The piercing shriek of claw strikes tore through the air like the death-song of a hellish spirit. In a frantic span of seven or eight seconds, Gu Xiechen unleashed nearly a thousand strikes with his twin claws, ripping chunks of flesh from the seven or eight white wolves assailing him. Blood sprayed everywhere, as Gu Xiechen’s Xue Po Shen Zhua (Snow Soul Divine Claws) pulverized the seven or eight beasts, each as stout as an ox.

A horrific scream echoed nearby, a burst of rapid gunfire starting and then immediately halting. Gu Xiechen gasped for a few deep breaths and looked behind him; the sight made his eyes turn crimson.

At least two hundred mercenary soldiers had been swarmed by the remaining fifty-odd white wolves, dragged to the ground. Under the wolves' fangs and claws, their bones seemed as fragile as tofu. Vast pools of hot blood soaked the ground, and with every sweep of a wolf's paw, a mercenary’s belly would be ripped open, spilling steaming, colorful viscera onto the snow.

The mercenaries shrieked, frantically firing at the wolves inches away, but bullets proved useless against these bio-engineered beasts crafted by the Romans. Standard rounds bounced harmlessly off the wolves' thick pelts. Even armor-piercing rounds, designed for extreme penetration, could barely score a shallow wound on the silver-white creatures, the minuscule drops of blood starkly visible against their pure forms.

A few rockets streaked in from a distance. The heavily-bearded Colonel, hearing reports of the bio-beasts, had personally led a battalion of his men out to reinforce the position.

A white wolf struck by a rocket exploded, a massive hole torn through its body, spilling guts mixed with vast quantities of plasma. Yet, it charged maniacally into the ranks of soldiers. In the blink of an eye, this near-dead wolf crunched through one mercenary’s skull and ripped two others apart. With a venomous snarl aimed at the charging, bearded Colonel, it finally gasped its last breath and collapsed.

Gu Xiechen and the bearded Colonel roared orders, locking themselves in a desperate melee with the horde of white wolves. The remaining mercenaries stabilized their positions, unleashing grenade launchers and rockets to thin the pack. Occasionally, a white wolf fell to a strike from Gu Xiechen or the Colonel; just as often, a mercenary was torn to shreds by the swift, blurring wolves; and sometimes, a wolf was reduced to bloody pulp by the concentrated hail of fire.

The scene descended into chaos. Blood, organs, and shredded meat plastered the snow, staining the white expanse a deep crimson.

The Roman soldiers, moments ago blasted backward by missiles and rockets fired from the helicopter, were swiftly replacing the energy cells in their power armor. Bright blue shields flickered back to life around them. Gripping their halberds, they advanced with confident smiles, victory seemingly in sight. Behind them, vast swathes of snow began to writhe, as legions of soldiers in white combat suits burrowed out of the ground.

These soldiers in white suits were relatively short, standing only between 1.6 and 1.7 meters tall, comparable to average Earthlings. Their features were exquisitely beautiful; though their faces were etched with murderous intent, their visages retained an almost artistic perfection. With pale green skin, dark emerald eyes, and long, purplish-green hair, they radiated a vibrant energy reminiscent of a pristine morning forest. These warriors, wielding high-energy laser rifles, looked less like killers on a battlefield and more like the elves of myth and legend.

The 'Spirit Race'—these stunningly beautiful soldiers were warriors of the 'Ling Zu' (Spirit Race).

The Ling Zu were the servant race of the Romans, naturally endowed with an affinity for the various energies pervading heaven and earth, making them innate esper-users. Every Roman noble family kept Ling Zu servants, but only a select few powerful aristocratic Roman houses could maintain large armies of Ling Zu warriors!

“Damn your mother!” Gu Xiechen and the bearded Colonel roared in unison.

The Ling Zu soldiers emerging from the snow numbered at least three thousand! That alone surpassed the combined strength of the Hell’s Angels Mercenary Corps and the power station’s internal guards.

A deep, muffled roar echoed from beneath the snowpack, causing large areas of ground to tremble. Ten massive beasts slowly surfaced—beasts strongly resembling mammoths. However, these ten mammoth-like behemoths towered over twenty meters high, and instead of thick fur, their bodies were covered in conical scales the size of washbasins. From their mouths extended six ten-meter-long tusks, sharp as blades. When they roared, their massive, blood-gaping maws revealed layer upon layer of razor-sharp teeth, some still clinging to strands of flesh.

“Damn it, the Romans’ bio-beasts have upgraded again!” Gu Xiechen cursed under his breath. “Three years ago, these Guli Beasts only had four tusks, and their skin definitely wasn't scaled!”

Gu Xiechen’s teeth ached with bitterness. Three years prior, he had participated in the secret dealings between the Gu Clan Group and the Romans, smuggling the specialized cellular source required to cultivate the next generation of Guli Beasts to the Romans. “Retribution, blast it, this is sheer retribution!” Gu Xiechen vowed inwardly. “I’ll never do business with the Romans again, damn it, retribution!”

Each of the ten Guli Beasts carried a small turret mounted on its back. The turret’s thick, black muzzles gleamed with a chilling, cold light. A few nimble Ling Zu tended the platforms. Following the arrogant commands of the Roman soldiers, the high-energy cannons on all ten turrets simultaneously spat out a thick, foot-wide beam of intense blue light.

A sickening caw-click sound sent a chill down Gu Xiechen's spine, and he instinctively dropped to the ground.

The foot-wide blue particle stream ionized the surrounding air, and as it left the muzzle, it was instantly wrapped in a high-energy plasma sheath nearly two meters thick. This plasma, hot enough to instantly vaporize common metal, grazed past the backs of Gu Xiechen and the bearded Colonel, striking the ranks of mercenary soldiers precisely behind them.

A violent explosion erupted, blue light consuming the world. The remaining dozens of white wolves, along with hundreds of mercenaries, vanished in the blue glare. Ten massive craters, several meters deep, scarred the snow.

The bearded Colonel’s mouth foamed in agony. He screamed into his communicator, “You sons of bitches! If your reinforcements don’t get here soon, I’ll report to the military review board that you’ve taken every bribe I ever offered! Damn it! Send the troops! Goddamn it, the military force here is the equivalent of a full Roman legion!”

A bitter taste filled Gu Xiechen’s mouth. A full Roman legion? That would require at least an augmented Division from the Earth Federation Army’s A-Class Corps just to hold them off! And here they were, only an under-strength internal guard regiment of the Hell’s Angels Mercenary Corps!

A piercing shriek sounded again. Gu Xiechen looked up and was instantly struck by sheer terror.

The heavy artillery mounted on the Guli Beasts simultaneously locked onto him and the bearded Colonel, ten massive high-energy particle streams ready to fire.

Snatching up the foul-mouthed Colonel, Gu Xiechen’s heart rate skyrocketed to nine hundred beats per minute. A surge of violent energy erupted from his Daotai (Dao Embryo). Ignoring whether his body could withstand the influx, Gu Xiechen gritted his teeth and channeled all his power through his feet.

With a dull thud, countless fissures cracked across the skin of Gu Xiechen’s feet. Bloody and mangled, he launched himself and the Colonel skyward as if they were fleas.

The ten high-energy particle streams exploded directly beneath their previous position. Gu Xiechen felt a furious blast of heat surge up from below, throwing him and the Colonel uncontrollably over two hundred meters away.

With a sickening thunk, the bearded Colonel crashed heavily to the ground, the impact knocking the wind out of him. A piece of rebar, lifted by the shockwave, landed with grim precision, skewering the Colonel’s thighs as if roasting a frog.

Dazed and reeling, Gu Xiechen just managed to scramble up when a cold, emotionless voice cut through the thick snowstorm from ahead.

“Xie Long? I should truly thank you!”

A Roman, three meters tall, wreathed in wildly burning blue flame, smashed through the heavy snow and appeared before Gu Xiechen.

Golden power armor, adorned with staggeringly intricate decorative patterns; a two-meter-long, equally exquisite purple light-saber; and a strangely shaped cape made of specialized material billowing behind the armor, covered in complex golden patterns—everything about this Roman indicated his extraordinary status.

Especially familiar were the patterns on his cape; Gu Xiechen recalled seeing similar designs several times during the secret transactions conducted by the Gu Clan Group in the past.

“A Roman Elector Family?” Gu Xiechen managed a dry laugh.

“The eldest son of the Second Elector Family, Holthsam, Polpot Holthsam, greets Mr. Xie Long!”

The Roman’s golden eyes glared coldly and mercilessly at Gu Xiechen.

“You thing who belongs in hell, I will cleave you limb from limb!”

The purple light-saber was raised high, and Polpot roared, bringing the sword down in a sweeping arc toward Gu Xiechen.

×××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××× The first update of the day is complete; hand over those recommendation tickets... hehe... A quick preview: starting tomorrow, young master Gu will slowly grow stronger, soaring to success, and his unique personality will gradually emerge. Look forward to it. Of course, the most important thing is: hand over those tickets quickly!