On the surface: After the initial chaos of Celestia's assault,
Khaenri'ah immediately launched a ruthless counterattack.
Centuries of accumulated technological advancement
were not mere empty boasts.
With mastery over elemental analysis, alchemy,
and geo-rhythmic research,
they recovered with terrifying speed.
A colossal barrier soon enveloped the entire city,
blocking vast swathes of divine attacks from the outside.
At the same time, tens of thousands of ruin automatons
soldiers, hunters, crushers, colossi
rose from factories and subterranean vaults,
surging forward like a metal tide
in suicidal waves toward the Seven.
These machines cost nothing but materials to reproduce,
and Khaenri'ah had stockpiled more than enough.
They launched them without hesitation.
A terrifying heritage,
accumulated over countless ages,
was finally laid bare before the gods.
Elemental lasers erupted
some as thin as an arm,
others thick as a barrel
beams of pure annihilation that seemed capable
of piercing the heavens themselves.
Even Morax's colossal stone spear
was shattered under concentrated fire from the machines.
He was quickly surrounded, locked down by volleys
from hundreds of automatons.
And not only machines
Khaenri'ahn soldiers who had mastered elemental manipulation
also joined the fray,
using empowered weapons, elemental cannons,
and complex alchemical devices.
For a moment
they actually held the Seven Archons at bay.
Morax Steps Forward
With a sidestep, Morax avoided a massive bombardment.
The golden geo barrier around him shattered like glass.
He frowned.
"These puppets…
fighting them endlessly will achieve nothing."
His gaze passed over the rapidly constructed defensive walls.
Unless they broke through,
the assault would stagnate
and one misstep could allow even him to be struck.
Ancient Khaenri'ah technology dwarfed even Guizhong's creations.
"Sigh…
I do not wish to harm the innocent."
Resolute, the Geo Archon lifted his hand.
He would
for the first time in an age
unleash the wrath of a true God of War.
"Meteorites fall.
The heavens themselves shift.
Starfall: The Stars Move at My Command!"
The sky tore.
A star of living stone descended,
engulfed in roaring flames,
falling upon Khaenri'ah like divine judgment.
Soldiers who had been firing moments ago
stared in frozen horror
as the meteor filled their vision.
The nation's proud barrier
shattered instantly.
Walls crumbled.
Earth split.
And before screams could escape their throats,
thousands were pulverized beneath celestial force.
Barbatos Unleashes the Storm
Elsewhere, Barbatos summoned a storm.
Winds sharp enough to carve mountains
swept across the battlefield,
cleaving ruin guards clean in half.
Yet even bisected,
the machines continued firing beams,
their cores undamaged.
Troublesome.
Scratching his cheek, the Anemo Archon sighed,
then summoned the Skyward Harp.
Wind arrows split into hundreds,
then thousands,
each perfectly striking a core.
Ruin after ruin collapsed.
The other Archons advanced as well
some quickly,
some slowly
but all inexorably.
Luo Li & Raiden Makoto's Front Under Pressure
Only Luo Li's front lagged behind.
Makoto faced the greatest danger.
"Khaenri'ah's reserves really are impressive…"
Without looking, Luo Li flicked his hand.
A Subspace Spear intercepted a bright beam
headed straight for Makoto,
then shot backward through the battlefield,
impaling a Ruin Destroyer
and pinning it deep into the ground.
He had already destroyed nearly ten thousand automatons
yet the tide did not thin.
More poured in endlessly.
"At this rate, this fight will never end."
And because the enemy had realized
Makoto was his weak point,
nearly every attack now targeted her.
From afar, the chaotic scene almost resembled
an epic mechanical war
beams forming luminous curtains,
turning the underground city into a hedgehog bristling with lasers.
Even a mighty elephant falls to enough ants
and Khaenri'ah was no mere anthill.
Gravity Bends
"Click.
Enough. Kneel."
A black sphere formed in Luo Li's palm,
a void that devoured all light.
Then he invoked the power
of the Herrscher of Rock.
Gravity across the battlefield
wherever his eyes fell—
collapsed.
Dozens, hundreds, thousands of ruin automatons
were crushed into scrap instantly.
Others, even intact,
were pinned helplessly to the ground,
unable to rise or aim.
The barrage aimed at Makoto
faltered at once.
The battlefield fell eerily quiet.
Makoto finally exhaled, panting softly.
She was never suited for frontal warfare.
Even with Luo Li shielding her,
she had spent considerable energy.
Her blade, though cutting many ruin cores,
remained unstained
Dreams of a Nation United
still unblooded.
As time passed,
the Seven's encirclement tightened,
pushing deeper toward the heart of Khaenri'ah.
No matter how many machines attacked,
nothing could halt the Archons' advance.
But gradually
Luo Li sensed something wrong.
"Their power is increasing.
And…
they're tainted by some kind of curse."
The others felt it too.
The source was unmistakably
deep underground.
Half-leaning against Luo Li's back,
Makoto steadied her breath.
"If things worsen,
don't worry about me.
Leave immediately."
"You know I won't."
His tone did not waver.
As though the battle hadn't exhausted him in the slightest.
Makoto gave a helpless smile.
"Stubborn man…"
Her gentle eyes softened as she gazed at his back.
If she had come alone,
she might already have fallen.
This war was far more brutal
than anyone anticipated.
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