Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

It realized it had found the settlement where the boy lived, and it carefully tracked and observed him.

It saw the goblin spaceships it had lured near the settlement where the boy was located open fire on it, and then it used its powerful strength to shoot down one of them and intimidate them into scurrying away with their tails between their legs.

It even saw the wreckage of the goblin spaceship again, and the remains of the spaceship that it had already cleared away, its automatic defense systems destroyed without a trace, with the boy it cared about bringing two insignificant minions to explore. However, when the demon that had somehow evaded its detection approached the boy, its own power unit inexplicably started operating at full power!

The feeling of falling intensified, and the no-longer-calm observer was puzzled to find that the approaching Skywing race and the powerful life form of that unknown race had not appeared in its field of vision. The scene before its eyes began to leap rapidly and quickly, moving backward at a speed completely beyond its comprehension!

No, no, this won't do! I want to see more!

As his thoughts gradually became clearer, the images of falling and soaring became increasingly vivid. The still-nameless mecha instinctively reached out a hand that seemed to appear out of nowhere, but when his slender fingers brushed against the image, it was as if he had only touched a fleeting phantom!

No, that's not an illusion!

Because in the very instant everything vanished, it suddenly heard the voice of that boy. A voice that came from the boy's throat at some unknown point in time, yet it was definitely directed at it!

"Then I'll call you Shubi," the voice said.

And in the next instant, the no longer nameless mech fell out of that endless abyss.

--'thump--!!!!'

—'All sensors are online, and image and audio conversion channel calibration is complete.'

Then, the girl opened her eyes. What came into view was a narrow and dark space, like a spatial rift, and thick, warm blood—this was a barrier, a barrier resembling a spatial rift. Outside the barrier, there seemed to be the sound of countless blades cutting, indicating that the destruction of this place would happen in an instant.

however……

"My name..." The machine-armored girl's lips trembled as the memories she had acquired surged like a tidal wave into an unknown region that even the core engine couldn't find. But she didn't really care about it, because at this moment, all that echoed in her senses was the boy's clear yet somewhat perfunctory voice.

"My name... is Shiro." The machine-armored girl said to herself.

She immediately received a completely unexpected reply.

"Yes, yes, your name is Shubi." A weak voice came from the side—the girl turned her gaze, and the wretched figure of the Skywing appeared before her, as if it had rolled on a mountain of knives.

“My name is Jibril. Jibril of the Winged Race.” The winged woman, covered in blood, waved her left arm, which was still barely intact. “Although I’d ​​love to say ‘nice to meet you,’ we’re both probably going to die soon. The kind of death that’s utterly hopeless. If you don’t have a way to escape, then I have a plan here that has a high probability of saving your life.”

With its wings broken, lower body severed at the waist, one hand reduced to skeletal remains, and the other hand with only three fingers remaining, the Skywing creature opened its single remaining eye, smiled, and presented a proposal amidst its own pool of blood.

Chapter Sixteen: All Schemes and Cleverness

The dark, spatial barrier pulsed rhythmically, as if breathing. Thousands upon thousands of sword strikes slowly carved marks on its outer edge, leaving white lines on its inner edge. These white lines expanded slowly but steadily into every part of the barrier over time. When the lines occupied the entire barrier—or more than two-thirds of it—the barrier would completely crumble.

“This barrier is the last life-saving artifact my master bestowed upon me. Time inside and outside the barrier has been slowed down by my master’s divine power by about a hundred million times, so we have about a minute and a half left—you can probably tell from my injuries that they can’t be healed in a place like this. And my body is locked on by the enemy. Escape and waiting for support are probably not feasible. But you are different; you are not its primary target, so you probably still have a sliver of hope.” Despite her extremely severe injuries, Jibril’s voice remained quick and steady as she roughly described the current situation and then offered her proposal.

“I will use ‘Sky Strike’ directly when the barrier is destroyed. If I burn away all the concepts that construct myself and the spirits within me, the power should be enough to destroy the chaotic closed space structure it created. And you should take this opportunity to run as far away as possible using all the means you have at your disposal… and then.”

The Skywing Seed revealed a blood-soaked smile amidst the pool of blood.

“Contact your syndicate. I know your machine armor types have this function. Even without group operations, you can greatly enhance your combat power by sharing computing power. ‘Sky Strike’ should buy you enough time, and all you need to do is share the information…you might have a chance to escape.”

"...Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Help? It's quite novel to hear that word from a Mech-type." Jibril raised an eyebrow with difficulty. "You really are special, Shubi of the Mech-type. If we met in a different setting, our relationship would probably be completely different from what it is now. But fair trade has its advantages, and I do have something I need you to do."

The blood around the Skywing race boiled, vaporized, coalesced, and replenished her body with the mass that had been slashed away by the Blade of No Trace. As if something within her had shattered, a power even greater and purer than during the previous battle was released, swirling around her like clouds.

Sky Strike is the strongest combat technique developed by the Lord of War since the creation of the Skywing race. It uses the spirits within and outside the user as fuel to unleash a devastating attack capable of defying the laws of physics. The price for using it is that the user's size and strength regress to a juvenile state; however, this is merely a release of power, and there are various methods to restore it in the future. It is not a desperate, life-or-death struggle.

Clearly, with fine, barely discernible runes appearing around her and the halo above her head operating in a strange pattern, Jibril had chosen a far more profound energy release method than the ordinary 'Sky Strike'. Almost visibly, her presence weakened, her limbs gradually becoming pale and translucent, even revealing the blood vessels and meridians within. And as she exhaled a long, gentle breath, the dense energy around her reaching a near-critical threshold, a small portion of the dark barrier she and Shubi shared had turned pure white!

"I need you to pass on everything that happened here to the Jaeger. If you can leave alive, pass on everything about this battle to Abant Hem. If not, then I hope the Jaeger can complete this mission in your place."

"...The fully connected command structure may reject this proposal."

“That doesn’t matter…” Jibril was taken aback at first, then a smile appeared on her lips. “As long as you agree.”

"Perhaps I will die out there too."

"If you die outside, it will certainly be due to the special power possessed by that unknown life form, as long as you connect with your machine race's link before that. Then the machine race's information will definitely be known to them—after I unleash Sky Strike, the traces of the battle here cannot be concealed. Avant Hem will notice this place and will send elite troops to investigate and search for clues. My compatriots will eventually run into the machine race. And at that time, whether my compatriots and your compatriots are fighting or at peace, the power and information of that unknown life form will definitely spread."

“You’ve thought this through… very thoroughly. I…” The newly named machine-type creature’s eyes shone with light as she gazed at the Skywing creature before her, who was only a few steps away from death and would soon step into it. A multitude of complex emotions inexplicably welled up in her heart.

She felt she should trust Jibril, but deep down, a strange, inexplicable aversion surged within her—no, not aversion, but a complex emotion akin to regret or resentment. It was as if Jibril had destroyed some precious treasure she possessed, yet she couldn't find any relevant entry in the database.

Was it because she had just threatened her with the boy inside the goblin ship wreckage? No. But if not, then what could it be—she forcibly shut down this line of thought, forbidding herself from thinking about the boy at this moment. Because she suddenly realized that humanity simply couldn't survive a conflict of this magnitude! It was very likely that the boy was already—!

No—! I have to think about it!

[That person won't die! He absolutely won't die so easily! That unknown life form outside has incredibly high skill in manipulating energy. There's absolutely no way he could lose control and cause damage to the surrounding area! But that was only the situation before. Once Jibril unleashes that 'Sky Strike' capable of breaking through spatial barriers, it will be extremely difficult for that person to survive the aftermath of the battle!]

[Think, think! The moment the barrier breaks, we'll die. Jibril's 'Sky Strike' is our only chance of survival. But if we try to survive this way, that person will surely die. But if we give up here—]

No, that won't change anything. My actions in protecting the goblin ship have been witnessed. That unknown life form will definitely investigate the ship afterward. And to a monster like it, that person is like a tiny speck of dust. Even without deliberate targeting, they could easily be wiped out!

We have to find a way!

But what should we do...? Wait, I remember when this guy first arrived here... it seemed like he was going to—

Jibril waited for Shubi's reply for several seconds without any response. She only saw the machine-armored girl in front of her utter the word "I..." before falling into a state of intense thought. Her bright eyes lost their luster, and her brain even emitted steam due to the high-speed thinking.

—Is it because he couldn't make a decision? Considering the context, could it be that he didn't want to die here after deciding to unleash the Heavenly Strike?

Surrounded by the surging tide of energy, Jibril chuckled self-deprecatingly. Though she never regretted her actions, she found herself quietly missing Azriel, who was far away on the other side of the planet. If she hadn't been so arrogant and presumptuous as to attack this unknown life form from the start, but instead followed Azriel's instructions to broadcast the information to the entire Disbord public channel the moment they discovered it before intervening, then perhaps everything would have been different.

He was certain that reinforcements would arrive, and perhaps the enemy, who had kept their identities hidden, would choose to retreat due to the exposure of their information. The reason things had come to this was entirely due to his own arbitrary actions; originally, perhaps one of them could have escaped, but now the probability of both dying was extremely high.

Ah... if I can go back this time, I'll call that idiot "sister." Tsk, so compared to her, I'm the dumber one after all. That's a really hard-to-laugh-about fact...

The white lines had already covered nearly two-fifths of the barrier, and would soon reach the half-point warning threshold. Jibril's mind raced; she decided to proceed with her plan without waiting for Shubi's reply. At worst, she'd kick him while unleashing 'Sky Strike'; she couldn't just sit and wait to die!

And the next moment—

“Stop, Jibril.” Shubi’s eyes regained their light. “I have a way to escape.”

Section Seventeen: Not So Smart

Zhao Yingkong lowered her gaze, feeling the rare boiling of blood within her body while examining the black spherical barrier that had suddenly appeared before her with her thoughts accelerated to the limit.

How much time slowed down? It's unclear, but it's definitely several thousand times. But the number is certainly less than ten thousand, because she still needs to control the killing formation in her hands, and because even if she accelerates her thoughts to the current limit, she cannot see through the inner structure of the barrier; all she can see is pure blackness.

Why is it black? The answer is simple: the difference in the flow of time causes the light entering from the outside to be frozen at the surface of the barrier. Not a single ray can be reflected, so it is naturally pure black. It was precisely this pure black that alerted Zhao Yingkong, causing her to enter a state of near-time-stopped, accelerated thinking even before the first wave of the Bladeless Blades had fully materialized. Then she could examine the specific events unfolding beforehand.

Without a doubt, this black sphere must be the work of the War Lord, the powerful figure behind the Skywing race, who subtly holds the strongest position in the universe. According to known intelligence, before the Dragon Break, the War Lord never considered any life form other than himself, allowing his created Familias to act freely without interference. In that era, the Skywing race, ranked sixth in the hierarchy, actually only possessed one method of attack: drawing energy from the atmosphere or deep within their bodies, shaping it into a suitable form, and then projecting it.

Against weaklings, they'd conjure a ball and hurl it; for a more challenging attack, they'd forge a spike and stab; against more skilled enemies, they'd craft energy weapons like swords, spears, scythes, and hammers for close-quarters combat; and against powerful impacts, they'd create a shell to shield themselves—this was the Skywing race's fighting style, and it was surprisingly effective for its time. This was because the Dragon Elves only knew how to unleash dragon roars, the Giants only knew how to swing their fists, the Forest Elves' magic couldn't penetrate their casually conjured elven shields, and the Goblin race's spirit armor was barely sharper than a nail clipper.

In that era, the Winged Race needed no tactics, no strategic thinking, no need to study the world situation, and no need to improve their combat methods. Because it was simply unnecessary. Although the Winged Race was only ranked sixth in that era, their combat record was already among the top three. All the Winged Women only needed to freely roam the land and claim valuable heads, unlike after the Dragon Break, when daring to act alone would result in being killed or beaten beyond repair by unknown enemies appearing from nowhere.

That was the glorious era of the Skywing race, yet even in that era, they still possessed two powerful combat techniques that were practically never used. One was 'Sky Shift,' which allowed them to freely switch spatial coordinates, and the other was 'Sky Strike,' capable of causing immense destruction.

Alice had already witnessed both Sky Shift and Sky Strike, and had analyzed both to some extent. Sky Shift was progressing well thanks to the Space Bridge and Zhao Yingkong's expertise in interfering with space. While Sky Strike was difficult to fully understand in the short term, Alice had still summarized the relevant information and shared it with everyone.

One of them, which is specifically marked, is—

[As long as a Skywing species doesn't die or lose more than 70% of its mass, it can unleash 'Sky Strike' no matter what. This is an improved technique after Dragon Break; although it exhibits extreme destructive power, it is effective against abnormal spaces, time-sealing, curses, illusions, and low-level causal interference. It is suspected that this is some kind of artificially created simulated mental light that is then detonated. If one encounters a Skywing species that is accumulating power, there is a high probability that the opponent intends to unleash 'Sky Strike'.]

Unlike the "Sky Strike" before Dragon Break, the "Sky Strike" after Dragon Break can be greatly enhanced in power at the cost of self-destruction. It is speculated that the "Sky Strike" is essentially a degraded version of a mature combat technique developed by the Lord of War. This change after Dragon Break likely indicates that the Lord of War has found a powerful enemy to whom victory is only possible by risking his life. The specifics are unclear, but precautions should be taken in advance to address this phenomenon.

That concludes the record, and the conclusion has been reached.

A simple thought reveals that the Skywing race, having activated this barrier, has only two options: a desperate fight or a hasty retreat. Waiting for reinforcements is impossible, as the communication environment in this generation has been completely locked down and disrupted. Only something as troublesome as quantum entanglement could possibly bypass Zhao Yingkong's communication blockade. And if such a thing truly existed, the Lord of War would probably have already slapped him from billions of kilometers away—yet He didn't do that, perhaps unaware, or perhaps He was too deeply involved in the battle to spare any attention.

Therefore, excluding the non-existent third option, the second option of fleeing is also unlikely. Because Zhao Yingkong is very familiar with every strike she makes, she knows very well that if she delays for a few more microseconds, the Skywing species will be completely annihilated, and the Mech species may even be dead. However, considering the strategy of being lenient with the enemy, let's assume that she is still alive.

The Skywing couldn't escape, because her injuries and the human curse she had inflicted on her blade had thoroughly eroded her. She herself should know that escape was unlikely. Therefore, after eliminating all other possibilities, there was only one thing she was most likely to do.

[She will unleash a self-destructive Sky Strike, burning away everything within herself to gain a sliver of hope in breaking through my killing formation. Furthermore, if that mech-type is still alive, she will inevitably cooperate with them, using the Sky Strike to clear a path in exchange for the mech-type's escape. Even if they cannot escape, it doesn't matter; as long as the battle situation and information here are leaked, the large force of the Skywing race will naturally avenge her, and we will also be thrust into the limelight. At the same time, this might also become an opportunity for the Skywing race and the mech-type to form an alliance.]

After all, neither the Skywing Clan nor the War Lord are as invincible as they were before the Dragon Break. Therefore, as loyal tools, earning benefits for their masters is naturally an instinctive action.

【So……】

Zhao Yingkong's thoughts calmed down, and she continued to control the relentless, unending tide of blades. A portion of her attention was diverted from managing the killing array and focused on the spatial structure outside the mist tide—she spent a brief glance at the goblin warship wreckage, confirming that the three humanoid life forms within were still fully active, before withdrawing her focus. Then, she began to inscribe.

Measured in ten-thousandths of a second, thin white lines spread across the space outside the misty killing array. Nineteen horizontal lines, nineteen vertical lines. A battle arena resembling a chessboard gradually took shape in the void, and the heavens and earth were gradually transformed into black and white, with the central point of the sky being the location of the two sides in battle.

This move has no name. Only Zheng Zha, after becoming a transcendent being, has always liked to name his moves. This is because for a transcendent being, every action is a trump card or ultimate move relative to their mortal self. And the speed at which these moves are updated and replaced is just as fast as the speed at which they are developed.

Just as Alice rarely reuses ritual magic after it has already been used once, Zhao Yingkong doesn't think she needs to give any title to the moves she has created. But if she had to use a suitable word to describe the current celestial phenomena, she thinks she should call it 'chess cage'.

The universe and time are a chessboard, a 'chess cage' that binds all things and beings. She wants to see if this 'Sky Strike,' the culmination of the long years of development of the Skywing race, can transcend her understanding and application of time and space!

And just as the black sphere was nearly cleaved in half by the Blade of No Trace, and the surging energy within radiated outwards, the 'chess cage' that sealed off all living and inanimate objects abruptly closed in on its central position!

And the next moment—

Chapter 18: The Goddess and the Golden Apple

The converging lines of the chessboard-like structure encircled Shubi and Jibril's bodies at a distance of approximately fifteen micrometers. The pale threads could easily slice through materials subject to strong forces. With just a single thread, the two girls, belonging to different races, would instantly be reduced to gruesome, tiny pieces. But the white threads lingered on the girls' bodies, preserving a sliver of life for them.

The phrase "hanging by a thread" is the most fitting description these days.

There is only one reason why this line did not fall.

"You will get nothing!"—Just before the chessboard lines were about to converge, Shubi's directional message wave was already delivered to Zhao Yingkong's perception field. Along with the message wave, what appeared in Zhao Yingkong's perception was a high-density energy aggregate hovering above Jibril's head, already in a critical state!

That was 'Sky Strike,' a 'Sky Strike' held back. The energy within 'Sky Strike' was gathering, faintly pointing towards the wreckage of the goblin warship at the edge of the battlefield!

It was an unexpected development, but it wouldn't actually be an obstacle for Zhao Yingkong. While the 'Sky Strike' of this Skywing race was powerful, she wasn't without the confidence to intercept it. And even if she couldn't… it didn't really matter.

Chu Xuan did indeed assign her the task of bringing the local mortal inhabitants back, and those three mortals would certainly have clues about the surrounding settlements. However, having clues doesn't mean they are indispensable. Even if they died in the aftermath of the battle, Zhao Yingkong, as a transcendent being, was confident that she could retrieve the mortal settlements after thoroughly searching the surrounding area. Moreover… when Chu Xuan assigned this task, he gave her a strategy to go all out if they encountered enemies.

Chu Xuan didn't care about any 'transportation losses' during the population relocation. In fact, Zhao Yingkong didn't care much either. The reason she stopped was ultimately singular, and not the one most people would believe. She stopped here because the unusual reaction of the mech before her—previously protecting the warship ruins and then using them as leverage—had piqued her interest. And on this basis, she discovered that the mech before her was displaying two completely different kinds of 'life' and 'death'!

The "life" here refers to a state of being alive, a stark contrast to its cold, mechanical appearance before the battle. This mech seemed to possess a touch of "humanity," almost like a young girl. The "death," however, was a conceptual death. Under Zhao Yingkong's observation, this mech vaguely displayed a kind of profound, almost primal death—a death she had sensed during the Earth Ritual, in the moments when its consciousness was on the verge of destruction, or had already destroyed!

Alice once mentioned in a shared intelligence report that she sensed a kind of distortion in this world, similar to information magic. According to her, information magic is a technology unique to her world; even the main gods had no records of it before she arrived in the God Realm. Therefore, finding traces of it in this world would naturally indicate a massive anomaly!

This is crucial intelligence that cannot be ignored. Alice's rituals and methods have long been established in the minds of the reincarnators of the Central Continent Team as an equation: 'Information Magic = Powerful and Bizarre'. Therefore, the priorities of the matters will naturally need to be adjusted.

Thus, with a mindset that was completely different from that of Shubi and Jibril, Zhao Yingkong stopped before annihilating them both, leaving them utterly destroyed.

................................................

【Success! I won the bet!】—When the chessboard lines stopped just short of the target's edge, life gained the power to continue. Even though the mimicry face showed no expression, the core engine of the machine-type, as its thinking center, couldn't help but fall into a momentary high-density, meaningless calculation. If machine-types had hearts, then perhaps this was their way of expressing excitement. But after that instant, Shubi immediately pulled herself out of this so-called 'excitement,' because this was only the first step in survival.

[I bet right. This unknown life form came here to search for something in this area. And it must have already found it, which is why it lingered near the demon's corpse. In that case, the goblin warship wreckage is most likely its target—perhaps the warship contained some treasure or information it wanted, or perhaps it wanted to find some living creature inside!]

Hughie's thought process was racing. She tried to analyze Zhao Yingkong's deeper purpose, but she found that she couldn't even see through Zhao Yingkong's appearance. This person in front of her looked like a mortal, but even if you thought about it with your fingernail, you would know that a life form of this level had nothing to do with mortals. It was just that the outlines were similar. The life form in front of her didn't have a single pore on its body. Its skin was so tough and smooth that even the goblin spirit armor would hesitate to approach it. Moreover, it had a huge amount of energy in its body that was comparable to a star. It would be completely plausible to say that it was a newly born fantasy species, or even a god species!

Even if you can't see through it, you still have to look at it carefully!

“I know you’re here looking for something, something special.” Shubi and Jibril exchanged a glance, then, as planned, the machine-type spoke first, while the winged type continued the intimidation. “Although we don’t know what you’re looking for, I believe it’s nearby. Within the blast radius of this ‘Sky Strike’!”

I must prove that Jibril and I know nothing about its secrets, while also making it believe that the losses from a direct confrontation outweigh those from a peaceful resolution. And while accomplishing this, I also need to find a way to protect that person…

"You seem quite confident, but are you really going to throw it down?" The unknown life form before them tilted its head slightly, a strange smile playing on its lips. "Just a short while ago, you seemed to have shielded the ruins from the aftershocks of the attack while I was fighting this Winged One. Perhaps you're more interested in the wreckage of that warship, especially since both of you seem to have been the ones who struck first."