"There must be another way, fellows! Think of something!" "Damn it, what is this? I can't see anything!"

The two Ape-Man Quasi-Masters widened their eyes, scanning their surroundings. All around them, invisible light blades weaved and turned through the air at will, striking their defenses at high speed from every direction. Look left, and a blade stabbed from the right; guard the right, and blades struck from above and below simultaneously, the hissing sound like rain drumming on banana leaves.

"It’s endless, this isn't over yet."

Yang Ying stood calmly to the side with his sword, not joining the assault. This battle no longer required his intervention.

"My light staff is flickering; it can't hold out much longer. Are these invisible things Golden Light Swords?"

The small Ape-Man Quasi-Master enveloped his light staff with icy energy, but he still felt the staff rapidly heating up, soon making it almost too painful to grip.

"It’s the same for me here—let’s get out of here!"

The tall Ape-Man Quasi-Master roared, whirling his light staff like a windmill. He stamped his feet heavily on the ground, producing dull thuds as he bolted out of the corridor, leaving deep imprints on the alloy floor with every step.

The small Quasi-Master shared the same thought. He spun his light staff furiously, maintaining a back-to-back stance, retreating rapidly using a 'shrinking earth' footwork technique to guard the tall Quasi-Master’s rear.

The spiritual acuity of a Quasi-Master was acutely sharp, reaching the limits of the mundane. They could achieve perfect control over any muscle, sinew, or even internal organ, allowing them to maintain balance without any discernible wasted movement, even while retreating at high speed.

"It’s too late to leave now."

Yang Ying shifted his stance, instantly appearing before the tall Ape-Man Quasi-Master. He raised his invisible light sword and brought it down in a 'Splitting Mount Hua' strike aimed at the man's head.

The tall Quasi-Master felt an overwhelmingly terrifying sense of crisis before him and let out a roar, raising his light staff to meet Yang Ying’s invisible blade.

Sssshhk!

Yang Ying’s invisible light sword crashed heavily against the rotating light staff. The immense physical strength of the Blade Emperor, fused with the explosive psionic power of a top-tier Quasi-Master, converged into a colossal force that instantly blasted the tall Quasi-Master backward.

His body hit the small Quasi-Master first, the two colliding as they flew dozens of meters across the space, slamming heavily into the far wall of the corridor, gouging a distinct crater in the metal surface.

"That’s the end for you two."

With a thought, Yang Ying mentally commanded eleven light swords to stab toward the two apes. The tall Quasi-Master’s hand had just had its webbing split by Yang Ying’s previous strike, sending tremors through his body. His hand felt useless now. He managed to weakly block twice with his light staff before hearing a sharp crack—the staff exploded in his grip!

In that instant, he was sliced into pieces by the invisible light swords that pierced through his defenses.

The small Quasi-Master, having been used as a shield by the tall one and then crashing into the alloy wall, suffered injuries no less severe. He struggled out of the dent in the wall. Before he could even fully raise his light staff, an invisible light sword pierced his defense, driving straight through his left chest and out the other side.

He let out a muffled, half-formed cry before several more light swords followed, hacking him into fragments.

"This sword technique, combined with the invisible light swords—it should sweep away anyone below the Master level, I reckon."

Yang Ying retrieved his invisible light swords with satisfaction and turned to walk out of the corridor.

Just as Yang Ying set the nuclear warhead timer, the two Master-level experts fighting fiercely at the other end of the fortress momentarily paused their movements.

Gang Di stepped back two paces, holding his light staff horizontally across his chest, and shouted, "Garcia, I didn't expect you to send someone after the nuclear weapon! Do you intend to blow this whole base sky-high? You despicable wretch!"

Master Garcia felt a surge of surprise. His plan did not include any action against the nuclear arsenal. Had someone taken unauthorized initiative?

Moreover, was the defense of Fortress No. 1 really this flimsy, that the small contingent he sent could actually seize the nuclear depot? Judging by what he and Gang Di had seen and experienced while fighting their way through, it shouldn't be that weak.

But regardless, since both he and Gang Di sensed the devastating threat of a nuclear detonation, there must indeed be a bomb in Fortress No. 1 ready to go off, and judging by Gang Di's reaction, it didn't seem like a ploy.

Seeing Master Garcia remain silent, Gang Di’s mind raced, and he shouted again, "Don't think you've won just because of this! As long as you’re still in the fortress, the nuclear bomb absolutely won't detonate!"

Gang Di did not believe the Earth Forces would sacrifice a Master-level expert just to capture his fortress. He was certain that as long as he could keep Master Garcia engaged here, preventing his retreat, he could buy time to dismantle the bomb.

"All troops listen to my orders! Except for the guards at vital departments, the rest immediately move to Weapon Depot Zero to eliminate the intruders! Deploy all combat robots from the warehouse immediately! Pay attention, the intruders have activated the nuclear bomb—you must dismantle it!"

Gang Di yelled into his communicator, then raised his light staff and began swinging it like a madman, pulling Master Garcia back into combat.

Master Garcia knew that with the small force he brought, defending the nuclear arsenal against a full mobilization was a slim hope. Remaining there would only be like waiting in a jar to be caught. Could he really wait for the nuclear bomb to detonate and be buried with the Ancient Legion?

In Garcia’s estimation, regardless of which squad was tampering with the bomb, it likely wouldn't hold out long against the superior forces stationed at Fortress No. 1. It would be better to take advantage of the current situation, where the fortress forces were concentrated at the arsenal, and expedite their primary mission. In this way, going with the flow might serve as a diversionary tactic.

Of course, before that, he still needed to clarify exactly who had taken the nuclear depot.

"Who attacked the nuclear arsenal? Report immediately!" Master Garcia also activated his communicator to inquire.

Silence met him on the channel. After a moment, came replies.

"Report, Master, no one has been there!"

"No one went to the nuclear depot."

Several Quasi-Masters and Qing Feng Ming Yue and the others all reported that no one had carried out this action.

Gang Di also heard these reports, and his heart immediately jumped. Could other enemies have infiltrated the fortress? But then he reconsidered: this might just be Garcia and his subordinates putting on an act to confuse him. Intelligence received from the enemy's communications could only be trusted halfway at best.

"Trying to trick me with a show? You're using the communicator right in front of me—do you expect me to believe that nonsense?" Gang Di roared.

Master Garcia certainly had no obligation to explain himself to the enemy. He merely frowned, deflecting Gang Di's attacks.

He knew the situation with his subordinates; generally, if they said no, it meant no. But if his people didn't do it, and Gang Di's people didn't do it, then who did?

After some thought, Master Garcia changed his original plan. The appearance of a third party introduced too much uncertainty into the mission. He should temporarily retreat to gather intelligence and formulate a counter-plan before proceeding, otherwise, his entire force risked annihilation here.

"All troops, retreat! I repeat, all troops, retreat!" Master Garcia commanded.

"What's going on? We were doing so well, and now we're retreating! Those Ape-Men ahead are about to collapse!" Qing Feng’s voice was laced with frustration. He was leading a squad of power-armored troops down one end of the corridor, firing at the Ape-Men and robots at the other end. The Ape-Men on the opposite side were showing themselves less and less frequently, clearly unable to hold out much longer.

"You won't obey the Master’s order?" Ming Yue said lightly.

"If Master Garcia said it, he must have his reasons," one High-Tier Psion advised as well.

"This..." Qing Feng showed a conflicted expression. In just one second, he reluctantly gave the order, "Retreat!"

In Qing Feng's eyes, not just a Master-level expert, but even a mere Psion was someone he had always looked up to. Although he was a military officer and not part of the Psionic Temple’s system, the advice of a Psion was always worth heeding.

Several smoke grenades were thrown toward the opposite side of the corridor to obscure vision, and Qing Feng and Ming Yue led their team back.

Simultaneously, all splinter units that had infiltrated Fortress No. 1 made the same choice, disengaging from combat and returning the way they came, retreating toward the fortress exit.

Yang Ying sat at the entrance of Weapon Depot Zero and observed this trend in the images relayed by the observer drones.

"It looks like everyone from the strike team, except for Master Garcia who is tied up by Gang Di, has started to withdraw. But as long as Master Garcia doesn't leave, I can't detonate the nuclear bomb. I need to find a way to create an opening for Master Garcia. Hmm, perhaps like this..."

Yang Ying took out the remote detonator for the nuclear warhead and set a fifteen-minute timer. Then, he activated the countdown.

"Changing the remote to a timer, detonation in fifteen minutes. Gang Di, are you going to stay here and perish with the fortress? I highly doubt it."

Again, Ape-Men with robot troops began converging on Weapon Depot Zero from all directions. A rough estimate showed at least ten thousand combat robots.

Moreover, more combat robots were pouring out of several warehouses continuously, increasing in number by thousands every minute.

"In fifteen minutes, I need to be far enough away. I don't have time to play games with you all anymore. If you want to find the nuclear warhead, go look for it in the ruins."

Yang Ying shot out all twelve of his invisible light swords into the icy rock ceiling above him. After a few seconds, the crackling sounds grew louder, and fissures began to spread outward from the holes where the swords had penetrated.

With a tremendous crash, a massive section of the ice layer above Weapon Depot Zero collapsed.

Huge chunks of ice slammed onto the depot, some even larger than elephants, burying the entire structure beneath them. A moment later, the ice crushed the alloy rebar, and the entire weapon depot instantly caved in.

Yang Ying, with a flicker of movement, vanished from the spot.

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