Though it was undeniably a huge blow to lose a Giant-class ship, it was one that the three directors could stomach. After all, it was worth sacrificing a Giant-class ship in exchange for the life of an Earthsunder life form.
The cracked space where Dark Locust had self-detonated continuously drew in matter to heal itself. Noticing this, the three directors ordered the Earthsunder Giant Protector to abandon the Giant-class ship.
The ship was already destroyed. They couldnât afford to lose the Giant Protector as well.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ming, having escaped with Han Wu, was already feeling better after a short rest.
Senses expanded to perceive the happenings outside, Jiang Ming had initially been ecstatic when he learned that Han Wu had another Earthsunder life form hidden away. This joy dissolved when Dark Locust self-detonated.
Jiang Ming panicked. That was an Earthsunder life form, a strategic war asset! It was a huge loss for it to sacrifice itself just to destroy a Giant-class ship.
âHow could you let an Earthsunder life form sacrifice itself for nothing? What a waste!â he cried out, so worked up he almost coughed up blood again.
âDonât worry,â Han Wu assured. âI know the value of an Earthsunder life form. The real show is just about to begin.â
On the battlefield, Han Wu and the Supreme Merchant Groupâs units were clashing. Corpses piled up into small mountains, and blood flowed like rivers. The three directors observed everything calmly from within their ship.
They were accustomed to battles on this scale, and their core race was born for warfare. As long as they won, they could always recoup the losses from before.
Both Yin De and Xi Wa were confident they would win after seeing Han Wuâs Earthsunder life form sacrifice itself with relatively minimal loss to the Supreme Merchant Group. That was a massive advantage for them.
The ever-cautious Hu Lan, however, felt something was amiss. He just didnât know what yet. Extending his senses, he vigilantly scanned the crack in space where Dark Locust had previously detonated itself.
The crack was slowly recovering as it absorbed matter and energy, but besides that, Hu Lan could sense nothing wrong. Assuming he was overthinking the situation, he was about to shift his attention to the battle below when he unintentionally detected a small piece of flesh gradually taking shape.
Scattered chunks of flesh and blood manifested and merged into the figure of Dark Locust again. Unfortunately, by the time he realized what was happening, it was already too late.
Dark Locust had revived itself! The presence of the Earthsunder life form caught the attention of the other two directors.
They stared at Dark Locust as if seeing a ghost.
âItâDidnât it detonate itself?â Yin De stammered as he watched Dark Locust attack their units.
Xi Wa rubbed his eyes at the unbelievable scene. âThis canât be real.â
Hu Lan wore a bitter expression. While he didnât want to believe what was happening, reality was undeniableâthe powerful Earthsunder life form had revived and was once again killing the Supreme Merchant Groupâs units down below.
âGiant Protectors, stop it!â Hu Lan ordered.
Two Giant Protectors rushed down to kill Dark Locust. Seeing their advance, Dark Locust unhesitatingly shot toward them with extreme speed.
When Hu Lan saw this, he belatedly remembered Dark Locustâs earlier detonation. âSHIT!â
It was too late. Dark Locust was a mere twenty meters away from the two Giant Protectorsâwell within range of its blast.
Dark Locust unhesitatingly self-detonated once again.
The powerful explosion tore through the Giant Protectorsâ hastily thrown-up barrier, gravely injuring them. One lost an arm, while the second lost half of its face.
These grievous wounds left the two weakened and temporarily out of the fight. Hu Lan thought this was the limit of Dark Locust, only to despair when he saw the tiny chunks of flesh swiftly taking shape once more.
Just ten minutes later, Dark Locust was back.
âWhy isnât there a limit...â Hu Lan cried out in dismay, feeling as if he was on the verge of going crazy. âSend two Giant Protectors to stop it! Gather the remaining Giant Protectors and use their strongest attack to destroy Han Wuâs fleet in one go. Kill that God and put an end to this battle as soon as possible.â
Dark Locust was a member of Han Wuâs core race. If they killed Han Wu, it would naturally lose its strength and become easy to kill. The pressure that Dark Locust placed on Hu Lan was enough for him to shift priorities toward killing Han Wu first.
Two Giant Protectors rushed towards where Han Wuâs fleet was. Their powerful presence as Earthsunder life forms was enough to smother any units beneath the Heroic grade. Han Wuâs protective measures folded like wet paper before them.
The three directors assumed that the Giant Protectors would soon pierce into the center of Han Wuâs fleet.
Then, something unexpected happened.
A wind blade stopped the two Giant Protectors in their tracks.
Yin Ming pointed at Steely in his Hecatoncheiras form. âThatâs the one! Thatâs the Earthsunder Hecatoncheiras that killed the Giant Protector!â
The three directors glanced at Steely. With their experience, it didnât take them long to figure out what made Steely special. A regular Hecatoncheiras wouldnât be as powerful as Steely. However, Steelyâs skills with the wind and the greatsword made the three directors realize that this was no simple Hecatoncheiras, but a Swordwind!
âHow did he turn a Swordwind into that form? Han Wu has to be someone special. Quick, use the treasure to send an emergency message. Call our people to look into Han Wuâs background,â Hu Lan commanded.
Yin De and Xi Wa thought Hu Lanâs actions were unnecessary. They were in the middle of fighting to the death. Checking Han Wuâs background information wasnât useful at this point.
After all, it wasnât as if they could just apologize and compensate him. As Major Gods, it would be humiliating for them to apologize to such a young God. The pair simply couldnât let go of their pride and reputation.