Magical Girl's Knight Brother

Chapter 654 Unification of the Southern Territory

The smoke from the wasteland battlefield had not yet dissipated when the Dragon Group's steel torrent roared to life once again.

The tracks rolled over the scorched earth, raising dust mixed with bone meal and gunpowder smoke. The hovering engines emitted a deep hum, and the vehicle turrets gleamed with a cold light. The soldiers showed no fatigue on their faces, but their eyes burned with an unprecedented fervor and determination.

Is this battle over? No, for the Dragon Group, a war that will completely reshape the landscape of the Southern Territory has only just begun.

Fang Xinyuan stood atop the command vehicle, the wind whipping the hem of his uniform. He gripped the cold, black metal box tightly in his hand—the highest level of control over the AI. This small box, however, weighed more than a thousand troops, completely altering the landscape of his mind and the blade in his hand.

Prior to this, Fang Xin's plan was to use an offensive-defensive tactic of exchanging bases.

He knew that after beheading most of the leaders of the forces in the Southern Territory with swift and decisive action, retaliation would inevitably come like wildfire. Facing a ragtag army that outnumbered him many times over and was as numerous as locusts, defending the stronghold that the Dragon Group had built up over many years would be tantamount to playing to his weaknesses and avoiding his strengths.

He wanted to gather all the fighting power of the Dragon Group and turn it into an invincible sharp blade. Taking advantage of the precious window of opportunity when the enemy was leaderless and in the early stages of chaos, he would strike the core strongholds of the major forces in the Southern Territory with lightning speed.

From the most dangerous stronghold of the Venomous Fang Mercenary Group to the most secretive Ruinous Mutant Crypt, they fought their way through, conquering wherever they could, without caring about the gains or losses of a single city or town, only seeking to destroy the enemy's organizational core, war potential, and will to resist to the greatest extent possible.

As for his stronghold, so be it. Fang Xin had already prepared himself mentally. As long as he could fight his way in and out of this wasteland seven times and completely cripple and frighten those so-called "big forces," he would have absolute confidence and strength to take it back once the dust settled, regardless of whether the fortress was looted or occupied.

This would be a brutal and tragic battle, requiring enormous sacrifices, but it was the only risky move that could potentially break the deadlock under the circumstances.

But now, everything is different!

Fang Xin lowered his head, the light falling once more on the black box in his hand. His fingertips felt the boundless power contained within the cold metal, and an uncontrollable, cold, and confident smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

Why abandon the fortress? Even if Yao is lost, she still stands.

The seemingly harmless beauty brought by Tang Zijun, once she took up her post at the core of the fortress, unleashed terrifying combat power... Fang Xin had personally witnessed how terrifying those shadow energies were; her very existence was an insurmountable wall of sighs.

Raider hordes, mercenary raids, mutants—all are nothing but chickens and dogs before Shiyao's unreasonable shadow energy. Trying to sneak attack the Dragon Group fortress would only be a toy delivered to Shiyao's doorstep for amusement.

And an even greater power is now in his grasp!

"Intelligent Legion, activate." Fang Xin's brainwaves issued the first command to the Intelligent Legion after its silence through the black box.

Silently, in a large area buried deep underground within the Southern Territory and among the AI ​​outposts, the ground slowly cracked open as if a sleeping behemoth were awakening. It wasn't an explosion, but rather the operation of some sophisticated mechanical structure.

One after another, steel gates that had been hidden for who knows how long rose from beneath the scorched earth, followed by a uniform, cold, and deathly torrent of steel that sent shivers down one's spine.

Countless menacing, heavily armored tracked combat units surged forth like a steel tide, their cannons flashing with a ghostly blue glow of energy. Swarms of hovering attack aircraft blotted out the sky like dark clouds, emitting a high-frequency hum, their weapon hardpoints under their bellies gleaming coldly.

An invisible stream of data instantly covered the entire Southern Territory. The battlefield situational awareness systems of all Dragon Group vehicles and individual soldier equipment were instantly connected to a vast, cold, and extremely efficient command network. Every enemy's heat signal, energy reaction, and even possible movement trajectory were instantly marked, analyzed, and shared.

This is the Omnic Legion, the legacy of destruction from the old era, the nightmare that once brought humanity to the brink of extinction in the wasteland. Now, their cold sensors flash with a ghostly blue light that signifies "friendship," silently and efficiently merging into the steel torrent of the Dragon Group.

In the past, rashly connecting data to the network of androids would have been suicidal, as those androids would immediately take over all controllable machinery and slaughter all living beings present.

But now things are different. Fang Xin didn't even hesitate for a moment because he believed in Tang Zijun and everything she told him.

"Pass on the order." Fang Xin's voice resounded throughout the marching column through the loudspeaker, filled with an absolute sense of control, as resounding as the clang of steel striking metal.

"Target: Venomous Fang Mercenary Blood Nest," "Rustfire Mutant Crypt City," "Hurricane Raider Steel Graveyard."

And all known enemy core strongholds.

He suddenly waved his hand, pointing to the southern land shrouded in chaos and bloodshed.

"Full speed ahead! Crush them!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the silent yet powerful torrent of steel around him, his voice carrying a coldness that proclaimed a new order.

"In this battle, we will not harm civilians, take no prisoners, or establish any strongholds. What we want is for the southern border... to be extinguished from the flames of resistance!"

Ugh—!

The engine's roar instantly reached its peak!

The human warriors of the Dragon Group drove tanks and mechs, walking side by side with their agents, forming an unprecedented symphony of destruction, a blend of steel and flesh, as the earth trembled under the crushing weight of countless steel tracks and hover engines.

At the same time, the androids that had been hiding in their strongholds also began to move. Their energy cores lit up again, and their strategic plans and sand table had been entered into their systems. They did not need much command and began to spontaneously assemble.

Standing on the command vehicle, Fang Xin watched this unprecedentedly powerful force surge forward, his heart filled with pride.

Unify the southern border?

This is no longer a difficult goal that requires risking one's life and future.

This is simply an indisputable fact.

All that remains is a matter of cleaning up the trash and deciding how much time to spend on the cleaning.

Chang Lei did not set off with the main force. He simply stood on the rock wall of the Sigh Pass, watching the small forces that had just decided to join the Dragon Group catch up with the main force, lost in thought for a long time.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Tang Zijun's voice suddenly rang out beside him. "Are you thinking about your mother?"

Chang Lei paused for a moment, then refocused his gaze. "Yes... I've been thinking about it carefully just now, and I realize you're right. For a long time, our research on different worlds has been too one-sided, and we also have fundamental errors in our understanding of the connections between worlds."

"My mother has been in a state of mental derangement in the real world for several years. According to the information we have, she should have stayed in the wasteland world the longest. However, she only recently went to the dream world here, while Zorin's head has been in the dream world for a long time... That's the problem. The flow rate is different in different worlds, and even the time points of travel are different."

Tang Zijun gave Chang Lei a deep look. "I know what you're worried about. You're afraid they've traveled to a much more distant timeline, right?"

"Sollin is no longer human. The material used for her body is a composite material I've never seen before. This material is resistant to pollution, let alone the corrosive effects of time." Chang Lei looked at Tang Zijun. "You know what I'm trying to say. They may have been in the dream world for decades, or even longer."

"But this is just a guess, isn't it?" Tang Zijun patted Chang Lei on the shoulder. "Let's not think the worst of it. Maybe things aren't as bad as you think."

"I hope so." Chang Lei pursed his lips and forced a smile. "You know, I've always been a pessimist."

Tang Zijun shook her head, ignoring him. Instead, she turned around, put her belt back on, and silently called upon Langya to reopen the passage connecting the two worlds. "Let's go. This is over. We still have a lot to do."

"Aren't you going to call Shiyao along?" Chang Lei asked.

"Let her stay here for a while. Right now, Fang Xin still needs her help. Unlike magical girls, her shadow power is relatively the strongest in this world. Even the gods of the era wouldn't find it easy to harm her, let alone those wastelanders."

Tang Zijun said, "I've already spoken to her. Although her words are rather...sharp, she's still very willing to cooperate with our operation."

"She yelled at you, right?"

"The kind that's like being splattered with dog blood."

"Ha ha ha ha."