Fang Senyan glanced at Old A, then at Aldaris. Though he remained silent, his unspoken meaning was perfectly clear.

Aldaris snorted coldly, and after confirming the arrangement with Old A, he released him.

At that moment, the Cataclysmic Beast strode before them with an overwhelming aura. Every impact of its massive, rigid mechanical foot created deep creases, indentations, and chasms even on the metal pavement, sending shards of steel and components scattering wildly!

Immediately after, a circular aperture opened on the underbelly of the Cataclysmic Beast, and an oval platform slid down—an entrance/exit crafted using the Protoss's latest anti-gravity technology. Once the three of them stepped aboard, they floated upward automatically, entering the interior of the Cataclysmic Beast.

Upon entering, Fang Senyan greeted Ronnie and Aldaris, claiming exhaustion and requesting leave to rest in his private quarters. Neither seemed to mind, allowing Fang Senyan to depart alone.

However, the moment the metal door slid shut behind him, Fang Senyan’s legs buckled, and he collapsed onto the floor, gasping raggedly. An indescribable weariness flooded his soul, yet the icy metal floor against his cheek felt profoundly soothing.

“How could this be? Was I hit by the enemy without realizing it?” Fang Senyan couldn't help but replay the sequence of the preceding battle... He had valiantly withstood all firepower and charged into the enemy lines, utilizing the Potion of Honor plus Radiant Healing, and then activating the SARS virus!

The terrifying contagion erupted instantly, disrupting all nearby enemies. Their expressions of stark terror seemed etched permanently onto his memory. Next, Psionic Storm swept across the center of the battlefield, raging energy tearing through the area. Under the dual assault of disease and energy, the temporary defensive line shattered instantaneously, scattering them in retreat.

Ronnie moved through the enemy ranks like a reaper in the dark, his dreadful bloody weapon silently carving streaks of crimson through the air, tearing at flesh. At this juncture, Bakambu, Old A, and Pacino shouted encouragement, rallying their courage and forming a tight unit, causing no small amount of trouble for Fang Senyan and the others. It was then that Aldaris was knocked from his Archon form back into a humanoid shape, and more than half of Fang Senyan’s wounds were sustained during that chaotic exchange.

Regrettably, the others failed to seize that excellent opportunity to counterattack, instead fleeing desperately. This turned the resistance put up by those who remained into a futile gesture.

Although Bakambu, Old A, and Pacino, who chose to fight, were powerful individuals, both in solitary combat and as a team, they were at a distinct disadvantage. Furthermore, considering their team composition—one side possessing a main tank—the outcome was predetermined to favor the opponent.

The final result of the battle saw Pacino unleash a saber-toothed tiger and escape; Bakambu was killed; and Old A surrendered...

“I didn't sustain any truly severe injuries. Why am I so utterly drained, as if my very life force has been siphoned away…?” Fang Senyan pondered this repeatedly, until his consciousness began to blur and collapse... In Fang Senyan's perception, a great deal of time had passed, yet in reality, less than twenty seconds had elapsed since he entered this space.

At that moment, a pair of sturdy hands helped support Fang Senyan—it was Pontan. By his side, Annie Lu had already begun using her psychic energy to administer basic treatment, then fitted Fang Senyan with an oxygen mask and placed him into a medical pod in the newly established infirmary.

Since the Cataclysmic Beast was constructed using a fusion of Protoss materials and human engineering concepts, its medical facilities reflected this hybrid nature. As Fang Senyan was placed inside, an invisible substance seemed to cradle him within the seemingly empty chamber. The gas then slowly shifted to a pale blue hue, first washing over Fang Senyan’s wounds, then moving in and out around the injured areas.

Upon closer inspection, one could perceive dirt, grit, pus, and other debris being gradually scoured away from the vicinity of the injuries. Next, as the pale blue vapor permeated deeper, Fang Senyan’s skin began to grow translucent. The mist threaded its way along his blood vessels and tendons, swirling and looping repeatedly.

The movement of this vapor seemed purposeless, yet if subjected to high-precision scanning, one could observe that even the lactic acid and hormones generated by excessive strain within the muscles were being drawn out. The muscle fibers it passed over began to relax slowly, softening to their absolute limit, stretching out freely as if a newborn infant were still within its mother’s womb.

Under this level of repair, tiny wounds even began to manifest actively on Fang Senyan's surface, oozing small amounts of slightly dark blood. Even his lungs, stimulated by the pale blue mist, started to contract rapidly, forcing out any inhaled dust particles...

A series of data points began to display on the adjacent monitors, reflecting Fang Senyan’s vital signs. Annie Lu monitored the readings carefully, occasionally letting out a soft gasp of astonishment.

After a while, Pontan approached, frowning as he looked at the still-unconscious Fang Senyan. “When will the Brigadier General awaken?”

Annie Lu frowned slightly. “His vital signs are completely normal now; in fact, they are better than a healthy person's. The only issue is that his brain waves are extremely faint—it’s entirely beyond my current knowledge base. And so far, there is no known drug that can strengthen brain waves without causing adverse side effects.”

Fang Senyan lay in the treatment pod in a daze. His thoughts were chaotic, as if his memories had been shattered into countless fragments scattered on the ground, which he was now attempting to piece back together, shard by shard.

He suddenly felt as if his entire body were burning, then immediately plunged into an ice cellar. These contradictory sensations almost caused his senses to collapse entirely. He tried to cry out but found he could produce no sound; he strained to struggle violently but discovered his limbs were gaunt and skeletal, mere skin and bone!

Suddenly, Fang Senyan’s eyes snapped open!

He exhaled a long, slow breath, feeling a splitting headache. The previous sensations—of oscillating between reality and illusion, so vividly rendered—now felt utterly bewildering. Fang Senyan took another deep breath; he now had a reasonable idea why he was so weak. It must be related to the **. While this potent metal lifeform could transform into various powerful weapons, it apparently carried a massive drawback: the draining of the user's vitality.

Fang Senyan then looked at his Nightmare Imprint and immediately noticed a series of notifications: “Emergency Protection Mission: Unnamed, Mission ID 1A90YT.” (Completed)

“Pontan has successfully manufactured the supremely powerful war weapon, the Cataclysmic Beast. Assessment shows this is the most powerful mass-producible ground unit seen in this world to date! Therefore, the mission completion rating is evaluated as Maximum.”

“Mission Reward: Merit Points +16 (Additional +4 for maximum evaluation, Legend Rating +2).”

The outside world had noticed Fang Senyan’s awakening. Annie Lu quickly unlocked the incubation chamber and stood waiting outside with a set of brand-new combat armor. Fang Senyan clutched his head, accepted the tranquilizer and painkiller she offered, swallowed them quickly, and let out a long sigh. “How long was I out?”

Annie Lu replied, “About an hour. To be precise, seventy-three minutes.”

Fang Senyan blinked in surprise. “That long? What is the situation outside now?”

“The Queen of Blades appears to have gained overwhelming superiority and is nearing the artifact planet. Your friend, Major Ronnie, wishes us to move closer, as he mentioned an enemy named Aetemis could appear at any moment.”

Annie Lu responded with respectful deference.

Fang Senyan stood up and walked out, quickly traversing the corridor to the central command hall. It was only then that he sucked in a sharp breath, realizing that Pontan’s technology was truly formidable, having advanced far beyond his prior comprehension.

Not only did he feel absolutely no jolting from the Cataclysmic Beast’s movement inside, but looking out now, Fang Senyan realized the creature was still engaged in fierce combat. It seemed both the Zerg and the Protoss recognized the threat posed by this behemoth and were attacking it en masse. However, the Death Ray emitted by the massive thermal laser cannon was simply too devastating. Wherever the terrifying, three-meter-wide pillar of red light passed, it seemed capable of instantly cleaving everything in half!

And there were four such terrifying light beams!

Looking at the damage inflicted upon the Cataclysmic Beast by the Zerg and Protoss now, it appeared almost negligible. Against the astonishing thickness of its armor, perhaps only a concerted volley from a fully organized Dragon Knight unit, simultaneously focused on a single spot, could inflict sufficient damage to breach the plating. But facing the thermal laser cannons, such organized, tightly packed formations were nothing more than ripe grain before a harvester—only fit for reaping!

As for the Zerg forces, their most potent weapon against the Cataclysmic Beast proved to be the Banelings. The acidic spray resulting from their self-detonation was exceptionally corrosive to any metal, leaving pits at least half a meter deep in the Cataclysmic Beast’s outer steel plating, appearing like unsightly scars, and drastically reducing the armor's resistance to impact.

Fortunately, hatching Banelings required massive amounts of Vespene Gas. Since the Zerg air superiority was already a major weakness, and with a powerhouse like Pontan maintaining operations (increasing repair speed by 100%), the threat from a small number of Banelings was limited!

Just then, an urgent broadcast suddenly echoed through the Cataclysmic Beast’s interior: “Warning, Queen of Blades detected, locking on…!!”