172: Task Summary

On the battlefield, there was a deathly silence.

Su Jin’s hand dropped, and the Starlight Emperor Robe that enveloped him, along with the phenomenon behind him, quietly faded away.

He returned to his unremarkable appearance as a black-clad young man.

It was as if the deity who had spoken with authority and judged a legend just moments ago was merely everyone’s hallucination.

He turned around, looking at his subordinates in the distance who had not yet recovered from the shock.

Then, he scratched his head, a little helpless, and spoke.

“Tong, what are you still gawking for?”

“Count the casualties, clear the battlefield, it’s time to go home.”

“...Yes…Lord.”

Tong snapped back to reality, bowing and accepting the order.

Subsequently, the Ling Shu Sword Guard and ‘Ying’ dispersed.

As for the ordinary Dark Star Empire soldiers, they had long since vanished in the aftermath of the earlier events.

The wind in the Gobi Desert began to flow again, scattering the golden dust.

Everything seemed to return to normal.

But everyone knew that something had changed forever.

Inside the Dawn Star’s bridge, Chen Shanhe held onto the control panel, barely standing upright.

He looked at the black-clad young man on the screen, his Adam’s apple bobbing several times, only to find himself speechless.

A fifteen-tier legend, a being who had driven the entire Seventh Fleet into a desperate situation, just…gone?

Turned into light by a single finger, completely and utterly vanished.

After a long while, Chen Shanhe spoke.

“Let’s go, we’ll go meet Lord Su.”

He straightened his wrinkled military uniform.

Taking a deep breath, he walked out of the bridge.

When he stepped onto the solid ground of the Gobi Desert and saw the young man up close, he still felt a sense of unreality.

“Lord Su.”

“On behalf of all officers and soldiers of the Seventh Fleet, I express our sincerest gratitude to you.”

He tried to perform a standard military salute but found his arm somewhat stiff.

Su Jin looked at the grey-haired general, a smile on his face.

“General Chen overstates it; it was merely my duty.”

He glanced past Chen Shanhe, looking at the stranded steel behemoths in the distance.

“The fleet seems to have sustained severe damage. Do you still require any assistance from us?”

This gentle attitude brought Chen Shanhe back to reality.

The iron-blooded general’s tense body relaxed slightly.

“Thank you for your concern, Lord Su. I have already sent a distress signal to the war zone headquarters, and support troops should arrive very soon.”

“That’s good.”

Su Jin nodded, “Then we will rest here for a while and await the arrival of the headquarters’ support troops.”

...

On the other side of the battlefield, Ghost Hand and his “Ghost” special forces team were sitting together, staring at each other.

The atmosphere was eerily silent.

“Boss…”

A young team member finally couldn’t help but ask in a low voice.

“How…how should we write our mission report?”

Everyone was a bit conflicted.

Mainly, they had never encountered a battle where they were pretty much just spectators before…

Ghost Hand’s weathered face held a complex expression.

He silently pulled out his tactical tablet, his finger hovering over the virtual keyboard, unable to press down for a long time.

The team members next to him craned their necks, watching their captain painstakingly type a few words into the title bar.

“A Feasibility Report on How to Properly Act as a Blade of Grass in a Battle of Gods.”

One team member couldn’t hold back a “pfft” of laughter, then quickly covered his mouth.

Ghost Hand ignored them, deleted the title, took a deep breath, and began to write furiously.

[Mission Briefing]

[Time: New Calendar XXXX Year X Month X Day]

[Location: Changfeng Plain, XXXX coordinates, Molten Heart World]

[Our Unit’s Mission: Infiltrate the Erosion Domain, guide friendly forces from Infinite City, and rescue the Seventh Fleet.]

[Detailed Mission Process:]

[Phase One: Follow friendly forces, conduct tactical sweeping.]

[Phase Two: The Erosion Domain collapses, battlefield mode switches from “Stealth” to “All-out Attack.” Upon observation, this was an act of God.]

[Phase Three: Friendly forces from Infinite City’s sword-wielding unit, forming a hundred-man formation, destroyed three enemy main cannons with three sword strikes.]

[Phase Four: The enemy’s fifteen-tier legendary powerhouse, Erosion of Darkness, appeared. Our friendly force, Lord Su Jin of Infinite City, engaged in a friendly and cordial exchange with him. The content of the exchange included, but was not limited to, classic lines such as “You know nothing of power,” “Warm-up’s over,” and “Let me show you true power.”]

[Final Result: The enemy legend, Erosion of Darkness, after profoundly grasping the true meaning of “destiny,” had a sudden awakening and transformed into specks of light, making his final contribution to the ecological cycle of the Gobi Desert.]

[Mission Summary: Mission successful. Our unit successfully guided friendly forces and witnessed history throughout. Additionally, due to the excessive stimulation of this battle, we request psychological counseling for all members of the “Ghost” special forces team, recommend monetary therapy, and propose adding “Mythology” and “Expression Management” courses.]

After writing, Ghost Hand let out a long sigh of relief, feeling like he had never written such a realistic report in his life.

He sent the report, feeling completely drained.

An hour later, the roar of engines echoed from the horizon.

Dozens of fast-response ships bearing the Blue Star Alliance emblem pierced through the clouds and slowly descended onto the Gobi Desert.

The leading Major General stepped out of the ship.

Seeing the battlefield before him, as if ploughed by a giant beast, and the massive yet damaged Seventh Fleet, his expression instantly became incredibly solemn.

When he learned the details of the incident from Chen Shanhe, especially the news that Erosion of Darkness had fallen, that solemnity completely turned into shock.

After a brief handover with the Commander of the war zone reinforcements, Su Jin bid farewell to Chen Shanhe.

“General Chen, since reinforcements have arrived, it is time for us to return.”

Chen Shanhe saluted solemnly again: “Words cannot express my gratitude. Lord Su, if you ever need anything in the future, I, Chen, will surely do my utmost to assist you.”

Su Jin smiled and bid farewell, then departed.

Arriving at the gathering point of Tong and the others, he snapped his fingers at an empty space nearby.

To the astonished gazes of Ghost Hand and all his team members, a vibrant green vine burst from the ground, growing wildly at a visible speed.

In just a few breaths, it formed a ten-meter-tall teleportation gate.

Inside the gate was a stable and profound star vortex.

This scene, comparable to a miracle, left the newly arrived Alliance reinforcement officers and soldiers collectively speechless; even the Major General’s eyes twitched.

This way of returning to the city… wasn’t it a bit too unreasonable?

“Captain Ghost Hand.”

Su Jin’s gaze fell on Ghost Hand, who was not far away.

“Your mission is also complete. The subsequent matters here are complicated, so why not return to the city with us for a rest, and then we will send someone to escort you back to your unit later.”

Ghost Hand’s mind was still frozen; he almost subconsciously responded, “Ah… good… thank you, Lord Su…”

Dazed, he led his team members, following behind Tong and Shadow One, and stepped into the green wood teleportation gate.

With one step, the world spun.

The scorching heat and smell of blood from the Gobi Desert instantly vanished, replaced by fresh air mixed with the fragrance of grass and trees.

When he recovered, he found himself standing on an enormous white jade plaza, the floor tiles beneath his feet as smooth as a mirror.

In the center of the plaza, a magnificent palace soared into the sky, emitting a soft spiritual glow.

Looking out, in the distance were grand buildings, row upon row, each with its unique style.

Soldiers in fine armor patrolled the wide streets; their aura was solid, and the weakest among them… seemed to be at least Silver-tier?

Crowds moved through the streets, their faces beaming with serene and confident smiles.

There was no shadow of war here, only prosperity, order, and an indescribable, vibrant vitality.

Ghost Hand and the team members behind him stared at the city before them, like a divine realm in heaven, their brains somewhat frozen.

If before they only felt awe for Su Jin’s personal combat prowess.

Then now, as they personally witnessed this “Infinite City,” all that remained in their hearts was shock.

Is this… the true foundation possessed by a truly top-tier Lord?

Ghost Hand suddenly felt that perhaps he should add another sentence to the end of his report.

— Request for all personnel to be transferred to Infinite City.

The cry of an eagle came from above.

He subconsciously turned his head, just in time to see a magnificent giant eagle soaring overhead, the knight on its back standing tall like a pine.

Here… food and lodging are provided, and even mounts are assigned…