Chapter 327: The Control
Outside the fortress, the battlefield suddenly shifted... The balance of power had somehow changed!
The factions, Aries, Cancer, Taurus, Pisces, and others, had been locked in brutal combat against the towering Artifact Creatures, massive mechanical beasts filled with cannons and hydraulic limbs.
But suddenly, their movements slowed...
For a brief moment, their plasma blasts dimmed, their strikes weakened, and the Artifact Creatures’ armored hides no longer seemed impenetrable.
"Did you feel that?" shouted a Taurus warrior while his Titan Arm Gene Skill swelled his limb into a colossal battering ram.
Bam!
He slammed into the unit’s flank, denting armor that had resisted him moments before.
The Aries fighters, known for their fiery aggression, pressed the advantage.
One unleashed Flaming Fist, his arm engulfed in roaring flame as he hammered into a creature’s jaw. Another activated Meteor Crash, leaping high before slamming down with explosive force, cracking the mechanical unit’s body...
The Cancer faction, defensive specialists, coordinated their shield bearers. With Iron Shell Gene Skill, their barriers glowed, absorbing retaliatory blasts while their frontline surged forward. Pisces warriors then moved in on hoverboards, moving through the chaos, their Wave Step Gene Skill letting them glide like liquid, striking weak joints as their main objective...
The battlefield had immediately become lively as factions realized something...
The squads who had entered the Citadel‑09 had succeeded, and perhaps, the core was already about to be destroyed!
It was definitely weakening.
Even the twelve Level 80 survivors locked in combat with the Ascendant Units felt it.
The Ascendants, black humanoid machines, slowed for the briefest moment.
Their strikes, once flawless, carried a fraction of delay.
For Level 80 Survivors, this was a noticeable change!
They must use this opportunity to counter!
"Now!" cried one of the veterans, activating Colossus Arm, his muscles started bulging into monstrous size.
He grappled an Ascendant, forcing it back.
Another survivor unleashed Dragon Roar, a sonic Gene Skill that rattled the machine’s sensors, buying even more precious seconds!
A woman from Aries spun her glaive, igniting it with Solar Flare!
Soon, arcs of burning light slash across an Ascendant’s chest!
Crasssshh~
Sparks flew, and for the first time, the machine knelt!
But still, it was only weakened. It was not defeated just yet.
The Ascendants retaliated as soon as they managed to stabilize their weakened powers!
One extended its arm into a blade, cutting through stone and steel alike... Another fired a concentrated energy beam, vaporizing a couple of lower‑level survivors who strayed too close.
Still, the Level 80s pressed on. A Taurus fighter activated Earthshatter Step, stomping the ground to send shockwaves that disrupted the Ascendant’s balance.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A Pisces warrior cloaked himself in Mist Veil, vanishing into vapor before reappearing behind an enemy, driving his spear into its exposed joint!
Boom!
The Cancer faction’s commander raised his shield, glowing with Guardian’s Oath, intercepting a devastating strike meant for his allies.
"Hold the line! They’re not as strong as before. Just hold on!" he roared, his voice carrying across the battlefield.
The Ascendants, though still monstrously strong, were no longer invincible.
Every faction sensed it... the fortress itself was bleeding power.
One survivor, his body coursing with Thunder Pulse, dashed forward at lightning speed, even his fists started crackling with electricity.
He struck an Ascendant’s chest three times in rapid succession, each blow leaving scorch marks. Another unleashed Spectral Chains, binding the machine’s limbs for a heartbeat, long enough for his allies to land a coordinated strike...
The battlefield became a storm of Gene Skills and soon, they repeated pushed the Ascendants back with the repetition of their skills!
Flaming Fist beating into steel.
Titan Arm smashing through plating.
Dragon Roar shaking sensors.
Solar Flare burning through armor.
Earthshatter Step destabilizes the ground.
Mist Veil striking from shadows.
Thunder Pulse electrifies cores.
Spectral Chains binding titans...
The factions fought back with their combined assault, driving the Artifact Creatures back step by step.
The Ascendants, though still terrifying, were forced to defend rather than dominate.
Above the chaos, leaders shouted commands, rallying their warriors...
The battle was still not over. However, with the sudden changes of the Ascendants, they knew that it would be a lot easier now.
"Good job, Infiltrators... Keep up the good work!"
And though they didn’t know it yet, Kai and Chamber’s actions at the first node had already begun to turn the tide.
***
In the meantime, Kai pressed forward, following Chamber’s guidance deeper into Citadel‑09. The corridors grew narrower, the hum of machinery louder, and the shifting walls more aggressive. Every few steps, bulkheads slammed shut or rerouted him into new paths.
[ Warning: Adaptive Constructs detected. ]
Kai frowned as the floor panels split open.
From the gaps, modular machines crawled out, their bodies reshaping in real time.
One shifted into a turret, its barrel glowing. Another unfolded into a humanoid frame with bladed arms.
"Great... they can switch forms so fast..."
The turret fired a volley of plasma bolts.
Kai activated Titan Step, blurring sideways, his lance piercing the turret’s core before it could reconfigure.
But the humanoid construct charged, its arms splitting into whips of segmented steel.
Kai raised his Strength Gauntlet, catching the strike, then slammed his fist into its chest.
Boom! Sparks and dust erupted, but the machine twisted again, morphing into a quadruped beast with razor claws.
[ Weak point: dorsal joint. Strike now. ]
Kai leapt, driving his lance into the joint. The construct shrieked in mechanical distortion before collapsing.
Still, more came. Adaptive Constructs swarmed, shifting between ranged and melee forms. Kai fought for a long time, using every ounce of speed and precision. Chamber’s tactical feed guided him: chest conduits, knee joints, dorsal plates... every weak spot illuminated in his mind.
Finally, after carving through the last veins, Kai arrived in a chamber with glowing veins.
[ Master, connect me again. ]
Kai unclasped the pendant, pressing it against the interface port. The filament extended, locking into place.
[ Initiating intrusion... progress at 15%. ]
Alarms were triggered again, but Kai held the line.
Sentinels stormed in with rifles!
Soon, they even threw a stun grenade, stopping them long enough to finish them with his lance.
[ Intrusion progress: 92%... 100%. Node compromised. Control channel rerouted. ]
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