This clearly wasn't Morcasa's first ti dealing with this type of star beast. Although the situation appeared incredibly tense, under Mole's command, they handled it with ease.
As ti passed, the intense roar of artillery fire beca familiar to Li Yu and the others. Hunter, who had sobered up slightly, turned to Li Yu and asked, "Did my niece just look down on earlier?"
"Wrong," Li Yu replied, casting a side glance at him. "Thanks to your idiotic behavior, your niece now looks down on all of us."
"Damn Mole..." Hunter cursed under his breath, then nudged Li Yu. "Aren't you going to show off a little? With your strength, you could definitely steal the spotlight. I'll even help play matchmaker for you; who knows, it might turn into a beautiful romance."
The mont those words left his mouth, Hunter felt a sudden chill run down his spine. He looked around in confusion and imdiately locked eyes with Mo Duo's crimson gaze.
His remaining buzz instantly vanished. 'Crap... how could I have forgotten about this terrifying ancestor? Drinking really ruins everything!'
Fortunately, Li Yu shook his head. "Not interested."
Only then did Hunter feel like he had returned to the world of the living. The feeling of thorns on his back dissipated, and he imdiately let out a long sigh of relief.
Two hours later, the star beasts' assault finally ceased. It was visibly apparent that the Morcasa soldiers were beginning to relax.
According to past patterns, the star beasts' attacks usually only lasted for these two hours. Once they survived this window, everything would be fine.
These vanguard star beasts were nad Black Lizards by the people of Morcasa. They were the most nurous but also the weakest type of star beast.
As the smoke of gunpowder gradually cleared, wailing injured soldiers were carried back by their comrades for dical treatnt. Even with ample experience in dealing with the Star Beast Tide, casualties were still unavoidable.
The atmosphere in the camp grew heavy. Mole walked over, clutching his helt, his expression rather grim.
Halfway there, Kelly approached her father and exchanged a few words with him. Mole gave a solemn nod and then pointed in the direction of Li Yu and the group.
Kelly noticeably shook her head, seemingly rejecting whatever he proposed. However, Mole's stance was firm, leaving her with no choice but to follow him over in quiet frustration.
"Boss Ze, I haven't introduced you yet. This is my daughter, Kelly," Mole introduced with a forced smile.
"I know. You told us about her before, but we just never had the chance to et," Hunter replied, acting much more normal now, at least refraining from his usual sleazy chuckling.
"Kelly, this is my old brother. You should call him Uncle Zeth," Mole told his daughter.
"Your Excellency, the Governor General, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave now," Kelly said, her face completely cold, giving Mole absolutely no face.
"Kelly!" Mole frowned.
Acting as if she hadn't heard him, Kelly's voice remained icy. "Your Excellency, the Governor General, if these are your friends, you should send them into the city. It is extrely dangerous here, and you wouldn't want them getting hurt."
Mole looked incredibly awkward, so Hunter stepped in to smooth things over. "Let the kid get back to her duties first."
Kelly turned around and left with her people. Several other Elite Squads also ca over to report, their attitudes toward Mole significantly better than Kelly's.
These C-Tier Lifeforms had all been intensively trained by the Morcasa civilization, costing a massive amount of resources.
The exchange rate between an ordinary civilization's currency and Star Coins was absurdly low. Unless a civilization possessed special mineral deposits, other small-scale civilizations had almost no resources that could be exchanged for Star Coins.
Being able to spend a large number of Star Coins to cultivate these few C-Tier Lifeforms was already quite an impressive feat.
As for Espers... they basically required zero resource investnt, which was why Kelly held such a special status.
"Why haven't you ever ntioned us old brothers to your family?" Hunter asked with a hint of reproach.
"Sigh... it's not like you don't know," Mole sighed heavily. "I joined Augu when she was very young, and I only ca back a few tis."
"To her, I'm just a father who only exists in stories told by others."
"And what happened afterward... it's too shaful to even talk about."
Hunter fell silent and let out a sigh of his own. Mole continued, "Still, Kelly is right. You are guests, so how can you stay in a place like this? I will send soone to escort you into the city..."
Hunter nodded, then asked, "Why haven't you requested reinforcents from the Athyst Civilization? If I rember correctly, you are a vassal of the Athyst Civilization, right?"
"Well..." Mole's eyes darted away, seemingly unwilling to answer the question. Seeing this, Hunter didn't press the matter and shifted the conversation to other topics.
While the group was chatting, a series of urgent alarms suddenly blared across the entire camp once more.
In an instant, the expressions of everyone present changed dramatically—from the exhausted soldiers preparing to rest, to the Elite Squads preparing to depart.
"Your Excellency, the Governor General!" a soldier shouted as he sprinted over to report. "We have detected a massive seismic source underground. Preliminary estimates suggest the Star Beast Tide is not over yet, and... we fear Thunder Beasts might be erging."
Mole's expression drastically shifted. Without even having the ti to say goodbye to Li Yu and his group, he imdiately spun around and roared, "Initiate Level Two Combat Readiness!"
The frantic alarm tones abruptly shifted, becoming deep and resonant. The center of the camp began to tremble as a massive chanical Door embedded in the ground slowly opened.
A gigantic turret slowly rose from the depths. Twelve thick tal arms extended out to anchor against the campsite, stabilizing the massive structure. Although it looked like a highly complex piece of machinery, it was completely covered in patchwork repairs.
Thick arcs of electricity began surging violently along the barrel, and incredibly dense steel projectiles started vibrating slightly. This was an Electromagnetic Cannon.
This level of technology had long been rendered obsolete by the mainstream interstellar community and could only be found in minor civilizations. Even so, Mole only managed to procure it through the connections of an old friend.
The earth began to quake once again. The mbers of the seven Elite Squads wore incredibly grave expressions, having already received the intel.
Thunder Beasts were a higher tier of star beast, far superior and vastly more powerful than the Black Lizards. They were the kind of monsters capable of inflicting catastrophic damage upon Morcasa.
Although they were only C-Tier Lifeforms, their colossal size granted them unimaginably high defense and attack power.
Furthermore, when working in tandem with the massive swarms of Black Lizards, they could cause unimaginable devastation.
A pair of thick, black, bull-like horns breached the surface of the earth, followed closely by a terrifying creature standing a hundred ters tall.
It possessed pitch-black eyes the size of houses and incredibly stout limbs. Its entire body was covered in blue fur that crackled with electric arcs, hanging so low it almost brushed the ground. It resembled a gigantic yak, yet it radiated an aura of absolute lethality.
The very instant it appeared, a barrage of artillery fire rained down on it. Despite looking soft, its fur boasted an extraordinarily powerful defense.
Most of the incoming attacks couldn't even breach its defenses, failing to inflict any aningful damage.
Beneath its feet, a relentless tide of Black Lizards surged forward like a dark sea. With every step the Thunder Beast took, it crushed multitudes of Black Lizards to death.
"Why do I get the feeling... these star beasts aren't just blindly attacking this place?" Li Yu remarked, watching the Black Lizards dying beneath the Thunder Beast's hooves.
These were two completely different species; how could they coexist and coordinate a joint attack against this place?
The Thunder Beast let out a deafening, bizarre roar, seemingly enraged by the constant bombardnt. The lightning across its body surged towards its two horns, coalescing into a massive Lightning Ball that it hurled directly at the camp.
Even though the Lightning Ball was only the size of a house, the Morcasa soldiers treated it as a monuntal threat, redirecting a massive amount of firepower toward the incoming sphere.
Before it could even reach the camp, the Lightning Ball detonated mid-air. An overwhelming torrent of lightning rained down, blinding everyone in a sea of sheer white.
A huge swath of Black Lizards was reduced to charred husks beneath the lightning storm, yet this didn't slow the swarm's relentless advance one bit.
"Electromagnetic Cannon fully charged! Requesting permission to fire!"
Mole locked his gaze onto the colossal Thunder Beast. "Fire!"
The entire earth shuddered violently as a blinding beam of light erupted from the barrel. In the blink of an eye, it tore across a kiloter, effortlessly punching through the Thunder Beast's defenses and blasting directly into its skull.
Half of its body was instantly ripped apart, sending geysers of black blood spraying into the air. It collapsed to the ground without even being able to let out a final wail.
"Excellent!" Mole clenched his fists. The very first ti a Thunder Beast had appeared, it had inflicted catastrophic damage on them.
But now, they could finally obliterate it outside the camp boundaries. This was the power of—
Rumble!
The fallen Thunder Beast began twitching inexplicably. Then, under Mole's horrified gaze, another pair of black horns broke through the horizon line.
"Another Thunder Beast... how is this possible!?"
"How long until the Electromagnetic Cannon is fully recharged!?" Mole roared.
"At least half an hour!"
Who knew how many hands this Electromagnetic Cannon had passed through before reaching them? The internal components simply took far too long to cool down.
"Fuck, we have to hold the line!" Mole viciously slamd his fist onto a nearby tal tank.
With the threat of the Electromagnetic Cannon gone, the second Thunder Beast rapidly approached the camp. Multitudes of Black Lizards paved the way for it. The defense line at the edge of the camp had already been compromised by the previous assault.
Hordes of Black Lizards flooded in, completely unopposed. It wasn't that the ordinary soldiers couldn't kill the Black Lizards; it simply cost too steep a price.
Usually, it took over a dozen ordinary soldiers to bring down just one Black Lizard. But with the sheer volu they were facing now, the Elite Squads clearly couldn't handle them all.
Therefore, the ordinary soldiers were forced to join the brutal lee combat. Because there were simply too many allied troops in close proximity, they couldn't risk using any large-scale area-of-effect bombardnts.
A soldier clad in the sa Armor as Mole leaped into the air. His kinetic thrusters deployed, spewing out jets of scorching fla.
Wielding a chain-blade, he landed directly on a Black Lizard's head. The weapon roared like a chainsaw, furiously carving a bloody path from its skull all the way down to its tail.
He had managed to slaughter one Black Lizard, but before he even had ti to celebrate...
Another Black Lizard lunged from his flank, swallowing him whole. The chain-blade continued to spin, filling the beast's maw with blood, yet it forcibly snapped the soldier right in half with its crushing jaws.
Such grim tableaus were constantly playing out across the entire battlefield. The Morcasa soldiers did not back down; their eyes burned with unwavering resolve as they stepped up to take the place of the fallen.
"Gale Squad, flank and suppress! Earthshaker and Defender Squads, provide support! The rest of the squads will stay with and wait for an opening to strike!"
The seven Elite Squads rapidly moved into position. Despite her grave expression, Kelly issued commands in a highly organized manner. Each squad played their designated role as they swiftly closed in on the Thunder Beast.
Gale Squad consisted entirely of chanical Cyborgs specializing in agility. Their bodies were heavily outfitted with thrusters and constructed using ultra-lightweight materials.
Compared to the colossal Thunder Beast, they looked like re ants. The beast's lightning flared brightly, instantly paralyzing several of the lower-tier chanical Cyborgs.
Fortunately, the other squads pushed forward and barely managed to rescue them in ti, preventing any fatal casualties.
Only Kelly's golden beams of light could barely pierce its defenses. With the other squads coordinating perfectly with her, their impeccable tacit understanding sohow managed to temporarily halt the Thunder Beast's advance.
However, the area of effect for her golden beams was simply too small. Against the Thunder Beast's gargantuan fra, the attacks were akin to a re scratch.
Mole clenched his fists tightly. They just needed to delay it for half an hour.
But the silver lining was short-lived. The Thunder Beast unleashed a furious roar, and a devastatingly dense lightning storm erupted from its blue fur.
Acting as an indiscriminate barrier of thunder, the shockwave violently blasted away every living creature in its imdiate vicinity.
Li Yu and his companions watched as Kelly was sent flying, crashing down right in front of them. The robe she wore was clearly not ordinary either, as it projected an energy shield that saved her from being crushed to death upon impact.
She staggered to her feet and looked at the group. Coughing weakly, she spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm. "Why haven't you left yet? It's incredibly dangerous here; this is no place for you."
"I say, dear niece, you should take a breather..." Hunter said with genuine concern.
Kelly shook her head, but the mont she tried to take a step, she swayed heavily, almost collapsing back onto the ground.
"Lend a hand, won't you?" Hunter looked at Li Yu with growing urgency. "After all, they were kind enough to let us lie low here. We can't just stand by and watch."
Li Yu shot Hunter a brief glance, then gave a calm nod.
Hearing this, Kelly imdiately looked over. What did he an?
Based on Zeth's tone, it sounded like this guy stepping in would resolve everything. But how could that be possible? That was a Thunder Beast!
"You're injured; just rest," Li Yu told Kelly plainly.
Before she could even respond, purple-red electrical arcs violently surged from Li Yu's body, and he launched himself like a rocket straight toward the Thunder Beast.
"Since he's making a move, everything should be fine now," Hunter said, letting out a deep sigh of relief.
Mo Duo also nodded, though she still seed sowhat concerned.
"Having Lord Li Yu step in to help is Morcasa's true honor," Li Ping sighed in admiration.
Hunter imdiately stiffened. Turning to a bewildered Kelly, he hastily explained, "There's sothing wrong with his head. Don't take him seriously."
"Is he a B-Tier Lifeform?" Kelly asked with a glimr of hope.
"No," Hunter replied as a matter of fact. "He's a C-Tier Lifeform."
Kelly's face instantly fell with disappointnt. Shaking her head, she said, "No, I have to go help him. A Thunder Beast isn't your average C-Tier Lifeform."
"What a coincidence..." Hunter chuckled. "He isn't your average C-Tier Lifeform either."
The gigantic Thunder Beast trampled several tal bunkers flat. A Gene Evolver with a swinging tail charged out of the ruins. Though drenched in his own blood, he stubbornly positioned himself to block the beast's path.
Whoosh!
A streak of purple lightning flashed past him. He couldn't even clearly make out what it was; its speed completely eclipsed that of his chanical Cyborg comrades.
That purple-red electrical arc shot straight up the Thunder Beast's body. The terrifying, surging blue lightning enveloping the beast seed to have absolutely no effect on it.
The very reason Thunder Beasts weren't considered typical C-Tier Lifeforms was because their colossal fras granted them horrifying amounts of vitality.
Even among the sa tier, bringing one down required the coordinated efforts of multiple C-Tier Lifeforms.
Furthermore, Morcasa's C-Tier Lifeforms were shoddily developed. Not a single one of their Gene Evolvers possessed elental powers, which ant they had only integrated low-value Gene Chains.
The sa principle applied to their chanical Cyborgs. Aside from Kelly, whose Esper abilities posed so asure of a threat, the rest of them were nothing more than dead weight.
"This really is a hassle..." Li Yu muttered as he stood atop the Thunder Beast's head. The creature beneath his feet was so massive that, for a mont, he didn't even know where to begin.
"Who is that!?" The other Elite Squads had also spotted Li Yu, who was bathed in the blue lightning atop the beast's head, and they were all deeply shocked.
The horrifying electrical currents that had been strong enough to blow their captains away didn't seem to bother Li Yu in the slightest.
Li Yu looked down at the Thunder Beast's thrashing head. "You should feel honored. The first kill of the interstellar-renowned Titan Symbiotic Armor goes to you."
The very next mont, their eyes widened in disbelief...
They watched as the clothing on Li Yu's body suddenly began to shift. Layers of tal armor unfolded, intricate structures manifesting out of thin air. Like a rushing tide, the tal engulfed his entire form, assembling into a magnificent suit of white-gold armor.
A glowing blue Cube was embedded into the left side of its chest plate. The tal plates at the shoulders angled upward slightly, unfurling a pristine white cape that fluttered fiercely in the wind.
"Claptrap, what is with the cape?" Li Yu asked, a bizarre expression on his face.
"This was generated based on the cha models you frequently browse on the Interstellar Network, Master. If you dislike it, I can remove it imdiately."
"Forget it... since it's already generated, removing it would be too much trouble..." Li Yu coughed awkwardly. He gently raised his left hand, and a brilliant golden Light Blade manifested in his grasp.
The transformation sequence of the Titan Symbiotic Armor was highly similar to many Nano Battlesuits, ensuring that absolutely no one here could identify it.
Hunter's jaw dropped. Staring at the impossibly flashy armor in the distance, he muttered, "I knew he was going to show off, but I didn't think he'd take it to this extre..."
Kelly's eyes glead as she fixed her gaze entirely on the golden armor. Noticing this, Mo Duo frowned slightly, shooting the girl a warning side-glance.
The golden Light Blade extended to nearly two ters long. Without hesitation, Li Yu plunged it directly into the Thunder Beast's skull. The thick fur that had deflected the entire Morcasa Camp's heavy artillery offered zero resistance against the glowing edge.
The Thunder Beast unleashed a roar of pure agony. While its massive size allowed it to crush most opponents with ease, when faced with an enemy capable of bypassing its defenses, it would invariably find itself completely overpowered.
A massive fissure split open on the Thunder Beast's surface, expanding rapidly as blood poured out. Starting from its head, Li Yu darted across its colossal body at breakneck speeds, carving countless deep gashes that erupted with fountains of blood.
The Thunder Beast roared in a violent rage, yet it was all in vain. The volatile lightning it expelled posed absolutely no threat to Li Yu.
However, the Thunder Beast truly lived up to its reputation for sheer durability. Despite the onslaught, it remained standing. The two-ter-long Light Blade had only managed to slice through the outermost layers of its dense muscle.
"Well, there's no helping it then..." A tal helt extended from the back of Li Yu's head, entirely encasing him. Tearing a massive hole in the Thunder Beast's neck, he dove straight inside, burrowing through its gargantuan blood vessels.
The entire battlefield fell into a near-deathly silence. The swarm of Black Lizards seemingly sensed sothing amiss, simultaneously raising their heads to look at the Thunder Beast.
Mole's fists were clenched tight, his unconcealable excitent radiating off him.
Bang!
With a muffled explosion, the Thunder Beast's chest cavity violently ruptured. A torrent of blood sprayed outward, accompanied by the figure in the white-gold armor bursting free.
Not a single drop of blood stained his armor; it remained as pristine and immaculate as before.
He landed steadily on the ground. Only his white cape dripped with blood as it danced in the wind. Behind him, the titanic Thunder Beast finally succumbed to its catastrophic injuries. It let out one final, mournful wail before crashing into the dirt with a deafening boom.
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