Extortion

The Snow Soul Divine Claw was invincible, capable of shattering jade and splitting gold, but that depended on the target.

The core of a Roman people's specially made high-grade Light Sword was a blade core forged from special alloy. The Light Sword emitter condensed high-energy laser around the blade core, creating this immensely destructive energy weapon. The high-energy laser on the Light Sword vibrated slightly at a frequency of three million hertz. All known metals and alloys were as fragile as tofu before such high-frequency oscillating energy. Moreover, the Light Sword's surface temperature reached several thousand degrees. The heat alone kept Gu Xiechen's Snow Soul Divine Claw from coming anywhere near it.

Borport kept swinging his Light Sword down at him, forcing Gu Xiechen to retreat and dodge in a sorry state. The Light Sword tore through the freezing wind and snow, while its heat turned great quantities of snow into vapor. Gu Xiechen was drenched in sweat from head to toe and nearly got steamed alive by the heat emitted from the Light Sword.

The Light Sword was simply too powerful. Gu Xiechen, barehanded, had no way to fight it.

Getting close enough to attack Borport was even more impossible. His Energy Armor was also a specially made top-grade product. The foot-thick energy barrier around his body was sturdy and condensed like a block of blue crystal. Such advanced Energy Armor could withstand the bombardment of a warship's main guns. How could Gu Xiechen possibly hurt Borport with just his hands?

Whoosh! The Light Sword skimmed past Gu Xiechen's scalp, and his newly grown short hair vanished into wisps of smoke with a sizzle.

Gu Xiechen hurried back more than a dozen steps in fury and cursed, "Borport, how did I offend you?"

A cold gleam surged in Borport's golden eyes. He slightly slowed his sword attacks and shouted sternly, "You didn't offend me? That black Cristo Crystal Person was my coming-of-age ceremony gift. His crystal ball should have belonged to me! Only I was worthy of such a rare black crystal ball! But what did you do? You actually fused with him, you damned bastard!"

A violent Mental Shockwave burst from Borport's brow. The pale-blue mental shockwave swept up ice and snow more than a meter thick. Gu Xiechen was sent flying by the shockwave, his head splitting with pain. Borport's mental power was incredibly strong. Even after Gu Xiechen mobilized the energy within his Dao Embryo to protect his brain, the impact still left him dazed and sprawling on the ground.

"Damn it! How was I supposed to know that thing was yours?" Gu Xiechen cursed furiously.

Borport snarled, "Lowly Earthling, you ruined everything! That black Cristo Crystal Ball would surely have pushed my unparalleled potential to its absolute limit! But now that black crystal ball has been taken by you. The object I fused with during my Christo Fusion Ceremony was actually a battered green crystal ball! Just a green one!"

Green Cristo Crystal Balls were already exceedingly rare and precious, but compared to an unheard-of black crystal ball, they were vastly inferior.

The Light Sword tore through the cold wind again as it slashed toward Gu Xiechen. Gu Xiechen flipped into the air and casually struck out with thirty-six Cloud Severing Palms at Borport.

The unpredictable white palm winds left Borport scrambling. His Light Sword shattered twenty-three palm winds, but another thirteen slammed heavily into his body. The blue barrier rippled as Borport staggered back several steps.

Seeing that the Cloud Severing Palm had worked, Gu Xiechen hurriedly waved his hands again and unleashed another hundred and eight palm strikes.

The force of the Cloud Severing Palm was too elusive and hard to predict. Borport cursed as he spun his Light Sword into a ball of light around himself, but more than twenty palm strikes still landed on him.

While Borport was forced into a defensive position, Gu Xiechen pounced toward the Bearded Commander, grabbed him, and fled toward the reactor's surface buildings at Aurora Power Station.

The Roman people warriors and Spirit Race warriors had inflicted severe casualties on the Imperial Guard Regiment's First and Second Battalions. With ten Guli Beasts carrying artillery platforms bombarding them nonstop, only fewer than thirty of the several hundred mercenaries managed to follow Gu Xiechen into the reactor's surface buildings.

Thrown into disarray by Gu Xiechen's chaotic assault, Borport furiously led his subordinates in a charge. He roared, "Evil Dragon, you will die today! And the Hell Angels Mercenary Group—you will all die here today! Heh, heh, you never dreamed that I was the one who lured away all your main combat regiments!"

"What?" The Bearded Commander was, after all, an innate-level expert, and he had already awakened from the shock. Ignoring the steel bar piercing through his thigh, he stuck his head out a window and roared at Borport several hundred meters away, "What did you say? You were the one who lured away Laozi's main combat regiments?"

Borport gave a strange laugh and said mockingly, "Otherwise, why would the mines of so many mining companies in the Earth Federation be attacked at the same time? Heh, why else would they pay such a high price to hire you to fight? In any case, your mercenary group's forces have already been split apart. I can slowly devour every last one of you now!"

Taking a deep breath, Borport said angrily, "If I don't wipe out your mercenary group, where will the Holsom Family's dignity go? And who am I supposed to vent my anger on for my losses?"

The Bearded Commander's expression changed drastically. More than a dozen main combat regiments of the mercenary group had scattered across dozens of mines belonging to various mining companies. If Borport used forces like today's to attack each mine separately, the Hell Angels Mercenary Group might truly be uprooted completely.

Gu Xiechen said darkly, "No wonder those mining companies didn't hire mercenaries from the Sacred Unicorn and deliberately came looking for us!"

"Damn it!" the Bearded Commander cursed angrily. "Why does the Earth Federation specialize in producing human traitors?"

"Huh?" Gu Xiechen shot the Bearded Commander a sidelong glance. The Hell Angels Mercenary Group had hardly done anything good either. They had also colluded with the Roman people and conducted business with them.

"Fine, you may now leave your final words!" Borport gave Gu Xiechen's direction an elegant bow. "Because you caused losses to the Holsom Family, and because one of you caused me personally an enormous loss, all of you deserve to go to hell!"

With a savage swing of his Light Sword, Borport was about to order the final assault.

His eyes rolling a few times, Gu Xiechen stepped onto the windowsill, pointed at Borport, and shouted, "Borport, I'm taking you down with me!"

"Oh?"

Borport burst into mocking laughter. "You still think you're qualified to take me down with you?"

Gu Xiechen laughed loudly. "Of course. Have you forgotten what lies beneath Aurora Power Station? Beneath us is a Fusion Reactor with the destructive power of twenty one-hundred-megaton hydrogen bombs!"

Borport's face changed drastically as he roared, "Would you dare?"

Gu Xiechen shouted, "I'm about to die anyway, so why wouldn't I? If you dare attack, I'll immediately detonate every reactor! In just a few dozen seconds, we'll all die together!"

Borport was dumbfounded.

The Bearded Commander laughed gleefully. "Heh, this idiot. He went through all that trouble to lure us away from base and attack Aurora Power Station. Bet he never expected this, huh?"

Gu Xiechen pointed at Borport and sneered, "Think about it. Is dying with me worth it? My life is worthless. I'm just a mercenary scraping by on hard work. But you? Your status is different from mine! You still have a wonderful life ahead of you to enjoy!"

"Urgh!" Borport trembled with rage. He had focused only on luring the Hell Angels Mercenary Group's mercenaries away from their base, so he had chosen the closest and most important target near their headquarters to attack. But he had overlooked the fact that the reactors at this nuclear fusion power station were deadly things. Although complete safety measures had been incorporated into their design, they could not withstand deliberate sabotage by a fully armed squad of soldiers!

If he really launched the attack and Gu Xiechen truly detonated the reactors in desperation, dying alongside him would indeed be a terrible bargain.

Borport froze. The Roman people warrior commander behind him kept urging Borport to make a decision quickly. Although they had used underhanded methods to divert the Earth Federation Army's reinforcements, they could not delay for too long. It would not be long before the Earth Federation Army's main force arrived, and then this isolated force of theirs would be in danger.

Furious beyond measure, Borport threw back his head and roared. He turned and bellowed, "Retreat! Retreat! We'll settle the score with them next time!"

Two Roman warships more than three hundred meters long came screaming down from the sky. As Borport watched the two warships break through the clouds, a vicious glint suddenly flashed through his eyes.

Gu Xiechen noticed the vicious light in Borport's eyes and immediately shouted, "Borport, you are not allowed to retreat now! Leave behind the energy cannons on those ten Guli Beasts, or I'll detonate the reactors immediately!"

The Bearded Commander nodded forcefully and muttered, "That's right. We can't let them leave now!"

The Earth Federation's reinforcements had yet to arrive. If they simply let Borport leave, then once the two warships reached the sky, a single covering barrage from their main guns would be enough to kill most of the survivors inside the power station. Gu Xiechen and the Bearded Commander might survive thanks to their formidable skills, but the other ordinary soldiers would all be finished.

Borport staggered and nearly fell to the ground. He turned back and roared furiously, "You're extorting me?"

Gu Xiechen laughed. "Leave behind those ten energy cannons, leave behind all the Spirit Race people's weapons, and swear in your family's name to shut down the two warships' weapon energy systems. Otherwise, I'll detonate the reactors right now!"

Borport's gaze flickered as he sneered, "I'll give you the Guli Beasts too!"

Gu Xiechen laughed. "I don't dare take the Guli Beasts. I only want the energy cannons on their backs! Hmm, you must also unload the Zakla Energy Crystals kept aboard your warships, or I'll detonate the reactors right now! I'll count to ten!"

"Ten... nine... eight..."

Gu Xiechen counted one number after another without a care. Borport's expression changed in an instant, and in the end, he lowered his head in fury and agreed to Gu Xiechen's demands. He had truly chosen the wrong place for his ambush.

The laser guns of three thousand Spirit Race people were thrown to the ground. The energy cannons on the backs of the ten Guli Beasts were dismantled and discarded. Huge piles of Zakra Crystals were carried out from the warships' storage holds, while every Roman people warrior angrily retreated into the ships. Within just a few minutes, everything Gu Xiechen demanded had been delivered.

The two Roman warships shot into the sky somewhat disgracefully, while several pitch-black Earth Federation warships appeared hurriedly over the distant horizon.

Gu Xiechen and the Bearded Commander exchanged looks and sighed at the same time.

The Holsom Family's retaliation had been vicious indeed. Although the Hell Angels Mercenary Group had gained a great deal of equipment this time, their casualties were painful enough.

"Next time, we absolutely can't give them another chance!"

Gu Xiechen stared at the Bearded Commander and muttered to himself. The Bearded Commander nodded with lingering fear.

If not for the nuclear reactors beneath their feet, they really would have been doomed this time.

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Recommend, recommend, recommend! (To be continued)