189: Steel, flesh and blood, and the flame of civilization

Boom—!

An awakening essence erupted from Su Chen's tentacles, sending a brilliant beam of light piercing through the heavens. Its vast life energy was like the sweetest nectar, and like the brightest lighthouse in the darkness.

To the beast tide, driven by the instinct to kill, this aura was an irresistible, ultimate temptation.

Roar—!!! In an instant, a roar like a tsunami converged into one!

The beast tide, which had been spreading in all directions, suddenly stalled. Then, billions of scarlet pupils turned simultaneously toward the center of the light beam!

They abandoned all other targets. Like a frenzied school of sharks that had scented blood, they transformed into a black torrent capable of destroying everything, launching the most insane assault from all directions toward Su Chen and the defensive line of Divine Summer!

Rumble—! The terrifying beast tide slammed violently into the steel defensive line!

The previously stable front line instantly emitted a teeth-grinding groan!

The self-destruct fire of the martyr mechas merged into a single sheet of flame, and the barrels of the menshen mechas glowed dark red from overheating. The barrage of fire was like the scythe of the Grim Reaper, harvesting the lives of the giant beasts in swathes, but more beasts immediately stepped over the corpses of their own kind, surging forward again like an endless wave!

Just then—the communicator on Lan Xin's wrist flashed with a blinding red light. President Nicola's holographic image, looking distraught and on the verge of a breakdown, forcibly popped up. His roar even drowned out the nearby explosions:

"Is His Highness Kraken insane?! How could he trigger the beast tide of the Myriad Beast Sea?! Does he not know that this will increase the difficulty of the Beast Emperor Trial a hundredfold?! He could have easily secured the Legacy! What on earth is he trying to do?! Is he ruining his own future?!"

This shrewd Guild President had been so furious upon receiving the news that he had nearly fainted, and he was now here to demand an explanation.

However, when he saw the scene of Su Chen refining the awakening essence in the image, the anger on his face was instantly replaced by extreme absurdity and terror.

"Madman—!!!!" His voice rose sharply, becoming shrill and grating, "He is a complete and utter lunatic! Refining an awakening essence in the center of a beast tide?! Who does he think he is?! A Reincarnation of a god?!"

"That is an awakening essence! It is not a candy bar! It requires absolute concentration to guide, and the slightest mistake will cause the energy to backlash, blowing him to smithereens! Not to mention the interference from this endless beast tide... It's over! Everything is over! Our investment, all our expectations... have all gone down the drain!"

His gaze swept across the brutal battlefield and landed on Lei Zhen, filled with pity and anger: "And you, Divine Summer! Your courage moves me, but this is foolish! It is suicide! How long can your industrial foundation sustain this? One hour? Two hours? The beast tide is endless! Your soldiers... are just throwing their lives away!"

"Hahaha!" Responding to him was a heroic, earth-shaking laugh!

Lei Zhen leaped high into the air, the violent exhaust flames from his power armor jetting out. The massive ship-slaying blade in his hand cut through the sky with immense force, ruthlessly severing the head of a Green-Eyed Giant Python that was attempting to break through the defensive line!

Snake blood cascaded like a waterfall onto his dark, vibranium armor. He didn't care in the slightest, turning his head to look at President Nicola's holographic image, his voice booming like a great bell:

"President Nicola! We in Divine Summer thank you for the investment from the Star Sea Merchant Guild! But please, set your heart at ease!"

He raised his ship-slaying blade high, pointing it straight at the heavens, his voice echoing across the entire battlefield: "No matter the cost, we in Divine Summer... swear to protect His Highness Kraken to the death until the Awakening is complete!"

"Men of Divine Summer! Tell him, who is the strongest?!"

"Roar—!! I am the strongest!!!"

The earth-shaking roar erupted from the chests of every soldier, converging into a steel will that tore through the flames of war!

Facing the boundless beast tide, there was no fear in their eyes, only boiling Battle Intent and the determination to live or die with their position!

However, even if their will was like iron, it was hard to overcome the gap in absolute strength. Divine Summer's foundation was, in the end, too thin!

The reserves of martyr mechas on the aerial mothership were rapidly bottoming out. Under the insane consumption, the swarm-like martyr drone mechas quickly became sparse, until... there were no more reinforcements!

Having lost the close-range containment and self-destruct interception of the martyr mechas, the heavy firepower of the ten menshen mechas alone could no longer completely block the terrifying beast tide outside the distant defensive line.

"Awoo—!" A Blade Leopard, relatively small in size but incredibly agile, tore through the barrage and slammed hard into the formation of Dragon Blood Warriors! Following it was the second, the third...

Countless giant beasts, like a flood bursting a dam, instantly engaged the Divine Summer army in close-quarters combat! An incredibly brutal melee erupted!

The Awakening Level combat power that Divine Summer could currently deploy, besides the ten menshen mechas, consisted only of the one hundred Awakening warriors of the Dragon Blood Special Operations Brigade. (Thanks to the one hundred awakening stones invested by the Star Sea Merchant Guild)

Faced with a beast tide where individual strength generally reached the Awakening Level, the casualty figures of the Divine Summer army began to skyrocket exponentially!

But the people of Divine Summer held the line with their flesh and blood!

A young Dragon Blood Warrior, whose vibranium breastplate had completely shattered, revealed a chest that was a bloody mess. Leaning on his broken combat blade, he stood firmly in front of one of Su Chen's tentacles.

Facing a Cave Worm that lunged at him, its mouth dripping with corrosive mucus, he looked back at Su Chen, who remained motionless within the energy beam, a hint of determination flashing in his eyes.

"For Your Highness—!" He let out a roar and actually leaped forward, jumping into the gaping maw of the giant beast! The next second, he detonated all the remaining specially made high-explosive charges on his body!

Boom—! A violent explosion erupted from inside the giant beast, blowing its massive head to smithereens!

This tragic and heroic scene acted like a fuse being lit.

"For Divine Summer! For Your Highness!" "Beast! Taste this!" "Come with me to the end!"

More and more soldiers, after their ammunition was exhausted and they were gravely wounded, looked at the beasts still surging toward them and let out their final roars.

They transformed into human "martyr mechas," using themselves as the final bombs, using their flesh and blood to fill the gap in combat power, forcibly halting the charge of the giant beasts!

The sky-high flames constantly reflected in Su Chen's huge compound eye, staining the cold crystal a tragic blood-red.

In less than half an hour, the five-thousand-strong First Dragon Blood Special Operations Brigade, which had been the first to enter the battlefield, had suffered over fifty percent casualties! More than two-thirds of the hundred precious Awakening Level Dragon Blood Warriors had been killed in action!

President Nicola's holographic image watched all of this in silence. The anger on his face had long since vanished, leaving only a complicated sigh: "Sigh... why go to such lengths... With the strength of Blue Star, attempting to block the beast tide of the Myriad Beast Sea head-on is simply... a mantis trying to stop a chariot."

However—just as the defensive line was about to be completely submerged in blood, Boom boom boom boom—!!! A violent sound of mechanical friction, like millions of engines roaring simultaneously, came from several new, massive spatial rifts that had just torn open in the rear!