Otherworldly Desert Dust

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Armor and machinery piled up into mountains one after another, even flattening the undulating mountainous terrain.

The fortress stretched for more than ten kilometers, built with high-temperature forged pyroclastic rock, and the surrounding slopes were planted with a mutated type of iron tree whose sharp branches and blade-like leaves added a thorny blade-like defense to the entire fortress.

The fortress had two walls in total, with about five kilometers between the two. This five-kilometer area was filled with various buried weapons. As soon as the alien cockroaches broke into this area, a dense array of metallic weapons would protrude from the ground, revealing dark gun barrels and cannon tubes, followed by a barrage of gunfire!

In the past, people made these weapons to fight against other countries' advanced weapons, never imagining that one day they would be used against insects!

"Buzz~~~"

Suddenly, a terrifying razor wave swept across the land, and one could see the ground-embedded weapons being sheared away like soft straw.

"It's the Silver-winged Mantis, they have optical Invisibility!"

Someone discovered that among these alien insects, there were Red Zhe insects mixed in, specifically, a powerful Silver-winged Mantis.

Inside the fortress, dozens of artificial rain machines immediately fired dyed dry ice into the sky.

The bright blue rain fell over the mountains and forests, and the blue rain curtain quickly outlined the contour of the invisible Silver-winged Mantis.

"Prepare the laser device!" Wang Yan gave the order.

"Which one should I aim for?" the man in charge of the laser device asked.

"Just shoot the ones that appear, do you even need to ask?" Wang Yan replied with some impatience.

However, his words made the man operating the laser device even more flustered...

The blue rain drizzled down, tinting the sky into an ink-blue canvas. When the blue rain came into contact with the skin of the Silver-winged Mantis, it caused a color change reaction, turning into a red that optical instruments could easily capture – and those with Spiritual Vision could clearly see the figure of the Silver-winged Mantis.

However, at that moment, numerous red figures appeared in the sky above the fortress, their number so vast they resembled a crimson battle team from outer space. They could even form various matrices in the air like unmanned drones!

The individual strength of a Silver-winged Mantis was already extremely terrifying, requiring cultivators of the Heavenly Light Crown Realm to contend with. To everyone's astonishment, the Silver-winged Mantises were appearing in swarms, like the most inconspicuous foot soldiers!

"Buzz!!!!"

Suddenly, the world fell silent.

The Silver-winged Mantises forming the matrix began to flap their wings in unison, their wings beating at a high frequency as if to shred the sky itself.

The world could no longer produce any sound, including those people face to face; their voices were blocked by some force.

The next moment, a devastating razor wave swept toward the fortress!

The razor wave, completed by the entire Silver-winged Mantis matrix, was beyond human imagination in power. The iron trees in the mountains were cut to pieces, the undulating mountains were sheared into sand, and the towering fortress was segmented into hundreds of pieces! Stay connected with My Virtual Library Empire

Countless giant cracks were sheared into the continuous mountains, which although were originally mountainous, now brutally turned into chasms. The walls of the fortress that stretched for tens of kilometers along with the terrain were forcibly split and completely severed. What was once considered a miracle of engineering was now destroyed, offering no sense of pride or security to people.

All the ground-embedded weapons between the fortress and its surroundings were shattered, and the machinery operated by people was entirely malfunctioned. The moment the Silver-winged Mantis matrix appeared, the technology that humans were so proud of became obsolete spears and wooden shields, utterly incapable of defending against the destructive force of such a level as the Silver-winged Mantis.

"If this matrix sound wave were unleashed in the residential area of Lun Mountain City, of the millions of people, very few would survive," Tu Shanlan said, her voice trembling slightly.

"They are up to you now," Wu Hen said to Tu Shanlan.

"Yes, we will give it our all."

Tu Shanlan took a deep breath and walked towards the huge metal building behind her.

Standing behind the fortress were metal buildings, each a hundred meters tall, unaffected by the razor waves and standing firm.

As Tu Shanlan approached, the metal buildings underwent transformation, their ordinary metal exteriors able to slide flexibly. The metal plates that seemed to be walls were reconfigured, and during their sliding process, one could occasionally glimpse the gigantic steel gears inside the buildings, emitting brilliant light energy and dispelling the murky air around them!

Amidst the glorious light energy, the metal buildings had completed their transformation, revealing a hundred-meter-tall Emperor Mecha, standing unmovable in the midst of the red storm like an iron eagle!

The Emperor Mecha Tu Shanlan was piloting was no longer the version of the past. Humanity was adept at learning; although they could not obtain more advanced technology from the Hao Clan's Ark, they learned metallurgy from it and mastered the smelting method akin to that of White Spirit Gold.

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Tu Shanlan was currently piloting a mecha made of Red Spirit Gold. This material has three states. When charged with electrical energy, Red Spirit Gold becomes conductive and has an excitation property, capable of multiplying high-voltage electricity to form a type of Red Spirit Lightning.

When infused with Fire Energy, Red Spirit Gold instantly becomes incredibly hard, rivaling the Red Rhombic Blade of the tyrannical Tiger Clan and easily slicing through the defenses of the Silver Winged Mantis.

Without any elemental energy infused, Red Spirit Gold has the softness and stability of pure gold, ensuring the agility and maneuverability of the Emperor Mecha named Red Spirit Red Eagle.

As the Red Spirit Red Eagle emitted light energy, the other towering metallic buildings also completed their transformations. These metal edifices seemed to come to life, becoming super-giants standing between cities and fortresses, their forms resembling ancient warriors holding Yanyue Blades, Silver Spears, Copper Giant Blades, Nine-section Whips, sword and shields...

"The day you awoke, the Emperor Mecha indeed deeply disappointed you. However, today we will show you a different kind of Emperor Mecha," said Tu Shanlan.

Wu Hen nodded toward Tu Shanlan in the cockpit.

This batch of Emperor Mecha represented humanity's most elite forces and had undergone more advanced improvements over the year.

Wu Hen could clearly feel that during the battle with Ying Snake, the Emperor Mecha was still in a sort of industrial mechanical form, with an earlier nuclear energy drive. But now, the intertwining of new nuclear energy and new materials had stripped the Emperor Mecha of many cumbersome and ineffective parts, refining them to be precise, perfect, with lines more akin to human martial artists, and incorporating human martial arts systems into these mechas!

Their current appearance better suited the Emperor Generals—steel armor, and cold weapons charged with spectral energy!

One by one, the giant Emperor Generals soared into the Cloud Peak, and although they couldn't form a very magnificent matrix, they resembled a Special Assault Team, executing high-altitude hunting missions!

The Silver-winged Mantis Matrix initially looked at these mechas with a hint of mockery.

After all, they had obtained information about humans and knew that human's scrap metal could at most withstand forces below Heavenly Light. They only needed to wave their Wind Blades to chop them into pieces.

The Silver-winged Mantis Matrix simultaneously swung its claws. The slender claws, like fine sickles, instantly generated terrifying Wind Blades upon a swing!

Wind Blades one kilometer wide wove together, displaying rippling waves in the sky as if on the surface of the sea, with edges so sharp that the overlapping ripples left tears in space like wounds!

The sky was torn to tatters, and parts of the Emperor Mecha fell from the air. But these helmets, shields, and arm guards were all meant to be discarded.

They had successfully penetrated the Silver-winged Mantis Matrix. One could see one Silver Winged Mantis after another plummeting to the ground. Below the blue curtain of rain, even those living in the more distant Lun Mountain City could clearly see the majestic and shocking battle outside the silver canopy. Each mecha seemed to carry the dream of a young boy, igniting the fighting spirit of the people living in fear!

Even facing the Red Zhe Insects, they were not utterly powerless.

Even in the barren Red Port, where they were kept like cattle, they had not stopped the march of evolution. The average power of the Emperor Mecha had reached that of Heavenly Light, and a single team of Emperor Mecha was enough to contend with a Silver-winged Mantis Matrix.

The battle with Ying Snake from years past was watched by the whole world. At that time, the Emperor Mecha also represented the pinnacle of human technological combat power, yet the Emperor Mecha suffered heavy losses.

The strength of the Silver Winged Mantis was by no means inferior to Ying Snake, and yet, their numbers were vast.

The mechas were evolving too; they could not always live in fear of enemies from beyond.

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"These creatures aren't tough to kill, but they're quite annoying," remarked Cai Huang, looking up at the sky. "It's surprising that such a small realm possesses this level of armed forces. Weren't they said to be living in the gutters like the Poison Sub-humans before? It doesn't seem like it though. Have they been hiding their strength all along?"

Cai Ni stood next to her father, her gaze also flickering as she looked at the extremely valiant Emperor Mecha.

Especially when Tu Shanlan boarded the Red Spirit Red Eagle.

She had known Tu Shanlan for some time now and had always thought she was just a vase beside Wu Hen, without significant cultivation or superpowers. But today, she felt that this 'sister' was gallant and handsome, her heroic aura no less than that of the cultivators, and her unique understanding of battle was akin to a wise and valiant female general who had dispersed the Silver-winged Mantis Matrix.

"Are there other mature insects to deal with? Do you still have the strength to deal with them?" Cai Huang looked back at Wang Yan and inquired.

Wang Yan did not answer but merely looked at Wu Hen.

Wu Hen was the highest authority in this fortress, and Wang Yan knew his role was to assist.

"One step at a time. We're holding out, not trying to defeat them. These Alien Insects and Red Zhe Insects are endless," said Wu Hen.

As long as they could hold out until Nuwa God End emerged from the Red Tide Dark Domain, they would complete this great escape!

How long the process would take—months, or years—Wu Hen was not sure...