Chapter 1480 - 841: Showdown at the Furnace Engine (Part 2)

Tai Shichen seized this fleeting opportunity to stuff a thermite bomb into the main energy pipeline.

The lava waterfall torrents that should have engulfed them were redirected by the reversed pipeline, sent upwards. The green skins, who were laughing moments ago, now screamed in terror, helpless as they melted away in the lava.

"Keep advancing!" Tai Shichen roared alongside his Blast Bomb Gun.

He shattered the fragile node of the cooling system. Behind the collapsed shell emerged the horrifying fusion of flesh and machinery—the Green-skinned Great Skill Dominator had welded himself to the Furnace Core, with the fungal colonies on his spine turning the entire reactor into a biological weapon.

When the Terminator Guard smashed open the final explosion-proof door with the Thunder Hammer, everyone smelled the familiar scent of blood.

The cabin they stormed into was pulsating.

The floor was a hardened fungal carpet, while the protruding human skulls on the walls snapped their teeth continuously; the green skin mechanics had converted the fallen Protectorate Army’s vocal organs into alarm systems.

They were now close to destroying this war engine.

Then, Modeller’s Spiritual Energy Long Sword suddenly pierced the vent, pulling out a screeching snot goblin scout. Before this little creature, full of data plugs, could self-detonate, it was smashed into a pulp by the Gravity Hammer.

The Intelligence Director noticed the flashing metal box on its spine—that was a communication device made from a human skull.

He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them and turned to Tai Shichen:

"Ulu knows we’re here."

"Just as planned." Tai Shichen raised a hand, ordering the troops to stop the destruction of this war engine for now.

Entering this mobile fortress, Tai Shichen’s primary target had always been the Orc Warlord Ulu.

Destroying the war engine was indeed important, but when facing enemies like the Orcs, killing their leader was an even higher priority.

Once Ulu was dead, the subsequent tasks would naturally unfold.

If Ulu were not killed, destroying the key components of the fortress one by one wouldn’t be impossible, but given the current advantages that humanity possessed, victory would inevitably belong to them.

However, progressing like this, painstakingly bit by bit, would consume a significant amount of manpower and result in countless sacrifices.

Attacking such a powerful mobile fortress would incur massive losses, even with a tenfold advantage in forces and unilateral orbital support.

To minimize losses, the best course of action was naturally to kill Ulu.

After losing their leader, the orcs’ combat strength would plummet. They might start fighting amongst themselves or flee the fortress, making it easier to handle the green skins outside.

Conversely, for Ulu, his primary mission was to safeguard his mobile fortress and maintain his army’s offensive capability. When critical places like the Furnace Engine were under attack, it was only natural for him to come personally, just like he previously led a team to deal with the Interstellar Warrior units that infiltrated from the south.

If Tai Shichen were to destroy the Furnace Engine too early, Ulu, having lost his protection target, would certainly be upset but he might not come.

So, preserving this Furnace Engine was the key to ’luring’ Ulu here.

And as expected, Ulu arrived.

Moreover, he brought his most elite forces.

His Black Orc Guard, his Heavy Armor Guard, and his ’Little King Kong’ unit—all moved with him and arrived here.

The finest troops from both humans and orcs engaged in fierce combat at the Furnace Engine.

Each Heavy Armor Warrior possessed at least the combat strength equivalent to an Interstellar Warrior; those Black Orc Guards could easily stand against a veteran equipped with Terminator Armor; those Little King Kongs, with bodies even bigger than a Dreadnought Mech among the Interstellar Warriors, rampaged through the battlefield.

The Elite Protectorate Army fighting with Tai Shichen suffered heavy casualties. It was only after the Interstellar Warriors joined the battle that the situation changed, leading to a balance on this local battlefield.

But when Ulu personally joined the battle, the scales of victory tipped strongly towards the orcs.

His individual strength was far too powerful. Not a single Interstellar Warrior could stand as a worthy opponent in front of him. Often, upon encountering him, regardless of being a veteran or Terminator, or even accompanying Knight Mecha from the Sect of Mechanics or Alliance Army, they would be quickly destroyed.

The significance of the Unrivaled War General was apparent.

However, his participation also pointed out the target to Tai Shichen and Modeller.

After taking down their respective enemies, the two exchanged a glance and simultaneously moved with mutual understanding to target the formidable beast.

Led by the Glory Guard of the Dragon King’s Spear Chapter Leader, Ulu’s Black Orc Guard surrounding him was purposefully segmented, giving Tai Shichen and Modeller a chance for one-on-one.

Ulu’s claw still held half a corpse of an Interstellar Warrior, dripping with blood.

He turned his head towards Tai Shichen, casually tossing aside the corpse, sneering: "More shrimps come to die!"

The Green-skinned Warlord’s sonic weapon vibrations made the steel beams shake, while the ink-green liquid from his rocket fuel pipe ignited in mid-air, forming a web of fire that enveloped the entire space.

Modeller’s spiritual power arrived timely, assisting the Chapter Leader to block the attack.

However, the Orc Warlord dangerously struck from under the firepower web, fiercely wielding a magnetic lock chain, breaking through the Intelligence Director’s spiritual protection, unrelentingly smashing towards Tai Shichen.

Tai Shichen’s Power Sword severed the magnetic lock chain rushing towards him.

...

The repair marks on Ulu’s right leg hydraulic joint were glaring in the firelight—that was Ricardo’s last combat achievement with the Power Axe. The Chapter Leader suddenly turned off the jetpack for a freefall, and the sword glow slashed in weightlessness was deflected by the decomposition force field of the Power Claw, breaking ceramic steel fragments from the shoulder armor. He saw human Intelligence skull embedded in the opponent’s chest armor—with Ork runes engraved on the skullcap and micro-reactor set in the eye sockets. The seventh collision shattered the fine gold floor, and Ulu’s Power Claw left five corrosion marks on Tai Shichen’s breastplate. As the Chapter Leader rolled to dodge, the thermite bomb launched by the Sleeve Sword grazed the green skin’s left rib—the Star Realm Army’s standard reactor components flashed at the armor joint. Geller’s Spiritual Energy Chains suddenly sprang from the shadows, wrapping Ulu’s ankle, while the Intelligence Director bled from seven orifices, sustaining the Spiritual Energy Imprisonment, with the chains being corroded into green smoke by the green skin’s blood. "This fist is for Ricardo!" Tai Shichen roared, stabbing the Molecular Vibration Sword into the armor seam, while Ulu ripped open his breastplate exposing the chest cavity embedded with the reactor, the Chapter Leader’s palm had already crushed the Power Core—a perfect reflection of the Green-skinned Warlord’s heart-rip action on Ricardo three months earlier. The boiling green blood vaporized into toxic mist in the lava’s high temperature, as Ulu’s bulky body fell into the lava, all green-skinned war machines simultaneously halted, and the mechanic lads stared blankly at the mushroom spore cultivation tanks consecutively exploding. The orbital alert suddenly shattered the victory’s silence, as fifteen green-skinned reinforcement fleets broke through Mandeville Point. Tai Shichen wiped away the corrosive blood, looking at the detained Founding General—the blue light of the electronic shackles reflected the data stream bouncing in his mechanical eyes, while the bodies of the Protection Army members transformed by Ulu still twitched at the lava pool’s edge, with mechanical tentacles unconsciously scratching rescue symbols on the ground. The furnace firelight illuminated the newly inscribed sword hilt inscription by the Chapter Leader, Ricardo’s gene code absorbing the spores in the green skin’s blood. Geller, supporting his body with the Spiritual Energy Long Sword, approached, with fluorescent green liquid seeping from beneath the Think Tank Robe—a corrosion fluid from an altered Protectorate Army member had etched the Beastman Battle Pattern on his abdomen. Alvin’s communication requests had flashed seventeen times in the tactical visor; the southern hemisphere raid force encountered green-skinned war trucks loaded with Titan weapons, yet at this moment Tai Shichen’s attention was drawn to the mechanical tendrils of the Founding General—its tip was unmistakably a component from Ulu’s Power Claw.