The system is four years ahead of schedule, but Weird is still a cub.

Before the cheers from the "Iron Heart" frontline research station had subsided, the ear-piercing sounds of metal twisting and flesh tearing came from above the thick fog.

Meanwhile, Hermes' alarm continued to sound:
[A colossal object has been detected deviating from its stable orbit. Estimated fall time: 17 minutes!]

【warn! 】

The target is too large; an impact would cause irreversible and devastating damage to the "Root of the World"!

Inside the command center, Hephaestus suddenly looked up and stared at the rapidly enlarging red outline on the main screen.

The Reaper that they had severely damaged did not run away, but chose to perish together with the enemy, and is now falling straight down from a height of 10,000 meters toward the Root Continent!

A researcher, pale-faced, reported: "Its vital signs are rapidly fading; it has even relinquished control of its body, turning itself into a falling meteorite!"

"All 'Raider' units, return to base immediately!" Kyle decisively ordered. He knew very well that in an impact of this scale, resistance from any individual unit would be futile.

All the color drained from Alai's face. She gripped the edge of the command platform and said in a trembling voice, "Hephaestus... what... what can we do?"

“It’s too late…” Hephaestus muttered to himself. The screen in front of him was frantically calculating with the help of “Hermes”, but every result he got was hopeless.

"Iron Heart" isn't nearby, so the shield can't be activated at full power. The frontline base's defense system alone isn't even enough to tickle that guy.

Meanwhile, at the deepest part of the [Root of the World].

Shen Ge was hovering in front of a colossal object that defied description.

It was a gigantic, monstrous heart with a diameter of over 500 meters. Countless thick, dragon-like blood vessels connected to the core meridians of the [Root of the World]. With each pulsation, it injected highly toxic, monstrous energy into the core of this continent.

Its surface is covered with black patterns that resemble mechanical veins, clearly indicating a deep fusion with the "Reaper".

“Good heavens… so you’re the real ‘straw’ of the ‘Reaper’.” Shen Ge’s eerie eyes had already seen through everything.

The "Reaper" is not "feeding," but exchanging energy with this monstrous heart. It provides shelter for the heart, while the heart continuously steals life force from the "Root of the World," transforming it into a mechanical, monstrous energy, which is then fed back to the "Reaper."

[Warning! High concentration of a strange energy life form core detected... Fusion rate 91%, determined to be an "Eighth-Order Strange Core". Devouring this target will significantly repair the system and has a very high probability of upgrading its existing characteristics.]

[System integrity 70%, advancement to Tier 8 requires system integrity to reach 80%, and overall strange energy strength 1000000%.]

The system notification sounded in Shen Ge's mind, which surprised him. He hadn't heard the system "actively" request a target to devour in a long time.

Shen Ge unleashed his demonic domain, transforming into a sharp blade that instantly severed all connections between the heart and the [Root of the World].

Immediately afterwards, the strange energy in his entire body boiled up, and the primal aura representing "devouring" seemed to transform into a giant maw, engulfing the eighth-order strange tumor heart.

The Reaper probably never dreamed that its monstrous heart, hidden within the Root of the World, would be discovered so easily.

Furthermore, it plunged it into a real crisis.

In other words, what's in the sky is merely its shell; even if Kyle and Roca lead the raider squad to successfully breach it, they won't damage its core in the slightest.

Unfortunately, it encountered Shen Ge, who could move freely inside strange bodies.

"boom--!"

A powerful surge of strange energy erupted from within the heart of the tumor, attempting to resist Shen Ge's devouring.

It was an impact that combined the grinding sound of mechanical gears with powerful, erosive energy, and was far more tenacious than any opponent encountered before.

Shen Ge's consciousness was instantly dragged into a battlefield composed of data streams and flesh and blood, but he remained calm: "Playing with the erosion of supernatural energy in front of me? You're not qualified!"

The power of the progenitor's bizarre cells erupted in full force, crushing and absorbing the rebellious will in an instant with a more advanced and purer form.

[Beginning to devour... Estimated time: 16 minutes...]

[WARNING! The process of consuming the host will place a huge burden on it. Please maintain a stable environment.]

However, just as Shen Ge began to devour, he sensed a tremendous threat falling from the outside world through the faint connection he had established with the [Root of the World].

"17 minutes? If we choose to devour the tumor's heart at this time, it might be too late to stop the 'Reaper' from falling..." Shen Ge frowned slightly.

……

"No, perhaps it's not too late!"

In the frontline command center, Hephaestus stared at the trajectory model of the Reaper's fall on the large screen and said urgently, "We can't destroy it in a short time, nor can we completely stop its fall, but perhaps... we can slow it down!"

He abruptly turned to the caretaker beside him: "Your Excellency, I need you to immediately mobilize all the power of the [Root of the World] to weave a strong and vast 'Net of Roots' directly above us!"

He then looked at Kyle and Roca: "Generals, I need you to lead all the 'Raiders,' carrying all the warheads of our 'Shield-Breaking Plasma Shells,' as well as the high-powered 'Electromagnetic Anchors' that the Engineering Department has urgently modified, and come with me to the sky... We need to drive a few 'nails' into that guy's body!"

Above the sky, the winds and clouds change color.

The Reaper's massive, mountain-like body tore through the clouds, transforming into a huge shadow that enveloped the entire Root Continent. Its flesh and blood tissues, which were not yet completely dead, ignited into raging flames due to the intense friction with the atmosphere.

"Lift off!"

At Kyle's command, the remaining dozen or so "Raider-II" and "Nightingale" mechs, led by his and his brother Roca's aircraft, charged toward the falling curtain of death.

Each mech is backed by a massive "electromagnetic anchor" that flashes with blue electric arcs, dragged along by high-strength alloy cables.

On the ground, the caretaker merges his body with the main root.

The entire root continent emitted a muffled roar as tens of thousands of giant vines burst from the ground, growing upwards at an unprecedented speed, intertwining wildly in the air, and in an instant forming a giant emerald green net covering an area of ​​tens of kilometers above the base.

"Hold on! Prepare to launch the electromagnetic anchor!" Kyle's voice sounded somewhat distorted amidst the violent shaking.

They had already flown above the giant net, and the scorching heatwave almost melted the mech's shields.

"Three, two, one! Launch!"

A dozen electromagnetic anchors, trailing long cables, pierced into the relatively intact carapace structure of the "Reaper".

"Turn on maximum power and nail the other end... into the 'Web of Roots'!" Roca shouted.

Boom boom boom——

At the other end of the electromagnetic anchor, a huge anchor is embedded in the giant root net below, keeping the cable taut.

The Reaper's downward momentum was halted for a fraction of a second by this sudden pull.

It worked!
But the next second, a piercing snapping sound came from the cable.

High-strength alloys break off one after another under tension far exceeding their limits.

The massive root network was also forced downwards by the terrifying weight, countless vines were torn apart on the spot, and green sap poured down like a torrential rain. "No! We can't hold on!" a raider member shouted in despair.

"Hephaestus, your plan has failed. We need a backup plan!" Kyle gritted his teeth and tried to stabilize the machine, but to no avail.

“No…not yet! This is only…the first step!” Hephaestus’s voice rang out in the communication channel.

"General Kyle! Use your last 'shield-piercing shells'... to attack the 'electromagnetic anchor' we just destroyed!"

Kyle was stunned: "What?"

"Quick! Trust me! Detonate them! Detonate them using the resonant frequency!"

Without time to hesitate, Kyle chose to believe.

"All units! The target is the electromagnetic anchors we launched ourselves. Detonate them!"

The next moment, more than a dozen dazzling purple plasma bursts exploded on the surface of the "Reaper's" body. They didn't cause much damage, but the unique resonant frequency was like a series of electric drills!

Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz!
A massive energy shield suddenly opened beneath the Reaper, like a giant parachute. Though tattered, it instantly and dramatically increased air resistance!

The Reaper's falling speed suddenly decreased by 30%!

This brilliant idea bought them precious time!

Even so, the remaining 70% speed was still devastating. The giant root network was breaking apart inch by inch, and everyone could only watch helplessly as death drew ever closer.

At this most desperate moment, a jet-black beam of light containing a devouring aura suddenly shot into the sky from the core of the Root Continent below!

The beam of light pierced precisely through the collapsing web of roots and struck the massive body of the "Reaper".

Time seemed to be paused at this moment.

Everyone was horrified to see the massive body of the "Reaper" plummeting like a meteorite, stopping less than a thousand meters above the ground...

It was held up by that jet-black beam of light!

As the light faded, a figure slowly emerged in mid-air.

It's Shen Ge.

His eyes were closed, and mysterious black patterns flowed across his body. A terrifying aura of strange energy, far surpassing that of a seventh-tier Ghost King and even causing the heavens and earth to tremble, emanated from him.

[Completed consumption.]

System integrity has been restored to 83.3333%.

Shen Ge slowly opened his eyes. His left eye did not change much, but his right eye, the strange eye, transformed into a swirling vortex of stars.

He simply raised his hand calmly and gently shook hands with the "Reaper" that was frozen in mid-air.

"Now, it's my turn to 'reap' the rewards."

As Shen Ge finished speaking, a black vortex composed of pure supernatural energy quietly formed in his loosely clenched right hand.

An invisible hand "grasped" the reaper's body from the air.

"Click... click click..."

The sounds of tearing flesh echoed across the sky, rendering the Reaper's hard bio-alloy shell, supple flesh and fascia, and intricate internal mechanical structure meaningless. They were being squeezed, twisted, and folded from the outside in by an invisible force.

The Reaper's massive, floating island-like body, like a cheap toy held in a child's hand, began to deform and collapse at a visible speed!
Its last remaining shred of consciousness was completely erased before it could even cause a ripple under the terrifying, eighth-order power of Shen Ge.

"This, this is..." Kyle and Roca stared blankly at the miraculous scene before them, forgetting even to pilot their mechs, leaving them hovering in the air.

“God…” The caretaker’s aged voice was filled with awe and reverence that came from the depths of his soul.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, in just over ten seconds, the "Reaper" was compressed into a dark red, blood-red "remains sphere" with a diameter of less than 100 meters.

But it's not over yet.

"System, begin absorbing." Shen Ge issued the command.

He not only intends to devour the Reaper's monstrous heart hidden within the Root of the World, but also its entire body.

An endless white light curtain seemed to appear around Shen Ge's body, instantly enveloping the Reaper's enormous body.

An immense suction force emanated from it, drawing the enormous skeletal sphere, along with all the strange energy and matter it emitted, into it bit by bit.

[Successfully devoured the remains of an eighth-tier "biological-mechanical fusion monster"...]

[Analyzing the core sequence characteristic "mechanical contamination"... Success rate 78%, proceed with solidification and extraction?]

Solidification extraction?

It was rare for Shen Ge to hear the system use a new term in all this time.

"extract."

[“Mechanical Infection” successfully extracted, gaining 3 attribute enhancement points. Please check the system panel.]

[System integrity improved to 85%!]

A series of system notifications signaled the end of this harvesting battle.

After doing all this, Shen Ge's figure fell from the sky and finally stopped in front of Hephaestus and the others.

"My lord!" All the members of "Iron Heart" looked at him with the fanatical gaze one would give to a god, and shouted in unison.

"Well done." Shen Ge's gaze swept over the damaged mechs in the crash and the exhausted, aged face of the caretaker, giving him a positive evaluation.

“You held this place without me. Hephaestus, your ‘parachute’ plan was brilliant.”

Hephaestus, his face flushed with excitement, adjusted his glasses and gazed at Shen Ge, then at the slowly dissipating spatial distortion left behind after the swallowing of the creature. He stammered, "No... my lord, compared to the power you displayed at the end, my little cleverness is utterly insignificant! The perfect fusion of life and machine, the ultimate control over space... this is... this is the true 'Omnesia'! The supreme evolution!"

Shen Ge ignored his fervor and turned to the caretakers: "I have eliminated the source of the corruption of the [Root of the World]. Hephaestus's team will assist you in completing the remaining purification work. From today onwards, you are safe."

"Thank you, Supreme Being." The caretaker bowed respectfully.

It was fortunate that it had accepted the invitation from a "god". (End of Chapter)