Siren and Aredia exchanged a look, and he gave a wry smile. “I honestly want to find another Crystalline Orb for a secondary fusion.” (Read the full novel at Sixteen Literature Net)

The three captured Romanians were escorted out by Andorf and more than thirty fighters. They each carried small, exquisite yet powerful battlefield recorders and ultra-high-frequency subspace communicators—the subspace communicator was another technological hurdle the Earth Federation had failed to conquer, an instrument capable of contacting targets moving at faster-than-light warp speeds within subspace, directly from normal space.

When the three Romanians saw the women continually popping out from Siren’s side, their faces darkened. They recalled the horrific, painful experience from a few hours earlier: their high-speed warship had been violently restrained, and three Jieshi had simultaneously unleashed a torrential storm of attacks upon them! Just as they had wailed then, three Jieshi—they should have been sent to attack the Roman Pantheon, not used against three insignificant Romanians like themselves.

“Honorable Esteemed Evil Dragon, may we depart now?” The three Romanians bowed deeply and respectfully to Gu Xichen.

“Almost done!” Siren answered the Romanians on Gu Xichen’s behalf. “Give me ten more minutes; I’ll have enough!”

A fierce gust of wind swept out from the dense forest. Xin Jia burst from the woods and charged back into the valley. After only a few minutes, he reappeared, dragging a metal container as he rushed back out. The bodies of the three Romanians trembled slightly; their previously drifting gazes became exceptionally steady—when faced with terrifying Jieshi, self-preservation was paramount.

An hour later, on a plain carpeted with blooming white lilies, a vast, momentous war began.

On one side were the Hell’s Angels mercenaries, clad in black uniforms; on the other, the Holy Unicorn mercenaries, dressed in silver. Over seven thousand Holy Unicorn mercenaries established a defensive position around a small cluster of hills in the center of the plain, forming a stronghold roughly three kilometers long and wide, while more than thirty thousand Hell’s Angels mercenaries attacked them from all directions.

Attack aircraft swept across the ground in the sky, almost skimming the earth in a brutal frenzy. Heavy rockets roared toward the ground, and silver-clad figures exploded into sprays of bloody pulp amidst the firelight, scattering gore everywhere. The pure white lilies were splattered with blood plasma, rendering them unspeakably hideous.

Accompanied by shrill screeching, large-caliber shells rained down continuously, carving colossal craters, some exceeding fifteen meters in diameter, into the earth. Every shell pulverized every figure within dozens of meters. Shockwaves of white force swept outward; any mercenary too close to the explosions was blasted into a cloud of sanguine mist by the sheer force of the air.

Tens of thousands of soldiers struggled and writhed amidst the hail of bullets and artillery fire. Mercenaries in black uniforms charged madly toward the entrenched positions spitting fire, while mercenaries in silver uniforms leaped from trenches with machine guns, ignoring death to launch counterattacks. Kinetic rounds of immense power punched bowl-sized holes through the soldiers’ bodies, spraying chunks of flesh and blood. Often, as soon as a group of soldiers fell, a covering barrage of large-caliber shells would descend, tearing everything within hundreds of meters into dust; not a single intact corpse remained on the entire battlefield.

More than a dozen medium-sized armored vehicles spewed fire as they pushed toward the defensive line, closely followed by over two hundred figures in black uniforms. Dozens of silver-clad mercenaries, howling wildly while clutching heavy explosive charges, rushed headlong into this rapidly advancing column. The simultaneous detonation of dozens of explosives turned the dozen vehicles and the two hundred fighters behind them into nothingness in a flash of fire. Retaliatory artillery immediately poured down, and after immense concussions, two dozen massive craters scarred the earth.

Dozens of light and heavy machine guns within bunkers atop the hillsides fired wildly, reaping enemy lives as if harvesting wheat. Suddenly, nearly a hundred black-clad figures screaming while carrying explosives charged toward these bunkers. Black figures fell along the path of the charge, until finally, only two dozen or so managed to get close enough. The explosives detonated, launching the dozen bunkers into the sky amidst a spray of mangled limbs, copious amounts of pulp, and blood plasma, turning the air a glaring crimson and black. Dozens of high-explosive shells whistled down, leveling the entire immediate area.

With several eerie howls of ‘Awoo,’ more than thirty black-clad figures charged the defensive line, brandishing long sabers. Their blades were like lightning, instantly tearing the bodies of nearly a hundred silver figures apart. Blade-light crisscrossed the field; every strike kicked up long waves of blood. These black figures leaped with aerial grace; a mere touch of their toes on the ground sent them twenty meters into the air, clearly indicating strength approaching at least that of a Xiantian Fighter. This elite squad was unstoppable, successfully breaching two defensive lines in succession.

Three attack helicopters suddenly soared up from deep trenches, flying so close they almost brushed the noses of the leading black figures. The dense rocket pods mounted on the helicopters’ weapon pylons erupted in sheets of flame, sending down a dense swarm of rockets like hornets attacking a nest, piercing the bodies of the black figures. The thirty-odd powerful warriors, along with the hundreds of mercenaries following closely behind ‘them,’ were blown to smithereens by the rocket barrage.

However, before the three attack helicopters could gain altitude, more than a dozen mercenaries who had miraculously survived the rocket salvo charged them desperately. ‘They’ jumped onto the weapon pylons of the helicopters. Pulling the pins on the grenades strapped to their bodies, dozens of high-explosive grenades instantly turned the three helicopters into three balls of fire. The wreckage crashed heavily back to the ground, and the mass detonation of onboard munitions and weaponry turned the surrounding area into an inferno of death. Several onboard heavy missiles were somehow triggered, spitting out long streaks of fire, and the wildly erratic heavy missiles slammed into a nearby cluster of bunkers, blasting seven or eight fortifications skyward.

The scene was a bloody mess littered with craters; among the fallen soldiers, not a single one remained intact. The brutality of the combat between the opposing soldiers was simply appalling.

Yet, less than two kilometers from the battlefield, deep within the dense woods, the atmosphere was one of leisurely repose.

Andorf connected his personal computer to the instrument placed before the three Romanians via a data cable, monitoring their every move. More than thirty fighters surrounded the area, each sporting electromagnetic grenades specifically designed to counter Roman mental assaults hanging from their belts. Gu Xichen sat under a large tree a hundred meters away, while Siren and Aredia cuddled closely together beneath another tree. A grilling expert among the mercenaries was roasting a freshly hunted elk nearby.

“Calm skies, pleasant days—this life is truly good!” Gu Xichen pulled several thick slices of Zizhi from his sleeve and tossed them to the roasting mercenaries. “Crush these spirit mushrooms and grill them along with the meat.”

As the Zizhi was broken apart, thick, pale-purple juice oozed out, releasing a refreshing, pervasive fragrance that slowly spread through the woods. Siren and Aredia simultaneously lifted their heads in surprise; within the scent, they detected an aura powerfully attractive to Jieshi. Gu Xichen winked at Siren. “Natural spirit mushrooms naturally perish after growing for about a century. But these specimens I found have likely been growing for several thousand years; they are excellent for replenishing spiritual energy consumption and strengthening one’s spiritual source.”

Siren took a deep breath.

Gu Xichen looked up at the sky with a placid expression. “I have many similar spiritual medicines. If they can be taken in large quantities over a long period, they should allow a Jieshi’s spiritual power to grow and expand rapidly. Heh, with stronger spiritual power, the power of the Jie grows stronger, allowing control over more and more potent Jie Puppets, thus improving one’s own cultivation. How wonderful!”

Siren spat dismissively. He muttered softly, “Don’t even think about tempting me; these small benefits aren't enough to make me defect to you!”

Gu Xichen shrugged, turning his attention back to the mercenaries tending the grill.

Andorf suddenly shouted, “Signal connected! Everyone be silent!”

Gu Xichen sprang up instantly, wisps of clear wind swirling around his robe. He crossed a hundred meters in a single stride, landing silently beside Andorf. Siren and Aredia also hastily and cautiously moved closer, standing quietly behind Gu Xichen.

The ultra-high-frequency subspace communicator was now linked to the Roman fleet speeding through subspace. A light screen flickered into existence from the device, and two Roman youths, who looked about seven or eight parts alike, appeared in the shimmering light. Gu Xichen and the others were positioned at a clever angle; they could see the figures on the screen, but those figures could not possibly see them.

The three Romanians immediately knelt on one knee, bowing deeply. They respectfully announced, “Greetings to the esteemed Lord Polkin, greetings to the esteemed Lord Yakkin.”

Light patterns shimmered across the screen, which then divided into nine panels, revealing the figures of even more Romanians. The attitude of the three Romanians became even more humble; they lowered their heads deeply, greeting the young men on the screen one by one with profound reverence.

The most outstanding direct descendants of the nine major Electoral Families of the Romanians were gathered here. Polkin and Yakkin hailed from the Roman’s current leading Electoral Family; the current Roman King was their father. According to Earth customs, Polkin would be the Second Prince of Rome, and Yakkin the Third Prince. However, Roman kings did not hold hereditary power, so they could only be addressed as ‘Lord’ or ‘Your Excellency,’ not ‘Your Highness’ in the manner of Earth traditions.

Polkin spoke first, cutting across everyone else. “You should have arrived at Paradise Star eight hours ago. How is the execution of your mission proceeding?”

One of the Romanians hastily replied, “Esteemed Lord, we landed near the Earthlings’ main forward base on Paradise Star; they did not detect us. Our subordinates have been dispatched; they are currently mapping the surrounding terrain and conducting preliminary surveys of various ore veins. This is the first wave of data we have collected.”

First update of the day... still asking for recommendations... Hehe, recommendation tickets, recommendation tickets...