"BOOM!!!"
A violent explosion roared. A mushroom cloud, laced with scorching flames, rose from the city block in an instant.
And the perpetrator of the explosion was just retracting its red-hot cannon barrel.
The new model of Titan, autonomously modified by the databank AI based on foundational blueprints designed by Ron himself, possessed extremely formidable combat capabilities. While retaining their previous lightweight design and solid foundation, they had gained firepower far exceeding their predecessors.
A massive, 1600mm main cannon could be loaded with extremely large and heavy antimatter explosive shells. Each shell contained a minuscule amount of antimatter—theoretically impossible to observe—which would annihilate upon detonation, producing a shockwave powerful enough to destroy an entire ordinary city.
And Titan mechs like these emerged endlessly from this city block. Even though each one was so enormous they could be easily counted, a single glance made it difficult to tell just how many of these giant humanoid machines had joined the battle.
They loaded, chambered, and fired in unison... The sound of near-endless explosions echoed across the battlefield, and the resulting shockwaves nearly shattered the entire city block.
If not for the high-grade construction materials purchased from the Interastral Peace Corporation, New Belobog would have been unable to withstand such a barrage and would have long since collapsed into architectural rubble.
But this was just an ordinary city block. Although it had been converted into a fortress block under Cocolia's orders, the structural reinforcements were limited. It contained only ambush troops, not defensive ones, and was ultimately unable to bear such intense firepower. It was finally blasted to smithereens, revealing the planet's surface beneath the thick steel shell.
The Antimatter Legion's formation was slightly scattered by this extremely violent explosion. Their originally neat ranks crumbled somewhat under the blast... but that was all.
As expected of a force led by Star Howler, the most trusted vanguard general of [The Destruction] Nanook, this legion possessed formidable combat strength. Although they had only just begun to assemble after landing on Jarilo-VI, they were still able to mount a powerful resistance.
Such a powerful salvo was barely defended against through the legion's various means.
Whether it was by firing interceptor rounds to detonate the antimatter shells prematurely, or by using their armor to withstand the heavy firepower, or by relying on the power of the Path of [Destruction] to resist the explosions, this barrage ultimately failed to inflict much damage on the Antimatter Legion.
Although their formation was slightly disrupted and they suffered minor casualties, they had ultimately withstood New Belobog's ambush, withstood the first fierce counterattack...
But Ron's arrangements were far from over.
The smoke from the antimatter explosions gradually dissipated. Before the Legion could reorganize their scattered formation, they saw countless synthetic soldiers coldly raising their long rifles. Infrared targeting systems precisely aimed at the Voidrangers' antimatter engines. Before the Voidrangers could react, countless deep-green rays shot out from the rifles.
These antimatter fission cannons, constructed from reverse-engineered Legion technology, were merely scaled-down and simplified versions of the main cannons on the starships, but their lethality was not significantly reduced. With a precise shot, they could easily disintegrate a piece of reinforced, forged structural steel.
The Legion's Voidrangers, though powerful, could not withstand such potent fission rays. Many who failed to react were easily pierced through their armor, their antimatter engines shot through.
The fully operational engines in their chests were breached by the rays. A continuous series of rumbling explosions echoed through the Legion's ranks, and many Voidrangers were destroyed in this attack.
For the first time, this invincible and arrogant Antimatter Legion, led by two Lord Ravagers, suffered such significant casualties. Their once-neat formation was finally torn apart.
Ron, hiding behind the scenes, gave the order without hesitation. The emplacement cannons began to charge, the endless synthetic legions began to advance, and the Titans ignited their thrusters, soaring into the sky. They began to dance like butterflies, rushing toward the now-disorganized Antimatter Legion.
The Legion was now at its most vulnerable since the invasion began. Their scattered formation had become their cage.
Although they had not yet suffered too many casualties, the moment the synthetic legions and Titans charged into their ranks, these Voidrangers would have no choice but to engage in close-quarters combat.
At that point, the disorganized Antimatter Legion would be no match for the New Belobog forces that had been lying in ambush for so long. They would be forced into close combat with the synthetics and Titans, triggering one antimatter self-detonation after another.
This would become a destruction inflicted upon the Antimatter Legion, a long-premeditated slaughter.
Star Howler could finally sit still no longer.
Standing in the sky above the district, Star Howler, with her striking short blue-and-white hair and a simple military uniform that made her look cold and efficient, frowned slightly.
As the leader of this Antimatter Legion, Lord Ravager · [The Star Howler] could watch her army fall into a disadvantage because she was confident she could reverse the tide and push the enemy back.
But when the situation had deteriorated to this point, she could no longer remain idle.
Although the legion's pawns were just war machines twisted and reforged in the furnace of war, and their production cost was minimal, this campaign against New Belobog was a long-range expedition. Although she and Burning Wind had brought many troops, these troops were irreplaceable.
She did not have many reinforcements...
[The Destruction] Nanook's order was to annihilate Jarilo-VI in one fell swoop, to crush it with the most ferocious posture possible, to trample this Ideal City under the iron hooves of the Antimatter Legion, and to use the civilization's ashes to declare that no one could provoke [The Destruction].
But if she continued to watch her legion be worn down by this ambush, it would no longer be a matter of crushing the city in one go...
This war would enter a complete stalemate. The Antimatter Legion might even fall into a disadvantage on the main front due to the excessive loss of Voidrangers in a war of attrition.
Although as the most renowned vanguard general of the Antimatter Legion, Star Howler had many trump cards, it was far from time to reveal them...
For now, all she needed to do was act personally.
While Star Howler was the vanguard general, and most of the time she was in the rear, strategizing and controlling the overall situation, commanding the legion in campaigns across different worlds, weaving paths of [Destruction] with her intellect, and arranging the most efficient methods of annihilation to crush one civilization after another...
This did not mean she was incapable of appearing on the front lines, revealing her true form to the world, and declaring her own power as a commander.
She was, after all, a Lord Ravager... an Emanator of [Destruction].
Extremely brutal and ultimate destruction and combat—these were what she excelled at.
She had conquered countless worlds in the past. The Xianzhou Alliance's Yaoqing, Zhuming, and Fanghu flagships all had records of battles against the Antimatter Legion led by Star Howler. In the year 5700 of the Stellar Calendar, she had even boarded the Zhuming, demanding that it surrender and assist her in attacking the world of the Wingweavers—Qiongsang.
Although the Zhuming ultimately did not surrender, and Star Howler did not press the issue, she instead led her legion alone to destroy Qiongsang, enduring a war of unknown scale in the process.
The Yaoqing, Zhuming, and Fanghu all had an Emanator of [The Hunt] stationed on them. The Yaoqing was particularly powerful, not only garrisoned by the Heaven-Smiting General, the most skilled in offense among the Seven Arbiter-Generals, but also occasionally graced by the presence of the Xianzhou Alliance's Marshal—Hua.
For Star Howler to be able to fight against these Xianzhou flagships and retreat unscathed, and then to plan a war to destroy the Wingweavers' holy land of Qiongsang, ignoring the "Feathered Emperor," an Emanator of [The Abundance], on its Azurestone Holy Nest, and cause the holy land's destruction in an instant—it was clear that her personal strength was not to be underestimated. Even among Emanators, she was definitely in the top tier.
She stood high in the air, gazing down at the chaotic battlefield. Her furrowed brow relaxed slightly, and her eyes filled with a deep, profound coldness.
She gently raised her hand, and a tiny cyclone appeared in her palm.
The ice-blue cyclone gradually accelerated, spinning rapidly with fragments of blue-and-white ice, slowly condensing into a terrifying mass of deep-cold energy.
The energy mass surged with extracted antimatter. These fine particles of antimatter constantly intertwined and collided, accumulating an infinite amount of energy that roamed within, exuding an aura of destruction that sent a boundless chill down one's spine.
Star Howler casually pointed at the charging synthetic and Titan legions. The mass of deep-cold energy shot out in an instant, about to fall upon the earth, to follow the will of [Destruction] and bring merciless annihilation to these synthetic soldiers who dared to resist the Antimatter Legion.
This was the influence an Emanator could have on a battle...
No matter how great an advantage one had gained before, under the merciless attack of an Emanator, even the strongest army would be utterly crushed, unable to mount any further resistance.
At this level, war, in their eyes, was nothing more than a draft on a piece of paper. No matter how much of an advantage the enemy held, the Emanators, executing the will of their Aeons, could casually paint the battlefield into any shape they desired.
But of course, Ron would not allow Star Howler to have such a great impact on the battle.
The deep-cold energy mass made of antimatter suddenly stopped in mid-air. A solid "diamond," created out of thin air, shot out in the opposite direction and collided with it in the sky.
The next moment, they both exploded completely, turning into a powder of extremely cold ice, which rained down indiscriminately upon the battlefield below.
Under the aftershocks of the clash between the two Emanators, both the Legion's pawns and the synthetic soldiers without high-level self-awareness were riddled with holes by the cold ice dust.
Many soldiers were simultaneously frozen to the ground, enjoying a silent destruction, no longer able to make a single sound.
But the battle did not stop because of this small aftershock.
If the two warring parties had been humans with self-awareness, the aftershock from the Emanators' clash would have been enough to make everyone stop firing, to start retreating out of fear of death, eventually turning into a chaotic rout.
But unfortunately, neither the Antimatter Legion nor the synthetics had self-awareness in the practical sense. One acted only according to the will of [Destruction], the other only followed the mechanical commands issued by the databank AI.
And the will and commands they had received now were exactly the same.
Fight. Only fight.
Only when they had killed the enemy to the last man, until the last enemy soldier fell to the ground because its mechanisms ceased to function, would the battle command they received from their superiors stop. Only then would this war have a chance of ending.
"You are... an Emanator of [Erudition]."
Star Howler frowned slightly, looking at Herta and Ron who had suddenly appeared before her, her tone flat and cold.
"The will of [Destruction] has not yet pointed in your direction... The Azure Star is not on the legion's path of advance for now."
As she spoke, she waved her hand dismissively, as if shooing away a mosquito.
"Leave now, and the legion will not hold you accountable... You can still cling to life for at least three hundred more years. This is a bottom line, and my promise to you."
"Accept the legion's grace, and then leave this place..."
She looked at Herta, who had not moved, and a hint of coldness entered her tone.
"As for the consequences of not leaving... you certainly won't like them, pawn of [Erudition]."
"I can say the same thing to you right now, pawn of [Destruction]... Leave now, and perhaps we won't hold the legion accountable."
Before Herta could speak, Ron took over, retorting on her behalf. His smiling face revealed a trace of coldness and ruthlessness.
"Otherwise, the legion will be utterly defeated and annihilated, all of them will die here... I guarantee it."
"Is that so?"
Star Howler's tone was calm, showing no particular reaction to Ron's words.
She just glanced down at the chaotic battlefield, frowning slightly as if in thought. Then she looked back at Ron and Herta, who were blocking her path, and casually swung out an ice blade. The blue-and-white blade cut through the air, carrying a fierce gale as it sliced toward Ron.
A faint golden pattern flashed on Ron's body. The power from the divine blood permeated his veins and marrow. He used this power to swiftly sidestep, and at the same time, Herta produced a giant hammer from nowhere and swung it at the ice blade with all her might.
The ice blade developed fine cracks from Herta's blow and shattered in the next moment, turning into a burst of ice needles that shot down toward the battlefield. An unknown number of synthetics and Legion pawns were "silenced" by the aftershock of the Emanators' clash.
"That power... why do you have the scent of [Destruction] on you?"
For the first time, a trace of astonishment appeared on Star Howler's usually calm face. She frowned at Ron.
The surging aura of [Destruction] on him was all too familiar to her. This pure scent was not that of a simple Pathstrider of [Destruction]; it was not a mere lingering aftereffect that one could pick up easily.
This was the scorching ember of [The Destruction] Nanook himself. This scent, like the ashes left after dry grass was mercilessly burned by a fierce fire, could only appear on the Aeon of [Destruction] himself.
Even they, the Lord Ravagers who followed the will of [Destruction] and waged war after war across the sea of stars, could never have such a pure scent of [Destruction] on them.
After all, even among the Lord Ravagers, they each had their own aesthetic of destruction.
Although they all followed the will of Nanook, their methods of execution differed, and the aura of [Destruction] on them naturally changed as a result...
The scent of [Destruction] on Ron was so incredibly pure, it was as if Nanook himself had descended upon the world.
"Take a guess."
Ron certainly wasn't going to tell Star Howler that he had just received a "mead" from [The Elation] Aha, a concoction infused with Nanook's blood, with a flavor like the fiercest liquor set aflame.
He just took the opportunity to pull Herta further away, maintaining a safe distance from Star Howler.
Although Herta was an [Erudition] Emanator, and Ron had received a blessing from an Aeon, making his current combat power comparable to half an Emanator, the gap between them and Star Howler was still as vast as a chasm.
If they were careless and let her get close, fighting her at her full strength, they might be seriously injured within a few moves, losing their ability to fight and being easily defeated.
"I won't guess."
Star Howler shook her head calmly. "No matter who you are, no matter where the scent of [Destruction] on you comes from, none of it matters to me."
Her tone was cold as winter. She drew a silver-white longsword that looked extremely familiar to Ron, only much more exquisite and sharp.
"I follow the will of the [Destruction] Aeon, to bring destruction to this world—'Those who hold this seal are commanded to cleanse the world'."
"No matter who you are, as long as you stand here, you are obstructing the will of [Destruction]. I have the right to destroy you, to clear the obstacles for our great work of world-annihilation."
"You shall die for the sake of the great cause."
As her words fell, the longsword in her hand tilted slightly.
Then, carrying a cold wind, she lunged forward like a blizzard.
The scene on the screen vanished, and new text appeared:
[You and Herta did everything in your power to intercept Lord Ravager · [The Star Howler].]
[You engaged in a fierce battle in the sky. Star Howler attacked you with a Blade of World Purification, and you did your best to block her attacks according to your pre-arranged plan.]
[Whenever Herta was targeted by Star Howler, you would step forward, trying to resolve the crisis and draw her attention. And whenever you were targeted, Herta would do the same.]
[Under your skillful cooperation, although Star Howler was much stronger than you, she still couldn't defeat you easily. She even seemed to grow slightly weary from the constant switching between you two and the consumption of Herta's other identical puppets, which she summoned from nowhere.]
[You successfully held off Lord Ravager · [The Star Howler]. In the time you bought, the synthetic and Titan legions have successfully charged into the Antimatter Legion's ranks, surrounding them and slaughtering their troops while also confining them to a fixed area...]
The text on the screen vanished, and a new scene appeared—
Star Howler casually swung her longsword. The Blade of World Purification cut a deep gash in Ron's body, and at the same time, the blade thrust into the head of a Herta puppet that had rushed forward to protect him.
The once-lively puppet's eyes instantly lost their luster. Cold machine oil dripped down the blade, hitting the ground and shattering into ice shards.
Several puppets had already been cut down by Star Howler in this way. Herta's stock of puppets was rapidly dwindling.
Although these puppets were just mass-produced for Herta, this was New Belobog, not the Azure Star... She had no way to replenish them.
To protect Ron, she had to use these puppets to block some of the fatal attacks...
But her stock was now depleted. The puppet she was using was her last one. She could no longer block any more fatal attacks for him.
And Ron was also covered in wounds...
Although neither he nor Herta had any intention of fighting Star Howler to the death, and had been fighting very conservatively, always trying their best to ensure their survival, never getting greedy and only defending passively, they had still ended up in this state.
"What's the point of doing this? Even if you can stall for longer, the legion is not so easily defeated."
Star Howler retracted her longsword, flicking off the viscous machine oil, and calmly glanced down at the battle below.
Although the Antimatter Legion was completely surrounded by the synthetic and Titan legions, being eaten away bit by bit, with many Voidrangers dying every moment, and the territory they occupied gradually shrinking...
A starving camel is still bigger than a horse. The legion's chaotic remnants were still not pigs to be slaughtered at will. They were still fighting back desperately, preventing the synthetic and Titan legions from completely crushing them.
In this situation, if Ron wanted to completely annihilate the Antimatter Legion, he would have to dispatch several times the current number of troops, spend at least three days, and sacrifice more than two-thirds of his forces as a price.
After all... this was the Antimatter Legion.
No matter how ambushed they were, no matter how chaotic their formation, they were not comparable to ordinary synthetics.
Although for New Belobog, the synthetics and Titan mechs were currently ruthless war machines, how could they be more ferocious than the Antimatter Legion, forged in the furnace of war?
The Antimatter Legion were the pioneers of destruction and warfare. Even at a disadvantage, they were by no means easily annihilated by New Belobog's forces.
"And you will soon face destruction... Although you are as slippery as eels, the gap in strength between us is like a chasm. It won't be so easy for you to escape from my grasp."
Star Howler flicked her longsword, pointing it at Herta and Ron.
"Soon, I will completely defeat you, and then turn to clear out those annoying machines below... The ending of this planet will not change. You will meet the destruction I have planned for you, turning into burnt embers in this cold, starry sky."
She spoke calmly, her tone laced with a lofty arrogance.
"Rejoice... Unlike the other Lord Ravagers, I do not like to listen to the wails of a civilization. I focus more on the efficiency of destruction."
"What a coincidence—I also focus on the efficiency of 'destruction'."
But the heavily injured Ron showed no fear of Star Howler's threat. He simply agreed casually, a smile of a successful scheme playing on his lips.
"The time has come, Star Howler... Say goodbye to your army. You can start thinking about how to carry out this impossible destruction without any subordinates."
"What...?"
Hearing Ron's words, Star Howler was slightly taken aback. Then, as if sensing something, she suddenly looked up at the high sky.
High above, the concealment screen created by the power of the Path of [Erudition] shattered. Herta's face paled slightly as she stopped maintaining the barrier she and Ron had been struggling to keep up since their appearance.
If not for concealing Star Howler's senses, preventing her from knowing what was happening in the heavens, the battle would not have turned out like this.
Indeed, Herta was currently just a puppet avatar. Compared to a true Emanator, especially a Lord Ravager of Star Howler's level, she was much weaker. But she shouldn't have had to sacrifice so many puppets just to barely hold her off with Ron, not even managing to fight her to a draw.
Under normal circumstances, Herta alone should have been able to hold off Star Howler for several days.
But now, there was no need to stall for that long...
The Lord Ravager, who was still confident of victory until now, looked up. After the concealment screen shattered, she saw the terrifying points of energy gathering and flashing beyond the sky, and she couldn't help but frown tightly.
Those were the latest model of Star Destroyers from the Interastral Peace Corporation. These starships were the culmination of the most advanced war technology of the IPC and the Genius Society. Each one, after fully charging, had the power to completely destroy a planet within tens of minutes. Their destructive power was no less than the planet-burning fires of the Antimatter Legion.
And now, a full ten Star Destroyers were aiming at the Antimatter Legion, whose position was fixed by the encirclement of the synthetic and Titan legions. The extremely strong thermal energy from their cannons, in a saturation fire situation, was enough to detonate a planet's core.
Although under Ron's command, their cannons were only charged to 10%—not enough to pierce the mantle and detonate the core—it was still enough to instantly vaporize and cleanse all stubborn diseases on the planet's surface.
And right now, the Antimatter Legion was that stubborn disease...
The cannons of the Star Destroyers were disgorging extremely strong thermal energy, about to be fired at Ron's command in the next moment.
At that time, this Antimatter Legion, sent to destroy Jarilo-VI...
Would, under this scorching thermal flow, meet its own utter destruction!