Chapter 75: Exchange Competition (7)

Chapter 75: Exchange Competition (7)

Giant Rock Star Region Base 0

With the help of a small robot, Mo Yu smoothly evaded the Giant Rock Star people and the star beasts, eventually locating the Giant Rock Star Region's base using the coordinates provided by Cang Cheng.

Along the way, he watched the small robot disappear and reappear using earth burrowing, his initial surprise giving way to a sense of numbness. Cang Cheng had already shown him so many strange things that nothing could surprise him anymore.

They likely didn’t expect the Canglan Star Region to find them so quickly, which is why only one person was left to guard Base 0.

After the small robot acted as a decoy to lure away the enemies, Mo Yu found the room where the general and the third prince were imprisoned and successfully released them.

Wearing a crisp military uniform, General Xilimos had a cold and stern expression, his sharp aura naturally instilling fear in those around him.

However, Mo Yu was not afraid. As soon as he saw General Xilimos, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"General," Mo Yu saluted General Xilimos before beginning to explain the situation outside.

The third prince, meanwhile, was completely ignored by Mo Yu, and his expression darkened with frustration.

General Xilimos made an immediate decision. "We need to head to Canglan Star Region Base 0 at once. You will lead the way."

"Yes, General."

The three of them left the base openly and, at the main entrance, came face to face with the Giant Rock Star person guarding it.

Unlike other Giant Rock Star people's overly burly appearance, Shi Yan looked more human-like. The skin he exposed wasn’t entirely stone-like but had a translucent, pale blue hue, embedded with several deep purple stones.

Shi Yan first glanced at the third prince, then shifted his attention to General Xilimos.

"It’s an honor to face you today," he said confidently.

From his words, it was clear that he considered himself worthy of being General Xilimos' opponent.

General Xilimos, not one to waste words with his enemies, released his mental energy, letting his overwhelming presence do the talking.

Yet Shi Yan withstood General Xilimos' pressure, his expression unchanged. He even spread his arms wide, as if savoring every bit of the energy.

"This is the aura of an S-class Awakened? It’s truly fascinating ah~

How about some more? This amount is not enough to satisfy me."

Mo Yu watched in shock and concern. Shi Yan’s power level was only average; how could he remain unaffected by the General's aura?

If it were him facing the General at full force, he would be down in less than 2 seconds.

Mo Yu calmed himself. "General, there's something unusual about his skin."

General Xilimos' gaze lingered on Shi Yan's skin for a moment. The purple stones on the semi-transparent skin were pulsating, as if they were devouring the surrounding air.

Realization hit him, and he retracted his aura. "You can absorb energy."

"So you've seen through it? As expected of Xilimos."

Shi Yan readily admitted it, showing no fear, only confidence.

Shi Yan's thoughts stirred, and one of his arms transformed into a transparent liquid-like state before solidifying again.

"A body like mine, which can't transform into rock, is considered inferior among the Giant Rock Star people. But thanks to someone who developed my abilities, I became the Giant Rock Star Region's secret weapon.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have been sent to face you alone, Hilmeth."

Who would have thought that Shi Yan, an average fighter among the Giant Rock Star people, was actually their secret weapon?

As he spoke, Shi Yan concentrated his mental energy, and his purple stone-like skin exuded a heavy aura, causing Mo Yu and the third prince to collapse to the ground with a thud.

To everyone's surprise, the aura was exactly the same as Hilmeth's!

"Look. My body is an exquisite energy storage, and it can also release equivalent energy. The harder Hilmeth pushes, the faster your people will die."

Shi Yan was very confident. "I’ve also heard that Hilmeth is still recovering from his injuries and can’t fight for long. I wonder how long you can hold out against me? After all, fighting me is just like fighting yourself."

Shi Yan already imagined himself as a hero of the Giant Rock Star Region, basking in glory and power after defeating Hilmeth. His future would be nothing short of brilliant!

As he spoke, he increased his energy release, causing the walls to distort to varying degrees.

The third prince's ribs were crushed from the pressure, and his organs suffered varying degrees of internal bleeding.

The third prince glared at Shi Yan, his eyes burning with fury and silent accusation.

He had made a deal with the Giant Rock Star people to only teach Cang Cheng a lesson, leaving him bedridden and disgraced. But now… why was Shi Yan showing no mercy?

This wasn’t part of the deal!

Shi Yan ignored the third prince’s silent plea, unleashing even more power.

The third prince let out a painful, sorrowful cry. "General… help me…"

Hilmeth remained unaffected. His aura gathered, and a faint wind formed around him, blowing his silver-white hair.

He moved through the suffocating space with effortless grace, his steps unhurried, as his killing intent spread.

Shi Yan felt an oppressive sensation that made it hard to breathe.

Even though the other party had no weapon and was supposedly heavily wounded, Shi Yan couldn't help but feel fear from the bottom of his heart when facing Hilmeth.

Hilmeth’s cold blue eyes were empty, devoid of any emotion, as if he were already staring at a corpse.

So terrifying.

He was going to die.

Run… he had to escape…

Shi Yan's breathing became erratic, and it took all his courage to dispel his fear.

But the next moment, with a sharp and scorching offensive, his lower body was separated from his upper body.

What…?

How…?

The heat was unbearable, as if his body was being consumed by fire.

Shi Yan looked down at himself.

He saw a flame sword cutting him in half, and the blazing fire was consuming his gelatinous body.

"Fire! Fire! Where is this fire coming from?!"

Shi Yan was not afraid of physical attacks, nor was he afraid of attacks based on sheer presence. He even had some resistance to heat-based weapons.

However, he feared fire above all else. Fire could completely incinerate his body.

Shi Yan looked up abruptly to see Hilmeth holding a red flame sword in his hand.

The silver-haired, blue-eyed general had half of his face illuminated by the flames, which flickered in his hair, casting a menacing glow that heightened his deadly aura.

Like a god of war.

While Hilmeth was confined in Base 0 with nothing to do, he began studying fire Spirit Runes.

With the successful creation of the Meteor Fire Rain Rune as a foundation, Hilmeth had no trouble advancing his studies and, in the process, mastered 50% of elemental control.

While his control over fire wasn't as precise as Cang Cheng's, it was still effective enough for his purposes. He could summon flame-shaped weapons at any moment.

The flame sword was created by Hilmeth using his elemental control.

It proved especially effective against Shi Yan.

Shi Yan felt his body being destroyed, his life slipping away.

He shouted at the third prince, "What kind of weapon is this? Why wasn't it in the information you gave me?! Why is there fire? Why?!"

"Cang...!"

Before Shi Yan could finish speaking, the third prince, struggling to his feet, fired a shot into his head.

With a loud bang, Shi Yan's brain was blown out.

The third prince declared firmly, "Don't try to frame me, alien from other star regions. No matter how foolish I may be, I would never betray the Canglan Star Region.

General, don't listen to his nonsense."

Saying that, the third prince fired a few more shots.

Hilmeth glanced at the third prince but did not respond.

The flames continued to burn until a +500 points notification came through the communicator. Only then did Hilmeth retract the fire.

Hilmeth commanded, "Leave. Rendezvous with the others."

The third prince checked the points information several times before following Hilmeth.

Meanwhile, Hilmeth's hand behind his back gave a signal to Mo Yu.

Mo Yu understood and stayed behind to collect a jelly-like substance before catching up.

*

At the same time, Cang Cheng and his six companions were engaged in a face-to-face confrontation with seven members of the Giant Rock Star Region.

As an 'ordinary civilian,' Cang Cheng was protected at the rear of the group. Since Commander Edward was joining the battle, Cang Cheng temporarily took over command.

Blinking away the dryness in his eyes, Cang Cheng issued the command without hesitation, "Yi Moshang, defend. Fu Congfei, support. Everyone else, act freely. Xing Qing, use the stone golem and take out the one on the right."

In a situation where they were outnumbered, Cang Cheng decided to reduce the enemy's numbers.

The Giant Rock Star Region's Right One was marked as "severely injured" under the analysis of the AI visor.

To strike when the enemy was at their weakest.

The rest of the team responded quickly, even Wu Ling, who had just been released, although unhappy, followed Cang Cheng's commands.

When it came to the honor of the star region, Wu Ling didn't want to become a traitor to the Canglan Star Region.

Xing Qing activated the Spirit Runes, and a 3-meter-tall clay giant materialized in front of them, almost as if by magic.

Compared to Edward's golem, Xing Qing's was more robust and well-formed, clearly demonstrating her superior control over Mental energy.

The Giant Rock Star people, having seen a stone golem once before, were apprehensive about this 'close relative.'

"Damn! How do they still have that thing?"

"What kind of weapon is this?"

"Defend!!"

The Giant Rock Star people scattered, knowing that even their tough hides wouldn't save them from the golem's crushing blows.

The Right One, who was under Cang Cheng's focused attention, moved somewhat sluggishly in comparison. He failed to dodge in time and was stomped on by the stone golem.

Despite its stony exterior, his body shattered into pieces with a single stomp.

Right One tried to reform his body, but the stone golem kept stomping on him, again and again, almost reducing him to rubble.

Right One's energy depleted, and he lost consciousness.

"500 points added."

It wasn’t until she saw the point total increase that Xing Qing finally halted the stone golem.

After their earlier misstep allowed the Giant Rock Star Region to regroup, Xing Qing was determined not to let it happen again.

Chat:

"The stone golem is so strong!"

"Go Canglan Star Region!"

"Canglan Star Region, take 'em down!"

……

Defeating the enemy clearly boosted the morale of the people of the Canglan Star Region.

Cang Cheng pressed the advantage: "Stone golem, fly up and slam down on as many as you can. Everyone else, focus your attacks."

Xing Qing controlled the stone golem to leap into the air and then smashed it down onto the ground with the force of gravity.

With a 'boom,' a Giant Rock Star person had their arm pinned under the stone golem.

Yi Mo and the others seized the opportunity to concentrate their attacks.

The Giant Rock Star person tried to sever his arm to escape, but the relentless barrage of attacks crushed him into dust. With his current energy, he could not regenerate.

Canglan Star Region score +500

Canglan Star Region has 6 people, Giant Rock Star Region has 5 people.

The tide of battle turned in an instant.

"Damn Canglan people!!"

Two of them were defeated by the Canglan people in a single encounter, a huge humiliation for the Giant Rock Star people.

Though they couldn’t understand why the Canglan Star Region people were able to regroup instantly, command decisively, and strike ruthlessly, the Giant Rock Star people were battle-hardened veterans. There was no way they would be taken down so easily.

Giant Rock Star Region: "Collective attack on the Canglan fighter wearing the gas mask. His mental energy consumption is the highest."

Cang Cheng rubbed his slightly red eyes, staring intently at the battle situation.

The AI-assisted visor was giving Cang Cheng prompts: "Target black rock, leg lightly injured."

Cang Cheng simultaneously gave the command: "Edward, support Xing Qing. The other three, concentrate fire on that black rock. The enemy is limping."

The Canglan Star Region people swiftly moved into action. Edward took two quick steps and stood in front of Xing Qing: "Partner, I’m here to back you up. Can you use the capsule bombs to support me?"

Xing Qing nodded.

Meanwhile, Yi Moshang, Fu Congfei, and Wu Ling, the three Spirit Warriors, unleashed their full firepower.

Yi Moshang took out a heavy cannon and attacked the black rock at close range.

Fu Congfei’s weapon had been rendered useless in the previous battle, so she used her energy sword for close combat.

Wu Ling took out an ion gun and fired shot after shot to support the attack.

The three had no coordination, but even just the sheer force was enough to keep the outnumbered black rock on the defensive.

The black rock intended to leap into the air to avoid the fight. He pushed off with one leg.

"Not going to let you escape!"

Fu Congfei, holding her sword with both hands, swung it forcefully.

The energy sword directly cut into the black rock’s thigh.

The tough rock-like skin was pierced!

Fu Congfei didn’t stop, applying more force.

All her pent-up despair and anger from the day poured into that strike.

"Get down here!"

With a 'crack' sound, the black rock’s thigh was severed.

With one leg gone, he crashed to the ground.

Seeing this, Yi Moshang and Wu Ling added more damage, and the rising flames gradually engulfed the black rock.

Fu Congfei stood in place, her hands trembling violently, her palm covered in blood.

But despite the blood on her hands, she was smiling.

Sang Ning's betrayal left her feeling lost and unsure of what to do next.

But now, she had found her direction in battle. She was determined to become a reliable commander of the Canglan Star Region.

She was determined to grow stronger!

"Canglan Star Region score +500."

The Canglan Star Region had 6 members, while the Giant Rock Star Region had 4.

"Shi Hei!!"

Seeing another casualty, the commanding officer of the Giant Rock Star Region, Shi Zao, made a decisive decision: "Take down that attack team."

The four members of the Giant Rock Star Region immediately changed direction.

Cang Cheng commanded, "Attack team, fall back 500 meters, maintain distance, and recover your status."

The remaining four members of the Giant Rock Star Region were almost at full health, while in the Canglan Star Region's attack team, Fu Congfei was exhausted and temporarily unable to fight, and Yi Moshang was only at half health.

Therefore, Cang Cheng decided to let them recover first.

However, Wu Ling had no intention of following the command.

Having just worked together to defeat an opponent, Wu Ling's confidence surged.

He felt they should capitalize on their momentum and take down another enemy. Maybe they could even be bolder and take down more of the enemy. He might even become the highest-scoring individual in this Exchange Competition.

Wu Ling refused, "No retreat, engage the enemy directly."

Yi Moshang objected, "Follow the command, fall back."

Wu Ling said loudly, "What kind of command is this? Why should I listen to a useless nobody? Cang Cheng has no right to order me around!"

With that, he took a stance to engage the enemy.

Wu Ling had long resented being ordered around by Cang Cheng. Why should Cang Cheng, someone he used to push around, now be giving him orders?

Yi Moshang hesitated for only a second before pulling Fu Congfei back.

He understood well that obeying commands on the battlefield was a basic principle.

Wu Ling didn't mind his teammates retreating. He raised his gun and fired.

He was convinced he could take down an opponent single-handedly.

However, Wu Ling overestimated his own strength and underestimated the Giant Rock Star people's rock-hard skin defense.

Continuous ion gun attacks only left shallow marks on the Giant Rock Star people's skin but couldn't penetrate it.

Wu Ling cranked up the energy output to maximum.

White beams poured out, heading straight for the enemy.

But even at full power, the beams barely scratched the surface—his attack was completely ineffective!

As the towering enemy closed in on him, cold sweat trickled down Wu Ling's back.

How is this not working?

No way!

Their defense is insane!

One of the Giant Rock Star people scratched the area that was just attacked, feeling a bit itchy.

"The power of your weapons is too weak. Unless you focus fire, don't even think about breaking through our skin defense.

We haven't killed anyone today, so how about we start with you? I can't wait to hear your bones snap. It’ll be music to my ears."

Panicking, Wu Ling fired off shots in all directions: "Die! Die! Get away from me!"

But it was all in vain.

As the Giant Rock Star people drew closer, Wu Ling became more and more panicked.

Despair flooded through him.

His teammates had already retreated, and he was left to face four enemies alone.

He was going to die and become a disgrace to the star region.

It was all because of Cang Cheng!

If it weren't for Cang Cheng ordering the others to retreat, he wouldn't be in such a miserable state.

This is all Cang Cheng's fault!

Wu Ling's mindset collapsed.

In a fit of rage, he spun around and aimed his gun at Cang Cheng, who stood behind him.

If it weren't for Cang Cheng, he wouldn't be in such a desperate situation.

Wu Ling: "Die! You piece of trash!"

"Cang Cheng!"

"Your Highness!"

Realizing the danger, the others raced to Cang Cheng’s side.

In the pouring rain, Cang Cheng pulled out his gun.

Aiming, he fired.

With a soft click, a single bullet split into six, striking Wu Ling’s wrists, knees, and shoulder before he could even react.

The last split bullet was about to hit Wu Ling's heart but changed trajectory at the last moment, hitting his arm instead.

Cang Cheng’s burst gun split into six, each shot finding its target.

Wu Ling's limbs were temporarily disabled, but there was no danger to his life.

Danmaku:

"What does that Wu guy think he's doing? Fratricide?"

"How could he attack one of his own?"

"Traitor!"

"The prince reacted so quickly."

"The burst gun fired six bullets, and every single one hit its target. The prince must be incredibly lucky!"

"Cang Cheng's eyes are so red. Is he upset? I wish I could comfort him..."

...

The camera rarely gave Cang Cheng such a close-up.

In the light rain, raindrops clung to the ends of Cang Cheng's black hair, and his face glistened with cool droplets.

His eyes were red-rimmed, and tears glistened at the corners, as if he had been crying.

His breathtaking beauty and fragile frame seemed so small beneath the heavy, overcast sky, yet his eyes shone brightly, and his presence was as vast and encompassing as the ocean—deep and dangerous.

Only now did everyone realize just how extraordinary the fifth prince of the Canglan Star Region truly was.