Book 10: Chapter 31: Fight to the Death (2)

“Sir, the small battleship escaped, leaving only some mechas to cover their retreat. What should we do?” a fierce-looking bald man asked over the communication channel.

“They didn’t want to attract the Cosmic Octopus’s attention, but those left behind to cover the retreat are probably all Apostles,” Wolf said cautiously, glancing at the huge creature below and taking a deep breath. “Don’t hold back, everyone. End this quickly and force that independent ship to surrender to us for the sake of their comrades!”

Wolf didn’t think much about it at that moment. Although he didn’t know which team they were facing, the situation had already turned this way. Even if the enemy also had High-Rank Apostles, they had no choice but to face them head-on.

Unlike the Bingren Mecha, the bodies that allowed the Apostles of the Divine Light Team to fight in space were biological derivatives of Jannamer. Their nature was similar to that of the Full-Bio-Mechanism, but they didn’t need to rely on Gith Angel clones as control cores. Moreover, their body conversion efficiency was higher, and they could even appear in their original forms.

Of course, while their movements were more effortless, these Jannamer derivatives had a drawback: they lacked the unique weaponry of the Bingren Mecha and could only simulate various weapons using Jannamer’s biological muscle tissue.

This was also the main reason Qin Lun could recognize familiar faces. Wolf and the others appeared in the Star Void with their original Apostle faces, like humans magnified dozens of times.

Tiny starlights began to glow on the bodies of the ten Apostles from the Divine Light Team, giving their biological muscle tissue the transparent texture characteristic of Jannamer. Without any noticeable dramatic movements, they moved like jellyfish swimming in the ocean, jetting towards the enemy Bingren Mecha covering the retreat.

The two teams soon clashed fiercely. After becoming invisible, Qin Lun didn’t join the fight immediately but hid to the side to observe the situation.

In the Star Void, intense particle beams lit up intermittently, each leaving lingering afterimages on the retina. In terms of mobility, the Bingren Mecha clearly had the upper hand. Having learned from the previous war, the Gith prioritized mecha mobility as their primary asset in fighting Jannamer, and now it finally showcased its intended power.

During the initial probing phase of the battle, Qin Lun’s side, despite being outnumbered, gained the upper hand, forcing the Apostles of the Divine Light Team to struggle defensively. However, the Divine Light Team possessed genuine Jannamer derivatives, whose innate recovery abilities were unparalleled. Often, just as particle beams tore through their bodies, they healed amidst flickering starlights.

Yet, once the Divine Light Team familiarized themselves with the Bingren’s combat style, the battle began to balance out, gradually tilting in favor of the Divine Light members.

The reason was that those originally giant humanoid Jannamer derivatives, after the initial awkwardness, actually underwent a second form of evolution. They simulated the Bingren Mecha’s particle railguns and APB force fields with their biological bodies, making the battle resemble a training scenario between two teams of Bingren Mecha.

Particle beams struck both sides’ APB force fields, scattering starlight in all directions. In long-range exchanges, the Bingren Mecha’s advantage quickly diminished, no longer able to easily tear through the Jannamer derivatives.

“In just over ten minutes, they’ve evolved to this extent through simulation!” Qin Lun’s eyes flickered, a cold gleam in his expression. “Jannamer indeed far surpass the Gith in terms of life hierarchy. When it comes to individual evolution, even the ancient Gith Angels probably couldn’t compare.”

“The characteristics of Jannamer are quite evident. The Gith are still too overconfident. Without the Apostles’ intervention, unless they ally with the other two Sapient Races, the Faith alone would surely be defeated!”

Qin Lun sighed, feeling greatly relieved. No wonder the enemy dared to directly lure the Jannamer’s main body close to Planet X-352—they were clearly confident in defeating battleships from other factions and intended to overpower them with sheer force. If not for the Cosmic Octopus’s unexpected intrusion, the outcome would have been hard to predict.

“Can’t hold back anymore, can you?” Qin Lun suddenly felt a stir and looked towards a corner of the Star Void.

There, a Jannamer derivative resembling an Elf had been hovering with arms crossed in the void, likely the enemy team’s leader. Even from such a distance, this person imposed immense pressure on Qin Lun.

With the ability of his Multieye Bramble Horn, the aura emanating from that Elf felt as heavy as a mountain, making Qin Lun ruefully think that being too perceptive wasn’t always a good thing.

Wolf had been covering his teammates from the corner for a while, a vague sense of warning persistently nagging at him, as if an unseen pair of eyes were watching him. This was also why he had delayed taking action.

However, after carefully observing for some time and failing to identify the source of his unease, Wolf finally decided to act himself. Both sides fought while consciously moving away from the Cosmic Octopus.

After such a long time, they had finally escaped the giant creature’s synchronous orbit. On the other hand, the Advancing had also moved out of sight. Wolf could tell that the enemy before him was considering escape; the battle had reached its most critical turning point.

“Since you refuse to make the first move, let me see how long you can hold out!” A cold smile curved Wolf’s lips as he raised his right hand, forming a gesture like a telescope with his fingers.

But as he made this gesture, his body oddly paused, like a marionette suddenly losing its puppeteer.

“So fast!” Meanwhile, Qin Lun, who had been observing him all along, widened his eyes in shock.

His Multieye Bramble Horn wasn’t actual eyes but a kind of energy-sensing ability.

Through the sensations of the Multieye Bramble Horn, Qin Lun felt that the “telescope” formed by Wolf’s fingers contained an indescribable “suction force,” drawing Wolf in like a whale swallowing water, then “spitting” him out from another space.

The Wolf remaining before Qin Lun’s eyes was merely an aura afterimage; his true body had long disappeared.

This was the ability of the deputy leader of the Divine Light Team, the “Space Manipulator” Wolf—Marionette!

Qin Lun had been right not to rashly ambush Wolf. Precisely because he hadn’t appeared, Wolf had restrained himself until now. However, they were also unfortunate—this High-Rank Apostle had manifested his signature skill in the Gospel World.

As cosmic beings, Jannamer inherently possessed the ability to traverse space. Normally, their derivatives could hardly endure spatial travel, but as a Descendant Apostle, Wolf was clearly an exception.

The “vanished” Wolf instantly appeared beside Huobiao, coldly smirking as he grabbed the Bingren’s shoulder. As an experienced High-Rank Apostle, he had long noticed the two MT-capable individuals in the enemy squad.

In Apostle team battles, eliminating the MTs equated to victory. While cosmic battles in the Gospel World might differ, in this small-scale fight, the principle still held.

“You…” Huobiao stared in disbelief at the handsome Elf beside him, roaring as he slammed his APB shield towards Wolf’s head. Simultaneously, the armor plates at the mecha’s waist sprang open, and with a flip of his left hand, he drew the magnetic resonance light blade stored within.

“Not bad!” Wolf’s eyes lit up; he admired his opponent’s performance. To react so swiftly under his surprise attack was quite commendable.

However, as the sole High-Rank Apostle on the field, having made his move, he had no intention of returning empty-handed. Wolf smiled, spreading his fingers to grab Huobiao’s APB force field shield. His fingers, like an eagle’s talons, directly shredded the mirror-like surface of the APB force field and brutally pierced through the heavy metal shield made of composite materials.

“Hmm?” Wolf suddenly frowned. While tearing through the APB force field, his fingers were actually injured, as if he hadn’t grabbed a shield but a cactus.

“Heh, not so pleasant, is it! Even if you’re a High-Rank Apostle, you shouldn’t directly grab an MT’s shield!” Huobiao’s gloating voice sounded from afar.

As a Second Order MT, Huobiao’s abilities were naturally stronger than Frank’s. He could imbue his shield with offensive capabilities, but correspondingly, the shield’s material had to be of lesser quality; otherwise, it wouldn’t be easy to enchant. That was why he hadn’t used Frank’s “Qiong Qi” bone shield back then.

“Haha, you’re truly not bad!” Wolf paid no heed to his opponent’s taunts, appreciatively glancing at Huobiao before casually tossing aside a severed arm. “But relying on self-mutilation, how many more times can you escape?”

Huobiao’s face darkened. His Bingren now had only one arm left. Earlier, when he drew the magnetic resonance light blade, it wasn’t to attack Wolf but to decisively chop off the mecha arm that had been seized.

“No need anymore!” Huobiao’s eyes flashed, and he suddenly grinned ferociously, raising his particle railgun to aim at Wolf.

A blazing particle beam flashed past but failed to hit Wolf. The moment the beam lit up at the muzzle, Wolf had already evaded. As a High-Rank Apostle with strong mental power, unless unavoidable, such attacks couldn’t harm him.

However, just as Wolf dodged, his gaze sharpened. He formed a circle with one hand, and his body once again paused abruptly like a marionette.

“Ding!” In the spot where Wolf had been, two streams of molten metal, as if possessing lives of their own, attacked from left and right. His afterimage dissipated amidst sparking flashes, leaving only two dazzling trails in the Star Void.

Elsewhere, the four “Cold Storms” surrounding Qin Lun shot countless metal streams in all directions. After the Multieye Bramble Horn on his head trembled violently, he flipped his right hand, gripping a silver knight’s lance, and thrust it towards a specific point in the void.

A black vortex, about the size of a bowl, abruptly appeared at the tip of the silver lance, perfectly blocking it. Wolf’s figure shuddered slightly as he emerged from the void.

“Reaper Spear?” Wolf smiled, glancing at the silver lance.

“A life for a life—even if you win, half of you will die!” Qin Lun said expressionlessly. “I’ll give you a chance to board. Just defeat me in a one-on-one fight!”

“You’re not a High-Rank Apostle yet, are you? So confident?” Wolf narrowed his eyes, smiling faintly.

“My strength is inferior to yours, so naturally, I’ll choose the location for the duel. Right there!” Qin Lun sneered, pointing towards the void.

Wolf looked in that direction, his pupils instantly contracting. The smile vanished from his face. Qin Lun was pointing directly at the Cosmic Octopus they had just distanced themselves from!