Two Holy See Knights struggled to maintain their Holy Light Shields against the relentless assault of the armed robots, with at least three bots focusing the fire from six high-velocity energy cannons directly upon them. Thousands of high-energy beams rained down every second, causing their shields to spray showers of white light. The divine arrays carved into their armor pulsed with blinding white energy, and some of the sacred runes and talismans on these arrays were already warping and melting; it was clear the shields were moments away from collapsing under the strain of overloaded Holy Power output.

Two massive vines lashed out wildly, striking the two Knights. Each impact felt like being hit by a speeding compact car. Fortunately, the Holy See Knights possessed solid martial foundations; the weakest among them present had reached the peak of the Houtian (Post-Heaven) level, and combined with the protection of the Holy Light Shields, the impact of several tons did not pose a fatal threat. However, under the continuous barrage of strikes, blood began to seep from the corners of the two Knights' mouths, and they looked moments from collapse.

It was at that critical juncture that the colossal stones projected by Xin Jia arrived.

Each boulder, several meters in diameter, weighed over a hundred tons. The kinetic energy carried by the stones hurtling toward them at supersonic speeds was almost unimaginable. The two Knights, who had only barely managed to hold on, cried out in agony. The three divine arrays carved onto their armor erupted in a final blinding flash of light; dozens of sacred runes and talismans on these arrays burned away and melted, and the protective formations shattered completely. The boulders smashed into the two men, crushing their heavy silver armor as easily as paper. Both men sprayed gouts of blood, resembling lemons being juiced.

A storm of projectiles poured down, vaporizing the two mangled bodies in the downpour.

With the two Holy See Knights dispatched, the boulders disintegrated mid-air into clouds of ochre mist, merging seamlessly into the ground. André, who had turned back upon hearing his subordinates’ screams, witnessed only the final moment before his two men were atomized by the high-energy beams, yet he failed to discern who had calculated his demise.

Aside from the aggressively attacking Romans, only the members of the Asian Dao Alliance and the Pantheon Alliance were present in the valley. The Romans' firepower alone could not have breached the Holy See Knights' Holy Light Shields so quickly; the elimination of his men must have been orchestrated by an outside party. André’s face contorted in rage. The white rhombic crystal embedded in his brow flared brilliantly, and amidst a deep, resonant roar, dozens of silver golems, standing three meters tall, marched out from the radiance.

Tens of thousands of energy beams converged on these silver golems, causing only minor ripples in the layer of nearly tangible silver light three inches thick that enveloped them. The golems’ solid silver fists collided violently, sending out continuous arcs of white lightning. They snatched up these arcs of lightning and casually hurled them toward the robots strafing them relentlessly from above the valley.

The power of the lightning surpassed that of the high-velocity energy cannons by more than ten times. Each white lightning strike pierced through several armed robots. Robots exploded one after another, and streams of cold light constantly flowed back into Ducat Holsom’s body. As more robots were destroyed, Ducat Holsom’s expression grew increasingly grim. A trace of his mental energy was attached to every robot, and this energy dissipated when the machines were destroyed. He felt an increasing heaviness in his head.

“Full-scale assault!” Ducat Holsom commanded.

Nearly a thousand faint green figures surged into the valley following his order. The Spirit Race assassins, clad in skin-tight suits whose colors shifted to match their surroundings and wielding daggers, swept toward the enemy like a furious gale. The dark green daggers, shaped like the fangs of a viper, cut trails of cold light through the air. The terminus of every cold streak was inevitably the carotid artery in someone’s neck.

Little Daoist Zhang, Bobby, and André shouted simultaneously: “We were waiting for you!”

The situation in the valley shifted again as the three factions unleashed their most powerful counterattacks.

Little Daoist Zhang and a contingent of elites from the Asian Dao Alliance, all wearing Daoist robes, simultaneously unleashed a barrage of Lightning Formulas. Countless streams of lightning, varied in color and attribute—some descending from the sky, some erupting from the ground, others spurting from their palms—wove together into a dense net of death that incinerated over two hundred Spirit Race assassins into ash. Zhu Hua led dozens of zombies, utterly saturated with the aura of death, charging into the ranks of the Spirit Race assassins. These zombies, insensible to pain and fearless of death, lunged wildly at the Spirit Race warriors, utterly ignoring the threat posed by the daggers.

The Pantheon Alliance contingent led by Bobby was shrouded in an enveloping black mist, thick and viscous, covering their forces. Energy beams pouring down from higher ground vanished without a trace once they entered the black fog. Innumerable white, bare bone spurs and bone spears whistled out from the miasma. Over a hundred of the forward-most Spirit Race assassins were caught completely off guard by these bizarre bone projectiles. Their bodies instantly blackened and festered, quickly dissolving into pools of putrid fluid.

The sound of thunderous hoofbeats resonated as over two thousand tall knights clad in black armor, wielding long spears and riding skeletal steeds, charged out of the black mist. A wave of chilling, malevolent spiritual energy, reeking of death, washed over the entire valley. The Pantheon Alliance had concealed Jieshi (Realm Masters) among them; these Death Knights, radiating oppressive deathly energy, were undoubtedly his Jiekuilei (Realm Puppets).

The two thousand Death Knights charged in formation. Their long spears carved streaks of blinding black light through the air. Hundreds of Spirit Race assassins were impaled and torn apart, spraying pale green ichor. All the blood was immediately absorbed into the bodies of the Death Knights, causing the black mist clinging to their forms to thicken even more. The evil energy in the air intensified, and an unbearable stench of decay permeated the surroundings.

Gu Xiechen covered his nose, cautiously approaching the Holy See contingent. The stench from the Pantheon Alliance side was truly peculiar; the air near the Holy See felt much cleaner. Under the intense coverage of the Holy Light, all offensive odors were thoroughly purified. Watching the Holy See members constantly casting out vast sprays of holy light, Gu Xiechen suddenly had a strange thought: “If I get the chance in the future, perhaps I should cultivate a few retainers from the Holy See. These human-shaped air purifiers are indeed quite effective.”

Three massive concussions boomed. On the western cliff face, more than a dozen robots had assembled a massive energy cannon. Three crimson beams blasted down, and dozens of Holy See Knights, who had linked their Holy Light Shields together, were blown away by the colossal explosion like leaves in the wind. The divine arrays on their armor fractured in quick succession. Continuous cracking sounds echoed from the bodies of dozens of Holy See Knights as they spat blood from all seven orifices, crashing heavily to the ground without a breath left.

André roared in fury. He pulled a fist-sized, white Zakula crystal from his sleeve.

Gu Xiechen’s attention was immediately drawn to this crystal. It was perfectly transparent, utterly devoid of impurities—an energy crystal of terrifying quality. A hazy, mist-like white light enveloped it. Even from dozens of meters away, Gu Xiechen could sense the colossal power contained within it.

A thin white beam shot out from the crystal in André’s brow, establishing a link with the Zakula crystal in his hand. Vast amounts of energy surged into his body, accompanied by the sound of stretching flesh and bone. André abruptly grew to nearly two meters in height. Silver light continuously erupted from around him, and one by one, silver-cast golems marched out with deafening roars. In just over ten seconds, André had summoned nearly three hundred Silver Golems.

The Silver Golems' fists crashed together madly, spewing out dazzling white lightning arcs. The golems seized the lightning and hurled it toward the high-mounted armed robots, causing one robot after another to explode.

A tremendous explosion echoed from the valley entrance. A narrow fissure allowing entry into the valley was blown open, and several thousand Spirit Race soldiers poured into the valley, spearheaded by nearly a hundred heavy combat vehicles. The continuous, savage roars of beasts were incessant. Over two hundred White Tigers, ten meters long; over four hundred pitch-black Panthers, five meters long; and over six hundred sleek, fierce Snow Wolves, about four meters long—the Roman biological warfare beast legion charged in, guarding the left and right flanks of the Spirit Race warriors.

The Pantheon Alliance’s Death Knight legion collided head-on with the bio-beast army. Both sides were engines of slaughter, impervious to pain and unafraid of death. A bloody, frenzied melee immediately erupted between them. Streaks of black cold light pierced the air, tearing through the bodies of the bio-beasts. The corrosive dark energy clinging to the spears melted man-sized holes in the beasts’ forms. The bio-beasts roared in madness. Their sharp, powerful claws rapidly shredded the skeletal steeds into fragments. They opened their massive maws and yanked the Death Knights from their horses, swallowing them whole.

Even after being swallowed by the bio-beasts, the consumed Death Knights struggled and thrashed within their mouths. Even if most of their limbs were mangled, even if only one arm remained, these Death Knights exerted every ounce of strength to tear off large chunks of flesh from the bio-beasts.

Great hunks of bone and flesh were sprayed everywhere, along with copious amounts of black, red, and green slime and blood. The valley, which had once resembled a fairyland, had been transformed into a veritable hellscape.

In just a few minutes of engagement, all two thousand Death Knights were annihilated, and the bio-beast army had suffered over sixty percent casualties.

The Roman army had deployed into attack formation. The cannons of nearly a hundred heavy combat vehicles, shimmering with faint electrical arcs, were aimed at everyone inside the valley. The Spirit Race warriors swiftly seized the most advantageous terrain, and various types of firearms were also aimed at the three factions: the Asian Dao Alliance, the Pantheon Alliance, and the Holy See.

André continued to draw power from the white crystal, and more Silver Golems emerged from his side. A neat formation of one thousand Silver Golems encircled the Holy See contingent, forming an impregnable defensive line. White lightning bolts, as thick as a man’s wrist, surged back and forth between the bodies of the Silver Golems. The air was filled with the sound of crackling thunder; the might displayed by these Silver Golems was astonishing.

Saying nothing more, the countdown to the shelf launch officially begins...

Recommendations, clicks—everyone get fired up...

Pig Head is waiting for the launch the day after tomorrow...