Chapter 40: ‘Friendly’ Visit (Part III)

Chapter 40: 'Friendly' Visit (Part III)

As the door to the fourth-floor terrace opened, an energy attack landed directly in front of Cang Cheng and Mù Xīng.

Cang Cheng reacted swiftly and immediately activated a Wind Wall rune.

Disordered winds rapidly condensed in front of the two, and the energy rays were blocked by the Wind Wall, dispersing into particles in the air.

Attack ineffective!

"Ha, big brother, the attack was actually blocked."

"Ha, the people coming this time are quite interesting! I haven't killed anyone in a long time on Planet Sha. My hands are itching."

The Wind Blade runes dissipated, the wind stopped, and the airborne sand also settled.

Two people wearing light yellow military uniforms stood with a slouch, their expressions fierce and malicious.

When they saw that the intruders were the apparently fragile Cang Cheng and Mù Xīng, their expressions turned contemptuous.

"Haha, the elite team was taken down by these two? I'm dying of laughter. Haha!"

The younger brother, Zuo Mo, clutched his stomach as he laughed.

"Brother, it seems we've secured our achievement for today."

The older brother, You Mo, pulled the electric saw from behind his back and activated the switch.

The modified electric saw flickered with lightning and was still stained with dark brown blood.

You Mo preferred close-combat weapons like the electric saw over long-range thermal weapons, as it allowed him to experience the thrill of battle.

You Mo charged forward with the electric saw and swung it towards Cang Cheng, ready to witness his desperate cries.

"Cry and beg for mercy at my feet!"

"Your ambitions are certainly lofty."

Cang Cheng held three Cang Stone Spirit Runes and activated all of them at the first opportunity.

With a few swishing sounds, wind blades nearly half a person's height, a total of 21, instantly filled the entire space.

The Chain of Wind Blades, enhanced by the Cang Stone Spirit Runes, had more blades and larger surfaces.

In an instant, the wind raged fiercely.

Wind was the fastest element to condense, making it ideal for surprise attacks and interference.

You Mo had not expected Cang Cheng's attack speed to be so fast.

With his extremely high body flexibility, he bent backwards to dodge a few wind blades.

He then performed a backflip and avoided another wind blade.

However, there were just too many wind blades, and they were too fast. Despite his best efforts, You Mo could only avoid a quarter of them.

He had no choice but to transverse the chainsaw across his body for defense.

With a 'crack,' the Blade of Wind struck the chainsaw directly, instantly shattering it to pieces.

Another 'crack,' and the Blade of Wind struck You Mo once more, sending him flying over ten meters away.

A diagonal wound across his left shoulder burst open in a spray of blood.

Just as the next Blade of Wind was about to chop off You Mo's head, a giant metal arm suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking the way.

With several loud 'clangs,' the remaining Blades of Wind all hit the metal arm.

The Blades of Wind only scraped off some paint, causing little damage.

In front of him, a 20-meter-tall steel giant suddenly materialized behind You Mo. In an absolute defense stance, it protected You Mo from the Blades of Wind.

This was an old-style mech.

Ever since the Canglan Awakening War, mechs had gradually been phased out because their materials were vulnerable to countermeasures.

However, the combat prowess of mechs was undeniable.

On Planet Sha, or even on many Class B planets, mechs remained an insurmountable top-tier force.

"Ahem, ahem," You Mo coughed twice while covering his wound: "Have you obtained ANKEN's Spirit Runes?"

He recognized that Cang Cheng was using the previously popular Chain of Wind Blades rune from the forums. He never imagined that Cang Cheng had so many Spirit Runes in his possession.

What kind of incredible luck had the other guy had?

You Mo desperately wanted those Spirit Runes too.

With the Chain of Wind Blades rune, he could cut people to pieces, right?

You Mo decided that he would kill this seemingly frail young man in front of him and take all his Spirit Runes.

"You've successfully angered me."

You Mo quickly jumped onto the mech, entering the cockpit: "Prepare to be obliterated!"

The mech activated, its armor coating engaged, and the energy chains activated.

The dormant steel giant began to awaken, its gray armor turning into a vibrant red when connected to the energy.

It was as if a giant reborn from flames, guarding its land.

Cang Cheng's dark eyes carefully observed the colossal figure before him, an expression of awe on his face.

The technological prowess of the Canglan Star Region was truly impressive.

Yet, even facing such a giant, Cang Cheng felt no sense of danger.

He still had the leisure to mentally contact Hilmeth: [Hey, can you punch this thing to pieces?]

Hilmeth looked down and glanced at his fist, which appeared no different from a normal human's, and fell silent.

Hilmeth: [Never tried to dismantle a mech bare-handed, but maybe I can give it a shot.]

Hilmeth: [I've defeated a Hydra before, reducing it to flat snake shapes.]

Cang Cheng simply assumed that Hilmeth could handle it.

Cang Cheng: "[I'll play with it for a bit first, Hilmeth, you go help Mu Xing after this.]"

Looking at Cang Cheng's eager expression, Hilmeth could only nod.

He actually had some desire to fight too, to fight alongside Cang Cheng.

However... Cang Cheng seemed not to need him much.

Hilmeth's tail drooped.

Silently, he agreed and then diverted some of his attention to Mu Xing's side.

*

At the same time that You Mo attacked Cang Cheng, Mu Xing was being attacked by Zuo Mo.

Zuo Mo's weapon was also strange; it was not a thermal weapon, but a retractable eagle claw hook.

The hook flashed with electric light and was dipped in a potent poison.

With a flick of his wrist, Zuo Mo sent the eagle claw hook flying towards Mu Xing.

Mu Xing quickly crushed a Wind Wall rune, successfully blocking the attack.

Upon seeing Mu Xing using Spirit Runes barehanded, Zuo Mo tilted his head: "You're a Spirit Rune Master?"

Mu Xing's mental strength was indeed higher than his physical strength, possessing the talent of a Spirit Rune Master.

However, back then he preferred making medicine, and ultimately chose to become an alchemist.

But ever since Cang Cheng externally connected a spirit core for him, Mu Xing had begun training his abilities as a Spirit Rune Master.

It wouldn't be wrong to call him a half-Spirit Rune Master.

Mu Xing pushed his glasses up and said: "Yes!"

"And you're even using ANKEN's runes, quite the grand display."

Zuo Mo's interest was piqued: "I want ANKEN's runes too! I can get them by killing you!"

With that, Zuo Mo threw the eagle claw hook again.

The attack was once again blocked by Mu Xing's Wind Wall rune.

"As far as I know, the Wind Wall rune is impressive, but it can only block one attack."

Zuo Mo licked his lips. After pressing a button, the single eagle claw hook split into several, heading straight for Mu Xing.

Mu Xing's overall strength was only at the C-level, his physical condition only slightly better than Cang Cheng's.

He used the Wind Wall rune once more and then began to run and dodge.

The eagle claw hooks chased after Mu Xing, toying with him like prey, sometimes getting close to increase the tension, and sometimes seemingly slowing down to give Mu Xing a moment to breathe.

It was as if they were malicious hunters cruelly playing with their prey.

Mu Xing's glasses flickered. The AI lenses specially made by Ming Bai were displaying the data of the eagle claw hooks.

"Voltage: 80V."

Toxicity Analysis: Paralysis; Doubled Pain; Weakness

It's just 80V... I can bear it.

He can still attack!

Mù Xīng made up his mind.

He pretended to collapse from exhaustion, and the eagle claw hook struck his shoulder the next moment.

A ‘zzzt’ sound echoed as a high-voltage current swept through Mù Xīng’s body, and the toxin that doubled the pain made the agony nearly unbearable.

Mù Xīng collapsed to the ground, breathing shallowly.

Zuo Mo then ordered the remaining four eagle claw hooks to attach to Mù Xīng’s limbs one by one.

After four surges of electricity, Mù Xīng hardly made a sound.

Zuo Mo believed he had the situation under control.

He twisted his wrist and yanked Mù Xīng back towards him.

"Spirit Rune Master, even if you have ANKEN’s Spirit Runes, your strength is too weak!"

Zuo Mo sneered contemptuously, "It’s a shame to kill you like this, but how about I…"

Mù Xīng chuckled softly and hurled three purple vials with his left hand.

The vials shattered upon hitting Zuo Mo, and the purple liquid immediately began corroding half of his body.

A cluster of purple mushrooms rapidly grew, and within half a second, Zuo Mo was partially transformed into a mushroom-like creature, with the fungi continuing to devour the other half of his body.

Caught completely off guard by the sudden turn of events, Zuo Mo gritted his teeth, "You did this…!"

The words 'had done this' didn’t leave his mouth, as mushrooms clogged his throat.

Zuo Mo’s consciousness began to blur, but he refused to give in.

How could he be defeated here?

By a simple Spirit Rune Master…

He would drag this detestable foe down with him!

With his final determination, Zuo Mo activated the detonation sequence of the eagle claw hooks with his last bit of awareness.

If the four hooks on Mù Xīng exploded, the other party wouldn’t survive unscathed.

The eagle claw hooks started heating up.

Mù Xīng gritted his teeth against the pain and pulled out one eagle claw hook, but there were still four embedded in his body.

It seemed too late…

He had to run far away so he wouldn’t put Cang Cheng in danger.

With that thought, Mù Xīng tried to stand up, but his body was too weak.

The explosion was imminent, and Mù Xīng prepared to crawl away if necessary.

At this moment, a pair of skeletal hands firmly gripped the neck of the mushroom-man Zuo Mo.

With a forceful 'snap,' Zuo Mo instantly stopped breathing.

The man then punched the AI device attached to Zuo Mo's chest, shattering it completely.

In doing so, he destroyed the self-destruction program along with the AI.

Hilmeth threw Zuo Mo's corpse aside.

"Adjust the potion so that destroying the enemy's consciousness is the first priority," he said with a cold tone that carried an undeniable sense of authority.

Mù Xīng reflexively nodded. "Right."

He took out a vial of antidote and drank it, deep in thought.

Hmm... He's right. The mushroom potions should prioritize destroying consciousness.

Upon returning, he would develop mushroom potions that could control and destroy consciousness.

But then again, who exactly is this man?

And why had he helped me?

Mù Xīng pushed up his glasses.

His gaze fell on the individual who had dispatched Zuo Mo with just a few hand movements.

The man was tall, wearing the uniform of the elite task force from the Canglan Starregion.

However, he had horns and a tail, clearly identifying him as an exotic.

Does the Canglan Starregion have high-ranking exotic officers?

And how had he appeared?

He didn’t appear hostile. Could he know... Sir Cang Cheng?

As Mù Xīng was filled with questions and continued to dismantle the Eagle Claw Hooks, a rumbling sound in the distance caught both their attention.

Mù Xīng turned his gaze in that direction, his mouth involuntarily opening in surprise.

Even the usually calm Hilmeth was surprised, his amber eyes sharply contracting.

Mù Xīng murmured, "What in the world is that?"

Two colossal figures were engaged in a standoff in the distance!

You Mo entered the cockpit, despite his wound.

*

After administering a special injection, the bleeding stopped, and the pain subsided.

However, the weakness from blood loss still contorted his face in pain.

Ever since he left his life as a space pirate and became an official member of Planet Sha, he hadn't sustained such a severe injury.

"Damn Spirit Rune Masters!"

Cursing under his breath, You Mo maneuvered the mech.

The mech raised the beam rifle beside it and, without hesitation, aimed it at Cang Cheng and fired.

The emerald green beam sliced through the air, heading straight for Cang Cheng.

Cang Cheng, while taking out a Sealing Rune, activated the Wind Wing rune at the same time.

Two Spirit Runes boards disintegrated into fragments and vanished into the surroundings. Along with a gentle breeze, a barrier of sealed space with a diameter of 8 meters was formed.

The highly destructive energy beam, upon entering the range of the Sealing Rune, had its green energy dispersed and neutralized.

However, unlike the performance of the Sealing Rune in the arena, the energy of the mech’s weapon was immense, far exceeding the energy of a B-grade heavy cannon.

Thus, the rifle beam, originally about 70cm thick, slowed down, upon entering the Sealing Rune’s range, and was rapidly reduced to 10cm in thickness.

However, this was the limit of the Sealing Rune’s capability.

The thinner beam struck the ground, causing a massive explosion.

The wind from the explosion caused the floating Cang Cheng to wobble slightly.

A bit of dust settled on his pure white clothes, but he remained unscathed.

"Damn it, what kind of runes are those?"

You Mo, seeing that his attack missed, became agitated.

He had never seen anyone dodging a mech’s attack without auxiliary equipment.

To be able to match a mech’s attack with just a few Spirit Runes was... unbelievable!

Who exactly is this person?

How was it that he had never heard of someone like this existing near Planet Sha?

You Mo had many questions, but now was not the time to seek answers.

All he wanted was for the other person to die.

Facing the floating Cang Cheng, he fired the beam rifle again.

With a 'shoo shoo' sound, green beams continuously attacked Cang Cheng.

With the help of the Wind Wing rune, Cang Cheng darted left and right.

Agile as a bird, he nimbly navigated through the barrage of fire.

However, Cang Cheng was keenly aware of his stamina.

He could only keep up this chase for about 5 minutes.

"This mech is really big... Its attack range is larger than regular weapons too."

Cang Cheng made a sudden stop, narrowly avoiding a stray beam.

If his reaction had been half a beat slower, he would have been roasted by the beam.

"But since you have a large mech, I have something too."

Cang Cheng pulled out a Spirit Runes board, hastily drawn the previous night. The pattern depicted a humanoid figure pieced together from various sizes of rocks.

This is the most impressive magic Cang Cheng can currently pull off, even more intimidating than the Water Runes capable of causing a tsunami.

The fluorescent blue magic power flowed into the Spirit Rune pattern, instantly activating the rune.

With several rumbling sounds, the ground on the first floor suddenly flew up to the fourth floor.

The scattered dirt reformed into stones. The stones varied in size, stacking on the ground one by one, producing a rumbling noise.

The stones piled higher and higher, and the action stopped only when they reached a height of 20 meters.

Cang Cheng waved his wings behind him and lightly sat on the highest point of the stones, his index finger condensing magic power as he tapped the stone figure’s head.

In the next moment, on the blank part of the highest stone, a pair of deep blue eyes and facial features appeared, as if it had come to life.

The thick rock-composed arms clashed against each other.

This stirred up some dust and caused the surrounding air to vibrate.

Original Earth-Element intermediate magic — “Stone Golem”

Spirit Rune Grade: B-grade

Description: Use spiritual power to create a stone golem, whose size is controlled by spiritual power. The stone golem lacks independent thought.

As long as the mage controls it well, the stone golem can cause damage comparable to advanced summoned beasts.

However, because it lacks consciousness and is just an inanimate object, it is classified as intermediate magic.

This conveniently allowed Cang Cheng, who is currently only at the intermediate mage level, to bring out this intimidating giant.

"Let's see which is stronger, your steel mech or my humble stone golem!"

Cang Cheng sat on the golem's head, smiling brilliantly.

Inside the mech's cockpit, You Mo roared: "What is this!?"

He suddenly became nervous the moment he saw the stone golem appear.

He watched the dirt on the first floor turn into sand and gather on the fourth floor.

He watched as the sand formed into stones, stacking one by one.

He watched as the lifeless dirt figure suddenly moved.

A massive creature beyond You Mo's comprehension appeared before his eyes.

It was as if a creator was creating life.

"A stone... golem? Hehe? Haha? A Spirit Rune Master created something like this?"

"With something made from inexpensive dirt, you think you can show off in front of me?"

"Why don't you construct a starship with your bare hands!"

"Die!"

You Mo was clearly agitated, entering a very irrational state.

He was afraid, frightened, shivering.

Even though he was sitting safely inside the mech's cockpit, he was shaking constantly.

Facing the unknown, facing a Spirit Rune Master of unfathomable depth, facing a phenomenon he had never seen before.

He trembled instinctively, filled with fear, wanting to retreat.

Yet the more fear he felt, the more he had to act aggressively to hide himself.

You Mo frantically pressed the attack button, and one beam after another shot out.

The green beam hit the stone man's arm, and the rock-formed arm shattered into pieces on the ground, turning into a pile of waste dirt.

You Mo thought the attack was effective, but in the next moment, what happened before his eyes filled him with despair.

The pile of fallen earth reformed, turning back into an intact arm, reconnecting to the stone man's body.

“How is it possible that it’s having no effect, how?!”

You Mo raged, attacking continuously.

Another beam came close, heading straight for Cang Cheng.

The stone man blocked the attack with its hand, and though the arm shattered into dirt again, it reformed the next second, good as new.

In this manner, attack after attack shattered the stone man, and the stone man reformed again and again.

Dozens of exchanges later, You Mo's mech ran out of energy and couldn't fire a single shot more.

“How is it possible that it’s having no effect!! What on earth is this thing?”

You Mo roared, frantically pressing the trigger of the mech's rifle by his side, but all he heard was a ‘click,’ with no attack coming out.

“Not again, not again!”

You Mo was shaking all over.

“Don’t come near… go away!”

Cang Cheng couldn't hear You Mo's shouts.

He controlled the giant stone man to step by step approach You Mo, mercilessly delivering one punch after another.

The fist first left a small dent on the mech, and as more pressure was exerted, the dent grew deeper.

After a few blows, cracks appeared on the mech's metal plates.

Finding this pace too slow, Cang Cheng changed his attack method, from smashing the metal to dismantling the limbs.

The stone hands grabbed the mech's arm, and with one forceful motion, the arm was twisted and yanked off.

The joints were clearly more vulnerable and easier to dismantle compared to its hard surface.

With a ripping sound, one mech arm was torn off by the stone man.

Having mastered the technique, the stone man's movements quickened.

It targeted the other arm, then the legs, and finally the head… Within 5 minutes, the mech was completely dismantled, leaving only the cockpit still intact.

The mech was too damaged, and the outer armor deactivated.

Like an extinguished flame, the once red giant returned to its dull gray appearance, devoid of vitality.

Inside the cockpit, You Mo had fainted in fear, and a foul smell filled the air.

He no longer had the presence of mind to wonder what the stone man was.

All that was on his mind at that moment was fear.

*

In the main control room controlled by Ming Bai, the Sha inhabitants stared in astonishment as the giant stone man appeared and was repeatedly destroyed and reformed countless times.

It was as if it were immortal.

What kind of thing was this?

A bio-mech?

Or a divine object?

How could it be……impossible to destroy?! How was that possible?!

Afterward, the Sha inhabitants watched as the stone giant tore apart the mech with brutal movements.

As they looked at the old mech that was now reduced to just a cockpit, everyone felt a deep sense of dread.

Even though it was an outdated mech, it was still a mech!

Why could it be dismantled so easily?

Was a mech supposed to be so weak?

If that stone man were to punch them…

They would surely be crushed flat.

The faces of those in the main control room were deathly pale, their clothes drenched in sweat.

Were they lucky to be locked up here, at least not having to face the stone giant directly?

Just as the commander was about to say something to calm everyone down, he noticed that another screen in the main control room had gone black, displaying an animation of a small robot firing a celebratory cannon, clearly cheering on the stone man's actions.

This was too much for him to handle!

Overcome with shock, the commander gasped and thudded to the ground, fainting on the spot.