Light Fortress

The heavenly heart drizzled lightly, Wind Snow fell in a solemn hush.

Seven Red Shadows stood in a straight line, blades poised in a ready stance.

At the tip of the high tower, the Grey-winged Traveler slowly swayed its long tail, its Bronze Iron Eyes coldly locking onto the battle machines before it that possessed no "life".

That icy gaze carried terrifying penetrative power.

Gu Shen felt as if even his soul had been completely seen through by this Grey-winged Traveler.

"The support from Central City has already arrived at the northern Frontier."

Bai Xiu’s voice echoed within the Heart Lake.

Gu Shen responded with a calm grunt, his heart settling slightly.

Lin Lin and Purple Rain were safe, and the resources of the Initial were successfully delivered; this mission could be considered half completed... as for the remaining half, it lay in how to repel the assault of the Traveler Tribe. Gu Shen controlled the Red Shadow and cast his gaze into the distance; beyond the giant wall of the Gu Castle Fortress, more and more Low-level Travelers were gathering. They were in no hurry to launch the next assault.

This was the most terrifying part.

The Traveler Tribe had already locked onto the coordinates of the Northern Continent Border; as long as they opened the "Gate", they held the authority to launch an attack at any moment.

The reinforcements from Central City had arrived.

But the "main force" of the Traveler Tribe was also converging!

Before today, everyone had believed that the war between the Three-Continent Alliance and the Deep Sea would ignite in the Southern Continent, but only now did they realize... the true first battle was actually at the northern Frontier!

The sound of wind and thunder suddenly burst forth; the Grey-winged silhouette coiled atop the ruined tower moved without warning, faster than when it had previously ambushed Gu Xiaoman’s Red Shadow. It possessed extremely high intelligence and perception; every move the Red Shadows had made earlier was seen clearly by it, and the weakest Red Shadow had already been pounced upon and killed first.

And the hardest bones to gnaw.

Were these in front of it!

The speed of the Grey-winged Creature was extremely fast, but within Gu Shen’s Spiritual Sense, every frame of its leap from the high tower was captured by Chi Huo.

His strength was being restricted by the Divine Infant Shell.

But the Red Shadows were not.

"Clang!!!"

The seven Red Shadows drew the second long blade at their waists at the same time; the Grey-winged Creature crashed into the ground like a meteor, kicking up a surging shockwave and flurries of cold snow. Once again it targeted a single Red Shadow for a kill, but Gu Shen’s dodging speed far surpassed Gu Xiaoman’s. The Red Shadow that had been targeted raised its arm and brought its blade up to block, completing the parry in an almost "premonitory" fashion.

The next instant! A dull thud!

The long tail of the Grey-winged Creature smashed heavily into that Red Shadow’s lower abdomen like a meteor hammer, lifting its feet off the ground and plowing a trench nearly a hundred meters long through the snow!

Seeing this, Gu Shen, seated aboard the Initial, furrowed his brows.

He had already performed to the extreme, but even with a "parry" completed, the Red Shadow still could not withstand the Grey-winged Creature’s assault and was sent flying.

The greatest advantage of the Red Shadows was their formidable bodies.

But the High Order Lifeforms of the Traveler Tribe... had even stronger bodies!

This single strike directly severed his Spiritual connection with the Red Shadow!

"The Red Shadows have very strong defenses. Whether it’s a broken arm or leg, they can still move, with only a decline in combat strength. But if their insides are damaged, they’ll need ’repairs’..."

Alf reminded him: "That thing’s tail strike is most likely infused with Domain Intent. Once this kind of power seeps into the interior of a Red Shadow’s body, it causes immense destruction. If I’m not mistaken, that Red Shadow’s ’internal organs’ have already been completely shredded."

Mechanical lifeforms did not have things like internal organs.

But the Red Shadow’s "Source Energy Core" was located exactly where that tail strike had landed!

"One strike... is enough to render a Red Shadow combat-ineffective?"

Gu Shen’s expression grew incomparably grave.

This was indeed a level of power that only a High Order Sealing possessed.

If this battlefield were not under the "negative effects" of the Heavenly Sheath Fragment, this fight should be handed over to the Lord of the Legion... with her strength, dealing with this Grey-winged Creature would be no problem.

Or, if the restraints imposed by the Divine Infant were lifted.

With the Netherworld Fire he had now refined, he would only need to wave his hand to burn this Grey-winged Creature to ash!

But there were no ifs in this world. On the current frontal battlefield of the Northern Continent, there truly was no one within Gu Castle who could deal with this Grey-winged Creature... if this thing were allowed to rush into the Northern Continent’s interior, it would be disastrous. A High Order Lifeform with such intelligence, even as a lone individual, could wreak havoc freely inland, unleashing immense destructive power. Before the experts of the Three-Continent Alliance capable of slaying it arrived, who knew how many innocent lives would be cut down!

It had to be stopped here!

However...

The good news was that this Grey-winged Creature seemed disinclined to break through Gu Castle; its "interest" in him was clearly greater.

Understandable.

As a High Order Lifeform, its mission was different from those "small fry" sent to die.

For a Transcendent of its level, only by staying alive could it provide the greatest value to its tribe!

To break Gu Castle, all it needed was to kill the Red Shadows!

"I still have six Red Shadows left..."

"To kill this Grey-winged Creature, every strand of Heart Flow Power must fuse perfectly, forming a complete configuration."

All this time, Gu Shen’s Heart Flow Power had been operating as separate, independent streams.

One strand of Heart Flow meditated upon the fire seed in the Pure Land, one cultivated breathing techniques, one dismantled ancient texts.

Each strand of Heart Flow Power was an independent individual... this was, in fact, the very meaning of "heart-state cultivation": to turn one person into many. But in battle, the significance of this ability diminished somewhat; turning one person into many could not bridge the enormous gulf that existed between Transcendents.