A dozen or so Roman Terran fighters rose from the trenches. They ascended into the high sky on single-person disc-shaped hovercraft, and at the same time, a dozen axes struck out from the Roman side toward Jin Hu, releasing streams of incredibly lethal high-energy particle beams. As ionized air enveloped the particle streams, brilliant blue light tore through the atmosphere. Seeing the danger, Jin Hu immediately retreated backward. The mercenaries who had charged with him were vaporized in the bursting blue light. Jin Hu looked up to the heavens and cried out, "My brothers!"

A dozen powerful mental assaults swept through the air. The disoriented Jin Hu took the full impact of the mental onslaught. As his body abruptly leaped up, Jin Hu felt a dizzy spell overwhelm him, and two streams of blood suddenly spurted from his nostrils. With a gulu gulu sound, Jin Hu rolled off the high ground like an egg. A few desperate mercenaries rushed forward, hauled him back, and set him down. Jin Hu managed to pry his eyes open, attempting to speak, but as soon as he did, he spat out another mouthful of blood. The mental attacks from the dozen elite Roman warriors had merged into one unified force; Jin Hu, caught completely off guard, suffered catastrophic damage.

Two kilometers behind them, in a small hollow between hills, several heavy combat vehicles were haphazardly positioned, tightly encircling a field communications truck. Next to the truck lay a camouflage tarp, upon which Ingles and four subordinates were lazily stripped naked, sunbathing. Vali sat by the door of the comms truck, a light screen flickering before his face. The battle unfolding on the high ground was entirely visible, including the humiliating scene of Jin Hu rolling down the slope. "Hey, I'll put up a thousand credits that this fat slob lasts at least three more days!"

Seeing that Ingles was already drifting off to sleep, Vali pulled a bank note valued at a thousand Federation Credits from his pocket and waved it. Ingles snapped his eyes open, jumped up, and snatched the bill from Vali's hand. "Relax, I'm betting this fat guy gets done in by tomorrow! Oh, money, I love you to death!"

Ingles deeply inhaled the scent of the ink on the banknote and forcefully kissed the image of the Federation's first Chairman printed on it. Vali closed the light screen on his face, crossed his legs, and asked Ingles, "You really think that..."

"...Gu Xiechen is truly dead, right? Otherwise, if he comes back..." Ingles flopped back onto the tarp. He said languidly, "According to the Military Intelligence Bureau's special report, the pursuer sent to kill him is Monteddy, an Assassin Master retained by the Holum Family—an Assassin Master of the Phantom Clan. Oh, that Gu Xiechen is definitely dead. Vali frowned. "I mean, what if he does come back?" Ingles impatiently waved a hand. "There won't be a 'what if.' Stop worrying, Vali, rest assured! If the Phantom Clan's Assassin Master isn't up to par, we still have five comrades waiting for him outside. If they can join forces to defeat Siren and Areyapya, they can certainly handle Gu Xiechen. Even if they can't, we still have five people here, and the General has even more formidable assets beside him. Does he think he can defeat all of us combined?"

Ingles kissed the banknote in his hand forcefully and laughed loudly, "In any case, he won't leave Paradise Star alive! One person against our entire Paradise Star Expeditionary Force?"

Vali shrugged his shoulders, muttering to himself, "Let's hope so. Let's just hope so! No one Gu Wagerly wants dead has ever survived!"

Gu Xiechen and Xin Jia were hidden less than three meters away in the mud. Xin Jia's Earth Evasion technique was so masterful that Ingles and his comrades didn't detect Gu Xiechen at all. Gu Xiechen's expression was exceedingly grim. He pondered for a moment, patted Xin Jia's hand, and sent a command to him via thought. A cold glint flashed in Xin Jia's eyes, and he hurriedly used Earth Evasion to take Gu Xiechen beneath the camouflage tarp where Ingles and the others lay. Gu Xiechen concentrated all his strength, his true energy continuously surging into his claws. His two claws strangely elongated, gradually becoming bizarrely long, resembling dragon claws. Xin Jia unclasped the iron chain from his waist and also silently chanted an incantation; the long chain began to writhe strangely, as if it were alive.

Vali looked at Ingles, who was continuously kissing the banknote while lying on the tarp, and sighed deeply. "Fine, I hope everything you said is correct. Command the forward troops to order that mercenary group's scum to accelerate the attack. Let them die as quickly as possible!" Standing up, Vali walked toward the communications truck. Gu Xiechen's claws bizarrely stretched to about a foot in diameter, his fingertips swelling and shining with transparency. Wisps of cold air continuously shot out from the tips of his fingers, and the true energy accumulating on Gu Xiechen's claws had reached the limit he could bear. Extremely fine blood vessels cracked on the transparent skin, and tiny beads of blood seeped out, only to quickly congeal into minuscule ice particles. "Hoo!"

Gu Xiechen exhaled forcefully, driving both claws upward toward the sky. It was as if a heavy projectile had exploded underground. Centered on the tarp where Ingles and the others were lying, the earth within a fifty-meter radius erupted upward with a hualā sound. Ingles and the others flew up with the soil. Two claws, chillingly cold, glowed amidst the dirt, and the Ruyi Gauntlets emitted a faint light. In an instant, Gu Xiechen's claws pierced through the bodies of Ingles and his comrades over a dozen times. The sharp claw strikes, accompanied by a muffled roar, tore the five bodies apart. Ingles and the others never even understood what had happened before Gu Xiechen shredded them into pieces. Crack, crack—incessant loud noises echoed; these were the dull thuds resulting from the five men's bodies being frozen into ice blocks by the Ice Soul Divine Power and then shattered by Gu Xiechen's impact. Under the peerless sharpness of the Ruyi Gauntlets, the bodies of Ingles and his unprepared comrades were rent asunder like tofu. These five warriors, embodying immense power, perished just like that!

The field communications truck nearby flew into the sky, shattered into pieces. Vali, who had just stepped inside, cried out as he was ejected from the split cabin. Dozens of large clumps of earth successively slammed into him, shattering his bones and inflicting severe internal injuries.

More than twenty fighters rushed toward him, their true energy surging, the air around their bodies constantly emitting dull thunderous sounds. The twenty-odd fighters blasted away the mud in the air and struck out fiercely. Xin Jia, who had just burst from the ground, grinned maliciously. The iron chain around his waist whipped up with the sound of dense metal striking, creating rings of chain that spun around to shield Gu Xiechen's body. The attacks from the twenty-plus fighters all landed on the dense chain, causing sparks to fly wildly. The combined force of the twenty-odd fighters shook Xin Jia's mobilized chain into disarray. The heavy force transmitted through the chain slammed into Xin Jia's body, forcing his massive frame backward with a staggering retreat. With every step, he heavily impacted the ground, channeling the immense pressure exerted by the combined force of the fighters into the earth. Xin Jia retreated for nearly a hundred steps, each step sounding like a dropped bomb, leaving a hundred meter-deep craters along his path.

Gu Xiechen let out a strange howl, pulling the Small Qiankun Pouch from his sleeve. He poured all his essence, spirit, and energy into the pouch. Suddenly, a jade phoenix coiled around the pouch, and following a soft, delicate phoenix cry, the pouch opened. The surrounding air rapidly churned, and almost instantly, a cyan vortex materialized out of thin air. The twenty-odd True Innate Fighters, whose strength was at best at the level of the Uranus Star, were swept up by the cyan vortex. While still airborne, they lost control of their bodies and were pulled one after another into the pouch. Only the two strongest fighters, at least at the level of the Saturn High Stage, managed to resist in the air for three to five seconds, but they were ultimately sucked in as well. Once inside the pouch, they were engulfed by roaring Samadhi True Fire, a fire powerful enough to melt metal and iron. The true fire completely enveloped the twenty-odd fighters, burning them to ash before they could utter a single cry.

"Hoo," Gu Xiechen expelled a heavy breath. Just summoning and using the Small Qiankun Pouch took only seven or eight seconds, yet it depleted over forty percent of his true energy and sixty to seventy percent of his mental power. This treasure's power was indeed immense, exceptionally effective against group attacks, but the consumption was simply too great.

"Help me!" A terrified shout echoed from the sky. The severely wounded Vali plummeted from the high altitude, flailing wildly. Gu Xiechen glanced at Vali's body, then lunged toward the remaining command post. Xin Jia, who had been rapidly retreating, rushed forward with a burst of wind and a hearty laugh. He casually caught Vali, and his five fingers, thick as large radishes, crushed with a single grip. With a crack, Vali’s limbs were instantly pulverized. Xin Jia tossed Vali aside carelessly and strode after Gu Xiechen toward the remnants of the battle line.

Streams of purple light constantly shot out around Gu Xiechen. Zhao Yi and one hundred other stout men cheered as they emerged from the purple light. With Xin Jia as the core, a chain stretching over two thousand meters twisted and turned in the air like a coiling dragon, stirring up a dark, swirling vortex of steel links. Wherever Xin Jia passed, soldiers of the 38th Brigade were torn apart, their bones shattered, and light and heavy combat vehicles were tossed high into the air by the chain. Soldiers who met Xin Jia head-on were even more unfortunate; Xin Jia struck out like thunder, his palms unleashing a powerful burst of energy, sending stone blocks several feet in diameter flying everywhere, smashing the soldiers until they exploded like eggs.

Zhao Yi and the hundred strong men formed a strange charge formation, rushing immediately behind Xin Jia, just as they had done in the past. Streams of wind, earth waves, wooden stakes, lightning bolts, and water masses flew everywhere. Squads of Federal soldiers were either blown away, submerged, had bones broken, were scorched black by electricity, or were knocked unconscious by rushing water. Yet, the charge of the one hundred and one great men possessed the momentum of a thousand troops. Wherever they passed, the soldiers of the 38th Brigade were routed in utter disarray. Several Federal officers screamed in terror, "Espers! Espers!" Several fighters rushed from all directions, aggressively launching attacks toward Gu Xiechen, who was at the very front: "Stake! Moon Sickle..."