…

“A large number of enemies are coming from the east again! Your Majesty Anna, how’s the situation on your side, coo?”

Upon hearing Maggie’s voice coming out from the Sigil of Listening again, Anna still felt the urgency of the situation even though Maggie had no intention to rush her.

With the passage of time, the number of troops the Sky-sea Realm pumped into the battle kept increasing. They swarmed over from every direction before crawling up Mist Island. They took the positions of the fallen and charged the First Army soldiers, completely undeterred by the corpses of their own kind laying their feet. The luxuriant grass from before no longer exist; it was replaced with a pungent scorched land filled with smoke. And in this low-lying terrain, the blue and black blood that flowed had turned into puddles.

The initial overwhelming advantage they’d had turned into a stalemate.

Faced against the violent siege from all angles, the First Army was unable to prevent losses. Even with the aerial support from Eleanor and the Aerial Knights, it was impossible for them to get every monster.

The blade beasts that had lost their ability to conceal themselves remained difficult enemies for the ordinary infantrymen, not to mention the mutated Nest Mothers which were capable of shooting acid sprays which could corrode steel and mountain-like Mountain Devourers.

The First Army were still able to preserve the front lines, repelling the Sky-sea Realm forces, but the risks and hazards were piling up at a speed visible to the naked eye. No one knew how much more of the Sky-sea Realm’s forces was hidden, and upon any potential breaks in the line, it could very well trigger a rupture. Maggie was reminding Anna that time was of the essence.

However, Anna and company were unable to find the Guardian.

“There isn’t anything in the inner region.” She sighed, but controlled her voice to make it as calm as possible. “We will be heading further in.”

“Understood, do your best, coo.”

“I think it’s time to retreat.” Hackzord suddenly spoke up. “Young lady, you and your race have performed so well that it has surprised me, being able to penetrate into enemy territory and sustaining to this point. It can be commended as a battle achievement. But persistence might not bring you reward; the only reason for the Guardian’s absence until now means that she’s no longer here.”

“Maybe it doesn’t wish to be implicated by the barrage of attacks and has sought a place to hide,” Nightingale retorted.” If we give up now, that’s the end to everything.”

“I’m warning you; although I have agreed to cooperate with you, I do not plan to die here,” Sky Lord said bluntly. “If the situation turns irredeemable, I will leave by myself. When that happens, the soldiers here will have no means of retreat. Are you sure you want to do this?” He turned and looked at Anna, who had her eyes fixated on him, but could not help but to add another line. “Of course… I will only do so as a last resort.”

“I will not force you to stay, nor am I capable of doing so,” Anna replied. “But I hope that you understand this point, the failure in our plan would mean our dead future. It might still take the Sky-sea Realm a while before they devour the entire world, but the majority of humanity will not see that day. But to your race that have extremely long life spans, you will have to face that future—Are you sure you want to live to see that day?”

“…” Hackzord was speechless.

“We are not at the limits yet.” At this point, Silent Disaster suddenly spoke up.

“What?”

“I have fought against humans, this isn’t their limit. If we are talking about those troops there, I’m sure they can last longer.” She extended her hand to her back and drew her Blackstone sword. “Besides, I haven’t done anything yet.”

“Take note, Your Majesty Anna! There is a group of Sky-sea Realm monsters approaching from your front.” At this moment, Sylvie’s warning came from the Sigil. “I have already informed the two closest armor units, but they are still engaged in battle. Reinforcements might take a while!”

“Have them care for themselves.” Nightingale stepped forward. “Leave this to us.”

“That’s right, we do not wish to lose to the monsters under such circumstances.” The God’s Punishment Witches drew their grapeshot guns as well.

Very quickly, a unit formed up of blade beasts and Nest Mothers appeared before everyone, with two gargantuan Mountain Devourers following behind.

Silent Disaster took the lead and charged.

Under her summoning, dark clouds suddenly gathered overhead, gold streams of light flickered and gathered, ultimately forming a thunderbolt that tore through the skies and smote the area around her!

This attack turned tens of monsters into ashes.

Nightingale followed tightly behind, utilizing the evolved lines to cover a few hundred meters. She appeared behind the front row of blade beasts, and before they were even able to react, bullets flew straight into their bodies.

She did not even bother about the outcome as she turned and continued to stride forward—unsure if it was her imagination, Nightingale felt that the Mist had turned much more amicable, as it would send out outlines of lines when she needed them. In seconds, she appeared before the Nest Mother.

This had been Nightingale’s target from the beginning.

Unlike the blade beasts or lower lifeforms, Nest Mothers were able to produce offspring with ease and formed the foundation of Sky-sea Realm’s strength. The death of one was able to greatly weaken the enemy’s strength.

And it was not her first encounter with one.

Any ordinary person would instantly feel defeated and helpless upon facing such a behemoth, but not her.

Nightingale easily ‘passed through’ the ribs and flesh that formed the surface layer, followed by the intestines, heart, and lungs before arriving at the enemy’s core—the eye. Although it was different from the Nest Mother which had devoured an Eye Demon, they had similar compositions. With regards to the bodies of Nest Mothers, the large eyeball hidden within the body was equivalent to the brain of humans.

She aimed her barrel straight into the eye of the enemy and pulled the trigger!

Even before the latter could use its tentacles to drive her away, the brain blossomed with blood. The Nest Mother lost its motor functions, turning incapable of driving magic power. With the lack of magic power to support its large body, it soon collapsed.

…

Anna stood in place and clenched her fists.

She was not as calm and steady as what everyone perceived her to be. She was just an ordinary girl from a tiny border town just five years ago, so how could she possibly remain cool and collected without batting an eyelid in the face of such a monstrosity? She had countless urges to retreat, but upon thinking of the possibility of Roland’s eternal coma, she suppressed her fear and clenched her fists as she told herself to persevere.

But now, Anna discovered that the fear in her had lessened greatly.

Everyone’s fighting form gradually turned fuzzy in her eyes. She was not the only one persevering—many others stood by her, overcoming hardships and obstacles, all for the same goal.

She once again understood the meaning behind this battle of destiny.

A preordained path was a type of destiny.

Being able to rise up and resist, so to escape the shackles was also another form of destiny.

The only difference was that the latter allowed them to write their own destinies.

Right at this moment, an extremely bright light exploded in the sea tens of kilometers away to the north—it expanded quickly and instantly turned the dusky sky to a clear blue!

That was the Kun Peng that had executed its task.

The Glory of the Sun rushed out within half a month was planned to reinforce the divide against the Sky-sea Realm, its explosion meant that another large wave of enemies approached from afar, and the most critical moment was about to arrive.

But Anna did not feel any unease.

She welcomed the rumble without taking a step back.

Suddenly, a girl appeared before Anna—dressed in pure white, her hair was blown up by the wind. She blocked the brilliant rays of the explosion behind her.

“Go back, this is not where all of you should be,” the girl said gently.