172: Chapter 172 Destruction Crisis, Summoning the Legion of Light

The leading Primarch turned around and flew toward the distance.

The other Primarchs also turned one after another, following it away.

One hundred thousand figures gradually vanished into the distant horizon.

Leaving behind only a messy battlefield and a group of Trial Trainees staring at each other in bewilderment.

---

Silence.

A long silence.

Then, someone—it was unclear who—was the first to shout—

"We won!!"

"We won!!!"

"The Zerg have retreated!!!"

"We're still alive!!!"

Cheers erupted instantly.

The Trial Trainees hugged each other, laughing and crying. Some knelt on the ground, kissing the scorched earth. Some roared at the sky, venting the frustration in their hearts. Some simply lay down, gasping for air, no longer wanting to move.

The members of the Ling Xi Squad supported each other, smiling at one another.

The members of the Ye Ge Squad silently performed the Demon Race's sacrifice ritual, forming a circle to pray—though they had been resurrected by Hope Dust Sound, they had still experienced death. In the Demon Race, sacrifice was a great offering, a form of glory.

The Giants of Lights returned to their normal forms, circling up and singing ancient war songs in their own language.

Sailo stood in the center of the crowd, surrounded by a group of young trainees, listening to him recount the Radiance moments of the battle just now. He laughed heartily, his voice making the surrounding buildings tremble slightly.

Chen Yao recalled all her flying swords and stood on the platform outside the command room, looking at the reveling crowd below, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly.

Chen Jingyi leaned against the console, let out a long breath, and then rubbed her aching eyes.

She looked out the window at the silver-haired girl being held tightly in Li Yuan's arms.

Laya.

This mysterious girl who had returned from the battlefield with Li Yuan.

Was she really human?

In the database, her records only began from when Li Yuan was rescued.

Although the Blazing Dragon Federation did not mind such missing records, still...

Chen Jingyi shook her head and stopped thinking about it.

This was a comrade-in-arms; some things didn't need to be thought through too clearly.

As long as the outcome was good, that was enough.

---

Li Yuan held Laya tightly, wishing he could pull her into his very body.

"You scared me to death..."

He murmured, his voice carrying a hint of trembling that had never been there before.

At that moment just now, when he saw Laya facing two enemies alone and her energy about to be depleted, he felt that bone-deep fear for the first time—the fear of "loss."

Laya leaned into his chest, gently nuzzling against him.

"Master~ I'm fine~ I am your Angel, after all."

Her voice was soft and sweet, with a hint of acting spoiled, a world apart from the "Angel of Hope" who had just released "Hope Dust Sound."

"See, aren't I perfectly fine?"

She looked up and gave Li Yuan a sweet smile.

Looking at her smiling face and those eyes that were still clear and spirited, Li Yuan finally couldn't help but lower his head and plant a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Next time... you're not allowed to do that."

He said in a muffled voice.

Laya blinked, her smile growing even wider.

"Is Master worried about me?"

"Nonsense."

"Does Master like me?"

"..."

"Master~ tell me, tell me~"

"That's enough from you!"

Li Yuan shouted with a red face, and a wave of good-natured laughter immediately erupted around them.

Laya giggled and snuggled further into his arms.

It was so good.

So very good.

If only it could stay like this forever.

---

However—

Just as the Trial Trainees were cheering and celebrating their victory—

"BOOM—!!!"

An earth-shattering roar came from above the heavens.

Everyone looked up at the same time.

The sky had changed again.

The originally dusky night sky, lit by falling stars, was now illuminated by streaks of eerie green light, looking like hell.

That was the light of the Leviathan main cannons.

Not one.

Not two.

It was exactly thirty-two.

Thirty-two eerie green points of light, as thick as pillars supporting the heavens, suspended in the sky like thirty-two moons.

Those were the Leviathan main cannons charging up, their target—

This planet itself.

"Detected 32 incoming charged strikes!"

Chen Jingyi's voice came from the command room's speakers, carrying an unprecedented panic.

"We can't block it! The base shield won't have time to expand to a global scale!"

The smiles on everyone's faces froze instantly.

They looked toward the sky.

Toward those death beams that were rapidly charging.

The power of a leviathan mothership's main cannon was enough to glass a giant planet. Thirty-two simultaneous strikes hitting the planet's body directly would be enough to tear this planet into fragments!

While their base shield was exceptionally sturdy and had easily withstood the concentrated fire of twelve Leviathans before, its coverage was limited to the base itself.

And the base was less than a quarter of the planet's surface area.

The land outside the shield, the mountains outside the shield, the oceans outside the shield, as well as the mantle and core beneath the shield...

None of them were protected by the shield.

Their base was just a thin layer of fortification attached to the planetary surface.

No matter how sturdy it was, once the planet was blown apart, it would also crumble. In the end, it would be nothing more than an iron coffin floating in the universe.

Nowhere to run.

Nowhere to hide.

They could only wait for death.

Even Hope Dust Sound would be useless in this moment of total destruction.

"In the end... are we still going to die in this battle?"

An Angel Race girl murmured.

Her voice was very soft, but in this sudden deathly silence of the battlefield, it clearly reached everyone's ears.

No one answered.

Because no one knew how to answer.

They had just gone through countless fierce battles, they had just repelled the attack of tens of thousands of Zerg Queens, they had just thought they had survived—

Then, reality told them.

They celebrated too early.

Those eerie green points of light grew brighter and brighter.

Clearer and clearer.

Three seconds.

Two seconds.

One second—

Charging almost complete.

*Ding—*

A crisp notification sound rang out deep within Li Yuan's consciousness.

That sound, in the deathly silence of this moment, seemed so abrupt, so clear, and so—

Timely.

"Congratulations, host. The SSS-rank class [Lord of Light] has completed its advancement."

The Customer Service Miss's voice was so sweet it sounded like it could drip honey.

Li Yuan was stunned.

Advancement?

Right!

He had spent one hundred million life essence points earlier to advance the Lord of Light, but there had been no response after clicking; the system had been showing "upgrading."

The system's Customer Service Miss replied that the energy controllable at the Fourth Rank was too powerful and required upgrading and optimizing his physique; the advancement could only be completed after the physique upgrade.

And now—

At this most desperate moment—

At this moment when everyone was waiting for death—

The system told him that his class advancement was complete.

Fourth Rank.

Lord of Light, Fourth Rank.

System prompt—

"Fourth Rank unlocked - Summon Angel Legion. Special Legion vehicle can be summoned."

"heavenly blade class holy frigate."