# Chapter 363: Reclaiming the Breach
"Ahem... there might be more inside. Why don't we go take a look at that nest?"
Bu Chang cleared his throat, breaking the slightly awkward silence.
"Yes, yes! Let's go see!"
Mados nodded eagerly, his expression alight with excitement.
As War Gods of the Mechanical Race, the reclamation of the breach brought them the greatest joy of all.
The group immediately flew toward the flesh nest.
Without Divine Grade Aberrant Beasts to block their path, the lesser beasts still pouring from the nest posed no real obstacle to a host of War Gods.
Before long, Lu Yuan and the others arrived within sight of the flesh nest.
It was gargantuan—rivaling a planet in sheer size. Its surface was riddled with openings packed as densely as cells in a honeycomb.
Aberrant Beasts streamed endlessly from those openings, and the moment they spotted Lu Yuan's group, they hurled themselves forward in a mindless frenzy, swarming like locusts.
These beasts possessed little intelligence—far less than their Divine Grade counterparts, let alone the King of Flesh. Even facing War Gods who vastly outclassed them, they showed no hint of fear. Their bodies radiated nothing but killing intent.
Lu Yuan didn't bother lifting a finger. Mados and the others channeled their Spirit Power and cut down the beasts in droves.
Then a pair of roars shook the void.
Two massive Divine Grade Aberrant Beasts burst forth, their bodies bristling with tentacles and studded with countless eyes. Terrifying green luminescence rippled across their hides, and beams of green energy lanced from their many eyes toward Lu Yuan and his companions.
The beams reversed course instantly, streaking back toward the two beasts.
Spatial Rift—spatial grafting.
Lu Yuan had warped the space ahead of the beams, redirecting them back at their source. Simultaneously, he locked both creatures in place, freezing their bodies mid-charge. Then Radiant Fire erupted from the void and engulfed them.
In the span of a heartbeat, both Divine Grade Aberrant Beasts died screaming.
The assembled War Gods had already watched Lu Yuan slaughter over ten Divine Grade beasts at once. This no longer surprised them—though they couldn't help but marvel, once again, at the depth of his power.
Gazing at the flesh nest before him, Lu Yuan considered for a moment, then said with an easy smile:
"Forget it—I'm not going in. I'll just burn the whole thing down."
The others blinked in surprise. Then Mados nodded, looking at Lu Yuan.
"Then we'll leave it to you, Brother Lu Yuan."
Lu Yuan smiled. His Spirit Power surged wildly, and Radiant Fire roared to life.
**BOOM!!**
Radiant Fire swallowed the flesh nest whole. Agonized shrieks echoed from within.
Beasts ablaze with Radiant Fire fled from the honeycomb openings one after another—all of them Battle Emperor rank or above. Yet even creatures of that caliber turned to ash the instant they cleared the nest.
With nothing powerful enough to resist it, the Radiant Fire consumed everything. The flesh nest charred black and began to contract.
Watching it shrink, Nuxing allowed himself a faint smile.
"Looks like there are no more Divine Grade Aberrant Beasts."
The others nodded, quietly exhaling in relief.
"All the better for us."
"True enough..."
While Lu Yuan incinerated the flesh nest with Radiant Fire, the four-race alliance soldiers still fighting at the distant defense line saw it—a blaze of light burning like a sun in the vacuum of space.
Every soldier stared, eyes wide, astonishment written across their faces.
"That's... the direction of the breach?!"
"It is the breach! What's happening over there?! How can such immense power of light exist in that area?"
"It's the War Gods! It has to be! They must have killed the Divine Grade Aberrant Beasts and are destroying the nest!"
"Keep fighting, brothers! The War Gods are about to succeed! We have to hold these beasts here no matter what!"
"Kill them! Kill them all!"
Just as the alliance soldiers' spirits soared, every Aberrant Beast attacking them froze in place simultaneously.
The beasts turned their heads toward the flesh nest. Then, one by one, they let out howls of fury. Every single beast wheeled around and flew toward the nest.
The teeming, numberless swarm surged through the vacuum like a black tide.
The alliance commanders' eyes lit up at the sight. They raised their weapons and roared.
"After them, brothers!"
"These creatures must have sensed their nest is under attack! They're retreating to reinforce it! Don't let a single one through—kill them all!"
"Reclaim the breach! For the Mechanical Race! For the Mechanical Kingdom! For our universe!"
Battle cries erupted across the four-race alliance. Spirit Power blazing around them, the soldiers charged forward in pursuit of the fleeing beasts.
Lu Yuan continued his work expressionlessly, methodically purifying and destroying the flesh nest piece by piece. Beside him, Mados, Nuxing, and the others naturally noticed the beast swarm's retreat.
Nuxing narrowed his eyes, a cold smile playing across his lips.
"Without any Divine Grade beasts left, what can these things possibly accomplish?"
Lieyuan—the War God whose life Lu Yuan had saved moments ago—bared his teeth in a fierce grin and was the first to step forward. He growled:
"Anyone who wants to disturb Brother Lu Yuan will have to get through me first!"
Jinka and Yingu glanced at Lieyuan, then stepped up as well.
"While we have the chance," Jinka said, "let's wipe out every last one of these beasts."
Mados nodded firmly. "Good. We'll leave it to you."
The War Gods surged into the retreating beast swarm. For the creatures, flying headlong into War God-level power was like stumbling into a predator's maw—vast numbers died on first contact, and the survivors dwindled by the second.
Some time later, the flesh nest—once the size of a planet—had shrunk to nothing. It crumbled to ash and vanished, leaving behind only the breach in the Cosmic Boundary.
Beyond the breach, hordes of Aberrant Beasts still gathered, pressing inward.
Lu Yuan glanced past the Cosmic Boundary. In the murky, yellowish chaos beyond, Aberrant Beasts howled in numbers that defied comprehension. The beasts that had entered the universe didn't even account for one percent of the total.
If not for the breach's limited size, the invasion would have been orders of magnitude worse.
Even Lu Yuan felt a chill run through him at the sight.
*Just how many Aberrant Beasts are out there?!*
*This is beyond absurd.*
He narrowed his eyes. Spirit Power surged as the forces of space, time, stellar energy, and life swirled together, condensing into a multi-layered shield of fused power at the mouth of the breach. The shield sealed it completely, barring every beast from entry.
The beasts in the chaos beyond, finding themselves unable to pass, roared with impotent fury. Volleys of green energy hammered the shield, which rippled faintly but held firm as bedrock.
Lu Yuan felt no concern. Short of a being on the King of Flesh's level, no quantity of beasts could shatter this shield.
He exhaled slowly and turned to look behind him.
Mados and the others had already routed the main beast force. The remaining stragglers were being hunted down by the four-race alliance.
Noticing the flesh nest had been reduced to ash, Mados and the War Gods returned at once. When they saw that Lu Yuan had sealed the beasts outside the breach, delighted smiles broke across their faces.
"Hahaha! That's our Yuan for you!" Nuxing laughed. "With you on the job, everything just falls into place."
Bu Chang and Kro nodded beside him, eyes bright with admiration.
"With Yuan watching over us," Bu Chang said with a sigh, "our Human Race territories will be as unshakable as a mountain."
Mados, Bingling, Jinka, and the other powerhouses from the three non-Human races watched Bu Chang and his companions with a touch of envy. After all, Lu Yuan was Human. Though the four races stood united against the Aberrant Beasts, Lu Yuan would naturally prioritize his own people first.
By comparison, with Lu Yuan defending Human territory, it would be the safest domain in the universe going forward.
The Mechanical Race War Gods quickly collected themselves. After exchanging glances and a brief, quiet discussion, Mados stepped before Lu Yuan and bowed deeply.
"Brother Lu Yuan," he said, voice thick with gratitude, "words can't begin to express our thanks. Without you, just getting past those Divine Grade Aberrant Beasts would have been a grueling ordeal—to say nothing of the Blood of Machinery lurking in the shadows, or this colossal flesh nest. Without you, reclaiming this breach would have cost us sacrifices beyond counting. On behalf of every living soul in the Mechanical Kingdom, I thank you."
Lu Yuan smiled. "You're too kind, Senior. If this breach had remained in Aberrant Beast hands, their numbers would only have grown. This stopped being just the Mechanical Kingdom's problem a long time ago—it concerns our entire universe."
Something stirred in Mados's chest. He took a deep breath and smiled.
"According to our prior arrangement, you single-handedly destroyed the Blood of Machinery. And I hear there was an extraordinarily powerful monster lurking there as well—which you presumably killed. On top of all that, you've reclaimed this breach. Whatever you need, just say the word. If the Mechanical Race has it, it's yours—no questions asked."
Lu Yuan considered this, then smiled. "Actually, there is something I'd like."
The Mechanical Race powerhouses' eyes lit up at once, expressions eager.
"What is it?"
Their greatest fear was that Lu Yuan would ask for nothing. The debt their kingdom owed him was simply too immense. If they couldn't repay even a fraction of it, the guilt alone would keep them up at night.
That Lu Yuan actually wanted something was the best news they could have hoped for.
Lu Yuan smiled. "I'd like a Heart of Laws. Do you have one?"
At his current level, ordinary treasures held little value. Only something like the Heart of Laws could truly serve his needs.
At his words, the Mechanical Race powerhouses and War Gods from the other races alike paused in surprise.
"A Heart of Laws?" Mados repeated.
Lu Yuan nodded. "That's right. I intend to comprehend the Laws."
Mados fell silent for a moment, thinking it over. Then he smiled.
"Honestly, even if you hadn't asked—even if you hadn't done any of this for the Mechanical Kingdom—I would have given you a Heart of Laws regardless."