength could be that immense!"

"Self-destruction? Is that his move? To avoid friendly fire by telling us to scram? But I know that fool. He's certainly not that noble! If this guy truly faced the threat of death, he would definitely drag others down with him."

"Wait, this fool is an MT, and he has no MT talent; how could he self-destruct! So what exactly is he thinking, disbanding the team..."

"Forget it, if he wants to go court death, so be it! That damn monkey probably won't chase me first, so... Hmph, I don't believe for a second that launching multiple ships simultaneously lowers the chance of being shot down. These fools are trying to comprehend the technology of a cosmic civilization using Earth's technological standards—wishful thinking. Isn't this just a roundabout way of courting death? On this point, my opinion aligns with the Sailor's: the only technology capable of countering the Iron-Blooded race's tech must be their own!"

With this realization, Aldaris's brow smoothed out. He casually cast a bolt of lightning, electrocuting a giant black crow that was attempting to dive down and peck out eyes, then said to Artificial Human Number Two beside him:

"Hey, you, come down. No need to modify that junk. I ask you, that bastard Sailor said his Artificial Humans could pilot Iron-Blooded vessels—can you?"

Artificial Human Number Two nodded:

"Number One now seems to possess very high clearance. He has also deeply analyzed the Iron-Blooded masks, thus transmitting the basic piloting methods to me. It's a pity, sir, that I haven't mastered the ability to repair Iron-Blooded ships. Even Number One would need at least three years to advance research to that degree."

Aldaris sneered:

"If you can fly it, that's enough. Don't worry about the rest."

Everyone keeps a trump card hidden. For instance, Fang Senyan concealed his +13 Wester, and Ronnie concealed his Shadow Clone Flash. Why shouldn't Aldaris keep a hidden ultimate move?

He reached into his pocket and slowly pulled something out. By the time it rested in his palm, there was a small, crystalline test tube containing something that looked both like a diamond and a particle of shining, golden transparent sand. With a slight shake, an unreal, rippling sensation appeared, as if the object were ethereal, elusive, and forever unattainable.

This was Aldaris's ultimate contingency!

An S-rank powerful artifact!

The Sand of Time!

In ancient Egypt, time was often measured using hourglasses. The symbol of the God of Time was a colossal hourglass filled with fine, golden sand. This hourglass was imbued with strange, twisting magic; it was said that anyone forbidden from using the Hourglass of Time would be cursed to become a projection of a fallen soul.

However, the grain of Sand of Time Aldaris held had been steeped in the power of purification, allowing the object it touched to traverse the river of spacetime, transforming into its past or future appearance.

Of course, the time span could not exceed twenty-four hours.

And this traversal was extremely energy-intensive. After use, this grain of Sand of Time would fly back into the hourglass.

More importantly, because the divine power of a single grain of Sand of Time was insufficient, the object or creature undergoing the temporal shift had to be non-resistant to its effect. In other words, it could not be used on a hostile entity.

For Aldaris, the greatest potential use he had envisioned for this item was saving his own life. Furthermore, its use was quite perverse. For example, if Aldaris faced Fang Senyan in a 1v1, Aldaris would unleash all his ultimate moves, use his Elixir of Honor, and when utterly spent, he would immediately use the Sand of Time! Sending himself back one hour!

Aldaris one hour prior would naturally be full of vigor, his vitality effectively restored to peak condition. More significantly, his ultimate moves and the Elixir of Honor would still be active.

This meant that if the Sand of Time was used at a critical moment, it was equivalent to gaining three extra lives and being able to cast two ultimate moves! How utterly perverse was that? However, at this moment, though Aldaris felt a pang of reluctance, he could only use the Sand of Time on that damaged Iron-Blooded sub-vessel, restoring it to the state it was in immediately after landing, effectively rendering it repaired.

Aldaris’s fortitude and decisiveness far surpassed Dardanyan's. Once Artificial Human Number Two beside him familiarized himself with the vessel’s controls, he decisively ordered takeoff, flying at full speed, instantly piercing the atmosphere and rocketing out.

In fact, Aldaris's takeoff time was slightly later than Dardanyan's, mainly because restoring the status of such a massive vessel using the Sand of Time required a considerable amount of time.

In the night sky, aboard the Iron-Blooded mothership, the Arbiter Bloodspear became frantic upon receiving the distress signal from below. He immediately launched himself down in an emergency escape pod. On the entire mothership, only Bloodspear possessed the capability to do such a thing. Now that the command was leaderless, logically, Grayback Belon should have taken control, but Grayback Belon's fate was currently unknown. Thus, command fell to his deputy.

However, Belon's deputy lacked both strength and prestige. Moreover, the ship carried nobility of the Iron-Blooded race, who were at the height of their arrogance. Their status was sufficiently high, coupled with the leader's lack of resolve, so control of the ship immediately devolved and became fragmented.

It was at this moment that radar interference originating from the Little Eagle Base began, throwing the Iron-Blooded mothership into utter chaos.

At this point, by all rights, both timing and circumstances heavily favored Fang Senyan's side. Dardanyan's Wasp aircraft, mixed with five decoy craft, simultaneously breached Eplos's atmosphere, darting off in six different directions.

The Iron-Blooded mothership immediately received this information. Though suffering interference, it was only interference. Even with 40% functionality restricted, there was still 60% remaining!

So, after waiting two or three minutes and confirming no subsequent craft appeared, the Iron-Blooded warriors controlling the fire system merely pressed a single key. Six relentless beams of deathlight shot out, effortlessly obliterating all six Wasp aircraft!!!

Dardanyan, Death!!

Hmm, I really must recommend a book to everyone.

Because this book is truly amazing; the moment I started reading it, I hailed it as a masterpiece!

The title is: **, oh wait, it should be Fa Qing (); the author chose such a vulgar name!

Since it's a book from an external site, I won't go into detail. Hmm, it really suits my taste.

.RT