“Retreat.”
High in the sky, almost at the same moment Margaret stood up, Ryann spoke in a low voice to Wilson. “Match the person’s pace, lure her outside the cannon’s mouth.”
Overlapping with Ryann’s voice were Jiang Jianming’s quickly issued orders in the command room:
“Major General Xie, this is Jiang Jianming. Please have the troops stand by and don’t approach the heavy artillery area yet. If possible, try to prevent the Crystal Cult members from gathering towards the center.”
“Lieutenant Raymond, immediately withdraw your men from the main control room, do not approach the gun turrets. I repeat, do not approach the gun turrets.”
In an instant, the atmosphere throughout the fortress changed.
In the main control room, Raymond’s vision went dark, feeling as if his heart was being cut by a knife.
They had lost so many comrades’ lives and had finally reached here with great difficulty. Now they were being asked to watch the empty main control room and withdraw – what unbearable frustration and grief this was!
But at this moment, the obedience of the Silver Big Dipper was displayed to the fullest. Raymond, with reddened eyes, gritted his teeth and raised his hand. “Everyone, fall back!”
In the mid-air, the cold wind wailed as the mecha L-Twin Stars slowly retreated.
Margaret walked step by step towards the outside of the giant cannon barrel, her white dress fluttering.
— The main cannon indeed had its own defense system, but to save energy, it would only be triggered by phenomena that truly had lethal power.
For example, sufficient speed or force, high or low temperatures, strong corrosiveness, and so on.
But if it was just a bird landing on the cannon’s mouth, it wouldn’t trigger the defensive barrier. The same applied to a relatively light human.
If the Bishop of Death only used a mecha or starship to gently sit inside the cannon barrel… this could indeed bypass the defense system!
“Aren’t you going to fire?” Margaret asked, tilting her head. “If you choose to fire, you might have a chance to kill me.”
Ryann remained seated in the cockpit, his posture relaxed and expression haughty. He hadn’t revealed his crystal bones, nor had he made any gesture to fight.
“There’s no need for that,” he said slowly.
“What a pity,” Margaret said.
Her clean, small feet stepped on the rough black cannon wall, moving forward step by step. The muzzle connecting to the sky was already within reach.
“If you unlock the main cannon, I’ll kill you and keep the main cannon,” the white-haired girl muttered as if talking to herself. “If you don’t unlock it, I’ll kill you and destroy the main cannon… that’s what Destruction told me.”
Her feet finally stepped onto the edge of the muzzle, less than a hundred meters away from the mecha Ryann was riding.
Beads of sweat covered Alen Wilson’s forehead. This middle-aged mecha soldier didn’t dare to even move his eyeballs as he frantically thought: What does this girl want to do?
She came alone, doesn’t she have any companions? How can she fight alone against mechas that can traverse the high skies!?
“I have a question,” Ryann suddenly spoke.
The Crown Prince’s emerald eyes were very solemn as he leaned forward, adopting a posture of serious listening.
Margaret tilted her head, also waiting very seriously for the question.
However, in the next moment, the girl’s pupils constricted as the large mecha’s body enlarged in her eyes–
Everything happened too fast. Ryann suddenly accelerated the mecha to its maximum speed, charging forward in an upward diagonal arc. The distance of several dozen meters was covered in an instant!
Margaret screamed miserably as she was instantly struck and sent flying, her entire body bouncing high into the sky.
“Your Highness!?” Even Wilson hadn’t expected the Crown Prince to pull such an underhanded move.
In his moment of shock, the space beside him was already empty. Ryann had leapt out of the cockpit the moment after completing that maneuver.
“Don’t be dazed!!” Jiang Jianming’s stern shout came through the communication channel. “Follow His Highness’s rhythm!”
Wilson snapped back to his senses, his expression sinking as he maneuvered the mecha to follow at full speed.
In mid-air, Margaret’s body was still spinning rapidly, but her snow-white crystal bones had already emitted a whistling sound that tore through the wind, swinging down towards the mecha.
Another flash of crimson gold was faster – the crystal bones of the Crown Prince and the Bishop of Death collided in mid-air!
The sky of Alpha Alien Star seemed to explode with a crack of spring thunder. The two figures bounced away from each other in opposite directions under the impact force!
Ryann plummeted rapidly. There wasn’t a trace of fear in his eyes as he gazed at Margaret, who was flying uncontrollably towards the main cannon turret.
Sufficient…speed and force.
In the next moment, net-like blue light lines rose from the ground.
They illuminated the years of unmelted snow on the heavy artillery.
Bang!!
Margaret crashed directly into that blue dense net. It was as if millions of thunderbolts crushed every inch of her bones. The girl screamed shrilly, her limbs convulsing violently!
In an instant, the instinct of high-level crystal bones was awakened. Most of Bishop of Death’s body was covered by white crystal clusters that had suddenly appeared, presenting a kind of eerie form in conjunction with her limbs that were twitching in pain.
With a flash of afterimage, the mecha L-Twin Stars that had caught Ryann had already soared in front of the gun turret.
With two “clang” sounds, Wilson manipulated the mechanical claws on both sides to extend to their limit, suddenly clamping Margaret against the awakened defense barrier!
“Ahhh…!!”
Margaret screamed in agony once again. White real crystals pierced out of thin air. After a harsh metallic sound, both mechanical claws shattered simultaneously, falling from the high altitude.
But her body had only slid down a dozen meters when Ryann’s crimson gold crystal bones smashed into her abdomen, crashing her back into the blue net.
“Cough…”
The white-haired girl’s eyes bulged slightly as she straightened up and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
A flash of red-gold appeared again, and something flew high into the air, glinting blindingly in the sunlight.
The real crystal ore pinned to the chests of the Crystal Cult members, used to trigger crystal disorder, was flicked away.
At that moment, countless eyes were dumbfounded.
The mecha soldiers fighting in mid-air, Raymond’s team who had just evacuated from the main control room, and Xie Yuduo’s large force in the distance…
Until half a minute ago, countless people were still anxiously speculating about the development of the battle in front of the main cannon. Who knew that in just a few dozen seconds, the advantage had become clear.
“Beautiful.”
In the command room, Jiang Jianming stood up.
He stared intently at the scene on the screen.
Perhaps because Ryann’s innate power was so unconventional, people’s perception of him seemed to lean more towards impressions of a violent monster.
But Jiang Jianming knew that this person had a terrifying battle awareness. The Bishop of Death had only missed one opportunity, and in the blink of an eye, she was beaten without any chance to fight back.
And this Bishop of Death was obviously a bit dazed. Now that her weakness had been seized, and her own crystal bones were not stronger than Ryann’s…
If there was no external force to break the situation, she might be pinned down and beaten to death!
The L-Twin Stars opened fire. The mecha cannons frantically poured out energy, repeatedly striking Margaret’s body against the defense shield of the cannon platform.
Translucent red-gold crystal bones suddenly rose, reflecting a dazzling sky light. Ryann’s beautiful and icy face was illuminated, both divine and demonic.
He ignored the unhealed wounds from yesterday’s backlash on his back, and forcibly released his crystal bones to their ultimate strength, with sharp cone-shaped tips.
Then, he smashed them down towards Margaret’s face!
Bang!!
Bang!!
The thunderous sound shook the clouds.
Margaret’s face was completely enveloped by crystal bones. Her eyes and mouth were wide open, turning her into a crystal person.
A wild look flashed in Ryann’s eyes. The high-intensity consumption of crystal bones caused red-gold crystal fragments to crawl up his face, spreading from his neck to just below his eyes.
He still didn’t know the purpose of Margaret’s appearance here.
But it didn’t matter. Breaking through with force, if he could eliminate the Bishop of Death here, any plots or tricks would be rendered useless!
Bang!!!
The crystal bones fell again.
Crack…
A fissure appeared on Margaret’s brow.
A few shattered white crystals fell from her face, blown away by the cold wind, soon disappearing from sight.
…
On a high point in the southern zone of the fortress, the Bishop of Destruction stood there, his black robe fluttering.
He looked towards the main cannon platform with a complex gaze, watching the Bishop of Death struggling in pain.
Su sighed silently.
He understood that perhaps the time had come to bid farewell to this girl.
Margaret was a war machine cultivated by His Excellency the Archbishop since childhood. She didn’t actually understand death or war, she only knew to obey the Archbishop’s words.
So, what followed would also be her inevitable fate.
Su’s lips moved, issuing some command.
In the distance, nearby, on the mecha in the sky, in the corridors inside the fortress.
The Crystal Cult members eerily froze. A look of relief appeared on their faces as they removed the small crystals from their chests.
“The light of crystal particles shines upon all beings—…”
They chanted as if in song.
Like a whirlwind appearing out of thin air.
Suddenly, a dense and chaotic flow of crystal particles burst forth in the air, spreading in all directions!
The imperial mecha at the forefront suddenly tilted.
Inside the cockpit, the Silver Big Dipper soldier let out a heart-wrenching scream, bleeding from seven orifices. The crystal particles inside his body had pierced through his internal organs and flesh.
The same tragedy occurred in countless mecha and even starships.
A soldier turned back in despair, half his face already eroded by crystal blocks. With his distorted throat, he let out a final cry.
“They’re going to… They’re going to commit mass suicide by crystal disorder!!”
“Major General, run quickly—”
Even Xie Yuduo felt intense pain from this wave, barely clinging to his command seat.
Rita tried to give the commander a tranquilizer but fell, bleeding from her nose and mouth.
“Ugh…ah!”
The major general struggled to support himself, face twitching.
He saw the Imperial mechas losing control, colliding and exploding.
Thousands of Crystal Cult members triggered acute crystal disorder, with devastating consequences.
Crystal particle density was rapidly increasing. In minutes, it would become hell.
Xie Yuduo’s eyes bulged.
As the Little Excellency said, this war was fundamentally unfair.
Even with the advantage, once the Crystal Cult used their “self-destruct crystal disorder”, tragedy would strike.
What to do?
No choice but to temporarily retreat.
“All forces,” Xie Yuduo opened his mouth, tasting blood. The retreat order was on the tip of his tongue. “Immediately…”
But then he saw the Crystal Cult mecha suddenly accelerate towards them.
The pilots were dead from crystal disorder, but their final command sent the mecha and ships hurtling towards the fortress center.
Xie Yuduo felt chilled to the bone.
They had to leave now or all the soldiers would die.
But they couldn’t leave…..What will His Highness Ryann do?
His Highness was still at the main cannon facing the Bishop of Death. These crazed Crystal Cult members would crash into them with the raging crystal particles.
Even the strongest S-class crystal bones couldn’t survive that crystal disorder.
A thousand thoughts raced through the major general’s mind.
Faced with a life-or-death decision, Xie Yuduo wasn’t even sure what his subconscious came up with. He only heard his own voice.
That voice didn’t call for retreat, but to engage the enemy.
…….
“Your Highness! Your Highness!!”
The chaotic crystal particle waves have reached the main cannon.
The third-generation tranquilizer isn’t working. Wilson, in agony, shouts through the pain.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince!!”
Blood spreads alarmingly fast on Ryann’s back outside the mecha.
The heir’s breathing was erratic, eyes glowing gold-red. The crystal bone striked again at Margaret’s head.
“We must retreat! You’re on the verge of crystal disorder!”
Another white crystal shattered. The fully crystallized young bishop hung motionless.
The L-Twin Stars have stopped firing, but Ryan still pinned Margaret to the defense shield with crystal bones, and it was not even known whether she was dead or alive at the moment.
“Your Highness, we can’t fight anymore!!”
The mecha’s communication channel was terrifyingly silent. No orders from Major General Xie.
