Chapter 27: The Battle of Spatial City (Part Two)

Chapter 27: The Battle of Spatial City (Part Two)

Yadie's body structure was already different from ordinary ice butterflies or even high-level ones... let alone humans.

Shooting through its body and chest wouldn't be enough to kill it with one strike.

When Rong Mi fired his weapon, he had a slight hope that it might work, and also wanted to gauge the ice butterfly's temperament and strength.

He was quite far from the butterfly, so it would certainly notice the energy flash before the energy flow reached it.

He intentionally controlled his mental power to erupt at the last moment, aiming to make the ice butterfly lower its guard, abandon evasive maneuvers, and simply try to block the attack with its hand.

Although he failed to kill the butterfly with one shot, he got a rough idea of Yadie's temper and attack speed.

Rong Mi didn't show any frustration. With his left hand, which wasn't holding the gun, he pressed the communicator.

"How about it, Admiral? I told you there wouldn't be a problem!" Rong Mi said. "Just let me sortie in my mech—"

The spirit energy grooves all around the starship glowed, and the defense field activated simultaneously, adhering to the surface of the spacecraft.

That shot just now, and the starship's decision not to engage in defense while allowing Rong Mi to face the attack alone – all of it was the young man's request.

"Was that shot accurate! – Does my mental strength suffice –"

"Retract your mental energy and focus on coordinating the battle. I'll hold it off and prevent it from causing destruction within the Spatial City… Trust me! I'm wielding your standard A-class mecha, not some junk C-class for tournaments. I might not be able to kill it – but buying some time shouldn't be an issue – this Ice Butterfly is likely freshly promoted and still young."

In the preparation pods aboard the starship, where all the mech pilots gathered awaiting orders, they were speechless.

For the first time in their lives, they heard someone describe an Ice Butterfly as young.

The advancement period for an Ice Butterfly was arduous. It took at least a century for a common Grade 1 Ice Butterfly to ascend to the sub-species level.

It certainly wasn't young by any means!

And this adjective was by no means the most perplexing part of Rong Mi's statement.

High above the Spatial City, a dangerously powerful humanoid Ice Butterfly had appeared.

The First Team was not numerically strong, making a flood of mechas tactics ill-suited.

The Yan Die species wasn't something that could be defeated with mere swarms of soldiers.

They didn't immediately disembark because they needed to follow Lu Yi's commands, coordinating with the starship's attacks, rather than recklessly charging forward one by one, sacrificing their formation. Otherwise, they'd fall one after another.

But what did Rong Mi just say?

That he wanted to go alone and hold back the Yan Die?

The crucial point was... It seemed the other party wasn't just spouting nonsense!

When the alarm had sounded within the starship, Rong Mi had been the first to grab a heavy machine gun from the weapon wall in the preparation chamber, aiming at the distant Yan Die and requesting permission from Lu Yi to open the hatch for a sniping attempt.

At such a great distance.

And with the Yan Die's astonishing defenses.

All the mecha pilots found it laughable.

When Lu Yi ordered the hatch to be opened, they couldn't understand why the admiral had made such a decision.

But immediately, Rong Mi proved to the mecha pilots that he never spoke empty words.

He stood by every word he said.

The flagship of the First Team continued ascending, with its warning lights flashing rapidly around the starship, sending an alert to the space city below.

Amidst the chaos within the space city, residents scrambled to take shelter in the underground defense layers.

Within the standard one-minute evacuation time, the starship couldn't fire recklessly.

Lu Yi emerged from the command center above the cockpit and entered the main cannon weapon bay, which was connected to it. After signaling the original operator to move to the secondary cannon weapon bay, he removed the helmet linked to the main cannon's controls.

The admiral's gaze fell upon the tiny, needle-like figure of the High-Grade Ice Butterfly in the distance.

A faint glow emanated from his surroundings, and his ice-blue eyes, under the intense use of his abilities, had transformed into a mysterious silver.

After the collision just now, the mental energy snow in the space city had nearly vanished entirely.

However, after Rong Mi collided with the Ice Butterfly, the silver mental energy spread anew, crystallizing and enveloping the High-Grade Ice Butterfly.

The wings of the Yada butterfly shimmered with a subtle red radiance.

The ice crystal surface gradually melted under the glow, only to reform continuously.

Rong Mi: "One minute to evacuate. Lu Yi—"

"Go." Lu Yi uttered a single word.

Rong Mi: "Got it!"

The young man discarded his machine gun and pulled out the metallic chain of the mecha's space button from his collar.

High above, Rong Mi leaped out of the starship.

A black military-grade mecha suddenly materialized in mid-air, its cockpit opening to envelop the youth inside.

The mecha's engines roared fiercely as Rong Mi swiftly donned the pilot helmet. Enormous thrusters halted the descending mecha abruptly in the sky.

In the next second, the black mecha accelerated abruptly. The arm platform ignited, the spirit energy slot burning, and the particle rifle in hand glowed with light.

The ice crystals surrounding Yadian dissipated in the wind, clearing the path for Rong Mi's assault. The silver spirit energy transformed back into a floating ribbon of light within the city, separating the panicked residents who were still evacuating from the battle overhead.

Behind Rong Mi, the starship's hatch was closing. Just as it was about to seal completely, a silvery apparition darted through the narrowing gap, leaping out alongside Rong Mi's armor.

The Silver Wolf's fur flowed backward in the wind.

Its movements were precise and nimble, landing precisely on the armor's shoulder at high speed.

Its claws hooked into the crevices of the armor's shoulder, stabilizing itself.

Its icy-blue eyes gazed at the enemy hanging suspended in the air.

Rong Mi: "…Ayin?!"

Lu Yi: "Ayin is a combat pet."

He hadn't ordered the wolf to join the fight; it had followed Rong Mi on its own accord.

Lu Yi: "Let it be."

"Ayin's mental energy can be utilized... but not too much, we don't want another overload! And it hasn't even regained its full size yet!" Rong Mi cried out. "You can't just let the wolves roam freely like that! Why don't you leave them in my care from now on?"

As he spoke, the mecha didn't pause in its attempt to return the wolf to the starship; instead, it sped towards Yadian with incredible velocity.

For the moment he had left the starship, the battle had already begun.

"Ayin, lie down!" Rong Mi shouted. "It's windy out here—"

The mecha was moving at an absolute high speed. The Silver Wolf crouched down and squeezed itself into a recess on the mecha's shoulder, seeking shelter from the fierce gusts of wind.

In his retinal display, the faint image of Yadian could still be seen, dodging the blast from Rong Mi's particle gun.

In his mental domain, Yadian's figure was blurred and no longer in its original position.

It was coming fast.

Rong Mi could barely hear the fluttering of butterfly wings in the air.

The right forearm guard of the mecha snapped open, and the particle gun was instantly retracted beneath it.

In the same moment, Rong Mi drew a long blade from his left back, slicing it downward from behind.

The blade, with its high rigidity, was engulfed in a purple flame of spiritual energy—

"Clang!—"

A deafening clash of metal reverberated.

Finally, the human observers caught sight of Yadi's actions.

It appeared before Rong Mi, one arm raised horizontally to block his attack, while the other reached forward, grasping the blade.

Yadi's clothing had been torn in their previous engagement. The simulated human skin on its arms was pale, yet covered by a metallic sheen that reflected the glow of the long blade.

Not a single scratch marred its arm from the blade.

Instead, the flames on the sword spread outward, fiercely burning its limb.

"It hurts," Yadi spoke up. "Your spiritual energy is incredibly potent. No ordinary human could possess such formidable offensive power."

It stared intently at Rong Mi, its tone ominous. "…Who are you?"

Of course, Rong Mi was not foolish enough to engage in conversation with Yade.

Observing the scene before him, he muttered to himself, "Yade's energy level is lower than I anticipated. Is it because it hasn't been long since its promotion?"

Regardless, fighting in a mecha against Yade was by no means an effortless endeavor.

Rong Mi witnessed Yade's two arms melting, but then, from the skin on its sides, more arms emerged as if wriggling out of its abdomen.

Soon followed the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh...

The red pulsations on its wings, resembling tattoos, converged towards its waist and abdomen, giving birth to the ninth and tenth arms that Rong Mi had previously melted.

This was the number of limbs the Ice Butterfly possessed.

Its palms joined together, and red venom glands protruded from its fingertips, coiling around the mecha.

With a sweeping arc, the long blade in Rong Mi's hand whistled through the air, severing the venom glands and striking at Yade's arms.

Ice Butterfly extended its limbs in all directions to dodge the purple flames, leaning forward to shorten the distance between itself and Rong Mi's mecha, thus evading the long blade's attack range.

It stretched out ten hands towards the mecha's abdomen, where Rong Mi's cockpit was located.

Pale fingers touched the metal exterior of the mecha, piercing through the armor with a series of sharp sounds.

In that very moment, the Silver Wolves leaped into action.

The wolf was still in its juvenile form, quite small in size, but its leap was impressive for its stature. However, measured against the maximum distance that either the mecha or the Ice Butterfly could cover in a second, it wasn't particularly far.

But the proximity between the Ice Butterfly and the mecha at this moment was incredibly close.

Both were in swift motion, and opportunities were fleeting. The Silver Wolves seized this instant.

Its small frame emanated energy fluctuations identical to the fluctuating mental power that Lu Yi was projecting from below the battlefield. The Ice Butterfly paid no attention to the fluffy presence lurking within the crevice of the mecha's shoulder.

The Silver Wolves soared towards the Ice Butterfly, tracing an arc through the air, aiming for the top of its head.

Surrounded by swirling snow and ice, its gleaming claws left enlarged afterimages in the air as it fiercely clawed towards the Ice Butterfly's skull.

"Zzzzzz—!"

Amidst a grating sound that made one's teeth ache, the sharp claws pierced into the skull and continued downward with a slicing motion.

"Woosh—!" Adel let out a pained roar. Rong Mi seized the opportunity to create distance, spinning her long blade back around, swirling with violet flames.

The ice butterfly's eyeballs tumbled down, consumed by the licking flames.

Its wings folded inward, shielding its body from the fire, emitting a blinding crimson glow. It countered Rong Mi's attack, blocking her blade and twisting it into two segments at the center.

The mecha didn't retreat but instead advanced, its cannons on both arms simultaneously deploying and firing at maximum power before the butterfly's wings could close.

The young pilot maneuvered the mecha, swerving with high-frequency precision. As the venom glands extended from the butterfly's wings, he yelled, "Ayin, come back!"

Silver Wolves leaped upwards through the last narrow gap before the ice butterfly's wings fully enclosed, landing on the outstretched arm of the mecha.

Rong Mi swiftly cradled Silver Wolves within the mecha's embrace. In the instant the butterfly's wings closed, he abandoned his offensive and pushed the mecha's defensive energy to its peak. His mental strength surged into the mecha's defense system.

"Boom!...——"

Butterfly wings enveloped Yade, forming a dazzling red sphere.

Tens of thousands of red rays burst from the sphere, surging towards Rong Mi's mecha, eradicating its defense shield and Rong Mi's mental barrier in an instant.

In that brief moment, a deadly warning of hull damage echoed within the cockpit.

Rong Mi gritted his teeth, swiftly rebuilding his mental barrier.

It was a cycle of depletion from Yade's mental assault and subsequent reconstruction.

Capitalizing on this burst of energy, Rong Mi's mecha used the high-speed impact to distance itself from Yade.

Yet, during the intervals of his mental barrier's repeated restoration,

Rong Mi's mecha hull was being corroded and melted by Ice Butterfly's mental energy.

The cockpit alarms went into a frenzy, prompting Rong Mi to shut down all alarm systems. beads of sweat trickled down his forehead as he pressed his palm against the mecha's control panel, muttering, "Thankfully, it's a 3A-grade mecha..."

He hovered stationary in the void. Silver Wolves emerged from the protective zone formed by the crossed arms of the mecha.

Wolf: "Awooo...!"

A faint silver moon emerged in the sky.

Its glow descended upon the red orb, attempting to encase it in ice.

Yet, the icy shell formed only momentarily before it was shattered by the unfolding butterfly wings.

Amidst the fluctuating red light, the incomplete form of the Butterfly was revealed.

Half of its face was shattered and still smoldering under purple flames.

"Buzzzz!" The Ice Butterfly let out an enraged cry. The already brilliant red glow on its wings intensified, blindingly so, accompanied by a terrifying surge of energy as it dove straight towards Rong Mi!

The mecha did not retreat.

Rong Mi swiftly assessed the remaining energy of the mecha and opened the chest guard.

The fully charged main cannon extended outward.

"Ayin, you've done well." The young man gazed ahead, shutting off the defensive energy valves and funneling the remaining power of the mecha into its main cannon.

"Just what we need, for him to spread his wings in a fit of rage and strike with all his might..."

...so that the high-powered cannons of the flagship could unleash their full potential!

Rong Mi poured every last bit of his residual mental energy into the mecha.

Instantly, a purple haze began to hover over the black mecha's exterior.

The flowing haze condensed and descended towards the main cannon on the mecha's chest. As the energy flow was discharged from the cannon, it merged with the stream —

The crimson of the Ice Butterfly seemed like an ominous omen, a malevolent sun.

The bright purple was a lethal arrow, piercing the sun.

The moment they clashed above the spatial city, the entire metropolis, suspended in space, trembled violently.

The two attacks dissipated mid-air.

After the impact, the vivid red on Yada's wings dimmed slightly.

Behind Rong Mi, an incredibly dazzling silver light illuminated the scene.

When the minute ended, the Spatial City completed its evacuation.

The main cannon of the medium-sized flagship from the First Team charged and unleashed its full power.

Lu Yi personally operated the cannon, channeling all his mental energy, which had been protecting the city, into it.

Even the frigid mental energy could ignite like flames, burning into a flowing glow.

The moon's radiant glow multiplied endlessly, surpassing the brightness of daylight.

Beneath the Spatial City, buildings and the ground began to melt under the hundredfold amplified mental energy from the warship's main cannon. Steam rose, distorting the landscape with wavering mirages. The entire city was bathed in silver light.

Light emerged from behind Rong Mi.

Simultaneously, the vibrant hues on the mecha's exterior were extinguished completely.

"Beep- Mech energy remaining below one percent- Primary engine offline- Secondary engine one offline- Secondary engine two offline-"

The black mech plummeted towards the ground. Rong Mi's mental energy was depleted, rendering him unable to make any maneuvers; he could only let the mech fall uncontrollably.

Yet, there wasn't much panic on his face. Only a sense of relief that Lu Yi had seized the opportunity.

Truly deserving of the rank of Admiral!

The battle had unfolded too swiftly. Although Rong Mi had intended to exhaust Yadi's energy, he hadn't had the chance to inform Lu Yi beforehand and coordinate their strategies during the high-speed combat.

But Lu Yi understood.

Rong Mi wasn't overly concerned about his mech crashing either.

For he heard the roar of the approaching starship.

And the voice of the Admiral through the comm.

"The emergency docking track above the starship has risen, and the trajectory lock is secure," Lu Yi spoke calmly, though his voice was raspy, indicating the immense strain of operating the starship's main cannon, "Rong Mi, engage reverse thrusters."

Every military mecha depleted the last vestige of their energy for this critical docking maneuver.

The armor plates on their shoulders retracted, revealing grooves that aligned with the docking clamps extending from the starship above.

The now-idle thrusters in the mechas' feet whirred back to life, generating reverse thrust to decelerate them further.

Retractable arrestor cables shot out from the side of the docking track, bringing the mechas to a complete halt.

Simultaneously, the squadrons of mecha pilots fanned out to the sides.

Rong Mi's breaths came in quick gasps as he heard Lu Yi's voice through the communication channel.

"Nicely done."

"Leave the fighting to us."

The admiral paused for a moment before continuing, "After you exit the mecha, head straight to the infirmary for your routine mental domain checkup."

Rong Mi acknowledged, "Don't worry about me. Take care of your own mental domain."

He knew that as the commander and leader of this squad, Lu Yi couldn't afford to stop fighting.

The young man exhaled deeply, pushing aside the concerns that had arisen in his mind. He relaxed his body and mind to recover his mental strength as swiftly as possible.

The connector rails above the docking area retracted downward, and the entrance sealed shut. Yet, Rong Mi suddenly felt something amiss.

"…Where's Ayin?" The youth leaped out of the cockpit, scanning his surroundings.

The fluffy companion, who had been assisting him in battle from the rack, was nowhere to be seen.

A foreboding sensation stirred within Rong Mi, and she quickly lifted her gaze. There, at the edge of the closing passageway, a small cluster of Silver Wolves were gazing downward, their fur fluttering in the wind.

As the mecha glided along the boarding ramp into the starship, the wolf detached itself from the mecha's frame, landing on the ship's hull instead of accompanying Rong Mi inside.

For an instant, the wolf's ice-blue eyes met Rong Mi's gaze.

It confirmed that Rong Mi had successfully boarded the starship without any injuries. It then redirected its gaze, lifting its head to fix its eyes on the distant enemy, as a glow emerged from its side.

Rong Mi: "..."

This scene would have been incredibly cool if it were a pack of large Silver Wolves instead.

In truth, even the cub was quite impressive in its own right.

But Rong Mi only wanted to give the fluffy creature a sound thrashing at this moment.

...The wolf had just sliced through Ice Butterfly's body with its claws, leaving them drenched in a crimson hue — not only from Ice Butterfly's blood but also its own.

Its claws were being corroded by the butterfly's blood, causing severe damage.

To make matters worse, the mental energy it had expended to freeze Icy Butterfly surpassed the limit it could safely use during its recovery period.

...Yet, the wolf seemed entirely unconcerned, its mind solely focused on the fight at hand.

Rong Mi: "...."

It was impossible for Rong Mi to climb up the retractable track, pry open the entrance, and then retrieve the wolf.

Nor could they prevent the wolf from using its mental power without first capturing it.

With the battle raging outside, leaving the Wolf helpless at this critical moment would put him in harm's way.

Thus, he could only curse inwardly while dashing swiftly towards the starship's infirmary.

Rong Mi: A few bottles of mental energy supplements! He can still go another eight rounds with that trash Adet!