To utterly destroy Ducat Holsom, utilizing the Sirens to bewilder the Romans resulted in glorious victories. Gu Yechen deeply understood the terrifying power a Jieshi held in wartime; one equipped with sufficient Zakla crystals for replenishment could single-handedly tip the scales of a major battle. Reading made easy: The Zakla crystal veins on Paradise Star were the most abundant resource available. A Jieshi like Ducat was practically a mobile factory continuously churning out heavily armed automatons!

Killing Ducat Holsom was not for the sake of the Earth Federation, but for his own subordinates, for the mercenaries of the Hell’s Angels Mercenary Corps!

Gu Yechen channeled the momentum of his high-altitude dive, bringing a dense, steel-plate-like gust of Gang Feng directly towards Ducat. His right middle finger pointed remotely at Ducat; Gu Yechen’s entire focus was welded onto his target. The fingertip traced an elegant trajectory, trembling slightly. No matter where Ducat dodged, Gu Yechen was certain he could drive this all-extinguishing finger force straight into his brow.

Still a hundred meters away, a chilling aura already enveloped Ducat. The energy shields surrounding the dozens of elite Roman warriors near him fluctuated wildly, invisible forces buffeting their bodies, relentlessly draining the energy from their power armor.

Ducat let out a low roar. Streams of flowing, silver-like fluid began to seep out from within him. The armor plating on his body grew ever thicker until he finally manifested a suit of heavy armor, half a foot thick, coating his exterior. Ducat’s two fists were pressed firmly against his waist, trembling slightly—a clear sign he had concentrated every ounce of his strength.

A pale green silhouette darted towards Ducat. "Xiao, move away... this man is too powerful!"

A delicate, crisp cry rang out. Gu Yechen finally discerned the nature of the pale green figure—it was an Elven maiden, barely reaching 1.6 meters tall, exquisitely delicate and spiritually refined. She wore a short tunic and skirt that looked as if woven from climbing vines, refreshingly clean and pleasing to the eye. Compared to ordinary Elves, this maiden possessed an abundance of vitality and life force. Most peculiar was the tiny, bean-sized dark green crystal embedded in her brow, which continuously emitted a faint green glow, utterly mystical.

"Lily... don't come near!" Ducat bellowed, his tightly clenched fists suddenly shooting up to grasp the maiden's waist.

Lily gritted her teeth, her small body executing an almost impossible mid-air turn. The tip of her bare foot lightly touched Ducat’s fist. Using the momentum of Ducat’s grab, Lily abruptly accelerated and slammed herself between him and Ducat. The small green crystal in her brow flashed with an extremely fine spark of light. Lily crossed her arms over her chest, glaring fiercely at the rushing Gu Yechen, and shrieked, "Do not hurt Xiao!"

A ball of soft green light, the size of a human head, erupted from where Lily’s arms crossed. Gu Yechen suddenly experienced a delusion: it felt as if the surrounding forest had come alive, every tree becoming his enemy, radiating intense hostility towards him. Visible green currents of air continuously poured into the green sphere before Lily, and within one-hundredth of a second, the head-sized sphere violently expanded to five meters across before rapidly compressing toward its center.

Accompanied by a muffled thunderclap, a dense, dark green sphere, only the size of a fist, condensed before Lily. Lily gasped heavily, shouting, "Xiao, let me hold him off!"

Ducat had just retracted his hand to grasp Lily’s waist when Gu Yechen flashed within ten meters of them. It was too late to throw Lily clear.

Ducat roared, "Good! We join forces and fight him!"

Gu Yechen’s heart hammered. He sensed an invisible barrier near Ducat’s Dantian suddenly vanish, and a surge of thick, potent Zhenqi rapidly flooded out from within. Ducat erupted with colossal power, like an engine suddenly supplied with maximum fuel. His frame visibly elongated by about three inches. He held his left hand behind his back and slowly raised his right fist, aiming it at Gu Yechen.

In that instant, the auras of Ducat and Lily merged perfectly. Ducat’s gaze was firm and stubborn; Lily’s was clear as water, filled with profound, filial affection.

"Filial affection?" Gu Yechen instantly released his lock on their minds. The immense energy gathered in his middle finger surged rapidly into the meridians of his other four fingers. The Xue Po Divine Claws whipped up a chilling gale, slashing viciously towards the area surrounding Ducat and Lily.

The shadowy thicket was suddenly illuminated. Five crescent-shaped claw strikes, nearly tangible, whistled past Ducat and Lily’s bodies. A chilling cold nearly froze them in place. The Xue Po Divine Force, amplified by the Ruyi Gauntlets, manifested as five solid arcs of energy that swept out nearly a hundred meters. Every Roman warrior in their path let out piercing screams of agony. Some were cleaved in half at the waist, others split down the middle, and still others had limbs sheared off. A thick scent of blood billowed through the forest; over two hundred Roman warriors were either killed or grievously wounded by Gu Yechen’s full-power strike.

Gu Yechen zipped past Lily and Ducat like a phantom. His right hand blurred with lightning speed, striking Ducat’s armor dozens of times in quick succession. In an instant, he vanished into the pitch-black woods.

"I do not kill women... Ducat, you should be grateful for the little lady beside you!"

With a sharp crash, the heavy silver armor on Ducat’s body shattered into dozens of pieces. A sheen of cold sweat instantly beaded on Ducat’s forehead. He stared in absolute horror at the fragments littering the ground, muttering in disbelief, "How is that possible? This alloy... this alloy is the strongest composite I ever developed!"

Lily let out a soft hum, dismissing the green orb before her. She suddenly rolled her eyes and collapsed onto the ground, her pale green lips moving weakly. "So scary, so scary... Xiao, that guy just now was terrifying! Waaah, I thought both you and I were going to die!"

Ducat took a deep, shuddering breath, gazing at the bloody, mangled corpses of the Roman warriors on the ground.

A hint of schadenfreude curving his lips, Ducat sneered coldly, "Lily... the enemy facing Pol Pot and the others this time is truly formidable!"

Lily clutched the edge of Ducat’s uniform, looking up at him pitifully.

Gu Yechen gathered all his subordinates and departed the forest where the fierce battle had just raged. Three small transport ships hugged the terrain like thieves, flying swiftly along the contours of the mountains and rivers, meticulously avoiding any potential scanning waves from the sky or ground. Gu Yechen stood in the command cabin of the lead transport, gazing thoughtfully at the rapidly passing forest on the main screen.

"Not killing her... was the right call! A half-breed from the Roman family? And a Jieshi with such a strange ability!"

Gu Yechen chuckled strangely. "It’s good to sow some goodwill; perhaps it will be useful later! Besides, that little girl’s name was Lily? I truly couldn’t bring myself to strike her!"

The image on the screen suddenly changed, revealing a stout, elderly man with distinct Nordic features.

This old man, dressed in the uniform of an Earth Federation Army General, sported a dignified Vandyke beard. Beneath his high, prominent brow ridge were two deep-set sockets, and his deep grey eyes glittered with a cold, stubborn ferocity tinged with savagery. The moment he saw Gu Yechen, the old man barked sternly, "Paradise Star Independence Army Colonel Commander Gu Yechen?"

Gu Yechen stared deeply at the General on the screen for a full ten seconds before replying heavily, "Affirmative!"

Everyone in the command cabin inhaled sharply; the main force of the Earth Federation Army had finally arrived.

The General narrowed his eyes and roared, "I am Admiral Vagri, Five-Star General and overall commander of the Earth Federation Paradise Star Expeditionary Force! I order: the Paradise Star Independence Army is immediately to submit to command, integrated into the A Group Army Cluster of the Expeditionary Force, and placed under the direct command of Lieutenant Colonel Vali of the 98th Independent Heavy Armored Brigade."

A young Lieutenant Colonel, appearing to be in his early thirties, with a fair complexion and refined, handsome features, appeared on the screen. He executed a crisp, sharp military salute toward Gu Yechen, displaying a touch of arrogance and the subtle sense of superiority a regular army officer often feels towards militia forces. "Gu Yechen... sir, starting today, you are under my direct command!"

Gu Yechen frowned and sneered, "My rank, I believe, is Colonel!" Vali’s addressing him as 'sir' while pointedly ignoring his rank rankled Gu Yechen immensely.

Vagri roared loudly, "Obey orders, Colonel Gu Yechen!"

A surge of anger flared in Gu Yechen’s chest. He bellowed, pitching his voice ten octaves higher than Vali’s, "Mr. Vagri, my brothers fought fiercely for half a month and suffered heavy losses! I demand all my men take immediate respite here. Until we receive sufficient replacement troops and weaponry, the Paradise Star Independence Army will not participate in any combat!"

Vagri was startled by Gu Yechen’s outburst. A commander of an army unit reformed from a mercenary band resembling local thugs dared to speak to him this way? Vagri was one of the longest-serving Admirals in the Earth Federation Military Command, possessing an enormous network of connections and latent power in the European and American theaters. Gu Yechen dared to speak to him like this?

Lieutenant Colonel Vali smiled thinly, mockingly asking, "Oh? Gu Yechen... sir, your subordinates fought hard for half a month? What achievements do you claim?"

Gu Yechen tilted his head up haughtily, coldly sneering with an attitude a hundred times more arrogant than Lt. Col. Vali’s. "I annihilated one hundred and thirty Level One Roman warships! According to the Earth Federation Army’s regulations on rewards and punishments, my merit is enough for a promotion to Major General! And you, a mere Lieutenant Colonel, dare to show off in front of me?"

Vagri and Vali were stunned. Silence descended upon the communication channel.

Not just Gu Yechen, but Siren, Aredia, and the others in the command cabin simultaneously held their heads high with arrogance, looking like a flock of fighting cocks that had just won their bout.

Vali’s face twitched violently. He roared almost madly, "Nonsense! Falsifying military achievements is punishable by court-martial!"

Gu Yechen waved his hand dismissively. A specialized data chip, removed from the battlefield recorder, was inserted into the communication device, instantly transmitting the battle reports from the past few days to Vagri and the others.

After a full ten minutes, it was obvious that Vagri and the others on the screen collectively drew sharp breaths of cold air.

Vagri looked at Gu Yechen with an expression that became incredibly strange. Vali’s gaze, however, could only be described as venomous. Gu Yechen even wondered if he and Vali shared a history of a murdered father or a stolen wife, perhaps if he had unintentionally wiped out Vali’s entire lineage.

"Damn it, I’ve made an enemy for no reason!"

Gu Yechen’s mind was as clear as a mirror; he knew he would have to be constantly wary of Vali stabbing him in the back from now on. ×××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××× The second update is here... Well, no more rambling. I’m still typing... Comrades, keep sending those votes... Back to writing!