With a slight furrow of her brow, Bai Yijun displayed a faint trace of worry. She understood Ye Chen's intent but made no move to stop him, merely standing silently behind him as she murmured softly.
"Mm!" Ye Chen glanced at her, then his figure blurred as he shot forward. Just as he was about to breach the hatch, he flipped his hand, and the Heaven's Dao Mountain materialized in his palm, rapidly assembling and transforming in an instant into a miniature mecha.
Swish!
The small mecha’s volume instantly magnified a hundredfold, becoming a towering, formidable figure. As the hatch opened, Ye Chen moved, flashing inside to settle into the pilot’s seat. His hands gripped the control stick, and the mecha's canopy, like an outer door, slowly sealed shut.
Boom—
The thrusters erupted with a roaring sound, and the entire Heaven's Dao Mecha, like a maddened lion, charged toward the pursuing Demon Realm civilization vessel. Under the propulsion of light particles, its speed surged to terrifying levels.
"A mecha?" In the cockpit of the Demon Realm vessel, the cold, sharp-featured man with horns on his brow raised an eyebrow, a hint of mockery playing on his lips. "You think a mere mecha can attack a battleship? You court death!"
Suddenly, the Demon Realm battleship bristled like a porcupine; numerous secondary and primary cannons pivoted outward, locking onto the charging Heaven's Dao Mecha. The faster-heating secondary cannons flashed with an intense light from their ultra-large bores, unleashing thousands of rays that interlaced like a curtain of rain, saturating the path toward the Heaven's Dao Mecha.
The Heaven's Dao Mecha roared, and an energy shield enveloped its body. Amidst the hail of fire, its figure darted and weaved, executing a Z-pattern evasion route that bypassed the majority of the secondary fire. Those few strikes that did connect with the shield merely caused faint ripples before vanishing.
It was crucial to remember that the Heaven's Dao Mecha was a ship of the Heavenly Void Artifact tier; the difference in power was literally heaven and earth. The attacks from this Demon Realm vessel were like the scratching of an itch. Only after enduring hundreds of blasts from the secondary cannons did the shield's defense rating drop by a mere decimal point!
A cold glint ignited in Ye Chen's eyes. He pushed the control stick forward, and the Heaven's Dao Mecha surged upward in a fierce reversal. The metallic, jointed hand gripped the battle saber on its back, pulling it free with a resounding whoosh. With a warrior’s charging sprint, its speed instantly tripled, bringing it directly before the Demon Realm battleship. The battle saber in its hand was raised high, then brought down in a thunderous chop!
Crash!
The blood-red battle saber scraped against the Demon Realm vessel's energy shield. Before the shield could even flash a warning sign of red light, it shattered like brittle glass!
This blood-red saber was originally fashioned from the base plate of the Heaven's Dao Divine Ark, possessing extraordinary hardness. Now, under the brutal strike of the Heaven's Dao Mecha, its destructive power was incalculable; a single blow shattered the energy shield of a peak Dao Artifact-level warship!
"What!!!" The horned, stern-faced man sitting in the pilot’s seat was struck with terror; his eyeballs nearly popped out. He could never have imagined in his wildest dreams that such a terrifying weapon existed—one capable of destroying the shield of a peak Dao Artifact vessel in a single strike. Even the Dragon Spring Sword, the most resolute among the Nine Great Heavenly Void Artifacts of the Ancient Continent, was barely comparable!
In his astonishment, the Heaven's Dao Mecha moved like a grim reaper emerging from hell. Wielding the blood-red battle saber, it slammed down onto the battleship, facing the shell that rotated like a bullet nose, and brought the blade down directly!
Crack!
Sparks of metallic friction erupted, followed by the sight of the nigh-indestructible hull being easily cleaved open by the saber, leaving a gash that stopped the rotation of countless internal gears.
The cold light in Ye Chen’s gaze intensified. His fingers tapped swiftly on the enlargement button beside him. The Heaven's Dao Mecha, still standing atop the battleship, suddenly swelled in size, rapidly transforming from a thirty-foot mecha into a colossal monster spanning a thousand kilometers!
"Die!" Ye Chen manipulated the mecha, bringing its massive metallic palm down to block out the sky, striking the Demon Realm vessel heavily. The entire ship shuddered violently. Even Fu Xi and the others, positioned far off, could clearly hear the metallic explosion sounding like fracturing bones.
Boom!
The Demon Realm battleship was slammed into the ground. The immense force caused the hull to buckle, and several thrusters were instantly disabled, rendering immediate flight impossible.
Far in the distance, Fu Xi and the Yellow Emperor, along with Nuwa inside the Heavenly Emperor's Citadel, all saw their pupils contract. They stared dumbfounded at the scene. Although they knew the Heaven's Dao Mecha was incredibly powerful, they had not anticipated its destructive capability to be this terrifying. The Demon Realm vessel, a peak Dao Artifact whose defense arguably surpassed even the Heavenly Emperor's Citadel, was now slammed to the ground by the mecha’s sky-obscuring hand in a single slap!
Just as awe settled in their hearts, the Heaven's Dao Mecha moved again. It raised its thick, metallic foot high above its head and stomped down with crushing force onto the Demon Realm vessel!
CRUSH!
The very ground sank downward. The area spanning tens of thousands of kilometers around the mecha concave, with countless fine cracks extending outward from the epicenter where the Heaven's Dao Mecha stood.
Fu Xi, the Yellow Emperor, and Nuwa felt a sharp spasm in their hearts, each thinking: This kid is too ruthless!
The mecha’s massive metal leg sank into the earth. Around the thigh, fragments of mangled metal were visible. The entire Demon Realm vessel had vanished, having been pounded into the ground by the colossal foot.
"Activate the Light Curse Cannon!" Ye Chen's eyes were devoid of mercy. His fingers rapidly pressed a crimson button on the virtual keyboard. The Heaven's Dao Mecha’s power core rapidly ignited, surging energy flowing into the mecha’s leg. In the sole of this mechanical foot, a hole slowly opened. Intense white light gathered within the bore, and the boiling energy caused the surrounding ground to tremble faintly. Clumps of earth were violently repelled by a mysterious field!
BOOM!!!
The entire earth violently shook as dense white light burst forth from the sole of the Heaven's Dao Mecha’s foot, expanding into a white luminous sphere that roared and magnified millions of times, engulfing the surrounding endless earth, enveloping an area comparable to a nuclear detonation.
Fu Xi and the Yellow Emperor instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes, uncomfortable from the blinding white light. Judging by the intensity of this light wave, they knew the Demon Realm civilization was finished this time!
This civilization, which had provoked the Psychic Civilization multiple times and ranked within the top tier among the Inter-Field Civilizations, had its deployed strength at the Ancient Peak utterly destroyed by the hands of this young man.
Fu Xi and the Yellow Emperor were momentarily speechless. In Ye Chen, they saw the burgeoning form of a future supreme pinnacle figure!
Then, the white light slowly receded. On the mecha’s screen, Ye Chen’s vision was protected by a film that negated the glare of the powerful light. He reached out a hand, plunging it into the soil, rummaged for a moment, and slowly pulled out a piece of wreckage from the battleship. The object in his hand now bore no resemblance to a starship; it was merely a twisted block of metal!
The once elegantly bullet-shaped warship was now utterly mangled, covered in scars. Its major systems and engines had been destroyed by electromagnetic shockwaves.
Ye Chen checked the Heaven's Dao Mecha's scanning display and found no life energy signatures, knowing that even if they weren't killed by the direct attack, they would have perished from the sheer concussive force. However, just to be certain, he carefully dismantled the wreckage. Peering inside, he found a corpse in the cockpit. Its chest was pierced by several protruding metal plates, its neck severed save for a few remaining strands of flesh, and its entire body was covered in wounds resembling cuts. Its eyes were wide open, filled with disbelief, yet it could no longer utter a single sound.
Ye Chen’s expression was cold. He manipulated the mecha to open the containment bay and drew the ruined vessel inside. Then, he turned, his ruby-like eyes flashing with a double beam of cold light as he fixed his gaze on the ancient Babylonian castle, which was currently entangled with the Heavenly Emperor's Citadel. The eight thrusters on his back roared to life, and his speed became a streak of light as he shot toward it!
In the cockpit of the Babylonian vessel, a withered old man sat upright, clad in a black magic robe and clutching a pallid yellow staff, resembling a wizard at the end of his rope. The technology of the ancient Babylonian civilization utilized energy to a new level, capable of converging atmospheric energy elements around itself via various devices for offense or defense.
The people of this civilization specialized in mental power cultivation.
"This... this..." The withered old man watched the Heaven's Dao Mecha streaking toward him on the screen, his complexion draining of color, his voice laced with a hint of dread. "The Heaven's Dao Mecha!! Could it be the Heavenly Dao???"
The words 'Heaven's Dao' held a terrifying, nightmarish deterrent power. After his shock, he quickly regained his composure, muttering, "Impossible. The Heavenly Dao died so many years ago; he cannot reappear. Back then, even his name was erased from the Ledger of Sentient Beings; he will never rise again!"
Having witnessed the undisputed demise of the Demon Realm civilization, he knew his own destruction was inevitable. Yet, filled with unwillingness and resolute madness, he roared, "If I die, you won't get off easy either!!!" His fingers trembled as he forcefully pressed a red button located in a remote corner near the control screen. As it was pressed, the entire magic castle shuddered!
Ye Chen’s eyes were indifferent. He controlled the Heaven's Dao Mecha and brought down a heavy palm strike toward the magic castle!
"Elemental Storm!!!" the withered old man shrieked hysterically. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the sky-blotting palm on the screen, filled with resentment and fury. He roared, "Who are you!!!"
The entire magic castle began to operate at full capacity; all major systems entered overload, engine power pushed to the absolute limit. Elements in the surrounding sky were frantically drawn in, gathering above the main cannon of the magic castle, which it then fired toward the sky-obscuring palm!
Whoosh!
A white projectile shot out, piercing through the sky-blocking palm without causing an explosion, simply passing straight through and vanishing toward the distant horizon.
The withered old man froze in bewilderment.
Just then, before the afterimage of the mecha remained fully visible, a massive hand descended from behind, striking down onto the magic castle like a parent chastising a disobedient child!
Today's first update; three updates tomorrow to make up the deficit, I am ashamed (To be continued)