Chapter 919: Chapter 693 Entering the Heavenly Kingdom
Not long after, the Commander disappeared from the frontline, replaced by a new Commander. Later on, it was revealed that the former Commander had accepted an astonishing bribe from the enemy, attempting to let the Fine Gold fall into enemy hands to change the course of the war. He had only dispatched the Steel Roses squad, believing that even they would fail under the relentless enemy assaults. However, to his surprise, the Steel Roses safely delivered the Fine Gold back. There were indeed too many contradictions in this journey of escorting the Fine Gold, which is precisely why it aroused the suspicions of the higher-ups.
Eventually, the Commander was removed from his post, and nobody knew where the betrayer had gone.
As the meritorious squad returning with the Fine Gold, the Steel Roses were commended by the new Commander. But this also meant that the Steel Roses would have to participate in even more intense battles.
In recent days, the space surrounding Giant star began to become unstable. This was due to the impending appearance of the Heavenly Kingdom, and the war was bound to intensify.
The exact location of the Heavenly Kingdom’s appearance each time was uncertain, but several days before its emergence, Runes would mysteriously surface on the ground.
Now, the Runes had appeared!
In the areas around the Runes, the warfare grew even more intense, and corpses piled up into mountains.
On the other hand, the Steel Roses squad wasn’t involved in the frontline battles; they were assigned a more critical new task – to intercept the enemy’s Fine Gold transport squad.
It was a decisive battle, so both sides would surely prepare a large amount of Fine Gold to exchange for the Golems’ direct participation in the war. At this moment, whoever could deliver the Fine Gold to the Golems at the most appropriate time was key in testing the Commander’s abilities. And there was an even simpler way to ensure success – prevent the enemy’s Fine Gold from reaching the Golems.
That was precisely what the Steel Roses squad was doing at this moment.
The enemy clearly recognized the strength of the Steel Roses squad and also guessed that they would definitely come here. As a result, their Fine Gold escort squad was mainly composed of heavy warriors. They had heavy firepower and heavy armor but were not very agile. This posed a certain effectiveness against the Steel Roses, at least temporarily preventing a situation of outright domination.
Meanwhile, the Fine Gold escort squad on this side had already engaged with the intercepting squad, and both sides were evenly matched!
For a time, the battlefield was in a deadlock.
Actually, after years of continuous warfare, it had been proven that the gap in strength between the two sides was very small. Both sides typically emerged with equal victories and defeats, making it difficult for either side to completely annihilate the other.
The only thing that could tip the balance now were the Golems, which is why the Commanders of both sides regarded the Golems as the most crucial aspect of their tactics.
That’s why, although the initial size of the squads for escorting and intercepting the Fine Gold wasn’t large, their numbers soon began to skyrocket. Initially, both Commanders hoped to create diversions by dispatching many escort squads, attempting to scatter the enemy’s interception forces. But as they drew closer to the Golems’ area, these squads involuntarily merged into one, as they needed to consolidate forces to ensure safe delivery of the Fine Gold. Correspondingly, the intercepting forces also combined.
Thus, outside the main battlefield for the entrance struggle, a second battlefield of immense scale had opened up.
The role of the Steel Roses was immediately realized; with their incredibly sturdy shields and potent offensive capabilities, the Steel Roses managed to tear open a breach in the enemy’s defense circle, and they stole a box of Fine Gold!
At this, the enemy’s Commander became livid; losing one box of Fine Gold was no big deal, but it meant what could have been one minute of five Golems directly entering the battle now turned into just a round of artillery fire!
Direct Golem participation meant unlimited artillery fire! Unlimited defense! How could this be the same?
The enemy’s Fine Gold escort squad immediately went berserk; they fought desperately, trying to recapture the Fine Gold, but it was easier said than done! The Steel Roses squad swiftly delivered the Fine Gold into their own Fine Gold troop, meaning the number of Golems they could employ rose from five to six!
"Everybody, focus on defending! Aim for a swift deliverance of the Fine Gold to the location!"
The Commander roared loudly. The thought of the Golems joining his side filled him with immense excitement, so much so that he even redirected a sizable number of troops from the frontline to reinforce the Fine Gold escort squad. As a result, the frontline was consequently suppressed due to the shortage of soldiers. But this was not an issue; the minor temporary setback meant nothing. Once the Golems entered the battle, not only would all disadvantages be leveled, but the enemy would also be pushed back far into their rear!
Yes, that was what just one minute of the Golems’ participation would achieve!
Seeing reinforcements being sent to the Fine Gold escort team, the enemy wasted no time in doing the same. Did you think of it? As if I couldn’t!
Consequently, the forces on the frontline for both sides began to dwindle, slowly moving toward the Golems’ location.
Even some warriors crossed the boundary set by the Golems.
Suddenly, a beam of light swept across, and those who had crossed the line instantly turned to ash.
The previously blood-boiled warriors immediately cooled down.
Initially, the Saintess of Darkness set up extremely strict rules here, one of which was that no one was allowed near the boundary unless they were carrying Fine Gold. The main purpose of this rule was to prevent anyone from spying on the secrets of the Golems. Because the wars here had not been so severe before, this rule had not been violated. But today, everyone saw that the Golems showed no mercy!
At this moment, a quick-thinking warrior suddenly kicked another person into the boundary, and instantly a light pillar shattered the trespassing warrior. Just when the self-proclaimed clever warrior was feeling smug, another light pillar completely shattered him and even affected those around him.
Thus, everyone understood in this way that the Golems were not joking—where they forbade passing, they truly meant no passage, no matter the reason.
Immediately, the battle line began to contract away from the side of the Golems.
The Steel Roses loved this kind of large-scale combat. As miniaturized replicas of the Golems, the Steel Roses Mecha inherited the feature of having substantial firepower like the larger Golems, but were relatively less agile. The more enemies there were, the better they could demonstrate their power.
Under the cover of the Steel Roses, the Fine Gold escort team began advancing towards the area of the Golems. Although the enemy launched several charges, none were successful.
Seeing that the Fine Gold escort team was about to arrive, the enemy’s Commander knew that if the battle continued this way, once the Golems were deployed, the soldiers on the front line were doomed to die!
"Retreat! Full retreat!"
The enemy Commander decisively issued the command, and the already terrified soldiers on the front line began to retreat rapidly. Without resistance, the Fine Gold escort team immediately handed over all the Fine Gold to the Golems.
"We have received your Fine Gold, and we will provide you with six Golems of one minute’s combat support."
Speaking thus, six Golems emerged from the cave and headed straight for the battlefield.
The Golems brought overwhelming combat power, and the enemy made only symbolic resistance before immediately starting to retreat. After all, you simply couldn’t penetrate the Golems’ defenses, and you couldn’t withstand their attacks. It was better to retreat honestly.
At this time, the Golems strictly followed the Commander’s orders, and under those orders, the Golems quickly suppressed the enemy far back, while the main forces in the rear also pressed forward completely.
"This time, it’s about time!"
In the midst of the battlefield, the Rune Array that had been the focus of the struggle suddenly emitted dazzling light!
"The gates of the Heavenly Kingdom have opened! Hurry!"
The newly appointed Commander, commanding a battle for the first time, successfully gained control over the Heavenly Kingdom, his voice excited and changing pitch. Nearby soldiers immediately rushed in crazily, and the Saintess of Darkness, who had long been guarding nearby, didn’t hesitate to rush in either.
"Sixteen people!"
The Commander was somewhat displeased. Fewer people could enter the Heavenly Kingdom this time, and it was known that not every entrance resulted in new knowledge. After so many years of war, much of the peripheral knowledge within the Heavenly Kingdom had been obtained. If one couldn’t further advance within the Heavenly Kingdom, these sixteen people might gain nothing.
The minute of the Golems’ support ended, and they flew back to the entrance of the cave. As the entrance to the Heavenly Kingdom closed, the opposing camp also tacitly ceased pursuit and began to regroup.
At this time, the Commander could only silently pray, hoping that at least one new piece of knowledge would be gained. With new knowledge, his achievement would be great, promising a bright future!
Yet the Saintess of Darkness was astonished by what she saw before her.
It was a huge, light-filled spherical space, immensely vast, with bright orbs floating all around. The orbs varied in size, those farther away growing larger. And at the center of the spherical space was an immensely large orb, emitting a soft glow, not too bright.
"Eh? You are from the Core Clan?"
A voice came from above, and the Saintess of Darkness looked up, only to see a golden metallic sphere slowly descending from the air, with a single eye observing her.
"Yes, I am from the Core Clan." The Saintess of Darkness nodded; she could feel the mark of the Giants on the other.
"I can’t believe someone from the Core Clan is in my presence! I’ve always been curious about how you all transform from ordinary humanoids to high-energy cores! Wait, you bear the Giants’ pact, could it mean the Giants have appeared?"
"Yes, a Giant Pioneer has appeared, who are you? Are you the Heavenly Kingdom?" The Saintess of Darkness counter-asked.
"A Pioneer, eh? So the Giants are discussing returning to this world? Me? The Heavenly Kingdom? No, no, no! I am not the Heavenly Kingdom, I am just a Golem responsible for maintaining the peripheral database of the Heavenly Kingdom." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
