Kindred Souls in Misfortune

The Mechanical Guardians' devastating Spirit Cannon barrage caught the Stormwind Eagles and Fire Hawks completely off guard.

Shrieking with fury, they redirected their attacks toward the Mechanical Guardians.

Thousands of Stormwind Eagles and Fire Hawks filled the sky, and when their wind blades and fireballs converged together, the combined force was formidable.

But the instant the Guard Corps witnessed this, they launched their own attacks to intercept the joint assault, adding to the wall of firepower.

Combined with the Mechanical Guardians' Spirit Cannons—

—in the clash of Combat Techniques that followed, the human side came out the stronger.

Spirit Cannon rounds burst across the bodies of Stormwind Eagles and Fire Hawks in rapid succession, sending carcasses and blood raining from the sky.

Just then, from within the military zone, jet-black fighter craft began lifting off one after another, launching strikes against the dark swarm overhead.

Over a hundred in total.

These were the 257th Legion's Second-rank Phantom Fighter Craft.

Their defensive capabilities and shields were all at the Second-rank Perfect Chief Grade level.

They were the Legion's dedicated anti-air units.

The numbers were somewhat limited, but there was no helping that.

After all, a single Phantom Fighter Craft cost roughly 100,000 Second-rank Spirit Crystals.

A hundred of them came to ten million Second-rank Spirit Crystals.

And the central stretch of the southern defense line alone had over ten thousand defensive camps.

Each camp needed its own complement of fighter craft — the Spirit Crystal cost was staggering to contemplate.

Let alone the fact that the Red Maple Empire's military presence wasn't limited to the southern defense line. The eastern front and the spatial rift bases all demanded vast numbers of fighter craft as well.

The cost was astronomical.

And it wasn't purely a financial issue — the sheer quantity of raw materials required to manufacture fighter craft was immense.

Even the ore veins the Red Maple Empire had discovered in the Land of Origin, with their substantial metal yields, weren't enough.

This was precisely why nearly every race scrambled to secure resource deposits found through spatial rifts.

Everyone wanted more resources — civilian and military alike, nothing could function without them.

With the Phantom Fighter Craft entering the fray, combined with the Mechanical Guardians and Guard Corps attacking from all sides, the numbers of Stormwind Eagles and Fire Hawks rapidly dwindled.

Before long, what had looked like a thundercloud of Feral Beasts was reduced to a scattering of survivors.

Most of what remained were Third-rank Boss Grade or Chief Grade creatures — only their exceptional power had let them weather the devastating firepower.

Even so, these survivors had clearly lost their nerve. They beat their wings and turned to flee.

But under the coordinated pursuit of the Mechanical Guardians and Phantom Fighter Craft, there was no escape. One by one, they were cut down.

The aerial Beast Tide had been annihilated. Barely a handful of fighters were wounded, and not a single one had died.

Even all the Phantom Fighter Craft that had engaged in combat returned without a scratch.

The Mechanical Guardians' firepower had simply been overwhelming.

Eyes went wide across the wall. Disbelief was written on every face.

Then a cheer erupted — loud enough to shake the sky.

Every Guard Corps soldier who knew the Mechanical Guardians belonged to Lu Yuan looked at him with open gratitude.

Groat threw an arm around Lu Yuan's shoulders and bellowed:

"Brother, you're absolutely insane!!"

He had to shout — the cheering was deafening.

Beside them, Luo Xiu couldn't help but break into a smile, eyes crinkling at the corners.

He walked over to Lu Yuan, and Groat immediately released his grip and snapped to attention.

Luo Xiu didn't spare Groat a glance. He gave Lu Yuan a light pat on the shoulder and said:

"Well done. In past Beast Tides, aerial Feral Beasts were always our greatest threat. They hold the sky, which made targeting them difficult for our ranged warriors — the pressure fell entirely on the fighter craft squadron, and we'd lose a significant number of craft every time. The last thing I expected was to come through this without losing a single aircraft, or a single life. That's all down to you."

Lu Yuan's eyes lit up. He grinned. "Then Commander, you'd better make sure my combat contributions are logged. I'm planning to exchange them for Credits at the Talent Camp."

Luo Xiu: "..."

Tracy: "..."

Jiang Ming: "..."

Luo Xiu smiled despite himself. "Don't worry. I won't forget you."

The aerial Beast Tide had swept in from the south and been intercepted at the southern wall, never spreading to the other walls — a small mercy that kept casualties down further.

The cheering didn't last long before the sector commanders in each section brought everyone back to order.

"The first engagement went well — but this is only the beginning! Everyone stay sharp! Ranged warriors, restore your Spirit Power! We are fighting a war of attrition!"

The commands echoed from every section of the wall.

The Guard Corps sobered up instantly. Those who had expended considerable Spirit Power pulled out Spirit Power medicine and began recovering.

The medicine was part of the defensive camp's standard supplies, delivered to the wall by logistics personnel as needed.

The warriors took a short while to replenish, then stood ready once more.

Not long after, distant roaring reached their ears, and the ground began to tremble faintly.

A chill swept through the troops. All eyes turned south.

Along the forest line, massive trees swayed and shook violently. Some were simply trampled flat.

"Alert! Beast Tide approaching! Beast Tide approaching!! Prepare to repel the Beast Tide!!"

The order rang out everywhere. Ranged warriors tightened their grip on longbows, Staffs, Spirit Power Rifles, and cannons.

Everyone drew a slow breath and stared fixedly ahead as the swaying trees drew nearer.

Moments later, at the foot of the hill below the defensive camp, a massive black boar appeared — over seven meters tall.

A silver horn jutted from its brow, its eyes burned deep crimson, and two grotesque black tendrils writhed from its flanks.

The boar raised its head, spotted the defensive camp, and let out a furious bellow. Its body became a streak of black light as it charged up the rocky hillside toward them.

Behind it, an endless flood of powerful Feral Beasts howled out of the forest, all surging toward the camp.

A churning, boundless mass — no end to them in sight.

The entire hillside seemed to vanish beneath the horde.

"Open fire!!"

The sector commander roared the order.

At the sight of Feral Beasts bearing grotesque writhing tendrils, ice shot down every Guard Corps soldier's spine.

The tendrils had eyes and mouths growing along their length. The sight was deeply unsettling.

But their hands were steady. Attack after attack rained down on the creatures below.

Guard Corps strikes, Spirit Cannon barrages, Phantom Fighter Craft salvos, Mechanical Guardian volleys — all of it poured down together.

The thunder of it was relentless, the entire mountain trembling with the impact.

Feral Beasts were torn apart under the barrage, flesh and blood flying in all directions.

The beasts fought back, of course — a torrent of elemental Combat Techniques blazed up from within the horde.

But Guardian Type and Assault Type warriors stood by every ranged fighter.

They absorbed the incoming strikes and gave the ranged warriors the freedom to pour out their Spirit Power without restraint, Combat Techniques erupting in continuous succession.

Beast carcasses tumbled down the slope and were instantly trampled by the creatures surging behind them, ground almost to pulp.

The horde stampeded over their fallen kin, eyes blazing red, wave after wave hurling themselves at the camp without stopping.

This time, the assault wasn't limited to the southern wall.

The other walls were under attack as well, though in somewhat smaller numbers.

At the eastern wall—

Zhu Zhengyang's entire body was wreathed in flowing flame. He launched a stream of fire swords, each one finding a Feral Beast and cutting it down.

Still, the beasts threw themselves forward without any concern for their own lives, cold crimson eyes unwavering.

A creeping unease settled in his chest. His composure began to waver.

He swept his gaze over the soldiers around him — cold eyes, not a moment of hesitation, attack after attack landing without pause.

He bit down on his lip hard enough to draw blood and let out a low growl:

"Damn it all!! These blasted beasts!"

His Spirit Power surged, and the fire swords flew faster.

Just then, a Guard Corps soldier beside him glanced over and said evenly:

"Easy there, Xiao Zhu. At that pace, your Spirit Power won't keep up. Run dry and this section collapses."

Zhu Zhengyang froze, then gave a stiff nod. "Yes, Squad Leader!"

The soldier nodded. "Good. Keep at it."

"Sir!"

Zhu Zhengyang wasn't alone. Among the ten young men and women from the Talent Camp, Yan Jing and three others were ranged warriors, and all of them had a sharper edge to their eyes now — attacks landing with focused, deadly precision, harvesting Feral Beasts one after another.

Some, though, had it worse than others.

Maige was Assassin Type — no ranged capability, no defensive ability to speak of. All he had was speed. So he'd been assigned to logistics.

His Battle Net storage space was loaded with gene medicine and other supplies. When he stepped out of the warehouse and saw battles raging on all sides, the relentless thunder of explosions filling the air, the corner of his mouth twitched.

Especially when he spotted the ten-meter-tall Mechanical Guardians standing along the southern defense line. He was almost moved to tears.

"What the hell... I want to be out there killing beasts too! What's the point of being in logistics? The combat contributions are pathetic."

He looked at himself, then at Lu Yuan — and felt like crawling into a hole.

Just then, Yu Wa — another Assassin Type warrior from the Talent Camp — clapped him on the shoulder with the same expression of resigned commiseration:

"I really regret picking Assassin Type genes back then."

The two looked at each other. Kindred souls, equally adrift — both of them nearly in tears.

At that moment, an angry shout cut through the noise:

"You two!! What are you standing around for?! Get moving and deliver those supplies!"

Both of them jolted.

"Yes, sir!"

They immediately blurred into motion and sprinted toward the wall.

Time passed. The Feral Beast assault stretched from day into night.

The ranged warriors were divided into two shifts — one resting and recovering Spirit Power while the other kept firing.

Many had completely depleted their Spirit Power more than once.

The supplies consumed defied counting.

Outside the defensive camp, the beast carcasses at the base of the hill had piled so high they nearly filled the forest — a wall of the dead over ten meters tall.

The beasts behind kept surging forward, trampling the bodies of their fallen and hurling themselves at the camp, seemingly without end.

But the Mechanical Guardians were just as inexhaustible.

With their powerful Spirit Power drive cores, the Mechanical Guardians could sustain continuous combat for extended periods without risk of overloading — consumption was simply not a concern.

Which was, clearly, an enormous advantage.

At the very least, while the other Guard Corps warriors rested, the Mechanical Guardians held the line.

As time wore on, every section of the wall came under increasing strain.

As Commander of the Mechanical Corps — tasked with reinforcing weak points — Lu Yuan was only one person, but with over two hundred Mechanical Guardians at his back, he shuttled them continuously to wherever they were needed, shoring up gaps in the defense as they appeared.

Though he was beginning to feel the wear of it, his eyes burned with excitement.

It wasn't just the prospect of accumulating enormous combat contributions from this Beast Tide. More importantly, the vast numbers of Feral Beasts assaulting the camp included a significant number of Aberrant Feral Beasts.

And whenever an Aberrant Feral Beast died, an unknown energy flowed out and was continuously absorbed by the Evolution Cube.

Lu Yuan's entire body felt suffused with that cool, refreshing sensation.

Inside him, the Evolution Cube was practically trembling — clearly gorging itself.

Most importantly, Lu Yuan had the sense that if the Evolution Cube kept absorbing at this rate, it was on the verge of a transformation.

He had no idea what form it would take. But he could feel it clearly: the Evolution Cube had built up a considerable store of that unknown energy compared to before, and was waiting for the right moment to break through.

Once it did, he was certain the Evolution Cube would become significantly more powerful.

He still had no idea what the unknown energy actually was — but one thing was abundantly clear. The more Aberrant Feral Beasts, the better.

*What will it become, once it evolves?* He was burning to find out.

Time kept moving.

The darkness gradually gave way, and a new sun rose over the world.

At some point, the warriors who had been grinding away so long they were half-numb suddenly noticed: the Feral Beast numbers were thinning.

Everyone straightened in surprise and looked down the hillside. The pile of carcasses at the base had grown to twenty or thirty meters tall. Beast blood had stained the entire mountain red, and the air reeked with it — thick and cloying, enough to turn the stomach.

Yet the beasts still streaming from the forest were noticeably fewer than before.

Eyes went wide. Spirits lifted.

At the southern wall, Luo Xiu, Tracy, and Jiang Ming had been holding their section through it all — Luo Xiu a Battle King, Tracy and Jiang Ming both Battle Venerables.

Their opponents were naturally the King Grade Feral Beasts and Fourth-rank Battle Venerable-class Feral Beasts that periodically emerged from the horde.

Over the course of a full day and night, three King Grade Feral Beasts had appeared, along with more than ten Fourth-rank Battle Venerable-class Feral Beasts.

Luo Xiu, Tracy, and Jiang Ming had hunted down every last one.

Even so, the effort had drained all three of them.

Cutting down King Grade and Battle Venerable-class Feral Beasts meant diving into the heart of the Beast Tide — fighting peer-level opponents while surrounded by an entire horde trying to tear you apart. The pressure was immense.

Now, watching the Beast Tide thin to scattered stragglers, all three felt a surge of renewed energy.

They looked at each other. Stunned disbelief crossed all three faces.

Luo Xiu murmured, half to himself: "...This Beast Tide — and not a single beast made it onto the wall?"

The other two were equally speechless.

They were no strangers to Beast Tides.

In every one they'd fought through, the latter stages always played out the same way — Spirit Power running low, supplies stretched thin, Feral Beasts eventually breaching the wall and flooding the camp.

The carnage in those moments was always brutal.

But now?

This had been the most powerful Beast Tide in recent memory — and not one beast had made it onto the wall.

Scanning the wall, the Guard Corps looked exhausted, but the wounded were few. The dead fewer still.

All three of them stilled, then turned to look at the ten-meter-tall Mechanical Guardians standing nearby, their gazes distant and unfocused.

Luo Xiu smiled faintly and let out a quiet sigh:

"Commander Lu Yuan wanted his contributions logged, didn't he? Well — what he's earned this time is something else entirely."

Tracy and Jiang Ming both nodded, almost involuntarily, the faint daze still in their eyes.

This Beast Tide had gone so much more smoothly than any of them could have imagined. It barely felt like a real Beast Tide at all.