Chapter 270: Lone Battle
The amassed bio-beasts, skeleton legions, elemental creatures, and steel constructs surged like a breached dam.
They roared deafeningly, rushing headlong toward the deep, dark circular passage.
They were the pathfinders thrown into the unknown world, cannon fodder to exhaust the enemyās strength.
Watching most of the fodder and wizards plunge in, Jie Ming took a deep breath, no longer hesitating.
Commanding two towering black giants, he followed the vanguard flood, diving into the light-devouring spatial gate.
The traversal was far more arduous than anticipated.
Dionysius Spencer had warned that some powerful seal or suppressive field on the other side hindered the gateās full expansion.
He needed to channel the floating cityās power to counter and widen the passage, but those crossing first would likely face āminor troubles.ā
Jie Ming soon learned what these ātroublesā were.
The moment he entered the passage, a powerful viscous force pressed from all directions, as if wading through glue.
The surroundings lacked the usual vibrant streams of a spatial passage, instead filled with chaotic darkness and turbulent energy flows.
These flows, mixed with shattered spatial fragments and alien energies, relentlessly battered the travelers within the gate.
Bang!
Hissā¦
Dense energy torrents struck the black giantsā massive frames, producing various noises.
Yet, after over thirty years of conquest, the black giantsā body-forging techniques had adaptively evolved, granting them high resistance to spatial distortions tied to wind elements.
The energy impacts, so long as they didnāt exceed a critical threshold, were absorbed and converted by the giantsā unique structures into negligible sustenance.
Jie Ming stood firm on a black giantās shoulder, enveloped in a faint shield that deflected stray attacks.
Like a reef in a torrent, guarded by the giants, he pressed steadfastly toward the darkness at the passageās end.
After an indeterminate timeāperhaps a fleeting moment or an eternal ordealāthe resistance ahead suddenly eased!
āWeāre through!ā
Jie Mingās spirit surged, urging the black giants to accelerate, breaking through the final spatial membrane.
Yet, the moment his feet touched the alien soil, even his composure faltered briefly.
The expected scene of the vanguard legion locked in brutal combat with native creatures was absent.
Instead, he was met with a grand yet eerily silent spectacleāan immense altar, surrounded by countless humanoid creatures, a blend of mantis and lizard, stretching to the horizon!
They seemed to be in a silent phase of a collective ritual, countless eyes turning toward the intruders with shock, confusion, and rapidly rising hostility.
Jie Ming and his two black giants stood out starkly as the sole anomalies in this silent sea.
He quickly realized that, thanks to the spatial resistance granted by his body-forging techniques, he had been minimally affected within the gate.
Though he entered relatively late, he was the first to cross.
The vast vanguard legion was still struggling through the narrow, unstable passage, unable to follow promptly.
Even with Jie Mingās resolute will, facing the gazes of billions, clearly hostile, his lips twitched slightly.
His earlier, excited proclamation now felt particularly out of place.
āThis isā¦ going to be interesting,ā he thought wryly.
āOn the bright side, this means my spatial resistance ranks first in the expedition?ā
Consoling himself with dark humor, Jie Ming swiftly sought a way to break the stalemate.
His gaze swept the scene, locking onto the four storm-eye clouds above the altar, radiating a heart-stopping pressure.
āThese creatures below are manageable, but the real threat lies with those fourā¦ā
His thoughts raced, and without hesitation, he maintained an outward calm, even deliberately intensifying the blue flames in the giantsā eyes to bolster his presence.
Simultaneously, he silently connected to the magical network terminal via mental energy, sending a blazingly intense spatial coordinate signal like a beacon!
This signal would guide the struggling wizard legion in the passage, urging them to hasten toward this newly āpried-openā breach.
Alone against the enemy, his task was to hold this bridgehead, even if only for a moment.
ā
The thirty-meter-tall black giants stood like twin obsidian towers atop the alien altar, their visual impact unparalleled.
Below, billions of Holy Servants gazed up at the colossi, whispering in awe and fear.
Even the usually aloof Holy Spirits wore grave expressions.
From these silent black titans, they sensed a pressure surpassing their ownāa near-divine force!
As for Jie Ming, atop a giantās shoulder?
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His ādiminutiveā frame and āweakā energy fluctuations were dismissed by the Holy Servants and Spirits as an insignificant appendage, perhaps a āparasite,ā and ignored.
The essence of the wizardās path lay in leveraging knowledge to wield power, its terror often unnoticed at first encounter.
Of course, most beings and civilizations never got a second chance.
āA new world! It must be a new world!ā a Holy Spirit exclaimed, eyes blazing with greed after the initial shock.
Though the black giants were formidable, they seemed a step below the divine pressure of the four Holy Gods above.
What riches must a world capable of birthing such creatures hold?!
Some peak Holy Spirits grew ambitious, believing that slaying or capturing these beasts might yield the key to godhood!
As battle-hardened Holy Spirits, they had their pride.
They believed that, with skill, numbers, and the four gods above, they could handle any foe.
āPain! Wail! Repent! For your folly, your world shall be ours!ā a hot-tempered Holy Spirit laughed maniacally.
His bone blades extended, wind power coiling into a ten-meter-long giant blade.
His form became a cyan streak, crossing a kilometer in an instant, slashing at a black giant with unstoppable momentum!
Thenā¦
Smack!
Like swatting an annoying insect, the black giantās massive hand moved with speed belying its size, striking the cyan streak with precision.
A mist of blood and bone shards burst like a small firework.
Jie Ming picked at his ear, muttering, āGibberishā¦ I canāt understand a thingā¦ Damn, that bold?!ā
He couldnāt fathom why someone with clearly inferior energy would launch such a suicidal charge.
āStill, if theyāre all this reckless, holding them off might be trickierā¦ā Jie Mingās brows furrowed.
Eyeing the sea of five-meter-tall humanoid monsters below, he worried their fearless onslaught could destabilize the gate.
Fortunately, things didnāt escalate as he feared.
Other Holy Spirits paled, stunned that a renowned Holy Spirit couldnāt withstand a single blow from the black creature.
Several exchanged glances, instantly understanding each other: āTogether!ā
They unleashed their bone blades in unison, converging on the two black giants with perfect coordination.
Facing a dozen monsters attacking together, Jie Ming pondered briefly, then issued a command through his soul contract to the giants: āHold back, engage them, and buy time!ā
The black giants roared, then began a theatrical back-and-forth with the āinsects.ā
Meanwhile, high above, the four Holy Godsā thoughts rapidly communed.
āFor a momentā¦ I thought
He
had awakened!ā a trembling divine thought pulsed.
āCalm yourself! Their life structures are entirely different. They arenāt from
that world
.
He
cannot have revived,ā a steadier divine thought soothed.
āCould the gateās long sealing have caused an anomaly, connecting to an unknown realm?ā a third divine thought speculated.
āRegardless, the unknown is dangerous,ā the final divine thought declared decisively. āEliminate them, reinforce the seal, and ensure absolute security. We stand at the pinnacle; thereās no need for risks.ā
A brief exchange reached consensus.
Then, a calm yet supremely authoritative voice, like divine law, resounded in the souls of all Holy Spirits and Servants: āKill him.ā
Three simple words ignited a powder keg!
āDivine Oracle! The Oracle!ā
āFor the Holy Gods!ā
Billions of Holy Servants erupted, their fervent faith overcoming their fear of the black giants.
The dozen Holy Spirits, previously cautious, were now filled with resolve and killing intent!
The Oracle was unquestionable!
āTogether!ā
A dozen powerful auras exploded, wind power forming tangible vortices around them, their bone blades gleaming with lethal light.
The Holy Spirits unleashed their trump cards, attacking the black giants from all angles with intricate coordination, like a heavenly net!
This time, they held nothing back.
Yet, before their assault could fully unfoldā¦
Buzzā¦
A strange hum sounded, and behind Jie Ming, thousands of crystalline runes materialized, forming a massive, intricate, slowly rotating radiant wheelāthe āGrand Radianceā!
The next moment, it was as if a galaxy had burst!
A torrent of energy bolts erupted from the Grand Radiance, each precisely targeting a charging Holy Spirit!
āNo!!!ā
āWhat is this?!ā
In the Holy Spiritsā horrified gazes, their vaunted wind shields shattered like paper, their condensed attacks collapsed instantly, and their bodies were torn apart and vaporized in the dazzling, lethal light streamā¦
In a single salvo, a dozen mighty Holy Spirits were reduced to ash!
At that moment, all Holy Servants, and even the four Holy Gods above, locked their gazes on Jie Ming.
They finally realized the āinsignificantā figure was the true terror!
But the Oracle was unyielding!
Driven by fervent faith, the sea of Holy Servants roared earth-shatteringly.
Like a tidal wave, they charged fearlessly toward the altarās center, toward Jie Ming and the black giants!
Facing this onslaught of billions, the trace of nonchalance on Jie Mingās face vanished, replaced by absolute calm.
The Grand Radiance behind him blazed brighter, ready for the battle ahead.
Suddenly, a faint smile curved his lips.
Because behind him, the massive circular spatial gate trembled with powerful, stable fluctuations.
A torrent of iron-clad auras surged forth!
The wizard legion had arrived.